Readings for Sunday, March 1st

It's time for the church in general, and our church in particular, to overcome.

Call to Repentance

Luke 6:43-45 (page 1602)

Call to Worship

Psalm 42 (page 881)

OT Reading

Numbers 13:26-33 (page 228)

NT Reading

John 16:17-33 (page 1678)

Message

Those Powerful, Loving, Self-Controlled Christians

2 Tim. 1:6-7 (page 1852)

Readings for Sunday, February 22nd

This Sunday we'll be considering what the true purpose of the church is. That's a broad question and it's also one of those questions where the answer can probably be expressed in lots of different ways. But I hear more wrong answers than anything else. There is a lot of sloppy, complacent, sappy thinking out there among believers about the nature and purpose of the church.

And our fuzzy thinking about the purpose of the church leads to some pretty fuzzy participation in the church and fuzzy identification with the church. When we're unclear about the nature and purpose of the church we find ourselves apologizing for and distancing ourselves from those aspects of the church that dismay, confuse or upset our neighbors and friends.

I used to work for a company that specialized in what they called "disaster restoration," and I hated when we got called in on water jobs. Someone would have a pipe burst and unthinkable amounts of water would flood a portion of their house. As a less experienced member of the team I was initially horrified at the matter of fact way in which my colleagues would show up at someone's house and casually begin ripping things up and out, filling bag after bag with trash, tossing furniture around, knocking out drywall, pulling carpet. Because I feared the bad opinion of the home owners more than I did the destructive power of mold, and because I valued harmony more than I did the structural integrity of the house, I was a tentative and apologetic worker: little comfort to the homeowner and little help to my colleagues.

There are a lot of Christians like that.

Call to Repentance

Ephesians 4:17, 22-24 (page 1821)

Call to Worship

Psalm 114 (page 953)

OT Reading

Deuteronomy 32:7-12 (page 323)

NT Reading

Ephesians 5:8-21 (page 1822)

Message

Out of the Darkness, Into the Light

1 Peter 2:9 (page 1888)

Music for Sunday, February 15

Our opening worship will be the two contemporary choruses, "Lord I Give You My Heart," and "Hungry."

Our first hymn will be The Christian's Hope Can Never Fail. It is one of the old hymns that has been set to new music for us by the folks at Red mountain church, and we like the music but it's the timeless words that really make these songs so valuable.

The prayer hymn will be "I Hide Your Word Within My Heart," which is #411 in our hymnal.

And our closing hymn will be "My Anchor Holds Within the Veil."

Readings for Sunday, February 15

This Sunday we'll be posing an uncomfortable question. Can the fool be saved?

Another way of asking that is, "Do you have to be wise to be saved?"

I'm not just asking the question to be provocative. I think there is good biblical evidence to suggest that being wise is a precondition of salvation and being a fool disqualifies one from being saved. But if that's true it's very important that we know what we mean by being wise.

And wisdom is one of the great treasures of the Christian life. We can be wise!! God has promised to give wisdom abundantly and without reproach for the price of simply asking (James 1:5). Our wisdom is something to savor, nurture and celebrate!


Call to Repentance
James 1:21 (page 1881)

Call to Worship
Psalm 95 (page 933)

OT Reading
Job 12:7-16 (page 802)

NT Reading
James 3:13-18 (page 1883)

Message
Can the Fool Be Saved?
2 Tim. 3:10-17 (page 1855)

Readings for Sunday, February 8th

Call to Repentance
Hebrews 6:1-3 (page 1867)

Call to Worship
Psalm 125 (page 967)

OT Reading
Proverbs 8:22-36 (page 995)

NT Reading
1 Timothy 6:11-21 (page 1850)

Message
Last Day for the Last Days
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (page 1854)