Sunday Scripture and Sermon for January 3, 2010

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from John 1: 10-18, in which we are given the good news of Jesus coming to earth to give us life. The sermon is titled 'The Word Became Flesh' and will focus on the blessings we have received through the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope to see you all on Sunday. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 9: 1-27; The Rights of an Apostle

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Run in such a way as to get the prize." Running competitively is often a very difficult thing. You must run as fast and as hard as you can for as long as you can in order to win the race. By the time you get done with the race you are so exhausted you can barely stand. We should apply the same dedication and determination to our ministry and our faith. When we go out to make disciples we should push as hard as we can to bring people to Christ. When we go out to serve those in need we should do it for as long as possible can. When we get done we should have nothing left. We need to pour every ounce of our energy into serving Christ and our brothers and sisters. We should, as Paul tells us, 'run in such a way as to get the prize.' God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 8: 1-13; Food Sacrificed to Idols

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The idea is that we are not supposed to be a stumbling block to anyone else. In all things we are supposed to help others in their journey of faith, especially those who are new to the faith. If our eating of food sacrificed to idols is going to cause someone else to question their faith then we ought not to do that. This applies to other things as well with the idea, again, being that we are to do whatever we can do help others, not hinder them, in their journey of faith. Others watch us to see how we live our lives. In some cases those who watch us will imitate us, and in imitating us they may be led astray. We need to keep that in mind as we live our lives, remembering that our brothers and sisters in Christ will sometimes look to us for direction. We need to remember not to lead them in the wrong direction through what we say and do. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Christmas Eve Service

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This evening we are having our Christmas Eve Service here at the church. The service will begin at 7:00 p.m. The choir will be singing a cantata for us, we will have readings from the Christmas story, as well as a Christmas Message. We will close out the service by having communion, which will be followed by the singing of Silent Night, Holy Night, as the sanctuary is lit by candlelight. I hope you will all be able to join us for this special Christmas Eve service. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Pastor Josh on Vacation

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I will be on vacation from December 25 through the 29, 2009. If you need anything while I am away please contact one of the Elders. John McCarty will be preaching during the December 27 worship service. I will not be posting during my vacation. Posting will resume on December 30, 2009. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 7:1-40; Marriage

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hidden beneath this treatise about marriage is a reminder to let nothing get in the way of serving God. Marriage is permissible, says Paul, but not if it is going to cause you problems in your faith or work. This is good to remember not just in terms of marriage, but also in reference to everything else in life. If there is something, anything, that gets in the way of your faith then a change needs to be made. If there is something that causes you to stumble that things needs to be gotten rid of. If there is something that keeps you from serving God in the right way then you are not in the place God wants you to be. In all things make sure God is put first in your life. Paul is reminding us here to let nothing get in the way of our worship of, and service to, God. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 6: 12-20; Holiness

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Therefore honor God with your body." As Christians we are called to a life of holiness. This holiness to which we aspire is not for the benefit of saving our souls, it is not the benefit for 'scoring points' with God. Holiness is a form of worship. They way we live our lives matters because if we live holy lives we are bringing glory and honor to God. We praise God with our lips, but we also praise God with our bodies, the bodies the Lord has seen fit to give us. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 6: 1-11; Lawsuits Among Believers

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

We should take everything to the Lord. He is the true ruler of the world, it is he who judges. Paul is saying we ought to not trust in human beings when it comes to matters of judgment. Rather, we should trust in God, as he is the only one who is holy and perfect in every way, and being holy and perfect only God can hand down a perfect judgment, one free from subjective thoughts. Through prayer we ought to ask for God's guidance and direction when it comes to things like this. We need to follow God, as his judgements are perfect. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 5: 1-13; Expel the Immoral Brother

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

As much as I do not like to, I am going to have to disagree with Paul here. Yes, there is a call to holiness for Christians. Jesus tells us, in the Sermon on the Mount, that we are to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect. Being surrounded by those who not living a holy life certainly makes being holy a much more difficult task for us. However, in addition to being called to holiness we are also called to be a light, to help others, to bear with one another. In short, we are supposed to assist people in their journey of faith; we are supposed to help others become the children God wants us all to be. It is hard to do that if we kick people out of the church and our communities of faith. We should always remind people of our call to holiness, but we should help others as they struggle with sin and temptation. Expelling them will not do them any good, and our brothers and sisters in Christ are to be one of our main concerns. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 4: 1-21; Apostles of Christ

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Being an apostle is tough work. Paul covers a lot of miles in his missionary journeys. He also spends a lot of time in prison. The only thing that keeps him alive so long is that he is a Roman citizen. In any case, we get the image here that being an Apostle of Christ is no walk in the park. Neither is being a disciple of Christ. Jesus tells us, 'The world will hate you because of me.' Not only that, but at various times Jesus gives his disciples a 'doom and gloom' sermon in which he describes the specific ways in which they are going to suffer. The same is true for us. We are not given an easy road. Following Jesus is very hard. What we need to keep in mind, though, is our future peace. Yes, we suffer here, sometimes in the name of Jesus. But someday our suffering will be at an end. Someday we will enter the kingdom of heaven and be delivered from our suffering. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 3: 1-22; On Divisions in the Church

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Faith is a journey. Many of you have heard me use the phrase 'journey of faith' in every prayer and worship service. The reason for that is simple, faith is a journey. It is a journey on which we continue to grow and learn. We grow stronger in our faith as we gain a better understanding of who God is and what he has done for us. We do a better job of serving him, of being the children he wants us to be. We learn more about God: who he is and what he has done for us; we learn more about the type of person God wants us to be. Above all, though, we learn more and more about the amazing love God has for us. I pray you will be blessed on your journey of faith. May God work in you and through you; may your faith and knowledge of the Lord grow stronger each and every day. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 2: 6-16; Wisdom From the Spirit

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Outside Pentecost Sunday we just do not do very much with the Holy Spirit. This is too bad, as the third person the Trinity has a lot to offer us. More than anything the Holy Spirit is God's presence in our lives. When we feel alone or abandoned the Holy Spirit is there with us, to bring into our lives the strength, comfort, and peace we need to continue. It sometimes feels like God is not there, but in those times we need to remember that we have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We are never alone. God never leaves us. Through the Holy Spirit He is always here with us. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Open House

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I want to remind everyone of the Open House at the Parsonage on December 20, 2009. We'll get started at 2:30 p.m. I would love for you to come by the house and spend some time with us and other folks from the church. Thanks and God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for Devember 20, 2009

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from Luke 1: 39-56, in which Mary visits Elizabeth and gives praise and honor to God. The sermon is titled 'Jesus Fulfills' and will focus on the ways in which Jesus fulfills the things Mary talks about in her Song to the Lord. I hope to see you all on Sunday morning. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 1: 18- 2: 5; Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

It begins and ends with Jesus. That is Paul's major point here, Jesus is the center. Against the 'wisdom' of the world we preach Christ crucified. Jesus is our guidance, we can go nowhere without him; Jesus is our salvation, we can have no life without him; Jesus is our light, without him we are in darkness. We get caught up in so many other things in our faith that sometimes we lose sight of what it's all about: Jesus. He is our center, our reason, our source of life and everything else we have. Remember Jesus, and remember all he is and all he has done for us. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 1: 10-17; Divisions in the Church

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' Jesus says these words in reaction to accusations that he is in league with Satan. However, I think Jesus is also giving a lesson when he says this, that are not to split amongst ourselves. Paul knows the importance of this as well. In part, this is a reminder that we are to love one another as Christ has loved us. We are to love each other enough to work together and worship together. There is, though, a hint of self-preservation as well. Paul and Jesus both know that division leads to non-existence. If the church is going to thrive and survive we need to come together. We need to not be split up so much. The journey to this destination begins with prayer. Our prayer should be that all of our hearts should be softened enough for us to come together as one body of Christ. As Paul says, 'I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another, so that there may be no divisions among you, and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.' God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Corinthians 1: 1-9; Greetings and Thanksgiving

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the things I really enjoy about Paul is how thankful he is. As I read the beginning of this letter I am once again in awe of Paul's gratitude. This gratitude, though, is not for the big fancy blessings in life: the new tunic, the nice house, the comfortable sandals. No, this gratitude is for the simple blessing of having brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul is grateful that he has people with whom he can share his journey of faith, and with whom he can worship. I can almost see the excitement on Paul's face as he writes this letter. I can almost feel the joy leaking out of him onto the page. What is our level of gratitude. Is church just another place we go during the week because that is the nice thing to do? Are our brothers and sisters in Christ siblings that we have to love because their siblings, not because we truly love them? Or, like Paul, are our hearts filled to the brim with joy for the blessings of church and family?Do we always thank God for each other and the blessing of being here in God's house? God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 21: 1-25; Wives for the Benjamites

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Once again we find these words that 'everyone did as he saw fit.' What a sad time it must have been to not have had a king. Israel here is living without that guidance and direction and leadership they need. During this season of Christmas we celebrate our King, Jesus. Jesus is our guidance, he is our direction, he our leadership. Jesus is our strength, our peace, our salvation. We are not living without a king. We do not do as we see fit. Jesus is our king; we follow him and do as he sees fit. This is a blessing for us, and during this season of Advent we celebrate the birth of our King. Praise be to God for Jesus Christ, our Lord and King. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 20: 1-48; Israelites Fight the Benjamites

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Advent is a season of peace. One of our candles on the Advent wreath is actually called the candle of peace. During these few weeks we ought to reflect on the peace Jesus wants us to have with one another. Jesus does not want us to fight amongst ourselves. Rather, Jesus wants us to love one another as he has loved us, he wants us to live together in peace. This is not easy, as many of us, directly or indirectly, have been harmed in some way, which does not create peace in our hearts. What we learn from that is that the path to peace lies in forgiveness. We need to forgive those who have wronged us. When we forgive them we are able to restore the relationship that has been broken. Through forgiveness we can find our way to peace. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 19: 1-30; A Levite and His Concubine

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you noticed that the last couple chapter of Judah have begun with the phrase: 'In those days, Israel had no king.' And have you also noticed that in the last couple of chapters things have been happening in the lives of the Israelites that maybe are not according to God's will? I think there is a connection between the two. We may not get struck dead for living outside of God's will, but we just might have a different kind of life we would otherwise have: a life without peace and joy. For Israel, this is a tumultuous time because they were not looking to God, their true king. If we look to God, rely on him, and follow him, our lives will be blessed. It's that simple. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 18: 1-31; Danites Settle in Laish

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is easy to convince yourself that what you've done is God's will. For example, the tribe of Dan goes to Micah's home, steals his idols and priest. Then they go to the land of Laish and violently take it over. And since they were not struck dead that must mean God is fine with what they did. The only problem is that they did not pray to God at all during this. God's will is revealed in several ways, but it all begins with prayer, asking God what his will is. There are a lot of things we could do that God will not smite us for, but that does not mean those things are God's will. We need to keep close to God, pray to him, that his perfect will might be revealed to us. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Church Christmas Party

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are having a Christmas Party here at the church on Sunday afternoon. The festivities will begin with a pot-luck dinner, which will begin at 5:00 p.m. Following dinner we will move to our Chapel where we will have a worship service. Please join us for this blessed event, and be sure to bring a friend or neighbor with you. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for December 13, 2009

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture passage for this Sunday comes from Zephaniah 3: 14-20, in which the prophet reminds us of the saving acts of God. The sermon is titled 'Mighty to Save' and will focus on the miraculous ways in which God has redeemed us. I hope to see you all on Sunday morning. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 17: 1-13; Micah's Idols

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Micah is not following the Lord. Instead he has made for himself an idol, which he worships, and he has installed one of his sons as priest. We are told that Israel has no king during this time, that everyone does as Micah's sees fit. That is not quite what the Lord had in mind. The Lord wants to lead us and guide us. The Lord wants to be the cornerstone of our faith, that we may live to our full calling. Rather than listening to idols, or the world, we need to listen to God alone and ask for his guidance and direction. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 16: 23-31; The Death of Samson

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

In his final day we see Samson being totally reliant on others. He is reliant on the servant to place his hands on the pillars; he is reliant on God to give him the strength he needs to bring those pillars down. Samson reflects the kind of attitude we all should have: one of dependence and reliance on God. We cannot make it through our journey of faith alone. We need a little help. If we ask God to help us we will receive that help, no matter what, but we need to ask. We need to confess to God that we need his help, that we need his strength in our lives. If we make that confession God will be there to help us. We need to know, to remember, that we are reliant on God for all things in life. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 16: 1-22; Samson and Delilah

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved." I'm sure when he is first taken Samson feels he has been abandoned by the Lord. He knows the source of his strength is his hair, and when that goes away he feels like he is alone. However, we are told here that Samson's hair begins to grow back immediately, signifying the fact that the Lord has not abandoned Samson. His hair is still there, God is still with him. At times we may feel like God is not there. There are times when we, like Samson, feel abandoned by God. We need to remember, though, that God is always with us. No matter how we may feel; no matter what we may think is going on, God is always with us. Through prayer we are reminded of God's presence in our lives; our eyes and ears are open to how God is moving in our live and the rest of the world. Pray, that you will be reminded of God's continual presence in your life. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 15: 1-20; Samson's Vengeance on the Philistines

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

A desire for vengeance and anger. Those emotions, and the actions that sometimes come from those emotions, are not consistent with the kind of life God wants us to live. Samson, while he feels justified himself, does not reflect the faith he has in his heart. He continually causes trouble for the Philistines because he feels wronged in some way. Instead of praying for the Philistines, though, Samson acts in vengeance and anger, rather than in mercy and love. Being a child of God is never an easy thing because we are faced with the same things with which everyone else is faced. However, in those times when we find ourselves in situations where we could get angry we need to remember Jesus and our call to act with love, and not vengeance. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 14: 1-20; Samson's Marriage

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is not a lot of compassion in this story. Samson is, for lack of a better word, mean to his guests in giving them a riddle they cannot explain. Samson's guests, in turn, are impatient and threaten to burn Samson's wife and her family if they were not given the answer. Samson's wife goes behind her husband's back and gives the answer of the riddle to the guests. Samson then responds by wreaking havoc on the folks from Ashkelon. Where is the forgiveness and the love? As we read this story of, almost, day-to-day life we can be reminded of our own day-to-day lives. When we look back on our day we should ask ourselves, 'when did I act in anger, resentment, vengeance, secrecy, etc. when I should have acted in compassion.' There is always an opportunity to act in compassion and love. We need to seize those opportunities. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 13: 1-25; The Birth of Samson

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is not bound by anything. Here we find another birth miracle. Think of Abraham and Sarah. They were both 'getting along in years,' and believed that their time of being able to have a child had passed them by. Manoah's wife is sterile and is 'unable' to bear any children. And yet to her is born Samson who accomplishes great things in his life. No matter what the world tells us we need to remember that God can do anything. Stories like this are important because they remind us that God has power to perform miracles in the world. Never forget that our God is bound by nothing. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 12: 8-15; Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

When I read passages like this I cannot help but wonder what these folks were like. We are not told anything beyond the fact that they 'led Israel.' In the end, though, I guess their service to God mattered more than anything else. I am sure they accomplished so much more than what we are told here, but the one thing their number one priority was serving the Lord. There is a lesson in there for us. We do so much. We all have jobs where we complete one project after another; we all have milestones and other accomplishments in our lives. But above all that is, or should be, our service to God. We are Christians, the children of God. As such, we are called into God's service. Amidst the craziness of this life we need to remember that our number one priority is to serve the Lord. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for December 6, 2009

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from Malachi 3: 1-4, in which the prophet gives us some words concerning the Messiah. The sermon is titled 'God's Plan,' and will focus on God's plan for our salvation becoming a reality in, through, and as Jesus Christ. I hope to see you all on Sunday. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 12: 1-7; Jephthah and Ephraim

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Shibboleth" has often been referred to as a secret password. For those in this passage who were unable to pronounce it trouble ensued. The word has gone on to be used by many groups to separate themselves from others and establish exclusive clubs. We, as Christians, have a password. However, it is much easier to pronounce and remember. Our password is Jesus. Anyone who confesses Jesus as personal lord and savior is 'admitted' to the 'club.' One of the things we need to keep in mind, though, is that we do not get to decide who gets to become a part of this faith. That decision rests with God. Our part is to welcome with open arms anyone who accepts Jesus. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 10: 6- 11: 40; Jephthah

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jephthah makes the ultimate offering. There is a considerable amount of Biblical scholarship to suggest that Jephthah does not actually kill his daughter. Rather, Jephthah dedicates his daughter to the worship of the Lord. For her entire life Jephthah's daughter is not allowed to marry, have children, etc. Jephthah offers his daughter to the Lord rather than allowing her to get married and have children. In a time when dowries meant a lot, and children were the way to carry on the way of life, this should be seen as a great offering Jephthah has made. What sacrifices are we willing to make? I am in no way suggesting we sacrifice our children, but there are many things we have that could be offered to the Lord's service. Are we going to keep those things close to us, or are we going to dedicate them to the Lord? God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Judges 10: 3-5; Jair

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

We know very little about Jair, but one thing we do is that he is blessed. We are told here that he has 30 sons. Children are a great blessing from the Lord and the fact that Jair has been blessed (at least) 30 times highlights the fact that God blesses us as we go through life. It goes without saying that not everyone is blessed with children, but God blesses us all abundantly in one way or another. We recently celebrated Thanksgiving, a time when we are to give thanks for the many blessings God has given to us. Do not let that act of thanksgiving be a one-time event. We should always give thanks for the many blessings God has given us. God blesses Jair, God blesses us. We should be mindful of those blessings and remember to thank God for them. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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