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Are you laboring in vain?

I like to make things happen.

You probably do this too.

We have our 5 year plans, our schedules and systems for growing the church, managing our business, raising our kids, getting out of debt, and changing the world.

It's good sometimes to work like it all depends on you.

It's unhealthy to live that way.

It's also un-biblical.

Psalm 127: 1

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain...

I want to be in on the house He is building. I'm pretty sure it'll be better than the one I come up with on my own.

Read the whole chapter here.

Jonah's Problem

Jonah had a heart problem.

Sunday at Providence - Jeff Pruett showed us Jonah's symptoms, diagnosis, and God's therapy for Jonah's problem.

The sermon is online here if you'd like to hear it.

Jonah knew what God wanted him to do.

He just didn't want to do it.

God wants you to repent and believe the gospel.

God wants you to love Him with all your heart.

God wants you to love your neighbor (yes that neighbor) as yourself.

God wants you to change the world by making disciples.

Don't be a Jonah.

Fish stomachs stink pretty bad.

Self-righteous, uncaring attitudes smell worse.

What are you so excited about?

With all the hype about football and politics today - I wonder what our kids, neighbors and classmates are learning from us.

I just read one of the best blog posts of the year from Justin Taylor - He actually just cut and pasted a bunch of D.A. Carson so I figured it would be ok if I did the same. Here's what Carson had to say:

If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.

If the gospel—even when you are orthodox—becomes something which you primarily assume, but what you are excited about is what you are doing in some sort of social reconstruction, you will be teaching the people that you influence that the gospel really isn’t all that important. You won’t be saying that—you won’t even mean that—but that’s what you will be teaching. And then you are only half a generation away from losing the gospel.

Make sure that in your own practice and excitement, what you talk about, what you think about, what you pray over, what you exude confidence over, joy over, what you are enthusiastic about is Jesus, the gospel, the cross. And out of that framework, by all means, let the transformed life flow.

The rest of the post is amazing too - especially the story about his friend in college - it's worth reading all the way to end - Click HERE to read it.

Church Plants Rock!

At Providence, we are committed to church planting.

From the beginning we've been investing our energy and resources in this area.

In March, we're planning to build our sixth church for the Gnobe Bugle people down in Panama.

We are also actively supporting 4 other church plants in our local area.

This weekend - two of the churches we've invested in are taking significant steps.

Sunday morning - Reverb Church is holding their very first service at Pacetti Bay Middle School.

Bryan Lamoureux is their pastor and is one of the most encouraging guys I know. I'm looking

forward to seeing God do great things through Reverb. Please pray for Reverb as they launch this weekend!

The Crossing Church is moving from bi-weekly services to meeting every week in Fruit Cove Middle School up on Race Track Road. Adam Flynt is their pastor and has preached for us at Providence. God is doing great things through the Crossing. Pray that God will use them greatly this weekend.

We support local church plants because we believe the body of Christ is bigger than our little church. He is using all kinds of people in many different ways to reach this community. We celebrate when lives are changed and people follow Jesus whether it's at Providence Bible Church, Life Point, Edgewater, Turning Point, The Village, Good News, The Crossing, Reverb, or any other like-minded, gospel-preaching church in our area. (I've prayed for these churches already this morning and would appreciate it if you would do the same).

3.2 Million Dots

Here's a video of a portrait that took 210 hours to create using 3.2 million dots.

One dot doesn't seem to make much of a difference until you put it with 3,199,999 others.

Then it makes a masterpiece.

Today may not seem like that big of a deal to you.

It may not seem earth shattering to actually listen to your co-worker when they share about their problems. It's just a dot.

It probably doesn't feel like you are changing the world when you set aside a few minutes to pray and read your Bible. It's just a dot.

You might be thinking it's not going to make much difference when you volunteer to work with children this Sunday at church. It's just a dot.

You're small donation to your favorite charity is just a dot in the bucket...but at least it's a dot.

Don't overlook the importance of the small things you can do each day to make a difference.

When you put them all together, you'll get a masterpiece out of your life.

Keep making dots.

Christmas Eve!

Special thanks to everyone who made our Christmas Eve service a huge success!

There was no more room in the parking lot at the Crab Shack.

We're going to need to shuttle people to off-site parking next year.

The food was amazing - the music was great, and the gospel was shared!

If you missed it you REALLY missed it. Don't miss next year - for that matter, don't miss this Sunday at Providence!

8:30 and 11:00!

Join Us Christmas Eve!

Bring your friends!

Why does God allow suffering?

That's what I'm about to talk to some men about this morning.

I think we'll need more coffee.

I don't think we'll get to the complete answer.

We'll get glimpses, but we'll still be left to trust God.

Trust that He knows what He's doing, even when it doesn't make sense to us.

I just read this from Tim Keller:

Job repeatedly asked God to explain to him the reason for his suffering. And when God finally met with Job at the end of the book God never gave him an answer. And the fact is, that if at any point God has said to Job, "Let me tell you all the reasons why you're suffering" then Job would have said, "Oh, so that's it! I'm going to be famous, I'm going to inspire millions of people with my courage and nobility." Here's the irony - Job never would have become the great person that he became if he knew why he was suffering. And when we are in the middle of suffering, we should not try to imagine reasons that would justify it. That is really no the best thing for our heart.