Sunday, May 18, 2008

 

Announcements - Ryan Kailbourne
Thanks to LaRae, Anthony, middle school workers
they collected enough cans in the can drive last month for 300 mouths
they are moving to weekly midweeks for the middleschoolers instead of monthly - 7 pm Wednesdays at the church office starting June 4th
Pray for Tracy Bowen - grandmother
Regional Services next week -- NE is meeting at McKnight Hall at UNCC

 

Latino Women's Day - Spanish speaking    Rom 15:13    Saturday June 28th  9:30 am - 1:00 pm   church office   RSVP  $5.00  includes breakfast  invitations in the lobby
pray that this conference will encourage everyone

 

Communion -- Rodney and Terri Blackwell
1 John 4:9-12
Terri - they both come from dysfunctional families, it is difficult to know what love is
They wanted to be part of a family and make a family where love is clear and abundant
Ps 68:6   God sets the lonely in families
in our small groups, we have the opportunity to practice love with each other
being honest, humble, showing compassion
Do not take it for granted
Rodney - consider and be grateful for all the relationships we have

 

Rick Maule - "God Rocks"
we are grateful for the kingdom - people love us in spite of ourselves
Gal 1:6-9
things start well, but at the end you say "what happened?"  "what went wrong?"  "How did I get into this mess?"
Galatians weren't unlucky that day or that year -- they were in a mess
the foundation, basic Christian beliefs, the gospel/good news got messed up
The gospel of Jesus Christ and from Jesus Christ - teachings as well as salvation
If someone teaches you something that is not the gospel - let him be eternally condemned / anathema / damned
1 Cor 3   the building of the church is built on the message of Jesus Christ
preach the word in season and out of season
when things are unpleasant, we have a desire to turn away from the truth
God's word is true
a lot of us know that but not a lot of us live it

 

It's amazing how powerful a person's words can be
we can be caught up in an actor's scenes, their lives may not reflect what they are acting
It doesn't mean their message is true or false
We get caught up in the media
It's not about the speaker, it's about the speech
in Acts - the Bereans studied the speaker's words to see if they were true
Truth is your life, it is your foundation
We're preparing our children to go out in a world that is not Christian

We don't spend enough time preparing
Quiet times prepare us for the day
We say we missed our Quiet Time like we were overeating
it is life or death
Charlotte - the greatest place to live (again)
We have 2 personalities - pagan and religious - more strips clubs and more churches per capita than other cities
We're not just going out into a park but into a pagan environment
Everything is making war on your love for Christ
Kids - you're not just getting them motivated, you're preparing them for life
Everything you've learned - it's about to be tested (Rick told this to Allan when he took him to Duke for the first time)
those who taught Allan, thank you
We need to fight that fight for each other
I don't know which is more dangerous, being a pagan city or a denominational city
There are plenty of pagans in the church
We want to have a good heart
tell people with gentleness, love and respect,  we were holier than thou at times
but the pendulum swings and we have to call the truth the truth
Where do we get that in the Bible?
so many churches have a book of order - we just need the Bible.   The By-Laws are not higher than the Bible.
Heritage - customary things -- customs are great, they cannot supplant the word
There's a lot in the Bible, about people turning away from the truth
Tom 1:18  suppress the truth - they exchanged the truth of God for a lie
Do you exchange something for something else?
Use a dime for a screwdriver?
In college - they were going to have Thanksgiving dinner with whatever they had, they couldn't afford to go anywhere or buy anything
The formed hamburger meat in the shape of a turkey
When you substitute, it isn't always pretty
The Bible says we can try to do that with the truth
Bible says no sex before marriage;  we say, well, if you're thinking about getting married, that will work just as well.   But it doesn't.
We say we'll tell a white lie, a fib.   A fib is a lie you want to go to heaven with.
"I didn't lie, I misspoke"
Exchanging the truth for a lie.   Youth are trying to figure out what to do and where to go.   A lot of peer pressure.
How do you figure out the right path.  
Three questions to ask:
1)  Which way is the crowd leaning?
The whole world is checking each other out - what is the majority doing?
They're not asking what does God want me to do? What is right?  What is true?
Does the majority determine what is true?
150 years ago in Charlotte - we couldn't have African-Americans in this building.   That was the law.   The majority supported it.   Was it right?  Was it true?

Preach against the gay lifestyle, about abusing alcohol -- don't go there, might offend the majority
Great decisions made by groups -- the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt
Minorities determined the truth with Israel
We underestimate the power of this at the airport -- am I in the right line or the wrong line?   
Pontius Pilate had a choice - he made a decision of truth but then followed the crowd.   It's hard to stand up and do what is right when no one else is

 

Another bad question to ask:
2)  What have we done in the past?
tradition -- like a crowd of dead people
Churches have always had a church building
We're not for it, we're not against it.
We have tradition in our blood -- stained glass, organs
That comes from our heritage, not from the Bible
Our heritage had the preachers doing all the work - not disciples
Mark 7:5-13
traditions are ok, but they can be dangerous
Why we do what we do needs to be checked, to determine the truth
We've always done it that way --- why did you leave that church then?
Just because you've always been something doesn't mean you always have to
Christmas & Easter Christians -- that's not in the Bible

 

3)  What our feelings say is the truth
Feeling do not prove what is true or false
Sincere is good, but it can still be wrong
If I sincerely believe I can fly, doesn't make it true
Just because you believe, doesn't make it so
I believe I am going to get a date
I believe my team is going to win
Just because we go to the Charlotte Church - that doesn't make us right --being on the list is not enough
Need to be a truth lover - each one of us
Christian organizations at the school - if it's true, it's true
But on the other hand, not everyone who believes they are saved is saved
Lindsey went to Committed Young Christians at school - she said they're not committed and they're not Christians
Make sure what's being taught is accurate
stand on the truth
If you go by your feelings, you are in trouble
Religion and Romance - we let feelings determine the truth
It's not a good idea
"Give me $1,200 to work on your transmission, I have a feeling this part will work"   no, look at the chart, I want to know

 

Check it out in the word, draw the line where God draws the line
The biggest need in the Charlotte Church right now:   we need to recommit ourselves to studying the Bible
We need to use the Bible with our families.    We need to be committed.  
We're cheating ourselves out of the joy of Christianity.
When we know and obey the Bible, we're happy.
Jesus -- "he who is ashamed of me and my words"   do not be ashamed to name the name of Jesus or to use the words of Jesus
Recommit yourself to studying the Bible
God Rocks -- and God's rock is the foundation