Have you noticed that people will often put expectations on you for things that they’re not even capable of or willing to do themselves?  And often those expectations are just too high and don’t make any sense?  You have to understand that you’re simply not going to be able to be everything that everyone expects you to be and you can’t make everyone happy.  Today, Pastor Ford will remind us to consider these things when we are being criticized.  

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If you want to thrive when you’re being criticized, the first thing you have to do to is comprehend the criticism you are facing.  You have to analyze it and scrutinize it.  You have try and get behind what the motivation is for the accusation against you. Doing this will help you determine if it’s true or not and how you need to respond.

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As we conclude this study on teamwork, Pastor Ford explains what the priority of our commitments should be. Our first commitment is to our Sovereign. Our second is to the saints—or fellow believers.  And the third is to the service of our Lord, in that order.  If the service is messing up the saints, then it’s messing up our commitment to the Sovereign and whatever the service is, it should be stopped in order to preserve the other commitments, which are the higher priority. 

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It’s very easy to form your own agenda when you’re in ministry. And Pastor Ford explains that you can know when you’re doing something for yourself and not for the Lord when something doesn’t go your way and you get mad about it.  That’s a clear indication that you’re not seeking God’s glory, but instead you’re seeking your own.

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As we begin a new study in 1 Corinthians 3, Pastor Ford reminds us that we, as Christians, are all on the same team and we must work together to accomplish ministry.  And Christians who realize that all unity in ministry is based on the finished work of Christ, will be able to glorify Him by uniting themselves. 

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Cliques are groups of people who exclude others and often follow a leader who has a charismatic personality. We often encounter them at school, work, and maybe even sometimes at church. But Christians really shouldn’t live the like that.  When we look at the verses we’ll study today, we’ll understand that Christians must have unity centered on the person of Christ, and not on personalities.

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Pastor Ford will explain today that God wants to do something in us, even if He doesn’t do something for us.  He wants us to be His children who have an attitude of gratitude for all that He has done and what He is able to do, whether or not He is doing what we want Him to do.

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While we’re going through, whatever it is we’re going through, God’s Word tells us that we ought to have an attitude of gratitude.  There must always be this perspective in us that acknowledges the fact that God does all things well, no matter what our opinion is (good or bad) of what He is doing in our lives.

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Today we take a break from our normal programming line up so Pastor Ford can answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life.  The topics he’ll be explaining include how to deal biblically with situations that require church discipline and if it’s ever okay for a believer to date a non-believer.  

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As we conclude our message series on moving forward, Pastor Ford points out that many of us are not making any meaningful progress in life because we haven’t given over to the Lord what we ought to have given Him.  He asks the question, “How can God ever make a powerful impact with your life if you’ve never given it to Him?” 

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