ASSIGNMENTS

1. Daily read over this material and read or sing the song.

2. Place the scripture where you will see it each day.

3. Think of one specific thing that you can do to better set your priorities in order.

4. Write down one important thing that you have not put high enough in your priorities and how you can make it a higher priority.

5. Plan to tell the class about efforts to put first things first and how it changed your life.

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DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS

MONDAY - VERSES: Jeremiah 16:17-18; Zechariah 12:7-10
PRAYER THOUGHT: Father, help me to recognize that you have done some things first and I should as well.

TUESDAY - VERSES: Matthew 12:29; Mark 7:25-27; Luke 11:38-40; 12:1-2 PRAYER THOUGHT: God, help me see that Jesus did some things before others.

WEDNESDAY - VERSES: John 18:12-13; Acts 3:25-26; 11:25-26 PRAYER THOUGHT: Master, help me to learn to do the right things first.

THURSDAY - VERSES: Luke 17:25; 21:8-9	PRAYER THOUGHT: All-knowing One, help me to gain the knowledge to know which things should be first.

FRIDAY - VERSES: Acts 13:44-46; 15:13-18; 26:19-23 PRAYER THOUGHT: Merciful One, forgive me for the times I have not done the things I should have done first.

SATURDAY - VERSES: 2 Peter 1:19-21; 3:2-4	PRAYER THOUGHT: Judge of All, help me to warn others of the danger of getting things out of order.

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Wise are those who learn that the bottom line doesn't always have to be their top priority. - William Arthur Ward

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The main thing in life is keeping the main thing, the main thing. The main thing in life is keeping priorities straight.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 102

PRIORITIES - 7-27-14 to 8-3-14

SCRIPTURE - Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

COMMENT - What we put first in our lives impacts our lives dramatically. When something is truly first we will put our time, talents, energy, mind, money, strength, and anything else we can into it. God wants us to put first things first and His kingdom and His righteousness are at the top of the list of things we should seek.

SONG - I LOVE THY KINGDOM, LORD

1) I love Thy kingdom, Lord, The house of Thine abode; The church our blest Redeemer saved With His own precious blood, I love Thy church, O God! Her walls before Thee stand, Dear as the apple of Thine eye, And graven on Thy hand.

2) For her my tears shall fall, For her my prayers ascend; To her my cares and toils be giv'n, Till toils and cares shall end; Beyond my highest joy I prize her heav'nly ways, Her sweet communion, solemn vows, Her hymns of love and praise.

3) Jesus, Thou Friend divine, Our Savior and our King! Thy hand from ev'ry snare and foe Shall great deliv'rance bring; Sure as Thy truth shall last, To Zion shall be giv'n The brightest glories earth can yield, And brighter bliss of heav'n.

THOUGHTS

Mickey Mantle began to learn about baseball before he learned to walk. While still in the cradle his father had a tiny uniform cut down to his size. At five, he learned to switch-hit. Every day after school, his father or grandfather would pitch tennis balls as hard as they could throw for batting practice. When he would hit one and break a window, his father would praise him. He grew up to become the great homerun king of the New York Yankees. It is amazing to me that fathers everywhere will go to great lengths to help their sons or daughters develop athletic skills, but ignore coping skills. Many spend hours showing a son how to grip a bat, but never show them how to get a grip on life. Hours are spent teaching boys how to pass a football, but little is spent teaching how to pass through the pearly gates. It makes me wonder whether all the effort is for the child's benefit or the parent's. Of the hundreds of thousands few will ever play professional sports, but every single one will have to cope with life. This is Just-a-Minute - Ed Boggess

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The new Hebrides are a group of islands in the South Pacific. The natives of those islands long practiced an idolatry unique to their culture for centuries. In their worship they took a pig and they cooked it just right. Then they had a feast. All of the family and friends came and "pigged out", literally. They ate the whole pig except for the tail. The tail they gave to their god. That is pig-tail religion! They took the best and gave their god the left-overs – a pig's tail! But before you wag your head and cluck your tongue, ask yourself, Are we any better? Am I giving God my best or am I just barely getting by? God deserves the very best of all that I have – my time – my talents, my treasures. After all, it is all His anyhow and I have these things only on loan. "The earth is His and the fulness thereof." This is Just-a-Minute. - Ed Boggess

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On a session of the television series Family Feud the question was asked, to whom do you turn to make the most important decisions in life? One hundred people had been interviewed and their answers were first- spouse, second- parents, third – boyfriend/girlfriend, fourth – children, and fifth – God. God came in last. Are you surprised? I'm not. God comes in last in most lives today. God ought to be the first one consulted in making the big decisions of life. It is a matter of priority. The reason many do not consult God first is because God is not first in their lives. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he said, Love God first. God should and must come first in our lives. Any other place than first place is the wrong place. This is Just-a-Minute - Ed Boggess

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Clovis Chappell, a minister from a century back, used to tell the story of two paddleboats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made a few remarks about the snail's pace of the other.

Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began. Competition became vicious as the two boats roared through the Deep South.

One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship's cargo and tossed it into the ovens. When the sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as the coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. They ended up winning the race, but burned their cargo.

God has entrusted cargo to us, too: children, spouses, friends. Our job is to do our part in seeing that this cargo reaches its destination. Yet when the program takes priority over people, people often suffer. How much cargo do we sacrifice in order to achieve the number one slot? How many people never reach the destination because of the aggressiveness of a competitive captain? - Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, pp. 97-98.

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Don't minor in majors or major in minors. Don't sweat the small stuff.

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WHAT SHOULD WE DO FIRST?

INTRODUCTION - COLOSSIANS 1:16-18

L. S. - WE SHOULD FIRST . . .

I. SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD - MATTHEW 6:31-34

II. CLEAN THE INSIDE OF THE CUP - MATTHEW 23:24-26

III. BE RECONCILED TO OUR BROTHERS - MATTHEW 5:23-24

IV. TAKE THE BEAM OUT OF OUR OWN EYES - MATTHEW 7:3-5

V. GIVE OURSELVES TO THE LORD - 2 CORINTHIANS 8:5

VI. COUNT THE COST - LUKE 14:26-33

VII. HAVE A WILLING MIND - 2 CORINTHIANS 8:11-12

VIII. BRING OUR FAMILIES TO CHRIST - JOHN 1:40-42

IX. LEARN TO SHOW PIETY AT HOME - 1 TIMOTHY 5:3-4

X. THANK GOD LIKE PAUL - ROMANS 1:8

XI. LOVE GOD, THEN OUR NEIGHBORS - MATTHEW 22:37-38

XII. DELIVER THE GOSPEL - 1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-8

WHAT SHOULD WE DO FIRST?

INTRODUCTION:

A. COLOSSIANS 1:16-18 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: [17] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

B. "The Enemy of the best is the good. If you're always settling with what's good, you'll never be the best." - Jerry Rice

C. PRIORITIES ARE NOT A MATTER OF THIS THING IS RIGHTEOUS AND THIS IS WICKED, BUT RATHER THESE TWO THINGS ARE BOTH GOOD, WHICH IS BETTER. THERE MAY BE TWO THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE, BUT WHICH ONE SHOULD BE DONE FIRST.

L. S. - WE SHOULD FIRST . . .

I. SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD - MATTHEW 6:31-34 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? [32] (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. [33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. [34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

II. CLEAN THE INSIDE OF THE CUP - MATTHEW 23:24-26 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. [25] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. [26] Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

III. BE RECONCILED TO OUR BROTHERS - MATTHEW 5:23-24 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; [24] Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

IV. TAKE THE BEAM OUT OF OUR OWN EYES - MATTHEW 7:3-5 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? [4] Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? [5] Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

V. GIVE OURSELVES TO THE LORD - 2 CORINTHIANS 8:5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

VI. COUNT THE COST - LUKE 14:26-33 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. [27] And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. [28] For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? [29] Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, [30] Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. [31] Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? [32] Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. [33] So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

VII. HAVE A WILLING MIND - 2 CORINTHIANS 8:11-12 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. [12]

For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

VIII. BRING OUR FAMILIES TO CHRIST - JOHN 1:40-42 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. [41] He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. [42] And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

IX. LEARN TO SHOW PIETY AT HOME - 1 TIMOTHY 5:3-4 Honour widows that are widows indeed. [4] But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

X. THANK GOD LIKE PAUL - ROMANS 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

XI. LOVE GOD, THEN OUR NEIGHBORS - MATTHEW 22:37-38 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment.

XII. DELIVER THE GOSPEL - 1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-8 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; [4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: [5] And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: [6] After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. [7] After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. [8] And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

CONCLUSION

A. SUMMARY

B. INVITATION

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.