In his book “You Are What You Love, The Spiritual Power of Habit,” James K. Smith says that we are what we love, and that we all live and long for a social vision of what we think society should look like. Cold Spring Church believes that everyone deserves to experience God’s love firsthand, and when they do, the entire neighborhood can be transformed! What is your social and spiritual vision?
Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it. We proclaim Christ crucified, and that means we preach grace, mercy, forgiveness and sacrificial love, humble service, reconciliation, and redemption. We will never get every aspect of God’s law right. We will fail miserably at following Jesus. We will neglec the social vision God desires and, with the Spirit’s help, the kingdom we crave, too.
This week, Pastor Kevin invites us to put Jesus’ love into action as we pass the salt and turn on the light, each a transformational gesture our neighborhoods desperately needs to truly live. Your Light Matters this week, at Cold Spring Church!
This week’s Actionable’s:
- What do you pay attention to day in and day out? What do you ignore? Are there people and issues, places and things, God may be calling you to notice, shine a light on in Christ’s name?
- What do you love? What kingdom vision are you working toward?
- If you were to describe to someone unfamiliar with the Gospel what it means to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, what would you say?
When you move in a dark room or space, what do you need to see? Right! Light! Flashlights are way cool. But did you know that every day as you move through life, you have a powerful light that is better than any flashlight you could carry? Yes! It’s your inner light! A light that never dims and a light that God put there to show you the way. Jesus is the Light of the World… and we can sense his presence in our life, be open to God’s action in our life, and by listening to God’s word that lights our path, and your family and the family here at Cold Spring Church, you will always be heading in the right direction… toward the Light that is Jesus! So let your light shine! Your light matters.
“Words to live by”
What we say, our words, really matter. When someone says something kid or welcoming to us we feel accepted, respected, and really good inside. Of course, words that are mean, judging, or unkind have an effect, too. It brings people down. It causes pain. So we want to be people of good words, because good words lead to good deeds. We want our words and our actions to build people up! Words have power. Use your power this week for good!
How much does it cost? We ask that question a lot. Of all the prices to be considered, $10.99, 2 for $5, $30/week, even 1 million dollars, the price that is uniquely preferred to any other is FREE! Everybody likes free!
God has great plans for you! And it starts right where you are! God loves you just as you are!
How do you like your French fries? Hot and fresh, right? Sure! But you better eat them fast because it only takes a few minutes for those fresh fries to get soggy and absolutely inedible! This week at Cold Spring Church, we will discover that the only thing more challenging than delivering hot, fresh fries is delivering fresh expressions about Jesus (our mission). Pastor Kevin will introduce us to the challenges facing today’s on-demand services like Grubhub and Uber Eats in this week’s message titled: “Expressing the Good News…Soggy or Fresh?” from Acts 10:34-43. We’ll find out what Thomas Jefferson, drive-thru’s, and Grubhub have in common with our mission to deliver fresh expressions of the Gospel so that our neighbors get it’s spiritual nourishment hot and fresh!
Of all the great things we do, there is something that we have that will never run out. What is that? It’s you! Your presence. Participation. Engagement. When you set your devices down for a minute and look up, the person you’re with is the most important person in the world…to you! Being with others is a fantastic way to learn, grow, and serve. Sure, we can do lots of things solo. But when we are together, spending time with God, reading the Bible, working on a project, sharing our thoughts and feelings, can create amazing memories that are shared, and shared again, and on and one. Let’s be brave this year and remember we are sharable’s!