Category Archives: Worship

Truth: The Danger of Grace Giving

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There is a danger to grace giving.  Grace giving is a response from a grateful heart to the Lord for all He is and all He has done.  It is a person who recognizes the things on earth do not matter compared to the spiritual issues of life and gives the first portion of what he earns not because he has to, because he wants to with a cheerful heart. Continue reading →

Blessings: God owns our days

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Blessings: God owns our days

A week ago I had the privilege to minister to a dear member of our church in the hospital.  I just kneel  by the bed (as long as my knees hold out or unless there is a handy chair) and listen to the person who might be struggling or suffering.  I have known this dear sister for twenty years.  She lost her husband a year and a half ago and I know she has missed him greatly.  She is ready to move north to be close to one of her children, but this sped up the process. Now she is already north until her unit opens up in the home close by to her daughter.

While I was at the hospital, I remembered a waitress who had tended to the same table at the same restaurant for the last ten years. The men always went there for breakfast after Men’s Prayer.  She had not been at Cracker Barrel very much in the last year as she had battled cancer in her lungs.  The week before one of the other waitresses informed me the cancer had spread to her bones and she was struggling.  Fortunately, I remembered her and I went to see her. 

Some of her family was present and she looked pretty well.  I spoke with her husband for twenty minutes in the hallway and found out he was a spiritual man wanting to lead his family.  As we went in to see her, I read from Psalm 91 and spoke of God as a strong refuge.  He would protect.  We needed to trust Him.

The next Thursday, right after prayer meeting, we went over to Cracker Barrel and one of the other waitresses lit up.  She was so excited to see us, but I could immediately tell something was wrong.  I asked, “Is she okay?”  Shesaid, “She died Sunday afternoon at two o’clock.”  We hugged and she asked that I be ready to do a memorial service. 

As I ate breakfast that day, I could only think of the great Psalm 90 Moses wrote. Moses wrote, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Ps. 90:12) Friends are you ready to see your Creator.  None of us knows how many days we have.  Some will have a warning through a lingering disease, but many of us may see our last view of earth on the way home.  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, what He did for you on the cross and you will be saved.  Ask if you have any questions about salvation.

A Sound Mind

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It’s hard to express how good it was to be with you in church ministering God’s Word yesterday.  It seemed every eye was engaged and responsive in spirit.  I’m looking forward to what God’s Spirit is going to do in the future through His Word.

As you meditate on the passage from Sunday and bring forth fruits of application, consider the concept of fear.  We all have fears.  That’s why it’s addressed in each of the four “announcements.”  Even when people say they don’t have fear, you can tell they often do by relationships they avoid. 

The question is what we do with our fears.  I quoted from 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  Spirit here is used as the human spirit endowed by the Holy Spirit.  In other words, God gives us a spirit of power, because of His Holy Spirit.  God gives a spirit of love, because of His Holy Spirit.  And God gives a spirit of sound mind, because of His Holy Spirit.  Meditate on each of those and you’ll have victory over fear.
 I especially like that last word “sound mind,” which is used only here in the New Testament. The word means “a regulated life demanded before God.”  That’s why it is translated, “self-control,” “self-discipline,” and “discipline” in other versions.  If God gives that way of thinking, then why is it so many are living a life that does not seem to be that way?  I’m interested in your thoughts.
Let me encourage those who have families with children that could sing with the children for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services to bring your children Wednesday night and then to our services this weekend.  That’s spiritual leadership in the family and orients your children to worship God in church.  Looking forward to worshipping God with you!