Cause & Effect: God’s Promises and Mercy at Work (Podcast Audio & Video)

Sunday, June 27, 2021 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments




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Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

”Cause and Effect" is a relationship between events or things, where one is the result of the other or others. This is a combination of action and reaction. Something happens (a cause) that leads to an effect.

Five things are true:

1. We have everything to do with outcomes.

2. We have much to do with outcomes.

3. We have nothing to do with outcomes.

4. Things are not always as they appear. Losing is winning.

5. We need MERCY & FAVOR

It is important to keep yourself in a healthy perspective.

Being diligent is essential, but understand that you are not the “master of your fate” or the “captain of your soul.”

Your are neither helpless nor all powerful

Mercy is the gift before and after faith. We think we’re “working it,” but the mercy of God is helping us more than we realize!

Favor is a product of mercy

Some Keys:
1. Have no fear, pray without ceasing
2. Don’t “Spiritualize” (COVID made that real)
3. Mercy and favor surround you
4. Pay attention to details
5. Don’t be a sign holder, be a doer of the Word
6. Have or revise your relationship with winning
7. What did you learn?

Imago Dei: Qualities of a Man and Father

Monday, June 21, 2021 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

 

Listen to Firm Foundation Podcast

1 Corinthians 16:12, (TLB), I begged Apollos to visit you along with the others, but he thought that it was not at all God’s will for him to go now; he will be seeing you later on when he has the opportunity. 13 Keep your eyes open for spiritual danger; stand true to the Lord; act like men; be strong; 14 and whatever you do, do it with kindness and love 

1 Corinthians 16:13-14, (KJV) Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 14 Let all your things be done with charity.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14, (NKJV) Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.

Paul presents something common to his culture. Men were often idealized. We’ve seen this in our culture with television shows long ago such as, “Father Knows Best.”

That said, children raised in a home with a loving and caring father also have an idealized view of their father. This is an authentic reflection of Imago Dei, the image of God. Children from these homes will children most likely see God in a better light. How parents live and treat their children and others is the strongest witness to the living God.

Imago Dei is the image of God. It is not the image of self.

The thing that looks like a weakness is a doorway into strength. Paul discovered the principle:

2 Corinthians 12:10, Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul was not trying to do “mind over matter” or trying to drum up PMA, “A Positive Mental Attitude.’  He had already learned from God: 

2 Corinthians 12, And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.

Encouragement for Men and Fathers

  1. Meet Every Need (M.E.N.) - Be willing, God will give strength
  2. Pray and expect good and God
  3. Provide the best example, even when you make a mistake
  4. Love your wife and children with everything inside you and in your hand
  5. Instill confidence that anything is possible
  6. Only accept the best according to ability
  7. Don’t expect anyone to give you anything, be prepared to earn it
  8. Give more than you receive
  9. Always bring your “A" game, even when you are the only one who sees it
  10. Benefit your family before all others
  11. Give space to flourish, fail, and recover
  12. odel how to recover from failure and disappointment 
  13. Surround your children with the values that you value
  14. Remember that love is unconditional

Why Juneteenth Matters. Understanding the Context

Saturday, June 19, 2021 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments


The Emancipation Proclamation and General Order No. 3 issued by President Abraham Lincoln had no force of law in every state without the 13th Amendment. Juneteenth puts this all in context, also known as our country's second Independence Day. The Civil War ended in April of 1865. Texas kept people enslaved until of June 19, 1865 when the Union General Gordon Granger and army arrived. The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution was needed to overrule states that wanted to disregard the Proclamation and keep slavery in place. It was ratified on ratified on December 6, 1865.
Watch this brief YouTube presentation in which Ophelia Wellington, Founding Director of Freetown Village explains the celebration known to African Americans as "Juneteenth" that became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021.

A New Way: From Pandemic to Promise (Podcast, Video and Keynote Slides)

Sunday, June 13, 2021 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments



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John 14:5
Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Joshua 3:3 
And they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

There are lessons to learn from the story of Israel under the leadership of Joshua as they faced another barrier of water, this time the Jordan River. There's was a pandemic, not in a medical sense, but the whole nation experienced a hardship together. And together they overcame it. That's the key word, “together.”

Key #1  |  Operate in Truth at Every Level
Key #2  |  Faithfulness to Small Things Leads to Greatness
Key #3  |  Prepare Well for Every Opportunity and Challenge
Key #4  |  Listen to Learn
Key #5  |  “Stand in the Water.” Put Yourself in Position Act
Key #6  |  When You Change, Your Circumstances Will Change
Key #7  | You Don’t Need to See or Understand Everything That Helps You

Application Questions:
1. What is your New Normal?
2. In what small things are you faithful?
3. What preparation do you need?
4. In what ways do you need to listen to learn?
5. What commitment(s) have you avoided?

Love Your Own

Wednesday, June 02, 2021 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments



John 13:1, It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Jesus faced betrayal by Judas Iscariot. He knew it was coming, but His heart was filled with love. He knew he would leave the world through extreme suffering and death, but left His disciples an example of serving and humility. At the moment when he should have been the most concerned about Himself, He decided to wash His disciples’ dirty feet.

One of the great messages in this story (Read John 13) is to stay committed to "your own” — including family, friends, and covenant brothers and sisters in Christ at your local church. Stay humble and serve others “to the end."

In this broken and selfish world, Christ followers can model unconditional and committed love.




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