David's Bucket

The weekend after Easter we will begin a new series we are calling, “Power Failure.”

Here’s a brief synopsis of the series.

At the last Supper the Jesus shared with his disciples, John’s gospel tells us that Jesus shared the following promise.

“All these things I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” 

The Holy Spirit’s work in our lives represents a tremendous source of strength and encouragement in our daily walk with Christ. Unfortunately, this relationship is also one of the most misunderstood components of the Christian experience. The result of this confusion is a failure to access the true power of God’s presence in our lives.

Over the course of this six week series, we hope to tap back in to this incredible source of energy by focusing on how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.

And this is where I would love your feedback.

As I prepare for this series, it would be very helpful to get a clearer sense of how people understand the Holy Spirit and it’s activity in their lives. Below are a few questions that I would greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to review and sending me your response. You can email me at davidsbucket@gmail.com or drop a comment below.

Thank you for your help!

When you think about the Holy Spirit, what comes to your mind? 

I’m looking forward to this Wednesday night and the first session of Sacred Marriage, a class I will be teaching over the next several weeks with my friend Bryan Atkinson. This will be the second time we have offered this class, but the first time Bryan and I have taught it together. This class is free and will meet in our chapel from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. You can RSVP your spot on our church website.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the class.

The day we say “I do” is one of the most extraordinary moments of our lives. It is a day that is marked by hope, filled with joy, and defined by the great promises that we share with our spouse.

Yet, what many of us realize over the course of time, is that having a sacred marriage is much more difficult than planning an inspiring and beautiful wedding. Marriage is sometimes a difficult road, with twists and turns we often do not expect, and hurts and setbacks that can leave us discouraged, disheartened, and in some cases determined to walk away.

If you have ever found yourself discouraged in your marriage relationship, the Bible offers great words of encouragement.

Sacred Marriage is a five week learning experience designed to help us see the purpose behind God’s holy design of marriage. While this class will not make the issues in your marriage disappear, it will help you to see yourself, your spouse, and your marriage in a whole new way.
God designed marriage to be a blessing to you, to your spouse, and the entire world. The hope of Sacred Marriage is that we would begin to embrace that dream.

Holy and loving God, we pause this day to remember the tragedy that our nation experienced on September 11th, 2001.

Most of us Lord, cannot escape the memory of that Tuesday morning

We remember where we were,
we remember what we saw,
we remember how we felt,

We remember…
the shock and horror that left us paralyzed,
the fear that gripped our hearts and seemed to hold the world hostage in the weeks that followed.

We remember with sadness the terrible loss of life that resulted from senseless and evil acts of violence.

and we return to that grief today Lord,
to honor those whose lives were tragically cut short,
to give thanks for the heroes whose instincts may have told them to flee, but whose training and courage sent them into burning buildings to save and preserve life.
And to remind ourselves Lord that in our most perilous moment of need, we turned to you…

And in that turning Lord,
You grieved with us.
You cared for us.
You held us close.
You comforted those whose loved ones were lost.
And in each moment that has followed that terrible day, your spirit has been working to bring healing to these shared wounds…
And to restore what we cannot live without, our fervent hope in you and in your promise that good will prevail in the end.

We remember Lord that lesson that we learned in those horrible days.
that evil cannot stop the force of good,

and so as people of faith,
people of hope,
and people of love,
we commit ourselves again to your dream of peace for our world.
Use us as your people to see this dream come true.
In the name of Jesus we pray. AMEN.

This weekend we are beginning a new series simply titled, “Why?”

Over the next three weeks, we will be wrestling with some of the deeper questions of our faith. Along the way, we also hope to affirm the idea that questions are not only normal, they are an essential part of our process of becoming a more deeply committed follower of Jesus. You can see the three questions we will be looking at listed below as well as a video to introduce this series.

I hope to see you for this important series which starts this Saturday night.

Why is it so hard to find God’s will for my life?
Why do my prayers seem to go unanswered?
If God is God, why is there suffering?

Why? from First Methodist Mansfield on Vimeo.