GOOD FRUIT
Romans 7:4-6
I recently heard a story about a child who was learning about seeds. He was planting seeds. His parents were farmers and he was asking a lot of questions. His Dad was trying to teach him a great lesson,” You reap what you sow.” If you plant an apple seed you will grow apples. One day the boy was out with his Dad and they were drinking a Coca-cola. The boy said to his Dad, “I’m going to plant this bottle cap in the ground and hopefully I’ll grow some Coca-cola.
Our Bible reading today comes from Romans 7:4-6. The idea of this text is if we plant the seeds of anger, jealousy, and hatred--the bad things in our lives; then the fruit of anger, hatred, and jealousy will grow from that. The child who planted the Coca-cola bottle cap was too young to understand about planting, but many people today think it doesn’t matter what seed you plant. The fact is, it does matter. In our Bible Paul says Christians serve God in a new way. Christians need to be planting good seeds in their lives. Never should we be planting anything but good, Galatians 5:22-23.
Some of the good seeds are things like love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, and gentleness. Those kind of seeds you can plant, and there is no law against how many you can plant. See that you are planting good seeds in your life so that you can grow good stuff for God Now we serve God in a new way within the spirit, Romans 7:6, says.
Are you serving God with new seeds? I hope you are, and that you’re reaping good blessings from sowing the seeds. If we have been sowing bad seeds, let’s change our seeds. Let’s start sowing the right kind of seed and start working for the right goal, the right crop in the end. What we will see is great blessings from God.
God blesses us in so many ways. You know, we are approaching Memorial Day. I was thinking how people are often committed to giving all sorts of things to this life. But the most important thing is to give yourself completely to God. “God First” should be our motto in life. We should put ourself in a position so God can bless us and to do that we have to be planting the right kind of seeds. Evaluate today what you are planting. Are you planting the right kind of seeds? If not, start today.
~Philip
28 May 2010
26 May 2010
A Lesson from Ants
Ephesians 4:1-16
Proverbs 6:7, tells us about the ants. The bible says the ants have no boss or leader, but yet they are able to do so many great things. It’s a great story about the way they work together and have different jobs. There is a queen ant and worker ants. Some of them build the house for everyone to live in together. Some gather food.
The Bible tells us there are very different kinds of ants. Each is responsible for a specific kind of job and they work together. In our Bible reading, which comes from Ephesians 4:1-16, Paul talks about the unity of Jesus’ body, the church. He reminds us that we are all very different yet we all have a responsibility to do a job in the church and all need to work together. Verse 16 of that text says the whole body depends on Christ. All the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part of the body does its own work and yet makes the whole body grow and be strong with love. Ephesians 4:16.
What a great idea! You and I who faithfully obey Gods will are part of His body. If we do our part-- if we do the part we are supposed to do in the church, not only will we have a very special job to do and be able to be involved as we certainly want to be, but we can do great things together to build up the church. We need to make sure we are doing the job we are called to do.
We need to make sure we are encouraging others to do their part and be involved. We talk about this in several ways. I talk a lot about giving of time, talents, and treasures. I talk a lot about treasures and about the tithe referred to in the Old Testament. It’s the idea that we are going to give at least 10% and to give even more beyond that.
We give our treasures but we also need to give of our time and talents. If you have a talent you need to use it for God. We ought to all say, “Okay, what kind of ant can I be? Can I be a worker, can I be a builder of the house? Can I be doing other jobs? What should I be doing?” Then without hesitation we should be doing it for God We should be doing what we can and not worrying about other folks and what else is going on. If each of us will just worry about doing our part, it will be so much better for the community and our world, and especially the church.
This is Wednesday and I hope you will come be with us tonight for our Fellowship Meal at 6pm, and our Family Bible Study at 7pm.
~Philip
Ephesians 4:1-16
Proverbs 6:7, tells us about the ants. The bible says the ants have no boss or leader, but yet they are able to do so many great things. It’s a great story about the way they work together and have different jobs. There is a queen ant and worker ants. Some of them build the house for everyone to live in together. Some gather food.
The Bible tells us there are very different kinds of ants. Each is responsible for a specific kind of job and they work together. In our Bible reading, which comes from Ephesians 4:1-16, Paul talks about the unity of Jesus’ body, the church. He reminds us that we are all very different yet we all have a responsibility to do a job in the church and all need to work together. Verse 16 of that text says the whole body depends on Christ. All the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part of the body does its own work and yet makes the whole body grow and be strong with love. Ephesians 4:16.
What a great idea! You and I who faithfully obey Gods will are part of His body. If we do our part-- if we do the part we are supposed to do in the church, not only will we have a very special job to do and be able to be involved as we certainly want to be, but we can do great things together to build up the church. We need to make sure we are doing the job we are called to do.
We need to make sure we are encouraging others to do their part and be involved. We talk about this in several ways. I talk a lot about giving of time, talents, and treasures. I talk a lot about treasures and about the tithe referred to in the Old Testament. It’s the idea that we are going to give at least 10% and to give even more beyond that.
We give our treasures but we also need to give of our time and talents. If you have a talent you need to use it for God. We ought to all say, “Okay, what kind of ant can I be? Can I be a worker, can I be a builder of the house? Can I be doing other jobs? What should I be doing?” Then without hesitation we should be doing it for God We should be doing what we can and not worrying about other folks and what else is going on. If each of us will just worry about doing our part, it will be so much better for the community and our world, and especially the church.
This is Wednesday and I hope you will come be with us tonight for our Fellowship Meal at 6pm, and our Family Bible Study at 7pm.
~Philip
21 May 2010
Missions
Matthew 28:16-20
What do you think of when you think of foreign missions? Some people think of far away countries with strange food and languages. Some people think they don’t want to do missionary work because they would have to go far away to some other country, and who knows what they might get into.
Missionary work can be done any place. It does not mean that you have to move to another country. Everyone has a mission field close to them. The best mission field sometimes can be your home town. Think about the in which we live. Do you have family and friends and people you know who are not simply following Jesus, and are not Christians. Do you have people in your neighborhood who aren’t Christians. There are people who say they are Christians and are going to heaven, but there are many who simply don’t know. They have questions and need our help. They can become our mission field.
In Romans 10:14, the Bible says, “But before people can trust in the Lord for help, they must believe in Him. Before people can believe in the Lord they must hear about Him. For people to hear about the Lord another person must tell them.” Your family and friends can’t know about Jesus unless you tell them. The question today is “Have you told them?” You don’t have to leave home to be a missionary. You can begin to serve God, maybe by just making phone calls, sending cards, or just bringing someone to church.
In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus is talking. He is encouraging His disciples to go into all of the world and teach others what they have been taught. That is still true today, and also applies to us.
Many people have asked us about our Deaf Ministry. We have a Deaf service and work them every day. We also are hosting the National Deaf Workshop this year which will be on the campus at Faulkner University in Montgomery in order to have room to accommodate all the people coming from all over the United States. We use our special skills of sign language to reach out to those people.
Maybe you have someone you can reach out to with some special skill that you have. Let me encourage you today be a missionary for God right where you are. Use your special skills to bring folks to God. Before these things can happen the Good News must be told to people, Mark 13:10 teaches.
I hope we do a good job of reaching out to folks here at the Elba Church of Christ with our website at www.elbachurchofchrist.com ,with all the other media things that we do, and all the other outlets that we use. We have got to reach out to people, the Bible says.
~Philip
Matthew 28:16-20
What do you think of when you think of foreign missions? Some people think of far away countries with strange food and languages. Some people think they don’t want to do missionary work because they would have to go far away to some other country, and who knows what they might get into.
Missionary work can be done any place. It does not mean that you have to move to another country. Everyone has a mission field close to them. The best mission field sometimes can be your home town. Think about the in which we live. Do you have family and friends and people you know who are not simply following Jesus, and are not Christians. Do you have people in your neighborhood who aren’t Christians. There are people who say they are Christians and are going to heaven, but there are many who simply don’t know. They have questions and need our help. They can become our mission field.
In Romans 10:14, the Bible says, “But before people can trust in the Lord for help, they must believe in Him. Before people can believe in the Lord they must hear about Him. For people to hear about the Lord another person must tell them.” Your family and friends can’t know about Jesus unless you tell them. The question today is “Have you told them?” You don’t have to leave home to be a missionary. You can begin to serve God, maybe by just making phone calls, sending cards, or just bringing someone to church.
In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus is talking. He is encouraging His disciples to go into all of the world and teach others what they have been taught. That is still true today, and also applies to us.
Many people have asked us about our Deaf Ministry. We have a Deaf service and work them every day. We also are hosting the National Deaf Workshop this year which will be on the campus at Faulkner University in Montgomery in order to have room to accommodate all the people coming from all over the United States. We use our special skills of sign language to reach out to those people.
Maybe you have someone you can reach out to with some special skill that you have. Let me encourage you today be a missionary for God right where you are. Use your special skills to bring folks to God. Before these things can happen the Good News must be told to people, Mark 13:10 teaches.
I hope we do a good job of reaching out to folks here at the Elba Church of Christ with our website at www.elbachurchofchrist.com ,with all the other media things that we do, and all the other outlets that we use. We have got to reach out to people, the Bible says.
~Philip
18 May 2010
God Is With Me
Psalm 73:23:28
As I grew up I had my family and my friends around me all the time. Many of you did too, and I'm sure you had similar backgrounds as I did experiencing much the same things. As a matter of fact, those of us who grew up in South Alabama towns probably knew all the kids you went to school with. We sort of kept up with each other all through school; and even if we go back to our home towns, we will run into those folks and still be close to them because of that kind of close knit society in which we grew up.
The same may be true of our homes. Maybe we were close to our families there, and as we grew up, had brothers and sisters around us who became some of our closest friends. Then the time came, when, as it did in my life that you moved away for a while. Maybe you moved away as I did for college, then for other jobs, and now are finally back to an area closer to the home where you grew up than you have been in several years.
Maybe when you went away to college, and saw life change. Then maybe you went through a similar time as I, and all of a sudden you were put into a situation where all of those familiar people weren't there with you. Instead you had to make new friends. You had to get to know people in a new way. Maybe it happened again like it did with me that everybody went home for Christmas and you had to stay for some reason. You were very alone and maybe even felt sad.
Maybe you've felt sad or lonely, but we read in verse 25 of today's Bible reading, Psalm 73:23:28, “God, I have you in heaven, and when I am with you what on earth can I want.” What we realize from that text is that even though we may feel alone because our family and friends are not necessarily with us, God, our ultimate friend is always with us. He is the reason we are living on earth and He is the reason we have things to look forward to eternally.
As for me, God will never fail me or leave me. I hope that you have family and friends around you to whom you are close. I now can run over to my parents' house. I grew up in Greenville, Alabama, not very far from where we are today. My wife grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. We even have some friends who moved with us from Florida to Elba and are right here in the area. That really makes a difference as well. What we realized is that it is really a blessing from God.
Even if you don't have that, even if you don't have a church family to be a part of, there's no reason not to. You can come and be a part of ours, but if today you don't do this. God knows who you are; God knows where you are; and God knows how you are. God will be with you and take care of you. He will be the one to whom you can always depend. I hope today you will trust God to the point that you will do that. Just say, “God, I trust you, and I know you are here with me”, and ask God to help you. He will do it. He will be there for you. “As for me, I have come to God. He has been there for me. I have made the Lord my place of safety. I have come to tell all the things you have done,” Psalm 73:28.
~Philip
Psalm 73:23:28
As I grew up I had my family and my friends around me all the time. Many of you did too, and I'm sure you had similar backgrounds as I did experiencing much the same things. As a matter of fact, those of us who grew up in South Alabama towns probably knew all the kids you went to school with. We sort of kept up with each other all through school; and even if we go back to our home towns, we will run into those folks and still be close to them because of that kind of close knit society in which we grew up.
The same may be true of our homes. Maybe we were close to our families there, and as we grew up, had brothers and sisters around us who became some of our closest friends. Then the time came, when, as it did in my life that you moved away for a while. Maybe you moved away as I did for college, then for other jobs, and now are finally back to an area closer to the home where you grew up than you have been in several years.
Maybe when you went away to college, and saw life change. Then maybe you went through a similar time as I, and all of a sudden you were put into a situation where all of those familiar people weren't there with you. Instead you had to make new friends. You had to get to know people in a new way. Maybe it happened again like it did with me that everybody went home for Christmas and you had to stay for some reason. You were very alone and maybe even felt sad.
Maybe you've felt sad or lonely, but we read in verse 25 of today's Bible reading, Psalm 73:23:28, “God, I have you in heaven, and when I am with you what on earth can I want.” What we realize from that text is that even though we may feel alone because our family and friends are not necessarily with us, God, our ultimate friend is always with us. He is the reason we are living on earth and He is the reason we have things to look forward to eternally.
As for me, God will never fail me or leave me. I hope that you have family and friends around you to whom you are close. I now can run over to my parents' house. I grew up in Greenville, Alabama, not very far from where we are today. My wife grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. We even have some friends who moved with us from Florida to Elba and are right here in the area. That really makes a difference as well. What we realized is that it is really a blessing from God.
Even if you don't have that, even if you don't have a church family to be a part of, there's no reason not to. You can come and be a part of ours, but if today you don't do this. God knows who you are; God knows where you are; and God knows how you are. God will be with you and take care of you. He will be the one to whom you can always depend. I hope today you will trust God to the point that you will do that. Just say, “God, I trust you, and I know you are here with me”, and ask God to help you. He will do it. He will be there for you. “As for me, I have come to God. He has been there for me. I have made the Lord my place of safety. I have come to tell all the things you have done,” Psalm 73:28.
~Philip
17 May 2010
A Sweet Smell
Psalm 141:1-4 Mal. 1;11
My fifteen month old will hold his nose every time he sees a garbage can, and we will phew- ee. Whether it stinks or not, just the sight of the garbage can makes him think it smells. He also does that when we talk of Auburn. We talk about that and of smells sometimes, and ask him how does this or that smell, and he will hold his nose.
Last night we were having a Senior Banquet for our seniors this year. We have three of them--two from Elba and one from Zion Chapel. As we were walking into our new building, it has a smell to it, a new kind of smell from the new carpet and other new construction. As we use the building more, it will take on new smells like the food we cook there or things that are going on. All our homes and other buildings are the same way. There are constant changing smells in our world.
The Bible talks a lot about being a sweet smelling aroma to our Lord, and our lives being a sacrifice of a sweet smell to God. It is not so important today-- the idea of using incense and those kinds of things in worship, but for the Jewish people it was an important part of worship. In Exodus 40:5 the Bible tells us about the commands for God’s people to build an altar for incense to burn during worship. God was pleased with the sweet smell. It is an interesting concept isn’t it?
We go over to the New Testament and we see that God wants us to offer our lives as a sweet smelling aroma to Him. That is what we should be doing. In Psalm 141:1-4, our scripture reading for today, David asks God to accept his prayers. David says in verse two of that text, “Lord, accept my prayers. Let it be like a gift of burnt incense, let it be like the evening sacrifice.” David wanted his prayers to please God. Just like that burnt incense smelled good to God, he wanted his prayer and his heart to smell good to God, apparently. If you read the whole text , and I hope you will, you will see this. He wanted his heart to be acceptable to God and be pleasing to God.
Our prayers should also please God. When we pray to God we should thank Him for all the things He has done for us and all the things He continues to do. That will help our prayers to smell better. He wants us to continue to pray. He wants our lives to be a sweet smelling thing to Him, and I hope that is our desire, even this day. People all around the world respect God’s name. All around the world people bring gifts to Him, Malachai 1:11 speaks up. What about your life? Is it smelling like it should? Or do you need to do some spring cleaning maybe to make it smell better.
~Philip
Psalm 141:1-4 Mal. 1;11
My fifteen month old will hold his nose every time he sees a garbage can, and we will phew- ee. Whether it stinks or not, just the sight of the garbage can makes him think it smells. He also does that when we talk of Auburn. We talk about that and of smells sometimes, and ask him how does this or that smell, and he will hold his nose.
Last night we were having a Senior Banquet for our seniors this year. We have three of them--two from Elba and one from Zion Chapel. As we were walking into our new building, it has a smell to it, a new kind of smell from the new carpet and other new construction. As we use the building more, it will take on new smells like the food we cook there or things that are going on. All our homes and other buildings are the same way. There are constant changing smells in our world.
The Bible talks a lot about being a sweet smelling aroma to our Lord, and our lives being a sacrifice of a sweet smell to God. It is not so important today-- the idea of using incense and those kinds of things in worship, but for the Jewish people it was an important part of worship. In Exodus 40:5 the Bible tells us about the commands for God’s people to build an altar for incense to burn during worship. God was pleased with the sweet smell. It is an interesting concept isn’t it?
We go over to the New Testament and we see that God wants us to offer our lives as a sweet smelling aroma to Him. That is what we should be doing. In Psalm 141:1-4, our scripture reading for today, David asks God to accept his prayers. David says in verse two of that text, “Lord, accept my prayers. Let it be like a gift of burnt incense, let it be like the evening sacrifice.” David wanted his prayers to please God. Just like that burnt incense smelled good to God, he wanted his prayer and his heart to smell good to God, apparently. If you read the whole text , and I hope you will, you will see this. He wanted his heart to be acceptable to God and be pleasing to God.
Our prayers should also please God. When we pray to God we should thank Him for all the things He has done for us and all the things He continues to do. That will help our prayers to smell better. He wants us to continue to pray. He wants our lives to be a sweet smelling thing to Him, and I hope that is our desire, even this day. People all around the world respect God’s name. All around the world people bring gifts to Him, Malachai 1:11 speaks up. What about your life? Is it smelling like it should? Or do you need to do some spring cleaning maybe to make it smell better.
~Philip
13 May 2010
God’s Love
1 John 4:13-16
One of the very first verses children learn in the Bible, is simply “God is Love”. These words are easy to memorize. Sometimes my secretary, Pam and I will talk about God’s love, and how we express that to people. She says I do so many devotionals and sermons on God’s love. It’s simply because the Bible talks a lot about love and God’s love is really what it is all about.
Through time people have created many different gods, but there has never been a god created by man that is anything like the true God. This God, the God of our Bible, is love. He showed us this love by sending His son to die on the cross for us so that we could have salvation when this life is over. We now have a great hope because He loved us just that much. We remember that familiar of John 3:16, where the Bible tells us “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”
Our Bible reading today comes from 1 John 4:13-16. By the way, if you want to read a whole chapter, this would be a great one to read. We find in this text that by sending His son Jesus, God showed an unbelievable amount of love for us. Not only did He create us, he also saved us.
I recently read a story of some missionaries who had found a tribe of people, and the language that the people used there did not have a language for love, at least not the one the Bible talks about. There are several types, you see. This made it kind of hard to translate the Bible for these people. These missionaries found the best way to explain to the people about love was just to show them example after example of God’s love by the way they lived their lives. That’s what we should do. We should be examples to others, and by that way show God’s love to the world.
I hope today will be the day that you let somebody know that you love them, and that God loves them. Many people will show love to their families and maybe to their friends. We will send card and flowers to them, but maybe the best thing we can do for them is to do what God wants us to do. He wants us to tell them that God loves them and has prepared a place for them to come and be with Him. We encourage them to read His word and believe it. We encourage repentance, confession, and baptism. We encourage you to tell them to live faithfully each day of their lives, because we love Him; because He loves us.
~Philip
1 John 4:13-16
One of the very first verses children learn in the Bible, is simply “God is Love”. These words are easy to memorize. Sometimes my secretary, Pam and I will talk about God’s love, and how we express that to people. She says I do so many devotionals and sermons on God’s love. It’s simply because the Bible talks a lot about love and God’s love is really what it is all about.
Through time people have created many different gods, but there has never been a god created by man that is anything like the true God. This God, the God of our Bible, is love. He showed us this love by sending His son to die on the cross for us so that we could have salvation when this life is over. We now have a great hope because He loved us just that much. We remember that familiar of John 3:16, where the Bible tells us “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”
Our Bible reading today comes from 1 John 4:13-16. By the way, if you want to read a whole chapter, this would be a great one to read. We find in this text that by sending His son Jesus, God showed an unbelievable amount of love for us. Not only did He create us, he also saved us.
I recently read a story of some missionaries who had found a tribe of people, and the language that the people used there did not have a language for love, at least not the one the Bible talks about. There are several types, you see. This made it kind of hard to translate the Bible for these people. These missionaries found the best way to explain to the people about love was just to show them example after example of God’s love by the way they lived their lives. That’s what we should do. We should be examples to others, and by that way show God’s love to the world.
I hope today will be the day that you let somebody know that you love them, and that God loves them. Many people will show love to their families and maybe to their friends. We will send card and flowers to them, but maybe the best thing we can do for them is to do what God wants us to do. He wants us to tell them that God loves them and has prepared a place for them to come and be with Him. We encourage them to read His word and believe it. We encourage repentance, confession, and baptism. We encourage you to tell them to live faithfully each day of their lives, because we love Him; because He loves us.
~Philip
12 May 2010
BIRDS
Matt 6:25-34
My kids enjoy watching the birds in the back yard, especially Brewer. He has become very familiar with a blue bird that he and Janice say is their bluebird that sits outside in the backyard at Janice’s. They have a birdhouse and all the rest. They watch the bird as he drinks water and feeds the babies in the birdhouse. They watch this bird play and eat and all those things-- just being a bird.
I like to watch the birds too. God has given them everything they need. Our Bible reading today reminds us that God takes care of the birds. Mat. 6:25-34 is our scripture reading today. In that text Jesus is saying you don’t have to worry about all the stuff that everybody seems to always be worried about.
Realize that God will take care of you just as He does everything else in the world. He knows our every need. He knows those things we want, and what we think we need. God knows the difference. He will take care of us better than we can take care of ourselves. God wants to bless us with good things. He wants us to trust us to do just that. He wants us to give Him our life, and then say, “Okay, God I trust you completely.” Then we need to stick to it.
Maybe you are sad, or maybe you have given your life to somewhere else other than God. Let me encourage you today to trust God completely. Give him all those worries. The Bible teaches that being worried all the time is a sinful place to be. What we ought to do is be encouraged by this great text. Maybe if you are afraid you can just simply give yourself over to God. He wants to give you strength. He wants to take care of you. You can trust God to take care of all of your needs. Our text says birds don’t have farms, but God takes care of them. Aren’t you more important than the birds? The answer is yes. You know that you are worth much more than the birds. This comes from verse 26 of our text.
~Philip
Matt 6:25-34
My kids enjoy watching the birds in the back yard, especially Brewer. He has become very familiar with a blue bird that he and Janice say is their bluebird that sits outside in the backyard at Janice’s. They have a birdhouse and all the rest. They watch the bird as he drinks water and feeds the babies in the birdhouse. They watch this bird play and eat and all those things-- just being a bird.
I like to watch the birds too. God has given them everything they need. Our Bible reading today reminds us that God takes care of the birds. Mat. 6:25-34 is our scripture reading today. In that text Jesus is saying you don’t have to worry about all the stuff that everybody seems to always be worried about.
Realize that God will take care of you just as He does everything else in the world. He knows our every need. He knows those things we want, and what we think we need. God knows the difference. He will take care of us better than we can take care of ourselves. God wants to bless us with good things. He wants us to trust us to do just that. He wants us to give Him our life, and then say, “Okay, God I trust you completely.” Then we need to stick to it.
Maybe you are sad, or maybe you have given your life to somewhere else other than God. Let me encourage you today to trust God completely. Give him all those worries. The Bible teaches that being worried all the time is a sinful place to be. What we ought to do is be encouraged by this great text. Maybe if you are afraid you can just simply give yourself over to God. He wants to give you strength. He wants to take care of you. You can trust God to take care of all of your needs. Our text says birds don’t have farms, but God takes care of them. Aren’t you more important than the birds? The answer is yes. You know that you are worth much more than the birds. This comes from verse 26 of our text.
~Philip
God’s Grace
1 Tim. 1:12-17
I know that some people grew up as Christians. They had parents who were already in church and who went to church all the time and served God. I know other people who didn’t grow up that way. They grew up doing other things and maybe didn’t have very much exposure to the Bible. didn’t have very
In our Bible reading today, which is 1 Timothy 1:12-17,and I encourage you to read it with 20/20 vision, the Bible is talking about Paul, and Paul is really talking about his past. In verse 15, Paul even says of himself, “I was the worst of sinners.” Then Paul realized though, because of God’s intervention, that he was not living as he should be. You know sometimes we need people to intervene. God does not intervene today, but we do have family and friends around us who could be that shining light, that example that others can follow. When Paul saw that he was not doing things that were right, that God was not pleased with him, he certainly was willing to do change his ways. Paul even added that God was willing to be patient with him and was willing to forgive Paul’s sins. “Christ showed His patience with me, “ he wrote, “the worst of sinners.”(Verse 16 of our text).
I am a person who has tried to follow God for much of my life, but there have been those times in my life when I didn’t do it right. Then I realized that God was being patient with me and had given me an opportunity of time to make it right--to come back to Him and do it His way. Maybe you need to come back to Him today--to say, “I have been a sinner and have been doing those things I shouldn’t have been doing, and I need to come back.”
God has blessed us in so many ways. I remember the song , “Count Your Many Blessing and See What God Has Done” Truly when we start adding up the list, we would not be able to even write down all the things God has done for us. But, maybe we need to specifically think about today, the time God has given us. We the worst of sinners many of us would say, “God has given us time to make our lives right with Him. He wants to forgive us. We look at God and say God is a gracious God, and He has extended it to us even this day.
We need to do some things in order to receive that great gift that God is offering freely to us. We often tell you that there is an equation for that, which is FAITH + OBEDIENCE = results in SALVATION. The faith part of that is hearing God’s word and believing it. Then we put it into action with obedience, which is repenting our sins, confessing our faith, and being baptized into Christ, then living faithfully each day for which God blesses us.
I hope you will also take advantage of all the things going on in our area. Tonight we will have our Wednesday night fellowship meal at 6pm before our Bible classes at 7pm. We would love for you to come join us.
~Philip
1 Tim. 1:12-17
I know that some people grew up as Christians. They had parents who were already in church and who went to church all the time and served God. I know other people who didn’t grow up that way. They grew up doing other things and maybe didn’t have very much exposure to the Bible. didn’t have very
In our Bible reading today, which is 1 Timothy 1:12-17,and I encourage you to read it with 20/20 vision, the Bible is talking about Paul, and Paul is really talking about his past. In verse 15, Paul even says of himself, “I was the worst of sinners.” Then Paul realized though, because of God’s intervention, that he was not living as he should be. You know sometimes we need people to intervene. God does not intervene today, but we do have family and friends around us who could be that shining light, that example that others can follow. When Paul saw that he was not doing things that were right, that God was not pleased with him, he certainly was willing to do change his ways. Paul even added that God was willing to be patient with him and was willing to forgive Paul’s sins. “Christ showed His patience with me, “ he wrote, “the worst of sinners.”(Verse 16 of our text).
I am a person who has tried to follow God for much of my life, but there have been those times in my life when I didn’t do it right. Then I realized that God was being patient with me and had given me an opportunity of time to make it right--to come back to Him and do it His way. Maybe you need to come back to Him today--to say, “I have been a sinner and have been doing those things I shouldn’t have been doing, and I need to come back.”
God has blessed us in so many ways. I remember the song , “Count Your Many Blessing and See What God Has Done” Truly when we start adding up the list, we would not be able to even write down all the things God has done for us. But, maybe we need to specifically think about today, the time God has given us. We the worst of sinners many of us would say, “God has given us time to make our lives right with Him. He wants to forgive us. We look at God and say God is a gracious God, and He has extended it to us even this day.
We need to do some things in order to receive that great gift that God is offering freely to us. We often tell you that there is an equation for that, which is FAITH + OBEDIENCE = results in SALVATION. The faith part of that is hearing God’s word and believing it. Then we put it into action with obedience, which is repenting our sins, confessing our faith, and being baptized into Christ, then living faithfully each day for which God blesses us.
I hope you will also take advantage of all the things going on in our area. Tonight we will have our Wednesday night fellowship meal at 6pm before our Bible classes at 7pm. We would love for you to come join us.
~Philip
10 May 2010
Be Humble
Philippians 2:1-5
Life, as we come to think about it, is so busy-- so busy that we forget about other people. When we focus on ourselves and not other people, we are pulled away from God and not able to obey God as we should.
When Jesus lived here on earth He showed us a perfect example of what it was like to be humble. Jesus was always thinking about other people. He would go off to a quiet place to be alone, but they would find Him and ask Him to help them in some way. Jesus would always humbly welcome them kindly. He would show them His love. We should be more like Jesus and not think more about ourselves than we do other people. In fact, our priority list should be God first, others second, and ourselves third or somewhere else down the line. We learn this from the Bible. Verse 3 and 4 of today’s text says when you do things, don’t let selfishness and pride be your guide. Be humble and give more honor to other people than to yourselves. Don’t be interested in your own life only, but be interested in the lives of other people too. This comes from our bible reading today, Philippians 2:1-5.
We see there that God says we should be more humble and give more to other people than to ourselves. Let me encourage you today to be more like Jesus. Put other people first and do what we can to help them. We should just look for ways to put other people first. The Bible says that if a person wants to be more important, then he should make other people more important than himself. He must serve all other people, Mark 9:35.
What are we doing? Are we really trying to help other people; or are we just trying to get ahead? I know sometimes it seems like it would be easier just to step on other people or claw your way to the top. The fact is though, when you do that you can’t stay there that way because people will see through you and know where your heart really is.
People want to be around other people who are humble and want to serve God. Evaluate your life today; look at your life today and see where you are. Are you humble and serving other people and thereby serving God, or are you doing something totally different? I hope each of us will look at our lives and see what we are doing. Doing God’s will is always the easiest way and the best thing for us to do in every aspect to do.
~Philip
Philippians 2:1-5
Life, as we come to think about it, is so busy-- so busy that we forget about other people. When we focus on ourselves and not other people, we are pulled away from God and not able to obey God as we should.
When Jesus lived here on earth He showed us a perfect example of what it was like to be humble. Jesus was always thinking about other people. He would go off to a quiet place to be alone, but they would find Him and ask Him to help them in some way. Jesus would always humbly welcome them kindly. He would show them His love. We should be more like Jesus and not think more about ourselves than we do other people. In fact, our priority list should be God first, others second, and ourselves third or somewhere else down the line. We learn this from the Bible. Verse 3 and 4 of today’s text says when you do things, don’t let selfishness and pride be your guide. Be humble and give more honor to other people than to yourselves. Don’t be interested in your own life only, but be interested in the lives of other people too. This comes from our bible reading today, Philippians 2:1-5.
We see there that God says we should be more humble and give more to other people than to ourselves. Let me encourage you today to be more like Jesus. Put other people first and do what we can to help them. We should just look for ways to put other people first. The Bible says that if a person wants to be more important, then he should make other people more important than himself. He must serve all other people, Mark 9:35.
What are we doing? Are we really trying to help other people; or are we just trying to get ahead? I know sometimes it seems like it would be easier just to step on other people or claw your way to the top. The fact is though, when you do that you can’t stay there that way because people will see through you and know where your heart really is.
People want to be around other people who are humble and want to serve God. Evaluate your life today; look at your life today and see where you are. Are you humble and serving other people and thereby serving God, or are you doing something totally different? I hope each of us will look at our lives and see what we are doing. Doing God’s will is always the easiest way and the best thing for us to do in every aspect to do.
~Philip
07 May 2010
SPRING
Gen. 8:1-22
Well, today is Friday and my daughter Bryson’s birthday. We’ll be celebrating all day today, and tomorrow we have a big party planned. As I look at her growing, and the things around us growing, I’m reminded about how powerful God is. I was watching the local news lately and they were talking about the planting that is going on. Of course, we live in a very agricultural area. A lot of farmers have put their crops in the ground and it won’t be long before we see new growth.
It seems that things just spring up over night in the spring of the year, and God just continues to remind us how powerful He is. I know that there will be a spring every year, because our Bible reading today, Genesis 8:1-22, promised that would be the case. Let me encourage you to read that text. There God is talking to Noah, to whom I believe God gave the promise, but I believe it is meant for everybody. You will see why in just a moment. God said to Noah, that there would always be seasons after this flood. In verse 22, the Bible says there will always be a time for planting and a time for harvesting. There will always be cold and hot, summer and winter, and day and night on earth.
We know that these things remind us of God Himself, of how great God is and what He can do. I guess when we look at our children we are reminded of the same thing aren’t we - of God Himself. WE think of how God blesses us and how He can make life happen even, and we see these things unfold before our very eyes. We are amazed at the person our children turn out to be, despite us, usually.
We are also amazed about how God works and how powerful God is. I need to trust God’s Word, the Bible. I need to take it and make it my book for daily living. I need to take God’s Word, read it and spend time with it. I need to take time today to look outside at God’s world and all the things He has created. I need to thank Him for what He has done. I need to thank Him for the seasons of the year and pray for all the beautiful things that we see, even beautiful things like Bryson, whose birthday is today.
Let me just say Happy Birthday, Bryson, and we love you. We love all of you as well, and would love to see all of you in our services. We hope you will come and be with us at the Elba Church of Christ at www.elbachurchofchrist.com . Check out the website, and you will see all the times we meet and it answers a lot of questions.
~Philip
Gen. 8:1-22
Well, today is Friday and my daughter Bryson’s birthday. We’ll be celebrating all day today, and tomorrow we have a big party planned. As I look at her growing, and the things around us growing, I’m reminded about how powerful God is. I was watching the local news lately and they were talking about the planting that is going on. Of course, we live in a very agricultural area. A lot of farmers have put their crops in the ground and it won’t be long before we see new growth.
It seems that things just spring up over night in the spring of the year, and God just continues to remind us how powerful He is. I know that there will be a spring every year, because our Bible reading today, Genesis 8:1-22, promised that would be the case. Let me encourage you to read that text. There God is talking to Noah, to whom I believe God gave the promise, but I believe it is meant for everybody. You will see why in just a moment. God said to Noah, that there would always be seasons after this flood. In verse 22, the Bible says there will always be a time for planting and a time for harvesting. There will always be cold and hot, summer and winter, and day and night on earth.
We know that these things remind us of God Himself, of how great God is and what He can do. I guess when we look at our children we are reminded of the same thing aren’t we - of God Himself. WE think of how God blesses us and how He can make life happen even, and we see these things unfold before our very eyes. We are amazed at the person our children turn out to be, despite us, usually.
We are also amazed about how God works and how powerful God is. I need to trust God’s Word, the Bible. I need to take it and make it my book for daily living. I need to take God’s Word, read it and spend time with it. I need to take time today to look outside at God’s world and all the things He has created. I need to thank Him for what He has done. I need to thank Him for the seasons of the year and pray for all the beautiful things that we see, even beautiful things like Bryson, whose birthday is today.
Let me just say Happy Birthday, Bryson, and we love you. We love all of you as well, and would love to see all of you in our services. We hope you will come and be with us at the Elba Church of Christ at www.elbachurchofchrist.com . Check out the website, and you will see all the times we meet and it answers a lot of questions.
~Philip
06 May 2010
Talents
Luke 19:11-27
God has given every Christian special talents to use for Him. God expects every Christian to use those talents in the church. When I was a child I took piano lessons and voice lessons. I learned to play a song or two, and not so well, on the piano. Then I decided I might be able to lead some songs at church, and I’ve done that . Through the years I’ve been able to lead singing sometimes. Then I realized some other talents I might have. I might teach a class or get up and preach a sermon. Before too long, I realized I was practicing and getting ready to use those talents. Then sure enough God gave me an opportunity to put those talents to practice.
Now I try to get ready ahead of time. It takes some preparation to serve God. We should be ready each Lord’s Day and each day of the week, as we do the Daily Updates and other things each week. It takes prep time to get ready to do these things. I try to arrive at church services early to make sure things are ready to go. Then I get up and try to do my very best for God. I think that is the attitude that every Christian should have--that we should evaluate our talents and use them in God’s service. As we use those talents, we should use them to the very best of our ability.
In our scripture reading today, the Bible talks about a master who had three servants. He gave each of these servants talents. They went out to use the money. Later the master wanted to know how the servants had used the money. Two of the servants had made more money, but one servant had hid his because he claimed he was afraid of the master. Truthfully, I think the Bible shows that he was just a slothful servant, a wasteful servant. He just didn’t use it like he should.
God doesn’t want us to hide our talents. He wants us to use our talents for Him. When we do that, God is happy. Make sure today that you are using your talents for God. Make sure today that you are doing something for Him. Each one of us has something we are good at. By the way, I believe we are talking about good talents, useful talents. I had a lady come to me once and told me she believed her talent was criticism. Maybe that is one we need to redirect. God has given us good talents, and we need to use them in His service.
Maybe you don’t know where your talent lies. Maybe you should look at what job you do for a living. If you make a living doing it, you probably should be using it in God’s service. For example, a man who makes a living doing computer work, guess what? He should be using that at church in some way. A guy who makes his living managing or being an accountant should be the treasurer at church. A teacher should be teaching Bible classes, and the list could go on and on. What’s your talent? Are you using it for God? I hope that you are. By the way, if you are looking for a place to use them, come be with us.
~Philip
Luke 19:11-27
God has given every Christian special talents to use for Him. God expects every Christian to use those talents in the church. When I was a child I took piano lessons and voice lessons. I learned to play a song or two, and not so well, on the piano. Then I decided I might be able to lead some songs at church, and I’ve done that . Through the years I’ve been able to lead singing sometimes. Then I realized some other talents I might have. I might teach a class or get up and preach a sermon. Before too long, I realized I was practicing and getting ready to use those talents. Then sure enough God gave me an opportunity to put those talents to practice.
Now I try to get ready ahead of time. It takes some preparation to serve God. We should be ready each Lord’s Day and each day of the week, as we do the Daily Updates and other things each week. It takes prep time to get ready to do these things. I try to arrive at church services early to make sure things are ready to go. Then I get up and try to do my very best for God. I think that is the attitude that every Christian should have--that we should evaluate our talents and use them in God’s service. As we use those talents, we should use them to the very best of our ability.
In our scripture reading today, the Bible talks about a master who had three servants. He gave each of these servants talents. They went out to use the money. Later the master wanted to know how the servants had used the money. Two of the servants had made more money, but one servant had hid his because he claimed he was afraid of the master. Truthfully, I think the Bible shows that he was just a slothful servant, a wasteful servant. He just didn’t use it like he should.
God doesn’t want us to hide our talents. He wants us to use our talents for Him. When we do that, God is happy. Make sure today that you are using your talents for God. Make sure today that you are doing something for Him. Each one of us has something we are good at. By the way, I believe we are talking about good talents, useful talents. I had a lady come to me once and told me she believed her talent was criticism. Maybe that is one we need to redirect. God has given us good talents, and we need to use them in His service.
Maybe you don’t know where your talent lies. Maybe you should look at what job you do for a living. If you make a living doing it, you probably should be using it in God’s service. For example, a man who makes a living doing computer work, guess what? He should be using that at church in some way. A guy who makes his living managing or being an accountant should be the treasurer at church. A teacher should be teaching Bible classes, and the list could go on and on. What’s your talent? Are you using it for God? I hope that you are. By the way, if you are looking for a place to use them, come be with us.
~Philip
05 May 2010
Follow Jesus
Matthew 4:18-22
At the beginning of Jesus’ personal ministry on earth He chose twelve men who would be His special followers. Those twelve men of course, we know as the apostles. Our Bible reading today tells about when He chose four of those men. This particular day He was walking by a lake called the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers there, named Andrew and Peter. We know them better as Peter and Andrew. Jesus saw them doing their work--they were fishing. They were cleaning nets, and doing all the things fishermen did in that day. Jesus said, “Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. I will work and I will gather people, not fish.”(verse 19 of our text).
By the way our Bible reading today is Matthew 4:18-22. Peter and Andrew (verse 20) left their nets and followed Jesus. Jesus continued to walk along that lake shore. He saw two other brothers , named and James and John. He said, “Come and follow me.” So James and John left their boat and their father to follow Jesus, the Bible says. Peter, Andrew, James and John wanted to follow Jesus because they trusted Jesus with their lives, and they wanted to learn all that they could. For three years they followed Jesus and learned from Him. They then became great leaders in the early church. Our lesson for today is just simply this. Be sure that we follow and trust Jesus today.
There are many areas of our life where we need to be trusting Him. We need to give Him complete control of our life and let Him make us what He wants us to be. We need to say to Him, “I’m going to give you my life as individual. I’m going to hear your word and believe it. I’m going to be willing to repent and confess, then be baptized. I’m going to apply those things to my life every day. Then as Christians we must be willing to say, “I’m not only going to give you my life, but as a group, I am willing to give of my time, talents, and treasures. We are willing to put your message into service. Like the Bible says, we will gather people, not fish. That is the same idea we should be focused on today. As we follow Jesus we should read verses like Luke chapter 5, and like our Bible reading, Matthew chapter 4.
Read about the great desire that was put into those men, and transferred, I believe, into us today to faithfully obey God’s will and be faithful in everything we do, making sure that we are pressing on to our goal. We must make sure we are going to heaven and taking as many people as possible with us there.
Come be with us Wednesday night at 6pm for our meal, and at 7pm for our Bible class time.
~Philip
Matthew 4:18-22
At the beginning of Jesus’ personal ministry on earth He chose twelve men who would be His special followers. Those twelve men of course, we know as the apostles. Our Bible reading today tells about when He chose four of those men. This particular day He was walking by a lake called the Sea of Galilee. He saw two brothers there, named Andrew and Peter. We know them better as Peter and Andrew. Jesus saw them doing their work--they were fishing. They were cleaning nets, and doing all the things fishermen did in that day. Jesus said, “Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. I will work and I will gather people, not fish.”(verse 19 of our text).
By the way our Bible reading today is Matthew 4:18-22. Peter and Andrew (verse 20) left their nets and followed Jesus. Jesus continued to walk along that lake shore. He saw two other brothers , named and James and John. He said, “Come and follow me.” So James and John left their boat and their father to follow Jesus, the Bible says. Peter, Andrew, James and John wanted to follow Jesus because they trusted Jesus with their lives, and they wanted to learn all that they could. For three years they followed Jesus and learned from Him. They then became great leaders in the early church. Our lesson for today is just simply this. Be sure that we follow and trust Jesus today.
There are many areas of our life where we need to be trusting Him. We need to give Him complete control of our life and let Him make us what He wants us to be. We need to say to Him, “I’m going to give you my life as individual. I’m going to hear your word and believe it. I’m going to be willing to repent and confess, then be baptized. I’m going to apply those things to my life every day. Then as Christians we must be willing to say, “I’m not only going to give you my life, but as a group, I am willing to give of my time, talents, and treasures. We are willing to put your message into service. Like the Bible says, we will gather people, not fish. That is the same idea we should be focused on today. As we follow Jesus we should read verses like Luke chapter 5, and like our Bible reading, Matthew chapter 4.
Read about the great desire that was put into those men, and transferred, I believe, into us today to faithfully obey God’s will and be faithful in everything we do, making sure that we are pressing on to our goal. We must make sure we are going to heaven and taking as many people as possible with us there.
Come be with us Wednesday night at 6pm for our meal, and at 7pm for our Bible class time.
~Philip
03 May 2010
Trust God
Proverbs 3:1-6
Recently someone was in my office and said, “I find it very hard to trust God. It is hard to give up control of my life and give it to God, especially when I don't know what is going to happen in the future.” I said to the person, “In Genesis 22, we learn a great lesson. We read about Abraham and his only son, Isaac. God told Abraham to take Isaac to the land to which He would guide Him, and offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham trusted what God told him. He didn't know exactly why God had asked him to sacrifice Isaac, but Abraham trusted God anyway. He trusted God always in everything. When Abraham was ready to kill Isaac, an angel stopped him and Isaac was safe.
The story reminds us again that if we don't know exactly what is going on and we don't know how to work it all out, we have a responsibility to just trust God. Proverbs 3:1-6, our scripture reading for today says in verse 5 and 6 to trust in the Lord completely. Do not depend on your own knowledge. Think about God in all that you do, and He will help you.
This is a great lesson for us to learn. They are very important words that every Christian, that everyone who is interested in what God would have us to do should know. We should trust God everyday in every way, he will never fail us. I hope that we today can be reassured of the blessings of God. First of all that God will deliver,and we can trust God.
Two great questions of life are brought to mind. The first great question is “Can we trust God?” The answer is definitely yes! You can trust God. The second great question of life is, “Can God trust you?” That's a lot more iffy, isn't it. Can God really trust you, have you found your hope and trust in God? I hope you will trust God enough to give Him your life, to give Him control. I hope you will let Him lead your life on this day and every day. If we do that He will bless us and take care of us. Depend on the Lord the Bible says, trust Him and He will do what must be done. Trust the Lord and wait for His help, Psalm 37:5.and 7.
I hope this is the day you can look and say, “I am trusting God, no matter what is happening. I don't understand what is going on, or why its is this way, but I am this day and every day going to, without a doubt, trust God. I am going to let Him know He can trust me, because I am going to trust Him. I would like to invite you to come be with us. Our next service is on Wednesday night. Our Wednesday night meals are going to resume at 6pm, and our Bible classes will be at 7pm.
~Philip
Proverbs 3:1-6
Recently someone was in my office and said, “I find it very hard to trust God. It is hard to give up control of my life and give it to God, especially when I don't know what is going to happen in the future.” I said to the person, “In Genesis 22, we learn a great lesson. We read about Abraham and his only son, Isaac. God told Abraham to take Isaac to the land to which He would guide Him, and offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham trusted what God told him. He didn't know exactly why God had asked him to sacrifice Isaac, but Abraham trusted God anyway. He trusted God always in everything. When Abraham was ready to kill Isaac, an angel stopped him and Isaac was safe.
The story reminds us again that if we don't know exactly what is going on and we don't know how to work it all out, we have a responsibility to just trust God. Proverbs 3:1-6, our scripture reading for today says in verse 5 and 6 to trust in the Lord completely. Do not depend on your own knowledge. Think about God in all that you do, and He will help you.
This is a great lesson for us to learn. They are very important words that every Christian, that everyone who is interested in what God would have us to do should know. We should trust God everyday in every way, he will never fail us. I hope that we today can be reassured of the blessings of God. First of all that God will deliver,and we can trust God.
Two great questions of life are brought to mind. The first great question is “Can we trust God?” The answer is definitely yes! You can trust God. The second great question of life is, “Can God trust you?” That's a lot more iffy, isn't it. Can God really trust you, have you found your hope and trust in God? I hope you will trust God enough to give Him your life, to give Him control. I hope you will let Him lead your life on this day and every day. If we do that He will bless us and take care of us. Depend on the Lord the Bible says, trust Him and He will do what must be done. Trust the Lord and wait for His help, Psalm 37:5.and 7.
I hope this is the day you can look and say, “I am trusting God, no matter what is happening. I don't understand what is going on, or why its is this way, but I am this day and every day going to, without a doubt, trust God. I am going to let Him know He can trust me, because I am going to trust Him. I would like to invite you to come be with us. Our next service is on Wednesday night. Our Wednesday night meals are going to resume at 6pm, and our Bible classes will be at 7pm.
~Philip
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