The KJV says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” In many passages, the Bible reminds us that as Christians we are to never stop being a student; we are to never stop studying. In other words, Christians stay in school for life! For you kids or students, that may seem unappealing, but let me assure you, if you love Jesus, you'll love learning all you can about him and his creation. Studying the Bible and learning how to have a deeper faith in Christ isn't a burden, it's a blessing. Our attitudes should be that of Psalm 25:4 which says, “make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” The point this morning is simple, regardless of how old you are, you should never lose a desire to learn all you can about Christ and his kingdom.
- Jul 30, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 8: Stay In School (2 Timothy 2:15)
Summer Mix Tape Part 8: Stay In School (2 Timothy 2:15)
The KJV says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” In many passages, the Bible reminds us that as Christians we are to never stop being a student; we are to never stop studying. In other words, Christians stay in school for life! For you kids or students, that may seem unappealing, but let me assure you, if you love Jesus, you'll love learning all you can about him and his creation. Studying the Bible and learning how to have a deeper faith in Christ isn't a burden, it's a blessing. Our attitudes should be that of Psalm 25:4 which says, “make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.” The point this morning is simple, regardless of how old you are, you should never lose a desire to learn all you can about Christ and his kingdom.
- Jul 24, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 7: Love Does Not Equal Acceptance (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Summer Mix Tape Part 7: Love Does Not Equal Acceptance (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Let's talk about love. But not love like in ahhhh, but love as in like... hmmm. To explain what I'm talking about let's look at the love chapter; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Love is patient and kind.... blah blah. Love is all nice and polite and will do anything for you and accept you no matter what right? Well hit the brakes cupid. Look at verse 6 again. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Did you get that? Love is kind, not arrogant, not rude, not irritable or resentful. Love will make you feel accepted but love doesn't accept all that you do because true love does not, cannot rejoice at wrong doing!
And it is this issue, this point, that may be the fulcrum of the current spiritual war which is raging in our culture. As believers we must place our faith in Christ above all, yes? And our faith in Christ is in accordance with a belief in the scriptures, yes? And our scriptures tell us that true faith is exhibited through righteous living, right? And our scriptures, the Bible, tells us how to live righteously, correct? So what happens when we are faced with a choice to either appear loving by accepting someone's sin or appear unloving by neglecting to accept one's sin?
For the longest time, the church answered this dilemma through the mantra, “hate the sin, love the sinner.” But today we are confronted with so many changing cultural norms that in order to hate the sin, we must hate the very thing by which people find their identity. For example, I can easily tell an alcoholic that I hate their sin of drunkenness and dependency on alcohol, and they will most likely agree and not be offended by it. Why? Because being an alcoholic is not something anyone wants to be celebrated for. But in the last decade it has become mainstream for certain other sins and the people who indulge in them to be celebrated for those sins, because those sins define them. And if you dare tell them that the sin which defines them is sin, and that you can't accept their sin or their lifestyle as right, according to scripture, then you are considered intolerant, a bigot, a phobe, and you are othered by society. We are told that if we don't accept someone's lifestyle then we are not being loving and we need to change our stance or be canceled. And we are left wondering? When did telling someone that we can't accept their sinful lifestyle become unloving. In fact, according to 1 Corinthians 13:6, aren't we being loving when we do not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoice in the truth?
- Jul 16, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 6: God’s Call To Ministry (Exodus 3)
Summer Mix Tape Part 6: God’s Call To Ministry (Exodus 3)God's call to ministry for Moses shows us how we can persevere in our call, no matter the difficulties we will face. Someone with a true calling will keep going regardless of their failures, excuses, and disappointments. In the end we will realize that we are empowered to live our calling not because of our strength but because of the power of Christ in us. Don't give up on what God has called you to do!
- Jul 9, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 5: The Forgotten God (Romans 8:11)
Summer Mix Tape Part 5: The Forgotten God (Romans 8:11)
You may think that calling the Holy Spirit the forgotten God is a bit extreme but I don't. In my opinion the Holy Spirit has been tragically neglected for far too long and for all practical purposes has been forgotten, not just by secular society, but by the church itself. Francis Chan, in his book Forgotten God, says, “If I were Satan and my ultimate goal was to thwart God's kingdom and purposes, one of my main strategies would be to get churchgoers to ignore the Holy Spirit.” This cannot be tolerated and must be addressed.
Some people talk a lot about, or even boast about, the Spirit, but their lives don't produce any of His fruit. Others speak about Him in theological terms but don't have any connection with an experience of His actual power. Still many simply ignore Him and rarely feel a relationship or intimacy with God.
We need to be awakened to our need for the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our church and to show us how to make him relevant and real in the way we live. If the Holy Spirit moves, nothing can stop Him. If he doesn't move, we will not produce fruit, we will not exhibit a genuine example of Christ to the world, and we will not find the strength to push through complacency and trials. Most of all, if the Holy Spirit doesn't move we will continue to be satisfied with the superficial means of this world rather than the supernatural moving of God.
- Jul 2, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 4: The American Covenant (Deuteronomy 4:1-8)
Summer Mix Tape Part 4: The American Covenant (Deuteronomy 4:1-8)
What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us? A nation, not all that unlike Israel, that started when a few religious separatists against all odds, boarded ships, crossed an ocean, and took possession of a new world. A nation that started upon the words and the commandments of the Lord our God. A nation born from full sail rejection of idolatrous tyranny. A nation born of an American Covenant. A covenant which states time and time again, “keep and teach the righteous statutes of the Lord and you will be blessed.” And make no mistake about it, God has blessed America. But just as with the Covenant that was given to the Israelites from Mount Sinai, this covenant is conditional. Though God unconditionally will never forsake his elect; when dealing with nations, there are stipulations to his blessings. Follow his commands and seek his will and things will go well for you. Ignore his commands and seek your own desires and things will go poorly. Tuesday, as we celebrate the birth of our nation, founded on the principles of the Bible and for the expansion of Christ's kingdom, let it be a warning. We have sunk further from God as a nation than we ever have. We have forsaken his Word and forgotten his will for our nation. We have become pagans worshipping the gods of the flesh and celebrating demonic perversions and sexually immoralities that our forefathers couldn't even have imagined. Our freedoms are hanging on by a thread and because of this we are more divided as a country than we have been since the Civil War. In short, we are in drastic danger of seeing God remove his hand of blessing from us. You see it and I see it. If not for a miracle the end of the republic is in sight.
- Jun 25, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 3: Faithfulness In A Time Of Apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)
Summer Mix Tape Part 3: Faithfulness In A Time Of Apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)We are living in a time of great apostasy in the church and I'm afraid it may get much worse. Those who stay the course must do so by staying faithful to the Word of God.
- Jun 18, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 2: Highs and Lows (1 Chronicles 16:11)
Summer Mix Tape Part 2: Highs and Lows (1 Chronicles 16:11)We often think of a negative attitude as debilitating to a believer, and it is, but we don't often think of a positive attitude in the same way. A positive attitude can take our eyes off Christ just as easily as a negative one. In the highs and the lows of life, if our eyes aren't fixed on Christ, we will undoubtably lose our joy and our way. If both a negative and positive attitude can lead us astray in our faith, we must have a positional attitude, one that is fixed on Christ.
- Jun 11, 2023Summer Mix Tape Part 1: Prayers, Testimonies, and Communion
Summer Mix Tape Part 1: Prayers, Testimonies, and CommunionSometimes we just need to hear from God. This week we hear testimonies from a few different people, pray for revival and for our country, and focus on communion.