There is one verse in the book of John that tells us what the role of Satan is, but it also tells us about Jesus!
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10
Satan's job is to steal everything that he can from you, it is also to kill everything good and to destroy whatever he can, he does this and people blame God and Jesus. He wants to steal everything he can from you, your joy, your health, your money, your happiness, those you love, anything and everything he can. He wants to kill what he can't steal, you, your loved ones and destroy everything else!
But Jesus laid it out there very plain, he doesn't come to steal, kill or to destroy, Jesus comes to give life, abundant life, and Satan isn't able to steal that, he can't kill it or destroy it! We must put our total faith and trust in Jesus in order to have this abundance, He wants us to live, really live, live for Him.
When we do, look out!
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
“MISSION 2013”
SHOES IN THE CHURCH
1. The LOAFERS
(they don’t do much)
2. The SNEAKERS
(they never want to be seen, they want to just slip in and out)
3. The FLIP-FLOPS!
(They are the ones who never know for sure where they stand; what ever sounds good at the moment is what they agree with)
4. You have the Wing Tips
(they give a tip instead of a tithe)
5. The Hush Puppies
(They never witness, never invite anyone to church, never talk about God, always afraid of offending someone or being laughed at.)
6. Sunday Shoe
(Just act like Christ on Sunday)
7. Sandal (Weak)
8. The Clod Hoppers
They hop from church to church)
9. Work Boots
Worker, (shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, always ready to get in there and help, they are not worried about being praised for their efforts, they just want to work for the Lord)
10. Army Boots
(For those fighting the Lord’s battles, they stand ready, sword in hand, on the front lines, following orders from God, always faithful, ready to fight Satan, never retreat, always advancing, to the very end.)
“WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO!”
Carey 1st Baptist Church was begun on September 24, 1905 by a group of people who wanted to have a Baptist church in Carey Texas, she has seen some lean years and some good years. Last year was the year of greatness and God gave us a great year, this year is the year of prayer and Satan is attacking us in everyway that he can. I want to ask, how many of the prayer groups are still meeting to pray? Satan is doing everything that he can to disrupt and destroy the unity that this church has had for so many years, and he is using people to do it, he doesn’t just show up and say, “Here I am, look out,” no he uses people. Sometimes we end up doing his job and we don’t even realize it. We must have unity in our body of believers. We must have love.
Proverbs 10:12
“Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.” (NIV)
We must have, show and use the fruits of the Spirit, did you know that the gifts of the Spirit can be often time imitated by Satan, they may be in a perverted manner, but often times it fools believers, but the fruits of the Spirit can never be duplicated or imitated by Satan. What are the fruits of the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Do you have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?
As I said, Satan is doing everything that he can to disrupt and destroy the unity that this church has had for so many years, this church has always worked together to advance the Kingdom of God.
Proverbs 29:22
“Angry people stir up a lot of discord; the intemperate stir up trouble.” (MSG)
In Thom Rainer’s book, “I Am A Church Member,” he writes, “God desires for Christians to get along. In fact He is emphatic about it. Jesus is clear when He said, ‘By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.’ (John 13:35) Did you get that? The world will know if we are Christians or not by the way we who are believers act toward one another.”
We must be showing and using the fruits of the Spirit. When we do we are willing to take ownership of this church and the responsibilities that go along with it.
But I will tell you up front that I am very concerned because it seems to me that we have way too may people who are willing to be spectators.
Spectators just watch what’s going on, they don’t get involved to help, they just watch. If Satan can convince us that someone else will do it and we don’t need to then he has won.
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? The 80/20 rule is, 80% of the work in the church is being done by 20% of the members. This is a terrible rule to have in a church and it only exists because of the spectators.
But let me ask you, why do 20% of the people do 80% of the work? Because 80% are not willing to do what they have been called to do, and 20% know the joy of working for The Lord and are willing to do it. If we all did what we are supposed to be doing the 80/20 rule would just be a myth here at Carey FBC.
Several years before I came to Carey, there was a time when some of the members of this church began to leave and go to churches in town because they wanted their kids to be involved in activities that Carey didn’t have. Instead of helping, and getting those very things going in the church that they wanted and therefore helping the church to grow, they just left, they became part of the problem and not part of the solution.
Fast-forward to 2013, we have a great children’s ministry on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights, but now it seems that we don’t have people to teach on Wednesday nights. Some of our Sunday morning teachers have been also teaching on Wednesday nights and they are tired. We have people who teach on Wednesday and have been doing a great job, some of these are needing a break and we have places empty, places that must be filled or we will not have Kidzone this year.
One of the things that I have strived to do is have the very best ministries we can have here at Carey, but I can’t do it alone, I need help, lots of it. If we have to drop Kidzone because of a lack of help, that would be tragic. It would be a disservice to our kids, they would not be taught the truths about God’s word that they have been taught in the past. Do you realize how many children have been saved because of what they have learned in Kidzone and Sunday School, since 2009 I count 18, is it important? 18 souls saved from Hell, that is important! Now I know that not everyone is geared to teach kids, but I also know that there are some who could but don’t and have never tried.
Thom Rainer also says in his book, “I Am A Church Member,” he says that “all too often too many of our church members in the US have an unbiblical view of church membership. Their view is more aligned with the country club membership. For them membership is about receiving instead of giving, being served instead of serving, rights instead of responsibilities, entitlements instead of sacrifices. This wrongful view of membership sees the tithes and offerings as membership dues that entitle members to a never-ending list of privileges and expectations, instead of an unconditional cheerful gift to God.”
Every member is a necessary part of this church, we must all work together to make this work.
It is our job to teach, and minister, and worship, and pray, and spread the Gospel around the world. Did you know that we have a Mission Statement? How many of you have seen it? I think that its good to be reminded of our mission statement, to see it and know it.
We wrote our mission statement right after I came out here. You may ask, “What is a mission statement, and why have one?” Simply put, a mission statement tells people what we are about. Just so you know some of the history of this mission statement, in 2000, we began looking at doing a mission statement. We talked about what it should say about our church, so we wrote it and rewrote it and this is the final product that we came up with.
Let’s all read the mission statement together;
MISSION STATEMENT
Our Mission is to reach out to those around us, to help needy people, to encourage, love, and care for those in our church and community. To provide a comfortable atmosphere for worship and fellowship. To be a dependable and praying church, and to be an evangelistic training ground for those who serve Christ. To support ministry and mission efforts and to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.
This is the statement that we decided would tell the world what we are about. Why are we looking at this today? Because we need to remember what God has called us for. Let’s look at our text.
Ephesians 4:10-16
“He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (ESV)
We should all be working together to help the body grow, when we stop working together we become like a motor that the timing chain is of a couple of notches, you might get it to start but it’s not going to do any good, its going to spit and sputter and knock and die and then try to run on after it dies. We, as a church need to be a finely tuned engine that’s purring like a kitten and ready to work.
Today we are going to begin looking at our mission statement.
“Our Mission”
This starts off with the word “our”, not my, not your, but our, which means that it involves all of us, everyone who is a member of this church, of this body of believers. Our Mission, it is about to state what we believe, what we are about as a church.
“Our Mission is to reach out to those around us,”
To “reach out” means that we go to them, we don’t wait, we seek out those around us.
We have an Outreach team called Connect that does this very thing in different ways, but this should never be the only way that we reach out, we should all be doing this as individuals. We have some people in our church who reach out in various ways and you would never know who they are unless they have reached out to help or to bless you because they don’t go around tooting their own horn. Some of these people have blessed my wife and I with food and with other things, one time when I couldn’t mow my own yard one of them came over and mowed my yard for me. But they don’t just reach out to those in our church, they reach out to others as well. We need to all be like this, reaching out to others.
“To help needy people,”
Acts 10:4
“Cornelius stared at him in fear."What is it, Lord?" he asked.
The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” (NIV)
Who are the needy people? What does it take to qualify as needy? You say, “Well those in need.” In need of what? Clothes? Food? Shelter? Jesus?
I have met and I continue to meet all kinds of people in need. To those in need of a place to sleep, we put them up for the night, to those in need of food we feed them, to those in need of clothes, we step up. We have a Benevolence Committee and a Blessings Committee to help meet these needs.
But I find more people in need of Jesus, or in need of someone to talk to, or in need of someone who cares about them or loves them. There are many kinds of needs. Sometimes people just need to be treated different by us than they are by everyone else. We are to reach out to those in need. But Jesus gave us a warning about giving to the needy;
Matthew 6:1-4
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (ESV)
“to encourage, love, and care for those in our church and community.”
(to encourage)
1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (ESV)
1 Thessalonians 5:14
“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” (ESV)
(to love)
1 John 4:7-8
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (ESV)
(to care for those in our church and community)
1 John 4:16
“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (ESV)
Closing
John 3:16-21
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.” (ESV)
We have talked a lot about service and working for the Lord this morning, but these verses point out the fact that without Jesus it just doesn’t make any sense. When you see these verses do you see yourself in the light or the darkness?
1 John 1:5-9
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (ESV)
The only way that we can get to the light and to God is through Jesus. Have you accepted Him
SHOES IN THE CHURCH
1. The LOAFERS
(they don’t do much)
2. The SNEAKERS
(they never want to be seen, they want to just slip in and out)
3. The FLIP-FLOPS!
(They are the ones who never know for sure where they stand; what ever sounds good at the moment is what they agree with)
4. You have the Wing Tips
(they give a tip instead of a tithe)
5. The Hush Puppies
(They never witness, never invite anyone to church, never talk about God, always afraid of offending someone or being laughed at.)
6. Sunday Shoe
(Just act like Christ on Sunday)
7. Sandal (Weak)
8. The Clod Hoppers
They hop from church to church)
9. Work Boots
Worker, (shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, always ready to get in there and help, they are not worried about being praised for their efforts, they just want to work for the Lord)
10. Army Boots
(For those fighting the Lord’s battles, they stand ready, sword in hand, on the front lines, following orders from God, always faithful, ready to fight Satan, never retreat, always advancing, to the very end.)
“WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO!”
Carey 1st Baptist Church was begun on September 24, 1905 by a group of people who wanted to have a Baptist church in Carey Texas, she has seen some lean years and some good years. Last year was the year of greatness and God gave us a great year, this year is the year of prayer and Satan is attacking us in everyway that he can. I want to ask, how many of the prayer groups are still meeting to pray? Satan is doing everything that he can to disrupt and destroy the unity that this church has had for so many years, and he is using people to do it, he doesn’t just show up and say, “Here I am, look out,” no he uses people. Sometimes we end up doing his job and we don’t even realize it. We must have unity in our body of believers. We must have love.
Proverbs 10:12
“Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.” (NIV)
We must have, show and use the fruits of the Spirit, did you know that the gifts of the Spirit can be often time imitated by Satan, they may be in a perverted manner, but often times it fools believers, but the fruits of the Spirit can never be duplicated or imitated by Satan. What are the fruits of the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Do you have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control?
As I said, Satan is doing everything that he can to disrupt and destroy the unity that this church has had for so many years, this church has always worked together to advance the Kingdom of God.
Proverbs 29:22
“Angry people stir up a lot of discord; the intemperate stir up trouble.” (MSG)
In Thom Rainer’s book, “I Am A Church Member,” he writes, “God desires for Christians to get along. In fact He is emphatic about it. Jesus is clear when He said, ‘By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.’ (John 13:35) Did you get that? The world will know if we are Christians or not by the way we who are believers act toward one another.”
We must be showing and using the fruits of the Spirit. When we do we are willing to take ownership of this church and the responsibilities that go along with it.
But I will tell you up front that I am very concerned because it seems to me that we have way too may people who are willing to be spectators.
Spectators just watch what’s going on, they don’t get involved to help, they just watch. If Satan can convince us that someone else will do it and we don’t need to then he has won.
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? The 80/20 rule is, 80% of the work in the church is being done by 20% of the members. This is a terrible rule to have in a church and it only exists because of the spectators.
But let me ask you, why do 20% of the people do 80% of the work? Because 80% are not willing to do what they have been called to do, and 20% know the joy of working for The Lord and are willing to do it. If we all did what we are supposed to be doing the 80/20 rule would just be a myth here at Carey FBC.
Several years before I came to Carey, there was a time when some of the members of this church began to leave and go to churches in town because they wanted their kids to be involved in activities that Carey didn’t have. Instead of helping, and getting those very things going in the church that they wanted and therefore helping the church to grow, they just left, they became part of the problem and not part of the solution.
Fast-forward to 2013, we have a great children’s ministry on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights, but now it seems that we don’t have people to teach on Wednesday nights. Some of our Sunday morning teachers have been also teaching on Wednesday nights and they are tired. We have people who teach on Wednesday and have been doing a great job, some of these are needing a break and we have places empty, places that must be filled or we will not have Kidzone this year.
One of the things that I have strived to do is have the very best ministries we can have here at Carey, but I can’t do it alone, I need help, lots of it. If we have to drop Kidzone because of a lack of help, that would be tragic. It would be a disservice to our kids, they would not be taught the truths about God’s word that they have been taught in the past. Do you realize how many children have been saved because of what they have learned in Kidzone and Sunday School, since 2009 I count 18, is it important? 18 souls saved from Hell, that is important! Now I know that not everyone is geared to teach kids, but I also know that there are some who could but don’t and have never tried.
Thom Rainer also says in his book, “I Am A Church Member,” he says that “all too often too many of our church members in the US have an unbiblical view of church membership. Their view is more aligned with the country club membership. For them membership is about receiving instead of giving, being served instead of serving, rights instead of responsibilities, entitlements instead of sacrifices. This wrongful view of membership sees the tithes and offerings as membership dues that entitle members to a never-ending list of privileges and expectations, instead of an unconditional cheerful gift to God.”
Every member is a necessary part of this church, we must all work together to make this work.
It is our job to teach, and minister, and worship, and pray, and spread the Gospel around the world. Did you know that we have a Mission Statement? How many of you have seen it? I think that its good to be reminded of our mission statement, to see it and know it.
We wrote our mission statement right after I came out here. You may ask, “What is a mission statement, and why have one?” Simply put, a mission statement tells people what we are about. Just so you know some of the history of this mission statement, in 2000, we began looking at doing a mission statement. We talked about what it should say about our church, so we wrote it and rewrote it and this is the final product that we came up with.
Let’s all read the mission statement together;
MISSION STATEMENT
Our Mission is to reach out to those around us, to help needy people, to encourage, love, and care for those in our church and community. To provide a comfortable atmosphere for worship and fellowship. To be a dependable and praying church, and to be an evangelistic training ground for those who serve Christ. To support ministry and mission efforts and to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.
This is the statement that we decided would tell the world what we are about. Why are we looking at this today? Because we need to remember what God has called us for. Let’s look at our text.
Ephesians 4:10-16
“He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (ESV)
We should all be working together to help the body grow, when we stop working together we become like a motor that the timing chain is of a couple of notches, you might get it to start but it’s not going to do any good, its going to spit and sputter and knock and die and then try to run on after it dies. We, as a church need to be a finely tuned engine that’s purring like a kitten and ready to work.
Today we are going to begin looking at our mission statement.
“Our Mission”
This starts off with the word “our”, not my, not your, but our, which means that it involves all of us, everyone who is a member of this church, of this body of believers. Our Mission, it is about to state what we believe, what we are about as a church.
“Our Mission is to reach out to those around us,”
To “reach out” means that we go to them, we don’t wait, we seek out those around us.
We have an Outreach team called Connect that does this very thing in different ways, but this should never be the only way that we reach out, we should all be doing this as individuals. We have some people in our church who reach out in various ways and you would never know who they are unless they have reached out to help or to bless you because they don’t go around tooting their own horn. Some of these people have blessed my wife and I with food and with other things, one time when I couldn’t mow my own yard one of them came over and mowed my yard for me. But they don’t just reach out to those in our church, they reach out to others as well. We need to all be like this, reaching out to others.
“To help needy people,”
Acts 10:4
“Cornelius stared at him in fear."What is it, Lord?" he asked.
The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” (NIV)
Who are the needy people? What does it take to qualify as needy? You say, “Well those in need.” In need of what? Clothes? Food? Shelter? Jesus?
I have met and I continue to meet all kinds of people in need. To those in need of a place to sleep, we put them up for the night, to those in need of food we feed them, to those in need of clothes, we step up. We have a Benevolence Committee and a Blessings Committee to help meet these needs.
But I find more people in need of Jesus, or in need of someone to talk to, or in need of someone who cares about them or loves them. There are many kinds of needs. Sometimes people just need to be treated different by us than they are by everyone else. We are to reach out to those in need. But Jesus gave us a warning about giving to the needy;
Matthew 6:1-4
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (ESV)
“to encourage, love, and care for those in our church and community.”
(to encourage)
1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (ESV)
1 Thessalonians 5:14
“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” (ESV)
(to love)
1 John 4:7-8
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (ESV)
(to care for those in our church and community)
1 John 4:16
“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (ESV)
Closing
John 3:16-21
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.” (ESV)
We have talked a lot about service and working for the Lord this morning, but these verses point out the fact that without Jesus it just doesn’t make any sense. When you see these verses do you see yourself in the light or the darkness?
1 John 1:5-9
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (ESV)
The only way that we can get to the light and to God is through Jesus. Have you accepted Him
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
HOW MUCH I COULD HAVE DONE
Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us for whatever directions God might give them.
2 Corinthians 8:5 (NLT)
Before the judgment seat of Christ my service will be judged not by how much I have done but by how much I could have done. In God's sight my giving is measured not by how much I have given but by how much I could have given and how much I had left after my gift. The needs of the world and my total ability to minister to those needs decide the worth of my service.
Not by its size is my gift judged, but by how much of me there is in it. No man gives all until he has given all. No man gives anything acceptable to God until he has first given himself in love and sacrifice....
In the work of the church the amount one man must do to accomplish a given task is determined by how much or how little the rest of the company is willing to do. It is a rare church whose members all put their shoulder to the wheel. The typical church is composed of the few whose shoulders are bruised by their faithful labors and the many who are unwilling to raise a blister in the service of God and their fellowmen. There may be a bit of wry humor in all this, but it is quite certain that there will be no laughter when each of us gives account to God of the deeds done in the body.
A.W. Tozer That Incredible Christian
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
EXCUSES
When you start to make excuses for our walk with God, soon, any excuse will do.
But when you really get serious about your walk with God, when He becomes the most important person in your life, you no longer make excuses, you just produce fruit.
Randy Wilson
But when you really get serious about your walk with God, when He becomes the most important person in your life, you no longer make excuses, you just produce fruit.
Randy Wilson
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND?
Hey I'm doing a survey, I want to know what concerns you. What kind of things are going on in your life that concern you, the things that you would like to talk about or need help with. Tell me about them. You can post them here or e-mail them to me at careybaptist@gmail.com
Thanks and I hope to here from you soon.
Thanks and I hope to here from you soon.
MISSIONS
When I say missions, what do you think? Do you think about the Cooperative Program that we give money to so that our missionaries around the world can tell others about Jesus? Or maybe you think about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, or the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, or maybe even the Reach Texas Offering that we are in right now, the money raised for this stays here in Texas for mission projects here in our state, all of these are worthy causes. Or maybe you think closer to home and you think about CONNECT, our own outreach from CBC, maybe you connect this with Desert Reign coming every year in the fall and the money we raise for that. Maybe when you think about missions you think about going to Cloudcroft NM with our team to work on that camp, or maybe you have thought about going to Namibia Africa to reach an unreached people group and tell them about Jesus. What do you think about when you think about missions? Did you know that our mission closest to home is Carey Baptist? As a group that is our closest mission, the work we do as a church. As an individual your closest mission may be right next door, or around the corner, or down the road or street, it may be your family or friends. We must always be thinking about missions and what we can do to further the Kingdom; we must be mission-minded. Just saying we are in not enough, just giving money to a missions offering in not enough, we must be mission-minded. If we cannot go on a mission trip we need to be raising money for those who do go, for the Cloudcroft trip or the Namibia trip, those who are lead to go don’t always have the money, and we all can help. We must be mission-minded to the needs around us.
Lord, I pray for those in our church, I pray Lord that you will make us all mission-minded. Let us become aware to the needs that are around us everyday, show us how we can be involved in missions, those that our church are involved in and those that our Southern Baptist missionaries are involved in. Amen.
Lord, I pray for those in our church, I pray Lord that you will make us all mission-minded. Let us become aware to the needs that are around us everyday, show us how we can be involved in missions, those that our church are involved in and those that our Southern Baptist missionaries are involved in. Amen.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
MISSING SHEEP
110, that’s what we had for our 5th Sunday Singing, 110. It was good to have a full house and to worship with other churches. 110 people, 7 different church, well over 2 hours of singing, what a great time! It was great to have a full house, to hear all of the voices singing together. Do you know what would be even better, if we had that many in church on Sunday mornings. We could you know, real easy, how you may ask. Well, it’s like this, if our members who live right here in town would come to church we would have at least that many every Sunday morning, probably even more than 110. So how do we get them here? Did you know that Carey 1st Baptist Church has 238 members? Did you know that we have 193 resident (those who live in the area) members? And yet we averaged only 57 in Sunday School during the past year, why is this? How do we get our resident members to come back to God’s house? How do we get from here to there? Number one; we pray! We pray for our members, those who are committed members, those who are working for the Kingdom and coming to church, we pray for God to bless them in every way, we pray for God to make them a great witness for Him. Then we pray for our members who come, but not real often, we pray that God will increase their desire for more fellowship with the church. Then we pray for our members who have not been here in a while, we pray for God to put a desire in their hearts to come back to His House, to get involved again. And last, we pray for all of our members to grow into a deeper relationship with Christ. Number two; we send cards to our members who have not been coming letting them know that we miss them and want them to come back. And number three; we go and visit. We go and knock on their door and pleasantly invite them back to church, we let them know that we miss them. After all they are part of our Carey Baptist Family, if we follow this it will work, maybe not on all, but on most. Sometimes things happen and people miss church and then they get out of the habit of going to church and then they think that no one misses them, but we do and we need to let them know it. Let me ask you something, how would you like to be on the missing sheep team, the team that prays, sends cards and visits members? Pray about it, I will be forming this team soon!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
LAUGH OUT LOUD
Bloopers, people making mistakes, and of course we would never laugh at their expense, right? Or would we….
From the Yeovil, England, Western Gazette: "The first swallow has arrived at Devizes. It was spotted by Police Constable John Cooke, of Seend, whose hobby is bird watching, sitting wet and bedraggled on telephone wires." (How does that constable do that while he’s all wet, I tried it and fell off three times?)
Classified ad: Man wanted to work in dynamite factory; must be willing to travel. (How far up?)
From the Tulsa, Oklahoma, World: "It is permissible to spank a child if one has a definite end in view." (Always keep your eyes open!)
The Harrah, Oklahoma, News ran an article about the Folderol String Band, which was to entertain at a barbecue. The story explained, "These true sons of the Southwest have twanged their music all over Oklahoma and have been asked more than once to leave the state." (And don’t come back!!)
Society note in the Denver, Colorado, Rocky Mountain News: "She looked like the belle of a court ball with the gown and her hair piled high on her head." (Someone should tell her that the dress goes lower)
Sign spotted in Jacksonville, Florida: Pool is open 24 hours. Please do not enter the pool at any other time. (Like during the 25th hour?)
In a letter from a summer camp director: Dear parents: We are pleased to announce the opening of registration. We are working hard and looking forward to the ultimate bummer experience for everyone. (I think I’ve been to that camp)
A classic of its kind was this sign in an army mess hall in Britain. Printed in big black letters across the exit, it read: Kindly Let Those Who Are Going Out First.
That sentence drove us crazy, and I thought it would never be topped. But it was, in a San Francisco bar. I overheard a guy who was being pestered to death by a frightful bore snap, "If you don't get out of here and leave me alone, I'll find somebody who can!" (So there, if that didn't make you laugh I’ll find someone else who did.)
Did you have a good laugh? These are all things that I found, and no I was not in a bar, really!
From the Yeovil, England, Western Gazette: "The first swallow has arrived at Devizes. It was spotted by Police Constable John Cooke, of Seend, whose hobby is bird watching, sitting wet and bedraggled on telephone wires." (How does that constable do that while he’s all wet, I tried it and fell off three times?)
Classified ad: Man wanted to work in dynamite factory; must be willing to travel. (How far up?)
From the Tulsa, Oklahoma, World: "It is permissible to spank a child if one has a definite end in view." (Always keep your eyes open!)
The Harrah, Oklahoma, News ran an article about the Folderol String Band, which was to entertain at a barbecue. The story explained, "These true sons of the Southwest have twanged their music all over Oklahoma and have been asked more than once to leave the state." (And don’t come back!!)
Society note in the Denver, Colorado, Rocky Mountain News: "She looked like the belle of a court ball with the gown and her hair piled high on her head." (Someone should tell her that the dress goes lower)
Sign spotted in Jacksonville, Florida: Pool is open 24 hours. Please do not enter the pool at any other time. (Like during the 25th hour?)
In a letter from a summer camp director: Dear parents: We are pleased to announce the opening of registration. We are working hard and looking forward to the ultimate bummer experience for everyone. (I think I’ve been to that camp)
A classic of its kind was this sign in an army mess hall in Britain. Printed in big black letters across the exit, it read: Kindly Let Those Who Are Going Out First.
That sentence drove us crazy, and I thought it would never be topped. But it was, in a San Francisco bar. I overheard a guy who was being pestered to death by a frightful bore snap, "If you don't get out of here and leave me alone, I'll find somebody who can!" (So there, if that didn't make you laugh I’ll find someone else who did.)
Did you have a good laugh? These are all things that I found, and no I was not in a bar, really!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
SPECTATORS OR PARTICIPATORS
How would you say our spiritual maturity, godliness and commitment as a church compares to other churches? Paul compared the Macedonia church’s commitment to Corinth and challenged them to MATCH it. Corinthians 8:1-8. 2 Corinthians 8:8 says I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. (NIV) Rick Warren says that he challenges any church in America to match the spiritual maturity, godliness and commitment of any 500 members of Saddleback Church. How do you think we would match up? Whatever excuse we could use comes back on us. I personally don’t know about their spiritual maturity, godliness and commitment but I do know that they have had over 10,000 Saddleback members serve on missions overseas. How have they done this and how have they grown like they have? They have turned spectators into participators, consumers into contributors and an audience into an army. All too often we think that if we come to church it is enough, or if we serve on a committee or teach a class, don’t get me wrong, those are good, but can we do more? Are we spectators or participators, consumers or contributors; are we an audience or an army? One way for you to get to the point of being participators, contributors and an army is for me to turn more things over to those who are willing to take responsibility for them and then do something with them. I have turned our outreach, Connect, over to Jimmy, Jerry H. and Tommy and I am expecting great things from them in our outreach department. But the only way that this can happen is when God leads them into areas of outreach; we must get behind them and be part of it. I want our W.M.U. and Brotherhood to be active, not inside the church but outside, I want our teachers on Sunday morning and Wednesday night to decide what they want out of their class, how much they want it to grow and then get out and work it and make it grow. It’s time that we the people of Carey Baptist took the responsibility for the growth of our church and not just leave it up to the paid staff. It’s time that we stepped out into the community and made a difference, it’s time that you stopped just reading and listening to my words and started asking God what He wants us as a church to be doing; and then do it!!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
ONE DAY
“One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship, beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches. I'd rather scrub floors in the house of my God than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin. 11 All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory. He doesn't scrimp with his traveling companions. 12 It's smooth sailing all the way with God of the Angel Armies.” Psalms 84:10-12 (MSG)
Dr. J. Vernon McGee says, “He says, "A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand days anywhere else. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness,'' and that's what the sons of Korah were -- doorkeepers. He says, "I would rather have my job than to be a rich man living far from God.'' There are some folk who look at their watches on Sunday morning to see if the preacher is going overtime. The psalmist says, "I'd rather spend one day in God's house than a thousand anywhere else.'' What a glorious psalm this is, and what a rebuke it is to many of us.”
How often do we come to church and then think about being somewhere else? Or, how often do we just go somewhere else instead of coming to church, but the psalmist is saying that one day in God’s house is better than a thousand days anywhere else, wow, what a way to look at being in God’s house. Oh that we would have that same attitude, just one day in your house in your presence is better than a thousand days at the lake, or race track, or park or game or anywhere else you can think of. When we learn to worship God that way it will enhance every area of our life. When we choose to really put God first, when we choose to serve God with our whole heart not holding anything back, the when the enemy attacks, when the enemy does us harm, God can turn it around and use it for good. What Satan meant for harm God means for good means that God is still on His throne and no one can remove Him. God may not do it the way that we want it done, but then, He is God and we aren’t. We may not understand it all, but we must trust Him and have faith. When we can come to this point in our life, then we will truly understand why one day in His house is better than a thousand anywhere else.
Dr. J. Vernon McGee says, “He says, "A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand days anywhere else. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness,'' and that's what the sons of Korah were -- doorkeepers. He says, "I would rather have my job than to be a rich man living far from God.'' There are some folk who look at their watches on Sunday morning to see if the preacher is going overtime. The psalmist says, "I'd rather spend one day in God's house than a thousand anywhere else.'' What a glorious psalm this is, and what a rebuke it is to many of us.”
How often do we come to church and then think about being somewhere else? Or, how often do we just go somewhere else instead of coming to church, but the psalmist is saying that one day in God’s house is better than a thousand days anywhere else, wow, what a way to look at being in God’s house. Oh that we would have that same attitude, just one day in your house in your presence is better than a thousand days at the lake, or race track, or park or game or anywhere else you can think of. When we learn to worship God that way it will enhance every area of our life. When we choose to really put God first, when we choose to serve God with our whole heart not holding anything back, the when the enemy attacks, when the enemy does us harm, God can turn it around and use it for good. What Satan meant for harm God means for good means that God is still on His throne and no one can remove Him. God may not do it the way that we want it done, but then, He is God and we aren’t. We may not understand it all, but we must trust Him and have faith. When we can come to this point in our life, then we will truly understand why one day in His house is better than a thousand anywhere else.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
FATHER'S DAY
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!! Just in case no one has told you yet today dad, let me be the first, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!! We are really glad that you are here for our 3rd Annual Father’s Day Cook-Out, we hope to do our best to honor you today dad. When God made the family He made man to be the head of the household, but all too often in our society dad is made out to look like an idiot. In this age of the absentee dad, the fatherless home and the abusive fathers, we tend to forget about the men out there who are good husbands and great dads. Are they without fault, no, but then neither are you. We as men and dads need to remember our role and our calling to be Godly men because we represent Christ who is the head of the Church, and the way that our kids look at us is the way they see God, our Heavenly Father. I think that is one reason that some people have tried to feminize God. In the very popular book The Shack, God is portrayed as a woman. Why, I’m not sure, but I do know that Jesus said Father, Our Father who art in Heaven… Today there are so many children being raised by mom, and dad is nowhere in the picture and this may make it hard for people to understand God as Father. But God said that He is a father to the fatherless, He has not abandoned us, He is still right here. So dad, I’m glad that you are here in church today, a day when you could be off anywhere, but you chose to be here, may God bless you richly for that.
I want to ask you something, have you taken time to honor your dad today? If you are able to, in some way, honor him today, I’m not going to tell you how to do that, but please make an effort to do it. In this day and age when all too many men think that all you have to do to be a dad is to have a kid, (even goats do that) take time to honor those who are truly fathers. A little appreciation goes a long way, it doesn’t take an expensive gift, just love. Men are simple creatures, (not simple minded), just simple and easy to please. Real fathers just want family close, to cook out or to be with friends...and look we have all three here today. So, Happy Father’s Day. Remember, God honors dads and here at Carey, so do we!
I want to ask you something, have you taken time to honor your dad today? If you are able to, in some way, honor him today, I’m not going to tell you how to do that, but please make an effort to do it. In this day and age when all too many men think that all you have to do to be a dad is to have a kid, (even goats do that) take time to honor those who are truly fathers. A little appreciation goes a long way, it doesn’t take an expensive gift, just love. Men are simple creatures, (not simple minded), just simple and easy to please. Real fathers just want family close, to cook out or to be with friends...and look we have all three here today. So, Happy Father’s Day. Remember, God honors dads and here at Carey, so do we!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
God & Country
I want to take just a moment to welcome you here on Memorial Sunday, the Sunday before Memorial Day. This day was first enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I. On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. Memorial Day has been set on the last Monday in May since 1971. Memorial Day was first Remembrance Day, a day we have set aside to remember and honor those who have fought to make and keep us free and those who have died for the same cause. It was, and is still used by some to decorate the graves of those loved ones who are lost and the military men and women of our nation. All too often we just see it as a day to be off of work, a day to cook out, be with family and friends, which is good, but if were not for those who have fought and died, those who would not quit, refused to give up, continued to push on regardless of the conditions or the enemy, we might very well be living under the British flag, or the German, Japanese or Russian. But we live under the stars and strips, in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Where we are still free to go to the church of our choice, where we are still free to tell others about Jesus, where we can still have a manger scene in our front yard, where we can fly the flag, but these very freedoms may all go away if some politicians get their way. We need to be pro-active as Christians in politics, voting for God fearing men and women, voting out those who vote in an anti-Christian way, making phone calls, writing letters and e-mails to those who represent us. That is our responsibility! Did you know that the U.S. House Judiciary Committee of Congress in 1854 wrote; “Had the people, during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, That Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle...In this age, there can be no substitute for Christianity… That was the religion of the founders of the republic and they expect it to remain the religion of their descendants.” What has happened since then?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
KINGDOM & MONEY
I was watching an auction the other day, the auction took place at Christy’s in New York and they were auctioning off memorabilia from Star Trek. These were items from the very first pilot in the 60’s through all of the TV shows and movies. Uniforms, all of the gadgets that were handheld, make-up props and even 6 foot models of all of the ships used in filming. What got me was the amount people were willing to spend to have something from the show. The cheapest bid was $800 for some small something; the next lowest bid was $2800, those 6 foot ships sold for between $85,000 to $500,000; for this 6 foot thing that the buyer will have no room for. I’m sure that those who bought thought that they got something great, but I have to wonder what could have been done for the Kingdom of God with the money spent. But then I have to think about the money we waste and what could be done for the Kingdom with it. As you well know it takes money to spread the Gospel, and it takes money to keep the doors open on the church, but if these are the only reason that we give, we give for the wrong reasons. We should be giving back to God from what He has given us, we give because God said to, and when we do we will be blessed. Thank You for your giving and for being obedient. When you give tithes and offerings for VBS or missions you enable the church to go forward, thank you again.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Master Mechanic
I was walking through the park one day, in the merry merry month of May, looking at all of the flowers brought on by April showers...no wait, those are weeds, and they are all in my yard. Can you believe the way everything is growing? On Monday I worked in my yard, I ran the edger, cut tree limbs, ran the trimmer, and then worked on my riding mower, and worked and worked, and it did not want to start. I had to put the jumper cables on my truck and it still would not start. Finally I broke down and went and bought a new fuel filter, air filters and a new spark plug. Put all of this on and guess what. It started and ran better than it has in a while. The old spark plug was so gummed up that it couldn’t fire if it wanted to. I think that sometimes that’s the way we get, we go and go until we get so gummed up that we have to get a new spark plug or a fresh fire from the Lord. In our daily walk with the Lord we need that fire from the Holy Spirit everyday, but sometimes we get bogged down and need that boost. Ask God to give you that boost today, we don’t need to be just going through the motions; we need that fire that only God can give. Ask Him and He will give it to you.
P.S. The mower had to go to the hospital (shop), do you need to be in the hospital (church)? We all need to visit with the Master Mechanic, do we as often as we need to?
P.S. The mower had to go to the hospital (shop), do you need to be in the hospital (church)? We all need to visit with the Master Mechanic, do we as often as we need to?
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
PASTOR'S PEN 4-25-10
Remission is still a good word, no...it’s a great word. Becky is still in remission, we saw her doctor in Denver and she said that Becky was to continue her treatments twice a week, so we continue on. And we saw my doctor on the Tuesday before we left and everything is looking good there also. So….PRAISE THE LORD!!
Did you know that next week is Senior Adult Sunday? Well it is, and our senior adults will be involved in our service and it will be a very special service. But I have a favor to ask of you, we will be honoring our senior adults next week with a potluck dinner after church. Now I don’t know if you know it or not but they bring a lot of food when we have fellowship meals, so for next week can we who are not senior adults bring lots of food so they don’t have to? They may wish to bring a dish but they should not have to bring as much as they do most of the time. So can you help me honor our senior adults next week? Let’s all show up in force and stay and eat lunch, our senior adults are worth it, they are the ones who have kept things going for many years and we can take time to honor them. So one more time...be here next week, bring lots of food, stay and eat, honor our senior adults, and, and tell them how much you love and appreciate them. Next Sunday, Senior Adult Sunday!! Be here!!
Did you know that next week is Senior Adult Sunday? Well it is, and our senior adults will be involved in our service and it will be a very special service. But I have a favor to ask of you, we will be honoring our senior adults next week with a potluck dinner after church. Now I don’t know if you know it or not but they bring a lot of food when we have fellowship meals, so for next week can we who are not senior adults bring lots of food so they don’t have to? They may wish to bring a dish but they should not have to bring as much as they do most of the time. So can you help me honor our senior adults next week? Let’s all show up in force and stay and eat lunch, our senior adults are worth it, they are the ones who have kept things going for many years and we can take time to honor them. So one more time...be here next week, bring lots of food, stay and eat, honor our senior adults, and, and tell them how much you love and appreciate them. Next Sunday, Senior Adult Sunday!! Be here!!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
PASTOR'S PEN 4-11-10
This the last week of our Annie Armstrong Easter Offering which is used to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in North America, that means right here where we are. So far we have not reached our goal, but we are getting close. Our goal is $700 and so far we have brought in $616. Every penny given to this is used for missionaries in North America; all we need to reach our goal is $84 more.
Well what did you think about last Sunday? We started off with the Sunrise Service and then we baptized two, had a great service, and ended it with communion and an Easter Egg Hunt. After church Amy, Zach, Zoe, Becky and I went to Amarillo to spend some time with Jody, Sarah and the girls. We watched the girls hunt eggs together and then went to church with them as they were having Resurrection Week. We had a great time with them and at church, and got home way, way, way late, but it was worth it.
Have you received your census yet? I don’t mean to sound political, but does this seem like a big waste of money to you? First we receive a letter telling us that the census will be mailed soon, this cost money for postage, paper and envelopes, plus someone to write the letters, copy them and send them. And then we get the census in the mail, and then we get a second census in the mail and I’m told that we will be getting a third. Does this sound like overkill? Now I’m finding out that census workers are being told to slow down, stall, waste time and stretch out their work unnecessarily, they are being told that in order to make unemployment look better they need to be slower. They are being sent to soup kitchens, parks and shelters to count people, not talk to them, just observe their race, sex and approximate age, 2 or 3 times. It just seems to me like a lot of wasted money at a time when our government is out of money, but what do I know? The census is also being used in ways that it wasn’t meant for but the information that it asks for is just about the same as was asked for in the Madison administration, how it’s used though is another matter. But, I have filled out our first census, thrown the second in the trash as I will the third. My beef isn’t with the census, but the waste and misuse. Isn’t this why Jesus was born in Bethlehem, because of a census?
Well what did you think about last Sunday? We started off with the Sunrise Service and then we baptized two, had a great service, and ended it with communion and an Easter Egg Hunt. After church Amy, Zach, Zoe, Becky and I went to Amarillo to spend some time with Jody, Sarah and the girls. We watched the girls hunt eggs together and then went to church with them as they were having Resurrection Week. We had a great time with them and at church, and got home way, way, way late, but it was worth it.
Have you received your census yet? I don’t mean to sound political, but does this seem like a big waste of money to you? First we receive a letter telling us that the census will be mailed soon, this cost money for postage, paper and envelopes, plus someone to write the letters, copy them and send them. And then we get the census in the mail, and then we get a second census in the mail and I’m told that we will be getting a third. Does this sound like overkill? Now I’m finding out that census workers are being told to slow down, stall, waste time and stretch out their work unnecessarily, they are being told that in order to make unemployment look better they need to be slower. They are being sent to soup kitchens, parks and shelters to count people, not talk to them, just observe their race, sex and approximate age, 2 or 3 times. It just seems to me like a lot of wasted money at a time when our government is out of money, but what do I know? The census is also being used in ways that it wasn’t meant for but the information that it asks for is just about the same as was asked for in the Madison administration, how it’s used though is another matter. But, I have filled out our first census, thrown the second in the trash as I will the third. My beef isn’t with the census, but the waste and misuse. Isn’t this why Jesus was born in Bethlehem, because of a census?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
PASTOR'S PEN, 3-28-2010
Happy Palm Sunday Everyone! Is this an appropriate greeting on such a day? This is a day when Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem among shouts of acclamation, much as a king would, and He was heir to the throne of King David, but then again so were a lot of other people. He was a very popular man, feeding thousands, healing the sick, raising the dead, doing miracle after miracle, gaining in popularity. When he topped the hill over looking the city He wept for the city, not for the bricks and streets, for he knew that in forty years the temple would be destroyed, but He wept for the people He loved because He knew they would betray Him and reject their one true Messiah. Their only hope for salvation was and is Jesus Christ, but they couldn’t see it; they wanted a warrior-politically savvy king who would led them out from under the Romans, although they never realized that every time they were given their freedom they stopped serving God and then fell back into bondage. It was a vicious circle, freedom - turn from God - bondage - cry for mercy - prayer heard and answered - freedom given back by God - turn from God……. Do you ever find yourself falling into this trap? The Jewish people could not stay out of it because they let other gods; other things come between them and God. Have we as a nation fallen into this trap? We are the land of the free and the home of the brave except now we have lost more of our freedom to politically savvy politicians. This isn’t the first freedom we have lost, we have been losing them for a while and we have accepted them, now we have lost in a big way. I don’t mean to get political but I have to wonder if we are ready to cry out to God for mercy for our nation, if we as a nation are ready to turn back to Him yet and I don’t think so. Too many people believe that they are still as free as their parents and grandparents, but with 1,600 more I.R.S. agents coming on board to watch you and me, I don’t think so. It’s time that we as a church, city, county, state and nation began to fall on our faces before the one and only true living God and cry out to Him. But then maybe these things are happening to bring us to that point.
On a brighter note...Next Sunday is Easter...Who will you bring to church? If you begin asking today, you will be surprised how many will come with you. Try it and see.
On a brighter note...Next Sunday is Easter...Who will you bring to church? If you begin asking today, you will be surprised how many will come with you. Try it and see.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Pastors Pen 3-21-10
Wow, Thank You to everyone who helped with the Vietnam Veterans Run Sunday evening and Monday morning, we had a great turn out and served about 100 bikers. If you missed it you missed out on a blessing. We had adults and youth working to feed and bless the riders, and as always they could not say thank you enough and neither can I. One of the riders, Myron Peterson, the president of the Chapter 404 of the Vietnam Veterans of America in Borger wrote us a note. He said, “Thank you all for your unselfish service. I’ve been enjoying your hospitality here in Childress since 2005. May God bless you all richly. Thanks Again, Myron.” He is just one of many who told us thank you. And I want to add my thank you to theirs, Thank You everyone for the way you step up, Morris and Carolyn, the food was great as usual, Ladies the pancakes were awesome and the fact that you were here at 5:30 am and cooking by 6:00 am made it work. Thank you to everyone who moved chairs one way or the other, set tables up or put them up, cooked food or served food, vacuumed the floor or picked something up off of it, greeted a biker, shook a hand or hugged a neck, without you Carey Baptist Church could not and would not show the love of Christ the way we do, you will never know what this means to me as your pastor. You make my heart swell up and my eyes fill with tears, you truly are the best. I love you and God loves you even more.
On a different note; Have you checked out the new web-site for the church? Its www.carey1stbaptist.com and it looks great, there is a page for all kinds of things, like Kidzone, reFuge, staff, photos, our ministries, the church calendar and for prayer. This is the page that I want to talk to you about. On the prayer page you can request prayer for someone; you just add in the info and send. It lets me know when a new name is added, when you write in the comments section, let me know if you want this name added to our church prayer bulletin or the web-site prayer page. Also I need to get anyone’s e-mail address or phone number who wants to get an update on these prayer requests. With this it will send you an e-mail or a text on you phone. So if you want to be added, please let me know.
On a different note; Have you checked out the new web-site for the church? Its www.carey1stbaptist.com and it looks great, there is a page for all kinds of things, like Kidzone, reFuge, staff, photos, our ministries, the church calendar and for prayer. This is the page that I want to talk to you about. On the prayer page you can request prayer for someone; you just add in the info and send. It lets me know when a new name is added, when you write in the comments section, let me know if you want this name added to our church prayer bulletin or the web-site prayer page. Also I need to get anyone’s e-mail address or phone number who wants to get an update on these prayer requests. With this it will send you an e-mail or a text on you phone. So if you want to be added, please let me know.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
THE SOLID MARRIAGE, pt. 1
It was fun being a baby boomer...till now. Some of the artists of the '60s are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers. They include:
Herman's Hermits - Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker
The Bee Gees - How Can You Mend a Broken Hip
Bobby Darin - Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash
Ringo Starr - I Get By With a Little Help from Depends
Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face
Johnny Nash - I Can't See Clearly Now
Paul Simon - Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver
Commodores - Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom
Marvin Gaye - I Heard it Through the GrapeNuts
Procol Harem - A Whiter Shade of Hair
Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Napping
The Temptations - Papa's Got a Kidney Stone
Abba - Denture Queen
Tony Orlando - Knock 3 Times on the Ceiling if you Hear Me Fall
Helen Reddy - I am Woman, Hear me Snore
Willie Nelson - On the Throne Again
“IF I HAVE NOT LOVE ...”
Now, I know that the origins of Valentine's Day may have a pagan feel since it was established in Rome centuries ago, but the main emphasis of Valentine's Day today is filled with expressions of love and appreciation. And we all know what today is…, many people throughout the world celebrate this day with flowers, candy and cards with meaningful messages. Many of you were here last night for our Annual Sweetheart Banquet. Poems will be read and new commitments made to one another. Valentine's Day is a wonderful thing.
Remember the old 1965 song by Jackie DeShannon:
"What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of ...No not just for some, but for everyone."
The song went on to say, we don't need any more mountains or meadows, but lots more love. Makes sense to me.
The Apostle Paul had a similar idea when he wrote to the Corinthians that I can possess all the characteristics of a Christian, "but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Cor. 13:2). In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Paul wrote about what love is;
1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Read this out loud with me, let’s all stand.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (Don’t look at your wife). Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS.”
Stay on your feet because I want us to read this again, only this time we are going to do something a bit different. We are to be the love of Christ to a lost world, we are to love our spouse, and we are to be love! But do we practice love? We are going to read this again, but this time we are going to put our own name in the place of love, ready? Everyplace there is a blank add your name, are you ready, now this mat get a little confusing but concentrate.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
“______ is patient, ______ is kind. ______ does not envy, ______ does not boast, ______ is not proud. ______ is not rude, ______ is not self-seeking, ______ is not easily angered, ______ keeps no record of wrongs. ______ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ______ always protects, ______ always perseveres.
LOVE NEVER FAILS.”
You may sit down.
We have seen it, we have read it out loud, but, do we truly live the message of 1 Corinthians 13? Are we truly love? Do we live it?
John wrote about this topic in his first epistle. "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18). And, again in chapter 4:20, 21: "If anyone says 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar ... Whoever loves God must also love his brother." It would seem to me that the church has a whole lot of self-examination to do, some valentines to send, some more love to pass around.
Note: The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year world-wide. Yet, in spite of all those that are exchanged, the valentines that really matter are the ones we receive and give where love is unconditional, that say, "No matter what ... I love you!"
"... but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13).
1 Corinthians 14:1 says, “Follow the way of LOVE”.
BUT WHAT IS LOVE?
We all want a marriage that lasts, before we get married we are giddy with love, everything is good and everything is right and this is the marriage that will last through eternity. Then we get married and 6 months down the road this is not the person I married. But how many of you realize that you are not the person they married either? We need to know what real love is.
1 John 2:4-6; “The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, GOD’S LOVE is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”
Before we decide if we love someone, if we want to marry them, we need to watch and see if they love God, their life will show it, they should be bearing fruit, we should be seeing fruit.
1 John 3:11 says, “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another”.
There must be love in that person, real, true love.
2 John 6, “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”
John 3:16
Jack Kelly is the foreign affairs editor for USA Today and has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He tells the story of a boy’s sacrificial love:
We were in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in East Africa, during a famine. It was so bad we walked into one village and everyone was dead. There is a stench of death that gets into your hair, gets onto your skin, gets onto your clothes, and you can’t wash it off.
We saw this little boy. You could tell he had worms and was malnourished; his stomach was protruding. When a child is extremely malnourished, the hair turns a reddish color, and the skin becomes crinkled as though he’s one hundred years old.
Our photographer had a grapefruit, which he gave to the boy. The boy was so weak he didn’t have the strength to hold the grapefruit, so we cut it in half and gave it to him. He picked it up, looked at us as if to say thanks, and began to walk back towards his village.
We walked behind him in a way that he couldn’t see us. When he entered the village, there on the ground was a little boy who I thought was dead. His eyes were completely glazed over. It turned out that this was his younger brother. The older brother kneeled down next to his younger brother, bit off a piece of the grapefruit, and chewed it. Then he opened up his younger brother’s mouth, put the grapefruit in, and worked his brother’s up and down. We learned that the older brother had been doing that for the younger brother for two weeks.
A couple of days later the older brother died of malnutrition and the younger brother lived. I remember driving home that night thinking, “I wonder if this is what Jesus meant when he said, and “There is no greater love than to lay down our life for somebody else.”
Herman's Hermits - Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker
The Bee Gees - How Can You Mend a Broken Hip
Bobby Darin - Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash
Ringo Starr - I Get By With a Little Help from Depends
Roberta Flack - The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face
Johnny Nash - I Can't See Clearly Now
Paul Simon - Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver
Commodores - Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom
Marvin Gaye - I Heard it Through the GrapeNuts
Procol Harem - A Whiter Shade of Hair
Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Napping
The Temptations - Papa's Got a Kidney Stone
Abba - Denture Queen
Tony Orlando - Knock 3 Times on the Ceiling if you Hear Me Fall
Helen Reddy - I am Woman, Hear me Snore
Willie Nelson - On the Throne Again
Leslie Gore - It's My Procedure and I'll Cry if I Want To
“THE SOLID MARRIAGE”
I want to begin talking about marriage this morning, and what I am using this morning is based on personal study and 31 years of marriage. I will be the first to tell you that I am not an expert on marriage, if you don’t believe me you can ask my wife, and I also know that there are those in this church who have been married longer that we have, but… I am the one preaching. Maybe, just maybe during this series we will get to hear from some of the others in our church who have been married for a while and hear what they have learned about marriage.
Now you may think that this sermon series is only for people who are married, or for couples who haven’t been married long enough to figure out whose boss. But I believe that it is for everyone who is married, has been married or may get married in the future. Many people have ended up divorced or in a miserable marriage because they did not learn what I will be sharing. Much of what I will be sharing is good for every person to learn, married or single.
“THE SOLID MARRIAGE”
I want to begin talking about marriage this morning, and what I am using this morning is based on personal study and 31 years of marriage. I will be the first to tell you that I am not an expert on marriage, if you don’t believe me you can ask my wife, and I also know that there are those in this church who have been married longer that we have, but… I am the one preaching. Maybe, just maybe during this series we will get to hear from some of the others in our church who have been married for a while and hear what they have learned about marriage.
Now you may think that this sermon series is only for people who are married, or for couples who haven’t been married long enough to figure out whose boss. But I believe that it is for everyone who is married, has been married or may get married in the future. Many people have ended up divorced or in a miserable marriage because they did not learn what I will be sharing. Much of what I will be sharing is good for every person to learn, married or single.
“IF I HAVE NOT LOVE ...”
Now, I know that the origins of Valentine's Day may have a pagan feel since it was established in Rome centuries ago, but the main emphasis of Valentine's Day today is filled with expressions of love and appreciation. And we all know what today is…, many people throughout the world celebrate this day with flowers, candy and cards with meaningful messages. Many of you were here last night for our Annual Sweetheart Banquet. Poems will be read and new commitments made to one another. Valentine's Day is a wonderful thing.
Remember the old 1965 song by Jackie DeShannon:
"What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of ...No not just for some, but for everyone."
The song went on to say, we don't need any more mountains or meadows, but lots more love. Makes sense to me.
The Apostle Paul had a similar idea when he wrote to the Corinthians that I can possess all the characteristics of a Christian, "but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Cor. 13:2). In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Paul wrote about what love is;
1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Read this out loud with me, let’s all stand.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (Don’t look at your wife). Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS.”
Stay on your feet because I want us to read this again, only this time we are going to do something a bit different. We are to be the love of Christ to a lost world, we are to love our spouse, and we are to be love! But do we practice love? We are going to read this again, but this time we are going to put our own name in the place of love, ready? Everyplace there is a blank add your name, are you ready, now this mat get a little confusing but concentrate.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
“______ is patient, ______ is kind. ______ does not envy, ______ does not boast, ______ is not proud. ______ is not rude, ______ is not self-seeking, ______ is not easily angered, ______ keeps no record of wrongs. ______ does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ______ always protects, ______ always perseveres.
LOVE NEVER FAILS.”
You may sit down.
We have seen it, we have read it out loud, but, do we truly live the message of 1 Corinthians 13? Are we truly love? Do we live it?
John wrote about this topic in his first epistle. "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18). And, again in chapter 4:20, 21: "If anyone says 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar ... Whoever loves God must also love his brother." It would seem to me that the church has a whole lot of self-examination to do, some valentines to send, some more love to pass around.
Note: The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year world-wide. Yet, in spite of all those that are exchanged, the valentines that really matter are the ones we receive and give where love is unconditional, that say, "No matter what ... I love you!"
"... but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13).
1 Corinthians 14:1 says, “Follow the way of LOVE”.
BUT WHAT IS LOVE?
We all want a marriage that lasts, before we get married we are giddy with love, everything is good and everything is right and this is the marriage that will last through eternity. Then we get married and 6 months down the road this is not the person I married. But how many of you realize that you are not the person they married either? We need to know what real love is.
1 John 2:4-6; “The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, GOD’S LOVE is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”
Before we decide if we love someone, if we want to marry them, we need to watch and see if they love God, their life will show it, they should be bearing fruit, we should be seeing fruit.
1 John 3:11 says, “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another”.
There must be love in that person, real, true love.
2 John 6, “And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”
John 3:16
Jack Kelly is the foreign affairs editor for USA Today and has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He tells the story of a boy’s sacrificial love:
We were in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in East Africa, during a famine. It was so bad we walked into one village and everyone was dead. There is a stench of death that gets into your hair, gets onto your skin, gets onto your clothes, and you can’t wash it off.
We saw this little boy. You could tell he had worms and was malnourished; his stomach was protruding. When a child is extremely malnourished, the hair turns a reddish color, and the skin becomes crinkled as though he’s one hundred years old.
Our photographer had a grapefruit, which he gave to the boy. The boy was so weak he didn’t have the strength to hold the grapefruit, so we cut it in half and gave it to him. He picked it up, looked at us as if to say thanks, and began to walk back towards his village.
We walked behind him in a way that he couldn’t see us. When he entered the village, there on the ground was a little boy who I thought was dead. His eyes were completely glazed over. It turned out that this was his younger brother. The older brother kneeled down next to his younger brother, bit off a piece of the grapefruit, and chewed it. Then he opened up his younger brother’s mouth, put the grapefruit in, and worked his brother’s up and down. We learned that the older brother had been doing that for the younger brother for two weeks.
A couple of days later the older brother died of malnutrition and the younger brother lived. I remember driving home that night thinking, “I wonder if this is what Jesus meant when he said, and “There is no greater love than to lay down our life for somebody else.”
BLESSED
Can I tell you how proud I am of you? I am. I am extremely proud of you. We had our annual youth dessert auction last week, and by the way, if you missed it, you missed a good one, and we raised over $2000 for the youth, wow, thank you. Also if you saw the financial report for this last month you saw that for the first time since I have been here we went in the red in our account. We were steadily taking in less than we were spending every month last year, and then January came along and giving was down, we had a 5 Sunday month but we had an ice storm and only had income for 4 Sundays. So January we spent over $2200 more than we brought in and ended up $59.45 in the red. I have never seen a negative balance in our checking account, but now I have. And then last Sunday you gave, and as you can see from the report on the back of this bulletin, our offering last week was over $6200, WOW!!! But don’t quit on us now, this isn’t enough to carry us for the entire month, let’s keep on giving with a cheerful heart as it says in 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (ESV)
Something else I want to brag on you about, it seems that our numbers are up some in worship, Bible study is still floating around 50, but it seems that some are coming in for church. Did you know that 82% of the people you invite to church come? 82% are pretty good odds, that means that 82 out of every 100 will come if they are asked. Did you also know that when someone is invited it makes them feel wanted? And everyone wants to feel wanted, so keep on inviting and bringing and we will keep on loving those who come.
I want you to consider something; I need some people to volunteer to visit our visitors. When we have people come and visit us for the first time we need someone to go and visit them. All you need to do is go and tell them that we enjoyed having them with us. Very simple and easy visit, takes about 5 minutes but it means so much to our visitors. Did you know that we are losing visitors because our people do not go to see them? Sad but true! Will you help?
Something else I want to brag on you about, it seems that our numbers are up some in worship, Bible study is still floating around 50, but it seems that some are coming in for church. Did you know that 82% of the people you invite to church come? 82% are pretty good odds, that means that 82 out of every 100 will come if they are asked. Did you also know that when someone is invited it makes them feel wanted? And everyone wants to feel wanted, so keep on inviting and bringing and we will keep on loving those who come.
I want you to consider something; I need some people to volunteer to visit our visitors. When we have people come and visit us for the first time we need someone to go and visit them. All you need to do is go and tell them that we enjoyed having them with us. Very simple and easy visit, takes about 5 minutes but it means so much to our visitors. Did you know that we are losing visitors because our people do not go to see them? Sad but true! Will you help?
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