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Israel was baptized through the Red Sea. They sang a song of victory and rejoiced in the grace of God. But... most of those celebrating that day did not make it home to the promised land. Why not? Pride. They began to feel entitled, and that caused them to turn attention from God to themselves. 

Part of our episode today will investigate the  mistakes of Israel in I Corinthians 10. How can we be less like them, more dependent on God, and beautifully humble? 

We will also list 8 things from Kevin Deyoung's book, Crazy Busy. These words, all starting with the letter P (its a Letter P day!) represent more subtle ways that pride sneaks into our lives. Having sought humility in these things, you and I will be better positioned, at the foot of God's throne, to be more useful to Him.

"A Manifestation of the Many Manifestations of Pride" (pg 35-38)
- People Pleasing
- Pats on the Back
- Performance Evaluation
- Proving Myself
- Possessions
- Prestige
- Pity
- Posting

Ooh, I see some of my own pride in that list. But what does our year look like if we know where we need to be humble? If we ask the question: "is this about me? And if it was about God and others, how different would it look?" 

May the Lord, who has blessed us in His grace and Spirit and Son, use us well and give us a life of gratitude, thankfulness, and service. 

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Crazy Busy Book

Let's turn our attention back to planning through the end of the year and preparing for an amazing 2023. Part of this is spacing out your goals to avoid being "crazy busy." That is not a compliment. Crazy busy people make unneeded sacrifices and end up not enjoying the journey nor the destination. Let's examine how to be more like Jesus. Part of that is knowing your limitations, finding humility, and being ready to be what God wants you to be.

7 Thoughts from Crazy Busy:  Calming the Crazy Man Inside (pg. 47-50)
1) I am not the Christ
2) There is Good News
3) Care is not the same as Do
4) I can always Pray Right Now
5) We have different Gifts and different Callings
6) Remember the Church
7) Jesus didn't do it all

Can you lay out a few things that represent your most crucial priority?
What matters most and can you attach actions and growth to those things?
Be prepared to have a "posteriority" list. Things that belong at the bottom.

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"Denominational" Baptism. "Church of Christ" Baptism. We come up with lots of adjectives before the word baptism that are not found in Scripture. This often leads us away from the simple truth of the Gospel. It leads to labeling, party system, and sectarianism. 

The temptation to implement our judgments on a person's baptism is strong among God's people. We want to know who baptized them. We want to know who the teacher was. What church they were in. And other factors to decide if they are like us. All of those are factors. But be careful. Anyone, anywhere, anytime, can read the Scripture and obey it, without asking your permission or using your local church's baptistry. 

We want to know: have you submitted to God in the One Baptism:
- Full Immersion in Water - John 3:23. Acts 8:35-39
- To Follow and Obey Jesus - Matthew 3:15; Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:18-20
- For the Forgiveness of Sins - Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16
- Uniting with Christ's Power - Romans 6:3-7
- To be Added by God to the Body - Acts 2:47
- To Begin a New Walk in Faith - Acts 2:31-47

How much did they know beyond this?
- Some say a whole bunch - Acts 2:40
- But Scripture argues differently - see Acts 8 and Acts 16

- But what about the Baptizer?
- And what about the Teacher?
- Or the Church they came from?
- How will our Church handle that?

Let's dig in - cutting through sectarian and denominational thinking and getting back to the Word and the simple connection between and Individual - the Gospel - and God. 

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We are getting down to the last couple of months in 2022.  This is an outstanding time to evaluate the year and start working on plans for 2023. I don't like waking up in January jumping in to something new. I want to work on it, plan it, and get it set up now... so the New Year starts with excitement and structure. 

A fun way to get into this way of thinking is The Bucket List. So let's spend some time on that. But there is a really cool, perhaps even better, list to examine: the reverse bucket list. What if we look backwards to assess where our attention should go in the future? 

- Are you ready to do some work now to make 2023 the best year of your life?

- What is a Bucket List and why are they so fun to make?

- But what are some drawbacks of putting our joy and hope in a list like that?

- What is a Reverse Bucket List and how does it give us deeper perspective?

- How can you plan 2023 with reachable goals that deepen things you know you love?

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"Where's the beef? - Do you remember the old Wendy's commercials from the '80's? An older lady sees a tiny patty and asks where is the rest of it!? Sometimes people say that about grace, when referencing the preaching, teaching and Christianity they grew up with.

But maybe that isn't a fair judgment. Grace can be preached without mentioning the word. In fact, the substance of grace is not found in a word, but in a story: the story of Jesus. Let's explore the depth of the nature of grace and how we can know it well and be filled with it!

To be sure, some shied away from focusing on grace and Jesus - for whatever reason much more emphasis was put on actions, authority and patterns. Those things are really important, but they mean nothing without the story of Jesus and the power of His mercy in your heart and life. Let's explore that today!

- Were you taught grace where you worshipped growing up?

- Does that mean mentioned the word, or is it more about the biblical idea?

- How does the story of Jesus represent the deliverance of God's grace upon this earth?

- What happens in my heart and life when I am connected to Jesus every single day?

- Will others see grace when they encounter you? And how do you make that happen?

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

Today is wedding day for some great friends of ours: Beau Barnes and Hannah Holt. I have been asked to officiate and I'm up here at the building practicing! Right in the middle I thought - Hey I want to share this with all my friends! So, here's my wedding sermon. 

First and foremost, we need much more optimism! God's picture of marriage is very good, a great reward and the answer for loneliness! If this isn't your marriage - all I can say is that it was designed to be and has the potential in it somewhere. 

But we need to talk about some tips and strategies. Three things will make a huge difference and we talk about them today: all in allegiance to God's right to govern your home, all in commitment to oneness from now until the end of your life, and three really beautiful words: love, love, and love. 

- What do you remember about your wedding day?

- Do you remember the optimism for the future that filled the room?

- How does commitment to God's government of your marriage a powerful start?

- What happens when we have no option but to get through trouble together as one?

- Have you looked at love in three, distinct and important categories?

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

Perfect Prayer Plan

I have attached a file so that you can print out the perfect prayer plan. This has been a fruitful staple in my life for a decade now. I commend it to you. All of it comes straight from the life of Jesus. Remember, #5,#6 and #7 are crucial for your own life - but also the exact things you should be praying into the lives of your enemies.

The topic of today's podcast relates to how you deal with your enemies. But I have lots of questions. What in the world is an enemy in our time? Can I identify an enemy, or a list of enemies, in my life? And once I figure out who it is, compared to simply someone who doesn't like me very much, what am I supposed to do about that?

We are a blessed people in our time. Most of us are protected from people who would truly do us harm. However, sometimes the people closest to us become our enemies. They oppose us, take our words in the worst light, and refuse to rebuild a friendship.

What would God have us do about that? Let's explore some ideas that can help.

- What is an enemy and how how do I determine if someone is an enemy?

- What would Christ have me do with my enemy?

- How important is self-evaluation when dealing with an enemy?

- How important is compassion for an enemy in dealing with them?

- What role does prayer play when the relationship seems irreparably broken?

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

University Oaks church of Christ (October 16-19, 2022)
Sunday 9:30 / 10:30 / 5:00pm.  Mon-Wed 7:30pm.

Please take a moment to watch the YouTube video of the recording of "In Need"

In need of grace, in need of love
In need of mercy raining down from high above
In need of strength, in need of peace
In need of things that only You can give to me

In need of Christ, the perfect Lamb
My refuge strong, the great I Am
This is my song, my humble plea
I am Your child, I am in need

In need of grace, in need of love
In need of mercy raining down from high above
In need of strength, in need of peace
In need of things that only You can give to me

In need of Christ, the perfect Lamb
My refuge strong, the great I Am
This is my song, my humble plea
I am Your child, I am in need

In need of Christ, the perfect Lamb
My refuge strong, the great I Am
This is my song, my humble plea
I am Your child, I am in need

I am Your child, I am in need

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

Ooh, I'm excited to talk about this today! Simon Sinek has been a help to me in many ways over the years. His work on "Always Speak Last" and "Start With Why" continue to affect the way I think and live. One of his newer books, "The Infinite Game" shares ideas that have become immediately relevant in decision making, relationship... handling, and general understanding of my purpose.

I hope you find this powerful in assessing if the things you struggle with in this life are about winning, or about keeping going and growing. When we are in something for its betterment and our betterment, with no direct competition and no deadline or timeframe... great things WILL happen.

- How does an infinite game differ from a finite game?

- If the purpose is to win by a deadline, what are drawbacks to that approach?

- How can the goal to keep going and keep growing produce far, far more results?

- If you stop comparing and stopped competing, how would that free you up to grow?

- What are practical situations where an infinite game approach can fill you with optimism?

The Infinite Game

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Did you know that September 21st was the 56th annual World Gratitude Day? I most certainly did not know that. I read about it. It has spiritual roots but has now been stripped of God's presence and recognition for the most part. However, it triggers the need in us all to give thanks.

That is a good thing, the giving of thanks, the expression of gratitude. But what is that without God? How strong is thanks if it is not directed to One who has the power to give and restore gifts? I go through Level 3 Gratitude every single morning. I'll lay that out in the episode. But I've notice most of it is earth bound - health, marriage, home, kids, job. Why don't I talk more to God about Christ and the redemption and heaven? We'll explore that today.

You and I ought to be so overwhelmingly grateful for the blessings of Jesus that it defined, redefines, directs, and redirects every day to joy in the hand of God. When heaven and purification is on our hearts every day, we have gratitude untouched by the challenges and trials of this life.

- What on earth is World Gratitude Day?

- How can Level 3 Gratitude transform your day?

- What value is gratitude if God is not in the center of it?

- How can I turn my attention more to spiritual blessings and why?

- If you were given one million dollars for a day's work, would you be thankful?