Sunday Morning in Ephesians
As we concluded one of the most powerful paragraphs in all of scripture Sunday, what was your reaction? We have seen election, predestination, adoption, redemption, and the protection and sealing of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 1:3-14. Those are theological terms that a man could spend a lifetime contemplating and praising God for. What do they mean to you? What does it mean that you had no merit in and of yourself and that God chose you in spite of your sin? What does it mean that he not only chose you, but He has a purpose in the choice that you would be something that brings Him glory? What does it mean that He has adopted you? Please think about the rights you have as a full fledged member of God's family. You are also redeemed. What are you redeemed from? What is the purpose of sealing? What kind of guarantee do we have that once we are saved we are always saved? As you study this week think of this and read ahead towards Ephesians 1:15-23 which we will cover next week.
Sunday Night in James
As we look at great tests of our salvation in James I pray that you have been challenged, challenged to think about the living out of this faith that we have. On Sunday evening as we looked at James 1:19-27 I pray that, like myself, you were cut. I pray you were cut by 1:19, which tells us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. What a simple maxim for us on a day to day basis. What about verse 22? Are you a hearer of the word only, or are you a hearer and a doer? Did you look at yourself in the mirror this morning and notice disheveled hair, leftovers from breakfast in your teeth, and perhaps like my kids like to say, lots of eye boogers? Did you do anything about it? I hope so. We listened, we heard the word of God Sunday, and I pray that you heard it yesterday and today, what have we done about it? I want you to especially think through verse 27 of James 1. How do you as an individual, and we as a church take care of orphans and widows? I have been on the phone already today with the TN Baptist children's home to try and coordinate a way for us to help them with some physical needs that they have. We have a group going from our church with King's Academy in the spring to Guatemala to help in an orphanage there. Will God call us as a church to go there? What about the Christmas topic we covered a little on Sunday? Will you change some of your Christmas traditions(giving and receiving too many gifts) in order to help someone this Christmas? May God bless you this week and give you a greater understanding of His love for you.
A La Carte (April 16)
16 hours ago
2 comments:
I have just begun to read 'Just a Walk Across the Room' by Rili Hybels...simple steps pointing people to Faith.... has anyone read it? is this a good book?
Hybels has just recently refuted alot of what that book teaches. He is pastor of Willow Creek church in chicago. They are infamous for being one of the first seeker friendly churches. In order to lure people in they played a lot of secular music and had very "relevant" sermons that dealt with what he called real world issues. In the last six months he has said that the type of easy believism mixed with worldly ideas has led his church to have a lot of people, but very few disciples. It is worth your time to read this, but proceed with caution. God bless you.
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