Recently in my daily Devotion Time I was reading briskly through the Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles when I read the following passage about David's "mighty men." 1 Chronicles 11:10-11 says, "These are the leaders of David's mighty men. Together with all Israel they determined to make David their king, just as the Lord had promised concerning Israel. Here is the record of David's mightiest men." Both in this text and in 2 Samuel 22-23 we find a record of David's "mighty men." These were men he had gathered around him, who stood with him when facing the obstacles and opposition of life. They were determined to be his friends and supporters regardless of the difficulties that he was facing.
The three greatest warriors in David's army were Jashobeam the Hacmonite, Eleazar the son of Dodai, and Shammah the son of Agee. Jashobeam defeated 800 enemy warriors in a single battle. Eleazar once stood alone with David after all of the other Israelite soldiers had fled and held off the Philistine army. Shammah by himself on another occasion held off the Philistines while the rest of the Israelites fled. There was another group of 30 men that were mighty warriors for David. They were led by Abishai and Benaiah, who was the commander of David's bodyguards. These texts remind us that David was a successful warrior and leader because he surrounded himself with strong friends who were committed to protecting him, assisting him and working with him to fulfill God's goals for his life. When we look at the life of David, we discover that the times David failed were when he had detached himself from these "mighty men."
So let me ask you a question - "Who would you identify as the 'mighty men or women' in your life - people who stand with you regardless of the opponents or obstacles you are facing, and who are dedicated to helping you become a better, stronger individual?" We all need people like that in our lives. We all need a strong support network around us if we are going to be successful in living for the Lord and serving the Lord. When we don't have such a support network, we are vulnerable to attacks from our opponents (including the enemy, Satan himself), and we are weaker than we need to be when facing the great obstacles of our lives. Also, we accomplish so much for the Lord and the kingdom of God when we are serving and ministering with others instead of trying to be "Lone Ranger' Christians.
This past Sunday our Pastors and I preached about The Necessity Of Community with godly people. If you would like to hear the message or share it with others, you can find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA9he0j4duQ. Listen, we all need a godly and healthy community of people around us if we're to live vibrant and victorious lives, so be sure to check out or share with others the message from this past Sunday.
Life Groups are vehicles for experiencing "community" at Celebration Church. Life Groups are small groups that meet in homes, coffee shops, business places, schools or online to study the Bible. In these Life Groups people grow in their faith and knowledge of God's Word, they develop strong Christian friendships, they learn how to live out the principles of the Christian life, and they get involved in ministry with others. Life Groups are where real Christian community and life transformation takes place, which is why we hope all of our Worship Service attendees to be involved in a Life Group.
At Celebration we have Life Groups for teens, college students, single adults, married adults, senior adults, men and women. Some Groups meet exclusively in person while some meet exclusively Online, and others are hybrid groups with people meeting both in-person and online. You can learn more about Life Groups by going to my.celebrationchurch.org/lifegroups.
Crescent City Christian School is a ministry of Celebration Church that is located at 4828 Utica Street in Metairie. Crescent City Christian School is a place where kids from six weeks old through the 12th grade receive an age appropriate, quality academic education based on the principles and priorities found in God's Word. We offer a very diverse program including sports, music, drama, art, band, foreign languages and classes to prepare students to face the ever-changing world around them. At CCCS we believe that we are pioneering the next generation of Christian leaders. So, I encourage you to check out Crescent City Christian for your students. You can schedule a tour or a meeting with our Administrator, Ricky Rigsby, by calling 504.885.4700, or by emailing him at rrigsby@ccchristian.net
On July 15 we held our UNIFY Conference at Celebration on Airline. UNIFY was a conference about how to become better facilitators of Biblical justice and unity. The Conference was led by Pastor Jonathan Tremaine Thomas and Community and Ministry Leaders from our Region. And UNIFY Conference attendees were greatly encouraged, enlightened and equipped to address the issues of injustice in our region. To visit some of the training provided at the UNIFY Conference, go to www.celebrationchurch.org.
Our current sermon series is titled, Connect More. In this series we are learning how to make or strengthen connections with the Lord, with other Christians, with our Church family, and more. This Connect More series is helping us to deepen our relationship with the Lord and His people, and helping us to discover how we can find and begin to fulfill the great purposes and plans that God has for our lives. Join us this Sunday as we learn how to "Connect With God's Church."
