Tag: Minister

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday October 30TH 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.

Last Sunday morning I preached my sermon – “Give & Take” – to my brothers and sisters of my church family. It was about seeking that perfect balance of giving (out) and taking (in) on this day-to-day journey. I struggled with that during my first 8 years on this journey.

Near the end of my sermon I played the official lyric video for Casting Crowns’ “Praise You In This Storm”. I really like the lyrics that read – “I’ll raise my hands, and praise the God – who gives and takes away.” That’s our God. He gives us what we need. He takes away from us what we don’t need. We must take from Him what He is giving to us. Our God has a lot to give to us. He’s given us a lot already, but there’s so much more to come. The best is yet to come. Are you ready to take what’s He’s giving you ? Do not miss out on His gifts to you. He’s got miracles for you.

This morning I get to sit down and take in God’s Good News as preached by my Pastor, and I preached about that last Sunday morning. I always enjoy preaching for my church family, but I definitely look forward those Sunday mornings when I can rest, listen, and absorb the Gospel. We’ll be showing our appreciation for our Pastor this morning in observance of Pastor Appreciation Month (every October).

Here on #SundayScripture I continue presenting 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 4:

You know it’s good to read – and sing – from the Book of Psalms. Put your own melody to the words. The Apostles quoted the Psalms. Our Lord Jesus quoted the Psalms. They lived out of them. We should live out of them. The Psalms are God’s inspired and given word. The Psalms are just as relevant today as they were a thousand years before Christ.

Early on in my journey I realized that while much of Scripture delivers words from God to man – the Psalms – they provide man with words to say and sing to God.

Can’t think of the right words at the time to say to God for what you need from Him ? Well to that I’d say that you’re trying too hard. “But Chris you don’t understand. When I talk to God it makes no sense.” Don’t worry about what makes sense or not. What makes no sense to you makes perfect sense to our all-knowing God. Just talk to him using normal words. You don’t need fancy words to talk to God. He knows what you’re saying. He knows what you’re thinking. He knows what you need. Tell Him. He loves to hear your voice.

Praise & Worship to our God must not just be a Sunday morning routine. It must be a daily routine – morning, afternoon, and evening. Talk to Him. Read verses of a Psalm to Him. Sing to Him. He must be first and center with each new day that He gives you on this journey.

Early on in my journey I realized that although I may be alone (no other people around) – I’m never lonely, for I’ve got our God right there with me. I’ve got the Holy Spirit within me. If you believe. If you follow. If you trust. If you love. Our God is with you always and forever.

(End of Part 4)

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 October 23RD 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.

Last Sunday morning I preached my sermon – “Blessings & Benedictions” – to my brothers and sisters of my church family. I anticipated it to be about a 40-minute sermon – and it was just that. This morning I’m preaching again. It’s a sermon titled “Give & Take”, and it appears to be about a 35-minute sermon. I can easily preach for an hour or more, and a few times I’ve done just that. My Pastor favors 35-to-45-minute sermons. His wife will get on him for being “long-winded” when he goes longer than that. (She runs “Childrens’ Church”, so you can imagine her reasoning.) Since my Pastor aims for 35-to-45-minutes, so do I. After 45 minutes the church family starts to get restless, so I always try to finish my messages with my brothers and sisters wanting more and anticipating the next time that I get the opportunity to preach.

Here on #SundayScripture I continue presenting 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 3:

And back to Peter’s letter (3:10-12):

For the Scriptures say – “If you want to enjoy life (yes) and see many happy days (definitely – then do what ?) – keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns His face against those who do evil.”

So whenever you see that phrase – “For the Scriptures say” – in the New Testament – and Peter’s letter is New Testament – it quotes Scripture from the Old Testament – before Christ.

In fact Peter quotes Scripture from the 34TH Psalm (12-16) – that’s Old Testament:

Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous ? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies ! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right. His ears are open to their cries for help. But the LORD turns His face against those who do evil. He will erase their memory from the earth.

Godly people (that’s us – we strive to be godly with each new day – not just on Sunday – but every day) – Godly people control their words. They think before they speak. Well – not all the time. Sometimes we speak – without thinking. Sometimes we speak – without listening. Sometimes it’s best to listen and think – without speaking. It was a Greek philosopher a long long time ago who once said, “We have 2 ears and 1 mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”

That great preacher of law – Judge Judy – she often used a variation of that phrase on her show. She said – OK – she yelled, “God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason, so put on your listening ears !” (I like Judge Judy. She’s been on TV for 26 years, and I’ve been watching her – all 26 years.)

Wicked people are full of cursing, and lies, and threats. We know people like that. Some of us may have been like that before salvation in Christ. The Psalmist says that trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues. (10:7)

Yep we all know some wicked people. Some of them are our friends and neighbors. We may even have some family members who are foolish and wicked. We must search for peace, and we must work to maintain it. You see peace leads to harmony. Peace leads to order. Peace and harmony and order is good. Evil destroys peace and harmony and order. Our God – He created peace. He brings peace to a chaotic world. That’s what we have right now – chaos in this world. Our God brings peace to this chaos through His believers and followers – through His present-day disciples and priests. That’s us. That’s His church. Our God rescues the wise. He will destroy the foolish on that day to come.

So Peter quotes from the 34TH Psalm. Just as a side note – I greeted you earlier – during Praise & Worship – from the start of the 34TH Psalm when I proclaimed:

I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak His praises. I will boast only in the LORD. Let all who are helpless take heart. Come ! Let us tell of the LORD’s greatness. Let us exalt His name together. (1-3)

(End of Part 3)

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 October 16TH 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.

This morning I’m getting ready to preach my sermon – “Blessings & Benedictions” – to my brothers and sisters of my church family. It looks to be about a 40-minute sermon – which is my goal. If I hit 35 to 45 minutes when I preach – then I’m on par. Next Sunday morning I’m preaching again. It’s a sermon titled “Give & Take”, and it’s actually a built-up sermon from a partial sermon that I wrote and abandoned over 5 years ago. I’ve always wanted to go back and bring back to life that unfinished sermon, and God finally led me on a path to do just that. I’m looking forward to sharing it next Sunday morning.

And so now on #SundayScripture I continue presenting the last sermon that I preached – “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 13 months ago. Here’s Part 2:

You know those people who know that you know God ? Well if any one of them asks you about your relationship with God – then you can start with this:

God The Father – Creator – He showed mercy on me – He showed mercy on us – when He sacrificed His Son – God The Son – Christ – on the cross – to pay for all of our sins – past, present, and future. We are redeemed through His blood.

And so – we are commanded to bless everyone – no matter what. I know it’s a hard thing to do, but we can do that. And our God will help us to do that. We just need to seek His guidance. He will show us the way.

Be happy with those who are happy. Well that’s easy to do. If I’m near a happy person then I’m happy too. Happiness is contagious. That’s a good thing. That’s a God thing.

Weep with those who weep. That’s easy to do too. Sort of ? I think it’s easier said than done. You know it’s hard to understand what someone is going through when they are visibly weeping. How can you weep alongside someone if you don’t know all of the specifics. And weeping can be easy to do – while not showing it. Some of us in here may be weeping today, but we’re putting up a brave front about it – because we don’t want anyone to know that we’re weeping – because then we’ll have to share specifics as to why we’re weeping, and it’ll cause us to weep more. That’s just human nature. But we gotta take care of each other – and get to know our brothers and sisters – and our friends and neighbors – so that we can be there for them when they weep – so that maybe they will share why they are weeping.

You know I love Romans. It’s the Apostle Paul – explaining God’s Good News – to the Romans of the Roman Empire at the time. He wrote his letter to the Romans – right around 57 A.D. That’s almost 25 years after Christ died and rose again and ascended to Heaven. And it’s about 7 or 8 years before Paul was imprisoned and martyred in Rome.

Paul’s letter to the Romans applies today in 2022. It’s a great document from start to finish. It should be read by all believers and followers of Christ on a regular basis. It’s 16 chapters. It’s 433 verses. You can read it – in less than an hour.

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. (Romans 12:17-18)

There’s not enough peace in the world. There’s never been enough peace in the world. This is not a new thing. We have persecution. We have hate. We have crime. We have violence. We have wars. We can do our part though. God commands us to do our part. Live in peace with everyone. Love your neighbor as yourself. Don’t let evil conquer you. Conquer evil by doing good. (12:21)

(End of Part 2)

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 October 09TH 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.

Last Sunday night I was advised to be ready for Sundays October 16TH and 23RD. Those are the days that I’m filling-in for my Pastor by leading my church family and preaching full sermons. It was also on that night that I immediately began the process of finishing the final third of my next sermon – “Blessings & Benedictions”. I’m looking forward to sharing it with my brothers and sisters next Sunday morning. I’m not sure which direction I’ll go for my next sermon after that (in 2 weeks). I need to think about it and pray for God’s guidance.

And so as promised here on #SundayScripture I’ll be presenting the last sermon that I preached – “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 13 months ago. This appears to be another 8-part series on here (with each part less than a 5-minute read), so it should continue through the end of November.

Let’s get started with Part 1 of “Good & Evil”:

Today – I’m gonna speak of our Lord for the next 35 to 45 minutes. I’ll speak on His Good News – from Peter’s first letter. This is the continuation of my last sermon from 6 weeks ago.

So – from First Peter Chapter 3 – picking-up with Verse 8, and as the Bible says:

All of you (I say) all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tender-hearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead – pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will bless you for it. (3:8-9)

This is from the man formerly known as Simon – just an ordinary fisherman in Capernaum (kuh-PERR-nay-uhm) on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Simon was unsure and fearful at times. He was occasionally reckless, and he had quite the temper – sometimes even a foul mouth. Nevertheless – Jesus chose Peter to be one of His disciples – and an Apostle. He was 1 of the 12. Jesus asked Peter to help Him build His church.

So Peter wrote his letter some 1,960 years ago in Rome – during the early-‘60s – the first early-60s – A.D. His letter sounds so relevant today in 2022. If you believe – if you follow – if you truly love our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ as the King of Kings – then you must love everyone – believers and unbelievers. You see God loved you when you didn’t believe in Him. God loved you when you ignored Him. God loved you when you made derogatory remarks about Him – or His followers – or His creations. You gotta love everyone. And be humble. Don’t be arrogant. Be good. Don’t be evil. Bless others. Don’t insult others. Bless – to be blessed.

Paul to the Romans in Chapter 12 (14-16):

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them. Pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all !

Sounds just like Christ’s own teachings to His disciples up on the mountainside – you know – the Sermon On The Mount.

So what you’re trying to tell me – God – is that – when – let me put this in layman’s terms – (mostly for me) – when someone is mean to me – I should be nice to them. I should not tell them what I think. I should not put them in their place. I should not give them what they deserve. Instead – I should give them – oh – something that You God taught me about – mercy. (Everyone say “mercy”.)

(End of Part 1)

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