A number of people asked me for the Scripture references that I used in the Christmas Eve service, so I am providing them along with the corresponding ‘gift’ that we all have received through a relationship with Jesus Christ. We are abundantly blessed in this life and the next because of the birth and death of Jesus!
Today I preached on the topic of lust from Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:27-30.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery’. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
If you want to hear the message, go to riveroaks.org media center and click on January 30th message, “Lust of the Eyes”.
In the message I mentioned some helps for men that I would put on my blog and here they are. I trust some of these ideas will be helpful to you in keeping a pure heart.
1. A very helpful on-line accountability tool for men can be downloaded at x3watchfree.com. X3watch is a free accountability software program helping with online integrity. Whenever you browse the Internet and access a site, which may contain questionable material, the program will record the site name, time, and date the site was visited. A person of your choice (an accountability partner) will receive an email containing all possible questionable sites you may have visited within the month. For additional helps go to XXXchurch.com
2. If you are in an accountability group or a small group Bible Study you might want to give copies of these questions from Chuck Swindoll to each man and ask one or two each week along with whatever else you do:
Have you been with a woman this week in such a way that was inappropriate or could have looked to others that you were using poor judgment?
Have you been completely above reproach in all your financial dealings this week?
Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material this week?
Have you spent daily time in prayer and in the Scriptures this week?
Have you taken time to be with your wife this week/children this week?
Have you just lied to me?
3. Two books that Scott Tilley, our Adult Ministries Pastor recommends for men dealing with sexual sins:
Wired For Intimacy: How pornography Hijacks the Male Brain
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee from sexual immorality!” May we be men with a firm resolve to live our Christian faith out in our thought life!
Tim
It’s early afternoon on Christmas Eve and I’m in my office preparing for this evening’s Christmas Eve services. It is quiet and peaceful here at the church, the noise of activity and set-up completed. I am really looking forward to tonight’s service with the Christmas music, the reading of the Christmas story, communion and concluding with Silent Night sung with the soft glow of candles. It’s a great moment.
The history of Silent Night is that it was originally written as a poem in 1816 by an Austrian priest named Joseph Mohr. On Christmas Eve in 1818 in the small alpine village called Oberndorf the organ at St. Nicholas Church had broken and was unable to be used. In preparation for the service Joseph Mohr gave the poem of Silent Night (Stille Nacht) to his friend Franz Xavier Gruber who he composed a melody for Silent Night. The song was completed in time for the midnight service and sung with the accompaniment of a guitar. Silent Night has become the most famous Christmas carol of all time!
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Savior is born
Christ, the Savior is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
I hope you can either join us, attend your home church or find a church in your town or take a few moments in your home or apartment to celebrate this evening and join with Christians around the world to worship the birth of Christ, the Savior!
Merry Christmas,
Tim
I compiled a few of the quotes I came across over the course of my preparation for the series entitled, “Generosity”. Some I used in one of the messages and some I did not. Perhaps you will find a few in the list to be particularly challenging and or encouraging as you seek to honor God with the resources he has blessed you with. Here they are in no particular order:
Here is a transcript of the final five minutes of my sermon from Sunday, October 3, 2010.
…At River Oaks, we don’t talk very much about money. That has been part of our culture from the very beginning. We have never passed an offering plate and have simply depended on God’s people to make their way to an offering box in the lobby and drop off their contributions.
This more passive approach has served us well and our silence has been appreciated by many. However, the time has come, and I need to apologize because it is actually past time, that we must speak about giving and our finances. Just as so many churches and other not-for-profits have been hit by the economic downturn, River Oaks has fallen on hard times financially and we need to ask you to respond, if you can. (more…)
Tragedy has come to River Oaks. Within a 24-hour time span we learned of three deaths in our church family and two were young ladies only a few years out of high school. By Friday night this week we will have conducted three funerals. My heart goes out to the families. They are experiencing some of the most gut-wrenching circumstances that life can offer. Please remember to pray for the Murphy, Lynch and Hawn families as they make their way through the valley of death that God’s presence would be felt in ways they have never felt before and that His sustaining grace will be sufficient for them.
Let me add:
James reminds us in James 4:14, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” We never know how much more time we have or those around us have. Live this week like life is fragile and precious, because it is.
Tim
These are the verses I used in my message today that speaks of God’s presence with us. If you, like Joseph, are experiencing a dark, fearful or discouraging season of life, read these verses every day this week and draw strength, courage and confidence from them.
Psalm 139:7-10 “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast.”
Psalm 46:1-3, 7, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob in our fortress.”
Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…”
Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Matthew 1:23, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
“‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
I’m so glad I learned to trust Him, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that He is with me, will be with me to the end.
Tim
Sunday I challenged the River Oaks family to look for characteristics of God in nature (my message was on the theme of creation from Genesis 1). This morning during my morning walk I saw a rainbow! The incredible thing was that it hadn’t rained where I was, but there was a rainbow in the sky!
I was immediately reminded of one of God’s oldest promises to mankind from Genesis 9 that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood. What a reminder of the faithfulness and trustworthiness of God. It was a great moment with the Creator. I hope you have one this week too.
Tim
This past Sunday was a great day at River Oaks! From the morning service with the fantastic praise and worship time and the observance of the Lord’s Supper to the evening baptismal service at the Strycker’s pond! As I said that evening at the baptismal service, this is the highlight of the year for me. We baptized 43 children, teens and adults. Their stories of how God worked in their lives to bring them to the point where they realized they needed Jesus were so moving and powerful!
I want to thank every person who chose to be baptized for giving me the opportunity to share in this experience with you. It is as good as it gets!
Tim
In Matthew 22:37 Jesus said the first and greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind. Jesus was saying that our first order of business is a passionate pursuit of God. During the Sundays of August we are going to examine the critical elements of that pursuit and hopefully come away with a deeper, more focused and renewed relationship with God the Father and a closer resemblance to Jesus, His Son.
I hope you can join me either in person at River Oaks or on-line at the River Oaks web site!
Tim
