Deaf Ministry

"Trans" means "through." Form means ceremony. We must be VERY careful today. Do NOT think going to church, getting christened as a baby or baptized under the water as an adult makes you a Christian. Those are ceremonies (celebrations that happen) in a Christian church. That does NOT mean your heart has been changed. When you are truly sorry for your sin and ask God to forgive you of that sin and you invite Jesus into your heart, that is the time you become a Christian. You may be in church, at home by your bed, at lunch with a friend, or alone in the woods when God changes your heart and accepts you into His kingdom. To help us understand that think: If we brought a pig, a horse, a dog, a cat or any other animal to church, would that animal become a Christian because it went to church? NO! If we dedicated that animal to God would that animal be a Christian? NO! If we baptized that animal would that animal become a Christian? NO! In the same way, any p...

"Trans" means "through." Form is "conduct or way we behave." Through the way we behave in our personal lives, people should know we belong to Jesus Christ. Mohandas Ghandi, the famous Hindu man from India once said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Of course, that is not true of ALL Christians at ALL times in World History, but that is not the question today. The question today is for me as I write this blog. The question today is for you as you read this blog. Can people who watch your life see Jesus? Maybe people you know cannot read The Bible, but they "read" your life and behavior. Will your life cause people to want to love Jesus? Do you let Jesus transform your life each day? Ghandi also said, " If Christians would really live following the teachings of Christ, as found in The Bible, all of India would be Christian today." John the disciple of Jesu...

We are Deaf. Sometimes we go through hard times to communicate. People, both Deaf and hearing are not always patient as they go through the communication process. Sometimes we see the message is not clear and we must go through a process to fix the misunderstandings. Clear communication is important, but it is a challenge! There is physical Deafness. We did not get a choice at birth to be Deaf or hearing. There is spiritual Deafness. We do get a choice. Do we want to listen to God? We can be physically Deaf, but we can be spiritually hearing. Do we want to listen to God? Sometimes the message is soft and gentle, but sometimes He must turn up the volume to make sure we hear His message. Form is the way we communicate. There are many ways to communicate. We use Sign Language, write a paper note, use text, Blackberry, use Facebook, use VPS. God has a different way to communicate with us. God speaks. His words have power. God spoke and created the universe! Talk about ...

We go through change. Sometimes it is an easy trip or journey to go through change. Sometimes, it is long or difficult. Going through an experience can cause many emotions. We can go through an experience with fear or anger. We can go through an experience with acceptance or resentment. We can go through an experience with eyes wide open, like a child walking through Main Street Disney World for the first time. We can go through an experience with eyes closed tight, like a child on a scary ride. We need to remember one thing as we go through change. God said in Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you or forsake you." We may not see God. We may not feel God. We may not hear God. We may and should TRUST God. He is there! Form is the shape of a body for making clothes. (Ladies understand this best too!) Men have seen these in movies. The body form are almost like we see in clothing stores. Women use this to make sure the clothes they are making will fit perfect. W...

We still think of through. The spear went through the side of Jesus. (John 19:34) Through is not part way; it must be complete. The knife goes through the turkey on the big platter or it will not be cut up and put on our small dinner plates. If it is not cut up, it is not shared. Disappointment to see the wonderful turkey, but not get to enjoy it. The purpose is wasted. Form is easy to understand. My mother used to sew when I was a small child. She would buy the envelope of papers. She would pin the papers to the cloth. The cloth would be cut and must be perfect to follow the pattern or form. The pattern is the form used to cut fabric right way to make clothes. The scissors must cut away the parts of the cloth that are not needed. When Mother finished cutting the cloth, she would take out the pins and the paper would be folded away to use later. I could see the cloths. I could imagine what the dress would look like when it was finished. God has a pattern for your life...

We continue to transform and go through change. We see form means shape. Of course, we think of shape of things. We use Sign Language to describe things by the shape. Thinking and praying about Romans 12:2, we should now see our lives start to change shape. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are like an ugly rock from the ground. The artist will take the ugly rock and use hammer and chisel to make a new shape. The artist studies the rock before he starts to work. The work is hard. Some parts of the rock come off fast. These are big parts of the rock. Slowly and carefully, other parts of the rock comes off. Later the ugly rock is transformed into something beautiful. There is a statue in Italy of King David. The final artist was Michelangelo. Two other artists started the work. The first man, Agostino started the work in 1464, but he quit after 2 years. The rock was not touched for 10 years. Later a man named Rossellino started to work on the same marble rock. H...

As we transform, we continue to go through change. Form is the limits. (We use wood form when we pour concrete to make sidewalk.) We read The Bible and pray about the things we read. We look at our lives. We begin to see the way God wants to form our hearts, minds, and souls. God formed us from the dust of the Earth. We see that in Genesis 2:7. Our bodies were built with limits. We have limits in size. Nobody sees any man walking downtown that is 25 feet tall! We have limits in how much we can lift or carry. God uses The Bible to show us His limits for our lives. Just like the builder uses wood to make the limits of the driveway, God uses The Bible to teach us the limits for our lives. If the builder did not use wood limits the concrete would spill on the yard and make a big mess. The Bible shows us the limits by showing us His law. Follow His law (limits) and your life will not become a big mess. The limits He sets help to make us the kind of person that we were born t...