Jesus Loves Hugh

  For our last message, we considered the dangers of pornography.  Considering that as many as 70% of men admit to struggling with pornography, it is an indictment that the church does not talk about this more openly. 

  There is no magic pill to combatting lust.  It doesn’t care how many News Year’s resolutions you make or how often you walk an aisle.  No, the only way to combat lust is to report for the duty of dying to self daily.  Our message directed our focus to five biblical principles that can help us as we seek to slay the serpent of wonton sexuality.

  From 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 we discussed how . . .

     1) The Pleasures of God (4:1)

     2) The Knowledge of God (4:2-3)

     3) The Will of God (4:4-6a)

     4) The Fear of God (4:6b)

     5) The Call of God (4:7)

   . . . are all worthy resources that God gives for our use in sanctifying our desires.  God offers us Himself – yet just like Eve we are drawn to that which we should not want.  Not content with eternal pleasures, we crave immediate gratification.  God help us as we seek purity both outwardly and inwardly!  Here is the Mp3:Jesus Loves Hugh

Le hockie ‘de brum

That’s right . . . broom hockey this Friday night from
10:30pm-12:30am at Iceland. Bring a friend and $5. Anyone who brings more than three persons gets themselves and
their guests in free. Check out http://www.icelandsports.net/Directions/Directions.html
for directions . . .

Can I be forgiven?

Click the link for an interesting clip from ER.  Do you have an answer for this dying man?  Or would you spew the same psycho-babble out in the name of Jesus?  Thank God that His Word provides us with hope and answers to life’s difficult questions.  The link is:http://www.irishcalvinist.com/?p=1194

Modesty . . .

   Are you modest?  Don’t ask yourself!  Your mind will do mental gymnastics to tell you that modesty has to do with others . . . but not you.  Your mind will also tell you that modesty is simply about your clothing and not about your attitude and spirit. 

   While 1 Peter 3:1-7 is addressed to women, there is still plenty of application to us as men.  We noted the fourfold relationship between: 1) submissiveness in relationships 2) respectability in behavior 3) modesty in dress and 4) gentleness in spirit.  It seemed appropriate to emphasize that if we are not submissive in our relationship to our Lord, none of these other three injunctions are within our grasp . . .

   I hope you took note that modesty has to do with your expectations, too.  We all are given to thinking that we deserve more than we actually do – which is why it is so easy for some of us to get off kilter in our relationships.  It also has everything to do with what singles believe they deserve in their future mate.  No, I’m not suggesting dumbing down your requirement list, especially if you have a biblical justification for a requirement.  It’s just that we are SO immodest in what we expect for ourselves that our expectations can be unrealistic. 

   Click here for the Mp3: Miniskirts and Rock Hard Abs: Thinking Biblically about Modesty

   Click here for Mary Mohler’s booklet “Modeling Modesty”: Modeling-Modesty.pdf

   Click here for the article on modesty by Carolyn Mahaney: modesty-check.pdf

Waffle House Evangelism

Yes, you read that right. Tonight begins Operation Waffle House Evangelism for the Young Singles class. Over the next 3-4 weeks, our class is going to visit the Waffle House there in front of church each Friday and Saturday night as we look to reach out to the other young adults in our community. Now, when I say night, I mean late night/early morning because everyone knows that Waffle House is only good after Midnight. Right?

So, we are asking for everyone to be in prayer for our covert teams who, starting tonight at midnight, will be visiting our neighborhood Waffle House. If anyone wants to join us, just comment below and we will give you the details.

Git Your Agape On . . .

    Yes, that’s right folks.  This week is our annual Agape Meal.  I hope that you have been recruited to help out with this event.  For the investment of a few hours of time, I believe it is fair to say that we earn the charity of goodwill from our senior adults.  Besides, the Bible straight out tells us that we are to honor and respects our elders.  So . . . what have you done today to respect someone old enough to be your grandparent?  I thought so . . . all the more reason for you to make sure you are their Sunday to give props to the senior adults at Cedar Creek! 

    For those of you who are asking – dress code is kakhi pants and a black shirt!  Come with a flexible attitude – while most of you will be serving, you may get asked to help in other areas as well.

Single Ambition

  Our last week’s lesson was titled “Single Ambition.”  No, it wasn’t about being ambitious to be single.  It was about what our singular ambition should be regardless of our marital status.  Of course, I believe the four principles we looked at had particular significance for those single persons who are wanting to glorify God while they wait for Mr. or Mrs. Right.

   The four principles we looked at we:

      1) Purity reflects the values of a redeemed life (1 Thessalonians 4:1-7)

      2) Prayerfulness demonstrates a hope in God

      3) Patience trusts in God’s plan and timing (2 Peter 3:8-9) 

      4) Purpose seizes the “wait” for the glory of God (Matthew 6:25-34)

Click here for an MP3 of last week’s message: Single Ambition

He Loves Me . . . Doesn’t He?

Attention Ladies, here is an opportunity that doesn’t come around often.  The Counseling department at Southern is hosting a Women Only Biblical Counseling Seminar with special guest speaker Elyse Fitzpatrick on Thursday, March 6 at 5pm for only $10. . . and includes a dinner!  “Elyse will call women back to the cross and the empty tomb, to see themselves as they should, with an entirely new identity and life” says Dr. Stuart Scott.  This could be a great event for our ladies to spend some time together and even on how to help counsel other ladies/girls/women in our church or those who visit.

Click on the picture above to see the brochure and print off the registration form.  If you have any questions about how great this seminar will be, please talk to Marisa (she has got the deets).

The 33 Year Old Virgin?

For our second study, we pondered the singleness of Jesus Christ. If marriage indeed is God’s normal pattern for all of mankind – past, present, and future – why were so many New Testament leaders single? We must be very careful about taking the experience of one generation of leaders (ie., Jesus and Paul) and using their example to contradict the clear teaching of scripture.

We are reminded mature manhood and womanhood is not dependent upon our marital status and that according to Mark 12: 18-25, marriage is not any person’s ultimate union. Rather, our ultimate union is with Christ. This is good news – especially for those of us who are unhappily single at the moment! Be very careful about slighting God’s control over your marital status – the example of Paul and Jesus (as well as Paul’s explicit teaching in 1 Cor. 7) shows us that singleness can and should be viewed as a gift. Click here for the MP3 (the-33-year-old-virgin.mp3).

On a personal note, let me commend the vast majority of our singles. While I think there may be some “heart” issues to work on internally, I applaud you for taking Paul’s encouragement to use your singlesness for service to Christ’s church. Your involvement with our children’s ministry is a tremendous blessing to our entire congregation. God bless you for setting an example (1 Tim. 4:12)!