Diary of a Wimpy Church - week 7

Diary of a Wimpy Church - Week 7
Covenant Church - Shepherdstown, WV
Sun, Jul 10, 2011 at 9:00am to Sun
Message by Pastor Terry Crawford

Bible Reference 1
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1 Corinthians 7:1 (NASB)
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Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.


Bible Reference 2
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1 Corinthians 7:26-27 (NASB)
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I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.


Singles and Jesus
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Single people can commit their full focus on the work of Jesus without relational obligations.

Bible Reference 3
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1 Corinthians 7:32-35 (NASB)
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But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.


Marriage Commitments
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Married people have real marital obligations and commitments to one another and their children.

Bible Reference 4
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1 Corinthians 7:1-5 (NASB)
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Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.


Bible Reference 5
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1 Corinthians 7:10-11 (NASB)
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But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.


Happy or Holy
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God does not exist to make you happy but to help you become holy.

Focus on Jesus
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Whether you are single or married, our focus should be on Jesus.

Single's Devotion
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Singleness is not a curse but a wonderful opportunity for undistracted devotion.

Unbroken Marriage
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God made marriage for one man and one woman with the intention that it would be unbroken and marked by oneness.

God’s plan
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Sexual activity and a faux living together outside of a legal marriage is not God’s plan for followers of Christ.

God and Divorce
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God hates divorce but allows it in cases of hard hearts lived out in adultery, abandonment or abuse. (These do not have to end a marriage if repentance, reconciliation and healing occur.)

God Heals Broken Marriages
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God is able to do the impossible with your broken marriage if you will allow Him the time and authority necessary to work in your marriage.

Further Reading
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Ephesians 5:21-33 (NIV84)
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Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church– for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.


Further Reading
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Colossians 3:18-19 (NIV84)
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Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

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Good or Bad

43 "For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:43-45, ESV)

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Household of God

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,t but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God byt the Spirit.
(Epheians 2: 19-22, ESV)

Grow in Grace

2 Peter 3:18 ESV

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

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Salvation for Everyone

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16-17, ESV)

Nick of Time by Tim Downs

Review


The newest installment of “The Bug Man” novels, finds Nick getting married. But, will the happy day actually arrive. After Nick gets a letter from a friend to meet at a month Vidocq meeting, he leaves four days before he is to get married. Nick soon discovers his friend is dead. The investigation leads Nick to the Poconos and into a heap of trouble. Alena, Nick’s fiancé is in search of Nick after he fails to call her. Conspiracy with a Sheriff of a small town and FBI soon engulfs the story plot. Will Nick find the answers he is in search of, will Alena locate Nick, and will the wedding happen.


The story draws you in and holds your attention. The smart sarcastic humor is refreshing, compared to so much stupid humor in our culture. The plot of the story twists through out. The end of the book sets you up for the next in the series, but I won't spoil it for you. This is the first book in the Bug Man series I have read, but I plan on going back and reading the other books. Excellent read.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Picture Perfect – Faith

Covenant Church - Shepherdstown, WV
Message by Pastor Terry Crawford


Note 1
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God isn’t looking for perfection, He’s looking for an obedient faith.


Bible Reference 1
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Deuteronomy 13:4 (NIV84)
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It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.


Bible Reference 2
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John 14:15 (NIV84)
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“If you love me, you will obey what I command.


Bible Reference 3
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Hebrews 10:1 (NIV84)
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The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.


Bible Reference 4
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Matthew 23:27 (NIV84)
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“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.


Note 2
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Outward perfection may hide inward disconnection with God.


Note 3
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Obedient faith out of a heart of love for God pleases him.


Bible Reference 5
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Hebrews 11:6 (NIV84)
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And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.


Note 4
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Faith is more about persistence and perspective than it is perfection.


Bible Reference 6
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Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV84)
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Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.


By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.


Question 1
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What moves you? Is there a people group you ache for? Is there an area in your community that you can’t stop thinking about? Is there a ministry you’ve wanted to start, but keep talking yourself out of because you are “in your mind” a nobody and how could God use you? Do you have God’s perspective or yours? You don’t have to be perfect, just obedient.


Bible Reference 7
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Hebrews 5:7-9 (NIV84)
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During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him