scripture
Isaiah 40:28-29
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
quote
Remember that every person is fighting a battle.
Unknown
scripture
Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
quote
Merit earned love isn’t really love.
thoughts
The focus on right theology has overshadowed the need for right orthopraxy. Many Christians today can explain passages of scripture very intelligently but few can explain how it should be lived. What good is right theology if our lives do not reflect its content?
scripture
Psalm 34:14
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
quote
A stone thrown into a pond creates waves which are practically imperceptible before they reach the shore. A shout thrown into the air re-echoes for a few moments, then dies away forever. But the life of Jesus, sacrificially thrown into the lives of His disciples, kindled there a new life that has never died away.
Walter Horton
thoughts
Christians have a message. That message is that Jesus is the remedy for the ills of this earthly life. This is the greatest news ever to be shared and we need to share it! People are dying, fading away in the abuse of this life. Hopelessness, fear, worry, and hate are digging deeper because we lack the “whatever” to speak up. I must, you must, we must speak the truth into this decaying, dying world. The question therefore is how to engage the world and then for those ideas to become action. Let’s focus on developing a real orthoproxy.
Subject: 8 min audio clip worth millions
It's refreshing to hear this message over and over again!
As Spurgeon said: "People are being helped to live by being reminded that they must die"
Dan
scripture
Titus 2:11-12
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.
quote
Superficial happiness without spiritual holiness is one of hell's major exports.
Unknown
scripture
Proverbs 27
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.
17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
quote
By friendship you mean the greatest love, the greatest usefulness, the most open communication, the noblest sufferings, the severest truth, the heartiest counsel, and the greatest union of minds of which brave men and women are capable.
Jeremy Taylor
scripture
2 Samuel 6:14-15
David, wearing a linen ephod danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
What’s an ephod?
It is a Hebrew word which can mean either a piece of clothing like a skirt that went from the waist to the knee or a garment like a vest or a jacket that only the priests wore.
The Message translation says it this way, “David, ceremonially dressed in priest's linen, danced with great abandon before God.”
lyrics
song: David
artist: Spoken
Oh God let your spirit fall on me,
Your perfect peace comes down and amazes me,
It’s like a dream or a vision inside of me,
Your perfect peace comes down and amazes me,
Oh God I want to dance like David,
Every time I fall on my face,
I dream of a place so far away,
Don’t want to hide my face for another day,
Everything I do, I want to do it for you,
Unlike the others who have fallin' and slipped away,
They’ve slipped away, move swiftly now, don't fall behind
scripture
Romans 5:9-11
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
lyrics
I am sorry for the wasted time
For leaving you behind
I fall on my knees and I cry
My God, I am sorry
For every wasted day
I’ll give it all away
For you to keep me in your will
- Day in the Sun
scripture
Luke 3:11
John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.”
thought
If you have two of something then one of those things does not belong to you.
- Pastor Jeff Gowling
illustration
An itinerate preacher was visiting the country. He saw farmer tending his field. He approached the old man and asked, “Sir, do you know Jesus Christ? Are you saved?” The old man stopped his work and leaned against his plow. He thought for a moment. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and pencil. After scribbling on it he handed it to the preacher. The preacher took a look and saw that the old man had listed three names and three addresses. The old man smiled and said, “I could tell you but go ask my neighbors.”
Being a Christian is not simply the knowledge of God or the ability to recite theology but it must be evident in our lives. If someone asked your neighbors if you were a Christian, what would they say?
scripture
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
quote
The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.
Saint Augustine
illustration
