New Sermon Series

Hello! As I told you on Sunday I love to use exclamation points!!!

I wanted to write and let you know that I am feeling some leadership to do three part sermon series in January. The first sermon would be on Heaven. The second sermon would be on Hell. And the last sermon would be on the second coming of Christ.

I don't have a catchy title for the series yet but I wanted to get some feedback from you. I would like to know if you have any questions about any of these topics that you would like to see addressed in the sermon series? Any feedback you can give would be helpful and appreciated.

I hope you will take the time to post a comment so I can get your feedback.

Have an awesome week!

Will

Frustrated by Faith?

Frustrated by Faith??
James 4:1-10

Recently I have had a couple of conversations with people who have told me that they are giving up on Christianity because “it just doesn’t work for them.” These conversations have left me thinking about their plight and I have wondered what advice I could give them.

I have to be honest and tell you that there are times when I feel like it is not working for me either. Times when I feel like my prayers aren’t heard, and even times when I feel like my life is void of God’s power. It certainly can be frustrating and perhaps all of us who are believers can identify with someone who feels like things are not working in their Christian walk.

What I have discovered is that most of the time when I feel this it is not God’s fault. The times when I have felt this way the most have been because of something in me. I have realized that it has not been God’s fault but rather it has been my fault. The main reason for my frustration has been that I have approached Christianity from the wrong direction. Here is what I mean. Too many times I think people are trying to use Christianity. They profess faith because they are looking for something. Perhaps they are looking for a better job, a healthier marriage, perhaps just simple happiness. These are good things and I believe that God does desires that we be happy. But we have to remember that following Christ is not simply about us. So therefore if our motives are wrong then how can we expect to live a fulfilling Christian life? How can we expect to have a vibrant prayer life and feel God’s power in our lives, especially if are professed commitment to God is motivated by self interest?

Here is a checklist that we can use to evaluate our commitment to Christ. And I believe this checklist can be a healthy tool for helping us to keep ourselves in check, so that we can feel the blessings of a close and intimate walk with Christ.

1.Acknowledge God’s proper place. James says, "Humble yourselves before God." This is saying, "I'm not the center of the universe, God. You are. It's not about me, it's about you."

2. Acknowledge Satan’s proper place. James says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." If you resist the devil — the Greek word means literally oppose or stand up to — he will eventually give up and go away. The devil comes at you in the form of temptation, telling you that you deserve better than this, that you deserve to have nice things, that people don't appreciate you, that you should get more recognition, and on and on. When those ideas find their way into your consciousness, make sure you oppose them. Stand against them. Resist them.

3. Take a step toward God.. "Draw close to God and he will draw close to you."

4. Do some house cleaning. "Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites." James is speaking bluntly here, using words like "sinners" and "hypocrites" because he intends to be taken seriously. In drawing close to God, you will have to eliminate some things from your life.

5. Don’t Just Go Through the Motions. "Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy." James isn't saying that this should be our emotional state permanently, but he is saying that we should approach repentance with deep sincerity.
We need to recognize how our sinful, self-serving, self-seeking attitudes have wreaked havoc in our lives and how they have separated us from the presence of God.

I hope this checklist might be a blessing to some. And perhaps if you have been frustrated lately these suggestions might help you to get back on track.

Blessings!

Will

Maintaining a Thankful Heart!

Sir John Templeton, the billionaire investor, was once asked what is the secret of wealth? He said, "Gratitude. If you're not grateful, you're not rich—no matter how much you have." The flip side of that is, "If you're grateful, you are rich—no matter how little you have."

You see, we have a tendency to rate our lives on a scale of comparison with others—and we compare ourselves with those whose lives appear to be richer, fuller, and more exciting than ours. Many times we feel short changed—we wonder why others have it so much better than we do. Of course, that's distorted thinking. But I want you to realize that having a thankful heart is not about comparing yourself to others, it's about recognizing and acknowledging what God has done in your life.

Today we're going to take a look at a psalm of thanksgiving: Psalm 16. In these few verses David reminds us of some things we can all be thankful for; if we concentrate on them, they'll help us develop and maintain a thankful heart.

1. Acknowledge that God is the source of all the good things in your life

David said...
(v. 2) I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

The book of James says...Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights...(James 1:17)

All of the good things you have in your life, you can thank God for. Not just the "spiritual" blessings, but the material blessings, the sociological blessings, the relational blessings—every good thing in your life is a gift from God.

2. Recognize the "pleasant places" in your life

David said...
(v. 5-6) Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

You see, you can look at all the things you don't have, and all the disadvantages that have been thrust upon you, but that kind of thinking leads only to misery. Instead, look at the areas of your life where the boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places, and be thankful that God has given them to you. Acknowledge all the good gifts God has given you; recognize the pleasant places in your life; and thirdly, to develop and maintain a thankful heart...

3. Look ahead to better days

David said...
(v. 6) Surely I have a delightful inheritance.

In the Psalms, whenever David speaks of the future, he always speaks of it with optimism.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. (Psalm 23:6)

God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide to the end. (Psalm 48:14)

The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. (Psalm 85:12)

David is saying, "The best is yet to come." When you live with a thankful heart, it's easy to believe this. When your mindset is "I have so little and every one else has so much," it's difficult to be optimistic about the future. But when you recognize that God has already blessed you so much more than you deserve, it is easy to believe that even better days lie ahead.

I've noticed this: People who don't look forward to the future don't enjoy the present either. Neither do they appreciate the past. Having a thankful heart changes that. Having a thankful heart enables you to recognize God's presence in your life—past, present, and future.

Perscription for Gratitude

This has been a wonderful day! I really enjoyed our worship service this morning at Hickory Grove! The music was great and the preaching wasn’t too bad! LOL! However, what stuck out to me the most was the Great Spirit among the people. The people at “The Grove” are among the finest people that I have ever known. What a blessing to walk this journey with them.

This morning we talked about developing and attitude of gratitude. For some people gratitude is not a natural response. Actually, for many people grumpiness seems to be the natural response. I really believe that the Christians really need to work on being thankful. We live in a society that feels like they are entitled to everything that is good. The spirit of entitlement is really permeating our society. I guess the question is “how do we make gratitude a habit? Well here are a couple of thoughts!

First, I think it would be wonderful if we could spend time each day writing down how God has blessed us in the past 24 hours. It seems to me that more we remind ourselves of God’s blessings and provisions the more gratitude will become a natural part of our lives.

Second, it would be good if we could include in our speech words of appreciation for God’s goodness. Way too often when you speak to Christians they spent the majority of the time talking about what is wrong, or what they don’t like. Wouldn’t it be great if our speech was like David’s in Psalm 71? That like David we are so overwhelmed with how God has blessed us that we just have to tell others of how good God is!

I believe when we speak of God’s goodness it reinforces in us a grateful spirit. Also, when others hear of our gratitude it becomes a great testimony about God. Perhaps a good way to start this Thanksgiving week would be to make a list of things we are thankful for, and then spend time expressing our thanks to God!

Have a great week!

Will

Good or Best

Intro: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way .”

These famous lines, which open A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, hint at the novel’s central tension between love and family, on the one hand, and oppression and hatred, on the other.

The book suggests that good and evil, wisdom and folly, and light and darkness stand equally matched in their struggle. The book makes prominent use of “doubles” to get & keep the reader’s interest.

We have a story in the New Testament that also uses “doubles”, as it were to teach us an important lesson. Luke contrasts two sisters, Mary & Martha and their relationship to Jesus on a particular occasion. I don’t want to say that one did bad and one did good. No, I would rather say one did that which was “good”, but the other did “better” or “best”.

The focus of our passage today isn’t that we should not be concerned about household chores. No, it is making a point about discipleship.

Christians need to choose the best over the good, but what can help us in our quest to do the best?

First, we need to focus on being in the right place. Notice verse 39, where Mary sat at the fee to Jesus while Martha was in the kitchen. The Greek word here (parakathizo) doesn’t mean to just sit, but sit near. I think it implies that she got as close to the Lord Jesus as she could possibly get. Sitting at the feet of your master was the proper place for a disciple to be.

Second, choosing the best means that we must listen to the right voice. In the text it is clear that Mary was able to clearly hear God’s voice because of her position. Martha may have been able to catch some of what Jesus was saying but because her focus was elsewhere she most likely couldn’t hear as well as Mary.

Third, choosing the best means that we must set priorities and not falling prey to distractions. Mary’s priority was listening to Christ. Martha’s priority was serving others. Is serving others a bad thing? Of course not! Serving others is a good thing but at that moment it wasn’t the best thing. We are told that Mary “chose good part” which means decided to do the “better” or “best” thing…Mary made a choice, she knew there was other things that needed to be done, but she purposefully didn’t do those things. Instead, she went and sat at the feet of Jesus. I can’t think of anything better than for a disciple to be sitting at the feet of Jesus soaking up every word that He spoke, so I think “best” is the best meaning behind “good part”.

When you stop and think about it…how many of us get so encumbered by activities that are good but they are not the best. Today I want to spend more time at the feet of Jesus, actively listening for His voice. I just can’t imagine that there is anything better for us to do! And after we hear His voice we will then be able to better follow His directions.

Just a thought!

Will

Emerging Church?

Hello....I hope you all have been doing well. I have been on the road the past few days and have not been able to post. I am curious about what any of you may know about the emerging church movement. I am not very familiar with it but have read a few things from different leaders in the movement. One quote I read recently has caused me some concern. Brian McLaren (an emergent church leader) said that "clarity is overrated and that ambiguity is preferable."

In some ways I feel like the church is to ambiguous as it is. It seems to me that clarity is missing today. How can people really know and understand the truth we stand for if we are intentionally ambiguous. It makes me ask "what is our goal?" Is our goal to blend in and hope that people can't see how we are different? Or is our goal to be clear about what we stand for? If we are ambiguous how can we be the light of the world? How can we be a contrast to what the world does and teaches? It seems to me that Ambiguity is overrated!

Just a thought!

Will

Struggling with Temptation?

After Jesus was baptized, Luke 4:1-13 tells us that he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Tonight, we'll look at how Jesus faced this time of temptation, and it will show us how we can face temptation. We'll see how Jesus had power over temptation, and his example will help us find power over temptation in our own lives.

This is an amazing story, offering unique insight into the nature and character of Jesus. For one thing, it's one of the few stories told about an event in the life of Jesus in which there are no eye witnesses. How did Jesus' disciples know about the temptation he faced in the desert?

There's only one way they could have known. He told him them about it. At some point during his time of ministry on earth, he told his disciples about the time he spent in the desert, battling temptation in a showdown with the devil. The temptation story has been called "the most sacred of stories" [by William Barclay] because in it "Jesus is laying bare his inmost heart and soul." He told his followers about the struggles he faced.

Another interesting point is that this story reminds us that Jesus was truly human. Luke says,
(v. 2) He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

Luke's words give evidence that this story wasn't just a legend created by the early church, because it emphasizes the humanity of Jesus.

I would like for us to consider a couple of things that we need to do if we are going to be able to overcome temptations.

We need Expect Temptation.

Temptation is inevitable. Even good people are tempted. Even people who walk in the Spirit are tempted. Luke said...
(v. 1-2) Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.

Did you get that? He was led by the Spirit. He was doing exactly what God wanted him to do, and still he faced temptation. We have a tendency to think, when we face temptation, that God must have abandoned us or there must be something wrong with us, or else we wouldn't be experiencing temptation in our lives. That's not true. Even good people experience temptation. Even people who's lives are led by the Holy Spirit experience temptation.

There's an important distinction I want to make. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted, but it wasn't God who tempted Jesus. God doesn't tempt you to sin; he doesn't try to entice you with evil opportunities.

Some people think that is how God tempts us with sin—that he puts the cookie on the table and says, "Come on, I dare you to eat it." God doesn't do that. Temptation is inevitable, but it doesn't come from God. The Bible says...

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone...(James 1:13) God's purpose is not to tempt us, but to give us power over temptation.

We Need to Understand it Temptation Works

Many times we lose the battle against temptation because we don't understand how temptation works in our lives. Temptation is, by its very nature, deceptive. It often presents itself to us in a type of twisted logic. Luke tells us that the devil took Jesus to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. Then he said,

(v. 9) "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here."

Then, notice what Satan did next. He quoted scripture at Jesus. He said...
(v. 10) "For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

Do you see what Satan was doing? He quoted scripture knowing that Jesus knew it was absolutely true, but he was trying to get him to apply it in a twisted, self-serving way. He was saying, "Come on, Jesus. God will take care of you. Jump." And there was an unspoken implication, "Or do you really believe God will take care of you. Maybe he won't, if you're not really the Messiah."

Satan knows what buttons to push, too. And he'll use whatever twisted logic he can. He'll say things like, "You know that God wants you to be happy, right? And you know that you'll never be happy as long as you're married to this person. So God must want you to get a divorce... Unless, of course, you believe that God just wants you to be miserable for the rest of your life." Or he'll say, "God doesn't want your family to do without the necessities of life, and you need your money much more than the government needs it, so cut some corners on your income taxes. Spend that money on your kids. Unless, of course, you think God doesn't want you to have enough to live on."

Temptation just doesn’t fight fair. We need to better understand how it works so that we are equipped to attack it! I hope these words have been an encouragement to you!

Blessings!

Will