Warsaw Christian Church
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him
-John 14:21
We learn several essential truths from these words of Jesus. First, we have His commandments recorded in Scripture. Do we obey them? Jesus declares that the one striving to keep His commandments is the one who loves Him. We can conclude that those who show little or no interest in obeying Him do not really love Him. Those who do not love Him do not trust Him. They are outside the Kingdom of God. We must ask, “Do I try to keep the commands of Jesus?”
Jesus adds that the heavenly Father loves those who love Jesus. But doesn’t God love everybody? Yes, but His love for the world is, in a way, potential. It becomes actual when we trust in His Son. Yes, God loves you, but you become a part of His family when you trust in His Son. When faith is present in us, God’s potential love becomes actual.
When all the above is in place, something glorious happens. Jesus manifests Himself to us. To manifest is to reveal. Wow! Jesus here promises to reveal Himself to those who meet the conditions. How He does that varies from person to person. The point is that true Christians not only trust Jesus but also know Him. The Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to our innermost being. This leads to a final question we must ask ourselves: Do I know Jesus as a living presence within my heart?
From The Pastor's Desk
Bigger and Grander
-Isaiah 6:1
In the movie Harvey, James Steward plays an alcoholic named Elwood P. Dowe, who sees an imaginary 6'5" inch puma rabbit named Harvey.
In one of the lines, Steward says,"Harvey and I sit in the bars...have a drink or two... play the jukebox. And soon the faces of all the other people turn toward mine and they smile. And they're saying, "We don't know your name, mister, but you're a very nice fella." Harvey and I warm ourselves in all these golden moments. We've entered as strangers - soon we have friends. And they come over...and they sit with us...and they drink with us...and they talk to us. They tell about the big terrible things they've done and the big wonderful things they'll do. Their hopes, and their regrets, and their loves, and their hates. All very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. And then I introduce them to Harvey...and he's bigger and grander than anything they offer me. And when they leave, they leave impressed. The same people seldom come back; but that's envy, my dear. There's a little bit of envy in the best of us."
Every week by the grace of God, I stand in the pulpit at Grace Baptist Church and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is bigger and grander than anything you could ever offer me.
I was watching a video the other night where some people were in awe of meeting Donald Trump in person.
People stand in the presence of a king. I will bow at the feet of the Lord Jesus.
I had a man in our church once who said he was going to beat God up when he met Him. Really?
The farther I go in this life, I am more in awe of God than I was before. The words of the famous hymn,"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me" still reaches into my very soul.
Most people have a strange concept of God which is not found in the Bible. The series the Chosen is not presenting Christ as he is found in the Bible. The Lord Jesus healed everyone who asked and He healed some who didn't ask. He was never confused about humanity and he never sinned (John 2: 24,25) (Hebrews 4:15).
Isaiah said he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne and He was high and lifted up (Isaiah 6:1).
God is beyond our complete understanding. The Bible tells us it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 6:31) Jesus said, "Fear Him who has power to cast into hell (Luke 12:5).
I introduced a friend of mine to another one of my friends this week. I would like to introduce you to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29).
Our church, Grace Baptist at 31046 Highway MM will be having a revival on September 8 and 9 at 6:00 PM. You are invited.
Hopewell Baptist Church
Today’s message comes from Romans 12:1-20 wrapping up VBS week as the Children’s Ministry shared what they learned at Breaker Rock Beach, with their key verse from Romans 12:2 – Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, His good, pleasing, and perfect will. Standing firm in God’s truth, Jesus is the foundation of our world. If we focus on the world, we won’t be able to see Jesus in the decisions we make. We should not think of ourselves as better than others with different gifts and talents. We prioritize some talents and diminish others. The church is to be the reflection of Jesus. We often become a pattern of the world. Instead, we are all part of the same body, to work together to the glory of Jesus. We are all created equally in the image of Jesus Christ. We are transformed by Jesus for changing the way we look at people who are different that we are as less valuable to the world.
Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good. If we are letting Jesus be our Breaker Rock, we will give to them what they need rather than our enemies, but children of God. When darkness comes, we tell it to shut the heck up. To think Satan isn’t out there is irrational. Is the way we think about another person consistent with how Jesus thinks about them? We as Christians know Jesus, so let’s act like it instead of being transformed by the world. Let’s take just a second, are our hearts set on Jesus or something else, and is our behavior consistent with that?
Today’s challenge – keep showing our kids what it looks like to be a reflection of Jesus! Let’s do it together!
Join us Sunday mornings for Sunday School at 10 a.m. with Worship at 11 a.m., regular Bible Study Wednesdays and Sundays at 6 p.m. with our Children’s Program Sundays at 5:30 p.m. Watch our service live at 11 a.m. Sunday mornings on Hopewell Baptist Church Facebook page.
Unity Of The Lakes
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SERVICE at Unity of the Lakes!
This Sunday, August 25th our speaker is Reverend Sandra Duncan.
Talk title: “Our Way in this World!”
Using the story from Luke 5:1-11 where the disciples cast out their nets, fishing all night, going deeper than previously. The disciples went out into the unknown. Why? Let us explore!
For those who have not visited before, What is Unity?
Unity is a gentle, loving approach to a practical application of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Its effectiveness is based upon the power of love, forgiveness and prayer. Everyone is allowed to have their own concept of the Divine, and all are loved unconditionally and accepted where they are in their spiritual development.
All are welcome! Please join us. Service begins at 11:00 followed by food and fellowship. We are located about 8 miles south of Warsaw at 34948 Hwy 65 South, Warsaw MO.
Lincoln First Baptist Church
Bless the Lord. Marlin Hammond and Debbie Smith celebrated birthdays. Best wishes to them. We had a great crowd in worship today. We have had visitors and some members that haven’t been with us for a long while. Glad to have them in worshipping the Lord. There have been lots of youth and children attending with their parents which is a blessing to see.
Pastor’s message was about love today. 1 John 2:15 and 3:11 was the text. Love your brother. We have a world full of wicked and evil people. We have been called to help people. We are to love our enemies. In helping them we are to love them. We are to lay down our life for our brethren as Christ did for us. God made the greatest sacrifice. God is greater than your heart. Go with God and stand with Jesus. Tell people you love them. Time takes everything you love and during that time they are still here we can be a witness to them.
Love what God has given to you. Jesus is all love and just. Give Him all your love. Jesus loves His children. SEE YOU NEXT WEEK. HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS COLUMN. GOD BLESS AND SHOW HIS LOVE TO ALL.
