Giving ourselves over to false doctrine doesn't always have to mean a big, obvious heresy. Sometimes we try to fit God into a box that makes sense to our humanity. Like maybe we can't always understand how a God who's supposed to be sovereign and good, lets good people suffer, or lets people go to hell! Sometimes our sense of compassion is disturbed by that, and despite what is clear in scripture (that bad things happen to good people, and people go to hell), we try to soften this harsh truth by changing (ever so subtly) what we believe is true about God's character.
There's an old hymn called "How Like A Gentle Spirit" that puts this perfectly into words:
When in our vain pretension we conspireI love how the hymn writer calls us to "Hark!" meaning "Listen!" to the voice above our base desire, and realize that God is the sculptor, and we're the broken stone, and we have no room to try and make God who WE want him to be.
To shape God's image as we see our own
Hark to the voice above our base desire
God is the sculptor, we the broken stone
So it's easier than you think to slip onto the slopes of false doctrine, and there are many more ways than the one I described, and Pastor Todd will help us learn discernment in this area.
I always remember an analogy that my old youth pastor used to use in regard to knowing when something is false. He talked about the training that workers at a US Mint go through, and how they handled so much real money, that when a counterfeit bill came through, they could instantly tell because they knew the real thing so well!
So that's a way we can combat false teaching and doctrines, by knowing the truth so well that we can't be fooled. That's what our worship singing will focus on.
We'll start the service with a song that may be new to some of you, called "I Am A Friend Of God" that reminds us that we come into the presence of God as friends, and no longer enemies because of our sin!
We'll worship through a few announcements for upcoming ministry opportunities: Hope Gardens, and Men's Relay. We'll also hear about our building plan for our new church home! Ken Ruggles will fill us in on some of the details so we can pray for things to go smoothly, and also continue to be thankful for God's goodness in giving us a home for the next few years. Pastor Todd will also explain what we'll be doing, as far as congregational involvement, to raise the finances for the building project.
We'll continue singing and thinking about how we want to place our affections only in God! We'll sing"Enough" which talks about how God is more than everything we'll ever need. "Here I Am To Worship" reminds us of the cross, and proclaims God as OUR God! We'll finish the set with "How Great Is Our God" as we prepare for the sermon.
Remember to read the passage as you prepare for this Sunday! 1 Timothy 6:3-10 (C'mon, I make it so easy to just click the link, you don't even have to get out a Bible! So no excuses!)
After Todd's message, we'll respond with "Surrender" committing ourselves again to die to ourselves, and live for the glory of God, and we'll end with a prayer that God would make us a people that seek his face, and his face only! "Give Us Clean Hands" I actually found a good video of the author of that song, Charlie Hall talking about writing the song, and teaching it to the viewers. So if you play the guitar, it's a cool resource, so check it out. If you don't, maybe you should learn! It's still a cool insight to the song, so check it out.
That's all for now, happy preparation!
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