I’m excited to bring the third part of the “You Asked For It” series coming next weekend (April 26-27). The response has been great and evidently begun quite a BUZZ in conversations after each message. Remember the ground rules . . . agree on the essentials and walk in love with the non-essentials.

Next time we are going to deal with Santa, interracial marriages, alcohol and homosexuality. It should be a great opportunity to invite unchurched friends and loved ones to LWC.

We still want to hear from you . . . see you at The Living Word.

Pastor Pat

I have been getting some great questions since starting the YOU ASKED FOR IT series. LWCer’s have gotten a “2nd wind” with regard to asking some great questions. For instance, today I had someone to ask, “Does taking fertility drugs and artificial insemination show a lack of faith in the lord?” My answer is no.
Every believer wants to walk in strong faith. The reality is that we all exercise faith everyday that we live. The essence of faith in God is no different than exercising faith in people. Strong faith is based upon PREDICTABLE FAITHFULNESS of the one being trusted. Experience verifies whether someone is GOOD TO THEIR WORD. Faith grows for all of us as FAITHFUL EXPERIENCES will verify. The more that you know about God, the more you trust Him. The #1 way of knowing God accurately is through the WORD!
Faith is really quite a case by case condition of the heart.
The more that you know the Lord and become acquainted with the way that He functions (in your Bible), the easier it is for us to predict how he will respond to all of our LIFE challenges. In order to trust anyone (including God) you must have a basis of relationship; how they think, the way they talk, knowledge of their will, etc. The more that you know the Lord, his promises and his dedication to keep covenant with the redeemed, the easier it is to know what to do day to day.
So, fertility drugs or no fertility drugs don’t tell me if you have faith. Faith comes in all shapes and sizes and your faith will grow every year if you make Him your life’s pursuit. Your ability to trust God today is based upon how well you’ve known him in the Word and by experience up until now. Taking the drugs is not the point . . . doing what Jesus says to you is. The clearer you hear His voice, the easier it is to believe.

We have gotten many comments regarding the “You Ask For It Series” that we began this month. Your new questions are great and very thought provoking. We’ll be covering 25 different topics during this series and I plan on making this an annual series. Of course, this blog is based upon the same principle as the Q&A series.

This weekend I’ll be dealing with PLASTIC SURGERY, SPIRITUAL GIFTS, UNPARDONABLE SIN, AND SUICIDE. These questions have been asked by millions all over the world, and the Bible has great things to say about these issues. I would love to see you at the weekend gatherings with the LWC family.

We have set up this blog so that we can discuss things that are important to you. Log on a write any time. Dr. Pat Murray

This weekend I’ll be launching a new series entitled “You Asked for It” where I’ll provide answers to the questions you and many like you are asking. Questions like “why do bad things happen to good people?”, “What happens when someone commits suicide”, “How do I know if I am in God’s will?” and many others. I’ll give insightful answers to these tough questions and many more, so come and invite your friends–you don’t want to miss it!
-Dr. Pat Murray