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Weekend Recap – Ice, Ice, Baby…

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This weekend, our family was able to return early from holiday with extended family and beat the worst part of the ice storm.  On Sunday, our church had to cancel services due to the parking lot being a sheet of ice.  And, also on Sunday, some in our church were hurt, literally, by falling branches weighed down by the ice (here’s some coverage of their story in our local newspaper).

So, in a sense, I still feel like I’m digging out of the weekend.  I hope you had a productive one.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a sermon to link to.  I’ll pick up where I’ve been in 1 John next Sunday, Lord willing.

Black Friday Gospel Thought

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Your sin was dark, but God changed that!

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
(Isaiah 1:18)

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Hope you have a great day celebrating thanksgiving…

Above all, take time today to thank God for sending His Son, that we might be freed from ourselves to live for Him.  

Weekend Preview – Son Sent As Savior of the World

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I love the connection that Danny Akin makes, glorying in how the Father sent His Son as the world’s Savior.  In 1 John, we see many things the Father has accomplished by His Son.

In the Son the Father…

  • revealed the word of life (1 John 1:1)
  • brought eternal life (1 John 1:2)
  • cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7)
  • gave us an advocate (1 John 2:1)
  • propitiates our sin (1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10)
  • gives us an example to follow (1 John 2:6)
  • sent the Messiah (1 John 2:22-23)
  • makes possible the new birth (1 John 2:29)
  • sent the righteous and sinless One (1 John 2:29; 1 John 3:4)
  • takes away our sin (1 John 3:5)
  • destroys the work of the Devil (1 John 3:8)
  • sacrificed His Son (1 John 3:16)
  • gives us life (1 John 4:9)
As you think about Thanksgiving this week and anticipate our time in the word this coming Lord’s Day (1 John 4:13-16), why not praise the Father for what He’s accomplished by His Son.  

Weekend Recap – God Is Love

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My 11/22/15AM Sermon, God Is Love from 1 John 4:7-12, is now online.  I love how big this truth of God’s love works through the lives of those who are believers.  Here’s one quote I used from Paul Tripp:

“If you ceased to love, you’d be an unpleasant human being but you would cease to be human.  The same cannot be true of God, though.  If He ceased to love, He’d cease to be God, because He IS love.”


Because God is Love, we are compelled to act in very specific and pointed ways.  This sermon tried to tease out some of these and I hope it proves helpful for you.  

On Syria, Immigration and Some Things To Think About…

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Lots of conversation is happening about the Christian view on welcoming Syrian refugees.  Some Christians say we shouldn’t put ourselves in positions of danger (however elusive that category is).  Other say, it’s simple: we love others so we should welcome them.  Here’s an article and a video that get at some things to Christians may think about…

First off, Kevin DeYoung wrote on how Immigration Policy Must Be Based on More Than An Appeal to Compassion.  One part that stood out to me in this:

Our church has always had a vibrant international ministry and we’ve rallied around families trying to work through the labyrinth of U.S. immigration policies so they can stay in the country legally. I too am turned off by the harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric that sounds more like Pharaoh in Exodus 1 than the “love the sojourner” commands in Deuteronomy 10. It is a commendable response to see hurting people and think, “Let’s do all we can to help.”
And yet, this good Christian impulse runs the risk of taking an extremely complex geo-political, international crisis and reducing it to pious platitudes about showing compassion to the least of these and not giving in to fear. As I said at the beginning, I don’t have a plan to fix our broken immigration system and I don’t know the “correct” number of Syrian refugees to welcome into the country, but I do think there is more than one way for a Christian to approach these issues.

But, read the whole thing and make up your own mind.  There is a tension here, it seems.

I was also helped by this video, though.  Take 5 minutes and consider this counsel:

I hope these things are helpful to you as you seek to navigate this difficult issue.

Are You Diagnosing Your Marriage?

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Kevin DeYoung provided 10 Diagnostic Questions for marriages this past week.  Maybe they would prove helpful for those who are married:

1. Do you pray together? 
2. Do you still notice each other? 
3. Do you ever hold hands? 
4. When is the last time you said “I’m sorry”? 
5. When is the last time you said, “Thank you”? 
6. When is the last time you planned a surprise? 
7. When is the last time you embarrassed the kids together? 
8. When is the last time you went out and talked about something other than the kids? 
9. What would others think about your spouse just by listening to you speak about him or her? 
10. Do you think more about what you aren’t giving or about what you aren’t getting?

Weekend Preview – Loving One Another Because God Is Love

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This coming Lord’s Day (11/22 to be precise), I hope to be preaching from 1 John 4:7-12.  This passage repeatedly (see vv.7, 11 and 12) calls us to love one another because God is love.  Here is a great action step to take as you think about this passage from Steve Lawson:

“Pause for a moment and take a hard look at your life.  
Behind your claim to be a Christian…
Do you posses a genuine love for other people?
Do you really?  
Are you a kind and forgiving person?
Do you consider the interests of others more important than your own?
Do you see yourself reaching out to people who are hard to love?”
(from Absolutely Sure, p.97).  
I hope you come eager to hear God’s Word this Sunday.