WEDNESDAY'S WORD - BEND - Sadell Bradley - 10/26/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD BEND 10/26/2022 “When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time.”—St. Francis De Sales October 26th Dinner Bible Study 6:00—8:30 PM  Click Here to Register CODE GATHERING26 TONIGHT 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY ONLINE FIT FOR THE KING FLEXIBILITY        @warehouseOTR         Facebook, Youtube       Tonight the topic at our Dinner Church gathering is Fit for the King: Flexibility. In this series we compare 11 Components of Fitness to the kind of spiritual fitness God calls for in Scripture. So far, we've looked at cardiovascular and muscular fitness, body composition, and strength. You can go to social media pages to catch up on the series @warehouseotr. Today, in addition to a great meal and study, we'll have chair massages and a giant game of twister. Not your grandparent's bible study, LOL!  Flexibility is important in life, relationships, and our connection with God. So many people have been taught to be inflexible, to never bend to anyone. To BEND means to shape or force something into a curve; to deviate from a straight line in a specified direction; to incline the body downward from the vertical. Figuratively, to bend means to force or for Christians...to choose to submit; to interpret or modify (a rule) to suit oneself or somebody else); to direct or devote one's attention or energies to a task. Have you ever chosen to bend so you or something or someone you love wouldn't break? An old pastoral colleague said sometimes it's better to be reconciled than to be right. So we bend.  Did you know that when we bow in prayer, we are also asking God to bend? David wrote, "I am praying to you because I know You will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray." (Psalm 17:6, NLT) "Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help." (Psalm 86:1, NLT) Some versions use the words "incline Your ear to me," to convey the idea of God giving us a nod, bending Himself downward, and extending His royal scepter to us in our petitions, The psalmist cries out in Psalm 102:2, NLT, "Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress, Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you." As God bends toward us, He sometimes calls us to bend toward others in their distress. He also invites us to bend ourselves in submission to His will as Jesus did praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Willingness to bend more can do us good. French philosopher Albert Camus said, "Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken."

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - RELAX - Sadell Bradley 10/19/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD RELAX 10/19/2022 “Our obsession with speed, with cramming more and more into every minute, means we race through life instead of actually living it. Our health, diet, and relationships suffer. We make mistakes at work. We struggle to relax, to enjoy the moment, even to get a decent night's sleep. ”—Carl Honore, Canadian Journalist October 26th Dinner Bible Study 6:00—8:30 PM  Click Here to Register CODE GATHERING26 TONIGHT 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY  FIT FOR THE KING BODY COMPOSITION               @warehouseOTR               Facebook, Youtube       With every year of playing, you want to relax one more muscle. Why? Because the more tense you are, the less you can hear. —Yo Yo Ma, Renowned Cellist  Have you found yourself racing through life and not actually living it? Is it hard for your to RELAX? to become less tense or anxious; to rest or engage in an enjoyable activity so as to become less tired or anxious; to make something less rigid, firm, or tight. Believe it or not, ministry leaders experience tension and anxiety. A 2021 Barna study stated that 38% of pastors have considered leaving the profession and only one in three is considered "healthy."  Many are discouraged. Others are dealing their own stress in addition to compassionately ministering to the situations of their parishioners for years if not decades. When your work extends beyond 9-5 into evenings and weekends you can lose track of self-care, fun, and relaxation. Sometimes the flow of ministry—meant to be accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit, turns into man-made effort and works that tire you out. This doesn't just happen to leaders, it happens to all Christians. Maybe it's happening to you.  We generally look to Philippians 4:4-9 that tells us not to be anxious about anything, but to pray about everything and think on good things to alleviate our uneasiness. We are rightly told to 'cast our cares on the Lord for He cares for us." (1 Peter 5:7) Jesus said, "Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28-30) But there are other admonitions in Scripture that can help to bring us to a place of inward relaxation. Psalm 119:143 NLT says, "As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands." Study and application of the Word of God brings relief. Proverbs 12:25 says, "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad." Stress often causes us to isolate. That's when we need the encouragement of others to bring joy, and community, which can help us relax. When the Children of Israel were fearful and stressed by the pursuit of Pharaoh Moses told them, "The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm." (Exodus 14:14)  We look to entertainment, vacations, and shopping for relaxation, but Scripture takes us deeper to what will give a lasting peace that passes understanding and strengthen us for the journey. So try to relax...and breathe!

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SHILL - SADELL BRADLEY - 10/12/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD SHILL 10/12/2022 “It's deceptive because people think they're talking to a regular person when they're really talking to a shill, ...that's the whole point, that shills have to disclose that they're shills. ”—Gary Ruskin—Researcher  BREAKFAST THIS SATURDAY October 15th 10:00 AM -12 NOON CODE SISTER15  Click Here to Register TONIGHT 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY  FIT FOR THE KING STRENGTH @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube     WHAT IS A SHILL? Based on the quote above, it seems like something or someone we wouldn't want to be. Shill is a word you'd generally see or hear in politics or advertising. A SHILL is a person who pretends to give an impartial endorsement of something in which they themselves have no interest. You've seen celebrities sell things you couldn't imagine them ever using. Another definition of SHILL is an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others. In the old days a swindler trying to pawn off a magical miracle elixir would sometimes have a sidekick with a "testimony" of the potion's effectiveness. That person was a shill. The verb form of this word means to act or work as a shill, endorsing something or someone that you don't support or of whom you don't approve.  Did you there are religious shills?There are preachers and leaders who don't consider Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, nor do they consider ministry a true calling. Maybe they're doing it for the money, or because they experience perks, or like to use their mouths to get attention. There are even parodies and satirical movies like Honk for Jesus Save Your Soul and Fake Preacher to illustrate this phenomenon. I've not seen either of these films, but this is not new. In Philippians 1 Paul had been imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, yet he knew there were some shills, or what we'd these days call posers. He said, "15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." I want to be...and want to be around people who are authentic about what and whom they represent—Jesus. I'm not big fan of faking the funk or shilling about championing people, places, or things with which I do not agree. Sometimes I find myself being asked to do so, but I don't want to, and I pray not to be a shill.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - HARVEST - Sadell Bradley - 10/05/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD HARVEST 10/5/2022 “We accept it because we have seen the vision. We know that we cannot reap the harvest, but we hope that we might so well prepare the land and so diligently sow the seed that our successors may gather the ripened grain. ”—Liberty Hyde Bailey - American Scientist THIS SATURDAY October 8th MEN'S RETREAT 8:00 - 2:30 pm  Click Here to Register Cl Registration is $25.00 Robert Louis Stephenson once said,"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."  This sentiment, though true, is difficult. Maybe it's because I was bred and educated in perfectionist, results-driven environments. Or perhaps it's that we live in a bottom-line world where the value of small steps and developmental processes is often not appreciated. Even in the church our leadership "successes" are often based on 'butts in seats" and "dollars in offering plates," and not in diligent seeds sown toward life transformations. HARVEST is a noun and a verb. It is both the process or period of gathering crops and the crops themselves.  Agriculture, whether natural or spiritual, is a humbling proposition because it requires complete dependency on God for the harvest. When we forget this, God humbles us and makes us recognize our need for Him. He did this in 1 Corinthians 3 when folks were clamoring for a competition between two of their most eloquent leaders, Paul and Apollos. Paul immediately shut it down. 5After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.  We can do what we can do, and we trust God to do what He does. I'm wondering if you've accepted the spiritual value of the seeds you're planting and watering. Those seed affect lives. "35Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”"  (Matt. 9:35-38) This weekend we'll be planting and watering seeds in Washington Park, OTR. We'd love to have more folks volunteer to help us. If you're interested and available, email us at info@thewarehousechurch.org   TONIGHT 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY  FIT FOR THE KING HEART STRONG @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube