Posts from June 2023
Spiritual Gathering
Did you know that there is a spiritual habit of “Gathering?” This is the label that we give it in our church when we include it on the spiritual habits list. Some might use the term “meeting” or “assembling” or “get-together,” or even “fellowship.” But I would use the basis for this spiritual habit from two major Scripture passages in the Bible… Look these passages up before you come to service this Sunday and use the filter of the importance…
The spiritual habit of God’s Word
When you hear the word “discipline,” do you think of words like control, regulation, work, authority, rule, or strictness? Maybe it explains why so many Christians ignore the pleas of pastors across the country who want their flocks to make a discipline of reading their Bibles daily. Polls show that although the Bible is still among the best-selling books of all it remains one of the least read. At Lifeway, we believe being in God’s Word is critical to our…
The Discipline of Spiritual Habits Summer 2023 (Part II)
A huge thank you to our guest speaker for the last couple of Sunday’s, Scott Brewer. If you did not get a chance to be at the services, you can listen to those messages via our website. Scott spoke to us out of his years of experience on how to grow strong with a consistent prayer life. This week Alvin and I have also led what we are calling a “LifeWay Prayer Lab” where we have laid out some practical…
What If There Were No Bible?
The American Bible Society issues an annual State of the Bible each year. The title of the 2022 survey statistics caught my eye. The study reported that roughly 26 million Americans had mostly, or completely stopped reading the Bible regularly during COVID-19. This made me sad. It says to me for one reason or another, Americans who used to read the Bible have decided they would no longer do so. The reason may be because we are busier than ever.…
The spiritual habit of prayer
At LifeWay we elevate prayer as a hallmark of a maturing Christian’s life. God commands in scripture that Christians pray for a host of reasons including: It is clear that scripture indicates that prayer is about so much more than simply asking God for what you need. Rather it is a consistent communication path with God available to us all at any time. Matthew 6:9-13 is the most famous prayer of all when Jesus himself commands us to pray: “Our…
Lesson from a Hose
Have you ever thought about how God uses people, places, things, and timing as He answers prayer? Some people would say “It’s a coincidence”, that at just the right time the right person or the right place or the right action answered a prayer. I think a lot about the ways God answers prayer. I pay attention as he reveals answers. Sunday, we heard from Scott Brewer. He shared that listening is key to recognizing God’s answer to our prayers.…
The Discipline of Spiritual Habits Summer 2023
Last week Alvin wrote an article, then preached a sermon on Sunday to help launch us into our summer plan. He used the word “Discipline” — a word that most of us don’t like very much. We all know we need it, but it is just too hard! We just don’t seem to have enough willpower. It often just takes too much work, right? But most of us really know we need it in several areas of life. Why do…