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Weekend Recap – Confidence

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Another weekend is in the books and we had a great one.  I was coming off a 3 day/2 night retreat with our elders.  We discussed 2012, future leaders, future plans, current visions and strategies and how we can be more effective in serving Crestview.  Very good stuff.

On Sunday AM, my sermon Confidence came from Hebrews 6:9-12.  The writer of Hebrews wrote to encourage these he had called out as spiritually immature by encouraging them to have confidence for the future based on how they lived today, not based on something in the past.  Hope would be found as they rested in God’s promises and continued to trust Christ.  I hope the sermon was encouraging to you.  It said much about encouragement, serving others and assurance of salvation.

In the evening, our church met in small groups.  We continue to discuss Jerry Bridges book Respectable Sins.  My group discussed ungodliness.  We thought about ways that we can repent of this by centering more on God throughout our daily lives.

It was a full day and weekend and we’re off on another one.  Blessings to you as you seek to honor God in it.

Weekend Recap – The Hard, But Good, Work of Ministry…

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Enjoyed a full Lord’s Day.  The hard, but good, work of ministry included:

Preaching Hebrews 6:1-8 (which some consider to be one of the most difficult texts in the Bible) on Spiritual Immaturity, Part 2.  We also enjoyed a visit from Wayne and Dianna Penner, who are transitioning from Brazil to South Africa this Winter.

In the evening, I presented a talk on why we are changing our strategy on ministering to children on Wednesday nights, including presenting our new curriculum God’s Story.

It’s hard to deal with difficult texts and change long standing programs but it is a good work.  I trust that God will honor my attempts at faithfulness.

Weekend Recap – Full Day, Oh and…

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…we dealt with immaturity as well.  The audio from 7/31/11 is now online: Spiritual Immaturity (1) from Hebrews 5:11-14.  The sermon sought to unpack the writer’s intent in moving people out of immaturity into maturity by centering them on the proper foundation of the Gospel.

On top of the sermon, we enjoyed a report from a missionary, commissioning of our Arizona mission team and the Lord’s Supper.  It was a glorious and full morning.  I hope you had a rich day of worship, as well.

Weekend Recap – Qualified

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The sermon from 7/24/11 entitled Qualified from Hebrews 5:1-10 is now online.  In this sermon, I sought to unfold what is an amazing text of Scripture, showing how amazingly qualified Jesus is to not only be our great high priest, but, deeper, to be our Savior for all of eternity.  We need this truths as anchors for our souls.  I hope you profited from this message.

In the evening, many of our church’s small groups gathered.  It was an enriching Lord’s Day.  I hope you were blessed.

Weekend Recap – Prayer, Prayer and Christ

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Yesterday’s sermon, Clinging To Christ, from Hebrews 4:14-16 is online.  The sermon was led by this big idea in this portion of Scripture about Jesus being our high priest and the exhortations to hold fast our confession and draw near to the throne of grace with confidence.  It was an encouraging and needed word in my life.

In the PM, we met for corporate prayer praying together for some needs that are pressing in our congregation.  We typically do this once a quarter and have found it to be most productive when the Elders lead out with some specific requests.

At any rate, we enjoyed a tremendous Lord’s day and I’m grateful that I got to participate in it.

Weekend Recap – God’s Powerful Word

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My sermon from 7/10/11, God’s Powerful Word out of Hebrews 4:12-13 is online.  I thought we had an amazing morning in corporate worship coupled with some great time examining these familiar verses as we continue to make our way through this book.  God’s Word is powerful and this sermon, in particular, pointed us to how God’s Word prepares us for the Gospel.

In the evening, our small group read through Chapter 5 of Jerry Bridges’ Respectable Sins on The Power of the Holy Spirit.  We were encouraged that in the fight with sin, we aren’t left to our devices but have been given God Himself to help us in the fight.

It was a full day, but filled with blessings from our Lord at each turn.  I hope you had a blessed day yourself.  

Weekend Recap – On Sin

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Yesterday’s sermon, On Sin, from Hebrews 3:12-13 is now online. In that sermon, I tried to unfold how having believing hearts nurtured in the Gospel equip us to be aware of sin’s schemes and fight it together in community.

We had an amazing morning of worship, too. I’m really grateful for the musicians and singers who use their gifts to bless us week in and week out.

Weekend Recap – Vacation…

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Well, it’s the Monday AM of our vacation. We had a great weekend worshipping at Grace Church of Ovilla. Sunday afternoon, we headed to the Dallas World Aquarium. Then, for supper, ate downtown at the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Back home at Crestview, we were served by Mickey Zimmerman from Grace Baptist in Manhattan. I was excited about his sermon on justification from Romans 3. Will get that on the web as soon as I return.

At any rate, being on vacation reminded me that it is a time to guard our hearts. I remember John Piper saying in a sermon (out of Hebrews on drifting) that “Vacation is a dangerous time for John Piper.” He was suggesting this was due to the fact that he wasn’t in the Word as consistently and was out of the normal loops of accountability with the people of the church. I feel this, too, in my soul. So, I continue to fight sin so that even on vacation, I can live to glorify and enjoy God.

Hope you had a great weekend and experienced the Lord’s favor in corporate worship.