Getting Your Lenten Bearings!

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Benton KY

14 minutes ago

Feb 26, 2013 2:05pm

Join us at First Christian Church in Benton this Lent and Easter as we all learn how to make our paths straight as followers to the cross. God has a plan for all of our lives, let us learn how Christ has made our paths straight and well illuminated.
Easter 2013 will be on March 31st of this year. I want this Easter to be one in which we raise the roof in praise to our resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is my personal invitation for you to bring a friend, a family member, a neighbor, or that person that passed you on the street. My prayer is that the sanctuary is full of God's people singing and praising the name of Jesus. God calls us to gather every Lord's Day in worship, but we should surely be together as church family as we praise the one who was arrested, beaten, killed, and resurrected for our sins that we may have eternal life. Today I have planted the seed in good soil and pray that the soil is nurtured to a full bloom on Easter morning.

Our Daily Workout With Jesus!

Recently I have started working on my weight (going down not up) and I have figured out that the weight is much harder to take off than it was to put on. Seeing a nutritionist , eating right, and working out with a trainer at the gym.

As I sit in my office and long for the food that I can no longer eat, while anticipating my next workout/torture with my trainer, I'm beginning to think that this is going to be a journey of work. Yes, I'm prepared to do the work to lose the weight, even if it kills me (just kidding, I really hope not).

How many of us remember our parents telling us that hard work is the only way to achieve and accomplish things in our lives. Well the same thing goes for our relationship with Jesus Christ as well as it does for our losing weight. 

2 Timothy 3:14-17 

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

In our Lenten journey we often think about what we are going to give up for Lent, but my encouragement  for us all today is in asking: "What are you going to take up"? "What workout needs done in your Christ relationship"? "How will you strengthen your Christ knowledge, as to shed the weight that your lack of a workout has put on"? 

2 Timothy 3:14-17 tells us that our acquaintance with the Word of God will equip us for all the work in our lives. Yes our spiritual life and growth constantly need fed as to deepen and strengthen what Christ has planned for your lives.

Some of us may think that this workout simply involves sitting in a pew each Sunday for worship, well that is only part of it. The workout that you have with your study and relationship of Jesus Christ is one that must be tended to every day, as to make you strong spiritually and emotionally.

The church offers many opportunities for a Jesus workout, through the different study opportunities made available. Likewise, we have some very interesting studies coming up that you won't want to miss as you workout with Jesus. 

Workouts occur every day in reading bible devotions and finding a daily time to pray to the Master. God desires and wants relationship with you, this is one of the main reasons that Christ came to us in the first place. The only thing required of you is that you do our part of the work by using your God given "freewill" to go to him for a workout that occurs more than on Sunday's

Until next time, I'm Pastor Tim. 

Off to the gym!