Preparing for worship on Sunday Nov 18th

The morning has past quickly today as I have been praying and fasting for the worship tomorrow at NRN.  It is the Sunday before Thanksgiving and I am so excited about the message I will share tomorrow. I have several prayer request for tomorrow however, my heart request is for the presence of the Lord to invade our space and move upon our hearts.

The worship song set is prepared.  Be blessed as you sing along and open your heart to the Lord:










Always be joyful.  Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.                    1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)

How To Know If You're a Generous Person

I read this following blog posting this morning from Chip Ingram and felt I must share it following the comments I made last Sunday at church:

If I asked the question, “Do you consider yourself to be a generous person? Yes or no?” most of us would say, “Yes.” If I asked, “Why?” many of us would probably justify our responses by explaining that we give what we can to people in need, or we might proudly admit to faithfully tithing 10% our income for 20 years.

Now what if I were to tell you that these criteria alone aren’t good indicators of being a generous person? What if we’re actually missing the point of what it really means to be generous?
The fact is, many of us do not even know if whether we’re really a generous person in God’s eyes. Thankfully, God, through His Word, has provided clear criteria for knowing whether we’re a generous person and how we can become one.

The Bible gives us some characteristics of generosity:

Genuine generosity gives the first and the best to God. Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “honor the Lord with your wealth with the first fruit.” When truly generous people get the first of their paycheck, the first blessing, the first opportunity, they come to God and say, “I recognize all I have belongs to you, I want to give you the first and the best.” From God’s perspective, these people are generous.

Genuine generosity is systematic and regular. In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes to the Corinthian church and says, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up…” (16:2) This shows us that we are to give regularly and systematically. Being generous is not about having “ooey-gooey” feelings or because it’s near Christmas or this person has a need and we gave them a couple hundred bucks. Being generous is a lifestyle.

Genuine generosity is proportional to our income. The tithe (10% of our income) is a good marker or starting point when it comes to the amount we should give. But Jesus was clear that the amount should not be limited to a particular number. We are encouraged to give more or less in proportion to our income.

Genuine generosity is sacrificial. Remember, God never measures the amount that we give; rather, God measures the amount of the sacrifice. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes about how God gave grace to the Macedonian church to give sacrificially in the midst of their poverty and trials. We don’t often think of generosity coming out of trials and poverty, do we?

“In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” (2 Cor. 8:2) Then he says, “For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.” (v. 3)

Genuine generosity is thoughtful, voluntary, and worshipful. It isn’t just thinking with our heart, but also with our mind. And it’s an act of worship. We shouldn’t give grudgingly, but as a voluntary act of worship. “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7)

So how do we actually live out genuine generosity? The key to becoming a generous person is faith. We need faith to believe and trust that God and His Word are true.

And the truth is, God blesses generous people. Numerous passages throughout the Bible attest to this. But the Bible doesn’t give us a formula or a promise for financial prosperity. That’s because God’s desire and promise is to bless us in every way, in order that we can continue to be a blessing to others. A quote from Randy Alcorn’s book, The Treasure Principle, says it best: “God prospers me to raise my standard of giving, not just my standard of living.”

This week, we’ll start the series, The Genius of Generosity....  Read more

Preparing for Worship on Nov. 11 2012

Tomorrow at NRN is going to be a great day of worship! The message God has laid upon my heart is SEEKING INTIMACY WITH GOD.

I look forward to sharing about my best friend. I have a relationship with God that is more than just knowing about Him. I know him, and I don’t say that pride fully, because it’s all about His grace. And I am confident that He wants you to know him very well, too.  It is a privilege to know God. And the good thing is – He wants to be known.  God tells us in His Word:

I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity..."                Jeremiah 29:11, 13-14a


Here are the songs we plan to sing to the Lord:
 

We plan to enter into a time of prayer and communion......



Many times I have shared about how to have a closer relationship with God.  In the past I have spoken with passion about the importance of bending the knee and bowing the head in reverence to God; opening His Word and drawing the spiritual food that we need to grow as a Christian. Today as I pray, God has spoken to my heart that though those things are important - God longs for relationship with us.  It is not based on what we do - but what He has done and is doing today in our lives. My sole desire in preaching tomorrow is to encourage every Christian to seek the Lord.  My prayer is that God will Help us to draw near to Him and experience His love. To help us that we will not settle for anything less than an intimate relationship with Him.

The election is history - THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN

November 7th:                  THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN

Barack Obama handily won the American presidential election, gaining an expected 332 electoral-college votes to Mitt Romney's 206, and taking about 50% of the popular vote to the Republican's 49.9% .

In the end, Mr Romney only managed to turn Indiana and North Carolina from blue to red. Florida was the closest race; Mr Obama's margin of victory there was only about 0.6 of a percentage point. He won Ohio by two points, and Colorado and Virginia by three. But he did even better in the crucial Midwest, a region that Mr Romney had to make a big dent in to stand any chance of victory.

Mr Obama won Michigan and Wisconsin (Paul Ryan's home state) by seven, and Iowa by six. The president's re-election was assured once the results started coming in from those counties in the swing states that the campaigns fought over the hardest.

I followed the reporting into the early morning and until the concession speech by Mitt Romney.

Election Day 2012 - Will the Redskin Rule hold true?

My first posting regarding the Redskins Rule came on November 3, 2008.  You can read that posting by clicking on http://www.rickhudgens.blogspot.com/2008/11/redskin-rule.html   With elections taking place today I thought I should once again draw our attention to this trend.  Here is the information gleaned from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Redskins Rule is a trend involving National Football League games and United States presidential elections. Briefly stated, there is a high correlation between the outcome of the last Washington Redskins home football game prior to the U.S. Presidential Election and the outcome of the election: when the Redskins win, the incumbent party wins the electoral vote for the White House; when the Redskins lose, the non-incumbent party wins. This coincidence has been noted by many sports and political commentators and has held true in every election since 1940, except for that of 2004.

In 2008, the Redskins lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, thereby predicting a win for Illinois Senator Barack Obama over Arizona Senator John McCain because George W. Bush won the popular vote in 2004.

On November 4, 2012, the Redskins lost against the Carolina Panthers. It was the last home game for the Redskins before the 2012 Presidential Election, which will take place on November 6. If the Redskins Rule holds true in the upcoming election, it predicts a loss for incumbent Barack Obama against challenger Mitt Romney.

The record speaks for itself:

Year	Presidential Election Result	Redskins (Score)	Opponent (Score)	Redskins Win or Lose?	Incumbent Party Win or Lose?	Rule upheld?*	Popular Vote Won
2012	TBD	Redskins 13	Carolina Panthers 21	lose	TBD	TBD	TBD
2008	Obama defeats McCain	Redskins 6	Pittsburgh Steelers 23	lose	loses	yes	Obama
2004	Bush defeats Kerry	Redskins 14	Green Bay Packers 28	lose	wins	yes*	Bush
2000	Bush defeats Gore	Redskins 21	Tennessee Titans 27	lose	loses	yes	Gore
1996	Clinton defeats Dole	Redskins 31	Indianapolis Colts 16	win	wins	yes	Clinton
1992	Clinton defeats Bush	Redskins 7	New York Giants 24	lose	loses	yes	Clinton
1988	Bush defeats Dukakis	Redskins 27	New Orleans Saints 24	win	wins	yes	Bush
1984	Reagan defeats Mondale	Redskins 27	Atlanta Falcons 14	win	wins	yes	Reagan
1980	Reagan defeats Carter	Redskins 14	Minnesota Vikings 39	lose	loses	yes	Reagan
1976	Carter defeats Ford	Redskins 7	Dallas Cowboys 20	lose	loses	yes	Carter
1972	Nixon defeats McGovern	Redskins 24	Dallas Cowboys 20	win	wins	yes	Nixon
1968	Nixon defeats Humphrey	Redskins 10	New York Giants 13	lose	loses	yes	Nixon
1964	Johnson defeats Goldwater	Redskins 27	Chicago Bears 20	win	wins	yes	Johnson
1960	Kennedy defeats Nixon	Redskins 10	Cleveland Browns 31	lose	loses	yes	Kennedy
1956	Eisenhower defeats Stevenson	Redskins 20	Cleveland Browns 9	win	wins	yes	Eisenhower
1952	Eisenhower defeats Stevenson	Redskins 23	Pittsburgh Steelers 24	lose	loses	yes	Eisenhower
1948	Truman defeats Dewey	Redskins 59	Boston Yanks 21	win	wins	yes	Truman
1944	Roosevelt defeats Dewey	Redskins 14	Cleveland Rams 10	win	wins	yes	Roosevelt
1940	Roosevelt defeats Willkie	Redskins 37	Pittsburgh Steelers 10	win	wins	yes	Roosevelt

Cast your vote

Experts are reporting that this year’s election could be decided by the turnout of the Evangelical community.

Perhaps never before in our lifetime has it been more important to vote for candidates at all levels who support the biblical principles we hold dear: the sanctity of life, God’s definition of marriage between a man and a woman, and preserving the religious freedom upon which the United States was founded.

I urge you to please go to the polls and cast your vote. Please call a Christian friend and ask them to do the same.

May God bless you—and may God bless the United States of America.

Sincerely,

Franklin Graham

 

 

I think this is a great reminder to all and also a trustworthy saying.  PR

Preparing for worship at NRN on Nov 4 2012

This has been an awesome week full of great new memories.  The Trunk N Treat event at NRN was well attended and fun for all.  Sharron and I traveled to Charlotte following the event and enjoyed a birthday dinner with our daughters and their families.  I plan to post more about this soon.

Right now I am preparing for tomorrow's worship at NRN.  First - let me remind you of something important you need to do this evening to prepare for worship tomorrow:

Here is the worship set planned for tomorrow:















Our special guest tomorrow will be Joshu and Paige Stines.  They have completed their term of service in Poland with Mission Corps of the Church of the Nazarene.  It was an honor for our church family to join in partnership with them.  Tomorrow I plan to allow them to share about their ministry in Poland and we will pray for them as they begin the next chapter of their ministry.  Joshua and Paige are faithful servants of the Lord and God is using them in a great way.