40 Days In The Word
This year, Highland Terrace will be partnering with “Community Cookouts” for our GIC Outreach Event and Micah 6:8 Project on Saturday, February 25th. We spoke to Phyllis Y. with “Community Cookouts” and agreed that we would partner with them in their monthly ministry to the needy and hungry in downtown Greenville. They cook and distribute between 115 to 175 meals to needy. She described it as more “needy” than “homeless.” This is a great project if your 40 Days In the Word group does not already have a project, or you just want to do more.
“Community Cookouts” is a non-profit ministry that feeds people in downtown Greenville on the fourth Saturday of every month. They will be there on Saturday, February 25, from about 10:00 to 2:00. So the date coordinates with both the 40 Days in the Word schedule and also our Global Impact Conference perfectly. They set up on the corner of Jordan and Wesley Street. (One block behind the Calico Cat for some of you 
) This is a great project and one that people will feel good about. We are welcome to pass out tracts, pray with people, talk, etc.
This year’s GIC Theme is “Across the Street and Around the World!”
Bro. Will Crum has volunteered to lead out and in this important effort.
What is needed?
• At least 10 people to arrive at 10:00 AM and help set up and distribute supplies.
• At least 10 people to arrive before 1:00 PM and help distribute supplies and then take it down.
• At least 10 ladies who can make homemade desserts, e.g., cookies, cupcakes, brownies, sheet cakes, things that are easy to distribute. (Please send them in disposable containers or boxes.)
• People to donate toiletries, e.g., washing detergent, shampoo, body wash, deodorant, hand soap.
• People to donate clothing, e.g., coats, blankets, gloves, hats, socks, (for adults and children).
Chick-Fil-A will be donating the food that day. The policy for “Community Cookouts” is that the volunteers are welcome to eat after all their clients have eaten. They have always had enough except for a couple of times. I would suggest that we have a backup plan for our volunteers or at least inform them.
Micah 6:8 is one of the key verses in the 40 Days In The Word study. Since application is such an important part of Bible study and we are called to be “doers” of the Word and not just “hearers” of the Word, then each group has been challenged to come up with a Micah 68 project. This verse says,
“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
God expects each of us to act justly, or be honest in our own personal dealings, to love mercy, or to treat people with mercy, and to walk humbly with God everyday through prayer and Bible study. Treating people in our neighborhood with mercy and honor is one important way of honoring God.
Since our Global Impact Celebration, annual missions conference, focuses on reaching out to people locally and globally, then having a local mission project is part of our annual conference schedule.
You are loved,
Bro. Kelly
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It has happened to all of us. We heard a sermon, or read a pamphlet, or listened to a gentle rebuke from a friend, but instead of humbly listening and going through the steps of self-examination, we just got angry at the message and the messenger. I speak from experience on both sides of the aisle. The passage in James from this week’s homework talks about hearing, speaking, and becoming angry. It certainly applies to every day relationships, but the context of the passage has to do with our response to the Bible. I did the homework for Day 2 of this week or Day 23 overall from 40 Days In The Word and I am passing it on to you.
19. This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20. for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20 NASB
Paraphrase It:
My dear fellow believers, You already know this, but each of us should be quick to hear God’s Word, we should always be slow to argue with it, and we should be should be very slow to be angry with God’s Word. Because our anger does not bring about the kind of righteousness God wants me to have.
Apply It:
I am glad that James prefaced his remarks with “my beloved brethren.” It is always good to remember when I am about to hear a strong word from God that He loves me and so does the messenger. I need to remember to do that like James did, when I have to deliver a strong message.
I need to be quick to listen to God’s word and put it into practice. I should not have to wait and think it over when I know what is right.
I should be slow to speak. I should be slow to talk back to God when he is talking to me. It is way too easy for me to argue with Him or His word and think that it is not referring to me, or I do not have to change.
I also need to never respond in anger to God’s Word to me, or the messenger of His Word. Sometimes when I do not like the message God has for me, it is easy to get angry inside and even project that anger to a brother or sister who simply happened to be telling me what God said. That is wrong.
In fact, getting angry with God’s Word or those who teach it, preach it, share it, send it, or use it to counsel, is wrong. My anger will not be able to produce the right kind of life, the life that will make God proud and make me happy.
Pray It:
Lord, I am so thankful that I know that you love me, no matter how difficult the message may be to hear. Thanks for reminding me to always be quick to hear and obey your word. I know that is best for me. Thanks for reminding me how wrong it is to argue with you about what you have said. And thank you for reminding me to not get angry with others when you speak to me because that is never productive. In fact it just causes more problems. Amen
You are loved,
Bro. Kelly
PS Remember, if you happen to miss the Sunday night group, you can make it up by sitting in on one of the other groups. There is a group that meets at the church campus on Wednesday night at 6:00 PM in room C109.
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I want to thank Matt Reynolds our Media Guru here at Highland Terrace Baptist Church for putting together this brief 2 minute video that gives a behind the scenes look at our first week of 40 Days In The Word.
I think you will like it. It shows our 40 Days in the Word table in our Atrium, the Sunday evening service where the worship service is devoted to the watching the DVD together in a large group time, our children, youth, and some small groups. We showed this video during our morning worship service during week 2 to get a little more excitement built up. It was very effective.
The link below will open on the Vimeo site where we store our worship service videos.
Click Here To Watch The 2 Minute Video!
I don’t know if we can do a video for each week, but doing one for the first week helped to keep the interest and enthusiasm going and also helped us get a few more people signed up and put into groups.
Kelly
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I think everyone in our group really enjoyed the SPACEPETS and many have made a decision to adopt SPACEPETS as a regular part of their Bible Study. These questions have been around for awhile but leave it to Rick Warren to come up with the memorable acronym.
SPACEPETS
S – Is There a SIN to Confess?
P – Is There a PROMISE to Claim?
A – Is There an ATTITUDE to Change?
C – Is There a COMMAND to Obey?
E – Is There an EXAMPLE to Follow?
P – Is There a PRAYER to Pray?
E – Is There an ERROR to Avoid?
T – Is There a TRUTH to Believe?
S – Is There SOMETHING to Praise God for?
One passage assigned to us this week is Mark 14:3-9. In this passage an unnamed woman crashes the dinner party at Simon the leper’s home where Jesus is dining and becomes the subject of table talk. How could we apply SPACEPETS to this passage? I will give you some of mine and you can send me some of your applications.
There seems to have been a few Sins here. One sin was assuming the wrong motives about this woman. Forgive me for wrongly judging the motives of God’s servants based on my own issues. Is there a Promise to claim? There was a promise for the woman to claim, that her worshipful act would always be spoken of. Is there an Attitude to Change? I seem to always be able to find one of these. Some had a greedy attitude. Some had a judgmental attitude. Some viewed extravagant worship Jesus as a “waste.” Some even seemed to have a higher view of the poor than they did of Jesus. Please deliver me from having a greedy attitude that refuses to honor Jesus or is upset when others give their best. Is there a Command to obey? Jesus commanded everyone to leave her alone and stop criticizing her. Maybe that is a good word for me sometimes, too. Is there an Example to follow? Perhaps that is the primary application here. This lady was willing to give extravagant worship and honor to Jesus in spite of what others thought or in spite of the cost, or even what the cultural obstacles might have been. The Lord commended her. She did what she could. WOW. She didn’t do what she had to, or what was required, or something beyond her ability. She just did what she could. So should I. There is no Prayer to pray in this passage, except perhaps her silent prayer of gratitude and praise. Is there an Error to avoid? The error of jumping to conclusions or assuming that worship time is wasted time. Is there a Truth to believe? The gospel will be preached in the whole world. Jesus is worthy of my worship. The Father will honor those who honor our Savior. Is there Something to Praise God for here? He is worthy to be honored. And my service, and my gifts, and my worship, and my life’s devotion are never a waste when offered to Him!
I think we are just scratching the surface of this passage. Have fun with SPACEPETS.
You are loved,
Bro. Kelly
PS I will include the Mark 14:3-9 passage below in the NASB. Hope you are still enjoying 40 Days In The Word!
Mark 14:3-9
3While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. 4But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5“For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. 6But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. 7“For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. 8“She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9“Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”
BTW, you might just want to jot down this SPACEPETS acronym on the inside cover of your study Bible. That way, you will always have a quick and easy way to study through a passage of Scripture. We are thinking about printing labels that our church members can stick in their Bibles.
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In Mark chapter 3 Jesus healed a man whose hand was withered. During Jesus’ traveling and teaching ministry He visited many cities and villages throughout Israel. It must have created a real buzz to see Jesus and His entourage rolling into your village. Jesus was always accompanied by His disciples and a few supporters, the curiosity seekers, and, of course, His enemies. If He happened to be in a town on the Sabbath, He went to the synagogue. The Pharisees, who seemed to care more about rules than relationships and liked power more than people, watched His every move and parsed His every word.
Picture the Disabled Man
In one particular village there was a disabled man who attended the synagogue service. Mark says his hand was “shriveled.” Whatever the medical reason for it, his hand was unusable. Have you ever been without the use of one of your hands? You never think about how much you use it or need it until you are deprived of it. How many daily activities require two hands? How many jobs require both hands? Was he embarrassed for people to see his bad hand? I wonder how many opportunities this man lost because he had only one good hand? How did he feel when His hand was suddenly, miraculously restored? How did that change the way he used that hand from then on? Now he could praise God with both hands in the air!
The Bible talks about using our hands in service to God. I wonder what part of your life or mine is disabled and in need of healing? What area of your life is “shriveled” and unused. Is it poor health, lack of relationships, the scars of abuse, the lack of resources, a missed education, a record, poor choices of the past, a past failure, some shameful habit, or something else? This man at least went to the synagogue to worship. Maybe he always went on the Sabbath, or maybe he just knew that is where Jesus would be. One thing is clear, everybody there was aware of his handicap.
Picture the Pharisees
The Pharisees attended the synagogue that day, too. Not to worship God, but to validate themselves. They went to watch Jesus, not with an attitude of loving devotion, but more like an investigative reporter hoping to scoop a scandal. Their eyes were filled with judgment and their hearts were full of self-righteousness. It is hard to imagine it, but they were so intent on finding fault with others that they would rather let people suffer than break their own misguided laws. Jesus never broke one Old Testament command, but He was guilty of breaking the popular manmade religious rules of His day, and the makers of those rules hated Him for it. According to them it was wrong to heal, but alright to plot evil on the Sabbath.
Their lack of sympathy for this man actually angered Jesus. He asked, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath…?” Mark says He was both angry and grieved with them. I wonder which of my attitudes towards people anger the Lord? Do I ever set up rules that keep me from reaching out to others? What kind of inner thoughts do you and I have about people who have been disabled by sin, situation, or sorrow, that actually grieve the heart of our Savior? Is the homeless man a sheep that needs a shepherd or merely an interruption to remove? What about the illegal alien, the smart-alecky skeptic, or the dirty unreached village in another hemisphere? Jesus read the hearts of the Pharisees and He searches ours, too.
Picture Yourself?
Did you “get the picture?” That is just day 2 of the “Picture It” method of daily Bible study in 40 Days In The Word. Picture yourself in the place of the different characters in the story. It can help you read the Bible with new eyes and feel it with a new heart. Email us with your insights and blessings so we can share with others what God is doing!
Revolutionize Your Bible Study and Revolutionize Your Life!
You are loved,
Bro. Kelly
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We are preparing to embark on a great adventure in spiritual growth and transformation! Get buckled up and ready. It will move fast. (During the holidays I went to Six Flags with the family and some friends for Holiday in The Park. So getting buckled up and ready took on a new meaning for those coasters and rides.)
We have been preparing for “40 Days In The Word” for a couple of months and the excitement and momentum are really building. More and more of our members are stepping forward to become HOSTS and preparing to have small groups in their homes for 6 weeks. Many are asking about where to sign up for a group. We have asked for 100% participation and I think we will be close to achieving it!
Our church’s education and discipleship ministry is built around the Sunday Morning Bible Study which was traditionally called, Sunday School. It is the strongest organization in most churches and the best equipped for teaching and ministering to members and involving new people into the fellowship of the church.
Why would we want to do “40 Days In The Word” in Small Groups in the homes of our members for six weeks?
Here are several reasons:
The fact is that we all need a safe place to truly know people and be known ourselves, and a safe place to ask questions, share struggles and pray without fear. A home environment is more conducive to that type of openness. It is also more conducive to the type of learning that will take place in this campaign. Home groups also remove some of the limitations of Sunday School such as meeting times, locations, discussion times, etc.
Another reason is because small groups are biblical. The early church had to meet in homes because they did not even have church buildings. It really allowed for the rapid expansion of the first century church. In fact, phrases like “one another” appear in exhortations over 50 times in the New Testament. Believers are exhorted to love one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, forgive each other, etc. We cannot even obey those commands unless we are part of a group of believers!
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
Hebrews 10:24 (NIV)
Another great reason for meeting in home groups for this campaign is the fact that we will be able to reach some people in home groups that we may not be able to reach otherwise. Some people who are not willing to come and visit a church right now, are open to visiting in a neighbor’s home. In fact, after six weeks of studying God’s Word together, praying together, and fellowshipping together with our great people, they may even be ready to give the “church” a try.
When is the best time to have your 40 Days In The Word group?
The answer is the time that is most convenient for you. I think we will be having groups meet almost all the time.
What about Sunday Evening? Didn’t we do 40 Days of Purpose on Sunday Evenings before?
The answer is “Yes!” The church did 40 Days of Purpose on Sunday Evenings in place of the Sunday evening services several years ago. We are encouraging groups to meet during that same time slot now, as well. Even though we are not cancelling our Sunday evening services, we are encouraging groups to meet during that time frame. In fact, if your group needs child care, it will be available during that time.
Where is best place to sign up?
The best place to sign up is in your Sunday Morning Bible Study Class. See who in your class is Hosting a group and when and where they are meeting. You will be able to meet with people you already know. If no one in your class is hosting a group, then volunteer and automatically fill up your group with people from your class.
If one of those groups will not work out for you, then we will begin allowing HOSTS who have not yet filled up a group to put their sign-up sheets in the Atrium this week.
Books will be available either on January 8, 11, or 15.
Don’t miss out on this once in a great while adventure that will be experienced by millions of people around our country. Catch the Wave!
You Are Loved!
Bro. Kelly
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Our 40 Days In The Word Campaign will be here before you know it, and we are thrilled about all the Hosts that are stepping forward to offer their homes during the campaign for people to meet and watch the weekly Bible lesson and discuss “How Can I Study My Bible and Really Understand It?” This is one of the most essential questions for believers and unbelievers, too. Everyone needs to know how to read the Bible with understanding because it is God’s message to us.
Our Youth Leaders are also getting on board and will be leading small groups of teens who will be learning how to study the Bible for themselves on a daily basis. Think of what kinds of amazing things can happen when young people begin to hear from God daily.
“Everyone needs to know how to read the Bible with understanding because it is God’s love letter to us.”
Today Bro. Will told me that our College and Career students will be using this study on Tuesdays during the campaign!
We are still looking for Host Homes, or for Discussion Leaders who will assist the Host by leading the discussion after the group watches the video teaching.
Last Sunday evening we had our first Orientation meeting for Hosts and Facilitators. It was well attended and answered a lot of questions. We also provided a “Host Orientation Packet” for the new people who have stepped forward to host a small group.
Here are a few FAQ’s about 40 Days In The Word.
FAQ’s
Is the “40 Days In The Word” Campaign, a fund-raising campaign? Absolutely not! This is NOT a capital campaign, or a building campaign, or even a tithing campaign. It is strictly a spiritual growth and discipleship program that is designed to help any believer develop their enjoyment and understanding of the Bible. The word, “campaign” is used simply because it is something our entire church is doing together at the same time.
Is there a cost involved in the “40 Days In The Word?” There is a minimal cost involved for your materials. The church is providing the DVD’s for each small group to use. Each individual should purchase his or her own workbook which is $10 / each. It is preferable for each person to have their own workbook, but a couple could share a book. The book is also a resource that you will refer back to after the campaign.
Are the materials for “40 Days In The Word” available is Spanish? Si! I mean, Yes. It is available in Spanish and we have purchased one set in Spanish for preview by our Spanish speaking member and friends. We are excited about the possibility of having several Spanish speaking groups.
40 Days of Purpose had a “Kickoff Event.” Does “40 Days In The Word” also have a “Kickoff Event?” We have not decided for sure. 40 Days of Purpose had an evening event which was a dinner that was followed by a simulcast by Saddleback Church. Many churches also offered a special event on the first Sunday of the campaign. There does not appear to be a simulcast in association with this program. However, a kickoff breakfast would be nice! Stay Tuned…
How do we handle childcare, if we have people in our group with small children? Here are several options for groups that need childcare:
• Have everyone in the group be responsible for their own babysitter
• Pool your money together and hire a babysitter who can watch the kids in another room
• Keep all the kids at another group members’ house with a babysitter
• Parents rotate watching kids in another room
• Another option for some who have elementary children and youth is to have your group meet on Wednesday evening, or Sunday evening when we already have activities for youth and children. Your group could find a room at the church, or your home if you live nearby, or even at a restaurant with a back room.
After the New Year we will begin signing people up for the small groups.
You are loved,
Bro. Kelly
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“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11 NASB)
This passage refers to the people in the city of Berea. They were more noble than those from Thessalonica because they received the Word. They were also eager to know the Word. They were also disciplined to personally study the Word. Are you that noble?
“ I believe one reason more people do not study the Word of God is that they do not know how to study it.” Dr. Kelly Carr
One advantage they had was a great teacher like Paul who could teach them how to study the Bible. I believe one reason more people do not study the Word of God is that they do not know how to study it. They do not have the skills or resources. No one has ever taught them how to study it or given them a simple and practical PLAN for personal Bible study.
Join us for 40 Days In The Word and find a simple plan for personal Bible study. It will change forever the way you interact with God’s Word and hear His voice.
Be Noble,
Bro. Kelly
40 Days In The Word
Are you passionate about getting people into the Word? Are you passionate about helping people get involved in small groups? Then be a part of our 40 Days In The Word leadership team. Positions needed:
Publicity Coordinator
Prayer Coordinator
Small Group Coordinator
Weekend Coordinator
100 Small Group Leaders
Get informed to see how God wants you to be involved. Meet Bro. Kelly in B206 at 5:00 PM on Sunday.
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