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Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday April 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.

Today I observe and celebrate my 17TH Easter Sunday with my brothers and sisters of my church family. Before salvation – Easter was just another day of the year. Now it’s the most important day of the year – and the reason why I live today.

As the Bible says in the Gospel According to Mark – Chapter 16 (1-7):

Saturday evening – when the Sabbath ended – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning – just at sunrise – they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb ?” But as they arrived – they looked up and saw that the stone – which was very large – had already been rolled aside.

When they entered the tomb – they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said – “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth – who was crucified. He isn’t here !  He is risen from the dead !  Look – this is where they laid His body. Now go and tell His disciples – including Peter – that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there – just as He told you before He died.”

HE IS RISEN !  HE IS RISEN – INDEED !  The Lord has really risen !  He appeared to Peter. (Luke 24:34). He was seen by the Twelve, and the more than 500 of His followers at the time, and by James (the half-brother of Jesus), and by all the apostles, and by Paul. (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)

Today we join our brothers and sisters in Christ – God’s children – all across this great nation of ours – and all around the world – as we observe and celebrate the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ – our Lord and Savior.

We join our brothers and sisters of this global church family on this Resurrection Sunday, but we know that every waking moment of every new day is a renewed celebration of Christ conquering the grave, and rising from the dead, and giving us life.

HE IS RISEN !  HE IS RISEN – INDEED !  And since He is risen – we have risen from where we once were.

See Jesus keeps His promises – then and now. He does what He says He is going to do. He is who He says He is. He is risen. He is risen – indeed. He is alive. He sits on the throne of Heaven. He is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. He gives us life. He breathes life onto our dry bones. Breath of God – breathe on us !  He makes all things new. He gives us hope. He gives us purpose. He makes us vessels of vibrant living waters.

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 Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday April 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.

The next day – the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet Him. They shouted, “Praise God !  Blessings on the One who comes in the name of the Lord !  Hail to the King of Israel !” Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it – fulfilling the prophecy that said: “Don’t be afraid – people of Jerusalem. Look – your King is coming – riding on a donkey’s colt.” His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into His glory – they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about Him. Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb – raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet Him – because they had heard about this miraculous sign. Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look – everyone has gone after Him !”

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem appears in all 4 Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Scripture above is from John 12:12-19, and that’s the New Living Translation (NLT).

I greet my church family each Sunday – as well as my #SundayScripture family on here – with the words of Psalm 118:24 – This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it.

The next 2 verses right after that are quoted in John’s Gospel:

Please – LORD – please save us. Please – LORD – please give us success. Bless the One who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless You from the house of the LORD.

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 Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 26TH 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 won’t miss a single Sunday this month at my home church of the past 8 years in Homestead Florida. (By contrast I missed the first 3 Sundays last month due to a short sickness bookended by road-trips.)

Next month will be different. I’ll be up in my new hometown of Sebring Florida on April 02ND and 16TH. I’ve selected 2 churches to visit on those 2 Sundays. I’m going to give both churches a look-see – no matter how much I enjoy my experience at the first church on the first Sunday. If I like one church over the other – then I’ll visit it for a 2ND time in May. If I have mixed feelings about both churches on those 2 Sundays – then I’ll select a 3RD church to visit in May. In the meantime – I’m committed to serving and celebrating at my home church here in Homestead for at least 2 Sundays per month for the rest of this year.

I’ve been doing a lot of housekeeping on my computer this weekend. I’ve got music videos all over the place that I’ve used for Praise & Worship before and after my sermons. Last weekend I was asked by my Pastor to prepare a Praise & Worship set for that Sunday morning as a fill-in for our Praise & Worship Pastor who was out-of-town on business. (When I lead Praise & Worship I play 3 or 4 music videos, and I preach in-between each one.)

I had to literally scour my former sermons (PowerPoints) on the church laptop for music videos that I wanted to feature for Praise & Worship on that morning. It would’ve been so much easier if I had a list on the cloud of all of the music videos and what sermon(s) they were featured in, so that I could quickly retrieve, copy, and paste them for use. So I’m working on that list this weekend, as I organize my sermons and videos on my computer.

I also have no new sermon ready to go for the next time I’m asked to preach, so I need to get started on that immediately. It’ll be my 55TH sermon, and I have no idea what it will be about. I’ll look to God for His guidance and direction.

Here’s one of the music videos that I selected as the 2ND song for Praise & Worship last Sunday morning.

Therefore – God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names – that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord – to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NLT)

I think I have some direction for my next sermon !

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 Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday March 19TH 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.

That day finally happened. I got the long-anticipated news last Monday at around lunchtime. Final walkthrough of my new home would occur on Wednesday afternoon, and final closing would occur the next day. I would be handed the keys to my new home by the sellers (husband and wife) on that Wednesday afternoon, and informal turnover would occur right then and there. In other words – I could start moving-in, live, and sleep in my new home on that very first night prior to final closing. And so – I did just that. I shall remember that date forever – March 15TH 2023 – my first night in my retirement / forever home !

Fun Fact: My first night in my longtime Homestead home was June 13TH 1995, and it was 2 days prior to my official move-in date.

For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God. (Hebrews 3:4 NLT)

I got to settle-in to my new home over the next 3 days. This morning I’m doing what I plan to do for most Sunday mornings for the rest of this year, and that is to drive southward from my new home to my old home. It’s 183 miles to my Sunday morning home – my church family of the past 8 years and 1 week.

You know I’ve told my church family this often during sermons and at other times. My “prayer room” is my car. I do my most effective praying while driving – especially long distances. I pray for my family in Texas. I pray for my church family in Homestead. I pray for my coworkers in Homestead. I pray for everyone driving around me along U.S. 27 and S.R. 997. I pray for the whole world. I pray silently. I pray out loud. And as I pray – the scenery along both sides of the highway plays out in living color before my eyes. That’s God’s scenery. It’s His beauty. There’s an abundance of it along that mostly rural “countryside” 183-mile drive from new home to Sunday morning home. I’ll be ready to celebrate my Lord + Savior Jesus Christ with my church family after that 3-hour and 20-minute drive.

Your eyes will see the king in all his splendor, and you will see a land that stretches into the distance. (Isaiah 33:17 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