Church: What's the Point?

Priorities in Life

Have you ever had someone explain to you how life can be represented as a 24 hour clock?

Basically you add up all the hours you spend doing essential things like sleeping, eating, going to school and even grooming and from that you start to understand how little time we all have.

Even by the age of 25 you will have lived 213,600 hours but taking out school, sleeping and eating you will only of had 6.2 years ‘spare time’!!!

The average life expectancy of a man in the UK is 77.7 years, and if you represent that life as a 24 hour clock spare time only accounts for 4 hours! 

So the question is what are you going to do with your 4 hours?

You know it’s never too late to start doing something new.

At the age of 93 Theodore Francis Green retired from the U.S. Senate. At that time, he was the oldest senator in the history of the institution.

At the age of 93 P.G. Wodehouse worked on his 97th novel, got knighted, and then died.

Strom Thurmond, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, won re-election after promising not to run again at age 99.

At the age of 85 Caleb in the Bible said – Give me my mountain!

It’s also never too late to start again if trials have hit you,. Simon Cowell was bankrupted at 35! And look at him now.

What will you do with your 4 hours??

There's a Party....but you're not invited

Do you ever feel that the world is tuning, there's parties everywhere but you are never invited?

Its one of the things we have struggled with most since moving from Yorkshire to Berkshire almost 8 years ago.

But its somthing we have learned to live with. As i was thinking about this earlier today i thought of David in the Bible, when Samuel came to look for the next King.

In 1 Samuel 16 we read how Samuel came to Bethlehem under the guise of offering a sacrafice.  This would have been a tremedous event which everyone in Bethlehem would be aware of and be excited about.

Its like a party that is happending and all your friends are invited and excited about.

At this particular 'Party' Jesse invites all his sons except David.

David would be fully aware of the party as he sat in the field looking after the sheep.

Unknown to David, Samuel is searching him out as he is presented to each of Jesse's sons. Finally Jesse says to Samuel  “There is still the youngest,” . “He is tending the sheep.” 

Jesse probably thought...We didnt invite David he's the little Kid, insignificant, he's part of the Family but we didnt invite him to the party, we thought he would prefer looking after the sheep.

You see, even when you arent invited to the Party...God wants you there. Your name is on the VIP list.

There is a Party and You ARE invited.

Building and Growing

I am called to be the best me I can be, and you are called to be the best you that you can be but sometimes we try and do things that simply aren’t what we need or are supposed to do.  We are co-labourers with God, and there are two separate dimensions we need to consider when we do ‘stuff’. The things that God is responsible for and the things we are responsible for. We are responsible for planting, building and producing programs, God is responsible for growing your church, the presence of God and moving people in their hearts.  Whether you are a small group leader, lead a church or you are involved in mission – the best advice I can give you is to not worry about numbers, who has attended and who hasn’t.  That’s God’s responsibility, for you – have you planted the word? Have you produced a program and done the best you can with your tasks? If you have, now it’s up to God!

Let’s not try and grow what we should build or try and build what we should grow. We easily get burnt out or discouraged if we start to worry or immerse ourselves in the things that God is responsible for.  Take this as an analogy:

We Build Friendships….

Love is Grown….

1 Corinthians 3 (New International Version)

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.