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We've been studying money management God's way - and it's not about miracles or just having more faith - it's about living a disciplined life God's way - and God will bless THAT. But how can I really change? How do I learn to be disciplined. Well, too often we have to learn the hard way. It's a crucible we often have to melt into before the dross can be burned away. The Israelites are a lesson to us in this regard and we can learn a lot from them. Find out what we can learn about real change as we study Exodus Chapter 20, vs. 18 - 20 in a message called "The Crucible". You don't want to miss it.
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America and western modern society is the richest culture in the history of the world - but most of us are not even aware of it. It's difficult to keep a Godly perspective when the bills need to be paid, the pressure is on and the kids need new state of the art ipods. Well, 1 Timothy 6:17 - 19 has a lot to say to us rich folks - oh, did you think this verse doesn't apply to you because you don't have a trust fund and a Rolls? Surprise - if you're eating three squares a day with a roof over your head you're richer than 1/2 the people on this planet. Giving helps us gain this perspective and helps us remember our real purpose in life. Come on out and find out what it REALLY means to be a giver.
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My apologies for not having blogged since Dec. 2 - if SOMEBODY would comment it might be a tad more motivational (hint, hint)
This coming Sunday we continue our study of Biblical Principles concerning money. It's a touchy subject but about half of Jesus teachings were about money, possissions or greed. The Bible has more than 2,000 references to money and Solomon was one smart guy considering he took in 12 metric tons of gold into his personal treasurery every year - I'll bet he had a few things to say about money.
This week we're learning how to "Object to Debt". We'll be studying 2 Kings 4: 1 - 7 and what we find there may surprise you. It isn't about miracles, words of faith or just believing while denying the reality all around you - instead it's about stewardship and God IS interested in blessing our Stewardship. Come on out and find out why!
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It's one thing to study how much we need to express love to our wives or respect husbands - it's quite another thing to learn HOW to communicate love or respect. The truth is we all Stumble with our words, we don't have the Power within ourselves to keep control, our mouths just seem to want to Escape all the time, we obviously need to be constantly Aware of this tendency and somehow manage to Keep a lid on our emotions while we're doing it. Well, that acronym, S.P.E.A.K., was a study we did back in the spring of this year while looking at James chapter 3 - its something we need to remember. This Sunday we come to the "S" in CHERISH and that stands for Speak Well. We've got to learn and apply "gud comunikashun skils" to have a really healthy marriage so come on out to hear "Speak Well - why we've got two ears but only one mouth; James Ch. 3". This is part 4 in our Reading the Red series studying John 13:34 and applying it to marriage. See ya' Sunday at 10.
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We all must learn to crawl before we walk, and after walking we can learn to run. So it is with investing in our most significant relationship next to our relationship with God Himself - our marriages. We must learn to invest in this relationship and our first task in investment is learning how to ADD. That's right - two and two make four. You can't properly invest without learning to ADD but in our marriages these letters stand for ASK, DEMONSTRATE and DO. Come on out this Sunday as we continue to learn how to CHERISH our mate in a message called "Reading the Red: learning how to Cherish our mate. "I" is for "invest". John 13:34." See ya' Sunday at 10 a.m. and don't forget to invite a friend.
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In Genesis Chapter 2 we discovered the unique nature of our creation but we also learned that the primary human relationship next to our relationship with God himself must be our marriages. If you're married - you need to learn how to have a great marriage. If you're single but want to be married - you need to learn how to have a great marriage. If you're single and don't want to get married - you still need to know how to have a great marriage so you can relate to the other gender in a way the glorifies God. Anyway you look at it - we need the tools from the Bible so we can flourish or we'll be unable, or unwilling, to fulfill God's command to us to "love one another, even as I have loved you" that we find when Reading the Red in John 13:34. So come on out this week and learn how to C.H.E.R.I.S.H. your spouse as we continue with "Reading the Red: Your marriage (part 2): John 13:34 and Ephesians 5:21" See ya' there.
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We are commanded to love one another so we must learn to love our marriage partners, our children, our parents, our friends...and our enemies. By THIS we can be known as followers of Jesus. Come on out this Sunday as we dive into John Chapter 13, verse 34 - 35 as we continue in the series "Reading the Red: What Jesus had to say about life, the universe...and everything". The title of this section of the Red series is A New Command....for marriage. This Sunday we will begin to see what it means to love one another in a marriage. To do this we must learn to C.H.E.R.I.S.H. each other - find out what each letter means in the coming weeks as we continue to "Read the Red".
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We can only live for so long without food -and so often we take it for granted that we eat every day. But, of course, Mommy's everywhere have tried to convince us that eating what's "good for you" is more important that what's fun. Just consuming junk food is going to take its toll on the body and eating spiritual junkfood is even worse. Real food - that's the subject of this weeks study in the "Reading the Red" series. Come join us as we take a first part look at John 4: 31 - 38. Eat up!
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Salt is a good thing: it can bring out the best in your food, make broccoli edible and does wonders for sore throats. But salt without flavor is just grit. Come on out and find out the difference as we look at Matthew 5: 13 - 14 in a message called "Salt and Light". See ya Sunday.
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So far we've discovered that denying decency to any human being, especially under cover of religion, show us to be false - even if our religion is, in fact, the truth. We've also learned that God is no respecter of person, that He will always directly call sin: sin, but we found out there is a difference between conviction and condemnation. This week we take a look at how the Samaritan woman responded to God in her life. This is the model of how we ought to respond to God as well. Join me as we discover what it means to worship in spirit and in truth with "Reading the Red: A Study in Scarlet, Part 3. John 4: 19 - 26.
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No matter what the evidence, no matter what the experience - a hardened heart will not respond to God. But no matter the past, no matter the damage - a softened heart will be drawn to God's healing touch like a magnet. The woman at the well is a story that can show us how God softens a heart and how we need to continually keep ourselves responsive to God's leading in our lives. Join us this Sunday for "Reading the Red: A Study in Scarlet, Part 2. John 4: 13 - 26.
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I'll be continuing the Reading the Red series this coming Sunday with "A study in Scarlet, Part 1". In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a book called "The Scarlet Letter" and I couldn't help recall that story when I read about the Samartian Woman in John Chapter 4. But Jesus had a very different approach to a wayward woman than did the Puritan's in Hawthorne's fiction. To this day, people caught up in a lifestyle they know is contrary to God's way are fearful that Christians will treat them in the same cruel fashion as Hawthorne's characters. But Jesus did something different - come out on Sunday and find out all about it with "A Study in Scarlet, Part 1.
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