Finished Project

Throughout the late Spring and Summer 2014 Steve, his son Grant, and I worked on a crib for Grant's coming baby girl (born last week). We spent Monday mornings working on this project. My best guess is that we have at least 150 man hours into making it. The red oak wood and hardware were close to $500. I found a youtube video of a father and son doing this project  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV0qnuaIQyg ].

My father made many wood projects: roll top desk, toy box, bunk bed, etc...I never understood the effort required until I inherited his tools, set up a shop, took a class, and started to make things.

The value of doing this crib was spending the time with an old friend, Steve, and making a new friend, Grant. As the little girl grows, they can share how dad and grandpa made the bed for her.
I once read that 'the process is more important than the product.'  If the process is done well, the finished product will turn out.

I think that can be a good life lesson. We go through life with a variety of experiences (some apparently good, others bad, others neutral, and others unknown), and we don't know the end purpose to many of them. But if we seek the Lord through them, they are not wasted.

The Bible has a good promise that God works through all things to accomplish His purposes in our lives.

 Romans 8:28 (ESV)
²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

May we all hold on to this promise.

Worm Theology

God knows our hearts, our intentions, our actions. What we are building with our lives will last or not last. We need to live with an awesome respect for God’s awesome holiness so that we build something which will last. We all live with the frailty of life and it is, but we also live with the confidence of faith in a gracious loving God.

“Worm theology” is a focus on our sinfulness in light of God’s holiness.

Considering worms

{from the children’s song}
 Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
I think I'll go eat worms!
Big fat juicy ones,
Eensie weensy squeensy ones,
See how they wiggle and squirm!

Down goes the first one, down goes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!
Up comes the first one, up comes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm!

I bite off the heads, and suck out the juice,
And throw the skins away!
Nobody knows how fat I grow,
On worms three times a day!

On a more serious note the effect of worm theology is to make us feel bad that we are awful sinners, without focusing on the grace goodness and power  of God which is highlighted by

Colossians 1:27-29 (ESV)
27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.


We are building our lives by how we live in light of eternity.

“How to please God” message outline

“How to please God”
1 Thes. 4:1-8
September 14th , 2014

Our ultimate purpose should be to Please God
1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17 (ESV)
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:23 (ESV)
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

How to please God.....

I. Nurture the Passion to Please God.  (1-2)
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 (ESV)
1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

A fascinating spiritual dynamic is illustrated in
Exodus 33:13 (ESV)
13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”


II. It God’s will for you to be Holy and  Avoid Sexual Immorality (3)
1 Thessalonians 4:3 (ESV)
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

A.  Reinforcement #1.  If you don’t, you are living like those who don’t know God.(4-5)
1 Thessalonians 4:4-5 (ESV)
4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

B.   Reinforcement # 2   If you don’t, God will punish you    (6)
1 Thessalonians 4:6 (ESV)
6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

III  God empowers his call to Holy Living by His Holy Spirit.  (7-8)
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 (ESV)
7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Feed the nature that you want to have control....

The Spiritual Nature
Galatians 5:22-25 (ESV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

The Sin Nature
Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Conclusion
You don’t have to be anyone other than the person God created you to be.
Your uniqueness empowered by the Spirit God is what pleases God.

Remember to....
Please God by seeking Him.
Seek God by Pleasing Him.