Question of the Week #7 & 8

How behind am I on the Question of the Week from Operation Actually Read Bible. I think at least several. I am going to answer this weeks and last weeks and the rest will be left in the comments section at OARB.

Question of the Week #7:

Do you like listening to sermons? Have you ever subscribed to sermon podcasts? Have you ever listened to sermons on the radio? Do you have any favorites? What resources (if any) have you found on the web that you'd like to share?

I'm so excited to have a chance to answer this very question. My home church is Pin Oaks Christian Fellowship. If you are in McKinney/Anna area, then I invite you to visit. Otherwise, you can listen to us live every Sunday morning. We have been working on this for several weeks and have about worked out the kinks. I think you can view older broadcasts from previous Sunday's but don't hold me to that. I am not sure how that works.

I haven't actually watched a broadcast yet, but when I miss church or when I am working in the nursery, I get a copy of the sermon on CD and listen during the week.

Prior to our previous pastor moving to Brazil to be a missionary, we also had past sermons going back years on the website. Unfortunately, one of the requirements for becoming a missionary had something to do with taking down the sermons. But I would download at least one or two sermons a week and listen to them. This was great while my baby was too small for me to get more than one hand free for very long.

I also love the program E-Sword. It is free to download and has a lot of great resources right at your fingertips from concordances to various translations.

Question of the Week #8

Do you participate in Lent? Do you give up anything for Lent? If so, what? Why? What do you hope to gain from Lent this year? I don't know if 'gain' is the right word...what I'm asking is what are your goals this year, what are you hoping to accomplish or learn? Do you think that Lent is important? Or not so much?

No, I don't participate in Lent. I always think that I might, but then don't. I have known people who do participate in Lent and it wasn't necessarily part of their church's tradition. It is not part of my church's tradition and has never been a part of my family's tradition.

I had a friend once who participated in Lent. Every year she prayed about what she should give up, and this one year it was bread. Why bread? She explained that she loved to eat and savored bread at her meals. By giving up bread, she would be reminded how much she was blessed. She said each time she thought about whatever it was that she gave up she would take the opportunity to pray. Through her Lenten traditions she learned more about herself and gained a closer relationship with God. She was reminded to put God first and not let things get in the way of your relationship with him.

It was a great lesson; one that I have yet to try myself, but maybe someday. That is definitely an attitude I want to have.