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Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday June 04TH 2023, 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.

Tomorrow is my 56TH birthday, and I’ll be celebrating it today with my Homestead church family via music, food, and fellowship. When I first met my longtime church family I was a younger 47-year-old. Now I’m an older and almost-retired 56-year-old. Nowadays when I’m in Homestead – I’m merely visiting for a few days.

This morning I’ll be doing what I’ve been doing every month for almost 7 years now, and that is lead my church family in Communion. What’s special with this week’s edition of #SundayScripture is that it’s my Communion that was part of my sermon on “Paul & Titus” that I preached to my church family on March 05TH 2023. Here’s Part 6:

[CONTINUATION OF SERMON]

This is a good time to observe and rejoice and celebrate – our believer’s Communion. It’s an agreement that God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit is one God. It’s open for everyone who hears me – everyone who believes – that we live and die dependent on God’s grace. We cannot earn salvation. We cannot do a whole bunch of good things and work our way up to salvation. It is a gift from God that we received when we called on His holy name.

These elements on the table – I will bring them to you – where you are. As you receive them from me you may carefully remove the wrapping to reveal the bread and open the juice. We will accept these elements together as a church family.

[Distribute elements throughout the sanctuary.]

Let us take this bread, and know that it represents the sacred body of Christ that was given up for us on that cross. We take this bread in remembrance of Him.

Let us take this juice, and know that it represents the precious blood of Christ that was shed for us on that cross. We take this juice in honor of Him.

Lets us pray:

Thank You God for loving us, and giving Yourself for us. We love You Lord. We need You Lord. We are nothing without You Lord.

Thank You God for your gifts. Thank You for Your awesome presence in our lives – and Your intentional purpose for our lives. May all of Your beautiful blessings and marvelous miracles constantly strengthen our faith in You, increase our love towards others, and unify our hearts and our souls. We praise You Lord. We worship You Lord. And all God’s people say – AMEN.

You know our God’s gifts are abundant. His forgiveness, a personal relationship with Him, acceptance into God’s family as His child, the Holy Spirit within us, and eternal living (now and from this point forth) – these are all gifts from God for those who He has chosen and made His own by His grace.

He has chosen us, and we belong to Him. We must live in this evil world around us by proclaiming that we belong to God. Who do we belong to ?  We belong to God. I belong to God. Say that every day. Say that first thing in the morning when you wake-up. Say – “I belong to You God. For this is the day that You have made. I will rejoice. I will be glad in it. I will continue to praise and worship You – always and forever.”

We owe Him everything. We are thankful for His grace. We look forward to that glorious day when Christ returns for His church.

[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.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church Computers God Internet Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday May 28TH 2023, 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.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day here in the U.S.A. I’ll present my annual post honoring the day and our heroes.

“My Top 10 Hits” slides to Tuesday this weekend. All of my blog posts are published at 0300 U.S. East Coast time (0700 UTC).

A couple of weekends ago I began work on my next sermon – “Jude & Judgement”. It’s based on Jude’s letter to the Christians. The very next morning – my Pastor at my longtime home church – out of the blue a few moments before the start of the service – asked me to read Jude 1:3 (NLT) once he reached that part of his sermon and called on me to do so. I could not believe his request. How did he know that I’ve started writing a sermon on Jude ? How did he know that I just read the entirety of Jude (25 verses) back in the fellowship hall just before that moment ? How did he know that I’d been praying about the direction of my developing sermon on Jude ? Well – he didn’t know any of that. He and I were both reading, writing, and studying about Jude at the exact same time.

That’s why I love my Pastor of the past 8+ years. He and I are frequently on the same page with scripture and sermons. As long as he continues to preach – I’ll be watching from afar on Facebook. And every so often – I’ll be watching him in action in person.

A month ago here on #SundayScripture I began transcribing my sermon on “Paul & Titus” that I preached to my church family (filling-in for my Pastor) on March 05TH 2023. Here’s Part 5:

[CONTINUATION OF SERMON]

You know the Apostle Paul – he gave advice and instructions to Titus on how to lead the church on Crete, but Paul constantly reminded Titus for who he is – he is one who is saved by Christ – both of them. Paul trusted Titus to continue the good work that had started with the creation of the new church on the island.

Paul reassured Titus:

For the grace of God has been revealed – bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God – while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior – Jesus Christ – will be revealed. He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people – totally committed to doing good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)

That first sentence there – “for the grace of God has been revealed – bringing salvation to all people.” I love that. Because of that – I stand before you here today. And you and I know each other today. If it weren’t for God’s grace and His salvation for me – I wouldn’t be here today !

It reminds me of another one of Paul’s letters – to the Ephesians – when he wrote:

God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

[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.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church Computers God Internet Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday May 21ST 2023, 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 morning is the 30TH anniversary of the debut of my first product online – MANx CAT BBS. It was a dial-up bulletin board system located in my home in Melbourne Florida where readers (friends and fans) used their respective computer to dial-in to my computer via my home telephone number and modem. Once connected – they participated in various message boards on different topics, and they chatted with me in real-time (if I was on my computer at the time).

That bulletin board was a fun experience that lasted a little over 4 years, and a hit music web site was spun-off from it in 1995. This blog was a spin-off of that web site in 2007 when it debuted on MySpace.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been on social media for exactly 30 years – from age 26 to 56. I still enjoy hosting a media that readers (friends and fans worldwide) look forward to reading on a regular basis. I appreciate you !

As I used to say and write back in the day as a #SysOp – let’s get back on-topic here. A few weeks ago here on #SundayScripture I began transcribing my sermon on “Paul & Titus” that I preached to my church family on March 05TH 2023. Here’s Part 4:

[CONTINUATION OF SERMON]

Paul – and Titus – were carrying out the instructions of Christ – in Galilee – on the mountain – when He told His disciples – (Matthew 28:18-20)

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore – go and make disciples of all the nations – baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this:  I am with you always – even to the end of the age.”

That’s the Great Commission. You know every one of us are disciples of Christ. I’ve told this story many times, and it’s worth repeating over and over again. Back during my first full year of salvation – in 2007 – a special guest Pastor – who would eventually become our Executive Pastor for a short period of time – he called me out – by name – during the middle of his sermon. It came out of nowhere. He said – “Christopher Day – you are a disciple.” I nodded “no I’m not” from my movie theatre seat. (We did church in a movie theatre back then – the former Flagship Cinemas on Campbell Drive.) He saw me, and then he proceeded to proclaim why I’m a disciple. It gave me the chills. It gave me goosebumps. I was stunned. But – I believed. I believed that this wretch that was saved – I once was lost – but now I’m found – was blind – but now I see – that I am a disciple of my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. It was the most powerful sermon of my 8 years with my previous church family – just down the road from here. I will remember that sermon forever.

So discipleship is all about learning to become more like Christ. A disciple of Christ is one who repents of sin, and trusts in Jesus, and obeys His teachings. So if that’s you – and I think it is for everyone in here – then you are a disciple of Christ.

The Great Commission applies to all of us who believe and follow Christ. We are commanded to go and tell the world about the God we know. That’s proclaiming the Gospel. That’s teaching the Gospel. Proclaiming and teaching. That’s preaching. We’re all preachers in our own unique ways. You see some disciples lead churches, and all disciples are the church. You and I – we are the church. We are disciples of Christ. We are preachers. We are priests. We are a royal priesthood.

[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.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture Travel Weather

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday May 14TH 2023, 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.

I’m back with my home church family in Homestead this morning. I’ll be singing as part of the Praise & Worship team. I’ll be opening the service. I’ll be leading Communion. I’ll be closing the service. It’ll be great to see everyone for the first time in 3 weeks and celebrate Mother’s Day !

This Sunday morning also marks a milestone. I’ve officially been with this church family (8 years + 2 months) longer than my first church family (8 years + 1½ months). It’s been a great journey with my brothers and sisters, and the story is not over yet.

A couple of weeks ago here on #SundayScripture I began transcribing my sermon on “Paul & Titus” that I preached to my church family on March 05TH 2023. Here’s Part 3:

[CONTINUATION OF SERMON]

So back then the people of the island of Crete had quite the reputation, and it was not positive.

For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. They must be silenced – because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money. Even one of their own men – a prophet from Crete – has said about them – “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.” (Titus 1:10-12)

Wow. That’s what I said when I read that for the first time. Wow. Sounds like Titus has his hands full in Crete. The belief in Greek mythological gods – like Zeus – ran rampant all throughout the island. It was believed that Zeus was once a mere human who lived and died on Crete, but became a god based on his good deeds alone. That of course completely contradicts God’s Good News, and so Titus must appoint elders who display none of those behaviors, so that they can lead the people away from their beliefs in the false gods – taught by the false teachers.

Paul says an elder:

must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught. Then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong. (Titus 1:8-9)

Paul continues his letter:

As for you – Titus – promote the kind of living that reflects wholesome teaching. Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely. They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience. (Titus 2:1-2)

Similarly – teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead – they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then – they will not bring shame on the word of God. (Titus 2:3-5)

In the same way – encourage the young men to live wisely. And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can’t be criticized. Then – those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us. (Titus 2:6-8)

So Paul gave Titus specific instructions on how to lead the church on the island, and that would set the example for others to follow. Wholesome teaching from the truth – God’s Truth – was critical because of the rampant false teaching not from God, and sin, and corruption on the island. Paul – a disciple of Jesus – was himself a disciple-maker. And Titus was Paul’s disciple. Titus was a mature disciple, and he was now passing on what he learned to his elders of the church. Titus was ordained by Paul as the Bishop of Crete.

[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.

All rights reserved (c) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp