Monday, September 29, 2008

"God Is..."

What do you think of when you think of God? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that very important question? Now please don't misunderstand what I am asking. I don't mean thinking about what God does (something hopefully we do often), but rather who God is. Who is God? What is He like? What do we know of Him? If I were to ask you to finish this sentence, "God is __________ .", what would you write? Why would you write that?

Join us this Sunday, October 5th, as we begin a new series exploring the attributes of God. Don't forget to bring your life jacket, we will be swimming in the deep end of the theological pool!

Here is a hint for this Sunday: Exodus 3:13-14

Friday, September 26, 2008

Shrinking At The Foot Of The Cross

Self-righteousness has an annoying way of sneaking up on me. I'll go a few days... no major blow ups in my temper, doing pretty good with training my eyes to look away from things they shouldn't be looking at, finding time for lengthy Bible study and meditation... then suddenly self-righteousness pops up in my heart and I begin telling myself, "See Dan, your not that bad. Look at what you have done." It is at these moments, if I am sensitive to the Holy Spirit, that I detect a red flag and quickly run to the cross. I wish I could report that I always do this right away.

While reading CJ Mahaney's book on humility, I came across this very helpful quote from theologian John Stott: Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to be saying to us, “I’m here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.” Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size.

I love the shrinking power of the cross! I need the shrinking power of the cross! I'm looking forward to celebrating the cross this Sunday. This is where we shrink to our true size!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Proclaiming Truth

I recently read this in Bob Kauflin's book, Worship Matters:

The world is constantly telling us lies: "God doesn't exist." "It's all about you." "Sin has no consequences." "This is all there is." "The more you own, the happier you'll be."

In the face of these lies, we gather as the church to proclaim the truth. We gather to declare - to ourselves, to each other, and to God - what we know to be eternal reality. There is one God, who is sovereign over the universe and every detail of our lives. We have rebelled against him. He sent his Son to die in our place for our sins. And through Jesus Christ we have forgiveness and peace with God.

I love what Bob has written because it so clearly reminds me of why we exist as a church:
-to proclaim the truth
-to glorify our sovereign God
-to celebrate the cross

It is so easy to get distracted and to forget how important the Sunday morning meeting really is. What an awesome privilege we have to gather around the cross each week and say "thank you" to the One who delivered us from death to life and to proclaim the truth of the gospel! I can hardly wait until next Sunday!

Friday, September 5, 2008

"Surveying the Wondrous Cross"

Here's a "heads up" about something very exciting coming up in October.

I have the huge privilege of joining together to do a conference with four guys who are not only my friends, but also have a common passion for the cross. These men are Justin Childers, Eddie Burroughs, Jason Sessoms, and Justin Nale. The conference is called "Surveying The Wondrous Cross" and is being offered by R & R Fellowship, a gathering of local ministers in the Rocky Mount and Wilson area who desire Reformation and Revival in the local church.

This is what Justin Childers had to say about this conference over at his blog: "If you live in the Wilson/Rocky Mount area, I hope you will set aside October 17-18 to survey the wondrous cross with us. We will be singing about, celebrating, and proclaiming the glory of Christ crucified for sinners."

The conference will be a Friday evening/Saturday morning event and will be held at New Hope Elementary School in Wilson. Justin C. and I will be preaching on Friday, and Justin N. and Eddie will be preaching on Saturday. Jason will lead us all in singing about the cross and moderate our Q & A time.

Mark your calendars! I'll post more details (including message topics) soon.