The Process...

I received video below from Seth Godin's blog.

Watch the video here.

Honestly, after the first time watching it, I started to feel a little guilty. I kept thinking about how much time I have wasted talking about the things that are incredibly mundane... Yikes.

This video is obviously geared toward people who are in business and the strategies that are involved in launching something new. My question is how does this mirror our efforts within the church?

Think of the programs that we are involved in. BYBC, Sunday School, Small Group, Youth Group, Women's Ministry, Men's Ministry..., etc. The list goes on. How do we busy ourselves with such groups - and perhaps, on occasion forget what the real heart of the matter is.

We all know that it's possible to "program our churches to death." Let us head the warning to not walk down that path. I am not suggesting to abandon our programs, but let's make sure that they don't cover up what truly matters - God dying for His enemies.

This was Paul's approach to the church in Corinth.

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

How about your church? How do you handle the temptation to inflate programs to be bigger than what they really are?

God Answers Prayers

So last night was small group. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing strange. Everything was normal.

Except we prayed.

OK, that is still normal. We pray every time that we have small group. How was last night different?

We prayed that we would meet non-Christians and invite them to our small group.

Well, as the title states, God answers prayers. Last night as Mary and I were “closing up” the meeting place, we noticed a young couple arguing across from us in the parking lot. She was crying, he was throwing things – like her drink on the ground and then her cell phone. Smashing it.

At that point in time, I felt God tugging on my heart. I normally would have ignored it.

“It’s their mess, it’s their problem, they are leaving now, I don’t need to get involved.”

But I didn’t. I knew what we had just prayed for.

So I spoke, “Sir, is everything OK?”
His reply, “Yeah man, everything is fine.”
Me again, “Ma’am, are you OK? Do you need anything?”

At this point, I am in. I start to walk closer. Actually, it’s as if someone is pushing me closer.

“OK Father, this is it. These people need you. Desperately. Help me say the right things to show the love of your Son.”

To make this long story short… I will attempt to sum up the details.
Ian, the guy, was drunk.
Jenny, the girlfriend is divorced, has two kids.
Ian, goes to AA, killed a girl while drunk driving, headed to jail, prays twice a day.
Jenny is just confused.

So, we went to work. Both Mary and I threw everything out on the "table" for Ian and Jenny.

"If you died tonight, why would God let you in Heaven?" I ask.
“Because I am grateful and because I pray twice a day.” Ian said.
"God demands perfect. You and I have broken His law. We stand condemned."

But Christ…

Ian in tears.
Ticked.
Hurt.
Jenny’s crying again.

Mary and I left them with this, “Your hearts will forever be restless until they are resting in Jesus. Your perfection will not get you in Heaven, your AA, your work, your jail, your sorrow, you pain. Nothing that you are leaning on right now will get you in Heaven.

Only Christ.

Jesus loves you.”

We prayed.
We left.
We rested.
We are thankful for opportunities.
We are thankful for answered prayers.

“He parted with the greatest glory, he underwent the greatest misery, he doth the greatest works that ever were, because he loves his spouse, - because he values believers."
- John Owen, Communion with God, (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2004), 139.

"Not only when thou wast born into the world did Christ love thee, but his delights were with the sons of men before there were any sons of men. Often did he think of them; from everlasting to everlasting he had set his affections upon them. I am sure he would not have loved me so long if he had had not been a changeless Lover. If he could grow weary of me he would have been tired of me long before now. If he had not loved me with a love as deep as life and as strong as death, he would have turned from me long ago. Oh, joy above all joys, to know that I am his everlasting and inalienable inheritance, given to him by his Father."
-Spurgeon

How Do You Break Free From an Addiction to Entertainment?

from Between Two Worlds by JT

John Piper answers this question, writing that "Recognizing [the problem] is a huge step in the right direction" and that " ultimately it's a gift of grace to feel the glory of God." Here are some suggestions of what you should do:

1. Seek the Lord earnestly about it. Pray like crazy that God would open your eyes to see wondrous things out of his law.

2. Immerse yourself in the Bible, even when you don't feel like it, pleading with God to open your eyes to see what's really there.

3. Get in a group where you talk about serious things.

4. Begin to share your faith. One of the reasons we are not as moved by our own faith as we are is because we almost never talk about it to any unbeliever. It starts to feel like a kind of hothouse thing, and then it starts to have a feeling of unreality about it. And then the powers of entertainment have more sway in our life.

5. . . . [T]hink about your death. Think about your death a lot. Ask what you'd like to be doing in the season of life, or hours or days, leading up to meeting Christ. I do that a lot these days. I think about the impact of death, and what I would like to be found doing, and how I would prepare to meet him and give an account to him.