I'd like to take a moment to stop and count our blessings during church service this evening. Approximately 7:10pm, I'll access this document and begin typing what those meeting at the building are grateful for. You can access this document too from home and type right along with us, with it appearing on our big screen. Click this link to type your blessings in along with us.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
How I Hate to Miss the Mark!
I recently experienced the awful grief that comes from missing the mark of my target.
I sat in the deer stand for a little over an hour and after hearing some rustle in the woods beyond my vision, I grunted, drawing in a decent sized buck (for my nonhunting friends, Ashley and I have taken up to add a low cost natural meat to our food budget.)
For those who don't hunt much, there is a specific area of vitals we want to hit that brings about a quicker harvest and less suffering for the animal. That's what we practice bow hunting for, to hit that mark.
The buck came within 40 feet, and when I made a little noise, he turned to give me the perfect broadside shot. I pulled the bow back excitedly, but momentarily forgot how to aim! I realized I wasn't laying the bowstring on my cheek, I wasn't looking through the peepsight, wasn't sure which pin to use to line up my distance! I hurriedly made adjustments as he started to move. I released the arrow and immediately knew I hit him (I could see the point of impact) but knew I missed my mark. I missed it by hitting too high and toward the rear of the animal, missing the vitals.
Over three hours and a half mile of tracking later, we had to call off our search. We had lost the blood trail and had no deer meat for the freezer. Missing by 6-9 inches of that "bullseye" mark was enough to give me guilt in knowing that the deer went through extended suffering that I didn't intend or want. It gave me guilt in know that I spent over 4 hours away from my family with nothing to show for it. It gave me grief knowing that in that moment of testing, there were no excuses, I ... missed ... the ... mark.
"Hamartia" (ἁμαρτία) is the word for "sin" in Greek. Strong's lexicon gives this defintion of the root "Properly to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize)." Thayer's lexicon gives a little more:
1) to be without a share in
2) to miss the mark
3) to err, be mistaken
4) to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong
5) to wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, SIN.
Like missing the mark for a hunter, sinning for all of us humans leaves us without a share, wandering from the path of uprightness, violating God's law.
"For the wages of sin is death..." - Romans 6:23a
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," - Romans 3:23
As a hunter I understand that missing the mark on the hunt brings needless death & suffering and disqualifies me from my prize. It certainly did on this deer hunt. It's also not too hard to understand that we all as humans have missed the mark God has set for us in life, and thus are qualified only for death, no prize.
"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23b
In hunting there is no grace nor forgiveness for missing the mark, but thanks be to God through His everlasting love Christians have grace and reward in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Share His good news of grace with all.
I sat in the deer stand for a little over an hour and after hearing some rustle in the woods beyond my vision, I grunted, drawing in a decent sized buck (for my nonhunting friends, Ashley and I have taken up to add a low cost natural meat to our food budget.)
For those who don't hunt much, there is a specific area of vitals we want to hit that brings about a quicker harvest and less suffering for the animal. That's what we practice bow hunting for, to hit that mark.

Over three hours and a half mile of tracking later, we had to call off our search. We had lost the blood trail and had no deer meat for the freezer. Missing by 6-9 inches of that "bullseye" mark was enough to give me guilt in knowing that the deer went through extended suffering that I didn't intend or want. It gave me guilt in know that I spent over 4 hours away from my family with nothing to show for it. It gave me grief knowing that in that moment of testing, there were no excuses, I ... missed ... the ... mark.
"Hamartia" (ἁμαρτία) is the word for "sin" in Greek. Strong's lexicon gives this defintion of the root "Properly to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize)." Thayer's lexicon gives a little more:
1) to be without a share in
2) to miss the mark
3) to err, be mistaken
4) to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong
5) to wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, SIN.
Like missing the mark for a hunter, sinning for all of us humans leaves us without a share, wandering from the path of uprightness, violating God's law.
"For the wages of sin is death..." - Romans 6:23a
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," - Romans 3:23
As a hunter I understand that missing the mark on the hunt brings needless death & suffering and disqualifies me from my prize. It certainly did on this deer hunt. It's also not too hard to understand that we all as humans have missed the mark God has set for us in life, and thus are qualified only for death, no prize.
"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23b
In hunting there is no grace nor forgiveness for missing the mark, but thanks be to God through His everlasting love Christians have grace and reward in Christ Jesus our Lord!
Share His good news of grace with all.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Bible Study Resources
Building Faith in in
Families
Sunday,
November 23, 2014
*1. Pray for them
If
any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to you. - James 1:5
2. Realize Your
Purpose - You aren't pushing them away.
*BE LEAVEN - Matthew 13:33
We
cannot be leaven kept in a little package on the shelf of the kitchen. Leaven
has to make contact. It has to penetrate the bread dough. Penetrating in the
bread dough, the leaven loses its identity but notice the result - a delicious
loaf of bread! Pass close to the bakery when they are taking bread out of the
oven. You will want to stop, go in and buy some bread! This is like the
Christian who penetrates his own family with the presence of Jesus Christ.
*BE SALT - Matthew 5:13
But
what if the salt stays in the saltshaker? We can be pure salt but if we never
get out of the saltshaker and are never put on the food, we will never give the
taste of the gospel to our families. Make mashed potatoes with no salt and see
how it has no taste. Now add some salt and mix it in. Now those who taste it
will say: "I like mashed potatoes!" The members of your family, on
seeing your life, might exclaim: "I like the Christian life!"
BE LIGHT - Matthew 5:14-16
Don’t
put the light under a basket. That will do no one any good. Light has to
illuminate the place where you live.
- http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/spiritual-growth-for-kids/family-mealtime-devotionals/family-mealtime-devotionals
- http://www.josh.org/resources/daily-devotional/todays-family-devotional/
* http://www.thrivingfamily.com/Additions/family-faith-archive.aspx
*Introducing Scripture to your home:
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is
one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding
you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to
your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk
by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand
and they shall be as [b]frontals [c]on your forehead. 9 You
shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Get them on
something you see everyday.
*Index Cards on Mirrors
- *Scripture on
the mirrors *"Write
them on your doorposts" - Something
Put it on photos -
(show
home example)
*http://picasa.google.com/
(Add text to photos) - PC & Mac
http://www.gimp.org/ (Really Fancy Photo
Editor)
Put it in your
decorations -
*Pinterest* - WHOA!
*Put it in your jewelry
-
Old
Digital Photo Frames?
*Put a Bible, in every
room.
Yes,
even your bathroom!
*Family Devotional Tips:
*Make the Time -
specific
Keep it Consistent - regular, routine
Structure
it around something you already do.
What is the most regular thing your family does?
Meals?
Church? Bed time?
Keep it distraction
free
Keep it Reasonably
Short - young children, short attention spans
Keep others
involved - read a verse, pray, pick the topic
Keep it encouraging
- Philippians, Genesis or Daniel, not Ecclesiastes or SOS, Revelation,
*Surefire ways to blow
family devotionals & studies?
1.
Be so rigid that they think all of their salvation depends on keeping
tonight's study.
2.
Target others
3.
Make it Long
4.
Expect Immediate Results - "Revelation 21:8 - Burn Burn Burn,
Liars".
*Tips for good study.
Get a
concordance. A good one.
Pick up a
commentary - NIV College Press -
Don't move too
fast! (a chapter per study might be too fast!
Prepared
Devotionals
Family Date/Study Night -
5th Monday - Bible Study Night
Put
some money in it. We vote with our money.
We
spend on movies, colts games, cardinals games, date nights,
*Translations & Plans
*Translations:
Young
Readers, NIrV
Middle
Readers, NIV or ESV
Older
Readers, NKJV, NASB
Personalized
Reading Plans
www.Bible.org "Lumina" *
Family on the Go
Friends,
Social Media, Form Bible Study Groups
Create
your own family study group.
110
Version 40 Languages
Side
By Side Comparisons
Take
Notes to Go
Read
Aloud
Reading
Plans (thousands)
*Mysword for Smartphone
(use Offline)
*Esword for Computer
(Use Offline)
*TopherWiles.com -
Printed Plans (Use Me)
The
Back of our Bulletin
WHERE
TO BUY?
eBooks
- apple, nook, kindle
Product
Search "Family Devotional"
Once-A-Day
at the Table Family Devotional Series
Instant
Family Devotions: 52 Bible Discussions for Anytime, Anywhere Use
Duck
Commander Daily Devotionals (Brown & Pink)
Foundations
- Quarterly, Adults
Horizons
- Teens
Heritage
of Faith - Kids
Search
Online Store "Family Devotional"
The
Action Bible Devotional (Weekly kids)
Illustrated
Family Bible Stories (Every other Damy Family10-adult)
Strength for the Journey (Daily Devotionals)
Strength for the Journey (Daily Devotionals)
Pray
For Them
Hebrews
4:12 *
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper
than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and
spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Making the Most of Time

- Whether you know the end of your days or not, make more effort to enjoy them, especially when they are good. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth." - Ecc 11:9a. When I think about who does this best, is there anyone at our church who does this better than Jarissa Page? Let's take a lesson from her as we endeavor to smile more and rejoice often.
- Facing trials with God can bring about joy and other good qualities, not just in us, but in those who help & watch during trials. "Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into many trials;3 Knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience.4 And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing." - James 1:2-4. I've been inspired for years by stories of Virgil Wininger, the care he had for his terminally ill wife, and how he joyfully brought her to WCOC. Could it be that God perfects the rest of us too while watching the faithful service of others going through trial?
- Hope for good is strongly connected to purpose. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." - Romans 8:28. Through observation, whether young or old, those who know God and know they are called for His purpose, handle illness different. They have hope; hope that God can heal them, hope that God will use the time they have left for His glory, hope that their life with God might inspire someone else. Warren Keller is an excellent example in our church of someone who knows God's purpose and fulfills that purpose with hope even during tough times.
- There is a bigger plan than just me and my story. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." - Gen 50:20. While I don't believe God intends all the bad things that happen, I do believe He can and does use some tough times to bring about a bigger and better plan for His chosen. Just ask Jason Petty about God's big plans.
We
don't have to look any farther than the Bible lived out by members of
Washington Church of Christ to find wisdom, hope, joy, and purpose for
our lives. God gives us but a vapor of time to live life. Let's live
it to His glory!
"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31b
"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31b
Thursday, November 6, 2014
The Unexpected Find

We
have a lot of exciting finds in the Geocaches left by community
dogooders and organizations. My favorite find so far is a baseball
autographed by a little league baseball team in Washington. When you
ask Gabriel and Ethan about their most exciting find they will tell you
about one of the three geocaches that we have found inside Washington's Eastside
park. One day we were on a photoshoot and I had G & E hide behind a
tree so they were out of sight of the camera. In all of their
curiosity, they spotted a hole in the tree, climbed to get their
eyeballs on the hole, and found a geocache logbook inside! We signed
the logbook as "MOA Tribe" and placed it back in the tree. They were so
excited for their first accidental find that we interrupted the
photoshoot for our logbook signing and celebratory high fives!
I
want to encourage you to break out of your normal studies to put your
eyes up to the often overlooked passages of scripture. Sure, those
studies that have you following the directions of a concordance or
specific topical path do enlighten you on a specific idea. Consider
also adding a day of the week to your Bible reading program when you
simply open to a random book of the Bible to read an entire chapter.
Pick something you haven't studied recently. Then, when you find that
treasure of wisdom or beautiful description of God, share in celebration
with others.
You won't find any treasured geoaches if
you aren't looking for them. You won't find the truths of God unless
you're looking throughout His Holy Word. Keep seeking Him in scripture,
you'll never know what you might find!"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him." - Proverbs 30:5
"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him." - Lamentations 3:25
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