It was a delight to step into our Christmas series this year. I really got a sense as we started planning for this series that it was needed.
It was a delight to step into our Christmas series this year. I really got a sense as we started planning for this series that it was needed.
There are so many various directions that a text like 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 can take you, that’s it’s tough to stay on track. My hope from Sunday was to make sure that we noticed/remembered the context of 1 Corinthians 8 because it plays itself out in 1 Corinthians 9.
A major principle: Love should win the day because Christ has won our hearts. Let that guide all of this.
Doing an overview of 1 Corinthians 5-7 is a challenge due to the vast amount of information that is covered. When I went back and reviewed for this sermon, I was struck that I had preached 10 sermons in these 3 chapters. So…taking that information and reducing it into 1 sermon was a fun challenge.
The texts from 1 Corinthians 7 have been incredibly challenging to interpret and then make clear. Much of the dilemma is cultural, but the syntax, grammar, and language also made these sections really hard. So, my prayer is that throughout this chapter, it has been clear and hopefully, encouraging and helpful.
ALL of God’s people are in ministry, at one level or another. And when Jesus enters our lives, he doesn’t expect us to move, change locations/jobs/spouses/etc., to be better Christians or be more acceptable to God.
Marriages that represent Jesus and His church are desperately needed and the Lord has given us everything we need to serve Him faithfully in our marriages: the power to change; the grace to forgive; the church to mentor, counsel, & help; and His word to direct.
I added some thoughts in 1st service that I didn’t add in the 2nd, and vice-versa. For instance, in the 2nd service, one thought I gave that I didn’t say in the 1st service, was that as Christian parents, raising Christian kids, the tendency is to treat sex as bad, rather than good, when it’s in it’s right context.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve had a desire to provide hope and help during all the craziness. As I mentioned at the outset of yesterday, our goal has been to shed some light on the reality of the craziness…a historical battle about the supremacy of Jesus.
As I prepared for this week, I was very mindful of so many of the “ironic” cultural moments. I mentioned several of them in the sermon: abortion clinics being open and churches being closed; gathering to worship Jesus is deemed a public hazard, while gathering in a protest is deemed honorable…but to be honest, there’s so many of these ironic issues that it literally makes your head spin.
There have been few moments in my ministry that have happened where the Lord seemed to change directions on me at the last minute. This past week, really wasn’t one of those.
We finished up our Summer Psalms Series on Sunday. And what a great series this has been. When the idea for this series first popped into my head, I wanted it to be a “refreshing summer experience”.
I love that our people love God’s word; respect the preaching of God’s word; and are expecting the preaching of God’s word. I am very grateful for what the Lord has done at CLF and what He continues to do.
The past couple of weeks have allowed me some needed time off. As a general rule, the elders have asked that I am in the pulpit at least 44 out of 52 Sundays. This allows for our church to benefit from the wide-range of other men, who can preach God’s word to us. One of the joyful challenges we’re currently facing is that we…
One of the challenges of doing multiple services is that it really doesn’t matter what you try, no 2 services are the same. One feel rushed, the other feels too slow. One feels forced, the other feels free-flowing. One feels like there’s a time crunch, the other feels like there’s no clock. However, this past Sunday was different…both services were the same. They had the same pacing,…
This past Sunday was a unique one for me. I was able to take the Sunday off, be a church member, and sit with my family. It was amazing. I really enjoyed being part of the crowd and not having any responsibilities, except to fellowship, sing, pray, listen and heed God’s word being preached, and pray for all involved. It really was a joy. Sitting with my…
Well, it’s been a few weeks since I sent out my musings. Lots has happened. Doesn’t it feel like the world is changing every few hours? I look up from my desk or head out the field and it seems like something new has been recommended, required, or ordered. I’ve literally had to keep my “head on a swivel”… Since our last time, we had our…
For the first time since starting 3 services, I finally “hit the wall” in the 12:00 service yesterday. I preached about 10-15 minutes shorter and when I got done, I thought that I might’ve left something out! So, if you were in that service and you felt gypped ?, get the video/audio from the website tomorrow. But man, was I tired. Not sure what happened. Now, onto…
Well, Sunday with 90/service went off without a hitch. Amazing Sunday! I’m very grateful for the way you have navigated through this season. CLF, you continue to amaze me with your gratitude, generosity, and eagerness. Thank you. Here are several things from Sunday’s sermon that I didn’t cover: Christian Freedoms with food/drink: One of the issues in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 that we didn’t cover was how…
Sunday was one of the smoother Sundays for us, since we started the re-opening. There was a great spirit at church and many remarked about how great it was to be back in the building. We agree. As Dave Quilla has said often…those of us doing the services each Sunday get to see 75 people each week. It’s been awesome. One of…
There’s a ton to get to after Sunday’s message, so let me say a few things at the outset: This is a little longer post than normal, so I’ve tried to highlight the various sections so you can skip to things that might interest you more. I will be putting something this week about the President’s comments on Friday about churches and…
A full day of services, preaching 3 services, and hearing other voices in the church building…let the musings begin. Sunday’s services: I cannot tell you how excited I was (and am) about Sunday’s services. It’s the first time since March 15th that we had an in-person church service. I didn’t sleep well (more on that in a moment) but I was full of faith…
We put out an important video this past Saturday and I want to take on that, so you can hear a little more of our thought process. You can see that video here: https://clfroseburg.com. Also, I wanted to give some of the quotes from Sunday’s sermon and also talk about why I did what I did on Sunday to help you see the importance of…
