Tag: Reverend

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday June 05TH 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.

Today is my 55TH birthday, and I’ll celebrate it with my church family today in service and at Longhorn Steakhouse after service.

A couple of weeks ago here on #SundayScripture I began transcribing one of my recent sermons that I preached to my church family at the end of February – “Stones & Stumbles”. It’s the follow-up to “Holy & Redeemed” which I presented on here in December and January. “Stones & Stumbles” covers 1 Peter 1:23-2:9.

Here’s Part 3 of my sermon:

Like newborn babies – you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment – now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness. (1 Peter 2:2-3)

You know I’ve been saved for 15½ years. I remember that first year to year-and-a-half when I was spiritually a newborn Christian – at 39 and 40 years old – living a brand-new life that I had not previously known. I was running towards my Lord & Savior – running as fast as I could to get further and further away from the darkness that I had left behind. That was 2006 and 2007 for me.

And just like then – I still crave pure spiritual milk. What’s pure spiritual milk ?  Well I’m so glad you asked !  That’s God’s Word in the Bible. That’s reading and studying His Word on the pages of those 66 books of the Bible. That’s teaching what I’m learning from God’s Word. That’s preaching to the world God’s Good News. You see I preach here, and I also preach online – via social media. And we should all be teachers and preachers of God’s Good News using the skills that He has blessed us with.

You know if you’re not as excited about God’s plan for you as you were when you first became born again (whenever that was) – then you need to get excited. You need to crave – you need to cry out – for God and His Word.

But just as Pastor Bob preached on a couple of weeks ago. You can’t live – and thrive – on just milk alone. You also need the meat. You also need to mature.

You are coming to Christ – who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but He was chosen by God for great honor. (1 Peter 2:4)

Sounds like Psalm 118 Verse 22 right there – The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

A cornerstone of a building sets its foundation. It gives the building its overall shape. It forms the base of the corner of the building – where two walls join together. It’s the most important of all of the stones. We depend on the cornerstone.

Isaiah Chapter 28 Verse 16. (This one’s not up there. I’ll just read it to you.):

Therefore – this is what the Sovereign LORD says:  “Look !  I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem – a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.

So what are you trying to tell me – Chris ?  Here’s what I’m saying. The LORD Himself – is the cornerstone of Jerusalem – the true city of God. He is the foundation – to rely and depend on. He is firm and tested – to all who believe. If only the leaders and the people would turn to Him. And that applies to present-day time as well. If only the leaders and the people would turn to Christ – our cornerstone.

One of my favorite worship songs that I discovered – maybe 10 to 12 years ago – is “Cornerstone”. I heard it for the first time while visiting another church – a large church – I think near Fort Myers – while on vacation. It was one of the Praise & Worship songs during the start of service. I had never heard it before. But I started singing along immediately. And I got louder and louder. And I soon put my hands up. And I shed tears of joy for my “Cornerstone”:

That’s a great song right there. “Cornerstone”. Our God is our cornerstone. Christ alone – cornerstone. Weak made strong – in the Savior’s love. Through the storm. He is Lord. Lord of all.

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 May 29TH 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.

Last #SundayScripture I began transcribing one of my recent sermons that I preached to my church family at the end of February – “Stones & Stumbles”. It’s the follow-up to “Holy & Redeemed” which I presented on here in December and January. “Stones & Stumbles” covers 1 Peter 1:23-2:9.

Here’s Part 2 of my sermon:

Isaiah has more types and shadows and associations and correlations with the New Testament than any other book of the Old Testament. Even today’s modern preachers who solely or mostly preach out of the New Testament often cite Isaiah from the Old Testament – sometimes without even realizing it. What’s concealed in the Old is revealed in the New.

But Isaiah really does more revealing than concealing. He tells us all about the God he knows. He told us all about the coming of the Messiah.

From Isaiah Chapter 40 – Verses 6 to 8:

A voice said – “Shout !” I asked – “What should I shout ?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”

That Scripture looks familiar. (Back to the previous slide – and there’s Peter – referring to the Scriptures – with the same words – as told by Isaiah – on this slide.)

The prophet Isaiah was preaching about a messenger – clearing the way through the wilderness for the LORD. We would later find out that the messenger – is John The Baptist – introduced in Matthew’s Gospel – the 40TH book of the Bible – and that’s from Isaiah 40. See what I mean ? More to come.

We are mortal. We – are – mortal. We are earthly. Our God is not. We are short-lived here on Earth. Our God is not. Our God is almighty. Our God is eternal. Our God’s plans never waver and always succeed. That’s our God. As the Bible says:

“It will happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided. (Isaiah 14:24b)

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts” – says the LORD. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

That’s our God right there. That’s why I trust Him over everyone else. He knows the way. He is the way.

So jumping back to First Peter and the start of the 2ND chapter:

So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. (1 Peter 2:1)

You know some modern preachers don’t like to preach on that verse right there. They will quietly skip over it, and preach on the other 24 verses of First Peter Chapter 2. I am not one of those modern preachers. I’m “old school”. I’m traditional. I believe that every verse in the Bible represents God’s voice. Every verse in the Bible is intentional. It is not there by accident. It is not filler material.

That’s one of those verses right there where the Bible tells us to not do something. Stop doing it ! And some people in the church (the church in general) don’t like to hear verses in the Bible that tell them to stop doing something. They don’t want to hear preachers telling them to stop doing something.

I know this is gonna sound hard to believe, but do you know that I am guilty of all of those things ? That’s right. Evil behavior – guilty. Deceit – guilty. Hypocrisy – guilty. Jealousy – guilty. Unkind speech – guilty. I’m probably the only one in here who’s guilty of all of these things – right ?

You know what ? I am forgiven. We are forgiven. We don’t intend to do those evil things, but we are mortal. We are earthly. When we realize that we’ve done those things – we must confess – we must pray – we must repent, so that we may be forgiven. And our God. He wipes our sins away. That is who He is.

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 May 22ND 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.

Starting with this #SundayScripture – and running through the end of June – I’ll be transcribing one of my recent sermons that I preached to my church family at the end of February – “Stones & Stumbles”. It’s the follow-up to “Holy & Redeemed” which I presented on here in December and January. “Stones & Stumbles” covers 1 Peter 1:23-2:9.

Here’s Part 1 of my sermon:

Today I want to continue my journey – our journey – since we’re in this together – as a church family – just like we saw in that last song – doing what we can – to expand God’s Kingdom – in our own unique ways – in everything we do, and everywhere we go.

I want to continue our journey through The First Letter Of Peter. This is my 3RD message – out of the past 4 – that I’m preaching from First Peter. I’ve preached on “Salvation & Hope”, and I’ve preached on being “Holy & Redeemed”.

Last time I preached from First Peter I left off with my existence statement. It’s why I exist today. 1 Peter 1:23. And I like to personalize it by changing the pronouns:

For (I) have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. (My) new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God.

That’s why I exist today. Right there. Right there. Born again. New life. Last forever. Living word. Of God.

Read that verse right there often – and personalize it for yourself – to remind you of why you exist today.

So the first chapter of First Peter ends like this:

As the Scriptures say – “People are like grass. Their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the Word of the Lord remains forever.” And that Word is the Good News that was preached to you.

That’s from the Apostle Peter – and it’s also from the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet for more than 50 years in Jerusalem during the times of King Uzziah, and King Jotham. (I preached on those two good kings of Judah in my last message.) Isaiah continued as Prophet under two more kings after Uzziah and Jotham, and that was Ahaz and Hezekiah. Ahaz was a bad king. He was evil – unlike his father and his son. His father was Jotham – good king. His son was Hezekiah – good king. The prophet Isaiah – well he had his hands full dealing with King Ahaz. That’s a message all on its own right there – “Ahaz & Isaiah” – coming later this year.

So God gave the Prophet Isaiah a vision during those times of trouble for the Kingdom of Judah. Isaiah’s message was consistent through the years, and that message to the Kings (good and bad) – and to God’s people – was this – God is dependable. Trust only in God. That was more than 700 years before Christ.

You know The Book Of Isaiah is like a mini-Bible in its own – by itself. In fact – consider this:  There are 66 books in the Bible, and there are 66 chapters in Isaiah. And each chapter of Isaiah correlates in some way (or even in many ways) to the same book of the modern bible in numerical sequence. For example – Isaiah 1 has references to Genesis (the 1ST book of the Bible). Isaiah 2 is to Exodus (the 2ND book of the Bible). Isaiah 3 is to Leviticus (Pastor Bob’s favorite book). Isaiah 19 is to Psalms. Isaiah 40 is to Matthew – the 40TH book of the Bible, and the start of the New Testament. Isaiah 66 is to Revelation – the final book of the Bible.

Now get this:  The first 39 chapters of Isaiah mostly deal with the Jewish people, and the law, and rebellion, and God’s judgement. Sounds like the Old Testament.

The last 27 chapters of Isaiah mostly deal with God’s comfort, and His forgiveness, and the coming of the Messiah. Sounds like the New Testament.

Check it out for yourself. It’s an interesting study of the Bible through one book – Isaiah – the mini-Bible.

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 May 15TH 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.

It’s the 203RD edition of #SundayScripture. I’ve enjoyed bringing God’s Good News to you every Sunday for the past 4+ years. My first #SundayScripture was presented on February 25TH 2018, and it’s continued on almost every Sunday since then. (I’ve missed 18 Sundays over the past 221 weeks.)

I Thank You for checking out my blog on a regular basis. I know that some of you only come here for #SundayScripture and #Top10Monday. I also have a rather large readership for #TravelThursday and #RetroFriday. And of course all of the bots that check out my blog every day – particularly the posts that I wrote several years ago. (Bots with fake identities and profiles don’t just exist on Twitter and Facebook. They are also over here on WordPress.)

Starting this week and continuing for the rest of the month (May 2022 for the bots) I’ll be posting a 5TH entry each week – starting this Tuesday to cap this week – and then again this Wednesday to kickoff the new week.

Starting next #SundayScripture – and running through the end of June – I’ll be transcribing one of my recent sermons that I preached to my church family at the end of February – “Stones & Stumbles”. It’s the follow-up to “Holy & Redeemed” which I presented on here in December and January. “Stones & Stumbles” covers 1 Peter 1:23-2:9. (“Holy & Redeemed” concluded with 1 Peter 1:23.)

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