Tag: Sermon

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 12TH 2021, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

A few hours before going to bed last Saturday night I was asked by my Pastor’s wife if I could bring the Word the next morning. Of course I said that “YES – I can preach tomorrow.” There’s really no chance that I would say “NO” to a request like that. At this stage of my fantastic journey I accept all invitations to preach God’s Word.

I immediately reviewed several sermons that I had recently written. One even had a built-in Communion. I prayed about it. I asked God for guidance and direction. I selected my sermon for the next morning – all about “Salvation & Hope” – from First Peter. I updated it for about an hour, and it was ready to be delivered in the morning. (It was not the one with the built-in Communion. I had already written a new Communion unique for last Sunday, so I married it to my selected sermon.)

I sang 3 songs as part of our 4-person Praise & Worship team (we’re a band), I preached the sermon, and I led our monthly Communion. God gave me the energy and the wisdom needed to lead our church body last Sunday morning. My voice was hoarse afterwards.

It hasn’t happened yet in my 5 years of preaching, but eventually it will when I least expect it. I’ll walk in to our sanctuary on a Sunday morning, and my Pastor (or his wife if he’s not there) will ask me to preach. I won’t have anything practiced and prepared. But God’s Word says:

Preach the Word of God. Be prepared – whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2 NLT)

I’ve often thought about what I would preach about if I were asked to do so at a moment’s notice. I really need to think about it more often. As I evolve as a Preacher and a Pastor I’ll be slowly moving away from prewritten sermons to spontaneous sermons. I need to figure out how to do that effectively. I can be dangerous without a script. I can see myself wandering around our stage while speaking in to the wireless mic and not making much sense at times and going way off-topic. I have to train myself on how to not be that way. I’m thinking about working with a loose outline of 5 or so relevant topics where I could speak on each one in sequence for about 7 or 8 minutes apiece to reach my target of a full 35 to 40 minute sermon. Timing is everything. Less than 30 minutes and you’re ill-prepared. More than 45 minutes and you’re rambling on.

I need to ensure that my sermons are based entirely on God’s Word and not on Pastor Chris’s opinions. I’ve seen preachers preach so far away from God’s Word (even while including verses of Scripture) that it resembled more of a stand-up comedy performance at the Improv or a motivational speech at the Arena rather than a Gospel at the House of the Lord. Need to keep the main thing the main thing.

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) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture Weather

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday September 05TH 2021, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

I’m looking forward to another great morning of praise, worship, and celebration of our God with my brothers and sisters of my small church family. It’s the first Sunday of a brand new month, and so I’ll lead my church family in observance and celebration of Communion. We do so every first Sunday of the month; although, we missed 11 out of 12 months during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

My Communion this morning is based on the upcoming Jewish observances of Rosh Hashanah (starts at sundown tomorrow), Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

Here’s an excerpt:

On the last day – the climax of the festival – Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to Me !  Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink !  For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from His heart.’”

That’s Verses 37 and 38 from John Chapter 7, and the next verse – 39 – does something very unique. It actually explains the previous two verses. Verse 39 reads:

(When He said “living water” He was speaking of the Spirit – who would be given to everyone believing in Him. But the Spirit had not yet been given – because Jesus had not yet entered into His glory.)

Jesus was preaching in Jerusalem at the Festival Of Shelters – the 7-day Fall harvest festival – also known as the Feast Of Tabernacles – or Sukkot.

The Fall festival occurs right at the end of the 6-month dry season for the region. Because of their geography – and our geography here in South Florida – their dry season each year is our rainy season, and their rainy season is our dry season. Water is precious during the dry season. Jesus stepped forth and proclaimed that anyone looking for fresh moving water – living water – should come to Him and drink. He is the source of living water. Water that renews.

On each day of the Fall festival the believers prayed for rain – living water. On the last day of the festival – “The Great Day” – they prayed for rain – 7 times.

Let’s be renewed on this great day. Let’s be renewed with each new day.

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) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

As a Pastor – looks don’t matter to me. I don’t care what you look like. I don’t care what you’re wearing. I don’t care where you came from. I don’t care what you’ve done. Everyone is welcome into our church family.

That guy in the middle – rough around the edges – is closest to God. He knows God. He’s getting closer to God by reading more of His Word. I can work with him. I can use him as a teacher. I can use him to lead others – like those two guys to the left of him – who aren’t as close to God as they think. Putting on nice clothes and looking prim and proper on Sunday mornings won’t get you to Heaven. Persecuting others for the way they look won’t lead to eternity with God. She thinks she is Christian.

The four of them should get together after church service for Lunch and get to know each other and learn from each other, and then learn more about God together as brothers and sisters of the church family.

I’ve been a part of 2 church families over the past 14½ years, and neither church family would’ve rejected that guy in the middle. He would’ve been welcomed with open arms. He would’ve been used as a church leader to teach others how to have a heart for Christ – how to have a heart filled with The Holy Spirit. I know that many churches would frown upon or even outright reject that guy in the middle. I myself would reject the church that rejects anyone.

I want that guy in the middle to bring his friends with him for Sunday morning service. I want that guy in the middle to preach God’s Good News to anyone who will listen to him.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

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) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

So true. You can substitute the word “fishing” with “football” (especially with football season coming up), or even “work”. If you’re at church on a Sunday morning, but you’re only there because someone dragged you there, or you think that you have to be there in order to get to Heaven – then you’re there for the wrong reasons.

I’ve seen it often – church attenders who are physically there, but are not mentally there. Their mind is elsewhere. It is on what they did yesterday, or what they plan to do tomorrow. They are not taking-in God’s Truth. They are not giving-out God’s love.

I’ve also seen people at church who show up, but don’t even attend any services. They are merely there because their friends are there. Larger churches with younger demographics have this problem. They have a nice modern café as part of their main entrance or lobby or atrium, and it’s a hangout joint on Sunday mornings for some who just want to drink coffee and be with their friends. But then when their friends enter the sanctuary or worship center – they leave the premises and go somewhere else.

“Oh I need to go to church to be seen.” – That’s being religious. Going to church doesn’t impress God. Going to church won’t change your life forever. Going to church won’t get you into Heaven.

On the other hand – if you’re constantly thinking about your Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, and talking to Him, and thanking Him for all that He has done for you – and all that He will do for you – then that’s a true relationship with God. It doesn’t matter when it is. It doesn’t matter where it is. If God is in the center of your heart in everything you do and everywhere you go – then that will change your life forever, for you will be alive forever with God in your heart here on earth, and God up in Heaven once your journey here in this temporary place is done.

That relationship with God is being the church all day every day. It’s bringing the church with you on Sunday mornings to meet with your brothers and sisters of your church family in community – to praise God, to worship God, to celebrate God, to talk to God, to learn more about God, and to get closer to God.

If you’re a believer and follower of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ then I hope that you are an integral part of a Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching, and Jesus-loving church family. If you’re seeking a church to belong to then don’t look for the nicest and biggest church in town with the most programs and features. Look for the church body who are closest to God by their talk and their walk, for that’s a family that will strengthen your personal and communal relationship with God.

So encourage each other and build each other up – just as you are already doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11)

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) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries