F.E.E.D. Classic

I wrote this four years ago and it still applies today enjoy! I did adjust the article where dates were not appropriate. F.E.E.D. is an acronym for “Family Emphasis Enrichment and Development." From Mother’s Day through Independence Day weekend, we will be focusing our sermons on how we can be better parents, a better spouse, a better son or daughter, how we can be more connected to our local fellowship, and many other virtues which should improve as we grow in our faith. A secondary purpose is to remind the congregation that we need to focus inward for a portion of our yearly messages and activities. You often hear the term personal development. F.E.E.D. will speak to this growth dynamic, so each of us should be prepared to evaluate where we are in our growth process. Remember last week I said repetition of ideas, actually of anything helpful to us, is important and should be embraced. Not to get side-tracked by this thought, but think about the things we do every day which are repetitive: eating, sleeping, laundry, bathing, brushing your teeth, exercising, and so much more. It makes no sense in the natural to push 100 pounds up and down 20 times in a row. Yet millions of people do this simple exercise called a push-up every day. And after a few short weeks, it becomes easier to accomplish, and 20 push-ups become 25, 30, 35 and so on. Another type of repetition is gathering together as believers on a weekly basis, and also during special occasions. July 4th weekend is the perfect example of gathering together because together is better! We need each other, and we need to learn how to live, love, learn, laugh, lean, and lower ourselves together. Everyone knows what the first five mean, but what does “lower” mean? It is doing life the way Jesus would want us to each and every day, in other words repetitively! In the scriptures we read: "What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was given a position 'a little lower than the angels' and because he suffered death for us, he is now 'crowned with glory and honor.' Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9) My question to you is…when is the last time you lowered yourself to someone else? When is the last time you agreed to do something the way your spouse wants? When is the last time you honored the leader of something, even though you thought you could do it better? (You probably can do it better, but we need to lower ourselves on a regular basis.) The scriptures tell us to consider the needs of others as more important; "Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.” (Philippians 2:3-6) I am praying many will participate in the worship service, not just for our own needs, but we want to support our church family and the entire staff at APBC. I am so grateful for this campground and its historical connection to our local church. Repetition is the key to life! Seriously if your heart stops beating your life on this side of eternity will cease to exist. I am very thankful for the repetitive nature of my heart. I think we would do well to see the need for the repetitive flow of life amongst each other within our fellowship. Let’s keep on, keeping on!