Tag: Minister

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday July 09TH 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.

You know one of the advantages of being a long-time blogger on the same platform is that I can go back in history, and read what I wrote way back when, and analyze it, and determine if it stood the test of time and still makes sense today.

15 years ago I was not yet a minster, a preacher, a Pastor. I was still a baby Christian – just under 2 years saved by Christ. I was training for the future – a future that I was not aware of at the time. Look what I wrote right here on this blog exactly 15 years ago this weekend on Sunday July 06TH 2008:

“Temptation is a fact of Life. Recognizing temptation to sin is a gift from God. It is the absolute power of the Holy Spirit in our Life. If we stray from what is right and then blow it then we must acknowledge it and move on. Even when nobody else is looking we must always act like a true follower of Jesus Christ if we claim so. We must not be a follower for a mere 90 minutes on any given Sunday morning, or just when our fellow believers are all around us. It must be always and forever. Our walk with God must match our talk about Him. It’s OK to be angry at one another temporarily. It’s never OK to be sinful. To be sinful is to be tragic.”

I took some good notes from that Sunday morning message on Temptation. I’m not sure what I was thinking near the end there when I wrote that “It’s OK to be angry at one another temporarily.” That sentence seems out-of-place to me today. Maybe I was angry at someone at that time. I don’t remember. I still get angry at people and systems today, but it doesn’t last very long. Anger leads to forgiveness, and all of us need continuous training on forgiveness.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember – the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. (Colossians 3:13 NLT)

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

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday July 02ND 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.

Last week here on #SundayScripture I concluded my 9-part series of the transcription of my sermon on “Paul & Titus” that I preached to my church family on March 05TH 2023. I’ve recently added links to each part of that sermon over on my SERMONS page. And while I was updating over there I also added links to my 5-part series of the transcription of my sermon on “Stays & Stands” – based on the Matthew West song – “The God Who Stays”.

I’m currently writing my 55TH sermon on “Jude & Judgment” (based on the book of Jude, and I’m currently developing my 56TH sermon on “Sebring & Weigle” (which I introduced here last week).

Now that I’m settling in to a routine here in my new forever home – I’m returning to Bible studying, praying, dreaming, and sermon writing from Friday evenings through Saturday evenings. It was a very hectic first-half of 2023, and that cut in to my quiet time with God. It’s time to get back to that in preparation of Him making more of my dreams come true. (He’s got an excellent track record with that.)

Until I get there – focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. (1 Timothy 4:13 NLT)

Until He returns – we servants of Christ Jesus must continue to read His Word to the church – the living and breathing body of believers and followers of our living God. He has chosen me as a teacher of His Good News, and He has directed me to encourage and inspire my brothers and sisters to get closer to God and to be more like Him. That’s what I hope to do with each new day that He has made.

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

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday June 25TH 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’ve got an excellent idea for a future sermon that I’m looking forward to researching, praying about, writing, and eventually preaching in multiple venues. It’ll be titled “Sebring & Weigle”, and it’ll explore two neighbors who founded, built, and grew a small South Central Florida town based on a firm foundation of Jesus Christ. Those neighbors are George Eugene Sebring Jr. and Charles Frederick Weigle. That town is my new hometown of Sebring Florida.

And now on #SundayScripture it’s the conclusion of the transcription of my sermon on “Paul & Titus” that I preached to my church family on March 05TH 2023. Here’s Part 9:

[CONCLUSION OF SERMON]

We were saved to do good. You know sometimes we think that we’re doing something good, but it’s not quite so. If we’re glorifying ourselves – then it’s not good. If we’re doing something so that people will see us doing it – then it’s not good. If we’re doing something so that we can tell others that we did it – then it’s not good. We must do good – for our neighbor – to glorify God. We must do good even when nobody is looking.

Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others – then they will not be unproductive. (Titus 3:14)

It’s a final exhortation. What’s an exhortation ?  It’s an urgent command from a church leader. The command is that we must do good by helping others.

Paul to the Romans:

When God’s people are in need – be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. (12:13)

Paul to the Ephesians:

Use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. (4:28b)

You know my sermon today is from Paul’s letter to Titus. I preached from that entire book of the Bible. It’s just 3 chapters and 46 verses. You can read it from start to finish in less than 5 minutes. But – you don’t have to read it that fast.

You know reading the Bible is addictive. Once you start reading it – you just want to keep on reading it. And the slower you read it – the more you’re going to learn – the more you’re going to retain – the more you’re going to comprehend – the more you’re going to get closer to God and His way. It’s the only way.

That’s my message for today. Thank You Lord for giving me the courage, the guidance, the direction, and the wisdom needed to bring forth Your Good News today. And Thank You church family for allowing me to share it with you.

[THE END]

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

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday June 18TH 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.

Happy Father’s Day here in the U.S.A. and in much of the world today. We honor all of our Dads on this day !

I’m back in Homestead this morning, and I’ll be with my longtime church family for the next 2 Sundays in a row – a rarity for me nowadays. I’ll even be visiting my original (2007-2015) church family this upcoming Saturday for a celebration of life service for a friend of mine who passed on to Heaven to be reunited with her Creator. She was an early mentor of mine back in the day. If I recall correctly she arrived at our church after me, and she quickly established herself as a maternal pillar of the church. She was a true prayer warrior, and I got closer to God with her encouragement during our many Saturday mornings of prayer group together.

And now on #SundayScripture it’s the continuation of the transcription of my sermon on “Paul & Titus” that I preached to my church family on March 05TH 2023. Here’s Part 8:

[CONTINUATION OF SERMON]

So the Apostle Paul is explaining repentance and salvation to his good buddy and disciple Titus. Now of course Titus knows all about it already – because he’s repented, and he’s been saved, and he’s a mature believer and church leader. But Paul is writing Titus that they need to hear it again. Who’s they ?  They would be the believers that make-up the new churches on Crete.

But – when God our Savior revealed His kindness and love – He saved us – not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins – giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of His grace – He made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

Those 4 verses are still up there from Titus Chapter 3 Verses 4, 5, 6, and 7. Collectively – Paul refers to those 4 verses as a trustworthy saying. It’s essentially a saying that Paul uses a lot. It’s one of his go-to sayings. It’s a saying that you can always depend on Paul to say frequently. They are sayings that Paul reinforces over and over again – because he strongly believes in them, as they are straight from the Gospel.

Paul wants Titus to insist on reinforcing the trustworthy saying – and all of these teachings, so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone. (Titus 3:8)

Hearing about repentance and salvation over and over again is good and beneficial for everyone.

So you and I – we – were saved in order to do good.

By the way – who saved us ?  Was it the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit ?  Well – let’s try to figure this out together.

So God the Father – He saved us – by – His mercy. The Father is the – Initiator. He created everything. He created salvation.

So God the Son – He saved us – by – His actions. The Son is the – Accomplisher. He gave His life for us on that cross.

So God the Holy Spirit – He saved us – by – His applications. The Spirit is the – Applier. He applied salvation to our lives.

So the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit saved us. Creator, Christ, and Spirit. Initiator, Accomplisher, and Applier.

We were saved by the Godhead 3-in-1, and our salvation continues to this day. Most of us remember where we were and what we were doing at the exact moment that we were saved. Some of us remember the year, the month, the week, and even the date. My salvation started during the week of August 20TH 2006 – just before dawn – as I was driving eastward on SW 328TH Street – North Canal Drive – here in Homestead.

[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