Many Christians suffer from what might be called spiritual schizophrenia. They know about the soul – but in practice they live soulless lives. In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” This involves relinquishing control – surrendering to God and dying to the sinful self.
Loving God with all our soul, as we read about in the Great Commandment in Mark 12:30, involves the daily work of distancing ourselves from past practices that work against the soul and embracing those practices that honor God and enrich the soul.
Psalm 139 is a beautiful psalm and is filled with references to the first-person personal pronouns: I, me, and my. “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.” The emphasis is not on the self but on the Lord. The best way to avoid self-centeredness, as David knew so well, is not by pretending that the self does not exist or by self-consciously trying to eliminate all references to the personal.
To truly love God with all our soul is to sing Holy, Holy, Holy; instead of Me, me, me. When everything about us becomes centered in the Lord Jesus, our abilities and our disabilities, our hopes and our fears, our past and our future, and even our daily tasks and our long-range goals, it is then that we will truly love God with our souls!
Sunday Worship
Pastor Glen is beginning a new sermon series this Sunday focusing on the Seven Churches of Revelation. This Sunday’s message is “The Church that Forgets,” based upon Revelation 2:1-7. Please read this text in preparation for worship! We also look forward to hearing an update from Mike Adams and Gospel Hill Ministries (Tent Revival Ministries)!!
Nursery
We are pleased to offer a nursery for children through pre-school. The nursery is in the Sunday school area, and there is a check-in area at the door of the nursery. We are very grateful for the ministry of Ailene Wright, our nursery attendant!!
The Session has launched a capital campaign to provide for both additional costs of renting our facility and saving to purchase our facility. We covet your prayers as we continue to provide needed ministry to our members, those in the Waynesboro community, and beyond.
Join us in praying that God will guide us as we take next steps into the future with anticipation of the many ways He will use us to be an ongoing blessing in our community and beyond. A Session member will contact you in the near future to participate in this campaign. At least TEN visits have already happened with encouraging responses! God will pour out His blessings as we respond to His grace and goodness!
We are excited to offer the wonderful eleven-week class, Training2Send. The purpose of this class as described on the website: “To provide reproducible training that teaches the foundational, biblical doctrines necessary to make disciples. The goal of Training2Send is to produce trainers, individuals, who will go and disciple others while continuing to work to multiply the Kingdom.
Please keep all those participating in this class and those who are training in your prayers!
July & August Birthdays
Beth Keyes (8/14); AnnaBelle Severs (8/18); Josh Lucas & Glen Holman (8/20); Tim Stewart (8/21); Noah King (8/23); Dianne Stewart (8/31)