Southside's Blog

It has been several years since our family had a yard sale, but as we prepare to move to Shelbyville in the next few months, we decided to clear out some things that we do not need so others could use them.

Like coming to worship at church, people approach coming to a yard sale in different ways. Some folks come for a bargain and do not know what they are looking for in particular. Some people come to find something to resell themselves and they limit the conversation. Some folks are looking for a specific item or type of items like tools or baby clothes. There are some who see it as a recreational outing. (Not all of these are exactly like going to church, but I think you understand the point.)

What struck me the most about our yard sale was the number of very lengthy and personal conversations that I had with a few people. Two specific observations I made are: some folks are desperate to just talk and visit with someone, and some people are hurting, and they are looking (perhaps without knowing it) for someone to just listen to them talk about what is dominating their life.

We should be good listeners, taking the time to let people talk, whether it is simply to connect with another human being or to give someone an ear to vent their burdens. This is one way we can follow Jesus.

Galatians 6:2 -- "Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ."

I attended an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) International Day at my daughter's high school this morning. The Bible was read in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. A song was sung in English, French, German, and Spanish. There was a speaker from the UK and a speaker from Benin (West Africa). The primary passage that was read in the different languages was Psalm 117:

"Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!"

The 40 to 50 young people who got up extra early to attend this meeting this morning understand the meaning of this Psalm, and the words of Jesus in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20. All people matter to Jesus. No matter our ethnicity or nationality, Jesus gave His life for all of us.

In the early centuries after the Church was established, it was a common practice for the followers of Jesus to greet one another to affirm the core event of Christianity. It would go something like this: "He is Risen" with the response being, "He is risen indeed."

Why such a greeting and such a response? I do not know all of the reasons or the details, but I do believe it was to affirm Jesus' Resurrection and to connect with each other through Jesus' conquering death. Many of these early Christians faced persecution that led to death and this was a way to encourage each other to face the uncertain future with the certainty that Jesus had conquered death!

So much of our lives as Christians are based on the truth that Jesus is risen, that He is risen indeed! Let us embrace this truth and help the world to know how much Jesus has done for us.

Nearly 30 years ago I had a young professor for a course called Johannine Literature I. That is a really formal academic way of saying, The Gospel of John. 

Since my professor was young, and a friend of one of my older brothers, I thought he would approach the class in a really showy way to prove he knew a lot and that he was well-educated. The opposite was the case, however. He was humble and he wanted more than anything to point us to Jesus. It was life-changing, even for someone like me, who was already in ministry and had a college degree in Bible. In fact, it was especially life-changing for me because it caused me to focus on Who I was serving as a minister and why I had chosen to follow Him.

I do not remember everything about the class. What I do remember, and why it was so impactful, was that we were to read through the entire Gospel of John every single week and be prepared to share something new we had learned the next time class came around. At first, I thought, "I will run out of things". After reading through it 3 or 4 times, I had trouble picking just one thing to share. 

More than anything, I was left with the profound truth that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. There is no one else like Him. He loves me. He died for me. He lives for me still, interceding for me before the Father. He is my Lord!

When someone asks me about Jesus and questions how to know Him, I suggest reading through the Gospel of John over and over again in a translation they can understand. If they take me up on the challenge they will surely come to love Jesus and be in awe of Him.

Are you seeking Jesus? Do you want to know Him? Do you want to know Him better? Try reading through John or one of the other Gospels every week for several weeks, then let's talk. I love to talk about Jesus and I feel confident you will also.

Blessings,

Tim

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I like to read short passages of Scripture, meditate on them, and then use them as a guide to pray. The Psalms are some of my favorite Scriptures to meditate upon and use as guides for reflective prayer. Today's post is a prayer reflection of Psalm 2.

"Why are the nations in an uproar

And the peoples devising a vain thing?

The kings of the earth take their stand

And the rulers counsel together

Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,

'Let us tear their fetters apart

And cast away their cords from us!'

He who sits in the heavens laughs, 

The LORD scoffs at them.

Then He will speak to them in His anger

And terrify them in His fury, saying,

'But as for Me, I have installed

My King upon Zion, My Holy Mountain.'

'I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:

He said to me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.'

'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, 

And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

'You shall break them with a rod of iron,

You shall shatter them like earthenware.'

Now, therefore, O kings, show discernment;

Take warning, O judges of the earth.

Worship the LORD with reverence

And rejoice with trembling.

Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, 

For His wrath may soon be kindled. 

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!" 

Psalm 2:1-12

O  God, the people and leaders of the nations of earth stand in opposition to You with their selfish intentions, but You just laugh at all of it and move ahead with Your plans to exalt the true King, Jesus.

You have already given all the nations to Jesus as His inheritance. He is the Rock that will shatter every empire and every nation until all of them are but dust.

I pray that You will turn the hearts of the leaders of this world toward You so they will humble themselves and worship You and You alone in reverence and awe. May they cease rejoicing in their accomplishments and revel only in Your glorious deeds.

I beg for mercy, O Lord, for all of humankind that all will repent of selfishness, wickedness, and laziness and serve and worship You.

For those of us who take refuge in the shadow of Your wings, we give You sincere praise from the bottom of our souls. You are the Holy One and we rest ourselves in You!

Amen

Greetings to you and thank you for reading this post. My name is Tim Gunnells and I am the new minister for the Southside church. I am looking forward to posting on this blog site on a regular basis.

I want to thank Mike Clement for his faithfulness in posting encouraging articles for such a long time. I have enjoyed reading many of the things that he has posted over the last several months. While he is taking a much-needed hiatus, as he mentioned in his last post, he is not going anywhere. He will be contributing again in the future and together we plan to involve others as guest writers to add to our voices.

I will do my best to post at least weekly. My posts will be brief. They will be primarily intended for encouragement for anyone who stumbles onto the blog, but occasionally there might be some special attention given to Southside. At all times, I hope to be a voice that directs you to the Word of God to help you (and me) as we journey through life together.

I hope you will subscribe to this blog so you will see all of our posts. We promise not to take much of your time and give you a boost to your day every time you read.

May God bless you today and every day!

Tim