Are you new to the Celebration of God? Click here for your first steps.TranscriptIntroduction
August has become one of my favorite months as of late, and I look forward to telling you why later, but before I do that, I’d like to remind you that I would be honored to speak at your church, conference, or camp about biblical worship and discipleship.
I especially love speaking with young people because I’m passionate about getting them on the right trajectory as early in life as possible. Imagine a generation of young people who have grown up understanding Who God is, who they are, and maturing in their relationship with Him as they help their friends to do the same. I don’t know about you, but that is exciting to imagine. So, regardless of the age of your audience, if you’d be interested in scheduling me to speak, please visit CelebrationOfGod.com or AMBrewster.com. I look forward to ministering with you to equip your people to better know, understand, and serve the King of Kings. And while you’re at CelebrationOfGod.com, be sure to check out our August holiday and everyday resources. Topic
Now, let’s start with . . .
1. The August Focus August is the final month in the Season of Power. During the Season of Power we celebrate God’s omnipotence, but we also thank Him for giving us access to that power to accomplish His will, glorify Him, and grow in Christ-likeness. And speaking of growing, this is also the Season to celebrate God’s work of Sanctification. Sanctification is the glorious cooperation of the Holy Spirit with His people to be conformed into the image of Christ. The Lord not only gives us access to His truth to be set free from the shackles of sin and death, He also invites us to grow in community with each other. We are blessed to be called to help each other grow in our sanctification. I pray your personal study of God’s power and the gift of Sanctification have been a supreme blessing to you so far, and I pray it continues to be. Be sure to check out CelebrationOfGod.com as we grow our library of resources including a study in God’s attributes and the various elements of our salvation. And now let’s talk about . . . 2. The August Holidays There are three High Days of note in August. The first is Family Day which is celebrated on the first Sunday in August. Family Day is an opportunity to celebrate God for the second greatest relationship in the universe. First and foremost, our individual relationship with God is the most glorious bond we have. And third on the list is our unity with the body of Christ, but family . . . family represents the first and greatest human relationships in the world. Now, I know the moment I say all of that there are people who will say that family has failed them. There are those who say the church has failed them, and there are even those who would say God has failed them. Well, God has definitely not failed us. We have failed Him, others have failed Him, but He always keeps His promises. But, you’re right, God’s people and individual family members can and have failed people. It’s not right, it’s sinful and terrible, but it does happen. Now, why am I mentioning that right now? You see, The Year Long Celebration of God is not all emotional highs and feel-good moments. It’s about giving the honor and glory and admiration and majesty to the beautiful God of the universe. And we can do that — we must do that — even when people fail us. So, whether your family is a sweet and wonderful refuge that continually points you to Christ, or it’s failed you every moment of its existence . . . we can and must continue to worship God. Family Day is an opportunity for many to praise God for the gift of godly family. But it’s an opportunity for all of us to praise Him for using them to give us life, to give us the experiences necessary to mature in our faith, and to provide an example of what we should be and what we shouldn’t. Like every other day of they year, it’s an opportunity to worship God by giving Him the preeminence in every area of our lives. And whether or not your family has let you down, we have hundreds of podcast episodes, book suggestions, and original resources at TruthLoveParent.com to help you start a family on the right foot. We want to train you to be the dad and mom that will teach your children about Who God is, who they are, and how they can have a relationship with Him. So, if you have a family or are thinking about starting one, definitely check out Truth.Love.Parent. So, Family Day is the first Sunday in August, then on the last last Sunday in August we celebrate The Consummation. This is a special Christian holiday created especially for The Year Long Celebration of God that focuses on the glorious promises and future reality of our eternal relationship with God and our fellow followers of Christ. It’s all about that future day when God wipes away our pain and sickness and death, but — most importantly — He wipes away our sin. That, my friends — the very first moment I am no longer capable of worshipping anyone other than my Savior — will be the greatest day of my life in which I and all of God’s people will be able to revel for all eternity. So, regardless of how joyous or painful your life has been up until this point, I encourage you to rejoice as we anticipate the coming King on The Consummation. And our final High Day of August is the 28th. On August 28th in the year 397, the Council of Carthage recognized the sixty six books of the Bible as being the complete Canon of God’s Word. As God inspired the Scriptures, He utilized 40 men over the course of thousands of years to perfectly communicate His will to His people. Without the Bible — the single most important influence in the world — no one today could ever come to know God and have a relationship with Him. It contains everything we need for life and godliness, and it is definitely worth celebrating. Scripture Day is also a special holiday created for The Year Long Celebration of God, so be sure to introduce it and The Consummation to your friends who may not know about them. Of course, we can and should celebrate the Word of God and the future coming of God each and every day, but these two holidays provide us a special day for feasting and praise. And those, my friends are the High Days in August. But — as I have observed every month prior — there may be a handful of High Days each month that should be enjoyed for all they’re worth, but there are many more Low Moments — many more of . . . 3. The August Everydays And God deserves our worship on those days as well. So let me remind you that we have a growing library of worship resources that will equip you to give God the preeminence every day of the week and in various situations and venues. Just click the link in the description to see our Daily Life Series including Biblical Discipleship, Celebrating God at Church, with your rest, and at work and school. Then there’s a study on the Discipleship Spiral and the Friendship Series we just finished. We also have the Grow Your Worship Series right next to the What is Worship Series. And, if you’re new to The Year Long Celebration of God, definitely be sure to listen to our Introductory Episodes to learn all about what this is and how it can help you worship God better. And this resource is just going to continue growing more and more as we open God’s Word to better know, love, and worship God and help the people in our lives do the same. Conclusion
You will not regret a moment that you gave yourself as a worthy sacrifice to God to do His will and His good pleasure. You will never regret a single moment lived for the preeminence of Yahweh. And there’s no better time to start than right now. And we at The Year Long Celebration of God want to equip you grow in your discipleship and with your fellow disciples.
In order to do that, please share this episode on your favorite social media outlets. And if you need individualized help to know how the Lord might want you to mature in your personal discipleship, please reach out to Counselor@CelebrationOfGod.com. And definitely join us next time as we seek to better know, love, and worship God and help the people in our lives do the same. To that end, we’ll be starting an exciting series about Celebrating God with our Obedience. It’s way too easy to take obedience for granted. Too often we don’t truly understand what it is and what it takes to obey God. And I pray that this short series will help us better define and live out true obedience in the power and to the glory of God.
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The Year Long Celebration of God is a discipleship experience designed to equip followers of Christ to better know, love, and worship Him as they help others in their lives do the same. We exalt God, teach His people how to practically worship Him every day of the year, and train them to disciple others.
Whether it's a small group, church, classroom, one-on-one, or community relationship, this resource is guaranteed to draw people closer together as they draw closer to God. AMBrewster is the creator of The Year Long Celebration of God and host of its podcast. Archives
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