Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
"That you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." We are all in this together. We have heard that saying applied to so many other things, but it is very true when it comes to matters of faith. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and as such, we are supposed to help one another on our journey of faith. We are to build each other up, to assist one another, to bear with one another. Faith is not a journey that is supposed to be taken alone. We are supposed to fellowship with one another, to help one another, to, as Paul says, be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. We are not alone in our faith. We have Jesus, and we have each other. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Saturday, February 7, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Sunday Scripture and Sermon for February 8, 2009
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from Hebrews 11:29-12:2, in which the faith of the Israelites is recounted. The sermon is titles, 'Runners,' and will focus on the perseverance we need for our journey of faith and how that perseverance is rewarded. I hope to see you Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from Hebrews 11:29-12:2, in which the faith of the Israelites is recounted. The sermon is titles, 'Runners,' and will focus on the perseverance we need for our journey of faith and how that perseverance is rewarded. I hope to see you Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Romans 1: 1-7; Introduction
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice how many times Paul mentions Jesus in these few verses. For Paul, Jesus is the center of everything. He cannot say anything without mentioning Jesus in connection with it. We should be the same. Jesus should be at the center of everything we do and say. We are Christians, which means we belong to Christ. We are Christ's possession. We live for him, we serve him, we do everything according to his will. Jesus is our reason for everything. Paul knows that, and we need to know that, too. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Notice how many times Paul mentions Jesus in these few verses. For Paul, Jesus is the center of everything. He cannot say anything without mentioning Jesus in connection with it. We should be the same. Jesus should be at the center of everything we do and say. We are Christians, which means we belong to Christ. We are Christ's possession. We live for him, we serve him, we do everything according to his will. Jesus is our reason for everything. Paul knows that, and we need to know that, too. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Ezra 10: 18-44; Those Guilty of Intermarriage
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Can you imagine the fear that must have existed in the hearts and minds of these folks knowing their name was on a list such as this? What a horrible weight to carry around with you. Thankfully, the only list that has our name on it is the list of those who have been forgiven of all sin. There is no list of our sins, there is no list of people who are guilty of sin, only a list of those who have been saved. For us, there is Jesus. And Jesus has seen to it that we are saved from all sin, that our names are not written on a list of sinners. Jesus has given us life by making sure our name is on the list of those who have been saved. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Can you imagine the fear that must have existed in the hearts and minds of these folks knowing their name was on a list such as this? What a horrible weight to carry around with you. Thankfully, the only list that has our name on it is the list of those who have been forgiven of all sin. There is no list of our sins, there is no list of people who are guilty of sin, only a list of those who have been saved. For us, there is Jesus. And Jesus has seen to it that we are saved from all sin, that our names are not written on a list of sinners. Jesus has given us life by making sure our name is on the list of those who have been saved. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Ezra 10: 1-17; The People's Confession of Sin
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even though we have been saved from sin by Jesus we still need to confess our sins. We need to confess, each and every day, that we need Jesus' death on the cross. We are called to be humble before the Lord, we are called to confess our sins. Yes, we have been saved from sin. Yes, our sins have all been wiped away by the blood of the Lamb. But that does not mean we do not sin, and that does not mean we do not need to confess our sins. Make your confession to the Lord and tell him just how much we all need Jesus to save us. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Even though we have been saved from sin by Jesus we still need to confess our sins. We need to confess, each and every day, that we need Jesus' death on the cross. We are called to be humble before the Lord, we are called to confess our sins. Yes, we have been saved from sin. Yes, our sins have all been wiped away by the blood of the Lamb. But that does not mean we do not sin, and that does not mean we do not need to confess our sins. Make your confession to the Lord and tell him just how much we all need Jesus to save us. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Monday, February 2, 2009
Ezra 9: 1-15; Ezra's Prayer About Intermarriage
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Opportunities for us to bear witness to those around us abound. We, like Ezra, are surrounded by those who live outside the will of God. Instead of completely cutting ourselves off from them we need to sieze the opportunity to share with them the good news of Jesus. What we need to do is bear witness to them, and tell them the good news of Jesus that they might begin to live a holy and righteous life. We should not ignore them altogether. Instead, we should take advantage of the opportunity we have to share with them the good news of Jesus and help then turn their life around. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Opportunities for us to bear witness to those around us abound. We, like Ezra, are surrounded by those who live outside the will of God. Instead of completely cutting ourselves off from them we need to sieze the opportunity to share with them the good news of Jesus. What we need to do is bear witness to them, and tell them the good news of Jesus that they might begin to live a holy and righteous life. We should not ignore them altogether. Instead, we should take advantage of the opportunity we have to share with them the good news of Jesus and help then turn their life around. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Sunday, February 1, 2009
Ezra 8: 15-36; The Return to Jerusalem
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
"There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions." We are called to be humble before the Lord. We need to recognize God's greatness and power in our lives. Rather than assuming everything is going to be ok because we planned everything we need to ask for God's blessings in our lives. For God is the only one who can make everything go well. Humility means to submit to the care of God, recognizing that only God can truly take care of us, and recognizing that God will take care of us. Be humble before the Lord, asking his guidance and blessing to be in your life, for he is the only source of those blessings. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
"There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions." We are called to be humble before the Lord. We need to recognize God's greatness and power in our lives. Rather than assuming everything is going to be ok because we planned everything we need to ask for God's blessings in our lives. For God is the only one who can make everything go well. Humility means to submit to the care of God, recognizing that only God can truly take care of us, and recognizing that God will take care of us. Be humble before the Lord, asking his guidance and blessing to be in your life, for he is the only source of those blessings. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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