Friday Focus and some thoughts from Moody Founder's Week


Sometimes it is just one line from a sermon that jumps out at me.  A nugget is given that leads me to investigate further.  Usually what happens is I miss some of the present sermon because my thoughts can't get back to what the speaker is currently saying.  I am so thankful for rewind if I am watching it online live and the resources of archives.  Being at the actual event is sometimes a disadvantage to me.  I can't ask the speaker to stop until I get done with my thought processes and internet searches.

 Colin Smith, senior pastor of Orchard Evangelical Church, spoke Monday night at the Moody Founder's Week conference and give me this question to think about..
"How do you wage war against sin in your life?"

He also asked about the flashlight you are using to view the crevices of your soul.  This was enough for me to contemplate this action of self-evaluation in relationship to the Scriptures.  He directed us to 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and the verses about "love is patient and love is kind."  I was challenged to take the opposite position and ask, "Am I impatient?" or  "Am I unkind?" and to go down the list to shed some light on the condition of my soul.  

I don't know how many times I have focused on the "lists" given to us by the Scriptures through these blog posts.  Studying the books of the Bible, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse make you slow down to look at each word to define it and apply it.  So let's take a quick look at a couple of these lists and turn on that flashlight.

Proverbs 6:16-19 - "The LORD hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to Him:  arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,..."
  • Do I look onto others with prideful eyes?  Have I been allowing my tongue to slip into falsehoods?  
Galatians 5:19-21 - "Now the works of the flesh are obvious:  sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions,..."
  • Have I been flirting with flirting?  Have I put too much emphasis on any one thing or person?  Have I allowed bitterness to reside rather than resolve and has it grown into hatred, strife, or anger?
The great admonishment from this conference speaker is to take seriously the lists that God has given us to police ourselves so that we might live godly lives that give glory to Him.  Put some fresh batteries in that flashlight and shine it into the corners of your soul today.

Adam


A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Galatians #15 - Galatians 6:11-18 - "On The Road Again..."

Image
  Another week closer and it involves some more travel for the Wolfgangs.  I feel like the Willy Nelson song, " On the road again... "  I don't know if I agree with the next line though. " ...I can't wait to get on the road again. " One of the members of the church in Wisconsin calculated that I will travel well over 10,000 miles to make this transition.  Traveling mercies prayers please. Last Sunday we will look at Paul's final words to the churches in Galatia.  He brought them the gospel (good news) message of Jesus and what resulted were churches forming throughout the region.  The letter is to defend that message that our salvation comes from and is in Christ alone.  Christ's sacrifice on the cross was sufficient for the forgiveness of our sins.  The summary statement of the letter is found in  Galatians 6:15 (LSB) .  " For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. "  Translated another way earlie...
Read more

God gave us a good weather window to travel...yeah God!!!

Image
  Berthoud Pass Here we are at the top of Berthoud Pass.  It was a whirlwind week to conduct a " hand off " service in Wisconsin on 3/17 and then preach a Palm Sunday sermon in Colorado on 3/24.  We give God all the glory for this happening.  So there are two video links at the bottom of this blog.  One is for the Wisconsin service and the other is for the Colorado service.  I racked up over 12,000 in the last 7 weeks.   I love to take these pictures sitting from the front row of chairs and listening to the one God has provided for the church I had been serving for 20 months.  I now have 3 and I am so thankful for the opportunity God gave us to serve Him in this type of ministry over the last 5 years.  It has been great to add to our daily prayer list Zach in Maine, Chris in Ohio and now Stephen in Wisconsin. This was our set up for the 2000+ mile trip.  No " hiccups " except for the strong eastern winds in Kansas.  Of course e...
Read more

Resurrection Sunday in a new space...Matthew 27.62-28.20

Image
  Resurrection Sunday has come and gone but it was a sweet day to be with the gathered saints of the Stillwater Community Chapel .  We are venturing through the Gospel of Matthew and this Sunday will take us back to Matthew 1.1 but last Sunday we were in Matthew 27.62-28.20.  It was a lot to cover so the white board was truly a help to keep me on track.  This year in my Resurrection Sunday message, I focused on the contrast of the cover-up story of the disciples stealing the body of Jesus fueled by a bride and the commission of speaking of a risen Lord fueled by boldness . After the service upstairs, we ventured downstairs to the lower level and had a great meal together.  The conversations around the tables allowed us to continue to talk about the passage of Scripture we covered upstairs.  Maybe this is a very informal picture of what happens at the  Waushara Community Church called the " Going Deeper " classes of the Come For More hour following t...
Read more