Sermon from FBC - I Can See Clearly Now

--> “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”

2 Corinthians 5:9

At the beginning of the year, we all seem to instinctively have this desire to review our life, to look back and see how things went, and look forward thinking about how we might reach our goals.  As Christians, there are certain spiritual goals we should all be pursuing.  At the start of this new year, we'll be reviewing those goals, so as you consider your resolutions, you can include some spiritual goals as well...

To read the message now, click here...

         http://fbcwaverly.weebly.com/sermons/i-can-see-clearly-now

Thanks for reading - or listening, there is an audio link as well!  I'd love to hear what you think.

New Year... New Look...

Happy New Year!

As we come to a new year, we are changing the look of the blog.  It's time for a redesign, something new, something exciting.

A new year is an ideal time to make changes.  Are you making changes?  Any resolutions? 

Perhaps more importantly, are you allowing God to make changes in you?  I'm not talking about resolutions here, I'm talking about the new life God wants to bring to you.  When you put your faith in Jesus, He promised to transform you into the very image of Jesus.  But you have to let Him.

I.  How do you let God work in you?

You let God make these changes in you by putting yourself in places where He can reach you.  the Christian Disciplines are those places.  Daily devotions, regular church worship, daily Bible reading, and Bible Study with a group of believers, are all examples of places where God can work in you.

In Richard Foster's book, Celebration of Discipline, he outlines three major types of discipline, all designed to bring into a place where God will change us into the image of Jesus.

II.  What are these disciplines?

Foster's three types include:

1.  The Inward Disciplines:  including meditation, prayer, fasting, and study - these are the things you do by yourself, things that no one else sees.

2.  The Outward Disciplines:  including simplicity, solitude, submission, and service - these are things you do in the company of others, how others see your life of faith lived out.

3.  The Corporate Disciplines:  including confession, worship, guidance, and celebration - these are the things you do together with other believers, often in worship services or prayer gatherings.


So as the New Year starts, I encourage you to think about where God is working in you, and make sure you're letting him there.  Reflect on your practices of the Christian Disciplines - that's where God is at work!

Back to the new look of the blog - What do you think? Let me know, leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from you.

And I truly wish you the very best of New Years.  May 2014 be the best yet!

Steve

Church Transformation

I attended a Leadership Day Seminar today. There were a number of workshops offered, but the one that caught my eye was one titled Tools for Transformation. The keynote speaker for this event was also the presenter for the Tools for Transformation workshop. It was a very well done workshop, with lots of resources and lots of ideas for bringing people into our churches.

There is one thing that I often find missing from workshops on church transformation, and that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. God is in the transformation business, and we can’t hope to transform anybody (or any church) without the work of God in our midst.

To me, church growth is impossible without spiritual growth, and spiritual growth is usually left out of any attempt to transform or grow our churches. At least it’s been left out of the workshops I’ve attended. That’s why our churches aren’t growing. How many people did Peter lead to Christ before he was filled with the Holy Spirit? (zero – zip – none!) How many after? (3,000 the first day!)

If you want your church to grow, you need to grow yourself. As we grow spiritually, we invite others. We act as the people of God. We are filled with the Holy Spirit which leads and guides us. Who wouldn’t want to go to a church where all that was happening? And who would invite people to a church that didn’t have that?

We transform the church by transforming ourselves. Become serious about your own spiritual growth, and you will make a difference – Because as God fills you, others will notice, and seek to be filled too! Then the church will grow!