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Sunday Scripture

Pastor Bob's Easter 2019 Sermon

On this day I observed and celebrated my 13TH Easter Sunday with my brothers and sisters of my church family. Before salvation Easter was just another day of the year. After salvation it’s the most important day of the year – and the reason why I exist today.

As the Bible says in the Gospel According to Mark – Chapter 16 (1-7):

Saturday evening – when the Sabbath ended – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning – just at sunrise – they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb ?” But as they arrived – they looked up and saw that the stone – which was very large – had already been rolled aside.

When they entered the tomb – they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said – “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth – who was crucified. He isn’t here !  He is risen from the dead !  Look – this is where they laid His body. Now go and tell His disciples – including Peter – that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there – just as He told you before He died.”

HE IS RISEN !  HE IS RISEN – INDEED !  The Lord has really risen !  He appeared to Peter. (Luke 24:34). He was seen by the Twelve, and the more than 500 of His followers at the time, and by James (the half-brother of Jesus), and by all the apostles, and by Paul. (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)

Today we join our brothers and sisters in Christ – God’s children – all across this great nation of ours – and all around the world – nearly 2½-billion Christians – as we observe and celebrate the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ – our Lord and Savior.

We join our brothers and sisters of this global church family on this Easter Sunday, but we know that every waking moment of every new day is a renewed celebration of Christ conquering the grave, and rising from the dead, and giving us life.

HE IS RISEN !  HE IS RISEN – INDEED !  And since He is risen – we have risen from where we once had been.

See Jesus keeps His promises – then and now. He does what He says He is going to do. He is who He says He is. He is risen. He is risen – indeed. He is alive. He sits on the throne of Heaven. He is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. He gives us life. He breathes life onto our dry bones. Breath of God – breathe on us !  He makes all things new. He gives us hope. He gives us purpose. He makes us vessels of vibrant living waters.

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Bible Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Well Done My Good And Faithful Servant

Well Done My Good & Faithful

It’s easy to get comfortable on this journey, and think that God is happy with us for being a Pastor, a Preacher, a Teacher, or any of a number of titles used in the church and in ministry. But God is really impressed when we are servants first.

The Master was full of praise. ‘Well done My good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together !’ (Matthew 25:21 NLT)

The Lord expects His servants to be faithful to Him in doing what He has commanded us to do in this world as we await His return. We must serve the LORD with gladness !

For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45 NLT)

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Bible Christian Church God Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Palm Sunday

Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of Him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around Him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David !  Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord !  Praise God in highest heaven !” The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as He entered. “Who is this ?” they asked. And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus – the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” (Matthew 21:8-11 NLT)

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Bible Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

I’m currently writing my 27TH sermon since 2016. I’ve already preached 23 of them to my church family. I hope to preach 2 of them over the next couple of months. That leaves 2 remaining. Those 2 are what I refer to as my “reject” sermons. I wrote them in 2017, and at the time they were relevant and they reflected a message that God sent me to pursue. But then life continued on. I moved forward on God’s fantastic journey for me, and the 2 sermons were no longer the right message at the right time. I haven’t given up on those 2 sermons.

One is actually wrestling-themed – timely today since it’s WWE WrestleMania Day. It’s actually amusing to read, and it makes me smile. It needs a lot more work though before I can preach it to my church family.

The other “reject” sermon has actually been cannibalized many times with bits and pieces of it removed and used in subsequent sermons. As it stands right now it’s not even a 10-minute sermon. It’s less than a third of its original length.

Here’s an excerpt from what remains of that once full-length sermon titled “Give & Take”:

By human nature we’re all givers and takers. We give when it’s convenient – usually when someone else is watching – when there’s an audience. We take when it’s convenient – usually when no one else is watching. It seems like we’re always acting for that audience that’s watching us.

Do you give more than you take, or do you take more than you give ?  I’m not necessarily talking about the giving and taking of physical objects. I’m also talking about life in general. Have you ever thought about that before ?  Personally I never really thought about that – before this fantastic journey. The world tells us that it’s a dog-eat-dog world, and you need to take all that you can get, or you’ll be left behind in a cloud of dust. God tells us differently:

Acts Chapter 20 Verse 35 – It’s an often quoted verse in the Truth:  You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

In First Corinthians Chapter 1 the Apostle Paul writes to God’s church:

… to you who have been called by God to be His own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus – just as He did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ – their Lord and ours.

God made me holy ?  I’m holy ?  No – I’m not holy. I’m a sinner. I’ve done bad things in my life. But wait. Christ took all of those bad things from me when He gave His life for me on that cross. “Give & Take”. He gave. He took. Simultaneously. He did this after I called Him my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. I’m holy. You’re holy. We’re holy. But we’re still human. We’re still sinners. But every sinner has a future – just as every saint has a past.

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

All rights reserved (c) 2019 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries