NextGenKent

2COR 4:16  So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. In pursuing God’s glory we are looking for stages and arenas for Him to display Himself in our world, but we do not have to go very far at all; we begin with the everyday little things and work our way in to the bigger ones. That is where affliction comes in   working as the agitation of a washer and providing the friction needed for a good wash. The disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned? This man or his parents?” Jesus answered, “Neither.” God wants to be glorified—He wants what is hidden to be made known, the hidden things about Himself put on stage as the h...

I was recently reminded while reading Marva Dawn's book, Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down , about a phrase I heard in a church back in 1991. It was the first time I heard it and saw it demonstrated that summer in a church in Greenwood. The children's pastor's message for the 'children's chat' was how they (we) are the actors in worship and God is the audience. He posited the question, "When you leave today, be sure to ask your parents on the way home, 'How did we do today?'" as a way to remind them (us) that God is the audience alone and we all are the performers (not just those on stage). Neat illustration? Yes. Corrective? Sure. But there was always something it that didn't seem to sit well with me. And Marva's words (p153) helped me to reflect on why. Marva: "...the congregation being the actors who worship God and God being the Actor who reveals himself in that worship to his people..." Yes, God is involved in t...