Righteous Motives for Righteous Living
In Matthew 6:16-19, Jesus warns against fasting in a way to draw attention to one’s own righteousness. Instead, our motive for correct spiritual disciplines must be to please God rather than man.
Archive for month: November, 2021
The Praying Life
In today’s Devotionable, Pepe Roberts points out two takeaways from King Jesus’ teaching on prayer. First, prayer is simple. Second, prayer is personal. These are two truths we can take with us today and be more faithful and fruitful in prayer.
Secret Giving
Jesus begins to teach his disciples about giving. The understanding is that they will give, not that it is optional. Michael Knight helps us work through this portion of the Sermon on the Mount and points us to other positive and negative examples of giving found in the New Testament. As Christ’s disciples, let us be found faithful in our giving!
College and Singles Weekly Update: November 23rd- 30th
Sunday Night Worship:
Worship services on Sunday Nights at 6:00 pm.
Join us this fall for worship and the word.
SINGLES GROUP:
- BFG (Bible Fellowship Group) Sunday Morning 10:30 AM, RM 202
- Sunday Worship: 9:00 AM
The Men will be going through a men’s leadership study on how to be a Godly leader in a four-part series. This study is designed to help men grow in their ability to be Godly leaders in the church, their work/school, their families/relationships/friendships, and in the community.
The next men’s group will meet on December 5th.
Location: Going shooting- text Philip to reserve your spot!!
Contact Pastor Philip if you have any questions: pbrown@naobc.org
The women will be going through a study on Hospitality. This study by Carolyn Lacy is designed for the ordinary person and gives 7 ways to “welcome like Jesus”. The book called Extroidianry Hospitality can be purchased at Amazon here.
Location: Jenna’s house (check GroupMe for address)
Time: 6:30
Contact Melanie Cox if you have any questions: melc14@hotmail.com
COLLEGE GROUP:
- BFG (Bible Fellowship Groups) Sunday Morning 9:00 AM, RM 202
- Sunday Worship: 10:30 AM
Serving During the Break:
Well, College Night was a hit! What a great time of fellowship we enjoyed coming out of the Covid shutdown. Now it is time to do something that many of you have desired to do while on break and even next semester. You want to serve!!
The college group will be doing some service projects during the winter break.
We are planning to do these every other week till we start back Wednesday nights at the end of January. Our plan is to do 2 service projects that are around the church and then do 2 projects that serve the community. We are also looking to partner with some other BFGs. Times and dates for the other 3 are going to be posted soon.
Our Week in the Word segment this week comes from Philip Brown, our college and singles Pastor.
A Thanksgiving Message:
Can you believe it? Thanksgiving is here. For you students who have been so focused on finishing up papers and preparing for finals, you can take a breather. And for most of us who take a breather from school and or work at least a day or two this week, let us be sure to not take a breather from our walk with Christ. Just like retirement doesn’t mean we stop being a good believer, we don’t stop believing and serving our savior during our “time off”.
My family will fight to keep our devotions and personal quiet times strong around vacation from school for the kids and a week-long vacation for all of us in South Carolina. We have just made a transition from the book of Philippians to the book of Psalms. We went there this week due to how much we see thankfulness embedded into the heartbeat of the book. The perfect chapter for us to start in is Psalm 136. Here we see the phrase “His steadfast love endures forever” repeated. The bookends of this Psalm has another phrase, “Give thanks to the Lord.”
If you have time to share with your family or friends on Thursday, here is a good place to get a kickstart of what we should be thankful for to God.
Verse 1 reminds us that no matter what, God is good. Then in the next few verses, we are reminded He is the Lord of lords and God of gods. The end of the chapter in verse 26 caps the book by saying he is the God of heaven. If you just see these 4 verses as what David is thankful for, you miss that the other 22 are also things about God we should be thankful for.
These verses really tell the history of God’s provision to His people and affirm the truth that is repeated, “His love endures forever”.
This is a good example for us. Maybe this can be a jumpstart for us to be more thankful. We too can take time to list what God has done for us to this point in our lives in some one-liners and then stating “his love endures forever”. I have attempted to do one for myself as an example for you and those you might share this with around your thanksgiving table on Thursday:
He has given me health and life
His steadfast love endures forever
He has given me salvation from my sins
His steadfast love endures forever
He guides me to shepherd by his spirit and word
His steadfast love endures forever
My wife and children give me joy and encourage my heart
His steadfast love endures forever
Give thanks to the Lord
For His steadfast love endures forever
Have a great Thanksgiving
Pastor Philip
Really Jesus?
Jesus tells his disciples that they are to love their enemies. Jesus can’t be serious, can he? He is! Peter Holmes walks us through this passage as Jesus continues to call us to a higher standard as we live under his kingship.
Pulling Teeth
What does Jesus mean when he says to ‘turn the other cheek’ or to ‘go the extra mile’? Derek Riley helps us consider these questions in our passage from the Sermon on the Mount today.
Be Trustworthy
Jesus continues teaching his disciple in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. He tells us to be trustworthy. As God’s children, we say what we mean and mean what we say. Nothing more. Nothing less. We are to be truth-loving and truth-speaking people. Let us be known as a people whose word is our bond.
College and Singles Weekly Update: November 17th-24th
Sunday Night Worship:
Worship services on Sunday Nights at 6:00 pm.
Join us this fall for worship and the word.
Building Community Night this Sunday following our evening service!! We will also participate in the Lord’s Supper during the evening service. Pastor Philip will be preaching.
SINGLES GROUP:
- BFG (Bible Fellowship Group) Sunday Morning 10:30 AM, RM 202
- Sunday Worship: 9:00 AM
The Men will be starting a men’s leadership study on how to be a Godly leader in a four-part series starting on Nov 15. This study is designed to help men grow in their ability to be Godly leaders in the church, their work/school, their families/relationships/friendships, and in the community.
Location: Philip Brown’s house
Time: 6
Contact Pastor Philip if you have any questions: pbrown@naobc.org
The women will be starting a study on Hospitality on Nov. 18. This study by Carolyn Lacy is designed for the ordinary person and gives 7 ways to “welcome like Jesus”. The book called Extroidianry Hospitality can be purchased at Amazon here.
Location: Abigail Johnson’s Apartment – 1848 Frankfort Ave.
Time: 6:30
Contact Melanie Cox if you have any questions: melc14@hotmail.com
COLLEGE GROUP:
- BFG (Bible Fellowship Groups) Sunday Morning 9:00 AM, RM 202
- Sunday Worship: 10:30 AM
Serving During the Break:
Well, College Night was a hit! What a great time of fellowship we enjoyed coming out of the Covid shutdown. Now it is time to do something that many of you have desired to do while on break and even next semester. You want to serve!!
The college group will be doing some service projects during the winter break.
Our first service project is TONIGHT (Nov 17th).
Location: At church
Time: 6:30 PM
We are planning to do these every other week till we start back Wednesday nights at the end of January. Our plan is to do 2 service projects that are around the church and then do 2 projects that serve the community. We are also looking to partner with some other BFGs. Times and dates for the other 3 are going to be posted soon.
Our Week in the Word segment this week is a repeat from many months ago. Dr. Howell, one of the college BFG leaders wrote this timely message that is good to be reminded of in seasons of disappointment or frustration.
Psalm 112
Psalm 112 is an excellent example of a wisdom psalm. It begins with the concept of blessedness (cf. Ps 1), fear of the Lord (cf. Prov 1:7; 9:10), and delighting in God’s commandments (cf. Ps 1 again). Verses 2-5 describe this wise person as mighty, upright, and prosperous (though not in a prosperity gospel kind of way). Verses 6-9 provide the ground for why the wise person is this way; “for…his heart is firm (v. 7b)…his heart is steady (v. 8a). Finally, verse 10 describes the wicked who will ultimately perish, a common theme in Proverbs and other related wisdom literature.
As we consider this overall concept of “wisdom,” I want to focus on Psalm 112:7 this week; “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”
Many of us shudder at the thought of bad news. We don’t want to hear that things are not going well or that some kind of difficulty has just been announced. It seems in our world today that everywhere we turn, we are getting bad news. We have largely become a pessimistic society that loves to dwell in the mire of bad news.
Psalm 112:7 teaches us that the blessed person, i.e. the person who flourishes in this harsh world, is not afraid of bad news.
It’s not that this wise person is oblivious to it or just ignores it. No, the wise person takes bad news into account, considers it, and then lives in light of it. However, this wise person is not afraid of it. Why? The next line answers this question; “his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.” I would argue that the logic of this verse goes like this: The blessed/wise person is not afraid of bad news because his heart is firm by trusting in the Lord. In other words, the wise person shores up his or her confidence in the power of God such that no bad news can derail the firmness of his or her heart. “A mighty fortress is our God; a bulwark never failing!!!”
Indeed, bad news comes to us all, but the wise/blessed person has no need to fear because our God is a great King who gives strength to his people to endure every hardship. This kind of confidence in the power of God through Christ will give us firm hearts such that when bad news comes, we can rest securely in the arms of our Father rather than spiraling into despair.
As you walk your daily life this week, dwell on the goodness and kindness of God to you in Christ Jesus such that your confidence in his power to save bolsters your spiritual vitality.
Do not fear the bad news; rather, receive it in the confidence of a firm heart, trusting in the Lord.
Divorce & Remarriage
The wisest and best way to read, teach, and preach the Bible is verse-by-verse through its books. It takes you to topics and issues it’s easy to avoid. You come across teaching that is hard, but though it is hard, it is not harsh. Hard calls to follow God faithfully are a grace. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about Divorce and Remarriage. We should look to God’s word to formulate our positions, extend grace where we can, and seek to maintain a high view of marriage in our lives. Marriage is a gift of God. His design is one man, one woman, for one lifetime.
Avoid at all Costs
Jesus is teaching his disciples about the necessity of sexual purity. Take it seriously, put up safeguards, and avoid sexual temptations at all costs! Righteousness is worth the price.
