Saraland Christians » Purposeful Living

The Most Terrifying Scripture

ajones — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:30:15 +0000

I once heard a minister say that we need to take 1 Corinthians 13 more seriously. He noted that although it is often read at weddings as a sweet and charming description of love that the first three verses of the chapter are the most terrifying in the Bible. I have also come to believe that the first three verses are terrifying and address the root of most of the problems I have as a person focused on good works: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” -1 Cor. 13:1-3 It is striking to me that the passage in no way belittles the works themselves; conversely, it describes these works in utterly spiritual terms. Surely a person who can speak in the tongues of men and angels is spiritual. Surely someone who can prophecy or who has all knowledge is the epitome of spirituality. Surely someone whose faith can move mountains or gives all of his earthly possessions to the needy has a perfect faith. All of these people are doing good works, even great works, but it is of no use to them because their works lack love. Did you notice that? He didn’t say their works were fruitless because they lacked correct knowledge or because they didn’t get it “right” in some other way. In fact, some of them had “all knowledge.” These people are condemned for doing good works, perhaps in God’s name, without love. You might read this and say, “Yes, but works are important.” I certainly agree, but this passage tells us something more. It tells us that they are not the most important, and they are, in fact, worthless without love as their motivation. Imagine the impact we have on our hearts and the hearts of others when we display our “godliness” without love. How must it seem to those who do not know Christ when we are doing great works in his name without love? What if I want to prevent abortion and in working against that I don’t show love toward the women who seek abortions or toward the doctors who perform them? It is possible that I might win them over to my point of view, but without love, I will never show Christ to them. I can also easily deceive myself because I will have accomplished a seemingly “godly” task without godliness at all. And this is the scariest part to me: I can fool everyone else into thinking I am godly because of my seen works, and I can even deceive myself into thinking that because I “stood up for the truth”, but I cannot fool God. He says that without love as the base motivation for works in His name, I am nothing.

by Melanie Basham

Living the Holy Life

ajones — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:29:59 +0000

I Thessalonians 4 offers instructions on how to live the holy life, pleasing to God. Afterall, our aim in life should be to please Him. (So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
2 Corinthians 5:9 ESV)

To live the Holy Life, we simply need to:

1. Be Sanctified

2. Abstain from Sexual Immorality

3. Use Self-Control

4. Show Brotherly Love

1 Thessalonians 4: 1-12: Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Living in Gratitude

ajones — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:11:52 +0000

What does it mean to serve our God out of gratitude…

“On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” ” Luke 17:11-19 ESV

Listen to the series: Living in Gratitude

Special Lesson Series

ajones — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 01:26:59 +0000

Please join us Sept. 18th -21st for a special lesson series presented by Josh Creel of Orlando, FL.The study will focus on living in gratitude. Times and topics include:

SUN 10AM – Why We Should be Grateful

SUN 5PM – Grateful Christians Come Out of the World: A Culture of Perversion

MON 7PM – Grateful Christians Come Out of the World: A Culture of Stuff

TUE 7PM – Grateful Christians Come Out of the World: A Culture of Anger

WED 7PM – Grateful Christians Come Out of the World: A Culture of Pride

We hope you’ll join us!

Click Here for the Flyer with additional information.

Letting Your Light Shine on Facebook

ajones — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:18:20 +0000

There have been several articles written lately regarding the dangers to Christians on social networking websites like Facebook. As disciples of Jesus, we must always be on guard against Satan’s attacks, and Facebook can certainly be a medium for those attacks. However, I fear that some may have gotten the wrong idea about Facebook – particularly those who do not use the internet or are not familiar with what this particular website is. Moreover, even those of us who are on Facebook don’t always realize the potential that it has. With that in mind, I would like to say a word about why Facebook is so potent – both for good and bad – and then list a few of the positive ways in which a Christian can use this website. (I’m focused on Facebook because it is the most popular and “current,” but much of this applies to other sites as well).

It is important to understand that Facebook is neither inherently good nor inherently evil. It simply enables people to express themselves through posts, profiles, pictures, etc. In other words, Facebook is not evil or good. People are evil or good. The reason so many are alarmed by this website is because it exposes who people really are, and that can be both disappointing in others and frightening in ourselves. When we see people we thought had good and pure hearts posting sinful words or pictures (or ‘liking’ sinful things), the tendency is to think that somehow Facebook has corrupted them when, in fact, it is the other way around – they are having a corrupting influence on Facebook! Don’t misunderstand me. Evil companions corrupt good morals (1 Cor 15:33 ), and that includes internet ‘friends.’ Since Facebook is a venue for companionship, it certainly can be a medium for bad influence – but only if you are ‘friending’ evil companions. Again, it comes back to what is in your heart to start with!

But where the danger of corruption exists, so also exists a powerful opportunity to let your light shine before others (Mt 5:16 ). This is why I’ve been disturbed by what seems to be an implication by some that we’d all be better off if we just signed off the internet altogether. Are we being asked to “hide it under a bushel”? Any five year old bible class student knows how to respond to such a suggestion. Allow me to share just a few of the ways that Facebook in particular can be a powerful tool for a Christian.

Edification, Encouragement, and Confession

When you post something on Facebook, hundreds of people can see it. On my account, there are people from all over the world, and most are Christians. Should I not be using this as a means to build up my brothers and sisters (1 Thess 5:11 )? And what of encouraging one another? Are we only able to do that face to face? When a teenage brother in Birmingham, known to many young people in Alabama and beyond, died in a car accident last week, there were hundreds of posts offering words of encouragement to those who knew him and to his family. What a powerful blessing that must have been to young Christians spread out over the country! And what about our need to acknowledge Jesus before men (Mt 10:32-33 )? How many lost souls have heard the truth when a Christian has posted a passage, song lyric, sermon outline, or invitation to a study on their Facebook page? Even the ‘mundane’ day to day posts can show the lost that true joy and meaning come from serving the Christ even in the daily grind. If you are on Facebook, are you using it for all its worth? Will people reading your posts see your good works and praise God?

Groups and Events

Facebook has two features that are of added use to a Christian. One is the ability to create ‘groups’ that people can join. The creator and administrators of the group can then send messages to all those who have joined. Many congregations have found this to be an excellent way to rapidly spread information among members (e.g., prayer requests, changes to assembly times, meeting announcements, etc.). A creative person might also find these groups useful as a means to reach out to the lost (e.g., a bible study group among friends, etc.). Another feature is the ability to create an “Event” and invite people to attend. Since Facebook makes it so easy to invite everyone on your friends list at once (and for them to invite everyone on their friends list), this can be a ‘viral’ way of inviting people to a meeting or special study. In less than 15 minutes, you can “knock on the door” of hundreds if not thousands of friends and friends of friends.

Facebook Ads

Few seem to be aware of the Facebook Ad system. Every person who uses or visits Facebook has advertisements on their screen, and anyone can create an ad and purchase that ad space. Moreover, when you create the ‘ad campaign,’ you are given the option to specify who sees the ad. For instance, I can limit the ad to people living in a specific area who also have indicated an interest in ‘bible’ ‘christianity’ ‘truth’ etc. What makes this tool especially useful is the fact that the ad manager can choose only to pay when the ad is actually clicked rather than for each time it is shown. That’s like a billboard that you only have to pay for if people actually read the board! This alone makes it a far more effective way to advertise a congregation, gospel meeting, correspondence course, etc. than traditional newspaper or mailing campaigns.

Is Facebook dangerous? Absolutely. The world is dangerous, and Facebook is a part of our world. We must guard ourselves against evil companions and other corrupting influences (and on Facebook, that means frequent use of the ‘hide’ and ‘remove’ options). However, Facebook is also an incredibly powerful tool for Christians of all ages. The next time you log in, consider the fact that Facebook is a magnifying glass into your heart. What do people see? What does Jesus (who has internet access!) see? Are you letting your light shine before men? Are you using Facebook for the Kingdom?

-Article by Robert Ogden, reprinted with permission, Rants & Reflections

Ladies Day 2011

ajones — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:19:08 +0000

Ladies Day 2011: Growing Closer to God

Spend a day in God’s Word and growing closer to Him. Bring a Bible and a friend and come simply study the Bible with us. We have three wonderful ladies lined up to speak. Lunch will be provided.

View the mailer.

Walking the Jericho Road

ajones — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:42:16 +0000

On the Jericho Road, we find the good Samaritan and a call to be each other’s neighbors by showing mercy. Christ says “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:25-37). Listen to the sermons from this week-long series and learn about God and what our lives as Christians should look like as we begin “Walking the Jericho Road.”

Listen to the lessons

The Modest Mind

ajones — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 19:34:47 +0000

Our prayer for each other should be that God would give each of us a modest mind (heart). If we have a heart that desires modesty this will be reflected in not only our outward appearance (clothing) but also in the spirit that we carry with us.

Listen to the series:

Part one: The Modest Mind

Part Two: What Are You Advertising?

Creating an Environment for Truth

ajones — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:54:18 +0000

Do we falsely accuse others of heresy while shutting our minds to the truth. Do we create an environment that prevents open study?

Listen Here:
Creating an Environment for Truth
Jan. 30, 2011

They Will Know We Are Christians…

ajones — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:40:34 +0000

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples…” Jesus said that.

How do you think Jesus finished His sentence: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples…

…by the name that you wear.”
…by your abiding in the right doctrine.”
…by your functioning with the right sense of organization.”
…by worshiping in the right way.”

Without a doubt, each of those ideas is expounded upon in the New Testament and should have an important role in the life of the faithful Christian. But in John 13:35, Jesus didn’t mention designations, doctrine or deacons. He said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

A couple of years ago in VBS, we sang a song, “They will know we are Christians, by our love, by our love…” Do others know you are a Christian?