Thursday, October 28, 2010
Something to Think About
“Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”(Rom 5:20) Think about this: God is a much bigger savior than you are a sinner!
Pastors Corner
for Sunday October 31st
Raised with Jesus.
“Since you have been raised with Christ, seek those things above where Christ is…set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:1-2) If you have been washed in the blood of Jesus then you have been raised up with Christ! Raised from what? Raised from the grave where we died to our former way of life; that life where we lived for our flesh and pleased our sinful selves; that life that promised so much but gave so little; that life that had no answers to the tough questions of life; that life that in spite of the hustle and bustle had a hollow ring to it. Then Jesus intersected our lives and in our brokenness we cried out for mercy and at that moment of surrender we died. But the day we died was also the day we were born! Born into a new family with a new address – the place where Jesus is! However, we’re not home yet. We’re strangers and travelers here on this earth and as such we must SET our minds on things above. If we don’t set our minds on things above, we will drift off course and become entangled with this world again. Always remember, we have been raised with Christ, this world is not our home; we’re just passing through. Our home is where Jesus is – at the right hand of the Father.
Pastor Don.
Raised with Jesus.
“Since you have been raised with Christ, seek those things above where Christ is…set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col. 3:1-2) If you have been washed in the blood of Jesus then you have been raised up with Christ! Raised from what? Raised from the grave where we died to our former way of life; that life where we lived for our flesh and pleased our sinful selves; that life that promised so much but gave so little; that life that had no answers to the tough questions of life; that life that in spite of the hustle and bustle had a hollow ring to it. Then Jesus intersected our lives and in our brokenness we cried out for mercy and at that moment of surrender we died. But the day we died was also the day we were born! Born into a new family with a new address – the place where Jesus is! However, we’re not home yet. We’re strangers and travelers here on this earth and as such we must SET our minds on things above. If we don’t set our minds on things above, we will drift off course and become entangled with this world again. Always remember, we have been raised with Christ, this world is not our home; we’re just passing through. Our home is where Jesus is – at the right hand of the Father.
Pastor Don.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Something to think about.
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” Helen Keller
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday October 24th
Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (Jn 19:19) Signs were placed on crosses as a declaration to the world why that person had been crucified. Typically they recounted the sins of the man crucified – a public declaration of the man’s shame and failure. However Jesus’ sign was different. It wasn’t a list of His crimes but was actually a declaration of who He was and at the same time it was an indictment against the Jews for rejecting Jesus as their king. Another significant thing about this sign was that it was written in the three languages – Aramaic, Latin and Greek. It’s as though Pilate wanted EVERYBODY – Jew and Gentile – to know why Jesus had been crucified. What a terrible, yet penetrating accusation, we have crucified our king! But thank God it didn’t end there; on Sunday Jesus rose from the dead. He is alive and He holds His hands out in forgiveness! We have killed our King but He is willing to forgive us if we turn from our sinful ways. Do the right thing and crown Him your King. Don’t let your past mistakes stand in your way. Don’t let your fear stand in your way. He is a far bigger savior than you are a sinner. Make Him your king today.
Pastor Don
Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” (Jn 19:19) Signs were placed on crosses as a declaration to the world why that person had been crucified. Typically they recounted the sins of the man crucified – a public declaration of the man’s shame and failure. However Jesus’ sign was different. It wasn’t a list of His crimes but was actually a declaration of who He was and at the same time it was an indictment against the Jews for rejecting Jesus as their king. Another significant thing about this sign was that it was written in the three languages – Aramaic, Latin and Greek. It’s as though Pilate wanted EVERYBODY – Jew and Gentile – to know why Jesus had been crucified. What a terrible, yet penetrating accusation, we have crucified our king! But thank God it didn’t end there; on Sunday Jesus rose from the dead. He is alive and He holds His hands out in forgiveness! We have killed our King but He is willing to forgive us if we turn from our sinful ways. Do the right thing and crown Him your King. Don’t let your past mistakes stand in your way. Don’t let your fear stand in your way. He is a far bigger savior than you are a sinner. Make Him your king today.
Pastor Don
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Something to think about.
Think about Him in all your ways and He will guide you on the right paths. (Prov. 3:6)
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday Oct. 17th
"I Can't Change Jesus"
Bruce Howell tells the following story about Bill Irwin. “Bill Irwin, a man who is blind, has a talking computer he uses to study the Bible. He's had a few chuckles over some of the pronunciations. "For a long time," Bill says, "the computer pronounced Holy Bible as 'holly bible' until I figured out how to modify it." But there was one thing Bill couldn't change. The computer uses the Spanish pronunciation for Jesus Christ--HEYsus Krist. "The programmer is Hispanic," Bill told me with a smile, "and he made sure that HEYsus Krist cannot be altered." I like that. It reminds me that among the things in life that can be changed to suit my taste, one remains tamper-resistant--I can't change Jesus. When life is unsettled, I gain great comfort from the Bible's affirmation that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). But the statement is also a stern rebuke to my tendency to try to modify the words and character of Christ when I don't like what he says. How easy it is to forget that I came to Christ longing for him to transform me, not the other way around! Praise God that his Word and his love are perfect and unchanging. And praise him too that in his love he is working to change me.”
Full surrender is when we accept Jesus for who He is and not for who we want Him to be.
Pastor Don.
"I Can't Change Jesus"
Bruce Howell tells the following story about Bill Irwin. “Bill Irwin, a man who is blind, has a talking computer he uses to study the Bible. He's had a few chuckles over some of the pronunciations. "For a long time," Bill says, "the computer pronounced Holy Bible as 'holly bible' until I figured out how to modify it." But there was one thing Bill couldn't change. The computer uses the Spanish pronunciation for Jesus Christ--HEYsus Krist. "The programmer is Hispanic," Bill told me with a smile, "and he made sure that HEYsus Krist cannot be altered." I like that. It reminds me that among the things in life that can be changed to suit my taste, one remains tamper-resistant--I can't change Jesus. When life is unsettled, I gain great comfort from the Bible's affirmation that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). But the statement is also a stern rebuke to my tendency to try to modify the words and character of Christ when I don't like what he says. How easy it is to forget that I came to Christ longing for him to transform me, not the other way around! Praise God that his Word and his love are perfect and unchanging. And praise him too that in his love he is working to change me.”
Full surrender is when we accept Jesus for who He is and not for who we want Him to be.
Pastor Don.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Pastor's Corner
for Sunday Oct 10th
Too big to serve God.
A wealthy young man came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to receive eternal life. Jesus brought him directly to the point of choice – “sell what you have…and come follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away “very sorrowful.” Have you ever been there? Have you decided to serve Jesus in a certain way and then He says, “Leave this behind and follow me”? We all have areas where we are “rich”, our “natural” abilities and strengths. And so we come to Jesus bringing these “riches” but Jesus tells us to leave them behind and follow Him. You see, I can be so rich in myself that I’m unusable in His hands; I may be so conscious of my own “wealth”, my own “talents” that “I” keep getting in the way. For me to be a disciple, Jesus says, “sell what you have”, strip yourself of everything that you possess – your money; your talents, your dreams, your goals – until you stand before Him empty of “you”, ready to be filled with Him. This is the point of decision – my riches or God’s riches. This is what I think Jesus means when He says that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.
Pastor Don.
Too big to serve God.
A wealthy young man came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to receive eternal life. Jesus brought him directly to the point of choice – “sell what you have…and come follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away “very sorrowful.” Have you ever been there? Have you decided to serve Jesus in a certain way and then He says, “Leave this behind and follow me”? We all have areas where we are “rich”, our “natural” abilities and strengths. And so we come to Jesus bringing these “riches” but Jesus tells us to leave them behind and follow Him. You see, I can be so rich in myself that I’m unusable in His hands; I may be so conscious of my own “wealth”, my own “talents” that “I” keep getting in the way. For me to be a disciple, Jesus says, “sell what you have”, strip yourself of everything that you possess – your money; your talents, your dreams, your goals – until you stand before Him empty of “you”, ready to be filled with Him. This is the point of decision – my riches or God’s riches. This is what I think Jesus means when He says that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him.
Pastor Don.
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