Weekly Email 1.26.15

God’s people are doubly his children, they are his offspring by creation, and they are his sons by adoption in Christ. Hence they are privileged to call him, “Our Father which art in heaven.” - Spurgeon

Dear Church,

We are the most blessed people because God has made us His children. I pray you will find encouragement in that amazing truth. I pray that God will use you to see more become His adopted children.

Recap-

In Sunday School, we finished week #2 of our new class Meeting With God. Come back this upcoming Sunday for more on this encouraging topic. I pray your quiet times will bless you and others around you.

In the service, we gathered to praise our satisfying God. We studied John 6 v16-35. It was there we thought about how Jesus alone can satisfy our hearts. Christ is the bread from heaven who gives eternal life. Praise His name!

Lord willing, we will be in John 6 v36-59. Read and pray in advance.

In the evening service we gathered for song and prayer. We then heard a brief devotional from Proverbs 5. Sunday nights are a great time for us to prepare for the week ahead.

Upcoming-

Sunday, Feb 1^st – Lord’s Supper and Potluck
Membership Matters Course will be taught Sunday Feb 1^st, 8^th, 15^th, 22^nd @ 9:30 AM.
Sunday, Feb 8^th - Theological Reading Group @5PM

Prayer-

Pray for Dari and Pat.

Pray for Don Herndon who is having eye surgery done next week.

Pray that we would be a holy, loving, and united people.

Pray for the preaching of the Word and the Lord's Supper this Sunday.

Pray for our Sunday School hour.

Pray for our Women's Small Group.

Pray for me.

Pray for the expecting mothers.

Pray for our evangelism and witness.

Comments

Repackaging the gospel? It's more like obscuring the gospel!

Preface : I recognize this post may make me unpopular with some, but I think it is an important issue to blog about here. I’ve had time to reflect on this video and in my opinion, I think what is in this video raises some questions. This gentleman featured below is slotted to speak at the SBC's 2020 Pastors' Conference and it prompted me to think more about this illustration. I want to note that I don't know him and I have no personal issue with him. I assume he is a brother in the LORD. Having said that, I see some significant issues here that relate to this type of preaching being clear on the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, it appears to be obscuring it in my observation. Concern: Should the SBC or churches, in general, be in the habit of holding this up as a good and healthy example? Let's think about it some together. (Watch this clip below here first.) Context: The clip was posted to stand on its own as if it were wise and sound on it

Smith: "Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back...".

Jonah 2:9 “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” God’s dramatic intervention in the life of Jonah is full of hope—not only for those who seek God, but also for those who, like Jonah, have determined to shut him out. Many people believe God opens the door of salvation and then stands back, leaving it up to us to decide if we want to come in. But if God made salvation possible and then stepped back, refusing to interfere with our choice, then the entire life of believers would be about us—our believing, our serving, our following, and our choices to live a good life. In the case of Jonah, imprisoned in the whale’s belly, God was claiming someone who was quite incapable of performing any redeeming work to compensate for his sin. God was not relying on Jonah to save Jonah. The message remains the same for each of us today: if you have trusted God for salvation, he has done more than simply make salvation possible; he has actually saved you. Colin Smith, “Jonah,” in Gospel Transformation B

Men stirred, boys exhorted, and Jesus exalted!

Neh 8 v 13 (CSB) 13 On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before the scribe Ezra to study the words of the law. Notice the feel of the scene. After that long day in the Word, it appears that the women and children were, understandably, exhausted and urged to stay home on this occasion. And, among the men, there is a growing interest of “What else are we missing right now as it pertains to obeying God's Word?”. So clear is the fact that the family heads, the men, came back to get more. The real sense of enthusiasm starts with the men here. If you were an able-bodied man here, you stayed behind to get instructions so that you might be a good instructor at home. The text says these men came together to study the words of the law . That means to give attention to and ponder. This is the process of thinking through complex things, resulting in wise dealing and the use of good practical common sense. Here in

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