In prayer there is not only an outgoing of the soul to God, in acts of faith, love and confidence, but there is an actual communication from God to the soul. Prayer is a holy converse – a fellowship with God. One hour spent in prayer will accomplish more good than many employed in study or labor.
– Archibald Alexander, Practical Truths
“The principle of the world is “self-glorification,” and the principle of the Christian is “self-crucifixion.” The principle of the world is “exalt yourself” and the principle of the Christian is “crucify yourself.” The principle of men is greatness, bigness, pomp, and show; the principle of the cross is death. Therefore whenever a man has seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ…at once he comes right into a head-on collision within his personal living, with all of his principles and motives upon which he has lived until this moment…if there is to be a continual manifestation of Holy Spirit life, there must be a constant submission to the crucifixion of the flesh, not simply sometimes, but always…Why is it so many Christians behave like kindergarten children? Because they have not seen His face!…And the cost in the Christian life…Deep down in the Christian’s life, always and all the time, there is to be a “no” to every demand that the flesh may make for recognition, and every demand that the flesh may make for approval, and every demand that the flesh may make for vindication. Always the Christian must bear about in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
-Alan Redpath-
Tomorrow we continue our sermon series, “My Last Series”. We will be discussing what I would do if I only had one month to live. It all centers around the element of time. “I would spend time _________.” Don’t miss it!
It was a long day yesterday! I woke up at 4:30am and worked on my SUnday morning message, then I spent the day working on a project here at the church and finally finished up the day with our monthly board meeting. After I got home, I was wiped out. I was ready for bed and Hannah wasn’t. So we watched Winnie The Pooh until we made her go to bed at 10:30pm. I was ready to do some serious sleeping.
It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep last night and since I am a light sleeper it didn’t take me long to wake up when I heard something. At 1:30am there was a bird singing. I know this bird because he usually wakes me up at 6:00am but he was pulling an all-nighter. Outside my window this bird (I am sure he was either a night owl or a nightingale:) ) chirping away singing a song with enthusiasm. If I didn’t live in the city I 
would have taken care of that bird with some pellets, but you cannot hold it against him that he has something to sing about in the middle of the night.
In the Bible we often find a common picture that night time is a time of loneliness and despair. It is often at night that the Bible associates weeping and mourning. The psalmist wrote, “weeping may endure for the night”. Nighttime is not the time for songs but heartache, but this bird has discovered the key to overcoming life. In the midst of the darkest night, sing a song. Perhaps he understands the rest of the the psalm mentioned, “weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.”
I believe that our victory over the hardships come when we have a song in the midst of the darkness. We are able to overcome when we sing the praises of God even if we do not feel like it. A song always raises the spirit’s unless it is country music. When we have a song in our hearts it helps us lift our spirits. As the Bible describes David encouraged himself in the Lord. Go encourage yourself and if you need encouragement from someone else, call me.
Yesterday, I played the most incredible course I have ever played in my life. It was immaculate. It was beautiful. It was tough! Here is a picture of the 18th green approaching the club house. This is one of the only times I didn’t lose a ball in the water.
Although I was playing on an elite course, I was the least bit inspired by my game. Because I was playing with preachers, I had to control my temper and not throw my clubs (just kidding). I played the worst golf game I have played in my life. I think I lost $30 dollars worth of golf balls. The only reason the other pastors were so good at golf is because they never stay in their offices:)
If you would like to buy my clubs I will make you a good deal. I think I am going to start playing tennis.
Sometimes the life of a pastor is hard. This morning we are driving to Houston for a missions meeting (aka. golf tournament). It is sponsored by a missions organization, so therefore I am calling it a missions meeting. This meansit can officially be considered business. We are playing at Augusta Pines in Spring. It is a top of the line course which means I should lose all of my golf balls. If God is interested in golf, please pray that I have a good game so I can impress my peers:)
Today we had our leadership seminar with Pastor David Plank. He inspired and challenged us to go to another level as a church. He talked about hitting the wall in church growth. Studies have shown that there are growth barriers. We are currently experiencing the 100 barrier. It is our goal to break 100 in regular attendance within the next 18 months. I believe that this is doable as well as within our reach.
He talked about the ways to break that barrier:
Delegate
Discipline
Discipleship
Remember the key to what Pastor Plank said, “it is up to all of us to build the church and carry it to another level.”
God is certainly up to something in our congregation. I can see God actively working in so many lives and the growth of our church has already begun. We cannot lose sight of what God is doing and what God wants to do. He desires Nederland First Assembly to impact our community and every one of us has a part to play.
If you were not able to attend the training today, there will be CD’s available.
Some new music I have been digging for the last couple of days is Josh Grabbel. He is a blend of folk, blues with a little hip-hop. I stumbled across him on the internet. Check out his website and click the listen button at the top. Let me know what you think. Josh’s website.
Life of a Pastor Blog 