Church Clean-up (June 23, 2012)

Please comment below with your name if you wish to volunteer to clean the church - inside and outside. Clean-up will be Saturday, June 23, 2012 from 11 A.M. - 2 P.M.

Thought For the Week

"God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me."
-Author Unknown

Church Clean-up

Please comment below with your name if you wish to volunteer to clean the church - inside and outside. Clean-up will be Saturday, June 16, 2012 from 11 A.M. - 2 P.M.

Thought For The Week

I couldn't have said it better myself!

"Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

Who Is Your Commander?

Philippians 3:1-2, 4:4-9; 13

Hebrews 2:17; 4:15-16

I recently viewed the movie Red Tails about the Tuskegee Airmen. In this movie the pilots would all go to their commander first to get their flight orders and then carry out the missions they were given. This reminded me of our daily lives as Christians. With God as our commander we are given instructions to carry out in our daily lives. Whether it involves something seemingly major or something small, like paying a stranger a compliment, it is so important that we trust Him completely that whatever the task may be, it will have an impact. Whatever we are sent to do, trusting God has to be such an integral part of our lives that we begin to take action without second guessing ourselves. The key to not second guessing ourselves is starting to believe that He has provided direction, protection, and given us ability through Christ. It is as simple as literally telling ourselves, "Okay God, I know you didn't bring me here just to be here. Whatever I go through I know it is by You." If trusting our commander is still a struggle, think of the Bible as the map. It contains very detailed and explicit directions for whatever we may face. When a "map" is not handy, there is always the Holy Spirit (some call it our good conscience). Think of it as the GPS to carrying out the will of God.

If second guessing yourself and God's voice is a struggle just remember this. The enemy only wants to take us back to where God has delivered us from. The enemy will never tell us to help someone else but only will try to discourage us from doing so. We are all going places, whether saved or not. Just make sure that Christ is our commander.

Be Well,

Pastors Hines

Steps Toward Prosperity: Wisdom

1 Kings 3:5

Proverbs 3:16-18; 4:5-8; 8:21; 14:12

You would be hard pressed to find anyone, believer or non, who does not have a desire to be prosperous. The mistake that we often make in striving for prosperity, however, is in equating prosperity with wealth. Although a part of prosperity, money is not the primary piece. Aside from the acquisition of money prosperity involves so much more. One pivotal part of prosperity that is frequently overlooked is wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to see and respond to life from God's perspective. No matter what life brings, wisdom enables us to face it with grace and take it in stride. In our quest for prosperity one of our first steps needs to be to seek God for His wisdom through both prayer and by reading His word. A great place to start in the Bible is the book of Proverbs. Often referred to as the Book of Wisdom, Proverbs gives examples of how to handle virtually any situation wisely. Proverbs 3:16-18 lists the benefits of wisdom. It is no coincidence that these are what one would consider the definition of a prosperous life. There is also the example of Solomon in 1 Kings chapter 3. Deemed the wisest man to ever live, Solomon requests wisdom above all else from God and immediately begins to walk in prosperity. This is the posture that God wants us to take. Forget wealth and material things. Wisdom, first, is the way to prosperity.

As always be well,

Pastors Hines

Thought For The Week

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

-Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.