Tag: Minister

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday December 25TH 2022, 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 wish each and every one of you following me and reading my blog a very Merry Christmas.

My traditional family “Christmas” actually occurred 4½ weeks ago on Thanksgiving Day. For the past dozen years or so my family has enjoyed a hearty home-cooked Breakfast, and then shortly after that we’ve opened all of the presents underneath the Christmas tree. Once they are all opened it’s time to watch the Macy’s Parade, and then football for the rest of the day and into the night – pausing for about an hour to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at around three or four in the afternoon.

On the day after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”) Christmas is done and over for me. Well – sort of. For the first 3 weeks of December I get to observe and celebrate bits and pieces of Christmas here and there by putting up the Christmas tree and decorations in the church sanctuary, listening to Christmas music on the radio, watching Christmas shows on television, writing and sending Christmas messages to family and friends from afar, and enjoying several Christmas lunches with friends and coworkers.

We all celebrate Christmas in our own unique and traditional ways. May you spend this season with your loved ones. Make and share good memories that will last a lifetime. Honor each other. Love one another.

And let’s remember why we celebrate Christmas.

And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21 NLT)

The LORD saves.

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) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday December 18TH 2022, 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.

It’s the 3RD Sunday of December, and it’s the 4TH Sunday of Advent. Next Sunday is Christmas Day.

On this 4TH Sunday of Advent we are reminded of our God’s peace. The Apostle Paul ends his 2ND letter to the Thessalonians with this Benediction:

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all. (2 Thessalonians 3:16 NLT)

I was originally scheduled to preach what would have been a traditional Christmas message to my brothers and sisters of my church family this morning. I’ve always wanted to do that in my 6 years of preaching. Maybe next year. I get another year to prepare for it.

An opportunity arose, and instead I will be welcoming a local minister / musician and his band to our church later this morning. They will be presenting a Christmas concert for us, and I am looking forward to it. It’ll be a change-of-pace Sunday morning worship service for us.

Many modern contemporary churches host a “Night Of Worship” a few times per year. The way we did it (at least originally) at my previous church was a 90-minute concert where we invited local church musicians to perform a 3 or 4 song set on our stage. I hosted a few of those nights. They were a lot of fun. There was a lot of singing and dancing for God at those events.

Our Sunday morning service today is our first attempt at that type of all-music service, and I’m calling it a “Morning Of Worship”. Our God will be glorified today in music and lyrics.

He has given me a new song to sing – a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:3 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) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday December 11TH 2022, 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.

It’s the 2ND Sunday of December, and it’s the 3RD Sunday of Advent. Next Sunday is the 4TH and final Sunday of Advent – the last Sunday before Christmas.

Some of you reading this have a Catholic background (including me when I was a little kid almost 50 years ago). The 4 Sundays of Advent are not unique or restricted to just the Catholic church. Protestant and non-denominational churches also observe and celebrate Advent with ceremonies, and prayers, and Scripture, and teaching moments.

Today is Gaudete (GOW-day-tay) Sunday – the day when we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath (if we have one). Gaudete means “rejoice”. This day reminds us of the joy that is to come. We recall the hope we have because of the coming of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ – our King of Kings.

As the Bible says in Paul’s Letter to the Philippian church:

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice ! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember – the Lord is coming soon. (4:4-5)

(And those 2 verses come right before these 2 memory verses. You know them.)

Don’t worry about anything. Instead – pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace – which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (4:6-7)

So Happy Gaudete (GOW-day-tay) Sunday. It’s Rejoice Sunday ! Rejoice today ! Rejoice every day ! Everyone say “rejoice” ! You are not guaranteed the next day, so if you wake up tomorrow – REJOICE !

This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us – do what ? – rejoice. Let us be glad in it.

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) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday December 04TH 2022, 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.

It’s the 2ND Sunday of Advent, and a common reading on this Sunday is the start of Isaiah 40:

“Comfort – comfort my people” – says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone, and her sins are pardoned. Yes – the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins.”

Listen ! It’s the voice of someone shouting – “Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD ! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God ! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The LORD has spoken !”

Our God’s Glory came in Jesus Christ, and He will come again !

Today on #SundayScripture it’s the conclusion of my September 18TH 2022 sermon – “Good & Evil” – in its original written form. It’s based on 1 Peter 3:8-4:8, and it effectively wraps-up my First Peter message series which I began in 2021. Here’s Part 8 of 8:

Peter closes this part of his letter with some words of wisdom, and this is where I’ll close my message for you today:

The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore – be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all – continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:7-8)

The “last days” are here. Christ will return. We must be ready for Him. We must be patient as we eagerly await His return. We don’t know the day or hour of judgment. Only the Father knows.

In red letters:

“Look – I am coming soon – bringing My reward with Me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega – the First and the Last – the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:12-13)

Each of us will be judged on that final day. Is our faith in God for real, or is our faith in God for show. We will be judged on faith and deeds – not just on faith alone – and not just on deeds alone. Faith will show itself in actions. Faith without works is dead and useless. If our faith is for real based on our good deeds – then we will receive His reward. If our faith is for show based on our evil deeds – or no deeds at all – then we will receive His punishment.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people. (Revelation 22:21)

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and God’s holy people said – AMEN.

Go forth. Go in love. Go with peace in your heart.

(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) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp