Month: May 2020

Follow Well!

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Earlier this morning, I spoke in our church service from Joshua 3:1-5. These five verses contain the command to Israel about getting ready to enter the Promised Land.

There were three things I pointed out from these verses: First, we follow as God directs us; Second, we follow with caution; then we follow with great faith.

Following with caution means we don’t try get ahead of God; we don’t try to manipulate God; nor do we complain about where or how God is leading to us. We gladly follow Him because He has a great plan for us and He will lead us a shepherd (Read Psalm 23 and John 10 for more on that thought.)

I related a true story about a guest at our church who was following in his car as we drove to a restaurant for lunch. I knew he wasn’t familiar with the city so I didn’t bother to tell him where we were going. I just asked for him to follow me. His last words before getting into his car were, “I’ll follow you!” Not too far down the road I noticed him move over into the left lane and then watched as he drove past us and disappeared. He had no idea where the restaurant was. I hadn’t even told him the name of the restaurant. (And it was before the days of GPS). Not too far down the road we saw him pulled over on the side waiting for us.

Here are some things I’ve learned following someone in a car. Be alert! Watch for a turn signal; watch for brake lights; stay close enough you can keep up; stay far enough behind so you have enough time for adjustments. And for goodness sake, don’t pass the leader because they are the only one who knows where you are going.

With God as our leader, we can be confident He knows where we are going. He has a plan and it’s a good one.

Oh, the promise to Israel was to follow God and be prepared to see “amazing things!”

Get Ready!

Always in Pursuit!

Don

Get Ready!

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Joshua 3:1-5

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Bible Reading: Lamentations 3:22-33

Joshua 3:1-5—

Defining Some Terms:

          Crossing the Jordan—

          Ark of the Covenant—

          Distance of two thousand cubits—

          Consecrate—

Additional Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:11; Numbers 23:19;   Malachi 3:6;   Hebrews 13:8; Isaiah 43:18-19

Get Ready!

We are moving forward—

  1. We move forward at God’s direction—

  2. We move forward with caution—

   3. We move forward with great faith—

What do you want God to do in this next season for you? For your family? For our church?

Normal

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

Sermon Notes for Sunday, May 24, 2020

Psalm 1:1-3

Bible Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23

Normal

God has defined normal—

Anything that is not normal is abnormal. Too often we mistake abnormal for normal. Normal is not something that changes with the seasons nor does it change from one generation to another. God’s Word, which defines normal, is timeless.

Psalm 1:1-3—

Blessed—happy, privileged. It refers to someone who is “right with God and experiencing God’s peace and God’s joy in their life.

Three normal things in Psalm 1:1

1–Does not walk in the counsel or take the advice of sinners

2—Does not stand in the way of sinner

          2 Corinthians 6:17

3—Does not sit in the seat of mockers

          2 Corinthians 6:14

Further Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 4:8

When You Don’t Know What to Do

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2 Chronicles 20:1-30

Sunday, May 17, 2020

          Bible Reading: Psalm 9:1-10

We have an enemy. John 10:10; 1 Peter 5:8 His intent is to destroy us. To cause us to doubt God; to cause us to put our trust in someone or something other than God.

One of the “schemes of the enemy” is to make us think we must always know what to do. All of us encounter this, pastors, parents, teachers, doctors, and all leaders. Truth is, we do not always know what to do. And that is fine with God. It is why He promised to never leave us or to forsake us. He will always be available to us with a plan for our lives no matter what we may face, even pandemics.

I would encourage you to read through 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. You will be challenged by how King Jehoshaphat handled the life or death situation he was facing. God was faithful; King Jehoshaphat was faithful; and God brought about a great victory.

Text: 2 Chronicles 20:6-12

We all encounter times when we do not know what to do. We all have an enemy who wants to destroy us

God has a plan—Jeremiah 29:11

God has our steps ordered–Psalm 37:23

God will never leave us—Deuteronomy 31:6

God is always at work on our behalf to bring about good—Romans 8:28

What is it that you need God’s help with today? Take a moment, as King Jehoshaphat did, admit you do not know what to do, ask God to tell you what to do, then do what God told you to do.

A View From Inside the Bear

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

I had a great friend who frequently used some “pithy” sayings. He passed away a few years ago but periodically, one of those “pithy” sayings will pop into my mind. One of them was, “Lord, if you don’t help me, please don’t help that bear.”

My favorite was, “some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you.”

Ever had a day when the bear ate you? I know it does not sound very spiritual but most of us have had our share of those days and the view from inside the bear really is not something to write home about. But……it happens. And when it happens, we need to know how to handle it.

During this time of quarantine and a virtual shut down of life as we knew it a few weeks ago, stress levels have gone through the roof, fear lurks around every corner and the politics gets even nastier than it was before. Some days, the bear eats you.

I have always heard how the most successful people in the world are the ones who pick themselves up off the floor more than anyone else. Maybe, another way of putting is that they find a way to crawl out of the bear.

Pick yourself up; dust yourself off; learn from whatever caused you to be on the inside of that bear and make a commitment that this turn of events is not going to be permanent. At best, it is temporary. It does not define you. It is not a life sentence. It will pass. The sun will come up tomorrow and you will have another opportunity to be the one who eats the next bear that comes along.

Always in Pursuit!

Don

Queen Mother Sermon Notes

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Sunday, May 10, 20202

Text: Proverbs 31:28-31

New Facebook Live Prayer Time for TMCC—Thursdays, 6 PM

Bible Reading: Psalm 33:12-22

Queen Mother—

In the history of Judah, the southern kingdom, whenever we are introduced to a new king, we are also introduced to his mother. As Queen Mother, an official title, she would have had her own throne (1 Kings 2:19) plus she would have been the king’s closest adviser.

Queen Mother in Scripture: 1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 10:13; 2 Chronicles 15:16; Jeremiah 13:18; Jeremiah 29:2; Daniel 5:10

1 Peter 3:15-16

Proverbs 13:20

Duties of the Queen Mother—Gebirah (gheb—ee-raw)

#1—Assist in the choice of the next king

#2—Provide counsel for the king

#3—Intercede on behalf of the king’s subjects

Proverbs 13:20—Be cautious about the influences in your life. Take note of Philippians 4:8

1 Peter 3:15-16—When Christ rules and reigns in your heart, what is on the inside will come out.

Soar Like an Eagle

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Isaiah 40:28-31

Today’s Bible Reading: Psalm 91:1-8

Isaiah 40–Circumstances

Verses 1-11—The Circumstances of our past

Verses 12-26—The circumstances of today

Verses 27-31—The circumstances in us

Renew—a picture of taking off the old and putting on the new

Wait—not just sitting around doing nothing

#1—Look for Him—Luke 11:9-10

#2—Long for Him–Psalm 42:1

Additional Scriptures: Psalm 73:25; Psalm 63:1; John 4:13-14; John 6:35

#3—Listen for Him—Jeremiah 33:3

Additional Scriptures: Matthew 7:24; John 10:27

#4—Live for Him—Colossians 1:10

Colossians 3:5-13; Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 3:16

Glorified!

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

The fifth and final word in the “sequence of salvation” is glorified. It is found in Romans 8:30. It is a fascinating word. It has both a “now” and “future” or “not yet” meaning.

For now, we are glorified because we have been adopted, or chosen. God chose us. He has called us by name and has given us a portion of His glory. Earlier in Romans 8, we read that it is part of God’s plan for us to be “conformed into the image of Christ.” (Romans 8:29) Being transformed into the image of Christ is a process called “sanctification.” This is an “on-going” work of God’s Spirit within us. It is a transforming work of the Holy Spirit as we give ourselves over to Him.

In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul refers to this process as going from “glory to glory.”

From “glory to glory” is a great description of what our lives should look like here on the earth.  From glory to glory describes the on-going process of spiritual growth and becoming conformed into the image of Christ. Then as we go from “glory to glory” there will come a God-appointed time where we will experience the ultimate glorification.

Ultimate glorification is when we take our final breath here on the earth followed by our first breath in the presence of God. This is the ultimate and final glory we will experience. It just will not get any better than that.

Salvation, which is described in these five words (foreknew, predestined, called, justified and glorified) found in Romans 8:29-30, is followed by Sanctification (glory to glory) which is followed by our glorification or eternity with God.

Glorification is our destiny here on earth as well as our destiny for eternity.

Always in Pursuit!

Don