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A Must Read– And Experience!

October 16, 2012 in Bible Study, Tampa Church with Comments Off

I often talk about the vitality a Christ-Follower gains from a daily time in God’s Word.  Many of you have found YouVersion.com to be a great place to experience God’s Word- because you can choose from so many different devotionals.  So my post is directly from the YouVersion.com devotional called, “Teach Me to Pray”.  This is a 14 day devotional that you can view from your smart phone, computer or pad.  I will give you some links to follow after the devotional.  The variety is amazing- there are plans that are 3 days long up to a year and everything in-between driven by topic or by book of the Bible.

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Characteristics of Powerful Prayer: For Others

We all have a selfish streak by nature. When we become aware that we are able to access God’s throne through prayer, our first instincts are to care only about ourselves. But just as spiritual growth helps us see the joy and fulfillment that come from serving other people, growth in prayer maturity leads us to think of other people’s needs before our own.

St. Paul invited his Asian brothers and sisters to pray for him while a prisoner in Rome, awaiting his trial in imperial court. “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I may fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Ephesians 6:19,20).

The formal word for this kind of praying is “intercession.” I personally have been sustained by the prayers of other wonderful people in stretches of my life when I have been too distracted or lazy to pray for myself. You will not know until you get to heaven how your life has been blessed by the faithful prayers of people who love you.

Could I dare to ask you to pray for me today so that I may proclaim the gospel fearlessly?

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Snapshots: The Apostle Peter

October 8, 2012 in Bible Study, Tampa Church with 1 Comment

The Apostle Peter is the Biblical character that many of us can relate to.  He is an avid follower of Jesus who has the habit of speaking up and out- often without thinking.  Peter’s story if one of getting it right and then getting it wrong- but always speaking his mind.  Some have said he is a Ready- Shoot- Aim kind of guy.  Although he often speaks before thinking- we always know what Peter is thinking.  I actually love the passion the Apostle demonstrates as he follows Jesus.  Over the next few weeks we will follow Peter out of his fishing boat and on his journey as a disciple of Jesus.  We will see how he leads in the early church in the book of Acts and watch how he responds when he is sharply rebuked.  Read ahead if you like – this is our road map:

  • The Call of Peter – Luke 15
  • Impetuous Peter- Matthew 14, 15, 17 and John 18
  • Peter’s Darkest Hour-  Luke 22, John 21
  • Peter Remains Teachable- Acts 10
  • Peter Stumbles Again- Galatians 2

So get your walking shoes on, we are going to journey with and learn from the Apostle Peter over the coming weeks.

If you missed Sunday here is the message on video- The Call of Peter.

If you don’t see a video click here.

Are you Mature?

July 10, 2012 in Bible Study with Comments Off

Has anyone said this to you (they sure have to me)- “I hope one day you grow up”?  What do they mean: gain weight- I can do that quickly?  Get taller- only with lifts in my shoes?  Are they talking physically?  Emotionally?  Spiritually?  I really don’t know- you will have to ask them that question yourself ;-) .

This Sunday I am talking about spiritual maturity.  I really believe this message will help you.  As I have been studying this week God has given me a message.  I believe spiritual maturity if often misunderstood and therefore misapplied.  If you… if I… if Church at the Bay is going to be all God wants us to be we will need to mature spiritually.  Too often spiritual maturity is defined as:

  • Sharing your faith
  • Knowing a lot of scripture
  • Having a daily time with God
  • Giving a tithe (10% of my income)
  • Fasting regularly
  • Serving

Those are good practices and I heartily recommend them and yet they fall way short in measuring spiritual maturity.  Some people say, “You really can’t ever know if you are mature or maturing”.   Obviously, I believe you can know and grow in maturity as a Christ-follower!  I believe you can be described as mature (not perfect, mind you).  So the big question is, “Okay Hal, let’s say you know the answer- tell me now”.  The problem is- I can’t tell you now because that is my message Sunday.  If you cannot make it and are still interested- check back next Monday and the sermon video will be posted on the side of this blog.  The truth is the Apostle Paul digs into this issue in a big way in Philippians 3.

By the way- I am loving our study of Philippians and I hope you are gaining new insights into this issue of Spiritual Maturity in our series- A Letter from Lockdown.

 

2×4 Moment

June 5, 2012 in Bible Study, Tampa Church with 6 Comments

I am not sure how you do your daily devotions- but for the last year I have been using the daily bible readings from Youversion.com (it is a free resource that can be accessed by a smart phone, tablet or computer).   One of the devotional plans I am reading right now is “Major Themes of the Bible”.  I actually read them daily on my phone and then journal out my learning’s or as in today- my 2×4 Moment.  Today’s passage was Romans 5 and these verses jumped out at me;

(2) Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.  (3) We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.(4) And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.

In particular, verse 3 was my 2×4 Moment.  My current habit is to rewrite the verse and personalize it- so my personalization of verse 3 looked like this;

I can (and should) rejoice when I run into problems and trials, because I know that they will help me develop endurance.

The last few days have proven to be full of problems and trials. And yet I let them take me down instead of rejoicing.  The last few weeks I have been preaching about suffering and trials from Philippians- so I know better and told you so.  It is interesting that when I preach on something- I often get to test it out in my own life. (So- off topic- I will be preaching about vacation and relaxing the rest of the summer ;-) ) Tthis morning, after the 2×4, I wrestled through and repented and then rejoiced that the Father was developing endurance in my life.

Something I have noticed is that when I refuse to rejoice with the understanding of what God is doing,  I get focused on the problems of today and I don’t look forward and have a pity party (been there?)  One of the most refreshing things about chasing a relationship with Jesus and not a rules based religion- is daily developing my relationship with Him.  His Word is made alive to me by the Holy Spirit and can bring encouragement, instruction, correction and direction based on my heart condition at that moment.  So I am grateful for God’s 2×4 Moments!

In conclusion- not only is Church at the Bay a great place for less than perfect people- they have a jacked up preacher who is less than perfect as well.  Why not bring a friend this weekend and see what God does?

 
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