Romans 5:1 -- "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Titus 3:7 -- "So that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
Romans 3:25-26 -- "God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of blood -- to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
Monday, July 15, 2019
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Weekend Sermon -- False Teachings Refuted -- Conclusion -- Jude 3-4, Acts 20-30-31 and Matthew 7:15-23
Thank you for reading the Weekend Sermon. I hope that all of you are having a very good week. I am thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to post this message.
This has been a good week for me. The Lord answered my prayer, and my brother was able to get my lawnmower fixed. I've had a good week in writing, and I found out that I will be getting a few more hours at my part-time job. Thank you Lord.
As we go to prayer this week, please pray for those who are in the path of the storm in Louisiana and the Gulf states. Pray that no one will be injured.
Please continue to pray for those who have experienced damage from the storms and the flooding in the US. Pray for those recovering from the earthquake damage in California, and pray for those in Mozambique who are still recovering from the storms there.
Let us all pray about the situation at the border with Mexico. I am very upset about all of this. Pray that children separated from their parents and family will be returned to their families. Please pray that the people will be housed in better circumstances and given proper treatment. Pray that conditions will improve in the countries that the migrants have come from so that others don't have to attempt to leave.
Please pray for an end to the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda. Pray for those who are trying to help.
Please continue to pray for peace in this world. Somalia needs our prayers today. Pray for peace in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Pray for peace wherever you know there is war.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Turkey and Eritrea. Pray that many will hear about the Lord Jesus and His love and grace.
Today, we will conclude our series about false teachings in the early church. I want us to focus our attention today on three passages of Scripture that tells us about the fact that there will be those who try to introduce erroneous ideas into the church.
First of all, let's look at the book of Jude. Jude is a one chapter book in the Bible that is all about false teachers. Jude 3-4 states, "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ as our only Sovereign and Lord."
Jude is telling us that even in his time, false teachers were trying to turn people away from the truth. He wanted the people that he was writing to to contend for the faith. That means that he wanted those in the church to be on guard against error. If they did encounter erroneous and false teaching, Jude wanted them to speak up. He did not want false beliefs to get a foot hold within the church.
Sometimes, we act as if doctrine is not important. It certainly was important as far as the writers of the New Testament were concerned. It should be important to us too. It does matter what we believe. We need to know what we believe and why we believe it.
The way that we will be able to know what is the truth and what is error is if we are so familiar with the truth that we can spot erroneous doctrine right away. We will know the truth when we have a thorough knowledge of the Word of God.
Jude makes clear that the primary way to recognize what is false is that false teachers do not teach the moral and ethical code of the New Testament. The false teachers will deny Jesus. They will deny who He is and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection.
In Acts 20, Paul will warn that false teachers don't always come from outside of the church. He warned the leaders of the church at Ephesus that false teachers would arise from their own number. Paul wanted the leaders of the church to be diligent in teaching what is the truth about Jesus.
Jesus Himself told us about false teachers in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:15, Jesus tells us to watch out for false prophets. According to Jesus, they are wolves in sheep's clothing. Jesus tells us that not everyone who says, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus tells us in this passage how to recognize false prophets and false teachers. Jesus said that we will know them by their fruits. Those who follow the true way of Jesus will produce fruits of love and righteousness. Jesus also said that those who are true to Him are the one's that do the will of the Father in Heaven. The true teacher is the one who lives a life in obedience to the will and teachings of the Lord Jesus.
With these things said, I don't want you to think that I am advocating that all Christians have to believe exactly the same thing about every issue of doctrine. However, there are certain major areas of belief that identify orthodox Christian teachings. We know what these are by the great creeds of the church. The Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed identify the orthodox teachings of the church.
In the early part of 2016, I posted a number of messages on the Apostle's Creed here on the blog. I invite you to read these if you would like to know more of what the Creed is about.
I urge you to study the doctrines of the church. Study the Bible diligently everyday so that you will never be led astray by any false teaching. In all things, we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We are to look to Him in all things, and we are to follow His way and teachings in all areas of our lives.
Next week, I will post the sermon on Saturday. I will be starting a very short series about the book of Lamentations in the Old Testament. This is not something I would have chosen on my own. I believe that the Lord placed this on my heart. On Monday, I will post the verses for the week. I will post a review or a poem on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
This has been a good week for me. The Lord answered my prayer, and my brother was able to get my lawnmower fixed. I've had a good week in writing, and I found out that I will be getting a few more hours at my part-time job. Thank you Lord.
As we go to prayer this week, please pray for those who are in the path of the storm in Louisiana and the Gulf states. Pray that no one will be injured.
Please continue to pray for those who have experienced damage from the storms and the flooding in the US. Pray for those recovering from the earthquake damage in California, and pray for those in Mozambique who are still recovering from the storms there.
Let us all pray about the situation at the border with Mexico. I am very upset about all of this. Pray that children separated from their parents and family will be returned to their families. Please pray that the people will be housed in better circumstances and given proper treatment. Pray that conditions will improve in the countries that the migrants have come from so that others don't have to attempt to leave.
Please pray for an end to the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda. Pray for those who are trying to help.
Please continue to pray for peace in this world. Somalia needs our prayers today. Pray for peace in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Pray for peace wherever you know there is war.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Turkey and Eritrea. Pray that many will hear about the Lord Jesus and His love and grace.
Today, we will conclude our series about false teachings in the early church. I want us to focus our attention today on three passages of Scripture that tells us about the fact that there will be those who try to introduce erroneous ideas into the church.
First of all, let's look at the book of Jude. Jude is a one chapter book in the Bible that is all about false teachers. Jude 3-4 states, "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God's holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ as our only Sovereign and Lord."
Jude is telling us that even in his time, false teachers were trying to turn people away from the truth. He wanted the people that he was writing to to contend for the faith. That means that he wanted those in the church to be on guard against error. If they did encounter erroneous and false teaching, Jude wanted them to speak up. He did not want false beliefs to get a foot hold within the church.
Sometimes, we act as if doctrine is not important. It certainly was important as far as the writers of the New Testament were concerned. It should be important to us too. It does matter what we believe. We need to know what we believe and why we believe it.
The way that we will be able to know what is the truth and what is error is if we are so familiar with the truth that we can spot erroneous doctrine right away. We will know the truth when we have a thorough knowledge of the Word of God.
Jude makes clear that the primary way to recognize what is false is that false teachers do not teach the moral and ethical code of the New Testament. The false teachers will deny Jesus. They will deny who He is and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection.
In Acts 20, Paul will warn that false teachers don't always come from outside of the church. He warned the leaders of the church at Ephesus that false teachers would arise from their own number. Paul wanted the leaders of the church to be diligent in teaching what is the truth about Jesus.
Jesus Himself told us about false teachers in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:15, Jesus tells us to watch out for false prophets. According to Jesus, they are wolves in sheep's clothing. Jesus tells us that not everyone who says, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus tells us in this passage how to recognize false prophets and false teachers. Jesus said that we will know them by their fruits. Those who follow the true way of Jesus will produce fruits of love and righteousness. Jesus also said that those who are true to Him are the one's that do the will of the Father in Heaven. The true teacher is the one who lives a life in obedience to the will and teachings of the Lord Jesus.
With these things said, I don't want you to think that I am advocating that all Christians have to believe exactly the same thing about every issue of doctrine. However, there are certain major areas of belief that identify orthodox Christian teachings. We know what these are by the great creeds of the church. The Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed identify the orthodox teachings of the church.
In the early part of 2016, I posted a number of messages on the Apostle's Creed here on the blog. I invite you to read these if you would like to know more of what the Creed is about.
I urge you to study the doctrines of the church. Study the Bible diligently everyday so that you will never be led astray by any false teaching. In all things, we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We are to look to Him in all things, and we are to follow His way and teachings in all areas of our lives.
Next week, I will post the sermon on Saturday. I will be starting a very short series about the book of Lamentations in the Old Testament. This is not something I would have chosen on my own. I believe that the Lord placed this on my heart. On Monday, I will post the verses for the week. I will post a review or a poem on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Book Review -- Superpower Dogs: Henry
The book that I am reviewing today is a book that is geared toward younger readers. "Superpower Dogs: Henry" is a book in a series of books about dogs who use their abilities to help people and make the world a better place.
Henry is an avalanche rescue dog who works in the mountains of British Columbia. The book gives a lot of details on how avalanche rescue dogs are trained and how they go about their task of finding people who are buried under the snow when avalanches occur.
The book focuses mainly on Henry, but there is also information on the other dogs who worked with Henry's handler. As I said, this book is written with children in mind, but anyone who likes to read good stories about rescue and service dogs will enjoy reading this book.
I believe that there are a couple of other books in this series. An IMAX movie called Superpower Dogs has also been made. It features Henry and four other amazing dogs who do incredible work.
Henry is an avalanche rescue dog who works in the mountains of British Columbia. The book gives a lot of details on how avalanche rescue dogs are trained and how they go about their task of finding people who are buried under the snow when avalanches occur.
The book focuses mainly on Henry, but there is also information on the other dogs who worked with Henry's handler. As I said, this book is written with children in mind, but anyone who likes to read good stories about rescue and service dogs will enjoy reading this book.
I believe that there are a couple of other books in this series. An IMAX movie called Superpower Dogs has also been made. It features Henry and four other amazing dogs who do incredible work.
Monday, July 8, 2019
Verses For The Week
Before I post the verses, I have something that I want to thank the Lord for. My lawnmower was broken, and I was afraid that I was going to have to buy a new one. Thankfully, the Lord heard my prayer, and my mower was repaired. My brother was able to fix it. Thank you Lord.
Proverbs 12:10 -- "The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel."
Job 12:7 -- "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky, and they will tell you."
Proverbs 12:10 -- "The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel."
Job 12:7 -- "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky, and they will tell you."
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Weekend Sermon -- False Teachings Refuted Part 7 -- Galatians 1:8-9 and I Corinthians 15:3-4
Welcome to this week's edition of the Weekend Sermon. I am very happy that you have taken the time to read the blog this week. I hope that everyone has had a very nice week.
I have something important to thank the Lord for. I was worried that I might lose my house, but the Lord has provided, and I will be able to stay in my home. Thanks be to God. I still have some important decisions to make, so please continue to remember me in your prayers. Thank you.
In prayer this week, please pray for those who are recovering from storm damage around the world. In my area, some are still recovering from the floods and tornadoes. I know that the people in Mozambique still need our prayers as they recover from the storms. We also need to pray for those in California who experienced problems due to the earthquake.
Let us remember to pray for those in Congo and Uganda who are dealing with the Ebola outbreak. Pray that this will end soon. Please pray for those who are working to help people in these areas.
I would ask that we all pray for those who are homeless this week. Homelessness is a big problem in my country. Pray that people will get the help that they need.
Remember to pray for peace this week. Libya, Syria and Yemen really need our prayers for peace this week.
For our prayer focus countries, let us pray for those in the nations of Japan and Algeria. Pray that many will hear about the love that Jesus has for all.
Over the course of the last few weeks, we have been in a series of messages on false teachings that were addressed in the New Testament. We have seen that Jesus, Paul, Peter and John all had to deal with false teachings.
In today's message, we are going to change the focus just a little bit. Often, it's possible to distinguish truth from error. In doing this, the most important thing is to know the truth. If you know the truth, you will not be led astray by those teachings and beliefs that are contrary to the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Bible.
The Bible is clear that it is important that we believe the right doctrines. In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul uses strong language against those who would try to teach a Gospel contrary to the Gospel that he preached. Paul says in Galatians 1:8-9, "But even if we or an angel from heaven preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse."
That's a very strong statement. Paul wanted to make sure that people were hearing the truth about the Gospel.
Now, here is the question. What is the Gospel? How can we recognize the true Gospel so that if someone preaches another Gospel, we will recognize that?
For the answer to this, let us look at the words of the Apostle Paul again. In I Corinthians 15: 3-4 Paul states, "For what I received I passed on to you of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."
From this passage and the others that we have studies in this series, we can define the true Gospel like this. Jesus is God come in the flesh. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a holy and sinless life as our perfect example. Jesus died on the cross. On the cross, Jesus bore our sins in His body. He was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Jesus died and was buried. On the third day, Jesus rose bodily from the grave. By His resurrection, Jesus conquered death, hell and grave. Jesus ascended into Heaven. One day, Jesus will come in power and great glory to restore all things to the way that they were before sin entered into the world. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. To be born again, a person needs to accept what Jesus has done for him on the cross. He needs to repent of his sins and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. One must believe that Jesus has risen from the dead.
This is the basic teaching about Jesus. This is the orthodox teaching of the Christian church. There are some who will teach what is contrary to this. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and Jude have all warned against following those who teach another way, another Jesus and another Gospel. If we understand and recognize the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will never fall into error.
Maybe you have never heard or understood what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. I hope that you will examine what Jesus did and what He said. I hope and pray that you will give your life to Jesus today. He will make all the difference for you.
Next week, we will conclude our series about false teachings. I will post the sermon on Saturday. On Monday, I will post the verses for the week. I plan to post a book review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
I have something important to thank the Lord for. I was worried that I might lose my house, but the Lord has provided, and I will be able to stay in my home. Thanks be to God. I still have some important decisions to make, so please continue to remember me in your prayers. Thank you.
In prayer this week, please pray for those who are recovering from storm damage around the world. In my area, some are still recovering from the floods and tornadoes. I know that the people in Mozambique still need our prayers as they recover from the storms. We also need to pray for those in California who experienced problems due to the earthquake.
Let us remember to pray for those in Congo and Uganda who are dealing with the Ebola outbreak. Pray that this will end soon. Please pray for those who are working to help people in these areas.
I would ask that we all pray for those who are homeless this week. Homelessness is a big problem in my country. Pray that people will get the help that they need.
Remember to pray for peace this week. Libya, Syria and Yemen really need our prayers for peace this week.
For our prayer focus countries, let us pray for those in the nations of Japan and Algeria. Pray that many will hear about the love that Jesus has for all.
Over the course of the last few weeks, we have been in a series of messages on false teachings that were addressed in the New Testament. We have seen that Jesus, Paul, Peter and John all had to deal with false teachings.
In today's message, we are going to change the focus just a little bit. Often, it's possible to distinguish truth from error. In doing this, the most important thing is to know the truth. If you know the truth, you will not be led astray by those teachings and beliefs that are contrary to the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Bible.
The Bible is clear that it is important that we believe the right doctrines. In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul uses strong language against those who would try to teach a Gospel contrary to the Gospel that he preached. Paul says in Galatians 1:8-9, "But even if we or an angel from heaven preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse."
That's a very strong statement. Paul wanted to make sure that people were hearing the truth about the Gospel.
Now, here is the question. What is the Gospel? How can we recognize the true Gospel so that if someone preaches another Gospel, we will recognize that?
For the answer to this, let us look at the words of the Apostle Paul again. In I Corinthians 15: 3-4 Paul states, "For what I received I passed on to you of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."
From this passage and the others that we have studies in this series, we can define the true Gospel like this. Jesus is God come in the flesh. He was born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a holy and sinless life as our perfect example. Jesus died on the cross. On the cross, Jesus bore our sins in His body. He was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Jesus died and was buried. On the third day, Jesus rose bodily from the grave. By His resurrection, Jesus conquered death, hell and grave. Jesus ascended into Heaven. One day, Jesus will come in power and great glory to restore all things to the way that they were before sin entered into the world. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. To be born again, a person needs to accept what Jesus has done for him on the cross. He needs to repent of his sins and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. One must believe that Jesus has risen from the dead.
This is the basic teaching about Jesus. This is the orthodox teaching of the Christian church. There are some who will teach what is contrary to this. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and Jude have all warned against following those who teach another way, another Jesus and another Gospel. If we understand and recognize the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will never fall into error.
Maybe you have never heard or understood what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. I hope that you will examine what Jesus did and what He said. I hope and pray that you will give your life to Jesus today. He will make all the difference for you.
Next week, we will conclude our series about false teachings. I will post the sermon on Saturday. On Monday, I will post the verses for the week. I plan to post a book review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
An Animal Book Review And A Dog Movie Review
Today, I am going to review a book and a movie. The book that I am reviewing today is called "Medieval Pets" written by Kathleen Walker-Meikle. This was an interesting book that provided a lot of information about how dogs, cats and other animals were kept as pets in the Middle Ages. The book details how pets were depicted in the art and literature of the time. The author also details what type of people would have owned certain types of pets. I recommend this book as it is well written and well researched.
The movie that I would like to recommended is "A Dog's Way Home". This movie was based on a book written by W, Bruce Cameron. When the movie begins, we find a mother dog and cat along with their puppies and kittens living under an abandoned building. Animal control comes and takes most of the dogs except for one. This little dog is fostered by the cat mother.
Later, a young man named Lucas and his girlfriend will find the little dog and name her Bella. Bella and Lucas become great friends. Bella touches the lives of everyone that she meets including Lucas' mother and the people at the VA hospital where Lucas works.
Sadly, someone always has to cause trouble. Bella is identified as a pit bull, and they aren't allowed in Denver. Bella is taken to animal control. Lucas gets Bella out, but she has to leave the city until Lucas and his mother can find a new place to live outside of Denver. Bella is taken hundreds of miles away.
Bella knows one thing, she wants to go home and be with Lucas. She leaves her foster home and begins the trek to find the family that she loves. On her journey she will encounter a cougar, two men who give her a temporary home and a homeless man who needs her.
I won't give any more of the film away. This is film any dog or animal lover will enjoy. I recommend this film. It's the best dog movie I've seen since "Red Dog."
The movie that I would like to recommended is "A Dog's Way Home". This movie was based on a book written by W, Bruce Cameron. When the movie begins, we find a mother dog and cat along with their puppies and kittens living under an abandoned building. Animal control comes and takes most of the dogs except for one. This little dog is fostered by the cat mother.
Later, a young man named Lucas and his girlfriend will find the little dog and name her Bella. Bella and Lucas become great friends. Bella touches the lives of everyone that she meets including Lucas' mother and the people at the VA hospital where Lucas works.
Sadly, someone always has to cause trouble. Bella is identified as a pit bull, and they aren't allowed in Denver. Bella is taken to animal control. Lucas gets Bella out, but she has to leave the city until Lucas and his mother can find a new place to live outside of Denver. Bella is taken hundreds of miles away.
Bella knows one thing, she wants to go home and be with Lucas. She leaves her foster home and begins the trek to find the family that she loves. On her journey she will encounter a cougar, two men who give her a temporary home and a homeless man who needs her.
I won't give any more of the film away. This is film any dog or animal lover will enjoy. I recommend this film. It's the best dog movie I've seen since "Red Dog."
Monday, July 1, 2019
Verses For The Week -- Verses About Grace
Titus 2:11 -- "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people."
Romans 5:21 -- "So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Philemon 1:25 -- "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."
Romans 5:21 -- "So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Philemon 1:25 -- "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."
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