Scott's Thoughts- January 24, 2024

What a great turnout at family meeting on Sunday night!

It was a joy to share with you guys all that the Lord is doing in and through our church! I consistently leave Sunday evenings amazed at how God has built, and is still building, His church here at Slater!

Tonight is our midweek activities! A quick rundown of the agenda:

- 6 PM: Dinner, provided this week by our brothers and sisters at Mountain Hill Church! We will be carrying food out to our shut-ins as well, so if you are free to come a little early and help connect with those folks, that would be great!

- 7 PM: two different things kick off at 7:

1. We will be studying The Lord's Prayer togethe rfrom 7 to 7:30

2. Recovery ministry will be meeting upstairs in the Crossroads room.

- as an aside, this group is going to an out of the way spot so that they can create an environment of transparency, safety and anonymity. Parents, please talk to you children about how important this is, so that they will restrict their playing to downstairs areas!

-7:30 PM: 

1. small group prayer meeting - we will be gathered around tables in smaller groups and praying together!

2. youth will head upstairs for smaller groups at 7:30.

There are a couple of others things that we are hoping to accomplish on Wednesday nights as well! Would you pray about potentially serving in any of these areas?

1. We have an opportunity to partner with Marietta First Baptist and go door to door at Bigfoot Trailer Park, praying and making connections with the residents there. We could use one or two people for this.

2. As the days get a bit longer, we would love to connect with our homeless population. If you have a heart for this kind of ministry, consider serving in that way!

3. We would love to have our grade school children have their own Wednesday night small group from 7:30 to 8. Let us know if you can serve!

Let me tell you all about it...

Last week's text: Romans 7:13-20

I mentioned in passing last week that there are three things that never lead to change. Those three are:

1. Fear: people will not change for good simply because they are afraid. Fear of death, fear of consequences, fear of pain; none are sufficient motivators for true, lasting change.

2. Facts: people will not change simply because we have given them more information. Lack of information was not what led them to the point they are in; more information will not get them out.

3. Force: people will not change because we force, push or manipulate them into change. This is the hardest for me, personally. When I know what someone should be doing, it's challenging to refrain from some form of coercion or manipulation to get them to do it. But even if they did, it wouldn't last.

So, what leads to change? The answer to that question will tie in very well to our sermon this week, so let me give you four things that lead to change, and you can dig through Romans 7:21-25 and see how you see this at play in the text:

1. Repent: true, God-given, God-oriented repentance leads to change. This can't be fabricated, it can't be rushed, and it can't be manufactured by anything inside of me. Thomas Watson, in his book The Doctrine of Repentance, writes “Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.” 

2. Relate: after repentance, relationships with other believers, meeting consistently for the sake of prayer and encouragement, is the next key to change. We need one another, but we especially need one another if we desire to see change.

3. Reframe: Through repentance and relationship, we begin the process of creating new patterns of life and thought, new ways of thinking, and new life! 

4. Repeat: do it over and over again, until new habits are formed.

This is the pattern for change. It isn't easy! Which is also part of this weeks text.

This week's text: Romans 7:21-25

We finish the chapter this week with one of the most relatable declarations in the New Testament. We often feel exactly what Paul is describing; the key question is this: what do we DO about it? Think through these questions as you are preparing for this week's sermon:

1. Count up how many times you see the word "law." How many did you count? Do you think Paul always means the same thing when he uses this word in this passage?

2. Read 7:22. What does it mean to "delight in the law of God?"

3. What does Paul ultimately see as his only hope (24)? How is Christ our hope in this fight against sin?

Songs this week:

Victory in Jesus

His Forever

His Mercy is More

Your Will Be Done

See you Sunday!