Thursday, June 24, 2010

Sunday's Message

The title for this Sunday's message is "A Just, Punishing, and Marvelous God!"  The message will be developed out of those three words (or derivatives of) from 2 Thess 1.  Many people do not like to think of God as "punishing," but that is exactly what 2 thess. 1:8 says..."He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus."  And the reason that He will "punish" the unbeliever is because He is a "just" God... a God of "justice." 

In all of our understanding of God as a God of grace and mercy, we forget (or choose to ignore) that He is also a God of justice.  I hope to see you Sunday as we explore this biblical assertion about God. 

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Horsefly

The Bible says that the devil is like a roaring lion roaming the earth and trying to devour people. The Bible also says that he can masquerade as an angel of light and look like one of the good guys. And if you believe the story in Genesis (and I do) he can also take the form of a snake.

But I like the analogy that the devil is like a horsefly.  While Patty and I were getting in our daily run last Monday morning around 6, we were both having to swat horseflies off our heads and backs!  How annoying!  We tried to outrun them but we couldn't...we moved to the other side of the road and that didn't help.  Finally, after one stung me, he left me alone and I was able to finish my run with a whelp on my arm...ouch!( I needed some of my mawmaws Garrett Snuff juice!)

The devil does the same thing to me as I go about my daily tasks...swarming around me; trying to bite me; making me change directions; and just generally making my life miserable. According to the Bible, the way to deal with the devil who is making himself as annoying as a horsefly is to:

1. Flee from him...stop giving him  a place in your environment.
2. Talk back to him with Scripture...that's what Jesus did when the devil made a horsefly out of himself in Mt 4.
3.And if you get bit by the devil and give in to his lies, then confess your sin and start over. 1Jn 1:9

Watch out for the horseflies this week and Patty and I will see you Sunday!

Sunday School News for June 27

*We are having our last lesson on the Love Dare Bible Study this Sunday.  The lesson will be a summary of all 8 weeks.  I hope that you can make it!!  I have certainly been missing some of you!

*No Sunday School on July 4th!!  We have a church-wide fellowship that morning so bring a covered dish and join us for the choir celebration of Jesus!

*On Sunday, July 11, we begin a new study in SS.  The title of the study is Radical written by David Platt.  It will be a study that will challenge us in our walks with Jesus.  See you Sunday!!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Praying for Your Spouse

Hey Guys! In Sunday School tomorrow (June 13), we are going to be talking about how to pray for your spouse...Hope all of you can make it!....*Bro. Jerry

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Water Heater

Early Monday morning, my wife said, "we don't have any hot water!" I immediately thought that we had run out of propane so I ran outside and checked the gauge....20%!  That wasn't the problem.

Then I thought, "Maybe the pilot light went out?" So I climbed the stairs, went into the attic, and looked at the water heater...sure enough, no blue flame.

Now, the dilemma...do I call one of the men in the church to come light my pilot, or do I attempt to do so myself?  I had heard stories of exploding water heaters and was a bit timid about attempting such a simple task...I am NOT a handy man!!  For example, I took the back off the toilet and pulled the plug myself for a month because I didn't know how to attach the chain to the lever!  (Just kidding...I'm not that stupid)  

After considering all the things that could go wrong, and the fact that I had not had my shower yet, I reluctantly struck the match and successfully got our hot water back!! I didn't blow up the house or catch the insulation on fire! Mission accomplished!

Not many of us "spiritual handy-mans." When something goes wrong in our lives, oftentimes we don't know whether to try to fix the problem ourselves or call someone else for help. Personally, I think that it depends on the problem.  Some problems can be fixed on our own with a little more prayer, bible study, or encouragement.  On the flip side, some problems require assistance from someone trained in that area. For example, I may be able to light a pilot, but I certainly could not install a water heater!  Along the same line, you may be able to handle a day or two of melancholy, but you are certainly not equipped to diagnosis depression...that's when you need some help.

If I can ever be that "someone" that you need to help you thru a time of difficulty, don't hesitate to call. And heck, if you need to have the pilot to your water heater lit, I can do that too!


Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Perfect Game

I got home from church last night in time to watch the last three innings of the Indians/Tigers baseball game.  Since I listen to Sports Radio on the way home from church, I knew that the pitcher for the Tigers had pitched 7 innings of no hit, no runs, no errors, and no walks baseball....thus, "A Perfect Game" thru 7 innings.

To make a long story short, the game stayed "perfect" for almost 9 innings...in fact, there was only one more out to go until the game would go into the record book as the 20th Perfect Game ever pitched (and the third of 2010).  BUT, this is where the problem comes in; on an infield grounder that would have ended the game, the umpire called the runner "Safe" instead of "Out."  Which would have been fine had he been out...BUT,  he was "Safe," and the video-replay proved it.  A Perfect Game down the tubes and a pitcher's dream dashed due to a missed call.

But to me, this was a Perfect Game in the Eyes of God because Christian principles were employed after the busted call....the pitcher was gracious and compassionate when he said about the umpire, "Nobody's perfect." And the umpire was sincerely humble when he apologized and said, "I just cost that kid a Perfect Game."  The qualities of compassion and humility were demonstrated by the offender as well as the offend-ed.  Two qualities that I preached on a couple of Sundays ago in a message entitled, "How to Forgive Like Jesus." (Col. 3:12-14)

Here are some lessons we can learn from that Perfect Game:
1. Nobody's perfect...not even you.
2. All of us have blown it at times...even you.
3. Compassion and grace needs to be practiced by more Christians...and that includes all of us!


See you Sunday!!


Sunday School June 6

Hey guys!  Patty and I are looking forward to being back in Sunday School with you this Sunday, June 6.  We will be studying "Covenant Marriage" from our Love Dare Bible Study!...*Bro Jerry