I apologize for the inconvenience but we are having to cancel the Movie Night for Flywheel. We did not realize that we have to purchase a license beforehand. This license allows us to watch it in the church. Here is the link if you would like to read about the licensing. http://www.providentfilms.org/providentfilms/license_faq.asp We will have to purchase the license and then we will reschedule the movie night sometime this summer. Again I am sorry for the trouble this may cause, especially if you invited someone but we have to keep in line with integrity in everything we do. If you have any questions feel free to call.
Author: danny777
Great Sign
I saw this sign on one of the blogs I read. It helps this business keep kids under a parent’s control. Maybe we could tweak this sign for our children’s ministries just in case our kids get a little rowdy:)
Excellence In Ministry
We live in a day when the church world has perfected the church experience and it is done with excellence. Many churches have full scale productions that rival the quality of Broadway. Our music is professional. The pastors have become premier communicators. I believe we ought to give God our best and do our best for His Kingdom. After all, we wouldn’t be half-prepared for service if we knew the president of the United States were to show up. We serve the King of the Universe, so we ought to give our very best.
The truth is, however, that we often make ministry excellence our priority rather than spiritual excellence. Ajith Fernando said, “Excellence is important, but if it is not backed by a godly life, it is useless.” We must maintain ministry excellence only after we have made sure our hearts and motivations are right. We should strive for excellence in our walk with God, in our prayer lives, in our spiritual disciplines and in our lives of holiness. Ministry excellence and spiritual excellence work hand in hand.
As pastors and leaders we must learn that there is a balance between these things. Sometimes it is easier to “do” ministry in excellence than it is for us to live godly lives. We must strive for both!
Spiritual Growth
Today is Josh’s 14th birthday and today I feel like I am getting old. It just seems like yesterday that Josh was a toddler and now he is fast becoming a man. God has blessed me with a wonderful well-behaved son and I am proud of the man he is becoming. NOTE the key word becoming.
In our household there is a major contrast when it comes to the growth of our kids. We have a 14 year old and a 19 month old. As I watch my children grow up it is an interesting picture. One is becoming mature, the other is growing into a toddler. There is a natural progression for children to grow and develop. A 19 month old girl doesn’t become a mature woman at 2 years old. A 14 year old is in the process of becoming a man. This is the perfect picture of Spiritual Growth.
As we come to Christ and begin our spiritual journey, growth is a natural process. We are babes in Christ and we have a progression of growth that comes when we are followers of Christ. We grow from infancy to toddler, from childhood to young men and women of God and then to maturity. It is a process of our spiritual lifetime. However, if we are not progressing, we should check our spiritual pulse. Something is wrong.
Hebrews 5 tell us, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
If we have spiritual health, we are growing. Often the case is that we stop “becoming” and stop growing. This journey of faith should produce fruit that we bear along the road of life. We should be ever growing and always evolving in our faith and relationship with God. There comes a time when we should stop just feeding ourselves the Word but begin to teach others the Word.
Where are you in your spiritual growth? If you have been saved six months you are in infancy in your faith, but if you have been saved for 20 years you should be on your journey to becoming mature.
He’s Been There
In my devotional time this morning, I read an awesome verse of Scripture that speaks to us about Christ’s provision for our victory over temptation.
Hebrews 2:18, “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”
If we face struggles concerning temptation of any sort, claim this promise. He is able to aid you because He has been there. Every thing you face, He has faced. He was in all points tempted like us, yet remained without sin. There is victory because of His victory!
Hearing From God
As I have been on vacation I have been trying to finish the book Leadership From The Inside Out by Kevin Harney. It is a book that helps you evaluate the issues of the heart and life of a leader. It is about more than leadership gifting but rather the heart of the leader. In the chapter The Leader’s Ears it talks about hearing from God and listening for His voice. It gives a good check list that helps you evaluate whether you are hearing from God. Here is what Author Kevin Harney writes:
Symptom Check: I am hard of hearing.
1. It irritates me when people talk about “hearing from God”.
2. I would love to hear God speak but feel like I am spiritually deaf.
3. Sometimes I think I hear God speaking or sense his prompting, but worry it’s just my own ideas or my mind playing tricks on me.
4. I make the most of my decisions on my own, rarely seeking wisdom from others.
5. I have teams of people who give me their input and ideas, but if the truth be known, I gather these people so they will agree with me, not really to hear their input.
6. I rarely ask friends for their perspective on my life and ministry.
These are good questions to ask ourselves. I know I have some work to do on my listening, how about you?
Last Day of Vacation
Today is my last day of vacation and tomorrow it is back to work. I am looking forward to being back in the office. The rest has been good. We haven’t done much these last few days. It has been nice just to unwind with no schedule or agenda.
I am excited to be back in the pulpit Sunday. i have never been this long without preaching. I am looking forward to starting our WHY? Series Sunday. We will be talking about Why Christians Suffer. Invite someone to church Sunday. This will be a message that speaks to those that do not understand why we must go through hard times.
Back Home To Finish Vacation
We were getting a little homesick for our own bed so we left a day early to head home. We got in last night at 1:00am and it was nice to sleep in a little this morning. We had a great trip to Oklahoma. Many have asked how Sonya’s dad is and he is doing pretty good. He still has his ups and downs but he is doing well. We appreciate your continued concern and prayer for him. By all means he is a miracle. we should have lost him long ago but God continues to bring him through.
When we got to Oklahoma we just hung out at the house. We had gone sight-seeing so much in Hot Springs that it was kind of nice to unwind. I flew back in Friday for Sis. Weston’s funeral and then back to Oklamoma Saturday to finish up vacation. Sunday, Sonya’s brother came over and we barbequed. He is the master of the pit. He smoked some chicken and pork ribs and when they were done, they melted in our mouths. It was a good day spent with her family.
Then before we left on Monday, we took our bi-annual trip to the thrift store and swap shop. I love these places to look for Classic books. I bought a book by H.A. Ironside and an old book about the history of the reformation. As many of you know I love books. I collect them. I am running out of room for them but when I find more I cannot resist.
Just wanted to catch up on the last half of our vacation. It is good to be back home. Vacation has been good but we miss our church family. It will be good to be back in the pulpit Sunday.
Life of a Pastor Blog 