Archive
Small Group Promo-Big Day in May
Having fun with our Small Group promoting the Big Day in May which will be held at Turning Pionte Church on Sunday May 19th! Come Join Us!
Question Everything – Book Review
Being a great teacher or student of the Bible is about learning to ask great questions. Tyler Ellis has made this easier than ever his new book, Question Everything. Unbelievably the book has a question for every verse in the New Testament. You may think I’m joking, but you can check it out HERE on amazon.
Family Tech/Media Agreement
Someone called and asked me about this today; so I thought I post and share. It’s a combination of others that I found online. I print this out and discuss it with the kids a few times every year. Then I have them sign it and post it in the kitchen.
(Surfing,Texting Social Media, iPod, Gaming)
| 1. | I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my home without my parents’ permission. |
| 2. | I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information, photos, or videos that makes me feel uncomfortable. |
| 3. | I will never agree to get together with someone I “meet” online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along. |
| 4. | I will never send (email or text) or post a picture of myself or anyone else without first checking with the person photo’d and my parents. |
| 5. | I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do I will tell my parents right away so that they help me avoid future content. |
| 6. | I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission. |
| 7. | I will not give out account passwords to anyone (even my best friends) other than my parents. |
| 8. | I will check with my parents before downloading or installing apps or doing anything that could possibly hurt our computer/phones/iPods or jeopardize my family’s privacy. |
| 9. | I will be a good online citizen and not do anything that hurts other people or is against the law. I would never write or post things that I would not want shown on the evening news. |
| 10. | I understand that bad people can be VERY GOOD at pretending to be a friend of your age. I will NEVER talk to strangers even if they are my age. |
I understand that using Technology is a privilege and my parents have installed apps and software to keep evil out of our lives. I understand that if I break the rules my parents give me then I will lose my technology/media privileges.
__________________________________________________________________
Children sign here
Keep Your Eye On The Ball
I played organized baseball from the time I was 6 until the age of 17 (High School). I was a decent player as a kid, but the older I got the worse my hitting became. I went something like 1 for 28 my senior year (no I’m not kidding); it was humiliating. In the months that followed I searched for an excuse, which I finally found when I was diagnosed as having visual astigmatism. Finally, I thought to myself, I know now that I was a terrible hitter; it was simply because I could not see the ball.
Well as I learned today from this 1954 article from Sports illustrated<http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1129050/>, the fact is; no one can actually see the ball all the way to the plate. All pitches, even the slow ones (55mph), disappear about 20 feet from the plate; batters actually swinging blind. After reading this, and losing my excuse, this verse from 2 Corinthians 4:18 came to mind:
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Could it be, that like hitting, life has some areas where we have to operate by focusing on the “unseen”? You may think it’s impossible to focus on unseen things, but somehow, there are people in this world, who can walk up to home plate and hit a ball they can’t even see. God has delivered to us the truth in the person of Jesus Christ revealed in the Bible. As you read God’s story you can sense Him coming toward you, but then it can seem as if he has disappeared. But that is when you have to swing and trust the unseen hand of God, and know that He is there. That my friend is called faith.
Who Are We?
Think about your children, what are all the needs they will have in their lifetime? Physical, Social, Emotional. In “The Sensation of Being Somebody”, Maurice Wagner 
suggests that all these needs could be grouped into three categories.
- Acceptance
- Security
- Significance
How do people go about trying to gain acceptance, security, significance?
- Work
- Family
- Friends
- Jobs
- Money
- Kids
- Church
All of these are really good things; things we consider blessings. But can we really depend on these to meet our primary needs?
What happens if a relationship fails? Or what if we lose our job or our savings? What if our children don’t turn out the way we hoped? What if the new pastor changes the church we love?
Only, in and through a personal relationship with Jesus can these greatest needs be permanently satisfied. Our faith relationship with Christ is brought into reality through His promises in the Scripture. 2 Peter 3:3-4 reads,
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Below are just a few of these promises. Memorize these and remind yourself and your children that Christ is the truth, not our feelings, and in him all of our needs have been and will be meet.
Acceptance
- 1 John 3:1 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
Security
- Romans 8:35-39 “ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ”
Significance
- 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
The Road Back
As most everyone in our area knows, my beloved Golden Eagle Football team had a perfect winless season in 2012. That’s right 0-12. At one point in the season I wanted to blog, Facebook, or tweet, and make some derogatory comments about “The Fall”, but really I couldn’t find adequate words to describe what it was like going from 12-2 in 2011 to 0-12. However sights and sounds from a cold wet week in Hattiesburg are already showing the changes in attitudes that have come with our new coaching staff. Watching this video challenges me.
Watching this caused me to ask questions about the level of my spiritual hunger. Do I desire God enough that when it’s raining on the inside of me, when I’m dreary and don’t feel like it, that I will rise up go out to Jesus. Will I open up the Word and turn up the music and allow God again to remind me that “I am not my own.” We have a choice here. We can either let our emotions determine our Spiritual life, or we can make a determination to push through the resistance of the things that keep us from growing. It make take extreme measures, but let’s get moving. I’m ready to get on the road, back to the top. -TD
So You Are Considering Homeschooling?
My wife and I developed these questions to help parents think through homeschooling for their families. I encourage you to sit down with your spouse and give thought to each of these questions and write out your responses below. I believe God can use these question to bring clarity to anyone interest in homeschooling.
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Why do we desire to homeschool?
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What is our ultimate goal for our children through the process of homeschooling?
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How well equipped do we feel to educate our children through the different stages of their development? How do we plan to educate ourselves about homeschooling?
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What role does our faith play in our homeschool desire and design?
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How much money will it cost us to homeschool? How much do we plan to spend on curriculum and programs?
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What will our homeschooling schedule look like? Schedule Months, Days, and Specific Hours
If We Could Just Understand Justification
For the past few years we’ve been teaching our kids the Shorter Catechism from the book “Training hearts Teaching Minds”. This week’s Catechism is about Justification. I can’t tell you how important it is that we understand Justification. I’m convinced that most Christians (me included) only get the “Jesus paid my debt part.” If only could fully understand that His righteousness is now ours- that changes everything!
From Page 111 on Justification.
How can God accept us as righteous in His sight when we are not righteous at all? “He does so only because He counts the righteousness of Christ as ours.” Imagine that you need a great deal of money from something important. However, not only do you not have a great deal of money you are deeply in dept. Along comes your friend who has worked hard for years to build a big savings account in the bank. He feels sorry for you and offers to pay your bills. Now you are no longer in debt. This is something like Jesus paying for our sin by His death on the cross. Now we no longer owe God anything for all our sings against Him.
However, just because your friend paid your debt does not mean that you have solved your problem. You still need a great deal of money and you have absolutely none. So now your friend does something else for you. He has your name added to his bank account so that now you can use all his money. This is something like Jesus living a life of perfect obedience to God in our place. He is the One who is righteous. He is the One who did the obeying, but all His righteousness is credit to us. God counts the righteousness of Christ as ours.
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
Just Sayin’- The Power of Spoken Words
Sermon Notes from: Proverbs 12:12-27
INTRO: Spoken words paint a picture of a possible future. They are prophetic in guiding our lives and the lives of others. The goal of this message is one to help you understand just how important words are; how they ultimately determine the direction of our live. The goal is also to challenge you to use your words to encourage and build up others
• The God who speaks created creatures who speak.
• In the beginning how did God spoke the world into creation (Gen 1)
• Then sends Christ as the Word made flesh (John 1:1-3,14)
• Jesus demonstrated the power of words by using his words to build up the down cast, rebuke the self-righteous, heal the sick, open blind eyes, and raise others from the dead. He would speak over them and things would happen. When we are dealing with words; we often fail to understand the power of these words.
Proverbs Chapter 12:12-27 – Just Sayin’
The Power of Spoken Words
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What you say will trap or save you. v 13
- What we say has a way of coming back to bite us.
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Examples of being trapped by your words
- Politicians
- Parents threating kids, but no action taken
- Religions Teachers trying to trap Jesus
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What you say will reward you. v 14
- What you say determines what you receive.
- Spoken words paint a picture of a possible future. They are prophetic in guiding our lives and the lives of others.
- The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Prov 18:21 (NIV)
- We all have thought coursing through our minds. We’ve learn this summer that not all our thoughts originate in our own minds. Thoughts can come into the mind from the dark side, the spirit world, Satan and his forces. However once we start to speak those words we take a step toward making those e words a reality.
- Our words guide our lives “When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boast.” James 3:3-5 (NIV)
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What you say will build-up or tear-down others. v17-18
FBV 18 Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Prov 12:18 (NIV)
You may not beat your wife, you may not beat your children physically, but reckless words pierce like a sword?
- You are stupid
- You are good for nothing.
- You are just like (insert losers name).
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You are BAD.
But we dress up our tear downs with Just Sayin or Bless their Hearts.
But the tong of the wise brings healing.
Now this passage turns toward some things that we need to ask ourselves about our words. We want our words to paint a promising future for ourselves and for others around us. There for we must ask ourselves these questions.
3 Questions to ask yourself in order to speak wise words that heal.
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Is what I’m saying true? v19,v22
- Women: Lie most about their weight and their age
- Men: Lie most about their age and their income
- Many People lie about church Membership.
God would rather have you truthful about your faults, than lying about your strengths.
If we were all honest there are times when we lie. Now we have “great reasons”, we don’t’ want to hurt someone. Or we don’t’ want others to think badly of us so we lie. Unfortunately from some of us this has become such a habit that we no longer see this. God character is true. He stands against thoughts that lie. But I’m a Christian. IF you are a Christian you will be convicted about your lying. Allow God to change that it you. When you speak, speak the truth in love.(Eph 4:15)
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Is what I’m saying few? v23
The average American opens his mouth 700 every day and utters around 3500 each day. Some of you more, some of you much more, and some of us less. But we are a verbal culture. Before the development of writing as a technology people learning verbally. History, Culture, trade was taught not using books , buy passed on from one generation to the next by speaking.
Sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all. As good as you are you can’t talk and listen as the same time. Using few words allows you to be a better listener, and practice the ministry of presence (Just Being There). Being in someone’s life. I’ve visited with families who have lost children, who have lost parents, who have lost jobs, who are dying and the best thing to say is very little. Just be there.
Eccl 5:2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
- Is what I’m saying due? v25
There are people in your life waiting for your words. Words of encouragement. Word to build them up. Words of the wise that bring healing.
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God (SALVATION)
- The Bible tells us at the culmination of history “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:10-11 (NIV)
- “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 10:8-10
- Spouses are waiting for words.
- Kids are waiting for words.
- Coworkers are waiting for words.
- Parents are waiting for words.
- Brothers and Sisters are waiting for words
The difficult ard part about these messages is not being a hypocrite. The power of message is not in hearing, but in doing. So in prep for this part I had to make some phone calls this week. And as I stepped out in obedience. I started calling some of the people in my life for whom words were due.
Who do you to need to call or sit down and talk with this week?
What word do they need to hear and you need to say?
Allow God to use this!
Let your words be true, let them be few, and let them be due.
America’s Finacial Demise (repost)
With the election right around the corner, I wanted to repost this blog from a few years ago. I know that most of us cannot fathom that our government could actually go bankrupt. The argument below is not built on an emotional rant, but on financial facts that apply to us all. All of our elected officials must make some significant changes within the next few years, or we will see a catastrophe financial collapse in our lifetime.
I met Ethan Pope back in 1996 when JJ and I began attending Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg. Ethan has a heart for God, a heart for people, and a heart for managing money the way God instructs us to in the scriptures. By reading a few of his books, and spending time with him in his office, he helped put me on the way to making some wise financial decisions – namely, not to to live beyond my means.
A few years ago, Ethan relocated back to Dallas and now he as released a book entitled America’s Financial Demise. In short, the same is true for our government that is true for us. We cannot spend more money than we take in. If Ethan’s research is on target, and I believe that it is, we are on an “unsustainable” coarse financially and sooner than later, America’s financial system will crash. If this is true, and again I believe that it is, what we going to do about it?
Take time to order the book, and listen to Ethan’s talk from January. Then prayerfully consider what you should do in response to this timely message.
America’s Financial Demise from Master’s Men on Vimeo.
