Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaking the word of God is not an easy thing if for no other reason than the fact that sometimes no one wants to hear it. The Man of God speaks a word of judgment against Jeroboam and Israel, and for that he is hated. But that does not keep him from bringing the message God has given. We are called to bring a message to the world, but it is a message the world may not want to hear. With that in mind we should not remain silent. Instead we should speak with faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the words God has given us. They may not be popular, but they are the words God wants us to speak; they are the words God wants the world to hear. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Sunday, March 6, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
1 Kings 12: 25-33; Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is so easy to fall back into the patterns of our former way of life. Jeroboam has constructed golden calves, very similar to the golden calf the Israelites made at the base of Mt. Sinai. For that sin many Israelites were killed. And yet, even with that knowledge the Israelites make golden calves yet again. We are always in danger of regressing. We need to be careful. Our old life, the life we had before we came to Christ, is behind us, but it can come back if we let it. We need to continue to be faithful to the life to which God has called us and be careful not to fall into hold habits. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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It is so easy to fall back into the patterns of our former way of life. Jeroboam has constructed golden calves, very similar to the golden calf the Israelites made at the base of Mt. Sinai. For that sin many Israelites were killed. And yet, even with that knowledge the Israelites make golden calves yet again. We are always in danger of regressing. We need to be careful. Our old life, the life we had before we came to Christ, is behind us, but it can come back if we let it. We need to continue to be faithful to the life to which God has called us and be careful not to fall into hold habits. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Friday, March 4, 2011
1 Kings 12: 1-24; Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are supposed to hold one another accountable. Rehoboam was not doing the things he needed to be doing, and Israel called him on it. They wanted certain things from their king and they reacted when he did not do those things. We need to do the same on our journey of faith. We are called to help one another, to bear each other's burdens. But we are also called to hold each other accountable, to help each other, in a variety of ways, to achieve the holiness to which God has called us. Where there is sin in the world, or in the life of someone we know, we need to name it and help with the process breaking away from sin. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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We are supposed to hold one another accountable. Rehoboam was not doing the things he needed to be doing, and Israel called him on it. They wanted certain things from their king and they reacted when he did not do those things. We need to do the same on our journey of faith. We are called to help one another, to bear each other's burdens. But we are also called to hold each other accountable, to help each other, in a variety of ways, to achieve the holiness to which God has called us. Where there is sin in the world, or in the life of someone we know, we need to name it and help with the process breaking away from sin. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Thursday, March 3, 2011
Sunday Scripture and Sermon for March 6, 2011
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Scripture for this Sunday is from Ephesians 4: 11-16, in which Paul reminds us of that each of us is called to a particular task. The sermon is titled 'Don't Give Up.' During the sermon time we will talk about the common practice to give something up during Lent and how, instead of that, we should add something to our lives. I hope to see you all in church on Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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The Scripture for this Sunday is from Ephesians 4: 11-16, in which Paul reminds us of that each of us is called to a particular task. The sermon is titled 'Don't Give Up.' During the sermon time we will talk about the common practice to give something up during Lent and how, instead of that, we should add something to our lives. I hope to see you all in church on Sunday. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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1 Kings 11: 41-43; The Death of Solomon
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Forward is the direction we need to be moving. Solomon's death is not given very much attention here for one very important reason: Israel has faith to move forward knowing God will give them everything they need. They do not want/need to wallow in self-pity once Solomon has died. Instead they want to continue to move forward on the path God has laid out for them. We need to the same thing. Bad things happen. There is no way to sugar-coat it, and there is nothing we can do about it. When bad things happen we can do one of two things: one, not move for fear of something else bad happening; two, move forward knowing God will be there to guide us every step of the way. Your move. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Forward is the direction we need to be moving. Solomon's death is not given very much attention here for one very important reason: Israel has faith to move forward knowing God will give them everything they need. They do not want/need to wallow in self-pity once Solomon has died. Instead they want to continue to move forward on the path God has laid out for them. We need to the same thing. Bad things happen. There is no way to sugar-coat it, and there is nothing we can do about it. When bad things happen we can do one of two things: one, not move for fear of something else bad happening; two, move forward knowing God will be there to guide us every step of the way. Your move. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
1 Kings 11: 26-40; Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
God punishes Solomon because Solomon has sinned, and in that we are reminded of one very important fact: God is still active and involved in our lives, just as he was with Solomon. We have been called to obedience. God has given us commandments, as has Jesus. Those commandments are what keep us on the path God has laid out for us. If we stray from that path, then God will bring us back to the path. As was the case with Solomon this may not be a pleasant experience for us, but it is for our benefit, for the Lord's path is the place we are supposed to be. God remains active and involved. He directs us on the path, and brings us back to it, if necessary. Let us all continue to grow in our faith, that we would continue to stay on the path God has laid out for us. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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God punishes Solomon because Solomon has sinned, and in that we are reminded of one very important fact: God is still active and involved in our lives, just as he was with Solomon. We have been called to obedience. God has given us commandments, as has Jesus. Those commandments are what keep us on the path God has laid out for us. If we stray from that path, then God will bring us back to the path. As was the case with Solomon this may not be a pleasant experience for us, but it is for our benefit, for the Lord's path is the place we are supposed to be. God remains active and involved. He directs us on the path, and brings us back to it, if necessary. Let us all continue to grow in our faith, that we would continue to stay on the path God has laid out for us. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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Tuesday, March 1, 2011
1 Kings 11: 14-25; Solomon's Adversaries
Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.
At times, we may face enemies in our lives. Whether because of our faith, or some other incident in life, there may be people in the world who do not like us. More than that there may be people in the world who would wish us harm. What do we do in the face of such pain and turmoil? We pray. Jesus tells us to 'love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you.' Returning hate for hate will get us nowhere. The only way for us to get rid of the hatred is to continue to love. This is a long process, obviously. We may continue to have enemies and those enemies may still persecute us. But our love, and the love of God, can turn things around. It may take time, but love is the best thing to put against hate. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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At times, we may face enemies in our lives. Whether because of our faith, or some other incident in life, there may be people in the world who do not like us. More than that there may be people in the world who would wish us harm. What do we do in the face of such pain and turmoil? We pray. Jesus tells us to 'love our enemies and pray for those who persecute you.' Returning hate for hate will get us nowhere. The only way for us to get rid of the hatred is to continue to love. This is a long process, obviously. We may continue to have enemies and those enemies may still persecute us. But our love, and the love of God, can turn things around. It may take time, but love is the best thing to put against hate. God bless you.
Pastor Josh
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