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Bible Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Here’s an excerpt from my sermon today titled “Pray & Believe”:

… The Bible says “keep on praying.” That’s a short 3-word verse in First Thessalonians Chapter 5. That’s actually the New Living Translation First Edition. That verse was updated for the Second Edition from “keep on praying” to “never stop praying”. Now it doesn’t mean to pray with every single breath and every waking moment. It means don’t give up when troubles come your way. Pray.

I learned this verse early on as a baby Christian. It helped me a lot:

Don’t worry about anything. Instead – pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. (Philippians 4:6)

I’ve heard it said that worry is a conversation you have with yourself about things you can’t change. Prayer is a conversation you have with God about things He can change.

When I pray almost every sentence has the words “Thank You” in it. I thank God for the current situation. I thank the Lord for what He’s already done. I thank Him for what He’s going to do.

I like (Romans 12:12)Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

You see when we rejoice in our confident hope – when we trust in Christ – we can be patient in times of trouble. Praying to God shows God that we truly trust in Him. Praying to God from the valleys confirms to Him that we believe that He is in control, and that He is right there with us – leading us out of the valley.

So who has this confident hope ?

The Bible says – We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something – (then) we don’t need to hope for it. (We don’t need to wait for it.) (Romans 8:24)
But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have – (then) we must wait patiently and confidently.) (Romans 8:25)
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example – we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. (Romans 8:26)
And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. (Romans 8:27)

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

Categories
Bible Christian Church God Ministry Music Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Last night I started writing a brand new sermon. It’s my 26TH sermon over the past 3 years of preaching. As soon as I sat down and decided that I wanted to read, study, and learn more about a character in the Bible that I knew nothing about – God led me on a journey online where I discovered Josiah – King of Judah – from the 2ND Book of Kings.

My goal is to do more teaching in my preaching and expand my sermons into the Old Testament. There’s a lot of great material in the Old Testament – types and shadows. Our Praise & Worship Pastor preached today back-and-forth from both the Old and the New Testaments. You’ve probably heard it said before, and I’ve preached it before – The New is in the Old concealed, and the Old is in the New revealed. Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ is in the Old Testament concealed. In the New Testament He is revealed.

If you will obey Me and keep My covenant – you will be My own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth – for all the earth belongs to Me. And you will be My kingdom of priests – My holy nation. This is the message you must give to the people of Israel. (Exodus 19:5-6)

You are a chosen people. You are royal priests – 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. “Once you had no identity as a people. Now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy. Now you have received God’s mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

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

P.S.  Wanna see and hear some great Christian music tonight ?  Tune-in to TBN (either nationally or a local affiliate or stream it online) tonight from 9 PM to 11 PM EDT (U.S. East Coast Time) for the K-LOVE Fan Awards. I’ll be live-tweeting during the show @ChrisMDay using the hashtags #KLOVE, #FanAwards, and #TBN. Join in on all of the fun on Twitter !

Categories
Bible Christian Church God Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Today was another great day with my church family at Living Waters. We celebrated my birthday today with our tradition of coming up to the front of the sanctuary, putting on a birthday hat, holding up a birthday card, and watching on as everyone sings the traditional “Happy Birthday” song. That’s always a lot of fun. We do that about every 2 or 3 Sundays as each new birthday approaches.

Our Lead Pastor continued his sermon series on faith. It was based on Scripture from both the Old Testament (Genesis) and the New Testament (Matthew).

Just then a woman who had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding came up behind Him. She touched the fringe of His robe, for she thought – “If I can just touch His robe – I will be healed.” Jesus turned around, and when He saw her he said, “Daughter – be encouraged ! Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was healed at that moment. (Matthew 9:20-22 NLT)

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

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Bible History Holidays Scripture

Memorial Day

2008 Memorial Day Poster #3.

It’s Memorial Day here in the U.S.A. It’s not appropriate to say “Happy Memorial Day”, for this is a truly solemn holiday. It’s the day each year that we honor our fallen heroes – those military personnel who served their country in a time of war – and who gave the ultimate sacrifice to keep our freedom strong. They gave their life.

This is not a day for those like me who once served in the U.S. Armed Forces, for I am still alive. My day is Veterans Day on November 11TH. It is not a day for those who are currently serving in the military. That day is Armed Forces Day – the 3RD Saturday of May.

On this day I remember our fallen heroes. I will never forget.

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)

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