Sunday Morning Reflections…
Things I saw / heard this morning
1. Another great attendance for July…does anyone go on vacation?
2. Music was awesome…it was really cool to see Gerald leading with Mark beside him…can you say all-star team?
3. Gerald told me afterwards “you are blessed to be at this church…your people are amazing.”
4. Choir and A. Driggers rocked the house out with her song…If I knew how to dance I would have been…powerful…not the dancing but the song.
5. Met 3 young couples this morning that were first time visitors…every Sunday is someone’s first Sunday.
6. Saw a family being baptized this morning (mom and two kids)…it you knew their story you would have broke down when they were “dunked.”
7. Have a great Preschool meeting this afternoon…we have some of the best and most committed volunteers.
8. What’s Happening Video was very creative…taken from the show “the office.”
9. They used my office for the video (I was on vacation)…heads will roll tomorrow.
10. The staff is working really hard to bring you an amazing weekend for Leadership Conference…all I can say is that it is going to be a blast.
July 28th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Another great sermon! I compiled a list of things that I am tempted to (and sometimes do!) love more than Christ and compiled a list of things I have done, or could do to combat that temptation and follow Him. Here it goes.
Things I’m tempted to love more than Christ:
My hard earned money
1) My wife, Erin.
2) My home (all my stuff is there)
3) Vacation
4) Football
5) That comfy couch in front of a tv that comes with a remote.
6) Sleep
7) My reputation or appearance
9) This list could go on for a long time…
Things I have done/could do to keep Christ first:
Regularly plan giving, and live under my means so that I can give be free to give without worry.
1) Prayer. (Obvious, but sometimes hard to follow through on.)
2) Get my family involved in ministry at the church or other places.
3) Take a mission trip for a vacation.
4) Become an Alabama or Miami fan. The Falcons are doing their part on Sundays from keeping this from becoming too much of a temptation already. (Ok. Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)
5) Cancel the cable for a year. (Or longer.)
6) Keep a regular schedule so that I’m not so sleepy all the time.
7) Spend time watching other people who do openly share the gospel.
9) Prepare earlier for responsibilities rather than procrastinate.
10) Obviously, I’m in need of a lot of grace from the Lord if I’m going to keep Christ first. But the most important thing that helps is knowing that the footstool of the Father’s throne is a place of joy!
Rev. 2:17 - “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.”
I’d love to hear how Christ has enabled others of you out there to overcome the world in order to place Him first!
Jason
July 28th, 2008 at 6:23 am
Oops. I guess an “8″ and a “)” result in a
July 28th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Husband and I had decided that this past Sunday was the day when we would make the leap into finding a church! We both grew up in an Assembly of God church, and that is what we were looking for. However, I came across SEVERAL AWESOME reviews for Southside, so I began looking into it (after all, it is probably less than a mile away from where we live). After scoping out the website, I discovered the multimedia section and this blog.. I started listening to the Jesus Uncensored series one night, husband heard and came and sat beside me. We then scoped the blog out for a while.. and decided then and there that Southside would be our first church to visit.
Sunday was awesome. My daughter wasnt a bit scared going to the nursery, in fact she jumped right down and took off running towards the toys, and my son slept in his room. I felt very comfortable right off the bat! The music was great, the message was great.. all in all it was a great experience. There were those who were more dressed up than I was, and those that were less dressed up than I was.. so I felt comfortable! I love the fact that your website addresses that you love and accept all people. A breath of fresh air to step away from the typical “you must fit the mold of A,B,&C only, otherwise you are not a true Christian.” I’ll have to get used to the lack of hand clapping during the music (I cant help but get *pumped* during praise/worship times, makes me wanna clap and move a little), but Im most definite that we will be back either Wed PM or Sun AM! Thank you for a great start to my week! Im already looking forward to our next visit!
July 28th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Awesome thoughts, Jason! I could address each of your thoughts, but I’ll just address one: I definitely think you should become an Alabama fan!
Lacey, great to have you and your family here Sunday. I’m glad you had such a great experience. I love to clap as do others in the church, but there are some who just can’t do it…maybe with our combined clapping powers, we can rub off on some of them. Again, thanks for visiting Sunday and if you need anything, let me know!