Category: Ministry

Sunday Scripture

Today I led my church family on our journey to get closer to our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. I preached about a 35 to 40 minute sermon on the fall of the “Southern Kingdom” of Judah following the untimely death of the good King Josiah on the battlefield at Megiddo. Titled “Neco & Nebuchadnezzar” (the two Kings mostly responsible for the final fall of Judah) – it was the follow-up (or sequel) to my previous sermon of 4 weeks ago titled “Josiah & Judah” which was all about the 31-year reign of King Josiah.

Here’s an excerpt of my sermon:

King Josiah didn’t see the end of his life coming, and as the Bible says:

While Josiah was King – Pharaoh Neco – King of Egypt – went to the Euphrates River to help the King of Assyria. King Josiah and his army marched out to fight him, but King Neco killed him when they met at Megiddo. (2 Kings 23:29)

… So the year is 609 B.C. Josiah was the King of Judah – the smaller “Southern Kingdom” of the Jewish homeland. Jerusalem and Bethlehem were both in Judah – the far-northern part of Judah. To its north was the Kingdom of Assyria – or the Assyrian Empire. That northern part was once the Kingdom of Israel. That’s when there were two divided Kingdoms – Israel and Judah. And of course before that they were one United Kingdom – of Israel and Judah. After the split the two Kingdoms started as bitter enemies, but then they ended-up as somewhat friendly allies. Bethel and Samaria were both in the “Northern Kingdom”.

So King Josiah heard (through the grapevine) that Pharaoh Neco – the King of Egypt – and his loyal army – were to march northward – out of Egypt (along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea) – and then inland – across the mountains – towards the Euphrates River – to help the King of Assyria in fighting the Babylonians – who were becoming increasingly powerful and expanding westward into the region …

… King Josiah didn’t like that idea. He had major problems with that maneuver. He didn’t want the Assyrian Empire (to the north) to get any stronger. He didn’t want the King of Assyria to receive any outside help. The Assyrian Empire was fading fast. It was crumbling from within due to a series of brutal civil wars and attacks from outsiders. King Josiah really wanted the Babylonians to finish the job. King Josiah was on the side of the Babylonians – for reasons unknown. It’s not really clear in the Bible as to why Josiah favored the Babylonians over the Assyrians. Maybe he thought that they would be friendlier / more accommodating neighbors to the north – and to the east.

So King Josiah was not going to let the Egyptians help out the Assyrians against the Babylonians. Deep within the Kingdom of Assyria – King Josiah and his loyal army intercepted Pharaoh Neco and his loyal army at a place called Megiddo. Modern-day Megiddo is located in far-northern Israel – north of the West Bank – very near Nazareth …

… So at Megiddo – the two Kings talked. King Josiah urged Pharaoh Neco to stop and turn around. Neco refused, and in fact he told King Josiah that the LORD wanted him to fight the Babylonians. Neco told Josiah that if he really listened to the LORD who he believes, follows, and trusts – then he would know that the enemy was not the Assyrians or the Egyptians. The enemy was the Babylonians. Josiah didn’t believe Neco. Josiah was enraged at Neco. Josiah led an attack on Neco and his army. That didn’t end well. It ended in disaster. King Josiah was killed in the battle.

In 2ND Chronicles an account of this deadly battle is described in greater detail than in 2ND Kings, so as the Bible says:

King Neco sent messengers to Josiah with this message: “What do you want with me – King of Judah ? I have no quarrel with you today ! I am on my way to fight another nation, and God has told me to hurry ! Do not interfere with God – who is with me, or He will destroy you.” (2 Chronicles 35:21)

And the very next verse of 2ND Chronicles reveals that God had indeed spoken to Neco, and Neco was truly following the will of God.

So the one time that Josiah failed to listen to God’s voice – it cost him his life. Maybe after 39 years of life, and 31 years of reign, and 23 years of listening to the LORD – he had gotten just a little bit complacent – maybe a bit too comfortable.

You can’t get complacent or comfortable on this journey. That type of thinking won’t move you closer to God. The enemy loves that type of thinking.

Bible Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 132

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 26, 2019

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday August 25TH 2019:

“Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West
[# 3 last week / 4TH week on chart]
“Fear No More” – Building 429 [4 / 4TH]
“Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music [1 / 12TH]
“Symphony” – Switch [2 / 12TH]
“I’m Gonna Let It Go” – Jason Gray [5 / 3RD]
“Dead Man Walking” – Jeremy Camp [8 / 6TH]
“(Love Is The) Reason” – Unspoken [7 / 6TH]
“Resurrecting” – Elevation Worship [9 / 20TH]
“Yes I Will” – Vertical Worship [10 / 2ND]
“Power” – We Are Messengers [- / 1ST]

# 1 One Year Ago This Week:
“Who You Say I Am” – Hillsong Worship

# 1 Two Years Ago This Week:
“Broken Things” – Matthew West

Casting Crowns score their 2ND # 1 smash in less than a year with “Nobody (But Jesus)”. It’s the 39TH # 1 smash during this era of my personal hit music chart. They also owned the 26TH # 1 smash – “Only Jesus” – as well as the 5TH # 1 smash in 2017 – “Oh My Soul”.

I love the 2ND verse of “Nobody (But Jesus)” sung by Matthew West:

Moses had stage fright
And David brought a rock to a sword fight
You picked twelve outsiders nobody would’ve chosen, and You changed the world
Well the moral of the story is
Everybody’s got a purpose
So when I hear that devil start talking to me saying, “Who do you think you are ?”

“Nobody (But Jesus)” was cowritten by Mark Hall (lead singer), Matthew West, and Bernie Herms (popular producer and songwriter – married to Natalie Grant).

I absolutely love this song. It’s a perfect pop song for the radio with a country feel to it. Its music video is fun to watch, and sing along with, and clap your hands to.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again next weekend – 5 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Monday, and a special post on Tuesday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. Enjoy this week my friends. I’m on Twitter @ChrisMDay, and I’m also the man behind the tweets for my church @LivingWatersHFL. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. AMEN.

Tags KLOVE

Bible Christian Church God Ministry Music Radio Scripture

My Top 10 Hits – Week 131

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 19, 2019

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday August 18TH 2019:

“Raise A Hallelujah” – Bethel Music [# 1 last week / 11TH week on chart]
“Symphony” – Switch [3 / 11TH]
“Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West [6 / 3RD]
“Fear No More” – Building 429 [9 / 3RD]
“I’m Gonna Let It Go” – Jason Gray [10 / 2ND]
“Till I Found You” – Phil Wickham [2 / 11TH]
“(Love Is The) Reason” – Unspoken [7 / 5TH]
“Dead Man Walking” – Jeremy Camp [8 / 5TH]
“Resurrecting” – Elevation Worship [4 / 19TH]
“Yes I Will” – Vertical Worship [- / 1ST]

# 1 One Year Ago This Week:
“Who You Say I Am” – Hillsong Worship

# 1 Two Years Ago This Week:
“Hard Love” – NeedToBreathe

Bethel Music holds on at # 1 for the 4TH week in a row, but this could be it for the instant worship song at our Sunday morning church services.

3 songs I’m loving have broken out of the pack, and they’ve climbed into my Top 5:

Casting Crowns have another bonafide smash on their hands with a track that’s from the point-of-view of John The Baptist. Everyone wanted to know all about him, but he declared himself to be a “Nobody”. He said, “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness. Clear the way, for the Lord’s coming !” You want to know about Somebody ? Let me tell you all about Jesus. “Cause I’m just a nobody – trying to tell everybody – all about Somebody – who saved my soul.”

Building 429 out of Fayetteville North Carolina have been together for 20 years, and they’ve scored some big hits on the radio during this decade of the 2010s, but “Fear No More” is actually their debut smash here on my chart. It’s got a Skillet sound to it, and that makes sense, as I enjoyed Building 429 LIVE in concert as one of the opening acts for Skillet back in January 2018.

And finally Jason Gray scores his debut smash here on my chart with his “pop-meets-reggae” track, “I’m Gonna Let It Go”. It’s also Top 15 nationwide on Christian radio. It’s got the perfect feel for a late-Summer day at the beach, but more importantly it’s got powerful lyrics:

I’m gonna take You at Your word
I’m gonna lay down all my burdens
Oh – I’m gonna let it – I’m gonna let it go

Check out his official music video:

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again next weekend – 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Tags KLOVE

Bible Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 18, 2019

On this Sunday we praised, worshiped, and celebrated our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. After the first song of worship I greeted my church family, and I led a prayer for all of our kids, parents, teachers, administrators, school bus drivers, and all of us affected by the new school season which begins locally tomorrow morning. I prayed for our God to continue to bless all of us in His powerful name for safety and security in and around our schools, and to and from our schools.

Our Lead Pastor continued his message series on the “Road To Heaven” with a lively sermon that looked like a lot of fun for him to preach. I love watching him preach. I’m an Associate Pastor, so I’m observing and learning from him every step of the way. When I preach it is Chris Day proclaiming and teaching God’s Word to anyone who’s listening. My style is a conglomerate of every Pastor I’ve had the privilege of personally serving with, observing in action, and watching on TV over the past 12½ years.

One of my favorite verses of Scripture was part of our Pastor’s sermon today:

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a royal priesthood – a holy nation – God’s very own possession. As a result – you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

This week marks 13 years of salvation for me. God rescued and saved me on this upcoming week of August of 2006 while I was driving to work in the twilight of the morning. The first miracle occurred on that otherwise mundane morning, and then a few weeks went by before I realized what God was up to. The miracles have been endless ever since.

For (I) have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. (My) new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living Word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)

Thank You my friends for reading my blog, and for being part of my global church family. I’ll leave you with the same message that I gave to my brothers and sisters today to close out our church service. I’m not a fan of “going to” church or “leaving from” church. I believe in “being” the church and “bringing” the church in everything we do and everywhere we go, so let’s be God’s wonderful light out there (outside) wherever there’s darkness.

Tags Salvation