In today’s service, we delved deep into the essence of worship, understanding it not as a mere suggestion but as a vital necessity in our spiritual journey. Just as daily medications are essential for our physical health, so too are worship, prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship crucial for our spiritual well-being. Worship is not optional; it is critical for our connection with God and our overall spiritual nourishment. Neglecting worship can lead to spiritual malnutrition, impacting every facet of our being. Therefore, we must engage wholeheartedly in worship, allowing God to be in control and experiencing His transformative power in our lives. Worship is not passive; it is a profound connection with God that refreshes us spiritually, physically, and emotionally, akin to hooking a hose to a faucet for life-giving water to flow freely. Let’s not forsake true worship but embrace it as a joyful privilege and a vital part of our Christian walk, enriching our lives and deepening our intimate connection with our Creator.
The message revolves around the profound significance of forgiveness in our spiritual journey. Starting with Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness in Matthew 6:14-15, the text emphasizes the pivotal role forgiveness plays in our relationship with God and others. It delves into the consequences of unforgiveness, likening it to a barren desert that hinders spiritual growth and God’s blessings. The message then shifts to the toxic nature of unforgiveness, drawing parallels to a poisonous substance that corrupts our souls and relationships. Through biblical references and reflections, it highlights God’s model of forgiveness characterized by grace, kindness, and reconciliation. Practical steps to forgiveness are outlined, emphasizing acknowledgment of hurts, letting go of bitterness, prayer, seeking reconciliation, and imitating God’s forgiveness. The conclusion underscores forgiveness as a commandment, a pathway to freedom, and a means to experience the fullness of life in Christ, urging us to embrace forgiveness wholeheartedly for spiritual restoration and abundant blessings.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
2 Corinthians 2:17, “For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”
Here the apostle Paul gives us a practical example of a person living out of God as his source.
The three special phrases in this verse– as of God, in the sight of or, [before] God, and speak we in Christ–are all ways of describing how Paul’s speaking was out of the source of God, and not out of himself. His ministry was proceeding out of God, before God, and in Christ.
When we are redeemed and regenerated, we are ushered into the realm of the new creation, where God begins a process in which experientially the old things start to pass out of our lives.
The old things are related to our self as our point of reference.
We lived out of our own impulses, our own choices, our own thoughts.
But now we begin to live by revelation, that is, by what God has revealed to us in His Word.
It is when we live by revelation that God becomes our source.
He reveals to us the purpose of our human life.
We no longer take man’s views and concepts as the basis of our human existence.
Revelation unveils to us God’s eternal purpose, which is the purpose behind the created universe.
This revelation causes me to be a person who is living to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, with the many brothers in the church (Rom. 8:28-29).
Thus, we are squarely planted in the church life, with Christ as the focus and reality of our daily life.
We do not live by our own thoughts–what we think we should do.
We live by the unveiling of God’s heart’s desire for His Body, the church, where Christ is all and in all.
It is by this unveiling that God becomes our source.
The Spirit teaches us, through the Word, to be persons who are living a life in complete accord with God’s heart’s desire.
Our daily life begins to proceed out of God as we learn to live out of Him as our source.
Until Tomorrow
With A Shepherd’s Love,
Pastor Jackson
THURSDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Wayne Adams Family
Junior Stephens Family
Tom Graham (Sandra’s Husband)
John McClain’s Mother
Amy Garner
Amy Garner’s Mom & Dad
Andrew Halevi & Daughter
Ashely Burn’s Sisters
Coly/Connor – Allison’s G’sons
Dan Haines
Darlene Wiggins
David Burnette
David Harrison – Riverside
Deanna Fowler
Denise Hulsey – Jordan’s G’mother
Donnie Butler’s Dad
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Drew
Easton Fielder
Ed Mays
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Faith Burnette
Freddie May’s Mom
George & Linda Alexander
James Burnette
James Garner’s Friend
Joanie/Jeanie Mom
Jodi Bateman
John Austin
June Cronan’s Sister
Junior Stephens
Kailey Bateman
Kim McClain’s Mother
Krista Hilscher
Larry Barker
Lee Cronan
Lillanna Magnusson’s Mom
Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah
Linda Hodges’ Sister
Lonzo Christin
Lori Blount’s Mother
Mary Sims
Marynell Ford
Maureen Brown
Michael Stanley
Miles Bradshaw
Nora Allison
Pastor & Mrs. Driskell
Ricky Gipson
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Roseleigh Osborn
Sandra Graham
Scott Lanier
Soso Nzolo – 17 Yr. Old South African Pastor’s Daughter
Susan & Alexis Tesone
Susan Mosley
Tom Witcher