To thirst for God is at the core of our being. It is the way God made us. In recent decades our nation has undergone a metamorphosis. Where once biblical values were our moral compass we’ve now pushed faith in God to the fringe and rejected biblical truth as irrelevant. The result is people are spiritually dry. We are a country of people thirsty for God and reality. The need for God’s Word is greater than ever before.
Although most of the stories revolving around David's experiences are fairly familiar to us today, this one may not be. Because it holds within it several truths that illustrate the marks of maturity in a believer's life, it seems fitting that we blow the dust off this ancient account and consider its value in our lives today. As we think it through and relive its scenes, let's not miss its message to we who are pressing on to maturity.
Sometimes we’re on the receiving end of deception and sometimes we’re the deceiver. Here are two lessons we can learn from Gehazi’s error as we seek to avoid a similar fate.
As we enter adulthood in our faith, one of the most significant realizations to dawn upon us is a healthy understanding of and appreciation for the church. Most go through real battles in coming to this conclusion. In this message, we want to come to terms with the role of the church, its importance in our lives, some of the major reasons for its effectiveness, and why Christ established it in the first place.
Tough though it may be to admit it, most of us resist growing up. We say all the things that suggest otherwise, but in reality, we resist launching out into the ocean of adulthood. It seems only logical that we spend a little while analyzing why there is such a strong resistance within us to move on into the responsibilities and challenges of adulthood.
With the confidence and deliberateness of a veteran returning to the heat of battle, the seasoned warrior tightened the belt on his toga and took charge. He covered every base necessary for quality communication.
If we are not careful we could easily get the impression that adolescence is a disease with headaches and heartaches, pressure and pain as its only symptoms. Not so! Adjustments and struggles may be present, but not to the exclusion of tremendous growth and remarkable achievements. These can be some of the most exciting years of one's spiritual pilgrimage.
The more we study the “Peter Pan Syndrome,” the more we understand what we are dealing with. Although the name is new, the problem is old. In fact, we can trace its roots all the way back to the fall of man in the garden. As we shall see, not even the early church was free of this insidious problem.
Choose some psalms to include in your personal reading time this summer. To help make them stick, don’t try to digest too great a meal in one sitting. Consider these songs as rich food to be savoured slowly.
Although young in the faith, those Jerusalem believers demonstrated a commendable growth toward maturity. But this condition was not found throughout all congregations. As is true today, there were some who were old enough to be well on their way to maturity, but they preferred to remain immature and irresponsible…adolescents in adult bodies.
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