The holidays are drawing near. Some of us will open up the china cabinet and break out that special set of dishes used only at Christmas. My in-laws had a set of Spode Christmas China. Each one had the iconic Spode Christmas Tree. From the gravy boat to the salad plates each piece was set aside for a very special purpose; it was sanctified dinnerware. That’s what sanctified means; set apart for a particular, special purpose. That’s what God wants for us. To be set apart to serve a particular purpose, to do what God calls you to do; to serve Him.
Along with being sanctified for God’s purposes, we want to be all in for God. We don’t want our hearts to be filled with a little bit of God and a little bit of something else. We want to be pure, and unmixed in our love for God alone. That is what it means to be holy; pure and unmixed.
But becoming holy and sanctified is a process. We prepare the soil of our hearts, and God produces the fruit of a life set apart, sanctified for His purposes. This is the evidence of our unmixed love, the fruit of the spirit we find in Galatians 5:22-25.
Download this image with this week’s verse on it and set it as the lock screen on your phone. This way, every time you look at your phone (about 4,932 times per day) you are reminded of God’s truth and you’re one step closer to committing it to memory. As a way to help you get one step closer to memorization, these lockscreens only have the first letter of each word in the verse. We also have a couple options for you to choose from: one that has a more feminine feel, and one that’s a little more masculine. Click on the thumbnail to download.
These are some great apps to help you commit these verses to memory. Keep in mind as you begin your memorization journey, the goal is to hide scripture in your heart in order to be full of God’s truth. Don’t allow this practice to become a burden or a Pharisaical way to pat yourself on the back. These apps will give you badges and gold stars for reaching your goal…don’t let that become what it’s about. There are two apps that we’ve found. Bible Memory is free. Verses is simpler and more esthetically pleasing but it costs $5 a year if you want to use a translation other than KJV.
Click below to download the group discussion guide that follows along with the weekend messages. This is a great resource to help you dig a little deeper and discuss the things God is teaching you through the weekend messages as well as your time in the Word this week.
If you’d like to dig a little deeper on this week’s topic of baptism, we’ve complied some great resources from Pastor Tim Mackie and the Bible Project, as well as some great questions to get the conversation started with whomever you’re discussing with.