Our Blog

September 2016 Worship

Church Family,

Psalm 40 says this,

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God."

I am thankful that God has given us a song to sing. I am thankful that he has set our feet upon a rock, and that He has made our steps secure. I know that everyone might not have the best singing voice, or sometimes, when it comes to worshipping, we just don't feel like it. But the reality is that we were made to glorify God through worship. One of my favorite worship song writers, Aaron Keyes said, "Worship is like breathing. It's something we were constantly created to do.

As a Christian, even if you feel like you don't have a voice, you have a song to sing. You were created for worship, and it's not only as we gather together on Sunday's, but it's how we live our lives on Monday, Tuesday, ect. So this week, remember you were created for worship, and it's the way you live your life day in and day out. Remember to worship God this week not only through your voice, but through your life. Let's all commit to love people well, and to serve people well, all for the glory of God.

Exciting Kids Choir News:

This Fall, our kids will be singing with us on Sunday, on four different occasions. As we start to host The Growth Initiative, our Children's Choir will be rehearsing during each Saturday session, preparing to sing the very next day (Sunday) in worship. So, we invite all parents to be a part of our growth initiative, and to let your kids be a part of our Children's choir on Saturday's. It is going to be a great time!

See you all Sunday!

God Bless,

Jared

September 2016 Spiritual Development

I remember in elementary school when I was learning my multiplication tables getting extremely frustrated at one point and asking my teacher why I wasn’t allowed to use a calculator to figure out the answers.  That seemed like such a common sense solution to me at the time.  I thought, “why wouldn’t I use a device that would instantly do the hard work for me?”  Her response was, “You won’t always have a calculator with you wherever you go.”  It made sense at the time, but guess what?  I have a calculator on my cell phone that goes with me everywhere.  So I guess my teacher was wrong.  Or am I missing the point?  My teacher knew that something as foundational as multiplication tables needed to be memorized and couldn’t be substituted by simply depending on a machine calculator.  I’m thankful for this simple, yet profound lesson she taught me.

The problem is that many of us use this same logic for our spiritual lives as well.  What need is there to memorize Scripture if I can simply access it on my phone?  Why would I wrestle with the difficulties of Scripture when I can simply rely on the opinions of others who have done it already?  The reason is because this is how we mature in faith. Relying on a “spiritual calculator” or anything other than your own personal time in Scripture will lead to spiritual stagnation.  We need to be investing in ourselves spiritually and not merely relying on sources outside of ourselves as the primary means of our spiritual knowledge.  In an age of Wikipedia and Google with every bit of information in the world at our fingertips the temptation to substitute these resources for the hard work of
learning and applying knowledge is fiercely present.  

I’ve already mentioned one of the primary ways that this shows up in our context - the lack of Scripture memorization.  We have had an English translation of the Bible for over 400 years.  There are hundreds of translations in English.  Within the last ten years we have seen the rise of the smartphone and tablet.  We can take the Bible with us in our pocket or purse wherever we go.  But for all the unlimited access, do we have much to show from it?  Have we hidden God’s Word in our hearts?  Are we well-equipped with the truth of the Bible?  Or do we treat it like a spiritual calculator?

We may be able to use technology (physical and digital) as a resource, but it can never replace the need for us to learn by application.  True spiritual maturity does not happen without the application of Scripture to one’s life.  One does not grow spiritually mature by simply having more and more access to the truth.  Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:7 to “train yourself for godliness.”  This training requires spiritual sweat.  The content of the Bible is what is able to “train you in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).  Has anyone ever become physically fit by only watching someone else work out?  Has a Christian ever become spiritually mature by only watching someone else work out their faith?  The answer is no on both accounts.  

Suggested Resources

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Don Whitney

Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes

Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes