Sunday Service 5/25/2025

Good Monday morning all,

I am working from home today as I have a dentist appointment midmorning.  I also have an orthodontics appointment midmorning next Monday.  I am hoping that we can get all this metal out of my mouth in the next week!

Thank you for a Sunday off to watch our granddaughter Lucy wrap up her volleyball season.  Her team went 2-0 on the day winning both matches 2-1.  And we were able to take our youngest granddaughter to church with us on Sunday.  When we arrived at their house, Posey, they youngest grand, was at a birthday party.  When my daughter pulled into the drive way, she said Posey asked her if she thought Oma and Opa were going to church on Sunday because she wanted to go. Yeah!  We found out she already had a “fit” laid out for Sunday morning.  For those of you not dealing with the younger generation, “fit” is an outfit!  And without knowing it for sure, she matched up pretty good with me in my jeans and boots.

I also want to thank you for the time away at the Church Leaders Conference in Dallas.  There are always great takeaways from this gathering.  As I sat through the general sessions and some breakouts my mind was grinding away.  The theme was “Undivided.”  We live in a culture where we are divided by so much but the church should be united in two things:  Jesus and mission.  If we are “all in” on Jesus and his great commission, there should be little to stop the church.  After all, Jesus told Peter and the disciples that he would build his church and “not even the gates of hell would prevail against it.”  What if we – as a church family – were “all in?”

This coming Sunday I want to go back to Saul’s conversion after going “all in” on Jesus.  What did it cost him?  What did he give up? The one thing we can say about Saul is that he wasn’t a “cultural Christian.”  Cultural Christians identify as followers of Christ but do so primarily because of cultural heritage rather than a personal or committed faith in Christ. Mom or grandma were committed followers like Timothy’s!  More men seem to be cultural Christians than women.  Cultural Christians see holidays like Christmas and Easter more as social events than a time to reflect on faith.  Another defining characteristic of cultural Christians is their moral compass, which frequently stems from Christian principles even when the individuals do not hold a substantial commitment to the faith.  Their alignment with these moral principles, however, can sometimes be selective, depending on cultural times and personal beliefs.  In other words, they pick and choose from God’s Word which teachings they want to follow depending on how it affects them and their preferences.  Jesus never said deny self and follow me only when it is convenient or when it is profitable for you.  No, we are told to deny self daily…daily!

This coming Sunday I want to take a look at going “all in” on Jesus like Saul did. Join us if you dare!  Going to be hard to hear but sometimes hard is good for us.

P.R.

Hey all,

A little later than usual getting this to you this week.  Monday was a travel day to Dallas and today was day one of the conference.  And a good day it was!

This past Sunday we talked about spiritual maturity being a process, a process that is lifelong. We will not be all that we are created to be until we stand in the presence of Jesus one day but we all need to continue to “grow in wisdom and in favor with God and all the people.”

How do we grow spiritually? No matter our age, we need to continue to study – not just read – the Bible. While we might read the Bible in a year are we really digging in and understanding?  Do you check different translations to see how they read?  Do you have any commentaries to see what other scholars think the passage means?  How about checking the Hebrew and Greek words being used?  Both of those languages are much richer than English.  Take the commandment “Thou shalt not kill (Deut. 5:17)” for example.  Do you know there are seven different Hebrew words for kill? And don’t forget the word “love” that we have talked about as in love the Lord or love your neighbor or your enemy?  I know of four different Greek words for love. These varying words can easily change the meaning or the intent of a passage.  Try journaling and keeping a notebook of what you have read, what it means to you and how you can apply the lessons to your life,

Prayer is our means of communication.  Do you have an active prayer life?  Do you take the bulletin home and pray for any of those listed on the prayer requests again during the week? Do you pray for others first and then your needs?  This morning we began our conference with prayer…lots of prayer.  We covered a few passages of scripture and then prayed for its application in our lives or in the lives of our churches.  Then we dug into a few more verses and prayed again.  At the end of the day, how do you think we ended it?  That’s right in prayer…people on their knees, people at the platform, people in the hallways all praying.

We must all be in community as well. There are over 3000 church leaders from around the world here.  Sherry and I had lunch this afternoon with a young lady who is the creative director in her church in Lubbock.  Lubbock isn’t a foreign country but it is far enough away it could be.  We talked to people from Springfield, MO and saw people from Florida and even our old congregants from FBC Augusta. All of us in one place for the purpose of being in community with likeminded people – people striving to be better at their ministries.

What are you doing to grow spiritually and in wisdom?  It should be purposeful and done with intention.  There is always something new to learn, new prayers to be said, and new people to meet and learn from.  Don’t shy away from it or think you are too old to learn…as long as your living, you should be learning.

Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.  Abigail Adams

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.  Albert Einstein

P.R.