Sunday Mind Dump - January 20, 2013

I started a new message series today from I Timothy.  It felt really good to get back into the Word with a consistent series (after all that holiday emphasis in December, and end-of-year business talk the first two weeks of January) and dig down deeper into the content.

The only bummer is that the recording failed, so we have no CDs available.

I could tell that a few people were not tuning in to the message.  Their area of interest is outside of what’s contained in the Pastoral Epistles.  However, I know that our congregation needs to hear this teaching more than some people realize.  This is going to be a game-changer for us.  Here’s why:

After this series (and possibility subsequent ones from 2 Timothy and Titus) we will be more deliberate about installing (or ordaining) more pastors in PCC and/or a variety of other leaders.

This won’t happen in six weeks.  But it is on the things-to-be-accomplished-list in 2013.

The music was exceptional today.  As I was soaking it up and getting caught up in the presence of God, I had the thought that we should sing again at the end of service. 

The name of the song that resonated with me was, “A Thousand Miles”, but the hook line from the song was, It’s Your Mercy that Draws Me Near.  I thought it was a needed emphasis (at the end of service) especially after hearing such a strong word about/from the OT law that brings such heavy conviction.

If you would like to hear it on You Tube from Integrity Music, the link is HERE.  BTW, I think PCC does it just as good as these folk do.

I like what Paul said in v.11, “The law is good if one uses it properly.”  The law should always be tied to the gospel, otherwise people end up condemned with no way of escape. 

The law is like a thermometer that lets us know we are sick.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is the medicine that provides the cure.

At least three people indicated that they were committing to Christ today.  That’s why we do what we do.

After service there was a youth-team leadership meeting and lunch.  I hung back with them to fellowship and share a meal together.  After eating, they got down to the business of plotting out a strategy for the first quarter.  Also on the agenda was planning for summer camp.  Very glad to see all these high-capacity people with a heart for teenagers.

There’s no real way to describe all the things God is doing right now.

NEXT SUNDAY’S MESSAGE:  God’s Deliverance from Guilt

Somebody, somewhere, (reading this) has lost more than they ever imagined they would.  However, nothing, not one thing you’ve lost is impossible for God to restore.

That’s the message of grace… and is exactly why Timothy needed to silence the false teachers in Ephesus who were putting people in bondage.

Come next Sunday for a message of deliverance and liberation.