Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from Mark 8: 27-38, in which Peter makes the Good Confession, and Jesus predicts his death. The sermon is titled 'Christ-Centered,' and will focus on our need to center ourselves on Jesus and Jesus alone. I hope to see you all in worship on Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Thursday, March 1, 2012
1 Timothy 2: 1-15; Instructions in Worship
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the top of the list is prayer. I cannot stress enough how important daily prayer is to the journey of faith. Prayer is a time when we place ourselves in the holy presence of God. We come there to speak with God and allow him to speak to us. We come there to ask for God's help and allow him to give it. Prayer is a time when we are guided in faith, when we are strengthened for all that lies ahead, when we are blessed to hear the voice of the almighty. Any act of worship should begin with prayer, spending time in God's presence. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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At the top of the list is prayer. I cannot stress enough how important daily prayer is to the journey of faith. Prayer is a time when we place ourselves in the holy presence of God. We come there to speak with God and allow him to speak to us. We come there to ask for God's help and allow him to give it. Prayer is a time when we are guided in faith, when we are strengthened for all that lies ahead, when we are blessed to hear the voice of the almighty. Any act of worship should begin with prayer, spending time in God's presence. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
1 Timothy 1: 18-20; The Charge to Timothy to be Renewed
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul knows firsthand how difficult faith can me. Paul was arrested and tortured on numerous occasions. In the end Paul lost his life for believing in, and preaching, the good news of Jesus. So when Paul writes to Timothy '...holding onto faith and a good conscience...' Paul knows how hard that is. It is hard for us, too. Many things are easier in the 21st century with all the advances in technology, medicine, travel, etc. But faith is still sometimes a very difficult thing to maintain. We all may find ourselves in a place, spiritually speaking, when we ask ourselves if we are doing the right thing, by keeping the faith. The answer to that question, if it ever comes, is a resounding 'yes!' Even though it may be hard we must, as Paul tells us here, to maintain our faith, to not let the things of this world get us off track. We need to keep believing in Jesus as Messiah and the work he has done on our behalf. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Paul knows firsthand how difficult faith can me. Paul was arrested and tortured on numerous occasions. In the end Paul lost his life for believing in, and preaching, the good news of Jesus. So when Paul writes to Timothy '...holding onto faith and a good conscience...' Paul knows how hard that is. It is hard for us, too. Many things are easier in the 21st century with all the advances in technology, medicine, travel, etc. But faith is still sometimes a very difficult thing to maintain. We all may find ourselves in a place, spiritually speaking, when we ask ourselves if we are doing the right thing, by keeping the faith. The answer to that question, if it ever comes, is a resounding 'yes!' Even though it may be hard we must, as Paul tells us here, to maintain our faith, to not let the things of this world get us off track. We need to keep believing in Jesus as Messiah and the work he has done on our behalf. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
1 Timothy 1: 12-17; The Lord's Grace to Paul
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ came to save sinners, but not only to save us, but to change us. I love what Paul makes clear in the first part of this passage, that he used to be a sinner, but was brought to a new way of life through God's grace. That is what grace is all about. The first part of grace is that we are saved, but the second part is that through grace we are called to a life of discipleship. So we no longer are who we were before. We become someone new: someone who does not live in sin, but rather lives in God's grace. Just as Paul was brought to a new life, so are we, and that call is renewed regularly. God continues to call us out of the world and into a new life with him. We need to heed those words and renew our commitment to God and his grace. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Christ came to save sinners, but not only to save us, but to change us. I love what Paul makes clear in the first part of this passage, that he used to be a sinner, but was brought to a new way of life through God's grace. That is what grace is all about. The first part of grace is that we are saved, but the second part is that through grace we are called to a life of discipleship. So we no longer are who we were before. We become someone new: someone who does not live in sin, but rather lives in God's grace. Just as Paul was brought to a new life, so are we, and that call is renewed regularly. God continues to call us out of the world and into a new life with him. We need to heed those words and renew our commitment to God and his grace. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Monday, February 27, 2012
1 Timothy 1: 1-11; Timothy Charged to Oppose False Leaders
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
With so many voices speaking these days it is sometimes hard to figure out which is the 'real Jesus.' The best way to be Christ-centered, to be able to determine which is the real voice of Jesus, is to go right to the source. We have been blessed with not just one, but four gospels that tell us the story of Jesus. All of them together give us a complete picture of who Jesus was, what he said, what he did, why, etc. If we read, and re-read those gospels our hearts and spirits will be filled with Jesus. And being filled with Jesus is one of the first steps to being centered on him. The best way to oppose, or ward off, false teachers, is to stay centered on the only true teacher: Jesus. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
With so many voices speaking these days it is sometimes hard to figure out which is the 'real Jesus.' The best way to be Christ-centered, to be able to determine which is the real voice of Jesus, is to go right to the source. We have been blessed with not just one, but four gospels that tell us the story of Jesus. All of them together give us a complete picture of who Jesus was, what he said, what he did, why, etc. If we read, and re-read those gospels our hearts and spirits will be filled with Jesus. And being filled with Jesus is one of the first steps to being centered on him. The best way to oppose, or ward off, false teachers, is to stay centered on the only true teacher: Jesus. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Proverbs 31: 10-31; The Wife of Noble Character
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are a lot of points to this passage, and if I may be so bold I will sum them all up by saying: a noble takes care of her husband. Now, before anyone gets upset with the onesidedness of that statement let me also say this passage can, and should, apply to husbands as well, and I will sum it up in the same way: a noble husband takes care of his wife. The idea is this, that in a marriage people are to take care of each other. Now, here is another addition: this does not just apply to husbands and wives, but to all of us: a noble Christian will take care of his/her brother/sister. We are all to care for each other, at all times, bestowing the same longkindness on those around us as Jesus did, and continues to do. Take care of each other. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
There are a lot of points to this passage, and if I may be so bold I will sum them all up by saying: a noble takes care of her husband. Now, before anyone gets upset with the onesidedness of that statement let me also say this passage can, and should, apply to husbands as well, and I will sum it up in the same way: a noble husband takes care of his wife. The idea is this, that in a marriage people are to take care of each other. Now, here is another addition: this does not just apply to husbands and wives, but to all of us: a noble Christian will take care of his/her brother/sister. We are all to care for each other, at all times, bestowing the same longkindness on those around us as Jesus did, and continues to do. Take care of each other. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Proverbs 31: 1-9; The Sayings of King Lemuel
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." We have voice, all of us. It is a gift of God to use for his purpose. One of those purposes: to speak for those who don't have a voice: the poor, the widows, the orphans, and all others who suffer. They don't have the ability to speak and make their suffering known, so we need to speak for them. Not only speak, but also work on their behalf. God has given many of us the means to take care of ourselves. Many others do not have those means, which means it is up to us to provide for those who have not. We have things we can use, our voice, our resources, etc. to use to help others. Let's not be shy about using them. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." We have voice, all of us. It is a gift of God to use for his purpose. One of those purposes: to speak for those who don't have a voice: the poor, the widows, the orphans, and all others who suffer. They don't have the ability to speak and make their suffering known, so we need to speak for them. Not only speak, but also work on their behalf. God has given many of us the means to take care of ourselves. Many others do not have those means, which means it is up to us to provide for those who have not. We have things we can use, our voice, our resources, etc. to use to help others. Let's not be shy about using them. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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