Pastor’s Page | July 17th, 2025
Sermon Prep (Read James 4:1-3)
When I graduated seminary, our guest speaker for our commencement was Bishop Willimon who at that time was the Bishop in the United Methodist Church serving the North Alabama area. He spoke for roughly 30 minutes, but the entire sermon was about how awful and mean the church can be. He related a story about his first church where when he arrived the doors were locked by a giant chain and padlock placed there by the sheriff. Apparently, the church had such a dispute that the sheriff had to close the doors until the new minister arrived to help settle things. He then talked about how he had dealt with members of the church who gossiped about him, others made accusations about him when he disagreed with their ideas. He discussed how church members got into disagreements and pulled him into the middle of it. There were loud arguments, sometimes they even got physical. Some members in leadership were caught doing awful things and then tried to justify their behaviors and caused church fights in the process when people picked sides. He went on to tell one story after another about how mean and awful the church had been over the course of his ministry. After 30 minutes of this, we were all slunk down in our chairs thinking what have we gotten ourselves into! (fortunately, I had already served as a pastor for a while, so I knew exactly what he was talking about…sadly). Then he paused, and he said some words that I will never forget. He said, “And these are the exact people Christ loves and the ones He died for. And He is sending you to serve them. Go in His name and serve the Kingdom in His love with your words and your example.”
I loved the point he made but it also saddened me that this was the reality of the church. We do fuss and we do fight. There is a part of me that thinks that since we have the Holy Spirit and we all follow Christ and love Him, we should all then just get along. There is a video clip that makes me laugh every time I see it. It is called “Honest Preacher”. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mcXtontujA.
We should all be good and get along, but sadly, this is not the case. James is going to tell us why this is. In James 4:1-3, he discusses the root cause of our church conflicts. And as much as we want to blame Satan and his dominion of darkness, it actually comes down to us. It is the desires that wage war within us. James 4:1-3 is actually tied to what James said in James 3. Go back and look at how James describes the wisdom that is not from God. Look at the results of that wisdom. What happens when people are not peacemakers, when they don’t think about others but rather of themselves? Do you see the connection? When we make things about us, about what we are owed or due, or about what we want and not what is best for everyone, the church ends up in a squabble. In other words, when the church doesn’t act Christlike, the results are that we don’t act in peace but rather in hostility.
How do we handle conflict within the church and within our lives? We will be diving deeper into James 4:1-3 and see why we have conflict, the impact of those conflicts, and how we are called to handle these conflicts. For further preparation, read the following verses: Matthew 18:15-17, Colossians 3:13, Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 5:23-24, Romans 14:15, 2 Timothy 2:24-25, James 1:19-20, John 13:34, Ephesians 4:29, Philippians 2:1-5, Romans 12:17-21, 1 Peter 3:8-11, and Proverbs 15:1.
Updates, Thoughts and More
We want to say thank you to Izzy and to the rest of the volunteers who made this years’ Vacation Bible School a success. The kids not only had a blast, but they were taught the Good News of Jesus Christ. One kid on our bus trip home said, “this is the best day of my life!”
Many of you have asked how we can help the flood victims here in our own state. At this time, the emergency workers do not need more volunteers, but they do need supplies. We are putting together flood buckets to help the families and volunteers clean up. We have a list included in this email about how you can put the buckets together yourself or if you want to donate toward purchasing the necessary items for the flood buckets. We will be putting the buckets together on July 30th at 6 pm in the CLC and then delivering them to a drop off site in the following days.
This past week, our men’s prayer group did something that we had not done before. We know each other, or so we thought, but we realized that we really didn’t know that much about each other. So we went around the table and talked about our lives, what our jobs have been, our families, our hobbies, and our walk with Christ. I want to encourage all of our church to do this. Let’s be more than just people who worship together, let’s be a family that is connected and who truly love each other. Here is my challenge for you: Make the effort to get to know the people you worship with. (If you want to start with me, I would love to have coffee with you. Just drop by my office and let’s get to know each other. Plus…I can always do lunch)
I have started a new book called the Polaris Protocol by Brad Taylor. It is very similar to the other books I tend to read (Jack Reacher series, Scot Harvath series, Kendell Beck series by our very own Leeann Sparks!). It follows a Special forces/CIA/tough guy named Pike Logan and he is trying to stop the Mexican Cartels from messing with the Miliary GPS system. I have read many books in this series, and they are always filled with lots of action, thrills, and bad guys getting punched. This book has been the best of the series thus far.
In case you all didn’t hear, I have a new grandson!!! Camden Lane is doing great. My wife has been with him this past week and she is coming home this weekend. Please pray for her as she has already threatened to kidnap little Camden and bring him home with her. But if you look at him…how could you not just want to squeeze him!
What’s Going On This Week (07/20)
Sunday (07/20)
Sunday Service - 9am
Mission Trip (Kentucky & Ark Encounter) - 11:45am
Monday (07/21)
Stitching Angels - 1:30pm
Church Council Meeting - 6:30pm
Tuesday (07/22)
Men’s Meeting - 7:30am
Wednesday (07/23)
Prayer Warriors - 9am
Sip and Share - 10am
Table Talk (Revelation Study) - 5pm
Youth and Kids - 6pm
Learning our Faith
I love catechisms as a way to help explain our beliefs. There are many great ones and so I plan on including different questions and answers from various sources that help explain what the truths are that we hold dear. The first comes from the historic Heidelberg confession of 1563. There are some things within this catechism that I do not agree with, but there are many great truths that it explains, and the first question has always been one of my favorites. In fact, there is a song that goes with this question. Here is a link to the song on YouTube
Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?
A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.
Joke of the Week
Church feuds are not uncommon, especially among cliques in the congregation. But when the pastor and choir director get into it, stand aside. One week, the preacher preached on commitment, and how you should dedicate yourselves to service. The director then led the choir in singing, ‘I Shall Not Be Moved.’
The next Sunday, the preacher preached on giving and tithing and how we should gladly give to the work of the Lord. The choir director then led the song, ‘Jesus Paid It All.’
The next Sunday, the preacher preached on gossiping and how we should watch our tongues. The hymn was ‘I Love to Tell The Story.’
The preacher became disgusted over the situation, and the next Sunday he told the congregation he was considering resigning and asked for their prayers as he waited on the answer. The choir then got up and sang ‘Oh, Why Not Tonight.’
When the preacher resigned the next week, he told the church that Jesus had led him there and Jesus was taking him away. The choir then sang, ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus.’
Memory Verse of the Week
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
~Colossians 3:13 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“He that is not a son of Peace is not a son of God. All other sins destroy the church consequentially; but Division and Separation demolish it directly.”
~Richard Baxter
