Sunday Scripture and Sermon for August 3, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture for this Sunday comes from John 1: 19-28, in which John the Baptist testifies concerning Jesus. The sermon is entitled 'Baptism' and will focus on John the Evangelist's idea of baptism. I hope you are all able to make it to worship. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 24: 1-22 David Spares Saul's Feelings

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here we see grace and forgiveness in action. David had his chance, and how tempted must he have been to kill Saul on the spot. Here is the man who has been pursuing him, who has been mistreating him, who wants him, David, dead. All David has to do is use the sword or spear that was in his hand, but he didn't. Instead of opting for murder, David chose to be gracious unto Saul and spare his life. This the kind of faith to which we should all aspire. God would have us forgive and not take vengeance. God would have us love not harbor feelings of resentment and hate. In reading this story I think it is clear the path we are supposed to take: one of compassion and forgiveness; one of love and grace. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 23: 1-29; Saul Pursues David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yesterday we saw Saul's character and life as a whole summed up in one chapter. Today we see David's life, before he becomes kings, and his character summed up in one chapter. David is hunted by Saul, which causes him fear. He is commanded by God to go and rescue the city of Keilah, which also causes him fear. But despite David's fear he still trusts in the Lord. He knows that the Lord is going to watch over and protect him no matter what happens. His trust in the Lord is well founded, for as we see God does take care of David. God sees to it that no harm comes to David. The early life of David teaches us that we ought to trust God. Too many times we lose heart and think we have been abandoned. We have not been abandoned. God is with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Like David, we can trust in the Lord. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 22: 6-23; Saul Kills the Priests of Nob

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I usually do not like to sound negative, but I will say that this is what happens when you live a life outside of the will of God. Saul, for a while now, has been going against the will of God, and for a while now we have seen Saul's life going down in a tail-spin. I do not mean to say that if we live away from God we do everything Saul did, but I do mean to say that the things Saul was feeling come from being separated from God. The lesson we learn from Saul's life as a whole is that we should always follow God, always make sure we are in right relationship with God, always live the life God would have us live. When we do all of those things we are blessed with the peace that passes all understanding, and with a joy that fills our hearts. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 21: 1-15; David at Nob and Gath

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

At this point David is basically running for his life. Saul is trying to kind him and kill him, and David is doing everything he can to avoid it. I think David's trust in the Lord is pretty strong, generally speaking, but at this point his fear is a little too overwhelming for him to handle. Fear is one of the most basic, most common, emotions a person can feel. Our journey of faith is sometimes filled with situations that fill our hearts with fear. In those times we don't need to run like David. We don't need to go from place to place to try and escape. In those times we need to trust and know that God is going to be with us; that he is going to give us all the guidance and strength we need to make it through times of fear and doubt. Trust in the Lord, and he will watch over you. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 20: 1-42; David and Jonathan

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The relationship between David and Jonathan is godly. Jonathan, from a strictly human standpoint, should hate David. David is Jonathan's father's enemy, so Jonathan should be carrying out his father's wishes by killing David. However, Jonathan knows that David has found favor in the Lord's eyes; he knows that David is loved by God. As such, Jonathan loves David. These two men who should have been mortal enemies managed to love each other. This is what Jesus is talking about when he says we are to love our enemies and pray for them. This is the idea of godly relationships or godly love, loving everyone. Jonathan and David are a lesson for us to love one another, no matter what. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 19: 1-24; Saul Tries to Kill David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I wonder what would have happened to David had it not been for Jonathan. At the very least, he bought David some time. Jonathan interceded for David to make sure he was not killed. The relationship between David and Jonathan has always fascinated me, for the simple reason that Jonathan is Saul's son, and he ought to be killing David (as per his father's orders). Instead, Jonathan intercedes for David to make sure no harm comes to him. In this sense Jonathan reminds me a bit of Jesus. Jesus intercedes for us. He prays to God for us, he works for us, he does all he can to make sure we are forgiven of our sins and loved by God. While we should be being punished for sin, Jesus makes it so that we are loved and able to be in God's presence. Jesus intercedes for us, as Jonathan interceded for David, making sure no harm comes to us. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 18: 1-30; Saul's Jealousy of David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course Saul is going to be jealous with David. Here is this young man who is a threat to Saul, and the people seem to love him so much. I think, to a certain extent, we can all understand why Saul is feeling the way he does. But I hope none of us go quite as far. Part of being children of God means we celebrate with others when they receive a blessing from God. We are not supposed to harbor resentment toward them. We should all rejoice together for all of the wonderful things God does for all of us. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Evening Service, July 27, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This coming Sunday will be the first Sunday for our evening service, which we will have every other week. John McCarty and Dan Lutes will be leading the musical part of the service, and I will be preaching on Jesus' parable of the unforgiving servant: Matthew 18: 21-35. Communion will be celebrated via common cup. We will begin worship at 7:00 p.m. I hope you all are able to make it. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for July 27, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture for this Sunday is John 6: 53-59, in which Jesus declares that he is the bread of life, and that for those who eat his flesh and drink his blood there is life. The sermon is titled 'Bread and Wine,' and will focus on what John tells us about the act of Holy Communion. I hope to see you there. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 17: 1-58; David and Goliath

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." This is what you might call an insurmountable force. David, just a boy, going against a grown man who just so happens to be 9 feet tall. Goliath had his doubts that this boy could defeat him, and I'm sure all of Israel was probably thinking the same thing. But David had faith. He knew that the Lord would deliver him. Just as the Lord delivered him from the lion and bear, David knew that the Lord would deliver him from Goliath. David had great faith, and by his faith he was able to defeat Goliath. By our faith we can do great things. The letter to the Hebrews tells us as much. If we have strong faith in God he will deliver us from our bears and our lions (and tigers, I guess). Trust in the Lord, and he will deliver you. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 16: 1-14; Samuel Annoints David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

God has an answer for everything, and I mean that in a good way. Samuel is worried, with good reason, about going to annoint a new king. Saul, had he found out what was happening, would have killed Samuel for this deed. But when Samuel asks God about it God says (paraphrasing), 'Don't worry about it, I've got you covered.' Remember, this is a very bad situation for Samuel to be in, but he receives the promise from God that God will be with him and help him through it. We all face dark and difficult times. We may not all face death like Samuel, but the journey of faith is full of holes and mountains that try to block our way. In those times we have the promise that God is with us. When we are faced with difficult times we have God on our side, and that will never fail us. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 15: 1-35; The Lord Rejects Saul as King

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?" Saul got into trouble here because he started to follow his own path. He thought he was going to be doing the right thing, but God told him to do something else. The Lord delights in the obeying of his voice, Samuel tells us, something which Saul failed to do almost every time he did something. Listening for God's voice is sometimes hard. We sometimes think we can do things on our own, or figure stuff out by ourselves. But we need to remember that God is much more wise than we are. God knows what is best for us and make the best happen for us. Trust in him and listen to his voice. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 14: 24-48; Jonathan Eats Some Honey

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is similar to some of the ideas we find in Paul's writings of the New Testament. Jonathan was faithful to God, and yet he was almost killed because of a silly law (implemented by a man, Saul) about eating. He had just a touch of honey and Saul thought that was reason enough to kill him. In the end, though, the people of Israel stepped in and stopped Saul. In the end they saw the truth that God cares more about faith than he does about living by 'silly laws.' Jonathan was a faithful person, doing the will of God in the world, and that is what really matters. What matters is not how many of the Levitical laws, or any other sill human laws, we can keep but how fervently we believe in God and his son Jesus Christ. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 13: 1-15; Samuel Rebukes Saul

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can see here that things are not looking too good with Saul as king. It was almost immediate; from the time he 'took office' Saul was not quite what the people had in mind for themselves. About this time I can imagine most of them thinking 'what were we thinking, we should have gone with God.' In point of fact it's true, they should have gone with God. With God anything is better. Imagine what your life would be like without God. Pretty scary isn't it? I shudder to think what any of us would do if we did not have God in our lives. Remember, no matter how good you think it may look on the other side, stick with God. Life is infinitely better with him. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 12: 1-25; Samuel's Fairwell Speech

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Israel, it seems, had forgotten what God had done for them in the past. Throughout Samuel's fairwell speech he reminds the Israelites all God did for them. He led them out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land. He forgave them for the worshiping of other gods. But over time Israel began to forget all the blessings they had received from God. So much so that they turned to a king rather than to God. Everything was going so good for Israel that they forgot where all the good things came from. The same is true of us today. When things are all going smooth, and we have all these wonderful things around us, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that God has blessed us. Let us, as Christians, try to do better than Israel and not lose sight of the God who has blessed us. Let us always remember to thank him for all the blessings we have received. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 11: 1-11; Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Note here what Saul says: 'This is what will be done to anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.' Saul does not say anything about following the Lord. Ah, the problem with having a king. One of the hardest things for us to do as Christians is to follow God and God alone. We have so many tools at our disposal, and we humans are so smart. We're bound to be able to figure it all out on our own, right? Wrong. Our biggest mistake is thinking we can somehow make it on our own. In any and every situation we need to follow the Lord, and no one else. We need to follow his will and no one else's. The Lord is wise and loving; he will direct us down the right path if we only follow him. Israel starts to go down a slippery slope because they begin to follow kings rather than God. But those who follow God will find themselves blessed on the road. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for July 20, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture passage for this Sunday is John 3: 1-15, in which Jesus talks a little about the Kingdom of God. The sermon title is 'The End of All Things?' We will be talking about how Jesus has already brought into being the Kingdom of God here in this world, and how he has done this without ending the world. I hope you are all able to make it. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 10: 9-27; Saul Made King

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, 'No, set a king over us.'" This is Israel's last chance to do the right thing. God says this through Samuel to try and change the people's minds about having a king. This just goes to show that God does not give up on his children. He keeps working and moving in our lives, even when we are not on his path. God knew how bad it would be for Israel to have a King, but he did not abandon them, nor did he stop trying to bring them back to him. No matter what we do God will never give up on us. He will always be there to try and get us back on track. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 9: 1-27; Samuel Annoints Saul

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so it begins. Saul ends up doing more harm than good for the Israelites. He doesn't quite live up to the job, then there is a coup when David is annointed. All things considered I think you would have to say that Israel should have listened to God. God told them not to have a king, but they went ahead and did it anyway. Having a king, other than God, brought Israel nothing but trouble. It just goes to show that God really knows what is best for us. We may think we have an idea about what we want and what is good for us, but we do not. God and God alone knows what is best for us. As such, we should listen to God, follow his will and not our own. "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path,' Proverbs 3: 6. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 8: 1-22; Israel Asks for a King

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations." This was Israel's mistake, to want to be like other nations. Israel was supposed to be set apart. They were supposed to have God, and God alone, as their king. That was what was supposed to make them great. But in the end they decided to turn their backs on God and ask for a king, and thus began their descent. Christians are supposed to be set apart as well, but too often we act like other people, like other nations. God is our king. We are supposed to serve him and him alone. Our lives are supposed to reflect the God we serve and follow. We must be wary and not fall into the same trap as Israel. We must always remember to put God at the center. God, and God alone, is our king. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 7: 2-17; Samuel Subdues the Philistines at Mizpah

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

“If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashereths and commit yourselves to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you from the hands of the Philistines.” There is Biblical support for the idea that God does good things for those who are truly faithful to his name. Once Israel stopped worshiping Baal and Asherah he did good things in their lives. Once Israel became truly faithful to God he began to do great things for them. The lesson for us is to be faithful, knowing that God will do good things in the lives of all those who are faithful to him. For those who are faithful to God there is the salvation that God has promised through Jesus Christ. Believe in God and he will do great things for you. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Sanuel 6: 1-21; The Ark Returned to Israel

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Fear of the Lord does not always mean cowering in fear, it means respect. That is something the Philistines lacked, I think. Their fear of the Lord was actual fear. They were afraid that God was going to smite them, so they gave the Ark back. I'm sure God would rather have their respect, or love. We do not need to fear (as in, 'be afraid of') the Lord, but we do need to love him, and show that love. This love should not come from wanting to not be smited, it should come out of a knowledge that God loves us, and gave us his son as a sign of that love. Remember the command of Jesus, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. In this command, Jesus did not say anything about being afraid of God. Love the Lord! God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Praise and Summerfest

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

A reminder to everyone: this evening we will be having Praise and Summerfest at the church at 7:00 p.m. We will worship first, which will be lead by Dan Lutes and John McCarty, among others. Following our worship service there will be fellowship time. I invite you all to come and share in this wonderful worship experience. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 4: 1-12; The Ark in Ashdod and Ekron

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD!" There is something about God that people cannot help but worship. Dagon, a Philistine, fell down and worshiped the God before the Ark of the Covenant. He was a heathen, by Israelite standards, but there was something about God that made him fall down in worship. Even though he didn't recognize God, he still worshiped. We should worship with every fiber of our being. We, who know who God is and what God has done for us in our lives, have more than enough reason to worship him. We, who have experienced the love of God in our lives, have more than enough reasons to worship the Lord. On this day that the Lord has made, worship God for all he has done for you. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 4: 1-11; The Phillistines Capture the Ark

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you see what the presence of God can do in the hearts of people. The Ark of the Covenant was where God sat. When the Ark was brought into the Israelite camp they shouted for joy, for they knew the battle with the Philistines was won. Meanwhile, the Philistines were afraid, for the presence of God meant that they would lose. God can make such an impact on the hearts of people. How has God touched your heart today? He is still present and active in the lives of his people, even in your own life. How has God impacted you today? I invite you to think about the ways in which God has touched you as you go throughout your journey of faith. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Stained Glass

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The message for this Sunday will be brought to us by Stained Glass, a youth group from Canton, PA. They will be doing a music and drama presentation during the worship service. Please come to worship and experience this wonderful service. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 3: 1-21; The Call of Samuel

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Samuel answered, "Here I am." When God called, Samuel answered. This is one of the messages of the Bible as a whole, when God calls people listen. Throughout the Bible God calls; prophets, kings, judges, etc. What we learn is that God speaks and calls people into his service. He is still doing that today. God is still speaking, he is still calling people into his service. God is calling you. How will you answer? Will you answer like Samuel and say, 'Here I am.' Listen for the voice of God, and be ready to enter into his service when he calls. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 2: 1-11; Hannah's Prayer

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

What a prayer! I think we can all learn a little something from this. Hannah begins her prayer by rejoicing and saying how great the Lord is. Notice, too, that Hannah does not ask God for anything. In this prayer Hannah praises God and lists some of his attributes. A lot of prayer these days involves God asking for material things. It is ok to ask God for things. God wants to know what is on our hearts and what we need for this life. But prayer should also be about praising God. When we pray we need to make sure we spend a good amount of time in praise and thanksgiving for all God has done for us. Praise and thank God, for he is good. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 1: 1-20; The Birth of Samuel

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"And the LORD remembered her." I think you will notice a theme in the OT: that of women who were barren being given children. However, that is only part of the theme. The children, sons I should say, that are born are used by God for great things. Samuel is one of the great prophets of Israel, and he is used by God to annoint the great king of Israel, David. What we learn when we look at Samuel is a) God is present and active in the world, in the lives of his people and b) God uses his servants for great things. We need to remember these things at Mt. Lebanon Christian Church. We need to remember that God does amazing things in the world, and he will for our church. We also need to remember that we are all servants of God; we need to be ready to serve him whatever he may ask of us. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Galatians 6: 11-18; Not Circumcision But a New Creation

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"What counts is a new creation." Paul writes elsewhere that whoever is in Christ is a new creation, the old passes away and a new creation is made. It does not matter, Paul says, how many laws you follow. What matters is that you begin a new life, one lived centered on Jesus Christ: living by the Sermon on the Mount, and other teaching of Jesus; living by the fruits of the Spirit; showing love to those around us. That is what it means to be a new creation, to live our lives centered on Jesus Christ. What counts is that you be a new creation. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Galatians 6: 1-10; Doing Good to All

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the things Paul is trying to tell us here is that we are not in this alone. Paul mentions restoring people to the right path, but he also tells us to carry each other's burdens. Being a Christian means we have God in our lives to give us strength. But being a Christian also means we are surrounded by our brothers and sisters in Christ. That is a great blessing for us. We can bear with each other, encourage each other, pray for each other. What good news this is. Not only do we have God, we also have each other. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Galatians 5: 16-26; Life by the Spirit

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.' Throughout the letter to the Galatians Paul as spent a lot of time talking about the Law. This is not surprising since the Law was at the center of the Jewish faith. Here Paul mentions the Law one more time saying that living by the fruits of the Spirit is more important than living by the Law. The Law wants us to live by a set of rules and regulations, living from the brain, if you will. The Spirit wants us to live by our faith, from our heart if you will. Do not worry about following every aspect of the Law, says Paul. Instead, live by the Spirit, live the life of Jesus. Forget the Law, follow the Spirit. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Galatians 5: 1-15; Freedom in Christ

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

'The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.' Paul is very clear here saying that it is of no consequence how many (levitical) laws we live by. What matters is our faith and how we live out our faith. Obeying every single law from the OT will not necessarily guarantee you a top-spot in heaven. What will gurantee you entrance into heaven is your faith in Jesus Christ and your action from that faith. We are commanded by Jesus himself to love one another. Go forth and live out the only laws that really matter: to love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to love you neighbor as yourself. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for July 6, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture for this Sunday is John 20: 19-22, in which Jesus says he has been sent by God and likewise sends out his disciples. The sermon 'Agent Jesus' will focus on how Jesus is an agent of the will of God: to restore us to a right relationship with Him. I hope to see you Sunday. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Galatians 4: 21-31; Hagar and Sarah

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

To be perfectly honest, Paul does not always make a lot of sense. This bit about Sarah and Hagar is another way of talking about being children of the new covenant made known to us in Jesus Christ. Prior to Jesus, we were slaves of the Law, being forced to live according to the Levitical code. It was a life of oppression, not one of freedom in Christ. People were not able to enjoy life and faith because they had to constantly worry about the Law. However, now that Jesus has come, we are free from the Law. One of the many things Jesus has done is given us the opportunity to enjoy (key word, enjoy) our relationship with God. Yes, there is still sin. But there is also grace and forgiveness. We are no longer slaves to the Law, but free in the grace of Jesus Christ. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Galatians 4: 8-20; Paul's Concern for the Galatians

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Galatians were having some problems with staying true to the Gospel that had been preached to them by Paul. Like the Israelites, they began to follow other gods and celebrate other special days dedicated to those gods. Part of Paul's purpose in writing this letter is to get the people back on track, to get them to stop worshiping other gods. Again we find ourselves faced with the fact that 2000 years later Paul's letters still have meaning for us today. It seems that in today's world Jesus has taken a back seat. For some he is no longer the center, or even in the picture for that matter. In our own way we have set up gods (and goddesses) for ourselves and sometimes worship them more than we do our Lord Jesus Christ. As a world we need to get back on track and worship and serve Christ alone. We need to remember the good news of Jesus and follow only his message. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Galatians 4: 1-7

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons." Jesus came to make us right with God. Prior to the birth and ministry of Jesus humanity was trapped in the Law, having to live by a strict set of divine laws that were very hard. But when Jesus came we were freed from that trap and brought into right relationship with God. We no longer have to live by the law, for Christ has set us free. He has not only freed us from sin, he has also freed us from the confines of the Law. Now we are free to live in the grace and love of God our Father. We are no longer slaves to the Law, but heirs of the grace of God. Christ has set us free! Praise be to God. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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