Eclipse

1 Corinthians 15:1&2 tells us the gospel is powerful........

but sometimes we struggle in our day-to-day living to feel its impact in our lives. Let's fact it, some of the things we do don't look or feel very Christian. Most of us at one point or another have wondered if we really believe the gospel and have trusted in Christ. Below are ten questions from a man named Don Whitney that give us a "heart check". The goal is not perfection but growth. Ask yourselves these ten questions. See if you have the kind of growth the gospel promises.
1. Do you thirst for God?
2. Are you influenced increasingly by God's Word?
3. Are you more loving?
4. Are you more sensitive to God's presence?
5. Do you have a growing concern for the spiritual and temporal needs of others?
6. Do you delight in the church?
7. Are spiritual disciplines becoming more important to you?
8. Do you still grieve over sin?
9. Are you a quicker forgiver?
10. Do you long for Heaven and to be with Jesus?

evangelism or selling something

Sometimes it feels like we are trying to sell something to people we talk about Jesus with them. We go door to door we make the presentation we talk about the benefits. And while we should do these things, if we think of evangelism as a sales pitch we may have a gut reaction not to want to do it. I simply do not like sales people at my door! And if I think I am trying to sell Jesus to people it can feel dirty.

Last night we spent time talking about how evangelism is not a sales pitch, because you are not trying to get anything from other people – you only want to give to them. Paul says in 2 Cor 2:17 “we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.” Oh that we would be people who were sincere and really cared about people.

Someone said last night that there is a good way that evangelism is like selling something . . . the more you love it and the more you believe in it the more likely you are to convince others that they should love it too. What if as we focused on evangelism we also focused on loving God more. Spend some time reading over 2 Cor 5 and let hearing about how much God loves you feed your love for him.

(Kip selling Tupperware bowls is one of the funniest salesman clips I have seen.)

praying for eachother

As you pray for each other keep in mind some of the things Paul prayed for his people. This is not an exhaustive list but highlights some important things for us to pray for each other.

2 Cor. 13:7-9
7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.
9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.

Eph. 1:18
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,