Preach-O-Rama.....

Both Jason Kovacs and Christopher Blackburn were really good last night. They both did better than I expected. But, Christopher Blackburn's message really perked my interest. So, I'll try to explain what he talked about.

For those who don't know, the 'Preach-O-Rama' is something that my church has done on the past 2 Friday evenings. It's purpose is to hear some young men who will be possibly pursuing full time ministry and it gives the pastors a chance to evaluate their communication skills and possible giftings. But, the biggest reason is just to hear God's word preached =)

Alright, so Christopher Blackburn spoke on Peace. His main verse was Philippians 4:6-7:

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God,which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


His first point was the problem. The problem is Anxiety. He described anxiety as: 'a state of restlessness', 'fear of an outcome' and 'a mild case of Atheistisam'. That last one kinda hit me. A mild case of being an atheist....wow. Great point, in my opinion.

His second point was on the solution. the solution is prayer[and supplication]. Oh how true that is. He was saying that prayer is just like a request like if one of his kids comes up to him and asks "Daddy, may I have a glass of milk". Supplication is more of a humble request for something. Like if his son comes up to him 20 years from now and says "Dad, I need $4500 to replace the transmission in my car". He explained that he wouldn't want to just give this to his son at the drop of a hat. He wants his son to humbly show that he needs his father. Because he wants to see is son's problem fixed. This is how it is for God. He wants us to pray with thanksgiving. To demonstrate a faith in what God will do. Because God does want to see his children happy and to help find a solution to their problem.

Note: I do not want this to be confused someone doing 'works' to get God to do something for them. It's more of a faith, believing and showing that you are serious. It's also not to say that God will do it how we are planning on. His plans are far better and may not always be how we are picturing them.

The third point is the promise. Peace. God's personal peace that surpasses all understanding. A neat and very touching point he made was about his dad. His father had throat cancer and underwent incredibly rough treatments that ended up ruining his dad's throat. but through it all, his dad's 'awareness of his need for the Lord is greater than his awareness of his life' wow, I could learn a whole lot from that. If you have God's peace, He will guard your heart and mind. It's an upward focus instead of an inward or outward focus.

So, there you go. A lot of this was just from my notes. I haven't struggled with peace on a huge scale recently, but I have had a few problems in that area with school. The two things that stood out to me from this message was: 'awareness of his need for the Lord is greater than his awareness of his life' and the fact that anxiety is a mild case of atheistisam.

I also thought of what a lot of Christians might be like after this inauguration. they could have anxiety about our future and our economy. Well, we have to remember that earth is only a short time stop on our way to our home: Heaven. Our 'home' is not here on earth, but in heaven with our Father. =)

Alright. Thoughts?