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No Excuses

2/5/2017

Beginning Discussion: Have you ever been asked to do something good that you thought you weren’t able to do? God sometimes gives us challenges like that so that we put our faith in Him. There are times when God has called upon certain people to use the abilities He has given them so that great things can be done for His glory. What special abilities has God given you?

Devotional: When God appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush, Moses learned that God expected him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The first thing that came to Moses’s mind were excuses - all of the reasons why he couldn’t lead Israel.

Read Exodus 3:10-14

Moses’s first excuse was “Who am I?” That was his way of saying that he wasn’t an important enough person to do this great work. God simply tells Moses, “I will be with you.” When we want to make the excuse that we are not good enough to do something for God, we need to remember that He has promised to always be with us. It’s not about us. It is about Him. When we give the excuse “Who am I,” God tells us “I AM WHO I AM.”

Read Exodus 4:10-12

Another excuse Moses gives is that he is not good enough at talking to people. Have you ever thought this about yourself? The Bible tells us that we are to tell others about God, but sometimes we (even adults) get scared and nervous. That is how Moses felt in Exodus 4. Just like with the other excuses, God perfectly answers Moses. He says, “Moses, who made your mouth?” That was God’s way of saying that he only asks us to do those things that we have been made to do. We all have been made to tell people about God, and God has promised to help us when we do.

DISCUSSION: What are some ways we can talk to people about God and Jesus? What do people need to hear from us? Why do we get nervous talking to people about God? How can we overcome our nervousness?

Prayer: In your prayer, thank God for the abilities He has given you and ask for His help in using them to His glory.

When No One Is Looking

1/30/2017

Beginning Activity: Have a conversation with your family about what makes something right or wrong. Is it ok to do something wrong if you know you won’t get caught? Is it ok to break one of God’s commands if everyone thinks it is ok or if they are all doing it? Is it ok to sin if it is something that won’t “hurt” anyone else? For example, would it be ok to take one piece of candy from someone who had so much candy that they would never miss it? After your children answer these questions, ask them what makes something right or wrong.

Devotional: Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Even though parents should not have favorites, Joseph was Jacob’s favorite. This made his brothers so jealous that one day they sold him as a slave to people who took Joseph to Egypt. Joseph’s life in Egypt started in the house of a very important man named Potiphar. Even though he was a slave, Joseph was a very good and dedicated worker for Potiphar, and Potiphar trusted Joseph with everything he owned. One day when Potiphar wasn’t around, his wife tried to get Joseph to be her husband instead. Joseph knew this was wrong, and this is what he said to Potiphar’s wife . . .

Read Genesis 39:9-10

Joseph knew that what Potiphar’s wife wanted him to do was wrong. Even if Potiphar never found out, it was wrong. Even if no one else ever knew about it, it was wrong. Even if some people thought it was ok, it was wrong. Acting like this woman’s husband was wrong because God said so, and that is all that really matters. The Bible tells us that Potiphar’s wife kept trying and trying to get Joseph to sin. So one day, Joseph did what you sometimes have to do when other people want you to sin — He ran away from Potiphar’s wife. Then she lied about Joseph and got him put in prison for something he didn’t do!

Read Genesis 39:20-21

Even though people lied about Joseph, God was pleased with Joseph and watched over him all throughout his life. Even if people mistreat us or make fun of us when we choose to do what is right, we can know that God always watches over us too. We can have confidence that God sees everything and always keeps His promises.

DISCUSSION: Why is it sometimes hard to do the right thing? What can we do when it feels hard to do what is right?

Prayer: In your prayer, thank God for always watching over us and ask for His help so that we make good decisions and obey His commandments.

Count the Stars

1/23/2017

Morristown Church of Christ is journeying together in 2017 through "The Story" - a chronological study of the Bible. Each week a devotional like the one below is provided to guide individuals and families through the Bible. These can be used for personal reflection and conversations among families. We hope this 2nd devotional of the series blesses you.

Beginning Activity: With your children, diagram your family tree beginning with their names at the bottom of the page and go up each generation as far as you can. Use this to illustrate how God’s promise to Abraham led to the births of Isaac, Jacob (and Esau), and Jacob’s 12 sons who then gave rise to the tribes of Israel.

Alternative Activity: In addition to or in place of the activity above, go outside on a night when you can see the stars. Try counting (or have your children count) the stars. How many did you count? This is what God had Abraham do in Genesis 15.

Read Genesis 15:1-6

Devotional: Before his named was changed to Abraham, an old man named Abram was given a vision by the Lord one night. Abram and his wife Sarah had never been able to have children. On this night, however, God took Abram outside and asked him to count the stars. Then God said, “This is how many children you will have.” The Bible says that Abram believed God. The word “faith” means trusting in what God has said. When he is known as Abraham - at the age of 100! - Abraham and his wife Sarah were blessed by the birth of the son that God promised them. His name was Isaac. Isaac would have children, and those children would have children. Many, many years later the family tree of Abraham would lead to the birth of another son of promise - Jesus.

Read Galatians 3:29

By believing in Jesus, we too get to be a part of Abraham’s family of faith. That means that we are like one of those many stars that God had Abram count in the sky on that night so very long ago. Abraham did not know how God would keep all of His promises, but Abraham knew that God would. That is the same kind of faith we can have in our lives.

DISCUSSION: What are some of God’s promises that you have a hard time believing? How can God’s promises to Abraham help you believe in all of His promises to us?

Song: Father Abraham
Prayer: In your prayer, thank God for being a promise-keeper and allowing us to share in His promise to Abraham through Jesus.

The Good and the Very Good

1/16/2017

Morristown Church of Christ is journeying together in 2017 through "The Story" - a chronological study of the Bible. For each week of The Story, we will provide a devotional like the one below to guide individuals and families through the Bible. These are designed to be used for both personal reflection and conversations among families. If you would like more information about The Story or about how to use these guides, please contact Morristown Church of Christ at (423) 586-8343 or by email at morristownchurchofchrist@gmail.com . Be blessed and be a blessing!

Discussion Starter: Name something that you think is good. Examples may include good food or a good movie or a good place for having fun.

Now name something that you think is VERY good. What is the difference between something being good and something being VERY good?

Devotional: Genesis 1 tells us that God took six days to create everything. Beautiful, powerful, and special things took place on each of those days. God was making the universe and Earth EXACTLY the way He wanted it. Creation shows us that God is both the most creative artist and the best builder there has ever been.

Read Genesis 1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:21, 1:25

QUESTION: When God makes something new in these verses, what is said?

In saying that “it was good,” God was pleased with how everything was turning out. Each day, something new was taking place, and it was always just the way God wanted it. But then Genesis says something a little bit different.

Read Genesis 1:26-31

DISCUSSION: Why does Genesis 1:31 say “it was VERY good?”

Making human beings completed everything God wanted to create. It was only after making us that His Creation was “very good.” While everything God has made is special, we are the most special part. God made each of us special, and His Story is about just how much He loves us.

PRAYER: Before praying, have family members share something that they think is special about each other. Thank God for what makes us special and His love for us.

God's Inheritance

1/6/2017

A few weeks ago, one of our church’s mothers posted on Facebook a picture of her daughter’s worship sheet.* I had preached that Sunday on John 1 where Jesus amazes Nathanael by revealing his personal knowledge of Nathanael even though they had never met face-to-face. The young girl’s sheet perfectly summarized the passage and its application in our lives today. The picture has Nathanael asking, "How do you know me, Jesus?" The Lord replies, "Just know I know you."

Full disclosure requires me to tell you that the mother who posted this picture is my wife and the young girl is our 8-year-old daughter. I hadn’t known about the sheet, however, until I saw it on Facebook. The sheet got me thinking – What am I doing as a father to help instill in my children a sense of who God is and His place in their lives?

            Psalm 127:3-4 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.”

            Children are an inheritance that God gives us during our time on earth. He gives them to us temporarily, and it’s on us to introduce them to the eternal. We shoot them like arrows into the future, and while children sometimes don’t land where we aim, their launch is greatly influenced by us.

            I say all of this to offer one last plea and encouragement to our church family and our friends, especially those who live in the Lakeway area: This coming Sunday we begin a church-wide effort known as The Story that will guide all of us together through the Bible in the coming year. It is a chronological study, so you get to see how God’s story has unfolded throughout time. One of the best things about The Story is that it engages all ages in a way that children, parents, and grandparents are all learning the same things at the same time. In this way, it helps us take our inheritance of children from the Lord and launch them into life on a trajectory of faith, hope, and confidence in the Lord and the story He is writing in their lives.

            We begin The Story this Sunday, January 8 with Bible classes at 9:30am and Worship at 10:30am. Books for all ages are provided by the church at no cost to you. If you would like more information about The Story, please follow this link: http://morristownchurch.wixsite.com/thestory . From there, you can also register so that the appropriate number of books can be ordered. Feel free to call the church building at (423) 586-8343 or email us at morristownchurchofchrist@gmail.com if you have any questions.

            Let’s make the most of God’s inheritance and help future generations make God the author of their story.

*The sheets are an idea we borrowed from a congregation in Georgia where a daughter of two of our members attends. It helps children stay engaged with worship by keeping track of songs, Bible passages, and key words used in the sermon. If you would like more info about it, feel free to email us at the address above!

Your Story for 2017

12/29/2016

A recent study reveals that 62% of Americans want to read the Bible more, but only a third of us read it on a weekly basis (www.americanbible.org/features/state-of-the-bible). That sounds like a lot of New Year’s Resolutions, doesn’t it? We say that we want to do something new or reach greater heights, but we continue with the same old behaviors.

Who do you want to be in 2017? Would you like to grow spiritually and actually follow through with that resolution? Do you want to understand the Bible in new and exciting ways?

Morristown Church of Christ invites you to join us for “The Story” in 2017. The Story is a fast-paced, chronological study of the Bible that helps participants grow in both their knowledge of God’s story for mankind and His purpose for each person.

If you are reading this, please consider it an official invitation to join us at your earliest convenience. We kickoff The Story on Sunday, January 8 with our 9:30am Bible classes. Every week, our Sunday worship gatherings (10:30 AM & 6 PM) and Bible classes (Sundays at 9:30 AM and Wednesdays at 7 PM) will take us through The Story, one Bible story at a time.

The Story is designed for all people, regardless of your familiarity with the Bible. Bible classes for all ages are provided, and each week is designed for all classes to cover the same topic. This allows all ages to learn together, grow together, and share together as they journey through The Story. Companion books for all ages will be provided by the church at no cost to you to aid your personal study at home. Parents will also be provided with take-home sheets from their children’s Bible classes that reinforce each week’s lesson.

If you would like more information about The Story, please follow this link: http://morristownchurch.wixsite.com/thestory . From there, you can also register so that the appropriate number of books can be ordered. Feel free to also call the church building at 423.586.8343 or email morristownchurchofchrist@gmail.com if you have any questions.

What will your story be for 2017? Who will write it? If you want God’s Story to be Your Story, we would love for you to join us on this journey through God’s Word.

When the Pharmacist Is Sick

11/28/2016

Walking into my local pharmacy this past weekend, I saw a note on the door that read, “Pharmacy is closed today due to illness.” Everyone – including the pharmacist – gets sick. I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony, however.

The note also got me thinking about who I am as a minister. Just as pharmacists sometimes get sick, I have my ups and downs spiritually. But if I am spiritually unhealthy, how can I serve those who seek my aid? The Apostle Paul told a young minister named Timothy, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16).

Scripture shows that this principle applies to all Christians. Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”

Is your spiritual health in such a place today that others can come to you for encouragement, instruction, and restoration? Do you know of Christians to whom you can turn for such healing?

It has often been said that the church is to be a hospital for sinners and not a hotel for saints. If we are to be such a hospital, then we need to make sure that we are not carrying and spreading the very illnesses we need to be treating. This does not mean that we put on the pretense of hypocrisy. It does mean that we pursue spiritual health for both ourselves and those we treat. A pharmacy can’t dispense medicine when the pharmacist is sick, and the church can’t dispense spiritual healing when plagued by sin.

Jesus once asked a lame man, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:6). Jesus alone could make that man walk, and Jesus alone can cure us of sin. May we be blessed in seeking the spiritual healing that only He can provide, and may we bless others in pointing them to the Great Physician.

The Others

11/15/2016

How do you feel about the “others?”

We all have others. They’re the people who seem different from us. They may include people who don’t look like you, speak your language, share your background, think like you, vote like you, or worship like you. They can be people who have more or less education, money, health, beauty, fame, or influence. They can live in a different country, a different state, a different neighborhood, a different street, or just a different kind of house.

Jesus once asked, “And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?” (Matthew 5:47). We tend to gravitate towards those most like us while ignoring the others. And in so doing, we are really no different from the others.

Jesus once accepted an invitation to dine at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. Even though Jesus was a fellow Jew committed to God and Scripture, Pharisees viewed him as an “other.” The Pharisees had lots of “others.” That’s the problem with otherness. We can always find a new way to classify and divide fellow human beings in such a way that we demonize or marginalize them as something “other.”

Simon’s dinner party ended up being crashed by another kind of “other.” In Simon’s eyes, she was nothing more than a sinner, the worst kind of other. He seethed as this woman of ill-repute showered the Lord with her tears and oil. All Simon could think was “How could a man – especially a supposed prophet – having anything to do with a woman like her?”

Jesus could have viewed both Simon and the woman as others. Instead he graciously accepted the Pharisee’s invitation to dinner, and he graciously accepted the kindness extended by the woman. They both were sinners in need of grace. Only one recognized and received that need.

Jesus taught us both in his words and actions that we are to love others as we love ourselves. The willingness to love others is to be the ultimate distinguishing mark of Christians. Too often, though, we turn ourselves into an isolated tribe while leaving the others to fend for themselves. Even worse, we may contribute to their otherness by ignoring or ostracizing them.

There will always be others. The test for us is how do we view them, speak of them, and above all, serve them. Does it mean we always agree with them? Certainly not. Does it mean that they always respond to us with gratitude? They ended up killing Jesus. And in his death, Jesus continued to love and serve others, including you and me.

The world will always look down upon others. If you respond in kind, you become just like the world. You have been called out of this world to love others in a way the world has never seen. When you do, others will be blessed. And so will you.

Eat, Drink & Be Merry

11/7/2016

   The phrase “Eat, drink and be merry” is often associated with a mind that only thinks on worldly things and avoids considering the eternal. After all, they were the last words of the Rich Fool in Luke 12:19. He was a man who was prepared for the good life of an early retirement. The only problem was that he hadn’t prepared for a far more important future. God tells him, “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

Tragically, too many souls have followed the Rich Fool and his “eat, drink and be merry” philosophy.

But the Bible also teaches that more of us need to live with an “eat, drink and be merry” mindset. No, we don’t need to be think like the Rich Fool. Instead we need to adopt the thinking of Ecclesiastes 8:15. There Solomon declared, “So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.”

In the context of Ecclesiastes, Solomon was not advocating for a life of recklessness or self-indulgence. Instead he was promoting the contented life. At the beginning of Ecclesiastes, Solomon acknowledges that he is a man who had everything this world could offer. He was the Old Testament’s version of the Rich Fool — eating, drinking, and living by any pleasure he desired. But it all led him to conclude that such a life is vanity and grabbing at the wind. As the book unfolds, Solomon provides the keys that unlock a life of meaning. Among them is a person’s ability to be content with what he can control. Namely, he can work to provide enough food and drink for himself (and his family), and he can find contentment in leading such a simple, productive life.

     It is the same attitude found in Jesus’ prayer “Give us this day our daily bread.” It is also the basis of Paul’s teaching in 1 Timothy 6:8 - “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”

     The difference between the wise and foolish life is how we approach “eat, drink and be merry.” Too often we fail to find the contentment in Solomon’s “eat, drink and be merry” because we are too busy pursuing the Rich Fool’s “eat, drink, and be merry.” Choose wisely, be blessed, and be a blessing.

Honor

11/2/2016

Among the Ten Commandments, the Fifth Commandment is the first that addresses mankind’s dealings with one another. Commandments 6-10 tell us what NOT TO DO – murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, and covet.

But the Fifth Commandment stands alone in telling us what TO DO. Specifically, it says to honor your father and mother. And that’s not all it says. Unlike the other nine commandments, the fifth one comes with an addendum. The Apostle Paul calls it a promise in Ephesians 6:3. The promise says, “that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land” (Deuteronomy 5:16).

I’m confident that you want things to go well in this land. In less than a week, the United States will select a new slate of leaders. It’s no secret that this has been the ugliest and least inspiring election in many of our lifetimes. Honor has often been missing in both the conduct of candidates and in the conversations among citizens.

In teaching us to honor our parents, the Fifth Commandment laid a foundation for all human relationships. After all, we first learn how humans engage with one another in our families. As we see our parents honor each other (1 Peter 3:1-7), and as we show honor to them, we learn how to fulfill a more challenging command – “Honor all people” (1 Peter 2:17).

Can we honor all people in the United States today? Can we honor people who look, think, talk, live, vote, and believe differently than us? You may be thinking, “But not all people act honorably.” That is true. It still doesn’t change the “all people” of 1 Peter 2:17. You can honor those who aren’t honor-worthy by treating them not as they are, but as they can be.

It is easy to live up to low expectations. But when we show honor to all, we set a higher standard for one another, a standard that believes we all are made in the image of God. Isn’t that how He has dealt with you and me? He honored us by being so humble to come to earth, be identified with us, and put up with all the inconveniences of us less-than-honorable types. Jesus did not have to honor anyone. Instead he chose to honor everyone.

Theories abound as to what’s wrong or broken in America. Maybe it’s as simple as we don’t honor one another like we should. For our political leaders (even the ones you don’t like or vote for), military men & women, law enforcement officers, school teachers, and more . . . a return to showing honor could go a long way. But we will never honor those distant from us if we fail to honor those closest to us. From the way little children speak to mommy and daddy to the regard teens hold their parents to the care adult children give their aging fathers and mothers, the honor one generation shows another serves as the building block for a healthy society.

Of all the commands that God could have laid as the foundation for Israel’s human relationships, He selected “honor your father and mother.”

Before we debate government policies and political candidates, maybe we should all adopt a policy to honor one another. Will it solve all of our nation’s woes? Probably not. But it sure looks like a better approach than what we see playing out in society today.

Many are calling for us to pray for our nation, and we should certainly pray. But if we don’t honor one another – starting at home – then prayer is futile (see 1 Peter 3:7).

Honor your spouse. Honor your neighbor. Honor your enemy. Honor the president. Honor all people. “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land” (Deuteronomy 5:16). Be blessed and be a blessing.