Priorities

by Impact Church

“You shall have no other gods before Me…” (Exodus 20:3)
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” (Matt. 6:33)

New year. Blank calendar. A fresh, unspoiled, unlived 357 days — more than 8,500 untapped hours — still before us…

While we are not advocates of flimsy resolutions and soon-to-be-forgotten promises of good-deed-doing, we are indeed grateful for January’s snowy white (😉) pages of opportunity and for the gift of uncharted time we have been granted.

Just a few days into 2017, can we pause to thank the Timeless One who created time for our sake? And can we surrender our wills afresh and anew to honoring His commands, walking led by His Spirit and simply being the light and the salt our Master has called us to be?
Maturing spiritually, bearing fruit and developing Christlikeness do not happen by one-time decisions or repeating “the sinner’s prayer.” They are the product of daily disciplines that lead to day-in-and-day-out decisions to follow the Spirit over the flesh. In short, the priorities of seeking first God’s kingdom!

Let’s take a beginning-of-the-year look at a trio of well-known areas where we can become more like Jesus as individuals and more like the triumphant Church that He has called us to be: our time, our talents and our treasure.

>TIME … Without being condemning or judgmental, can we all agree that sometimes we use our time unwisely? Wouldn’t it be a good decision to dedicate Sunday mornings and midweek service times as priority hours of our week and then plan other activities around those commitments? By the same token, why not plan daily time — start with 10 minutes and work your way up to 20, 30, even 60 minutes or more — of personal prayer and devotional time with an open Bible and the Author of the greatest book ever written?

Warning: intentionally analyzing the precious commodity of how you redeem your 168 hours a week will be a sobering but worthwhile exercise. Deciding to realign your schedule — surrendering some media time or sacrificing extra sleep, for example — to devote those minutes to the Lord won’t be easy. But, oh, the benefits of spending time with Jesus!

>TALENTS … Whatever abilities you have are a gift from God, so use them for His glory. Both campuses of our church can always use more greeters, van drivers, musicians, teachers, nursery workers, sweepers, ushers, moppers, singers, encouragers,… Any natural talent offered cheerfully to God can become supernatural in His hands!
> TREASURE … Did you know Jesus spent more time talking about money and our attitude toward it than He spent talking about heaven and hell combined? Does not the One who gives us power to earn a living deserve to receive the firstfruits of our labor? (Deuteronomy 8:18; Exodus 23:19)

We at Impact Church invite and strongly encourage you to join us over the next few weeks as we give priority to this area on both our Greensboro (4705 N. Church St.) and Reidsville (8845 NC 87) campuses:

  1. Pastor Jason will start a sermon series in Greensboro on Jan. 15 titled “Living Beyond Yourself,” focusing on living a life of preparation, generosity and longevity.
  2. Pastor Ken will lead a four-week class in Reidsville on Sunday afternoons in February centered around Biblical stewardship — a practical look at work, money, budgeting, giving, saving, etc. Lunch (and possibly child care?) will be provided each week after worship at 1-2 pm, and the classes will be held 2-3:30 pm. Sign-up instructions will be forthcoming.

Won’t you start the year off right by prioritizing your life around these God-honoring times and events? Jesus Himself said if we seek Him first, He’ll make sure to provide all the other things we need in life.

We dare you to accept the Master’s challenge in 2017!