Doing God's work, one step at a time

Do you ever get tired of doing the right thing? Have you ever been in a situation where someone needed your help and you weren’t sure exactly what to do or even if you should do something? Have you ever been in a situation where someone was more concerned with your business than the problems that they face themselves? Today we are going to talk about idleness. Not idol, but idle, as in sitting around doing nothing. Idle as in lazy. We’re going to read 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15. This is the letter from Paul to the church in Thessalonica. If you would, follow along. 6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so th...

When I say idol, probably the most common thing on the minds of most reality TV show watching people is “American Idol”. American Idol has developed into a phenomenon that swept the nation for 11 years. For 5 months out of the year, people are glued to the television set Tuesday and Wednesday night with between 18 and 38 million people tuning in. In a biblical sense, it truly has become an ‘idol’ that takes over our time. No, we don’t bow down and worship it, but we will do anything to make sure that we DVR it, make time to watch it, or get the scoop on what’s going on. I wonder what would happen in 18-38 million people went to mid-week Bible Studies for an hour instead of watching TV. Hmm. Interesting to think about. It doesn’t have to be American Idol…maybe you don’t like it. Maybe for you it’s Westerns; Movies, Music, a different TV show, work, games, money, food, alcohol, cigarettes…the list could go on forever. This week we have a two part sermon series called variations of Idol/I...

I cannot stand busy places…especially restaurants. That sounds funny coming from a guy who worked in restaurants for 13 years huh? They get so jam-packed, sardine tight that I feel like I have to yell at the person I’m talking to just to have a normal conversation. Forget being in the kitchen. You think the dining room is loud? Kitchens are horrid. Usually they are 300-500 square feet with over 50 people jammed into that space. Equipment running, fans blowing, servers yelling, dishes clanging, cooks swearing, Manager trying to keep a lid on it all to give customers the best service possible as quickly as possible. Places like that get me because too many voices really upset me. I have a hard enough time hearing people when they talk thanks to the noisy kitchens, let alone when you add 75 other people to the mix. But in today’s world, it seems that is what all companies are after. To see how many people they can jam into their “Super-Saver Mart with Restaurant One-Stop You’ll Never Have...

Unanswered Prayers are one of the things that plague the minds of most Christians. At one point or another, I have heard people say something on the order of, “I’ve been praying and praying and I still don’t have an answer yet.” The thing is, we can be praying for any number of things, healing, intercession, understanding, direction, wisdom…the list is long. The problem is, sometimes the response is not what we are expecting. We’ve all heard stories of how people have prayed and gotten great responses. But what about when prayer seems to have gone unanswered? Well, today, we are going to tackle this subject. Daniel 10:1-14 is what we are going to read from today. If you would, read along with me. 1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war.[a] The understanding of the message came to him in a vision. 2 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3 I ate no choice food...

Happy Birthday America! We are 235 years old tomorrow! So, fitting as it is, the title of the sermon this morning is “A Holy Nation”. So, that begs the question, what is a Holy Nation? No, it’s not something we holler when we’re angry. There are some from both sides that say we are a Holy Nation, and others that say we aren’t. I’ll leave that for you to decide. The current state of our country could be much better. But it also could be a lot worse. Our focus has slipped away from God towards other things, and perhaps that is why we are straying a bit. But if I say the words Holy Nation within the context of Scripture, what do you think of? Israel? Christianity? Today we are going to look at 1 Peter 2:9-12. This is the part of the letter in which Peter talks about us being living stones which are in the process of being built into a spiritual house, with the capstone being Christ himself. We will pick up in verse 9. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s...

This is the last week of our sermon series, “Getting the Church to Work: Gifts, Leadership & Disciplines. It’s been a fun journey, about 8 weeks’ worth! Through this process, I pray everyone has learned something. Today we are talking about the Corporate Disciplines which are Disciplines that are practiced with, to and amongst other Christians. They are Confession, Worship, Guidance, & Celebration. Before we go too much further, let’s pause to read the Scripture for the morning. It is going to be Psalm 138. If you would, read along with me. 1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise. 2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. 3 When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. 4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth. 5 May they...

Can others tell that you follow Christ by your lifestyle? Are people astonished to find out that you follow Christ? Does it come as a surprise to them, saying, “I can’t believe he’s a Christian! I would have never guessed!” Well, more times than not, that means that you’re not living the lifestyle that a Christian should be living. I heard a man once say, “I didn’t know Christians were allowed to cuss like that?!” Well, that will certainly put things in perspective now won’t it! Like we talked about last week, the Inward Disciplines are geared to build a personal relationship with Christ, the Outward Disciplines are not only geared to this, but to actually realizing the freedom that we indeed have in Christ. Freedom not in that we can sin to beat the band and still be covered by Christ’s blood, but freedom in that we can realize that there is more out there than us. There’s more to life than just the accumulation of wealth, stuff, and all the things that the world tells us is important...