The middle of the summer is not logically the best time to start something new. Attendance is often down, people are traveling and, unfortunately, we have many things distracting us from the worship of the Lord. However, the Lord is to be our head and our authority and when He gives the direction it is up to us to obey if we want His blessings as we proceed through the year and through life. I do seek the Lord on what to preach and when to preach it. Even when I am in a series and I have a plan where I am heading, I still seek the Lord’s direction on what to preach next no matter what the series dictates. The Spirit of God has veto authority over the series schedule. I believe we should plan and schedule and organize, but if we fail to pray and seek the guidance of the Lord our human efforts will yield no eternal results. Schedules need to be submitted to the Holy Spirit’s direction and governing no matter how organized they may be. This week, we have embarked on not one but two new sermon series. Both of which are probably not the popular subjects to be considering according to the average Christian. Too often believers today want things to be more practical and less theological. They are looking for self-help sermons that make them feel better about the life they are living, not so much sermons that show them what God says about how to live a more biblical life. I personally believe that theology is very practical if you truly desire to live life according to God’s truth instead of the ideas of man. The most self-helpful thing we can do is to know God intimately and be fully committed to living to His glory according to His Word. It is amazing how many of the problems that plague our society and also many Christians are solved and avoided just merely by following the truths of God’s Word by learning them and obeying them in our daily life. That, my friend, is the practical application of Bible Doctrine. We are still continuing our evening series on the philosophy of this church of God and how the Bible tells us to operate to His glory. Last Sunday morning, we began looking at what the Bible says about building a godly life to the glory of God. This past Wednesday, we began a series about the biblical practice of fasting and prayer that I have been praying over and studying on for many months seeking the direction of the Lord on when to proceed. As I was preparing the sermon for last Sunday morning, God clearly gave direction to begin the new series on Wednesday as well as on Sunday morning. So here we go, following the Lord’s direction in what we study to help us follow His doctrine in how to live life His way under the control of His Spirit not our flesh. I hope we all enjoy the journey to making some changes in our lives to the glory of God.