i've been in a funk lately, actually pretty complacent, with things at church. i've been getting little out of small groups on fridays and even less out of service on sundays.

some of the sunday sermons lately have been kinda disjointed and fluffy. i mean, i listen to them and i feel there's little substance to them. some of the points are so generalized that i could've gone up there to preach and no one would know the difference. points like, "having god at the center of your life will bring absolute joy" and yada yada yada drive me crazy. it's the same ol' stuff that i've heard for years and i think it's something that a Christian should already understand. i think the times i get the most out of sermons is when the speaker takes the time to look up biblical and historical references to support and emphasize their points on Christian principles or applications. i appreciate when the speakers use specific and relevant examples instead of generalizations that most Christians (and even non-believers) should supposedly know. it's kinda interesting ever since i started keeping my notes for the sermons. i can notice if they speakers are ever 'recycling' material. =)

fridays haven't been much better either. personally, i haven't been very diligent in keeping up with my readings for "the purpose driven life". i also joined a small group earlier in the year because i thought it would be good to read / discuss with other people. however, it has not helped that my small group has been extremely inconsistent. lately, they haven't been meeting up to discuss the books since there have been some other programs and even when they do, it's only 2 or 3 chapters at a time. thanks to the combination of my own personal negligence and the lack of flow to my small group, i've been kinda uninterested. anyway, it's ultimately still my fault for not keeping up the readings. however, i guess the lesson is that you can't read this book periodically or only when you have time. it really requires you to read it consistently every day--for 40 days--to get the most out of it.

anyway, despite my grumblings, i do realize how important it is to keep supporting my home church. interestingly, i opened up "the purpose driven life" again today and one of the points was about being realistic in my expectations about the church. it said, "we should passionately love the church in spite of its imperfections." there is no church that will ever completely solve my so-called 'needs' 'cause each church has its own strengths and weaknesses.

and so i digress...