Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are now in the season Advent, the season in which we await the birth of Jesus. This season, though, is not just about waiting for Jesus to be born. It is also about waiting for him to come back. We spend these few weeks paying special attention to the second coming of Christ. Jesus has given us the promise that he is going to come back. He will return. We need to be ready. We need to prepare our hearts, minds, and souls, for Jesus' return. Be watchful, for you do not know when your Lord is coming. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Luke 12: 22-34; Do Not Worry
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Trust in God. This past Sunday, in worship, we spent time reflecting on John the Baptist and his message. One of the things John is most noted for, his dress, is very significant. John, as we are told, wore camels hair and lived of locusts and wild honey. He did these things not because he was crazy, but because he trusted that God was going to take care of him. We need to be more trusting. God has told us he will take care of us. We need to believe him. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Trust in God. This past Sunday, in worship, we spent time reflecting on John the Baptist and his message. One of the things John is most noted for, his dress, is very significant. John, as we are told, wore camels hair and lived of locusts and wild honey. He did these things not because he was crazy, but because he trusted that God was going to take care of him. We need to be more trusting. God has told us he will take care of us. We need to believe him. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Sunday, December 5, 2010
Luke 12: 13-21; The Parable of the Rich Fool
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hard work is really the way to do things. This man, in the parable, is looking for the easy way out. He wants to build bigger barns so he won't have to do as much work the rest of the time. We are all guilty of that from time to time. Sometimes we come to Sunday worship and get our fill so we do not have to do as much throughout the week. We need to work on our faith Monday through Thursday as well. We cannot leave it just to Sunday. Faith takes hard work every day of our lives, not just one or two. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Hard work is really the way to do things. This man, in the parable, is looking for the easy way out. He wants to build bigger barns so he won't have to do as much work the rest of the time. We are all guilty of that from time to time. Sometimes we come to Sunday worship and get our fill so we do not have to do as much throughout the week. We need to work on our faith Monday through Thursday as well. We cannot leave it just to Sunday. Faith takes hard work every day of our lives, not just one or two. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Saturday, December 4, 2010
Luke 12: 1-12; Warnings and Encouragements
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
We can take nothing for granted. Jesus sets the stage for us here in this passage. We are called to work for God, to witness for Christ. If we do not do those things we will be in trouble. Yes, Jesus' sacrifice was made for all of us, and that sacrifice is great enough to cover all the sins of the world. However, we are called to respond in some way. We are called to live by faith, faith that is given to us through the cross. God calls us to faith, and he calls us to live according to that faith. Jesus reminds us of the consequences of not living by faith. Listen to his words. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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We can take nothing for granted. Jesus sets the stage for us here in this passage. We are called to work for God, to witness for Christ. If we do not do those things we will be in trouble. Yes, Jesus' sacrifice was made for all of us, and that sacrifice is great enough to cover all the sins of the world. However, we are called to respond in some way. We are called to live by faith, faith that is given to us through the cross. God calls us to faith, and he calls us to live according to that faith. Jesus reminds us of the consequences of not living by faith. Listen to his words. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Friday, December 3, 2010
Luke 11: 37-54; Woes on the Pharisees and Experts of the Law
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The problem Jesus has with the Pharisees is that they are concerned with outside appearances, and not necessarily faith. They live the Law, every letter of it. But they fail to allow the purpose of the Law live in their hearts. They do not have love, they do not have faith. We can work to please God. We can do everything Jesus has told us to do, but if we do not have love for God and our neighbors, if we do not have faith in Jesus, our actions are all for nothing. We might obey Jesus' rules, but what we really need to do is have Jesus rule in our heats. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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The problem Jesus has with the Pharisees is that they are concerned with outside appearances, and not necessarily faith. They live the Law, every letter of it. But they fail to allow the purpose of the Law live in their hearts. They do not have love, they do not have faith. We can work to please God. We can do everything Jesus has told us to do, but if we do not have love for God and our neighbors, if we do not have faith in Jesus, our actions are all for nothing. We might obey Jesus' rules, but what we really need to do is have Jesus rule in our heats. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Thursday, December 2, 2010
Luke 11: 33-36; The Lamp of the Body
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
"When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light." Having healthy eyes is an important part of being a Christian. What does this mean? It is all about avoiding temptation, looking at holy things. We see a lot of things in this world, many of which are not good for us to see. Some of these things we see on accident, and some of them we see on purpose. We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep evil and sin away from our eyes. That is one of the first steps to a life of faith, making sure our eyes are healthy. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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"When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light." Having healthy eyes is an important part of being a Christian. What does this mean? It is all about avoiding temptation, looking at holy things. We see a lot of things in this world, many of which are not good for us to see. Some of these things we see on accident, and some of them we see on purpose. We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep evil and sin away from our eyes. That is one of the first steps to a life of faith, making sure our eyes are healthy. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Luke 11: 29-32; The Sign of Jonah
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
When Jonah went to see the Ninevites the Ninevites saw and heard Jonah, and they repented. Jonah was the only sign they needed to change their ways. The sign of Jonah simply means that someone is going to come and speak about God. No fireworks, no miracles, just a simple voice calling to repentance. We sometimes look for signs, but the only sign we really need is the sign of Jesus: God's own son given to us that we might have life. See this sign, and believe. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
<><
When Jonah went to see the Ninevites the Ninevites saw and heard Jonah, and they repented. Jonah was the only sign they needed to change their ways. The sign of Jonah simply means that someone is going to come and speak about God. No fireworks, no miracles, just a simple voice calling to repentance. We sometimes look for signs, but the only sign we really need is the sign of Jesus: God's own son given to us that we might have life. See this sign, and believe. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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