Becoming Mature Disciples

Monday, December 04, 2006

Nebuchadnezzar's "Faith"

As we've continued on our journey through the book of Daniel, I'm really fascinated by the way that Nebuchadnezzar grows in his faith. I'm not sure we could ever say that he ever got to the point where he had what would be considered to be a "saving faith", but it sure is interesting to see how he grows in his understanding of God through the dreams and events he experiences. It reminds us that our faith is not a one-time event. It's a magnificent journey, with all it's ups and downs. But the question all of us need to ask is "Is my faith greater today than it was a week/month/year ago?"

Outward Focus

Rick Rusaw has written an interesting article titled "Leading Your Church with an External Focus". I think he has some pretty good thoughts on how churches need to balance our inward and outward focus. This goes along quite well with some of the things we learned about in our last sermon series from Acts. I hope you'll take the time to read it and share any thoughts you have.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Giving Thanks

In a way, it's kind of a shame that we have to set aside a special day each year to give thanks. For those of us who have a personal relationship with Jesus, we have much to be thankful for each and every day - not just once a year. Here are a few of the things I'm thankful for:
  • A wonderful godly wife who has put up with me for nearly 30 years
  • Parents who cared enough about me to discipline me when I needed it (probably more often than I care to admit) and to instill the values of morality and hard work in my life
  • Children who are truly a blessing from God
  • Every material possession that comes from the hand of God
  • A country where I can practice my faith openly
  • Being able to preach and teach the Word of God in a church full of loving people
  • The ability to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ

That's just the tip of the iceberg for me. What are you thankful for?

Daniel Chapter 2

One of the reasons I love the Book of Daniel so much is that Daniel and his three friends are so sure of their faith at such a young age. I'm not sure that even 30 years after becoming a believer I always have such a faith. Daniel had to be very confident in his God to go into Nebuchadnezzar and offer to interpret his dream. I often wonder what it takes to have that kind of confidence in God, to be willing to put my life on the line and just trust that God will work everything out for good as He has promised (Romans 8:28). I know I don't always have that kind of faith, but I find that as I mature in my relationship with God it gets a little easier each time.

Monday, October 30, 2006

Caring for our community

After looking at Acts 3:1-10 yesterday, I issued a challenge to all of us to move outside of our comfort zone and look for someone that has a need this week and then use whatever we have at our disposal to meet that need. Let me know how your experiences go this week. I hope you'll be willing to share those expereinces with the rest of us so we can all be encouraged.

Daniel Chapter 1

Yesterday, we took a look at how Daniel and his friends handled the situation when they were asked to do something that violated their principles and convictions. We saw how these three young teenage boys held to their convictions and came up with some creative solutions to allow them to be respectful, yet still not violate their convictions.

I think there is a lot we could learn from Daniel and his friends as we think about how we live in a culture that is often quite antagonistic to Christians. I'd love to hear your ideas about how we can be like Daniel in our day-to-day lives.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Daniel Bible Study

We began our study of the Book of Daniel in our Adult Bible Study yesterday morning. We looked at some of the background of the book. This next Sunday, we'll be looking at Daniel Chapter 1, so try to read it through a couple of times this week. Remember, if you miss any of our studies email me at patdamiani@comcast.net and I'll email you a copy of the lesson.

Balance in Our Church

Yesterday in my message, I talked about the importance of having balance in our church. I'd like to get your thoughts about which of the five areas - maturity, melding, ministry, magnification and multiplication - our church excels in and which areas we need to focus on more. Let me know what you think!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Welcome!

Welcome to this new blog. The reason for creating this blog is not that I just had so much time on my hands that I thought I'd create some more work for myself. But I did want to provide a way for those both inside and outside the Thornydale Family Church family (there's a mouthful) to engage in an exchange of ideas.

I'll be posting links to my weekly sermons (which will hopefully also be available as Podcasts real soon) and also some thoughts on our weekly Sunday morning Bible study. My hope is that by interacting with others we'll be able to implement the things that we're learning in our lives. After all, we're after transformation, not just information.

I'll also be posting some thoughts on some other topics of interest from time to time - maybe something that's in the news or a book or article that I'm reading.

I look forward to hearing from you!

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