Skillman Church Of Christ's Podcast

As a family, one of the primary things that we seek to do with our lives is to worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. We remind ourselves every week when we gather that it is God who is worthy of our worship and praises. That praise helps to remind us to keep God on the throne. God is God and we are not. Singing praises helps us to focus our attention on God and to give our time to God alone. And finally, living a life of worship helps us to understand that our lives are an act of worship to the one who made all of this possible and the one who we imitate daily: Jesus.

As a family, one of the practices that we engage in regularly is prayer. Prayer is more than simply speaking to God or asking for what we want or desire. It is the very connection that we share with the God who created us—the connection where we learn God’s desires and where we learn to live and grow into God’s likeness. As we pray together as a spiritual family, we have the opportunity to pray (as Paul did for the Philippian church) that our love would grow in knowledge and action, that our ability to discern the things that truly matter would come in line with God’s will, and that the fruit our lives can bear will be good and plentiful in a world that needs to see what it means to truly be a family—the family of God.

Each of us enter into the world through families. Some may be good families, while others struggle, and some are harmful and hurtful to us. Some of us have 2 parents, others have just 1, while some are left with none. As we grow, our experience of family is incredibly diverse, with all kinds of different experiences and opportunities to learn. The family of God is perhaps even more diverse. And yet, we learn throughout Scripture that the family of God is united, bound together in Christ. Even when we experience grief, loss, wrongdoing, and dissonance from our spiritual family, we are bound together by Jesus. Today, we seek to ground ourselves and to firmly plant our lives of faith in Jesus, knowing that the family of God is present with us. We have the joy and privilege of learning how to be family with each person in our midst, even if they are radically different from us. We have the task of being formed together into the likeness of Jesus.

It is not uncommon in our daily routines to hear questions like, “Where is God?” or to hear places or times, even people, described as “godless.” We often seek to express our faith in terms of journeying to God, and we do it honestly and with sincerity. But, today, we remind ourselves that it is truly God who goes the distance. It is God who does the journeying. It is God who comes to us rather than us reaching or finding God. May we come to be people who not only seek God, but who recognize that God is the one who sought us out. May our worship reflect our thanks and admiration of a God who comes near.

Matt Hurley leads our seniors in a blessing as they prepare for graduation and their futures. George Johnson will be attending Stephen F. Austin in the fall, and Eddie Lwate will be attending the University of Houston.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us that the greatest love we can have for one another is to lay down our lives for each other. On Easter, we celebrate the story of the resurrection of Jesus and the hope that gives to all of Jesus' followers, knowing that Jesus was willing to lay down his life for us. For some, it's a difficult story to believe-but for those who follow Jesus, it is the only story that truly matters. As followers of Jesus, the resurrection gives us hope, and it gives us work to do in our world: to prepare, practice, play (have joy), and to invite others to participate in the resurrected life.

This Sunday, we are taking a few moments to remind ourselves of the need to be hospitable and welcoming, not only when we gather for church, but when we scatter into the world around us too. Jesus embodied a welcoming and intentional mindset during his ministry: he welcomed those who came to him, and he sought out others who needed to meet him (whether they knew it or not!). As a church, we are preparing for Friends Day, and as we do so, may we be reminded of our desire to be intentional in going to people as Jesus commissioned his disciples, while we also welcome and love those who come to join us as we gather together each week.

Jesus concludes the incredible Sermon on the Mount with a charge to enter through the narrow gate and to follow the narrow road. Prior to this commission, the listeners that day learned of a path that is difficult, challenging, counter-cultural, but one that ultimately leads to life, peace, and purpose. Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, to turn the other check, to walk the extra mile, to give joyfully, to pray simply, worship authentically, and treat others the way we would like to be treated. To our group of listeners hungry for revenge and justice from the brutal and oppressive Roman Empire, this is a challenging message. Jesus lays forth an alternative way with with a new identity. Followers of this new way are ones who follow the narrow path of the minority, who bear fruit, and who ultimately make Jesus' words the foundation of their lives.

This past Sunday at Skillman, we installed 19 men and women to serve our church as deacons. Not only were these servants charged with caring for our church, ministries, and community, but all of God's people are asked to serve the kingdom of God on earth.

As Jesus begins to teach his disciples how to live, it quickly becomes clear that while the Law of Moses and the Law that God has given to humanity is important—there is more to the way of Jesus. Over and over again, Jesus repeats the phrase “You have heard that it was said, but I tell you.” By doing so, Jesus invites us to join a new kingdom, one where all the wrong kinds of people are blessed by God, and so that we can seek something more than just following the rules. Jesus asks us to become like him—to become Christ-like. This is at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus: That we will become one with God as we begin to look and act like Jesus. So, what have you heard? Have you heard about the way of Jesus?

This week, we begin a new sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount. This Sermon is known as Jesus' most famous teaching, but he begins this sermon by telling his disciples, those who are serious about following him, that they are blessed by God even in their worst moments. May we as the church seek to bless others who are most in need of God's presence and love.

Craig Gray shares insight from the New Testament passages about deacons. This conversation is not simply one that leads to spiritual information, or to a spiritually formative experience; instead, we are transformed as we come to understand God's will for the church and for the people of God.