Overview of Psalms

• Psalm 1: How To Live Happily Ever After
• Psalm 2: Is The World Out Of Control?
• Psalm 3: When Life Falls Apart
• Psalm 5: What to Do When Under Attack
• Psalm 8: God’s Majesty and Ours
• Psalm 13: When God Seems Distant
• Psalm 16: Pleasures Forever
• Psalm 19: God’s Revelation, Our Response
• Psalm 22: The Sufferings And Glory Of Christ
• Psalm 23: Contentment
• Psalm 25: Seeking God in the Hard Times
• Psalm 27: Overcoming Fear
• Psalm 31: The Remedy for Stress
• Psalm 32: The Blessings Of Forgiveness
• Psalm 33: The Key to a Thankful Heart
• Psalm 34: Enjoying God and His Blessings
• Psalm 36: Deceived by Sin or Delighted in God?
• Psalm 37: What To Do When The Bad Guys Win
• Psalm 39: How Transient I Am!
• Psalm 40: When You’re in the Pit
• Psalm 42-43: Dealing With Depression
• Psalm 46: Our Sufficient God
• Psalm 48: The City of the Great King
• Psalm 49: A Psalm for the Recession
• Psalm 50: Ritual or Reality?
• Psalm 57: Singing In The Cave
• Psalm 62: God Only
• Psalm 63: Seeking After God
• Psalm 66: Make His Praise Glorious
• Psalm 67: Why Seek God’s Blessing?
• Psalm 71: Growing Old God’s Way
• Psalm 73a: “God, It’s Not Fair!”
• Psalm 73b: Treasuring God Above All Else
• Psalm 80: Praying for Revival
• Psalm 81: What Might Have Been
• Psalm 84: How Blessed!
• Psalm 86: A Lesson on Prayer
• Psalm 90: Eternal God, Ephemeral Man
• Psalm 92: It is Good to Give Thanks to the Lord
• Psalm 95: Worship—or Else!
• Psalm 96: Worshiping, Witnessing, Waiting
• Psalm 97: The Lord Reigns
• Psalm 99: Holy is He!
• Psalm 100: Bad Press for a Good God
• Psalm 103: Heartfelt Worship
• Psalm 105: Our Response to God’s Sovereign Grace
• Psalm 106: Grace Abounding for All Our Sin
• Psalm 107: How To Get Help From God
• Psalm 110: What Do You Think About Christ?
• Psalm 113: God is Great and He is Gracious
• Psalm 115: Not to Us, but to Your Name Give Glory
• Psalm 118: Thank God for His Salvation
• Psalm 119: The Priority Of God’s Word
• Psalm 127: Blueprint For A Satisfying Home (part 1)
• Psalm 128: Blueprint For A Satisfying Home (part 2)
• Psalm 130: Out of the Depths
• Psalm 136: God’s Lovingkindness is Everlasting
• Psalm 137: Difficult Words, But True
• Psalm 139: No Escape From God
• Psalm 142: Trapped, Alone!
• Psalm 143: Another Lesson on Prayer
• Psalm 145: God Fanatics
• Psalm 146: Always Praising, Always Trusting, Always Blessed
• Psalm 147: The God of Grace and Greatness
• Psalm 148: Let Heaven and Earth Praise the Lord!
• Psalm 150: The Priority Of Praise

Candy Cane Evangelism

The candy cane is a long-time Christmas tradition. 
Everywhere we look we see them.  
They are used as decorations on Christmas trees 
and, of course, they are one of the most popular of all Christmas treats. 

 First of all, if you look at the candy cane like this"J" it looks like the letter J.  Jesus starts with the letter J, so that should remind us of Jesus and help us to remember that Christmas is Jesus' birthday.

If you look at the candy cane like this (upside down "J") it looks like a shepherd's crook.  The shepherd used his crook to keep the sheep from wandering away from the flock and getting lost or eaten by a wild animal.  The Bible says, "The Lord is my shepherd."  The candy cane should remind us that Jesus is our shepherd and he will keep us from wandering away and getting lost or hurt.

The candy cane is mostly white.  White is a symbol of purity.  That should remind us that Jesus was the spotless Lamb of God and that because he came to be the sacrifice for our sin, we can become as white as snow.  

As you know, the candy cane has three red stripes.   The Bible tells us that before he was crucified, Jesus was beaten with a whip which made blood-red stripes across his back.  The Bible says that we are healed by those stripes.  The stripes on the candy cane should remind us that Jesus suffered and died, so that we can have everlasting life.

To many people, the candy cane is a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time or just a piece of candy to be eaten and enjoyed.  I hope that this year, every time you see a candy cane, you will be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas.

PRAYER: 
“Lord,  we thank you that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who keeps us from harm.  We thank you that because of his suffering and death on the cross, we have life everlasting.  Help us to remember that we find the true meaning of Christmas in him.” 

Spiritual Interest Survey

Spiritual Interest Survey

#1. Hi, my name is _______ and I am with GVCC

      Do you have a few seconds for a quick survey?

#2. On a scale of 1 to 10, what is your current level

        of spiritual interest?

     1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10

#3. What has been your experience with

         Christianity? ___________________

          Look for an opportunity to share the gospel

#4. Would you be interested in getting together for

       coffee or lunch later to talk more about all

        Jesus offers you?

(a) if yes

List: Name ___________ Phone # ________

    (b) if no ~ just skip to the end

#5. Thanks for talking with us today!                               

            (Invite them to church)

Distractions

Distractions

Have you ever spent more time trying to get your computer to do what you need it to do ~ than you spent on the actual project you are supposed to be working on? 

This morning I was typing my notes for a funeral service and found ½ a page blocked out.  It wouldn’t let me type anything on that ½ a page nor would it allow me to delete whatever setting was blocking my progress.

After 30 minutes of fooling around with it ~ I gave up and retyped my notes in a new WORD document that was uncorrupted by ghosts and goblins. 

It makes me wonder how much work I could accomplish if I used a pen and paper and turned off FaceBook. 

Naaaaaa ~ that’s just silly talk.

There is an old sermon illustration about a puppy that had a hard time concentrating on anything.  Every time a squirrel ran by ~ the puppy would immediately ignore whatever it was paying attention to and dash off chasing the squirrel.  Thus, whenever I get distracted, my wife rolls her eyes and mutters, “Squirrel”. 

Perhaps FaceBook is a type of “Squirrel” that saps hours of our time and attention away from things we should be paying attention to. 

Trust me... my own tendencies toward distractions are what prompted my thoughts on this blog.    

Proverbs 4:25-27 NLT

²⁵ Look straight ahead,
    and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
²⁶ Mark out a straight path for your feet;
    stay on the safe path.
²⁷ Don’t get sidetracked;
    keep your feet from following evil.

PRAYER:

Heaven Father, please help me to “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (Colossians 3:2 NLT) so every area of my life brings a smile to your face.  Please allow me to view the relationships in my life through your perspective ~ so I can bring to them what is needed to allow them to spiritually move closer to You.  In Your Son’s Name, Amen!