After a number of sermons on what God can do for us – and how we can put ourselves in the best position to receive God’s will for our lives – the Rev. Stephen Wilson mixed things up Wednesday night.
His sermon focused on what God wants to do through us. How we can be better ambassadors for Him – blessing others because He has blessed us.
This recap only scratches the surface of what Rev. Wilson had to say, and is not a real substitute for being at the service yourself. Please consider stopping in tonight at 7 p.m. – you won’t be sorry you did.
Rev. Wilson’s Wednesday night lesson on being a better blessing in the world included the following five points based on the Bible story from Acts 3:1-10 involving John and Peter coming across a lame beggar on the way to worship:
1. Don’t confuse going to church with living for Christ. It is like stopping for gas on a long journey – you don’t go to the gas station in lieu of taking the trip, but instead go to help take the journey.
2. Don’t be surprised when non-Christians expect something from you. When you take on Christ’s name, and commit to be a follower of Christ, people start to look at you – co-workers, neighbors and others can hold you to a higher standard, watching what conversations you take part in, what jokes you laugh at, etc. Rev. Wilson said it very well in suggesting that if you don’t have the intention of living like Christ, you have no right to take His name via calling yourself a Christian.
3. Stop substituting currency for Christ. People have become conditioned to give money instead of themselves in church, but it isn’t just money God wants from us. Our time, energy and physical presence can be much more valuable.
4. Refuse to be a bumblebee believer. Bees hop from flower to flower and always appear busy – but Christians who function this way can lack the depth of relationship necessary to truly share God’s message. Invest in the lives of the people you serve.
5. Don’t ever give anything but God the glory for what you do. The example for this comes from some additional reading from the Bible … from Acts 3:11-16 … where Peter insists that the credit for the lame beggar’s healing belongs to Jesus.
As with each day at God’s Holiness Grove Camp Meeting, there were plenty of activities. Regular services were held for the children, the youth and the adults at 10 a.m. Teens played a game called split decision in the afternoon, a type of tug of war using tractor tire tubes and bungee cords. They also enjoyed a movie night after the evening service. There was plenty of swimming, fishing, kayaking, biking and other activities throughout the day for all ages.
