a disciple's blog

Sermon Preview 8.09.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Join us this Sunday as we begin our new sermon series "Back to School - The Basics of Our Christian Faith. We'll start at the beginning of our new life in Christ with a discussion on Salvation. Our text will be John 3:16-17.

These two verses are probably some of the most well known scriptures in the Bible. You see John 3:16 at every football game but do we truely understand the impact of these words?

We'll break these two verses into 4 parts and see what we can learn about Salvation and then I'll give you 3 ways to apply it in your daily life.

Don't miss out as Parkway goes "Back to School"!

New Sermon Series

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:49:00 +0000

The talk in the Young household the past couple of weeks has revolved around going back to school. Valenda reported for duty this past Wednesday and the kids start back to school on Monday.

As the kids in our community return to reading, writing and arithmetic I thought we would return to the basics of our faith.

This week we begin a new sermon series titled "Back to School - The Basics of our Christian Faith". Join us as we discuss:

· Salvation
· Prayer
· Holiness and Sanctification
· The Authority of Scripture
· One God – Three Persons and
· Living the Spirit Filled Life

In 2 Timothy, Paul encourages Timothy to "Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.”

We'll take Pauls advise over the next six weeks and "remind" one another of the basics of our faith and spur one another on toward spiritual maturity.

Pastor Larry

Sermon Preview 8.02.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:29:00 +0000

A few years ago a study was made of 200 people that we would call "very successful." It was discovered that all 200 had one common denominator: each had dared to dream big dreams and set goals, and reach out to achieve those goals.

The apostle Paul dared to dream of a world where all mankind would hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. And even though he was persecuted and beaten, shipwrecked and imprisoned, Paul kept on following his dream.

Martin Luther dared to dream of a church where the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ could be preached freely, and common people could hear and understand the message of the Bible. And before he died, millions of people were able to have the Bible in their own language, to read and study it for themselves.

Daniel Warner dared to dream of a church where there would be no denominational walls, no denominational names or creeds or organizations to separate us from each other, where we could all just be Christians. "Not the only Christians, but Christians only." And we are a result of his dream.

Maybe we need to dream, too. As a congregation we need to see the greatness of our potential, and the possibilities that God sets before us, because little dreams lead to little service. But big dreams lead to big service, and eternal results.

Join us this Sunday as we ask ourselves, "How big are our dreams? And what are we going to do about them?"

Our text for the morning will be Joshua 14:6-12

See ya Sunday!

Sermon Preview 6.14.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:04:00 +0000

Two young men were out cave exploring when they found what appeared to be huge bear tracks deep inside a long tunnel. They bravely decided to keep going, but they moved ahead slowly and cautiously, keeping their eyes and ears open in case a bear lurked nearby.

Suddenly, from behind a large rock formation jumped the biggest, meanest looking grizzly bear they had ever seen. The bear stood up on his hind legs, beat his chest, and roared so loudly that it sent a terrible sound echoing off the walls of the cave.

Scared to death, the two young men decided to run for their lives. They took off on a dash for the daylight. They had a little bit of a lead on the bear when one of the guys dropped to the floor of the cave and started untying his boots. He whipped his backpack off and took out a pair of running shoes and began lacing them on his feet.

His buddy yelled at him: “Hey, man! Whatta ya think you’re doin’? Let’s get outta here! We don’t have much of a chance of outrunning that bear as it is!”

The guy on the floor hopped up and began sprinting toward the cave’s exit. He turned and yelled over his shoulder: “I don’t have to outrun the bear. All I gotta do is to outrun you!”

Do you ever feel like people treat you like bear bait? When the going gets tough, they get going. They claim they love you until it costs them something and then, they leave you behind.

If we are going to be a "Great Church", we need to "Continually Practice Agape Love for One Another" (Guideline #8).

Join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series "God Given Guidelines for Growing a Great Church". We'll discuss the Meaning, Model and Ministry of Agape Love. Our text will be 1 John 4:7-12.

Have a blessed week!

What Happened to the Sermon Previews?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:07:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick note to apologize for not keeping up with "Sermon Previews". If you notice the date of the last Sermon Preview post, it just happens to coincide with my wife and kids starting their summer vacation.

Over the past two weeks Parkway Community Church has continued the sermon series, God Given Guidelines for Growing a Great Church. We've discussed that to be a great church we need to "Maintain a Spirit of Harmony"(Guideline #6) and have "Every Member Involved In Ministry" (Guideline #7).

As a family we've been busy hanging out together, going to the movies, shopping and looking for a house to buy here in Florence, AL. We just made an offer on a home (pictured) and had it accepted; now we wait for approval from the mortgage company. We hope to hear some good news tomorrow.

Please be in prayer that God's will would be done. While we love the new house, we want God's will done in all areas of our life.

I'll be posting more pictures of the house on my Facebook page should we get approval for the loan.

God Bless,

Pastor Larry

Sermon Preview 5.31.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:51:00 +0000

What do you think could be accomplished if we all decided to walk by faith?

Join us this Sunday morning as we talk about stepping out with a Bold Faith. We'll be looking at what a bold faith requires and what the results might be when we walk by faith. Our text will be Hebrews 11.

Sunday promises to be a wonderful time of worship and learning and don't forget that the Phillips Family will be in concert Sunday night at 6:00 pm. Invite a friend.

Have a blessed day and we'll see ya Sunday!

Sermon Preview 5.24.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Sun, 24 May 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Are you serving God with excellence or are you just giving Him the leftovers of your life?

This Sunday we continue our sermon series "God Given Guidelines for Growing a Great Church" with Guideline #4 - Excellence: Do Your Best in Every Area of Service. Our text will be Malachi 1:6-14.

I understand that it's easy to get off track. Sometimes we're in such a hurry taking care of all the "real important stuff" in our lives that we forget to think about God and giving Him the first fruits of our labor.

Well, it's time to slowdown. It's time to get intentional about serving God with EXCELLENCE!

God gave us the best He had; His own son Jesus Christ to suffer and die for our sins.

Will you offer Him any less than your best?

Join us this Sunday for a "Most Excellent Worship Service".

Sermon Preview 5.17.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:48:00 +0000

This Sunday we'll return to our sermon series "God Given Guidelines for Growing a Great Church". We'll be looking at Guideline #3: Develop Christ Centered Leaders that Lead by Example.

To be a great church, we have to have Christ centered leadership. We have to develop leaders that will guide our congregation for years to come; who are respected by all who know them and who are sold out for the cause of Christ.

But what does leadership look like? We could spend a month of Sundays talking about leadership but this Sunday we'll focus on the "Character of Leadership" and the "Capabilities of Leadership".

Our text will be 1 Peter 5:1-4. Join us this Sunday as we discuss God's view of leadership.

See ya Sunday!

Ten Thoughts for New Believers

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Tue, 12 May 2009 00:11:00 +0000

1. You will still have problems.
2. You can't do it alone.
3. You've got to learn to feed yourself.
4. Get up quickly when you fall.
5. This race is a marathon.
6. You are probably God's greatest tool in reaching others.
7. Don't worry about the things you don't understand.
8. Your growth will come the fastest through the sharing of yourself.
9. Saying yes to God means saying no to some other things.
10. Never forget that God will never give up on you.

Reflections on Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:33:00 +0000

She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:26-30

Yesterday was Mother's Day; a day when we honor our moms.

My mom has been gone for 5 years now and I miss her dearly. I miss being able to give her a hug and tell her how much I love and appreciate her. I miss the woman who became my hero and the reflection of Christ on Earth to me. How do I honor her now that she's gone? I honor her with my life. I serve the Lord and preach his word. I love my kids and honor my wife.

Yesterday was Mother's Day; a day when we honor our wives.

I've been married to my wife for 13 years now. It's been amazing to watch her grow as a wife and mother. I don't think she planned on marrying a pastor and living in Northern Alabama but she married me and she followed me. In some ways I'd like to believe she's done it all for me but the truth is she does what she does to serve the Lord and her family. She left her mom, dad, brother and friends; a job she loved and a home she knew all because the Lord and I asked her to. How do I honor a wife like this? I honor her with my life. I place her needs above my needs. I place her life above my own. I love her as Christ loves his church.

I wasn't the son I wanted to be. I'm not the husband I'd like to be. Lord, grant me the grace to be the man you called me to be.

May every day be Mother's Day.

I love you both.

Sermon Preview 5.10.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:22:00 +0000

Happy Mother's Day! We'll be taking a break from our current sermon series to honor our Moms.

The title of my sermon this Sunday is "A Mother's Love". Our text will be Matthew 20:20-23. We'll be looking at Mrs. Zebedee and the love she had for her two sons, James and John. Many people may criticize Mrs. Zebedee for asking the Lord to allow her sons to sit on His right and left hand in His Kingdom but I believe that it also reveals her love for them.

1. She prayed that her sons might be a part of the Kingdom of God.
2. She prayed that her sons would be involved in the the work of His Kingdom
3. She had big expectations for her boys.

It's hard to find fault with a mother who desires to see her children serve the Lord in a mighty way!

Join us as we celebrate Mother's Day and partake in the Lord's Supper together as God's family.

Love ya and we'll see you on Sunday!

Sermon Preview 5.03.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:57:00 +0000

Worship is more than just singing a few songs, performing a few rituals, and enduring one of my sermons. We should come expecting to experience the presence of God, to acknowledge his authority in our lives, and to worship Him as our Creator.

Join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series "God Given Guidelines for Growing a Great Church". We'll be discussing Guideline #2 - Worship God Every Week in Spirit and Truth.

In the meantime be thinking about these three questions and read John 4:21-24.

1. Does our worship honor God?
2. Does our worship inspire, uplift, and transform the worshiper?
3. Does our worship draw visitors closer to an encounter with Jesus Christ?

Have a great week and we'll see ya Sunday.

It's not our job to save souls....

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:53:00 +0000

...our job is to disciple them. Friday morning, I read Oswald Chambers' devotional, My Utmost for His Highest and the devotion for that day has stuck with me. Brother Chambers was warning us against desiring spiritual success and his scripture reference was Luke 10:20.

As a Pastor, I believe that we can sometimes get so caught up in having "spiritual children" that we forget to raise them. Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't be concerned with reaching the lost. I'm saying that we're not the ones doing the saving. We can not allow ourselves to get caught up with numbers. If we are making ourselves available to be used by God and if we are taking advantage of every opportunity that God gives us then the rest is up to Him.

My biggest concern is whether or not we are making disciples. Once God places a "spiritual newborn" in our arms are we then walking away leaving them to fend for themselves? As a Pastor, I believe that we have a greater calling to make disciples; to raise up mature believers in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately our attention span is short and discipling can take years. Many of us are not even in our current position/church long enough to see a brother or sister in Christ reach any resemblance of maturity.

My call to Pastors, including myself is to stop focusing on numbers; stop seeking greener pastures and start investing. We need to invest our time and energy into maturing the Body of Christ. We need to turn so called churches that are a mile wide and an inch deep into bottomless reservoirs for the Holy Spirit to dwell.

Will it be easy? No. Can we do it alone? No.

As Brother Chambers said in his devotional "...our work only begins where God's grace has laid the foundation. But it is our work, work that God has given us to do. Now lets get to work building up the Body of Christ in His image!

Sermon Preview 4.26.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:08:00 +0000

This Sunday I'll begin a new series called "God-Given Guidelines for Growing a Great Church". This series is based on the book "When God Builds A Church" by Bob Russell.

In a culture where truth is relative, it's essential for the Church of God to remain dedicated to proclaiming the truth of Scripture.

Sunday's sermon will be titled "Proclaim the Truth" and our text will be 2 Timothy 4:1-5.

If you'd like to get a head start on your note taking, here are my three main points:

1. Believe the Truth (The world doesn't)
2. Teach the Truth (Many churches don't)
3. Apply the Truth (Many people don't)

See ya Sunday!

Givaway from Logos Bible Software

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:37:00 +0000

Bible Study Magazine and Eternal Perspective Ministries are giving away 40 signed copies of Randy Alcorn’s book, Heaven. Not only that, but they're also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Randy Alcorn page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!

How to Leave a Church

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:47:00 +0000

As a Pastor, one of the saddest things is when someone just disappears from your church (and it was not due to the "rapture"); one day they're there and the next day they're gone. It's hard to lose someone you've come to care about without so much as a goodbye. So is there a good way to leave a church? I found this post on one of the blogs that I read (The Slice by Stephen Collins) and found it to be very helpful.

Pastor Larry

How to leave a church

There is a lot more written about growing a church than there is about leaving a church. The fact remains that many people choose to leave a fellowship and attend elsewhere and I believe the way this transition is handled determines how blessed we are in our new place of worship.
I am thinking about this because I spoke this past weekend at Gateway Church in DFW where I was a staff pastor for almost seven years. It was great to see everyone and I was welcomed back as a son who had left with a blessing.

It was like returning to my parent's home. I am not sure all of us have had the same experiences, but Pam and I love going back to our childhood homes. The grandparents take care of the kids, we sleep a little later, we do not have to cook and we get to experience the joy of the house without carrying the burdens of the house.

I have left churches poorly in the past, but when I left Gateway in 2007, I transitioned well because some wise mentors taught me some simple principles of leaving a church.

Leave after telling someone

Many people just disappear from church and the rest of the people are left wondering why. Often we assume the worse and that is how gossip starts which always damaging. I believe we should have the courage to tell leaders why we are leaving and at least ask for them to pray for us as we leave. The best person to tell is a mature person in leadership who has influenced, encouraged and mentored you the most.

Leave after forgiving

I believe God rarely blesses a transition that happens because of hurt feelings or personal offenses. It takes more maturity to sit down and discuss issues than to leave upset. God wants us to live in authentic community which is more than just parties, laughter and ice cream socials. Authentic community requires honest discussion about misunderstandings, hurts and conflicts. I have found that people who leave one church because of hurt feelings that are unresolved normally have their feelings hurt at the new place in short order. God requires us to forgive and work through the difficulties of relationships and the best place for this to happen is in the church where we currently attend.

Leave with a blessing

Many times people tell me they are leaving because God told them to leave. That may be true, but it leaves little room for me to disagree with them. If I do, I am arguing with God and that never works out well. The right way to tell someone is to say, "I am sensing that God is leading me to leave but I am open to your counsel." This changes the entire tone of the conversation. Now, the leaders get to be a part of the process and they have a chance to pray with you. Most of the time the decision remains the same and you leave the church for your next assignment. The difference is you leave with the blessings and participation of the leaders and that is really important.

When I speak about this topic, I often use the analogy of a wedding to explain my convictions. None of us would want our children to tell us they had chosen their spouse, they are leaving our home and the wedding has already happened. We may very well love the person they chose but we would be hurt that we did not get to be a part of the engagement party, the wedding celebration and the reception where we send them off to their honeymoon.

Sermon Preview 4.19.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 14:23:00 +0000

It's time for a little "Spring Cleaning". Over time our minds and hearts can become cluttered with ungodly beliefs and attitudes. And that hinders our relationship with God. It hinders our fellowship with one another. It hinders our ability to experience joy, and peace, and power in the Christian life. What I’m going to talk about on Sunday morning is how we can prevent that from happening, and how when it does happen, we can clean out the clutter, so that our fellowship with God and one another will be free and unobstructed; so that we can enjoy the kind of abundant life that Christ wants for us. Our text will be Proverbs 4:23.

See ya on Sunday!

Sermon Preview 4.12.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:11:00 +0000

This Sunday is Easter Sunday! I can't wait. My sermon title this week is The Stone is Rolled Away. Our scripture reference will be Matthew 28:1-10. I'll be asking the question "Why was the stone rolled away?" and "Who was it rolled away for?". It should be a wonderful service.

See ya Sunday!

PS. Don't forget the Easter Egg Hunt and Bar-B-Que on Saturday.

Sermon Preview 4.5.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:52:00 +0000

This Sunday we'll finish up our series "A Roadmap for the Journey". My sermon title will be "Walking with Confidence" and our scripture reference will be 1 John 5:14-21. We'll look at four ways to walk in confidence in our spiritual journey. They are:

A Prayer Filled Life
A Growth Focused Life
A Truth Filled Life
A Faithful Life

See you on Sunday!

Sermon Preview - 3.29.09

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:54:00 +0000

This Sunday we'll continue our series "A Roadmap for the Journey". My sermon title will be "Lighten Your Load" and our scripture reference will be 1 John 5:1-13. We'll look at how to lighten our load of four specific burdens that can crush us in our spiritual journey. They are:

The Burden of Disobedience
The Burden of Discouragement
The Burden of Conflicting Claims
The Burden of Uncertainty

See you on Sunday!

Woke up one morning in... Alabama?

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ has always been an adventure but never so much as this past year.It's hard to believe that just one year ago I was a Pastoral Intern at North Hills Church in Phoenix, Arizona. I sometimes wonder how I got here. The story is simple enough but it just went by so fast and is so...well, unlike us. We're not risk takers as a rule. Our life has always been very predictable but God had other plans.

I was working at North Hills and preparing for the ministry when we got a new Senior Pastor. He was coming into a tough situation with tough decisions to make. I had been praying for God to direct me and my family and show us when the right time would be to step out an pursue a job in ministry when we got the word that half the pastoral staff would be laid off including myself. I took that as a very good hint that the time was now.

I assumed that God would keep us in Arizona after all my wife and I had lived there our whole lives but I didn't want to put limits on God's will for us so I decided that I would apply for any job that sounded like they were looking for a pastor like me. I applied to churches in Arizona, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Alabama. I prayed that God would put us where he wanted us and I promised that we would follow.

The first call came from Porter Russ in Alabama. They were looking for a pastor like me but weren't sure if I'd be interested in them. They were a small church looking for a shepherd but needed someone who could be bi-vocational. I've never felt led to be bi-vocational. I wanted to do the Lord's work full time but I was intrigued because Porter kept using the word shepherd and mentor and that is just what God has called me to be. They weren't looking for some great theologian or teacher, just someone to lead them into a closer relationship with God. I told Porter to keep in touch and to pray about God's will and I would do the same.

Well, God just kept opening one door after another and his hand seemed to be in every decision we made. We went to visit this little church in Northern Alabama and fell in love with them and the town. The church council decided they could afford a full time pastor and that I was the one for them. One month and a big move later, I woke up in Alabama.

I still can't believe it sometimes but I'm happy and for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm living the life that God has called me to and not just going to a job each day. Now I have to admit that being a pastor is a lot harder job than I imagined but I'm learning and growing one day at a time. I know that I will make mistakes but that's how we learn and I know that God walks with me each step of the way.

Welcome!

noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Larry Young) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:44:00 +0000

Welcome to A Disciple's Blog! I'm new to blogging. I've done Facebook and I'm trying something called Twitter but I've never blogged. So why blogging and why am I calling it A Disciple's Blog?

I'll answer both questions at the same time. I have a heart for discipleship. I consider myself a disciple of Jesus Christ...a follower, an imitator. I'm not perfect. I'm not a mirror image of my Lord but I want to be and I believe that God wants us to invest in the lives of others. I believe that God wants us to share our lives with one another; to encourage, to build up, to allow others to see our shortcomings and our failures; to hopefully learn from them and not make the same mistakes. That's what love does and as disciples, we are called to love one another.

I don't know if anyone will ever read this blog and if they do I don't know if they will learn anything but that's not up to me. I'm willing to put my self out there and share my life and my thoughts... It's up to God how my offering is used.

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts as well.

God Bless,

Larry