From the Word: Psalm 81:10

Posted on December 27th, 2007 in From the Word by Fred

“I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it”.
Psalm 81:10 (NKJV)

I absolutely love this verse. It reminds me that God wants to fill us … the NLT (New Living Translation) even adds “with good things”. The word “fill” is translated from the word [male'] in the Hebrew (mah-lay), meaning to fill, fill up, relates to fullness, fulfilling, filling to the brim, etc.

It’s also interesting that of all the ways God could introduce and reveal Himself in this passage, He chooses to reveal Himself as the One who “brought you out of the land of Egypt”. If you remember, he brought them out of Egypt (bondage, slavery) to deliver them into a place “flowing with milk and honey” (abundance, freedom).

All of that is good - but it’s the “open your mouth wide” part that I love the most. I truly believe that God will “fill us” and “bless us” according to our measure of faith … according to how “wide” we open our mouths.

Do you remember the story of the widow who was in desperate need? Elisha told her to go and borrow empty vessels … he challenged her “do not gather just a few”. Picking that story up in 2 Kings 4:6, “Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full that she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another vessel.’, so the oil ceased.

It’s unclear if the widow gathered a lot of vessels, or only “just a few”. We know that she gathered enough to pay her debts and live on the rest. The reality is, as long as she had empty vessels (or wide-opened mouths) that the oil flowed. The oil here represented provision for her family, and deliverance from her debts.

As we are drawing near to the conclusion of 2007 and looking forward to 2008, I’m sure we all have needs, dreams, visions, and desires. Assuming that they are within the scope of God’s will for our lives, He desires to fulfill those needs, dreams, visions, and desires - in greater measure than we could ever imagine. He’s waiting for us to open our mouths wide.

How big is your faith? How wide are you willing to open your mouth? Don’t respond with a false humility that says “oh well, I will just ask for enough to get by … there are plenty of other people in greater need than I am …”. We need to understand that God wants to fill us full … overflowing. In doing so, he’s not running out of resources that could be used on someone else - don’t you agree that God has plenty for everyone?

Open your mouth WIDE …. and go prepare yourself with empty vessels that God can fill (a faith-filled heart!) … and not just a few. See what He will do for you!

Are you ready?

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Tragedy - Please Pray

Posted on December 26th, 2007 in Church Life by Fred

Hey Everyone -

We’ve had a tragedy back home on St. Simons … the daughter of one of the guitarists on our praise team at SSCC was killed in a car wreck last night. Her 20th birthday would have been tomorrow.

Please pray for Tim and Laurence, the parents - who will desperately need our prayers.

I’m up in North Georgia with my family and hate that I cannot be there with the church and with my praise team members, surrounding them during this time of grief and tragedy. I hope to return back to SSI in a couple of days to be with them. In the meantime, they are already surrounded by the church and are receiving the love and support they will need.

Please pray,

Fred

Merry Christmas from The McKinnon’s

Posted on December 25th, 2007 in Family, Life and Family by Fred

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas! What an incredible day to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! From my family to yours, we’d love to wish you a blessed, wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year to come. (L-R, Joy holding Andrew [20 mos], Rebekah [3], Will [5], Jon Michael [7] and Fred, thanks to Chris for the great photography!)

Hope you have a great day celebrating Christ!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

10 Ways to Better Listening

Posted on December 20th, 2007 in General Leadership by Fred

Hey Ya’ll,

Steve, our Pastor of Discipleship at SSCC, forwarded this to all the small group leaders today. Good stuff. This is from Michael Mack of SmallGroups.Com.

Listening is a crucial skill for small-group leaders to master. Here are ten practical tips for improving our listening habits.

  1. Be quiet. This should be obvious, but it often is the biggest obstruction to listening. The leader should be part of a discussion without monopolizing it.
  2. Try to understand. The goal of listening is to understand what the person is really saying.
  3. Eliminate distractions. People feel comfortable sharing when they are not interrupted. Turn the phone ringer off. Make sure you have childcare arranged. Don’t look at your watch or lesson plan when someone is speaking.
  4. Empathize. Interject short statements to show you understand and accept what the person is saying. “That sounds exciting!” or “That must have been a hard decision to make” are good examples of how to show empathy.
  5. Don’t judge. Especially when someone is already hurting, a judgmental attitude can do more harm than good. Don’t condone sin, of course, but recognize the difference between acceptance and approval.
  6. Avoid advising. Unless they ask for it, people usually do not want or need you to try to solve their problem. They just need someone to listen.
  7. Verify and clarify. If you don’t understand what someone is saying, ask. “Here’s what I hear you saying. Am I right?” is one good clarifier.
  8. Listen for what is not said. Try to hear the meaning behind the words. Watch body language and listen to tone of voice. Sometimes what a person is saying is lost behind a clutter of words.
  9. Watch body language. Sometimes a person’s posture or gestures can say more than words.
  10. Affirm. “Thanks for sharing that. I’m sure it isn’t easy to talk about right now.” This builds acceptance for talking about difficult things and makes it easier for someone else to share.

Mike Mack is a co-founder of Smallgoups.com. He currently serves as the minister of small groups at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

So friends, how would you rate YOUR LISTENING SKILLS?

Fred

Why is it that …

Posted on December 20th, 2007 in Family, Funnies by Fred

Why is it that …

On school days, it takes an Act of Congress to pull my kids out of bed. You drag them out, re-drag them out, and climb the stairs multiple times to make sure they are up and getting dressed. They complain and whine about not wanting to wake up.

But on Saturday, Sunday, and today (first day of Christmas holidays/no school), they are jumping on the bed at 6:45.

why?

Fred

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