Connecting Point – August 19, 2026

Almost everyone wants to live a long and prosperous life. In fact, those are the two primary goals in most people’s lives. We learn from the world that people can live longer lives by focusing on staying healthy, driving carefully, making good decisions and staying out of trouble. And we learn from the world and the Bible that people can live prosperous lives if they work hard, manage their money well, stay away from lots of debt, invest or save wisely, and take advantage of good opportunities. But what else does the Bible have to say about living a long and prosperous life?

We find some instruction about living a long and prosperous life in Psalm 34. David wrote,

What did David mean when he said that we are to “keep our tongue from speaking evil and our lips from telling lies?” He meant that telling the truth and saying good and godly things are keys to living a good and godly life. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 12:22, “The Lord detests lying lips, but He delights in those who tell the truth.” And the Bible says that not only are we to “speak the truth,” but we’re to speak the truth in loving ways (Ephesians 4:15). It also says in Proverbs 18:21 that “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” That means that we can bring “life or death” in some way to our life or others’ lives by what we say. So if we want to live a long and prosperous life we need to focus on living a good and godly life, and focus on being a truth-teller, and speaking good and godly words - rather than hurtful, hateful and ungodly words - to other people.

But also David said that to live a life that is long and prosperous we need to “turn away from evil and do good.” “Turning away from evil” is a reference to not indulging in behavior the Lord would deem ungodly. When I think about actions that the Lord would classify as ungodly, I think about the “works of the flesh” that Paul wrote about. He said:

If those things characterize your life. You need to “turn away from evil.” And in the verses that follow in Galatians 5 Paul wrote about things that we need to turn towards in our lives. He said that the “fruit of the Spirit” will be demonstrated in our lives when we live good and godly lives. He said in Galatians 5:22-23:

So, if we want to live a long and prosperous life we need to focus on developing and demonstrating the “fruit of the Spirit” and eliminating the “works of the flesh” in our lives. That may seem like an impossible task, but Paul promised that if we will learn to “walk in the Spirit we won’t be overcome by our sinful nature” (Galatians 5:16).

But David mentioned two other steps that enable people to live a long and prosperous life. He said that we need to “search for peace and work to maintain it.” Those words communicate to us how important it is for us to pray for and seek to maintain peaceful relationships with others. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). And Paul wrote in Romans 12:18, “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” Sometimes it’s almost impossible to have a peaceful relationship with people, especially when they’re bitter or deceptive or dysfunctional or hateful. But we’re to strive to reconcile our relationships with other people if we can. And we can all understand how having peaceful relationships will remove a lot of stress from our lives, which will enable us to live a longer and more prosperous life.

Here is what I’m telling you. Living a long and prosperous life can become a reality in our lives. But that’s only likely to happen if we commit ourselves to the principles found in Psalm 34:12-14. So let’s make it our aim, with the help of God’s Spirit, to “keep our tongue from speaking evil and our lips from telling lies; to turn away from evil and do good; and to search for peace, and work to maintain it. And then throughout our lives and at the end of our lives we will be able to say what David said in Psalm 34:8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good. O the joys of those who take refuge in Him.”

When Jesus sent out His first disciples, He sent them to “proclaim the gospel, cast out demons and heal the sick (Luke 9:2-3). Here at Celebration we’re often involved in proclaiming the gospel, and regularly helping people get free from demonic spirits and strongholds in their lives. But we also believe in praying for those who are ill and injured, and trusting God to bring healing to their lives.

That’s what we’re going to be focusing on in our Sunday morning services on August 23. We’re going to be teaching about Jesus’ power to heal people, and then at the end of our services “anointing people with oil and praying for their healing.” And just like we’ve seen lots of people healed in times past, we’re believing that we’re going to see lots of people experience the healing power of Jesus this Sunday in our services.

So, do you know of any people who need to experience the Lord’s healing power in some way in their lives? Perhaps they need healing from an illness or an injury. Or perhaps they need to experience some type of emotional or mental healing in their lives. Ask those who need some type of healing to come with you this Sunday. Matthew 4:24 tells us that “News about Jesus spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to Him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed - He healed them all.” And we believe at Celebration that the same Jesus who healed people in the 1st century is still healing people in the 21st century. So bring people with you this Sunday so they can experience the healing, delivering, saving and transforming power of Jesus in their lives.

In last Sunday’s services we shared that we have some “outgoing Elders” and “incoming Elders” here at Celebration. Elders serve an important leadership function at Celebration. They serve as an Accountability Team and Group of Spiritual Advisors to the Lead Pastor and our Lead Team (John Frady, Allison Konur, Manley Miller and myself) so that we can always have checks and balances and godly counsel. And along with our Administrative Team that oversees our finances and facilities, they comprise Celebration’s Board of Directors.

Gerald Cullison and Chris Russo are transitioning off our Elders Team, having faithfully served in that capacity for many years. Steven Burford (Celebration Kenner) and Ty Harrell (Celebration Westbank) have been nominated to become new Elders for our Church family. Both of those men have served well at their Campus and in our overall ministry. They are strong Christians who have been very involved in our Church’s ministry for some time. They will join AJ Domangue (Kenner Campus), Ed Lemke (Metairie/N.O. Campus), Jeff Miller (Westbank Campus), Mike Walker (Metairie/N.O. Campus), John Frady (Staff Elder) and myself (Lead/Chief Teaching Pastor) on our Elders Team. We will vote to affirm Steven and Ty on our Elders Team on August 30.

Pray for these godly, Spirit-filled men who help lead our Church as we continually seek the Lord’s direction for our Church family. And pray that Celebration will always be used by the Lord to bring glory to Him, minister to many people, and advance His kingdom.