Scripture for Sunday, January 30th: II Corinthians 12:9

Sermon Title: One Month to Live - Learn Humbly

'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. II Corinthians 12:9

Rev. Kerry Shook, author of One Month to Live, writes about learning humbly:

"We've come to the third principle in our One Month To Live Challenge and it is probably the most difficult of all for most of us. People who face the end of their lives have a remarkable humility. They have to depend on others. They are no longer self-sufficient or proud. Yet in their weakness they have discovered a liberating truth. It is found in II Corinthians 12:9 (NLT). It's one of those difficult passsages where Paul, the writer, is struggling with an issue in his life that he is absolutely powerless over. He asks God to remove it three times. But God says, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.'"

Rev. Shook correctly points out that God uses those times in our lives when we are at our weakest to teach us the most powerful, life-changing truths. The question is never whether we will go through challenging times, which often are a result of our own mistakes or the mistakes of others. We will go through those times. The question is what will we do with those times. Will we allow those times to cause us to hurt our relationship with God and others? Or will we allow God to use those times to teach and instruct us so that we can become more like Him?

This coming Sunday morning I will discuss how we can use the hard and challenging moments of life to bless us and others. I hope to see you then!

Scripture for Sunday, January 23rd: I Cor. 1:18

Sermon Title: One Month to Live - Love Completely

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

If we knew that we had only one month to live, would we treat our loved ones any differently? I think for most people, the answer would be yes, of course. So the question is why do we treat them the way we do now? Rev. Kerry Shook, author of the book, One Month to Live, offers this insight:

"So why don't we live as if our relationships matter most? Why do we wait until people are dead to give them flowers? It seems ironic that most of us value relationships but don't expend the energy to invest in them fully. In hyperspeed hustle of our overscheduled lives, many of us tend to take others for granted. A spouse can become just another supporting player, a roommate who helps with the finances. Our children turn into people who burden our schedules when they need us to take them to school, soccer practice, or the mall. Family get-togethers become social obligations, like the company Christmas party. But if we only had one month to live, suddenly we would realize just how much we need other people as well as how much they need us.

If you only had a month to live, whom would you want to spend the time with? Whom would you need to apologize to? Who needs to be assured today that you love them? What keeps you from spending the time and saying these words now?"

This coming Sunday I will speak about how through the power of acceptance, loving actions and forgiveness we can love others in our lives completely. I hope to see you then!

Scripture for Sunday, January 16th: Mark 12:30

Sermon Title: Live Passionately

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

To live the way that God would have live, with passion and vigor, we must be connected to the source of Power, and is God Himself. Rev. Kerry Shook writes:

"People who know their lives will soon be over tend to feel a desperate urge to change. But a desperation to change is not enough. In order to sustain the changes, we have to be connected to a power source beyond ourselves - a power source that never wavers, flickers, or leaves us in the dark. We have to move from willpower to the real power that comes from a connection to our Creator. If you have come to the end of yourself and are exhausted from trying to control your life, Jesus offers you the invitation of a lifetime: 'Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real test. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace' (Matthew 11:28-29, MSG)."

Sunday, as we continue our series of messages entitled, "One Month to Live," we will discuss how to stay plugged into the power Source of living by truly loving God with all that we are. Hope to see you then!

Scripture for Sunday, January 9th: John 10:10

Sermon Title: Living the Dash

"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of" (John 10:10).

On Sunday we will start a new 6-week sermon series entitled, "One Life to Live." This sermon series taken from a book written by Rev. Kerry Shook with the same title. In the book he writes:

"Looking at old tombstones, I can't help but recognize that entire lives are now reduced before me to two dates and one little dash. Some monuments include facts or sayings, Bible verses or poignant memorials, but each person's life really comes down to what transpired between those two dates. It comes down to what's in the dash. I look at the dash of a particular person's marker and wonder, What did he live for? Whom did she love? What were his passions and dreams?"

As we begin a new year, I hope that we can together as a congregation ask those same questions - what are we living for? Who do we love? What's our passions and dreams? How can we make the best use of our "dash"? My father who lives in TX is now 85 years old. He is near the end of his life and I often think of him - after all these years he is still my hero. He has lived his life for my mother and his family - no one could ever question his commitment to them. God has always played an important role in his life and though he never had a lot of words to describe his relationship with God, he has never hesitated to talk about it. He has modeled for me what I should use my "dash" for - on relationships with God and others, particular family.

During this sermon series, let's review our lives, ask the serious questions and ultimately answer, "If I had one month to live, what would be the most important persons and things to me? How would I live my life? What would I do differently?" Read Psalm 90:12; James 3:13-18; Psalm 39:4-5; Philippians 3:20; I Peter 2:11; I Peter 1:24-24; Psalm 119:105; II Timothy 3:16-17; and Hebrews 4:12 in preparation for Sunday's message. Hope to see you then!