15 Ways To Destroy Your Marriage

The following is from Perry Noble's Blog. See it here on line: http://www.perrynoble.com/2009/09/18/15-ways-to-destroy-your-marriage/

Remember your marriage is something that you must diligently fight to preserve! Don't throw yours away in exchange for some short-term pleasure. Protect your marriage with strategically placed hedges and meaningful accountability. With that said here are Perry Noble's 15 Ways To Destroy Your Marriage:

#1 – Have an affair! (II Samuel 11-12)

#2 – Refuse to run from tempting situations! (Genesis 39:1-12, I Corinthians 6:18)

#3 – Look at LOTS of porn! (Job 31:1)

#4 – Connect with “old flames” through online social networking and then convince yourself it is ok because you aren’t actually doing anything wrong!

#5 – Refuse to talk to your spouse about issues that make you angry…just bury them and let a huge pile build up so that you can explode irrationally on them when they totally do not expect it. (Ephesians 4:25-27)

#6 – Have an affair!!!

#7 – Make sure you spend lots of person time with the same person of the opposite sex that you are not married to…and when confronted on it say, “It’s business.”

#8 – Make “innocent” remarks to an attractive person of the opposite sex such as, “I wish I had met you before I had gotten married.”

#9 – Put an ad for yourself on an internet dating site…even though you are married…just to see what type of interest you could create!

#10 – Compare your spouse with other people OFTEN and convince yourself that you didn’t get God’s best when you agreed to marry him/her.

#11 – Have an affair!!!

#12 – Take your cues about sexual morality from Hollywood and your “friends” rather than God’s Word. (John 14:15)

#13 – Begin to believe that your spouse’s main mission on this planet should be to meet your needs…and when they don’t then justify trying to get your needs met elsewhere.

#14 – Fantasize often as to what it would be like to be with another person other than your spouse.

#15 – Be willing to sell out years of marriage, the respect of your children and your character for an orgasm.

Quotes About The Sabbath

Here are the four quotes I used Sunday during my message about the Sabbath. I stated that "Rest Must Be Rooted In Faith."

Dan Allender:

"Sabbath is not about time off or a break in routine. It is not a mini-vacation to give us a respite so we are better prepared to go back to work. The Sabbath is far more than a diversion; it is meant to be an encounter with God's delight."

Louie Giglio:

"Sabbath is not so much about a day off as it is a 'day up'--a day to remember that He is God and we are not. Without Sabbath, we forget who we are and lose sight of who He is, leaving us to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. When there is no Sabbath in our lives we become intoxicated by the lie that the sum of our lives depends on our effort alone."

"To remember the Sabbath and keep it holy is for us to say: Everything doesn't hinge on me. If I stop doing my part, the whole world will not fall apart. I am not in control...God doesn't need me to accomplish His work. I am little. God is huge. I trust Him."

Thomas Brooks:

"Rest is the most desirable good, the most suitable good, and to you the greatest good. 'Come', says Christ, that is, 'believe in me, and I will give you rest'; I will give you peace with God, and peace with conscience; I will turn your storm into an everlasting calm; I will give you such rest, that the world can neither give to you nor take from you."

Fall Photo (2)

Zane takes it to a whole other level with this custom quad-stacked fall Oreo!

7 REASONS WE NEED SMALL GROUPS

As we launch our small groups for the fall this week, I found this interesting...enjoy.

The following is from a recent John Piper sermon. You can read or listen to his message at: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2009/4223_The_Love_of_Human_Praise_as_the_Root_of_Unbelief/

He has given pastors to the church “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12). I believe in what I do. And I believe that it is not enough. Here are the seven reasons I gave the small group leaders.

1. The impulse avoid painful growth by disappearing safely into the crowd in corporate worship is very strong.
2. The tendency toward passivity in listening to a sermon is part of our human weakness.
3. Listeners in a big group can more easily evade redemptive crises. If tears well up in your eyes in a small group, wise friends will gently find out why. But in a large gathering, you can just walk away from it.
4. Listeners in a large group tend to neglect efforts of personal application. The sermon may touch a nerve of conviction, but without someone to press in, it can easily be avoided.
5. Opportunity for questions leading to growth is missing. Sermons are not dialogue. Nor should they be. But asking questions is a key to understanding and growth. Small groups are great occasions for this.
6. Accountability for follow-through on good resolves is missing. But if someone knows what you intended to do, the resolve is stronger.
7. Prayer support for a specific need or conviction or resolve goes wanting. O how many blessings we do not have because we are not surrounded by a band of friends who pray for us.

So please know that when this small-group ministry of our church is lifted up, I don’t think it’s an optional add-on to basic Christian living. I think it is normal, healthy, needed, New Testament Christianity. I pray that you will be part of one of these small groups or that you will get the training and start one. This is the main strategy through which our pastors and elders shepherd the flock at Bethlehem: Elders > small group leaders > members to one another.

FRANTIC

Life can seem so hectic, fast-paced, and out of control--In a word—FRANTIC! Is that they way it is supposed to be? Is life intended to be lived on the brink of spinning out of control? Is there any hope for a simpler, more peaceful life? How can I find room for rest and reflection in the midst of my demanding schedule?

Are you tired and discontent from trying to hold it all together? What if losing control was not as bad as it seems? What if losing control actually brought peace to the pace of life?

Join us for FRANTIC and see if losing control can change your life.

Fall Photo

You know fall has arrived when "candy corn" has made an appearance!"

7 Dreams

Yesterday while preaching at the celebration of the 7th Birthday of the launch of Explore Church I suggested that we could be a part of something that could only be explained as of God if we pressed into the following three imperatives:

1. Continually Persist in Prayer.
2. Aggressively Seek Opportunities to Press the Gospel Forward.
3. Carefully Communicate the Word.

I further dreamed that if we rigorously pursued these imperatives that there was no reasons why the following seven dreams could not come true in the next seven years. Here they are:

1. Explore Church would gain a reputation as a powerhouse of prayer.

2. We could expect at least 70 salvations each year for the next seven years.

3. We could expect to build buildings on our land that would serve as a Mission Strategy Center.

4. We could expect to launch 7 new ministries in the next 7 years.

5. We could expect to send out and support 7 missionaries in the next 7 years.

6. We could expect 70 new Discovery Teams (small-groups) in the next 7 years.

7. We could expect to live in a community that has been transformed for Christ because it has been IMPACTED by our SERVICE for Christ.

May God hear our prayers and may we diligently execute against the imperatives of persisting in prayer, seeking evangelistic opportunities, and carefully communicating the Word. May God make our dreams come true in the course of the next 7 years!

Party Pics

Here are a few shots from #7.

Balloons!

Food!

Fellowship

And of course, CAKE!

7 Prayers

Explore Church celebrated its 7th Birthday today. To orient ourselves to be used by God in a mighty way in the next seven years I suggested the following imperatives.

1. Continually Persist In Prayer.
2. Aggressively Seek Opportunities To Press The Gospel Forward.
3. Carefully Communicate The Word.

Regarding the first imperative, I suggested the following seven prayers.

1. Staying Power.

Because it is too easy to quit.

2. Open Doors.

That God would grant us opportunities to be a part of what He is doing around the world.

3. Generous Hearts.

Because our tendency is to be selfish and greedy.

4. A Big View of God.

That we would see circumstances from God's perspective and know His powerful ability to accomplish great things.

5. Divine Appointments.

That God would bring people across our paths who are interested in hearing the gospel.

6. Inspired Preaching.

That is anointed and leads to conviction, torn hearts, and repentance!

7. An Outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

That God would show up in a big way.

If we consistently pray these prayers and God is moved to answer them...the results will be something that can only be explained as of God.

7 Memories

On the eve of the seventh anniversary of the launch of Explore Church here are seven memories I have.

1. Snowed Out.

The first Sunday we were to meet in our house was canceled due to 12 plus inches of snow.

2. The Mid-Service Pause.

In the early days, while meeting at our house, the children used our bonus room for their classroom and each week at about the halfway point of the sermon we had to pause so they could walk through for a bathroom break. Nothing like the sound of flushing waters to inspire the crowd!

3. "About a dollar a year."

As the church grew, we needed a bigger place to meet. We had budgeted 9K for rent...well that place at that price was not available in Fuquay. Then Mr. Barker made an offer we could not refuse. We now had an opportunity to grow!

4. Ice Water.

Being a mobile church we did not have a baptismal of our own and always had to borrow one from another church. Well, sometimes the heater for the water was not reliable which resulted in some extremely frigid, yet memorable baptisms.

5. "Live from Fuquay It's Saturday Night Church!"

When Mr. Barker's business grew, he needed more space. So we had to find another place to meet. The Lord provided at the last minute and we started having services on Saturday night at Fuquay-Varina Baptist Church.

6. Unity Through Reconstruction.

An opportunity to move back to Sunday mornings with no more setting up or tearing down arose late in 2006. We started working together to upfit an old office space on East Jones St. and moved in February 2007.

7. 35 - 187.

These numbers were our attendance the first and second weeks of September 2002. It reminds me that God can do big and amazing things in very short order!

What a great joy and learning experience it has been to be a part of what God has been and is doing through a body of believers known as Explore Church! I am eagerly awaiting the next event that can only be explained as of God!

7 From the Summer

In honor of the 7th anniversary of Explore Church's launch to the public, I give you, in no particular order, seven books that I enjoyed over the summer. I recommend them to you.

1. Death By Love, Mark Driscoll

This is about the atoning work of Jesus on the Cross. It is uniquely presented in the form of pastoral letters to individuals who have or are experiencing difficult circumstances.

2. Just Do Something, Kevin DeYoung

Great little book on how not to over spiritualize decision-making.

3. Do I Know God? Tullian Tchividjian

Written by Billy Graham's grandson, this book strives to help the reader find certainty in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

4. When I Don't Desire God, John Piper

Practical insights on how to fight for joy.

5. This Momentary Marriage, John Piper

Another great book by Piper. This one offers an encouraging and practical theology of marriage.

6. God's Big Picture, Vaughan Roberts

This little book provides a great overview of God's Big Idea in the Bible. It helped me in the preparation of our summer series titled "Let's Eat."

7. When People Are Big And God Is Small, Edward T. Welch

This book helps with perspective and provides insights for overcoming peer pressure, codependency, and the fear of man.

I encourage you: Read, Read, Read!!!

#7

This Sunday Explore Church will celebrate the seventh anniversary of its launch! Join us for either our 9:30 or 11:00 service and then stay over for a catered lunch.