Thank You Church Family!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 09:40 AM
Dear Church Family,How can I say thank you? The out pour of love, concern and prayers that you have sent our way, has been very comforting to Vicki and I. Over the last few weeks, I have been reading all your notes, your blog comments, cards and have also been told by the staff just how many of you have called the church office to see how I was doing. My eyes fill with tears, (no it’s not the kidney stone this time), I am just so overwhelmed with emotions because I am reminded of the many struggles and pains that we all go through in life. Like mine, some are physical pains and struggles, but there are many others who struggle with the emotional or spiritual ones.
It also reminds me why “Relationships” are so important to God. In the series, I am praying and believing we will resume this Sunday, “Transforming Relationships”, do you remember the first verse we read?, 1 Corinthians 16:14 “Everything you do must be done with love.” Another key verse we read was Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength… love your neighbor as yourself. There are no commands more important than these.” I felt that kind of love from many of you during my illness. But if you are one that struggles with being more loving; needs to work harder on your relationships, or just wants more love in your heart, you can become that person too. Please join us as we all learn how to transform our relationships into relationships that please God.
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( 0 / 0 )Sticking Together
Monday, March 8, 2010, 11:46 AM
I read about a man one time who went out on a boat deep-sea fishing who couldn't swim. He caught an enormous fish, and in his excitement to pull it into the boat, he fell overboard. He cried out, "Save me, I cannot swim!" Well, the captain of the boat very calmly reached out, grabbed the man by the arm, and gave a big pull; but he didn't know it was an artificial arm, and the arm came off!
Well, the man continued to kick and splash around crying for help. The captain reached out again; this time he grabbed his leg and gave a tremendous pull, but the leg came off because it was a wooden leg. The man in the water went under again and he came up yelling for help.
The captain, still calm, this time grabbed the man by the hair of his head and gave a gigantic pull. But the man was wearing a toupee and it came off. At that point the captain looked at the man in the water and said, "Mister, if you won't stick together, I can't help you!"
The point is even God cannot help a church that is not going to stick together.
As a church, lets be victorious by accomplishing all God wants us to accomplish, being all that God wants us to be, but to do this we must come together, we must work together, we must stay together and we must pray together!
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( 0 / 0 )Lifestyle of Good Habits
Friday, March 5, 2010, 09:33 AM
Take the time and the trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit. The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine. Successful people form the habit of doing things that unsuccessful people are unwilling to do. You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. We first form habits and then habits form us.
The Formation of Habits:
1) Beliefs
2) Choices
3) Practices
4) Habits
5) Results
God will provide if we do two things:
1) Ask Him to provide for our needs – “Give us our daily Bread.” (Matthew 6:11)
2) Be generous in our giving (Luke 6:28)
Lifestyle Giving and Benefits
1) It puts material wealth into a biblical perspective – “First the Kingdom.”
Resources-are they yours or God’s?
2) It teaches that giving is not to be separated from behavior – “First be reconciled." Matthew 5:24
3) It is a key test of spiritual commitment. “If you are untrustworthy in…” Luke 16:11
4) Protects against financial enslavement (bondage). “You cannot serve God and mammon!” Luke 16:3
5) It gives me victory over materialism. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
6) It strengthens my faith. “Test me…” Malachi 3:10
7) It makes me happy. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” 1 Chronicles 29:14
8) It blesses me in return Luke 6:38; Proverbs 22:9
9) It keeps me from losing my assets and liabilities. Matthew 16:25
10) It is proof of my love. 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
11) It focuses on the eternal rather than the temporal.
12) It will bring rightful recognition from others.
13) It will bring rightful recognition from Christ. “The widow was commended.”
14) It makes me more like God – “God so loved the world He gave….” John 3:16
First and foremost, spend time with God daily and if you have not visited or joined our Fitness Center, make it a point to do so this weekend.
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( 0 / 0 )Gods Has a Mission for Al Christians
Thursday, March 4, 2010, 09:54 AM
You don't have to be a secret agent to have a mission. But just like Ethan Hunt, God has a mission for you should you choose to accept it. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Christians have refused to accept it because they are convinced that the mission that God has called them to is not mission possible, but mission impossible. God wants you to have a ministry in the church, but He also wants you to have a mission in the world. Ministry is serving Christ for believers; mission is sharing Christ with unbelievers. Our Mission: It is to lead people to be different through knowing Christ and growing in Christ, and to make a difference by serving Christ and sharing Christ.
Our mission has been defined for us in II Corinthians 5:18-21, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
A young man applied for a job at a theatre, and during the interview the manager said, "Now what would you do if a fire broke out while a film was showing?" The young man said, "Oh, you don't have to worry about me, I would get out okay." Many of us are going to Heaven, but too many of us don't really care if others escape the fire or not. God has given us a mission. We must choose to accept it; do all that we can to lead others out of the fire into the Light.
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( 0 / 0 )God Will Bring It To Pass
Wednesday, March 3, 2010, 12:00 PM
Charles Spurgeon said of the Bible: "The Bible is a vein of pure gold, unalloyed by quartz or any earthly substance. This is a star without a speck; a sun without a blot; a light without darkness; a moon without its paleness; a glory without a dimness. O Bible! It cannot be said of any other book that it is perfect and pure; but of thee we can declare all wisdom is gathered up in thee, without a particle of folly. This is the judge that ends the strife, where wit and reason fail. This is the book untainted by any error; but is pure, unalloyed, perfect truth."Indeed the Bible is all this, but it is even more! It is God's promises to us, promises that we can believe, promises on which we can rely, promises that we can trust. If God tells us that He will do something, you can rest with assurance that He will bring it to pass.
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