Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Alive and Well
Despite the popular belief that we dropped off the face of the planet, we are alive, well, and very grateful for many things.
First and foremost - the blood of Jesus Christ that has removed the wrath of God toward us and imputed to us the righteousness of Christ. This gift alone makes all others seem insignificant!
Second, we thank the Lord for our son! He is growing like a weed and is teaching us many lessons about how selfish and impatient we can be. The joy that comes from parenting is indescribable, though sometimes difficult to find in the midst of all the chaos. As of late however, the responsive smile has brought the most joy to our lives.
Third, we are grateful for the gift of friendships! This past weekend, we took off for a meeting in Asheville, NC and then decided to go up to Louisville, KY to visit our friends Josh and Gretchen. It is hard to communicate exactly what happens in our hearts when we see these friends. Sharon and I were commenting on our time with them in the car on the way home, so here are some of our thoughts - so as to avoid an actual thank you card!
Josh and Gret - you encourage us in ways that no one else can. Your zeal for the Lord is unmatched in that of any other friends we have. You know the Scripture and theology in a way that confuses and excites us - only because we are ignorant of the many facets of some of those truths. Our conversation simply stimulates us to get back home and search truth in a deeper way. Thank you for your obedience to Christ and your friendship with us. We eagerly anticipate the way the Lord will glorify Himself through you in ministry.
The fourth thing is in fact one of the greatest worship experiences in my life. We joined Josh and Gret at Clifton Baptist Church this past Sunday. Josh and Gret help in the Junior High Sunday School class- so that's where we went for S.S. - and I know what you may be thinking. What could be learned by two adult Christians during a time such as this devoted to kids - and out of the book of Judges? The teacher actually read through the entire first chapter and went through an excellent exposition of the text. The kids followed along and interacted in a very real way. The teaching methods included a simple white board, an atlas, and God's Word. The teachers careful preparation was visible and at the very least extremely helpful. If I return to Clifton - I believe I'll join the junior high class.
After an hour of good teaching and application we progress to the auditorium just in time for the service. The choir begins with a piece directing thanks to God. This piece is sung several times woven with lengthy portions of Scripture that are read from the pulpit. We sang a hymn and were followed by a church member who prayed at length with great gratitude. We sang a couple choruses mixed with some congregational sentence prayers of thanksgiving. In conclusion we were blessed with some expositional thoughts from I Corinthians 10 on grumbling. Bruce Ware turned our attention to the Israelites and their grumbling by using several Old Testament passages as sub-texts. What a challenge as thanksgiving is up on us. At least 1/3 of the congregation stuck around in the auditorium simply to fellowship even though it was now 12:15. My heart was so stirred and uplifted. Why you might ask! Scripture reading, corporate prayer, thankful worship, and Biblical expositional preaching. May all our churches be characterized with these indispensable elements.
First and foremost - the blood of Jesus Christ that has removed the wrath of God toward us and imputed to us the righteousness of Christ. This gift alone makes all others seem insignificant!
Second, we thank the Lord for our son! He is growing like a weed and is teaching us many lessons about how selfish and impatient we can be. The joy that comes from parenting is indescribable, though sometimes difficult to find in the midst of all the chaos. As of late however, the responsive smile has brought the most joy to our lives.
Third, we are grateful for the gift of friendships! This past weekend, we took off for a meeting in Asheville, NC and then decided to go up to Louisville, KY to visit our friends Josh and Gretchen. It is hard to communicate exactly what happens in our hearts when we see these friends. Sharon and I were commenting on our time with them in the car on the way home, so here are some of our thoughts - so as to avoid an actual thank you card!
Josh and Gret - you encourage us in ways that no one else can. Your zeal for the Lord is unmatched in that of any other friends we have. You know the Scripture and theology in a way that confuses and excites us - only because we are ignorant of the many facets of some of those truths. Our conversation simply stimulates us to get back home and search truth in a deeper way. Thank you for your obedience to Christ and your friendship with us. We eagerly anticipate the way the Lord will glorify Himself through you in ministry.
The fourth thing is in fact one of the greatest worship experiences in my life. We joined Josh and Gret at Clifton Baptist Church this past Sunday. Josh and Gret help in the Junior High Sunday School class- so that's where we went for S.S. - and I know what you may be thinking. What could be learned by two adult Christians during a time such as this devoted to kids - and out of the book of Judges? The teacher actually read through the entire first chapter and went through an excellent exposition of the text. The kids followed along and interacted in a very real way. The teaching methods included a simple white board, an atlas, and God's Word. The teachers careful preparation was visible and at the very least extremely helpful. If I return to Clifton - I believe I'll join the junior high class.
After an hour of good teaching and application we progress to the auditorium just in time for the service. The choir begins with a piece directing thanks to God. This piece is sung several times woven with lengthy portions of Scripture that are read from the pulpit. We sang a hymn and were followed by a church member who prayed at length with great gratitude. We sang a couple choruses mixed with some congregational sentence prayers of thanksgiving. In conclusion we were blessed with some expositional thoughts from I Corinthians 10 on grumbling. Bruce Ware turned our attention to the Israelites and their grumbling by using several Old Testament passages as sub-texts. What a challenge as thanksgiving is up on us. At least 1/3 of the congregation stuck around in the auditorium simply to fellowship even though it was now 12:15. My heart was so stirred and uplifted. Why you might ask! Scripture reading, corporate prayer, thankful worship, and Biblical expositional preaching. May all our churches be characterized with these indispensable elements.
Monday, September 24, 2007
WEHADABABYIT'SABOY!
Gabriel David Taylor
Born: September 23, 2007 at 7:52 P.M.
7 pounds 9 ounces
21 1/4 inches long
3 1/2 inch long feet
dark hair, dark eyes
Healthy
Glory to God!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
2 Simple Joys
In the past week a couple things have happened that brought great joy. You might think these are rediculous and that's fine if you do. I felt blessed and encouraged through these circumstances.
First - I quit my job at Papa Johns! You might think that the joy is in quitting my job. Certainly that is a small part of it. But there was greater joy in resigning my work there. God has given me an opportunity to be a light at work. Many co-workers heard the good news of the gospel. God allowed me to have good friendship with both of the head managers during my time there. God provided an income for us in the midst of deputation. The greatest joy though came in my explanation to co-workers as to why I was leaving! Everyone was curious. "You are having a baby and you don't have another job lined up - why quit now?" The response is obvious but makes no sense to someone who is lost in their sin. My response: "I am quitting trusting God to provide for our needs and our support level." The looks on people's faces - priceless! Hopefully this would draw their minds to think: "who is this God?". You will not be suprised to know that the day I quit my work - we received news of an increase in our support. God is faithful!
Second - The soccer team I coach won their first game of the season yesterday! You may be thinking: so what! To put things into perspective - this is the team who lost every game and tied one game last season. The look on those guys faces at the end of the game - again - priceless! We started the game down one goal and I was getting that feeling I had the whole season last year. By the end of the first half though - we had tied the game. It was neck and neck for most of the game until there was about 4 minutes left and one of there players slapped the ball with his hand in their box! Penalty Kick! Sam shot and scored the winning goal! We barely held them off until the end of the game, but we won! We lined up to shake hands with the opposing team and for the first time coaching we shook hands as the winning team!
I am grateful for the simple joys God brings into our life. Joys that point to Him and magnify Him. I'm certainly not saying that we prayed to win the game and we won -so praise the Lord. But I am thankful for the simple joys that God allows us to experience.
Hang tight - in 2-3 weeks you'll be hearing about an astronomic joy - Baby Taylor.
First - I quit my job at Papa Johns! You might think that the joy is in quitting my job. Certainly that is a small part of it. But there was greater joy in resigning my work there. God has given me an opportunity to be a light at work. Many co-workers heard the good news of the gospel. God allowed me to have good friendship with both of the head managers during my time there. God provided an income for us in the midst of deputation. The greatest joy though came in my explanation to co-workers as to why I was leaving! Everyone was curious. "You are having a baby and you don't have another job lined up - why quit now?" The response is obvious but makes no sense to someone who is lost in their sin. My response: "I am quitting trusting God to provide for our needs and our support level." The looks on people's faces - priceless! Hopefully this would draw their minds to think: "who is this God?". You will not be suprised to know that the day I quit my work - we received news of an increase in our support. God is faithful!
Second - The soccer team I coach won their first game of the season yesterday! You may be thinking: so what! To put things into perspective - this is the team who lost every game and tied one game last season. The look on those guys faces at the end of the game - again - priceless! We started the game down one goal and I was getting that feeling I had the whole season last year. By the end of the first half though - we had tied the game. It was neck and neck for most of the game until there was about 4 minutes left and one of there players slapped the ball with his hand in their box! Penalty Kick! Sam shot and scored the winning goal! We barely held them off until the end of the game, but we won! We lined up to shake hands with the opposing team and for the first time coaching we shook hands as the winning team!
I am grateful for the simple joys God brings into our life. Joys that point to Him and magnify Him. I'm certainly not saying that we prayed to win the game and we won -so praise the Lord. But I am thankful for the simple joys that God allows us to experience.
Hang tight - in 2-3 weeks you'll be hearing about an astronomic joy - Baby Taylor.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Teen Girls Camp
Praise God for a wonderful week at Mt. View Bible Camp in Virginia. We had the missionary time each morning which proved to be an excellent time. We spent some time sharing about Brazil, teaching a song in portuguese and most importantly sharing what is at the center of missions - namely the glory of God!
We were responsible for an activity every day - so I enjoyed using some of my games from years past as an activity director! They seemed to be a hit!
Thursday night there was a camp fire service. I took the opportunity to challenge the girls on the public confessed commitments they made. All to often I remember making decisions at camp that fizzled about as quick as that fire. That evening as I read from II Cor.3:18 (conformity into God's image) my encouragement for them was that they might stand and give testimony in 2008 of how God had given them grace to be faithful the entire year and not waver. I know it is difficult, but I believe we need to hear more testimonies of victorious Christian living. May God help us!
Thankfully, Sharon has felt very good throughout the whole pregnancy with the exception of some swollen feet. She was a great help to me this week and I thank God for her. On Thursday Sharon shared her testimony and a brief challenge with the girls and it was quite encouraging - especially since I rarely get a chance hear my wife speak.
Please pray for us this next week as we have missions conference locally.
Be sure to thank the Lord for an additional 7% of support - putting us at 57%!
Thank you all for praying - God bless
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