4 Epiphany, Year C

First Reading: Psalm 71:1 - 6

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 13:1 - 13

Godly Love in the Body of Christ

3 Epiphany, Year C

First Reading: Psalm 19

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 12:11 - 31

The Unity of the Body of Christ

No Notes

2 Epiphany, Year C

First Reading: Psalm 36:5 - 10

Sermon: 1 Corinthians 12:1 - 11

Spiritual Gifts

No Notes

1 Epiphany, Year C: The Baptism of Our Lord

First Reading: Isaiah 43:1 - 7

Sermon: Luke 3:15 - 17, 21 - 22

Seven Aspects to Baptism:

• Repentance
• Rebirth
• Cleansing
• Initiation
• Adoption
• Commissioning
• Witness

Notes in Insert.

John Climacus (as in the guy who wrote The Ladder of Divine Ascent) suggests that solitude is where we go to battle demons.

I agree.

I think I got a whoopin’ today as much as I gave.

But now that I know what’s going on, I’ll be more prepared next time, eh?

I’m in the middle of writing a new discipleship curriculum based off of the Spiritual Formation work of Dallas Willard, et al., and the Ancient-Future work of Dr. Bob Webber and the Emerging movement. Spent a lot of time on that today. The test-flight at the group tonight went well, so I’m hoping to continue the process with more sessions.

So here we go… the curriculum for Christlikeness that I have been working on for years is now actually being written down… pray for me!

What a day, what a day!

The first day back from vacation is often burdensome; today was a real exception to that. I had a number of good ministry meetings with key leaders today, some face-to-face and some over the phone. I also had a wonderful opportunity to continue a mentoring & discipling process with one of our high school students. He continues to grow and progress in Christlikeness.

I have an overall sense of peace regarding what God is doing at First Baptist. I know that more challenges may lie ahead on a number of fronts; nevertheless, I sense an overall change in demeanor is taking place. God is blessing us. May we continue to live in his blessing.

Today I spent most of my last day of vacation getting my office/bedroom in order. I rearranged the furniture to create two more distinct places in the room (namely, office and bedroom), and cleaned it top to bottom. As I cleaned, I confirmed a decision I made back in the fall. That this month, maybe even this weekend, I will paint this room.

The walls were originally white but have aged to a dingy gray with the shadows of pictures on the walls, frames and subjects long gone in favor of a bare nail as a placeholder. Moreover, a previous owner’s valient effort to patch a plaster crack in the ceiling has come undone and needs attention. Evidently they used plaster-impregnated tape to patch the crack, and it never adhered to the substrate plaster. Thus, I have about an 8-foot section two inches wide that needs some solid taping, plastering and sanding.

I’m thinking either a sunny yellow with white baseboards & trim or a light tan with dark baseboards & trim. Haven’t really settled on the exact shade yet. Those durn paint chips swatches look different even in different places in Lowe’s. Ugh.

Anyhow, this should be a good “inside project” for me for this month. Anyone want to help do the prep work?

All is quiet on New Year’s Day
A world in white gets underway
I want to be with you
Be with you night and day
Nothing changes on New Year’s Day
On New Year’s Day

I will be with you again
I will be with you again

Under a blood red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says, says
Say it’s true it’s true…
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one

I…I will begin again
I…I will begin again

Oh…
Maybe the time is right
Oh…maybe tonight…

I will be with you again
I will be with you again

And so we’re told this is the golden age
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage
Though I want to be with you
Be with you night and day
Nothing changes
On New Year’s Day
On New Year’s Day

Lyrics by U2