June 24, 2007 - AM Service
Captive to Christ - Colossians 2:8-10
Pastor Kevin | Higgins Lake Baptist Church

My stomach had been growling and I remembered a small bag of sunflower seeds I had placed in a nearby cabinet. Grabbing the bag I decided to temper the hunger pangs with a handful of seeds. I immediately noticed they tasted like cleanser. I quickly spit out what was in my mouth and threw away the rest.

Several months ago I had placed the sunflower seeds in a cabinet that also contained a bottle of cleaning solution — it’s “simple” and it’s “green” — two of my favorite things — and a rag that I often use to apply the solution.

The sunflower seeds had been in a sealed, sturdy, plastic bag and hadn’t come in direct contact with the cleanser. But they were in the vicinity of the cleanser and the rag and over a period of months the seeds had lost their distinct flavor and taken on the taste of the cleanser.

In Colossians 2:7-8 Paul challenged the church to be rooted and built up in Christ. That only happens when you become Bible saturated, obedient followers of Christ. And when you do, you take on the distinct flavor of a Christian. Which makes you very different from the world you live in.

But it was of the church at Laodicea that Jesus said “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16).

In the world but not of the world — salt and light — that’s what believers must be in this world. Otherwise we end up like the Laodicean church. Your neighbors don’t need you to be world saturated. They don’t know it, but they need you to be Word saturated. They need to see that your belief in God’s Word and your relationship with Christ makes a difference in you.

June 17, 2007 - AM Service
Grow Up in Christ - Colossians 2:6-7
Pastor Kevin | Higgins Lake Baptist Church

We dropped off Luke and Jacob for a week of camp yesterday and stayed for lunch. They’ll have a great week.

Luke & Jake’s first camp experience

This is the best father’s day gift I could receive today. Click the image for full size on Luke’s site.

This 3.5 minute video is just what you need if you are clueless about “RSS” or “feeds” — RSS in Plain English.

[via: Desiring God blog]

James MacDonald explains why a misinterpretation and misapplication of Acts 17 has some churches leaving the Gospel “back stage” in his piece, Mars Hill and Postmodern Evangelism.

Have you ever heard someone state that they have the gift of discernment? I always cringe just a little when I hear someone say that. Shouldn’t all believers be discerning? Shouldn’t all believers be people of the Word in which God has revealed all truth to His people who are empowered by the Holy Spirit so that they will be discerning?

Norm Olson answers the question in The Baptist Bulletin, “Is there such a thing today as the gift of discernment?” — Discernment a Gift for Just Some?

June 3, 2007 - AM Service
What is your passion? - Colossians 2:1-5
Pastor Kevin | Higgins Lake Baptist Church