Christmas Party Help

Here is a link to a list of ten questions to ask at a Christmas Party. Check them out. I think that these questions might help you learn more about other people, start good conversations and be able to talk about the Lord Jesus during the Christmas season.

http://biblicalspirituality.org/xmas.html

A Challenging Thought

Here is a link to a blog that I found to be sobering and challenging. This morning, two of my sons asked me if I had an ugly sweater they could wear to school. It is ugly sweater day. Sadly, I did have sweaters that they considered ugly. At one point, those sweaters looked good, and to be honest, I think at least one of them still does. Styles come and go. I am becoming increasingly convinced that we have made too much of style in lots of areas in life, especially church. As Steve Green sand 25 years ago, people need the Lord. The link below reminds me that I need to celebrate Jesus and the good news His birth, death and resurrection create. Please click on the link and celebrate the good news of Jesus. I pray that our sons and our daughter look back when I die and say, "Dad made a big deal of Jesus for us, not a certain style of church. And for that, we are thankful he was our Dad." My sweaters might be ugly, but may I never distort things in a way that makes Jesus or His good news look ugly.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/12/09/what-you-celebrate-as-a-church-is-just-as-important-as-what-you-believe/

Not a Good Sequence: NFL Receiver Drops the Pass then Trash Talks God

Here is an interesting post concerning a NFL receiver blaming God that the receiver dropped a pass.

Not a Good Sequence: NFL Receiver Drops the Pass then Trash Talks God

What Grips Me?

A few weeks ago I read through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah and then it was reference in a journal article I read earlier today. The article got me thinking about the very beginning of the book and a question. Nehemiah begins this way:

Nehemiah 1:1-4 – The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, ² Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. ³They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." ⁴ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

The question was: What grips me? The story of Nehemiah starts out simply enough. Nehemiah is working and his brother came for a visit. During the visit Nehemiah asks about life in their home city of Jerusalem. The response he received in verse 3 was not good. But then verse 4 makes it more than a simple story. The news of the people and Jerusalem grabs Nehemiah and touches him deeply. His heart is gripped. The news drives him to pray and fast and mourn and weep.

The cause of this intense reaction is clearly his concern for the people, but there is more to it than that, there is also this concern for Jerusalem. If you continue reading Nehemiah it becomes clear that his concern for Jerusalem is connected to Nehemiah understanding that Jerusalem is in rough shape because the people have sinned against God. Nehemiah’s prayer in verses 5-11 point toward Nehemiah being passionate for God and wanting to be right with God.

Sometimes we can read a story and think that is nice or touching and then just move on. If that is our attitude toward the stories of the Bible, we are in a very dangerous place. God shared this story for our benefit. And part of that benefit I think is because the story can challenge us to ask, “What grips me?”

The story of Nehemiah is the story of God doing something significant through a person. I can’t help but wonder if a big reason why God worked through Nehemiah was because Nehemiah was passionate about God and people. Nehemiah was gripped by things that grip God. Am I? There are all kinds of things that could grip us. But am I gripped by the right things? On a cold, windy, sort of snowy night, maybe I need to take stock of what grips me. That analysis may change the trajectory of my week and more.

Central Evening of Prayer

Just in case you do see the email from church, here is some information about a special prayer event at Central on November 12.

Dear Central Family,

I am writing to invite you to be a part of an evening of prayer on Friday, November 12^th from 7 to 9 pm at Central. Since this event is something new, at least in terms of my time at Central, I thought it might be helpful if I briefly outlined what the night will include:

·         Brief teaching time on prayer

·         Prayer in small groups focusing on expressing our adoration to God for who He is

·         Individual prayer throughout the building confessing our sin

·         Prayer in one large group giving thanks to God for what He has done for us

·         Prayer in small groups bringing a variety of requests to Him

The purpose of this evening of prayer is for us to seek God’s face and grow in prayer. Prayer is something that we can see is vital from the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. But it is something that we often struggle with in our own lives. I know that I need to grow in prayer. Praying with other people has helped me grow in pray. I want to encourage you to come and be a part of this evening of prayer.

We are working on arrangements for childcare for children up to 4 years old. In the future we hope to be able to expand the children’s portion of these evenings of prayer. Given that we have not done this type of event before, it would be a great help to us if you would let us know if you will need childcare on November 12^th. We want to ensure that we minister effectively to your child. Please let us know by contacting Sandy in the church office.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Lloyd

Little Things

It looks and sounds like we might have a mouse in our house. That is a problem for a few different reasons. First, we did not invite the mouse into our house. Second, so far the mouse has been smarter than the trap setter (that would be me). Third, the presence of the mouse is disruptive, and we are wondering how much damage the mouse is causing.

In Song of Solomon 2:15 it says this:

Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

I believe that verse is set in the context of a marriage relationship. From the flow of the passage it would appear that Solomon’s beloved is asking him to capture foxes from their vineyard. The vineyard is probably best understood as their love or relationship in full bloom. Foxes were known in the Middle East to dig around the root systems of plants in a vineyard and in the process damage and disrupt those roots.

Little foxes can do big damage to a vineyard, much like little things can do real damage to a marriage. That damage or its destruction may not be immediate, but it will come. And what was meant to be beautiful fails to blossom.

This principle of little things leading to big damage is not just an issue in marriage. It is easy to ignore little stuff, and maybe even tempting to do. But failing to deal with little things can lead to big problems down the road. Are there little things that you need to address in your relationship with God? How about in your family or your marriage? Now might be the time to do a little thing so the little thing does not become a big thing.

Video of Living with a Pure Heart #2

If you would rather watch and listen to this blog posting instead of reading it, please click the link below:

Living with a Pure Heart #2 Video