We spent our Sunday morning at Hopewell. Anne sang with the worship team and a group of about 8 children signed and moved to the words. It was really beautiful.
Prayer excerpt-"Not only are you the light of the world but you have called us the light of the world..."
John S., the pastor, encouraged his flock to step it up and take their relationship with God to the next level. These are my notes from his sermon.
1 Tim. 4:7,8-"Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is good but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and the life to come."
The challenge for 2010 from the pastor is this: Resolve to train yourself to be godly.
Discipline is doing what you need to do now so you can grow stronger.
Gal. 4:19-"Oh, my dear children. I feel as if I am going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives."
My hope is that Christ would become fully alive in you.
11 Cor. 3:17,18-"Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
Where does the Holy Spirit live?
Where He lives, there is freedom.
Are you experiencing freedom the way Jesus wants you to experience freedom?
Do hurts color your life?
Are you bound by a habit?
If the Holy Spirit lives in us, we should be free.
It is God's work but we do have a responsibility.
People like to blame God or the church but Paul says, "Train yourself."
We make a decision to be godly, surrender ourselves to God, and ask Him to take control of the change and transformation in our lives. Embrace it and take personal responsibility for your journey with Christ.
Hebrews 12-The Greek word for 'train' is the same as the word for 'gymnasium.'
The most basic and foundational thing we can do for our own growth is the read the Bible.
You would be surprised at how many people do not read the Bible on a daily basis.
The Bible is different than any other book in the world because it is God's Word. There is no substitute for it. If we hide His word in our hearts, we will not sin against Him.
11 Tim. 3:16-"All Scripture is inspired by God-useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us what is right."
Heb. 4:10-"The Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, joint and marrow..."
We have a tendency to dissect the Bible. I want to allow the Bible to dissect me.(J.S.)
The Bible is omni-relevant. God takes the same scriptures and makes them personal for each individual.
Pastor John challenged us to follow the reading plan they provided and read through the New Testament in 4o days, asking God through His Holy Spirit to teach us as we read.
He said that the church is planning to pray and fast from Jan. 10-31.
The spiritual disciplines that he highlighted included:
Bible Reading
Prayer
Fasting
Meditation and Contemplation
He recommended starting a journal and writing down what God is doing in your life.
Highlight for me was to see some dear friends...Bev and her Julie, Janet and Janet, Loretta, Lisa, Audrey, Tom and Wendy, Pat and Kel, Shelly, Andy and Lucille, and many more...and to sit behind Chris and her family and hear her say that her last scan came back showing that she was cancer free. It was so easy to enter into the worship service after hearing that good news. It helped while we sang Johnny's funeral song, "Blessed Be your name", while watching Anne and feeling for her while she sang in the dress she wore as a bridesmaid for Johnny and Janelle's wedding. The sweet and the bitter. Life. Blessed be Your name...
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