WEDNESDAY'S WORD - GENERATION - 04/25/18- Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it."  George Orwell         Builders, Boomers, Gen X, Y & Z'ers... There is a lot of discussion inside and outside of the church around the generations and their differences. Sociologists have done extensive research like the image on the right to identify the unique general characteristics of each age group. From popular culture, to learning formats and leadership styles; we are attempting to discover not just how to get along socially, but how to thrive and preserve legacy together.  A GENERATION is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It is the average period, generally considered to be about thirty years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and begin to have children of their own. The root word GENERATE means to cause something to arise or come about; to produce. As a worship leader, the struggle to gather a congregation generationally in worship is real. Today I saw a video clip of a church that had a separate afternoon service of just hymns featuring Builders and Boomers gleefully singing. It was melancholy for me. On one hand I was glad they were able to enjoy praising the LORD in the musical genre that connects them historically. On the other, I was sad that we are having such a difficult time bringing the generations together to praise and worship Jesus. Psalm 145:4 says, "One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts." It could be logistically easier to split up between contemporary and traditional worship services so everyone will 'get what they want.'  I'm wondering though, if we are missing what God wants. Inter-generational life and ministry is powerful. In the same way that we lose impact by being racially segregated, we deprive ourselves of rich treasures when we are generationally separated.  Proverbs 20:29 states, "The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old."  The LORD wants us to be both wise and strong. He desired that the spiritual lineage and legacy of the Children of Israel be passed down through the generations. I believe that is still true today. Psalm 78:1-7 says it more eloquently than I ever could: O my people, listen to my instructions. Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past-stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them- even the children not yet born- and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.   I hope we all will consider ways to improve and maintain generational connections in our families, places of business, and churches. We'll be better for it.

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Cincinnati OH 45215

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD - COMPROMISE - 04/18/18- Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"I hate the fact that people think compromise is a dirty word." 

Former First Lady Barbara Bush    

 

COMPROMISE is one of those words that has a double meaning. In one sense, it means an agreement or settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions. Former US First Lady Barbara Bush (RIP) I'm sure was privy to many conflicts that would better have been settled if the parties involved would have come to a middle ground understanding. Scripture tells us the Law of Love is the ultimate arbiter because it has these characteristics, "(Love) is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]." (1 Cor. 13:5) Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline said the Discipline of Submission is, "The ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get your own way...it is of little consequence if our plans are frustrated if their plans succeed. We discover it is better to serve your neighbor than to have our own way." Wouldn't that disposition and corresponding action make a tremendous impact on our families, jobs, churches and governments! 

Then there's the other side of COMPROMISE - the acceptance of standards that are lower than desirable. Certain values are not to be compromised. Psalm 119:2-3, NLT admonishes, "Joyful are those who obey His laws and search for Him with all their hearts. They do not compromise with evil, and walk only in His paths." This use of the word compromise combines both definitions. Christ followers are not to come into agreement or make concessions with evil, AND they are not to accept standards that are lower than those of the Kingdom. In this time we are constantly being challenged to change or dilute Biblical ideals. It is becoming more and more difficult to stand firm as we are sure to incur losses for not deviating from our morals, scruples or ethics. I want to encourage all who will suffer with Christ to stand firm. "Courage, not compromise brings the smile of God's approval."  Thomas Monson

 

TOMORROW NIGHT!  

LIFT Service

Worship, Word &  Prophetic  

 Thursday, April 19th 7:00PM

225 Wyoming Ave.

             

Join us SUNDAYS 9:30AM Class 11:00 AM Worship Service 225 Wyoming Ave.  Cincinnati OH 45215 mynewlifetoday.com

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - REVOLUTIONARY - 04/11/18 Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

 

"A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. ... A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say, "This is not just..." The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just." 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

A REVOLUTIONARY is a person who works for or engages in political revolution - promoting or causing complete or dramatic change.  We just commemorated the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of one of America's greatest revolutionaries, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was killed at age 39! Now, documentaries and movies are made of his life, statutes are erected in his honor, streets are named after him, and his most notable speeches are quoted across the globe. Today, he is known as a unifying force and given posthumous adoration. Some call it a 'white-washing' of history because in the Civil Rights era, he was known as a trouble-maker and an agitator. He was hated by racists, envied and fought by some people of color, and deemed a threat to the status quo of the government and its systems. We see many more photos of King preaching and marching than we do of his arrests, wire tapping, or of his house being shot or bombed. We recite and hear more quotes and clips from 'I Have a Dream,' or "Mountaintop" than we do his speeches on the racial, and especially the economic injustice that many believe cost him his life.

A REVOLUTION is the forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. It is a dramatic and wide-reaching change in the way something works or is organized. In history we were taught about the Revolutionary War and the Boston Tea Party, the US Colony's rebellion against British rule. "No Taxation without representation." The Founding Fathers felt fully justified to address the tyranny of their oppressors not just with words but with war. It's interesting that Dr. King philosophically decried violence and refers above to a 'revolution of values.' VALUES are ideals you regard as important, worthy and useful. They are principles and standards of behavior. Dr. King knew, as a Kingdom citizen and follower of Jesus, that you can legislate, and you can try to dominate, but ultimately how we treat one another is a matter of the heart. 

Revolutionaries are not usually popular. They are prophetic voices, isolated outcasts, pioneers and early adopters who hold insurgent perspectives. John the Baptist was a crazy looking, camel hair wearing, locust and wild honey eating prophet, crying out in the wilderness "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3) He had come to turn the religious system on it's ear, and to radically and forever change the way individuals interacted with their God. His command was at once a thought, heart and action issue. "Prove by the way you live that you have repented from your sins and turned to God." (vs. 8, NLT) Repent meant to not only feel regret or remorse about your wrong doing, but to think differently about how you'd behave in the future. Turn is intentional. You were headed in a certain direction, going about things a certain way. NOW you are to do an about face, go in the opposite direction and do things differently.  Just a thought, Isaiah's remorse (Isaiah 6), was not just about himself, but the people he dwelt amongst as well.

That my friends is a revolution...and the revolution will not be televised!  (ref. Gil Scott Herron) Jesus said, The Kingdom of God comes without observation, because it is within you. (Luke 17:20-211)  We are following and being ruled by the greatest revolutionary that was or ever will be - the LORD Jesus Christ.  He changed the game on socio-political, economic, religious, gender and ethnic systems and who held their power. He embodied the willingness to suffer and die for what He believed in and for those He loved. He didn't hold His privilege, but willingly gave it all up for our sake in obedience to His Father. (Phil. 2) Then He left us with a revolutionary call to do the same reconciling work He did on the earth. (2 Cor. 5) Now it's our turn to be revolutionaries. Songwriter Kirk Franklin asked a simple question, "Do you want a revolution?" Sadly, some of us really don't.

Join us SUNDAYS 9:30AM Class 11:00 AM Worship Service 225 Wyoming Ave. Cincinnati OH 45215 mynewlifetoday.com

Next month's  

LIFT Service

Worship, Word &  Prophetic  

 Thursday,
April 19th 7:00PM

225 Wyoming Ave. 

Cincinnati OH 45215

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - CRUCIBLE - 04/04/18 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"Surmounting difficulty is the crucible that forms character."   -Tony Robbins - Motivational Speaker       A CRUCIBLE - is a container that can withstand very high temperatures and is used to extract metal from its ore by a process involving heating and melting. The main purpose of the crucible was to keep the ore in an area where the heat is concentrated to separate it from impurities before shaping.  Figuratively, a CRUCIBLE is a severe test or trial in which different elements interact leading to the creation of something new. The Latin crucibulum or 'night lamp' is thought to originally be a lamp hanging in front of a crucifix. Sometimes life is like a crucible. We are at once the clay pot withstanding tremendous heat, the ore with its impurities, and the new vessel. The Apostle Peter admonished, "Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad--for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world." In the hymn, "Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on me, we ask, "Make me, melt me, mold me, use me."  It's a beautiful chant lifted up by Believers crying out for purification. Still, the heat of crucible experiences is painful. The LORD told rebellious and stubborn Israel, "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction." (Isa. 48:10) The Omniscient God searches our hearts and knows our thoughts. (Psalm 139) When He decides we need to be refined, questions and vacillating emotions arise. His purpose is to improve us by making subtle changes. Job anchored himself in hope and trust when his faith and commitment to the LORD were being proven, "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I will come forth as gold." (Job 23:10) When gold is refined, the heat causes impurities to rise to the top and they are skimmed off. The process is repeated again and again to increase the quality and purity of the gold. The longer it is heated, the higher the karat: 10, 14, 18... 24 karat is considered pure gold.  So it is with us. God sometimes allows repeated trials to subtly refine us in order to maximize character for our good and blessing and for His glory. "For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance." (Psalm 68:8-10) Glory to God!

Join us SUNDAYS 9:30AM Class 11:00 AM Worship Service 225 Wyoming Ave. Cincinnati OH 45215 mynewlifetoday.com

Next month's   LIFT Service Worship, Word &  Prophetic    Thursday, April 19th 7:00PM 225 Wyoming Ave.  Cincinnati OH 45215