This morning, I heard one of the BEST sermons I've heard in years! No joke. I know, I know, some people may say, "Oh there she goes again exaggerating!" Seriously, my friend Linda and I looked at each other at the end of the sermon and agreed that Steven Venable's sermon just rocked our worlds completely. It's a sermon you want to spend time listening to again, pouring over the notes and letting it sink in deeply.
If you want to hear it for yourself, go to www.ihop.org and look for April 25, 2010 Steven Venable 10:30 a.m. service.
Just a couple of thoughts from his sermon might whet your appetite:
"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man...Worship is therefore the fuel and goal of missions." (John Piper from Let the Nations Be Glad)
"...we exist in a religious environment in the West in which the ultimate goal of all things is often seen as the personal fulfillment of man and God exists to procure that 'great' end. In our hearts we believe that God exists for us rather than us existing for Him."
"There are not competing objects of attention, affection, or allegiance in Heaven---there is only one, all-consuming, absorbing focus of adoration. The Lord alone is exalted in the Heavenly Sanctuary. No angel, living creature, or elder is subtly elevated so as to detract from the glory of the only One who is worthy."
1 comment:
I totally agree with that second quote. I have felt for some time that most everything we do in the church is focused on US instead of God.
Post a Comment