"When Relationships Collide".
Conflict is everywhere around us and it touches every life that is born into this world. From something as simple as two members of the congregation wanting to sit in the same church pew or something as devastating as a broken marriage. We learn that the Bible does not shy away from difficult issues, which includes conflict. When you read scripture one is confronted with the good, the bad, and the ugly in people's lives. We identify very easily with many of these people in scripture because the bible often serves as a mirror of our own lives in conflict.
If you have not been to Sunday School lately you are missing out on some great sessions on all levels. The Sunday school has been restructured somewhat, we now have three adult classes studying/discussing the sermon in depth from he previous week lead by RF Pennington, Rob Phillips, Greg Davis.
Like Solomon wrote, "There nothing new under the sun", with that in mind being under pressure is nothing new. James was writing to the 1st century church who was encountering great and intense pressure. Persecution dispersed the new church so do we live our faith in our heads or live it our in our lives? There was the pressure to compromise when temptation arose or shrink back in times of trial. Then there was the pressure to tank into prejudicial preference when new people came into the church. What about the pressure of controlling the tongue (gossip/rumors/etc.)? Have you ever gave in to the pressure of having your own way? How about getting even when mistreated? James encouraged the believers to allow these pressures to drive them deeper in their relationship with Jesus. Pressure can be a positive thing that leads one to experience the presence and power of God.
Running from conflict is not the answer but learning how to deal with it in a healthy, God honoring way is the thing to do. God wants to work his will in the middle of our conflicts, so don't fret. If you allow Him to work in our lives He will show us the sources and the solutions to our conflicts.
So let me encourage you to come on out to Sunday School and join us in one of the discussion groups.
For further information see our webpage < http://parkhillschurch.org> or our Face Book page.
In Christ,
Greg
Contact:
email: gdavis@parkhillschurch.org
Twitter: dragoncoach1
Sep 6, 2015
Here I raise my Ebenezer
This Sunday morning while assisting in leading worship service, I
asked the question for communion meditation, When you hear the name
Ebenezer, what comes to mind? Almost all in unison said, "Ebenezer
Scrooge". Yet we fail to realize the significance of the this term. In 1
Samuel 7:3-14 you get the full context of the meaning of Ebenezer.
Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—”the stone of help”—for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” —1 Samuel 7:12, NLT
Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood. —
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
After a long period of sadness and trouble, a consequence of Israel’s disobedience, Israel repented under the leadership of a new priest and judge, Samuel. God restored their political security, and the people, for their part, re-committed their hearts and minds to their Lord. Samuel placed a large stone at the place where this restoration began. He publicly dedicated it as a monument to God’s help, God’s faithfulness, God’s eternal covenant. And as the people got on with their lives, the stone stood there, visible to all who passed that way, a reminder of judgment and repentance, mercy and restoration.The Ebenezer stone represented a fresh beginning, a reversal of course for God’s people. It also said something important about God: his mercies are everlasting; his covenant is forever.
I (Charlie) have friends who keep prayer journals. They record their requests
to God and the answers they receive. In this way, they can go back
into the past and review their walk with God; they are reminded of his faithfulness. Prayer journals are a type of Ebenezer stone.
Members of AA can tell you how long they have been sober. They keep alive the memory of the last drink they took, and with each new day, one day at a time, they move farther down the road of sobriety. AA is on to something important. Do they ask their members to count the number of years spent in drunken waste? No. They count the days spent walking in a new direction. All that went before is water over the dam. I tend to beat myself up about mistakes I made long, long ago. I don’t forgive myself, even though I accept the fact of God’s forgiveness. Perhaps you can identify with me. But that’s not what God desires. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.
—Philippians 3:13b,14, NLT (The Apostle Paul writing)
I should set up an Ebenezer stone, I think, to serve as a continual reminder that I am forgiven, that I have chosen a new direction, that God has made a permanent covenant with all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Samuel was a wise and godly man with a good idea. He recognized something that’s true about human nature—we’re forgetful.
At Ebenezer, Israel could stand next to that big old rock and remind themselves, “Yes, we serve a living and faithful God, whose mercies are everlasting.”
Have you set your Ebenezer?
This article was reprinted from the website
< http://www.anotherthink.com/contents/author/charlie >
See you Sunday, have a good week!!
Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—”the stone of help”—for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” —1 Samuel 7:12, NLT
Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood. —
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
After a long period of sadness and trouble, a consequence of Israel’s disobedience, Israel repented under the leadership of a new priest and judge, Samuel. God restored their political security, and the people, for their part, re-committed their hearts and minds to their Lord. Samuel placed a large stone at the place where this restoration began. He publicly dedicated it as a monument to God’s help, God’s faithfulness, God’s eternal covenant. And as the people got on with their lives, the stone stood there, visible to all who passed that way, a reminder of judgment and repentance, mercy and restoration.The Ebenezer stone represented a fresh beginning, a reversal of course for God’s people. It also said something important about God: his mercies are everlasting; his covenant is forever.
I (Charlie) have friends who keep prayer journals. They record their requests
to God and the answers they receive. In this way, they can go back
into the past and review their walk with God; they are reminded of his faithfulness. Prayer journals are a type of Ebenezer stone.
Members of AA can tell you how long they have been sober. They keep alive the memory of the last drink they took, and with each new day, one day at a time, they move farther down the road of sobriety. AA is on to something important. Do they ask their members to count the number of years spent in drunken waste? No. They count the days spent walking in a new direction. All that went before is water over the dam. I tend to beat myself up about mistakes I made long, long ago. I don’t forgive myself, even though I accept the fact of God’s forgiveness. Perhaps you can identify with me. But that’s not what God desires. Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.
—Philippians 3:13b,14, NLT (The Apostle Paul writing)
I should set up an Ebenezer stone, I think, to serve as a continual reminder that I am forgiven, that I have chosen a new direction, that God has made a permanent covenant with all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Samuel was a wise and godly man with a good idea. He recognized something that’s true about human nature—we’re forgetful.
At Ebenezer, Israel could stand next to that big old rock and remind themselves, “Yes, we serve a living and faithful God, whose mercies are everlasting.”
Have you set your Ebenezer?
This article was reprinted from the website
< http://www.anotherthink.com/contents/author/charlie >
See you Sunday, have a good week!!
Feb 3, 2014
Do Over: Experience New Life in Christ
We have finished the first half of the new teaching series in Bible Studies for Life. The past 6-7 weeks have been real exciting. The general topic was presented as DO OVER! Experience new life in Christ. Here we were introduced to the book of Romans, following along with Paul's opening premise, we are in a situation that we can not solve on our own, that problem is our sin status. Week one we discussed how and why we got there (Romans 1:16-17, 2:5-11, 3:9-12). And that no one is exempt from that fact (Rom 3:9-12). As we moved along we come face to face with the fact that righteousness (Christ's righteousness) is a gift something, we could not give to ourselves (Rom 3:21-28).
Our next encounter with experiencing new life in Christ was learning what true love is...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). And this is a love that we can experience only in Him who died for us.
When the question was asked, "Who are you?", there were various answers all of them valid responses. After reading Romans 6:8-18 the question was posed again and the answers came back the same, ...slaves of righteousness (vs 18) we realized that our identity had change and we are citizens of a "new nation".
Now realizing that we are new citizens immediately there began a conflict the old self vs the new self, the flesh vs the spirit. Scripture directs us to this reality... For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (8:2).
We are no longer controlled by our sinful nature.We are not alone in this battle!!
We concluded that this new life can't be lived apart from Christ, to live apart from Christ is to live in the flesh. So why would you go back to living in the flesh when you have been freed from the flesh to live in and by the spirit of Christ?
As we finished the first section we wanted to continue the journey through Romans. This past week we read Romans 9:1-33, God's Sovereign Choice. Now was a lively discussion which I will post about next week.
So each week we will walk through one or two chapters until we conclude the book. That should take us to the end of February where we will pick up the Bible in Life series again and begin the second six week series, Honest to God: Real Questions People Ask.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them in the comment section just below this article.
Looking forward to seeing you and serving you in Christ!
Gregory Davis
gdavis@parkhillschurch.org
Twitter: @dragoncoach1
FaceBook: Gregory Davis
915-581-5307 Home (leave a message and I will call you back)
Our next encounter with experiencing new life in Christ was learning what true love is...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). And this is a love that we can experience only in Him who died for us.
When the question was asked, "Who are you?", there were various answers all of them valid responses. After reading Romans 6:8-18 the question was posed again and the answers came back the same, ...slaves of righteousness (vs 18) we realized that our identity had change and we are citizens of a "new nation".
Now realizing that we are new citizens immediately there began a conflict the old self vs the new self, the flesh vs the spirit. Scripture directs us to this reality... For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (8:2).
Sin controlled us because we were slaves to sin
We concluded that this new life can't be lived apart from Christ, to live apart from Christ is to live in the flesh. So why would you go back to living in the flesh when you have been freed from the flesh to live in and by the spirit of Christ?
As we finished the first section we wanted to continue the journey through Romans. This past week we read Romans 9:1-33, God's Sovereign Choice. Now was a lively discussion which I will post about next week.
So each week we will walk through one or two chapters until we conclude the book. That should take us to the end of February where we will pick up the Bible in Life series again and begin the second six week series, Honest to God: Real Questions People Ask.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them in the comment section just below this article.
Looking forward to seeing you and serving you in Christ!
Gregory Davis
gdavis@parkhillschurch.org
Twitter: @dragoncoach1
FaceBook: Gregory Davis
915-581-5307 Home (leave a message and I will call you back)
Dec 1, 2013
When Relationships Collide
Like Solomon wrote, "There nothing new under the sun", with that in mind being under pressure is nothing new. James was writing to the 1st century church who was encountering great and intense pressure. Persecution dispersed the new church so do we live our faith in our heads or live it our in our lives? There was the pressure to compromise when temptation arose or shrink back in times of trial. Then there was the pressure to tank into prejudicial preference when new people came into the church. What about the pressure of controlling the tongue (gossip/rumors/etc.)? Have you ever gave in to the pressure of having your own way? How about getting even when mistreated? James encouraged the believers to allow these pressures to drive them deeper in their relationship with Jesus. Pressure can be a positive thing that leads one to experience the prescence and power of God.
Running from conflict is not the answer but learning how to deal with it in a healthy, God honoring way is the thing to do. God wants to work his will in the middle of our conflicts, so don't fret. If you allow Him to work in our lives He will show us the sources and the solutions to our conflicts.
We will be finishing up this quarter, with a special focus session, "Thank you, Lord" based in Psalm 100:1-5.
The next quarter theme is, "Experiencing New Life in Christ" Romans 1:1 - 8:27 that will be for seven weeks and the second half of the quarter promises to be thought provoking. As I stated earlier the Bible does not shrink back or shy away from difficult issues (Is every life sacred? Does God really exists? What about those who have never heard about Jesus? Is the Bible trustworthy? If God is good, why is there suffering?)
So let me encourage you to come on out to Sunday School and join us in one of the discussion groups. For further information see our webpage < http://parkhillschurch.org> or our Face Book page.
In Christ,
Greg
Contact:
email: gdavis@parkhillschurch.org
Twitter: dragoncoach1
Nov 10, 2013
May 12, 2013
Going through the Psalms
Going through the Book of Psalms has proven to be quite the trip. Our plan in Sunday School was to start in book one and proceed to the end book by book. But when you endeavor to follow the leading of the Spirit your plans and calendar more often than not, will soon get reformatted.
In Book One, Psalm 1, the theme and mood of the Psalms is laid out plain and simple, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night"(Psalm 1: 1-2). The verses that follow lay out the benefits of being connected to the Lord contrasted with the life of those who are not connected.
As I started to read more and more of the Psalms, I started to noticed that the writers are/were people who experienced just about every emotion and situation, that all people go through sometime or another.
I use a series of verse memorization CD's and each one dwells on a different theme by setting verses to be memorize to music. One of the themes of the CD's was "Overcoming Stress" so I listened to all the songs that were based in the Psalms:
Salvation of the Righteous (Ps. 37:25,29)
We Give Thanks (Ps. 75:1, 97:12)
You Will Answer Me (Ps. 32:7, 86:7)
He Stilled The Storm (Ps. 107:29-32)
In The Night Watches (Ps. 63:6, 46:1, 4:8)
In My Distress (Ps. 4:1, 18:6, 31:7)
So our discussion was on the topic of stresses in our lives. But, we ended up exploring the benefits and blessings of the stresses God allows to come into our lives (not the route I planned) and how the Psalmist's dealt with these difficult spans in their lives. In the new covenant passage the writer pens these words:
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:4-7)
Have a wonderful stressful day!
Yours in Christ,
Greg
In Book One, Psalm 1, the theme and mood of the Psalms is laid out plain and simple, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night"(Psalm 1: 1-2). The verses that follow lay out the benefits of being connected to the Lord contrasted with the life of those who are not connected.
As I started to read more and more of the Psalms, I started to noticed that the writers are/were people who experienced just about every emotion and situation, that all people go through sometime or another.
I use a series of verse memorization CD's and each one dwells on a different theme by setting verses to be memorize to music. One of the themes of the CD's was "Overcoming Stress" so I listened to all the songs that were based in the Psalms:
Salvation of the Righteous (Ps. 37:25,29)
We Give Thanks (Ps. 75:1, 97:12)
You Will Answer Me (Ps. 32:7, 86:7)
He Stilled The Storm (Ps. 107:29-32)
In The Night Watches (Ps. 63:6, 46:1, 4:8)
In My Distress (Ps. 4:1, 18:6, 31:7)
So our discussion was on the topic of stresses in our lives. But, we ended up exploring the benefits and blessings of the stresses God allows to come into our lives (not the route I planned) and how the Psalmist's dealt with these difficult spans in their lives. In the new covenant passage the writer pens these words:
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:4-7)
Have a wonderful stressful day!
Yours in Christ,
Greg
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