The Forgotten Part of the Trinity -- June 29, 2012

Do you think the Holy Spirit gets jealous of the fame of God and Jesus?

I did a quick internet search for God, then Jesus, then the Holy Spirit.  God got 912 million results; Jesus got 665 million results; the Holy Spirit only got 192 million results. 

So does the Holy Spirit feel like the neglected little brother?  Does He feel like the proverbial 'third wheel'?

Why this line of questioning?  Well, the title of this month's lesson group is "Living Beyond Yourself".  We'll study the Holy Spirit and how He helps us as we live our Christian lives.

Our lesson Sunday (9:50 a.m.) will focus on the Holy Spirit being our 'Counselor'.  The Greek work used in the New Testament that is translated as "Counselor" is parakletos.  It literally means "one called beside" and it's a great descriptor for the Holy Spirit.  That's because the Holy Spirit is the One who stays with us in this realm. 

Our scripture passage for the lesson is John 16:5-15.  I also have one request: read page 45 in your lesson book about "The Trinity".  It's a great synopsis of the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  It will probably generate some questions we can discuss Sunday morning at 9:50.

So keep cool as we enjoy these triple-digit temperatures and make plans to join us in two days for a discussion about the Holy Spirit.

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne
www.linkedin.com/in/darrenbayneinbirminghamal

“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” – George Bernard Shaw

Choose to Change recap - June 25, 2012

I hope you enjoyed the patriotic service yesterday.  It'd be fun to have a five-piece brass band every Sunday.

I wanted to recap the high points of our lesson entitled "Making Your Decision to Choose to Change by Choosing God".

First, don't be a WHINER and don't let their attitude rub off on you.

Here's a video we watched:

The biggest point I want you to remember is to find the place at Liberty Park Baptist Church that uses your spiritual gifts most effectively.  Make sure the positions you hold already fit what God wants you to do.

And if you are looking for your niche, talk to a staff member.  They'll help guide you to an area that will help further God's kingdom.

Another set of folks you can talk to is our Nominating Committee.  The members are:  Nancy Smith (chairperson), Ninfa Austin, Johnny Cunningham, Becky Gaffney, Tom Livingston, Jane Smith, and Diane Watkins.

In the spirit of our patriotic service, we watched this video:

There's many things at church you CAN do.  The big question is "What WILL you do?".

Make it a great week.

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

"The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." - Vincent van Gogh

Celebrating Our Nation's Birthday Early - June 22, 2012

July 4th is one of my favorite holidays.  It's fun to break out the red, white, and blue and celebrate the founding of this great nation.  You see, I love the fact that the United States of America is the "mutt" of the world.  Unless you are 100% Native American, you're not originally from here.  Sometime in the past, your family moved to this country.  They came willingly or unwillingly, but you're still here.

July 4th always reminds me of a cab ride in St. Louis, Missouri about 12 years ago.  It was a 25 minute ride from the airport to my hotel, so I struck up a conversation with my cabbie.  From his accent, I knew he wasn't born in the U.S.  So I asked about his story.  He was from Kenya and had moved to America three years before.  He gushed about how great this country is and his plans for the future.  I saw a wedding band on his finger.  I asked how his family enjoyed all this country had to offer.

He paused just a second.  Then he told me his family was still in Kenya.  He immigrated here to make money for them and one day bring them here.

I was floored.  It took me a moment to get back into the conversation.  We finished the ride and I arrived safely at my hotel.

I think back to that conversation because here was a guy who moved halfway around the world to provide a better life for his family.  He goes back once a year for ten days to see his wife and kids.  He's willing to sacrifice now so his family can experience the American Dream.

The things we take for granted are to him sparkling diamonds that are there for the taking.  That's why I enjoy July 4th with such gusto.  I know I live in the greatest country on earth and I refuse to keep quiet about it.

This Sunday is gonna be great!  It's our Patriotic Service.  We'll be playing and singing patriotic music in the worship service. 

Before the fun begins, though, you have to listen to me in Sunday School at 9:50 a.m.  I understand that's like having to eat your brussel sprouts before you get Aunt Hazel's chocolate cake. 

We'll do things a little different this week.  Because we are having a church-wide luncheon after the worship service (another reason to show up), all the adult classes that normally meet in the fellowship hall will instead meet in the sanctuary.  The upside is that you can stake out your spot for the worship service.

In our time together at 9:50, we'll finish our study of Malachi.  We'll study Malachi 3:13-4:6.  These were the last words God gave to His chosen people for 400 years until the birth of Jesus.

In a way, that 400 years of silence was like halftime at a football game.  What came before was important, but what came after was spectacular!

Let's mine our scripture for nuggets we can use.  Just make sure your bottom is in the pew by 9:50.

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"  from the preamble to the Declaration of Independence

Frustrating the Father recap -- June 18, 2012

Andrew did a wonderful job on the lesson yesterday.  It was entitled "Frustrating the Father". 

Have you ever seen a "two-headed" driver in a car or truck coming toward you?  You know, the girlfriend is sitting right next to her boyfriend so closely that it literally looks like a double-headed person is driving.

Later in the relationship, there's much more space between them in the front seat.  His question was this: "If you realize you don't sit as close together as you once did, who do you think moved?".

God doesn't move; we do.  It happened centuries ago with the Jewish people; it happens today.

The people of Malachi's time made God weary by asking questions like "Why does evil go unpunished?".  Have you ever asked that question?  I have.  I wasn't accusing God like the Jewish people were, but it does sometimes feel like nice guys finish last.

God's answer then was the same as it is now.  Just wait.  Those doing evil will get their punishment in the end.  And there is nothing they can do to stop it.

Through God's word (especially the New Testament) we see that becoming a Christian is not a ticket to a life of ease.  It's pretty much guaranteed the opposite will happen.  But living a Christian life brings you more joy than you will ever experience with anything else.

It makes me wonder why we don't smile more during the worship service.  Something to think about.

Make it a great week!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“A lot of what we think of as neurosis on this country is simply people who are unhappy because they are not using their creative resources.”  Julia Cameron

The Leak was Fixed, But the Mess Remained -- June 15, 2012

On Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m., a tech from Standard Heating and Cooling came to the house to inspect our air conditioning system as part of our annual contract.  He checked the unit outside, and he went in the attic to check the unit up there.  When he was done, he showed us his list of what he did and gave us some tips on keeping the system running smoothly.  He was gone by 9:15 a.m.

At around 3 p.m., my wife and I went in the garage for some reason.  She noticed water puddling on a barstool we stored out there.  We looked up and saw water dripping from the exhaust pipe opening for the hot water heater.  Though I am no "Mr. Fix-it", I knew that wasn't right.  Then we saw two large wet spots on the drywall on the garage ceiling.

I climbed up in the attic to investigate.  Eighteen square feet of plywood used for flooring were soaked.  On the far side of that where there was no plywood, I saw the cause of the wet drywall.  Water pooled between the joists on the drywall.

I traced the water back to the problem: an unscrewed joint in the PVC pipe that led from the A/C unit's condenser to outside.  Instead of the water running through the pipe to drain harmlessly outside, it was dripping in the attic.  The tech had unscrewed the joint to make sure it wasn't blocked.  He failed to screw the joint back together.  One small mistake caused a mess.

The fix was simple.  I screwed the fitting on the joint and the problem was solved.  But the mess wasn't.  Do you know how hot an attic is in June in Alabama?

My wife tossed two old towels and a bucket up to me so I could sop up the water.  I moved storage boxes (plastic, fortunately) that were sitting on the wet plywood.  I used the towel to soak up water puddled on the drywall.  It was wonderful soaking up water mixed with blown insulation.  Really clean stuff.  Not.  I'd wring out the wet towels in the bucket and put the towel in the water to do it again.

By the time I had all the standing water gone, I was as soaked as my towels.  Did I mention that the attic could honestly be listed as a sauna on an MDS?

While I battled the water, my wife called Standard, who got someone there within 25 minutes.  He confirmed my fix was right and took pictures.  He promised Standard would fix things, and we'll still use them in the future.

The whole ordeal was frustrating.  But it was fixable.  Our lesson this week is "Frustrating the Father".  Perfect lesson title for Father's Day, right?

Through a look at our scripture passage of Malachi 2:17-3:12, we will see things the Jewish people did to frustrate God.  But like our A/C leak problem, we'll also see how they can be fixed.

Join us at 9:50 a.m. on Sunday as we explore this fully.  For those of you traveling this weekend, we pray for safe travels. 

And as an appetizer for the Dads in the class, here's a video for you:

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”  Mother Teresa

Casual Commitment recap -- June 11, 2012

We explored how God hates us having a casual commitment to Him in our lesson yesterday.  God chastised the priests for being casual toward their responsibility.  He then chastised the people for being casual in their commitments to their relationships and to their families.

Why was this important to Him?  It's important because, as believers, our actions (commitments) toward others are a reflection on God.  Always remember that the love we show (or don't show) to others is being noticed.

During the worship service, Lyn H. gave a moving story that happened during Vacation Bible School last week.  A lady who doesn't have a church home signed her two kids up for VBS.  She's going through a divorce.  She wanted her kids to be away from the drama, and she wanted some time to herself to handle things.  One day, she needed to pick the kids up early.  Each of the kids' teachers bragged on the children and what they had done through the week.

The lady called Lyn later telling her how much it meant to see love in action at our church.  Those VBS workers may not have thought they were doing anything special.  But they held up a light in one person's dark world.

During Sunday School, we started by looking at the commitment needed in 1519 for Cortez to take the treasure...

I mentioned one of my favorite 80's movies.  If you've got one hour, thirty-four minutes, and thirty-eight minutes to spare, here is "Some Kind of Wonderful"...

We finished with a challenge to all the men in the class in honor of Father's Day next week.  Will you be Courageous?

Make it a great week!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated.  You can’t cross a chasm in two small steps.”  David Lloyd George

Commitment: Strong, Lukewarm, or Non-existent? -- June 8, 2012

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD once wrote, “It is astonishing that 90% of the world’s problems result from people failing to keep their commitments. Heads of state, CEO’s, family members, and friends, every missed goal or uncompleted task can be traced back to someone not keeping their end of the bargain.”

What do you think of that number--90 percent?  I'm not sure how you can quantify the cause of each problem, but that 90% number may be right.  Think about it--most of our problems come from disagreements or miscommunications in our relationships.  Then, instead of confronting the issue, we allow it to fester.  Finally, we decide that solving the problem is too tough so we walk away from the commitment we had in the relationship.

This happens in our jobs, our families, our church, our friendships, our prayer life.  Things don't go the way we want them so we take our proverbial ball and go home.

Our scripture for this week is Malachi 2:1-16.  In it, God chastises both the priests and the Jewish people for taking their commitments to Him too lightly.  And we'll see what the consequences of those casual commitments were.

Along the way on Sunday (9:50 a.m.), we'll look at the parallels of Old Testament time and modern day.  By the time we leave each others' company, I hope we'll have all decided to strengthen our commitments to both God and others.

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!
 
Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

"Each of us must be committed to maintaining the reputation of all of us. And all of us must be committed to maintaining the reputation of each of us."  Jim Rohn

Robotic Ritual recap -- June 4, 2012

'Robotic Ritual' describes doing the right actions in worship without having your heart in it.  Sometimes coming to church can become a ‘robotic ritual’ for us.  Sundays and Wednesdays are always penciled in on the calendar.  Instead of being a reason for joy, it can become a chore.

It reminds me of an old commercial…

We began a new focus in the book of Malachi yesterday.  Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament.  After him, no word from God came to the Jewish people until Jesus.

The big focus of chapter one in Malachi was God's unhappiness with the sacrifices the people were bringing to Him.  Instead of the best of the herd, the people were sacrificing their lame and sick animals.  The people were following God's law halfway.

We need to make sure we bring our best to God when we worship.  Here's a video that shows worship that misses the mark...

I hope you are more committed to worshiping God in “big church”.  God showed He expects your best.  Anything less just isn't good enough.  And in case you want to take your worship up a notch, I have a how-to video just for you…

No matter what you do in life, do it with all your heart.  Make it a great week!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

"Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching." -- Thomas Jefferson

Horseshoes Are Lucky Unless You Get Kicked By One -- June 1, 2012

Ever had a day where you feel like you just got kicked in the stomach by a horse?

That was my day on Thursday.

You think you've gotten something great set up, then it collapses. 

A different plan you have now seems like it will take months to happen instead of weeks.

You feel like you are taking the path God has shown you, but that right turn leads to a dead end.  It starts you asking, "God, what do you really want me to do?".

That's where I stood yesterday.  It's one place I hope you won't have to go.  It's frustrating; it's crappy; it's scary.

But you know what?  Wonder of wonders--the sun did come up this morning.  And now I'm adjusting my plans.  Like my mentor, Jim Rohn, once said, "You can't change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction".  That's where I stand now.

I may question God's timing, but I haven't questioned His plan.  My faith is there; I'm just trying to keep fear from coming through the cracks.

Throughout the Old Testament, the Jews got close to God and then turned away from Him.

On Sunday, we're going to see God's people openly defy Him with their actions.  Our lesson comes from Malachi 1:1-14.  Malachi is not a book we go to often, but it covers things we'll all experience.

Join us at 9:50 a.m.  Oh, and plan to eat BBQ at church after the 11:00 service.  The youth group is selling BBQ plates to raise money for their summer excursions.

Make sure your kids are registered for Vacation Bible School next week.

Finish Friday strong.  Enjoy Saturday with your family.  See you Sunday!

Loyally yours,

Darren Bayne

“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.”  Mary Kay Ash