A Passion for Souls

As pastor I want to see people with a passion for souls fighting for the lost, for their minds and hearts. I want to see us fighting to make Jesus the most powerful force in the lives of the young, the old, the poor, the rich, all levels of life.

- Pastor David Hale

Pastor's Blog

Worship is More Than a Song

Worship is something we should do every day, not just when we are with other believers. Worship is more than singing, praising God, and being thankful for His great works, though it does include those things. The Apostle Paul describes our duty to worship when he says in Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

Worship should be service and sacrifice to God. You can worship God anywhere and any time. The way we serve God is by serving others. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

What we do for others, we do for Jesus. Therefore you cannot worship God completely without serving others. If our worship is merely us admiring God's creation and spending some time alone with him in thankful prayer on a boat then we are only tasting a small sliver of the good things God has for us. Serving God is done by serving others. That is why we need to meet together. We need to assemble to serve and be served.

The early Christians were devoted to being part of the church. Acts 2:42 says of the early Christians, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." They were devoted to fellowship. That means they were devoted to spending time at church. We should follow their example.

Remember the word church in the Bible never refers to a building but a congregation or group of people who are the church. The word translated as "church" in the New Testament is: ekklesia, which means, "an assembly of people." The church is not made of wood and stone but of faithful believers united in service to Jesus Christ. Romans 12:10 says, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

There are people, hungry for God, who need our faithful commitment. There are lost souls who need us to minister to them through our love for each other.

Hebrews 10: 24-27 "And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God."

"I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord". (Psalm 122:1) We need to spur one another on to love and good deeds. We need encouragement. It is easy to get sidetracked and pulled into this world's depression and sin. We need the combined strength, wisdom, and encouragement of the body of Christ to remain strong in the faith. Others need us and we need others.

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