365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 329

Sadly, since I misplaced my little pocket notebook that I took notes in on the sermon each Sunday, I seemed to have gotten to a place where it doesn’t sink in. I have found myself one too many Sundays drifting off into a little worship time nap. What is going on? My heart is not prepared to receive the message that God is giving through the sermon each Sunday. In Expository Listening, I have been reading about this very thing. Being prepared. Oh, there is that word again. Prepared. I have lived most of my life by flying by the seat of my pants so being prepared and doing it consistently is foreign territory. But preparedness is key in so many things in our lives. Not just for our bodies and minds but for our spirit.  I never thought to find out what the sermon is going to be on and read the scripture beforehand. So, I went to my church website and found the worship tab and got the scripture the sermon was going to be based around. Our church goes even further and gives you a study guide for the sermon. Ahhh. Yes! So, I spent yesterday reading the verse and looking over the study questions contemplating… I am excited to hear the sermon and what God will convey to me through the words the pastor speaks. My heart is prepared. Yeah! Of course, the other big factor will be following up and asking myself the 4 questions. See the four questions on the right side on my blog for future reference. These questions will take you through what you have learned and will glue it into your heart.

"I am eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.

 In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other." Romans 1:12 [NLT]

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 267

It is very easy to get caught up in the busyness of life. It is easy to think I am doing all God wants from me by going to church each Sunday. In reality, we are just trying to justify our in-action. God does want us to come to worship but he wants our whole heart every day not just an hour on Sunday and even that may not be whole heartedly. I started reading the book of Isaiah and was drawn to these action words in the scripture below. In all these action words, the song Stand By Me comes to mind. God wants us to stand by each other and assist in making sure that everyone’s needs are being met. This requires our thinking to change from self-related to other-related and it is an on-going process to re-train ourselves to think of others before thinking of ourselves. The likely place to start working on this is in your own environment that you are in the most. For me that is my office and my home. I am going to set a goal to focus on just one person from each of these environments each day that I can stand by and help with whatever they may need, whether it be words of encouragement, a listening ear and heart, a hug or whatever. In doing this, the act of worshipping God is going beyond Sunday and into my daily life. Join me in taking the action that God wants for us.

1Isaiah 1:17 Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 353

I learned recently that our former pastor asked the front desk ladies to not tell anyone who was to be teaching the sermon on Sunday. He wanted people to come not to hear him but to worship God. It is funny because I have often felt that little let down when I get to church and see that it is not the senior pastor speaking but always, without fail, I end up enjoying, learning from and being inspired by the sermon no matter who is doing the talking. The truth is our Lord is up front speaking to us through the temperament and life experiences of the speaker. Considering how very unique each and every one of us are, it is a great blessing to be able to hear from different pastors and other believers in the worship experience. Nate Stratman was passionate, funny, engaging and very inspiring.  Thank you Lord for this gift of your words through the lives of all who share, teach and witness.

Romans 1:25 Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.



365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 352

I am grateful for the opportunity and freedom to be able to worship God on Sunday at my church in a community of believers.  It is a blessing that not every believer has throughout the world. Christians gathering together to worship, pray and be in communion with each other is not to be taken for granted. Our founding fathers of this country generation sacrificed greatly to give us this freedom. If you are not connecting at a church somewhere, I encourage you to keep searching and praying for God to lead you to a home church that fits you. We are not meant to do this alone. Thank you Lord for the community of believers in my church, the freedom to gather and worship together and all the blessings come from it.

Psalm 34:3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.