11 posts tagged “church”

The church we are attending has seats instead of pews. I went in about halfway and sat down beside an older man. On the other side of him was an older woman, so I assumed they were a couple. After the song service we all sat down and I noticed that the man had sat in the woman's seat instead of his. She didn't know he was there and sat down right on his lap. She immediately jumped up and so did he. He scrambled back to his seat, apologizing profusely. I just watched, slightly amused. After a few moments he leaned over to me and whispered, "I meet more women that way."  

I turned toward him with a look of astonishment on my face. He simply smiled. I don't know if it actually worked out for him, but after the service I did see him talking to her.      

This is one of my favorite hymns but, unfortunately, it isn't sung a lot any more. Nowadays hymns are "out of style". I know there are still a lot of churches that have hymn books, but quite a few churches are going to big screens and praise songs. Although I like the praise songs, I like the hymns too.

What has happened in our modern world is that churches are getting away from singing about "sin" and "blood" because the words make people uncomfortable. It is believed by some that we should come to church and feel good, not hear words that might actually put us under conviction.

What a joke! The whole idea behind Christianity is that Christ died for our sins and that he shed his blood to do so. When a church takes that out of their teaching then they have become nothing more than a social club. What good is Christianity if if doesn't teach about the blood of Jesus?

Anyway, with that in mind, here are the words to THERE IS A FOUNTAIN. As you can see, William Cowper was not afraid to write about the blood.

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.

The following information is from cyberhymnal.com.  It tells the amazing story of what William Cowper went through before he wrote the hymn THERE IS A FOUNTAIN in the late 1700's. The story in itself is amazing and it is a reminder of how God can use even the worst times in our lives to bring about good. It's a little difficult to read because it uses words that are no longer part of our vocabulary, but it is well worth the read. You can go to the web site and read the words to the song, or wait until I post them tomorrow.   

"This is one of the first hymns Cow­per wrote af­ter his first at­tack of tem­po­ra­ry mad­ness. Cow­per had been prom­ised a post as Clerk of the Jour­nal to the House of Lords, but was dis­mayed up­on learn­ing he would have to un­der­go a pub­lic ex­am­in­a­tion in the House be­fore be­gin­ning his du­ties. The fol­low­ing ar­ti­cle from the North Amer­i­can Re­view, Jan­u­a­ry, 1834, de­scribes his di­lem­ma, and how God pre­vent­ed him from de­stroy­ing him­self:

As the time drew nigh, his agony became more and more in­tense; he hoped and be­lieved that mad­ness would come to relieve him; he attempted also to make up his mind to commit su­i­cide, though his conscience bore stern testimony against it; he could not by any argument per­suade himself that it was right, but this des­per­a­tion pre­vailed, and he pro­cured from an apothecary the means of self-destruction. On the day before his public appearance was to be made, he happened to notice a letter in the newspaper, which to his dis­or­dered mind seemed like a ma­lig­nant li­bel on himself. He im­med­i­ate­ly threw down the pa­per and rushed into the fields, de­ter­mined to die in a ditch, but the thought struck him that he might es­cape from the count­ry. With the same vi­o­lence he pro­ceed­ed to make hasty prep­ar­a­tions for his flight; but while he was en­gaged in pack­ing his port­man­teau his mind changed, and he threw him­self into a coach, or­der­ing the man to drive to the Tower wharf, in­tend­ing to throw him­self in­to the ri­ver, and not re­flect­ing that it would be im­poss­i­ble to ac­comp­lish his pur­pose in that pub­lic spot. On ap­proach­ing the wa­ter, he found a por­ter seated upon some goods: he then re­turned to the coach and was con­veyed to his lodg­ings at the Temple. On the way he at­tempt­ed to drink the laud­a­num, but as oft­en as he raised it, a con­vuls­ive agi­ta­tion of his frame pre­vent­ed it from reach­ing his lips; and thus, re­gret­ting the loss of the op­por­tun­i­ty, but un­a­ble to avail him­self of it, he ar­rived, half dead with an­guish, at his apart­ment. He then shut the doors and threw him­self upon the bed with the laud­a­num near him, try­ing to lash himself up to the deed; but a voice within seemed con­stant­ly to for­bid it, and as of­ten as he ex­tend­ed his hand to the poi­son, his fing­ers were con­tract­ed and held back by spasms.

At this time one of the in­mates of the place came in, but he con­cealed his ag­i­ta­tion, and as soon as he was left alone, a change came over him, and so de­test­a­ble did the deed ap­pear, that he threw away the laud­a­num and dashed the vial to pieces. The rest of the day was spent in heavy insensibility, and at night he slept as usual; but on waking at three in the morning, he took his penknife and lay with his weight upon it, the point toward his heart. It was brok­en and would not pen­e­trate. At day break he arose, and pas­sing a strong gar­ter around his neck, fast­ened it to the frame of his bed: this gave way with his weight, but on securing it to the door, he was more successful, and remained suspended till he had lost all consciousness of existence. After a time the garter broke and he fell to the floor, so that his life was saved.; but the conflict had been greater than his reason could endure. He felt for himself a contempt not to be expressed or imagined; whenever he went into the street, it seemed as if every eye flashed upon him with indignation and scorn; he felt as if he had offended God so deep­ly that his guilt could ne­ver be for­giv­en, and his whole heart was filled with tu­mult­u­ous pangs of despair. Mad­ness was not far off, or rather mad­ness was al­ready come.

Af­ter re­cov­er­ing, Cow­per came to real­ize how God can erase the stain of any sin."

A large group from our church is leaving for Ecuador today. It reminds me of when my family went to Ecuador in 2006. 

They will be staying at a place called Camp Chacauco near the town of Patate. The camp is such a nice place. There is an active volcano that looms in the distance called Tunguruaha, which literally means "throat of fire". The whole time we were there it rumbled and shot out smoke. In fact, only two weeks after we left, it erupted. 

We took some really incredible pictures while we were in Ecuador. Hopefully, later on today I can post some of them.  

Our church is having Vacation Bible School this week under the beach theme of Outrigger Island. My wife and I can help out in the Youth Department since it runs from 6-8:30 pm. We didn't do as much to help this year as we have done in year's past. We decorated the main room (I say we, but it was mostly my wife and her creative genius) and I am teaching the Thursday night lesson.

The lesson is from Jeremiah chapter 36 and I would dare say it is a story that most kids have never heard. It tells about how God instructed Jeremiah to write out his prophecies against Israel and Judah and then present them to the people in hopes that they would repent of their evil ways and return to God. This was done with the help of his scribe, Baruch.

There were some people who believed, but when the message was presented to King Jehoaikim, he took the scroll that the prophecy was written on, burned it and commanded his men to arrest Jeremiah and Baruch. However, Jeremiah and Baruch had been hidden away so they weren't arrested. Instead, God instructed Jeremiah to write everything down again, this time with words of judgment against the king.

I was having a hard time trying to figure out how to present this lesson and then I hit upon the idea of making it into a short play. After reading through it a couple of times, I came to the conclusion that I could break it down into four acts. Kids like to act things out and I think there are enough budding thespians in our youth group to help me out with this. I think the kids will have a good time with it and it will help me get the point across without having to talk for forty minutes.

ACT I

Jeremiah 36:1-4
God Inspired the Men Who Wrote It

CHARACTERS:
Narrator
God
Jeremiah
Baruch

(Jeremiah is kneeling on the stage in prayer, facing the right side of the stage. Baruch and God are off stage to the left).

NARRATOR: Josiah had been a good king. He took the throne when he was only eight years old and when he was 16, he turned to the one true God. He did a lot to reform the country and turn the people back to God. When he was about 26 years old, the book of the law was found by workmen cleaning out the temple. Josiah summoned the people together, read the law to them and entered into a renewal of the covenant with God. Years later, King Josiah was killed in battle. After his death, Josiah’s sons ruled over the kingdom, but they did not follow God’s ways. Our story takes place when Josiah’s son, Jehoiakim, was the king. It was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign that God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah.

GOD: (Enters and stands behind Jeremiah) Jeremiah!

JEREMIAH: (Continues to kneel, but looks up to heaven) Yes, Lord.

GOD: I want to you take a scroll and write down everything that I have spoken to you about Israel and Judah.

JEREMIAH: Do you want me to write down everything?

GOD: I want you to write down everything that I have told you from the time of Josiah until now. Maybe if the people hear the bad things that are going to happen to them, then they will turn from their evil ways and I will forgive them of their sins.

JEREMIAH: Yes Lord, I will do as you say. I will call someone to help me write it down. (God leaves the stage and Jeremiah stands up. Jeremiah turns to face the left side of the stage) Baruch, come here please!

BARUCH: (Baruch enters and the two men stand face to face) Yes, Jeremiah, what is it?

JEREMIAH: I need you to go with me to find a scroll and something to write with. I’m afraid we have a lot of work ahead of us.

BARUCH: Of course, what is going on?

The two men walk off stage, Jeremiah pretending to explain everything to Baruch with much excitement (making visible hand movements).

ACT II

Jeremiah 36:5-19
Some People Believe

CHARACTERS:

Narrator
Baruch
Maciah
Elishama
3-8 officials
Jehudi

(Baruch and Maciah are not on the stage, but are standing to the right of it. Maciah is in the very front row, sitting with the other VBS students. He is intently listening as Baruch stands in front of him, pretending to be speaking (using big arm and hand movements). All of the other characters are on the center of the stage, milling around, pretending to speak to one another).

Narrator: The story doesn’t pick up until the fifth year of Jehoiakim’s reign as king, so it obviously took quite a while to write down everything that God had told Jeremiah. When they were finally finished, Jeremiah instructed Baruch to take the scroll and read it in the temple. The Bible is not clear about why Jeremiah could not do this himself, but Baruch was obedient in completing his task. He entered the temple during a time that the people were fasting and read the words of God that had been passed down by Jeremiah.

BARUCH: … (Loudly) thus says the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah, “Turn from your evil ways!” (Baruch walks off and goes into the last classroom on the left, leaving Maciah sitting there).

MACIAH: (Stands up quickly and runs to the others who are on stage). Guys! Guys! Listen up! I just heard a message in the temple. The man who was speaking says that our country needs to repent of its evil ways and turn to God!

ELISHAMA: Who is this man? How do we know he isn’t some kind of a nut?

MACIAH: He’s not a nut. He is a scribe for the prophet Jeremiah. I think we should listen to what he has to say.

(Everyone gathers close together and quietly discusses what to do. After a few seconds, Elishama speaks up).

ELISHAMA : (Loudly) Jehudi, go and find this scribe and ask him to bring his scroll and read to us!

(Jehudi goes to the classroom and brings Baruch back with him).

BARUCH: What can I do for you gentlemen?

MACIAH: I was in the temple today when you read the scroll, but my friends were not. They were wondering if you would read it to them.

BARUCH: Of course I will.

(Maciah pretends to read out of the scroll as the narrator speaks).

NARRATOR: The men listening to Baruch were not just any men. In fact, they were scribes and officials from the king’s own court. As Baruch read to them, their hearts burned inside of their chests and they knew that they were hearing the truth. When the reading of the scroll was over…

BARUCH: … (Loudly) thus says the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah, “Turn from your evil ways!”

MACIAH: Tell us Baruch. How did you know what to write on this scroll?

BARUCH: God spoke to Jeremiah, and I wrote down everything that he told me to write.

MACIAH: Then we can be certain that it is the truth?

BARUCH: Yes!

ELISHAMA: We have to report these things to the king. He will want to know that his country is in danger. (Speaking directly to Baruch) I don’t know how the king will take this news. You and Jeremiah should both go into hiding until you hear that it is safe. Do you understand?

BARUCH: Yes, I will do as you say.

(Everyone walks off the stage quietly).

ACT III

Jeremiah 36:20-26
The King Rejects It

CHARACTERS:
Narrator
Jehoiakim
Jehudi
5-8 extras to sit around the king

(The king is sitting on a stool and everyone else is either standing or sitting on the floor around him. Jehudi is standing in front of the king, pretending to read the scroll. Leave room for the audience to see the king. You will need one of the tike torches to be lit).

NARRATOR: All of the men from the previous scene went to the king and told him of the scroll and how they thought it would be a good idea for him to hear its words. The king was willing to hear what was written on the scroll and called out for Jehudi to get it and read it to him. He had only read part of the scroll when the king spoke to Jehudi…

JEHOIAKIM: (In an authoritative voice) Give me the scroll Jehudi.

(Jehudi gives the scroll to the king, bowing his head in reverence as the king removes it from his hands).

JEHOIAKIM: I cannot listen to this! (The king tears off two or three pages and pretends to burn them over the tiki torch).

JEHUDI: I plead with you O King, do not burn the scroll. The words came from Almighty God himself.

JEHOIAKIM: I am not afraid of God and I do not believe what is written on this scroll. This is clearly a plan to take my country from me.

(The king puts the whole scroll over the fire and pretends to burn the whole thing. Everyone that is around him claps as they watch it burn. Finally, everything quiets down and the king speaks again…)

JEHOIAKIM: (Points at the people surrounding him) I want Baruch and Jeremiah captured and thrown in prison! They will not be allowed to get away with this.

(Everyone, except for the king and Jehudi, runs off stage making loud noises and hand movements as they go to search for Baruch and Jeremiah. After they are gone, Jehudi walks off stage quietly, shaking his head. After that, Jehoiakim places his hands behind his back and walks off stage with a big smile on his face).

ACT IV

Jeremiah 36:27-32
Nothing Can Destroy God’s Word
CHARACTERS:
God
Jeremiah
Baruch

(Jeremiah is kneeling on the stage in prayer, facing the right side of the stage. Baruch and God are off stage to the left).

GOD: (Enters and stands behind Jeremiah) Jeremiah!

JEREMIAH: (Continues to kneel, but looks up to heaven) Yes, Lord.

GOD: I want to you take another scroll and write down everything that I have spoken to you about Israel and Judah.

JEREMIAH: You mean… you want me to… to write it again Lord?

GOD: Yes, but this time I want you to add something else. I want you to write this: “King Jehoiakim, you burned the first scroll and did not take heed to the words that were on it. Because of this, you will have no one to sit on the throne and your dead body will be cast out in the heat of the day and the frost of the night.” Also, let him know that I will punish him and his descendants and his servants for their sins because they did not listen. Do you understand Jeremiah?

JEREMIAH: Yes Lord, I will do as you say. I will call Baruch to help me again. (God leaves the stage and Jeremiah stands up. Jeremiah turns to face the left side of the stage) Baruch, come here please!

BARUCH: (Baruch enters and the two men stand face to face) Yes, Jeremiah, what is it?

JEREMIAH: I need you to go with me to find a scroll and something to write with. I’m afraid we have to start all over again.

BARUCH: (Loudly, and with a look of disbelief) What! What are you talking about? It took us almost a year the first time.

JEREMIAH: I know, and this time it might even take longer.

(The two men walk off stage, Jeremiah pretending to explain everything to Baruch with much excitement (making visible hand movements). Baruch shakes his head and throws his hands in the air).

In July, my wife, son and five other people from our church are going on trip to Romania with a group called International World Changers. I am not going myself, but I am helping my wife get everything together.

To go on this trip, the group is required to perform a local mission activity, so we did ours today. A local flea market donated a booth to us and we set up three different stations: face painting, balloon animals and blood pressure checks. We also brought along flyers to promote our Vacation Bible School which starts on June 9^th. 

The Team

Everyone has an evangelism puzzle box called an EVANGECUBE and our goal was to get as much practice with it as possible. A lot of people stopped by our booth and every person on our team had the opportunity to share the Gospel a number of times. Not only that, they got to practice making balloon animals and face painting as well; something that they might get to do when they are in Romania.

My son using the Evangecube

It was great to see the team working together and sharing the love of Christ. What is sad is that people in the United States are far less receptive than anyone I ever met on one of my mission trips overseas. When you take God’s Word to other countries there is a hunger there that isn’t in our own country. What is it going to take to change that? 

I wrote the following message back in May of 2005 and got the opportunity to deliver it to a local church. I wish that I could say all has been great for me spiritually since then, but it has definitely been a bumpy road. I want to share it now because I believe there are a lot of Christians who have "crashed down" and haven't quite been able to pull themselves back up. We live in a world that kicks us when we are down and it is especially true for the Christian. 

INTRODUCTION

I was on a spiritual high when I was stationed in Valdosta, Georgia with the U.S Air Force. I was in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church and my relationship with Christ was at a peak. In 1998, I got out of the Air Force and moved my family back to Florida. My spiritual life flourished for a while and I actually got the opportunity to help start a new church, filling in as interim pastor for almost a year. But in the year 2002, I came crashing down from the top in a hard way. Almost overnight my relationship with God seemed to become a thing of the past. As a result, my spiritual life fell to an all time low. I am ashamed to admit it, but there were times that I didn’t want to go to church at all. If it wasn’t for my wife and children I probably would have left the church completely. I fell under a dark cloud of spiritual depression that I just couldn’t seem to get out from under. I started doubting God and his direction in my life. I even questioned if God had anything to do with the direction of my life. In a nutshell, I was miserable.

It has taken a long time, but the wounds have finally started to heal. I feel as if I am making my way back up the mountain, be it ever so slowly. I firmly believe that God allowed me to crash to the bottom so that I can take what I have learned and not only apply it to my own life, but share it with others as well. He has shown me that there are multitudes of people who know Jesus, yet have fallen away because of something that happened to make them grow angry, bitter or even depressed. In most cases, they know their relationship with God is suffering, but the pain runs so deep that they can’t even make themselves care.

How about you? Do you fall into this category? Do you feel as if God has deserted you and left you to fend for yourself in a cruel world? Does your heart ache so much that you wonder if the pain will ever stop? Then please listen to this message and allow God to heal your broken spirit.

I.                    WHAT CAUSES US TO CRASH TO THE BOTTOM? (this is not an exhaustive list)

A.     Getting hurt by the actions of others.

1.      Betrayal – Nothing cuts deeper than being betrayed by a friend. Unfortunately, it happens all too often between Christians and non-Christians alike. 

2.      Lies – Sometimes it comes from a friend, sometimes it comes from an unknown source. Wherever it begins, when someone tells a lie about us it hurts. What makes it worse is when those we know and love hear it and believe it. In my own life, this is what sent me on a downward spiral.

3.      Hypocrisy – Who hasn’t heard the old expression about too many hypocrites being in the church? For some people, watching church members willingly commit sin and then file in on Sunday to worship God is too much to handle. Even long time Christians sometimes find it difficult to cope with the hypocrisy that permeates the church of today.

4.      Church Politics

i.                     Preaching – It’s easy to pick apart a pastor and the way he preaches or leads the church. To some, it becomes a favorite pastime. To others, it is a reason to leave the church and never come back.

ii.                   Music – This is probably one of the most controversial subjects in the church today, and a medium that Satan uses to hurt and injure Christians on a weekly basis.   

B.     Getting hurt by the actions of God.  Is it sacrilegious to say that we have been hurt by the actions of God? It certainly sounds like something we shouldn’t allow to come from our lips, but it still happens nonetheless. A lot of times people blame God when bad things happen to them. A prime example would be the hurricanes or other natural disasters. But I’m not only talking about natural disasters. Christians sometimes have an extremely hard time when God doesn’t answer their plea for help during times of distress. It’s definitely a true statement that we can get our feelings hurt when God doesn’t do what we think he should have done. The following is a list of seemingly unanswered prayers that can turn a person’s life inside out (this is not an exhaustive list).

1.      The death of a loved one.

2.      The diagnosis of a life threatening disease.

3.      Unbearable physical suffering.

4.      Wayward children.

C.     Getting hurt by the actions of ourselves.

1.      Sin – sometimes our pain is self inflicted.

i.                     Open sin.

ii.                   Secret sin.

D.     Other actions that hurt us.

1.      Divorce.

2.      Mental, physical or sexual abuse.

3.      Church split.

4.      Financial distress.

I.                 WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF THE FALL? (This is not an exhaustive list)

A.     The desire to read the Bible and pray is hard to find or doesn’t exist.

B.     Going to church becomes a chore, slows down dramatically or ceases completely.

C.     There is no yearning to be around other Christians.

D.     Compassion towards others begins to fade away.

E.      Old sins start to creep back in.

III.               WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET BACK TO THE TOP?

I wish I could lay out a simple plan that would make getting back to the top as easy as turning on a light switch. The truth of the matter is that even though getting to the bottom can be very sudden; finally getting back to the top of the mountain can take weeks, months, or even sometimes years. What we have to do is learn to look at our current situation through the eyes of God. We have to keep our eyes and hearts focused on him and his Word and trust him to help us out. At the same time we should rest assured in the fact that he understands what we are going through.

A.     Recognize that falls are inevitable – 1 Peter 1:6

1.      “Though now for a season” – God tells us here that there are some tough times coming. But he reassures us that they are only for a season. He doesn’t expect us to stay there for the rest of our lives. But how long is a season? I think that depends on the person and how they handle their circumstances. In order to move on we have to be willing to deal with some of our own feelings:

i.                     Bitterness

ii.                   Hate

iii.                  Forgiveness

·        We must forgive others

·         We must believe that God will forgive us

2.      “If need be” – God will allow us to go through hard times if he sees a need for it.

3.      “Ye are in heaviness” – It is OK to be in heaviness or to feel down about something. Some Christians think that they have to be jolly and happy all the time. That’s just not true. This entire verse teaches us that we just might end up in heaviness. The best part about it is that it will only be for a “season”.

B.     Don’t be surprised when the fall comes– 1 Peter 4:12

God says that we shouldn’t think it as some strange thing when adversity finds us. A lot of people don’t like to hear it, but there is a reason for the suffering that takes place in our lives.

ILLUSTRATION

The U.S. Navy has a Special Forces team called the SEALS. It takes a lot to become part of this elite group. One of the many physical challenges that SEALS in training must complete is called “surf torture”.  It all stems from the fact that a frogman must be intimately familiar with the water. During training the student is wet and sandy for most of the six months. Even the classroom sessions include a trip or two to the surf zone to facilitate an alert posture during the class. Periodically, the instructors include a little cold water conditioning in the training schedule. Basically the entire class must wade into the surf zone to their waist line and then sit down with arms linked. The whole time they are there the waves crash into them, hence the term “surf torture”.  The water coming in from the Pacific never gets above 68 degrees during summer months and 58 degrees during winter. Soon the biting cold sucks out all of the body's warmth and the entire class shivers in unison as the waves crash over their heads. The plan calls for submersion to the brink of hypothermia, then the trainees get pulled out for some calisthenics to warm up - then back in the surf for more conditioning. The training session lasts for about an hour. It's been proven to be a very successful way to teach prospective SEALS how to mentally fend off the effects of hypothermia.

I’m quite sure the trainees don’t enjoy the surf torture and all of the physical agony that comes along with it. However, recognizing the onset of hypothermia and knowing how the body reacts under such extreme conditions may one day be the difference between life and death. That is exactly what God is doing with us. By putting us through his own version of “surf torture”, he is preparing us for something that may come along in the future. We might not like what we are going through, but there will come a day when we will have to take what we have learned and apply it to our lives or the life of someone else.

C.     Allow God to take the lead – 1 Peter 5:10

Too often we try to figure out a way to get out of our current situation; by doing so we fail to allow God to work it out. If you are under spiritual depression today, if you hurt so deeply that you wonder if you have any feelings left, then please stop trying to do it your way and allow God to work in your life.

The first part of this verse reminds us again that we don’t have to stay on this road forever. It says, “After that ye have suffered a while”. But God doesn’t just leave us hanging from the gallows with no hope of rescue. He continues on by telling us what he will do for us.

1.      GOD PREPARES US. He will “make you perfect”.  This literally means that he will “make you what you ought to be”. Isn’t it comforting to know that even when God is shaping us into what he wants us to be that he is still holding us in his loving hands?

2.      GOD HELPS US STAND OUR GROUND. He will “establish” you. Roman soldiers used to have spikes on the back of their boots so they could literally dig in their heels and stand their ground during battle. If we allow him to, God will help us dig in for battle and stand our ground when difficulties arise.

3.      GOD STRENGTHENS US. He will “strengthen” you. The Greek word, sthenoo, is only found in this verse and it means “to strengthen”. There just isn’t any other way to say it.

4.      GOD PUTS US ON A FIRM FOUNDATION. He will “settle” you. This means he will “put you on a firm foundation”. There is no stronger foundation than Jesus Christ and when we stand on him we know that we are standing on solid ground. 

CONCLUSION

Are you tired of feeling like a dark cloud is over your head?

Do you long to feel the way you used to feel about your relationship with God?

Are you willing to forgive and allow God to work in your life?

Are you willing to accept forgiveness from God?

Are you willing to stop trying to figure things out and let God take control?  

If so, you are ready to allow God to:

PREPARE YOU

HELP YOU STAND YOUR GROUND

STRENGTHEN YOU

PUT YOU ON A FIRM FOUNDATION

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.  Psalm 51:17

Living Lovingly
March 16, 2008

PURPOSE OF IT
To teach the class about God’s love for us and encourage them to show this kind of love to those they come in contact with.

OPEN IT
ASK: What means more to you, when someone says that they love you or when someone shows you that they love you? Can you give me some examples of how those who love you have shown it to you? 

GET INTO IT
READ: John 3:16

EXPLAIN: God sent his only son to earth to die on the cross so that we could have eternal life in heaven. This is the depth of God’s love for us. The fact that he would do such a thing at all proves that he loves us more than we can ever know. 

READ: 1 John 3:16-20

EXPLAIN: God sacrificed his only son so that we could have eternal life and we are supposed to show this kind of love to those around us. There have been some who have sacrificed their own lives, but this isn’t something that God calls most people to do. However, loving other people does require some kind of sacrifice.

ASK: What is taking place in verse 17? God tells us that someone who has the good of this world and has no compassion on his brother who is without does not have the love of God in him. Can you think of any examples of this?

EXPLAIN: Verse 18 says that we should not love in word, but in deed. God wants us to show our love for other people in ways that are tangible and noticeable, not so we can bring glory upon ourselves or beat our chests so everyone else can see us, but because he knows true love is shown by action, not just words.          

READ: 1 John 4:15-21

EXPLAIN/ASK: Verse 15 tells us that whosoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God has become part of the family of God.  Because of that, we are expected to love. Often, it is fear that keeps us from reaching out to others in love. But what does it say about fear in verse 18? There is no fear in love; because perfect love casts out fear. In other words, as Christians, we shouldn’t have fear about loving others.

ASK: There are certain people that are easier to love than others. Can you give any examples?

ASK: How can we overcome our fear to serve certain people?

EXPLAIN: One way to overcome fear is to think about where you are today because of God’s love for you. Where were you without his love? What path of destruction were you traveling down? At one time, were you unlovable and unapproachable? Who was it that had the courage to break through the barrier and reach out to you? How do you feel about that person now? Where would you be today if they had written you off because they were too afraid to show you God’s love?

READ: 1 John 5:2-5
 
EXPLAIN/ASK: God’s Word teaches us that if we love him then we will keep his commandments. How can we keep his commandments? By studying his Word and living our life according to what the Bible teaches us.

EXPLAIN/ASK: Verse 4 tells us that anyone who is born of God is capable of overcoming the world through our faith in Jesus Christ. Why is it important to overcome the world? Because the worldly view on life is self-centered and does not teach the kind of love that God is talking about.
 
APPLY IT
The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was the ultimate display of love. God may not call us to sacrifice our life for others in this way, but he does want us to be sacrificial in showing our love to those around us. It is only when we show someone that we genuinely care that they can see the love of Christ in us. This week, look for an opportunity to show your love to someone who does not know Christ.

Over the years, I have written down quotes from pastors and others in the leaf of my Bible. I used that Bible for ten years and managed to use all of the empty pages until finally switching to a different Bible. I just wanted to share some of the quotes that I wrote down.

"Son, why don't you use your brain for something other than keeping your spine from unraveling." Pastor Wayne Roberston

"God is absolutely sovereign and man is absolutely responsible." Raymond Cates, Sunday School Teacher

"Success is certain when the Lord has promised it." Charles Haddon Spurgeon, famous preacher from the 1800's

"God does not operate in the realm of possibility." Pastor Ronnie Walker

"Preach the Word and get out of the way." Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Seminary

"Providence is a priveledge" and "Being weak in the flesh is not an excuse to sin." Evangelist Sam Cathey

"The fires of retribution may not always come in the afterlife." William "Mac" McClellan, coworker

"Genuine leaders are always servants." Ron Gaynor

"The best of men are still men at best." Dr. Donald Whitney  

There are many more, but I will end with my favorite from Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He spoke these words at Morningside Baptist Church in Valdosta, Georgia on July 20, 1998, during the South Georgia Bible Conference. I purchased the tapes and listened to this sermon over and over again. It is rather long, but it is awesome. The sermon was on holiness:

"What is God's holiness? It is his moral majesty. It is what separates the creator from the creation. It is God in his purity; in him there is no shadow of turning at all. His holiness is a testimony to his separation as creator from his creation. He is not like us! We are finite; he is infinite. We are temporal; he is eternal. We are sinners; he is pure. We are weak; he is strong, omnipotent, omniscient, glorious. All of the attributes, communicable and incommunicable, of God, these are involved in his holiness because holiness is the essence of who he is."