Coffee Shop Journal

David and I have become close friends with Buddy Hoffman, the pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Snellville, Georgia. Over the years Buddy has taught us many amazing lessons. His sermon from Sunday, June 1 on the spiritual disciplines of being a Christ Follower was amazing. Here are a few points that stuck out for me.

• We think of the spiritual disciplines as fasting, praying, reading the scripture. And they are. But Christ also demonstrated other disciplines for us.
• Christ was known for “associating with sinners.” That old phrase from our youth usually implied something bad about the person doing the associating, but Buddy reminded us that hanging out with the sinners is what Christ DID. Hanging out is a spiritual discipline.
• If we don’t hang out with people whose lifestyle we don’t necessarily agree with, we aren’t following the disciplines of Christ.
• The words used to describe the time Jesus spent with the “sinners” were the words we would associate with hanging out, relaxing, doing life. These weren’t formal dinners.
• Who are the people we need to be doing life with? Your neighbor Ed may have vowed to never step foot in a church again, but he probably hasn’t vowed never to eat a hamburger again. Do life with Ed.
• Another spiritual discipline is embracing life. Like a platter of ripe, perfect fruit or the finest chocolate, Jesus has spread life out in front of his children for us to enjoy. Christians need to dive in head-first into life, and model enjoying the gifts lavished on us.

Buddy’s Kingdom Series, which he has been preaching for most of the year, is worth listening to. You can find the link to the podcasts here if you are interested.