No Perfect People Allowed

We began our new series today, “No Perfect People Allowed.”  We focused on how Jesus loves to save sinners …  how Jesus offers forgiveness to all … and, the new life Jesus brings.  Which is to say that Las Vegas is a fabulous place to be in ministry.  We are world-famous for having imperfect people populating our city and God must love demonstrating His grace here.

Impacting Las Vegas

I’m reading a new book, “How to Muliply Your Church.”  It raises questions for me as to how our faith community can make a greater impact on Las Vegas for the Kingdom of God.  One sentence stands out (pg. 36) — “Activating ordinary people in very simple churches is how the gospel undercut the pagan Roman Empire in just three centuries.”

That seems to be the point for our church here in Las Vegas.

Healing Prayer

I thought worship this past Sunday was very inspirational.  We celebrated a thankoffering theme with Pastor Jennifer preaching at 8:00 am (which really was an accomplishment since she was awake all night Friday with the Confirmation kids at the Adventuredome and then in the Social Hall).  The music by the choir and praise team was excellent as usual.  And, I really enjoyed praying for healing for our members at the altar.

Too often we forget that healing prayer is Biblical and a huge part of the New Testament church.  I think we will continue this practice on the last Sunday of each month.  You could feel the Spirit of God moving in worship and that is something we would like to experience every time we get together for worship.

Getting Along in the Kitchen

We had a great mid-week Bible study yesterday focusing on love.  My message on Sunday was on loving people with your words.  Tough to communicate with the right words.  Yesterday we talked about just getting along in the kitchen …  where to put the dishes, the level of neatness family members want, etc., etc.  You know how it is in your own home.

After 25 years of marriage, I still don’t seem to know where various things should be put in the kitchen.  God bless Chris for putting up with me.  Life really is all about relationships and they are tough.

From today’s reading in “The Relationship Principles of Jesus” — One of the most vital aspects of your communication with people is prayer.  More important than the way you talk to someone is the way you talk to God about them. 

Don’t talk about people this week.  Pray to God for them.  Watch great things happen.

Communication Isn’t Easy!

We continue with our sermon series, “It’s All About Love!”  Yesterday I preached on loving with your words.  It was the kind of sermon I aimed at myself because it is so difficult to use the right words in the heat of the moment in relationships.  Folks who came up to me said the message spoke to them.  I assured them it spoke first of all to me.

How tough is it to love with your words?  Communication experts say that the words we speak can acutally produce six distinct messages:

1.  What you mean to say
2. What you actually say
3.  What the other person hears
4.  What the other person thinks they hear
5.  What the other person says about what you said
6.  What you think the other person said about what you said

What’s a person to do?   Well, we keep on communicating but we do it carefully …  thoughtfully …  slowly … prayerfully …  lovingly …  so that we build up family and friends through using words that give hope and encouragement to those around us.