Saturday's Devotion & Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's Devotion and Rejection verses are Hebrews 10:24-25
These are about meeting weekly as a church family and it more so much more than that also.  This is what the Wednesday night "Your Walk with God is a Community Project" study is about.
For information the different classes and times go to www.westcannon.org/ministries
Note that some of the class times have changed.

Here is part of a devotional entitled A Lifestyle of Community.  To read the whole devotional, click HERE

A gospel amnesiac is someone who, in the middle of the duties and responsibilities of everyday life, forgets their identity in Christ and the new morning mercies they’ve been given by grace. In other words, every Christian who ever lived is a gospel amnesiac! 

It’s so easy for us to forget the gospel. That’s why the author of Hebrews tells us to stir one another up. By meeting regularly and encouraging each other, we’ll be reminded of the Lord Jesus. It’s much harder to forget the gospel when you’re surrounded by community. 

But if I’m honest, I don’t always like the idea of Christian community. First, it tells me that I’m not the independent person I think I am. I want to be like Frank Sinatra and say, “I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.” 

God ordained Christian community precisely because I can’t face life on my own. The fallen world will bring me to my knees, and if I did do life my way, it would be a complete and utter disaster

You can also read about seven ways church members should prepare for a sermon at http://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/2016/04/seven-ways-church-members-should.html

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Friday's Devotion and Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's Devotion and Rejection verses are 1 Timothy 6:10-11

Flee, Reject, the love of money and stuff.
Pursue, Devote yourself to righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness for God's glory.

Here is a quote I believe shows parents what these verses are challenging us to do.

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Thursday's Devotion & Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's Devotion and Rejection verses are Philippians 2:3-4.
Devote yourself to loving God and others.
Reject selfishness. 

The New Morning Mercies devotional for September 14th begins with the following statement:

The disappointments of relationships are many, but his grace is sufficient - in fact, it is made perfect in your weakness.

The devotional identifies the problem

Sin causes each of us to be selfish in the real sense of what this word means.  It makes us more demanding than serving, more accusing than forgiving, more defensive than approachable, and more critical than understanding and patient. 

It then clearly provides the answer

The hope for your relationship is not to be found in you or in the others in those relationships.  Hope is found in a third person who has invaded your relationships by his grace.   

You can give yourself to love, to forgive, to confess, to confront , to trust, and to persevere even when things are hard, because "he gives more grace."

The Bible reading for this devotional is James 4:1 - 10

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Wednesday's Devotion & Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's verses are 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
We need to take time to reflect upon what salvation is.

In God's Word, he provides us with two Biblically commanded reminders of salvation:

• Baptism  -  Matthew 28:19-20
• Communion  -  1 Corinthians 11:17-34

The Old Testament is filled with laws, events, and celebrations to remind the Israelites of God's faithfulness.  

Communion and Baptism are symbols given by God to remind us of Jesus Christ.

There are many other ways we can remember God's faithfulness.

During Sunday evening's message, I mentioned reading Christian biographies.  I specifically referred to the Swans Are Not Silent series.
One of the great things about this series is digital copies of these books are FREE. 

1. The Legacy of Sovereign Joy
2. The Hidden Smile of God
3. The Roots of Endurance
4. Contending for Our All
5. Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ
6. Seeing Beautiful and Saying Beautifully
7. A Camaraderie of Confidence

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Tuesday's Devotion & Rejection

This week I am daily posting verses and resources to help us keep our focus on God.
These resources and this past Sunday night's sermon were meant to build upon Pastor Doug's morning message "The Joy Placebo" from Isaiah 5:11-17

Today's verses are Romans 1:16, 17
"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.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'"

The Gospel Primer is a book that has helped me think about and lean upon the Gospel more and more.  I have posted about this book several over the last couple of years.  This is an extended quote connected to Romans 1:16.

Outside of heaven, the power of God in its highest density is found inside the gospel.  This must be so, for the Bible twice describes the gospel as "the power of God"  (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18).  Nothing else in all of Scripture is ever described in this way, except for the Person of Jesus Christ. (1 Corintians 1:24; 8   Such a description indicates that the gospel is not only powerful but that it is the ultimate entity in which God's power resides and does its greatest work. 

Indeed, God's power is seen in erupting volcanoes, in the unimaginably hot boil of our massive sun, and in the lightning speed of a recently discovered star seen streaking through the heavens at 1.5 million miles per hour.  Yet in Scripture such wonders are never labeled "the power of God."  How powerful then, must the gospel be that it would merit such a title!  And how great is the salvation it could accomplish in my life, if I would only embrace it by faith (Hebrews 4:2, Ephesians 1:18, 19) and give it a central place in my thoughts each day!

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection

Monday's Devotion & Rejection

Last night, I preached a sermon that built upon Pastor Doug's morning message on Isaiah 5:11-17.
I really wanted to use this opportunity to remind West Cannon Baptist Church that we need to regularly, consistently regard the deeds of the LORD and see the work of God's hands.
The first way we do this is by spending time in God's Word.

I shared seven different passages, one for each day of the week, to help each of us remember different things God has done and how He wants us to live.

Each day of this week I am planning to post some resources to help others think about that day's passage.

Monday's verses are Matthew 28:19, 20.

It seems that Monday mornings are challenging for most people.  People are coming off the weekend and getting back to the weekday routine - school and/or work and so many other things.

You may have come from a great Sunday of worship and fellowship at church and then it comes.
Monday!!
This week devote yourself to glorifying God and not building your own kingdom!

But think about this the disciples and the church are told to go and make disciples not wait for people to come to your church building.

In the challenge of Monday morning, these verses remind us that we have a task:
Go and make disciples through our words and deeds this week.
This disciple making task is so much more than just passing on information.
This disciple making task is to teach people how to live out Jesus' commands.

In the challenge of Monday mornings, these verses remind us that God has provided what we need to do this task:
Himself.  "Behold, I am with you always to the end of the age."

Let's remember we have an impossible disciple-making task and we have an all-powerful God!!

To share Jesus, we must rely upon Jesus!

To help others find their joy in Christ, we must find our joy in Christ!

HERE is an 8 minute video study of this passage.

For other Devotion and Rejection posts, go to https://drodgersjr.blogspot.com/search?q=Devotion+rejection