Scott's Thoughts - March 6, 2024

Easter is rapidly approaching!

As the weather continues to get warmer, things get busier! I can't wait for our celebration of Easter, and all the services that surround it!

Don't forget prayer meeting tonight at 7. We will begin with a brief discussion of chapter 5, and then we will continue praying through the church's membership roll!

Last week's sermon: Exodus 5-6

Exodus is a story of God using unlikely people to accomplish His purposes, in fact the whole Bible is precisely that story. I am thankful for David for a sermon that reminds us of God's strength, which is made perfect in our weakness!

This week's text: Exodus 7

God's Holy war against Pharaoh begins in earnest this week, as we explore the first of the 10 plagues together. Here are the questions I'm thinking through this week as I prepare:

1. How does Exodus 7 serve as a continuation of the themes of Exodus 5 and 6? Since there were no chapter divisions in the original, how are these connected?

2. What did it mean that Aaron's staff swallowed up the other two?

3. Why did God strike the Nile as the first of His judgments against Egypt?

Songs this week:

O Worship the King

Immortal, Invisible

Cornerstone

O Church Arise

See you Sunday!

Scott's Thoughts - February 21, 2024

Wednesday night has really grown!

It is truly exciting to hear and see so many families and kids participating in our Wednesday night activities! The building is alive with all the BEST sorts of sounds on Wednesday nights.

I had the privilege this week of being at the North American Mission Board's Replant Conference this week, helping other churches think about finding new life through the Gospel. After spending three days consulting with churches from all over the nation, I can tell you for a fact that there are literally thousands of churches that long for the types of noise we have in the building. Over the next few weeks, I'd love to share with you all a few stories I heard from brothers and sisters around the country, and invite you to pray with me for God to do a mighty work through His Word in these churches!

A few needed changes

All growth comes with the need for structural change, and since we have grown on Wednesday nights, we need to implement a few new details to how our midweek time together functions!

First, we really want families together during our teaching times! Kids learn to pray, and learn about prayer, by being with and listening to their parents. Therefore, we are asking all kids under 6th grade to stick with their parents during that time.

Second, when we break into smaller groups to pray together, kids under 6th grade will need to stay with their parents. Again, this keeps families together, so that they can pray together!

Third, youth will have the opportunity to head upstars for time together at around 730 when we get done with teaching time! A quick reminder that the upstairs youth space is reserved for 6th grade and up! Let's make sure that that space, and all the fun items in that space, are reserved for them!

Fourth, it will be helpful for kids to stay with parents, and to stay inside, for the duration of the church prayer service. This also pertains to children heading outside - let's keep all our kids indoors, until we are ready to go out with them!

Thanks for your flexibility, folks! May God continue to grant growth!

Last week's text: Exodus 3:1-4:17

Sometimes, I can be the king of excuses, even when God gives an opportunity that I know I should take. Like Moses, these excuses can range from fear of man to simple disobedience, and every step in between, but they are excuses nonetheless. I can get comfortable with the current situation in my life, I can sometimes so fill my life with the things of this world that there is little room to do other things that God may be putting in front of me. I am prone to be way too focused on this world, and the wood, hay and stubble that it offers, and miss the gold, silver and precious stones of serving God's great Kingdom. 

And I bet I'm not alone in this. Passages like last week's can sometimes shake us awake to what God has put in front of us. The reality is this: God does not need us. He didn't need Moses. He did, however, Choose Moses. The same is true for us. Our own church's health is, first and foremost, dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit. God in His sovereignty reigns over His church, and it lives by His rule. Globally, God's kingdom will advance; it is guaranteed. In both situations, however, both locally and globally, our own unwillingness to pour ourselves out, to be stretched and challenged and sometimes engage in things that are incredibly uncomfortable, does have an effect. It hurts us, as we clutch the pearls of our comfort ever more tightly (I find this to be more and more the case as I get more comfortable and more resistant to change). And it hurts the body, which is intended for all parts to function, and to function together with joy!

So, we end where we ended the sermon: in what area is God calling you to be uncomfortable and obey? May we strive to see clearly what God opportunities God has put in front of us, and may we serve with a relentless, fearless faith.

This week's text: Exodus 4:18-31

A much shorter passage this week, but not an easy one! If you read this carefully, you will have lots of questions. I did too! Here are a few of those questions I have worked through this week that helped me prepare:

1. Why would God tell Moses that the plan won't seem to work at first? Why would God orchestrate it this way?

2. Why did God almost kill Moses?

3. What did Israel do in response to God's plan? How is that instructive for us?

Songs this week:

Holy is the Lord

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

O The Deep, Deep Love - a new song for us! Follow this link to hear the song and read the lyrics! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqTMJxSA7EM

O Great God

See you Sunday!

Scott's Thoughts - February 14th, 2024

We get to gather tonight!

Wednesday nights have really become one of the highlights of the week for us, and I really cannot wait! God, in His goodness to the church, has brought new servants in different areas of need, and is continuing to bless the ministry we are doing mid week. Tonight, we continue our study on the Lord's Prayer, using Kevin DeYoung's book as a tool to help with that study!

There are still many places you can jump in, so let us know if you are available to serve others on Wednesday nights!

Last week's passage: Exodus 2

Persistent prayer is powerful for so many different reasons. Exodus 2 gave us a chance to see how God in His providence interweaves prayer with His working. We may not know how God is at work, but we can always trust that He is at work.

Sometimes, that work is in our circumstances, as He patiently fashions history to His will. Sometimes, that is in the lives of others, as God patiently works in the lives of people, like a master sculptor slowly bringing a lump of clay into conformity and beauty. Often times, seasons of persistent prayer are working to change us. It does something good in our souls to ask our Father for something over and over again.

When the chance presents itself, I'd love to hear some of your persistent prayers, so that they can become mine as well. Over the next few weeks, feel free to grab me at an opportune time and let me know what you have been praying a long time for God to do. For the Christian, prayer is always powerful to create change. May we be a people who pray earth-shaking prayer!

This week's text: Exodus 3:1-4:17

This week will be one of the longest passages we will study together for a while, but it all makes up one long conversation between The Lord and Moses. What does this passage teach about the nature of God? Here are some questions I've been thinking through this week as I study the text; I hope you will think through them as well!

1. Why did God appear as a bush that was burning and yet not consumed? What could that symbolize?

2. What does our Lord mean when He describes Himself as "I am that I am?"

3. What are Moses' reasons for being unwilling to do what God commands? How are these similar to our reasons for sometimes being unwilling to do what we know we should do? How does God respond?

Songs this week:

Indescribable

Holy, Holy, Holy

Speak, O Lord

Behold Our God

See you Sunday!