DYSMAS CONDUIT
FREE FOOD
(Isa 55:1)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2009
Question for the day: Who will you be “hanging out” with on Christmas?
What can we pray with YOU about today?
Good morning,
This is just a reminder that every day, while we are studying God’s Word to add to our website, someone from our ministry, Dysmas Conduit, is holding you up before the Lord in prayer. May He greatly bless you today as you pursue His will and He is glorified through you.
God’s blessings, our love,
George & Sidney Granger
Today’s Chapter in God’s Word
Titus 1
Listen at
http://www.audiotreasure.com/webindex.htm
CURRENT PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please pray for Mike and Sandy Brommer as they spread the Lord’s Seed and witness to His glory while on the road today. Please pray also that the Lord will lead them to Kingdom-profitable loads to carry, and that He grants them safe passage today.
Please continue to pray for Billy Hamburg. He had surgery Nov 19th and 2 more tumors were found, He is in a lot of pain. Please pray for the Lord’s Hand to help him overcome his anxiety as well as the cancer.
Good Morning, Church!
Pastor Greg Finke
"Now you are the body of Christ,
and each one of you is a part of it."
1 Corinthians 12:27
This first week of Advent, we have been talking about "incarnation." "Incarnation" may be an obscure theological word to you, but it is the one word that best describes what God was actually up to when He got Himself born in Bethlehem and began living His life among us as a human being. (If you missed Sunday's message you can catch it here.)
So what does the word "incarnation" mean? It means "to be made flesh" or "to be given bodily form." So when we say Jesus is God incarnate, we are saying Jesus is God made flesh or God in bodily form. Or to put it another way, Jesus is God with skin on.
We have also seen that because Jesus is the incarnation of God, He, therefore, lived incarnationally. As people got to know Jesus, they got to know God. They got to know God's grace and truth. What was Jesus' secret weapon for living incarnationally? Jesus knew how to hang out with people. He knew how to BE with people. As Jesus was among people, eating with them, listening to them, talking with them, He was able to make known the Good News of the
Now, here's what's really important to the redemptive mission of God in the world. Not only that Jesus was God-incarnate and that He then lived incarnationally to make God known to people, BUT we (you and me) are now the incarnation of Jesus. Huh??
Yes, we are the incarnation of Jesus. We are the body of Christ. We are Jesus with skin on to other people. Paul put it this way in Colossians 2:9-10, "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ..." Wow! So, the fullness of the Deity lives in Jesus in bodily form and now the fullness of Jesus lives in us in bodily form!
Jesus is the incarnation of God to us, and we are the incarnation of Jesus to the world. Jesus is God with skin on to us, and we are Jesus with skin on to the world. And just as Jesus lived incarnationally among us so that God would become known to us, in the same way, we are to live incarnationally in the world so that Jesus will become known to them.
But here's the key: Don't over-think this. This is not harder than we thought...it's easier and more fun. Jesus is already living in us. His Spirit dwells in us through our baptism. We are already the incarnation of Jesus to the world. What we tend to miss out on is the incarnational living part - the part where we live life with people, enjoy people, hang out with people so that as they get to know us, they get to know Jesus; they get to know His grace and His truth. We are usually so busy we don't have time for people. Some of us don't even know HOW to hang out anymore. We need to watch Jesus in the Gospels and re-learn the skill of hanging out with people. We need to watch Jesus and rediscover the value of hanging out with people.
Why? So that by hanging out with us people get to know Jesus.
I know some of you didn't entirely understand the point of having BBQ's in your neighborhoods when we talked about that earlier this year. But that was the point: Whether it's a BBQ or a smaller gathering around a fire pit, or an invitation for a glass of wine and conversation, we intentionally create an excuse for hanging out with people. To what end? For what purpose? So that over time, by hanging out with us, they can get to know Jesus.
You see, by being with people, hanging out with them, eating with them, listening to them, talking with them - as the defenses go down and the trust goes up, they will allow us to see further into their lives. And as they talk with us about their hopes and their fears, they don't realize it but they just turned the conversation spiritual. And when they do that, what they are really saying is, "Could you please share with me some Good News about the
It's called "Incarnational Living," and it's easier than we thought and more fun.
For the rest of the week, begin to figure out how you can decelerate a little and begin living more incarnationally with the people He has already put you with.
Be wise and be Church!
Pastor Greg
…and…
TURNING POINT
Dr. David Jeremiah
Growing Strong in Your Faith
Part 1
Thursday, December 03, 2009
The antics of children never cease to amaze us.
But we understand that at each stage of their development
they are learning from their choices and even their mistakes.
But, as they grow older, we give them
more responsibility and expect more from them.
Our ultimate goal? That they will grow into mature adults,
setting an example for the next generation.
In this message, we'll learn that God desires
the same kind of growth in our spiritual lives.
Series: Living in the Light
VIEW OR LISTEN AT
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Turning_Point/
GDLC Message: http://www.gdlc.org/worship/sermons.aspx
Please send your prayer requests to
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