Jason Sneed Simple Thoughts

The Worth of God

I am afraid that there are too many people (in churches today) that are more concerned about their preferences than with worshipping and praising God. Mike Hartland, Director of Worship for LifeWay Christian Resources says this about worship:

“Worship is our only reasonable response to God’s revelation”.

“The idea is simple – worship is not something we initiate or conjure up for the purpose of convincing God to act on our behalf. It’s not an exercise that dictates a reaction from a deity, nor a personal discipline intended to produce tranquility in our lives. It’s not a philosophy or an approach to spirituality, nor a belief system among many belief systems attempting to bring meaning to our existence. We worship in response to our God, who has revealed himself to us“.

The paragraph below was written by a friend of mine. He is a great pastor and an even better person and friend. He brings out an excellent point about worship and praise of God.

“The word worship comes from two words. One is the old english word “worth” meaning worth and the other is the suffix “-ship” meaning the quality. For example, friendship is the quality of being a friend,. Sportsmanship is the quality of being a good sport. So worthship literally is the quality of ascribing or declaring worth. When we worship we are saying that God has worth, that He is WORTHY. 

Worship’s first cousin is the word praise. To praise means to set a price on or attach value. The word “praise” comes from the latin word for price. The opposite of praise, in Latin, is the word for devaluation. So both praise and worship carry with it the idea of ascribing or declaring worth or value. SEEING AND SAYING THE WORTH OF GOD. Worship and Praise is our response to the WORTH of GOD. “Worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is, and what He has done; expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live.” – Louie Giglio

So your passion of your worship is directly related to your understanding of the worth of God in your life. It has nothing to do with how you feel, if you like the songs or the singers, if the music is good or bad. At it’s core, worship is a decision to respond to the work and person of Jesus by SEEING and SAYING His worth in what you say and how you live.

Drew Tankersley, Pastor – South Seminole Baptist Church

Be sure and check out Drew’s personal blog – Everything Is Borrowed

Jason Sneed Points To Ponder

Points To Ponder – October 7, 2016

Points To Ponder

3 Practical Steps to Forgiving Yourself

by Lifeway Men

Over the years, helping men deal with anger, grudges, bitterness, rage, and hatred has always been an amazing experience, watching the Holy Spirit address past issues and lead guys to new freedom. Watching men forgive fathers, mothers, siblings, wives, ex-wives, children, bosses, and so on breaks the bondage of them “holding someone hostage” in their hearts.

But the one person that all of us men struggle the most to forgive, and often can’t, is ourselves. Letting go of the past, getting rid of regrets, and stopping the beating and bleeding from “the condemnation club” often feels impossible to do.

Read more…

When God Doesn’t Listen

By Drew Tankersley

Perhaps one of the most frustrating phenomena of parenting younger children is their inability to listen.  As a parent of an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old, I know all to well the irritation of a child who is completely distracted and patently oblivious to the requests of their parental unit.  Technology is the greatest culprit of distraction in our house. 

Read more…

3 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Pray for the Persecuted Church

By Ruth Ripkin (International Mission Board)

Stories of the persecuted church around the world have grown in number of late. This one regarding Christian arrests in Iran ran just last week. An article that appeared on CNN earlier this year claimed that 2015 held the distinct honor of producing the highest rate of Christian persecution in history. Of course, the case of Iranian American Pastor Saeed Abedini has topped news cycles for the last three years. 

These stories aren’t going to go away; Jesus informed his followers that persecution would come (John 15:18–25). It’s not a new thing—just ask the early church—but many within the rather insulated West have been unaware of its existence for a while. As we continue to awaken to this reality, we need to think about how to understand persecution. More importantly, we need to learn how to persevere through it and pray for those who face it around the world. 

Read more…

Americans Love God and the Bible, Are Fuzzy on the Details

By Bob Smietana (Lifeway Research)

Americans don’t know much about theology. Most say God wrote the Bible. But they’re not sure everything in it is true.

Six in 10 say everyone eventually goes to heaven, but half say only those who believe in Jesus will be saved. And while 7 in 10 say there’s only one true God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—two-thirds say God accepts worship of all faiths.

Those are among the findings of a new survey of American views on Christian theology from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

Read more…

Jason Sneed Simple Thoughts

Lies You Might Believe

3 LiesA few days ago, I came across an article entitled “Lies You Might Believe” from Lifeway.com. It told a story about a lady named Lisa Willoughby, who helped with her church’s VBS because she remembered the crafts she made as a child. The story continued to explain that this same lady is known as the “VBS Lady” at her church.

“If I can reach one child, then what I do matters. Knowing that children may remember their time with us and give their lives to Christ fuels my passion for VBS,” Lisa says.

The article then turned to say that there are 3 lies that keep most people from serving in the church. They are as follows:

  • Nobody wants what I have to offer
  • Leadership is a long-term commitment
  • Doing ministry isn’t fun

The article’s purpose is to debunk these lies and to help encourage more people to be a part of the ministries that are offered in their church.

Each and every one of us can make a difference in this world and in our church if we are just willing to get involved!

I want to hear from you about reasons you have heard, or maybe even given yourself, about why people don’t want to get involved in the ministries of the church.

Let me know…