Wed, Feb 28th - 8:33PM

Hey,

Yes, I heard my own message about busy-ness.
Taryn and I are off for a few days to the coast tomorrow. We will be missing Sunday School, and church. But not college group (my favorite).
And soon after we get back we should be hiring a new Youth Director, finally.

Jon

Mon, Feb 26th - 11:03PM

You won't hear this from a Pastor

Hey,

Make a list of the time that you spend.
sleep 8hrs
TV 3hrs
work 8hrs  etc.
be sure to include the spiritual things you do

Luke 19:38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

 41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Martha was doing a good thing. She was putting on a dinner for Jesus. She was being a hostess. What she was doing was good, but it wasn't the best thing. You won't hear this in a church, where we live on the efforts of people volunteering, but good things aren't the best things. All of the things that we do in service are good things, but the best thing that we can do is to be at Jesus feet. If service things keep us from spending intimate time with God, in prayer, in meditation, in His Word, then we are distracted.

Notice that Martha asks, "Don't you care?" She is not feeling loved. She has spent time in service, but not at His feet. If our service doesn't come out of our intimacy with God, it is a distraction. Jesus says, "Only one thing is needed." He doesn't mean that we shouldn't eat. He means that the intimacy comes first. This may sound unlikely but I don't need to go any furthr than my own life. I had to be asked off of the Elder Board before I saw that I was serving too much and loving too little. I was very busy in service, but wasn't spending enough time simply being with God. So much of even my prayer time was about Board stuff.

Service is good. Its an essential part of a Christian life. But it has to take a back seat to intimacy. It needs to spring from time spent with God. Not be a replacement for it.

I'm not looking for you to be embarassed by the small time that you spend in Godly things. But look at the list of what you do for God. How much of that time is Martha (service) time and how much is Mary (at Jesus' feet) time?

Mon, Feb 19th - 5:31PM

1 Corinthians 12

1 Cor 12: 4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.  7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ...

... But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Hey,

   I gave each of the kids a small wrapped gift, carefully selecting a specific one for each person. Some were fairly large, some were quite small. I told them that these reperesented their spiritual gifts. The larger gifts were not better than the smaller ones, only different. The Holy Spirit had given each of them a gift, specially selected for them when they became Christians. Their lives and their character were built around the fact that they would have this gift and were designed to help them develop and use their gifts. The gifts were to be used primarily in the church, not necessessarily our church, or this buliding; but among or to build the body of believers. Some gifts are obvious and get much attention, like preaching or teaching; others seem small but are just as important, like prayer or even simply listening. The purpose of these gifts to let us work together, in unity. Paul told the Corinthians about gifts because they was dissention among them. He seems to like them working together, using their gifts, to their feeling compassion for one another. 
    I put little worthless things in the boxes, like keys and rocks, to intrigue. I told them that they shouldn't open them bcause spiritual gifts are to be given, not received. We aren't meant to open them and use them for ourselves. The kids got around this by giving them to friends so they could open them. By the end of the church service which followed most of the gifts were open. Next week I will comment on their curiosity about the small symbolic gifts and ask if they were anywhere near as curious about the gifts that God has given them.
   

Thu, Feb 15th - 9:55PM

Hey

   1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.   

    My wife made a great chocolate cake for our youth meeting last night. It was choclate-cholate with raspberry. I also brought a bag of chocolate kisses. I told them that we had this great cake but since it was Valentines day we should eat the kisses instead. We could put the cake away for another time and just have the little pieces of candy instead. They howled.

    Then I said it would be pretty crazy to pass up really good cake for a little bit of candy. But we pass up the perfect love the God describes in 1Cor. 13 for something less. God is there offering us love without judgement, without conditions. Perfectly patient and trusting. And we pass it up for something less, like television. We could take the time to know Him more but we watch TV. We could go to church but sleep in. We could talk to Him in prayer but we play games instead.

    Even when we look for love we don't look for pure love, the good stuff. We walk right passed someone who would trust, hope, be patient with us to get to someone who is prettier. Or cooler. Or has more money. The best, most satsifying love God intended is here in this world, we need to stop settling for the wrong kind.