Living Above the News

Sermon Text: 1 Peter 3:8-12 (sermon from Mount Paran, 1-18-09, Dr. David Cooper, so good I had to share!) Who you are is more important than what you do. We desire to be what God ordained us to be, but sin prevents us from it. We are all ordained/have a calling for something. John 3:30 Jesus must increase; I must decrease. Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18 mirrors/transformed. Character is what you would do if you knew you wouldn't get caught. How do you become the person you want to be? Remember that you become like: 1. The thoughts you think . (Romans 12:2). Dominant, not random thoughts. Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Listen to a person's prayer life, and you can read their mind. Prayerlessness is a symptom of self-centeredness. 2. The words you speak. (Matthew 12:34-37). You will spend 1/5 of your life talking. Words have the power to shape destiny. They have both the power to wound and to heal. The tongue is the only tool that gets sharper with use. R...

Last night as Daniel and I got into bed, we had the day's activities fresh on our minds (of course). It's not every day that your teenage son (or step-son, in my case) comes to live with you for the first time. Here's how the conversation went down, before we nestled into a soporific state:   Me: Well, I guess we're parents now. Daniel: Apparently. (Slight pause) Me : I guess that means we need to grow up. Daniel: Apparently.   We sang an Israel Houghton song at church on Sunday. I keep singing it in my mind. It really goes with this new season in our lives, apparently: It's a new season; it's a new day, A fresh anointing is flowing my way It's a season of power and prosperity It's a new season coming to me.