Month: March 2017

Genesis 35 – The 4 Truths About Worship

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“Is your worship contemporary or traditional?” “Are the lights up or down?” “Do you use hymnals or read words off a screen?” “Are the instruments electric or acoustic?” “Do people raise their hands?” “Is there a choir?”
These are questions people often ask about a church’s worship in order to determine if it’s worship they can relate to.
Genesis chapter 35 opens with Jacob worshiping God, and in the first 6 verses, you can find four truths about worship.
  1. We are called to worship. (v.1) Worship is not optional. It is the commanded response to an Almighty God.
  2. We are to prepare for worship. (v.2) We are to clear our hearts and minds of all sin and contaminants in order to make room for God to enter in.
  3. We are to be focused on worship. (v.3) We are not to worship broadly with wandering minds. We are to focus like a laser on the One True God Who has chosen to communicate and connect with us.
  4. We are to be active in worship. (v. 6) Worship is not a passive activity. Worship demands our active involvement. This can include singing, praying, taking notes, lifting your hands and bending your knees. The demonstration of worship may vary, but active involvement in worship is a must.
As you can see, worship is not something you go to, but rather a response to a person you go to. We know from Jesus’ words that true worship is dependent on the person and their participation; not the place and the patterns. (John 4:19-24.)
In light of these four truths of worship, how often do you truly worship?
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

The Changing Seasons

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We’re in the middle of some crazy weather patterns. It’s in the lower 80’s one day, and then the lower 30’s the next. It’s like going through all the seasons in the span of a week or two.

Marriages go through seasons, and each season requires something different from spouses. To have a long and happy marriage, you must learn to navigate seven seasons…

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Genesis 34 – Where’s God?

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Genesis chapter 34 is a bleak story. While Jacob and his family were sojourning through the land, a Hivite prince named Shechem became infatuated with Jacob’s daughter, Dinah. Shechem forced himself on Dinah and raped her. He then asked his father, Hamor to negotiate a deal with Jacob for the right to marry Dinah, setting a precedent for intermarriage between the two peoples.
When Dinah’s brothers heard of her rape, they were furious. They struck a deal with Hamor, agreeing to intermarry with Hamor’s people under one condition…that all the Hivite males agree to be circumcised. Believing this was an opening to economically take advantage of Jacob, Hamor agreed.
But, when all the Hivite men were recovering from their circumcision, two of Dinah’s brothers came into the city. They slaughtered the Hivite men, looted the city, and retrieved Dinah. The chapter ends with Jacob’s fear of retaliation.
All of the ugliness of mankind is found in this chapter. There are Shechem’s “I-want-it-now” attitude and his violently wanton sexual appetite. There are a people who are willing to over-look wickedness for the sake of closing a deal. There’s Jacob, who seems more concerned about keeping the peace than standing against wickedness. There are two groups of people plotting behind the scenes to take advantage of each other. And perhaps the most disturbing thing of all…there’s no mention of God anywhere in the chapter.
The parallels between this story and today’s world can easily leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. After all, when it gets so bad that God isn’t even mentioned, what can we do?
But therein lies the key to change. We must bring God back into the story, in order to interrupt the falling dominoes of wickedness in our world.
Can you think of one way you can acknowledge God and bring Him back into the story of your life?
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Genesis 33 – Coming Clean

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In Genesis chapter 33, Jacob is very fearful at the thought of meeting his brother, Esau. After all, Jacob had cheated his brother out of his birthright and his blessing, and now Esau had the power and right to make Jacob pay for all he had done.
Then comes the moment of truth, as Jacob sees his brother Esau in the distance running toward him. Jacob assumes his life is over and braces for Esau’s anger. But Esau, his judge, and jury, receives Jacob with open arms and a heart of forgiveness. Jacob had braced for the worse only to receive the best.
The same was true for the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. The prodigal son threw away his life and his father’s inheritance on partying and despicable things. Finally, when he had nothing left, he left the far country and came home, ashamed and embarrassed. He deserved the father’s worst but received the father’s best. He deserved the father’s lash but received the father’s love.
We, like Jacob and the prodigal son, have done our own thing. We have hurt others, been selfish and demanding, and we deserve the worst. But when we humble ourselves, leave our far country, confess our wrong, and ask for mercy, we will receive God’s best…not His worst. Though we deserve judgment, we receive mercy. Though we deserve death, we receive life. When we are willing to trust our lives to Christ, we become family. We’re no longer the enemy. (Gal. 3:26-29) (Gal. 4:6-7) (Eph. 1:5-8)
Does the thought of facing God raise your fear or your faith? If you will come to God and submit yourself to Him, He will receive you with open arms and an open heart.
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Magic Moments in Marriage

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Marriages need magic moments. (I know that sounds like a Cialis or Viagra commercial, but stay with me.)

If I asked you, “What are the magic moments in your marriage?” how would you answer? Would you talk about your wedding day? Your honeymoon? The birth of a child? Unexpected blessings? Tragedy narrowly averted? A special vacation? The birth of grandchildren? Retirement?

These are the things we typically think about when we think of magic moments in marriage, but these are too few and too far between. What if it were in your power to create magic moments in your marriage more frequently and more regularly?

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Genesis 32 – The Wrestling Match

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As young children, we exercise our independence by saying, “Me do it!” As adults, we may not stomp our feet, stick out our lip and loudly proclaim, “Me do it!” but our bent is still to do things ourselves.
Prior to Genesis chapter 32, Jacob spent his life giving a nod to God but then scrambling to make things happen on his own. Amazingly, God remained faithful to Jacob despite his “Me do it!” mentality.
But in Genesis chapter 32, rich with wives, children, and property, Jacob leaves his Uncle Laban and returns to Esau…the brother whom he cheated out of his inheritance and birthright. As Jacob gets closer to home, he begins to fear Esau’s great anger, so Jacob sends wave after wave of people, gifts, and property to try to pacify Esau.
Finally, Jacob is left with nothing left to give and nothing else he can do. Then, an angel comes and wrestles with him throughout the night and Jacob refuses to let go of the angel until God blesses him.
God’s wants us to stop relying on our own efforts and instead rely on Him. To do that, God will allow us to scramble in our own efforts until there is nothing more we can do. Then, when all our efforts have come up short, we learn to hold on to God and God alone.
Like Jacob, we all wrestle with a tendency to work independently of God. When this happens, we need to remember:
  • God alone is the source of our blessing and protection.
  • We can’t hold onto God when we’re using all our energy to grasp for other things.
Have you learned these lessons, or are you giving a nod to God, but scrambling to make things happen on your own?
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.