Just Like A Body

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Steve Simms

  • Just Like A Body — 1 Corinthians 12 (a song/poem about the gifts of the Spirit)

    Just like a body
    Is made of many parts
    The body of Christ
    Is made of many hearts;
    And when hearts open,
    The Spirit starts to flow;
    As we all obey,
    The gifts begin to show.

    Chorus

    Wisdom and faith,
    Insight and healing
    Flow from the people
    God’s love revealing.
    The Spirit is
    More than a feeling!

    We’ve all been given
    One Spirit to obey
    So we follow Him
    Learning to go His way.
    We work together,
    Each indispensible,
    Making our God
    So comprehensible.

    Based on 1 Corinthians 12 NIV

Posted in faith, gifts of healing, gifts of the Spirit, healing, spirit, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual awakening, spiritual church, spiritual experience, spiritual flow, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual health, spiritual interaction, spiritual life, spiritual movement, spiritual power, wisdom | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

You Can Hear The Voice Of The Spirit

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Steve Simms

We all need to hear it;
The voice of the Spirit.
There’s no need to fear it;
All true hope is near it.
He that has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says . . .

— It’s easy to hear the Bible and miss the Spirit.
” . . . in condemning Him (Jesus) they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.” (Acts 13:27)
— It’s easy to hear a preacher and miss the Spirit.
People often say “good sermon” yet walk away unchanged.
— Yet when you hear and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, speaking in your own heart, your life will never be the same.
— Church is about creating an environment where people can personally hear and obey the voice of the Spirit.

Posted in Bible, Bible reading, Bible study, biblical, Biblical concept, condemning, fear, good sermon, he that has ears, hearing God, hearing Jesus, hearing the Holy Spirit, hope, judge, judging, judgment, judgments, let him hear what the Spirit says, preacher, preaching, preaching the Word, prophets, spirit, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Perhaps “Same sex marriage” is like a pair of same foot shoes (2 lefts or 2 rights) — not according to design.

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Steve Simms

Perhaps “Same sex marriage”

Is like a pair of

Same foot shoes

(2 lefts or 2 rights) —

Not according to design.

Posted in design, logic, marriage, marriage debate, marriage equality, speaking out, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Anybody Up For Something Different? (A Fresh, Creative Way of Doing Church?)

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Steve Simms

No more same-ole-same-ole!  Now there is a fresh, creative way of doing church.  Hear more about it in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71qk5fb_D_o&list=UUONhZXr3obO7zERWwkBmI0Q&index=2

And then come and check it out for yourself:

The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry St., Nashville, Tennessee, 32707 — Sunday mornings at 10:45.

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, church format, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, Tennessee | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

A Joy-Filled Lifestyle

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Steve Simms

Jesus said that when we come to Him,
There will be within us a well of water
Springing up with eternal life
And all of its glorious qualities,
Far better than any self-sought pleasures.
This ongoing inner release of the Holy Spirit
Is not a religious doctrine or belief;
But a glorious and joy-filled lifestyle
That keeps one continually
Intoxicated with God!

(Inspired by Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well.)

Posted in belief, doctrine, dogma, drunk, drunk in the spirit, intoxicated with God, living water, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual, spiritual adventure, spiritual drunkenness, spiritual fire, spiritual flow, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual life, spiritual movement, spiritual power, spiritual training, spiritual walk, spring | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Understanding Spiritual Gifts (Releasing The Gifts Of The Spirit)

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Steve Simms

Here Are 3 Steps To Experiencing The Gifts (Manifestations) Of The Spirit In Your Life

Step #1 — Be still and listen. Hear from God. Pay close attention to thoughts, feelings, pictures, impressions, ideas, and promptings in your heart and mind..
Step #2 — Notice which ones are possibly from God. Disregard yourself and share them with others and/or obey them. Refuse to ignore or to disobey the Spirit.
Step #3 — Watch amazing things happen as God demonstrates His power and presence in response to your obedience to His voice.

G-I-F-T-S of the Spirit 

G — Given through you to bless others.
I — Inspired, anointed by God.
F — For a specific need.
T — Transformational / life changing impact.
S — Spirit prompted.

Our job is to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to obey (and/or share) what He tells us — to “Quench not the Spirit.”  So don’t hold back.  When the Spirit prompts you, step out in faith (be willing to be a “fool for Christ”) and obey Him.  Then you and others will see the supernatural manifestation of God’s spiritual gifts.

Posted in 1 Peter, Quench not the Spirit, quench the Spirit, spirit, Spirit's flow, Spirit-filled, Spirit-prompted, spiritual, spiritual flow, spiritual formation, spiritual gifts test, spiritual growth, spiritual life, spiritual power, spiritual themes, spiritual training, spiritual transformation, spirituality | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Original Song About Organic Church

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Steve Simms

This is an original song based on how we do church at The Salvation Army Berry Street in Nashville, Tennessee:  10:45 am. on Sundays, 225 Berry Street, 37207.

Here are the lyrics:

“When we’re together
You’re here with us,
We feel Your presence,
We see Jesus.
Your Spirit leads us
To share our heart,
One another,
Each does their part.”

Chorus
“One starts a song;
One gives a testimony;
One says a prayer;
We’re all God’s symphony.”

We are all one
In Christ the Son,
Simple people
Tell what God’s done.
Your Spirit teaches,
Not through just one,
But through us all,
Sharing the Son.

c-2013 David Harper & Steve Simms

Posted in church format, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, churching, one anothers, organic church, simple church | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Definition: “Fetal Position”

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Steve Simms

A definition — “being in a fetal position”
Completely vulnerable; unprotected; having no human rights; legally unrecognized; having no legal personhood; disposable; having your life depend on another person’s “choice;” worthless in the opinion of many people.

Check out some original pro-life slogans.

Posted in belief, belief system, discrimination, fetus, human rights, injustice, legal rights, life, politics and religion, prejudice, prenatal, prenatal medicine, rights, slogans, womb | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Boycott Violence! Refuse To Enjoy Violence!

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Steve Simms

The seeds of violence and disrespect are rampant in our society — images of violence are a pervading presence in most of our lives. If you and I don’t stop receiving the seeds of violence into our mind, our memory, our thinking, and our heart; legislation and laws will not stop it.


Proposal / Challenge
Live a week without violence — no violent movies, no violent video games, no violent books, no violent web sites, no violent TV shows, no violent music, no violent words, no violent news.

Silence violence!
Boycott it.
Refuse to be entertained by violence in the media.
Keep violent images and thoughts out of your mind.
Don’t participate in violence, even as a consumer or spectator.
Turn it off! Say “No way!” to violence today.

Posted in bomb in Boston, bombs at Boston Marathan, challenge, gun violence, internet, laws, legislation, love, Love one another, love your enemies, news, peace, peace of mind, proposal, television, thoughts, TV, TV network, video games, web | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Rap ‘Bout Rights (Who Has Rights?)

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Steve Simms

Who has “rights”?  People like to talk and rap about rights but what are rights? What is the foundation of the concept of human rights?

It’s God. If humans are nothing but randomly produced, living machines; then Darwin was correct and the concept of rights has no meaning. It’s the survival of the fittest — dog eat dog — (power makes right) and the fittest have no respect for “rights.” So why harp on “rights” if they are not God-given?

And if “rights” do exist, then they are given and defined by God, not by the fickle desires of human beings. Americans ignored the God-given rights of Africans and cruelly held them as personal property in forced labor. We ignored the God-given rights of Native Americans to live peaceably in their own land. Then we changed our minds and now we say that African-Americans and Native Americans have rights.

But now it’s the prenatal humans that we boldly declare have no rights. And the people in Guantanamo have no rights. And now people who believe in the common morality of the world’s religions have no rights to publicly express their belief in historic morality (without being called haters).

We say that the Supreme court gives rights and takes them away. But that isn’t true. The Court’s decisions may give and/or deny legal rights; but any real rights we humans have are not based on the American courts or Constitution. They are based on God!  Without God, the idea of “rights” is meaningless.

Posted in African Americans, America, American history, blacks, Charles Darwin, dog eat dog, freedom, God-given, might makes right, moral, moral failure, moral foundations, moral restraints, Native Americans, pre-natal, rap, religion, right and wrong, right living, right to choose, right to life, rights, survival of the fittest, world religions | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment