Honey to Vomit
Church Family,
Sunday was yet another enjoyable time together, though it was full of elements we don’t necessarily like to have in place. As we continue to make our way through Proverbs, be prepared to have the Lord stir our hearts toward greater depths of holiness in our actions. The second half of this series will challenge and convict us all as we let God’s Word expose areas in our life that need to be adjusted, such as this past Sunday’s topic of self-control. As we learned on Sunday, we tend to turn honey into vomit when we lack restraint (Proverbs 25:16). So it is necessary, at times, to reflect on the places you turn a good thing into a destructive thing. Immediate gratification is the gold standard around us, but wisdom tells us to put up walls that will help provide restraint; that will impede an immediate fulfillment of a desire. The beauty of it all is that self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit, meaning we can practice restraint, in as much we depend on God the Spirit (Gal 5:22-24).
These are crazy days, and with each new day, there seems to be another issue, tragedy, or further uncertainty with COVID-19 that rocks us to our core. It can feel overwhelming and cause us to wane in our faith and weaken our trust in God’s sovereign care. This is when prayer becomes essential to bring comfort and renewed trust in God. Join us this Wednesday, June 24, at 6:30 pm for a prayer gathering through zoom. We will have several points to pray about and many issues to pray over. If you have not used zoom, simply click on the link provided below, and it should walk you through the necessary steps to get set-up. The link for this gathering is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84139182167
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
Gathering This Sunday June 21, 2020
Church Family,
I am looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow morning. Last week was such an encouragement, and I trust it will be the same this week. As you look forward to gathering, watch this video about a couple of changes for this week. All precautions we made last week will still be in place with a couple of adjustments.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
Reflections on our Regathering
Church Family,
Sunday was a joyous day as we got to see, interact, and hear each other again. Nothing is more encouraging than the voices of God’s people declaring His truths with one collective voice. Here are some reflections from our regathering:
- We really missed each other! There is no doubt that we love each other very much. Watching us all fight the urge to run up and hug each other was beautiful to see. It is evident, by God’s grace, that we are a church family that really does care for one another. It was good to see you all.
- The gathered body is way more significant than we often think! If you are like me, you know that when we gather, it is a significant moment for us. With that said, this past Sunday reminded me just how important it is to be together. I was more encouraged and strengthened by our gathering than I anticipated. It is the place we truly get to, “…taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalms 34:8) We taste and see that the Lord is good in the praises of God’s people. That’s actually the context of Psalms 34, and it was evident on Sunday.
- Engagement during the restrictions will have big dividends moving forward! Because of the effort many put into staying connected, it was as if we had not missed a beat. I am grateful for the things we were able to do while apart, it is going to help us move forward quicker.
- Let’s work hard to protect each other! The desire to be together cannot cause us to soften or forget about healthy practices to protect each other. Let’s work hard to maintain distance, regularly wash hands, and minimize the things we touch. If you feel sick or have a fever, don’t worry about coming and simply watch the Livestream. I know you would prefer to be with us, but these practices are a great way to serve one another well.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
I want to make you all aware of our podcast, Beyond the Sermon. Beyond The Sermon is a podcast designed to take what God does on Sunday, as we come under His word, and move it into our daily lives. It is a conversation with different people about how God is using the preached word in their lives. It focuses on the previous sermon and discusses applications from the clear implications of that particular text. You can subscribe to this podcast through iTunes or Spotify. You can simply click the links in the previous sentence, or search for “Light in the Desert Church Sermons and Podcast” on those apps, then click subscribe. This week’s podcast is below. Listen as Freeman Pruett and I discuss this past Sunday’s message.
Regathering
Church Family,
I could not be more excited to see you all again face to face this coming Sunday, June 14. Below is a list of the changes we will have in place for June. Also, check out Facebook for a video to walk you through the various things that will be different when you arrive on Sunday. If you feel more comfortable for a couple of weeks to view the gathering by Livestream, there are a couple of options for you. You can either view it from Facebook or our website. All you have to do is click the links in the previous sentence for your preferred format.
Let’s start by stating the obvious; it will be weird, awkward, and make us feel uncomfortable! Though true, we as the body of Christ can sacrifice our opinions and do what is best for the whole. Here are the changes we will hold in place for June:
- We will have the doors open to limit the touching of any door handles.
- Seats in the foyer have been removed to encourage us all to head into the auditorium.
- Seats in the auditorium will be taped off to help create enough space between us.
- Once you get seated, feel free to chat with those close to you or even across the auditorium.
- Remember to keep a safe distance and respect other people’s space.
- Let’s hold off on handshakes and hugs for a while and work hard to keep our family unit together.
- Bathrooms will be open if needed.
- You will notice tape just past the bathroom doors to limit the number of places we travel in the building.
- We will collect the offering by having the plates available outside the double doors of the auditorium.
- On that table will be hand sanitizer as well and masks.
- Speaking of masks, many of you indicated on the survey that you will be wearing a mask, so don’t hesitate to do that because many others will be wearing them.
- There will be no refreshments in the foyer to avoid cross-contamination and to help us all move into the auditorium once we get here.
- The gathering time will be kept under an hour to help limit exposure.
- There will be no 9 am Sunday Studies for June.
- There will be no Desert Kids for June to help keep workers and our kiddos safe.
- We will only have our 10 am gathering for now.
- For those who fall into the most vulnerable categories and don’t feel comfortable gathering, we completely understand and will continue to Livestream, which can be view on Facebook or our website.
- All of these things will be reevaluated for July.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
Sunday (6/7/2020)
Church Family,
Thank you so much for your love, support, and prayers for my mom. If you have not heard we are in Tennessee because last Sunday, she had a severe stroke. Many of you have encouraged us deeply with your text, emails, and phone calls. We have experienced God’s kindness beyond what we deserve, and this has created tremendous gratefulness in us. I can’t tell you the many ways God’s sovereign care has and is evident in this emotional event.
I also wanted to thank you for your patience and understanding regarding the move we had to make in regathering. The decision was difficult, but the wisdom I received from several was helpful to ease the burden of us all. With that said, the plan for this Sunday is to be on Facebook at 10 am to gather, Lord willing, one last time online. See you all then!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
Change of Plans
Church Family,
I write with a heavy and hopeful heart. Heavy because Lauren, the kiddos, and I had to quickly make a trip to Tennesse due to my mom having a severe stroke. Heavy because our time in Tennesse will take us away for this coming Sunday, which will delay our regathering until June 14th. I often don’t know how to process and make sense of certain events in life, but what I do find is a hopeful comfort as I look to our sovereign God, who is our refuge. The last 12 hours have been emotionally draining but full of hope as I consider Proverbs 16:9, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” There is hope when plans you have made, considered and prayed over get suddenly changed. The hope is not found in the circumstance, but a God who establishes our steps. I trust the Lord will take this sudden change of plans and establish in me, us, a deep sense of peace in His sovereign care over us. Thank you for your patience and prayers. If you should need anything, please reach out to our Leadership Team.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
Trust or Bust!
Church Family,
This past Sunday, we were reminded that following God requires tremendous trust on our part. Whatever the decision, issue, circumstance, or tragedy trust in the Lord when we don’t fully understand is best. This certainly is not easy, but Proverbs reminded us that when we keep God’s commands close to us and follow his teachings, in general, peace will follow. In the Sea of uncertainty, it is God’s truth that anchors us.
Sunday Gathering
We announced this past Sunday that we plan to gather again on June 7th. We could not be more excited and long to see one another again, face-to-face. We will give very detailed instructions next Sunday about the precautions we will put in place. In the meantime, be in prayer as we prepare and head over to our Facebook page on Wednesday at 6 pm to watch an announcement video about gathering again.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
Beyond The Sermon Podcast
Church Family,
I am happy to announce the first episode of our first-ever podcast titled Beyond The Sermon. One of our deep convictions around here is to let God’s preached Word, reverberate, to echo, to work its way into our daily lives beyond Sunday morning. This podcast is an effort to do just that. It will be geared around taking what God does on Sunday, as we come under His word, and move it into our daily lives. Now, of course, the sermon should already make strong applications through the clear implications of the text, but Beyond The Sermon will seek to further your thinking from Sunday’s text. Be prepared; I just might ask some of you to be a part of it!
You can subscribe to this podcast through iTunes or Spotify. You can simply click the links in the previous sentence, or search for “Light in the Desert Church Sermons and Podcast” on those apps, then click subscribe. Or, if you prefer not to use those apps, you can click here and then click on the graphic to listen to any episode from our website.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
Valuable Wisdom
Church Family,
What another great Sunday it was gleaning insight from Proverbs. The loving instructions the father gives to his son in Proverbs reminds us, as God’s children, how He has and continues to instruct us with love. Often those instructions come through conditional statements: if this, then this. These are extremely valuable in moving us towards wisdom and greater maturity. As we said on Sunday, once we become believers, we do not instantly become wise, so seek and search for it in God himself because he willingly gives it, and it’s worth it.
Returning to Sunday Gathering
Thank you all for your continued prayers for wisdom as we plan when and how we will return to Sunday Gathering. We will be announcing this coming Sunday the tentative date we plan to return to gathering face to face. As we have been doing each Sunday, be at our Facebook page at 10 am to hear a few details. We will be giving many more details in the coming weeks as we get closer to returning to our Sunday Gathering.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan
Two Paths
Church Family,
This past Sunday, we explored the two paths Proverbs puts before us. It uniquely does this by personifying the choices; Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly. Lady Wisdom’s speech consumes a large number of verses, while Lady Folly’s speech is short, indicating just how much more Lady Wisdom has to offer. Proverbs will call us consistently to choose because that is what wisdom does; it makes decisions. We cannot fill our heads with insight, knowledge, and understanding and not use them in our daily living. Proverbs seek to help us gain a better skill at life, which requires action. Two paths will continually emerge before us, and sorry, we cannot take both, so let us stand and ponder each paths’ outcome.
Sunday Gathering
The Leadership Team and I are diligently and prayerfully discussing a reopening strategy that will serve us all well and, most importantly, honor the Lord. As we consider everything, would you help us by filling out the anonymous questionnaire below? It should only take a few minutes of your time and will be extremely helpful to us. This questionnaire is designed to gain insight to help us better make wise decisions. None of the suggestions below are guarantees, but a starting point in gauging comfort levels. Thanks in advance!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bryan