Weekend Sermon -- "John's Message"

      Thank you for reading this week's message. I am always glad when it is time to post the sermon. I hope that everyone is doing well. 

     Next week, we are going to begin a new series of messages. However, in today's message, I want to write about something that I believe the Lord wanted me to bring a message about. Sometimes, I will just be going about my day when something comes unexpectedly into my mind. That is what happened with this message. When that happens, and I can't get the topic out of mind, I believe that is God's way of letting me know that He wants me to write or speak about that topic. 

     The other day, I was thinking about how so many religious people of late are being so down on helping others and practicing social justice and goodness. As I was thinking about that, John the Baptist came into my mind. John was the forerunner of Jesus. John was the Elijah told about in Malachi who would prepare the way for the Messiah. 

     John began his ministry by going out and preaching by the River Jordan. Let's take some time to explore what John's message was. First of all, we read in Luke 3 that John preached a message of repentance and baptism. He called on people to turn from the sins that they were committing and to get their hearts prepared for the coming of the Messiah. The people were then baptized in order to demonstrate the cleansing of sin and the start of a new life. 

     John's message of repentance is certainly applicable to us today. When we come to Jesus, we need to repent of our sins and ask for His forgiveness. After we know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we still have times when we don't do the right things. The Bible tells us that we can confess our sins, and the Lord will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

     John went on in his preaching telling people that their lives needed to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. This is similar to what James said when he spoke about faith without works in dead. When a person comes to true faith in the Lord Jesus, it brings about a change of heart and a change of mind. That leads a person to want to do the things that Jesus has called us to do. A person who is following Jesus will have fruit in their life. That means that they are living a life of holiness and that they are living out the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. 

     One of the things that John the Baptist told the people that was a fruit of repentance was helping others. John said that if a person had two shirts, he should give one to someone who didn't have any. Likewise, if a person had enough food, he should give some of it to someone that needed something to eat. 

     Jesus and His apostles told us much the same about the Christian's responsibility to do good and to help others in the world. Jesus said that when we do good to the least of those among us, we have done it unto Him. 

     John the Baptist went on to say that the tax collectors should not collect more than they were supposed to. In other words, those who follow the way of the Lord should be honest. They should never be greedy, and they should not be deceptive. The Christian should be known in their community as a completely honest and trustworthy person. 

     The soldiers were told to be content with their pay and to not extort people. They weren't to use their power to oppress people. The believer in the Lord Jesus should stand up against oppression and advocate for what is good and what is right in society. 

     Finally, John the Baptist pointed to Jesus. He said when he saw Jesus that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus would be baptized by John, and then Jesus would go and preach a message that revolutionized the world. He would give His life so that whoever would believe in Him would have eternal life. 

     Let each of us learn from the teachings of John the Baptist, and let us all always look to Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. Amen.

Prayer Requests

     Please pray that I can find a new job quickly. I thought things were improving, but they are really going downhill. Going to my job is making me very depressed. I need to find something soon. Please pray about this. Thank you. I do want to thank the Lord that my arthritis is some better. 

     Let us all continue to pray for those affected by the fires and the storms. The people in California and in the US Southeast need our prayers. The people on Mayotte need our prayers as well. Pray that people will get the aid that they need. 

     Pray for peace. Ukraine needs peace with justice. Pray that peace will come in Gaza and that more hostages will be released. Pray for peace throughout the Middle East that is so unstable. Let us also pray for peace in Sudan, Congo and Haiti.

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

     Next week, we will begin a new series of messages. I will post the verses on Tuesday. Once again, please pray about my job situation, it is very important. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

    Romans 12:9 -- "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."

    Job 6:14 -- "Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty."

Weekend Sermon -- "Building On The Foundation"

      Thank you for taking the time to once again read the Weekend Sermon. I hope that all of you are doing well and are in good health. I thank the Lord for the opportunity to post this message. 

     I mentioned last week that I was going to start a new series of messages this week. However, I came across a verse this week that prompted a message that I want to share with you. It is in a sense a continuation of what we studied last week. If you remember, we saw that as we start the new year, we need to be built up in Christ,

    Ephesians 2:20-22 compliments and adds to what we addressed last week. This passage states, "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building in joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit."

     As I mentioned last week, we have to get our roots down deep into the Lord Jesus as we head out into a new year. We have to anchor our lives in His example and in His teachings. This passage uses the metaphor of our lives and the church being a like a building.

     If you look at some of the ancient buildings, one of the first things that you will notice is that there is always a large cornerstone placed in the foundation. This was placed there in order to solidify the foundation in order that everything else that was built upon the foundation was secure. Jesus talked about foundations in one of His parables. He said that those who listened to His words and put them into practice were like those who built their house on a rock. When the flood came, the house endured. On the other hand, those who ignored His teachings were like those who built their house on the sand. The house was swept away when the rains came. 

    Everything that we do has to be built on Jesus Christ. The book of Hebrews tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus. Jesus told us to look to Him and not to look to the right nor to the left nor behind. We are to look to Him and follow Him in His way as we are on the narrow path that leads to eternal life. 

     Our passage also tells us that we are building the church and our lives on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. What does this mean? The apostles were taught by the Lord, and they were instructed to teach others. They went into all of the world to preach the message of Jesus. Some of what they preached is recorded for us in the New Testament. We are to read these words and base our lives on what they have to tell us as they follow and proclaim what they learned from spending time with the Lord Jesus. A good project for this week would be to pick one of the epistles like James, I John or I Peter. Read and study the book, and put into practice what it says. 

     The prophets also give us teachings on which we are to base our lives. They were entrusted by God to bring His message to a people that were often going astray. Malachi, Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah and the rest presented a message of social justice and righteousness that is just as relevant now as it was then. These are the words that we are to build our lives on now. 

     As we live our lives following Jesus and the words of the apostles and prophets, we have to be led by the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the works of the Spirit is to lead us into the truth. The Spirit reminds us of all that the Lord Jesus has said. The Spirit convicts of sin and prompts us into the way that we should go. Always be sensitive and responsive to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. 

     As we go into this new year, let us be students of the Word. Let us follow the teachings of the Word, Jesus Christ, and the word about the Word, the Bible. May we be led by the Spirit into being like Jesus in this world. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am still having a lot of arthritis problems. I think that I am going to have to go to another doctor and see if I can get some additional help. I do want to thank the Lord that things are going better at my work. 

     Please pray for those who are suffering as a result of the fires in California. Pray for the safety of the fire fighters. Pray that those who need help will get the aid that they need. Also pray for continued aid to reach the storm victims in the US Southeast.

     We need to keep praying for aid to reach Mayotte. That island has really been devastated by storms. 

     Keep praying for peace. Pray that the ceasefire holds in Gaza and that more hostages will be set free. Pray for peace in Ukraine and Sudan. Pray that the violence will end in Haiti. 

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

     Next week, I will be posting a message that I believe the Lord gave me at this time. After that, we will be starting the new series of messages. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.  

     

Addressing A Controversy

     Yesterday in my country the USA, a controversy arose over the sermon preached at the prayer service attended by President Trump. In her remarks, the bishop asked the President to have mercy on members of the LGBT community, and she spoke up for immigrants. 

     As a primarily religion blog, it would be remiss of me not to address this controversy in some way. First of all, if you've read my sermons, you know that I am what would be considered a conservative in theological matters, but I also preach about social justice and environmental issues. 

     One of the the things that really has concerned me in the response to the bishop's message is that many conservative religious leaders are dismissing her remarks about immigrants. The Bible has a lot to say about how a nation is to treat the immigrant and the sojourner in the land. Let's look for a few minutes at some of what the Bible has to say about this issue. Contrary to what one conservative religious leader has said, immigration is a Bible issue. 

     Exodus 22:1 states, "You shall not wrong a sojourner nor oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt." This verse is not just speaking of of the Israelites being slaves. When there was a famine in the land where they were staying, Jacob and his family went to Egypt in order to survive. There they prospered. The Egyptians then mistreated and enslaved the Hebrews. God wanted to make sure that the people remembered that they were sojourners who became mistreated. He did not want the people of Israel to do to others what had been done to them.

     Zechariah 7:9-10 gives a strong message about how the marginalized are to be treated in society. This passage states, "Thus says the Lord of Hosts, render true judgements, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil in your heart against another."  

     Two passages in Ezekiel tell us that God was not pleased at the way the people were treating the sojourners. First of all Ezekiel 22:7 states, "Father and Mother are treated with contempt in you, and the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst, the fatherless and widow are wronged in you." Part of the remedy for this is found in Ezekiel 47:22, "You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel." What this is saying is that when people have lived among you and have families, and they have not broken the law or caused harm, they should be well treated just as a native-born citizen. 

    There is one other Old Testament passage from among the many that I would like to relate to you. It is found in Deuteronomy 14:28-29 which says the following, "At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up in your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, the widow, who are within your towns shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do." Those who do not have enough were to be supported by the people's tithe. This included the immigrant due to the fact they often were fleeing persecution, war and famine in other places and often were lacking in resources. 

     Finally on this immigrants and Bible issue I want to say this. Jesus said that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. If we had to leave our home due to gang violence, war or some other hardship we would want others to help us. Also, Jesus told us to do unto others as we would have done to us. 

     Always remember this. We are to serve and follow Jesus not a political party or President whether or not they be of the left or the right. We have to stand where the Word of God stands. As this relates to the Bishop's remarks, the Bible is clear on the correct treatment of immigrants. We must in no way mistreat or cause fear and harm to those who are living lawful lives among us.

     In my remarks, I have probably offended some of you who read the blog. I remember when I taught through the book of Malachi that I lost a lot of followers. However, as someone called to preach the Gospel, I have to speak where the Scripture speaks, and the Bible does have a lot to say about how to treat immigrants, the vulnerable and the poor. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Isaiah 1:17 -- "Learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."

Luke 3:11 -- "John answered, anyone who has two shirts should share with one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same."

Weekend Sermon -- A Foundation For The New Year

      Thank you for taking the time to read the message this week. I have been having a rough time due to the really bad winter weather. I am sorry that I couldn't get anything posted last week, but I couldn't get out. Even if I could have gotten out, nothing was open. Thankfully, I am able to post the messages again. 

     Before I start the message, I wanted to say that Jan 13 is a special day because that is when my friend Toby came to live with me. I want to thank the Lord Jesus for letting us find each other. 

     The new year is always a great time to take stock of one's life. That is true in the natural as well as in the spiritual.

     As we begin the new year, I wanted to share with you a verse that I think can be a building block for all of us as we start 2025. Colossians 2:7 tells us, "Keep your roots deep in Him, and have your lives built on Him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always be thankful."

     In order for us to be effective Christians going into the new year, we have to have our roots in Jesus. This means that in order to have the life that we need to please guide, we have to have our lives anchored in Jesus. We must have Jesus as our Savior and our Lord. I believe that this verse is also talking about sinking our roots and anchoring our lives in the words and the teachings of Jesus. When we learn more about Jesus and what He taught, it allows us to be able to withstand in this world and be what we need to be in order to be an ambassador for Christ in this world. 

     There are two major ways that we can place our roots deep in the Lord. First of all, we need to be students of the Word. As we start this new year, all of us need to make the commitment to study more in the Bible. We need to read the Bible, but I am saying something deeper. We need to do in depth study and plumb the depths of the theology and doctrines revealed in the Word. 

     We also build roots in the Lord through building a relationship with Him through prayer. I urge you as the new year is starting to make the commitment to pray at least twice a day. Pray about all manner of things. Spend time with Jesus, and let the Holy Spirit speak into your heart. 

     Having our lives built on Jesus to me means that all of our lives are centered in and around Jesus. Being a Christian to me means that Jesus is all in all. He is who our lives revolve around. Whatever we do, we ask what Jesus would do in that situation. In that way, Jesus really and truly becomes the Lord of our lives.  

    In 2025, let us be strong in the faith. That means that we practice what we preach. We look to Jesus, and then we act like Jesus out in the world. We do good unto the least of those among us, and we spread the message of Jesus' love to others. We are not lead astray by the things of the world, but we live lives of holiness and sanctification which is pleasing to God. 

     Finally, we need to be thankful people in 2025. We have a lot to be thankful for. I am thankful that the storm didn't take out my power and the heat stayed on. I am thankful that the Lord gave me by best friend Toby. Of course we must always be thankful for the fact that Jesus has come, and because of Him, nothing will ever be the same again in this world and in our lives. 

     This year, express your thanks to the Lord often. Whenever the Lord answers a prayer, make sure to say thank you. Start the year off right by being a thankful person. 

     We have a new year ahead. Let Jesus be the center of you life. Live for Him. Let Him lead and guide you in all things in the year ahead. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I would like you to please pray that I can find another job. I am thankful for my current job, but it is really stressful. Thank you. 

     The fires in Los Angeles have been horrific. Pray that these fires can be extinguished. Pray for the recovery efforts and that people can get the aid and the help that they need. Pray for the safety of the firefighters. 

     Keep praying for those affected by storms here in the US as well as in Mayotte, Madagascar, Mozambique and Comoros. 

      Pray for peace. Sudan, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza all need our prayers. 

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

     Next week, I am starting a new sermon series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Snow Days

      Where I live, we just had the largest one day snowfall since 1962. That was before I was born. I think we had just a little over 10 inches. Some places near me had well over a foot of snow. I lived through the largest two day snowfall ten years ago. We had 7 inches one day, and then we had 8 inches the next day. 

     With all of this snow falling, I was reminded of all of the fun that I had with Toby when the snow days came. That dog really loved the snow. When I was younger, I used to like it too. Neither of us cared for the super cold days when it was really windy, but any other time when the snow was on the ground, the two of us where ready for outdoor adventures. 

     Toby really came to life in the snow. Even when he was really old, he would get an extra burst of energy when we went out in the snow. He loved it when I would through snow at him. He would run around barking and biting at the snow. 

     I remember one winter in particular. We had a big snow with a lot of drifting. There was a drift in the backyard as high as the fence. That evening, freezing drizzle came down making a hard crust on the snow. Toby had a blast going up and down over the drift in and out of the yard. 

     About three days later, we had a little melting. Toby went out to walk up and down the big snowdrift, and it collapsed under him. All that was sticking up was the tip of one of his ears. I rushed over and dug him out as quickly as I could. He had a stunned look on his face. He was not at all happy that his drift climbing days where at an end. 

     What always amazed me is what an easy time he had getting through the snow. Being a corgi, he didn't have much ground clearance. It didn't make any difference. He would bound through the deepest snow and the largest drifts with ease. I think he would have loved living in a place where there was snow more of the year. Maybe he is running through the snow up in Heaven right now. 

Verses For The Week And An Update

      I was not able to post anything last week due to the bad storm. The area where I live had the heaviest snowfall since before I was born. I couldn't go anywhere for days. I do thank the Lord that the power stayed on so that I had plenty of heat. Starting today, I hope we can get back on track here on the blog. 

Here are the verses:

Psalm 46:1 -- "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

II Thessalonians 3:3 -- "But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one."

Weekend Sermon

      This Weekend Sermon is going to be short. There are many things happening where I live. More on that later. I hope that everyone is doing well. 

     As we start the new year, I have been thinking a lot about the words in James 4:14 that tells us life is like a vapor. That is like the visible steam that you can see coming off a pot of boiling water. You see it for just a moment, and then it has vanished.

     Life is so short. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was running around with my friend Toby both of us having the time of our lives. 

     What I wanted to reflect on today is that we all only have so much time to do what we want to do and what God has called us to do with our lives. As we start this new year, I urge you not to put off doing what God has called you to do. Do all that you can this year to live the dream that God has given you. 

     I also want to speak to those that may have been putting off deciding to give their lives to Jesus. Today, is the day of salvation. Now is the time. 

     I know that was short, but I have something very important that I need all of you to pray about. There is major winter storm coming into my area. They are calling for a lot of freezing rain. So much is forecast that I am really worried about power outage and damage to the house. I have many old trees around the house. I've actually been thinking about getting out of there during this storm. 

     Please pray that the storm won't be as bad as what is currently being predicted, and pray that the power will not go out. Also, pray that I will have wisdom from the Lord about what to do.

     I have several new series planned for the new year. I am looking forward to continuing on the blog for as long as the Lord allows me to do it. 

     Remember to keep praying for peace, and pray that people will come to know Jesus around the world. 

     Next week, I hope to get back with a proper sermon. Thank you all, and may God bless you. 

Happy New Year

      I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope that everyone will be in good health and will be happy in the year to come. Thank you for reading the blog in 2024.