Galatians 1 Who Are You Pleasing

This week I am focusing on posting my thoughts on my daily readings from Galatians. I felt like this would be the best way to engage with those that were in attendance for the 6PM service at Beaufort Church of God last night. You can read my thoughts on Stopping One Night Stands here.

//Scripture//
Galatians 1:10 – Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

//Observation//
Being a servant of Christ is all about pleasing God.

//Application//
If I allow my actions to be based on the approval of men I will never get ahead. My goal should be to seek solely on the approval of God and His will no matter how ridiculous that may seem. While I seek guidance and wisdom from those around me I should not let their approval of me guide my decision.

//Prayer//
God I pray that I would keep your approval of me and my actions at the forefront. Not to look for the pleasure of family, friends, or any other person as it relates to my relationship with you. Help me to not be selfish in spreading your Word and may my life count in bringing others to you. In Jesus name amen.

Thanks for reading what God is speaking to me through Galatians 1, what did you get out of your reading today? Leave a comment and share so that we may grow towards Christlike maturity.

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Stopping One Night Stands Recap

That was the title of my message tonight at Beaufort Church of God. The whole premise of it was Building Intimacy with God daily. It is time for us as the body of Christ to get away from one night stands with God. I would describe one night stands as trying to get what you can out of God without committing to Him.

I used this time to relay the SOAP plan in order to get actively pursue God on a daily basis by reading and keeping a journal of what God was teaching them. The challenge was to use that method in order to go through the book of Galatians this week. So if you were there and you are taking the challenge be sure to check back here at my blog everyday after 8AM. I will be posting my thoughts daily this week on what I am getting out of Galatians and you will have the opportunity to leave a comment on what God is teaching you through his word. I can’t wait to read how everyone is engaging with God daily. Lets make a commitment to God instead of him being our one night stand.

If you were there what did you think?
Did you take the challenge and did the SOAP method impact you to get the most out of your daily devotion times?
How did you like the handouts, will writing down notes from the message help you in your walk with Christ?

Feel free to comment on the post letting me know what you thought.

Recruit Service Thoughts

Since it’s inception the Recruit Service hosted by Beaufort Church of God has connected thousands of Marine Recruits located at Parris Island, SC with the Gospel. For the recruits that attend this service they have found encouragement and encountered a personal relationship with Christ. Since attending bftCOG I have had the opportunity to link up and join in on this ministry opportunity. Throughout the spring and summer months we pretty much have the largest crowds due to a high volume of recruits. Yesterday we broke an attendance record, there were 612 recruits packed into the 653 seat theater on PI to hear the Gospel. 65+ recruits commited their life to Christ. What a privilege it is to be a part of this ministry.

Over the 13 weeks these recruits are at PI, we are there each week offering, encouragement, prayer, and a life changing message. The atmosphere is electric, the expectancy for God to show up is contagious, and the recruits show up ready to hear and engage. As a reader of georgetallmage.com I am asking you to keep these services up in your prayers. They take place each Sunday morning at 8 AM and without a covering of prayer and God’s guidance it would fail.

The Impersonal Church

A tweet by @dmosley whom I follow on twitter caught my attention and immediately made me think of the Church and my personal role to those who decide to visit the Church I attend. Here is the tweet.

[Via @dmosley :: IMPERSONAL Service at McDonalds #FAIL me again. Drive-thru greeting is automated. It’s impersonal & annoying]

Here are my thoughts, how many people come through the doors for one of our worship experiences and what are they getting? Do they leave feeling connected and valued or are we giving them an automated impersonal greeting followed up by an annoying message that does not challenge, yet allow them to make a positive change in their life. If we do not have people in place that believe in what they are working for we are not only doing them an injustice but we are failing to make a positive impact on those that take time to hear what we have to say.

I have been challenged to be more personal in my approach to those that give our services a try. I think it is imperative to understand that Christ was very personal and met each opportunity very uniquely. If we are wanting people to invest in our cause don’t you think it is worth having a positive personal approach?

The reply by @dmosley was spot on….

“We are all in the business of serving people.”

How does your Church make a positive personal impact on those coming through the doors?

Where do you find your biggest struggle/victory in making sure that those giving their time add value to your organization?

How does your Church/Organization help those that serve so that they do not feel as if their service to your organization is just a job, how do you equip them to own the position?

Your feedback is welcome, and I would love to hear what you have to say/add to this post. Leave a comment below or hit me up on twitter.

I can be found @georgetallmage

Also check out some great thought provoking tweets from @dmosley

What a Week

This past week has been amazing. Monday was the birth of our Daughter. This makes three children for us. Our First Gabriel is in Heaven, Peyton is 2 1/2, and today (Sunday) at 5:25 PM Julianna, our first daughter will be six days old. The past 6 days has brought much excitement yet changes. One of those changes is the sleep schedule. Peyton was a great sleeper. Julianna, that is another story. She sleeps most of the day and decides that during the night is her time to constantly wake up. But the awesome thing so far, that is the biggest adjustment. Peyton has taken to his baby sister and is a big help, at the same time we have tried to make the adjustment for him as smooth as possible so he does not feel left out. We have had some great daddy son time the past couple of days. Can’t wait to see what the weeks and months bring for our newly expanded family.

Look Who Has Me Wrapped

My Daughter was born yesterday, August 30, 2009 at 5:25PM. She weighed 6lbs 7oz, and was 18inches in length. It is currently 2:07AM and Julianna is moving around getting ready to eat. She is just shy of 9hrs old and I will admit I am wrapped. Peyton, her brother, is excited she is here and was talking all day about seeing her. Fatherhood/Parenting is a great joy and honor and I am thankful that God saw fit for me to be able to have a family. I personally think she is the cutest baby out there, but instead of just saying it, I thought I would show you. She really is…

Weekend Take Away

The Tallmage house was laid back yet again for the most part. We are amp'ed up about the fact that in 10 days our little girl will be here. So here is a run down of how our weekend played out.

• Friday Night Peyton went to stay with my Mom (nannie) for the evening. Its kind of become a routine for him.

• I had to take Chanelle to the Hospital about 8PM Friday due to the fact she was having a good bit of contractions. All was well and was released close to 1AM.

• Put up some shelves in our room closest after making it back home. 3 hours later we made it to bed. By the way, I am no carpennter but I did a good job on creating a bit of space for all our clothes. Those Bob the builder programs Peyton watches are coming in handy for me.

• Slept in on Saturday, had breakfast in bed with Chanelle then picked up Peyton and hung around the house the rest of the day.

• Had a great service this morning for the Recruits at Parris Island. Love hanging out with those future Marines. They are pumped and ready to worship God each Sunday morning at 8.

• Listened to a great message by Shane at Tidal Creek. I always love to hear what he has to say. He is a great communicator and is full of vision and direction. He is also a great friend. Finished up the evening by heading back to Bft COG for PM service.

I have a pretty big week planned at work and have some prep stuff to do for the recruit service that I will be speaking at on the 30th. Trying to work out some pretty cool stuff on how to Engage with the recruits that we hope to implement in the coming weeks. I hope your week is great. Thanks for reading.

What did you take away this weekend? Did you learn anything new, or have anything exciting happen? Just leave a comment below I would love to hear about it.