What Spurs Me On to Love and Good Deeds? - Bulletin 02-23-14

Part 1: What Spurs Me On to Love and Good Deeds?

“...and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds...”  Hebrews 10:24                                                        

1. Prayer

2. Encouragement: cards, notes, personal statements of how God used me for His glory in someone else’s life

3. Seeing someone else love others and do good deeds – especially in the midst of suffering

4. Full attendance: Bible classes, worship, outings, etc. with God-seekers, visitors present

5. Witnessing someone make the good confession and being baptized into Christ

6. Witnessing God’s creation – all seasons; sunrises and sunsets; clarity after storms; etc.

7. Knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Holy Spirit had His say, His way, His day in me or someone else

8. Answered prayer

9. Witnessing transformation in another brother and/or sister in Christ

10. Witnessing my own transformation in Jesus

11. Listening to another brother or sister share how a certain Scripture ministered to them recently

12. Listening to “God is Good” stories.

13. Having someone come up and tell me that they love me, that they’re praying for me and my family

14. Witnessing or hearing about a brother or sister or group of Christians doing a good deed for another person or persons.

15. When widows, orphans, strangers, aliens, the poor and oppressed, the sick and hurting are ministered to by Christian brothers and sisters

16. Listening to my brothers and sisters share their testimonies of how God saved them and what God is doing now in their lives for His glory

17. Singing songs of praise alone or with my spiritual family

18. Putting the Word of God in my heart and/or hearing another brother or sister share the Word from their heart

19. Spontaneous singing with another brother or sister

20. Sharing what I’m reading or studying in the Bible with another brother or sister and them sharing their study with me

God is good all the time and all the time God is good!  Mr. Steve 

A Dream-Like Interview with Jesus’ Half-Brother - Bulletin 02-16-14

“A Dream-Like Interview with Jesus’ Half-Brother”    

Some people dream about being an Olympic figure skating champion.  Some people dream about who they are going to marry. I “figuratively” dream about meeting different Bible characters face to face!  ......Over 5 weeks ago I dreamily knocked on his door and he invited me in.  I sat on a not too firm chair in his living room as he offered me some figs filled with goat cheese and some kind of hot fruit drink. 

I remember James clearing his throat and saying, “Steve, when you are in the very worst of trials, try the following four things: (Now, I’ve been in some trials that were real doozies, so it would be an under-statement to say this guy had all my attention!) James 3...

1. “Wisdom from above is first pure – pure in thought and purpose.  You may not understand all that is happening to you, Steve, (especially when you’re in the middle of a tidal wave experience), but for sure you want your mind to be pure so that you won’t spiritually perjure yourself via blaming, back-stabbing, judging, complaining, and/or gossiping about those around you.  You especially want to be pure in how you are experiencing your suffering in order for God to redeem it for good.”  
2. “Wisdom from above is also peaceable – peaceable to others, yes, but to you as well.  Can you imagine having this kind of peace in the midst of a trial or better yet, being a vessel of peace “that passes understanding” to others when your own world has turned upside down?!”  
3. “Wisdom from above is gentle and reasonable and merciful and unwavering!  It is genuine.  You will need all of these qualities to deal with whatever trial(s) you experience.  Extending mercy to others when you in fact need mercy from them is not crazy (as some count craziness) – it is God!  It is Spirit!  And it is certainly evangelistic!”
4. “Steve, many people look at trials as a pain… (Whoops!  That’s me!) …an interruption to what real life should be.  Yes.  Trials are painful, but in truth they provide the necessary arena for God to forge His holy character more deeply and completely into His children.”  (James 1:2!)  GO GOD!

God is good all the time and all the time God is good!  Mr. Steve 

MOSES and PORTIA NELSON - Bulletin 02-09-14

MOSES and PORTIA NELSON

Among many other things, you can find Moses’ autobiography in the books of Exodus - Deuteronomy!  By definition, an autobiography is “an account of somebody’s life written by that person.”

If you were to write an autobiography what would it say?  

Years ago I came across Portia Nelson’s autobiography and discovered that I’m in it!  Interesting.  How can I be in someone else’s auto-biography I’ve never met?  Go ahead; take the challenge and see if you can find yourself in one or more of her following five chapters.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS

by Portia Nelson

Chapter 1:  I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I  fall in.  I am lost ... I am helpless.  It isn't my fault.  It takes me forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2:  I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I pretend I don't see it.  I fall in again.  I can't believe I am in the same place but, it isn't my fault.  It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3:  I walk down the same street.  There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I see it is there.  I still fall in ... it's a habit.  My eyes are open.  I know where I am.  It is my fault.  I get out immediately.

Chapter 4:  I walk down the same street.  There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I walk around it.

Chapter 5:  I walk down another street.        

There are many things we can learn by reading someone else’s auto-biography.  Like Moses and Portia Nelson, we need to take responsibility for our own sin. True change begins with trusting in God and walking with Him. God is good all the time and all the time God is good!  Mr. Steve   

SUPER BOWL VERSE - Bulletin 02-02-14

SUPER BOWL VERSE

We all need a future and a hope…especially when we realize calamity is coming or we are already in the middle of it!  Our little church family has suffered much in the past weeks and months, just read our prayer requests! 

There is a game I have not played in years called “Hide & Seek”.  As a child I remember the anticipation of almost being found but then there were times I dearly wanted to be found.  As a young parent, I connected with my small children when we would play this game and I would hear my youngest daughter say, “I’m over here, Daddy!  Come find me!”

My daughter’s words bring to mind God’s words of comfort through His prophet Jeremiah to a people headed for 70 years of captivity:  “For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD,' plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  And I will be found by you,' declares the LORD...’”  Jeremiah 29:11-14 

Again, we all need a future and a hope.  Hope: Praying to the Lord, knowing He is listening.  Hope: Seeking the Lord, and finding Him.  Hope: Being restored and gathered in His arms; NOW THAT’S SOME FUTURE! 

One of my definitions of loneliness is “Hiding and having no one to seek and find you” ....BECAUSE THE BEST PART OF BEING LOST IS BEING FOUND!

There is another game being played today that will command the attention of over 100 million viewers.  Each 30-second TV commercial will cost around $4 million!  When all is said and done, however, today’s game is still just a game! But Jeremiah 29:11-14 is not a game.  It is a “SUPER BOWL VERSE” that describes the very character and heart of God!

This verse testifies that God desires: to be searched for; to be found; to give a future; and to give hope.  Seeking someone who loves you dearly, who in turn greatly desires to be found and reconnected with you is not just my youngest daughter’s plan, but GOD’S ETERNAL SUPER DUPER PLAN!                                         

God is good all the time and all the time God is good!  Mr. Steve                                       

JEWISH PASSOVER: abbreviated version - Bulletin 01-26-14

    JEWISH PASSOVER: abbreviated version   
            
 Made up of 3 Parts and 4 Cups: The Four Cups represent the four expressions of deliverance promised by God 

Exodus 6:6-7:         

"I will bring out," "I will deliver," "I will redeem," and "I will take."

Part 1. Two Cups  

   *Cup of Consecration/Sanctification “I will bring you out”

     The Four Questions Asked at the Passover Meal by the Youngest   

     one Present: Why is this night different from all other nights…

1) Why on other nights do we eat leavened or unleavened bread but tonight only unleavened bread?

2) Why on other nights do we eat any kind of herb, but tonight only bitter herbs and we dip twice? 

3) Why on other nights do we eat flesh roast, stewed, or cooked, but this night all is roast?

4) Why on other nights do some sit and others recline, but this night all recline?

(The father took this occasion in answering these questions to share with the family again the story of Jewish history “beginning with the disgrace and ending with the glory.”)

  Sing Psalm 113-114

   *Cup of Praise “I will deliver you from their bondage”

Part 2. Meal 

“The meal proper began with the blessing of unleavened bread, to which the guests said ‘Amen.’  Each person used bread to scoop food from the dish and tasted at least some of the lamb.”  (Ferguson)

Part 3. Two Cups

   *Cup of Redemption “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm” 

  Sing Psalm 115          

   *Cup of Praise “I will take you for My people, and I will be your God”

  Sing Psalm 118  (Fifth cup poured but not drunk)

TO JUMP or NOT TO JUMP? - Bulletin 01-19-14

TO JUMP or NOT TO JUMP?

I’m told that in 1939, America let out a collective gasp when Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable in the movie “Gone with the Wind”), said the now infamous curse word.  Yes.  Clark Gable cursed on the big screen!  Of all the nerve!  What’s this world coming to?  

Now, 75 years later, who cares?  We’re so used to the cursing on TV, in movies, in books, on tape, online, and in person that it hardly fazes us anymore.  True? 

But it SHOULD faze us – shouldn’t it?

Remember the age-old story of “How to Boil a Frog?”  Put a live frog in a pan of cool water and slowly turn up the heat.  If the heat rises slow enough, supposedly the frog won’t jump out.  On the other hand, if you drop a frog into boiling water – it will hop out immediately!  

Remember the names of God, EL ROI (THE GOD WHO SEES ME) and YAHWEH YIREH (THE LORD WILL PROVIDE)?  “How do we guard our hearts and our children’s hearts against TV’s bombardment of filthy language and its continual defamation of the names of GOD & JESUS?”  

• 1. Turn off the TV or at least change the channel!
• 2. Consider connecting a TVG unit to your TV!  (TVG stands for “TVGuardian”)  

“TVGuardian will automatically detect and filter profanity and other offensive phrases while you watch movies or television shows.”

Patti and I have used TVGuardian for over 18 years and love it!  There’s no need to have God’s name taken in vain in your own home when you can easily do something about it! www.familysafemedia.com for >information. 

JUMP!

God is good!  Mr. Steve 

EL ROI: “THE GOD WHO SEES ME” - Bulletin 01-12-14

EL ROI: “THE GOD WHO SEES ME”

One of the gold mines of reading through the Bible is the discovery of the numerous names of God.  One of my favorite names of God is “EL ROI” (pronounced: EL raw EE, “the God who sees me”).    

God sees everything; He always has!  His eyes were on Abraham and Sarai’s maid, Hagar (Genesis 16:13), and His eyes are on you and me.  I love the following story and the song that it inspired!

Over a century ago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin traveled to Elmira, New York to visit some good friends who had experienced their share of life’s difficulties.  Mr. Doolittle was an incurable cripple and his wife had been bedridden for almost twenty years. 

During their visit, Mr. Martin commented on the Doolittle’s inspiring attitude of bright hopefulness and asked for their secret.  Mrs. Doolittle replied, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me.”  This simple statement of faith by Mrs. Doolittle inspired Mrs. Civilla Martin to write the following poem, put to music by Charles Gabriel:

1. Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come, why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home, when Jesus is my portion?  My constant Friend is He; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
2. “Let not your heart be troubled,”  His tender word I hear, and resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears; though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
3. Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise, when songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies, I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. Refrain: I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, for His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.      

  EL ROI, You are good!  Mr. Steve