Podcast Episode III

This is from today's sermon "I Will Cheerfully Give This Year."  It's the third message from the series "I Will Not Waste My Life This Year."  Many Christians believe in a doctrine of money that says, "Money is private.  It's my business.  It's not the business of my church."  It's a sort of separation of church and finances.  In 2 Corinthians Paul shatters that notion saying that money is in fact a very potent resource when used in the right way.  More than that, giving is very much a spiritual matter of the heart.  Click on the title to download the message or go to the sidebar and click the link to go to the Sermon Cloud website to listen or download.

Winter Weather

If the weather takes a turn for the worse today and tonight you may check the closings/delays at WSPA 7. In addition I will post here to reflect any decisions that are made in regards to our worship services. The roads are supposed to be slick and the temperature is not set to rise above freezing until noon tomorrow. A decisions will be made late tonight or early morning. Thanks.

What Kid's Shows Do You Wish Would Just Go Away?

I'm getting home from work and there's some kid's shows that Kate absolutely loves. I know I liked some very annoying things as a child, but this got me thinking about which shows I REALLY wish would just go away forever. Here's my top 5 in no specific order:

1. Dora the Explorer (On right now. If only Dora never talked it may be decent. Plus in light of our immigration issues the Spanish is quite annoying also).

2. Diego the male counterpart to Dora (See above on Dora).

3. Barney (Very popular among kid's show bashers, but deservedly so)

4. Wow Wow Wubzy (What is this? Japanese invasion. I just don't understand)

5. Teletubbies (Possibly the most pointless show ever. It teaches nothing, they say nothing, and they are very strange and scary little creatures)

This is my top 5. I could keep going. The shows are just very bad these days. It says something that Mr. Rogers is still on television, and that Sesame Street is still kicking. Some shows have staying power. Others are trendy and faddish. If kids are still watching Dora in 10 years I'll be surprised. I'll also hope I have no little kids! What are your top 5?

I Don't Want to Die in the Desert

Sunday night I will be preaching from Deuteronomy 8.  Like so much in the OT it is a passage that rehearses scenes from Israel's past for the sake of warning them, reminding them, exhorting them, or encouraging them.  Here it functions as a warning.  They are finally poised to enter the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering in the desert.  An entire generation of people have been killed off by God for their sins (mostly grumbling, does God take grumbling more seriously than we do?).  Now the next generation is ready, and God reminds them by taking them back in time.  He shows them how he rescued them out of slavery in Egypt, how He led them through the wilderness, feeding them with manna and water from rocks.  And now they're ready to cross the Jordan to the land God promised, and God says remember my ways.  Remember how I've been faithful to you.  The tragedy was that the wilderness wandering wasn't supposed to have happened.  God never intended to keep them out there that long, to kill of the entire generation of the faithless.  It was supposed to be temporary on their way to something better.  But for all God had done, they forgot.  They grumbled, and complained, and were thankless in every way about the wilderness, and God got fed up and finally said, "Fine, you don't like it, then don't come into your new house I've been promising.  You can die in the back yard."  I'm scared at the number of times I find myself comparing with the unfaithful Israelites.  Always complaining about the station in life I'm in.  With every new gift, wishing it were more.  If we're not careful we'll find ourselves dying in the desert without entering into the blessings God has for us now.  I don't mean believers losing their salvation.  I mean missing the abundance that this life should be lived in.  The blessings we missed out on b/c we decided we knew better than God.  I don't want to die in the desert.

Pics of the 1st Snow of the Year

Here are some pictures from the snow I prayed for!

I Prayed for Snow

I know it's not very theological.  I'm not quite sure there's any spiritual reason for it.  But this morning when I heard there was a chance of a wintry mix (translated - we don't really know what form the precipitation will take) I prayed that the God who controls the weather would providentially bring snow to us.  And for a night, He did.  I've been looking out the window enjoying this rare treat all night.  Every 10 minutes or so I get up, walk to the window, turn the light on outside and watch it fall.  There's anticipation every time b/c these things usually last about 10 minutes here and then turn to cold rain or worse, ice.  I don't recall a Bible passage with a prayer like this.  I'm a pastor and I'm not sure this falls in the realm of "things we ought to pray for."  But I did nonetheless.  I actually prayed for about 6-12 inches.  It's not looking like that will happen, but you never know.  If I wake up and see it, I will not be surprised.  If I wake and it's just small patches of snow and sleet I will not be surprised.  Either way, God answered my prayer and for a night I will enjoy it.

When There is Never a Choir to Preach to

"Preaching to the choir," is a little phrase that means something like, "All the people you're trying to convince of something already agree with you." What happens when you're preaching, or talking/sharing/whatever you want to call it, and NOBODY agrees with you. What's more, what if you're preaching/talking/teaching/sharing God's Word and still NOBODY agrees with what you're saying?

Next time that happens, be encouraged, you aren't alone. You stand in a long line of people whom nobody listened to. 2 Things, then a link to Scripture that you SHOULD read. 1, if you find yourself in that position, you should remember YOU ARE NOT INFALLIBLE. God's Word is, but you aren't. SO, maybe it's not that the people don't agree with God's Word, but that you are preaching it in a way that contains error. Don't think you're above that. 2, maybe there isn't error in your presentation and the people listening really are stubborn and hard of heart. If that is the case, then read this Scripture passage from the call of the prophet Ezekiel. God knew the people wouldn't listen, that they were hard of heart, hearing, and rebellious. He told Ezekiel to preach anyway and God would show them that a "prophet has been among them."

So talk away, even if you have no choir.

Podcast Episode II

This is the 2nd in a series of messages entitled "I Will Not Waste My Life This Year."  It is episode II of the series, entitled, "I Will Gather With the Saints."  Click on the title to download it and play it on your computer.  Yet another interesting possibility to get messages out.

Audio Resources

You may now access recordings of the last 3 Sermons from our church by clicking on the link under Podcast Links on the sidebar.  It is not an actual service recording but my feeble early attempts at podcasting. You can click on the message, the date is there with it, and it will take you to the page where you may download the sermon or play it in streaming media format.  I am constantly looking for better ways to get the messages out, but this seems to be a good one for now.  The blog will link to only the 3 most recent, but once you get to the page you can find links to the entire archive by clicking on the tiny "Little Mountain Baptist" link next to the message.  If you try this let me know how it works.

Quote of the Day

"Jesus is the (only) fire that burns up the very root of lust."  

This is from a classic book from a Puritan man named John Owen.  I've read it and it's a difficult read, but another pastor/blogger posted some of the quotes from this book, and this one reminded me why this book is so very important.  "Lust" means a very strong desire.  In itself it's not a sin, but it is the object of the desire that matters.  Sinful lusts, says Owen, can only be uprooted and burned by Jesus.  We may hammer away at the fruit of the sinful lusts all day long, but if the root is left intact the efforts are fruit-LESS so to speak.  It will continue to grow and grow.  

What powerful desires do you have that you continue to fight in your own strength?  You continue regularly to cut the top off, leaving the root in place.  The root has grown very deep, like an old tree in fertile, moist soil.  When you chop the top off, you feel as if the "weed" is gone, but within a very short period of time you find it's grown right back where it left off.  We must deal with the roots of the sins in our lives, and not simply the bad fruit.  Bad fruit comes from bad roots, which means essentially that this is a heart problem.  Heart problems can be dealt with in no other way than by Jesus' strength, power, and might.