Showing Favoritism

Good Morning Everyone,

Sorry I have not blogged in awhile it is has been very crazy around here lately. Between launching new ministries, teaching Bible classes, preaching and traveling to perform weddings my blogging has suffered.

This morning I thought I would share a thought with you that I shared with my teenagers a few weeks ago about showing favoritism. I began class with these two pictures.

After showing these two pictures I asked the teenagers which person they would more likely associate with and invite into our youth group. After the typical funny and churchy answers it was decided the guy with the perfect teeth an no glasses would make us all feel a little more comfortable. I want to take this opportunity to thank my teenagers for being honest about how they answered this question.

After talking about the reasons for their choice we began looking at a place in in scripture where favoritism is discussed.
James 2:1-7
1My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

When you read this passage it kind of makes you think twice about the way we interact with people in our workplaces, in public and even in our churches. In the course of my study I was reminded of another passage of scripture that really humbled me and made me have to re-think some of my own actions.

Isaiah 53:2 (New International Version)
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

This is a prophecy about Jesus. After reading this it was clear to me that, figuratively at least, Jesus probably much more closely resembled our friend in the Ghost Busters T-shirt than our GQ model. The lesson for us is an old one but one that remains true today. Never judge a book by its cover. You never know what set of circumstances has brought someone into your life and if you are too busy looking outwardly you will forget to look at them inwardly. I hope you are all blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Your Life Is Not an ipod

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I hope all of you are doing well today. I decided to do a little organizing on my ipod today. You see I like all sorts of different kinds of music. I have rock and roll, alternative, pop, country, Christian, Acappella and many other genres. Sometimes as I drive down the road I like to listen to everything but from time to time I like to be a little more specific. So today I made a playlist for all the "religious" music that I have this includes acappella type music as well as some contemporary Christian music.

As I was making my new playlists I began to think that sometimes we treat our life like an ipod. Just like on our ipods we have a place for everything sometimes in life we tend to make compartments for different things. We make compartments for God. In this compartment we go to church, participate in service activities and Bible classes. Then we have a compartment for the rest of our life where we do everything that is not associated with the God compartment.

As I was working on my ipod I was convicted that we need to stop treating our lives like ipods. Instead of trying to make a place for God in our life we need to make God our life. I don't have all the answers that is for sure. I was convicted today and I hope that I have given you something to think about. Thank you all for being a blessing to me I hope I am one to you.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Springtime Renewal

Good Morning Everyone,

I know the title of this blog may seem a bit strange seeing how it is only February, and that the groundhog saw its shadow meaning a longer winter, but as with all things I do there is a method to my madness.

This past Saturday (January 31st) the elders, deacons and ministers of the Pearland Church of Christ gathered to discuss the care of the congregation here in a planning session. The elders saw fit to give me the job of setting and keeping our agenda for the planning session.

I have to say that everybody involved with this planning session brought their "A" game to the table that morning. We had great ideas coming from everyone and even ideas from people that surprised me. The three ideas the elders chose to go with were great ones and I believe ones that will help build up the Lord's Kingdom. If you stay with me for just a little longer I will outline those ideas that have blossomed into three new ministries here in Pearland.

1. Ministry of Prayer-This ministry is open to anyone in the congregation. We will produce prayer request cards and place them in the pews with our attendance cards. These cards will be a venue to give your prayer requests to a group of prayerful people without having to make that request known to the whole congregation. This group will meet each Sunday to pray over these requests. We see this as a great ministry for people who like to be behind the scenes doing things to help for the cause of Christ.

2. Devotional and a Dinner-If you are like me on Fridays nights you sometimes watch Dinner and a Movie on TBS. We "borrowed" our name for this ministry from TBS. We decided to put the devotional first so that we keep the emphasis on where it needs to be. This ministry will involve people opening their homes to other members here in Pearland and to people they are trying to teach the Gospel to. We will have some guided devotional topics that will make up the lesson and then share in a meal together.

3. Friends and Family Days-On the months with a 5th Sunday we will have a friends and family day. The Bible classes and sermon will be centered around a particular passage of scripture to facilitate discussion within the homes of our visitors. Following worship services we will share in a potluck meal together. After that meal we will have our usual 5th Sunday singing and then adjourn for the day. This will be a great chance to bring people you love to worship with you.

If you are a member of the Pearland Church and don't see yourself fitting into any of these ministries I would encourage you to be positive about them and encourage those who are participating. If you are not a member of the Pearland church but live in our area we would invite you to come be a part of things here. I hope you are all blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Goliath Killers-Media

Good Morning Everyone,

For the next several weeks on Wednesday evenings the teenagers and myself will be looking at the different Goliaths in our lives. It is our hope and desire that by searching out God's word we will be able to defeat our Goliaths the same way David did in 1 Samuel 17. Another component of this series will be a parent's newsletter that will hopefully spark some discussion at home as well as give our parents some resources. I will make those newsletters available on this blog. I hope you stop by from time to time and learn how to better defeat the Goliaths in your life.

This Week’s Giant-MEDIA
As parents you are fighting the battle of Media alongside your teenager every day. Whether it is the latest movie they want to see, the new MP3 they want to download or the ads they see in magazines and billboards you and your teenager are in the thick of battling the giant we call Media. Tonight in class your teen learned some ways to combat bad media in their life. I hope you will discuss what they learned with them and take advantage of some resources I am providing you with. Let’s work together and help our teenagers defeat all the Goliaths in their lives.

Be Strong And Courageous,
Paul

www.pluggedinonline.com- This Website Is A Division of Focus On The Family And Reviews All Aspects of Media From A Christian Perspective


www.lyrics.com- While Not A Christian Website This Site Can Be Used For Christian Purposes. This Site Offers A Searchable Database From Which You Can See The Lyrics Of The Music You Are Listening To

Count Your Blessings Name The One By One

Good Evening Everyone,

This is a rare evening edition of Random Thoughts From a Random Guy. I was encouraged today by my good friend Sarah Adams. Sarah was a member of the youth group here in Pearland when I got here. My loss was Harding's gain when she left to begin her freshman year. Sarah wrote a note on her blog today detailing how blessed she is. I read this note on her blog in the midst of a small pity party I was hosting for myself. I was both blessed and humbled by Sarah's note and inspired to do as the songs says and "count my blessings". I hope you will indulge me a little bit by reading about my blessings while counting your own.

1.My God-When I think what my life would be like without my God it makes me stop and have to thank him for giving me life and giving me life to the fullest

2.My wife-I am blessed that I met, fell in love with and married my best friend. Nobody on Earth understands me like April does. I only hope that all of either are or will soon be yoked to your best friend. She has been through so much with me but is always my source of strength. I fall in love with her in a different way every day because she has so much to give. I look forward to a long life together.

3. My family-April and I made a whirlwind trip to Dallas to drop off a care package to a lady from church. A hotel room was not needed because my sister and brother-in-law so graciously opened their home to us. I am thankful for them and their little girls and my brother and sister-in-law and their little girls. I have to say thank you to my parents for teaching us to love God and love each other. And I could be thankful for my family without mentioning my in-laws in Minnesota who always make me feel like I belong.

4. My ministry-I searched for so long to finally find the Pearland Church of Christ. I work with the best kids and parents. I am also blessed to work with a great minister and supportive elders. I am allowed to work with the senior citizens and I have the best secretary anyone could ask for

5. Challenges-Life and ministry present challenges on a daily basis. While I sometimes complain about these challenges they help me grow and more than that they help my faith grow

6. Our home-Even with blue tarps on the roof, sagging ceiling in the kitchen and a few brown spots in the yard thank to Hurricane Ike I love our home. Our home is my sanctuary, place of healing and a great tool in my ministry.

I hope you have thought about and counted your blessings. More than that I hope you tell someone about your blessings and the one from whom all blessings flow.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

Moving and Shaking

Good Morning Everyone,

We are as busy around here in Pearland as we ever are. We have devos and service projects and the much anticipated Men Vs. Boys Paintball. I hope you are all blessed today.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul

The Great Questions Of Life

Good Afternoon Everyone,

I don't know if you are like me or not but I love questions. I love asking questions and I love answering questions. As I was sitting in my office today I began thinking of some of the great questions of life. Questions like...

Who created Stonehenge and why?

How does Jello stay Jello?

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound?

Is the glass half full or half empty?

Why do we park in a driveway and drive on a parkway?

Okay so maybe those are not the deepest unanswered questions in my brain but they are ones I think about sometimes. I started pondering great questions several weeks ago when our preacher DC Brown began a series on great Biblical questions and answers. I further began thinking about questions because of a visit I made last night as part of our Wednesday night with the Master program here in Pearland.

I met a young lady who was raised in the church and who is working with a friend who is searching for answers in his life. I gave her my e-mail address and told her to feel free to send some questions my way. I was thrilled that before I even got home my Blackberry was flashing red because I had an e-mail.

I spent the whole morning trying to answer these questions from a Biblical perspective while attempting to not give the typical "Churchy" answers. These questions challenged me, but in answering them God once again amazed me through his word. When I thought I was stuck all I had to do is look to the word and there was another answer waiting for me. I thoroughly enjoyed answering these questions. I feel one of the greatest aspects of ministry to ask and answer the hard questions.

What questions are on your mind right now? I want to know what you are thinking about. I don't care whether you are thinking about Biblical or non-Biblical issues I just want to know what is on your mind. If you have questions, ask them and I will try to give an answer. If you have thoughts and feel you need to share them but don't know who to share them with then share them with me. Feel free to comment here or send me an e-mail at pmcartwright82@gmail.com .

In other news i am happy to say that I managed to pay off a whole credit card today. One of my new year's commitments is to try to climb out from under some accumulated debt and I feel like this was a good start. I hope you are blessed for stopping by today, I know I have been blessed because you decided to.

Be Strong and Courageous,
Paul