WEDNESDAY'S WORD - GRIEVE - Sadell Bradley 12/1/2021

WEDNESDAY'S WORD GRIEVE 12/1/2021 "Grief is so human, and it hits everyone at one point or another, at least, in their lives. If you love, you will grieve, and that's just given."―Kay Redfield Jamison - Psychologist  WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY LETTING GO TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org GRIEF is keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; sharp sorrow; or painful regret. I used to have a very narrow view of grief as only something one feels after at the death of a loved one. All of us go in an out of the emotions associated with Dr. Elisabeth Kubler Ross' 5 Stages of Grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Sometimes we don't go all the way through the grieving process to acceptance. Over the years family members, friends, and church members have passed on. Holiday seasons leave us grappling with grief. We have fond memories, but our Thanksgiving and Christmas tables are different when those we love are no longer with us. Isaiah prophesied of Christ, "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." (Isaiah 54:3a) Jesus taught His disciples, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4) It is good to know that God not only cares about our grief, but acts to alleviate it. I didn't realize until much later that the condition of grief goes far beyond the death of a loved one. Grief is complex and includes many other aspects of our lives. Each time we progress from one stage of life to another, we grieve the former and have to adjust to the latter. When we marry, we grieve singleness. When we retire, we grieve our working lives. When we move from one city to another, we grieve our former home and embrace the new one. When we experience illness, we grieve the loss of the full functioning of our bodies. When we age losing mobility, hair, memory...there are elements of grief. When our relationships change or people leave us, we mourn their loss and move on..or do we? English musician Oliver Sykes said, "When it comes to the grieving process, we all try to ignore that feeling—but it's important to grieve. Even if it's happened for the best, you need to take that moment to feel something." Ecclesiastes 3:4 tells us there is "a time to mourn and a time to dance," but too often, we attempt to avoid or skip the grieving and move too quickly into dancing. If we've not fully grieved a loss, change, regret, or disappointment...those feelings, and that paralysis don't just disappear, they are often buried beneath a simulated happiness or a dull sense of nonchalance. We sometimes fear thinking about anything that causes us to feel negative emotions, yet we still want a sense of relief and release. Paul said that Christ, "comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." (2 Cor. 1:4) How can Jesus comfort us when we refuse to grieve?

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - FULFILLED - Sadell Bradley - 11/24/2021

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD FULFILLED 11/24/2021 "I can't stress this enough: The single thing that will guarantee a happy, fulfilled, and calmer life is the quality of your human relationships, especially the people you love and who love you back." ― Joanna Coles - American Editor

 WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY CONTENTMENT TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org

Tomorrow, the US celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday. Though history classes told us the first Thanksgiving was a joyful feast between the American Colonists and the Native Americans they were dispossessing; most of us know that was not the case. Now, we observe a time of gratitude to God, enjoy time with our families, and gratefully count our blessings. I'm wondering...Are you fulfilled in life? FULFILLED means you are satisfied and happy because you're fully developing your abilities or character. When a task is fulfilled, it has been brought to completion. Something that was desired, promised, or predicted has been carried out and realized as pledged, or expected. We become unfulfilled: when we stop growing or maturing; when something we've started or desired has stalled and we've not finished; when we're not where we desire to be relationally; or when we're impatiently waiting for God's promise. The virgin Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel. He tells her she will birth the long-awaited Messiah. She humbly replies, “I am the Lord’s servant, May your word to me be fulfilled..." (Luke 1:38) God was making good on His Word to Israel— bringing prophecy into reality. Mary was willing to believe, and to put her body, her reputation, her marriage, and her life on the line to be the one through whom that promise would be fulfilled. Are you willing to do the same? When Mary goes to tell the news to her elderly cousin Elizabeth, also with child by a miraculous visitation, her cousin gives this affirmation and confirmation, "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45) Elizabeth's baby leapt in her womb and she was filled with Holy Spirit. God made these ladies a promise. They had to believe, live, and walk it out to experience its fulfillment. During this season, I encourage you to go back and look at what God has said. Whatever God has spoken will be fulfilled.

Missed Last Sunday's Message? Click below or on the photo We Worship: Be Thankful

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - ADMINISTRATION - Sadell Bradley - 11/17/2021

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD ADMINISTRATION 11/17/2021 "The sublimity of administration consists of knowing the proper degree of power that should be exerted on different occasions." ― Montesquieu - French Philosopher

 WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY MANAGEMENT TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org

I had never heard the words ADMINISTRATION and sublimity in the same sentence until I read the quote above. Sublimity means there is excellence, grandeur, and a beauty that can inspire great admiration or awe. When we encounter someone who really knows how to properly execute ADMINISTRATION—the process or activity of running a business, organization, church; the management of public affairs; government; the action of dispensing, giving, or applying something...it is truly sublime. We mainly hear the word administration when discussing politics. Perhaps that's why we neglect its Biblical and spiritual value. In Acts 6, Luke used ministration to describe the many vital and necessary functions needed for the burgeoning New Testament Church: e.g. dealing with finances, and distribution to the poor widows so the Apostles could focus on prayer and the study of the Word. The word minister (Greek diakonos - deacon) is someone who provides assistance, help, or care. Leading, serving, and governing a church is A LOT more than just preaching and singing. Pastors are chosen as much for their gifts of administration and supervision as they are for speaking or congeniality. Administration is not only sublime, according to Paul, it's a gift of grace given by the Holy Spirit to some for the profit of the entire Body. "And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues." (1 Cor. 12:28) Montesquieu intimated that the one who administrates has to know how to gracefully wield and distribute their power: information, connections, governance, influence, resources (human, financial, in-kind), and abilities. They organize people, tasks and programs. If you are graced with a gift of administration, and you use it well...it is a glorious blessing to your family, church or organization. The gift of administration is often unrecognized because the ones who wield it with excellence and dexterity make things happen in orderly and undetectable ways. As a leader, you're just glad they're on your team. Thank you so much—you know who you are!

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - ADAPT -Sadell Bradley - 11/10/2021

WEDNESDAY'S WORD ADAPT 11/10/2021 "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." ― Stephen Hawking - Physicist  WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY RESILIENCE TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org "There are two options: Adapt or Die," the famous words of Andrew Grove, former CEO of Intel Corporation. If businesses don't adapt, they fade away...ask Blockbuster. "ADAPT means to make something suitable for a new use or purpose; to modify; to adjust to new conditions. Evolutionist Charles Darwin said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." The ability to adapt was key to Darwin's 'survival of the fittest.' Though most Christians would not deem themselves evolutionists—the need to adapt in our society is real. How easily do you adapt? We've seen tremendous change over the last 50 years. After moving from rotary to push button phones, we've adapted thru pagers, palms, and blackberries...to smart phones. We started with typewriters then moved to word processors. We then adapted to personal computers, the Commodore 64 and Macintosh. Now our phones are computers in our hands. Do you use gold, paper money, credit cards, or crypto currency? Are you in school, at work, or retired? I could go on about our need to adapt through life by changing, learning, and growing. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah 29:11) Did you know that this often quoted verse is an invitation for God's people to adapt to a long-term change in their environment and circumstances? The prophet announced that the Lord was going to allow Israel to be subject to 70 years of exile and captivity to the Babylonian Empire. After this 70-year period God promised to restore them to Jerusalem. In the meantime, they would have to adapt to their new surroundings and conditions as prisoners of war. During their time of captivity, they were to adapt: build houses, plant vineyards, marry, have children, and multiply. They were to pray that the city in which they were being held captive would have peace. (Vs. 5-6) Adapting meant finding ways to live and flourish in new and less than optimal conditions. Like the little plant that is somehow able to sprout in the desert; there are times we must adapt...tor die.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - TRESPASS - Sadell Bradley - 11/3/2021

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD TRESPASS 11/3/2021 "He who cannot forgive a trespass of malice to his enemy, has never yet tasted the most sublime enjoyment of love." ― Johann Kaspar Lavater - Swiss Philosopher, Theologian In some Christian circles there is huge debate over the Lord's prayer. Some quote Matthew 6:12 as, "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors," while others say, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." The Amplified is powerful, "And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]" (feelings of bitterness or indignation). The Greek opheilema—DEBT is that which is owed, an offense, or a sin. But verses 14-15, say, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses." This word paraptoma or TRESPASS means a false step, a falling away, a lapse, a sin. It is to fall away after being close-beside; a lapse or deviation from the truth, an error, a slip up, a wrong-doing that can be (relatively) unconscious, or non-deliberate. It is clear that Jesus meant we are to forgive BOTH one another's debts (intentional offenses, what is owed us) and trespasses (people's errors or lapses in judgment). We want God to forgive ours, don't we? To TRESPASS means to enter the owner's land or property without permission, to make unfair claims on or to take advantage of, to commit an offense against a person or a set of rules. If we infringe upon another's property, the police can be called or we might be shot by the owner. But we trespass relationally all of the time—intentionally or not in areas where we do not belong, or with people and situations that aren't ours. Israel gave a trespass or guilt offering when they had inadvertently committed a sin against someone or a violation of God's holy things. The offending person had to pay 20% in reparations over the damages they'd inflicted. Violations against God's holiness and against one's fellow man were very serious and required restitution. The priest would slaughter a male lamb, then put blood and oil on the violator's right ear, thumb, and big toe. Someone had to pay for debts, sins, and offenses. Then, it was an animal. For us it is JESUS, the spotless Lamb of God, who paid it all once and for all! He's also forgiven our missteps, and lapses in judgment. We are to do the same.  WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY BOUNDARIES TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org