(Gary Writing)
So Krissy wrote about how time flies, and I kind of wish it would fly faster this month. With small groups beginning next month, I have a lot of stuff to do: getting people plugged in, organizing groups, training new leaders, and on and on. Then add to that that I am gearing up to do a special small group with a few select couples in the church, I am going to start learning Greek this fall, and I am preaching on Sept. 6th, and it makes for a crazy next few weeks and months. Nonetheless, I am very excited about the opportunities that have presented themselves for the fall. Doors are opening that I have been praying to open for a while. Thank you, Lord!
I so look forward to the upcoming sermon series and small group series on the book of Ephesians. I think it is going to be so good for our church. Hopefully we can really capitalize on this series to really help people grow in their understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, and what Christ calls us to do because we are in Him. To the praise of his glorious grace!
I find myself learning how to hear the Lord. I have really heard his voice lately, and it makes me wonder why I haven't heard him so clearly before. I heard him tell me to pray for one of my good friends the other day. I don't know what was going on with him, if anything, but it was clear to me that God was telling me to pray for him. It is good to hear his voice like that. Then again, it gets really scary when you want to hear from God on something important, and you are not sure if you heard him right. I guess that's why they say to wait on the Lord...
As I have been studying this week, it has been really challenging to find a clear and concise command from the Lord to be in Christian community. Though it may not be commanded, it is surely implied that everyone in the early church was in community. It may not have been called a small group, but it was tight-knit fellowship and accountability as each person learned to walk with the Lord. How can we miss this? How can we become so infatuated with ourselves that we don't submit to other believers like Paul told us to (Eph. 5:21)? It is a problem in our culture, and we really need to wake up and snap out of it. We were saved for the body, not ourselves.
Sorry for the rant. Maybe I should get some sleep. Again, to the praise of his glory!
