Tag: Christ

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my brothers and sisters – my friends and neighbors. It’s Sunday July 19TH 2020, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. And let us go in to God’s Word.

For about a year I preached about James – the half-brother of Jesus – James The Just. I preached 10 sermons from the Book of James. Good stuff. Good News. It was my first extended message series. I should do another one. Maybe in a few years.

So after James, and 1ST & 2ND Peter, and 1ST, 2ND, and 3RD John – comes Jude. Jude is right before the Book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament. And Jude – he was a brother of James – which means – he was a brother of Jesus. Like James – Jude did not believe and follow Christ during Christ’s short ministry. They just thought that He was a bit crazy. It wasn’t until after Christ rose from the dead – like He said He would – that James, Jude, and others became believers and followers of Christ. They became church leaders after that. The resurrection of Christ proved everything.

So Jude’s letter is a single chapter – with 25 verses. Jude warns us about false teachers in the early church, and how they lived their lives away from the church.

You know the modern church of today has false teachers and false prophets. We all have the capability of being a false teacher or a false prophet. It’s so easy to do. You know we become false prophets when we worry about something – when we allow fear to come in to our heart. We become false prophets when we prophecy on a future that our God does not have planned.

“I am so worried about this happening and that happening. I do not know what I am going to do to recover from that disaster, but I better come up with a plan. God help me with this plan. Show me the way !” Meanwhile God is trying to tell you, “What disaster ?” (It’s all in your mind.)

We become false prophets when we waste time – when we waste energy – dwelling on something that’s not going to happen.

Sure bad things are going to happen to us along the way, but more bad things happen to us in our thoughts than actually occur in real life. Don’t let the enemy into your mind – into your heart. The enemy leaves less space for God to occupy your mind and your heart.

I like the ending of Jude’s letter. It’s an uplifting worship to our God.

Now all glory to God – who is able to keep you from falling away, and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to Him who alone is God – our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time ! Amen. (Jude 1:24-25 NLT)

Whenever you have one of those days – where you think that you’re not good enough for God – or where you think that God isn’t there for you – or where you think that there’s something better for you in the world out there – look to that Scripture right there – those two verses from Jude. Only God has all of the glory – all of the majesty – all of the power – and all of the authority – then, now, and forever. That’s the God I believe. That’s the God I follow. That’s the God I trust. That’s the God who is overflowing with “Kindness & Love”.

Show that “Kindness & Love” to your brothers and sisters – to your friends and neighbors.

Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, God, Jude, Scripture

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Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 12, 2020

(Continued from last Sunday.)

All right. So this is Part 4 of my 4-part online-only sermon that I started here on Sunday March 22ND, and then continued on Sunday March 29TH and Sunday April 05TH. It’s Easter Sunday – Resurrection Sunday. It’s a great and glorious day, as is every day on this fantastic journey. But this one is extra special, for He is risen. He is risen indeed !

Let’s close-out this sermon in a big way.

Let’s go to the Old Testament with wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes:

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls – the other can reach out and help. (4:9-10a)

That’s from the current edition of the New Living Translation. It was actually revised from the 1ST edition from almost 25 years ago. It used these words:

Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one – they get a better return for their labor.

I like that – both the original and the revision.

You know that’s called a tag team in the WWE. When one of the superstars gets tired or gets beaten up – he or she tags in his or her tag team partner, and they keep the fight going with their adversaries while the other one rests and recuperates, and cheers his or her partner on.

It’s kind of like us when one of our brothers or sisters submits to the enemy and needs our help to pull them out of the dark and dreary culvert that runs along both sides of the journey. Sometimes we stumble. Sometimes we fall. We can’t walk this journey alone. I learned that during my first 100 days of this fantastic journey. See back then I was an orphan – not part of a church body – not belonging to any church family. I had no tag team partners. I had no stable (another WWE term). I walked alone. I knew I couldn’t go much further like that. I mean I realized that I was rescued and saved by my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, but what’s next ? I needed a church family to find out what’s next. I soon found a church family that I could grow with.

My next sermon (already written) – is titled “Church & State”. It explores the urgency of being an important part of a church family. Our God commands it. I hope to preach it to my church family real soon – once we gather again in person corporately.

As the Bible says (in Ecclesiastes 4:10b & 12-13):

Someone who falls alone is in real trouble. A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

There’s something to be said there about power in numbers. That’s a common theme in the WWE. When a lovable babyface is being attacked by a miserable heel oftentimes a fellow face or a group of faces emerge from the locker room area backstage, run down the ramp, jump in to the ring, and help the face in peril by ridding the heel(s) from the ring and saving their brother or sister.

It kind of works the same way on this fantastic journey. That’s why we need each other as believers and followers of our God Almighty. We must fight the enemy together. We must encourage and inspire and bless each other. We must cheer each other on. We must pray for each other. We will conquer. God is on our side.

You know I’ve been to a lot of WWE LIVE events in bars and arenas over the past 19 years. We’re a unique type of people. I call them “my people”. They like what I like. They came to see what I came to see. They cheer who I cheer. They jeer who I jeer. We even dress alike. “My people.”

You know who else us are “my people” ? My church family. We meet and greet every Sunday. We pray together. We sing together. We praise and worship together. We listen to the sermon together. “My people.” God’s people.

Last weekend was WrestleMania Weekend – a 36-year tradition within the WWE. It’s the peak of the year. It’s what it all leads-up to. It’s what it’s all about. The storylines end here. WrestleMania Weekend is usually held in a football stadium, and 75,000 to 100,000 wrestling fans worldwide show up for it en masse. Not this year though. Because of COVID-19 WrestleMania Weekend was held inside an empty training building. The show went on though.

This weekend is Easter Weekend – a nearly 2,000-year tradition here in this world. It’s the peak of the year. It’s what it all leads-up to. It’s what it’s all about. The story didn’t end on Friday on that cross. It continued on Sunday when Jesus Christ conquered death and rose again. Easter Weekend is usually celebrated in church buildings big and small, and millions of Christians worldwide show up for it en masse. Many Christians only enter a church building on Easter Sunday. Not this year though. Because of COVID-19 Easter Weekend is being celebrated in our respective homes. The celebration must go on.

Luke 24-34

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 worldwide – God’s children – God’s church – 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 Resurrection Sunday, but we know that every waking moment of every new day is a renewed celebration of Christ conquering the grave, rising from the dead, and giving us life. HE IS RISEN ! HE IS RISEN – INDEED ! And since He is risen – we have risen from the darkness that we once knew.

He was concealed in the Old Testament. He was revealed in the New Testament. 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 the Messiah. 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.

YES ! On this Resurrection Sunday that the LORD has made – let’s observe – let’s rejoice – let’s celebrate – our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ – The Risen One !

Tags Blog, Christ, Easter, Jesus, Resurrection, Sermon

God

Bedtime Stories

‘The Fortune Cookie Message Of The Week Club’ posted earlier tonight got me thinking about what the Bible says about success and complacency through it all. I went digging into the New Testament – specifically the 2ND Book of Corinthians.

I found this intriguing passage in Chapter 3 (New Living Translation):

1 Are we beginning again to tell you how good we are ? Some people need to bring letters of recommendation with them or ask you to write letters of recommendation for them.
2 But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves ! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.
3 Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts.
4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.
5 It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God.

The way that I read that Scripture above is that you don’t need to bother God with boasting of how good you are and what good you’ve done. Your true success can be seen easily in your heart and in your soul. If one can see the goodness that you have done for others there – then that is the ultimate measuring stick of success. It’s not the material goods and possessions that surround you on the outside that matter, but rather what’s going on in your heart, in your mind, and in your soul. That’s what God cares about. That’s what He always sees. If He sees good in there then you are His, for that goodness – it came from Him.