The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 1:2, NASB
This morning, Rev. Singleton started a new series, titled "The Care and Feeding of our Soul." The theme for the Second Baptist Church for this year is "Boots on the Ground." We are entering a time of training for spiritual warfare, and if our souls are not ready, we will not be ready for battle.
The key verse for today's sermon (above) is part of our passage from 3 John 1, which is a relatively short letter to someone named Gaius. John starts his letter off by praying that Gaius would prosper and be in good health in all respects. Rev. Singleton noted that we need to be in good health physically, spiritually, and mentally. God is concerned about all aspects of our lives, and is able to take care of any problems we may come up against.
Much of today's sermon was focused on our financial health. This can be a touchy subject, with Christians running the gamut from taking a vow of poverty to believing they should be blessed with great riches. Rev. Singleton takes a balanced approach, explaining that we do need to make a good living, but that we are to be content with what God has blessed us with, not always striving for more so that we are rich in the eyes of the world. She said that we should be free from want and worry, but also that we should give generously. To do this, we need to work hard, stay on a budget, and get or stay out of debt. She also spoke directly to the youth in our congregation, advising them to finish school, to stay away from drugs and alcohol, and to save themselves for marriage.
The other point she made was that we need to take care of our physical health. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reads: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. Did you get that? God has chosen to dwell inside us! Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit! Our church building is very old, and it is sometimes a struggle to keep it in good repair. We have a responsibility as church members to help with the upkeep of that physical building, so that we can continue to have a place to meet and worship God. Likewise, we have a responsibility to the Holy Spirit to keep His house in good repair! Just like our church building, our bodies tend to get harder to take care of as we get older, but that does not let us off the hook. We need to do all that we can to remain in good physical health so that we can carry the Spirit where he wants to go, and so that we can be his hands and feet!
We need to pay attention to our financial health and our physical health. Even though they seem to be unrelated to our spirit, they really are not. We are not made up of separate pieces which work independently of each other. If one part of us suffers, so does the rest. If we are strong in all of our aspects, we can be most effective for the Kingdom.
Rev. Singleton urged us to start now. We should resolve to begin our journey to financial, physical, and spiritual health today. She told us to get a notebook, and start writing down plans that will move us toward health in all three areas. If you would like to print a page to record your plans, you can go to the FREEBIES page to print a Word or PDF version. Join us as we prepare our souls for battle!