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Bible Christian Church God Humor Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

This weekend it’s something a little bit different. I’m a big fan and regular reader of “The Babylon Bee” – a satirical web site mostly on Christianity and Politics. It’s been around for almost 4 years. They are also on Facebook and Twitter.

A couple of nights ago they reran a classic post from 2 years ago. I loved it the first time. I loved it the next time. I loved it again. Check it out:

https://babylonbee.com/news/pastors-pulpit-says-theology

Recently as part of a major remodeling project of our church sanctuary (new stage, new lighting, new carpet, new chairs, new paint) I was asked to select a brand new pulpit for my use. (Our Lead Pastor doesn’t use the pulpit. He preaches on both sides of it, and in front of it, but never at it.)

I picked-out a really nice plexiglass pulpit, and it was purchased, and I use it every week. I love it. (You can see my reflection in it taking a picture of it.)

IMG_3719

Well apparently The Babylon Bee says that (because of my pulpit) I’m transparent (yes), and I’m vulnerable (yes). Oh yeah – and my theology is lightweight. (OK – I’ll take that one too.)

I essentially preach what I know. I don’t try to preach above my knowledge and skills level. I don’t try to preach like anyone else. I just preach on my 13 years of salvation, and I compare it with my 39 years of life before Christ. I preach a lot on repentance and salvation. I preach on the God that I’ve known since 2006. So yeah you can see right through my sermons. I testify and preach. (That was actually the title of an early sermon of mine from 2017 – “Testify & Preach”.)

All of my sermon titles are two words separated by an ampersand. I’m currently working on two sermons for the next couple of months – “Ways & Memes”, and “Habakkuk & Forth”.

As for the NLT – um – well – guilty as charged !  #BushLeague

Preach the Word of God. Be prepared – whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2 NLT)

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

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Bible Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Today I led my church family in our monthly observance of Communion. I shared God’s Word from Romans 3:22-26:

Communion

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes – no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned. We all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God – with undeserved kindness – declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life – shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.

We are made right with God – despite the fact that we are sinners. We have always been sinners. We will always be sinners. But Christ took all of our sins to the cross, so that we may live eternally with Him – because we believe in Him – because we follow Him – because we have faith in Him.

God has declared us righteous through Christ Jesus. We didn’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. With undeserved kindness. With unmerited favor. With grace. With mercy. With love. Christ Jesus is God’s greatest gift to us – now and forevermore.

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

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Bible Christian Church Food God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Today at Living Waters (my church family) we honored our Lead Pastor Bob for Pastor Appreciation Month at the start of our service, and I was also honored. Post-service most of us ventured over to the local Longhorn Steakhouse for good food, fun, and fellowship.

Today Pastor Bob preached on the “Healing Power Of Grace”. Grace brings us to the cross where our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ died a brutal bloody death because of all of our sins past, present, and future. We need Grace. Our God has given Grace to everyone in the whole world. Some accept it. Many reject it. For those of us that accept it we must use it towards others because God gave it to us as His gift – unmerited favor that we did not deserve. We are now justified eternally !

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this – not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time – to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:9 NLT)

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

Categories
Bible Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Today was another awesome day – praising, worshipping, and celebrating our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ – with my church family. It’s good to see slow and steady growth within our local church body with new faces joining us each week. God’s Kingdom continues to expand worldwide – including right here in Homestead Florida.

Today I led our church service. I preached my 28TH sermon over the past 3 years. It’s a message that God placed on my heart over the past few weeks. It’s all about God’s “Kindness & Love“.

Here’s an excerpt:

So today I talk about God’s “Kindness & Love” knowing that there is no other in creation who is so kind. There is no other in creation who loves us so much.

We as mere humans are worldly. We are sinful in that we are not always kind, and we are not always loving. In fact I’ll go even further to say that we are not kind more than we are kind, and we don’t love more than we do love.

Our God is always kind. He is always loving. Not a moment goes by where He fails to be kind. He never stops loving us. He created “Kindness & Love”, and He wants each of us to show more of it on our day-to-day journey to get closer to Him.

Here’s another excerpt:

God is doing a work in you. God won’t give up on you. He wants you to trust Him to continue His work to slowly change you into the likeness of His Son Christ Jesus. God will never give up on you. Don’t give up on God.

God is doing a work in me – one day at a time. I’m a perfectionist. If I want something done right at work then I do it myself. In fact – nobody’s allowed to do my job at work when I’m not there – when I’m on vacation.

I returned from my 13-day road-trip to and from North Texas on October 01ST. I was away from work for almost 2 weeks. I often thought about what crises – what scandals – what bad decisions were being made by others while I was away. I’m getting better at worrying less about work – when I’m not at work – but I still need to work at it. I’ll probably stop worrying about work – once I retire in a few years.

And another excerpt:

So back to my faults. I have – OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). Any other OCDers here ?  Of course. I’m not alone. An estimated 1 out of every 40 adult Americans have some form of OCD. Guilty.

I have a temper at times. “No Chris. You’re too mild-mannered to have a temper.” Actually I’ve been known to throw temper tantrums when I least expect it – even at the age of 52. Why I threw at least two temper tantrums at work this past week.

Oh ! – and I’ve been committing sins for as long as I’ve known the difference between right and wrong. Any other sinners here ?  Of course. I’m not alone. An estimated 10 out of every 10 adult Americans is a sinner.

You know we all say things that we shouldn’t. We all do things that we shouldn’t. We all think things that we shouldn’t. And you know what ?  We all don’t say things that we should. We all don’t do things that we should. We are not perfect. We are far from perfect. But our God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, and He loves us so much. Oh ! – and He’s perfect in every way.

And finally this Scripture from Titus 3:4-7:

When God our Savior revealed His “Kindness & Love” – He saved us – not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins – giving us a new birth – and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of His grace He declared us righteous, and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

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