Reason's To Attend A Church

A good and blessed day to all. Our scripture reading for this past Sunday was 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. My sermon was about the church. The church is the body of believers in Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 12:27) not the "brick and mortar" we have come to believe. We are One Body and need every member to function (1 Cor. 12:14-20). The "brick and mortar" is a place for the body of Christ to assemble. It's not about the building, it's about the people who make up the church. There are many reasons why we should assemble as believers in Christ, and we touched on some of them. We gather together to be taught God's word and to worship Him for our spiritual growth (Acts 2:42 & Heb. 10:25). We gather to Love one another (1 Jn. 4:12), to Encourage one another (Heb. 3:13 & Heb. 10:24), to Serve (Gal. 5:13), to Instruct (Rom. 15:14), to Honor (Rom. 12:10), and to be Kind and Compassionate to one another (Eph. 4:32). It is our obligation to God and each other, to be a part of the body of Christ, and to function as one. A believer will never reach "Full Spiritual Maturity" without the assistance and encouragement of fellow believers (1 Cor. 12:21-26). There is a need for the "brick and mortar" building. The church has obligations as well as it's members. It is a place were we teach biblical doctrine (Eph. 4:14). It is a place where we can fellowship (Rom. 12:10). It is also a place for us to observe the Lord's Supper (Acts 2:42). It provides a place for us to pray (Acts 2:42 & Phl. 4:6-7). Where we proclaim the gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ (Mat. 28:18-20 & Acts 1:8). Prepare our members to proclaim the gospel (1 Pet. 3:15), and to serve others (James 1:27). By attending "Church" we build one another up and prepare each other to walk as Jesus would have us walk. We are the church, believers in Jesus Christ. Each one of us is needed in the body. Attendance at the building is not a requirement each and every week, but, if you belong to Jesus Christ, you should have the desire to worship God, receive His word, and fellowship with other believers. Seek what God has to offer it's awesome and free. I pray that you have found a "brick and mortar" church to attend. If you haven't, stop in at Church In The Wind at 7:00pm Sunday night's. May God Bless you this coming week.

Till Death Do Us Part

Greetings everyone. Yes, we talked about marriage Sunday evening. Our scripture reading was 1 Corinthians 7:1-7. The Lord put this message on my heart, not only for the congregation, but for me as well. 51% of marriages today end in divorce. We dove into scripture to see what marriage is to God, how we should act in our marriage, why we should marry, and when we are considered married in God's eyes. When God brought Adam and Eve together in marriage they became "One Flesh" (Gen. 2:23-24). This was more than a physical union it was a meeting of the mind and soul. This relationship went way beyond a physical union. It was a Spiritual Oneness. Both partners must surrender to God and each other. Me and my should be us and our. Our marriage should honor God. Obedience to God and His Word should be an agreement between husband and wife prior to your marriage. How should we act in our marriage? An answer, I figured, that would stir the pot. I read Ephesians 5:22-31. Vs. 22-23 wives submit to your husbands. A word most woman do not want to hear and most men abuse. I asked that the woman bare with me and hear what God has to say and asked the men to really open their ears. The rest of this passage is aimed at us men. Men, love your wives as Christ loved the church, love her as you love yourself, and become one flesh. This is a biblical marriage. In balance with God's Word. Christ is the head of the man and woman together. Men, we are to act as Jesus treats us in Revelation 19:7-9. Give yourself to her, Love her, Honor her, and protect her. Submission follows if we treat our wives as Christ treats us. Why should we marry? Again we went to scripture. Companionship (Gen.2:18), Procreation (Gen. 1:28), Mutual undefiled pleasure (1 Cor. 7:4-5, Pro. 5:18-19, Heb. 13:4), Prevention of immorality (1 Cor. 7:2&5), and to raise Godly decedents (Mal. 2:13-16). The marriage bond leads to good in the family and within our society. We then touched on when God considers us married. The Bible does not explicitly tell us when God considers a couple married, but there are three common view points. A "Legal Marriage", a "Ceremonial Marriage", and a "Consummated Marriage". We touched on the pro's and con's of each concept and came to the conclusion that 1) As long as the requirements are reasonable and not against God's Word we should seek the formal government recognition. 2) We should follow whatever cultural and family practices that recognize you as "legally married", and 3) If possible consummate the marriage to fulfill the "One Flesh" concept. God knows our heart's (1 Jn. 3:20) He knows the difference between a True Marriage and an attempt to justify sexual immorality. In summary, we need to honor God in our marriage, it is sacred to God. Woman submit to your husbands. Men, give yourself to her, love her, honor her, protect her, and most of all, put her above yourself. Become one flesh as God ordains us to, Honor God together, surrender yourselves to Him and He will bless your marriage. I thank God for delivering this message and I pray that we all can honor God in our marriages as He wants us to. Till next week, may the Peace of Jesus Christ fall upon everyone.

The Gift's Of The Spirit

Greetings my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. The Lord blessed us once again with another spirit filled message. This week our scripture reading was 1 Corinthians 12:7-13. We were going to look into the Spiritual gift's that are given to us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. First we needed to understand that these gift's are to Glorify God and we have responsibilities that come with these gift's. We are given the gift of the Holy Spirit upon our salvation and that is when the work begins. We are a new creature in Christ's eyes and we are now acceptable to God. These spiritual gift's are given to us by God's sovereign choice and are not based on our worthiness or our abilities.
Why do we receive these gift's? We looked into three key text's that answer this. Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 1 Peter 4:10-11. Paul identified different gift's to the Romans than to the Corinthians and Peter spoke of them but didn't specify them. The importance of these gift's is to Glorify God. Why do we receive them? To make the body (the church) functional and whole (Romans 12:5).
How many gift's are there? Well, opinions vary on the amount and what they are. Romans 12 list's twelve and 1 Corinthians 12 list's nine. Some of these gift's overlap but there is an indication there are more.
We looked into the gift's that are mentioned in Romans and 1 Corinthians. Wisdom and Knowledge: The ability to grasp spiritual truth's in the word of God and to apply them to life. Prophecy: The ability to provide divine revelation to the church. In the New Testament it seems that it is used to determine God's will more so than foretelling future events. Discerning of Spirit's: This gift is usually connected with prophecy. It is the ability to check the authority and validity of a message or messenger. It's purpose is to prevent False Prophecy. Healing and Miracles: These gift's are commonly referred to as "Sign Gift's". In the early church they were used to validate Jesus' ministry. The church was young and many miracles and healing took place. Today the church is established and solid. God still heals and administers miracles but they have seemed to have decreased with the establishment of the church. Tongues and the interpretation of tongues: One of the most misunderstood gift's. We looked into the Greek word used in scriptures. The word "glossa" means any language. We looked at Acts 2:6-11 and saw that although the disciples did not know the language of the Galatians everyone heard the message of Jesus in their own language. There are two key points in this scripture. 1) The crowd's heard and understood what was being said about Jesus and 2) We were told what languages the message was received in. The key point here is Language not babble. We then looked into Faith, Serving, Encouraging, Giving, Ruling, and Mercy all self explanatory. All these gift's have one common denominator. They are given by God Himself, for His Glory in His church.
We can learn from these gift's but we shouldn't limit them or you have missed the point. In these three passages we are given a specific purpose and that is where our attention should be focused. Romans 12:8 Use these gift's according to the charter of God and His revealed will. Simplicity, diligence, and cheerfulness. 1 Corinthians 12:25 Given for No Division in the body, and that we should have equal concern for one another. 1 Peter 4:11 "That in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ".
In closing, we all have spiritual gift's, given by God's Grace, to Glorify Him and His church. We are to express His charter through our simplicity, diligence, and cheerfulness. They are given to us to keep the body of the church from separation, to make us equals. They are not for our personal benefits.
I handed out a "Spiritual Gift Survey" to the congregation and asked them to fill them out and return them to me next week. I'm excited to see how our diversity will strengthen God's church. Till next week, may God Bless everyone.

The Promise Of Change

Happy Resurrection Day. We had another full house for our service and were blessed with a Spirit led sermon. Our scripture reading was 1 John 3:7-10. We looked into the importance of Jesus' resurrection. It is the foundation of our Christian faith(1 Corinthians 15:13-17). With the resurrection of Jesus fulfilled, we now have the gift of the Holy Spirit, and a promise of change. Prior to our salvation we were not acceptable to God. Romans 8:1 tells us that after we accept Jesus in our hearts we are now acceptable to God. He gives us peace through Him (Romans 5:1), Eternal life with Him (John 10:28-29), He renews our mind (Romans 12:2), and protects us from the evil one (John 17:15). When we accept Jesus into our heart we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), it is the "Seal" of God (Ephesians 1:13-14 & 2 Corinthians 1:22), but we must live in the Spirit and not fall to temptation (Ephesians 4:30), for if we do, it effects our relationship with God. A personal relationship with God begins the moment we accept Jesus into our heart and it means we should include God in our daily lives. We need to Pray, Read His Word, Meditate, and most of all Seek His Wisdom. Believe in your heart that He will sustain you and remember He Lives In You. Now there are three kinds of Faith. "Little Faith", "Weak Faith", and "Strong Faith". I gave examples of each kind of faith. "Little Faith" is a mixture of faith and unbelief. Mark 7:26 gives us a good example of this. The woman was from Syria, she didn't believe Jesus was the messiah, but sought Him to cast out the demons from her daughter. "Weak Faith" is when your belief is expressed as mere legalism. Romans 14:1 is a good example of this kind of faith. You accept Jesus as your savior but you would rather just settle for the "vegetables" and not All that He has to offer. "Strong Faith" is rooted in the promises of God (Romans 4:20-21). Someone with "Strong Faith" gives All the Glory to God. As Christians mature so should their faith. We looked at Abraham as an example of someone who grew in faith. He had "Little Faith" in God in Genesis 12:10-20. He told his wife to tell the Egyptians that she was his sister so they wouldn't kill him. He didn't trust in God enough to tell the truth. But look at how Abraham's faith grew as he walked with God. In Hebrews 11:17-19 we see that Abraham was so "Strong in Faith" that he was willing to sacrifice his only son because God told him to. I asked everyone to examine their faith and think about where they were. The reasons we need to change our way's is so that we may grow in faith. Why do we need to change? To have life, and to have it to the full (John 10:10), to demolish strongholds and arguments against God's word, and to be obedient (2 Corinthians 10:4-5), to be joyful, patient, and fruitful (Romans 12:12), to set aside the old, to be new in attitude, to be like God in righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). When we do these things the God of Peace will be with you (Philippians 4:8-9). We will gain attributes that will end strife, arguments, ill will, bad attitudes, and the temptation of sin. What an awesome promise that is. Is Jesus Christ in your head or your heart? Are you weak in faith or strong? Have you changed your old way's? Are you willing to change or do you just want to settle for the vegetables? Reach out to God and go for the gift's He so desperately wants to give to you. We shared in Holy Communion then fellowship afterward. Phil and his wife blessed us by bringing a cake. Thank you to everyone who made this glorious day so memorable. Till next week, may God Bless everyone.