Tag: Minister

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Internet Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 22ND 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.

Looks like for the first time in my pastoral ministry I’ll be leading my longtime church family in Homestead – and preaching for 4 Sundays in a row between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ve done it 2 and 3 Sundays in a row, but never 4 in a row. I’m up for the challenge, and I’ll be looking solely to God for His guidance, direction, wisdom, and encouragement.

I plan to preach 4 traditional (well-prepared) sermons. The sermon that I’ve been writing (and stalling and struggling with) for over 5 months now on Jude’s letter to the Christians near the end of the New Testament is now going to be a 2-part message series on consecutive Sunday mornings. God gave me clarity on this sermon, and I’m back on-track now. He gave me so much clarity that He gave me 2 sermons worth of clarity. I don’t even have a title yet for the 2ND week of my Jude message, but God will reveal it to me in His time.

I’ll also be preaching my “Pray & Believe” sermon that I rejuvenated here on #SundayScripture for 10 weeks this past summer. If you missed any part of that sermon series then you can catch-up over on my SERMONS page. It’s listed as my 58TH sermon, and I’ve provided hyperlinks to each of the 10 parts. (Remember these are transcripts – not videos or podcasts.)

I have a few ideas for my 4TH of 4 sermons a week before Christmas. I’ll need to pray about it so that I preach the right sermon at the right time.

So – as you can see – I have a lot of work to do over the next month to prepare myself mentally, physically, and spiritually for these 4 sermons in a row. If God ever gives me the opportunity to be the Lead Pastor of a church family in my new hometown (or even my new neighborhood) – then these 4 sermons would be reflective of what Sunday morning services would be like.

Sing to the LORD. Praise His name.
Each day proclaim the Good News that He saves.
Publish His glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things He does.
(Psalm 96:2-3 NLT)

My testimony is featured here each week 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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Internet Ministry Music Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 15TH 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.

Once upon a time several church families ago I hosted (was the emcee for) a “Night Of Worship”. If you’re not familiar with the concept it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a night (a couple of hours) of worship to and for God – mostly music – from the in-house Praise & Worship duo, group, or band. Sometimes other churches participate with their respective musicians. It’s essentially the church’s version of a concert.

Way back when – we had “Night Of Worship” where our house band performed, and they were accompanied by several other bands from local area churches. As I recall I loved the first-time experience, but I thought that it was lacking a few things – most notably organization and a host / emcee to keep it flowing and put it all together from start to finish. I thought that it lacked a proper opening and closing, and that there was a lack of continuity in the form of prayer and testimony in-between each of the bands and sets. So I volunteered to host the next one on the schedule, and I was granted that opportunity. That second show (a month or two later) was glorious, and I still remember much of it to this day. I thought that it would be the start of a big monthly or quarterly event that would gain momentum with each new show. I started planning for the next one.

That’s not what actually happened though. That event quietly fizzled out in the subsequent months to follow.

Fast forward a decade, and last night we hosted “Night Of Worship”. It was my first one with my new church family here in Sebring Florida. I didn’t host. I observed. I experienced. I celebrated. God’s Glory was at work last night !

Our Praise & Worship band opened and closed the service, and in-between a local band – Crimson Cure – performed. Our Pastor Tim also preached a short sermon based on Psalm 40:1-3 (a favorite and oft-used Scripture of mine).

I like this Scripture too:

Shout for joy to the LORD – all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before Him with joyful songs.
(Psalm 100:1-2 NIV)

My testimony is featured here each week 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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Internet Ministry Movies Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 08TH 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 in Sebring Florida this morning for the first time on a Sunday (all day) since 3 weeks ago, and I’ll be praising and worshipping my Lord God Almighty alongside my Highlands Community Church family for the 3RD time. We’re also having a potluck luncheon after service, so I’m looking forward to food and fellowship with my new brothers and sisters of this fantastic journey.

I’m still settling into my new home (after nearly 7 months). I’ll be doing that well into 2024. (It’s a marathon – not a sprint.) Over the past few days – I’ve been reviewing and sorting church bulletins (what we handed out as you entered the sanctuary) from my first church from 2007 to 2015. (I saved all of them.) Seeing and remembering those old Sunday morning memories from 10 to 15 years ago brings a smile to my face – especially the ones with a photo of me and my brothers and sisters at the time. I thought I would be with that church family forever, but forever only lasted for 8 years. God had other plans for me after 8 years, and He led me to new open doors and new unlimited horizons.

A couple of days ago I saw “The Blind” at the movie theatre. What a fantastic faith-based movie. You know I’ve never seen a single 1 of the 131 episodes of “Duck Dynasty”, so I know little to nothing about the show. And the same with Phil and Kay Robertson. This is a biographical movie about Phil and Kay and their family, so everything I know about them now – I learned from the movie. It’s rated PG-13 due to heavy smoking and drinking and domestic violence – depicting Phil’s life as he was spiraling out-of-control. He eventually hit rock bottom, and this movie depicts that event with the devil intensely.

He was soon rescued out of the pit of despair – out of the mud and the mire when he accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord + Savior, and he got baptized in the water. I shed tears of joy at that moment, as I was recalling the start of my own salvation some 17 years ago. I also saw the devil before I was rescued. The final 30 minutes of the movie showed him as a born-again Christian getting closer to God with each new day.

There’s an excellent review of this movie here.

Stay tuned at the end of the movie, as Phil Robertson (today) delivers a short message on God’s salvation.

My testimony is featured here each week 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) 2023 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Internet Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 01ST 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.

WordPress (this social media platform) recently congratulated me for 16 years on here. I created my account during the last few days of September of 2007 when I was looking for an alternative to MySpace. A couple of weeks later I began promoting my future blog on here with a series of teasers. By the end of November my blog was active on here. I’ve been on WordPress longer than any other social media platform, but that comes with an asterisk. I was largely inactive on here for about 7 years from the end of 2010 through the end of 2017. (That’s when I was exploring the former Twitter – and eventually Facebook.)

This blog will continue on indefinitely into the future, and #SundayScripture will remain the centerpiece of it. This is actually the 275TH edition. I’m looking forward to sharing with you what God has done for me on this fantastic journey as I ease into full-retirement over the next 5 months.

And now here on #SundayScripture it’s the conclusion of the refresh, renew, and reboot of my sermon on “Pray & Believe” – originally preached on Sunday June 16TH 2019. Here’s Part 10:

[CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK]

Pray for your neighbors. If you know what their specific needs are – then ask God to fulfill them. Be intentional when you pray. If you don’t know what their specific needs are – then pray for them anyway. Be genuine when you pray.

(At this point in my original sermon I identified my family in Ohio and Texas at the time – followed by my church family – by name – and I stated what I was praying for each of them. When I preach this sermon again – I’ll update the names and the prayers.)

I pray for each and every one of you. You know – I don’t know your specific needs unless you’ve shared them with me. I’ve often said that if you want someone to pray for you – then tell them what they should pray for. God surely knows your needs. Pray to Him about them. Expect miracles. Never be discouraged. Be patient. God sends His miracles in His time – when we least expect them.

I don’t know your specific needs, but that will never stop me from praying to God for you and with you. I will always pray for my brothers and sisters – my friends and coworkers – my neighbors and even strangers – as the Holy Spirit calls on me to do so. That’s the living God at work within us.

And family – pray for me too. Pray for my continued forward momentum on this fantastic journey that God created and customized uniquely for me.

As our Worship Pastor Ben comes up here to the stage – I’ll close my message with this Scripture from Ephesians 6 – Verses 18 and 19. It’s Paul telling the church to:

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. And pray for me too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.

And that’s my message for you on this day. Let’s continue our worship. Let’s sing to our Lord.

[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