Have you ever felt that life was unfair? Have you ever felt like God’s blessings were being reserved only for the wicked while the good people of the world were under some kind of cosmic curse?
Asaph felt that way, but was he right in becoming bitter towards God as a result?
Is God like a vending machine?
That and more was discussed this morning at the Lake Merced Church of Christ in San Francisco … check it out.
For more westcoastwitness.com lessons, visit the sermons page.
Many of the regular readers of westcoastwitness.com know Sean Algaier.
In addition to being the youth minister for the Jenks Church of Christ in the Tulsa area, Sean is also one of the lead singers of Watershed – a high energy Christian acappella group that’s frequently made appearances at Church of Christ retreats and workshops within the past five or six years.
Someone posted a link to this video on Facebook, and I clicked on it when I recognized Sean’s face in the still shot.
Apparently, Sean is a contestant on the upcoming season of NBC’s The Biggest Loser – a reality show where overweight people compete to see who can lose the most (here’s Sean’s profile on NBC’s site).
Good for him!
I know how tough it is to lose weight and admire Sean for putting himself out there, admitting he has a problem, and taking steps to fix it.
I’ve never watched more than a few minutes of The Biggest Loser, but will be tuning in this season rooting for Sean to win. The season premiere is September 15 at 8/7c.
Am I sharing yesterday’s news over here … did you already know about this?
Here’s a related video of Sean poking fun at himself and sharing his passion for nachos, fried chicken, rolls, and gravy (seriously … lol):
I’ve been asked questions like those that make up the title of this blog post more than a couple of times in the past few years.
This morning, I had the privilege of walking the Downtown Church of Christ in Searcy, AR, through a lesson in which I tell a couple of stories about experiences I’ve had since moving to San Francisco. I also share the thought process and convictions behind mine and Airiel’s decision to live and minister on the west coast.
There are two goals I had for this lesson:
I wanted people to grasp the deep level of love God has for all mankind, and His desire to use the church to reach all mankind (I posted several Scriptures that highlight this about God here).
I wanted the members of the Downtown Church to think of missions, not just as work overseas or work in far-off corners of the globe, but also as work right here in the United States. We desperately need to see more evangelistic activity taking place in our major cities. I did my best to highlight the importance and practical benefits of evangelistic ministry therein, and also built a case as to why domestic missions in major U.S. cities should be a leading priority for our churches.
I’ve posted for you the lesson from the second service. I was more relaxed in my delivery, and left quite a bit more pleased with how it went than the sermon delivered in the first service.
Anyway, if you have a few minutes and want to listen to a couple of stories about my work in San Francisco, or if you’re interested in domestic missions in the United States, please check this lesson out.
The Overflow 