Pastor Rick Hudgens |
Discovering True Friendship
Sunday/Apr/2008 13:30
Today we conclude the two part series on "FACEBOOK:
Seeking Authentic Community" as we discover the meaning
of true friendships. How can we find true friendship in
this often phony, temporary world?
True
friendship involves action: doing something for someone
else while expecting nothing in return; sharing
thoughts and feelings without fear of
judgment or negative criticism. True friendship
involves relationship. Many people say, "Oh, he's a
good friend of mine," yet they never take time to spend
time with that "good friend." Friendship takes time:
time to get to know each other, time to build shared
memories, time to invest in each other's growth.
Trust
is essential to true friendship. We all need someone
with whom we can share our lives, thoughts, feelings,
and frustrations. We need to be able to share our
deepest secrets with someone, without worrying that
those secrets will end up on the Internet the next day!
Failing to be trustworthy with those intimate secrets
can destroy a friendship in a hurry.
True
friendship requires certain accountability factors.
Real friends encourage one another and forgive one
another where there has been an offense. Genuine
friendship supports during times of struggle. Friends
are dependable. God's Word tells us that a friend
sticks closer than a brother, and that in order for one
to be a friend, one must show themselves friendly
(Proverbs 18:24). The question is: what type of friend
do you desire to be?
Do
you need a friend? God wants to be your true friend.
Are you longing for companionship? God is always with
you (Hebrews 13:5). Who do you know who needs a true
friend today? God wants you to befriend others. He
calls us to be His hands and feet in a world starving
for true friendship.
Listen
Pastor Rick Hudgens |
Facebook
Sunday/Apr/2008 14:00
Facebook is a social utility that connects people with
friends and others who work, study and live around
them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends,
upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and
videos, and learn more about the people they meet.
Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook while still a student
at Harvard University. Website membership was initially
limited to only Harvard students, but was soon expanded
to the entire Ivy League. Later it expanded further to
include any university student, then high school
students, and finally to anyone aged 13 and over.
The website has more than 69 million active users
worldwide. From September 2006 to September 2007, the
website's ranking among all websites, in terms of
traffic, increased from 70th to seventh. It is also the
most popular website for uploading photos, with 60
million uploaded daily. Facebook is currently the top
social networking site in many Commonwealth nations
such as Canada and the United Kingdom. (Source:
Wikipedia.org)
Pastor Rick takes us to John 12:1-3 and shares with us
three components of intimacy. God has created us with a
need to know others; be known by others and be known by
God. God has designed us for intimacy with Himself and
with others.
Listen
Pastor Rick Hudgens | Back
to the Mountain Top
Sunday/Apr/2008 13:25
“Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of
Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There
the Lord showed him the whole land…”
Deuteronomy 34:1a (NIV)
Over the Lenten season, we have been traveling to
Mountain Tops of faith. We began at Mount Moriah where
faith was tested and we were strengthened with the
assurance that God sees our situations in life and
provides the answers we seek. We visited Mount Sinai
where we grasp the love and care God has for us in his
gracious covenant he made with his people. At Mt.
Carmel we were reminded that faith is called for in the
times of opposition and trouble. Stopping at Mt. Zion
and on to Mt. Olivet where Jesus taught us to pray in
the garden of Gethsemane and then to Mt. Calvary where
Jesus gave to us the greatest price he could have paid,
for the greatest need we shall ever have. Then we
celebrated Resurrection Sunday here at North Raleigh.
Today we return to another mountain top as Pastor Rick
preaches a landmark sermon at North Raleigh. In the
book series entitled "Mastering Ministry’s
Pressure Points," Jack Hayford writes: "Strong leaders
are known for their landmark sermons (and sometimes
lynched for them). Landmark sermons are the defining
moments of a church and a pastor. Without them there
are no boundaries, no rallying points…”
Pastor Rick will speak about our present realities and
how we can face the days ahead with faith for the
future.
Listen