Another Sunday morning in the books...
It was a sleepy Sunday in church this morning. It happens every once in awhile. I felt like I was working really hard to keep people's attention and the flow of the service seemed bogged down. Now I will have someone come up to me and tell me it was the greatest service but at times I feel like something was missing or maybe better yet, we weren't engaged in what we were doing as a group. Just how I feel but I won't let that stop me from pressing on with God.
We finished the Beatitudes this morning. The final 4 deal with our relationship with others. Just like the first 4 were mandatory and not voluntary if we are to have a relationship with God, so the last 4 are mandatory and not voluntary when it comes to our actions as Christians. You can not be a Christian and not be merciful. You can not be a Christian and not be pure of heart. You can not be a Christian and not be a peacemaker. You can not be a Christian and not be persecuted for His sake. It should drive us to show Biblical mercy that entails so much more than just a tear shed or a word spoken. It should drive us to view and act all of our life in a way that is glorifying to God, no compartmentalization when it deals with how we will act in any situation. It should drive us to bring Jesus in as the ultimate solution to anything that we face. It should drive us to remember that as the prophets were persecuted for the sake of God, so shall we be persecuted for the sake of Christ and we should rejoice that it proves that our relationship with Him is real. All mandatory, not voluntary. Next week we hit the "salt and light" passage.
I will close with another quote from the book "What Did You Expect" by Paul David Tripp. The chapter is entitled "Ready, Willing, and Waiting" and it is about the definition of love. After a series of convicting statements about what true love looks like in the marriage relationship he gives these words that I think I might use in my next wedding ceremony.
We finished the Beatitudes this morning. The final 4 deal with our relationship with others. Just like the first 4 were mandatory and not voluntary if we are to have a relationship with God, so the last 4 are mandatory and not voluntary when it comes to our actions as Christians. You can not be a Christian and not be merciful. You can not be a Christian and not be pure of heart. You can not be a Christian and not be a peacemaker. You can not be a Christian and not be persecuted for His sake. It should drive us to show Biblical mercy that entails so much more than just a tear shed or a word spoken. It should drive us to view and act all of our life in a way that is glorifying to God, no compartmentalization when it deals with how we will act in any situation. It should drive us to bring Jesus in as the ultimate solution to anything that we face. It should drive us to remember that as the prophets were persecuted for the sake of God, so shall we be persecuted for the sake of Christ and we should rejoice that it proves that our relationship with Him is real. All mandatory, not voluntary. Next week we hit the "salt and light" passage.
I will close with another quote from the book "What Did You Expect" by Paul David Tripp. The chapter is entitled "Ready, Willing, and Waiting" and it is about the definition of love. After a series of convicting statements about what true love looks like in the marriage relationship he gives these words that I think I might use in my next wedding ceremony.
"No, love is a specific commitment of the heart
to a specific person
that causes you to give yourself to a specific lifestyle of care
that requires you to be willing to make sacrifices
that have that person's good in view."
A specific commitment to a specific person shown through a specific lifestyle of sacrifice for the sake of the other. Some good points there to make a sermonette on marriage.
Adam
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