For those of you that have been following the HomeTown Church story I am putting on here the lowdown for the 2011 year.
Check it out and let us know what you think by clicking on the pic below!
Angry again? Now what? Own it!
This guy was the image of ticked when I was a kid. 
Well, it seems like everyone is a little angry lately.
We got anger over our financial situation in the US because the forecast is gloomy. We got anger over the presidential candidates because the one we like doesn’t get the nomination. We got anger over how my spouse always does something we abhor. We got anger that my church doesn’t do things the way I want. We got anger because my Ex is always sticking it to me. We got anger because it seems we can never get ahead. We got anger because the things that I want to buy I can’t afford. We got anger because our kids seem to be making wrong choices and don’t listen. We got anger because the Public Schools are messing up our kids. We got anger because we want a relationship now. And of course at the end of all this we are angry at God for letting all of this happen to us. Am I right? Is this sinking home yet? Is there something in this list that you go, “Oh, that’s me!”. Well if not you can add yours to the comment section below. I’m sure you’re justified.
Alright, I could say just stop whining and chill because from looking at the list no one is alone in being angry. I mean c’mon, you can’t escape this emotion right? No matter how hard you try you are going to get hacked-off at something or somebody and it will probably happen today. This is a problem. Your heart rate will elevate, headaches will occur and stress symptoms will increase. And out of this, most of the time, anger does not accomplish what you want. To be heard, avenged, or vindicated. Nope, it falls short. So what to do?
First realize anger is not a sin and you will always have it. Our God does get Angry. And being that we were created in His image in Genesis 1 we are going to get angry as well. But our anger went all out of whack after the fall of man and we became more interested in what we want instead of what God wants. Producing God’s wrath against us and our anger against God and everyone else.
So that being the case listen to this. Here are some simple points to help us out;
- Anger is not a primary emotion, it usually means that we are fearful, sad, nervous, etc… means we don’t like what we are feeling.
- Knowing that, we have to ask ourselves what does the anger do for ourselves? How is it covering what we really feel.
- Usually it takes us to a place of not liking something about ourselves if we are honest. In that you will usually find it’s OUR OWN SIN staring right back at us.
- Confess it, give it to God. If you are a Christian run back to the gospel and again believe that Jesus is all you need. If you are not a Christian good luck because you will continue to let anger run away with you until you can control all things. That will never happen by the way so get hold of me we need to talk.
I will tell you this much. When people are angry I can honestly say that about 90% of the time it is partly their fault. Don’t be claiming that righteous anger we see in Scriptures. We are broken people and if you react out of anger all the time there is a problem.
Look I’m there with you. I got so mad last night I had to leave the house. Later I had to tell the kids that daddy put himself in time out. My anger came from fear for my children (it was really stupid and let’s just say being tired at the end of the day doesn’t help). Even though I could say that’s justified I wasn’t trusting in the fact that they belong to God not me. My anger should have guided my actions not cause me to have a melt down. I have repented, asked forgiveness from my family, and now I understand where it comes from.
We all as God’s people can know this but like I said, it only works by having the one (Jesus) that God’s anger was poured out on first. He knows best how to deal with our anger. Give it to Him and trust Him again. Good news, he’s not even angry with you no matter what you do…
Be at Peace Today!
Pastor Joseph May
HomeTown Got some things going on!
Well it was a great day yesterday gathering at HomeTown and experiencing God together as His People. Again, Josh did a great job yesterday going over wk 4 of CREED in how to Develop as Disciples. We had an issue with the audio files previously but the podcasts should be up and running by tomorrow. You can send friends and family the links to share with them to let them know what is going down at HTC.
As well, Jayron and the HomeTown band, are doing a great job of leading us into a time where we can worship God corporately. Thanks goes out to Tom, Dan, Clay, Chuck, Erica, and Ryan for making it a great day of praise. I love the mixture we have going on now with some current and old styles of music and the band is doing a great job of incorporating their own HTC style.
Lastly, we had quite a few visitors in the house yesterday. Let’s pray and ask that God would continue to bring His people this way ans that they would find a home. Next week Kaela will be coming Home as well and we will wrap up our series in CREED! Bring someone with you so they can get a chance to hear the gospel and be challenged by what God is stirring in their hearts that day.
I also wanted to take a chance and let you know of some important events headed your way:
Jan. 29th Sunday at 6pm we will have our night of prayer. We will be having some music but we will be focusing mostly on praying for the future endeavors of the church. This happens only once a month for 2012 so make sure you try to make it because it won’t happen again until the end of Feb. Many of you made a commitment that you would be there this night to pray with me let’s follow up on our commitments to God and each other. Childcare is limited so if you have not responded on the City you better do it now.
- Feb. 5th Membership Class immediately after our Sunday Gathering. Yes we know it is SuperBowl Sunday and yes we think this is more important. This is a great opportunity for you to find out more about us and what it means to be a member here at HomeTown Church.
Please plan accordingly for these events and of course you can respond to these things and see the full details again on the City!
Shalom!
Pastor Joseph May
Of things to come?
Lately I haven’t had the time to write here much. Many of my musings are now translated into the sermons that I have to prepare weekly. I have also found that planting a church, juggling school/seminary, and being a family man takes all of my mental hours and to be honest if it’s not on a schedule it doesn’t get done. So blogging has been one of those things that just does not get attention during my days now.
Although, I am making a conscience decision to get it on the list. I know there are many of you out there just waiting to see what I come up with (that was all typed with sarcasm). In saying that some of the topics that I will be writing about may change from time to time. I will be sharing with you not just what it is happening now in my life and in the life of our church but what I see coming down the road. There are a lot of things out there coming in our near future that I think will make many of us have to make some hard decisions in our lives. Things like;
- 2012 Presidential Elections
- Local County Elections
- State of the Economy and Jobs
- Foreign Powers in a Constant State of Change
- Our future as American Evangelicals
These are all big issues that have many things in them. I don’t plan on getting too political and at the same time being a Pastor/Shepherd it is my responsibility to respond to the world around us and give you my best take on it. Please understand that they are opinions and I know they affect those that follow me so I will keep all of that in mind.
In saying that let me just tease you a little. There is a time, that I have seen coming for a while. There are some lines being drawn in the sand and not just politically but in the church world as well. And just like in politics there is a liberal side and there is a conservative side. Just being in a denomination doesn’t necessarily define you anymore. More and more pastors and church leaders are jumping across those denominational lines to join up with other church leaders that share the same convictions. In the future HomeTown Church will have to make some decisions as to where we will land. Probably why I have done a whole month of January Series called CREED “It matters what you believe”.
That’s it, just wanted to drop a line and let you all know what is coming up in the future. This post was meant to be a little vague because there is too much to write about now. Let us just be “People of God” and “Stand Firm” in the faith we have come to rely on.
Pastor Joseph May
What about Communion?
One of the things that I said at the beginning of this adventure called HomeTown Church is that we would like to incorporate some of the things that we grew up with in our church life. Whether that is responsive readings, hymns, catechism, and so forth. One of the things that we have brought back at HomeTown is the weekly presence of Communion or the ‘L:ord’s supper” if you are from a Southern Tradition.
While we strive to be a biblically accurate body of believers, unlike the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, we do not want to get roped down into ‘ways’ of doing a thing. That is communion is an important part of what we do, being that it is a time to remember our Lead Pastor, Jesus, and what He did for us. But how we do communion, the time, placement, and logistics will change from time to time.
Here’s what you can expect for now;
- Communion is ready for you to take weekly before service.
- If you chose to take communion before the service it offers you a time to find an area and maybe with your family pray together and focus on why you are there that day.
- At anytime during our praise time you can get up and take communion.
- We will also make it a little focus during one of our songs so if you would like to wait until then please do so.
- You can take it during our 5 minute break before the message.
- You can also take it after the service as well.
- Finally on the last Sunday of the month or when it fits a message we will take communion together as a family.
Please keep in mind the important things. There is no set way to take communion in the scriptures so it is something that is done with some freedom. You know, as a Christian, I would encourage you to take communion with your family, or Christians Friends every once in a while. Outside of our little building this can be a great practice to build unity in our lives as to who we live for and understanding all that He has done for us. It promotes our confession of sin, unity in vision, and a longing to one day partake in a ‘Supper Feast” with our Savior.
Want more information about the Communion please check out Got Questions. It is a great website that I think you may find helpful for multiple issues when dealing with Questions about God.
Peace out and have a Great Friday!
Pastor Joseph May
