The Kingdom of God is already among you. It is in your grasp. Jesus Christ was revealing the Kingdom of God through His ministry – through His words – through His actions. The Kingdom of God is within us – for those who believe in Creator, Christ, and Spirit as One.
All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries
Greetings my friends ! It’s the weekend again – because here at #CountUp weekends always begin on Thursday mornings !
This weekend I’ll post the usual 4 new blog posts now (Thursday morning), Friday morning, Sunday afternoon, and Monday morning.
This Saturday I hope to do another “Walk-A-Thon” at dawn at the city park down the street from my neighborhood. After that I plan to visit the Fruit And Spice Park about 7 miles away from my home. I visited last March, and I was convinced (before I even entered the park grounds) to buy an annual pass for $25 in lieu of a one-time visit ticket for $10 thinking that (as a local) I would visit on a regular basis. Well I haven’t been back since then, so I might as well get in a free visit this weekend while it’s cool out. (We’ll be in the 50s and 60s this Saturday morning.)
Later on Saturday I’ll return home (probably exhausted from all of that walking), and I’ll continue my Bible study and sermon-writing. I’m currently working on my sermon after next – tentatively titled “Malachi & Messages”. It’s probably the first of two (maybe even three) sermons in a row all about the minor prophet Malachi.
Oh ! – I’m part of #LivePDNation – so there’s that on Friday and Saturday night.
On Sunday I’ll enjoy quality time praising, worshiping, and celebrating my Lord + Savior Jesus Christ with my church family. As I tell my brothers and sisters in Christ on each new Sunday morning – it’s the peak of my week. It’s the greatest 4 hours of my life each week.
On Monday at 3 AM U.S. East Coast Time I’ll post my brand new Top 10 weekly hit music chart. Get ready for a brand new # 1 smash. (You read it here first.)
So that’s my weekend forecast. It should be a fun one !
I’ll be back here in 24 hours to go RETRO – back a full decade ago – to a time when I gave up Christian music on the radio forever (or so I thought at the time).
All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries
Today was Communion Sunday with my Living Waters church family. Here’s how God led me:
It is the 1ST Sunday of a brand new month – February – and it’s our time here at Living Waters to observe and celebrate Communion. It’s an observance. It’s an opportunity – that allows us to slow down, and reflect, and honor, and remember what our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ did for us on that cross on that day. It’s also the continuation of this celebration that we enjoy corporately as a church body every Sunday morning when we bring the church from out there to in here.
Christ suffered for us. Never did He sin. Never did He deceive anyone. Never did He retaliate against anyone. Never did He seek revenge against anyone. None of us can claim that, but Christ can. Christ was innocent. We are guilty.
See He had no sins of His own, so He carried all of our sins – past, present, and future – to the cross. He died a horrible death to pay the penalty for our sins forever. He did that for us. That allows us to be dead to sin. That allows us to live for what is right. We didn’t deserve it, but by God’s Grace – we are saved. By His wounds – we are healed. By His suffering – we are free.
So let’s remember – what Christ did for us – and what He continues to do for us.
This is our believer’s Communion. We believe that we have one living and true God – in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 3 Persons – 1 God. Each is God individually; yet, they are one God together. One God – who is almighty. One God – who never changes. One God – who is eternal.
And so this believer’s Communion is open for everyone who hears me – everyone who believes this. If you believe that we are now under the eternal protection of our shepherd – then I invite you to accept this bread and this juice.
I’ve asked Larry and Shirley to serve us these elements today, so as they make their way up here to retrieve the elements I invite you to join me in honoring our 3-in-1 God – who reigns – now and forever.
At this time come forth to accept this bread and this juice. Take them back to your seat – and remain standing (if you can). After everyone is back at their seats – we’ll accept these elements together as a church body. Come forth.
[Praise & Worship Pastor leads us in “We Believe” from Newsboys.]
Let us take this bread, and know that it represents the sacred body of Christ that was given up for us on that cross. We take this bread in remembrance of Him.
Let us take this juice, and know that it represents the precious blood of Christ that was shed for us on that cross. We take this juice in honor of Him.
Let us bow our heads. Let us pray:
Thank You God for this Glorious moment – in this place – at this time. Thank You Lord for being the unchangeable and unstoppable God that You are – Creator, Christ, and Spirit as One.
Thank You Lord for Your awesome presence in our lives – and Your intentional purpose for our lives. May all of Your beautiful blessings and marvelous miracles constantly strengthen our faith in You, increase our love towards others, and unify our hearts and our souls. We honor You Lord. We praise You Lord. We worship You Lord. We celebrate You Lord. We love You Lord – on this day – and with each new day. And we confirm this by saying – AMEN.
(You may be seated.)
As the Bible says in the Gospel According To John (6:57), and this is in red letters, so Christ said it Himself:
I live because of the living Father who sent Me. In the same way – anyone who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
Receiving the body and blood of Christ during Communion means that we are embracing the life-giving sacrifice of Jesus.
All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries
It was wonderful to be back with my church family on this beautiful sunny and cool Sunday morning in Homestead Florida. (Last Sunday I was 3 hours away over in Fort Myers and Estero. Read all about it on my blog post from this past Thursday.)
Praise & Worship was awesome as always – led by our Worship Pastor Ben. One of my favorite songs that we sing to God is “Victor’s Crown”. I love this part:
♫ Hallelujah
You have overcome
You have overcome
Hallelujah
Jesus You have overcome the world ♫
Our Lead Pastor Bob continued his Noah message series, and I learned 3 new terms today – “Kaphar”, “Kopher”, and “Pitch”.
Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar – inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. (Genesis 6:14 NLT)
The large boat was the ark. Inside the ark was the only way to survive – with redemption and salvation.
“Kaphar” means to cover over – to atone for. “Kopher” is the price of a life. “Pitch” is the tar or the blood covering.
Jesus Christ covered over all of our sins – past, present, and future – with His blood, so that we may survive – so that we may live eternally with God.
All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries
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