Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped with the church family of Whitfield Christian Today.
• From this morning's teaching; Marks of maturity, a mature Christian sees the value of joyful relationships, a mature Christian sees blessings in burdens and the mature Christian sees a life is worth living through Christ.
• Question, are you you growing up in the Lord or are you growing old in the Lord. Growing old in the Lord takes very little effort and a whole lot of time. Growing up in the Lord takes discipline which leads to maturity.
• BTW we sang my favorite hymn today, Holy, Holy, Holy - this hymn never gets old, if you have forgotten the lyrics here they are once again.
• Special treat this past Friday, attended the candlelight processional at Epcot. Guest narrator; Amy Grant. The choir's did a wonderful job, and Amy Grant's comments were very moving.
• It is about time to pack up the Christmas decorations, the house sure will seem empty.
• The online edition of USA Today carried an article last week entitled "passages" listing all the celebrities who have passed along in 2012. Life truly is a vapor.
• Christmas break is almost over, time to get back to work, I have enjoyed the break!
• 2013! it seems like yesterday we were talking about Y2K!
• A church where I served as youth minister had their last service today. I am sure the service was bittersweet. I am so thankful they took a chance on me almost 29 years ago and allowed me to cut my teeth in youth ministry with their kids.  What were they thinking?
• Something to Chew on; “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” ~ Paulo Coelho

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped with the church family at Starrett Road Christian Church in Jacksonville this morning. 
• Carols and Scripture filled the time of worship today, very nice.
• Besides Jesus, have you considered the gift God gives to us each Christmas? Jesus offers you forgiveness for your past, peace of mind in the present, and a solid future in eternity. These are gifts that need not be returned, for one size fits all!
• Gotta say, I love preaching on "Christmas Sunday"
• Let's remember, not everyone is going to have a Merry Christmas this year; keep your eyes open for opportunities to make a difference in the likes of others.
• Christmas break begins tomorrow, so looking forward to a change of pace. 
• College Bowl games start this week. yes, it is the most wonderful time of the year!
• Something to Chew on Christmas Edition; Santa's got to love how much easier Facebook has made his job. After a few posts even I can tell who's naughty or nice. ~ Great Quote from Rick Atchley's Twitter Feed

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped with the church family at the Christian Church of Deleon Springs today.
• Amazingly friendly people.
• Several talented musicians brought variety to the worship; hymns, carols and modern songs really made the worship special. 
• Today's topic; you cannot always have a "White Christmas", however it is possible to have a "Right Christmas". 
• Key thoughts from the morning message; The miracle of Christmas is not on 34th street; it is in Bethlehem. Through Jesus, God offers you a relationship that provides forgiveness for your past, peace of mind in the present, and a solid future in eternity.
• Had lunch with some long time friends - notice I did not say "old", so good to spend the afternoon with them.
• Friday's tragedy was once again a vivid reminder the world needs Jesus. 
• Remember; If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator.
  If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent a scientist.
  If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent an economist.
  If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so He sent us a Savior.
• I have had the occasion to read a few thoughts on leadership lately and two thoughts come to mind; REAL LEADERSHIP is always proactive and it is the role of a leader is to define reality.
• This blog post is a reminder of how tough the located ministry is today, have you prayed for your pastor today?
• This blog post is a reminder Godly wisdom always brings hope, thanks Bob.
• Something to Chew on; Tonight President Obama quoted these words from scripture; Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, what is unseen is eternal.”  (2 Cor. 4:16-18)  I wonder how many people heard these words for the first time and realized there is a hope beyond this life!
   

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Returned to Okeechobee Christian Church today, completed a two part series, Christmas through the Eyes of Angels.
• Today's focus ~ Mary
• Mary did not have all the details regarding how her baby would bring salvation, however she was willing to walk by faith and not by sight.
• May we take on the attribute of Mary, and may we walk by faith and not by sight. 
• The longer I am out of the located ministry, the greater my appreciation grows for ministers who preach every Sunday.
• Met a 93 year old missionary today; asked him  about retirement and he told me the word retirement is not in the Bible; he will retire when he gets to heaven. Humbled!  
• We talked about the church in America today as well as what is happening in the church abroad, amazed at his knowledge. 
• My son and daughter-in-law dedicated our granddaughter to the Lord today - so proud of them.
• This week is finals at FCC, let the day of accountability come; YIKES!
• I miss college football!
• A member of my former youth group had some difficulty this week, but it looks like things are going to turn out better than expected. The power of prayer was very evident.
• Leaders understand when to rally the troops and when to retreat. Too often we retreat when we should rally! 
• Something to Chew on; Humility is not about thinking less of yourself, it is about thinking of yourself less! ~ Dave Stone

Thinking about youth ministry

I have the privilege of meeting with a group of youth ministers once a month for a time of encouragement, planning and praying. I really look forward to meeting with this group of young men. Youth ministers have a special place in my heart because of my own background in youth ministry.  I served as a youth minister for 17 years and taught youth ministry at Florida Christian College for 7 years. Now 15 years removed from youth ministry I find I have a real appreciation for the work these young men are doing in their ministries. I believe they are on the front line of changing our culture. However, the challenges they face as a youth/student pastor today are enormous. Limited resources, secular thinking and the demands of today's teens and their parents make student ministry more difficult than when I was serving as a youth minister. 

• Today, if you are a youth minister, I say thank you, thank you for your time, dedication and effort to see teens reached for Christ. Youth ministry is ever changing, the next time you think about giving it up and bailing out remember these words from the apostle Paul.
• If you are the spouse of a youth minister, you have what I believe is toughest role there is in ministry today. The ever changing youth culture requires flexibility and balance. As the spouse of a youth pastor, you see what your mate is going through to reach teens; the sacrifices, time commitment and efforts are not going unnoticed.
• If you are a church leader, pray for your youth minister, come along side of them and let them know you are supporting them, even when you do not understand some of reasoning behind what they are doing to reach teens. 

I am grateful for the men and women who choose to stay in this endeavor. Youth /student pastors remind all of us the church will live beyond us as they reach the next generation for Christ. 

    

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day... 

• Worshiped at Okeechobee Christian Church today very friendly folks.
• Today's sermon; Joseph and his part in the Christmas Narrative.
• Key point from this morning, Joseph displayed grace in a world governed by law.
• Will you display grace this Christmas season?
• Joseph's life could be summed up in one phrase; Faithful Obedience when you do not understand God's plan. 
• We should all emulate the obedience of Joseph when comes to following God's plan.  
• I love singing Christmas Carols.
• Friday night was the best Night of Noel I have attended at Florida Christian College. 
• This weekend has been a weekend where I have reflected on the goodness of God.
• As I watched the SEC championship game I wondered what would happen if the church had the same tenacity as the Tide and Bulldogs had on Saturday?
• Making tough decisions is not the mark of leadership, living with the tough decision is the true mark of leadership.
• Something to Chew on; He who has not Christmas in heart, will never find it under a tree. ~ Roy L. Smith