Tag: Message

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 14, 2024

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday April 14TH 2024, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Last Sunday morning I was invited by my brother to go to church with him, his wife, and their two children. My brother and his wife associate as Catholics, so we went to the local Catholic church a couple of miles away from their home. We went to the 10:30 AM service. I believe that it was my first Catholic church service in nearly 40 years (since USAF Basic Military Training in San Antonio Texas). It was interesting. Lots of recitations, rituals, traditions, stands, sits, and kneels. I mostly observed.

For the next several months – I’m presenting the full transcription of my recent Jude message series consisting of two sermons – “Jude & Judgment” (Verses 1-11), and “Jude & Jury” (Verses 12-25). I preached them to my Homestead Florida church family on November 26TH 2023 and December 03RD 2023 respectively. Here’s Part 2:

[CONTINUE SERMON]

So – like his brother James – Jude did not follow Jesus during His 3-year ministry here on Earth. James and Jude thought that Jesus was a crazy guy. “He is out of his mind” – they said. Imagine that – James and Jude lived with Jesus during His ministry, but they did not really know Him. They did not understand Him. They definitely did not believe that He was the Messiah. You know – it’s kind of like today. People all over the world know of Jesus, but they don’t really know Him, or understand Him, or even believe in Him as God. Oh – and that includes a lot of self-proclaimed Christians too. They don’t really know Him.

It wasn’t until after Christ died and rose again – that James and Jude – His own brothers – became believers and followers of our resurrected Lord. They saw the light. And they traveled around the region. And they spread the message of their brother – of their risen God – Jesus Christ.

So Jude writes:
Dear friends – I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. (Jude 3a)

That would be a good letter to read from Jude – all about salvation. I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but – it’s one of my favorite topics. Every sermon that I preach includes salvation as a central theme. It’s that important to me. It’s why I’m alive today. It’s why you know me today.

But notice that Jude writes I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. You know – it sounds like he’s not going to write about that now. It sounds like he’s going in another direction with his letter.

It sounds like a lot of my sermons. I think I’m going to write and preach about one thing, and then God leads me in another direction with my sermon. And I love when He does that.

But – now I find that I must write about something else – urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to His holy people. (Jude 3b)

You must defend – or protect – your faith in Christ both in and out of the church. I don’t know if you know this or not, but – the enemy is lurking. He’s lurking in everything you do – and everywhere you go. He’s looking for your vulnerable moments, so that he can exploit them to his advantage. That’s what he does. And the enemy – the enemy even works on Sunday mornings. And he’s not afraid to walk right through those doors and into this sanctuary. We must defend our faith in Christ. That means being His hands – and His feet – and YES – even His voice – here on Earth.

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

My testimony is featured each week here on #SundayScripture – whether it’s part of a sermon, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord, and get closer to Him with each new day.

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Holidays Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date April 7, 2024

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday April 07TH 2024, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Starting with this edition – and continuing for the next several months – I’ll be presenting the full transcription of my recent Jude message series consisting of two sermons – “Jude & Judgment” (Verses 1-11), and “Jude & Jury” (Verses 12-25). I preached them to my Homestead Florida church family on November 26TH 2023 and December 03RD 2023 respectively.

[BEGIN SERMON]

Well Good Morning again church family. It’s always good to be able to preach the Good News of the Lord to you – and to me too. When I preach to you and others – in here and out there and online – I preach to myself as well. And when I preach – I strive to glorify God. You see when we glorify God – we honor Him – for who He is – for what He has done for us – for what He is doing for us – for what He will do for us. The Bible says “glorify God in your body and in your spirit – which are God’s.” Let us glorify God in everything we do – and everywhere we go.

Lord lead me as I deliver Your Word today. Let my brothers and sisters who hear me today get closer to You so that they will be more like You in every way. And bring me closer to You too Lord. In Your powerful name I pray. Amen.

Today I want to talk to you about a slave of Jesus Christ – and a brother of James – the same James – who was a brother of Jesus Himself. That would be Jude. Jude is a brother of James, so He’s a brother of Jesus.

Jude’s letter to the Christians is located near the end of the New Testament – right before the Book of Revelation. His letter is very short. It’s a single chapter of just 25 verses. It’s 461 words. You can read it in about 2 to 3 minutes, but you don’t need to read it that fast. I often say that you should read the Bible slowly, so that you understand it. You should read it slowly, so that you don’t miss anything. You should read it slowly, so that you can absorb God’s Good News. Once you’ve absorbed God’s Good News – then you can go and tell it to others. We should all be preachers of God’s Word.

As you can tell – I’m not a fan of skimming or speedreading the Bible. I also don’t recommend reading the next verse until you’ve understood what God is trying to tell you in the current verse. And if you don’t understand the current verse – then read the previous verse. That’s a great way to read and understand the Bible.

So starting at the top of Jude’s letter:

Jude is writing to all – who have been called by God the Father – who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love. (Jude 1b-2)

So – Jude introduces himself to his readers then and now, and he prays for them. May God give you more and more mercy. YES – I need that. We need that. We need God’s mercy. We can’t live without God’s mercy. It comes with His grace. God the Father showed mercy on us when He sent His one and only Son to the Cross to die for our sins. Jesus paid the price for our sins – past, present, and future – so that we may live in God’s Glory. And when we do that – when we live in God’s glory – we experience His abundant peace and love and joy. We want that. We need that – more and more with each new day. We can get that – when we focus on Him – more today than we did yesterday.

[TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK]

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, Easter, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Holidays Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 31, 2024

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 31ST 2024, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

Today I observe and celebrate my 18TH Easter Sunday with my brothers and sisters of my church family. Before salvation – Easter was just another day of the year. Now it’s the most important day of the year – and the reason why I live today.

As the Bible says in the Gospel According to Mark – Chapter 16 (1-7):

Saturday evening – when the Sabbath ended – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning – just at sunrise – they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb ?” But as they arrived – they looked up and saw that the stone – which was very large – had already been rolled aside.

When they entered the tomb – they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said – “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth – who was crucified. He isn’t here ! He is risen from the dead ! Look – this is where they laid His body. Now go and tell His disciples – including Peter – that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there – just as He told you before He died.”

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)

On this day we join our brothers and sisters in Christ – God’s children – all across this great nation of ours – and all around the world – as we observe and celebrate the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ – our Lord + 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, and rising from the dead, and giving us life.

HE IS RISEN ! HE IS RISEN – INDEED ! And since He is risen – we have risen from where we once were.

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 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.

My testimony is featured each week here on #SundayScripture whether it’s part of a sermon, or just me writing about the events of the past week. Hopefully it encourages you and inspires you to seek the Lord, and get closer to Him with each new day.

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Tags Bible, Blog, Christ, Christian, Church, Easter, God, Jesus, Message, Minister, Ministry, Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, Scripture, Sermon, Sunday

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date March 24, 2024

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 24TH 2024, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Let us love our neighbor as ourself.

This is my 300TH edition of this weekly blog series known as #SundayScripture. When I started this series with the debut edition a little over 6 years ago on the last Sunday of February of 2018 – I never expected that it would continue this long. It has not just continued, but it has thrived and expanded. God had bigger plans for this series than I had, and He led me on this journey, and I kept following Him with His guidance and direction.

The next day – the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet Him. They shouted, “Praise God ! Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord ! Hail to the King of Israel !” Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it – fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid – people of Jerusalem. Look – your King is coming – riding on a donkey’s colt.” His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into His glory – they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about Him. Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb – raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet Him – because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look – everyone has gone after Him !”

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem appears in all 4 Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Scripture above is from John 12:12-19, and that’s the New Living Translation (NLT).

I greet you each Sunday with the words of Psalm 118:24 – This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it.

The next 2 verses right after that are quoted in John’s Gospel:

Please – LORD – please save us. Please – LORD – please give us success. Bless the One who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless You from the house of the LORD.

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. The best is yet to come !

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.