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Fight Sin…

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Somehow yesterday’s AM Sermon and PM sermon came together. The over-arching thrust of both messages was how we should strive to be holy.

In the AM, we were looking at Jesus in Gethsemane from Mark 14:32-42. Jesus was the model of spiritual strength, submitting to the Father’s will and demonstrating humility in His actions. Meanwhile, the disciples were asleep. Jesus encouraged them to “watch and pray” that they might not enter into temptation. The word “watch” speaks of a diligence or a passion to stay alert. We must exercise some passion in our striving to be holy.

In the PM, God had a contention with His people due to their adultery and wickedness in Hosea 4:1-19. They had forsaken Him. The leadership failed to direct the people to holiness. Men had failed to take leadership in their homes. God was going to punish the people to warn Judah from the same plight. Holiness was not the direction of the people, therefore, they were languishing in wickedness.

This weekend inspired my passion to strive to be holy. Hope that is the case for you as well.

Remember Jesus Christ…

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Sunday’s sermon, Jesus: Risen One, from 2 Timothy 2:8-9 is now online. I thought we had a great morning. The fellowship around tables is always an encouragement. But being able to gather together and celebrate the Lord’s conquering of death was amazing. I was especially convicted by those two closing applications: 1) Will you remember Jesus when you are heading to work Monday AM and 2) Will you endure, confident that God will be by your side in the midst of whatever suffering you face?

I feel exhausted after the events of today, but greatly encouraged.

Beware of Pride…

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The sermons from yesterday are now online.

In the AM, we had a great time seeing spiritual weakness displayed by Jesus from Mark 14:26-31. I found the article by Steve Young in the latest Briefing to be helpful in exposing a particular weakness in my life. I hope God uses His Word to spark serious work in our lives towards humility.

In the PM, it was interesting to see how God continued to woo His people by overwhelming them with love in Hosea 3:1-5. We must be characterized by genuine, costly love is our message is to be one that is God-centered. Hosea learned this lesson and we would do well to do so.

Hope you have a great week. Be watching the church website for our Holy Week Devotional to aid in your worship of this Savior.

Missions Fest in the Books…

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I was just thinking this afternoon about how gracious God was to us this past weekend. Normally, one wouldn’t think of a near natural disaster as a blessing, but this weekend was. Here are some thoughts I had on this…

First off, our hearts are with Central Christian Schools. The roof fell in on their cafeteria, but God, in His grace, allowed no children to be present and used this to possibly save other schools from the same fate.

Related to the Missions Fest (Eyes Open Weekend), here are some thoughts…

1) God was gracious to allow Freddy Wyatt to get here and get rest. Some of you may be familiar with the break-neck speed at which life operates for those of us in ministry. We don’t really have set hours and get calls of all kinds. The life of a church planter takes this demand and simply intensifies it. Freddy and his family have been going non-stop since moving to NY in October. This weekend allowed him to get rest. God was gracious in this way.

2) God demonstrated grace to us in what was shared last night. What an incredible evening. Freddy did finally get to speak (check out the audio of it), and was able to challenge us to share the good news of the Gospel with others. The meal was fantastic (Thanks Adam!) and getting to fellowship with the saints was a huge blessing. The praise team did an excellent job in pointing us to the Gospel (Thanks Arwen, Kathy, Chris, Conor, Jandee, Theoden and Elrond). There were just blessing after blessings happening last night and after being cooped up all weekend, getting back with the saints was a welcome relief.

3) God allowed some to finish the project at Open Door. We had 3 projects to accomplish this weekend. 2 were cancelled due to the weather, but some faithful workers were able to finish putting some new paint on the walls of the Crisis Pregnancy Center yesterday. Praise God for that.

God was at work in more ways than we know. We should simply praise Him with hearts of thanksgiving–not only for the incredible benefits of the Gospel we daily walk in–but for the weekend in which His glory was manifest.

Lord’s Day Recap…

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Thought we had a great day yesterday, audio is up for AM & PM (and HomeWord if you missed it over the weekend).

In the AM, I really felt much liberty in preaching. Sermon was on Jesus’ Greatness from Mark 14:12-21. It was fun to remember how Jesus is greater than the Passover but then to see the precision with which Judas was laid bare before Him was awesome. I was really struck to simply stand in awe of Jesus.

In the PM, we had such a full house and the sermon was on God Acts from Hosea 2:2-23. Even when we are running headlong into sin, God is faithful out of His love for His people to allure us. I really needed to hear that incredible motivation to persevere.

At HomeWord Friday PM, we looked at 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 and the call to Stay Together. With so many bailing out of marriages for trifling excuses, we need that reminder from God’s Word as well. His desire is that we stay together for life. I really appreciated the Small group discussion Ron led us in as well. Examining 1 Corinthians 13 and how it calls for devotion was compelling.

How, the call upon our lives is to apply these things. May God grant us grace to do so.