Salt and Light

According to a recent study, cutting down three grams or just over one teaspoon of our daily salt intake could prevent 32,000 strokes and 54,000 heart attacks a year; this comes from the University of California San Francisco while trying to understand the clinical benefits of salt reduction in diets (As seen on World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer).
Though a reduction of salt can be connected with saving more lives physically, Jesus says we are to be the salt of the earth in order to save souls for Him (Mt. 5:13). Along with adding taste, salt functions as a preservative. We are here as a life preserver for the lost souls around us each and every day.
Jesus also says we are to the the light of the world. We are to be visible and let our lights shine so that others may see our good works and glorify God in Heaven (Mt. 5:16). A light is meant to be put on the lampstand so that it would give light to all the house (Mt. 5:15)
Let's make sure that as the salt of the earth we don't lose our savor. Let's also make sure that as the light of the world we aren't hiding or suppressing our light. Don't be a flashlight for Jesus; rather, be an eternal lamp that never goes dark.
I've posted my audio from this sermon last night titled "Salt and Light"
Are you fulfilling God's expectations of being salt and light?

Close Call

Last night when I returned from the Bridge, I noticed there was another possum on the front porch eating the leftover cat food. This was the same possum that has been evading me for the last little bit. I have tried to shoot him with my bow and arrow (since he's been on the front porch; I can't see explaining shotgun damage to the house), but he has slipped away from me numerous times. When I rounded the corner with my bow last night, he was out in the yard where I could barely see him. I could have taken the shot, but it was a little too dark as he was away from the porch light. He'll be back, and I'll be ready!

New Sermon Series

Last night at the Bridge, I kicked off a sermon series centered around the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew chapters 5-7. What better place to start than where Jesus started with the Beatitudes. I must admit that I had never preached on this passage of Scripture until last night. I was hesitant about how to deal with it, but I decided to tackle all of the Beatitudes at once.

While this was not my typical sermon style, I think this went over very well. It will serve as a kickstart to the rest of Jesus' words in this noted sermon. I challenged the audience last night to think about their present attitudes. If their attitudes do not match up with what Jesus said we need to be, now is the time to make the change. Are you being these attitudes?

Next week the sermon will deal with Christians being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Stay tuned!

Baptized believers praying the kingdom come?

The Lord's prayer; oh, what a great model used by so many people in the world even today. This prayer has been recited at worship, in funerals, parts of it used in public prayers across the ages. This is no doubt the most famous prayer lesson in Scripture. That's right, I said prayer lesson, not prayer. Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray when this was recorded for us; He was not actually praying to His Father (Mt. 6:9-13; Lk. 11:2-4).

Are you still with me? I hope so, because there's something else I want to bring to your attention. In His words to the disciples, included are the words, "your kingdom come" (Mt. 6:10). We shouldn't pray this today. What; what did you say preacher? I said you can't pray this today. Why not? Because the kingdom is already here. The kingdom is the church which was established the first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ as detailed in the book of Acts.

I recommend highly praying for the kingdom to flourish, grow, attain greater spiritual maturity, but the kingdom cannot come once it's already here. What we are waiting on is the kingdom of Heaven, which the faithful will not be able to enjoy until after Judgment.

The next time you lead a public prayer, and you want to pray "The Lord's Prayer," keep in mind that the kingdom is here. Those who have obeyed the gospel message haven been transferred into the kingdom (the church) by Christ Himself (Col. 1:13).

Are you part of the kingdom?

Long Time Coming

I feel as though I haven't posted anything in a while; oh, wait, I haven't! I'm going to use this time to ramble on a few things and catch you up to speed on what's been happening to me. This may take a little while. Consider this a potpourri post!

The kids have been sick over Christmas. Conner and Chandler both caught some viral bug, but Conner had the tougher route. He wound up being admitted into the hospital on Monday, December 21. His oxygen levels were not what they needed to be as he has asthma, so he had to have oxygen for a while in the hospital. In fact, he didn't get to come home until Christmas morning. To make a long story short, both of the boys are better, and everybody's fine now.

I am delayed on posting some sermons, and I posted two today: The Sin Leading to Death and The Handwriting on the Wall. Check them out if you get a chance, and I've got one more from this previous Sunday I need to add when I get around to it. We've had some short weeks in the church office, so my time has been limited on getting around to these. I have had some other areas needing more urgent attention.

Chris Lockhart and I did a little squirrel hunting on New Year's Day, but we only managed to bag a couple of those tree-hanging rodents. Chris was shooting a Stevens 12 gauge that nearly made me come unglued; I don't know that I've ever heard a 12 gauge that was as loud as his. Anyway, it was fun. I've squeezed in a little deer hunting as well, the latest being yesterday evening. However, I haven't done any good as nothing moved last night while I was there. I'm going for the last time tomorrow evening when we are supposed to get a few inches of snow, so it may be really interesting. I'm trying to decide whether to go squirrel hunting again or bowhunting for deer. I'll figure that out tomorrow.

Turkey season will be right around the corner. Craig Evans, a friend of mine, recently accepted the preaching position at the Spring Hill Church of Christ, and I'm looking forward to him coming down not only to work with that great congregation, but also so he can go turkey hunting with me. It's great being able to hunt with friends, especially turkey hunting. It's such an exciting time of year when you can hear those gobblers sounding out their thunderous calls.

One of the things I'm grateful for with my job is the ability to preach at the Bridge on Sunday evenings. They really look forward to the service on Sundays, and I'm uplifted by their spirits when I'm in their presence. They are truly a blessing to me. Not only does it give me the opportunity to preach, but it lets me spend time with them. Ray Garrett does a fantastic job leading us in singing, and I'm grateful he is there with us.

I told you this would be random.