Walking with a Christian Worldview, 3

Here is the third installment of the Worldview Sunday School series. It is focused on creation and our creator.  We know that He is the creator, but we need to recognize His place and our place in relation to Him.

Worldview 3, notes

Worldview 3, audio

Walking with a Christian Worldview, 2

Here is the second installment of the Worldview Sunday School series. It is entitled, The Center of Everything. Indeed, our God is (to be) the enter of all. We know that He is the creator and the sustainer of life, but often we remove Him from His place as the focal point of our lives. I believe that we need a fresh look at God and the role that we allow Him to play in our lives, as He will not force His way in.

Worldview, 2 (notes)

Worldview, 2 (audio file)

Walking with a Christian Worldview, 1

For the next few weeks, I will be teaching a Sunday School class on worldviews. I thought that I would try something different and post the audio of the class and the related handout. Should you be interested, enjoy.

Worldviews, Lesson 1 Notes
Worldviews, Lesson 1  (audio file)

Walking with a Thankful Heart

Happy Thanksgiving

In our busy world, it is not often that we actually take time to stop and smell the roses, er, coffee. And yet, when we do pause for a moment, we can easily see that we are incredibly blessed. God has been so good to us.

Family

• God has blessed me with a fantastic wife. Bec has been a wonderful helpmeet over the years, assisting around the home and in the ministry.

• God has graciously given us three wonderful kids: Justin, Brianna, and Josie. It has been fun to watch each of them grow this past year as Justin finished college and began a career in IT, Brie continued in college, and Josie began preschool.

• I have been blessed with super parents (and in-laws). They are tremendous examples of godliness. God has provided me with parents that live their Christianity and exhibit Christlikeness as they live each day. 

• And then I think of my brother and sisters. While this has indeed been a challenging year for all of us, it is encouraging to see how God has blessed and continues to bless. We all have faced different challenges, but He has shown Himself faithful as He met/meets needs.

Job

• While not what I expected to be doing, God has provided a job that continues to pay the bills and meet the needs of the family. By the way, I abhor www.chewy.com.

Church

• We have been blessed to be a part of Cedar Hill Baptist Church in Dillsburg, PA for the past year. I have had to opportunity to teach Sunday School as a part of a rotation of teachers, so that was enjoyable.

Home

• God has graciously given us a great home. It is not only sufficient for our needs, but exceeds them. It is more than we could expect.

Provision and Protection

• The family has been blessed with good health over the year. While there have been the occasional sniffles and sneezes, we have had good health over the year. We deal with aches and pains (maybe, FedEx has something to do with that), but overall good health. As we drive, work, and play, God has protected us from serious harm and injury.

• God has met each need that we have. We may not have an abundance of cash in the bank, but the bills are paid and their is food in the cupboard.

There is so much more that could be stated, but you get the idea. Our God is great and wonderful and He continues to demonstrate His goodness to us. Let us continue to be thankful in all that we do.

Walking Day by Day

Whether one uses a day-a-time calendar, a monthly calendar, or a digital calendar, we must all recognize that one day follows the other and time continues to move along. We may speak of how long a day was or how quickly time flew by, but surely each day is followed by the next and time moves on. The great question for us is, "How do we use each day?"

1. What have we learned?
2. What have we taught?
3. What have we accomplished?

Having goals, dreams, and aspirations is great, but our greatest desire should be to serve God faithfully where we are. 

Daniel was over a thousand miles from his home when he was in Babylon, but he still found a way to faithfully serve God. Whatever his circumstances, whether in the king's court or in the lion's den, he was fully committed to his God. Life may have (many) ups and downs, but God is still in complete control. We need to trust Him and allow Him to do what He does so well. 

As God grants us time, we need to use that time to accomplish His will wherever we find ourselves. We may be at home, at work, or at school. We might be near family or around the world on the mission field. We may be a part of a team or flying solo. Wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we must keep God in first place in all that we do.

I have more on this topic, but this is all for now.

Walking by the Tree

The message Sunday night was from Luke 19, the story of Zacchaeus. Some of the thoughts that I had while listening to the message.

1. The crowd
1. They passed judgment
1. on Zacchaeus
2. on Jesus
2. They stood by on the sidelines
3. They missed out on the blessings
2. Zacchaeus
1. He was determined to see Jesus
2. He was changed by Jesus
3. He was humbled
4. He was accepted by Jesus
5. He was found by Jesus
6. He was redeemed by Jesus
3. Jesus
1. He had a plan
2. He moved with a purpose
3. He sought out the lost
4. He saved the lost

This is not a complete list, nor is it completely fleshed out. It is just a series of ideas that came to mind during the message on Zacchaeus.

Like a Walk in the Park

Well, it is Monday, July 3. I work tonight, am off tomorrow, and resume the normal schedule on Wednesday. Today, as with most Mondays, I get the day with Josie. Probably her favorite question any day, but especially on Mondays, is "Can we go to the park?" I try to accommodate when possible, but sometimes schedule or weather do not cooperate. Today, all is good, so we are at the Adventure Park in Mechanicsburg - popular place. Safety and security are never a concern, neither is the source of the next meal, snack, treat, etc. Simple childlike trust that all will be well, so let's play.

Then come the adult years. Dreams come and go and life gets real in a hurry. College choices, degree choices, job choices, location/relocation choices. Marriage, housing, church, etc. Day after day, choice after choice. Each choice carries consequences and the consequences help to reroute us on our path. Life is one "re-calculation" (GPS-speak) after another. And yet, the little children simply look forward to the next time we visit the park or the next visit to the play area at Chick-fil-A or McDonald's. The adults pray for guidance and direction, for God to provide wisdom, discernment, for jobs and provision. We may get discouraged and disappointed when our goals and plans do not come to fruition, but all the children want the next time to have fun.

If all that we truly want is to glorify God, then He should be able to direct us along the path He chooses, whatever and wherever that should be. If He reroutes us, then "Fine." We must simply be willing to go and do what He asks. Just as we expect the little ones to obey, so we are expected to obey. We just follow. God never promised that life would be easy, nor did He say that it would go according to plan. He did promise to never leave us.

And so, we continue on the path that we travel, waiting for the next set of instructions, we exercise patience, trust, and obedience. If we can trust God with our eternal destination, we can surely trust Him with our day-to-day lives, even when life does not make sense. We just trust as the little child at the park.

Enjoy and have fun.