7 For 7 Prayer Cards

---

Giving as of February 21, 2023

Budget for 2023 . . . . . . . .  $348,707.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . . . $53,647.28
Received to Date . . . . . . . . . $33,052.60
Needed for weekly budget . . . $6,705.91
Tithes Received this week . . .  $1,089.00

MID-WEEK DEVOTION

Don’t forget to check out Brother David’s Mid-Week Devotion in the book of Psalms. They are uploaded each Wednesday on the sermon page.

SURPLUS PIANO’S

The church is disposing of two upright pianos. These pianos are free for anyone who can move them on a first-come, first-serve basis. One piano plays ok but needs a good cleaning from mold. The other piano has pads that are starting to deteriorate. They are located in the fellowship hall in room 106. If you have any questions, see Jonathan, Sandra, or Dwayne.

From Our Pastor

In Ephesians 5:15 we read, “Therefore be careful how you walk…” Verse 16 goes on to say, “…because the days are evil.” As we live our lives, we must be careful how we live in these dark, sinful days in which we live.

That truth leads us to ask the obvious question – are there particular sins against which we must guard ourselves? The answer is “yes”. While all sins are sinful, there are some sins that are root sins that bear the fruit sins. We need to be especially careful with such root sins.

What are some of these root sins? We find a ¬partial list in 1 Corinthians 10:6-13. Paul lists sins that caused God to judge Israel in the wilderness. Although the Israelites sinned against God in many ways in several situations, these sins bred the others.

The first of these sins is idolatry (verse 7). Idolatry is when we allow something (or someone) to compete with God for our loving devotion. It is also when we trust something besides God. Idolatry is also when we have a concept of God that is different from what He has revealed about Himself.

Idolatry always leads to other sins. If God is not first in our hearts, at some point we’ll pull back or turn away from Him. If He is not our trust, we will ultimately follow that which we do trust. If our concept of God is not Biblical, we’ll serve the image that we have created. At some point that will bring us into rebellion against the true God. We must guard ourselves against idolatry.

Next, Paul addressed immorality. Immorality may seem to be out of date in our generations but, God still judges this sin – and all the various manifestations of this sin. He deals with both the physical acts and the mental desires (Matthew 5:27-28). His Word is full of warnings about this sin. An honest look at our society shows the spiritual, emotional, physical and even financial consequences of this sin. No wonder the typical verb instruction in dealing with immorality is “Run!” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Third, we must guard ourselves from trying the Lord (verse 9). That means to continually push the Lord for more. The Israelites pushed God too far in despising God’s gifts of manna and wanting something else. They kept pushing until God sent fiery serpents into their midst. Ananais and Sapphira tried the Lord by lying and hypocrisy. God slew both of them. The church at Corinth kept pushing the Lord by more and more sin. God had struck several of them. He slew some others (1 Corinthians 11:30). We must not try the Lord. We must seek to obey and honor Him – not just keep pushing for what we want.

Last, we must guard ourselves against grumbling (verse 10). While this may seem harmless, it is actually an attack on God. Grumbling questions God’s sovereignty, power, love, and goodness. Grumbling is a direct attack on the character and reputation of God. When the Israelites grumbled about God’s judgment upon Korah and his followers, God slew 14,000 of them. While grumbling seems to be the favorite pastime for many professing believers, God judges it. We must guard ourselves against grumbling.

All of us probably agree that these are evil days. We must be careful how we walk. This is especially true in relation to these root sins. If we allow them in our lives, they will bear fruit. That fruit will bring God’s discipline and even His judgment.