No Service for Wednesday

Please take note that there will be no service Wednesday night, January 28; stay warm and stay safe.

We braved the cold for the last time (hopefully) as the new heating system should be ready for this Sunday.

Holy Spirit shared with us in Friday's prayer meeting that the spirit of apathy was working: "Oh, I tell you, a spirit of apathy seeks to overtake your people [congregation] and it seeks to work, it seeks to work by withholding my Word, because my Word gives hope and my Word gives direction—in my Word is life. But I say, I rebuke the enemy for your [pastor] sake and for the sake of my people [congregation]!"

How encouraging it is to know that we are not alone, but that Holy Spirit is battling with us and for us.

Apathy means an absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement; a lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting. Friday night was not the first time Holy Spirit focused our attention on this particular battle, nor do I believe it will be the last. It was evident in the early church with Ephesus' loss of their first love (Revelation 2:4); and is seen as a characteristic of the last days: "And because iniquity abounds, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matthew 24:12). Thus, this distinct enemy will continue to try and suppress our passion for God even more as we see the day of His return approaching.

One aspect shared last night in winning this battle was found in the word entropy. Entropy means an inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society. John Ortberg writes that entropy is the great enemy of the human spirit:

"If you have ever bought a new car and driven it off the lot, you've witnessed entropy. You lose several thousand dollars as soon as it goes off the lot, because things have a way of deteriorating on their own. If you've ever seen a group of kids on summer vacation, you've noticed that by late August, when they're sitting around some body's house and one of them says, "What do you want to do?" everybody else says, "I don't know; what do you want to do?" That's entropy. Everything when left on its own—when not given attention and energy—has a tendency to deteriorate. That's the way it works in human life. When you become apathetic or complacent or settle for the path of least resistance in some area of life, entropy sets in and dreams die and hopes fade. Then a terrible thing happens: you learn you can live with mediocrity. It's not a great life, but you can tolerate it."

God has called us to an abundant and fruitful life, but it is one that must be cultivated and cared for--it will simply not take care of itself. The service closed with introspection of where mediocrity had been allowed in our lives and with a renewed determination to win this particular skirmish.

This Sunday
We will return to the Maskil Psalm series with Psalm 52; please prepare with the background reading.

Sunday Night

The Spirit truly blessed as He quickened us in love and confidence throughout the evening.

Sermon Summary
Maskil Psalm 142
David gives us an illustration in how to pray during times of distress.

Luke 11:1-13
The central New Testament passage on prayer: it is to be definite and not discouraged by delayed answers.

Anchor Points
In times of distress

1. turn to the Lord in fervent prayer laying it all out before Him;
2. call to mind what God has been to you in the past.

Additional Insights
Please share additional thoughts and inspirations with your comments.

Next Message
The third and fourth Maskil (chronologically) are Psalms 52 and 54; The background Scriptures for both are found in 1 Samuel 22:2; 1 Chronicles 12:17, 18; Psalm 141; 1 Samuel 22:3-5; Psalm 64; 1 Samuel 22:6-19; Psalm 35; 1 Samuel 23:1; 1 Samuel 22:20-23; 1 Samuel 23:2-6; Psalm 52; Psalm 109; Psalm 140; 1 Samuel 23:7-13; Psalm 31; 1 Samuel 23:14, 15; Psalm 13:1-6; 1 Samuel 23:19-28

Check it out

Two items for your review today. The first is our new web page. Items are still being added and built, but you can check it out here Thank you Shauna for your creativity and inspiration! The background Scriptures for this Sunday's message, Maskil Psalm 142, are 1 Samuel 19-22:1; 1 Chronicles 12:16; Psalms 11, 59, 7, 25, 26, 56.

Snow flurries are forecast for tomorrow evening; however, it should not hinder us from having service. Benita is cooking the dinner, either chicken and rice or sloppy joes, Myleena is creating the dessert, and all the teachers are preparing their lessons. I am looking forward to a full and complete time tomorrow night at Crimson House! Dress warmly and I hope to see you there.

Sweet Incense

The scent of Holy Spirit's sweetness was evident as we entered the building last night. He allowed us to go inside the veil (cf. Leviticus 16:12) and into a Presence that brought healing, hope and encouragement. Who can forget

• unified voices in worship;
• the sharing of visions received during intercessory prayer;
• the spontaneous call to prayer regarding wounds and scars;
  
• the spontaneous exhortation about the altar and its ultimate sacrifice;
• the song of Holy Spirit;
• the spontaneous lyrics in worship.
  

Sermon Summary
The Maskil Psalms--Psalm 78

Introduction
Encouragement of Holy Spirit's leading

1. Uniting the generations through the hope found in Jesus Christ
2. The bridging of the session themes between last session's The Spirit of Elijah and the current focus on the Maskil Psalms
   

Background

1. The transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua
   
2. Moses' steadfastness of relationship and obedience versus man's approval and "ministry" results

Outline

1. Verses 5-8: the purpose of the Psalm
2. Verses 9-41: Israel in the wilderness
3. Verses 42-52: the Lord's goodness in bringing Israel out of Egypt by plagues and wonders
4. Verses 53-66: the history of the Israelite tribes to the removal of the Ark to Zion

Anchor Points

1. "For he established a testimony in Jacob..." (v. 5). That is, the Lord ordained, or appointed, that which would be a witness for him--a witness that would bear testimony to His character and His perfections presently.
2. It was by past memories and future hope the appointed would be encouraged to practice their present duties.
   

The Return of Wednesday Night

How nice it was to get back into the Wednesday night church routine after missing three services due to weather and the holidays. The fellowship hall beamed with activity as our elementary boys class grew to twelve. How great it was to see them adding chairs to the table so they could all sit together.

Teacher change: Diane and Nick have exchanged teaching positions for the session with Diane now being with the teens and Nick part of the teaching team facilitatng the 20-something class.

Here is the Crimson House Library link that will allow you to see the entire group of periodicals as they are published.
http://beta.yudu.com/library/10067/Crimson-House-s-Library

Next week we plan on returning to the renovation projects as time allows; kindly check schedules and participate as you can.

Christian Civics 101 Nugget
1 Timothy 2:1, 2
"Intercessions—the verb signifies to fall in with a person; to draw nearer so as to converse familiarly. Hence it is not properly intercession in the accepted sense of the term but rather approach to God in free and familiar prayer. In this passage it is not to make intercession but to intervene or interfere. Thus in Romans 8:26 it is not that the Spirit pleads in our behalf but that he throws himself into our case and takes part in it. " (Source: Vincent, Marvin Richardson: Word Studies in the New Testament)

I found the side bar definition regarding Holy Spirit very encouraging in how He becomes so intimately involved in our burdened prayers. He is more than a sympathizer; rather, He is the ultimate empathizer "throwing himself into our case."

Session One Ministry Plan

Sunday evening's service was again blessed by the comforting presence of the Spirit. The Ministry Plan for the next four months was distributed and discussed. For the electronic version of the overview click http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1085n/MinistryPlan/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F28456%2FMinistry-Plan-

As we look to the Maskil psalms each Sunday we being with Psalm 78:12-66. The background readings for Sunday's message are Numbers 36:13, 27:12-23; Deuteronomy 31, 32:48-52, 33:1-16, 34:1-9; and Psalm 91.