Carbondale Church of Christ

A Special award ceremony will be held at the building honoring Brad Taylor for his achievement of becoming an Eagle Scout.

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Conquering sin in our lives is the essence of growth.  We are called to be “perfect as our heavenly father is perfect”….I wonder if this is possible?  I wonder if we settle for far less to  easily??

In the movie the “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” the question that people are seeking an answer to is “what is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?”  The answer given is “42″ which is absurd and that is the point.  The point of the movie is to make fun of our quest for answers instead of simply living life.  Part of what makes this movie engaging is the fact that we want the answer to the question.  Growing in faith and growing up in Christ involves finding the answer to this question to be simply “Christ.”  My life’s purpose and meaning is to be Christ, to live for Christ, to find my purpose, my goal, my identity in Christ.  Not simply to preach Christ, or to be good and moral, but to take on the very identity of Christ.

This week the topic was 2 Pet 2:1 talking about pure spiritual milk its opposite, they taste different.

Growing spiritually requires a close cooperation with God and the Holy Spirit, but it involves intentional effort on our part to listen, submit, and set our minds on the right things. This collection of tools and resources may help you in your desire to grow.

• Search My Heart (pdf) – a two week personal meditation to identify areas of growth
• Twelve Areas of Discipleship (pdf) – a listing of twelve distinct aspects of our walk as disciples which you can use as a tool to reflect upon your own walk with God.
• Personal Growth Worksheet (pdf) – a simple worksheet which can help you structure your own thoughts about specific areas you are led to focus your growth efforts.
• Spiritual Goal Worksheet V2 (pdf) – an updated worksheet to help you reflect and define personal spiritual growth goals.
• Some Books on the subject include:
  • “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster – explores different spiritual disciplines and offers specific practical suggestions about practicing them. ISBN 0-06-062839-1
  • “The Blazing Center” by John Piper examines the meaning of having God be the soul satisfying source of all things. This is the study guide to a DVD lesson set that you can borrow from the office ISBN 1-59052-685-6
  • “Desiring God” by John Piper subtitled confessions of a Christian hedonist. ISBN 1-59052-119-6
  • “Pilgrim Heart” by Darryl Tippens – explores the way of Jesus in everyday life. ISBN 0-9767790-7-2
• Bible Reading Plans
  • 12 Weeks, Read from both NT and Psalms each day [pdf]
  • 26 Weeks, Read from Matthew to Revelation [pdf]
  • 26 Weeks, Read from both NT and Psalms-Proverbs each day [pdf]
  • 50 Weeks, Read from Genesis to Revelation each day [pdf]
  • 50 Weeks, Read from both NT (Matthew-Revelation) and OT (Genesis-Malachi) each day [pdf]

The goal of being clothed with Christ is to become like Christ; conquering sin, revealing the Father to those around us, demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit, and striving for perfection.  We were saved so that we would grow and produce a crop.  In what ways do you find it challenging to grow spiritually?