Sermon Notes – May 5, 2019

This past Sunday our pastor talked about Hebrews chapter 7.

He mentioned that when Jesus started His ministry the Jews believed they were in good standing with God because they carefully followed the law, had a royal priesthood, gave proper animal sacrifices, ate the prescribed Jewish diet, and gave the exact amount of tithes the law called for.

They were doing all the right outward things God’s law had said to do and assumed they were therefore okay.

Then Jesus Christ came along and told them they were wrong because they were doing all the right and “clean” things on the outside – BUT – they hadn’t changed on the inside.

Instead of being humble before the Lord and following the law as an acknowledgement of God’s greatness and their position below Him, they were puffed up with pride at how well they were following the law and  presumed they were therefore of great importance.

They were being legalistic and giving external conformity without inner surrender, conformity, or submission.

In short, they had changed on the outside but not the inside.

When Christ was here on earth He, being fully man yet fully God, looked like everyone else on the outside – BUT – on the inside He was different than those around Him.

God asks the same of us.

God calls us to be different on the inside.

God calls for inner conformity, obedience, submission, honesty, integrity, and humility. Not because we are that great, but because Christ is and as Christians we are to model ourselves after Him.

1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

It is this inner part of us we are to pay attention to and work to bring in to obedience to Christ.

Yes, we are to dress modestly (more on that in another post!), but it’s not about what’s on the outside – it’s about what’s in your heart and who you are on the inside.

After explaining all of this the pastor asked these questions:

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Category: Obedience, Sermon Notes, Submission | LEAVE A COMMENT

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer.

It’s a day we come together and turn to God in prayer, interceding for our nation’s leaders and its families.

This Year’s theme is,”Love One Another”.

Please take a few minutes, either at one of the many events all over the country or in your own quiet time, to pray and ask God to help, strengthen, protect, and guide our leaders and our families. Ask God to turn their hearts back to Him and the path He has laid out.

Ask God to change us to a nation of people who love one another and care for each other the way He has designed us to.

If you would like more information on the National Day of Prayer please click here.

 

Category: Holiday, Prayer | LEAVE A COMMENT

“It’s On the House!”

The other night I went to my favorite restaurant for dinner.

It’s the type where you walk down the line, cafeteria-style, as they build your meal.

One of the employees is a good friend of mine. She just happened to be working.

When she asked me how I was, I said, “fine,”.

She knows me well enough to know that wasn’t true so she said, “Really?”

I explained I’d been out of town for a week and was trying to get back in the swing of things.

Then it happened.

I blurted out the truth: “My brother died.”

I followed it up with a few sentences of explanation concerning his young age and drug use.

She was very kind and empathetic, encouraging me to call or text her later so we could talk.

I thanked her and changed the subject.

When it came time to pay, the Shift Manager, who’d been standing with us when we had that conversation, handed me my meal and said,

“It’s on the House!”

I told him he didn’t have to do that and offered to pay.

He looked me in the eye and said, “No, take it. And have a blessed night, okay?”

When he said that, I immediately felt the Holy Spirit’s presence. In that instant I felt so loved! Such peace washed over me.

Something inside me clicked. I suddenly felt such peace about Matt’s passing. I felt such healing and relief.

There is no doubt in my mind God used this brother-in-the-faith to minister to and comfort me.

Who knew that the simple act of giving someone a free meal, just because they could, would change someone’s outlook and bring them such peace, healing, comfort, and relief?

I am so thankful for those Christians out there who love on others just because they can. They do things to help them, not for gain, but for the simple pleasure of doing good.

What joy they sow in the lives of others!

I’m so thankful the Lord chose to use a “regular Joe” to reach out to me in my pain and love me. He truly was the hands of Christ that day.

I pray God will bless him for his gift to me and I pray God will allow me to love others the way he loved me!

 

 

Category: death, Family, Gifts | LEAVE A COMMENT

Matthew A. T.

November 2, 1981 – April 6, 2019

Please remember my family in prayer as we lay my brother to rest.

 

 

Category: death, Family | LEAVE A COMMENT

I’m Struggling

Today I am struggling.

I’m sitting here at my desk at work, silently crying out to God for a miracle.

This morning my sister called to tell me our stepbrother is in the hospital.

Late last night the doctors told the family there’s not much hope. His time is up.

I’m struggling because I’m angry, I’m hurt, and I’m grief-stricken.

Matt is a great guy. Beautiful smile. Great sense of humor.

Matt knows how to charm you so you think he’s your biggest fan in the world and that you are the most important person he’s ever met.

Matt is a heroin addict.

I don’t believe in luck, but if I did, I’d say his has run out.

He’s been making questionable choices for over 2 decades.

Hard, painful choices the family has struggled to watch. We’ve paid a price for his actions, too. Big ones.

Now it is all coming to an end.

I grieve because I see how different his life could have been. The lost chances. The wasted potential.

I want to reach out into time and change things. Adjust his past. Fix it somehow.

But, I can’t.

I’m angry because the drugs have stolen away the life of someone I care about. Someone I love who is so caught up in his addiction all he can see is the need for his next fix.

I’m grieved, too, because while several of us have talked to him several times, he has made it clear he has no need for God and that he is god of his own life.

How I wish I could have made him see the errors of his ways.

I know the only thing I can do now is pray. It’s the least I can do, but it’s also the most I can do.

So I pray.

I pray God will have mercy on Matt.

I pray Matt’s life will be a warning to others about the dangers of drug use.

I pray God will comfort all of us he’s leaving behind.

I know that this is not going to end well.

Matt is going to die.

At that moment, Matt is going to step into eternity to face a loving God.

A God who has given us all the chance to be reconciled to Him through His son, Jesus.

A Son who poured out His life for us so we could be saved and safe when we step into eternity – IF we choose to accept Him as that Savior.

I have no way of knowing what kind of conversations God and Matt have had over the last few days. I hope they are the ones that make the eternal difference for Matt’s future and that he somehow manages to get his life right with God.

Whatever the answer, I know that God loves all of us very much. He is long-suffering toward us and it is not His will that any of us perish.

But, He is also a just God who will cause us to pay the price for our sins if we don’t allow Christ to wash them away with the blood of His sacrificed life. We can only do that by calling on Jesus to save us, trusting in His gift of eternal life.

I might not be able to lead Matt to Christ. I may never know whether he got things right.

But, I can witness to others. I can be more committed to telling them how much God loves them.

I can continue to fight the good fight of faith as I seek to share God’s love with others.

And, I can pray for Matt until the very last moment.

God answers prayers.  Even when we don’t see or know it.

 

*If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, there is help. Below are several resources. You can also talk to a trusted relative, religious leader, medical professional, or friend. Whatever you choose, please reach out.

Addiction Resource or call their hotline at 888-459-5511. They cover all 50 States.

The Recovery Village This link also includes information for family members of those struggling.

 

 

 

 

Category: addiction, death, Family | LEAVE A COMMENT

Sanctity of Human Life Sunday

Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.

It’s the day churches around the United States celebrate God’s gift of life, remember babies lost to abortion, and pray for the life of unborn children.

This day of remembrance was created by President Ronald Reagan to be celebrated the Sunday closest to January 22nd, the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, which legalized abortion in this country.

One of the ways people justify abortion as an acceptable practice is to say a pregnancy is “tissue” or that a fetus is not a person and therefore of no value. This is simply not true and goes against what Scripture teaches us.

God’s word is clear when it says, “He knew us even before He formed us in the womb,” Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV).

“We are to praise Him because we are fearfully and wonderfully made; His works are wonderful, we should know that full well.” Psalm 139:14 (NIV).

How could we not yet be a person in the womb if He already knew us there?

Please pray for women everywhere who are considering this procedure. Ask God to show them a better way to deal with their situation than to end the life of their child. Ask Him to speak to their situation and to show them the best path to take, and to provide them with the resources needed to take care of themselves and the child.

Pray, too, for the workers who man crisis pregnancy centers. Pray for their wisdom and courage as they stand in the gap for these babies, whom God is, “knitting in their mother’s womb, and whom He saw in their unformed body; whose days were written in God’s book even before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:12-16 (NIV)

 

For more information on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, please visit the website Life Matters Worldwide

 

 

 

 

Category: Family, Life | LEAVE A COMMENT

When You Don’t Think God Likes You

I was talking to my friend, Elle, the other day about how she doesn’t think God likes her.

She said she knew she’d been saved but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t feel God’s presence in her life and she couldn’t see Him working.

I tried to help her understand that wasn’t true. I tried to explain how deep God’s love for her is. I shared the plan of salvation with her.

She said she knew all of that, but it just seemed like even though she made a commitment to Christ and even though she was seeking a deeper relationship with Him, He wasn’t responding to her.

I was heartbroken because she felt that way.

I was heartbroken because I didn’t have the words to say.

I walked away promising that I would pray.

I walked away wondering what I should have said to help her.

That was several weeks ago.

Last night the answer finally appeared. Or several possible answers.

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Category: Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT

Resolve

Every year I choose one word to sum up my focus in the upcoming year. It’s a guide toward what I want to accomplish in the days ahead.

In past years I’ve chosen words like courage, balance, and freedom.

This year I chose RESOLVE.

RESOLVE – (verb) to settle or find a solution or answer for.

At first this word made a lot of sense because I am determined to get some things dealt with this year. I have some spiritual habits I want to improve and a few sinful habits I want to eliminate. I also want to take care of some situations going on that feel like they are undone and dangling.

But then as I looked the word up in the dictionary to get a better understanding of it, I saw that the word has a second meaning.

It also means to be determined or committed to making something happen.

Reading that I realized this is actually the part of this word that I need to focus on: being committed.

The two definitions go hand-in-hand. I have to resolve or determine and commit to make things happen.

I have to resolve to resolve these issues.

While I was thinking about how it might play out this year I started praying about what my verse for the year should be.

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Category: Submission | LEAVE A COMMENT