The goal of the gospel is to make every man, woman, boy and girl Just Like Jesus. This is the outcome of the gospel message when we fully commit to become followers of Jesus. The mission of the Church is to aid our transformation from mere believers in Christ into fully mature disciples of Christ. We should desire and spend our greatest efforts to be full-fledged copies of the perfect Master. If there is any other mission that is put before this, the Gospel and its desired outcome have been displaced.
I am amazed …
… by planes, bullet trains, fast automobiles, technology, love, passion and grace. All of these things astonish and shock my mind. I’m awestruck at demonstrations of immense power and ability. At the risk of sounding like a simpleton I confess that I am just overwhelmed by massive, fast, powerful and glorious things. Maybe this is why as I journey deeper into this thing we call a “Christian Life” and the truths of God’s Holy Word, I am caught up in wonderment with God and how His Holy Spirit works.
Every time I think about the beginning of the Church I am astounded at how the Spirit moved and worked powerfully and miraculously in the lives of simple men and women. There was hardly a scholar in the bunch. Most of this “Jesus Sect” were people of low degree. They were at best touching the mainstream of society. There was hardly a person that we identify as a professional save for persons like the physician and the tax collector. To know that the Spirit of God worked powerfully in these “mere Christians” is a beacon of hope that God can use even me.
We all encounter the dark night of the soul and sometimes a season of night. This is a season of life when the entirety of our lives feels like one long enactment of Murphy’s Law. It seems that everything that can go wrong eventually will as if there is only one conclusion before us – suffering, pain, loss and a good life destroyed. It is as if darkness comes with a cloak of invisibility and placing it upon us we disappear from the consciousness of friends and even from God. We feel forsaken and forlorn. It leaves us wondering if anyone cares about our plight and our pain. We begin to wonder, “Have I been forgotten? Does anyone care?” What can we do when the night has fallen and darkness descends upon us?
What can we say about the God of the Bible?
We could say that He is creator. We could say that He is Powerful! Or we could say what He says about himself, “I Am that I Am”. We can say so many things because He is and He does so many things. To a people who are exiled; foreigners in a strange land they hope to hear him say, “I Am your Rescue and I Am your Salvation. I Am the God who rescues and saves.”
In The Story we find the Jewish people scattered throughout the varying empires and powers of the Middle East. There has been much pain and suffering and hope is on its last leg. But in the midst of all this despair comes two beautiful stories about people who lived faithfully and experienced the faithfulness of God. After being kidnapped and carried away into captivity they were in a foreign land stripped of everything but their faith in God. Although their faith was all they had, ultimately it proved to be all that they needed.
In this posting you will find three simple and easy rules to become a most loathsome and/or blessed person in the world, a “sellout.” This blog post is about leaving it all behind in pursuit of something better. If you are thinking of becoming a sellout, you should read this blog posting very carefully to attain this most noble of statuses. I think that I should add a word of warning that you may want to read and contemplate this in a private area as your decision is sure to make you the butt of many jokes and a sure target of derisory remarks and judgment. And hopefully after many moments of contemplation and practicing the instructions of this micro-manifesto you too will be a proud sell out like so many people of faith before you. So let’s start with a definition and a most helpful quote:
Sell-out/noun – Anyone who sacrifices their present and/or past state in an effort to gain a preferred status in life; someone who forgets their roots.
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| Location | |||
| McKinney at Cardinal 101 Cardinal Drive Denton, TX 76209 940.387.4355 |
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| Sunday Worship Schedule | |||
| 9:30 - Worship (English Service) | |||
| 10:10 - Bible Class (Birth to 8th grade following the Kid's church time until the end of service) | |||
| 11:00 - Worship (Spanish Service) | |||
| Wednesday Evening Schedule | 6:30 - Celebrate Recovery | ||
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