Scott's Thoughts 1-31-24

It is hard to believe that January is over!

It has been an incredibly active month, and we have seen the Lord do so many great things this month! As we end January, we begin our new series on the book of Exodus which, I may have mentioned before, I am really excited about!

Midweek services have been an incredible blessing too! There are so many great things happening on Wednesday nights! We still have a couple of opportunities available to serve for any who may be interested:

1. Ed Crowson has volunteered to help take food out to shut-ins!  It would be a blessing if anyone may be interested in sharing that load with him, or in serving as a back up on days when he may not be able to make it.

2. We would like to have our kids have their own discussion group after the large group discussion on Wednesday nights. If you are available to lead the kids for around 30 minutes or so, helping them think through what we talked about together and then leading them in prayer, let me know!

3. We have an opportunity to partner with Marietta First Baptist Church to reach Bigfoot trailer partk, a mostly spanish-speaking area that is nearly totally unchurched! Let us know if you are interested in serving there!

4. As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, we want to be intentional to locate and minister to the homeless in our area. Let me know if you feel led to serve in this place!

There are so many opportunities to serve on Wednesday night! Please pray about where God is calling you to plug in!

Last week's sermon: Romans 7:21-25

Self-awareness is a critical component for growth, both personal and spiritual. Having an accurate assessment of who you actually are, however, is incredibly challenging. I was reminded of this just this week in the gym.

One day a few weeks ago, I was lifting weights at the gym, and I kept noticing a younger man looking over and watching me. It wasn't crowded that day, so I knew that he wasn't waiting for me to leave - he was working on something totally different. Nevertheless, for the whole time I was in there, he would look over and smile from time to time. Finally, as I was getting ready to leave, he came over and said "I just want you to know how encouraging it is to see someone YOUR AGE (he didn't yell that part, but my spirit heard it as yelling) coming in here and working out. That's very encouraging to me because I hope that I am consistent like that WHEN I'm OLD.

no kidding, that's really what he said.

Now, there are a number of ways I can react to this, right? I mean, he didn't mean to insult me; it was actually intended as a compliment! I could get defensive, and push back with a "How old do you think I am?" sort of question that shows him very clearly that I am offended by this statement that I clearly resemble. I could brush it off, and dismiss the conversation completely. Or, I could see it for what it was - a providential reminder that, no matter how hard we work, we can't reverse the course of time, and that though when I look in the mirror I see the Scott of his 20's and 30's, clearly that's not what this person saw, and that isn't a bad thing. His view of me, his perception of my age, exposed my wrong views of myself, and it was tough to not run to some form of a fig leaf to cover that, whether it be through dismissiveness or anger or shame.

In many ways, this is exactly what the law does for us as Christians. We can get into this really warped view that we are totally fine, or perfectly sanctified, or that we don't really need grace anymore. We stop pursuing holiness or growth, our spiritual metabolism slows down, and we think of ourselves in a way that just isn't accurate. But the law exposes us. We get to that one little command that Paul reminds us of - "do not covet" - and we are made aware of the fact that, though we certainly aren't what we once were, we are not what we should be, either. And no manner of white-knuckled obedience will accomplish it; it must be accomplished by grace alone. And so, we are humbled enough to cry out to Jesus, and to trust Him, and to learn to see Him as even more enrapturing than we thought before. We dig into His Word, we commune with Him in prayer, and we get into community, so that we all grow together in grace. And as a result? We grow! Not into the person that we thought we were - A really great box checker, who doesn't need grace. Rather, we grow into a humble, grateful, joyous image bearer, who learns to depend on God's grace as much as we depend on oxygen in the atmosphere to breathe. Spiritual growth is not a growth to greater independence; it is a growth to greater dependence!

And all this is by the law, which serves as a mirror (or, in my case, a much younger, very fit and kind young man in the gym) that shows us who we really are, and shatters our bloated impressions of ourselves. May we grow together in grace this week!

This week's text: Exodus 1

This week, we begin studying the book of Exodus together! Chapter one introduces us to the book, and to the great problems that Israel is now facing. How does Exodus 1 apply to our lives? Here are some of the questions I have been thinking through this week:

1. Why did Moses think Exodus 1:1-7 was so important? Why start the book with this mini-genealogy?

2. What was the source of Israel's earthly hardship? What does Pharoah blame as his reason for persecution (Read 8-14)

3. Of all the people in Chapter 1 that are not named, Moses goes out of his way to name Shiphrah and Puah. Why do you think that is?

Songs this week:

Bless the Lord, O My Soul

His Eye is on the Sparrow

Lord from Sorrows Deep I Call

Communion Hymn

Don't forget this week is Lord's Supper week! Prepare your hearts accordingly!

See you Sunday!