Hey everyone,

I realized that I had left you all in suspense by not giving you all the second part in a series of sermons that I was able to present on "Christians and Entertainment." It's been very good for me to study though these things and I hope that the message that I present from God's word can challenge all of us to reconsider the decisions that we are making in our entertainment. Please, feel free to share these with anyone that you think might make use of them, not because I'm such a talented speaker, but because it is something that I personally feel is not discussed nearly enough in the church. I am hearing more and more of my peers talk about the R rated movies that they've watched and the sensual TV shows that they're so into, and the excuses that they use to justify their choices. It makes me sad to hear such things talked about among God's people. I hope that this steps on your toes as much as it stepped on mine.

Christians and Entertainment - Part 2
God bless you all in your continued service to Him!

Craig

I was recently giving the opportunity at the Eastside church of Christ in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to present a sermon on Christians and entertainment based on the education and experiences that I gained from film school. I pray that the unique perspective that God has granted me with, specifically in the areas of film and video, can be helpful to challenge us all to reconsider what we are allowing into our minds under the guise of "entertainment."

Christians and Entertainment by Craig Dehut - May 9th, 2010 PM
(You're welcome to right click the link and save the file as an .mp3).

The elders have asked me to present a follow-up lesson next month. Pray that it can be successful in encouraging and challenging all of us to follow God's standard of holiness in all of our entertainment choices.

Craig Dehut

"For this reason and man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." :)

Craig Dehut

Recently, I was invited to a men's Bible study weekend up in IL to present a talk on "Overcoming the odds." I had been asked to relate my story of growing up as a Type 1 Diabetic and explain how God had worked in my life and how much He had blessed me with this disease.

I know, it still sounds a little funny when I say it, but I am convinced that this incurable, life-altering disease has been a blessing.

It was a little intimidating to stand before much wiser men than I and talk to them about hardships. But I had nothing to be afraid of. The encouragement that I received (much of which came from men that I had never met before that weekend) was amazing.

In trying to summarize everything that God has taught me through my experiences, I realized that we can learn some amazing things about our God when we attempt to find Him in our hardships.

- We learn about His Power and Sovereignty - That an all-powerful God that created everything in six days by simply speaking, knows how many hairs are on my head. He knows me personally. He knows my strengths and He knows my limits and He has the power to only allow what I can handle pass through His fingers and into my lives. He has the power to tell Satan, as He did concerning His servant Job, "you may go this far, but no farther."

- We learn about His Purpose. Sometimes, He allows us to experience pain in order to develop Christ-like traits, such as humility, patience, and selflessness. Sometimes, He strengthens us in our hardships in order for us to help others in their hardships. Most importantly, when we learn to lean on Him and trust in His strength to get us through, we allow our trials to bring glory, honor, and praise to His name.

- We learn about His love. God is a purposefully, loving God. His motivation for everything that He has ever done, since before the creation of the world, has been an indescribable love. It is a loving God that knows that we become better through trials. An unloving God would completely shelter us from any sort of harm and allow our spiritual muscles to grow weak and useless. Not our God. He loves us too much.

I pray that my story can help others find God in their own hardships. If His purpose was not for me at all; if He allowed me to experience these hardships, simply for the sake of the others that would read my story and benefit, it would have all been worthwhile.

Her Little Soldier,

Craig Dehut

God is so good. :)