Monday Morning Perspective

This is really late but I've been in Atlanta from yesterday and just heading home. We went so that Jessica and I could participate in a video taping of a new bible study Andy and Sandra Stanley are doing and then we got to spend the afternoon with John and have dinner with him. It's been a pretty busy weekend. Actually it's been a super busy summer, but a good one. 

For those of you who made it to Living Proof Live Greenville and then church Sunday morning, we've had us some worship and the Word this weekend! I used to have a dread of a letdown after a weekend like that, but if you were at either Fairview campus that didn't happen, did it?! The worship was on fire and both messages so Spirit filled I could hardly stand it. So I'm going to break down both campuses this Monday morning. My son Stephen preached at East for his dad but from the same passage. They were different in approach which is the sweetest thing about how God gifts us, and different in content but both were chunk full of truth. We could have a whole series just on those verses because as you'll see there are just endless directions you can go and so many nuggets of gold and yet all still truth and dead on. That's why you can preach the same scripture over and over and never touch it all. 

Stephen's message from 1John 2 focused on the difference between a life lived in the light and a life lived in darkness. We are to live lives that put God's character on display. His character is not grumpy, condemning, critical in nature. His character shows forth love, mercy, grace, compassion. What does our character look like? If we have an intimate relationship with Him, we will obey Him. This is what leads us to reflect His character. Our root determines our fruit. What you are rooted in, determines your fruit. I love that. We are called to love in a God kind of way. If we love God, we will obey Him and we will love people. If we love people we will not do them harm. Love is an everlasting commandment in a temporal world. 

Now for Eddie's message from the same passage. He focused on taking the salvation test. He talked about the fruit test, the inner witness test, and the loyalty test. God gives us His desires if we belong to Him. He gives us new want tos. We are called to love even when we are shown hatred and what a shame when that hatred comes from other self professing believers. If you walk in darkness you stumble and cause others to stumble. Yep, seen that. We are either stepping stones or stumbling blocks. Which one are you?