{"id":5517,"date":"2015-01-19T10:57:04","date_gmt":"2015-01-19T14:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=5517"},"modified":"2015-01-29T12:38:54","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T16:38:54","slug":"fully-alive-11815","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=5517","title":{"rendered":"Fully Alive (1\/18\/15)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_5514\" style=\"width: 199px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Marcus-Bell-Urban-Promise-2015-01-18-_IMG_1537.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5514\" class=\" wp-image-5514\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Marcus-Bell-Urban-Promise-2015-01-18-_IMG_1537-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Marcus Bell\" width=\"189\" height=\"142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Marcus-Bell-Urban-Promise-2015-01-18-_IMG_1537-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Marcus-Bell-Urban-Promise-2015-01-18-_IMG_1537.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 189px) 100vw, 189px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5514\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marcus Bell<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>The sermon on January 18 was given by Marcus Bell, who is the director of the Spirit Camp after school program at Urban Promise. (Camden, NJ).\u00a0 Marcus shared his experience and challenged us to gain a fuller life by giving and serving.\u00a0 His\u00a0 scripture was on James 1:26-27.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>Click the &#8220;Play&#8221; button to begin listening to the sermon, then scroll down to follow along&#8230;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u00a0(Note:\u00a0 The scripture was read by Pastor Jim)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-5517-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Sermon-2015-01-18a-Fully-Alive-Marcus-Bell.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Sermon-2015-01-18a-Fully-Alive-Marcus-Bell.mp3\">https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Sermon-2015-01-18a-Fully-Alive-Marcus-Bell.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class='et-learn-more clearfix'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class='heading-more'>James 1:26-27<span class='et_learnmore_arrow'><span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='learn-more-content'><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one&#8217;s religion is useless. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>NKJV<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class='et-box et-warning'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #800080;\">When do you feel most alive???<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>When do you feel\u00a0 the most alive?\u00a0 When do you feel like you&#8217;re connected to where you&#8217;re supposed to be?\u00a0 What are you doing when life seems to be at it&#8217;s best???<\/p>\n<p>For some of us, it may be things like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Watching TV<\/li>\n<li>Working in your garden<\/li>\n<li>Fishing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But God has invested in us by supplying us with a certain number of hours and a certain level of gifts and resources.\u00a0 How are you spending them?\u00a0 Are you spending them on God&#8217;s behalf or are you spending them for your own selfish ideas?<\/p>\n<p>For Marcus,\u00a0 the best and most fulfilling time of his day is between 3 and 6PM.\u00a0 That&#8217;s when he&#8217;s\u00a0 with &#8220;his kids.&#8221;\u00a0 Teaching middle schoolers and helping them to grow into men and women who will return the &#8220;favor&#8221; is the most fulfilling thing he does.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Mark 8:34-37<\/span><\/h3>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, &#8220;If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. \u00a0\u00a0 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. \u00a0\u00a0 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? \u00a0 \u00a0 Is anything worth more than your soul?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> NLT<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Do I have to die to make this verse true?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 The challenge isn&#8217;t so much the physical state, but our mind needs to change; to walk away from selfish things.\u00a0 To not think about ME.\u00a0 We&#8217;re too inward focused.<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-info'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Did you know that there is now a device on the market known as a<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/search.yahoo.com\/yhs\/search?p=selfie+stick+images&amp;ei=UTF-8&amp;hspart=mozilla&amp;hsimp=yhs-001\" target=\"_blank\">Selfie Stick<\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">?&#8221;<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can clip your phone on to it, extend the arm, and then take a picture of yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/selfie-Stick.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-5527\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/selfie-Stick.jpg\" alt=\"selfie-Stick\" width=\"103\" height=\"102\" \/><\/a>Companies are making money selling a product that people use to take a picture of themselves.\u00a0 Maybe it can be\u00a0 a useful\u00a0 thing, but isn&#8217;t this a commentary on how focused we have become on &#8220;Self?&#8221;\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>Jesus&#8217; words that we can only gain true meaningful life by &#8220;giving away&#8221; Self, clash with our own mindset that we must set goals, be focused on the task, and find satisfaction in what we can accomplish for ourselves.\u00a0 Our goals must be in sync with God&#8217;s will, otherwise they become hindrances.\u00a0 Our satisfaction comes when we serve and\u00a0 give to others.<\/p>\n<p>Romans 12:2 says:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Don&#8217;t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God&#8217;s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.<\/span><br \/>\nNLT<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>God calls us to a new way of thinking.\u00a0 Our minds need to change and we need to look for ways to serve others first; instead of looking for opportunities to feed our own desires.\u00a0 At the end\u00a0 of life, when we stand before our Creator, He will ask us &#8220;how did you spend the time I gave you in order to serve others&#8221;?\u00a0 He won&#8217;t ask us about the time we spent on ourselves.<\/p>\n<p>God created us so that we could serve Him.\u00a0 The only time we&#8217;re fully alive is when we&#8217;re serving God by helping others.\u00a0 When we stand before God, what excuses might we have:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: circle;\">\n<li>I was busy earning a living<\/li>\n<li>I was busy preparing for retirement<\/li>\n<li>I was sick<\/li>\n<li>I was never much of a speaker<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of these excuses will ring totally hollow in the Light of God.\u00a0 God will tell us, &#8220;I created you to serve. What part of that didn&#8217;t you understand?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Why are you doing this?\u00a0 You&#8217;re wasting your time!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>To serve, we need to be called.\u00a0 The world will challenge our motives.\u00a0 We can&#8217;t just think that we&#8217;re doing something just to be &#8220;doing good.&#8221;\u00a0 We can&#8217;t earn salvation&#8230; by God&#8217;s grace we\u00a0 know His voice and He calls us into service.<\/p>\n<p>God calls us to serve.\u00a0 It might be to write a letter, say a kind word, or even to teach a group of teenagers in Camden.\u00a0 In John 10:7, Jesus told us that He is the gate for the sheep.\u00a0 In verses 3-4 He said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. \u00a0 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.<\/span><br \/>\nNIV<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If we are led by the Spirit, we will know His voice and we&#8217;ll recognize His call.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t take the call\u00a0 to service lightly.\u00a0 It is only when we take advantage of these opportunities to serve- to &#8220;give ourselves away&#8221;- that we can be truly alive.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0==========================<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5513\" style=\"width: 261px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Marcus-Bell-Grace-Kier-_IMG_1536.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5513\" class=\" wp-image-5513\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Marcus-Bell-Grace-Kier-_IMG_1536-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Grace Kier (PUMC Missions Chair) &amp; Marcus Bell (Urban Promise)\" width=\"251\" height=\"188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Marcus-Bell-Grace-Kier-_IMG_1536-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Marcus-Bell-Grace-Kier-_IMG_1536.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 251px) 100vw, 251px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5513\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Grace Kier (PUMC Missions Chair) &amp; Marcus Bell (Urban Promise)<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_5515\" style=\"width: 262px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Urban-Promise-Marcus-Bell-Missions-Bd-_IMG_1538.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5515\" class=\" wp-image-5515\" src=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Urban-Promise-Marcus-Bell-Missions-Bd-_IMG_1538-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Marcus Bell (Urban Promise) checks out our missions bulletin board\" width=\"252\" height=\"189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Urban-Promise-Marcus-Bell-Missions-Bd-_IMG_1538-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Urban-Promise-Marcus-Bell-Missions-Bd-_IMG_1538.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-5515\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marcus Bell (Urban Promise) checks out our missions bulletin board<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #800000;\">\u00a0Quiz Time!<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000080;\">As you reflect on what you&#8217;ve just heard\/read, give this quiz a try.\u00a0 If you don&#8217;t understand an answer (or if you disagree with the &#8220;correct&#8221; answer, post a comment&#8230;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div id='quizArea'>\n<script type='text\/javascript'>\njQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n$( function($){\nvar quiz = {\nmultiList:\n[{ ques: 'Why shouldn&#8217;t\u00a0 you sit in the front row of a Tony Campolo classroom?',\nans: 'You might get wet.',\nansSel: [ 'Bad breath.',  'He might pick on you.' ] },\n{ ques: 'Why did the new pastor keep preaching the same sermon over and over?',\nans: 'We need to DO the sermon.',\nansSel: [ 'He couldn&#8217;t think of anything else.',  'He wasn&#8217;t paid enough.' ] },\n{ ques: 'Why does Marcus feel the most fully alive between 3 and 6 PM?\u00a0 What is he doing during that time?',\nans: 'Teaching in the after school program.',\nansSel: [ 'Fishing.',  'Watching the 49ers game.' ] },\n{ ques: 'Why will God tell us &#8220;well done&#8221; some day?',\nans: 'because we were stewards of the small things.',\nansSel: [ 'because we were consumed with Existing.',  'because we answered a lot of emails.' ] },\n{ ques: 'Why did God make us?',\nans: 'To serve and love others.',\nansSel: [ 'To have fun and enjoy our possessions.',  'to make a lot of money.' ] }]\n};\nvar options = {\ntitle: 'Fully Alive',\nhelp: 'Select the correct answer and click Check.',\nshowAns: false,\nshowAnsInfo: false,\nallRandom: false,\nshowFeedback: false,\nrandom: false\n};\nvar lang = {\nquiz : { tfEqual:'' }\n};\n$( '#quizArea' ).jQuizMe( quiz, options, lang );\n$( \".q-innerArea\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#EECCAA\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n$( \".quiz-el\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#776655\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n$( \".q-ques\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#EEEEEE\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n$( \".q-ansSel\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#EEEEEE\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n$( \".q-result\" ).css( {\"backgroundColor\": \"#EEEEEE\", \"color\": \"#222222\"} );\n});\n}(jQuery))\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #003300;\"><strong>+\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?cat=50\">Click Here<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to view other sermons.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class='et-box et-shadow'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class='et-box-content'><p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Consider supporting Urban Promise so that they can continue to minister to the kids in Camden.\u00a0 For more information,<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/urbanpromisenewsubscriberslist.cmail1.com\/t\/ViewEmail\/y\/ED40079BB063A5A2\/5A161F12157E8BBDC4DA2C823DDA3384\" target=\"_blank\">Click Here<\/a>.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The sermon on January 18 was given by Marcus Bell, who is the director of the Spirit Camp after school program at Urban Promise. (Camden, NJ).\u00a0 Marcus shared his experience and challenged us to gain a fuller life by giving and serving.\u00a0 His\u00a0 scripture was on James 1:26-27. Click the &#8220;Play&#8221; button to begin listening [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,61],"tags":[81,136,90],"class_list":["post-5517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","category-urban-promise","tag-giveserve","tag-priority","tag-purpose"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5517"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5545,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5517\/revisions\/5545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}