Yes, I know... we are talking about prayer again. However, it must be discussed because it is essential for where the Holy Spirit is leading us in our hunger and search to be genuine in our daily lives for Jesus Christ! Last Sunday, Pastor Dillon said something during the morning sermon at TCN that really caused the Holy Spirit to press upon me the need to talk to you guys about prayer this week. Pastor Dillon mentioned that part of the beautiful role of the older generations of the Church is to pass down to you younger generations the habits of an intimate and dynamic prayer life. But then the question is presented... Do we even know the power of prayer... or do we refrain from praying because we don't know how to?
So with all of this in mind, I strongly feel as if God is telling me that we need to first understand why we pray... and then we need to know how to pray. Here is the reality of all of this... Prayer = Growth. In other words, the ONLY way that we can grow in God and the ONLY way that we can cast off the "sin that so easily wraps us up and distracts us" is to develop a daily prayer life with our God!
So how often do you pray? What do your prayers consist of? Do you pray just to mark it off your check-list? Or is your prayer time with God something that you NEED in order to keep your hunger for knowing Him more and more?
Join us tomorrow night, Wednesday, at IGNITE @ TCN, 6:30pm... as we will be discussing the NEED for prayer in the lives of real and genuine Christians. Prepare your minds and your hearts as we read from 2 Chornicles 7:13-15 and Matthew 6:5-13. I look forward to seeing you there!
You are loved!
Pastor A.J.
Student Ministries Pastor, Tidewater Central Nazarene
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
But they did it first!!!
People "wrong" us all of the time. To be honest, because we are all different and have different personalities and beliefs on certain issues, we are bound to not see eye to eye at times... But why does this sometimes cause us to be at war with each other? In addition, why is it that whenever we see one of our brothers and sisters in the church doing something wrong that we feel that we need to share it with everyone else without going to them first?
So what do we do whenever someone in the Church does something wrong against us, or whenever we see someone doing something wrong in general?
Well, what does Christ say?
In Matthew 18, Christ goes into deep details about the ways that we should interact with other believers whenever they have done something wrong. First of all, there is for some reason the idea that the Bible says that we as believers should never judge someone for what they do. I want you to know that this isn't the case. The Bible does speak a lot against the type of judgment that is hypocritical... in other words, you point the finger when you should probably take a good look at yourself because you are probably guilty of a whole lot more fault. Matthew 7:5 says, "First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." Notice that Christ said for us to FIRST remove the crud from our own eye SO THAT we can deal with the crud in our friend's eye?
In addition, the Bible speaks against the type of criticism in the Church that is derived from bitterness and gossip. To sum it up, Christ wants us to hold each other accountable OUT OF LOVE for the other person... and only when we are in right standing with God to do so. Just take a look at Matthew 18:15-20... there is a process here of getting things right with our brothers and sisters that keeps us from gossipping, slandering (ruining their reputation or how people see them), and bitterness. This process is essential to keeping the peace within the Church that God desires... in addition, this process is important because we love each other enough to address problems with them in a loving way.
So do you want to know more about this in detail? Check back this Thursday, May 12... OR come to IGNITE tomorrow night at TCN at 6:30 as we will be discussing this in further detail.
You are loved!
Ready and committed,
Pastor A.J.
Youth Pastor, TCN
So what do we do whenever someone in the Church does something wrong against us, or whenever we see someone doing something wrong in general?
Well, what does Christ say?
In Matthew 18, Christ goes into deep details about the ways that we should interact with other believers whenever they have done something wrong. First of all, there is for some reason the idea that the Bible says that we as believers should never judge someone for what they do. I want you to know that this isn't the case. The Bible does speak a lot against the type of judgment that is hypocritical... in other words, you point the finger when you should probably take a good look at yourself because you are probably guilty of a whole lot more fault. Matthew 7:5 says, "First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." Notice that Christ said for us to FIRST remove the crud from our own eye SO THAT we can deal with the crud in our friend's eye?
In addition, the Bible speaks against the type of criticism in the Church that is derived from bitterness and gossip. To sum it up, Christ wants us to hold each other accountable OUT OF LOVE for the other person... and only when we are in right standing with God to do so. Just take a look at Matthew 18:15-20... there is a process here of getting things right with our brothers and sisters that keeps us from gossipping, slandering (ruining their reputation or how people see them), and bitterness. This process is essential to keeping the peace within the Church that God desires... in addition, this process is important because we love each other enough to address problems with them in a loving way.
So do you want to know more about this in detail? Check back this Thursday, May 12... OR come to IGNITE tomorrow night at TCN at 6:30 as we will be discussing this in further detail.
You are loved!
Ready and committed,
Pastor A.J.
Youth Pastor, TCN
Getting Real
Hey L.O.U.D.!
Just wanted to let you all know about our new blog page. This is to help us grow and know each other better! Take the time to comment on the weekly blogs! I want to hear your heart, your opinion, and your honesty! Also, invite others to be involved! You all are loved dearly!
In His strength and love,
Pastor A.J.
Just wanted to let you all know about our new blog page. This is to help us grow and know each other better! Take the time to comment on the weekly blogs! I want to hear your heart, your opinion, and your honesty! Also, invite others to be involved! You all are loved dearly!
In His strength and love,
Pastor A.J.
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