Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Paul tells us in II Corinthians that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, the old passes away and the new has come. We are made new in Jesus, we are all born again. The term 'born again' has lost some popularity in recent years, but it is one that needs to be brought back because it is what Jesus wants of us. Jesus wants us to be born again, he wants us to begin a brand new life with him, one that has nothing to do with our old life. We are a new creation in Christ; we are born again in Jesus. Take this day and, if you have not done so already, allow youself to be born again, to begin a brand new life in Jesus. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Recycling Bin
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
We now have a recycling bin in the parking lot of the church. This is a great way to raise money for the church, and to help the environment. Please bring all of your recyclable paper products to the church, and tell everybody else you know to do the same thing. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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We now have a recycling bin in the parking lot of the church. This is a great way to raise money for the church, and to help the environment. Please bring all of your recyclable paper products to the church, and tell everybody else you know to do the same thing. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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John 2: 12-25; Jesus Clears Out the Temple
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the other gospels Jesus uses the phrase 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' when he clears out the Temple. I think this is just as important for us to remember now as it was for the people Jesus drove out of the Temple 2,000 years ago. God's house is supposed to be a house of worship. When we gather here we are supposed to leave everything from the outside world in the outside world. All of our cares, fears, anger, sadness, etc. should be left at the door, for it is those things that distract us from true worship of God. And it is those things that drove the people in Jesus' time to make the Temple a market and slaughterhouse. When we gather for worship we should gather for worship only, nothing else. When we come into God's house the only thing that should be on our mind is God and God alone. God's house is to be a house of prayer and worship. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
In the other gospels Jesus uses the phrase 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' when he clears out the Temple. I think this is just as important for us to remember now as it was for the people Jesus drove out of the Temple 2,000 years ago. God's house is supposed to be a house of worship. When we gather here we are supposed to leave everything from the outside world in the outside world. All of our cares, fears, anger, sadness, etc. should be left at the door, for it is those things that distract us from true worship of God. And it is those things that drove the people in Jesus' time to make the Temple a market and slaughterhouse. When we gather for worship we should gather for worship only, nothing else. When we come into God's house the only thing that should be on our mind is God and God alone. God's house is to be a house of prayer and worship. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Tuesday, November 4, 2008
John 2: 1-11; Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the cup of salvation. The wedding guests, and hosts, needed some wine so that everyone would be happy. Jesus knew that the cup he offered would fulfill all the needs of all people. Jesus says here that it is not yet his time, but we can also look at this and see that some of Jesus' frustration comes out in the fact that he knows the cup he offeres will never need to be refilled, and it will never need to be suplemented. The cup that Jesus offers is the cup of salvation, and we will need nothing more than that. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Jesus is the cup of salvation. The wedding guests, and hosts, needed some wine so that everyone would be happy. Jesus knew that the cup he offered would fulfill all the needs of all people. Jesus says here that it is not yet his time, but we can also look at this and see that some of Jesus' frustration comes out in the fact that he knows the cup he offeres will never need to be refilled, and it will never need to be suplemented. The cup that Jesus offers is the cup of salvation, and we will need nothing more than that. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Monday, November 3, 2008
John 1: 43-51; Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Nathanael hears the good news that he will be rewarded for following Jesus. Because he has chosen to follow Jesus he Nathanael is going to be rewarded. The same is true for us. We have chosen to follow Jesus and we have been rewarded. We are rewarded with salvation and eternal life. We may not get gold or other riches, but we will receive blessings beyond count. To be sure, there is a cost to following Jesus. There are things we need to sacrifice, but we also need to spend time talking about the rewards we receive from God. Because of the work of Jesus Christ our Lord we have been rewarded with all we will ever need. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Nathanael hears the good news that he will be rewarded for following Jesus. Because he has chosen to follow Jesus he Nathanael is going to be rewarded. The same is true for us. We have chosen to follow Jesus and we have been rewarded. We are rewarded with salvation and eternal life. We may not get gold or other riches, but we will receive blessings beyond count. To be sure, there is a cost to following Jesus. There are things we need to sacrifice, but we also need to spend time talking about the rewards we receive from God. Because of the work of Jesus Christ our Lord we have been rewarded with all we will ever need. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Sunday, November 2, 2008
John 1: 35-42; Jesus' First Disciples
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is just something about Jesus. The disciples saw it immediately. When they encountered Jesus they knew from the beginning that Jesus was sent by God to do great things. And, of course, they were right. Jesus was sent here by God to do amazing things. The most amazing thing he did was restore us to right relationship with God. Jesus had an immediate impact on the disciples. And he has had an immediate impact on us as well. From the moment we met Jesus we knew there was something special about him. Jesus has done for us what he did for the disciples; he restored us to right relationship with God. The disciples recognized what Jesus was going to do and they followed him. We recognized the same thing. Follow Jesus, for he is the one who has brought us back into right relationship with God. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
There is just something about Jesus. The disciples saw it immediately. When they encountered Jesus they knew from the beginning that Jesus was sent by God to do great things. And, of course, they were right. Jesus was sent here by God to do amazing things. The most amazing thing he did was restore us to right relationship with God. Jesus had an immediate impact on the disciples. And he has had an immediate impact on us as well. From the moment we met Jesus we knew there was something special about him. Jesus has done for us what he did for the disciples; he restored us to right relationship with God. The disciples recognized what Jesus was going to do and they followed him. We recognized the same thing. Follow Jesus, for he is the one who has brought us back into right relationship with God. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Saturday, November 1, 2008
John 1: 29-34; Jesus the Lamb of God
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world. One thing I would like to highlight here is that John the Baptist does not mention the cross here. He says that Jesus is the Lam of God who will take away the sins of the world, but he does not mention specifically Jesus on the cross. It is the entire life and ministry of Jesus that gives us our salvation. In the Apostle's Creed Jesus' life is not mentioned. The Creed goes from the birth to the suffering of Jesus under Pontius Pilate. There is nothing there about the life of Christ. We need to remember not only the death of Jesus on the cross, but his life and ministry in Israel. Jesus is the Lamb of God, not just on the cross, but in his entire life. Jesus is the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
Jesus is the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world. One thing I would like to highlight here is that John the Baptist does not mention the cross here. He says that Jesus is the Lam of God who will take away the sins of the world, but he does not mention specifically Jesus on the cross. It is the entire life and ministry of Jesus that gives us our salvation. In the Apostle's Creed Jesus' life is not mentioned. The Creed goes from the birth to the suffering of Jesus under Pontius Pilate. There is nothing there about the life of Christ. We need to remember not only the death of Jesus on the cross, but his life and ministry in Israel. Jesus is the Lamb of God, not just on the cross, but in his entire life. Jesus is the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
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