The Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 1:12-19"

      This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Thank you for taking the time to read the message. I pray that you are all well. 

     Today, we will be continuing our series in the book of Philippians concentrating our attention on what we can learn from chapter one verses 12-19. I want to focus on a couple of different things that Paul is teaching in these verses. 

     If you remember, Paul was writing this particular message while he was in prison. He was thankful that the people in the church at Philippi were thinking about him, and they were continuing in the faith that he had brought to them. 

     Even though he was in prison, Paul was able to see the good that had come as a result of it. Because he was in jail, he had the opportunity to share the message of Jesus with those who may have never had the chance to hear about Jesus in any other way. Paul was telling the Roman guards about the Lord. I am sure that some of them came to faith in Jesus, and they then went and told their family members and friends about what Jesus had done for them. 

     As people saw that Paul was still fearlessly preaching the word of the Lord, they began to boldly proclaim the message of the Lord as well. More and more people were getting to know how much Jesus loved them and that He wanted to forgiven them of their sins and give them a new life filled with peace and hope. 

     Some were not proclaiming the message of Jesus for the right reasons. However, Paul wasn't going to let this get him down. Regardless of their motives, the Gospel was being proclaimed. That is ultimately what Paul was concerned with. 

     There are two things that I want to bring out from this passage. This passage reminds me of something that was said about Joseph in the book of Genesis. Man meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Something bad happened to Joseph as he was sold into slavery, but God used that to bring Joseph to the place where he could provide deliverance for the Egyptians and eventually his own family. 

    Paul was in prison. However, God used that as an opportunity for many people to learn about salvation in and through the Lord Jesus. 

     There are bad things that come into our lives. Some have many more bad experiences than others. However, God can take those bad things and make something good out of it to bring honor and glory to Himself. People might mean some bad things for our harm, but God can turn it around and make something beautiful for time and for eternity. 

     I also take from this passage that we have the responsibility like Paul to be those who boldly proclaim the message of Jesus wherever it is that the Lord has placed us. There are so many people around this world who need to know that Jesus loves them. The Lord wants us to tell others about Him. Hopefully, each of us is doing something to fulfill the Great Commission given to us by the Lord to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. 

     We should always be glad when we hear that the Gospel is reaching people and changing lives. Let us do all that we can to tell the world that Jesus lives. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     I am still having some trouble with my arm where the dog bit me. I am also once again having a lot of joint pain. Please pray that I will get to feeling better. Thank you.

     We must keep praying for peace in the troubled areas of this world. Ukraine needs peace. We need to pray that aid reaches people in Gaza and that the remaining hostages are freed. Pray for peace in Congo, Chad and Sudan. 

     Keep praying for those who have suffered loss as a result of natural disasters. 

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

     Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all. 

Verses For The Week

 Galatians 3:28 -- "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Revelation 7:9-10 -- "After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."'

The Weekend Sermon -- "Philippians 1:7-11"

      Thank you for reading the message this week. I hope that you are all doing well. I am doing much better. I also want to thank the Lord that the bad storms in my area didn't cause any damage where I live. 

     For the past couple of weeks now, we've been in a series where we are going to be going chapter by chapter and verse by verse through Paul's letter to the Philippians. In the message last week, I made the main focus Paul's words about the Lord bringing to completion the good work that He has begun in us in the Lord Jesus. We are becoming more and more like Jesus everyday until that day when we see Him face to face. The Lord will not abandon us along the way. 

     Today, we are moving on with the verses 7 through 11. In verse 7, Pau reiterates the fact that the people in Philippi have been very helpful to his mission of spreading the message of Jesus throughout the world as he knew it at that time. Even though Paul was in prison when he was writing this message, he was still preaching about Jesus. He was telling all those with whom he came in contact about the grace and mercy of the Lord. That is our mission as well. 

     In verse 8, Paul tells the Philippians that he cares for them in the same way that Jesus cares for them. In other words, Paul wanted what was best for the people. He wanted them to mature in the faith and grow closer to the Lord every single day. He wanted them to have the best life that it is possible to have this side of Heaven. And it is all so that we can do more and more for Jesus and make sure that others know about the joys that come from following Christ. 

     Beginning in verse 10, Paul tells the people what his desire is for them. He states, "I pray that your love will keep on growing, and and you will fully know and understand how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns."

     In I Corinthians 13, Paul told us that love is the greatest of all things. Love is what the Christian faith is all about. God is love. It is all about love. In order to be what the Lord Jesus wants us to be in this life, we have to be those who love. 

     Jesus told us about the primacy of love in at least three ways. First of all, Jesus said that we are to love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. He went on to tell us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. He then went on to give a new commandment that we are to love each other even as He has loved us. God is love, and those who live in love live in God. 

     We have to keep growing in love. To me that means first of all growing closer to Jesus. When His life fills us, we can then spread His love to others as it flows out of our inner being. 

     Love manifests itself in doing what is right. We live out love when we choose to do what is right. What is right is following the commandments and teachings of Jesus. Living in love is following the example of Jesus and doing what He did while He was in the world. 

    Another aspect of love is loving the things of God. That to me means living a life of holiness that is pleasing to God. It means that we flee the things of this world and its lusts. We cling to the things of the Lord. We do not lay up treasure on earth, but we seek to lay up treasure in Heaven. We do it all for the honor and the glory of the Lord. 

     Paul goes on to say that until the day that Jesus returns, we are to be busy doing what is good and bring glory and praise to God. We know that one day, Jesus will come in power and great glory. We do not know the day nor the hour of His appearing. We do know that we have been told to live in the expectation that the Lord could come at any moment. We should be doing what we have been told to do by the Lord when He comes. 

     Until the day that Jesus comes or we go home to be with the Lord, we should do good deeds and do all that we can to make this world a better place. We need to tell others about Jesus. We need to spread hope and be peacemakers. We need to do all that we can to help the least of those who are among us. 

     Let us all live in love. Let us love God and love others. Let us show our love not in just in words, but in deeds as well. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please keep praying that I will continue to improve in all aspects of my health. Also, please pray that the owner of the dog that attacked me will do the right thing and pay for my medical bills. Pray as well that the storms predicted for this weekend will not be bad. 

     Pray that the leaders of my nation will stop taking from the poor in order to give more to those who are rich. 

     Keep praying for peace. Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Chad and Congo all need our prayers for peace.  Pray that aid will reach Gaza. Pray that the hostages will be released. 

     Let us pray for those affected by the tornadoes here in the US. Pray that they will get the aid and the help that they need. Our government has stopped helping many people, so individuals are going to have to pick up the slack as the Lord enables. 

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

     Next week, we will continue with our current series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.. 

Verses For The Week

      Hebrews 11:1 -- "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

      Matthew 11:28 -- "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

     Psalm 31:24 -- "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."

Weekend Sermon -- Philippians 1:3-6

      Welcome to the Weekend Sermon. I am very glad to be able to post the message this week after everything that has happened. On May 4th, the neighbor's German shepherd mix jumped the fence, ran across the street and attacked me while I was standing in my yard. I had to go to the emergency room and have stitches in my arm a tetanus shot and a course of antibiotics. I've had extensive bruising and soft tissue injury. It has all been a very upsetting experience to say the least. Please pray that I will keep recovering both physically and mentally from this episode. 

     Before we get into the message this week, I want to mention something I didn't get to mention last week. Last week was my friend Toby's birthday. He was the best. Totally not like this dog who attacked me. I am glad that Jesus gave Toby to me to be my friend. That dog saved my life, and I know we will be together again someday. 

     Last time, we began a new series of messages on the book of Philippians we started off by looking at what the book of Acts has to day about some of what Paul did while in Philippi. We then looked at the first two verses of chapter one.

     Today, I want us to focus on verses 3 through 6 with an emphasis on verses 6. 

     In verse 3, Paul tells the people that he always mentions them in his prayers, and goes on to say that thinking about them makes him happy. I hope that you have people that you regularly pray for. It is important to have people that mean something to you to pray for. I also think that it is important to have a few people that you pray for on a regular basis that they might come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Knowing that God hears and answers prayer makes me happy because I know that I am doing something to bring change in people's lives. 

     Paul was happy when thinking about the believers in Philippi due in part to the fact that they were his partners in spreading the Gospel. They helped him with their prayers and more than likely financially. With the support of people like those in Philippi, Paul was able to take the message of the love of Jesus to many places. 

     It it important that we support those who are working to spread the message of Jesus around the world. We can certainly pray for those who are missionaries and Christian workers seeking to tell people that Jesus wants to have a relationship with them. We can also, as God enables us, support those who are faithful in sharing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

     Now, I want us to focus on verse 6 that says, "God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that He won't stop before it is complete on that day that Christ Jesus returns." God is the one who saves us. When we hear the message of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit convicts our hearts of sin and for the need of salvation. The Lord gives us the gift of faith so that we can choose to accept or reject the message that we have received. Salvation is not of works. We are saved by grace through faith. Salvation is the gift of God. God is the one who has started us off on the path that leads to life. 

     As we walk through this life, we begin a process of growing in our knowledge of the Lord. We grow closer to Him. We mature, or we should mature, in the faith. It is a process of moving upward as we are led by the Lord Jesus. He is with us every step of the way. 

     In Romans 8 it tells us that we have been justified by the Lord. That means that we have been declared righteous. The Lord Jesus has taken our sins and imputed His righteousness to us. Romans 8 tells us that those who have been justified will also be glorified. This means that one day when Jesus returns, we will receive a new body like the glorified body of Jesus. All of the old will be done away and all will be made new. We will be with Jesus forever. There will be no more sin, death, sorrow or suffering. 

     While we are in this time between our justification and our waiting for glorification, we are in the process of sanctification. We are to be becoming more and more like Jesus everyday. We can't do this on or through our own efforts. We receive help and power through the indwelling Holy Spirit who is continually drawing us closer to Jesus. 

     One thing that verse 6 really helps me with is that the Lord Jesus won't abandon me. He won't turn on me so to speak. He is going to be with forever. He will never leave me nor forsake me. No matter what may happen, Jesus will be there and He will be there all the way through eternity. I've had many people turn on me. Most everyone actually except my friend Toby. But, Jesus has never failed me, and I know that He won't. One day, I will be with Him in the place that He had prepared for those who love Him. 

     It is my hope that you have put your faith and trust in what Jesus has done for you through His death and glorious resurrection. Jesus came for everyone. He loves everyone, and He wants you to come to Him. He will begin a good work in you, and He will complete it. Amen. 

Prayer Requests

     Please pray that I will keep on the road to recovery with my dog attack. It has affected me physically and mentally. Also, please pray that I will be able to get the medical bills paid. Thank you. 

     Pray for the people of Gaza. They need aid to reach them. That whole area needs peace. Also, pray that the hostages are freed and that there can be peace in Israel, Syria, Yemen and throughout the Middle East. 

     Keep praying for peace in Ukraine. We also need to pray for peace in Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Congo and continued peace between India and Pakistan. 

     Because of the cuts in aid by the US government, many people are really hurting all over the world. Please pray that people, churches and other governments can step up and help those who need help in this world. Pray that the US government won't turn its back on those who need help the most. 

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

     Next week, I will post the verses on Tuesday. I will wait at least one more before posting more of the new book. I may start over. I will post the sermon on Friday, and we will continue with our current series. May God bless you all. 

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.