Sermon: Heart & Body

This week we will be looking at Proverbs 4:20-27 as it instructs us to consider our heart & body. The relationship between the two is often misunderstood. Very practical stuff. I am also going to look at the relationship between the heart and our mouth, eyes, and feet.

Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.

U.S. Population v. the church

America set to hit 300 million and counting ...

Sunday, June 25, 2006; Posted: 8:32 a.m. EDT (12:32 GMT)

As of June 25, there were 299,058,932 people in the United States. U.S. population is on target to hit 300 million this fall and it's a good bet the milestone baby -- or immigrant -- will be Hispanic.

The headline is from CNN.com and I am sure if you like to read the news like I do you have already heard about the story.

300 million...thats a lot of people. Still small compared to countries like China and India, yet large when you compare it to Canada or Australia. For America, 300 million is a lot, and there is no place in the States that has not felt its effects.

Now I am not intersted in commenting on where this is a good or bad thing. I simply want to comment on this reality in regards to the church.

An older person in the church who grew up in NH feels that it has changed a lot over the years. She is right, it has. There are more people which means more homes, more roads, more cars, etc.... It is a fact of life no matter where you live.

Nashua use to be a town on its own. Now it is an "edge city" on the outskirts of Boston Metro. Not long ago, there was countryside between them, not anymore.

Sadly, as the population of the nation increases, churches continue to stay the same or shrink. The net growth of the PCA was less than 100 people for 2005. That is counting all 1500+ churches in the U.S. and Canada. Less than 100 people, that is sad if not discouraging.

Now there are many factors for this stat, but no matter how you slice it, the church is not growing at the same rate as the population. The PCA is not the odd ball in comparison to other denominations. Some denominations do not even have a net gain, but rather a loss.

This does not discourage me. If anything, is reminds me of one of the most important things I need to do in ministry....PRAY. More than ever, the church needs to pray and ask God for His guidance and wisdom.

Sermon: Teachability according to Proverbs

Teachability is next on the list of the top 10 topics addressed in Proverbs. Since Proverbs was written for the purpose of training young men, it makes sense that the topic of teachability would come up. Are you teachable? In my opinion, it is not an option for the Christian. God calls us to seek wisdom. you can only do that if you are willing to learn.

Prov. 19:20 Listen to counsel and accept discipline,
That you may be wise the rest of your days.

back in NH

Made it back late Thursday Night. Flying is not something I enjoy, even though I love planes and I have family working for various airlines. It seems that air travel is not what it use to be and it is really exhausting. I waited at Atlanta for over 4 hours waiting to get out.

GA went very well, I was able to accomplish what I wanted to do. Saw a lot of friends, made some new ones. I am looking forward to next year in Memphis, TN. Either next year or in the future, I want to bring the whole family. I think they would really enjoy it.

blogging at GA

Greetings from Atlanta! I am right now sitting in General Assembly of the PCA.

We had a wonderful worship service last night with 3000 people in attendance. The next couple of days will be spent in seminars and church business. There are a number of pastors from New England represented as well as folks from all over the States and Canada. I think there is a webcast if your interested. If I can find it, I will link it. Nothing of great interest has happened yet, so for now I will keep it short.

Getting ready for GA

As mentioned, General Assembly ( GA) is this week in Atlanta, Ga and I am looking forward to spending time hearing what is happening in the PCA as well as catch up with friends and collegeues.

GA is where a lot of the church business is taken care of and reports given on what God has been doing in our midst. Often it is very encouraging.

Pray for us as we gather together that the Holy Spirit will lead us as a denomination. It is not our mission to reach the world, it is God's mission and we need to pray and discern what He wants us to do.

Proverbs: Dissension

This summer we are spending our time on Sunday Mornings looking at Proverbs. Last summer we did not get very far so I wanted to get through the rest of Proverbs by looking at the Top 10 Topics in Proverbs. So far we have looked at friendship and this week the topic is dissension.

My hope in these sermons is to bring to light the wisdom of Proverbs as it deals with real human needs. In the future we will talk about marriage, teachability, guarding your heart, etc... Conflict and strife are a fact of life, Proverbs gives hope to dealing with this reality.

An arrogant man stirs up strife,
But he who trusts in the LORD will prosper. - Proverbs 28:25

Next week is a busy week. I will be attending our denomination's annual meeting which is held every year in June. This year it is in downtown Atlanta. I will try and post from GA while I am there, although I will be very busy meeting folks and sitting in meetings.

Here is the link to GA..... lots of stuff happening for sure!

http://www.pcaac.org/2006%20General%20Assembly/06index.htm

Regent Bookstore :: Footnotes

Regent Bookstore :: Footnotes

One of the goals of the blog is to connect people with ideas that are thought provoking and helpful in developing a person's spiritual journey.

Footnotes is an attempt to do what I just stated at the beginning of this blog. I hope you will check it out and let me know what you think of some of the discussions that are taking place there. I won't agree with everything posted there, so don't worry about offending.

New Blog Site

Hey, folks.... I have outsourced the blog to a new spot on the Internet. Hopefully this format will work better and I would keep up with new postings. Time will tell!