Rogue River High School hosted this amazing even life-changing Ugandan choir this evening.
Holly and I attended and recorded this traditional african dance.
This youtube thing is pretty cool, you can simply download your own videos and share it with blogspot.
I encourage you to visit their website: http://web.mac.com/timholland/Matsiko_Childrens_Choir/News/News.html
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Matsiko African Choir
Monday, April 28, 2008
We celebrated Ruby Miller's 105th Birthday today at the church!
Talk about a bunch of PARTY PEOPLE!
It's just not a real birthday party until you turn 105!
They had yummy carrot cake!
Invite Somebody To Church
I'm sending out postcards again this week...
Just a little FYI...
AND reminding everybody to invite somebody to church!
There's always room for more!
We never want to become inward focused..."us 4 and no more"...
If it's all about Loving God and Loving People then we'll always be growing...
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Remember The Damaging Consequences of Moral Failure
Sermon Notes from this morning's Celebration Service:
One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the
misbehavior that was going on. So he called one of His angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time. When the angel returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on Earth.
95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not." God thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion." So God called another angel and sent him to Earth for a time. When the angel returned he went to God and said, "Yes, it's true. The Earth is in decline: 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good." God was not pleased, He decided to e-mail the 5% that were good, because he wanted to encourage them and give them a little something to help them keep going. Do you know what the e-mail said?
Okay,
I was just wondering, because I didn't get one either.
we continue a new sermon series entitled…
INTEGRITY: CREATING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES
we already covered
NEVER CONSIDER OURSELVES ABOVE TEMPTATION
Keep a close watch on your spiritual temperature
maintain your home
develop healthy outlets for emotional energy
Last week we searched the word of God for help in GUARDING OUR MINDS
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O LORD my strength and my redeemer…
I encourage you to check out my blog for detailed review…
This week
PLEASE REMEMBER THE DAMAGING CONSEQUENCES OF MORAL FAILURE
Our church knows all this first hand
We are still experiencing the damaging consequences of moral failure in our leadership years after the offenses…
I did a bible study a couple weeks ago with the youth
I think us old people need to be reminded of too
Let’s talk about everybody’s favorite subject: SIN
1. Sin Is Deceptive
Hebrews 3:12,13
Beware, bretheren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God: but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin…
Richard Land had a friend who was heading for shipwreck, plain as the nose on your face. He took him to lunch and said, “Brother, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I want to ask you a question. Have you lost your mind?”
What do you mean?
When Richard told him his concerns, He protested, There’s nothing going on between us…
Oh please, Richard said, There may not be anything yet, but you’re thinking about it and so is she…
I can’t believe you’re saying that…he retorted
OH please, Richard said, Come on now…
They parted over lunch without resolution, but later Richard’s friend came back to him and said…I want to thank you. I was so mad at you I could have hit you, but I want to thank you because you were right. My wife and I were going through a rocky patch and my secretary was sympathetic…
Richard has a rule: He’s not alone with any woman other than his mom, wife or daughters, period…He tells people when he goes somewhere that if a woman is coming to pick him up at the airport, please make sure a second person joins her. And Richard doesn’t have a meal with a woman outside his family unless there are other folks at the table…
Remember what E. Stanley Jones said…If you don’t make up your mind, your unmade mind will unmake you…
Proverbs 22:3
A prudent person forsees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences…
We may be absolutely blinded by the deceitfulness of sin…Richard Land is an amazing friend who helps others get some discernment…do you have friends like that?
2. Sin Enslaves
John 8:34
Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin…
Romans 6:16
Do you not know that to who you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness…
Joshua Harris wrote his first book, I kissed dating goodbye, at the age of 21. He speaks nationally and has called his own generation, bombarded with images of sin, back to the freedom and joy of holiness.
He tells of an instance with his friend Andrew that should challenge all of us to a new commitment toward integrity…
He and Andrew went to rent a video…
At the door Andrew stopped and said..I’ll wait out here…
Why, Josh asked…
He explained that God had convicted him about looking at the explicit covers of many videos. His way of fighting back was not even to enter. People must have thought these two were strange as Josh brought different videos to the window to have Andrew help make a selection…
But that didn’t matter to Andrew. He was being obedient to what God was showing him about his own areas of temptation…
Many guys can admit that lust is a prevalent sin in their life and say they want to change. But they’ve never thought through how the process of temptation unfolds for them. Instead of anticipating and being on their guard like Andrew, they’re surprised by the same attack over and over…
Do you know what your weak points are?
Do you have a plan for taking proactive measures to protect yourself from lust?
When you recognize sin’s power for slavery and death you will want to create strong boundaries just like Andrew…
3. Sin’s Pleasures Are Only Temporary
Hebrews 11:24-26
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward…
sin is only fun for a season and then the deceitfulness, the slavery and the temporary pleasures birth death…
pornography is probably today’s #1 integrity issue, our children need to be warned at a very young age…our children are being assaulted from everything from tv commercials to pop up ads on the computer…
statistics…
Pornography industry is alive and well
grossing 57 billion world-wide
12 billion US
Porn revenue is larger than all combined revenues of all professional football, baseball, and basketball franchises…
US porn revenue exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, & NBC
Child pornography generates 3 billion annually
There are 4.2 million pornographic websites
68 million daily pornographic search engine requests
2.5 billion daily pornographic emails
There are 116 thousand websites offering illegal child pornography
there are 72 million worldwide visitors to pornographic websites annually
average age of first internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old
the largest consumer of internet porn is in the 12 to 17 age group
where are the parents
why are they not monitering
answers...
There are lot of ideas out there, books, theories…
BUT THIS IS A GREAT SOLUTION
It is a real recovery program that you take on your computer
turn your computer from your greatest enemy into your greatest asset
PURE ONLINE can transform your life
Check out PureOnline.com
Or check out triple x church .com
that’s xxxchurch.com
they have free accountability software
This is how it works…Let’s say you’re browsing the internet and you hit a porn site… the software makes a log of the site, and then every two to four weeks your two designated accountability partners will get an email listing all the sites you’ve been on...BUSTED
real accountability, no more secrets
I signed up for this and holly get’s a report of where I’ve been on the internet
there are many other resources at triple x church
even a prayer wall
then there’s internetsafety.com or safeeyes.com
they have internet filtering, blocking, monitoring
content controls
program controls
time controls
usage logging
usage alerts
we truly are without excuse
there are many safeguards available
to help us with our own addictions or protecting our children
Colossians 3:5-14
As we come to the Lord’s table this morning
Ask Jesus to put to death those sins that have deceived and enslaved you…
the only real answer to sin is found at this table
His sacrifice, His blood, His body paid the price for your sin
His resurrection gives you power over sin
1 Cor 11…Communion
One day God was looking down at Earth and saw all of the
misbehavior that was going on. So he called one of His angels and sent the angel to Earth for a time. When the angel returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on Earth.
95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not." God thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I had better send down a second angel to get another opinion." So God called another angel and sent him to Earth for a time. When the angel returned he went to God and said, "Yes, it's true. The Earth is in decline: 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good." God was not pleased, He decided to e-mail the 5% that were good, because he wanted to encourage them and give them a little something to help them keep going. Do you know what the e-mail said?
Okay,
I was just wondering, because I didn't get one either.
we continue a new sermon series entitled…
INTEGRITY: CREATING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES
we already covered
NEVER CONSIDER OURSELVES ABOVE TEMPTATION
Keep a close watch on your spiritual temperature
maintain your home
develop healthy outlets for emotional energy
Last week we searched the word of God for help in GUARDING OUR MINDS
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O LORD my strength and my redeemer…
I encourage you to check out my blog for detailed review…
This week
PLEASE REMEMBER THE DAMAGING CONSEQUENCES OF MORAL FAILURE
Our church knows all this first hand
We are still experiencing the damaging consequences of moral failure in our leadership years after the offenses…
I did a bible study a couple weeks ago with the youth
I think us old people need to be reminded of too
Let’s talk about everybody’s favorite subject: SIN
1. Sin Is Deceptive
Hebrews 3:12,13
Beware, bretheren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God: but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin…
Richard Land had a friend who was heading for shipwreck, plain as the nose on your face. He took him to lunch and said, “Brother, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I want to ask you a question. Have you lost your mind?”
What do you mean?
When Richard told him his concerns, He protested, There’s nothing going on between us…
Oh please, Richard said, There may not be anything yet, but you’re thinking about it and so is she…
I can’t believe you’re saying that…he retorted
OH please, Richard said, Come on now…
They parted over lunch without resolution, but later Richard’s friend came back to him and said…I want to thank you. I was so mad at you I could have hit you, but I want to thank you because you were right. My wife and I were going through a rocky patch and my secretary was sympathetic…
Richard has a rule: He’s not alone with any woman other than his mom, wife or daughters, period…He tells people when he goes somewhere that if a woman is coming to pick him up at the airport, please make sure a second person joins her. And Richard doesn’t have a meal with a woman outside his family unless there are other folks at the table…
Remember what E. Stanley Jones said…If you don’t make up your mind, your unmade mind will unmake you…
Proverbs 22:3
A prudent person forsees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences…
We may be absolutely blinded by the deceitfulness of sin…Richard Land is an amazing friend who helps others get some discernment…do you have friends like that?
2. Sin Enslaves
John 8:34
Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin…
Romans 6:16
Do you not know that to who you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness…
Joshua Harris wrote his first book, I kissed dating goodbye, at the age of 21. He speaks nationally and has called his own generation, bombarded with images of sin, back to the freedom and joy of holiness.
He tells of an instance with his friend Andrew that should challenge all of us to a new commitment toward integrity…
He and Andrew went to rent a video…
At the door Andrew stopped and said..I’ll wait out here…
Why, Josh asked…
He explained that God had convicted him about looking at the explicit covers of many videos. His way of fighting back was not even to enter. People must have thought these two were strange as Josh brought different videos to the window to have Andrew help make a selection…
But that didn’t matter to Andrew. He was being obedient to what God was showing him about his own areas of temptation…
Many guys can admit that lust is a prevalent sin in their life and say they want to change. But they’ve never thought through how the process of temptation unfolds for them. Instead of anticipating and being on their guard like Andrew, they’re surprised by the same attack over and over…
Do you know what your weak points are?
Do you have a plan for taking proactive measures to protect yourself from lust?
When you recognize sin’s power for slavery and death you will want to create strong boundaries just like Andrew…
3. Sin’s Pleasures Are Only Temporary
Hebrews 11:24-26
By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward…
sin is only fun for a season and then the deceitfulness, the slavery and the temporary pleasures birth death…
pornography is probably today’s #1 integrity issue, our children need to be warned at a very young age…our children are being assaulted from everything from tv commercials to pop up ads on the computer…
statistics…
Pornography industry is alive and well
grossing 57 billion world-wide
12 billion US
Porn revenue is larger than all combined revenues of all professional football, baseball, and basketball franchises…
US porn revenue exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, & NBC
Child pornography generates 3 billion annually
There are 4.2 million pornographic websites
68 million daily pornographic search engine requests
2.5 billion daily pornographic emails
There are 116 thousand websites offering illegal child pornography
there are 72 million worldwide visitors to pornographic websites annually
average age of first internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old
the largest consumer of internet porn is in the 12 to 17 age group
where are the parents
why are they not monitering
answers...
There are lot of ideas out there, books, theories…
BUT THIS IS A GREAT SOLUTION
It is a real recovery program that you take on your computer
turn your computer from your greatest enemy into your greatest asset
PURE ONLINE can transform your life
Check out PureOnline.com
Or check out triple x church .com
that’s xxxchurch.com
they have free accountability software
This is how it works…Let’s say you’re browsing the internet and you hit a porn site… the software makes a log of the site, and then every two to four weeks your two designated accountability partners will get an email listing all the sites you’ve been on...BUSTED
real accountability, no more secrets
I signed up for this and holly get’s a report of where I’ve been on the internet
there are many other resources at triple x church
even a prayer wall
then there’s internetsafety.com or safeeyes.com
they have internet filtering, blocking, monitoring
content controls
program controls
time controls
usage logging
usage alerts
we truly are without excuse
there are many safeguards available
to help us with our own addictions or protecting our children
Colossians 3:5-14
As we come to the Lord’s table this morning
Ask Jesus to put to death those sins that have deceived and enslaved you…
the only real answer to sin is found at this table
His sacrifice, His blood, His body paid the price for your sin
His resurrection gives you power over sin
1 Cor 11…Communion
Friday, April 25, 2008
Last night's concert was Oh So Fun
RRAG & CLS families and youth attended the Newsboys Go Tour...a fabulous God-honoring time was had by all! My favorite moment was the incredible violinist from one of the opening bands. I'm going to attempt to share a video clip I took at the concert from youtube...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Women's Expo
Don't miss all the fun this Saturday 10am to 5pm!
I really love the vision Kat Luker has to put on an event that says to the community we're not just another uptight, "island unto ourselves" kind of church!
Christian Life School Presents
Don't Miss CLS Spring Program and Open House this Friday 10am & 7pm...
Celebration Service April 13, 2008
we continue a new sermon series entitled…
INTEGRITY: CREATING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES
Let’s develop healthy outlets for emotional energy
If you’re anything like me it’s easy for your cup to overflow
you take a step back and look at your life and suddenly realize your plate is too full
your stretched, over committed
It’s much better to do a few things well
to take good care of emotional energy
stress or boredom can lead to sin
because you’ll begin to look for escapes
I recently heard a teaching on the 7 fatal factors that lead to moral failure or burnout or things just falling apart…
1. egocentric
a leader who overserves and becomes undernourished is one who serves to feed their own ego
maybe it’s a search for significance
a search for validation
which really creates a false identity
being validated by what your doing instead of who you are in Jesus
Ephesians 4:11&12…And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…
Wherever you fit into this equation: pastor, teacher, saint
this kind of leadership is equipping empowering
it’s arrows out
not some hierarchy or power pyramid
not micromanaging
The Ephesians 4 leader isn’t egocentric
he/she empowers others
he/she isn’t looking to be the center
but pointing to Jesus and making it about us
Imsorry to inform you
But the world does not revolve around you
the world does not revolve around me
It’s not about Me
It’s about Him
It’s about US
2. poor life management
a fatal factor to creating healthy boundaries
a fatal factor to developing healthy outlets for emotional energy
is the inability to say NO
too many mtgs
too many emails
too many phone calls
too many….(you fill in the blank)
I’ve talked much about the spiritual disciplines
You want to talk about healthy outlets for emotional physical spiritual even sexual energy…
Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study, Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, Celebration…
I’ve mentioned my favorite book entitled the Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for ordinary people by John Ortberg many times…
He talks about the Practice of slowing…
You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry form your life
Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day
Meyer Friedman defines hurry sickness as…above all, a continuous struggle and unremitting attempt to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time, frequently in the face of opposition, real or imagined, from other persons…
Hurry will keep us consumed by the cares and riches and pleasures of life as Jesus put it, and prevent his way from taking root in our hearts…
Jesus urged his disciples to take time out.
If we want to follow someone, we can’t go faster than the one who is leading.
Jesus observed a regular practice of withdrawing form activity for the sake of solitude and prayer.
Hurry is not just a disordered schedule. Hurry is a disordered heart.
Sometime ago a newspaper in Tacoma, Washington, carried the story of Tattoo the basset hound. Tattoo didn’t intend to go for an evening run, but when his owner shut his leash in the car door and took off for a drive, tattoo had no choice. A motorcycle officer named Terry Filbert noticed a passing vehicle with something that appeared to be dragging behind it. As he passed the vehicle, he saw Tattoo. Officer Filbert finally chased the car to a stop, and Tattoo was rescued – but not before the dog reached a speed of twenty to thirty miles per hour and rolled over several times. He has not asked to go out for an evening walk for a long time.
There is too much Tattoo behavior going on in American society. There are too many people who spend their days going from one task to another. It is time to enter training for another way to live. We must ruthlessly eliminate hurry form our lives…
3. painful issues
this third fatal factor to integrity may be about our past our present
it may be compound issues causing deterioration
It’s easier to run than heal
but maybe not in the long run
Ignore Martha
Be a Mary and sit at Jesus feet awhile
give him your hurt
If you don’t know what I’m talking about check out Luke 10 for the story of Mary and Martha
Choose the better part
Take his yoke that is easy his burden that is light
choose forgiveness
choose hope
choose life
overcome evil with good
Let me share an email I got this week from Jaye
How To Plant Your Garden First, you Come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.... FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
1. Peace of mind 2. Peace of heart 3. Peace of soul
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH: 1. Squash gossip 2. Squash indifference 3. Squash grumbling 4. Squash selfishness
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE: 1. Lettuce be faithful 2. Lettuce be kind 3. Lettuce be patient 4. Lettuce really love one another
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:1. Turnip for meetings 2. Turnip for service 3. Turnip to help one another
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME: 1. Thyme for each other 2.. Thyme for family 3. Thyme for friends
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
4. sinful patterns
our fourth fatal factor is straight from scripture
sin is only fun for a season and than it births death
Isn’t it true that when your overwhelmed tired, out of balance
sin is most attractive?
We need to confess our sin and ask for that cleansing promised in 1 John 1:9
I don’t want to get weird on ya, but
there is such a thing as generational curses
there are patterns that develop in our lives
again we must confess and ask Him to be LORD over whatever situation we may be facing
and set out to overcome that evil with good
better yet create healthy boundaries to prevent the sinful patterns from developing
I’m not gonna get into the whole nature vs. nurture debate
This sermon series is really all about developing character
someone defined character as what we are like when no one is watching
it’s called so many things
Spiritual formation
Integrity
Moral value system
Holiness
Sanctification
Righteousness
Character includes values and attitudes
things like
being a servant
showing humility
showing grace and love to others
possessing endurance
living a holy life
demonstrating devotion and faithfulness
having a hunger for God
possessing a positive attitude
being full of hope and faith
living a life accountable to others
Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf once said leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy…
Thomas Pains once said Character is much easier kept than recovered…
We must get back to fleeing even the appearance of evil
We play with sin way too much…
especially with what we allow on our TV
Oh it doesn’t affect me, hogwash
Pastor Rick Warren established ten standards for maintaining moral integrity for his staff at Saddleback Community Church…
1. Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home.
2. Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone in the office.
3. Thou shalt not cousel the opposite sex more than once without that other person’s mate. Refer them.
4. Thou shalt not go to luch alone with the opposite sex.
5. Thou shalt not kiss an attendee of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned.
6. Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling. Refer them.
7. Thou shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attendee of the opposite sex.
8. Thou shalt be careful in answering cards and letters from the opposite sex.
9. Thou shalt make your secretary your protective ally.
10.Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other staff members.
The truth is in our society you must also be careful of same sex issues…
There are those among us who think this is over the top
uptight
but I would rather be uptight with integrity
than under a mountain of questionable character
Let me get thru the final fatal factors…
5. Disconnection in relationships
6. no real accountability
7. isolation in thinking, arrogance
These factors cannot be ignored
they are danger signs
isolation, excuses and breaking out against all sound judgment
Proverbs 18:1…a man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment…
I recently heard a surprising statistic
I don’t know how accurate it is
but it was said that 1500 pastors are dropping out of the ministry monthly due to conflict and moral failure
I don’t want to be a statistic
I don’t want you to be a statistic in whatever God is calling you to do
The greatest protection, the greatest healthy outlet, the greatest boundary for developing integrity and character in todays rat race is the three R’s
Reflection, Review, Refocus
monthly, weekly, even daily
take inventory of your heart
ask for accountability
plan replenishment stations on your calendar
plan vacations, workouts, devotions
schedule health
Sometimes I feel like I’m dragging myself around from one appointment to the next
I would much rather have energy, say no and do a few things well
reflect review refocus
Never consider myself above temptation
Keep a close watch on my spiritual temperature
Maintain my home
develop healthy outlets for emotional energy
Let my Jesus create integrity in me
anybody with me?
INTEGRITY: CREATING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES
Let’s develop healthy outlets for emotional energy
If you’re anything like me it’s easy for your cup to overflow
you take a step back and look at your life and suddenly realize your plate is too full
your stretched, over committed
It’s much better to do a few things well
to take good care of emotional energy
stress or boredom can lead to sin
because you’ll begin to look for escapes
I recently heard a teaching on the 7 fatal factors that lead to moral failure or burnout or things just falling apart…
1. egocentric
a leader who overserves and becomes undernourished is one who serves to feed their own ego
maybe it’s a search for significance
a search for validation
which really creates a false identity
being validated by what your doing instead of who you are in Jesus
Ephesians 4:11&12…And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…
Wherever you fit into this equation: pastor, teacher, saint
this kind of leadership is equipping empowering
it’s arrows out
not some hierarchy or power pyramid
not micromanaging
The Ephesians 4 leader isn’t egocentric
he/she empowers others
he/she isn’t looking to be the center
but pointing to Jesus and making it about us
Imsorry to inform you
But the world does not revolve around you
the world does not revolve around me
It’s not about Me
It’s about Him
It’s about US
2. poor life management
a fatal factor to creating healthy boundaries
a fatal factor to developing healthy outlets for emotional energy
is the inability to say NO
too many mtgs
too many emails
too many phone calls
too many….(you fill in the blank)
I’ve talked much about the spiritual disciplines
You want to talk about healthy outlets for emotional physical spiritual even sexual energy…
Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study, Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, Celebration…
I’ve mentioned my favorite book entitled the Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for ordinary people by John Ortberg many times…
He talks about the Practice of slowing…
You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry form your life
Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day
Meyer Friedman defines hurry sickness as…above all, a continuous struggle and unremitting attempt to accomplish or achieve more and more things or participate in more and more events in less and less time, frequently in the face of opposition, real or imagined, from other persons…
Hurry will keep us consumed by the cares and riches and pleasures of life as Jesus put it, and prevent his way from taking root in our hearts…
Jesus urged his disciples to take time out.
If we want to follow someone, we can’t go faster than the one who is leading.
Jesus observed a regular practice of withdrawing form activity for the sake of solitude and prayer.
Hurry is not just a disordered schedule. Hurry is a disordered heart.
Sometime ago a newspaper in Tacoma, Washington, carried the story of Tattoo the basset hound. Tattoo didn’t intend to go for an evening run, but when his owner shut his leash in the car door and took off for a drive, tattoo had no choice. A motorcycle officer named Terry Filbert noticed a passing vehicle with something that appeared to be dragging behind it. As he passed the vehicle, he saw Tattoo. Officer Filbert finally chased the car to a stop, and Tattoo was rescued – but not before the dog reached a speed of twenty to thirty miles per hour and rolled over several times. He has not asked to go out for an evening walk for a long time.
There is too much Tattoo behavior going on in American society. There are too many people who spend their days going from one task to another. It is time to enter training for another way to live. We must ruthlessly eliminate hurry form our lives…
3. painful issues
this third fatal factor to integrity may be about our past our present
it may be compound issues causing deterioration
It’s easier to run than heal
but maybe not in the long run
Ignore Martha
Be a Mary and sit at Jesus feet awhile
give him your hurt
If you don’t know what I’m talking about check out Luke 10 for the story of Mary and Martha
Choose the better part
Take his yoke that is easy his burden that is light
choose forgiveness
choose hope
choose life
overcome evil with good
Let me share an email I got this week from Jaye
How To Plant Your Garden First, you Come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.... FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING,
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
1. Peace of mind 2. Peace of heart 3. Peace of soul
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH: 1. Squash gossip 2. Squash indifference 3. Squash grumbling 4. Squash selfishness
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE: 1. Lettuce be faithful 2. Lettuce be kind 3. Lettuce be patient 4. Lettuce really love one another
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:1. Turnip for meetings 2. Turnip for service 3. Turnip to help one another
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME: 1. Thyme for each other 2.. Thyme for family 3. Thyme for friends
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
4. sinful patterns
our fourth fatal factor is straight from scripture
sin is only fun for a season and than it births death
Isn’t it true that when your overwhelmed tired, out of balance
sin is most attractive?
We need to confess our sin and ask for that cleansing promised in 1 John 1:9
I don’t want to get weird on ya, but
there is such a thing as generational curses
there are patterns that develop in our lives
again we must confess and ask Him to be LORD over whatever situation we may be facing
and set out to overcome that evil with good
better yet create healthy boundaries to prevent the sinful patterns from developing
I’m not gonna get into the whole nature vs. nurture debate
This sermon series is really all about developing character
someone defined character as what we are like when no one is watching
it’s called so many things
Spiritual formation
Integrity
Moral value system
Holiness
Sanctification
Righteousness
Character includes values and attitudes
things like
being a servant
showing humility
showing grace and love to others
possessing endurance
living a holy life
demonstrating devotion and faithfulness
having a hunger for God
possessing a positive attitude
being full of hope and faith
living a life accountable to others
Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf once said leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy…
Thomas Pains once said Character is much easier kept than recovered…
We must get back to fleeing even the appearance of evil
We play with sin way too much…
especially with what we allow on our TV
Oh it doesn’t affect me, hogwash
Pastor Rick Warren established ten standards for maintaining moral integrity for his staff at Saddleback Community Church…
1. Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home.
2. Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone in the office.
3. Thou shalt not cousel the opposite sex more than once without that other person’s mate. Refer them.
4. Thou shalt not go to luch alone with the opposite sex.
5. Thou shalt not kiss an attendee of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned.
6. Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling. Refer them.
7. Thou shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attendee of the opposite sex.
8. Thou shalt be careful in answering cards and letters from the opposite sex.
9. Thou shalt make your secretary your protective ally.
10.Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other staff members.
The truth is in our society you must also be careful of same sex issues…
There are those among us who think this is over the top
uptight
but I would rather be uptight with integrity
than under a mountain of questionable character
Let me get thru the final fatal factors…
5. Disconnection in relationships
6. no real accountability
7. isolation in thinking, arrogance
These factors cannot be ignored
they are danger signs
isolation, excuses and breaking out against all sound judgment
Proverbs 18:1…a man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment…
I recently heard a surprising statistic
I don’t know how accurate it is
but it was said that 1500 pastors are dropping out of the ministry monthly due to conflict and moral failure
I don’t want to be a statistic
I don’t want you to be a statistic in whatever God is calling you to do
The greatest protection, the greatest healthy outlet, the greatest boundary for developing integrity and character in todays rat race is the three R’s
Reflection, Review, Refocus
monthly, weekly, even daily
take inventory of your heart
ask for accountability
plan replenishment stations on your calendar
plan vacations, workouts, devotions
schedule health
Sometimes I feel like I’m dragging myself around from one appointment to the next
I would much rather have energy, say no and do a few things well
reflect review refocus
Never consider myself above temptation
Keep a close watch on my spiritual temperature
Maintain my home
develop healthy outlets for emotional energy
Let my Jesus create integrity in me
anybody with me?
Thursday, April 10, 2008
April 13 Bulletin & Celebrating Life
Remember all you have to do is click on the scanned item to enlarge it, for reading purposes... We postponed the Homebuilders workshop for Don's Celebration of life...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Maintaining Your Home
Sermon Notes from last Sunday's Celebration Service...
One day mother was out and dad was in charge. Someone had given the little 2 year old a little 'tea set' as a gift. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news and brother was playing nearby, and here comes the little one bringing Daddy a cup of 'tea', which was just water.
After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, Mom came home. Dad made her wait in the living room to watch the little one bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!!' Mom waited, and sure enough, here comes the little one down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy. Mom watches him drink it up, then says,
'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet??'
we continue a new sermon series entitled…
INTEGRITY: CREATING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES
first we were reminded to
NEVER CONSIDER OURSELVES ABOVE TEMPTATION
We reveled in
JAMES 1
Then our focus was
Keep a close watch on your spiritual temperature
we reveled in Luke 8
took seven steps to self-control
took a purity pledge
This week
Let’s maintain our homes
In God’s Divine Order
Family comes before the church
Satan knows this and has done a wonderful job targeting the home, it’s a mess…
I recently came across some teaching by Ray and Marlene Pritchard...They have three family rules...
1. always tell the truth
2. always take care of your family
3. always do your best every single day
Isn’t that simple yet profound...
Many of us need to wake up to a simple truth
It’s a different world
Families in the 40s grew up with world war II and frank Sinatra
Families in the 50s grew up with black and white television and Elvis Presley
Families in the 60s grew up with Vietnam, violence in the streets and the Beatles
Families in the 70s grew up with disco and Charlies Angels
Families in the 80s grew up with cocaine, aids, Nintendo and Nightmere on Elm Street
Families in the 90s grew up with the simpsons, Monica Lewinsky, and Nirvana
Families of the 21st century are growing up with 9/11, ipods, American idol, south park, gay marriage, gratuitous violence gratuitous sex
It’s a different world
Psalm 127
Children are a heritage from God
a way of preserving the family into the next generation
The city gate was the place where men of power and influence conducted their business
If someone was falsely accused by adversaries at the gate
Children would stand and testify to their parents good name
God’s blessing is not on power or money or position
God’s blessing is not seen in worldly wealth or the accumulation of things but in a happy family that rallies to the call in time of trouble...
I am not speaking against a career or working hard
But giving a plea for balanced priorities and recapturing the highest value, the value of home and family and a commitment to a healthy marriage
Children, parents, marriage, home it’s both a burden and a blessing
Where are the really great families in the bible?
the families whose children followed God and were obedient
where are the perfect marriages
Abraham?
Jacob?
Noah?
Moses?
Eli?
There are no perfect homes in the bible
doesn’t that give you much hope
no matter where you’ve been what you’ve done
You can begin again today
Today is a new beginning a new commitment to maintaining your home for the Glory of God
Children learn more through imitation than lectures
Hames Baldwin had it right when he said…Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them…
and David Bly said…Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be…
Maybe you’ve heard it said that home is where life makes up its mind…
Sometimes parents forget how powerful our seemingly small actions can be…
I ran across this poem called… When you thought I wasn’t looking…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I knew that little thing are special things…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a god that I could always talk to…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight, and I felt loved…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it’s all right to cry…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I looked and wanted to say thanks for all the thing I saw When you thought I wasn’t looking…
God is a better parent than we are
Let Him take over the rearing of your children and grandchildren
Somebody needs this breakthrough today
maybe your totally frustrated with your kid’s situation
Listen to the Lord say
You have got to love this child and let me be the parent. I’m a much better parent than you are. Let me take over…
There’s a certain point, especially when your children leave your home, when you need to be freed up to love and stop trying to change your child…
The greatest parenting happens on your knees
Then there’s a whole new ball game of dealing with a prodigal child
Your greatest resource is ofcourse the amazing grace and forgiveness found in Jesus’ parable
But here are three verses that will help you in praying for the prodigals
Proverbs 4:23…Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life…
Proverbs 21:1…The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes…
Ephesians 1:18…I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…
We cannot compel the prodigal sons and daughters obedience because we cannot compel their hearts. But we can pray and cry out to God and say LORD OPEN THE EYES OF HIS/HER HEART SO THAT SHE/HE CAN SEE JESUS!
The first change needs to happen in us.
We musn’t become bitter, offended, angry, hardened toward any prodigal
the smallest offense kept in our hearts is a foothold for satan
the change we seek in others must start in our heart first
Do you have a child, or a grandchild far from the Lord, any family member
Don’t give up
keep on praying
Keep believing
you never know what God will do
LORD OPEN THE EYES OF HIS/HER HEART SO THAT SHE/HE CAN SEE JESUS!
There is so much to maintaining the home
so much to creating healthy boundaries
a home filled with integrity has to start with a good marriage
I will try not to get up on a soapbox about divorce
cause I know there is a lot of hurt in this room from families torn apart… abuse, neglect, pain
But that musn’t stop me from preaching marriage
It’s God’s idea
truth is, our world’s poor handling of the marriage bed
or complete disregard for commitment all together
has created such mess
the family unit is broken
Many marriages today suffer from a treatable disorder
It’s called M.A.D.
Minor Annoyance Disorder
The drip drip drip of marital conflict can cause permanent damage if not dealt with
Remember that marriage is the very close union of two sinners, a man and a woman who are still far from perfect. Even though we are new creations in Christ, we aren’t perfected yet. and most of us aren’t even close!
Where two sinners live together, you are bound to have friction…
Try thanking God for the things that irritate you. God uses that friction for a purpose. you must need it or God wouldn’t allow it…
Pick your battles carefully…not every hill is worth dying on…
Some things are never going to change.
Give God time to work things out…
You can’t change another person’s heart…
Remember that marriage is one of God’s major tools for your sanctification.
Don’t be a grievance-keeper
Ask God to give you amnesia about some things…
When you are wrong, admit it
Ask God to help you become a speedy forgiver
Truth is, some seemingly good marriages end in divorce because sometimes small problems ignored get bigger
Here’s three Bible verses that will change your marriage
And don’t check out on me if you’re not married cause this stuff applies to every relationship
Ephesians 4:29…Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers…
The greek construction of this vers is a bit unusual
The verse opens with a greek word that means all, each every
the word meaning no occurs later in the verse
that give a particular emphasis to these words
every critical comment that comes out of your mouth NO
every filthy word that come out of your mouth NO
every harsh word that comes out of your mouth NO
every cheap shot that comes out of your mouth NO
Every bit of gossip NO
remember Proverbs 18:21 the tongue has the power of life and death
stop cursing your home by the words that protrude out of your face
speak words that build up instead of tear down
speak words that minister grace
all the time in ever circumstance
every word all good all grace all the time
and the third verse is 1 Peter 4:8…Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins…
Here’s a simple interpretation of that verse
BE QUICK TO FORGIVE THE STUPID THINGS PEOPLE DO
the word deeply might be better translated fervently
it means stretched-out love
It’s what happens when your child does wrong and you stretch out your arms to embrace them anyway
Every time someone wrongs me I have two choices. I can deal with it, forgive it, cover it and move one, or I can drag that person through the mud and in hatred stir up all kinds of dissension. love refuses to wash its dirty laundry in public
Love handles it privately, it goes out of its way to treat it discreetly…it is exactly the opposite of hatred that exposes weakness and humiliates someone else. Love deals with sin publicly only as a last resort!
First there is love, then there is forgiveness, then there is silence. Love has a short memory and sealed lips. We need to hear this word because others will indeed fail us a multitude of times…
LOVE isn’t surprised when close friends fail, isn’t surprised when promises aren’t kept, isn’t surprised when others write unkind letters and isn’t surprised when we are criticized unfairly
Fervent love expects others to fail, expects to be hurt and expects to be used unfairly…
IT GOES ON LOVING ANYWAY…
Don’t let things build up between you and others
Don’t let the sun go down while you are angry Ephesians 4:26 says and 27 explains why so as to not give the devil a foothold
Thank God for what he has given you
instead of focusing on what you don’t have
Take time to praise those God has placed around you
look hard for things to praise instead of criticize
Remember we’re in a marathon not a sprint
Pace yourself
Maintaining your home is one day at a time
Creating healthy boundaries is one day at a time
Integrity is one day at a time
Leaning on Jesus, practicing His word
One day mother was out and dad was in charge. Someone had given the little 2 year old a little 'tea set' as a gift. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news and brother was playing nearby, and here comes the little one bringing Daddy a cup of 'tea', which was just water.
After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, Mom came home. Dad made her wait in the living room to watch the little one bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!!' Mom waited, and sure enough, here comes the little one down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy. Mom watches him drink it up, then says,
'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet??'
we continue a new sermon series entitled…
INTEGRITY: CREATING HEALTHY BOUNDARIES
first we were reminded to
NEVER CONSIDER OURSELVES ABOVE TEMPTATION
We reveled in
JAMES 1
Then our focus was
Keep a close watch on your spiritual temperature
we reveled in Luke 8
took seven steps to self-control
took a purity pledge
This week
Let’s maintain our homes
In God’s Divine Order
Family comes before the church
Satan knows this and has done a wonderful job targeting the home, it’s a mess…
I recently came across some teaching by Ray and Marlene Pritchard...They have three family rules...
1. always tell the truth
2. always take care of your family
3. always do your best every single day
Isn’t that simple yet profound...
Many of us need to wake up to a simple truth
It’s a different world
Families in the 40s grew up with world war II and frank Sinatra
Families in the 50s grew up with black and white television and Elvis Presley
Families in the 60s grew up with Vietnam, violence in the streets and the Beatles
Families in the 70s grew up with disco and Charlies Angels
Families in the 80s grew up with cocaine, aids, Nintendo and Nightmere on Elm Street
Families in the 90s grew up with the simpsons, Monica Lewinsky, and Nirvana
Families of the 21st century are growing up with 9/11, ipods, American idol, south park, gay marriage, gratuitous violence gratuitous sex
It’s a different world
Psalm 127
Children are a heritage from God
a way of preserving the family into the next generation
The city gate was the place where men of power and influence conducted their business
If someone was falsely accused by adversaries at the gate
Children would stand and testify to their parents good name
God’s blessing is not on power or money or position
God’s blessing is not seen in worldly wealth or the accumulation of things but in a happy family that rallies to the call in time of trouble...
I am not speaking against a career or working hard
But giving a plea for balanced priorities and recapturing the highest value, the value of home and family and a commitment to a healthy marriage
Children, parents, marriage, home it’s both a burden and a blessing
Where are the really great families in the bible?
the families whose children followed God and were obedient
where are the perfect marriages
Abraham?
Jacob?
Noah?
Moses?
Eli?
There are no perfect homes in the bible
doesn’t that give you much hope
no matter where you’ve been what you’ve done
You can begin again today
Today is a new beginning a new commitment to maintaining your home for the Glory of God
Children learn more through imitation than lectures
Hames Baldwin had it right when he said…Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them…
and David Bly said…Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be…
Maybe you’ve heard it said that home is where life makes up its mind…
Sometimes parents forget how powerful our seemingly small actions can be…
I ran across this poem called… When you thought I wasn’t looking…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I knew that little thing are special things…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a god that I could always talk to…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight, and I felt loved…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it’s all right to cry…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be…
When you thought I wasn’t looking, I looked and wanted to say thanks for all the thing I saw When you thought I wasn’t looking…
God is a better parent than we are
Let Him take over the rearing of your children and grandchildren
Somebody needs this breakthrough today
maybe your totally frustrated with your kid’s situation
Listen to the Lord say
You have got to love this child and let me be the parent. I’m a much better parent than you are. Let me take over…
There’s a certain point, especially when your children leave your home, when you need to be freed up to love and stop trying to change your child…
The greatest parenting happens on your knees
Then there’s a whole new ball game of dealing with a prodigal child
Your greatest resource is ofcourse the amazing grace and forgiveness found in Jesus’ parable
But here are three verses that will help you in praying for the prodigals
Proverbs 4:23…Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life…
Proverbs 21:1…The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes…
Ephesians 1:18…I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…
We cannot compel the prodigal sons and daughters obedience because we cannot compel their hearts. But we can pray and cry out to God and say LORD OPEN THE EYES OF HIS/HER HEART SO THAT SHE/HE CAN SEE JESUS!
The first change needs to happen in us.
We musn’t become bitter, offended, angry, hardened toward any prodigal
the smallest offense kept in our hearts is a foothold for satan
the change we seek in others must start in our heart first
Do you have a child, or a grandchild far from the Lord, any family member
Don’t give up
keep on praying
Keep believing
you never know what God will do
LORD OPEN THE EYES OF HIS/HER HEART SO THAT SHE/HE CAN SEE JESUS!
There is so much to maintaining the home
so much to creating healthy boundaries
a home filled with integrity has to start with a good marriage
I will try not to get up on a soapbox about divorce
cause I know there is a lot of hurt in this room from families torn apart… abuse, neglect, pain
But that musn’t stop me from preaching marriage
It’s God’s idea
truth is, our world’s poor handling of the marriage bed
or complete disregard for commitment all together
has created such mess
the family unit is broken
Many marriages today suffer from a treatable disorder
It’s called M.A.D.
Minor Annoyance Disorder
The drip drip drip of marital conflict can cause permanent damage if not dealt with
Remember that marriage is the very close union of two sinners, a man and a woman who are still far from perfect. Even though we are new creations in Christ, we aren’t perfected yet. and most of us aren’t even close!
Where two sinners live together, you are bound to have friction…
Try thanking God for the things that irritate you. God uses that friction for a purpose. you must need it or God wouldn’t allow it…
Pick your battles carefully…not every hill is worth dying on…
Some things are never going to change.
Give God time to work things out…
You can’t change another person’s heart…
Remember that marriage is one of God’s major tools for your sanctification.
Don’t be a grievance-keeper
Ask God to give you amnesia about some things…
When you are wrong, admit it
Ask God to help you become a speedy forgiver
Truth is, some seemingly good marriages end in divorce because sometimes small problems ignored get bigger
Here’s three Bible verses that will change your marriage
And don’t check out on me if you’re not married cause this stuff applies to every relationship
Ephesians 4:29…Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers…
The greek construction of this vers is a bit unusual
The verse opens with a greek word that means all, each every
the word meaning no occurs later in the verse
that give a particular emphasis to these words
every critical comment that comes out of your mouth NO
every filthy word that come out of your mouth NO
every harsh word that comes out of your mouth NO
every cheap shot that comes out of your mouth NO
Every bit of gossip NO
remember Proverbs 18:21 the tongue has the power of life and death
stop cursing your home by the words that protrude out of your face
speak words that build up instead of tear down
speak words that minister grace
all the time in ever circumstance
every word all good all grace all the time
and the third verse is 1 Peter 4:8…Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins…
Here’s a simple interpretation of that verse
BE QUICK TO FORGIVE THE STUPID THINGS PEOPLE DO
the word deeply might be better translated fervently
it means stretched-out love
It’s what happens when your child does wrong and you stretch out your arms to embrace them anyway
Every time someone wrongs me I have two choices. I can deal with it, forgive it, cover it and move one, or I can drag that person through the mud and in hatred stir up all kinds of dissension. love refuses to wash its dirty laundry in public
Love handles it privately, it goes out of its way to treat it discreetly…it is exactly the opposite of hatred that exposes weakness and humiliates someone else. Love deals with sin publicly only as a last resort!
First there is love, then there is forgiveness, then there is silence. Love has a short memory and sealed lips. We need to hear this word because others will indeed fail us a multitude of times…
LOVE isn’t surprised when close friends fail, isn’t surprised when promises aren’t kept, isn’t surprised when others write unkind letters and isn’t surprised when we are criticized unfairly
Fervent love expects others to fail, expects to be hurt and expects to be used unfairly…
IT GOES ON LOVING ANYWAY…
Don’t let things build up between you and others
Don’t let the sun go down while you are angry Ephesians 4:26 says and 27 explains why so as to not give the devil a foothold
Thank God for what he has given you
instead of focusing on what you don’t have
Take time to praise those God has placed around you
look hard for things to praise instead of criticize
Remember we’re in a marathon not a sprint
Pace yourself
Maintaining your home is one day at a time
Creating healthy boundaries is one day at a time
Integrity is one day at a time
Leaning on Jesus, practicing His word
Monday, April 7, 2008
Uth Award Ceremony
We finished our discipleship program in the youth ministry...
I awarded the students who completed the entire 10 week course with cross necklaces in the service yesterday morning...
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Scan Happy
I've been struggling with severe cold and flu symptoms, thank you for your prayers...
I thought I would scan in my notes from last Sunday's message...
Remember you can click on the image to make it bigger, so you can read it...
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