April 7, 2024 – CountUp

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday April 07TH 2024, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Starting with this edition – and continuing for the next several months – I’ll be presenting the full transcription of my recent Jude message series consisting of two sermons – “Jude & Judgment” (Verses 1-11), and “Jude & Jury” (Verses 12-25). I preached them to my Homestead Florida church family on November 26TH 2023 and December 03RD 2023 respectively.

[BEGIN SERMON]

Well Good Morning again church family. It’s always good to be able to preach the Good News of the Lord to you – and to me too. When I preach to you and others – in here and out there and online – I preach to myself as well. And when I preach – I strive to glorify God. You see when we glorify God – we honor Him – for who He is – for what He has done for us – for what He is doing for us – for what He will do for us. The Bible says “glorify God in your body and in your spirit – which are God’s.” Let us glorify God in everything we do – and everywhere we go.

Lord lead me as I deliver Your Word today. Let my brothers and sisters who hear me today get closer to You so that they will be more like You in every way. And bring me closer to You too Lord. In Your powerful name I pray. Amen.

Today I want to talk to you about a slave of Jesus Christ – and a brother of James – the same James – who was a brother of Jesus Himself. That would be Jude. Jude is a brother of James, so He’s a brother of Jesus.

Jude’s letter to the Christians is located near the end of the New Testament – right before the Book of Revelation. His letter is very short. It’s a single chapter of just 25 verses. It’s 461 words. You can read it in about 2 to 3 minutes, but you don’t need to read it that fast. I often say that you should read the Bible slowly, so that you understand it. You should read it slowly, so that you don’t miss anything. You should read it slowly, so that you can absorb God’s Good News. Once you’ve absorbed God’s Good News – then you can go and tell it to others. We should all be preachers of God’s Word.

As you can tell – I’m not a fan of skimming or speedreading the Bible. I also don’t recommend reading the next verse until you’ve understood what God is trying to tell you in the current verse. And if you don’t understand the current verse – then read the previous verse. That’s a great way to read and understand the Bible.

So starting at the top of Jude’s letter:

Jude is writing to all – who have been called by God the Father – who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. (Jude 1b-2)

So – Jude introduces himself to his readers then and now, and he prays for them. May God give you more and more mercy. YES – I need that. We need that. We need God’s mercy. We can’t live without God’s mercy. It comes with His grace. God the Father showed mercy on us when He sent His one and only Son to the Cross to die for our sins. Jesus paid the price for our sins – past, present, and future – so that we may live in God’s Glory. And when we do that – when we live in God’s glory – we experience His abundant peace and love and joy. We want that. We need that – more and more with each new day. We can get that – when we focus on Him – more today than we did yesterday.

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

My testimony is featured each week here on #SundayScripture – whether it’s part of a sermon, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord, and get closer to Him with each new day.

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.