Your Own Song

Sermon: When the Devil Roars;Roar Back Sunday School; Purity



Is it possible that each individual carries their unique song within them? Recently a friend encouraged me by reminding me that God created us to be a song that glorifies Him. She heard on KLOVE radio station that the each individuals dna holds a unique song. When dna is stretched it resembles the same wave lengths found in music. I looked this up on the internet and found some scientific articles that supported these statements. While the thought is new and certainly will continue to be tested the implication is that individuals were wired with a unique song within their dna.

We give God praise through the song of our life. My friends observation about dna reminded me that we have a built in song given to us by God no matter what is going on in our lives circumstance. It makes sense then that God's Word exhorts us to praise Him at all times...and sing to Him out of the abundance of our heart. Music moves the heart of man like nothing else can. When we draw near to God He draws near to us and from our innermost being comes a song that the creator of our soul put within us. It is exciting to discover that even our dna was meant to line up with God's Word and His love for us.

God's Best...Our Best

Sermon: Fear Not and Sunday School: Sanctity of Life
I was thinking about love the other day and my thoughts went to the most famous verse in the Bible. John 3:16 is known by many people even those who do not profess to be Christians. It has a profoundly simply message. God is love. We are called to be imitators of that love which can only be obtained and expressed by accepting Jesus as Savor. At salvation this same love is deposited in us and must be cultivated in our life. In a world where hurts, betrayals and disappointments run rampant it is easy to lose sight of true love. I found three aspects of God’s love in the verse. We’ll talk about the first one today.

God’s love gives.
It’s not the kind of love that gives to manipulate the targets response. We’ve all come into contact with people whose giving always has a catch. Manipulative love says, “I’ll give you something but then your freedom to chose is a thing of the past.” The Bible tells us that God loved us while we were still sinners. He loved us before we loved Him. He loved us before we ever made the choice to serve Him or reject Him. He sets before us today as He did in Joshua’s day a choice between life or death, blessing or cursing. Every choice we makes leads us somewhere. Choosing Him and His ways bring life and purpose to our existence on this earth and beyond.

God’s love gives the best.
Another part of God’s giving nature is to give the very best. He so loved the world He gave His one and only son. Some of us have had times where our best was limited. Christmases when perhaps the gifts were few or where they were from a discount store or better yet homemade. Yet they were from our heart…they were our best. Maybe you’ve re-gifted at least once in your life because an occasion came up that caught you unaware or your heart wasn’t really touched by the event. It is at those times when we have to admit that our gift was in the pile…but it wasn’t our best effort and certainly didn’t attach any great value. God the Father gave Jesus as his best gift. The love and honor He placed upon Jesus shows us the value He places upon you and I. When I consider my sons and the love I have for them…I realize how hard it would be to give them as a gift to a world that in many respects doesn’t deserve such a treasured possession. They are a part of me and that doesn’t change with age or circumstance. God didn’t give us his second or third best…He gave the very best.

Because He gave His best we give our best.

Sometimes we all struggle with giving our best to others as an outpouring of our love for God. When we accept Jesus our spirit is renewed and His love is placed in our heart. So because we are God’s children we begin to desire to imitate Him in his giving. Yet somehow we still struggle. The value of a person that God’s placed in our path may not be readily apparent to us. We may struggle because the person that God’s put in our path has made so many mistakes it doesn’t seem like they deserve a “millionth” chance even if they have repented. The big and small things that we can do for someone in our life may take a little planning and our time is precious. Biblical love is a lot of things…it doesn’t always ooze with soft words…sometimes it is calling a spade a spade. Sometimes it requires us to let go of a perceived hurt and to give of ourselves anyway. Love isn’t always the easy way.

Encourage One Another

Sunday Sermon with Pastor John...The Word and Sunday School with Bro. Larry.

My niece was on the Cheer Leading Squad this year at school. We went to one of her competitions and I was impressed with the amount of practice and teamwork that it takes to complete the routines.

Cheer Leaders Show Enthusiasm For Their Team

Cheer Leaders must have an enthusiasm for their team and that enthusiasm must transfer to the audience and the players on the field. The Body of Christ needs that as well. We are all called to be encouragers in some capacity. Cheerleaders must encourage and have a respect for the team no matter the score on the score board. A good Cheer Leader cares about the team and the audience.

They Cheer No Matter The Current Score on the Scoreboard

It is easier to cheer when the team is ahead and the momentum of the crowd is high, but a Cheer Leader doesn't give up when things are hard. Their demeanor affects the team and the audience that watches. I've been to games where the home team was down in points and mistakes had been made. You could almost feel the discouragement come into the atmosphere of the room. Yet the cheerleaders would rise throwing off their own discouragement as they began their cheer for the team. As they cheer something begins to change that the scoreboard can not measure...it is a sense of honor (value) towards the team. This type of action changes the atmosphere of both a team (church) and those in the audience (the world...those we have an influence with). It brings hope for the future and desire to focus on a solution.

Local churches need this as well. It is not always easy. Congregations go through different things....some good and some difficult. An encourager cares about their local Body of Christ. They care about solutions and realize that their spirit may well be what helps a discouraged player pick up the ball and play like they need to play to win the game.

Reactions

Pastor John's sermon God's GPS and Bro. Larry's Sunday School Class.

Our Reactions to what happens around us.

Most of this week we've been at my in-laws house as my father in law is not doing well. Even in this stressful time God has been faithful to speak to me about different things as I pondered about His will for a persons life.

Many of us are familiar with Charles Swindoll's quote "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” If we believe this then it means that even with life's way of throwing curve balls at us we still have great responsibility for our outcomes based upon our reactions. The quote looks us square in the face with the reality that even with the hurts and brokeness that come as a part of life it is we who determine our ultimate victory or defeat.

I'm thankful that many times we have opportunity to compose ourselves and put on a better reaction.
Paul the apostle talked about putting things on and off. He was talking about attitudes and actions that please or displease the Lord. Thankfully he explained the Holy Spirit can renew and transform us day by day as we yield to him. Even though I came to the Lord as a child...I still find situations where my flesh rises up and my reaction is not what it should be to help a situation or a relationship. Thankfully many times my initial reaction is not in the presence of the person or persons who otherwise would get a piece of my unyielded mind. There are times when hard things need to be addressed and said...but it makes all the difference when your attitude has been cleansed of that self righteousness that only thinks of itself. Take heart that no matter how old you are in the Lord he is faithful to reign you in and to give you wisdom and calm to deal properly with any given situation.

Some of the things the Holy Spirit will talk to us about that will help us in our reactions.

Perspective: We see things from our own perspective based on our experience or knowledge concerning a situation in our life. The Spirit will often urge us to change perspective enough to see where someone's mindset is compared to ours. He will ask us to take note of what things have affected their words, actions and reactions. This doesn't mean we change our mind, but it does allow us to speak with a compassion and understanding that we wouldn't have otherwise. Sometimes I'm tempted to "fix things quick" and get things straight....but that can land a person in trouble if they bypass the Spirit's call to take a moment and ponder someones perspective. This can also come into play during a conversation....be willing to listen.

Forgiveness
Reactions can be totally different when we choose to forgive someone who has hurt us. Maybe someone has had a bad day, perhaps they are going through strain at work or at home or a myriad of other circumstances. When we choose to be aware that not every offense is caused by mean-spiritedness we are well on our way to redirecting our reaction to a situation. There are times when someone is purposely mean...maybe they are reacting to their own hurt and loss...and it is then that we must decide whether we will allow them to pull us down with them. While we don't have to be buddy buddy in such cases...letting go of anger and the desire to pay back looses us from the trap of walking in sour attitudes and reactions.

Remember how you react effects yourself and other people.
Have you ever been in a good mood singing a song as you work only to be stopped short by someone who clouds the room with anger and a sour expression. Maybe you've been the one with the cloud hanging over your head. No one is saying that life is all a bowl of cherries....or that your every waking moment should filled with the "sound of music"...but remember you affect those around you. Take some time to allow God to speak to you when you feel that cloud. He wants to shine some sonlight into your day if you will allow Him to.

Here are some Don'ts

• Don't despair if you've blown it with your reaction...ask forgiveness and trust God to restore relationships.
• Don't assume that you are the sole blame for every situation of offense or stress. Remember just as you must yield your reactions so must others.
  
• Don't give up. The apostle Paul said, "I have not yet attained". I don't know about you but that sure gives me hope.

Maybe you have some experiences or some more Don'ts to add to my list. Feel free to go ahead and reply.

.Taking Inventory

Pastor John's sermon The Truth About Forgiveness is a reminder that our life can be blocked if we don't forgive others when we have been forgiven of so much.

Please pray for missionaries to Haiti Randy and Anita Chabot and their daughter Amelia. They are okay but last I heard Amelia's fiance was not found. I sent an email from Amelia out a few nights ago with an update on how they were doing. At that point she knew her computer battery wouldn't last long and that it would be hard for her to get ahold of us at all.

Taking Inventory
I turned 45 years old in December. The passage of time causes one to take inventory of their life and what they've accomplished. This year I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" with my niece. It spoke to my heart...because sometimes our inventory is not like God's inventory. We can have our outlook soured by circumstances that are not a finished work yet. You all know the story of "It's A Wonderful Life" George Bailey looks upon his life with all of its trials and wonders if anything was worth while...indeed he wonders if he is worth while. He is kind hearted and spends his life caring about the needs of others but is accused of being a poor business man by the scheming Mr. Potter who cares nothing for the welfare of anybody but himself.

Our worth in God's eyes
Sometimes we cannot see with our eyes the worth and value that God puts upon us as an individual human being. We examine ourselves and see only brokenness. We see circumstance that are in the now before they are truly finished and we cast a judgment about ourselves, others and even God. We must be careful not to let the "Mr. Potters" of the world set the criteria for our inventory. Paul the apostle said that he would let God judge his accomplishments not the whims of man.

A look at life without us
It might seem a little self important to say that without us things might not be as good for those around us...it is hard to get past the idea that we might be getting prideful to even go there. Yet God knows every hair upon our head and every coming and going we make. If we yield our lives to His purpose then whether or not we "see" our worth at the moment...we can be assured that we do matter. Maybe you are in the midst of a mess complete with upset emotions and depressed thought patterns. That still doesn't mean that you haven't had a godly impact. We are often the toughest critics of our own life. Your inventory of yourself might not have a high rating...but remember there are those who would rate your contribution higher. God can make something new from a broken life...His sense of value is far different than ours.

Sometimes others don't see the value in another human being until they no longer have what they once had in relationship.
Whether it is a young person going off to college, a husband or wife who are not getting along, or simply a kind next door neighbor we often don't see true value in someone until we are removed from situations or their presence. I remember longing to be on my own...out of the watchful eye of my parents. Yet when I went to college I found myself missing the very people who I wanted to distance myself from because I began to see their worth when they were no longer close by. Absence doesn't always have to be the way we realize the worth of others or our worth to them...we can take a moment in our busy lives to make a mental list of the things that we are thankful for about people around us and yes even things about ourselves.

Evil intents at work
In the movie It's a Wonderful Life Mr. Potter is the source of scheming with selfish intent. His trickery and mean spiritedness was the assault that caused the final blow in George Bailey's ability to go forward. George felt like he couldn't take one more step and that his whole life had been for nought. The Word tells us the we wrestle not against flesh and blood. We wrestle instead against the forces of the enemy of our soul. We are not blind to the fact that often the tool of the enemy is a human being caught in the devil's trap. George believed the lie of the enemy and it plummeted him into a cycle of self destructive thoughts and emotions that would have killed him without God's intervention. These feelings brought on by the master accuser caused him to give up on life. We must be diligent to not fall for a lie instead of God's truth.

God's view
There is a moment near the end of the movie where George finally gets it. The pharmacist saved from a deadly mistake caused by the grief of losing his son, his brother saved in childhood by George from a drowning accident lived and was able in turn to save many men in battle, and the families who looked to him for help in a time of trouble. He sees that his life matters. He sees that the world would be less with out his contribution to it. I hope as you ponder the well known movie you see that your life has value. Jesus is the source of that value. His love for people and his desire to serve came as a gift from heaven's throne.

The next time you take inventory of your life ask the Holy Spirit to help you. He'll show you areas that you can improve upon. He'll show you those things that please Him about you. Don't believe the lies the devil tries to cast.

The Journey Book Club January 8th

The Journey Book Club will meet at the church Friday January 8th from 6:30- 8:30 for fun, fellowship and the discussion of One Holy Night by author J.M. Hochstetler. Sis. Lynne and Sis. Lisa always make the evening fun for everyone. This time the menu features "healthy foods" for a dessert or entry to share. I've been singing the Sesame Street Healthy foods song ever since the last meeting...but still haven't come up with a healthy idea...anyone with an idea can leave a comment on the blog.

Sneak peaks of the book we are just finishing and our new selection.

Current Book
One Holy Night by J.M Hochstetler


Book to be passed out on January 8th Lying on Sunday by Sharon K. Souza



Seasme Street Healthy food

Sermon and Sunday school video

Pastor John's sermon Sunday was titled "This is War" What kind of message was that for the month of December one might ask? What has that to do with Christmas? Well, when we ponder Christmas we remember that down the road a little while the wise men came to give gifts to Jesus and were warned in a dream to go home a different way because Herod wanted to kill Jesus because he feared that his hold on power would be hindered if prophecy was fulfilled. Joseph also was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt until the danger was gone. You see even in the midst of the birth of our Savior the enemy of our soul sought to keep the promised messiah from fulfilling his destiny which promised to free mankind from the the grip of satan.

We have an enemy

It is important for us to understand that we do have an enemy. The Bible tells us that " For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12

Our enemy seeks our ruin
⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8, King James Version)

We have victory
We know that in Christ we have victory over all the works of the enemy. Like Joseph and the wise men we need to listen to the voice of God and see our destiny fulfilled.