Tag: Minister

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 18TH 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 #SundayScripture I finished posting the full transcription of my 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. Links are provided for Parts 1 to 8 of “Jude & Judgment” (Sermon 56) and Parts 1 to 9 of “Jude & Jury” (Sermon 57) over on my SERMONS page.

It was in May of 2023 that I first announced in here that I had begun writing my sermon on Jude. It eventually became two sermons, and I was blessed to preach those sermons on back-to-back Sundays after Thanksgiving. (It was actually the first 2 of 4 consecutive Sundays that I preached at my longtime home church in Homestead Florida.)

I enjoyed studying Jude, and then I prayed on how to effectively preach on Jude. I wrote, enhanced, and rehearsed the sermons, and then I preached them. And then I got to preach them again in here over the past 4 months.

As a bivocational Assistant Pastor of a small church from 2016 to 2024 I was blessed to preach from the pulpit 60 times over the past 8 years. So I had plenty of time to prepare my sermons. Some took a few weeks, and some took several months. All were guided and directed by God and based on His Truth. I preached them when I was called upon to do so. Many were preached with my Lead Pastor physically there, and some were preached while filling-in for him during his absence.

I continue to write sermons that I hope to preach at my longtime home-away-from-home church. My 61ST sermon (“Music & Lyrics”) is done (for now), and I’m currently working on # 62 based on King Solomon.

Here in Sebring – I have a new home church – Highlands Community Church. I’ve been part of the church body for almost a year now. Much like my first year at my former church 9 years ago – I’m in a season of rest from Pastoral ministries. I’m loving our Sunday morning services. I’m enjoying formal Bible Study with my Pastor and 20 brothers and sisters every Friday night. Just recently I’ve immersed myself into “Men’s Ministry” every other Tuesday night at the church where about a dozen brothers (Pastor included) break bread (eat food), and we engage in current-event-type conversations that wouldn’t normally be discussed as part of our Sunday morning services.

After 4 months of presenting 2 sermons in here – I plan to spend the next 4 months (probably the rest of the year) just writing about my ministry and how I feel about certain things related to ministry and the church. I’ll also write about some of the Scripture that we’re learning on Friday nights and Sunday mornings at my church. It’s a new season here on #SundayScripture, and I’m looking forward to where God leads me.

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.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 11TH 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.

I’m in Homestead Florida this morning at the end of my 28TH trip here since buying my retirement home up north in Sebring Florida almost 18 months ago. I’ll be back home in Sebring tonight.

Since the start of April – I’ve been 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. Links are provided for Parts 1 to 8 of “Jude & Judgment” over on my SERMONS page. (It’s Sermon 56.)

This is Part 9 of 9 of “Jude & Jury”, and this is how I generally close our church services after I preach the sermon. I sometimes mention the Tithes & Offerings plate. I always pray for our church family and our loved ones. Following a few personal notes – I bring the Benediction, and it’s the same exact Benediction that I bring to you at the end of each #SundayScripture.

[CONCLUDE SERMON]

Thank You for your Tithes & Offerings up here in this plate. I don’t get any of this. I actually add to it every week. This goes to pay the bills, and to keep this church operating every day – from A.C. to electric to water to insurance. And it also goes to support ministries.

We lift up our brothers and sisters who are not here with us physically on this day. That includes our Pastor and his family. We pray for their happiness, and their health, and their safety, and their security. We thank God for His hedge of protection surrounding them and us. We pray for members of our church family every day. We pray for our loved ones who do not yet know our God. We pray intentionally. We pray specifically. We pray expecting God to bring forth miracles – big miracles – because that’s what He does.

After Lunch I’m heading back home to Sebring – 182 miles from here. I’ll see you next Sunday at 11. I’ll be here preaching again, and my sermon is titled “Pray & Believe”. 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.

Go forth. Go in peace. Go with God’s love in your heart.

[END OF SERMON]

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.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday August 04TH 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.

I’ve begun writing my next sermon on King Solomon. As with all sermons – the Holy Spirit is guiding me as to which direction to go with preaching about the wise King. This may end up becoming a multiple-sermon message series.

Since the start of April – I’ve been 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. Links are provided for Parts 1 to 8 of “Jude & Judgment” over on my SERMONS page. (It’s Sermon 56.) Here’s the penultimate edition – Part 8 of “Jude & Jury”:

[CONTINUE SERMON]

These people are as useless as dried-up springs, or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires – they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again – they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” (2 Peter 2:17-22)

Strong words there. Strong words from both Peter and Jude. You know false teachers – then and now – they love to target baby Christians – those who have just recently committed themselves to our Lord + Savior Jesus Christ. Peter refers to these baby Christians as those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. You see – when you know the Truth, and then you reject the Truth by believing and following and idolizing a false teacher – or by being a false teacher yourself – then that’s a far worse situation than when you ignorantly lived in sin – before you were saved and discovered the Truth. That’s like a dog that returns to its vomit.

These false teachers and their followers are doomed forever.

2ND Peter ends kind of like how Jude ends:

You already know these things – dear friends. So be on guard. Then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather – you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to Him – both now and forever ! Amen. (2 Peter 3:17-18)

Beware of false teachers. If you’re ever in doubt – then check with the Truth – the Bible. It’s the only Truth.

And that’s my message for you today.

[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.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday July 28TH 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.

I’m back home in Sebring Florida this morning. (Actually – I’ve been here since last Sunday evening.) At my home church here – Highlands Community Church – God has blessed us with fairly modern technology. We broadcast our Sunday morning services LIVE at 10:30 AM on our YouTube page. On those Sunday mornings when I’m out-of-town – I look forward to watching our service on YouTube after I return home. It’s not the same as being there in person, but it’s a good alternative.

Since the start of April and for the next 2 weeks – 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. Links are provided for Parts 1 to 8 of “Jude & Judgment” over on my SERMONS page. (It’s Sermon 56.) Here’s Part 7 of “Jude & Jury”:

[CONTINUE SERMON]

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 24-25)

That’s a good doxology right there. It’s a final praise to God – similar to what you would sing at the end of a hymn or a Psalm. It’s an often-quoted Scripture that you’ve probably heard before, and maybe you didn’t know that it was at the end of Jude’s letter.

It fits well with our Communion in that it’s a reminder of how glorious our God is. He is able to keep us from falling away to the false teachers of the world around us. All glory and majesty and power and authority are His before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time !

Back in 2021 and 2022 I preached 5 sermons through Peter’s first letter. Peter has a second letter – right after his first letter near the end of the New Testament. His second letter was likely written a few years before Jude wrote his letter. And both letters focus on the false teachers of the time – which was definitely a problem back then, as it is still a problem today. Both letters were written in a similar style with similar content and some of the same words and phrases. They complemented each other.

Check this out – from 2ND Peter:

These false teachers are like unthinking animals – creatures of instinct – born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals – they will be destroyed. Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor – who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice. (12-16)

[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.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp