Experience LW: The Importance of Church | Mac Hammond

Sermon Recap

We were treated to a special Sunday called “Experience Living Word!” The purpose of this special Sunday was to encourage members to bring others to church to share with them the rich experience that church attendance has had on their lives. Pastor Mac started the service by sharing how he and his wife, Lynne, started Living Word some 42 years ago. He identified what kind of church Living Word is, a full Gospel, Charismatic Word of Faith Church. He then shared fascinating details about the decline of church attendance and how it can be correlated to the repeal of “blue laws.”

Dive Deeper

Pastor Mac shared that he and his wife, Lynne, founded and are the pastors of Living Word Christian Center. It began 42 years ago in 1980 with 12 people in attendance at the first service.

Living Word is not associated with a denomination. It is a full Gospel, Charismatic Word of Faith Church. Being described as a “faith church,” Pastor Mac explained that being a faith church means your belief system shapes who you are and how you experience life.

People say, “If there was really a God that cared, the world wouldn’t be in such a mess.” There is a widespread ignorance of who God is in the world, even in the body of Christ. Pastor Mac gave a brief talk about who God is and who He is not. He explained that God is good. He is faithful. There is no evil in Him, and He doesn’t use evil to chastise you.

We live in two realms of truth: the spiritual realm and the temporal realm. There are truths that govern life in both realms.

Shared a paper by secular economists entitled, “Opiates of the Masses. Deaths of Despair and the Decline of American Religion.” Paper revealed a direct correlation between two striking much-discussed social trends of recent decades. First, an abrupt decline in religiosity, or church attendance. Second, soaring death rates from suicide, drug poisoning, and alcoholic liver disease, or so-called deaths of despair.

Paper studied why American religion was on the decline and found it was in direct correlation to the repeal of “blue laws.”

Read About It

Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.”

2 Corinthians 4:17–18, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Discussion Questions

Can you list some of the ways that church attendance has enriched your life?

Who are some people you think could benefit from church attendance?

What are some of the ways your eyes have been opened regarding “blue laws.”

 

 

 

Recent Sermon Notes

FOCUS FOR EFFECT: Love | Mac Hammond

Pastor Mac taught the third installment of his series entitled, “Focus on Effect,” based upon 2nd Corinthians 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The apostle Paul said the hardships in our lives can be light and momentary. It all depends on what we place our focus upon. Paul says we are to focus our attention on what is eternal, rather than what is temporal. There are three things that are eternal: faith, hope, and love. We are to focus on that.

FOCUS FOR EFFECT: Hope | Mac Hammond

This series is all about focus, meaning where do you give your attention. This is important because whatever you give your attention to will determine how hard or difficult your life will be. And conversely, it will determine how easy and carefree it will be. Teaching on 1st Corinthians 13:13, Pastor Mac says you can gain the clarity you need to succeed in your life by focusing on matters of faith, hope, and love.

Focus on Effect | Mac Hammond

Pastor Mac began a new series entitled, “Focus on Effect.” He started off by telling us the topic of the new series is something we probably think we already know about, but in fact, we don’t know enough about it as we probably should. The scriptural reference was 2nd Corinthians 4:17–18: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Though Pastor Mac has taught on this passage before, he said he’s “gotten a glimpse of a different side of this mountain. And I’m seeing it from a perspective that has really impacted me in a positive way.” He added, “And I want it to be that way for you all as well.”

Are We in the Days of Noah? | Jim Hammond

Jesus’ disciples asked Him what the signs will be of His coming. Jesus said it will be like it was in the days of Noah: “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Fellow believers, we are in the days of Noah. All they thought about in the days of Noah was eating and drinking and the like. They were not thinking about the flood that was coming. So it is today!

A Deception of Palestine | Jim Hammond

This past weekend, Pastor Jim ministered a special God-directed message for the congregation entitled, “A Deception of Palestine.” He talked about how there is a division in the body of Christ worldwide, where believers are allowing themselves to become deceived when it comes to the present and ongoing deception regarding the Jewish people and Israel. It’s important that Christians do not allow themselves to be persuaded by worldly and ungodly leaders and news systems. It’s important they know what the Word of God says and exalt it as God’s truth.