Could, Should, and Love!

James 1:12 ESV

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

As I review social media posts over the last few weeks, it seems as there is much gloom and doom about the years 2020 and 2021. Whether it is a new President that many in the county are divided over or whether it is those that feel that God has taken His attention off of this world.

As I go through our community, I often here more of “what used to be” instead of “what we can do”. It seems as the world is in need of an infusion of happiness and excitement in relationship to our future lives and what the coming year may bring.

Some say that God cannot understand what I am feeling or why did He let this happen, why did God take his hands off the steering wheel of the world? I have also seen many people tell others, “don’t try to make me feel good, don’t unload your piousness on me. Don’t tell me how much Jesus loves me, when He lets this happen to me, us, and the world!”

I do agree that when one is feeling low and alone, empty sentiments are the last thing a person wants to hear. “It was their time”, “they are in a better place” and the Biggy: “I know how you feel”.  Beloved,   the Father truly knows how we feel, He made us and everything around us. He sent his Son Jesus to live among us and to feel what we feel, so He could take it away from us. He is the pioneer of humanity.

When we limit our faith in God, because of unanswered prayers or unanswered results, we limit what God can do and who God is. When we think of God in earthly description rather than heavenly description, we lose grasp of God’s purpose for us and for this world.

My prayer is that as we go into 2022, we will do so wanting to love others more and be thinking outside the box in regards to our relationship with others as well as our relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Know that God is God and God is going to do what God does, and that we play an eternal role in the “Masters Plan”. Be excited, because what we gain here on earth is truly not comparable to the things of heaven and our eternal walk with God and our never having to say “Good Bye” or “God Why” again.

Attitude is everything, faith is everything, and even though you may not think so, God is alive and at work this very second with His hands firmly on the wheel of the world.

Happy New Year. God has this!

Pastor Tim.

The Ten Dollar Bill at Christmas

“Love the Lord our God with all our mind, soul, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves” (Luke 10:27).

This Christmas season our phones at the church have been busy with requests for Christmas assistance, as we can we have been trying to assist whether it is directly or indirectly.  As we get closer and closer to Christmas day, our avenues to assist those in need are narrowing as time continues on.

Each time the church phone rings, the thought runs through my head that it may be somebody needing Christmas assistance. Well, this week the phone rang and this call changed my mood as well as my spirit.

The man on the other end of the phone line stated that he was looking for a church to make a cash donation, and would I be in my office. A few minutes later a man stopped by the office and told me about his recent baptism and coming into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The man had recently overcome struggle with addiction and was feeling God’s call to pay back, in word and in deed. As we talked, the man placed a $10.00 bill on my desk. With this a true feeling of God’s Christmas gift came over me.

Beloved, it is not the amount that we give, it is the fact that we give out of love and in appreciation for what God has done for us. The gift of our Messiah Jesus Christ is God’s true gift to His creation that was given out of love. 

The true meaning of Christmas giving is as Jesus said: "Jesus when he summed up the whole law said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul and strength and then love your neighbor, even real little ones. 

Beloved, my prayer for you this Christmas is that your joy in giving of yourselves to others will outweigh the feeling of receiving from others. When we give of ourselves, we truly remember the sacrificial giving that this baby would one day take upon himself on the cross for us.

Merry Christmas and Give Until it Joy’s

Pastor Tim.

Tim's Topics: You Are Forgiven!

Tim's Topics: You Are Forgiven!: Ephesians 4:32   ESV Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. I recently w...

You Are Forgiven!

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

I recently was reading a news article about a family, and I scrolled down to the replies and observed some readers not willing to forgive this family, or family member.

Likewise I recently read a social media post in which the person asked for forgiveness. It was refreshing to see the number of loving replies to that person, it was awesome to see love and forgiveness in such a great supply.

Today as we celebrate the first day of Advent, the hope in the coming of the Messiah is what we focus our strength and God’s guidance on today and this week. In this hope of the Messiah to come, we will see that His life, His ministry, and His story revolve around our hope in the promise of forgiveness and salvation.

Beloved, our call for today is to forgive others and to love others as Christ loves us. Our Creator God was hurt by our turning from him, as well as the way that we treated His Son. But as Christ hung on the cross, he said to His Father: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”.  Yes, God continues to forgive us in this broken and fractured world, likewise the call is more present than ever for us to forgive others as well.

The Hope of Christmas is in the hope that a baby born in a simple manger will bring to us, a world that truly needs to know what true love is about. My prayer is that this Christmas season you will feel God’s call to a new sense of hope and a new call to forgive someone that is hard to forgive. The forgiveness that you feel for somebody strengthens you as much as it strengthens the one asking for forgiveness.

Christ forgives you and I forgive you.  Go this week and forgive others.

Pastor Tim. 

Being Thankful for God's Grace and Forgiveness.

Matthew 7:1-3 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Judging Others

7 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. ² For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. ³ Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s^[a] eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?

In my fifty-two years on this earth, I have witnessed many elections. With each new election you begin to see society state that there is no way that you can be a Christian, if you vote for a certain candidate.

This is not exclusive to just one party, and again it shows society wanting to judge others. When we judge others, when we attempt to deem who is worthy for God’s grace and the kingdom of heaven, we attempt to take the place of God in the “who is worthy business.”

The most important topic that all followers of the cross must follow is this: Are you worthy, are you in right relationship with God? What steps have you taken to share the good news, rather than to condemn with it?

What is the cause that you are using to justify another’s unworthiness to be a follower of God? Are you making an earthly cause override God’s heavenly need for relationship, as well as His Son’s death on the cross for our unworthiness?

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, let us be thankful for Christ’s act of forgiveness on the cross, and let us be thankful that God is in charge of who is and isn’t worthy. Let us make our pledge this Thanksgiving and upcoming Advent season, to become a people that forgives more and accuses and judges less.

Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the Bounty and Blessing of God.

Pastor Tim.

Crossing Lines and Loving "ALL"

Mark 2:13-17 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats with Sinners

¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Since the election, we have seen different political sides continuing to take shots at one another. We see Christians telling other Christians that they are not worthy to be called a follower of Christ, because of who they voted for.

Likewise we find it hard to associate with others that have different political and religious views, than ours. Beloved, I have lived in small towns before in which I have heard “Preacher you may not want to be seen with me, I’m unpopular around here.”

The question that I pose in today’s blog is this? As followers of Christ, should we not associate with those that society deems unworthy? The text from Mark 2, shows us that Jesus fully understood that it is the sick that need physicians, not the healthy. Likewise, we as followers of the cross of Christ, are tasked with bringing the good news of Christ to all, and not just the “Cool Kids”.

Beloved, Jesus is here for the rich and the poor, the gay and the straight, the honest person and the criminal. Jesus is here for the citizen as well as the undocumented alien.

Does this mean that I side with a certain personality or lifestyle? No, it means that I side with Christ that tells me this to do. John 13:34-35. He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

My friends, being a Christian does not mean that we must take sides, but it does mean that we must not separate ourselves because of our differences. Who are you embarrassed to be with that needs to hear the good news? 

Whether the rich or whether the drug addicted in the street, whether the criminal, whether the most honest. Jesus died on the cross for them, the least we can do is have a meal with them and give of ourselves. 

Do not let a political election remove the love from your hearts, and instead of doing what the world says is right, do what Jesus Christ says it right.

This is the word of Jesus Christ for today and every day.

Pastor Tim.

Tim's Topics: God Has A Plan: Follow It And Free Yourselves From...

Tim's Topics: God Has A Plan: Follow It And Free Yourselves From...: Isaiah 58:6-12  English Standard Version (ESV) 6  “Is not this the fast that I choose:   to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo ...

God Has A Plan: Follow It And Free Yourselves From Bondage.

Isaiah 58:6-12 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁶ “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed^[a] go free, and to break every yoke? ⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? ⁸ Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, ¹⁰ if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. ¹¹ And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. ¹² And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

As I sat at my desk this morning, I began to think about the election, as well as all the questions that people have asked me about the coming election. I have even been asked about certain people making prophetic statements as to the outcome of the election.

As I went to scripture this morning, the text from Isaiah leaped off the page and into my eyes. The key theme in everything that God does and continues to do is out of relationship. Relationship with us and our relationship with others.

Beloved, what Isaiah is telling us is that true relationship and true witness involves Justice and Mercy for All!

God not only wants but demands compassionate behavior, not only because it is the right thing to do, but in the fact that it is pleasing to God. Whatever comes of this election, whatever comes of this world, Isaiah states that God will be our rear guard. 

There is a new exodus and a new age coming, with every action and event to represent God’s plan and will for His creation. Just as he laid out the plan to free the Israelite's from the Babylonians, he will free his people from whatever or whomever holds them captive.

Let us seek God out in prayer, while we remove oppression from the oppressed. Beloved, God still has plans for us that only He knows. Isaiah tells us the fulfillment of unfulfilled hopes and unfulfilled dreams.

Do not worry about what the world does, stay true to your faith, stay true to your God and continue on with the work that he has given each and every one of us.

God has our backs during the election tomorrow and he has our back through eternity, through his Son, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. 

So fast, pray, be in Sabbath, and let God do what God does.

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Pastor Tim.

You are more than appropriate!

Jeremiah 31:3 ESV

The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

Last year I attended the funeral of a fallen police officer in a very large community. As I parked our cities car among the hundreds of police cars, I was amazed at the sea of blue uniforms in attendance. But what struck me and made the topic of this blog is what I heard when I got out of the car.

“I should turn off my ring tone it is not appropriate for church, heck, I’m not even appropriate for church!” I took this as a Holy Spirit opportunity to witness for Jesus Christ, as I approached the officer and said the following. “Hi I’m Pastor Tim and I’m a Police Chaplain, you are always welcome in God’s house, and he thinks that you are more than appropriate”. The officer then replied: “Thanks Chaplain, I appreciate that”.

Beloved how often do people think that they are not worthy of God’s love and God’s grace? How many people have said to you, that if they walk in a church the ceiling will cave in or lightning will strike? As I overheard this officer make this statement, I began to think about all of the things that he and other police officers have witnessed. How often have they themselves lost part of themselves in the occupation that they have chosen?

Beloved, there is no hiding from God and nowhere that you can go that God can’t find you and love you. God has the power, love and grace to change hearts, and even the hardest souls. Never be afraid of facing God, because unending love is what God sent His son to die on the cross for. Christ paid our debt and has saved us even when we feel unworthy and not appropriate of His heavenly grace.

My prayer is that you will go inside the walls of a house of worship and meet the people there, called the church. There is nothing that the Father has not seen or witnessed to ever make us not appropriate to be in His presence.

You are Appropriate and you are loved.

Pastor Tim.

From Anxiety to Gratefulness

2 Corinthians 9:7 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁷ Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Last Sunday as I stood from the pulpit of my congregation and spoke God’s message for His people, I spoke about living life with an Attitude of Gratitude.  On Monday morning I lived with an Attitude of Gratitude, but on Tuesday morning I find myself working from my office at home as I await a plumber’s arrival to our home.  Yes, how can one have an Attitude of Gratitude when they are forced to spend money that has not been budgeted for such an item?

It seems as I am always worrying about something, and for many of us money or lack of it seems to be constantly on our minds. As we face this election year we have seen that secrets and personal information has been leaked about our candidates, information that has occurred in the past as well as recently. It seems as trust and the keeping of information has fallen to a low time moment, but it gives people an opportunity to be honest about their past, present, and future.

As a pastor, I am called to keep confidences. Keeping one trust and confidence is essential to the trust that one must have in their pastors. But as a pastor, my life is an open book and it will always be. In my life I have faced episodes of clinical depression and anxiety, which I have been able to keep a reign on, with the help of counseling and medication.  Every so often this depression makes itself known, especially when I feel that I or a member of my family have been treated incorrectly. Often people tell me not to take it personally, but they do not understand that for a person that suffers from depression, personally is the only way we know how to take it.

I am not ashamed to speak about my bouts with depression and anxiety, because I know that God has given me the strength to fight these battles and come out on the other side. When one struggles with periods of depression they see no way out, and they feel as they are the blame for what they are in every event that they face.

With this being said, what does this have to do with giving of Time, Talents, and Resources to your local church? My friends, it’s all about attitude and pressing our way through difficult situations by taking on the task at hand instead of burying the problem. We are called to be honest with ourselves and honest with others, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual ailments. Likewise the ministry must be honest with itself in its needs and requirements to stay healthy and vital.  

As you read articles on church giving and speak with many pastors, church giving is way down. Sharing the blessings that God has gifted us with seems to be a harder and harder task to undertake. As we sit down on a weekly and monthly basis where does our church come on the list of sharing your blessings? When we break down the needs of church ministry we must understand that to keep the doors open and God’s work continuing, the occasional dollar or two in the offering plate on Sunday will not keep a ministry operating (I say ministry, because the church is the people who minister, and praise God in a place of worship).

Beloved, God’s call for all of us is to be honest with ourselves in whatever we are facing. Likewise, we must be honest with the needs of our local church ministries, and how we are supplying the work and the funds to continue God’s work in this world.  Can you change a light bulb, fix a leaky pipe? Can you find a skill that you have to benefit God’s Kingdom? What are you grateful about and how can you share that for God’s glory?

As I sit here and await a plumber and pay him, I do so with an Attitude of Gratitude in the fact that God has given be abundant blessings, such as water out of a faucet and a roof over my head.

God has given us all our respective houses of worship and the Attitude of Gratitude is that it is not about money, it is about God and our work as the Body of Christ in it. So give cheerfully of your time, talents and resources with Attitudes of Gratitude. You will be glad that you did, and you will be grateful.

Thanks for reading, thanks for being grateful, and thanks for being cheerful

Pastor Tim. 

Tim's Topics: What is Your Passion and Writing About It.

Tim's Topics: What is Your Passion and Writing About It.: 1 Corinthians 10:31   ESV So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Recently I returned to ...

What is Your Passion and Writing About It.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Recently I returned to my University and Seminary homecoming. While there, many memories went through my mind. Memories of good times, and memories of times that I wished I had been a better student. On one occasion I remember turning in my final paper on Christian Doctrine, and I remember the professor saying: “It’s OK Tim, some people just aren’t writers!” I so much wanted to say that some people are not writers if they aren’t passionate about the topic.

Last night, I dreamed dreams and had great thoughts, due to the Holy Spirit or the Down on Main Hamburger I had for my evening meal. (I say meal, because being in the south I can never remember if dinner is dinner or if dinner is supper).

Last night I had dreams of the police chaplain ministry thing that I do, which I am passionate about. In this dream I was leaning over a child caressing his wounded head, when I saw and heard the Mayor of our small town look at me and say, “Do your thing”! With this I prayed over this child for healing and that he not be scared.

Last night it seemed that everything that I dreamed surrounded people and things that I love. When I woke up this morning, God had placed in my head that I must write about things that I am passionate about. God placed in my head that I must write that the world needs more passion, and it needs to exist more around another passion, the Passion of His Son Jesus Christ.

Last Sunday I was driving home from my university homecoming. While driving through my hometown I tuned in the local Public Radio Station and listened to the show called On Being. Poet, Educator, and Catholic Mary Karr was being interviewed about her new work “Astonished by the Human Comedy”.

“A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.” Mary Karr is beloved for her salty memoirs in which she traces her harrowing childhood in southeast Texas with a mother who once tried to kill her with a butcher’s knife and her own adult struggles with alcoholism and breakdown. She has a captivating ability to give voice to what is funny and wild in life’s most heartbreaking moments. Mary Karr embodies this wryness and wildness in her lesser-known spiritual practice as a devout Catholic — an unexpected move she made in mid-life. (Karr 2016)

In this interview Mary spoke about the human comedy and the fact that life events can be taken as a learning experience, or practice to continue on. Life experiences wake us up and help us to continue on. What is our true self? What are we passionate about? Karr states: “The same voice we use to criticize others is the same voice we use to criticize ourselves” (Karr 2016)

What I am speaking about today is that anyone can write, and anyone can communicate their true selves and true feelings, as long as you write with the passion that these experiences have placed within you.

Mary Karr was passionate about her Catholicism, but this passion was much more. As Mary spoke about finding her faith, her realistic life experiences were spoken with passion, the passion that over time eventually  led her to her faith.

The Passion that lives within the lives of every follower of the cross is that of the “One True Passion”. Jesus Christ, was betrayed, arrested, beaten, mocked, and crucified for our sins, for our life experiences and life failures.  

Mary Karr, writes with passion about her experiences with insanity, addiction, and with her finding a passionate faith when her life felt passionless.  The passion that Mary Karr speaks about really spoke to me. 

When Mary spoke about people gathering together in worship and communally surrendering everything of themselves to God.

My friends, what encourages you? What feeds you? What are you passionate about? My hope for you this week is that you will discover what gives you passion, and write, write, and write. 

For me the Passion of Christ, the agony, the pain, and the love in which he sacrificed himself for us will always be my guiding star. Jesus is all about passion in the fact that he gave His everything for us. The image of Christ hanging on the cross is what guides me to give everything for others, it is my passion.

This is the day that the Lord has made. May you find your own passion your own experience and write about it.

Pastor Tim.

Bibliography

Karr, Mary, interview by Christa Tippet. 2016. On Being (October 16).

Tim's Topics: Giving Everything of Yourselves in Thankfulness.

Tim's Topics: Giving Everything of Yourselves in Thankfulness.: The Widow's Offering 41 As Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd placing money into it. And many rich pe...

Giving Everything of Yourselves in Thankfulness.

The Widow's Offering
41As Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd placing money into it. And many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius. 43 Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more than all the others into the treasury. Mark 12: 41-43

Recently a person walked into our church needing assistance and as I listened to the persons plight, I was more than willing to help. As I dug into my pockets, I found that I only had sixteen dollars. With it being a week away from my payday, this was all the money that I had for the week. If I drove carefully, I would have enough gas and should have enough to get around. Eating lunch at home is a better healthier alternative than eating out.

Knowing that this persons need was greater then mine, I emptied my wallet and gave him everything that I had monetarily until my next paycheck. As I gave the money to the person they looked at me with eyes that were asking "Is this the best you can do"? I explained that this was all the money that I had, and hoped it would be enough for the moment. Rather then a thank you I got a head nod as the person walked out the door. I pray that my meager offering will bless this person and provide the maximum comfort possible.

I tell this story not to pat myself on the back, but to emphasize the fact that if a person is giving you all that they have it is more important then the money itself. Giving all that you have to a greater good is what the woman did when she placed all that she had in the treasury.

Giving everything that we have in love of God and care and concern for others is truly the call of those that proclaim to follow Christ. Those that receive the gift are called to understand the sacrifice that it took in the persons heart, in the fact that they sacrificed so someone else need not sacrifice. 

Beloved, when someone extends a blessing to you, make sure to at least inside yourself understand the sacrifice that the person has made for you. When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross, he gave everything of himself for our eternal forgiveness and salvation. It was more then two coins, it was more then sixteen dollars. Jesus gave everything, may we never forget to show appreciation. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

As we celebrate International Girls Day today, let us always be thankful for the woman and the two coins.

This is the day that the Lord has made, go out and be appreciative for your blessings and give everything that you have for His glory.

Pastor Tim.

A Vote for Neither. A Vote for God!

The views written are those of the author alone.

Matthew 23:23 ESV “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Like many in America this election season I find myself cast into the abyss of not knowing who to vote for and maybe not wanting to vote for either of them. I ask myself and also tell myself that voting for either Trump or Clinton will be voting against my Christian beliefs. Do I vote for Trump and be in fear of what he may do, or do I vote for Clinton and condoning what she has done in the past.

Today I was told that not voting at all is a wasted vote and that the person I don’t want to be elected may be elected. My answer to that is my vote will not be wasted as I do not support either of them, and my conscious as a Christian will be clear. Many people of faith, many that claim to be followers of the cross of Christ, will either vote for Trump or Clinton. What does this say about the values of this nation, what does it say about our Christian values?

 Which do we hold closest to the vest, our being Republicans, Democrats, Independents or Followers of Christ?

A 2005 article written by the Reverend Billy Graham titled The Unpardonable Sin Graham states that the only sin that cannot be forgiven is the one of turning our backs on God. “The Bible says only one sin is unforgivable -- and that is the sin of refusing God's forgiveness. If we turn our backs on God and refuse to have anything to do with Him, then we will eventually pay the consequences for our stubbornness” (Graham 2005).

The question that many followers of Christ must ask themselves is: “Is a vote for either major party candidate turning our backs on God by following those that have turned their backs on God in relation to their personal and public lives? This is a question that many Christians must ask themselves before they enter the voting booth this November. Is a vote for neither a vote for God? Is a vote for neither showing that our faces are facing God?

Beloved, these are just the thoughts of someone who is not a supporter of either candidate. These are the thoughts of a person that believes that America can do much better than the nominees that we have for the highest office in the land.

As Americans we have the freedom to make our own choices, what will yours be and have you truly thought about what God thinks about our choices? The Bible is clear, that no matter what we do and no matter what Trump and Clinton do, God is in charge. Jesus will return for His Kingdom, no matter how we vote, but I will face God until that day happens and never turn my back on my values and my witness to God’s Son, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Pastor Tim.

Bibliography

Graham, Billy. 2005. The Seattle PI. Accessed October 10, 2016. http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/The-only-unforgivable-sin-1173615.php.

What is Reality?

John 16:13 ESV 

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Recently a couple of comments made by my children got me to thinking about reality and what is truly real. One day my son who is a law enforcement officer on a University Campus stated that he didn't feel like the "real' police. And one day my youngest son who suffers from Autism spoke about his post high school education at a state run training school. As we drove through the campus of the University of Kentucky, he stated: "I wish I had gone to a real college like this"!

Beloved, how often do we think of who we are and what we do as being inadequate, at least in the world that we live?

My friends, each and every one of us is given a clear path to walk by God, and we are guided on that path by the Holy Spirit. 

My advice for my sons is that what you are doing and what you have done, truly is making a difference. When we do things in love of God, we call that ministry, and when we do things in ministry, they are truly real.

This does not mean that we should stop wishing and hoping and dreaming for better and bigger things, but it does mean that we can be and should be happy about the amazing things that God has done in our lives already.

The true reality of our existence is that God created us, God loves us so much that he gave His Son to die for us, and that Jesus is coming back. Until that time God has given us the Holy Spirit to walk with us step by step and to guide us along our way. 

Beloved this is the true reality that we can trust and it is the true reality that we can trust with our past, present and future.   

Be well in the reality, truth, and promise of God, this day and always.

Pastor Tim. 

Tim's Topics: Five More Minutes Could Be Too Late.

Tim's Topics: Five More Minutes Could Be Too Late.: Hebrews 9:28 So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to sav...

Praying for our leaders.

http://carrolltonchristianchurch.com/c/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/160918_0138.mp3

Pastor Tim's Message 9-18-16

Praying For Our Leaders.

1 Timothy 1:12-17

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Tim's Topics: How an Effective Shepherd Should Act

Tim's Topics: How an Effective Shepherd Should Act: Jeremiah 3:15   ESV  “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Recen...

How an Effective Shepherd Should Act

Jeremiah 3:15 ESV 

“‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Recently I saw an article that stated that churches do not like "Cocky" preachers. As I looked up the definition of  "Cocky", I noticed the definition in the dictionary states it to be self-assertive and self confident.

As we enter the era of everyone becoming a church pastor and church growth professional, I am sure that we will see an article next week that states churches do not like "Timid" preachers. The dictionary states that being "Timid" is to be one that lacks self confidence and one that is fearful and shy.

As we think of pastors and shepherds of a flock, would you prefer the Cocky or the Timid pastor as to lead congregations in the Word? Would you prefer a Cocky Pastor or a Timid pastor to guide God's people that God has entrusted to them?

In a perfect world which of course can only be of God, we would like a pastor who is somewhere in between, someone that is liked by everybody. But this is an imperfect world full of imperfect that thanks be to God serve a perfect God and a perfect Savior.

In a recent online storyline blog.com article lists the Top Ten Reasons Pastors Are Important:

1. They lead social movements that change the world.

2. They speak truths that create guardrails to keep us out of danger and stop us from hurting each other.

3. They introduce us and remind us about God, who redeems us and guides us in love.

4. They model good marriages and families (Your mind may have gone to an exception, but quickly list five who do. It’s an easy list to create.)

5. They bring people together to live and work in community.

6. They counsel hurting and broken people.

7. They bring the presence of God into the most dark and painful circumstances.

8. Most of them could be making lots more money doing something else, but they sacrifice to build God’s kingdom.

9. They put up with our crap.

10. Because without them the world would be unimaginably dark.

Would you rather have an Over Confident (Cocky) pastor or a Luke Warm (Timid) pastor? The choice is yours. Be bold my friends.

This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Pastor Tim.

http://storylineblog.com/2010/03/31/ten-reasons-pastors-are-important/