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Worship June 2018

Church Family,
This month I want to share some thoughts on preparing for Sunday worship. How do you prepare for Sunday worship? Have you ever considered this question? Do we even need to prepare to worship on Sundays? And if so, what do we do to prepare? I think the answer to this question is, “yes”, we do need to prepare before we walk into the church doors on Sunday morning, and I think it’s important to do it. We don’t have to wait until we get to church to have an encounter with God, but we can start our time with God early in the morning, as we prepare our hearts to worship Him with the rest of our  brothers and sisters in church when to arrive for our corporate worship service. Here are four ways that we can all prepare our hearts for our Sunday Morning Worship Gathering.

1) Make the decision to attend Church. Our pastor always says, “Going to Church on Sunday is a Saturday night decision. Don’t wait until Sunday morning to see “how you feel.” You’ll always feel tired, weary, and too many feelings will you tell you not to go. Make this decision non-negotiable. Decide on Saturday to be a part of church on Sunday. Make plans and follow through. You’ll never regret spending an hour of your Sunday morning in corporate worship.

2) Get up early and spend time with God before going to Church. As mentioned earlier, our encounter with God doesn’t have to wait until we arrive at 9:30 am, but to rise early and spend time with God and His word will only enhance your corporate worship time. Not only does this enhance our worship, but it prepares our heart to love people well. It prepares our heart to serve well. And when we arrive to Church, our time with God propels us to live and love like He does. An early meeting with God in the morning will never leave regrets later in the day.

3) Stay caught up. And by this, I mean to stay up to date with the current sermon series. I know there are weeks where we will miss church, and there are some Sundays that we just don’t pay the best attention. All of our sermons are posted online on our website, and they are always up to date. We always work through a current sermon series, so it’s important to stay caught up. If you are aware how God moved last week, you’ll be more prepared for Him to move in your life this week! And this isn’t hard. We don’t want Netflix shows out of order. Let’s make it a point to listen to our Sunday sermons in order as well.

4) Talk about what you’ve learned. When our Sunday worship gathering has concluded, think about what you’ve learned, and share it with someone. Share with your family, your small group, or a friend. When God moves, share it. Be excited for what God is going to do on Sunday, because you know that after, you’ll have a great testimony to share as to what God has done in your life! So as we come on Sunday, we should expect to learn something that we can share with others. God is worthy of our conversation!

See you Sunday!
In Christ,
Jared

Spiritual Development June 2018

Finding Hope in the Midst of Depression

A few years back I attended a counseling conference at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on the topics of depression and hope in Christ.  I would venture to say that many members in our church wrestle with what Charles Spurgeon called, “the dark night of the soul.”  Christians become depressed. There is so much more to be said about this topic than what this small article allows, but I want to encourage you that in the midst of your sadness it is possible to hope in Christ and strive for joy.

One of the speakers at this conference, Dr. Stuart Scott, gave an incredibly hopeful and practical lecture on seven biblical truths that help us remain steadfast in the midst of our depression.

1. Rehearse the gospel of Jesus daily. (Titus 3:3-7; 2 Timothy 1:12)  There is nothing inconsistent with an unbeliever being depressed, but the Christian has the truth and hope of the Gospel to rely on.  Remind yourself of it daily.

2. “Believing” and “hoping” in God are verbs. (1 Peter 1:13) Our hearts will wander away from concentrating on God if we let them.  Actively pursue Him in    belief and hope by getting to know Him through His Word.

3. This is a spiritual war - "fight the good fight of faith". (1 Timothy 6:11-12) The world, the flesh, and the devil are our enemies.  Fighting them requires extreme effort and endurance.  We will either make wise choices by God’s grace through faith or foolish choices by the flesh through unbelief.

4. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing your mind one thought at a time. (Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 4:4-9; Lamentations 3:1-20, 21) Knowing God’s Word is crucial to being able to renew your thoughts, your affections, and your actions. Take each thought or feeling captive and seek to renew it with Scripture in the power of the Spirit.

5. Joy and sorrow are inseparable. (2 Corinthians 6:10; Philippians 4:4) We live in a world where joy and sorrow are completely inseparable.  To some extent, until Christ comes and renews the created world everyone will be affected by suffering and sorrow. But we have the power to rejoice in the Lord despite this reality.

6. We must be others-minded and not self-focused. (Proverbs 18:1; Philippians 2:3-4) The most depressing thing is to be self-focused.  Isolation is destructive and disastrous. We must have the counsel of God’s Word because it is our daily bread. We should not starve ourselves from what we most need.  It is through the meditation of Scripture that we are led to pray and to know what to pray.  

7. We must have an eternal perspective. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Revelation 21:4) We must be focused on the long term and not only the short term.  Our ultimate hope is found in Christ and the hope for the new creation to come.

These truths can help equip you with hope to combat the sadness and sorrow that you might be experiencing.  “Sometimes a light surprises the Christian while he sings; It is the Lord, who rises with    healing in His wings; when comforts are declining, He grants the soul again, a season of clear shining, to cheer it after rain.” (“Sometimes a Light Surprises” by William Cowper; ref. Malachi 4:2, 1 Peter 5:7)

Recommended Resource— If I’m a Christian Why am I Depressed? by Dr. Robert Sommervile

In this achingly honest work. Dr. Sommerville explains that depression is not restricted to the secular world. Throughout history, godly men and women—among them Martin Luther and Charles Spurgeon—have suffered in the deep trenches of dark emotion. But God’s Word promises hope at the seemingly unreachable ends of trails, and new strength forged from adversity and pain in the new light that follows the darkness of despair.