Every Sunday our worship service begins at 6pm at 513 Talbot Street. Don't forget that doors open at 5:30 for set-up as well as coffee, juice and snacks. Then join us after the service (until roughly 9:00) for an extended time of fellowship and fun! Everyone is welcome.
May 26, 2013 As I was training for my next marathon this past week, somewhere in my mind I heard, “You will not finish this marathon.” And an image struck me…of one of my training runs over 8 weeks ago with a DNF – “Did not finish.” That Saturday afternoon, I had made it 18 of my scheduled 21 miles and could go no further. I had to quit that day. And ONLY that day. Every other training run went great. I even completed a marathon 3 weeks ago. But, this past week, my mind held that DNF image…why? Why does our mind do that? If over 40 runs went well and one went sour, why focus on the one?
So often our past creeps in like that. One failure. One poor decision. Something that happened to us. It bonds us. Even if everything else seems right. Sometimes the past adds up to a soupy mess of debilitation. The past wraps us up and ties us down.
That's why I love St. Paul's words to the Philippian Church, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal”. Now, this is not “forgetting” in the sense that you did not learn from it. It is Biblically defined “forgetting” – meaning not allowing it to impact the way it is today. By placing my focus on the goal, I can “forget” that failure. I allow the “goal” to define me, not the failure…not the past. What's your goal? How can it start to shape and define you?
May 19, 2013. "Knowing the Fullness of our Messiah." We continue our series in Philippians – looking at 2:19-3:11. Paul outlined to this young church that its about to get challenging, things will lead to disunity, and they will want to give up. But Paul declared to them (and us) – "your attitude should be the same as that of our Messiah Jesus." It won't be easy. It will often be in "fear and trembling"…but (as we will look at this week), "Everything else is rubbish," so press on. Then, share…in Jesus…Share in his suffering…share in his Life…and Share in His resurrection. Exciting words. But what do they really mean? We'll chat more about this on Sunday evening. See you there at 6pm!
