Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (11.14.13)

I hope you've had a great week.  I'm so enjoying this season of "grATTITUDE" at Church of the Way.  This Sunday, we'll continue the series by talking about how we're sometimes ungrateful for people and the implications of that on our lives.  An attitude of gratitude is always what God desires.  Can't wait to see you there!

Thought for the Week
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  2 Peter 3:18

I caught wind of something going on at my high school alma mater.  They're having an alumni football game.  Yes, old men in full gear.  And I thought for a minute, "That'd be fun."  I've got plans Saturday, but my wife (and father) reminded me that those days have passed, and I'd probably end up in the emergency room.  I heard a great quote this week, "There comes a time when a little boy needs to sit down, and a man needs to stand up."  That's what Peter was saying.  A walk with Christ is supposed to be a walk in which we improve.  Too often, we come to faith in Christ, but we don't grow.  We fade back into old habits, behaviors and mindsets.  We think it's wise to act the way we used to, and it ends up injuring us.  The little boy, the little girl, the 'babe in Christ' never seems to sit down for us.  You were saved to grow.  God's grace is not done with you in salvation.  Just like the nutrition and exercise needed to help our bodies grow, there are some crucial things that help us grow as Christ Followers:

• Scripture - reading it, studying it with others, hearing it, memorizing it.
• Prayer - we have to communicate if it's going to be a relationships.
• Worship - we need to be with others to worship God and hear God's word proclaimed.
• Serving - something happens to our hearts when we give of ourselves.

That's not it, but those things are pretty important.  Let us be people that grow in the grace.  Let a 'babe in Christ' sit down, and a disciple stand up.

In Christ,

Carter