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1/18/15 Using What God Has Given Us
A question that was recently asked all over the place was this: what did you get for Christmas? Some of the answers people gave were filled with excitement!!! I got a . . . .! Others were filled with disappointment. Oh, I got a . . . .
Let’s take that theme to the thought of the gifts and talents and resources that God has given to each one of us. What can you do for God? Is the response excited or disappointed?
Return to Sender
A woman wrote this: When my niece turned six, I excitedly gave her some gifts I had spent time shopping for. Two weeks later, when I asked if she was enjoying them, I was disappointed to learn she had decided to return some of them. Even after my careful selection of those gifts--intended especially for her--she hadn’t really appreciated them. As I asked God to help me get over my disappointment, I remembered some of the gifts God had given me--gifts that I hadn’t appreciated either and wished I could have exchanged for others.
Patti Greenman, St. Louis, MO. Today's Christian Woman, “Heart to Heart.”
As I read this short story, I thought of the gifts that God has given to each of us. There are things we can do or learn to do to be active in God’s work. There are abilities we have. There are material resources. There is time we can invest in doing what God wants. Ask yourself:
□ Do I use what God gives?
□ Do I wish that instead, I could do other things?
□ Am I thankful for what God has given me?
We all have been given gifts by other people. Some of those gifts are in the form of gift cards. Here is some interesting information.
According to estimates reported in the Journal of State Taxation, the typical American home has an average of $300 in unused gift cards. These cards are often misplaced, accidentally thrown out, or only partially redeemed. Between 2005 and 2011, $41 billion in gift cards went unused.
Harvard Business Review, Stats & Curiosities (Harvard Business Review, 2013), page 104
I hear things like that and think, I’d be happy to help out and use them. How about all of the gifts that God gives? Is the church across the world filled with countless unused spiritual gift cards?
Let’s look at this statement: God has given us great resources. We must use those resources for His honor. Use them well.
As we look at the investments God has made in us, it is all about what we do with them.
Our resources include the money we have as well as the abilities we have. It is not just the resources, it is what we do with them.
A foundational point is that God is our source. We will develop this truth over the next weeks.
With this in mind, we want to take some time on the topic of biblical stewardship. What is it and how do we apply it in daily life? As we all apply these biblical principles, we will take our church fellowship far down the road God wants to take us.
1 Corinthians 4:1-21 NKJV
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Note that is doesn’t say successful according to American thinking. It says faithful. We all CAN be faithful to God.
We are ALL called to be God’s servants, His helpers. This is a subordinate role, not the big cheese. We are God’s stewards. We are responsible to manage the large investment God has in us.
□ The steward is accountable to his/her master and must prove trustworthy and faithful.
□ He/she must be reliable.
□ The steward doesn’t own what is managed, it is managed for another. Yet, it must be treated well, not wasted or abused. The steward is entrusted with the owner’s resources.
□ Our Christian stewardship is an acknowledgment that God retains ownership of everything in our lives.
Jesus said: Luke 12:42-44 NLT
42 And the Lord replied, A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.
God gives us the responsibility of managing for the Master. The better we do in managing what God gives us, the more He will trust us with.
This passage helps understand the concept of ownership. The Master still owns it all, the servant, the steward manages it. ***Understanding ownership is a key to biblical stewardship.
We are called to be God’s managers of what He entrusts to us. We are to manage our resources in a way that pleases God and follows His commands.
I have a question to ask you, and we may jokingly say I would love to have that problem. The question is this: what would be the response of this fellowship if we discovered we had just been given a very, very large financial gift?
□ Would we all come together and work to see that it was well used?
□ Would we be insistent that we do not allow it to cause problems and that we would only use it in a way that pleases God?
□ Would any of us be tempted to think “Oh good, now I don’t have to tithe”?
If that were to ever happen, I trust that none of us would ever come to the conclusion that it caused so many problems we wished that the gift had never been given. Having a good understanding of biblical stewardship is an important key to guide us in properly using any and all resources God gives us. Whether the gift is one dollar or 1 million, it all belongs to God.
A big help in understanding biblical stewardship: Think Eternal. Look far beyond today to see the long term impact.
The deeper that people get in to learning about biblical stewardship, the more some people say it doesn’t make sense. Know this: God’s ways are higher, and they are always better.
Isaiah 55:8-11 NIV 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
1. God’s ways higher, better, more beneficial. So, do things God’s way.
2. God’s purpose will be accomplished. A crop will come, results will come when we obey the Word of God.
So, let’s learn and then follow God’s ways.
One of the great challenges of the Christian life comes when we see something in the Bible that we should do, and yet we wonder if we really can do it.
□ Will we make it in life if we obey?
□ Will we survive doing it God’s way?
□ Is God really going to take care of us if we obey?
Chew on these thoughts for a bit. Let’s discuss them.
Right in the middle of some laws that God gave Israel, right in the middle of a section that we struggle to get through as we read, we find an example of God’s blessing on obedience.
God told Israel that every seven years they were to give the land a rest. They were NOT to plant a crop. Now, the obvious question is: how could they survive? They didn’t have all the modern sources of supply, long term storage, freezing, etc. that we have today. Well, the answer is simple. God said HE would take care of it.
Leviticus 25:18-22 NKJV
18 ‘So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. 19 Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill, and dwell there in safety. 20 ‘And if you say, “What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce?” 21 Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. 22 And you shall sow in the eighth year, and eat old produce until the ninth year; until its produce comes in, you shall eat of the old harvest.
God said to Israel: if you obey Me I will take care of you. He says that to us today, as well.
The miracles: a bumper crop, no spoilage, they had food when they rested the land.
Vital principal: when God says to do something, trust HIM to make it work.
Keep this in mind as we continue to work through this topic of stewardship. God’s ways are higher and He expects us to obey.
Stewardship is the Christian way of life and managing resources. This is not optional for Christians. It encompasses every aspect of our lives.
It is common to look at the big mountain before us instead of the powerful vehicle we have to drive over it. It is common for us to look at the challenges and needs of the world and our fellowship instead of looking to God Who is bigger than anything we face.
We must keep this focus in mind, not only as we cover this topic, but as we do all the work God has called us to do. I wish we had more time right now to go deeper, we will continue next week.
DISCUSSION
What is a steward?
How do we define the resources God has invested in us?
What are we to do with these resources?
PRAYER Lord, help us to understand what you mean by stewardship. Help us to be the faithful steward you want us to be.
Personalize this: Lord, help Me to be . . .
1/11/15 FOLLOWUP TO OUR WEEK OF PRAYER
Kevin Senapatiratne was with us this week and we had four evenings together to pray, to learn about prayer. On the last night he talked about campfires. I want to share a few things he said and tag on with an application for us as we head into this new year.
He calls himself the spiritual pyromaniac of their ministry. His desire is to light spiritual fires in the hearts of believers, as well as seeing spiritual fires burning in churches and cities. A pyromaniac is someone who likes to light fires. Spiritually, we all need to see fires lit in our own lives and in this fellowship we have at this church.
This reminds me of an old story. A local church building caught on fire. As the fire department was there to put out the fire all of the neighbors came to watch what was going on. One neighbor in particular had been invited by the pastor to come to church, but he had never come. The pastor said to him, “I have never seen you at church before.” The neighbor replied,” I have never seen the church on fire before.”
The truth is that the more that believers in the church as a whole are on fire, the more people will be drawn to the Lord.
Kevin use the illustration of campfires. He talked about how to build them and keep them going. This illustration really caught my attention because, when it comes to campfires, I really am a pyromaniac. There is something special about sitting around the campfire, roasting hotdogs and watching the fire burn.
To get a campfire going requires that you start with kindling. The kindling will burn quickly and brightly. But to keep the fire going you need logs. You can’t start the fire with just logs in a match, but with good kindling it will cause the logs catch on fire. One of the critical keys to see in the logs burn and stay burning is that the logs stay in contact with the fire and the other logs. If there was a log that said, “I’m going to just go over to the other side of the fire pit and burned by myself”, that log would quickly quit burning.
Another critical factor in burning a good campfire is oxygen. This reminds me of a time when we were camping at Spencer Lake Bible camp. We had a good campfire going, but I thought it would be fun to get out the air pump we used to blow up our air mattresses. It puts out a large volume of air and when I blew it on the campfire we had a much larger fire.
What is the spiritual application? To get a spiritual fire going requires the kindling of spiritual hunger and enthusiasm. Lord, I need you more and more. I need your presence and strength. I want to worship you and be faithful to you. I’m not going to be afraid to be excited for you and to be passionate about my service to you.
We need to be spiritual logs that will get connected to the Lord in the local church and begin to burn for him. We need to stay close and not think that it doesn’t matter if we come to church are not. So many people today who call themselves Christians let anything and everything interfere with their church attendance. God is not a high priority in their lives and they find every excuse to skip out. We need that close fellowship, strength and encouragement that comes by being with God’s people.
There is an old song we used to sing, I love the thrill that I feel when I get together with God’s wonderful people. Another part of the song says, oh what joy his love affords when we meet in one accord and we lift our hands and praise unto the Lord.
We also need the wind of the Holy Spirit continually blowing in our midst. We see the impact that the spirit made on the church in the book of Acts. They turn the world upside down and shook many cities. Down through history, the wind of the Holy Spirit has ignited countless spiritual fires impacting millions of people. As we observed the challenges that we have before us as Christians in the modern world, the solution is the message of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus still changes lives in the Holy Spirit still convinces people of sin and empowers believers to serve the Lord.
We need the spiritual fires, we need the fullness of the Holy Spirit because the world is lost in sin. People need to be saved and we can’t manipulate that.
How do people get saved? The Bible tells us that the Father draws people to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. He opens people’s minds to God’s truth. The Spirit convinces people of the presence of sin in their lives and the fact that they need God. God wants all people to be saved. This is an invitation that can be accepted or rejected. We see the importance of answering the call of the Holy Spirit. It is a dangerous thing to resist because we cannot come to Jesus on our own. Also, many have times when the Spirit is calling them and they reject, then in the future thay have no desire to respond.
John 6:44 NIV
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 16:8 NIV
8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
John 12:32 NIV
32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.
The Harvest
Why do we need spiritual fire? Because people without Jesus are lost in sin. We need to see a mighty harvest of souls, people coming to salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Steve Green wrote a powerful message in this song:
Everyday they pass me by,
I can see it in their eyes.
Empty people filled with care,
Headed who knows where?
On they go through private pain,
Living fear to fear.
Laughter hides their silent cries,
Only Jesus hears.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams, He’s the open door.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
When will we realize, people need the Lord?
We are called to take His light
To a world where wrong seems right.
What could be too great a cost
For sharing Life with one who’s lost?
Through His love our hearts can feel
All the grief they bear.
They must hear the Words of Life
Only we can share.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord
At the end of broken dreams, He’s the open door.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
When will we realize that we must give our lives,
For people need the Lord.
People need the Lord.
Yes, people really do need the Lord.
It takes workers to bring in the harvest. I want to share a video with you. Some of you have seen it before, but it is worth repeating. Let God speak to you as we talk about the harvest.
Matthew 9:37-38 NIV
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
After video:
The final challenge of the week of prayer was to consider the lost, consider specific people who need to be saved, to consider people we don’t even know yet, but need the Lord as their Personal Savior. Are you willing to pray and commit to seeing people come to the Lord?
What has God spoken to your heart that you want to share with us today? What encouragement do you have for others?
Prayer
12/28/14 Communion Service
There are multiple terms used for the Lord’s Supper, Communion, Eucharist, the Last Supper.
The Last Supper. Think of this. It was Jesus’ last supper, His last celebration of the Passover before His arrest and crucifixion. We have here the thought of finality. This is it, He was reaching the end of His time on earth.
We are at the end of the year, there is very little opportunity to get much more done in 2014. If there are things that have to be completed or accomplished in 2014, there is little time left to get it done. You had better get busy.
Jesus gave this to the church: the celebration to remember what He was about to do for us, to remember what He did. He gave us the Communion. We are to do it often in remembrance of Him. We are to focus our thoughts and attention on the Lord, His sacrifice, and not to be distracted with other things.
Let’s think about something that continually happens in our modern world: Eating distracted. It is very common to be doing something else while we eat. We have drive through windows to grab food and stuff it down as we race to our next destination. The focus is not on the food, on the taste, etc. We cannot eat the Lord’s supper distracted. As we eat it, we must recognize what Jesus did.
1 Corinthians 11:23-34 NKJV
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
We are going to dig into these verses some more, but, before we do, think about the setting of the Last Supper. It contained some of the Lord’s last words. When people come to the end, to the last words, they get very serious and share the most important things.
There is something very significant wrapped up in our final words. We have to remember this truth as we think of and celebrate communion. In very few hours after the Last Supper, Jesus was hung on the cross. Shortly, He was dead, the sacrifice completed. Jesus realized the significance of those words the impact of his last advice. He told them exactly what they would need to carry out their commission.
Let’s look at the verses we read.
When you participate in communion, make sure you are present. No, I’m not talking about being physically here, but mentally and spiritually here.
We live in a distracted digital age. We work at multitasking. Don’t allow yourself to become distracted in celebrating and remembering what Jesus did for you.
Jesus established this memorial of His death. It impacts every generation. It is a living memorial or remembrance of Jesus’s death that paid the price for anyone to be forgiven of their sins. It is the judgement of God the Father for sin. Our judgement has already happened when we receive Jesus as our Lord.
As we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of His sacrifice and its impact in our lives. He loves us so much and we must show our love to Him as we obey all His commands.
Be sure to express your thanks to the Lord for what He did for you.
As we take communion it brings us together as a local body. We are doing this together because we love the Lord and have been saved through the Blood of Jesus.
This commemorative meal reaffirms the lordship of Jesus and our commitment to do his will, to remain loyal to him, to resist sin and to identify ourselves with his mission.
We are warned about our attitude in receiving communion. “An unworthy manner.” It cannot be flippant or careless. We cannot be disrespectful of what Jesus did. We must confess sin and stand clean before the Lord.
The emblems we use represent the body and blood of Jesus. This is a sacred time.
Let me share an amazing story of the power of sharing communion, told by a pastor.
Communion Shared in a Psychiatric Ward
A young friend called me to say she’d admitted herself to a psychiatric hospital. While she was there, I visited her when I could. One of my visits was on Good Friday. I asked her if she’d like for me to bring Communion to her. She said she would and asked if some of the other hospitalized Christians could join us.
On that spring afternoon, five or six of us gathered in her room and shared the sacred meal. I think it was the most meaningful Communion service I ever shared—half a dozen strangers, each scarred by heartache, sitting helpless in a locked ward.
Yet Jesus was there because we were there as his beloved. He was not only among us, but he was there within us. Even as broken people, we were one with each other. We were strengthened by his presence; we were healed, in a way. We were nourished, washed, and rejuvenated all because we had Communion.
Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois
We are all sinners who have been saved by the grace and blood of Jesus. We can bring Him our heartache, our struggles, our needs -- and know that He is always here to respond and carry us through.
We are going to share in communion. We invite the children back to join with their families.
First of all, pray together as a family. If you are here without any family members, I invite you to join with someone else and pray together. Feel free to move around to accomplish this.
Then we will all share in communion together.
After communion: what is the application of all of this? How does it make a difference at the end of one year and the beginning of another?
We have come through all the trials and joys of 2014 because of WHO Jesus is and WHAT He had done for us.
We can look to a new year, a completely blank slate, with the assurance that He will walk with us and guide us. We are taking major steps of faith. God won’t leave us. Since Jesus showed us His amazing love by going to the cross, we know He will continue to show His amazing love by taking us through whatever we will face.
Let us sing: My hope is built on nothing less that Jesus’ blood and righteousness. On Christ the solid rock I stand.
12/14/14 YEAR OF EQUIPPING TO SERVE
This Is It, Folks!!!
We all have different skills and abilities. I have often been amazed at the talents some people have. Some folks have amazing skills and can pick out the slightest differences and details that most people can’t see.
Hitter Ted Williams Senses Weight of Bats
Ted Williams, the last baseball player to hit .400 in a season, died July, 2002, at 83. “There is no joy in Red Sox nation, a.k.a. New England, or in any heart where baseball matters,” George Will reported in a column memorializing the star hitter.
Mr. Will describes Mr. Williams as “an alloy of innocence and arrogance,” an obsessive player who gave the local sports reporters lots to write about. “He used a postal scale to check that humidity had not added an ounce to the weight of his bats”.
“Challenged to find from among six bats the one that was half an ounce heavier than the others, he quickly did. He once returned to the maker a batch of his Louisville Sluggers because he sensed that the handles were not quite right. The handles were off by five-thousandths of an inch.”
“Quicktakes” World (7-20-02), p. 10
He was a great baseball player. Ted Williams knew what he was doing. He was picky that the tools of his trade were perfect.
Look at the title of this message, This Is It, Folks!!! We have been talking about the theme of equipping all year. Today we will give you an opportunity to sign on to something and be involved. If you are already doing something, Thank You. Awesome!! Keep up the good work.
Think about the various skills and abilities that people have. One time I was talking with a friend of my brother, Roger, who was telling me that he had the ability to tune and fix a piano. He said if anything is broken I can fix it. I just can’t play it. Oh how I wish I could play it like your brother plays it. This man had one skill and Roger had another. Both skills were necessary to get value out of a piano.
There are people with great mechanical skills who can fix a broken engine and make it run perfectly. Others have a hard time putting gas in the car.
Some people have great insights as to why computers work and can fix them when you are greatly frustrated by them.
Some people can cook a delicious meal with all the trimmings, while other people have a hard time boiling water.
Think about when you have medical issues and you talk with your doctor. The doctor examines you and asks questions. He may order blood tests or x-rays. If you need surgery you are very thankful when your surgeon knows what and where to cut and what not to cut.
There are so many different skills and talents that people have. A few people seem to be able to do anything they try. Most of us have abilities in certain areas and know that other things we should leave to someone else. But the key is: we all can do something and that God has given us all abilities and talents that we can develop. We need to use the talents that God has given us for Him and His glory.
Having spent this year talking about equipping, today we are going to look at what we can do. Everyone can do something for the Lord. When we are through today, you are going to have the opportunity to look for something to do.
Acts 6:1-7 NLT
1 But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” 5 Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). 6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them. 7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.
Another passage:
Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Hear this as we move on. Many are already working hard. We would not be where we are without the active involvement of many. Again, thank you for all you do for the Lord. We are looking to be sure that all have the opportunity to be involved in some way.
Let’s go back and look at these passages.
What have we seen? The early church understood that they all had to pitch in and work together. There are so many things that need to be done. There is only ONE who is superhuman who can do anything, and He is our Lord. He has given us gifts and abilities to do a variety of things, but not everything. This is why we must identify tasks that we can do and then each person do what they can do. We work TOGETHER and get the jobs done.
We have prepared many job descriptions for tasks that need to be done. We are going to take time to look at them. As you see things you are interested in, please take one of the sheets of paper and fill it out. It would be good for you to look around at all of the options we have presented.
When you look at the various sheets of job information, you may find one that you are already doing. This is not saying you are doing a lousy job and we are looking for a replacement. It means that this is a legitimate need and there may be others who would like to help. Keep doing what you are doing. If you are currently involved in a ministry, please fill out that form so that we know you plan to continue.
A key point: if you have an interest in something but don’t have the training/skills, we want to help you. We all have to learn and grow in our abilities. Don’t use the excuse, “I don’t know how”.
If there is something that we missed, and there probably is, please take the suggestion page and write out what you would like to participate in that we have not yet developed information for.
DISCUSSION
What are the key points we have talked about today?
Why do you think it is so important for everyone to find something to do to be involved in our local fellowship?
Before we go and look at what is available, do you have any questions about what we are about to do?
We are going to pray for God to direct each of us regarding our involvement.
11/30/14 We Are One In The Lord
An important question we will look at in a few minutes: Is this a hill worth dying on?
Musical Artists Clash Over a Tiny Musical Piece
In October, 2011, The New York Times ran an article about two musical giants whose longtime relationship unraveled over a tiny piece of music. Helene Grimaud, a brilliant and magnetic pianist, and Claudio Abbado, a revered conductor, have performed together at least a dozen times since 1995. They were supposed to perform in Switzerland and London, but organizers cancelled their concerts due to “artistic differences.”
There was only one issue at the heart of their conflict—a 1 minute and 20 second cadenza from Mozart’s concerto No. 23 in A. (The article defines a cadenza as “unaccompanied flights in a concerto that play on its themes and show off a virtuoso’s mettle.”) The conductor Abbado prefers Mozart’s original cadenza, but the pianist Grimaud feels that Mozart’s original work is “not the most inspired.” Instead, she prefers another cadenza for No. 23 based on the later work of an Italian pianist named Busoni.
Ms. Grimaud said it was her prerogative to choose the cadenza. Anything else would have been “a sellout.” But Mr. Addabo contends that it’s his “territory.” According to another colleague, Mr. Addabo “is very strong and probably, like most conductors, used to dominating the artistic process.” Neither side was willing to compromise. An official for one of the cancelled concerts said, “[Their musical relationship] was just somehow sort of dead. I guess they didn’t relate to one another.”
Matt Woodley, Managing Editor, PreachingToday.com; source: Daniel J. Wakin, “Titans Clash Over a Mere Cadenza,” The New York Times (10-31-11)
Let’s keep this story in mind and go back to the question we mentioned before: Is this a hill worth dying on? I have a friend that I have been in many committee meetings with and this is one of his statements. As we would be discussing an issue he would say “This is not a hill I’m willing to die on”. The concept of the statement is that this issue, whatever it is, is not so important that I am willing to pay a major price to try to win. The issue simply is not eternal or worth the conflict.
Think about the two musicians in the story we just heard. What were they talking about? One minute and twenty seconds out of a whole concert. And, because of their stubbornness, maybe it was pride or arrogance, they had to cancel some concerts. What did that cost to do that? How much loss was there to many people? I wonder if they even cared. I wonder if they felt a sense of victory and accomplishment when the concerts were cancelled because “I didn’t give in” and/or “I know I was right”.
John 13:34-35 NKJV
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Unfortunately, Christians have not always gotten along with each other. Someone penned these words:
To dwell above with saints we love,
That will be grace and glory.
To live below with saints we know;
Now, that’s another story!
Let’s break down the verses we read:
Commandment: This is not a suggestion, it would be really nice if you would do this thing. Pleeeeeeeeese????
Love one another: Love must be not just vertical reaching up to God, but horizontal reaching out to one another. The definition of love I like: love is the accurate estimate and adequate supply of another person’s needs. Love is outward, love is giving. Love is not selfish and demanding.
As I have loved you: How did Jesus love us?
Philippians 2:1-8 NLT
1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
This is the amazing sacrificial love we see from Jesus.
By this all will know that you are My disciples: How does the world know what a real Christian is? This is the sign, love for one another.
If you have love for one another: when the world sees Christians acting in a loving and caring manner, then they know we are the real article.
Again note, we are commanded to love one another in a unique, Christlike way. We don’t always have to agree on everything to love and get along.
Along with genuine love, true believers will live a life of obedience to the Lord and submission to God’s Word.
John 8:31 NIV
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Matthew 7:21 NIV
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Along this line of believing and obeying God’s Word is the message Paul wrote to the church in the book of Galatians. He said that if anyone preaches any other gospel other than what has been preached, let him be eternally condemned. God will not allow people to add to, take away or change the meaning of the message of the Bible.
Please note that false doctrine usually comes incrementally. Like most sin, people get trapped by making small steps towards it. False doctrine comes in with good-sounding proclamation wrapped in attractive-sounding words. It seems so sensible and includes a portion of truth.
With what is happening in the world today, with the persecution of believers spreading across the world in every country, God’s family must stand together. Those who stand for Jesus and resist popular and ungodly beliefs and behaviors
are worthy of love and support. We can do this without compromising Biblical beliefs.
This thought of compromise is critical to our daily Christian walk. We CANNOT compromise God’s holiness, His purity and separation from evil for the sake of unity. That is not the real thing.
Matthew 22:37-40 NIV
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
*****The very important application of this for us at this time. We are in the process of making a very important decision. Approaching my 25th anniversary here at Cornerstone, I have believed it was time to make a transition. This fellowship has been working this year to find God’s leading for this next step. The transition team has worked hard and done an excellent job in seeking God’s leading for this process. They have selected a candidate to come next week. They have prepared an opportunity for all to meet the Mike Channing family on Saturday evening. Next Sunday they will be here and the membership will vote on them.
A few very critical thoughts to consider:
□ The transition team selected the candidate.
□ It is up to the membership to vote.
□ Everyone of us must seek God’s direction in the vote. This is not a contest, it is seeking God’s direction.
□ We must keep God’s love central in our hearts, believing that God will direct us and be thankful for the outcome.
□ We must work together to build God’s kingdom in the future.
□ We are all on the same side, we are on the Lord’s side.
Let me share a story, a good example of what NOT to be.
Division Among “Chunnel” Builders
When it came to building the tunnel under the English Channel connecting England with France (later called the “Chunnel”), the French had the perfect word for it: bicephele, two-headed. There were two mammoth firms built from scratch to complete the project: one charged with finance and operation, the other responsible for building it. Each of these companies was also two-headed: equally French and British.
No one was allowed to take charge. Leadership, more times than not, was reduced to the management of conflict. Said a high-ranking executive, “The project…created a lot of tension because it [was] not geared to solving problems; it [was] geared to placing blame.” The English yelled at the French, and the French yelled at the English. Said another executive, “There were nervous breakdowns galore.”
The problems were primarily from a lack of shared standards. The two countries had a different word for everything. The French had their accounting system, so did the English. The French ran on 380 volts, and the British ran on 420. Instruction manuals were bilingual. There were even two different standards used to measure sea level.
“When you have people coming from two different nations,” said one of the engineers, “each believes that only their regulations are right.”
Robert Lewis with Rob Wilkins, The Church of Irresistible Influence (Zondervan, 2001), pp. 205-206
Reading this, it is amazing that the thing was ever built. What could have been avoided if they could have really worked together?
DISCUSSION
What happens when Christians really do seek to understand and then apply the command to love one another?
What if they find it hard to do, to love another believer?
How does this actually loving one another affect our local church?
How should Christians react when things don’t go the way they want them to go?
What can you learn and apply from the chunnel story?
As we sing, let us really pray this.
Bind us together, Lord, Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together,
Bind us together with love.
There is only one God,
There is only one King;
There is only one Body,
That is why we sing:
11/16/14 Year of Equipping To Serve
A WINNING ATTITUDE
We have spent this year talking about being equipped to do God’s work. When a topic like this comes up, it is easy to quickly dismiss it with the thought that “I don’t really have any talents that will make a difference”. We live in a world of the superstar. We live in a world where the big show, the overly-talented person is the only one who can get anything done. “I’m a nobody” thinking impacts the world. It impacts the church.
What can we do for God? How can we do anything for God? Can we do anything for God?
Here’s an amazing study that goes against everything our culture seems to promote: Too Much Talent Hurts Sports Teams
When it comes to winning games, most pro sports teams go after talented players. Everyone wants a team of stars. But a new research study published in Psychological Science argues that too many talented players can actually hurt the team;s overall performance. The research study is titled “The Too-Much Talent Effect.”
When the researchers analyzed professional sports, especially basketball and soccer, they discovered that talented players helped teams win—but only up to a point. Teams loaded with star players found that the too-much talent effect actually hurt the team’s chances of winning. Teams with the greatest proportion of elite athletes performed worse than those with more moderate proportions of top level players. Star-studded basketball teams had less assists and rebounds than teams with more average players. The researchers concluded, “When teams need to come together, more talent can tear them apart.”
An article summarizing the study observed:
Why is too much talent a bad thing? Think teamwork. In many endeavors, success requires [team effort] towards a goal that is beyond the capability of any one individual … When a team roster is flooded with individual talent, pursuit of personal star-status may prevent the attainment of team goals. The basketball player chasing a point record, for example, may cost the team by taking risky shots instead of passing to a teammate.
Matt Woodley, Editor, Preaching Today.com; sources: Roderick I. Swaab, “The Too-Much Talent Effect,” Psychological Science (6-27-14); Cindi May, “The Surprising Problem of Too Much Talent,” Scientific American (10-14-14)
That is some amazing information. Working together gets the job done.
The Christian life is not about who we are, it is who we are in Christ. The Christian life is about who Jesus makes us to be. The Christian life is about living in and working in God’s power. The victory the church experiences comes only through the power of God working through us. Teamwork, working in a spirit of unity to accomplish God’s plan for us will get the job done much quicker than if we have a few superstars.
Colossians 3:1-17 NLT
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
What are we to do?
Set your mind fully on the things of God.
Let HIM affect your attitudes in life.
Keep the eternal and heavenly perspective as you live the character of Christ.
Remember that as we live in God’s power we will make an impact.
We are a team for the Lord. We are a team as HE is the Captain. We are a team and the world will know Jesus as we live and work in HIS power.
Lessons learned by Coach Tony Dungy
When I arrived in Tampa, the talent was there. It was the culture that had to change. The coaches and myself in Minnesota knew that if we could get the Bucs down early, they would give up, and we could win easily. But if they started well, they would be competitive with us to the end. It seemed that the team had cultivated a fragile mind-set that had infected their play for years. They always expected something to go wrong, and it usually did.
When I arrived in Tampa, I began meeting with players who lived there — trying to understand from them what needed to be fixed. Although all the issues were relatively minor, they contributed to the team’s second class, defeatist, excuse laden mentality. I began to sell the philosophy that we are responsible for what happens to us, not anyone or anything else. No excuses, no explanations. This is how we changed the culture.
At the same time, I started to address some of the issues the players were bringing to my attention. I realized that, by addressing minor issues, we could bring about a major culture shift. The Bucs’ previous owner had been known for his frugality and, in order to save a few dollars, the team often stayed in inconvenient locations when they were on the road. When I came on board, we began to stay downtown at Marriotts, Wyndhams, and Ritz-Carltons. It was a small change but part of a bigger shift I wanted us to make.
One of the things I couldn’t change was the location of our training camp at the University of Tampa. The University of Tampa had been founded more than sixty years earlier in a hotel Henry Plant had built in the late 1800s along the banks of the Hillsborough River. Originally intended as a getaway for vacationing northerners, it has since been turned into a very pretty school. As a training camp, however, it had seen too many lousy Bucs teams wander through its halls and grounds. I wanted a new, fresh place to train, someplace without any connection to losing. But we simply didn’t have another feasible option.
I thought of my dad’s advice to focus on the job, not the surroundings, and decided to embrace the situation rather than try and change it. I told the guys we didn’t want to leave the University of Tampa. We wanted our team to become tough, so we wanted camp to be tough. We wanted the grass on the field to give out during the first thunderstorm. We wanted the dorm rooms to be spartan. It was a mind-set shift, and the guys accepted it. No excuses, no explanations.
As for One Buc, I knew it needed countless improvements — a team meeting room, offices separate from meeting rooms, a room big enough to house all of the weights so some weren’t out on the patio, a third practice field, and so on. But as I told the guys, the Pittsburgh Steelers practiced every day on a sixty-yard Astroturf field…and had won four Super Bowls. No excuses, no explanations.
At a team meeting, I ran through a laundry list of excuses our players could easily hang a poor season on if they chose to:
We have a new coaching staff.
We have to learn a new system on both offense and defense.
We have sub-par facilities.
We have a young quarterback.
We never get the benefit of the doubt from officials.
We have distractions over a stadium and we might move cities.
We never win in the cold.
Those were all great excuses, and we could have used any and all of them. However, our goal was to win football games, and excuses were not an option. Instead, I told them we expected several things of them:
Be a pro.
Act like a champion.
Respond to adversity; don’t react.
Be on time. Being late means it’s not important to you or you can’t be relied upon.
Execute. Do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it. Not almost. All the way. Not most of the time. All of the time.
Take ownership.
Whatever it takes. No excuses. No explanations. That’s what began to change a losing culture to a winning one.
http://www.allprodad.com/dungy/turning-a-losing-culture-into-a-winning-one/?utm_campaign=LosingCulture&utm_source=EMAIL&utm_medium=11.04.2014&utm_term=Body&utm_content=PlayOfTheDay
Where did we start today?
A WINNING ATTITUDE
God has not called us to be superstars. He has called us to be faithful to HIM and work together.
Colossians 3:1 NLT
1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
NKJV
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
The Message
1 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides.
DISCUSSION
Review the main points of this message.
What encourages you from what we have talked about?
Are there any attitude changes that are needed?
What should we expect to happen here in Western Wisconsin and here at Cornerstone?
PRAYER
Sing together:
Oh, Lord, Send the Power Just Now
11/9/14 YEAR OF EQUIPPING TO SERVE
The Take-Away From Our Fall Emphasis on Missions
Where is Brittany Maynard today?
Some thoughts from Jim Denison (edited)
Brittany Maynard described how she learned that she had terminal brain cancer and her decision to move to Oregon so that she could take advantage of its ‘Death with Dignity’ law to end her life. Brittany ended her own life recently at her home in Portland. She was 29 years old. She left this message on Facebook:
“Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me . . . but would have taken so much more. The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type. . . . Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!”
It would be hard to find a person who lived a more active life than Brittany did. She traveled to Nepal, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, and Tanzania. She climbed Kilimanjaro a month before her wedding, took ice climbing courses in Ecuador and was an avid scuba diver. She taught in orphanages in Nepal and spent a summer working in Costa Rica.
However, I can find nothing about her religious beliefs. In describing her decision to end her life, she invited those who love her to “come say goodbye as I pass into whatever’s next.” It’s hard to know what she believed about Jesus or salvation.
Nonetheless, I would guess that most in our culture think Brittany is in heaven, since our culture is convinced that all good people go there. Eighty-nine percent of Americans believe in heaven; 85 percent of them believe they’ll go there. Three in four, including two-thirds of Protestants, do not believe that access to heaven is limited to Christians.
But opinion doesn’t change reality. What humans think about heaven and hell is mere speculation unless our beliefs are based on something besides belief. . . . . . .
The difference between Jesus and all other religious authorities is the resurrection. There is abundant evidence that Jesus lived, was condemned and crucified by the Romans, and was seen alive by his followers and worshiped as Lord. Apart from the resurrection there is no compelling explanation for his empty tomb, the changed lives of his disciples, or the impact of his movement on the Roman Empire.
If he is raised from the dead, he must be God. If he is God, his word must be true. And he clearly states in his word, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Peter agreed: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Why does this issue matter?
I worry about the apparent loss of evangelistic passion among many in Western Christianity today. . . . .
I’m convinced that one reason for our lack of evangelistic effectiveness is that many of us have lost sight of hell. We’ve adopted our culture’s distaste for eternal perdition, ignoring or even rejecting the biblical facts about those who reject our Lord. But Jesus said more about hell than heaven. He warned us that “the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction”. The apostles paid the ultimate price to get the only hope of salvation to their dying world.
It seems so unkind to even consider the possibility that a beautiful, suffering young woman like Brittany might be in hell. I deeply & sincerely hope she is in heaven with our Lord. However, there’s nothing I can do to influence her commitment to Jesus today. But every person I meet this day is another Brittany. We are all dying. And we have only today to be ready for eternity.
William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, once took a group of volunteers through an extensive evangelism training course lasting many weeks. When it was done he said to them, “I’m sorry our training took so long. If I could take you to hell for five minutes, none of what I’ve taught you would be necessary.”
Who is your Brittany Maynard today?
http://www.denisonforum.org/morality/1224-where-is-brittany-maynard-today
Some thoughts:
God is the Judge and is the only one who can answer the question of where she is today.
It is extremely sad that people think the best solution is suicide.
Many of these laws are sugar-coated with a positive sounding name to hide what is really going on.
Even in the worst of medical conditions, taking your life is never the answer.
Questions about what we can take away from our missions convention –
□ Why put all this emphasis on missions?
□ Why put the emphasis on reaching people with the message of Jesus?
□ Why would some of the most gifted people risk life and limb and go to places that are not attractive places to be?
□ Why would they work so hard to raise their support and then come back every four years to replace the support they lost and increase it due to inflation?
The answer is found in a series of verses. There are many more we could look at, but look at these.
Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NKJV
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:1 NKJV
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Romans 10:9-10, 13 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
II Corinthians 5:17, 21 NKJV
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Revelation 20:15 NKJV
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The Take-Away: because people are lost in their sin, we are accountable before God to reach people for Jesus. Without HIM, they are lost in their sins. People around here without a personal relationship with Jesus are just as lost as someone in Africa.
We have just shown the need of Jesus through the verses we looked at. And now this very challenging question.
Romans 10:14-15 NLT
14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
We can never force or trick a person into believing in Jesus. We must give them the good news, pray that they will receive the tugging of God in their hearts and respond to receive Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.
So many people don’t realize they are lost. Listen to this strange but true story. Man Discovers He Was a Missing Child
Imagine one day discovering that you were a lost, missing child.
Marx Barnes—now named Steve Carter—born in 1977, had no inkling he was a lost, missing child until January 2011, when he did a search on missingkids.com. He found himself staring at a composite image created to show what Marx would look like as an adult.
“I got chills,” Carter said.
A DNA test ultimately confirmed his identity.
Marx went missing at 6-months-old on June 21, 1977, when his mother placed him in a stroller and went for a walk on one of the Hawaiian Islands. Through a strange series of events, Marx’s mother was placed in a psychiatric hospital, while Marx was placed in protective care, ultimately becoming a ward of the state. Marx was placed in an orphanage only 30 miles from where he lived with his parents. As an adult, Carter “never had any strong desire to locate his family.”
By contrast, his half sister had only one desire in life: to find out what happened to her brother. It was her efforts—convincing officials to reactivate the investigation—that led to the composite image Carter discovered online. An official from the Missing Child Center in Hawaii said, “If it wasn’t for her, it would still be a cold case.”
Joey Bartolomeo, “Alive, 34 Years After He Went Missing,” People (4-30-12)
Here is a critical issue for us to grasp: most people don’t realize they are spiritually lost. It takes the work of God to speak to their hearts for them to realize their need of Jesus. I believe most people believe something is missing, but they don’t recognize the need as Jesus.
John 16:7-8 NKJV
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
John 6:44 NKJV
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Chicago Man Discovers His Real Name
The headline in the Chicago Tribune was poignant: “Living a Life Unknown.” The subhead said, “Dozens of John, Jane Does turn up yearly at Illinois police stations and hospitals. Most are identified. These 5 weren’t.”
Despite all the efforts of social services and police, no one seems to know a woman who calls herself Seven. She says she is 71 and that she’s gone by that name since 1976. She’s been in state care since 2003 and has dementia. Even her smiling picture on the front page of a Chicago paper is not likely to help.
Sometimes an identity is discovered. A man they named Carlos has been a ward of the state since 1998, longer than any of the other John Does in Illinois. According to the Tribune, “He doesn’t speak and likely had a stroke that caused brain damage. He uses a wheelchair and wears a medical helmet to prevent injuries. His only reaction to people is a wide smile and a giddy giggle.”
On November 29, 2011, the staff at the facility where Carlos lives discovered his identity and that it was his 53rd birthday. According to the story, “That day, caretaker Azucena Herrera went to Carlos and uttered the name Crispin Mareno. The usually giggly man fell silent after hearing his real name for the first time in at least 13 years. Then tears ran down his cheek.”
Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois; source: Becky Schlikerman, "Living a Life Unknown," Chicago Tribune (2-21-12)
Amazing Grace how sweet the sound . . . I once was lost but now am found, t’was blind but now I see.
DISCUSSION
The tern take-away refers to what a person can take with them to make a difference in their life after they partake in an event. What are the take-aways you see from our missions convention and the emphasis on missions? The personal impact?
What are the take-aways as we look to the next year and our involvement in working for Jesus? (This is both personal and corporate involvement.)
William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, once took a group of volunteers through an extensive evangelism training course lasting many weeks. When it was done he said to them, “I’m sorry our training took so long. If I could take you to hell for five minutes, none of what I’ve taught you would be necessary.”
PRAYER
