Begin With The End In Mind, Part 1
17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 18I am the living one. I died, but look-I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.” (Revelation 1:17-18)
I have launched another Bible Study in my neighborhood. We are using Max Lucado‘s “Life Lessons” study guide and beginning with the Book of Revelation. I chose to start with Revelation because our previous Bible Study had looked at every book through the entire Holy Bible, but we had never covered Revelation. So, to pick up where the last group left off and launch a more in-depth study, I found Mr. Lucado’s study series, which I am really enjoying already (and I am only in the first lesson). The Life Lessons study guides cover many of the books of the New Testament, and if this new group likes what we get out of this first one, we may stay with Mr. Lucado’s works for the long term. I am excited to see where this new group goes. Pray that it is fruitful and I can lead these men to be better disciples, spurned to action as their knowledge grows. I will share this journey with you all on this platform as it unfolds.
Our former lead pastor of Compassion Christian Church, who stood at the helm of the church for forty years, preached an inspiring message from the pulpit this previous Sunday. I have not attended church in a month due to my schedule in the PD and the GAARNG, but my family and I stayed for service after serving in the kid’s ministry this previous weekend. We had to stay because we had a meeting for all the volunteers for the upcoming Kid’s Summer Camp, which will be in two weeks. Mrs. Z and I will be serving all week, as we did last year. If you have been following this blog for the last few years, you may remember how inspired I was diving into Kid’s Camp last year. It was such an incredible experience, and I cannot wait to see what this year brings. We have 445 K-5th grade age kids registered for camp! But back to Pastor Cam Huxford’s message from Sunday. Pastor Cam shared a message about his love for the Bible and challenged the congregation to devote more of their time into reading and studying the Bible. I had been dragging my feet with launching this new Bible Study group. My schedule has been incredibly busy, and I see no relief to that in sight. But after Pastor Cam’s message, I knew what I had to do, and I came home and created a flyer to advertise this new Bible Study and posted it to our neighborhood Facebook page. Pastor Cam’s message helped motivate another husband/father in our neighborhood to express interest in the Bible Study and bring his oldest son as well to pick up a copy of Lucado’s study guide. This neighbor asked me if I had planned to launch this in correlation with Pastor Cam’s message, which I had not. I had no idea what message Pastor Cam would preach, but his words were what I needed to hear to remind me that I cannot let the world prevent me from leading other men to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ. Pastor Cam spoke from his heart about his love for the Bible and it is a love I share as well. His message was a powerful reminder of the importance of carving out time in your day to read the Bible. If you need that reminder of how crucial it is for you to read the Bible everyday, you can click the image below and hear Pastor Cam’s sermon for yourself.
I also want to share a new Podcast for anyone who loves to fill their free time, or drive time, with motivational interviews and insight. I spoke of this young man a few months ago after I attended Compassion Christian Church’s Men’s Conference. Dillon and his brother have launched a Podcast series called “The Internal War” and I want to give them a shout-out because I really love what they are bringing to the Kingdom. You can listen to their first three episodes by clicking on the embeds below.
Finally, I will close with the new release from Mr. Brandon Lake. A rock anthem called “Sevens”, Mr. Lake’s new single is an epic ballad that coincides with the imagery of the Book of Revelation. Click the image below, turn up the sound on whatever medium you are reading this post, and ready the weapon of praise!
Common Sense Reborn 