Growin' Up Gregory

Many of us (and with literally billions of users, don't act like you're not in this group) use social media on a regular basis to post, look at, or like pictures of ourselves, our friends, our pets, our kids, or any random object we find amusing at the moment.  With the movement of posting pictures of oneself becoming so popular that we've even gotten a new word from it, selfie.  But how does this selfie mentality fit into one's Christian walk?  One writer shared this, "The scene of someone being on their knees before God may be one of the only selfies that can convey humility." It's hard to only talk about me, me, me, and still be focused on God, God, God.  Shifting away from this selfie culture toward surrendering to God's will is necessary for spiritual growth.  We rarely think of the word surrender in any positive light.  But when it comes to surrendering to God's will in our life, it is vital. The Point:  Approach prayer with humble ...

This week in our Sunday school class, I asked the question:  "What's a name you associate with greatness?"  Instantly, one young guy responds, LeBron!  You can tell he's younger because even my much younger (brownie points!) wife spoke up and said that when she thinks of 23, she thinks of Michael Jordan.  We stopped the debate there in the interest of getting into the lesson as well as not starting an argument in church. While we all likely have different names that we associate with greatness, we all recognize the importance of having an honorable name.  "Without question, one name above all others deserves honor:  the name of God.  Jesus taught us to honor the name of God when we pray." The Point:  Our prayers are driven by the desire to honor God. This week's primary verse was Matthew 6:9b, "Hallowed be your name," as well as Psalm 96:1-9. Part 1 - Praise thru Proclamation In the Model Prayer, Jesus directs us to place praise at t...

In our College & Career Sunday school class this week, we started a series titled, "How to Pray."  I plan to try to and share the lessons each week in case anyone wants to follow along with us here...or you can come join us Sunday mornings at Tabernacle at 10 AM in room 218. Any good speaker, teacher, or presenter knows that the #1 rule of public speaking is to know your audience.  You don't want to prepare a discussion about retirement for preschoolers and a presentation themed with Disney princesses most likely wouldn't spark the interest of a group of businessmen.  In order for someone to prepare a dynamic and engaging presentation, they must know their audience, who they're preparing to talk to. The same is true in our prayer life.  The Point of this week's study is: "A right view of God fuels how we pray."  The conversations we engage in with our friends about are often focused on topics that interest them: their favorite team, favorite ...

If you've been following along, you've seen what authentic joy is and the foundation that it comes from.  But what does it look like in our everyday lives?  How do we live our lives in such a way that others can't help but see our joy and faith? Read 1 Thessalonians 1:7-10 True authentic joy is infectious.  People can spot someone who has true passion, true care, and true desire to be doing what they're doing.  This goes from the girl waiting on you at the fast food restaurant to the boy bagging your groceries.  If they are joyful in what they're doing, you can tell it because real joy is set apart. True joy does not ebb and flow with the environment around us.  It doesn't matter if your team won, your new car got a dent in it, or your favorite show got cancelled.  True joy goes beyond the trivial things that make us "happy" to the point that we are joyful in what God has given us - nothing else is needed.  The people in Thessalonica saw t...

It was a good thing that the church at Thessalonica was strongly rooted in its faith in God.  Its founder and leader, Paul, had been run out of town by mobs and attacks leaving this new church with new believers to wade through its early days without its top leadership.  If you want further proof that God does things bigger than us, consider how many businesses would survive, let along thrive, if you removed their CEO shortly after their organization.  But that's exactly what was happening here. Read 1 Thessalonians 1:4-6 Just like the early Thessalonian church, our foundation should be built on the salvation that we have through faith in Christ.  Having that confidence, we should be filled with an authentic joy that spills over into all of our actions and emotions.  So what does authentic joy look like? "Authentic joy is deeper than emotion."  Our joy must come from somewhere.  Remember my earlier statement that true joy isn't manufactured from ...

Working at a bank, we occasionally have counterfeit money that comes in.  Some of it looks and feels very much like real money.  With its color, size, and feel, it's understandable how it passed initial inspection by a cashier. However, some of it barely looks better than Monopoly money and really leaves you wondering what the cashier was thinking when they accepted it.  But no matter how good the counterfeit, eventually, it is found out to be fake.  "Inauthenticity will always be revealed - even when it's in a Christian's attitude.  We can tell the difference between a fake smile or handshake and genuine joy and compassion.  This joy cannot be manufactured, but we can be filled with it when we are filled with the love and truth of Jesus Christ. Read:  1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 Paul and his companions begin these verses by sharing how thankful they are for three very specific traits of the early members of the church at Thessalonica. First, is that t...