| MBC Weekly Update for January 21, 2022
Spotlight on Upcoming Events:
Discover MBC Returns THIS SUNDAY, JANUARY 26th!
If you’re new to the MBC community or would like to know more about our church, be sure to sign up for our next Discover MBC class which starts Sunday, January 23rd and continues over the next two Sunday mornings during the 9am Sunday school hour. This class is our “gateway” to becoming an MBC “member/partner,” and it’s a great way to learn about our mission, ministry opportunities, and our leadership team. We even provide a light breakfast and childcare. Preregistration is helpful but not required. RSVP now by clicking here.
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MBC Women’s Event
Come join Lynette Green and other MBC women for their next “Gathering” event upstairs in the Middle School room on Sunday evening, February 6th from 5-7pm. A dinner of soup will be provided! Contact Elizabeth Reynolds by clicking here if you have any questions or need more information!
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Family Meal Night moved to February!
We’ll try again to have our crowd-pleasing Family Meal Night on February 9th before our Wednesday night ministries. RSVP and pay online by clicking here. That really helps us plan. However, don’t let it stop you from coming! We always seem to have enough food for everyone!
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Shout Out!
A special “Thank You!!!” goes out to Karen Evans and all those who helped or donated blood at our blood drive today! We had the best turnout we’ve ever had, and we filled every available time slot with a donor! All in all, 60 people volunteered to give blood! Pray for those who donated and those who will receive the blood products. Thank you for helping us serve the community and make God’s name look great!
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Sermon Recap for January 16, 2022:
Title: Renew Your Mind: Living the Transformed Life
Passage: Romans 12:1-2
MBC Vision Emphasis 2022: BE TRANSFORMED as we are motivated by grace to walk by faith in obedience to the Lord
- Transformed minds through Scripture, prayer, and Christian community doing the same.
- Transformed ministry by discovering and utilizing your spiritual SHAPE for service.
- Transformed witness as we pray, care, and share the Gospel with others.
- Transformed church facilities to improve the flow of people and create inviting places to linger in ministry.
Battle for the Mind — the world
Battle for the Mind — our flesh
- Ephesians 4:17,18,20
- Romans 8:5-6
Battle for the Mind — Devil
Meaning of Renewing your mind
- “Knowing Scripture to think Christianly about everything.”
Practices To Help Renew the mind
- Behold the Glory of Lord–2 Corinthians 3:18
- Let the word of Christ dwell in you–Colossians 3:2 & 16
- Hear teaching
- Read/Listen
- Study
- Memorize
- Mediate on it
- Walk with those who renew their minds–Psalm 1:1–2
- Repentant thinking: put off & put on–Ephesians 4:17,20,23,24
- Take thoughts captive & replace— 2 Corinthians 10:3–6 & Philippians 4:8
- Prayerfully rely on the Spirit--2 Corinthians 3:18
Thoughts:
As I mentioned last week, transformation is my word for 2022. I was even reading an article for class this week which centered on the theme of transformation. The abstract for the article read, “we…need to step back and give serious attention to our own process or spiritual transformation [there’s that word again]. As the disciplines of rest, solitude, silence, and self-examination are cultivated… we will be brought back from frenetic activity and dissipation to a quiet alertness to guidance from God and be in a better position to facilitate spiritual formation in the lives of others.”
What I get from these words is that you can’t be transformed from behind. It reminds me of when I ran cross country in high school. Our coach was an overweight, middle-aged man, but he had strict rules for those on the cross-country team. We were not allowed to drink soda or eat junk food during the season. If he caught us with a forbidden food or drink, we were not allowed to run in the meet that week. Abstaining from junk food and soft drinks was a terrible injunction, but that wasn’t even the worst of it. Each day at practice, our coach would describe the course we were expected to run in practice and let us get started running. When we slowed down to walk because we were tired and/or lazy, he would suddenly emerge from around a corner on his bicycle and yell at us to get running again–often disappearing only to show up again later to chase us in another difficult part of the course. But here was the real rub. He usually had a donut in one hand as he yelled at us and soda in the basket of his bike! We–alright, I–said some pretty unsanctified things about him when he wasn’t around—not because he asked us to do difficult things, but because he wasn’t willing to do the difficult things himself. We can’t be transformed if we aren’t willing to do the hard work ourselves.
Transformation can’t be the vison of MBC if each of us aren’t willing to make the efforts to be transformed ourselves.
How do we bring about our own spiritual transformation? By renewing our minds and making space and channels for God to act. I once knew someone who said that distractions were keeping her from seeing a difficult decision for what it was. Ruth Haley Barton speaks to that when she writes, “In the process of spiritual transformation the Spirit of God moves us from behaviors motivated by fear and self-protection to trust and abandonment to God, from selfishness and self-absorption to freely offering the gifts of the authentic self, from the ego’s desperate attempts to control the outcomes of our lives to the ability to do God’s will even when it is foolishness to the world around us.” Transformation by renewing our minds and practicing the spiritual disciplines of prayer, mediation, Bible study—to name a few–creates space that then helps bring clarity to be able to see through distractions. I’m learning that rather than trying harder to do ___________, maybe I should sit quiet for a time and listen. Rather than adding to the noise, maybe I should get in the Bible and give God space to speak to me through His Word.
I hope you’ll join me, and we can begin this process of transformation together.
In service to Him and to you!
Heather Hogue |
