Latrobe Regional Church of Christ

Tailgating

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.

He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, ‘I’m very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him.’ I noticed the ‘What would Jesus Do?’ bumper sticker, the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘Follow me to Sunday-School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk; naturally…I assumed you had stolen the car.’

WWJD? What would Jesus do? For so many of us it is time to stop just talking the talk of being a Christian - going to church each week, saying the right things, praying the right things, having the right friends - and to walk the walk of being a Christian. The hypocrisy that the secular world sees so often in “THE CHURCH” stems from Christians knowing their stuff but not doing Jesus’s stuff. Christianity is not about where you go to church, who you associate with, how much of the Bible you know or what deeds you do. It is about who you are inside. Everything else follows that.

Next time  you do, say or think something, if it’s not what Jesus would do, please consider that it’s probably not the right thing to do.

I pray that we can all be genuine Christians, that is what Jesus would do.

Blessings, LRCC blogger

Little by Little
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
07-27-2008

“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Prov 14:23).

Is there something you would like to accomplish in life but simply cannot find the hours in the day to get started? Many of us suffer from procrastination. We justify putting our dreams aside because we don’t believe we have the time or resources to accomplish the task.

Many times people tell me they believe they are called to write a book. I tell them, “Great, if God has called you to write a book, begin to write it.” Sometimes the response is: “But I don’t have a publisher.” “That has nothing to do with it,” I say. “That is not your problem. If God calls you to write a book, you are to begin to write. You may not be writing to get published. You may be writing for other purposes.”

“The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little” (Deut 7:22). If God has given you a vision to do something, begin by taking baby steps toward that project. Begin to focus on the vision and take action steps toward it. Many times people ask me, “How in the world do you have time to write? You travel so much and seem to have such a full schedule.” My answer to them is that I have a specific time of day in which I commit to writing. It is usually between 5 AM and 8 AM. I have found this to be my most creative and productive time. Very little can get in the way of this time if I believe God has given me a project to do.

You will be amazed at what God can do with a little each day. Do not let procrastination prevent you from accomplishing what God may want to do through your life. Make plans today to take baby steps toward the vision that is in your heart.

From Prime Time With God, Church Growth Institute, PO Box 7, Elkton, MD 21922-0007 USA

I got up early one morning
And rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish
That I didn’t take time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me
And heavier became each task.
“Why doesn’t GOD help me?” I wondered
He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty
But the day toiled on, gray and bleak
I wondered why GOD didn’t show me,
He said, “But you didn’t even seek.”

I tried to come into GOD’s presence;
I used all my keys on the lock.
GOD gently and lovingly chided,
“My child, you didn’t knock.”

I woke up early this morning,
And paused before entering the day.
I had so much to accomplish,
That I had to take time to pray.

Author unknown.

I’m not talking about monthly issues, I’m talking about the issues that The Mustard Seed has this month. Our photocopier has decided that it doesn’t want to play nice so we’re skipping an issue this month. Don’t despair! I am going to put a few of the things that may have gone into The Mustard Seed into this blog over the next month. So you’ll still get your taste and fill! It might also be good for those that are unable to download the back-issues due to their size - they can see what it’s all about in here!

Blessings - LRCC blogger

Well my family missed church this week as we were away for the weekend. While church isn’t the most important thing in your Christian life it is *one* of the important things. It is like pulling up at the petrol station and filling up. Hard to get through your week without a full tank.

Today the women had their first Women’s Cell Group. I was there, it was a small group which I really appreciated actually. I’m not one for crowds at the best of times but when discussing my Christian faith I really do feel more comfortable with friends. I think that’s why a lot of us love this church so much, it is so friendly, you are made to feel very welcome. Anyway, the cell group is starting out with The Beatitudes.

Matthew 5:1-12 (New International Version)

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3″Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11″Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Today we started with the first one, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. They key statement we had on our handout was “Humility is not thinking less of yourself - it is thinking of yourself less”. Poor in spirit is actually a GOOD thing. It allows God to start with a blank slate, without so many of our human failings getting in the way.

We will be meeting again next Monday so please send an email to info@latrobechurchofchrist.org if you’re interested in attending.

Blessings - LRCC blogger

What am I talking about? “The Mustard Seed”??

The Mustard Seed is our monthly newsletter, which contains all sorts of devotionals, prayers, songs, bible verses, funnies, testimonials and other stuff.

Each time one comes out I will pop a link to the PDF (that’s a file you open with Adobe Reader, CLICK HERE if you need to download it - it’s free!) so that you can all read it. I hope that you can find something in there for you.

Enjoy! Here are the back-copies.

The Mustard Seed November 07 1.23MB

The Mustard Seed December 07 1.03MB

The Mustard Seed January 08 1.07MB

The Mustard Seed February 08 1.34MB

The Mustard Seed March & April 08 2.94MB

The Mustard Seed May 08 1.69MB

The Mustard Seed June 08 2.77MB

The Mustard Seed July 08 2.22MB

Blessings - LRCC blogger

Welcome to the LRCC (that’s my shortened term for Latrobe Regional Church of Christ) blog. I shall be your blogger. Ha ha!

So you probably want to know who we really are, what we’re really about??

There is one really quick and easy way to show you who we are. Mark Schultz has written a song called “Broken and Beautiful”. To me it perfectly describes who we are at LRCC.

Broken and Beautiful Lyrics

There’s a businessman, there’s a widowed wife
A smiling face with a shattered life
A teenage girl with a choice to make
It’s crowded here in church today

And the preacher says as the sermon ends
Please close your eyes, bow your heads
Is there anyone in need of prayer,
Oh Jesus wants to meet you here

Cause we all fall short, and we all have sinned
But when you let, God’s grace break in

(Chorus)
It’s Beautiful, Beautiful
Come as you are
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful

Well he’d never been to church before
But he came today as a last resort
His world was crashing in
And he was suffocating in his sin

But tears rolled down as hope rushed in
He closed his eyes, raised his hands
Worshipping the God who can
Bring him back to life again

(Chorus)
And it’s beautiful, beautiful
Come as you are
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful, beautiful
Come as you are
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful

Cause there’s nothing more beautiful at all
Than when His sons and daughters call, broken

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Come as you are
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Come as you are

(Chorus)
Broken and beautiful, beautiful
Come as you are
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful, beautiful
Come as you are
Surrender your heart
Broken and beautiful
Come as you are
Broken and beautiful, beautiful
Come as you are
Surrender your heart

Broken and beautiful
Broken and beautiful
Broken and beautiful
Beautiful

So whoever you are - you fit in with us.

Stay tuned, I will be back another day to talk about what’s happening in the church.

Blessings - LRCC blogger