From The Pastor's Desk
A Fallen World
-I Timothy 4:1
I have to remind myself from time to time that we live in a fallen world. The coming election proves this to be true. You walk down the street or drive down the road and you know this is true. You try to do business with people and you know this is true. You get on social media and a zillion scammers come calling.
Our heroes are movie stars, singers and athletes. I have never really needed any of those. I have needed doctors, nurses, dentists, law enforcement, bankers, preachers and lawyers ever so often. I have needed plumbers, mechanics, electricians and the like, but never entertainers. I need farmers for food and I need clothes. I need medicine. I needed teachers and parents. I needed love. I needed a job to make money. More so, I needed God.
I was born with some handicaps. I also was injured on the playground in the fifth grade.
I had my mother write a note so I wouldn't have to give a speech in class in high school. Now I am a preacher. Go figure.
I don't need anyone to tell me how to vote but God.
This wasn't what I intended to write about this week.
You know, the Lord Jesus was a trillion times better preacher than anyone who ever lived. Yet, they left Him in groves and many followed Him just for food.
So here we are.
Lincoln First Baptist Church
Praise the Lord we received some much needed rain. Hope everyone has a great week. We had some visitors in Sunday school today. We invite them to come back and see us. We have a lot of people on the prayer list. Any prayers are appreciated.
Luke 9: 51-56 was the passage for today’s sermon. Jesus was going to Jerusalem. He sent James and John into a Samaritan village to get things ready for His visit. They didn’t want Jesus to come into town. James and John wanted to call down fire but Jesus told them He came to save souls not destroy.
Who are we or others to get in the Lord’s way? If Jesus didn’t try to reach people He wouldn’t have known if they would accept Him or not. God makes time for us. Jesus makes things happen. We need to make time for Jesus.
If we don’t open doors how do we succeed. As we grow in Christ doors will open to us. People need to be ready to accept Christ. We can’t make them be ready to accept Christ that is His job. Jesus preached to people who wouldn’t receive Him.
Jesus may not be happy with us but He loves us. Be who you are. Without God’s grace we wouldn’t be here. God gives us that grace period to be saved.
Have a great week. OCTOBER 12 WILL BE A FISH/FROG FRY AT THE CHURCH. 5:30 PM IS THE TIME. THERE WILL BE GAMES, A HAYRIDE AND MUCH MORE. COME AND HAVE SOME FUN.
Unity Of The Lakes
Reverend Sandra Campbell will be speaking on “The Domino Effect” next Sunday, September 29!
One of Unity’s principles is that we create our experiences by what we choose to think, what we feel, and what we believe. Everything starts in the mind first. The operative word is “first.” The key to manifesting our good is to put first things first. It’s the order of the universe. That is the domino effect. “Seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God and all these things will be given you” Matthew 6:33.
Please join us! We are located on 65 Hwy. S about 8 miles from Warsaw.
Hopewell Baptist Church
Matthew 26:17-30, The Passover Meal, a celebration of remembering what God did for His people when He delivered them out of Egypt. Jesus tells them, one of you will betray me. The disciples respond, “surely you don’t mean me, Jesus? Jesus says, “take this bread, my body, and this cup of wine my blood, drink it because it’s poured out for the forgiveness of sin”. They converted a Jewish tradition of celebrating their release from captivity to a celebration of what Jesus did for all of us. Jesus dies, not because He has to, but so we may be forgiven. He died on the cross and saw the face of every person who has ever sinned. Let’s celebrate this every single day.
What we sometimes miss is who Jesus spent His last days with? James and John, violent men who did not think well of other people, yet Jesus invited them to the table. Matthew, the Tax Collector, spent his life cheating and lying so he could pocket more cash. Peter, who did not believe and did not trust. And, Judas, nothing stands out about him until he betrays the Son of God. Jesus doesn’t send him away before supper. He sits with Judas, knowing full well what will happen. Then the rest of the disciples, whose faith was lacking. Jesus has His final meal with homeless, broken men.
Sinners like us would have also been welcome at this meal. There are consequences for our behavior, but we would not be sent away. We need more people who don’t know Jesus to show up in our church! We all belong at the table, bringing with us, all the worst the world has to offer. Showing up means we recognize we need Jesus! Our sin nailed Him to the cross, it kept Him there, and it’s what He died to forgive. Jesus loves all of us, and nothing will change that. He wants to see every single person be forgiven. We as believers have been task with being a part of His plan. It’s not our past that matters, It’s Jesus that matters.
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.
Warsaw Christian Church
We sing out of a hymn book in our church, and a song I always enjoy singing is, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” Perhaps the author of the hymn had in mind the verse from Hebrews 12:2, “keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne” (HCSB). As we focus on Jesus and how He has redeemed us, our faith increases, and our fears and doubts decrease.
It is so easy to focus our attention on our problems and circumstances. I must confess that I am often guilty of focusing too much on circumstances and lapsing into a “woe is me” mentality. The hymn mentioned reminds us that as we focus on Jesus, “the things of earth grow strangely dim.”
Don’t allow your burdens to weigh you down. Focus your attention on Jesus. Pray in His name. Find a good church that focuses on Jesus and worship Him. (There are many faithful churches in Warsaw of which we seek to be one.) When life throws a problem your way, turn to Jesus and seek His help. The first verse of the hymn reads as follows: “O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free.” As we focus our attention on Jesus, our problems do not disappear. Instead, He gives us the wisdom and strength to live victorious lives. Jesus is greater than anything we face.
