November 18, 2012
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Psalm 100
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discipleship, thankfulness
Pastor Gary Combs continues the Time to Thrive sermon series with this message on being thankful from Psalm 100. Many are not thriving in life because of a grumbling attitude that steals their joy. Yet God wants us to live a life of thanksgiving. When we are thankful it changes our attitudes and perceptions on life. We can really thrive when we have an attitude of gratitude!
The end of this message was not captured on video. The complete audio is available on this page.
November 13, 2012
A psalm that begins with “Hallelujah!” This psalm speaks of the author’s firm intention to be thankful as he meets with other believers in worship. An attitude of gratitude doesn’t come natural. We must choose to be thankful. Thankfulness and worship are connected. Both are responses to God’s wonderful grace. Thankfulness is a decided attitude. Have you decided to be thankful?
November 3, 2012
The Psalmist reminds us to continually search for God and His strength. This is an important daily discipline to learn. Don’t leave your house in your own strength. First, seek the Lord and draw on His renewing power. Learn to abide in Christ and in His enabling strength. Then you can join the apostle Paul in saying, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Phil.4:13)!
October 31, 2012
This psalm of David illustrates his habit of bringing every area of his life before the Lord in examination and for realignment. He had the spiritual ability to take his eyes off of difficult circumstances and to focus them upon God. One of the ways he accomplished this was to command every part of himself to praise the Lord, numbering every blessing he could name. Perhaps this was the inspiration for the words in the old hymn: “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings see what God hath done!”
October 30, 2012
The Psalmist cried out to God in lament, yet ended his prayer in praise, believing that God would care for his children and grandchildren. Even though the Psalmist’s life had been marked by difficulty, he prayed that his children’s children would “thrive!” Where are the grandfathers and grandmothers who pray this way today?
October 28, 2012
What does it mean to “acknowledge?” Dictionary: ac·knowl·edge/akˈnälij/ Verb: 1. to accept or admit the existence or truth of. 2. to recognize the fact or importance or quality of. Synonyms: admit, recognize, confess, avow, concede, grant. Will you “acknowledge” that the Lord is God today?
October 25, 2012
Q: How does the moon give glory to the sun? A: By reflecting its light onto a darkened earth. Similarly we give glory to God by reflecting His light to others. Like the moon, we have no light of our own, so we give our very lives to Him in praise. Q: What offering should we bring after giving Him our hearts? A: The first part of all: the first day of the week, first part of every day, and the first portion of every dollar. In this way, we reflect that God is first.
October 22, 2012
Understanding that life is short, we live with a sense of urgency and purpose, not wasting the day because night is coming soon. We also strip away the things that don’t matter and focus on the eternal things that last. Such is the life of wisdom, of one who lives knowing that tomorrow is not promised.
October 7, 2012
Paul encouraged the Colossians to fill their lives with preaching, teaching and singing about Christ. A couple thousand years later and faithful Christians are still following this pattern. Let’s go to church today and join Paul and the Colossians in worshiping the Christ!
October 1, 2012
We sometimes struggle with questions of fairness. We ask,”Why do good people suffer, while bad people prosper?” Our question implies that God isn’t fair. That He has somehow taken His eye off the ball and allowed injustice to happen. We suffer from a limited perspective. We don’t see how things will end. But God does. Trust Him with judgment. He hasn’t missed a thing. Ultimately, no one will doubt His justice.