5 P.M. Service
A woman, who was the leader of the worship band, welcomed everyone and we sang “Trading My Sorrows”. The preacher, John Branham told us that he had news that there was a wreck down the road and that members of the church were involved. John said a prayer and we began worship. We sang “Here I Am To Worship”, “There Is Power In The Blood”, “The Lily of the Valley-My Wonderful Lord”, and “I Need You More”. The preacher had the offering ushers come forward. Piano music was playing while the offering was taken. John said that God is so good and he mentioned loved ones in a prayer. He read from Jeremiah 10:12-16. He said that in 600 B.C., people didn’t know about evaporation, but God knew. He read from Isaiah 40:28-29. He said “That’s my God” and that God is wonderful in all his ways. He asked how many people get up in the morning excited and energetic. He said that years ago he world work out four times a day at the gym and could run for eight to ten miles at one or two in the morning. He had lots of energy. He said that times are changing and that he doesn’t have the energy that he used to.
He said that gravity is bothering him. The moon has 1/6th the gravity as Earth. He said that the realm makes all the difference. God’s realm is not our realm. God is supernatural and perfect in all ways. He said that God’s word can make anything out of nothing and John mentioned the word logos. God’s power is creative. In Genesis 1 God created the world. In the 4th day he created the lights in Heaven. God created the Earth first and spoke or breathed the very life into us. God created Adam perfect. Mary conceived a child (Jesus) by the mere shadow of God. God is the same God yesterday, today and forever more. John mentioned Job and that Job said that he knew God can do everything. Everything created by man or with nature doesn’t compare with God’s power. John mentioned how God gave Moses the staff that became a snake and then a staff again, God had the water become blood, and John mentioned the other plagues. John then quoted Hebrews 1:3 and Genesis 8:22. He said that he doesn’t get upset about global warming because of this verse.
We have a mighty God from birth until our departure, not because we deserve it, but because our God is merciful. Our hope is in the LORD. We belong to him. Our strength and power and hope is in him. He said that our lives are a learning experience and that he doesn’t know anyone who has come to the end and talked about it. He said a prayer for us and we were dismissed.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Westside Baptist Church
Westside Baptist Church
6:30 P.M.
The pastor, Jerry L. Wilson, said good evening to everyone and said to remember everyone in their prayers. His sermon went as follows: He mentioned people on the prayer lists. He read an article on the back of the bulletin titled Lost in America. The article talked about percentages of lost in America and people who say they are Christians and percentages. There is a steady decline in the number of people who have a concept of a relationship with God. As the population grows, the percentage drops. 15 percent of those interviewed said that they had no interest in God. Even people who profess to be Christians (76 percent) based their Christianity to be based strictly on keeping rituals rather than a relationship with Christ. In Nacogdoches County this number would be the equivalent of all of the town of Nacogdoches not being saved. There is probably someone you love or someone you know that is in that number. This is all based on a survey and that this is not the only survey that has a similar outcome. This should make us pause for America to think about it and pray about it. Jerry then said a prayer for us.
We sang “He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me”, “Precious Memories” and “Somebody Loves Me”. Jerry read from 1 Peter 5:5-7 and said that tonight will be a continuation of last Sunday night. The word likewise is used to connect what is being said to what is in previous verses. Those who lead are to lead by the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus did what was right because it is in his nature. We should do what is right because it’s the right thing to do. What did Jesus give people the opportunity to do? He gave them the opportunity to choose. By the nature of Adam, we have the nature to sin. It is impossible for man to live without sinning for all of us except Jesus. Jesus was given as an example of how we should live. “Submit” is not a pretty word in today’s age. We need to transmit God’s message and God’s plan from one generation to the next. We are not heeding sound words as a society. We should be an example and pattern for others to follow when we are following Christ and we should humble ourselves. He mentioned the Military chain of command. Everybody has a place. When someone steps out or doesn’t follow orders it causes disorder. Troops are at a lost as to what to do. Young people should use elders as a guide for their lives. Kids’ heroes today are sports figures who do drugs. Jerry said that he is not going to be like the preacher who walked by the pool and talked about how girls dress wildly, but can’t remember how the boys dressed. A lot of athletes have to wear long shirts for interviews because they have vulgar tattoos and they have to cover them.
People who have declared the word of God in the media have forsaken the word of God. We need to maintain the Chain of Command. He tried to express the importance to people who grew up in the church to take responsibility of taking care of the other people. When this doesn’t happen it endangers his children, it endangers his world, and it pollutes his world. People who are a part of the body of Christ should act differently from the World. When members who are part of the church act worldly, it brings injury to the church body. We should confront each other in love when we are not acting right. We should be subject and accountable to one another. Jerry said that when he was a teenager he thought he could do whatever he wanted. We never come to a place where we are not accountable to someone. We are called to be modest and not arrogant. We should have a higher estimation of people’s worth. God knows how much we are worth. Jerry quotes Psalm 8:4. We are the crowning glory of God and the apple of his eye. The man who overestimates himself however is on the verge of insanity. God is in warfare against those people who are proud and arrogant. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Jerry wants to boil it down and said that God makes it possible for the humble to have peace and joy. Humble is used three times in different subtexts. As a result of the economy today, we have 2.5 million less millionaires. Being wealthy in America today is an iffy thing.
God doesn’t give some people wealth because he knows it will destroy them. If we take all of our wealth and spend only on ourselves that is not an act of humbleness. He said that J.C. Penny kept 20 percent of his wages and gave the rest to God. In doing so he showed humbleness. Jerry said that mighty is a word used exclusively for power and is used in describing the majesty of God. The word exalt can mean to the highest pentacle. How far can a man go? With all the wealth and other things a man can acquire, he can not go beyond where God wants him to be. Under God’s authority and will there is no limit. In the afterlife we will be rulers under Christ. If we will not try to put ourselves in that place but allow God to put us in that place in his timing. God wants us to allow him to shape us and put us in higher places if we will allow him. If we get ahead of God’s time we get ahead of his blessings. Jerry mentioned Psalm 23 and said that sheep have an abundance of food in the winter. In the summer there is nothing for the sheep so they must move up the mountains. There is a higher elevation at each level and the freshness and renewal exists at each level. If the Sheppard takes the sheep to the highest level they would die, because the blessings aren’t there yet. If the sheep stay where they are, they will die. They have to follow the shepherd. In the same way, we have to follow in the hands of God. We have to cast all our cares on him.
Jerry mentioned where Jesus is preaching the sermon on the mound and Jesus asked who can add one cubic or one hair on their head. Jerry mentioned that there was a co-worker at Foretravel he talked to named Ms. Easter. Sometimes they would talk when problems would arise and Ms. Ester would tell him, if a situation was beyond their control, “It just be’s that way”. We should leave things in God’s hands. If we can’t fix it, don’t worry about it. He said that everything has to do with context. When you are talking about bank it means different things to different people. To some people it means a bank like a river that you fish in. To other people it means a financial institute. Jerry said that he likes the image of laying it on the alter. He said that we can’t throw our problems away because like a rubber band they will come back to us. We need to lift them to Christ. The Bible says to cast all, not come, of our cares to him. Jerry said that he has an imagery of each individual one and laying it on the alter. Why should we cast our cares on God? Because he cares for us. If we will lift them up and put them before him, he will minister grace to us in that circumstance. God will elevate us, if he does not necessarily eliminate the problem. Jerry quoted Matthew 10:28-30. One of the members of the church said the closing prayer and we were dismissed.
6:30 P.M.
The pastor, Jerry L. Wilson, said good evening to everyone and said to remember everyone in their prayers. His sermon went as follows: He mentioned people on the prayer lists. He read an article on the back of the bulletin titled Lost in America. The article talked about percentages of lost in America and people who say they are Christians and percentages. There is a steady decline in the number of people who have a concept of a relationship with God. As the population grows, the percentage drops. 15 percent of those interviewed said that they had no interest in God. Even people who profess to be Christians (76 percent) based their Christianity to be based strictly on keeping rituals rather than a relationship with Christ. In Nacogdoches County this number would be the equivalent of all of the town of Nacogdoches not being saved. There is probably someone you love or someone you know that is in that number. This is all based on a survey and that this is not the only survey that has a similar outcome. This should make us pause for America to think about it and pray about it. Jerry then said a prayer for us.
We sang “He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me”, “Precious Memories” and “Somebody Loves Me”. Jerry read from 1 Peter 5:5-7 and said that tonight will be a continuation of last Sunday night. The word likewise is used to connect what is being said to what is in previous verses. Those who lead are to lead by the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus did what was right because it is in his nature. We should do what is right because it’s the right thing to do. What did Jesus give people the opportunity to do? He gave them the opportunity to choose. By the nature of Adam, we have the nature to sin. It is impossible for man to live without sinning for all of us except Jesus. Jesus was given as an example of how we should live. “Submit” is not a pretty word in today’s age. We need to transmit God’s message and God’s plan from one generation to the next. We are not heeding sound words as a society. We should be an example and pattern for others to follow when we are following Christ and we should humble ourselves. He mentioned the Military chain of command. Everybody has a place. When someone steps out or doesn’t follow orders it causes disorder. Troops are at a lost as to what to do. Young people should use elders as a guide for their lives. Kids’ heroes today are sports figures who do drugs. Jerry said that he is not going to be like the preacher who walked by the pool and talked about how girls dress wildly, but can’t remember how the boys dressed. A lot of athletes have to wear long shirts for interviews because they have vulgar tattoos and they have to cover them.
People who have declared the word of God in the media have forsaken the word of God. We need to maintain the Chain of Command. He tried to express the importance to people who grew up in the church to take responsibility of taking care of the other people. When this doesn’t happen it endangers his children, it endangers his world, and it pollutes his world. People who are a part of the body of Christ should act differently from the World. When members who are part of the church act worldly, it brings injury to the church body. We should confront each other in love when we are not acting right. We should be subject and accountable to one another. Jerry said that when he was a teenager he thought he could do whatever he wanted. We never come to a place where we are not accountable to someone. We are called to be modest and not arrogant. We should have a higher estimation of people’s worth. God knows how much we are worth. Jerry quotes Psalm 8:4. We are the crowning glory of God and the apple of his eye. The man who overestimates himself however is on the verge of insanity. God is in warfare against those people who are proud and arrogant. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Jerry wants to boil it down and said that God makes it possible for the humble to have peace and joy. Humble is used three times in different subtexts. As a result of the economy today, we have 2.5 million less millionaires. Being wealthy in America today is an iffy thing.
God doesn’t give some people wealth because he knows it will destroy them. If we take all of our wealth and spend only on ourselves that is not an act of humbleness. He said that J.C. Penny kept 20 percent of his wages and gave the rest to God. In doing so he showed humbleness. Jerry said that mighty is a word used exclusively for power and is used in describing the majesty of God. The word exalt can mean to the highest pentacle. How far can a man go? With all the wealth and other things a man can acquire, he can not go beyond where God wants him to be. Under God’s authority and will there is no limit. In the afterlife we will be rulers under Christ. If we will not try to put ourselves in that place but allow God to put us in that place in his timing. God wants us to allow him to shape us and put us in higher places if we will allow him. If we get ahead of God’s time we get ahead of his blessings. Jerry mentioned Psalm 23 and said that sheep have an abundance of food in the winter. In the summer there is nothing for the sheep so they must move up the mountains. There is a higher elevation at each level and the freshness and renewal exists at each level. If the Sheppard takes the sheep to the highest level they would die, because the blessings aren’t there yet. If the sheep stay where they are, they will die. They have to follow the shepherd. In the same way, we have to follow in the hands of God. We have to cast all our cares on him.
Jerry mentioned where Jesus is preaching the sermon on the mound and Jesus asked who can add one cubic or one hair on their head. Jerry mentioned that there was a co-worker at Foretravel he talked to named Ms. Easter. Sometimes they would talk when problems would arise and Ms. Ester would tell him, if a situation was beyond their control, “It just be’s that way”. We should leave things in God’s hands. If we can’t fix it, don’t worry about it. He said that everything has to do with context. When you are talking about bank it means different things to different people. To some people it means a bank like a river that you fish in. To other people it means a financial institute. Jerry said that he likes the image of laying it on the alter. He said that we can’t throw our problems away because like a rubber band they will come back to us. We need to lift them to Christ. The Bible says to cast all, not come, of our cares to him. Jerry said that he has an imagery of each individual one and laying it on the alter. Why should we cast our cares on God? Because he cares for us. If we will lift them up and put them before him, he will minister grace to us in that circumstance. God will elevate us, if he does not necessarily eliminate the problem. Jerry quoted Matthew 10:28-30. One of the members of the church said the closing prayer and we were dismissed.
Holly Springs Baptist Church
8:30 A.M. Service
Before the service began there was contemporary Christian music playing on speakers and a countdown to the service on the overhead screen. The worship band consisted of a choir, guitar, small band with trumpet, clarinet, etc. and piano. We began by singing “Song Of The Redeemed”. The song leader who played the piano said that he was thankful for us being there. He said he had a new child this last week and shows a picture of the baby on the overhead screen. We then had a time of greeting. We sang “Better Than Life” We had a prayer and the offering was taken. We sang “You Are God Alone” and “Near The Cross”. The song leader gave a prayer and the preacher said that it was great to see everyone. The preachers name is Homer Murray. He said that some of the families in the church were in an accident and to remember them in our prayers. He gave a prayer for the worship service and the families.
He read Matthew 22. Sermon notes as follows: Are you willing to do whatever it takes to take one step closer to Jesus. This is part of a sermon series. In the past he has talked about several things including daily reading and accountability. Last week he talked about hidden things and washing hands of things. He quoted John 10:10 and Matthew 22:34-39. It is easy for us to say that we love our neighbors, but it is also easy for us to fake it. Jesus said you have to love him and love others. It can be possible that there is somebody in your life that you hate. They may have wounded you, but you have to love the one you hate. It is tough to do. We have to destroy the myth that we can be O.K. With God but hate others. We are commanded to love and forgive others. He made a reference to Luke 10 and asked who is my neighbor. Those who it is hardest to love and those who hurt you the most.
He said we have to ask: Am I in danger? We think that everything is O.K. with us. He mentions Matthew 5:21 and the sermon on the mount. He said he doubts anyone here has murdered anyone, but how many people here are married. They have at least thought about murder before. He made a reference to verse 22 and asked if that meant that we can not get angry. It is not a sin to get angry. God's anger is a righteous anger. However we should be slow to anger. James 1 says that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Homer mentioned that some people who make him angry are the people who pass him on the road and then get in front of him and slow down. Another group of people who make him angry are people that have 30 items in the 10 items or less line at the grocery store. There are always going to be people in our lives that are going to anger us. When the anger starts to build however, bitterness also builds. We have issues with people in our past. Jesus says twice that we are in danger of the fires of Hell. The 1st danger is that we have a false perception of power. He said he was having an argument with his wife the other day and he thought he was right, but it turned out he was wrong. We all want to be right.
Some of you have been hurt bad. Maybe you had someone walk out of your life, or someone stole from you. They hurt you and that caused you anger. In your mind your anger is justified, but if we go on hating we are not hurting them, but hurting ourselves. This causes Satan to have power over you. It gives the enemy control. He quoted Ephesians 4:26-27. When we are not willing to let go, Satan climbs all over us. Some here today are mad at God. We think that God owes us an explanation. He said that he can imagine that God would maybe say: “Do you really want me to tell you what I owe you? Hell”. Everything else we receive is because he have a merciful, loving God. Some people here may be arguing with the preacher. But where does that attitude come from, it does not come from God. Another thing it can do is prevent salvation. If you have things that you are not willing to deal with, you can't be a Christian and have that kind of attitude. He quoted 1 John 2:9-11, 1 John 3:10, and Matthew 6:14-15. If you do not forgive men their sins, God will not forgive us.
The second question to ask is: Am I Procrastinating? To actually have hatred in your heart is outright wrong. Some may say “I'm not going to them. They are going to have to come crawling back to me”. This is not the right attitude however. We need to make things right. We can't have hatred in our hearts. We want to put things off. He quoted Matthew 5:23 and said that we cannot have hatred in our hearts and offer a gift to God at the alter. He said he believed everyone here wanted to make things right with God. He quoted verse 25 and said we should settle matters quickly. God doesn't want us to worship him with our hands and then punch others with the same hands. We may ask who would actually pursue someone who hurt them, but Jesus did that very thing. We need to imitate his behavior. We were at war with God but Jesus died for our sins. We did him wrong, but he pursued us. Forgiving is not an option, but a command. Jesus did not die so we could be comfortable but committed. This means letting go of bitterness and anger. At the end of Jesus life, he cried “It is finished.” Many of us need to go to the individual that hurt us and say “You hurt me, but I let it go. You don't owe me anymore”.
The third question we need to ask is “Am I Free”. He quoted verse 26 and said that we think we are putting those people who hurt us in prison but we are actually putting ourselves in prison. Some of us go as far as we can go, but we can't take one step closer to God until we forgive those who hurt us. We can stay right where we are for the next 5, 10, 20, or 30 years. Until we let go of the grudge we are stuck. We don't have the option to hold a grudge. When we say that we don't care and won't do it, it doesn't matter how many services we attend, when we disobey God in this way, we are done walking. He gave us a slip of paper before the service. He asked if there is any un-forgiveness towards somebody in our hearts. He said if have heard everything he has said, but can't forgive, we are done walking. Some here need to come to Christ for the 1st time. With every head bowed and every eye closed, the preacher prayed a prayer for Jesus to come into our hearts. He said that if you are a newcomer to Christ to repeat the prayer. After the prayer he said that if you prayed that prayer to slip your hand up. He said that maybe you have un-forgiveness in your heart. You can write a letter or call somebody today. Today is the day of cutting lose. He said to write their names on the paper. He said we may need to write our own name down to forgive ourselves. He said to pray in our hearts for forgiveness. He prayed and said that on the count of three to rip up the paper in half. He said the sound of ripping was the sound of being riped free of the grip Satan has on our lives.
When we have a right relationship with God and others we can move forward. He prayed for the invitation and said that if God was speaking to us and we want to come and pray to come forward. If we need a church home, we can come forward during the invitation. We sand “Heart Of Worship” and had a closing prayer. Announcements were made and we were dismissed.
Holly Springs website is http://www.hsbc-tx.com
Before the service began there was contemporary Christian music playing on speakers and a countdown to the service on the overhead screen. The worship band consisted of a choir, guitar, small band with trumpet, clarinet, etc. and piano. We began by singing “Song Of The Redeemed”. The song leader who played the piano said that he was thankful for us being there. He said he had a new child this last week and shows a picture of the baby on the overhead screen. We then had a time of greeting. We sang “Better Than Life” We had a prayer and the offering was taken. We sang “You Are God Alone” and “Near The Cross”. The song leader gave a prayer and the preacher said that it was great to see everyone. The preachers name is Homer Murray. He said that some of the families in the church were in an accident and to remember them in our prayers. He gave a prayer for the worship service and the families.
He read Matthew 22. Sermon notes as follows: Are you willing to do whatever it takes to take one step closer to Jesus. This is part of a sermon series. In the past he has talked about several things including daily reading and accountability. Last week he talked about hidden things and washing hands of things. He quoted John 10:10 and Matthew 22:34-39. It is easy for us to say that we love our neighbors, but it is also easy for us to fake it. Jesus said you have to love him and love others. It can be possible that there is somebody in your life that you hate. They may have wounded you, but you have to love the one you hate. It is tough to do. We have to destroy the myth that we can be O.K. With God but hate others. We are commanded to love and forgive others. He made a reference to Luke 10 and asked who is my neighbor. Those who it is hardest to love and those who hurt you the most.
He said we have to ask: Am I in danger? We think that everything is O.K. with us. He mentions Matthew 5:21 and the sermon on the mount. He said he doubts anyone here has murdered anyone, but how many people here are married. They have at least thought about murder before. He made a reference to verse 22 and asked if that meant that we can not get angry. It is not a sin to get angry. God's anger is a righteous anger. However we should be slow to anger. James 1 says that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Homer mentioned that some people who make him angry are the people who pass him on the road and then get in front of him and slow down. Another group of people who make him angry are people that have 30 items in the 10 items or less line at the grocery store. There are always going to be people in our lives that are going to anger us. When the anger starts to build however, bitterness also builds. We have issues with people in our past. Jesus says twice that we are in danger of the fires of Hell. The 1st danger is that we have a false perception of power. He said he was having an argument with his wife the other day and he thought he was right, but it turned out he was wrong. We all want to be right.
Some of you have been hurt bad. Maybe you had someone walk out of your life, or someone stole from you. They hurt you and that caused you anger. In your mind your anger is justified, but if we go on hating we are not hurting them, but hurting ourselves. This causes Satan to have power over you. It gives the enemy control. He quoted Ephesians 4:26-27. When we are not willing to let go, Satan climbs all over us. Some here today are mad at God. We think that God owes us an explanation. He said that he can imagine that God would maybe say: “Do you really want me to tell you what I owe you? Hell”. Everything else we receive is because he have a merciful, loving God. Some people here may be arguing with the preacher. But where does that attitude come from, it does not come from God. Another thing it can do is prevent salvation. If you have things that you are not willing to deal with, you can't be a Christian and have that kind of attitude. He quoted 1 John 2:9-11, 1 John 3:10, and Matthew 6:14-15. If you do not forgive men their sins, God will not forgive us.
The second question to ask is: Am I Procrastinating? To actually have hatred in your heart is outright wrong. Some may say “I'm not going to them. They are going to have to come crawling back to me”. This is not the right attitude however. We need to make things right. We can't have hatred in our hearts. We want to put things off. He quoted Matthew 5:23 and said that we cannot have hatred in our hearts and offer a gift to God at the alter. He said he believed everyone here wanted to make things right with God. He quoted verse 25 and said we should settle matters quickly. God doesn't want us to worship him with our hands and then punch others with the same hands. We may ask who would actually pursue someone who hurt them, but Jesus did that very thing. We need to imitate his behavior. We were at war with God but Jesus died for our sins. We did him wrong, but he pursued us. Forgiving is not an option, but a command. Jesus did not die so we could be comfortable but committed. This means letting go of bitterness and anger. At the end of Jesus life, he cried “It is finished.” Many of us need to go to the individual that hurt us and say “You hurt me, but I let it go. You don't owe me anymore”.
The third question we need to ask is “Am I Free”. He quoted verse 26 and said that we think we are putting those people who hurt us in prison but we are actually putting ourselves in prison. Some of us go as far as we can go, but we can't take one step closer to God until we forgive those who hurt us. We can stay right where we are for the next 5, 10, 20, or 30 years. Until we let go of the grudge we are stuck. We don't have the option to hold a grudge. When we say that we don't care and won't do it, it doesn't matter how many services we attend, when we disobey God in this way, we are done walking. He gave us a slip of paper before the service. He asked if there is any un-forgiveness towards somebody in our hearts. He said if have heard everything he has said, but can't forgive, we are done walking. Some here need to come to Christ for the 1st time. With every head bowed and every eye closed, the preacher prayed a prayer for Jesus to come into our hearts. He said that if you are a newcomer to Christ to repeat the prayer. After the prayer he said that if you prayed that prayer to slip your hand up. He said that maybe you have un-forgiveness in your heart. You can write a letter or call somebody today. Today is the day of cutting lose. He said to write their names on the paper. He said we may need to write our own name down to forgive ourselves. He said to pray in our hearts for forgiveness. He prayed and said that on the count of three to rip up the paper in half. He said the sound of ripping was the sound of being riped free of the grip Satan has on our lives.
When we have a right relationship with God and others we can move forward. He prayed for the invitation and said that if God was speaking to us and we want to come and pray to come forward. If we need a church home, we can come forward during the invitation. We sand “Heart Of Worship” and had a closing prayer. Announcements were made and we were dismissed.
Holly Springs website is http://www.hsbc-tx.com
Vineyard Community Center
Breakfast was served before worship including donuts, coffee, and other snacks. Music was playing on the speakers before the service. It was a very informal environment with everyone visiting together. When worship began we sang “In You” and “Who Is like Our God”. The band leader, Danny, prayed. We then sang “More Love, More Power”, “Mighty To Save”, “Holy & Anointed One”, and “At The Cross”. Danny gave another prayer and a man in a wheelchair came forward named Mike. He said good morning and said that he hopes everyone has a safe spring break and he is glad everyone came to Vineyard to worship. He said that we are getting ready for a short coffee break and that the preacher, Jim, would give the life lesson after the break. There were notes available for anyone who wanted them. He said something about Bill Gates and Tony doing doodles to help inspire themselves.
After the break Danny and the band sang a song called the Come Back Song which had the lyrics “Right by My Side” in it. A man named Phil gave announcements about Women of Faith and the ladies retreat. He said that if anyone was here for the dance they had Friday, they were going to start having a dance the first Friday of every month. He said everyone was welcome to come that night to “H2O – A Journey of Faith” at 6 PM. Soup will be served at 6 and they will watch a video at 6:30 and discuss it at 7. Childcare will be provided and it is all free.
Jim said good morning and said that the song we sang “At the Cross” reminded him of the hymn “At the Cross” but it was a different song. One of the ways that is used to teach is hymns. He said that Christians don’t lie; they just wait until the weekend and sing them. He said we are telling God how much we love him and singing these lyrics to God. He looks down and asks himself, do you really mean it? He said to remember during praise that we are singing this to God. Songs are meant to teach and admonish you.
Jim’s life lesson was part of a series of lessons called “Doing the Stuff Jesus’ Way.” He said that it is not just a five step process but more of a model. He gave a recap and said that when you catch on to the fact that God does not require but allows us to minister we are getting the point. He felt that God has left him here to do God’s work. When we approach ministering as a duty or something we need to do, we miss the point. A person will get saved if it is God’s will, with or without us getting involved. He said that he wanted to pray for others and not just about himself. It is about God and others. Jesus didn’t just die for our benefit but for everyone’s benefit. He told a story about a young preacher and an old preacher. The young preacher asked the old preacher how long it took him to prepare his sermon and the old preacher replied about 40 years. He said that chasing a rabbit leads to chasing another rabbit.
Jim said that God can use him when he is serving others. He asked God one time about helping a person, but he felt like God was telling him not to because it would interfere with what God was doing. There are times when you have to just listen to God. He said he tries to minister in a topical way, not an expository way. He said that when he first started preaching that he was very young and the people bore with him. He felt totally inadequate and he felt like he was unable to do what God wanted in God’s way. He admitted that he would sometimes leave a hospital after visiting a patient and he would have forgotten to pray. He said that he felt like he would sound stupid praying out loud.
He said that the 1st lesson talked about an interview process. That we should not just jump into praying for people but listen to the dialogue of what they are saying. We should listen on two levels: Where does it hurt, and we should listen between the lines. He said that sometimes he could hear a voice inside of him telling him that the reason people are asking him to pray for them, is not the real reason they want prayer. He said one time to someone that the reason they said they wanted prayer was not the real reason they came to him and the person he was talking to started crying and said that they had a more serious problem. He said that one time, while visiting a church; he heard something in his spirit told him something that wasn’t said at the church. He said he heard and responded to the voice inside. It always works better with two people involved while doing prayer in this form. He quoted Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1, and Ecclesiastes 4:9. He said that he believes that a husband and wife team together is a great idea. Step one is to interview. Step two is to diagnose the condition. If someone gives you a long list to pray for, focus on one thing only. Ask them what is one thing they want you to pray for right now.
He said that there are kinds of prayer you can pray for others. There is a prayer of selection. That is the one just mentioned where you pray for one particular thing. Next is a prayer of invocation. This is a “come holy sprit” kind of prayer. He said that it is always wise to invite the Holy Spirit into any situation and this is what the prayer of invocation does. It honors the Holy Spirit and gives willing admission to him as we wait on God.
He said that sometimes prayer encounters take a while. We should submit to the Holy Spirit, not direct it. If you lead, he will leave you on your own. He said that Samson could do nothing without God. When he thought he could, he was subdued by the Philistines. Next is a prayer of partition. This is where we ask God to help us. This makes it a joyful experience when it is answered. Next is a prayer of intercession. This is asking God to help someone else. Finally, there is prayer of thanksgiving. This is where we thank God for allowing us to be used. There are prayers that could be considered from God. This is where God is directing you in what you do and what you say toward the person you are ministering to. He said that one could be where God is ministering to the person being ministered to. This is called a command of faith. He reads from Acts 3:1-10 where Peter and John heal the crippled man. Peter and John had possibly passed by him before. Maybe Jesus had even passed by him before. Jim said that Jesus did not heal everyone, but only those who came to him. He healed many but not everyone. Jim quoted John 5:19-20. He said that there is often an emotional response going on in the person being ministered to and he can see what God is doing. Peter and John hear the man asking for money. Apparently something had happened before this because Peter was arrested. Jim quoted Matthew 9:5 where Jesus healed a crippled man and said that perhaps this is what Peter had in his mind when he healed the crippled man in Acts. Peter improvised in his healing and in bold faithfulness reached down and pulled the man to his feet. A miracle occurred. The man not only received strength but motor skills. This caused a commotion and another few thousand were saved.
Peter told the man to look at them. Sometimes God does not use us because he doesn’t have our full attention. One interesting point to note is that Peter does not fall to his knees and pray for the man in these verses. Peter and John were on their way to the temple and had probably already been praying. Jim said that Jesus did not pray for the sick, not once except for the possible exception in Mark 7:34 where he sighs. He said that the Bible does not mention the Apostles stopping and praying on their way except in Acts 27:8. Except for a few exceptions the apostles didn’t stop and pray. This does not mean that Jesus and the apostles didn’t pray. It is obvious that they did in other parts such as Jesus praying in the garden. But when they cam out of praying, they went and healed the sick. Jim said there is nothing wrong with praying. We are given authority to do God’s work. He has empowered us to heal the sick. God can and will use you. We don’t need to wait for a healing encounter to pray. He said that he had forgotten to pray before leaving his house to come to church this morning. He said that this can happen all too quickly, and we forget to pray. Jim talked about a conference that he went to where another pastor said that he was drove to prayer for 5 whole minutes, as if this was a lot. He said that sometimes he doesn’t do big prayers, but just popcorn prayers while in his office or while driving. Jim said that there is so much more to serving God then you will ever imagine.
Jim encouraged us to spend time in the Gospels. He got slack onetime because he said that for three years he was going to read nothing but the four gospels. He did it too. Jim said that he was going to say the benediction for us. He said that he had prayed twice for God to show him someone who needed help. He felt like there was someone there who was having problems with a bad rotary cup. He believed that God wanted him to minister to it. He wanted to see if God is going to do what he wanted to do. Jim said the benediction prayer and we were dismissed. Afterwards, I noticed one woman who came forward and received prayer from Jim.
After the break Danny and the band sang a song called the Come Back Song which had the lyrics “Right by My Side” in it. A man named Phil gave announcements about Women of Faith and the ladies retreat. He said that if anyone was here for the dance they had Friday, they were going to start having a dance the first Friday of every month. He said everyone was welcome to come that night to “H2O – A Journey of Faith” at 6 PM. Soup will be served at 6 and they will watch a video at 6:30 and discuss it at 7. Childcare will be provided and it is all free.
Jim said good morning and said that the song we sang “At the Cross” reminded him of the hymn “At the Cross” but it was a different song. One of the ways that is used to teach is hymns. He said that Christians don’t lie; they just wait until the weekend and sing them. He said we are telling God how much we love him and singing these lyrics to God. He looks down and asks himself, do you really mean it? He said to remember during praise that we are singing this to God. Songs are meant to teach and admonish you.
Jim’s life lesson was part of a series of lessons called “Doing the Stuff Jesus’ Way.” He said that it is not just a five step process but more of a model. He gave a recap and said that when you catch on to the fact that God does not require but allows us to minister we are getting the point. He felt that God has left him here to do God’s work. When we approach ministering as a duty or something we need to do, we miss the point. A person will get saved if it is God’s will, with or without us getting involved. He said that he wanted to pray for others and not just about himself. It is about God and others. Jesus didn’t just die for our benefit but for everyone’s benefit. He told a story about a young preacher and an old preacher. The young preacher asked the old preacher how long it took him to prepare his sermon and the old preacher replied about 40 years. He said that chasing a rabbit leads to chasing another rabbit.
Jim said that God can use him when he is serving others. He asked God one time about helping a person, but he felt like God was telling him not to because it would interfere with what God was doing. There are times when you have to just listen to God. He said he tries to minister in a topical way, not an expository way. He said that when he first started preaching that he was very young and the people bore with him. He felt totally inadequate and he felt like he was unable to do what God wanted in God’s way. He admitted that he would sometimes leave a hospital after visiting a patient and he would have forgotten to pray. He said that he felt like he would sound stupid praying out loud.
He said that the 1st lesson talked about an interview process. That we should not just jump into praying for people but listen to the dialogue of what they are saying. We should listen on two levels: Where does it hurt, and we should listen between the lines. He said that sometimes he could hear a voice inside of him telling him that the reason people are asking him to pray for them, is not the real reason they want prayer. He said one time to someone that the reason they said they wanted prayer was not the real reason they came to him and the person he was talking to started crying and said that they had a more serious problem. He said that one time, while visiting a church; he heard something in his spirit told him something that wasn’t said at the church. He said he heard and responded to the voice inside. It always works better with two people involved while doing prayer in this form. He quoted Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1, and Ecclesiastes 4:9. He said that he believes that a husband and wife team together is a great idea. Step one is to interview. Step two is to diagnose the condition. If someone gives you a long list to pray for, focus on one thing only. Ask them what is one thing they want you to pray for right now.
He said that there are kinds of prayer you can pray for others. There is a prayer of selection. That is the one just mentioned where you pray for one particular thing. Next is a prayer of invocation. This is a “come holy sprit” kind of prayer. He said that it is always wise to invite the Holy Spirit into any situation and this is what the prayer of invocation does. It honors the Holy Spirit and gives willing admission to him as we wait on God.
He said that sometimes prayer encounters take a while. We should submit to the Holy Spirit, not direct it. If you lead, he will leave you on your own. He said that Samson could do nothing without God. When he thought he could, he was subdued by the Philistines. Next is a prayer of partition. This is where we ask God to help us. This makes it a joyful experience when it is answered. Next is a prayer of intercession. This is asking God to help someone else. Finally, there is prayer of thanksgiving. This is where we thank God for allowing us to be used. There are prayers that could be considered from God. This is where God is directing you in what you do and what you say toward the person you are ministering to. He said that one could be where God is ministering to the person being ministered to. This is called a command of faith. He reads from Acts 3:1-10 where Peter and John heal the crippled man. Peter and John had possibly passed by him before. Maybe Jesus had even passed by him before. Jim said that Jesus did not heal everyone, but only those who came to him. He healed many but not everyone. Jim quoted John 5:19-20. He said that there is often an emotional response going on in the person being ministered to and he can see what God is doing. Peter and John hear the man asking for money. Apparently something had happened before this because Peter was arrested. Jim quoted Matthew 9:5 where Jesus healed a crippled man and said that perhaps this is what Peter had in his mind when he healed the crippled man in Acts. Peter improvised in his healing and in bold faithfulness reached down and pulled the man to his feet. A miracle occurred. The man not only received strength but motor skills. This caused a commotion and another few thousand were saved.
Peter told the man to look at them. Sometimes God does not use us because he doesn’t have our full attention. One interesting point to note is that Peter does not fall to his knees and pray for the man in these verses. Peter and John were on their way to the temple and had probably already been praying. Jim said that Jesus did not pray for the sick, not once except for the possible exception in Mark 7:34 where he sighs. He said that the Bible does not mention the Apostles stopping and praying on their way except in Acts 27:8. Except for a few exceptions the apostles didn’t stop and pray. This does not mean that Jesus and the apostles didn’t pray. It is obvious that they did in other parts such as Jesus praying in the garden. But when they cam out of praying, they went and healed the sick. Jim said there is nothing wrong with praying. We are given authority to do God’s work. He has empowered us to heal the sick. God can and will use you. We don’t need to wait for a healing encounter to pray. He said that he had forgotten to pray before leaving his house to come to church this morning. He said that this can happen all too quickly, and we forget to pray. Jim talked about a conference that he went to where another pastor said that he was drove to prayer for 5 whole minutes, as if this was a lot. He said that sometimes he doesn’t do big prayers, but just popcorn prayers while in his office or while driving. Jim said that there is so much more to serving God then you will ever imagine.
Jim encouraged us to spend time in the Gospels. He got slack onetime because he said that for three years he was going to read nothing but the four gospels. He did it too. Jim said that he was going to say the benediction for us. He said that he had prayed twice for God to show him someone who needed help. He felt like there was someone there who was having problems with a bad rotary cup. He believed that God wanted him to minister to it. He wanted to see if God is going to do what he wanted to do. Jim said the benediction prayer and we were dismissed. Afterwards, I noticed one woman who came forward and received prayer from Jim.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Mahl Baptist Church 7 P.M. Service
We began by singing the song “There Shall Be Showers Of Blessing”. One of the members of the church gave the opening prayer then the preacher made announcements. He asked how many people remembered the magazine edition of TV Guide. He read a poem titled The Holy Bible and the TV Guide which can be found at http://www.shoptcs.com/cjp/pom/1.htm. He asked if there were any prayer requests and then prayed for the requests and the service. James (the song leader) lead us in the singing of “When I See The Blood” and “Tell It To Jesus”. James then sang a special song called “I Rest My Case At The Cross”. The preacher came up and said that John Shackleford had come to him and offered him the night off from preaching and would preach in his place. John came up and said good evening. He thanked me for coming. John is the minister/leader at the Association of Baptist Students at SFA. John said that he wanted to share a few things with us. He said the more he studies God's word, the more he knows that he needs adjustments. He mentioned a tiller that he used onetime that said lazy boy on the side. The tiller always took some adjustments to get it right. He asked when the last time we made adjustments for the Lord was.
Following are notes from his sermon: John said that sometimes things come up and it is hard to do something nice for Pastor Roberts sometimes and he thanked him for the opportunity to speak and said that Pastor Roberts was very giving. There is a law of navigation that we can follow when serving Christ. Moses had some major changes he had to make in his life. We read from Exodus 5:1. Moses made some excuses at first: What if they don't listen. John said he has a two year old at his house and he has to repeat things to him over and over again because his son won't tune in to him. Are we really tuning in to God, he asked us. He gave us a plan for navigation which included:
Predetermine Your Course Of Action
Lay Out Your Goals
Adjust Your Priorities
Need to notify key personal
He asked if we really know what God is wanting us to do. We should commit to doing something everyday for God. This can include praying, reading the Bible, and sharing Jesus. Every Monday at the ABS we do check-in. All of us have something going on in our lives. We are challenged to study the Bible and pray, not out of duty but because we should want to. John really wants to study. He is currently reading a book by Zig Ziglar about how to sell. In the book it talks about integrity and being honest. Are you 100 percent honest all the time. We need to predetermine that we are not doing to lie. We shouldn't have a problem telling the truth.
The second part was to Lay Out Your Goals. Do you have goals for God? It takes time to prepare. It you aim at nothing you will hit it every time. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul talks about living life for Christ as if it is a marathon. The third part was to Adjust Your Priorities. We spell love T.I.M.E. John had to adjust when he had a new baby. Sometimes we are called to lay aside something for the LORD. He quotes Matthew 6:33 which says to seek first the Kingdom of God. The forth part was to Need to Notify Key Personal. He said that he shares with his wife his plans to share Jesus. Are you planing to invite someone to church? When we invite someone to go it should not be out of duty but because we want to. They may not come for the right reason, for example there may be girls there, but God will work on them. He mentioned how Mahl has had the same pastor for a long time and that the members of Mahl are very forgiving, loving, and generous people.
The next part includes ahead, as in plan ahead. The A stands for Allow Time For Acceptance. He mentioned how he was invited to go to Thailand to teach the English language at a University. We need to pray for a divine appointment. The H stands for Head into action. In other words, take a step. The E stands for expect problems. His father in law asked John what he did for a living and was shocked to discover that John did student ministries. John said that he couldn't do anything else and sleep at night. He used to work at a plant in the summer for his dad growing up for six weeks out of every summer. He would try to witness to people at the plant. He felt like a failure because at the time nobody was coming to Christ. At his father's funereal, he said that the one thing people could do for his father was to repent and turn away from their sins. After the funereal, a man told John that he has accepted Christ three weeks before and his family had too. This was a man who worked at the plant.
The A stands for Always Point To Your Successes. He read Psalms 37:3-4. We don't need to be weary in doing good. Righteousness will be known. The D stands for Daily Review Your Progress. Growing up in school, progress repents were sent home from the school to John's parents. At one point he was told that he had a half semester to get right or fail. Most people do a progress report yearly in the form of new years resolutions. We need to do daily progress reports. John said he was the student who caused problems and disrupted the classes, yet he always had respect for his elders in that he said Yes M'am and No M'am. He said sometimes he needed to do hourly progress reports. We should write out our goals for the day and do a progress report the next day. The trustees give evaluation or progress reports for the ABS when needed. We are only young once, but can remain immature the rest of our lives. Doctors often give progress reports. God's progress report is in his word. Does what we are doing line up with the scriptures. How do we know if we don't read them? He said that when he buys something new he often throws the instruction book aside, but often fails at putting together the thing he is trying to accomplish. The more we grow up, the less we blow up. His son often throws a fit if his veggie tales shows won't play. Sometimes John can blow up when this happens. John had never been around children much, but his wife had. She encourages John not to blow up.
We should not be like the wheelbarrow, which has to get pushed around and is easily tipped over. How do you know if you have a heard heart? There are five symptoms. There include: Complain frequently, Compare with arrogance, Criticize, Compromise our morals, and We can't see God at work. If this is happening we may need to have some softening. He gave us the formula for performing heart surgery. First, You Select what is valuable and what is vulnerable. He said that he had a letter jacket that he considered very valuable when he got it, but now he uses it as a rag. The O stands for Openly admit a hard heart and ask God to soften it. He asked what is really valuable to you right now. He said that anything we place above God is an idol. We suggested reading Psalm 139. We may have been burned in the past which keeps us from helping others. He reads Psalm 51:10. The F stands for forget. We should forget about the things that we have no control over. He read Philippians 3:13-14. When Satan reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. The T stands for Tune into a consistent time with the Lord. John had a hard boss at one of his previous jobs, but he knew where he was at in his behavior. Do you know what God thinks of you? He loves you. John quoted Matthew 6:6. We should find a quiet place and talk to God and share with him our lives. The E stands for Enlist the help of others. He reads James 5:16. We should confess our sins to each other. You cannot be a lone ranger Christian. You should however, be careful who you confess too because it could wind up in the bulletin the next week. Most people don't trust anyone. The N stands for Never underestimate the cost of spiritual intimacy. When you put a rock in an oil pan it causes many problems. He said that a little leaven levels the whole lump.
All of us have at least one thing God would have us do differently. John prayed and asked us if we would be willing to say to God that we want to be the best for God. Jesus said that he would rather us be hot or cold than lukewarm. We should be willing to give 100 percent.
We sang “Just As I Am”. Pastor Roberts then thanked us for coming and invited us to come Wednesday night. He asked for prayer for his health. He said we should ask God to give us someone to talk to and invite to church. He said we should tell someone about Jesus. He asked Brother Wesley to close us in prayer. Wesley prayed and we were dismissed.
Following are notes from his sermon: John said that sometimes things come up and it is hard to do something nice for Pastor Roberts sometimes and he thanked him for the opportunity to speak and said that Pastor Roberts was very giving. There is a law of navigation that we can follow when serving Christ. Moses had some major changes he had to make in his life. We read from Exodus 5:1. Moses made some excuses at first: What if they don't listen. John said he has a two year old at his house and he has to repeat things to him over and over again because his son won't tune in to him. Are we really tuning in to God, he asked us. He gave us a plan for navigation which included:
Predetermine Your Course Of Action
Lay Out Your Goals
Adjust Your Priorities
Need to notify key personal
He asked if we really know what God is wanting us to do. We should commit to doing something everyday for God. This can include praying, reading the Bible, and sharing Jesus. Every Monday at the ABS we do check-in. All of us have something going on in our lives. We are challenged to study the Bible and pray, not out of duty but because we should want to. John really wants to study. He is currently reading a book by Zig Ziglar about how to sell. In the book it talks about integrity and being honest. Are you 100 percent honest all the time. We need to predetermine that we are not doing to lie. We shouldn't have a problem telling the truth.
The second part was to Lay Out Your Goals. Do you have goals for God? It takes time to prepare. It you aim at nothing you will hit it every time. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul talks about living life for Christ as if it is a marathon. The third part was to Adjust Your Priorities. We spell love T.I.M.E. John had to adjust when he had a new baby. Sometimes we are called to lay aside something for the LORD. He quotes Matthew 6:33 which says to seek first the Kingdom of God. The forth part was to Need to Notify Key Personal. He said that he shares with his wife his plans to share Jesus. Are you planing to invite someone to church? When we invite someone to go it should not be out of duty but because we want to. They may not come for the right reason, for example there may be girls there, but God will work on them. He mentioned how Mahl has had the same pastor for a long time and that the members of Mahl are very forgiving, loving, and generous people.
The next part includes ahead, as in plan ahead. The A stands for Allow Time For Acceptance. He mentioned how he was invited to go to Thailand to teach the English language at a University. We need to pray for a divine appointment. The H stands for Head into action. In other words, take a step. The E stands for expect problems. His father in law asked John what he did for a living and was shocked to discover that John did student ministries. John said that he couldn't do anything else and sleep at night. He used to work at a plant in the summer for his dad growing up for six weeks out of every summer. He would try to witness to people at the plant. He felt like a failure because at the time nobody was coming to Christ. At his father's funereal, he said that the one thing people could do for his father was to repent and turn away from their sins. After the funereal, a man told John that he has accepted Christ three weeks before and his family had too. This was a man who worked at the plant.
The A stands for Always Point To Your Successes. He read Psalms 37:3-4. We don't need to be weary in doing good. Righteousness will be known. The D stands for Daily Review Your Progress. Growing up in school, progress repents were sent home from the school to John's parents. At one point he was told that he had a half semester to get right or fail. Most people do a progress report yearly in the form of new years resolutions. We need to do daily progress reports. John said he was the student who caused problems and disrupted the classes, yet he always had respect for his elders in that he said Yes M'am and No M'am. He said sometimes he needed to do hourly progress reports. We should write out our goals for the day and do a progress report the next day. The trustees give evaluation or progress reports for the ABS when needed. We are only young once, but can remain immature the rest of our lives. Doctors often give progress reports. God's progress report is in his word. Does what we are doing line up with the scriptures. How do we know if we don't read them? He said that when he buys something new he often throws the instruction book aside, but often fails at putting together the thing he is trying to accomplish. The more we grow up, the less we blow up. His son often throws a fit if his veggie tales shows won't play. Sometimes John can blow up when this happens. John had never been around children much, but his wife had. She encourages John not to blow up.
We should not be like the wheelbarrow, which has to get pushed around and is easily tipped over. How do you know if you have a heard heart? There are five symptoms. There include: Complain frequently, Compare with arrogance, Criticize, Compromise our morals, and We can't see God at work. If this is happening we may need to have some softening. He gave us the formula for performing heart surgery. First, You Select what is valuable and what is vulnerable. He said that he had a letter jacket that he considered very valuable when he got it, but now he uses it as a rag. The O stands for Openly admit a hard heart and ask God to soften it. He asked what is really valuable to you right now. He said that anything we place above God is an idol. We suggested reading Psalm 139. We may have been burned in the past which keeps us from helping others. He reads Psalm 51:10. The F stands for forget. We should forget about the things that we have no control over. He read Philippians 3:13-14. When Satan reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. The T stands for Tune into a consistent time with the Lord. John had a hard boss at one of his previous jobs, but he knew where he was at in his behavior. Do you know what God thinks of you? He loves you. John quoted Matthew 6:6. We should find a quiet place and talk to God and share with him our lives. The E stands for Enlist the help of others. He reads James 5:16. We should confess our sins to each other. You cannot be a lone ranger Christian. You should however, be careful who you confess too because it could wind up in the bulletin the next week. Most people don't trust anyone. The N stands for Never underestimate the cost of spiritual intimacy. When you put a rock in an oil pan it causes many problems. He said that a little leaven levels the whole lump.
All of us have at least one thing God would have us do differently. John prayed and asked us if we would be willing to say to God that we want to be the best for God. Jesus said that he would rather us be hot or cold than lukewarm. We should be willing to give 100 percent.
We sang “Just As I Am”. Pastor Roberts then thanked us for coming and invited us to come Wednesday night. He asked for prayer for his health. He said we should ask God to give us someone to talk to and invite to church. He said we should tell someone about Jesus. He asked Brother Wesley to close us in prayer. Wesley prayed and we were dismissed.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
New Caney First Baptist Church
A woman played a couple of songs on the organ while people were coming in. One of the songs she played was “Won't Feel At Home In This World Anymore”. A few people shook my hand and welcomed me as well as the other ABS visitors. The song leader said good morning to us and we started worship. We sang “My Life Is In You, Lord” and “Bless the Lord, O My Soul”. There was a baptism of a boy, I believe his name was Brandon Jones. The Pastor, Johnathan Fitzgerald, greeted everyone after baptizing Brandon and a member of the church gave the opening prayer. We sang “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “God Is So Good”. We had a prayer for the offering and a offering plate was passed around. Next came the ABS special. Shack thanked the church for their support of the ABS and said that some of the students wanted to speak to thank the church and tell what the ABS has meant to them.
I spoke first and said that I always feel welcome at the ABS, have grown some strong friendships there, and it is a great place for studying or taking a break from classes. I mentioned “checking in” which I mentioned before in my church journal over the ABS. Brady spoke next. He was a member of this church growing up and thanked them. He said that he grew up in the church and the ABS means a lot to him. Joyce spoke next and mentioned that she got engaged while at the ABS. She said that she transferred to SFA from ETBU because they did not offer the major she wanted. She was looking for fellow Christians and was afraid she was not going to find a place to go. She found the ABS and loves going there. She thanked the church for their support. Finally Sarah got up and talked about the Monday night Dinner and Bible Studies and how we use their church funds for trips such as the one we were on visiting the church. Shack got back up and said that we (ABS) need their support financial and their prayers and thanked them again. Our group (ABS group) then sang “Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone”.
The Preacher said that the lesson would be from Matthew 18. He asked how many people have ever got their feelings hurt. How many people have ever had somebody steal from them. Those sins we commit against God cost Jesus his life on the Cross. In life, we are going to have conflicts. He said that sometimes we can get “stuckidis”. This is where people refuse to forgive. He said that we should let the church be the church. There is a sign on the back with this message on it, and it is also on the church sign outside the church. He said that church as to be the most forgiving of everyone in the world. The preacher read from Matthew 18:21-35 and said that we must forgive people who wrong us from the heart. He then prayed.
He said that one of the very things that holds Christians in bondage today is non-forgiveness. If we don't overcome our unforgiveness it can create bitterness that owns us. We can become very expressive to others. That can lead to bold forgetfulness. He mentioned how in Kentucky a kid shot at some students who repeatedly prayed in a circle at the school. One girl in the group who survived was named Melissa Jenkins. When she was interviewed she said that she wanted to tell the person who did this that she forgave him. The pastor asked what are we doing to someone because of the hurt that they cause us? It is a choice that God has to forgive us from our sins. He does not have to forgive us, however he has forgiven us so he asks us to forgive others. Our unforgiveness can also lead to “bold forgetfulness of our debt”. He read verses 23-24 of Matthew 18. He said that the one person in the story who owed ten thousand talents, owed the equivalent of 52 million dollars. He was broke and the king demanded that he be sold and his family be sold as well. The servant was desperate and couldn't stand the thought of his family being sold for his debt. Therefore he begged and pleaded with the king and was shown mercy.
The pastor read Romans 6:23 which says that we are debted to God. The king forgave the man from his entire debt. He was moved with compassion and canceled the debt. He wiped the slate clean even though the servant didn't deserve it. In the same way, God gives us a new lease on life. He read Collosians 2:14 and said that a problem with our unforgiveness is that we boldly forget how God forgave our debt. We have no right to hold grudges. The unforgetfullness leads to foley and showing disregard for God's forgiveness. The servant mentioned earlier found a fellow servant who owed him money and would not show compassion on this servant for the money owed him. The amount only equaled about 44 dollars compared to the 55 million he owed the king. The servant ordered that his fellow servant who owed him money be thrown into jail until he could pay it off. When we do not show forgiveness it hinders our relationship with God. The pastor then read verses 31-32 of Matthew 8. The 1st servant made such a critical mistake and the king was shocked. By refusing to forgive the 2nd servant, the 1st servant disgraced the king. The pastor mentioned a quote by K. Lindsay about how we can't afford to be unforgiving.
When we are unforgiving it brings displeasure from God's forgiveness. We have the same problem today with unforgiveness that the 1st servant had. If we don't have a humble and repentive heart it can result in chastening in this life by the hand of God until we decide to forgive. The pastor asked how can we overcome “stuckidness” and this idea of getting even. He gives an example of a boy and girl who are sister and brother. The boy is crying and the mother comes in to find the girl punching him. The mother scolded the girl and told the boy that she didn't know that it hurt him. She left and he yelled again. She returned and they boy said “She knows now!”. The pastor said that we should leave the ultimate vengeance up to God and to honor God. We should also search for the real person beneath the mask. We sometime treat people like cartoons and are quick to accuse their every motive. We should begin to find reasons to love them from our hearts instead of our minds.
The pastor said that we should start desiring good things to happen to ones who hurt us. We should pray for good things to happen for them. The Bible says to pray for our enemies. We should change our hearts. He asked “What's your motivation?” He said that us doing for them what God does for us is not a suggestion but a command. He said we should ask ourselves “Do I need to ask forgiveness from them?”. He said that maybe one of us has wronged someone and may need to eat crow. He said that it doesn't matter if we are wrong or not, that if there is conflict there we need to forgive them. He asked if we needed to forgive someone. He said that one way we can get rid of the bitterness and unforgiveness is to write a letter to God and burn it as an offering to God. He said that the devil likes to dig up bones and we should admit our sins to God and receive his forgiveness. He said that God is ready and willing to forgive us of our sins. He then had a time where anyone who wanted to receive Christ or rededicate their lives could come forward.
We sang the song “Jesus Is Calling.” The pastor said that Jesus will convict us if we are doing wrong and we have a tendency to want to do things our way, but God wants things done his way. After the time of invitation, the pastor mentions the time change next week and takes prayer requests. He read a thank you letter written to the church and mentions that prayer needs to be offered for the closing of the front entrance to the church. A member of the church gave the closing prayer and we were dismissed.
I spoke first and said that I always feel welcome at the ABS, have grown some strong friendships there, and it is a great place for studying or taking a break from classes. I mentioned “checking in” which I mentioned before in my church journal over the ABS. Brady spoke next. He was a member of this church growing up and thanked them. He said that he grew up in the church and the ABS means a lot to him. Joyce spoke next and mentioned that she got engaged while at the ABS. She said that she transferred to SFA from ETBU because they did not offer the major she wanted. She was looking for fellow Christians and was afraid she was not going to find a place to go. She found the ABS and loves going there. She thanked the church for their support. Finally Sarah got up and talked about the Monday night Dinner and Bible Studies and how we use their church funds for trips such as the one we were on visiting the church. Shack got back up and said that we (ABS) need their support financial and their prayers and thanked them again. Our group (ABS group) then sang “Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone”.
The Preacher said that the lesson would be from Matthew 18. He asked how many people have ever got their feelings hurt. How many people have ever had somebody steal from them. Those sins we commit against God cost Jesus his life on the Cross. In life, we are going to have conflicts. He said that sometimes we can get “stuckidis”. This is where people refuse to forgive. He said that we should let the church be the church. There is a sign on the back with this message on it, and it is also on the church sign outside the church. He said that church as to be the most forgiving of everyone in the world. The preacher read from Matthew 18:21-35 and said that we must forgive people who wrong us from the heart. He then prayed.
He said that one of the very things that holds Christians in bondage today is non-forgiveness. If we don't overcome our unforgiveness it can create bitterness that owns us. We can become very expressive to others. That can lead to bold forgetfulness. He mentioned how in Kentucky a kid shot at some students who repeatedly prayed in a circle at the school. One girl in the group who survived was named Melissa Jenkins. When she was interviewed she said that she wanted to tell the person who did this that she forgave him. The pastor asked what are we doing to someone because of the hurt that they cause us? It is a choice that God has to forgive us from our sins. He does not have to forgive us, however he has forgiven us so he asks us to forgive others. Our unforgiveness can also lead to “bold forgetfulness of our debt”. He read verses 23-24 of Matthew 18. He said that the one person in the story who owed ten thousand talents, owed the equivalent of 52 million dollars. He was broke and the king demanded that he be sold and his family be sold as well. The servant was desperate and couldn't stand the thought of his family being sold for his debt. Therefore he begged and pleaded with the king and was shown mercy.
The pastor read Romans 6:23 which says that we are debted to God. The king forgave the man from his entire debt. He was moved with compassion and canceled the debt. He wiped the slate clean even though the servant didn't deserve it. In the same way, God gives us a new lease on life. He read Collosians 2:14 and said that a problem with our unforgiveness is that we boldly forget how God forgave our debt. We have no right to hold grudges. The unforgetfullness leads to foley and showing disregard for God's forgiveness. The servant mentioned earlier found a fellow servant who owed him money and would not show compassion on this servant for the money owed him. The amount only equaled about 44 dollars compared to the 55 million he owed the king. The servant ordered that his fellow servant who owed him money be thrown into jail until he could pay it off. When we do not show forgiveness it hinders our relationship with God. The pastor then read verses 31-32 of Matthew 8. The 1st servant made such a critical mistake and the king was shocked. By refusing to forgive the 2nd servant, the 1st servant disgraced the king. The pastor mentioned a quote by K. Lindsay about how we can't afford to be unforgiving.
When we are unforgiving it brings displeasure from God's forgiveness. We have the same problem today with unforgiveness that the 1st servant had. If we don't have a humble and repentive heart it can result in chastening in this life by the hand of God until we decide to forgive. The pastor asked how can we overcome “stuckidness” and this idea of getting even. He gives an example of a boy and girl who are sister and brother. The boy is crying and the mother comes in to find the girl punching him. The mother scolded the girl and told the boy that she didn't know that it hurt him. She left and he yelled again. She returned and they boy said “She knows now!”. The pastor said that we should leave the ultimate vengeance up to God and to honor God. We should also search for the real person beneath the mask. We sometime treat people like cartoons and are quick to accuse their every motive. We should begin to find reasons to love them from our hearts instead of our minds.
The pastor said that we should start desiring good things to happen to ones who hurt us. We should pray for good things to happen for them. The Bible says to pray for our enemies. We should change our hearts. He asked “What's your motivation?” He said that us doing for them what God does for us is not a suggestion but a command. He said we should ask ourselves “Do I need to ask forgiveness from them?”. He said that maybe one of us has wronged someone and may need to eat crow. He said that it doesn't matter if we are wrong or not, that if there is conflict there we need to forgive them. He asked if we needed to forgive someone. He said that one way we can get rid of the bitterness and unforgiveness is to write a letter to God and burn it as an offering to God. He said that the devil likes to dig up bones and we should admit our sins to God and receive his forgiveness. He said that God is ready and willing to forgive us of our sins. He then had a time where anyone who wanted to receive Christ or rededicate their lives could come forward.
We sang the song “Jesus Is Calling.” The pastor said that Jesus will convict us if we are doing wrong and we have a tendency to want to do things our way, but God wants things done his way. After the time of invitation, the pastor mentions the time change next week and takes prayer requests. He read a thank you letter written to the church and mentions that prayer needs to be offered for the closing of the front entrance to the church. A member of the church gave the closing prayer and we were dismissed.
New Caney First Baptist Church Sunday School
We had Sunday School at 9:45. A man named Charles led the Bible Study. He read Proverbs 7 and said that Satan entices us in his ways and doesn't want us to worship. He said that God protects us and helps us to avoid circumstances. He gave an example that he was scheduled to be in a certain town but there was a delay. The town that he was scheduled to be in then had a tornado hit and he could have been affected by it if not for the delay. He then prayed for the Bible Study.
He said that anything we place above of God we make and idol and worship. We need to tone down and listen to God and not forsake meeting together. He said that the Church is in us. When you are trying to learn something, you learn more by doing yourself than by hearing and seeing. That is why personal studying of God's word is so important. You can get more by studying and sharing God's word than by just siting and listening. We touch God's word by touching everything because God has created everything.
In Genesis, it was Adam's choice to take the apple. When people do sinful things they sometimes do it at night in the dark because they think they can hide from God. But God know the things we do in secret. Charles refers to the story of Joseph in the Bible where the woman is trying to trick him into adultery. Charles said that when Christ comes back he will be like a thief in the night. He said that people today spend money on foolish things while some families starve. People are deceiving themselves on the path to Hell. They should repent and turn away from the path they are on. Shack (the ABS minister who brought us to the church) said that verse 25 in Proverbs 7 talks about how we should not let our hearts turn astray. He said that in Romans 12 it talks about how we should be careful everyday what we think about.
Charles mentioned that they have a dress code where he works at and that this one woman came to work with a tank-top on. He said that we are not to entice or deceive one another. We should be appropriate as if we are having lunch with God. Shack said that sometimes when we think about sining it shows the condition of our hearts. Charles said to pray about it and that God's outreach to us is a blessing. He said that in verse 21 of Proverbs 7 it talks about the speech of someone who is trying to lure us away from God and mentions love. Shack said that our society doesn't know what love is and warps the idea of love. Charles said that for us to study God's word is a blessing. God should be 1st in our lives but sometimes we don't get our priorities straight. He prayed and we were dismissed.
He said that anything we place above of God we make and idol and worship. We need to tone down and listen to God and not forsake meeting together. He said that the Church is in us. When you are trying to learn something, you learn more by doing yourself than by hearing and seeing. That is why personal studying of God's word is so important. You can get more by studying and sharing God's word than by just siting and listening. We touch God's word by touching everything because God has created everything.
In Genesis, it was Adam's choice to take the apple. When people do sinful things they sometimes do it at night in the dark because they think they can hide from God. But God know the things we do in secret. Charles refers to the story of Joseph in the Bible where the woman is trying to trick him into adultery. Charles said that when Christ comes back he will be like a thief in the night. He said that people today spend money on foolish things while some families starve. People are deceiving themselves on the path to Hell. They should repent and turn away from the path they are on. Shack (the ABS minister who brought us to the church) said that verse 25 in Proverbs 7 talks about how we should not let our hearts turn astray. He said that in Romans 12 it talks about how we should be careful everyday what we think about.
Charles mentioned that they have a dress code where he works at and that this one woman came to work with a tank-top on. He said that we are not to entice or deceive one another. We should be appropriate as if we are having lunch with God. Shack said that sometimes when we think about sining it shows the condition of our hearts. Charles said to pray about it and that God's outreach to us is a blessing. He said that in verse 21 of Proverbs 7 it talks about the speech of someone who is trying to lure us away from God and mentions love. Shack said that our society doesn't know what love is and warps the idea of love. Charles said that for us to study God's word is a blessing. God should be 1st in our lives but sometimes we don't get our priorities straight. He prayed and we were dismissed.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Lunch and Lift at Yellow House
February 25, 2009
Scotty welcomed everyone and asked if we had any new visitors and introduces them. He thanked the people that prepared the meal and I said the prayer for the meal. We had fellowship together and ate the meal. Scotty said that he needed everyone's attention and made announcements. He said that there was Bible Study that night and the there was dinner and devotional Thursday night. He said that the girls won the Bible face-off contest and that Hannah Smith memorized 24 scriptures and the total scriptures memorized for the group was 141. Scotty read the following scriptures: Genesis 3:1, 1 Peter 5:8-9, John 8:44-45, 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, 1 Corinthians 11:13-15, and Revelations 12:9. He showed a video clip on the overhead called Satan's Meeting. In the video Satan was telling his demons how they can keep the Christian people busy to get them distracted from having an intimate relationship with God. After the video Scotty said that Satan is out there everyday and it is imperative that we spend time with God. He read John 10:27-29 and said that we never need to get too busy for God. He prayed for us and we were dismissed.
Scotty welcomed everyone and asked if we had any new visitors and introduces them. He thanked the people that prepared the meal and I said the prayer for the meal. We had fellowship together and ate the meal. Scotty said that he needed everyone's attention and made announcements. He said that there was Bible Study that night and the there was dinner and devotional Thursday night. He said that the girls won the Bible face-off contest and that Hannah Smith memorized 24 scriptures and the total scriptures memorized for the group was 141. Scotty read the following scriptures: Genesis 3:1, 1 Peter 5:8-9, John 8:44-45, 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, 1 Corinthians 11:13-15, and Revelations 12:9. He showed a video clip on the overhead called Satan's Meeting. In the video Satan was telling his demons how they can keep the Christian people busy to get them distracted from having an intimate relationship with God. After the video Scotty said that Satan is out there everyday and it is imperative that we spend time with God. He read John 10:27-29 and said that we never need to get too busy for God. He prayed for us and we were dismissed.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
All Campus Retreat With Methodist Center Part 6
February 22, 2009
The morning began by a video being played with highlights from the weekend. Josh then thanked the people for putting the video together and mentioned that it would probably be on facebook in the near future. He thanked the campus ministers and staff for their hard work. He said that after the worship he wanted everyone to get together for a big group picture and make sure we clean the place before we left. Sam Houston had their worship band leading the worship. The leader of the band prayed for us. We then sang “Cannot Hide My Love” and “Beautiful”. Josh said that he would be speaking today about relationship within the church. He read from 1 Corinthians 4:1 and prayed.
Josh said that he had never really went “church shopping” until he went to seminary. He said that one church he visited while in seminary he could feel a lot of tension at. Another church he went to everyone was excited to see him and welcome him, but the worship service was (in Josh's words) awful. Josh then showed a picture on the overhead projector of a church that had a sign that said closed on Sundays. He said that sometimes the church you visit can seem that way. He showed a picture of a church with no visible way to get into the building. He said that churches can seem that way sometimes too where they are closed off to everyone. He asked “What do you look for in a church?”. Some of the different responses from the audience included a home away from home, the holy spirit, not trying to force their practices on you, and spiritual fed.
Josh said that church is not about us but about God. He said that in 1 Corinthians 4:1 Paul uses a plural in writing “us”. He includes himself in their fellowship. Josh said that when you are a servant that everything is about the one you serve. He shows a picture of a servo-servant ( a robot that can do everything from cleaning the house to handling radio-active material). This is an ad from the 60's or 70's. He said that he doesn't think that is what service in the church is about being like servo-servant. He shows a picture of a signet ring. He said that a wax seal would be put on important documents and the ring imprint would be the representative that it was genuine. He talked about the particular picture he showed belong to the chief steward of Egypt. He said that there is a difference between being a servant and being a steward. A steward is not just about doing what he or she is told, but they take the initiative. Stewards are free people. Joseph has a steward to Pharaoh in the Bible. Stewards can often speak for their masters and have a personal investment in whatever they participate in.
Josh said that there is a difference then in being just a servant for God's mysteries. He said that we are not called to be stewards of money or even of doctrine but of God's mysteries. He asked how many people have played Othello. The motto of Othello is minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. Just because you know the rules doesn't mean you understand or know the game well. He said that he loves his favorite show because he wants to see how it ends. He loves the video games the most that challenge him. He said that Christianity doesn't seem that hard. You just have to repent and believe in Christ. It isn't that hard, until you try to live it out. Being a steward isn't that hard, until you try to do it. Being a steward to God is offering people hope when they are struggling or hurting. Sometime the church can seem like it is all about rules and not being good stewards.
Josh told the story of Geroni Lagui. This was a school teacher who went to theological school and went to England twice to study. He came back as a leader and was elected the bishop. He was then elected arch-bishop. He was in a country however with a ruthless dictator. The government threw a big party and the arch-bishop went so he can tell them what they are doing wrong and how they are oppressing the people. He started hearing threats from the government and is eventually sentenced and taken away to the wilderness never to be seen again. He dies in a car crash. As he looked on to his impending death, he told the people before he left to not be afraid and that he could see God's hand in this.
Josh admitted that he is not a great example of stewardship and said that we should look to people in the Bible and people in the church who are good stewards. He asked what it looks like to see stewardship in the church. Some of the answers given included more forgiveness, peace, reconciliation, putting others needs before own, and more God. Josh said that he wanted to offer a time for prayer and that God might be saying that he wants you to become a servant or he could be saying other things to us. The band came back up and softly played “I Feel Your Love O God”.
Josh then offered a time of communion and invited everyone to partake. The Great Thanksgiving was said in which the preacher says one thing and the congregation reply. It ended with the Lord's prayer and we take communion. “Let Your Glory Fall is played by the band while we take communion. Josh gave the closing prayer and we sang “He Loves Us” and “Psalm 126”. One woman said that they needed help cleaning the prayer room up and we are dismissed to take our picture and clean and go home.
The morning began by a video being played with highlights from the weekend. Josh then thanked the people for putting the video together and mentioned that it would probably be on facebook in the near future. He thanked the campus ministers and staff for their hard work. He said that after the worship he wanted everyone to get together for a big group picture and make sure we clean the place before we left. Sam Houston had their worship band leading the worship. The leader of the band prayed for us. We then sang “Cannot Hide My Love” and “Beautiful”. Josh said that he would be speaking today about relationship within the church. He read from 1 Corinthians 4:1 and prayed.
Josh said that he had never really went “church shopping” until he went to seminary. He said that one church he visited while in seminary he could feel a lot of tension at. Another church he went to everyone was excited to see him and welcome him, but the worship service was (in Josh's words) awful. Josh then showed a picture on the overhead projector of a church that had a sign that said closed on Sundays. He said that sometimes the church you visit can seem that way. He showed a picture of a church with no visible way to get into the building. He said that churches can seem that way sometimes too where they are closed off to everyone. He asked “What do you look for in a church?”. Some of the different responses from the audience included a home away from home, the holy spirit, not trying to force their practices on you, and spiritual fed.
Josh said that church is not about us but about God. He said that in 1 Corinthians 4:1 Paul uses a plural in writing “us”. He includes himself in their fellowship. Josh said that when you are a servant that everything is about the one you serve. He shows a picture of a servo-servant ( a robot that can do everything from cleaning the house to handling radio-active material). This is an ad from the 60's or 70's. He said that he doesn't think that is what service in the church is about being like servo-servant. He shows a picture of a signet ring. He said that a wax seal would be put on important documents and the ring imprint would be the representative that it was genuine. He talked about the particular picture he showed belong to the chief steward of Egypt. He said that there is a difference between being a servant and being a steward. A steward is not just about doing what he or she is told, but they take the initiative. Stewards are free people. Joseph has a steward to Pharaoh in the Bible. Stewards can often speak for their masters and have a personal investment in whatever they participate in.
Josh said that there is a difference then in being just a servant for God's mysteries. He said that we are not called to be stewards of money or even of doctrine but of God's mysteries. He asked how many people have played Othello. The motto of Othello is minutes to learn, a lifetime to master. Just because you know the rules doesn't mean you understand or know the game well. He said that he loves his favorite show because he wants to see how it ends. He loves the video games the most that challenge him. He said that Christianity doesn't seem that hard. You just have to repent and believe in Christ. It isn't that hard, until you try to live it out. Being a steward isn't that hard, until you try to do it. Being a steward to God is offering people hope when they are struggling or hurting. Sometime the church can seem like it is all about rules and not being good stewards.
Josh told the story of Geroni Lagui. This was a school teacher who went to theological school and went to England twice to study. He came back as a leader and was elected the bishop. He was then elected arch-bishop. He was in a country however with a ruthless dictator. The government threw a big party and the arch-bishop went so he can tell them what they are doing wrong and how they are oppressing the people. He started hearing threats from the government and is eventually sentenced and taken away to the wilderness never to be seen again. He dies in a car crash. As he looked on to his impending death, he told the people before he left to not be afraid and that he could see God's hand in this.
Josh admitted that he is not a great example of stewardship and said that we should look to people in the Bible and people in the church who are good stewards. He asked what it looks like to see stewardship in the church. Some of the answers given included more forgiveness, peace, reconciliation, putting others needs before own, and more God. Josh said that he wanted to offer a time for prayer and that God might be saying that he wants you to become a servant or he could be saying other things to us. The band came back up and softly played “I Feel Your Love O God”.
Josh then offered a time of communion and invited everyone to partake. The Great Thanksgiving was said in which the preacher says one thing and the congregation reply. It ended with the Lord's prayer and we take communion. “Let Your Glory Fall is played by the band while we take communion. Josh gave the closing prayer and we sang “He Loves Us” and “Psalm 126”. One woman said that they needed help cleaning the prayer room up and we are dismissed to take our picture and clean and go home.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
All Campus Retreat With Methodist Center Part 5
February 21, 2009
We had a break until 5:30. During the break and all the breaks, the bands were usually at the front worshiping and practicing. Saturday night worship service started at 6:30. The A&M worship band lead worship. First there was a prayer by Josh and he mentioned that five people had birthdays this weekend. He had them stand up and we sang happy birthday to them. Then we began worship and sang: "Sing like the Saved", "Meet With Me", and "O Praise Him".
The A&M Wesley choir sang some songs for us including: "I want Jesus to Walk With Me", "We Praise Thee O God", "At His Name", and "Psalms 46".
Next Max Mertz gave the lesson. He said that he would be talking about Loving & Dating. He said for us to think about what it would be like if our parents got to pick our future mate like in the Old Testament days. He read from Romans 8:31-40. He prayed and then talked about how he has heard many horror stories regarding relationships. He said one couple he know dated from three weeks, then the man left for the military, and came back on the wedding day. This relationship ended well, but that is not the norm. Max said he looks as dating like gambling. He said that we should do selective dating. He compared guys to waffles and girls to spaghetti. He said that guys, like waffles, have square parts, where they have different parts of their lives. One might be their Ipod, another entertainment. He said that God sees and knows our secrets. Sometimes guys try to give God only part of the waffle and keep the rest for ourselves. We should tell god our desires.
Max said that in relationships we should be more than conquerors. He gave the example of the caveman approach to dating and said wouldn't it be simpler if we could go back to this form of dating. He said also it might be easier if the guys were to jump and the guy who jumped highest got his pick of a female and so forth. It might be easier but it is not the way that God intended. He said that one problem he used to have at the Wesley as that the guys would make contests to see who would be the first to date incoming freshmen females. He finally had to make a rule that no guys were allowed to date a freshman girl until after her first semester. Max said that we can't hide our relationships part of our lives from God. Our relationships shouldn't be about who the winner is.
He said that a great conquistador (what we should strive to be) controls their sexual desire. He said that the second command Jesus gives is to love our neighbor as ourselves. He said that if we can't control our sexual desires, problems arise. He said that in failed relationships, we tend to do the same things in our new relationships as we did in our failed relationships. He said that we would feel bad about breakups, but especially so if we used them. He read from 1 Corinthians 3:16 where it talks about our bodies being the temple of God.
Max said the second thing to do to be a great conquistador is no determine not to hurt anyone. He said that sometimes Preachers can be hurting those around them unintentionally. He said that people who go through pain don't want to go through that pain again. He said that when we are hurt we have to pick ourselves up and say "I am a conqueror". More than conquerors keep God first in their live and can worry about dating life later. Some people may be 40 before they get married if that is God's plan. Max mentioned a friend he has named Tim who was 40 before he got married. He said that God has a plan for you.
The third thing Max mentioned is that Conquers are going to learn to love. He said that a conqueror puts others first and their feelings first. Max mentioned that he had roaming lips in college, but not anymore. He said that he has now been married for 30 years. He said that we don't have to kiss every girl we date. He said we should bring God to the dating part of our lives. He said that when we meet the right one all we will be able to think about is marrying that person. Max prays and the band comes back up. We sing "Wholly Yours" and Blessed Be Your Name". The choir comes back up and sings the benediction song: "An Old Irish Blessing” Josh passed out evaluation forms and asked us to fill them out regarding All Campus as far as suggestions and stuff.
They held elections for officers for next year at this time. Then there was a short break and a lot of people went to the bonfire at 9 PM. It was an informal time of hanging out, but we did sing a few songs. Some of the songs sang were: "How Great Is Our God", "God Of Wonders", "Heart Of Worship", "Prince Of Peace", "Your Love Is Extravagant", "Open The Eyes Of My Heart", "Lord I Lift Your Name On High", "Light The Fire", "Trading My Sorrows", "Even More Undignified Than This", "The Happy Song", and "You Alone" After the bonfire everyone came back to the main worship center and hanged out and some went to bed.
We had a break until 5:30. During the break and all the breaks, the bands were usually at the front worshiping and practicing. Saturday night worship service started at 6:30. The A&M worship band lead worship. First there was a prayer by Josh and he mentioned that five people had birthdays this weekend. He had them stand up and we sang happy birthday to them. Then we began worship and sang: "Sing like the Saved", "Meet With Me", and "O Praise Him".
The A&M Wesley choir sang some songs for us including: "I want Jesus to Walk With Me", "We Praise Thee O God", "At His Name", and "Psalms 46".
Next Max Mertz gave the lesson. He said that he would be talking about Loving & Dating. He said for us to think about what it would be like if our parents got to pick our future mate like in the Old Testament days. He read from Romans 8:31-40. He prayed and then talked about how he has heard many horror stories regarding relationships. He said one couple he know dated from three weeks, then the man left for the military, and came back on the wedding day. This relationship ended well, but that is not the norm. Max said he looks as dating like gambling. He said that we should do selective dating. He compared guys to waffles and girls to spaghetti. He said that guys, like waffles, have square parts, where they have different parts of their lives. One might be their Ipod, another entertainment. He said that God sees and knows our secrets. Sometimes guys try to give God only part of the waffle and keep the rest for ourselves. We should tell god our desires.
Max said that in relationships we should be more than conquerors. He gave the example of the caveman approach to dating and said wouldn't it be simpler if we could go back to this form of dating. He said also it might be easier if the guys were to jump and the guy who jumped highest got his pick of a female and so forth. It might be easier but it is not the way that God intended. He said that one problem he used to have at the Wesley as that the guys would make contests to see who would be the first to date incoming freshmen females. He finally had to make a rule that no guys were allowed to date a freshman girl until after her first semester. Max said that we can't hide our relationships part of our lives from God. Our relationships shouldn't be about who the winner is.
He said that a great conquistador (what we should strive to be) controls their sexual desire. He said that the second command Jesus gives is to love our neighbor as ourselves. He said that if we can't control our sexual desires, problems arise. He said that in failed relationships, we tend to do the same things in our new relationships as we did in our failed relationships. He said that we would feel bad about breakups, but especially so if we used them. He read from 1 Corinthians 3:16 where it talks about our bodies being the temple of God.
Max said the second thing to do to be a great conquistador is no determine not to hurt anyone. He said that sometimes Preachers can be hurting those around them unintentionally. He said that people who go through pain don't want to go through that pain again. He said that when we are hurt we have to pick ourselves up and say "I am a conqueror". More than conquerors keep God first in their live and can worry about dating life later. Some people may be 40 before they get married if that is God's plan. Max mentioned a friend he has named Tim who was 40 before he got married. He said that God has a plan for you.
The third thing Max mentioned is that Conquers are going to learn to love. He said that a conqueror puts others first and their feelings first. Max mentioned that he had roaming lips in college, but not anymore. He said that he has now been married for 30 years. He said that we don't have to kiss every girl we date. He said we should bring God to the dating part of our lives. He said that when we meet the right one all we will be able to think about is marrying that person. Max prays and the band comes back up. We sing "Wholly Yours" and Blessed Be Your Name". The choir comes back up and sings the benediction song: "An Old Irish Blessing” Josh passed out evaluation forms and asked us to fill them out regarding All Campus as far as suggestions and stuff.
They held elections for officers for next year at this time. Then there was a short break and a lot of people went to the bonfire at 9 PM. It was an informal time of hanging out, but we did sing a few songs. Some of the songs sang were: "How Great Is Our God", "God Of Wonders", "Heart Of Worship", "Prince Of Peace", "Your Love Is Extravagant", "Open The Eyes Of My Heart", "Lord I Lift Your Name On High", "Light The Fire", "Trading My Sorrows", "Even More Undignified Than This", "The Happy Song", and "You Alone" After the bonfire everyone came back to the main worship center and hanged out and some went to bed.
All Campus Retreat With Methodist Center Part 4
February 21, 2009
I attended the workshop at 1 PM on Christian Community. David Baggett taught it. He gave us greetings and had us give a quick introduction of yourselves by telling our names, what school we were from, and if we had one last meal to eat before we were to die, what would it be. David said that this workshop was going to be a discussion type class. He asked what community was. Some of the different answers the class offered included common beliefs, similarities, and people who have shared interests. He had a couple of us read from Genesis 1:26 and Genesis 2:18. David asked what distinguished believers and non-believers. One student suggested that it was what they are working toward. We read from Genesis 2:15 and Matthew 28:19-20. David said that these are two different things that we are working for. He asked us to define love. A couple of different suggestions were an action, how your act, how you say things, and a commitment.
David said that you can't really define love without another person or object. He said you also can't define sin without the context of another person. He asked us to define sin and a couple of definitions included separation from God and Self Inflicted Negatively. He asked us to tell him about our faith community. Some students mentioned the Wesley; others mentioned their classes in college. David asked what attracted us to those places. One girl mentioned that she was waiting at the Wesley for someone to come and unlock the BSM. She got to looking around and realized how available and open the Wesley was. A couple of other people said that they came for the food at first. David asked what signs of a healthy or unhealthy Christian community were. Some students said that causing friends to sin was a sign of unhealthy. Another person said that what is the center of that relationship defines what kind of community it is. Nathan (one of the students) said that if the community is trying to force someone to believe what they believe it is an unhealthy community.
David mentioned John Wesley and said that even though his sermons are considered harsh that Wesley never forgot that Jesus loves us in his sermons. It was discussed whether it was ok for Christians to try to use scare tactics to get people into church, such as telling people that they are going to Hell. One person said that it was just a tool. Another person mentioned that God is not a God of fear. We then read from Genesis 2:25-3:13. David asked us why we thought that Eve sinned by eating the fruit. He said that he believed it was because as humans we want what we can't have. The first thing Adam and Eve tried to do when they realized their mistake was to hide from God, but God called Adam out. We read then from Genesis 3:14-24. David mentioned that in verse 21, it could be interpreted as the first time some other blood was shed for our sin. Eve was used to be the mother of humanity or the community. It became necessary for God to separate from us because of sin. David asked how this spoke to us. He said that we have to work hard to get a good Christian community. He said that we can not sin or love without affecting others. He said that Christ should be the center of the Christian community. He mentioned the Sermon on the Mount where Christ said the we are a light on a hill and we are called to be light. When we sin, we try to hide from God, when we should just admit our sin and seek out our Christian community. Nathan closed with prayer and dismissed us.
I attended the workshop at 1 PM on Christian Community. David Baggett taught it. He gave us greetings and had us give a quick introduction of yourselves by telling our names, what school we were from, and if we had one last meal to eat before we were to die, what would it be. David said that this workshop was going to be a discussion type class. He asked what community was. Some of the different answers the class offered included common beliefs, similarities, and people who have shared interests. He had a couple of us read from Genesis 1:26 and Genesis 2:18. David asked what distinguished believers and non-believers. One student suggested that it was what they are working toward. We read from Genesis 2:15 and Matthew 28:19-20. David said that these are two different things that we are working for. He asked us to define love. A couple of different suggestions were an action, how your act, how you say things, and a commitment.
David said that you can't really define love without another person or object. He said you also can't define sin without the context of another person. He asked us to define sin and a couple of definitions included separation from God and Self Inflicted Negatively. He asked us to tell him about our faith community. Some students mentioned the Wesley; others mentioned their classes in college. David asked what attracted us to those places. One girl mentioned that she was waiting at the Wesley for someone to come and unlock the BSM. She got to looking around and realized how available and open the Wesley was. A couple of other people said that they came for the food at first. David asked what signs of a healthy or unhealthy Christian community were. Some students said that causing friends to sin was a sign of unhealthy. Another person said that what is the center of that relationship defines what kind of community it is. Nathan (one of the students) said that if the community is trying to force someone to believe what they believe it is an unhealthy community.
David mentioned John Wesley and said that even though his sermons are considered harsh that Wesley never forgot that Jesus loves us in his sermons. It was discussed whether it was ok for Christians to try to use scare tactics to get people into church, such as telling people that they are going to Hell. One person said that it was just a tool. Another person mentioned that God is not a God of fear. We then read from Genesis 2:25-3:13. David asked us why we thought that Eve sinned by eating the fruit. He said that he believed it was because as humans we want what we can't have. The first thing Adam and Eve tried to do when they realized their mistake was to hide from God, but God called Adam out. We read then from Genesis 3:14-24. David mentioned that in verse 21, it could be interpreted as the first time some other blood was shed for our sin. Eve was used to be the mother of humanity or the community. It became necessary for God to separate from us because of sin. David asked how this spoke to us. He said that we have to work hard to get a good Christian community. He said that we can not sin or love without affecting others. He said that Christ should be the center of the Christian community. He mentioned the Sermon on the Mount where Christ said the we are a light on a hill and we are called to be light. When we sin, we try to hide from God, when we should just admit our sin and seek out our Christian community. Nathan closed with prayer and dismissed us.
All Campus Retreat With Methodist Center Part 2
February 21, 2009
Worship started at 9 AM and the Tyler group lead worship. Brad (leader of the band) said good morning to everyone. They sang "I Will Boast". Then Josh made announcements about the workshops offered at 11 AM and 1 PM. He said that lunch would be in the cafeteria and there would be free time after the second workshop. The workshops offered included: How To Find A Church – by Tom Teekell, Christian Community – by David Baggett, Called To Ministry – by Dan Conway, Christian Ways To Date: Go Our and Break Up! - By Max Mertz, How To Love Difficult People – by Max Adams, and "Inside the Male Mind" – by Tom Teekell. Josh led the prayer and Ben West (speaker) read from Proverbs 17:17. We sang "I Am Free" and "Better Is One Day". Peter and Brad (two Tyler group guys in the band) put on a skit. Ben read from 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 and we sang "We Are Yours" and "How Great Is Our God". Brad prayed for Ben's message and Ben spoke.
Ben said that he liked what Kalamba said last night and he would like to start there with "I am the LORD your God." Ben tells everyone who he is, that he used to attend SFA and is now an associate pastor at Tyler. He tells everyone that he is married and has a cat and a dog. He has everyone play a game where he rings a dong and everyone has to find someone they don't know from another school and talk to them and find out who they are and stuff. I met a girl named Danielle who was from A&M. Ben read from John 15:12-15. He said that friendship is something we long for. Jesus himself called his disciples friends. Back in the Old Testament, David is friends with Jonathan even though Jonathan knows that he will someday lose his birthright to be king to David. God's command to Jonathan is to love David. David puts his life into Jonathan’s hands time and time again. Paul talks about friends a lot in his letters. Ben said that he had a few ideas for how to keep in track with close friendships and relationships.
Ben said that the most important thing is to make God the most important factor in our friendships and relationships. If God is the center we can become stronger in Christ. The Apostles and Disciples were always together and never by their selves. Ben said the second important thing was to be open with one another in our friendships. He said that if we are able to share, then everything between friends is understood. He said to be careful about going to complete strangers and sharing all your intimate details. When the time comes for encouragement, when times are tough, when things are messed up your friends are there for you. Friends should never put a stumbling block in front of friends. If your friend is an alcoholic, you shouldn't get drunk with them. If they have a pornography issue, you shouldn't watch American Pie with them. Ben talks about the story of the paralyzed man in the Bible whose friends lower him through the ceiling to see Jesus. Jesus sees their faith as a group of friends. These are the kind of people that we need to surround ourselves with. If your close friends are not Christians then who will lift you up or hold you accountable.
Ben told the story of when he started at SFA his freshman year and his first real friend would get drunk and liked to party hard. He would be too hung over to help people move into the dorms. He was a nice guy toward Ben and loaned Ben his laptop and desktop computers, paper and ink, but he liked to party. His roommate at the time (Mike) came up to Ben when he first met him and told him straight up that he was not a Christian. Ben said that his friendship with Mike compromised all his Christian values that he had strived for growing up. Ben had not yet made his way to a church so Mike was the only friend he had. Ben said also though that we shouldn't burn all our relationships with non-believers, but that we should have our closest friendships with believers. One of God's greatest gifts is friendships.
Ben said that if we are trying to find good friends we should look for the following traits. 1. They should be kind and generous and most importantly a Christian. We should find a Christian Community for fellowship. 2. It helps to have similar interests. 3. We should keep God at the center of it. Ben closed by saying that God is the LORD Almighty. The Tyler band came back up and we sang "Inside Out". Ben led the closing prayer. We had a Jam song which was "Pharaoh Pharaoh" and had an hour break before workshops.
Worship started at 9 AM and the Tyler group lead worship. Brad (leader of the band) said good morning to everyone. They sang "I Will Boast". Then Josh made announcements about the workshops offered at 11 AM and 1 PM. He said that lunch would be in the cafeteria and there would be free time after the second workshop. The workshops offered included: How To Find A Church – by Tom Teekell, Christian Community – by David Baggett, Called To Ministry – by Dan Conway, Christian Ways To Date: Go Our and Break Up! - By Max Mertz, How To Love Difficult People – by Max Adams, and "Inside the Male Mind" – by Tom Teekell. Josh led the prayer and Ben West (speaker) read from Proverbs 17:17. We sang "I Am Free" and "Better Is One Day". Peter and Brad (two Tyler group guys in the band) put on a skit. Ben read from 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 and we sang "We Are Yours" and "How Great Is Our God". Brad prayed for Ben's message and Ben spoke.
Ben said that he liked what Kalamba said last night and he would like to start there with "I am the LORD your God." Ben tells everyone who he is, that he used to attend SFA and is now an associate pastor at Tyler. He tells everyone that he is married and has a cat and a dog. He has everyone play a game where he rings a dong and everyone has to find someone they don't know from another school and talk to them and find out who they are and stuff. I met a girl named Danielle who was from A&M. Ben read from John 15:12-15. He said that friendship is something we long for. Jesus himself called his disciples friends. Back in the Old Testament, David is friends with Jonathan even though Jonathan knows that he will someday lose his birthright to be king to David. God's command to Jonathan is to love David. David puts his life into Jonathan’s hands time and time again. Paul talks about friends a lot in his letters. Ben said that he had a few ideas for how to keep in track with close friendships and relationships.
Ben said that the most important thing is to make God the most important factor in our friendships and relationships. If God is the center we can become stronger in Christ. The Apostles and Disciples were always together and never by their selves. Ben said the second important thing was to be open with one another in our friendships. He said that if we are able to share, then everything between friends is understood. He said to be careful about going to complete strangers and sharing all your intimate details. When the time comes for encouragement, when times are tough, when things are messed up your friends are there for you. Friends should never put a stumbling block in front of friends. If your friend is an alcoholic, you shouldn't get drunk with them. If they have a pornography issue, you shouldn't watch American Pie with them. Ben talks about the story of the paralyzed man in the Bible whose friends lower him through the ceiling to see Jesus. Jesus sees their faith as a group of friends. These are the kind of people that we need to surround ourselves with. If your close friends are not Christians then who will lift you up or hold you accountable.
Ben told the story of when he started at SFA his freshman year and his first real friend would get drunk and liked to party hard. He would be too hung over to help people move into the dorms. He was a nice guy toward Ben and loaned Ben his laptop and desktop computers, paper and ink, but he liked to party. His roommate at the time (Mike) came up to Ben when he first met him and told him straight up that he was not a Christian. Ben said that his friendship with Mike compromised all his Christian values that he had strived for growing up. Ben had not yet made his way to a church so Mike was the only friend he had. Ben said also though that we shouldn't burn all our relationships with non-believers, but that we should have our closest friendships with believers. One of God's greatest gifts is friendships.
Ben said that if we are trying to find good friends we should look for the following traits. 1. They should be kind and generous and most importantly a Christian. We should find a Christian Community for fellowship. 2. It helps to have similar interests. 3. We should keep God at the center of it. Ben closed by saying that God is the LORD Almighty. The Tyler band came back up and we sang "Inside Out". Ben led the closing prayer. We had a Jam song which was "Pharaoh Pharaoh" and had an hour break before workshops.
All Campus Retreat With Methodist Center Part 3
February 21, 2009
At 11 AM, I went to the workshop on Called to Ministry. Dan (the minister over the workshop) said that he would keep it informal. He said that in the bulletins at the church he grew up in, the preacher always would put in the back of the bulletin the names of all the people who helped. One of the things the preacher would put in the back of the bulletin under ministers was everyone. Dan said that he wanted to increase our awareness for diverse opportunities when it came to Ministry. He said that if people don’t know what function they are supposed to serve, he had some material available that could help them possible figure it out. The first question Dan said we should ask if considering full time ministry is "Have I thought about this?" The second step if you feel you are called is to go tell your pastor. Dan said that the first conversation we have is spiritual. The pastor can then guide you in where to go from there. He said the goal of this workshop was not to recruit people to become ministers but to help them find God's calling in their lives.
Dan said that pastors are around Christians a lot, so if somebody's passion was to share Christ with non-believers this may not be their calling. He had us all introduce ourselves by saying our names, colleges we were from, and why we chose this class to attend. After we do this the thanked everyone. He asked if we thought that pastoring is some high calling. One student (BJ from Sam Houston) commented that if someone is a certified forklift driver and have an accident, they are held more accountable for it than someone who is just goofing around and has and accident. The point being that pastors are held more accountable than other Christians. Dan mentioned Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12:29. He said that God has not made us all the same. We all have spiritual gifts. Pastors can give you resources and tools if you are confused as to God's calling in your lives. Dan mentions a couple of books that would be useful in this area. One of which is "Answering God's Call for Your Life" – by Robert Roth. Another book is "Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation" – by William C. Placher. Another book is "The Call – Finding And Fulfilling The Central Purpose Of Your Life". Yet another is "The Call to Servant Leadership – Biblical Reflections" by Simon Parker.
Dan mentioned how army commercials always make the army look so great, when in actually there is a lot of work involved. The same is true with ministry. Like the army, there are people shooting at you figuratively in the church. Dan says that church ministry is awesome and that the pastor will give you a book if you are interested in preaching in the Methodist church. He said that being a pastor is only one of the options available for ministry. He said that it is ok to do a ministry inquiry process. He mentions some other great ministries available including public schools and movie making. He mentions that he is going to show a video showing people whom God called and how it has affected them. Josh said that we should not neglect where we are now and the opportunities available to us where we are. He said that the process involved in becoming a pastor shouldn’t discourage us and that it is there to help not hurt. The video is shown and a couple of things mentioned in the video is that youth can be an asset in ministry, one person was encouraged to become a pastor, pastors are birthed, and one person said that it was a culture of calling.
Dan said that there are many places in the Bible where people are called. He gave us a list of some of them which include the following: Abraham – Genesis 12, Deborah – Judges 4:4-22, Hanna and Samuel – 1 Samuel 1, Elijah – 1 Kings 17:1, Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:1-19, and Isaiah – Isaiah 6. Dan said that we have options to test our callings. He said that for two years he went to Michigan. He anteed an All Campus type of event and the pastor lead him and others through a guided prayer. He told them to imagine that they were in a movie theatre and what is on the screen is what God wants them to do with their life. Dan took this experience and ended up on a mission trip to Africa, seminary for three years, and finally on a mission trip to India before the picture became clear to him where God wanted him. Dan said that we want to know what is ahead ten steps from know but God wants us to just focus on the 1st step. He said that the time we seek God the most is when we are confused.
Dan went on to talk about other Bible callings which included: Paul – Acts 9, Mary – Luke 1, Timothy – 2 Timothy 3:10, and Nicodemus – John 3:1. Dan prayed for us and we were dismissed.
At 11 AM, I went to the workshop on Called to Ministry. Dan (the minister over the workshop) said that he would keep it informal. He said that in the bulletins at the church he grew up in, the preacher always would put in the back of the bulletin the names of all the people who helped. One of the things the preacher would put in the back of the bulletin under ministers was everyone. Dan said that he wanted to increase our awareness for diverse opportunities when it came to Ministry. He said that if people don’t know what function they are supposed to serve, he had some material available that could help them possible figure it out. The first question Dan said we should ask if considering full time ministry is "Have I thought about this?" The second step if you feel you are called is to go tell your pastor. Dan said that the first conversation we have is spiritual. The pastor can then guide you in where to go from there. He said the goal of this workshop was not to recruit people to become ministers but to help them find God's calling in their lives.
Dan said that pastors are around Christians a lot, so if somebody's passion was to share Christ with non-believers this may not be their calling. He had us all introduce ourselves by saying our names, colleges we were from, and why we chose this class to attend. After we do this the thanked everyone. He asked if we thought that pastoring is some high calling. One student (BJ from Sam Houston) commented that if someone is a certified forklift driver and have an accident, they are held more accountable for it than someone who is just goofing around and has and accident. The point being that pastors are held more accountable than other Christians. Dan mentioned Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12:29. He said that God has not made us all the same. We all have spiritual gifts. Pastors can give you resources and tools if you are confused as to God's calling in your lives. Dan mentions a couple of books that would be useful in this area. One of which is "Answering God's Call for Your Life" – by Robert Roth. Another book is "Callings: Twenty Centuries of Christian Wisdom on Vocation" – by William C. Placher. Another book is "The Call – Finding And Fulfilling The Central Purpose Of Your Life". Yet another is "The Call to Servant Leadership – Biblical Reflections" by Simon Parker.
Dan mentioned how army commercials always make the army look so great, when in actually there is a lot of work involved. The same is true with ministry. Like the army, there are people shooting at you figuratively in the church. Dan says that church ministry is awesome and that the pastor will give you a book if you are interested in preaching in the Methodist church. He said that being a pastor is only one of the options available for ministry. He said that it is ok to do a ministry inquiry process. He mentions some other great ministries available including public schools and movie making. He mentions that he is going to show a video showing people whom God called and how it has affected them. Josh said that we should not neglect where we are now and the opportunities available to us where we are. He said that the process involved in becoming a pastor shouldn’t discourage us and that it is there to help not hurt. The video is shown and a couple of things mentioned in the video is that youth can be an asset in ministry, one person was encouraged to become a pastor, pastors are birthed, and one person said that it was a culture of calling.
Dan said that there are many places in the Bible where people are called. He gave us a list of some of them which include the following: Abraham – Genesis 12, Deborah – Judges 4:4-22, Hanna and Samuel – 1 Samuel 1, Elijah – 1 Kings 17:1, Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:1-19, and Isaiah – Isaiah 6. Dan said that we have options to test our callings. He said that for two years he went to Michigan. He anteed an All Campus type of event and the pastor lead him and others through a guided prayer. He told them to imagine that they were in a movie theatre and what is on the screen is what God wants them to do with their life. Dan took this experience and ended up on a mission trip to Africa, seminary for three years, and finally on a mission trip to India before the picture became clear to him where God wanted him. Dan said that we want to know what is ahead ten steps from know but God wants us to just focus on the 1st step. He said that the time we seek God the most is when we are confused.
Dan went on to talk about other Bible callings which included: Paul – Acts 9, Mary – Luke 1, Timothy – 2 Timothy 3:10, and Nicodemus – John 3:1. Dan prayed for us and we were dismissed.
Friday, February 20, 2009
All Campus Retreat With Methodist Center Part 1
February 20, 2009
Check in for the conference was at 7 PM with worship scheduled to start at 8 PM. The colleges that attended All Campus were: Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar, Praireview, and Tyler. The actual worship started at 9:25. Josh (the director of the event) gave his introductions and then Hearts of Fire (SFA worship band) played the worship songs. The songs played included: "All I Need", "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever", "All In All" and "The Heart of Worship". Kelsey (SFA student in Hearts) gave the prayer for the speaker. The speaker was the pastor from praireview (Kalamba). He said that he was glad to be here and glad that we are here. He said that we are here to spend time with God, others, and ourselves. He said that relationships was the theme of this weekend. He talked about the Ten Commandments and said that he believes the 6th was a very important one. Exodus 20:12 contains the 6th commandment which is to honor your mother and father. He said that this is the only commandment with a promise. Kalamba said that he wanted us to reflect on the words: "I am the LORD your God" this weekend. He said that if we remember nothing else from this weekend to remember those words. Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was he said to love the Lord your God with all your heart and the second was to love your neighbor as yourself.
Kalamba asked where we begin our relationships. He said that it starts with family. We are conceived in our mother's womb. Even then God is saying "I am the LORD your God." All the way from here until we are old and retired, God is saying these words no matter where we are. So our relationships start while we are in our mother’s wombs. Relationships are formed between you and your mother and father when you are born. He says that mothers give commandments to their children when their children enter college. Every parent sits down and talks with their children and gives advice. He asked how our relationships with our parents were. If everything is not working out in this relationship then everything in our other relationships will not work out the way they should. He mentions that one girl at Praireview asked him if he would be her adopted father while she was in college. He mentioned that when his biological daughter texts him he better look. He said that the relationship is so important between children and their parents. He said that if our relationship with our parents is broken, he prays that we will fix it when we return.
Relationships start in the home. The kind of relationship you have in the home you will bring into other relationships. If you have no mother or father there to help you, remember God is there and will never disappoint you. Parents always tell necessary stuff to their children such as to clean their room, etc. Kalamba said that eating the meal at the table has been neglected. This is an important time of building a relationship with your family. He always makes sure that when his children come home that they all have supper together at the table. He says that we should respect and honor our parents and that God says that he is our friend, mother, father, brother, and our everything. He said that we are here to get serious about our faith. He said that on our journey that we should always remember the words, "I am the LORD your God." Kalamba asked "finally, how is your relationship with yourself. He said that as he closed he wants us to reflect on that phrase: "I am the LORD your God." He prayed for us and Hearts of Fire came back up. They sang "Shout to the Lord". They also sang a jam song, which was "No One like you". Josh thanked Kalamba and Hearts of Fire and said that we were dismissed for the night. Everyone hanged out after that until people started drifting off to their rooms for bed. One room was set up and designated for a prayer room.
Check in for the conference was at 7 PM with worship scheduled to start at 8 PM. The colleges that attended All Campus were: Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Lamar, Praireview, and Tyler. The actual worship started at 9:25. Josh (the director of the event) gave his introductions and then Hearts of Fire (SFA worship band) played the worship songs. The songs played included: "All I Need", "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever", "All In All" and "The Heart of Worship". Kelsey (SFA student in Hearts) gave the prayer for the speaker. The speaker was the pastor from praireview (Kalamba). He said that he was glad to be here and glad that we are here. He said that we are here to spend time with God, others, and ourselves. He said that relationships was the theme of this weekend. He talked about the Ten Commandments and said that he believes the 6th was a very important one. Exodus 20:12 contains the 6th commandment which is to honor your mother and father. He said that this is the only commandment with a promise. Kalamba said that he wanted us to reflect on the words: "I am the LORD your God" this weekend. He said that if we remember nothing else from this weekend to remember those words. Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was he said to love the Lord your God with all your heart and the second was to love your neighbor as yourself.
Kalamba asked where we begin our relationships. He said that it starts with family. We are conceived in our mother's womb. Even then God is saying "I am the LORD your God." All the way from here until we are old and retired, God is saying these words no matter where we are. So our relationships start while we are in our mother’s wombs. Relationships are formed between you and your mother and father when you are born. He says that mothers give commandments to their children when their children enter college. Every parent sits down and talks with their children and gives advice. He asked how our relationships with our parents were. If everything is not working out in this relationship then everything in our other relationships will not work out the way they should. He mentions that one girl at Praireview asked him if he would be her adopted father while she was in college. He mentioned that when his biological daughter texts him he better look. He said that the relationship is so important between children and their parents. He said that if our relationship with our parents is broken, he prays that we will fix it when we return.
Relationships start in the home. The kind of relationship you have in the home you will bring into other relationships. If you have no mother or father there to help you, remember God is there and will never disappoint you. Parents always tell necessary stuff to their children such as to clean their room, etc. Kalamba said that eating the meal at the table has been neglected. This is an important time of building a relationship with your family. He always makes sure that when his children come home that they all have supper together at the table. He says that we should respect and honor our parents and that God says that he is our friend, mother, father, brother, and our everything. He said that we are here to get serious about our faith. He said that on our journey that we should always remember the words, "I am the LORD your God." Kalamba asked "finally, how is your relationship with yourself. He said that as he closed he wants us to reflect on that phrase: "I am the LORD your God." He prayed for us and Hearts of Fire came back up. They sang "Shout to the Lord". They also sang a jam song, which was "No One like you". Josh thanked Kalamba and Hearts of Fire and said that we were dismissed for the night. Everyone hanged out after that until people started drifting off to their rooms for bed. One room was set up and designated for a prayer room.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Godtel Service With The Yellow House
February 16, 2009
Service began at 7:00 PM. Scotty gave the introductions and thanked them for allowing us to come. I have the opening prayer. Kenley lead the singing first with "Pierce My Ear" and "Just A Little Talk With Jesus!". David Robinson then lead singing with "Hear O Israel" and "Hide Me Away, O LORD". David Peirce lead singing next with "He's The LORD Of The Sky", "Unto Thee, O LORD", and "Kumbayah". Scotty talks about how David Robinson just got back recently from Iraq and he is back taking classes at Stephen F. Austin State University. Matt Perkins brought the message and said it was from John 8:1-11. He said that this lady was caught in adultry. Matt gives us an idea of how it might have played out. He said the lady might have been crying out, they were shouting out vile names at her, their voices cold with frozen hearths. She might have been trembling at her shame. Jesus saw the accusers hearts, that they had no pity. They were apointing theirselves judges. They brought this lady to Jesus as a vindictive after thought. They thought that they were puting Jesus into a stituation where he could not win. If he condemned the lady then he would be going against Roman authority. If he let the girl go then he went against Moses law.
They tried to draw Jesus into a trap. Jesus knew their thoughts and he saw their "yesterdays" of their hearts. When he is writing in the sand, he is perhaps writing murderer, adulterer, or other sins the accussers may have committed. The lady makes no excuses for herself. Jesus looked beyond the physical and he saw her heart. He did not absolve her from her blame but from her guilt. He forgives her. We don't know what Jesus wrote on the ground and it is really not important in the grand scheme of things. Matt said that John 8:9 implies that they may have goten the answer whether to stone or not from their own conciouses. Jesus taught the concept of mercy and to remove the plank from our own eye before trying to remove something from someone else's. He reads Matthew 5:7 which says that blessed are the merciful. Matt said that we can see the hope that Jesus gave this lady. Jesus had freed her from the penalty of sin and let her know that he believed in her. Matt said that Jesus offers the same hope to us today. We suffer from sins of the heart, mind, disposition, and flesh. We too can be forgiven just like this lady because the blood of christ cleanses us from our sins. Matt prayed and we were dismissed. Afterwards I talked with a young man named Gerald who waid that he was seeking a job at Kroger's and was recovering from drug problems. I told him that I would keep him in my prayers.
Service began at 7:00 PM. Scotty gave the introductions and thanked them for allowing us to come. I have the opening prayer. Kenley lead the singing first with "Pierce My Ear" and "Just A Little Talk With Jesus!". David Robinson then lead singing with "Hear O Israel" and "Hide Me Away, O LORD". David Peirce lead singing next with "He's The LORD Of The Sky", "Unto Thee, O LORD", and "Kumbayah". Scotty talks about how David Robinson just got back recently from Iraq and he is back taking classes at Stephen F. Austin State University. Matt Perkins brought the message and said it was from John 8:1-11. He said that this lady was caught in adultry. Matt gives us an idea of how it might have played out. He said the lady might have been crying out, they were shouting out vile names at her, their voices cold with frozen hearths. She might have been trembling at her shame. Jesus saw the accusers hearts, that they had no pity. They were apointing theirselves judges. They brought this lady to Jesus as a vindictive after thought. They thought that they were puting Jesus into a stituation where he could not win. If he condemned the lady then he would be going against Roman authority. If he let the girl go then he went against Moses law.
They tried to draw Jesus into a trap. Jesus knew their thoughts and he saw their "yesterdays" of their hearts. When he is writing in the sand, he is perhaps writing murderer, adulterer, or other sins the accussers may have committed. The lady makes no excuses for herself. Jesus looked beyond the physical and he saw her heart. He did not absolve her from her blame but from her guilt. He forgives her. We don't know what Jesus wrote on the ground and it is really not important in the grand scheme of things. Matt said that John 8:9 implies that they may have goten the answer whether to stone or not from their own conciouses. Jesus taught the concept of mercy and to remove the plank from our own eye before trying to remove something from someone else's. He reads Matthew 5:7 which says that blessed are the merciful. Matt said that we can see the hope that Jesus gave this lady. Jesus had freed her from the penalty of sin and let her know that he believed in her. Matt said that Jesus offers the same hope to us today. We suffer from sins of the heart, mind, disposition, and flesh. We too can be forgiven just like this lady because the blood of christ cleanses us from our sins. Matt prayed and we were dismissed. Afterwards I talked with a young man named Gerald who waid that he was seeking a job at Kroger's and was recovering from drug problems. I told him that I would keep him in my prayers.
Wesley Lunch
February 16, 2009
I atended lunch at the Methodist Student Center today. It started by singing the Wesley Grace before lunch at noon. The Wesley Grace is as follows: Be present at our table, Lord; be here and everywhere adored; thy creatures bless, and grant that we may feast in fellowship with thee.
At 12:24 Chris made anouncments. He talked about Winter work projects and how you experience many moments you remember. He remembered food for fifty people being prepared by four people. He remembered interacting with a man that asked crazy questions. He remembered breaking down drywall the previous year and wearing masks were they couldn't talk to each other while working on one project and having to communicate non-verbally. He remembered having some incident with restrooms where he kept being told that he needed to use a different restroom. He said that all of this helped remind him of how good he has it here at the Wesley and at SFA. He asked if anyone had any joys or concerns and then closed with a prayer.
I atended lunch at the Methodist Student Center today. It started by singing the Wesley Grace before lunch at noon. The Wesley Grace is as follows: Be present at our table, Lord; be here and everywhere adored; thy creatures bless, and grant that we may feast in fellowship with thee.
At 12:24 Chris made anouncments. He talked about Winter work projects and how you experience many moments you remember. He remembered food for fifty people being prepared by four people. He remembered interacting with a man that asked crazy questions. He remembered breaking down drywall the previous year and wearing masks were they couldn't talk to each other while working on one project and having to communicate non-verbally. He remembered having some incident with restrooms where he kept being told that he needed to use a different restroom. He said that all of this helped remind him of how good he has it here at the Wesley and at SFA. He asked if anyone had any joys or concerns and then closed with a prayer.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Woodland Christian Church Valentine's Banquet
February 15, 2009
Roy opened up with comments and prayer. Music was playing in the background before the program started at 5:45. There was dinner and fellowship. Larry sang the song "The Call". Next Kristen and Mark did a skit which was supposed to be Adam and Eve's first fight. Kristen thanked everyone for coming and played a video from the VBS video (song "I Will Not Be Afraid"). The entire purpose of the dinner was to raise money for VBS. Tammy and Teresa do a skit where they talk about valentine's day and sing a song called "The Things We Do For Love". Larry said a few words and said that after he sings his next song he would ask for applause. He sang a song called "Pray For The Fish". He then asked for applause and Roy Platt came out dressed up. He put on a skit in which he was Brother Watkins. It was funny. Then Larry sang another song called "The Lighthouse". Roy thanked everyone for coming and said that the empty table would be used for offerings to help with VBS. Butch Trala gave the closing prayer.
Roy opened up with comments and prayer. Music was playing in the background before the program started at 5:45. There was dinner and fellowship. Larry sang the song "The Call". Next Kristen and Mark did a skit which was supposed to be Adam and Eve's first fight. Kristen thanked everyone for coming and played a video from the VBS video (song "I Will Not Be Afraid"). The entire purpose of the dinner was to raise money for VBS. Tammy and Teresa do a skit where they talk about valentine's day and sing a song called "The Things We Do For Love". Larry said a few words and said that after he sings his next song he would ask for applause. He sang a song called "Pray For The Fish". He then asked for applause and Roy Platt came out dressed up. He put on a skit in which he was Brother Watkins. It was funny. Then Larry sang another song called "The Lighthouse". Roy thanked everyone for coming and said that the empty table would be used for offerings to help with VBS. Butch Trala gave the closing prayer.
Woodland Christian Church
February 15, 2009
I attended Woodland Christian Church in Timpson this morning. This has been my “home church” for 11 years now. The service started at 10:45 AM. Melodious music was playing before the service. Roy Platt (the preacher) said “Good morning” to everyone. He then made announcements about Vacation Bible School preparations. He said that if anyone had any updates to the prayer circle to contact Kimberlee, and he had the men of the church come forward for an announcement. They said that they are in the process of trying to choose elders for the church and for everyone to be in prayer for this.
We had the opening prayer. Then we sang: Oh the Glory of His Presence. Mr. Green led us in another prayer at this point. Next we had our weekly greetings. On the overhead screen, it said “Greet somebody you haven't greeted”. Next a segment was played from the VBS video. The VBS this year is titled Crocodile Dock and will be from July 6-10. Chris and Kristen put on a skit for VBS next. Then it was time for Children's Story Time. The small children of the church came forward and Roy read the story of David and Goliath. He ended it with the first part of Psalm 23 on the screen. “The Lord is my shepherd”.
Next we had a special by Larry Hicks. He sang: One of the days I cross that river to my home on the other side and I will be with Jesus forever, no more tears will fill my eyes). We than began worship. We sang “Just Over In The Glory Land”. Bill speaks and says that we are looking forward to and excited about Jesus coming back. We then sang “In Moments like these.” Bill asked us: “How many of you told your spouse that you loved them yesterday? How many of you told Jesus that you loved him?” We than sang “Lord, Be Glorified. Bill said that we are here to Glorify God and we should tell him how much we adore him. We than sang “Father, I Adore You” and “Kindness-Open Up The Skies Of Mercy.” Bill prayed and thanked God and told him we loved him.
We had communion meditation next by Butch Trala. Elizabeth Burns (his granddaughter) came forth and read James 4:1-4. Butch drew a diagram for us that had God and the world on a line with a big gap between them. He wrote Christ next to God and had a line going from God to Christ to the world. Butch said that blood represents death and that the shedding of blood represents the death of the body. Next we sang “Fill My Cup Lord” George Weaver gave the communion prayer and we took communion. While we were taking communion, the song “Holy, Holy, Holy” was playing in the background. This was an instrumental version. Stephen Amos gave the offering prayer and they passed the collection plate. Next was Roy Platt (the minister). Roy said that we are electing elders because it is the right thing to do. He said that he will be giving a lesson series over the next 4 weeks over elders. He said that having elders in the church makes us better Christians. He also encouraged everyone to help with vacation Bible School.
Roy's sermon was about whom you can trust. He started out by reading 2 Peter 1:16-21. He said that these verses are reiterating what happened at the transfiguration. Moses and Elijah were standing with Jesus (the living word). God's voice came from heaven and said “This is my son” referring to Jesus. When he said that it means we shouldn't listen to anyone else. Roy read again verse 19: “You will do well to pay attention” and said that we should underline it in our Bibles. He said that these guys didn't just make all this up. He asked, “Who can you trust?” Roy said that trust is an emotional world. He asked if we can trust the government. He said that we can not throw all of our trust into government. Government can't pay all of their taxes. He asked if we could trust financial companies. No, we can't even trust our own money. Can we trust our employers? Roy talked about how he used to work at Pepsi and was on time everyday and never called in, yet he was let go. He asked if we could trust our friends and referred to Psalm 38:11.
He asked if we can trust our family members. Sometimes growing up he would do bad things and his mom would say that she was disappointed in him. He said that Proverbs has a lot of advice about family. He asked if we can trust in our health. He said we can't trust it because we can be healthy and all of a sudden sick. He read Psalm 60:11 next. Roy said that God's word can be trusted. He quoted Psalm 118:6-7 and Proverbs 10:3. He said that we can trust God because God does not lie. He said that we must go through Jesus Christ to get to God. He quoted Matthew 24:35 and Isiah 40:8. Roy said that we can trust God. When Jesus comes we will be absolutly astounded by how he comes. Roy said that there is nothing on this Earth we can trust like we can trust God. He said the best remedy for hard times as well as any time is to begin the habit of trusting God for everything now. Roy said that he measure of someboy's worth is not how much money they have in their portfolio. He said the book of James says not to show favortism because someone has more. He said for us not to trust in what we can do but to trust in God. He said that we are in the process of setting aside men we can trust and lead us into a higher calling.
We sang the song of invitation next which was: Near The Cross. Roy said "Thank you for your attendace and attention today" and dismissed us. We had a closing prayer by Tom Amos and sang the song "Revive Us Again".
I attended Woodland Christian Church in Timpson this morning. This has been my “home church” for 11 years now. The service started at 10:45 AM. Melodious music was playing before the service. Roy Platt (the preacher) said “Good morning” to everyone. He then made announcements about Vacation Bible School preparations. He said that if anyone had any updates to the prayer circle to contact Kimberlee, and he had the men of the church come forward for an announcement. They said that they are in the process of trying to choose elders for the church and for everyone to be in prayer for this.
We had the opening prayer. Then we sang: Oh the Glory of His Presence. Mr. Green led us in another prayer at this point. Next we had our weekly greetings. On the overhead screen, it said “Greet somebody you haven't greeted”. Next a segment was played from the VBS video. The VBS this year is titled Crocodile Dock and will be from July 6-10. Chris and Kristen put on a skit for VBS next. Then it was time for Children's Story Time. The small children of the church came forward and Roy read the story of David and Goliath. He ended it with the first part of Psalm 23 on the screen. “The Lord is my shepherd”.
Next we had a special by Larry Hicks. He sang: One of the days I cross that river to my home on the other side and I will be with Jesus forever, no more tears will fill my eyes). We than began worship. We sang “Just Over In The Glory Land”. Bill speaks and says that we are looking forward to and excited about Jesus coming back. We then sang “In Moments like these.” Bill asked us: “How many of you told your spouse that you loved them yesterday? How many of you told Jesus that you loved him?” We than sang “Lord, Be Glorified. Bill said that we are here to Glorify God and we should tell him how much we adore him. We than sang “Father, I Adore You” and “Kindness-Open Up The Skies Of Mercy.” Bill prayed and thanked God and told him we loved him.
We had communion meditation next by Butch Trala. Elizabeth Burns (his granddaughter) came forth and read James 4:1-4. Butch drew a diagram for us that had God and the world on a line with a big gap between them. He wrote Christ next to God and had a line going from God to Christ to the world. Butch said that blood represents death and that the shedding of blood represents the death of the body. Next we sang “Fill My Cup Lord” George Weaver gave the communion prayer and we took communion. While we were taking communion, the song “Holy, Holy, Holy” was playing in the background. This was an instrumental version. Stephen Amos gave the offering prayer and they passed the collection plate. Next was Roy Platt (the minister). Roy said that we are electing elders because it is the right thing to do. He said that he will be giving a lesson series over the next 4 weeks over elders. He said that having elders in the church makes us better Christians. He also encouraged everyone to help with vacation Bible School.
Roy's sermon was about whom you can trust. He started out by reading 2 Peter 1:16-21. He said that these verses are reiterating what happened at the transfiguration. Moses and Elijah were standing with Jesus (the living word). God's voice came from heaven and said “This is my son” referring to Jesus. When he said that it means we shouldn't listen to anyone else. Roy read again verse 19: “You will do well to pay attention” and said that we should underline it in our Bibles. He said that these guys didn't just make all this up. He asked, “Who can you trust?” Roy said that trust is an emotional world. He asked if we can trust the government. He said that we can not throw all of our trust into government. Government can't pay all of their taxes. He asked if we could trust financial companies. No, we can't even trust our own money. Can we trust our employers? Roy talked about how he used to work at Pepsi and was on time everyday and never called in, yet he was let go. He asked if we could trust our friends and referred to Psalm 38:11.
He asked if we can trust our family members. Sometimes growing up he would do bad things and his mom would say that she was disappointed in him. He said that Proverbs has a lot of advice about family. He asked if we can trust in our health. He said we can't trust it because we can be healthy and all of a sudden sick. He read Psalm 60:11 next. Roy said that God's word can be trusted. He quoted Psalm 118:6-7 and Proverbs 10:3. He said that we can trust God because God does not lie. He said that we must go through Jesus Christ to get to God. He quoted Matthew 24:35 and Isiah 40:8. Roy said that we can trust God. When Jesus comes we will be absolutly astounded by how he comes. Roy said that there is nothing on this Earth we can trust like we can trust God. He said the best remedy for hard times as well as any time is to begin the habit of trusting God for everything now. Roy said that he measure of someboy's worth is not how much money they have in their portfolio. He said the book of James says not to show favortism because someone has more. He said for us not to trust in what we can do but to trust in God. He said that we are in the process of setting aside men we can trust and lead us into a higher calling.
We sang the song of invitation next which was: Near The Cross. Roy said "Thank you for your attendace and attention today" and dismissed us. We had a closing prayer by Tom Amos and sang the song "Revive Us Again".
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Great Escape
Wednesday February 11, 2009
This is a weekly event that takes place at First Baptist Church during the school semesters in fall and spring. Peoples of all denominations are welcome to come. While waiting for great escape, advertisements were shown over the overhead projectors. Among them was an anouncement for thursday nights for free cofee at an event called the blend that happens every thursday during the school semesters. There is sometimes a live band at 10 PM as well. This takes place in the back of the church in the basement. Other anouncements included that volunteers are needed to help breakdown equipment after Great Escape, $10 T-shirts are available to buy near the door, and the website for Great Escape was advertised. Philipians 4:6 was shown on the projector and a countdown to Great Escape was shown.overhead screen. There is a countdown to Great Escape shown on the screen as well as anouncements. www.GEWorship.org. This night was the All Worship Night at Great Escape. The first songs were “Great is Your Faithfulness” and “Remember Your Children”. Bobby (the preacher of Great Escape) then greeted everyone and welcomed them to Great Escape. He mentioned a prayer request for himself for an upcoming mission trip he was attending. He also mentioned a couple of other prayer requests. We then sang “God Of This City”and “O Praise Him (All This For A King)” A video segment was then shown with the song “I Think About You” by Kent Bottenfield playing. The following Bible verses were shown on the screen: Romans 1:20, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 78:69, Psalm 96:6, Psalm 61:4, Deutoronomy 82:40, 2 Sam 7:13, Isiah 40:8, 2 Chronicles 6:2, and 1 Chronicles 16:34. The leader of the band, Blake Russell introduces all the band members. He says that God is our solid rock. We than sang “The Solid Rock (My Hope Is Built) and “Center”. Blake said that he prays for us to keep our eyes to heaven. One student speaks from Isaiaah 40:31. We than sang “Jesus Paid It All” and “Mighty To Save”. Blake gave a closing prayer and they announced that there was pizza and fellowship in the Christian Life Center in the back of the church. The home website for Great Escape is www.GEWorship.org.
This is a weekly event that takes place at First Baptist Church during the school semesters in fall and spring. Peoples of all denominations are welcome to come. While waiting for great escape, advertisements were shown over the overhead projectors. Among them was an anouncement for thursday nights for free cofee at an event called the blend that happens every thursday during the school semesters. There is sometimes a live band at 10 PM as well. This takes place in the back of the church in the basement. Other anouncements included that volunteers are needed to help breakdown equipment after Great Escape, $10 T-shirts are available to buy near the door, and the website for Great Escape was advertised. Philipians 4:6 was shown on the projector and a countdown to Great Escape was shown.overhead screen. There is a countdown to Great Escape shown on the screen as well as anouncements. www.GEWorship.org. This night was the All Worship Night at Great Escape. The first songs were “Great is Your Faithfulness” and “Remember Your Children”. Bobby (the preacher of Great Escape) then greeted everyone and welcomed them to Great Escape. He mentioned a prayer request for himself for an upcoming mission trip he was attending. He also mentioned a couple of other prayer requests. We then sang “God Of This City”and “O Praise Him (All This For A King)” A video segment was then shown with the song “I Think About You” by Kent Bottenfield playing. The following Bible verses were shown on the screen: Romans 1:20, Psalm 29:10, Psalm 78:69, Psalm 96:6, Psalm 61:4, Deutoronomy 82:40, 2 Sam 7:13, Isiah 40:8, 2 Chronicles 6:2, and 1 Chronicles 16:34. The leader of the band, Blake Russell introduces all the band members. He says that God is our solid rock. We than sang “The Solid Rock (My Hope Is Built) and “Center”. Blake said that he prays for us to keep our eyes to heaven. One student speaks from Isaiaah 40:31. We than sang “Jesus Paid It All” and “Mighty To Save”. Blake gave a closing prayer and they announced that there was pizza and fellowship in the Christian Life Center in the back of the church. The home website for Great Escape is www.GEWorship.org.
Wesley Wednesday Worship
Wednesday January 11, 2009
I attended the SFA Methodist Student Center (Wesley) this night. Supper was at 6 PM. Before serving supper, we did a prayer for the meal called the Wesley Grace. The Wesley Grace is sung before eating meals at the Wesley. The Worship service started at 7 PM. First we sang “Trading My Sorrows”. Second we had Welcome & Announcements. Next, we had greet your neighbor where everyone welcomes each other. Next, it was asked if there was any first time visitors. Then a prayer was offered. A scripture focus was read from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Next we sang “Arise” and “Indescribable”. Next was Joys & Concerns in which everyone could lift up their concerns or what they were joyful to God about. Joys & Concerns ended with the saying of The Lord's Prayer. Next another song, which was “God Of Wonders.” While singing an offering basket was passed around. Next we sang “Breathe.” A clipboard was passed around to fill out with information about yourself including: Name, Address, Phone Number, Major, and other info. A prayer was ten offered for Tom Teekell. Tom gave a sermon titled “Birds of a Feather”. Tom read from 1 Corinthians 13. Before reading Tom said: "Listen for the word of God". After reading Tom said: "This is the word of the Lord". The audience then replied with "Thanks be to God". Tom's sermon went something like this: Love is one of the most commonly used words in and out of the church. It is greatly over used and has lost it's meaning. An example Tom gave was that if hey tells his wife that he loves Apple Jacks and then tells her that he loves her he has just compared her to cereal. Different things that people say they love can include Obama, The Office, and Chex Mix. In secular music, love is often associated with sex. In abusive relationships, love is usually associated with control and on valentine's day it is associated with romance. How we treat our significant other shows our definition of love. We do silly things to attract our boyfriend/girlfriend. Birds also do silly things to attract mates. The Cockatoo swings back and forth upside down swinging it's head. The magnificent Friget bird inflates it's neck. In the Great birds of paradise 20 males dance and display their feathers and freeze when female shows up. The female then picks the one she wants. There are three main birds Tom mentioned that people can act like in the world when it comes to love. The first is the Peacock. These people are convinced that love is purely physical. They draw attention to themselves and think love is something to be won. Peacocks make a loud screeching noise if people are ignoring them. The second bird people can act like is Ravens. They are birds of prey who move in for the kill. They believes in love at 1st sight. They move quickly into relationships and puts themselves before others. The third bird people can act like is Vultures. They see what the prospects are and take advantage of people who are fresh out of relationships. They look for people in need of emotional support. They are co-dependent and like to fix up other people. Tom said that we should be like doves. Doves are monogamous and keep the same partner for a long time. Doves in the Bible represent Purity and innocents. Tom quoted Matthew 10:16. Innocence should be one of the most attractive traits that people see in each other. True love exist in finding it in Christ first. We should use that as a measure of who we create relationships with. This ended Tom's sermon. Next we took communion by intention. This is where the bread is dipped into the juice. Everyone was welcome to take. The table is not Methodist or Protestant. Tom asked people helping with communion to come forward. While giving communion Tom said the following phrase while giving the bread:"The body of Christ broken for you". The person helping Tom said the following phrase while people dipped the bread into the juice: "The blood of Christ shed for you" Tom had said that people can kneel at the alter rail and write down prayer requests and pray after taking communion if they wished. Guitar music was playing while taking of communion. Tom offered an invitation to anyone to talk to him after the service or anytime about accepting Christ or any special prayer needs. Lastly the song “In The Secret” was sang. Tom then did something called passing the peace in which he said a blessing over us and gave each person on the end of the aisle a hug. Each person in turn gave their neighbor sitting next to them a hug. We ended the service by singing "Search My Soul". After the service milk and cookies were offered.
I attended the SFA Methodist Student Center (Wesley) this night. Supper was at 6 PM. Before serving supper, we did a prayer for the meal called the Wesley Grace. The Wesley Grace is sung before eating meals at the Wesley. The Worship service started at 7 PM. First we sang “Trading My Sorrows”. Second we had Welcome & Announcements. Next, we had greet your neighbor where everyone welcomes each other. Next, it was asked if there was any first time visitors. Then a prayer was offered. A scripture focus was read from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Next we sang “Arise” and “Indescribable”. Next was Joys & Concerns in which everyone could lift up their concerns or what they were joyful to God about. Joys & Concerns ended with the saying of The Lord's Prayer. Next another song, which was “God Of Wonders.” While singing an offering basket was passed around. Next we sang “Breathe.” A clipboard was passed around to fill out with information about yourself including: Name, Address, Phone Number, Major, and other info. A prayer was ten offered for Tom Teekell. Tom gave a sermon titled “Birds of a Feather”. Tom read from 1 Corinthians 13. Before reading Tom said: "Listen for the word of God". After reading Tom said: "This is the word of the Lord". The audience then replied with "Thanks be to God". Tom's sermon went something like this: Love is one of the most commonly used words in and out of the church. It is greatly over used and has lost it's meaning. An example Tom gave was that if hey tells his wife that he loves Apple Jacks and then tells her that he loves her he has just compared her to cereal. Different things that people say they love can include Obama, The Office, and Chex Mix. In secular music, love is often associated with sex. In abusive relationships, love is usually associated with control and on valentine's day it is associated with romance. How we treat our significant other shows our definition of love. We do silly things to attract our boyfriend/girlfriend. Birds also do silly things to attract mates. The Cockatoo swings back and forth upside down swinging it's head. The magnificent Friget bird inflates it's neck. In the Great birds of paradise 20 males dance and display their feathers and freeze when female shows up. The female then picks the one she wants. There are three main birds Tom mentioned that people can act like in the world when it comes to love. The first is the Peacock. These people are convinced that love is purely physical. They draw attention to themselves and think love is something to be won. Peacocks make a loud screeching noise if people are ignoring them. The second bird people can act like is Ravens. They are birds of prey who move in for the kill. They believes in love at 1st sight. They move quickly into relationships and puts themselves before others. The third bird people can act like is Vultures. They see what the prospects are and take advantage of people who are fresh out of relationships. They look for people in need of emotional support. They are co-dependent and like to fix up other people. Tom said that we should be like doves. Doves are monogamous and keep the same partner for a long time. Doves in the Bible represent Purity and innocents. Tom quoted Matthew 10:16. Innocence should be one of the most attractive traits that people see in each other. True love exist in finding it in Christ first. We should use that as a measure of who we create relationships with. This ended Tom's sermon. Next we took communion by intention. This is where the bread is dipped into the juice. Everyone was welcome to take. The table is not Methodist or Protestant. Tom asked people helping with communion to come forward. While giving communion Tom said the following phrase while giving the bread:"The body of Christ broken for you". The person helping Tom said the following phrase while people dipped the bread into the juice: "The blood of Christ shed for you" Tom had said that people can kneel at the alter rail and write down prayer requests and pray after taking communion if they wished. Guitar music was playing while taking of communion. Tom offered an invitation to anyone to talk to him after the service or anytime about accepting Christ or any special prayer needs. Lastly the song “In The Secret” was sang. Tom then did something called passing the peace in which he said a blessing over us and gave each person on the end of the aisle a hug. Each person in turn gave their neighbor sitting next to them a hug. We ended the service by singing "Search My Soul". After the service milk and cookies were offered.
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