Verses For The Week And An Update

      I am recovering from being attacked by the neighbor's dog. I will post the verses this week, and the sermon will be posted on Saturday this week. I am going to hold off posting the new book on Wednesdays for a couple of more weeks. Please pray that I will keep getting better, and pray that the neighbors will do the right thing and pay the medical bills for this incident. Thank you. 

Verses:

Psalm 119:105 -- "Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Matthew 6:33 -- "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Update

      There will be no posts this week. I was attacked by my neighbors dog last night, and my arm is in bad condition. I will try to resume posting next week with the verses for the week. 

The Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 1:1-2"

      It is once again time for the Weekend Sermon, and this week we have a new beginning. I hope that all of you are doing well. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to post this message. 

     Last week, we looked at one of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. Prior to that, we'd been discussing the subject of faithfulness. Starting today, and for several weeks to follow, we will be studying verse by verse through the book of Philippians. 

     Let's begin with a little introduction. We can read about Paul's ministry in the city of Philippi in Acts chapter 16. While Paul was ministering in another area, he saw a vision given to him by the Lord of a man calling for him to come come over to Macedonia and help. Macedonia was in the northern part of Greece. 

     Paul and his companions went to Philippi. On the Sabbath day, they went down by the river to pray and saw a group of women there. At that time, a woman named Lydia became the first one to accept the message of the Gospel and become a follower of Jesus. Paul and his companions stayed at her house, and a new church started there. 

     After preaching in Philippi for awhile, Paul encountered trouble with the local authorities. He and Silas were thrown into prison. While in prison, they began to sing and praise God. A great earthquake came, and the jail was virtually destroyed. The jailer was going to kill himself fearing that all of the prisoners had escaped. However, Paul stopped him by assuring him that they were still there. Paul and Silas went to the jailer's home where he and his entire household became followers of Jesus. Paul and Silas were released, and then Paul went to Thessalonica. 

     Paul wrote several letters to the churches that he founded on his missionary journeys. Philippians is one of these letters. Paul begins in verse 1 by identifying himself as the author of this letter. He then goes on in verse 2 to say, "I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and bless you with peace!"

     I find this to be an exceptionally nice greeting. By this greeting and throughout the letter, one can tell that Paul cared a lot about the people and the church at Philippi. He prayed for the Lord to be kind to them. That is something that we can pray to the Lord for others. What could be better than to have the kindness of the Lord rained down into someone's life. The Lord is kind to us in so many ways.

     I know that I have experienced the kindness of the Lord in my life. The Lord showed me His kindness by allowing me to have a relationship with Him. He has shown me His kindness by being present with me in all that I go through in this life. Through His kindness, I had my friend Toby with me for so many years. The Lord in His kindness allowed me to be a writer and to be able to play music and sing. 

     I hope and pray that the kindness of the Lord will be in your lives. 

     Paul also prayed that they might be blessed with peace. Peace is so much needed in this world. There is a personal peace that is in our hearts, and there is peace that comes from an absence of external conflicts. I pray that you may all have peace. And I hope that you will join with me as we pray for the peace of those in the troubled areas of this world. 

     I hope that each of us this week can do something kind for someone. I hope that we will work for peace in all areas of our lives. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am on vacation from my job this week, and I thank the Lord for this break. Pray that my health will improve during this time off. Thank you. 

     Please pray that the terrible fires in Israel and surrounding areas will be extinguished. 

     Pray for an end to war. Also, pray that aid can reach the victims of war. It is not right to keep aid and help from children and hurting people. Pray for peace in Gaza, Ukraine, Israel, Sudan, Congo and in all of the areas of the world where there is no peace and justice.

     Let us all keep praying for aid to reach those suffering as a result of natural disasters including those in Mayotte, Thailand, Myanmar and the US southeast. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Afghanistan and Guinea. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, we will continue in Philippians. I will post the verses on Tuesday and the next selection in the Psalms book on Wednesday. May God bless you all. 

     

Thirty Weeks of Psalms -- Psalm 4

      For a Psalm of only eight verses, there is a lot for us to unpack in Psalm 4. Starting with verse one, David, the author of this particular Psalm, asks the Lord to hear his prayer. David is distressed over the fact that his enemies are trying to bring shame and hardship upon him. 

     David knew something from experience. He knew that when he called upon the name of the Lord, the Lord heard him and delivered him from those who would seek to do him harm. 

     David says in verse 3, "the Lord has set apart the faithful for Himself." David knew that as long as he was being faithful in following the way of the Lord, the Lord would help him. 

     This is true in our lives. We will have times of trouble and distress as we go about living our lives. However, the Lord is faithful to us. Jesus has told us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is the same yesterday, and today and forever. We can count on His promises. We can know that no matter what life throws at us, the Lord Jesus has prepared a home for us in Heaven where we can be with Him and in His presence for all eternity. 

     In this Psalm, David tells us that when distress, hardship and problems come into our lives, that is not a time to be tempted and fall into sin. Hard times often lead people to fall away from the Lord. However, we can rejoice and keep our faith in God because we have the assurance of His love and provision. We know that our Father in Heaven loves us and will ultimately bring gladness and joy into the hearts of those who have placed their faith and trust in His dearly beloved Son. 

     Finally, David's final words in this Psalm can be for us too. He tells us that he will lie down and sleep in peace. This is because the Lord allows him to lie down in safety. We can rest knowing that the Lord is preparing the way before us. The Lord is guiding and ordering our steps until the day we see Him face to face. 

Verses For The Week

  Galatians 6:2 -- "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

   Luke 14:11 -- "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

The Weekend Sermon -- "A Second Chance Offered"

      Thank you for taking time to read this week's message. I hope that everyone had a happy Easter. May you all have a good week. 

     Last week, we rejoiced in the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead. He defeated sin, death, hell and the grave. Because He lives, we can have eternal life with Jesus forever if we put our faith and trust in Him. 

     In our message today, I want us to focus on one of the encounters that Jesus had after He rose from the grave. Before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus was on the earth for a period of 40 days. Paul tells us that during this time, Jesus appeared to many people including the apostles and over 500 others. 

     The post-resurrection encounter that I want us to focus on today is found in John 21. First, we need to set the stage. When Jesus was arrested and taken to trial, the Bible tells us that Peter followed to see what was going to happen to Jesus. Over the course of the evening, Peter would go on to deny that he knew or followed Jesus three different times. After his third denial, Peter heard a cock crowing, and he remembered that Jesus said that he would deny Him three times before the cock crowed. Peter was devastated. 

     When Jesus rose from the dead, I am sure that Peter remembered that he had denied the Lord. I am sure that he wondered what Jesus' response would be to him. Would things be the same again? 

     Jesus appeared to the disciples when they were out fishing. They toiled all night but caught nothing. Jesus told them to cast on the other side of the boat, and they did. They made a miraculous catch. Peter knew that it was Jesus, and he swam back to shore to see Jesus. 

     After breakfast, Jesus and Peter took a walk together. Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Him. Peter said that he did love Jesus, and Jesus asked him to feed His sheep. The reason that Jesus did this was to show Peter that He had forgiven Him for each of His three denials. He offered forgiveness and a second chance for Peter to follow Him. Peter accepted Jesus' second chance, and Peter went on to do great things for the Lord. 

     There are times when all of us through the course of our lives do things that we know are not right. We do things that are sinful and displeasing to the Lord. We do things that grieve the Lord's heart. But the Lord Jesus offers us His forgiveness. He offers us another chance to come back to Him, serve Him and follow Him in His way. We have to accept His forgiveness and set about doing the things that He has called us to do. 

     If you have something in your life that is keeping you back from serving the Lord Jesus, confess it and ask the Lord to forgive you. He will. You can then begin again to serve Him and make a difference for Him in this world. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     After what seemed like a period of improvement at work, things are getting really bad again. I am back to looking for something else. Please pray for me.

     Pray for those recovering from the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Also, pray for those trying to recover from the storms in the southeastern part of the US. 

     Keep praying for an end to the measles outbreak here in the US. Get vaccinated if you haven't been vaccinated. 

     Let us pray for peace. Ukraine needs our prayers for peace with justice. We also need to remember Sudan, Yemen and Congo in our prayers. 

     For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those living in Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Pray that many will come to know Jesus. 

     Next week, I will post the verses on Tuesday. I will start posting the Psalms book on Wednesday. The message will be posted on Friday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week And An Update

     I mentioned that I was going to start posting the new Psalms book this week. That will start next Wednesday. Thank you. 

Psalm 24:1 -- "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him."

Colossians 1:16 -- "For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him."

Proverbs 12:10 -- "The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel."