What can we do with the past? What must we do? Lay it down and leave it. God teaches us to “forget what is behind” so that we can “reach forward to what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13). The writer to the Hebrews said, “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is before us looking to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2). A man came to Jesus and said, “Lord, I will follow you…”; then, he wanted to look back. Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:61-62).
Every sin can be forgiven. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like us. Sometimes we make mistakes. Think about it. Would you say that you learned more from your successes or from your mistakes? It is true that some people never seem to learn from their mistakes. They just keep making the same old errors in judgment, the same old mistakes. We can be different. We must be different. We can learn from our mistakes and become smarter, stronger, and wiser.
Would you say that the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in John 4 had a past? Read about the conversation Jesus had with this woman. Whew! She had had five husbands and was living with a man that was not her husband. Yet Jesus offered her relief from her past. He said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” Of course, Jesus is talking about salvation.
Read about the woman who was caught in adultery, the very act in John chapter 8. The men who brought her to Jesus only did so to find a way to accuse Jesus. I have often wondered why the other individual in this sinful act was not brought in. Maybe he was one of those who brought her to Jesus. We do not know. We do know that Jesus offered no excuse for this woman’s sin. He did say to those who accused her, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” No stones were thrown. As a matter of fact, after a few moments of silence Jesus looked up and saw that every man had went out one by one. He looked at the woman and said to her: “Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Jesus Christ is the one and only Savior. He is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life. No one comes to the Father except by and through Him (John 14:6). He alone is the solution to our past.
What can we do about the future? What must we do? We must not worry about it. Jesus taught us about worry and anxiety in Matthew 6:25-34. He said, “Do not worry about you life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Did you know that most of the things we worry about never actually happen? Many of our worries can be summed up in two words, “What if?” It is always wise to plan for tomorrow. I know that my utility bill will arrive in the mail sometime this week. My house payment is due every month. I am hungry just about every morning, noon, and night. We must learn to live our lives with trust rather than worry. God takes care of his creation. Jesus asked, “Are you not of more value than they?” He then reminds us that our Father knows about our needs and will sufficiently provide for our needs. We must trust and not worry about tomorrow.
What about today? Now, that’s a good question! May we all live today to its fullest potential! Jesus Christ delivers us from worry and fear.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
We are well on our way toward the much needed renovations to our facilities here at St. Andrews Road. The architectural plans are being completed. The financing has been approved. The elders are receiving financial gifts, promises, and pledges from our members. God is blessing us in and through these difficult economic times. Our Christian brothers and sisters in the past sacrificed their blood, sweat, and tears to give us what we have today; a place to worship God in spirit and in truth that is beautiful, comfortable, and more than adequate for our needs. The best way to show our gratitude to these who have sacrificed so much is to offer our own sacrifices to those who will follow us. May we all follow our elders and deacons in their sacrifices for the future of the church that meets at 425 St. Andrews Road! May we all be able to say: “I am. I have. I will.”
Our Sunday morning lesson series, “The Greatest Thing in the World – The Christian Life,” has been challenging to us all. We have looked at Sin – How Terrible, Grace – How Marvelous, Salvation – How Wonderful, Life – How Short, and Eternity – How Long. This Sunday morning, we will conclude this series with a lesson entitled “God – How Good!” I hope you will be here for this very special concluding lesson. If you would like to read ahead, read Matthew 6:25-34. This passage teaches us how to think, how to live, and why.
We introduced our new Sunday evening series last week with a lesson that asks every Christian to lift up our eyes (John 4). Jesus taught his disciples not to wait but to look up to see the fields that were white with the harvest. He reminded them that they were not alone in their work that they were only building on the work that others had begun.
We, too, must lift our eyes to look at the harvest of family, friends, and neighbors who are searching for help, hope, and the answers to the questions of life.
God asks every Christian to climb up higher (Luke 19). Zacchaeus was a man who wanted to…needed to see Jesus. He had to overcome the crowd that obstructed his view as well as his own limitations (a small stature) to see Jesus.
We, too, must climb up higher in order to overcome whatever it is that is obstructing our view of our salvation which is in Jesus Christ. In the letter to the Hebrews (12:1-2), we are instructed to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” so that we may run the race before us.
God asks every Christian to launch out further (Luke 5) in our obedient faith in God through Jesus Christ. After Jesus taught the multitude, he asked Simon to launch out into deep waters for a catch. Simon did what Jesus asked even though he had toiled all night and caught nothing. He caught so many fish that both his boat and his partners’ boat began to sink.
We, too, must launch out deeper in our Christian walk with God. Remember what God wrote to us in Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
This Sunday evening, we will look at the first lesson from our series entitled: “1st Century Success in the 21st Century.” The First Century church was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Their courage and deliberate daily preaching and teaching of the gospel of Christ proved to be the power behind the tremendous growth of the church. What about us in our day? Are we ashamed of the gospel of Christ? I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Our Sunday morning lesson series, “The Greatest Thing in the World – The Christian Life,” has been challenging to us all. We have looked at Sin – How Terrible, Grace – How Marvelous, Salvation – How Wonderful, Life – How Short, and Eternity – How Long. This Sunday morning, we will conclude this series with a lesson entitled “God – How Good!” I hope you will be here for this very special concluding lesson. If you would like to read ahead, read Matthew 6:25-34. This passage teaches us how to think, how to live, and why.
We introduced our new Sunday evening series last week with a lesson that asks every Christian to lift up our eyes (John 4). Jesus taught his disciples not to wait but to look up to see the fields that were white with the harvest. He reminded them that they were not alone in their work that they were only building on the work that others had begun.
We, too, must lift our eyes to look at the harvest of family, friends, and neighbors who are searching for help, hope, and the answers to the questions of life.
God asks every Christian to climb up higher (Luke 19). Zacchaeus was a man who wanted to…needed to see Jesus. He had to overcome the crowd that obstructed his view as well as his own limitations (a small stature) to see Jesus.
We, too, must climb up higher in order to overcome whatever it is that is obstructing our view of our salvation which is in Jesus Christ. In the letter to the Hebrews (12:1-2), we are instructed to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us” so that we may run the race before us.
God asks every Christian to launch out further (Luke 5) in our obedient faith in God through Jesus Christ. After Jesus taught the multitude, he asked Simon to launch out into deep waters for a catch. Simon did what Jesus asked even though he had toiled all night and caught nothing. He caught so many fish that both his boat and his partners’ boat began to sink.
We, too, must launch out deeper in our Christian walk with God. Remember what God wrote to us in Ephesians 3:20-21: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
This Sunday evening, we will look at the first lesson from our series entitled: “1st Century Success in the 21st Century.” The First Century church was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Their courage and deliberate daily preaching and teaching of the gospel of Christ proved to be the power behind the tremendous growth of the church. What about us in our day? Are we ashamed of the gospel of Christ? I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Monday, August 17, 2009
2009, SAR Newsletter Article - August 16
Back to school! Our teachers have been busy for several days now getting their classrooms in order. Some students have already begun the new school year. The rest will soon follow. You can certainly tell by the increased traffic that our college students have arrived for the fall semester. We must be extra cautious on the highways. School buses stopping and going…Children crossing the streets to and from school…Parents dropping off and picking their children…Young drivers not always focused on their driving…I could go on and on. Please be a little bit more patient with yourself and with others as we all adjust to a new routine.
We will host the Area-wide Men’s and Preacher’s Meeting this Tuesday, August 18th. Brother Bill Young will be presenting a program on “Burn-out.” Come a little bit early for a Krispy Kreme doughnut and coffee. Our program will begin at 10:00 and conclude a few minutes before noon. We will have a Dutch-treat lunch together after the meeting.
This Sunday morning we will continue in our series “The Greatest Thing in the World – The Christian Life” with a lesson entitled “Eternity – How Long.” We have looked at Sin – How terrible, Grace – How Marvelous, Salvation – How Wonderful, and Life – How Short. We only have two more lessons and this series will be completed. I hope you are being encouraged and challenged to become a Christian, then to be a Christian, and to live the Christian life.
On Sunday evening we will begin a new series of lessons on the early church of Christ. The success of the church of Christ in the first century was dynamic. In this series we will look at the reasons for the advancement of the Lord’s cause in the first century and be confident that we too, can enjoy great success in our day. We will focus our attention on the following lessons:
They were not – Romans 1:15-16…We must not be too.
They were – Acts 2:42… We can be too.
They were – II Peter 1:4-11… We can be too.
They truly – John 13:34-35… We can too.
They were not – II Corinthians 4:1, 8-10… We must follow their example.
They had – Matthew 28:19-20… We must too.
They were – Romans 12:1-2… We must be too.
I look forward to sharing these lessons from the Bible with you. May God help us to apply His instructions directly to our every day Christian lives!
Our Ladies’ Day 2009 at St. Andrews Road is just around the corner scheduled for Saturday, October 17th (Only eight weeks away!). Our ladies are busy getting everything in order for this very special day. A Ladies’ Day committee meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, August 17the in classroom 204 immediately following our worship together. All ladies and teenage girls are encouraged to attend this meeting. Please sign up on the bulletin board in the lobby if you can help in any way with our upcoming Ladies’ Day.
The Sunday morning adult Life Enrichment Bible Class just completed a study on the “Me-Attitudes.”. For the remaining Sunday mornings in August we will study the book of Jude. Think about it. Have you ever studied Jude? If you are not currently involved in one of our Bible study programs please consider this your special invitation to join the Life Enrichment Class. Come and grow with us in the knowledge of God’s word. This class meets at 10:00 a.m. every Sunday morning down the hall in Room 204.
We will host the Area-wide Men’s and Preacher’s Meeting this Tuesday, August 18th. Brother Bill Young will be presenting a program on “Burn-out.” Come a little bit early for a Krispy Kreme doughnut and coffee. Our program will begin at 10:00 and conclude a few minutes before noon. We will have a Dutch-treat lunch together after the meeting.
This Sunday morning we will continue in our series “The Greatest Thing in the World – The Christian Life” with a lesson entitled “Eternity – How Long.” We have looked at Sin – How terrible, Grace – How Marvelous, Salvation – How Wonderful, and Life – How Short. We only have two more lessons and this series will be completed. I hope you are being encouraged and challenged to become a Christian, then to be a Christian, and to live the Christian life.
On Sunday evening we will begin a new series of lessons on the early church of Christ. The success of the church of Christ in the first century was dynamic. In this series we will look at the reasons for the advancement of the Lord’s cause in the first century and be confident that we too, can enjoy great success in our day. We will focus our attention on the following lessons:
They were not – Romans 1:15-16…We must not be too.
They were – Acts 2:42… We can be too.
They were – II Peter 1:4-11… We can be too.
They truly – John 13:34-35… We can too.
They were not – II Corinthians 4:1, 8-10… We must follow their example.
They had – Matthew 28:19-20… We must too.
They were – Romans 12:1-2… We must be too.
I look forward to sharing these lessons from the Bible with you. May God help us to apply His instructions directly to our every day Christian lives!
Our Ladies’ Day 2009 at St. Andrews Road is just around the corner scheduled for Saturday, October 17th (Only eight weeks away!). Our ladies are busy getting everything in order for this very special day. A Ladies’ Day committee meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, August 17the in classroom 204 immediately following our worship together. All ladies and teenage girls are encouraged to attend this meeting. Please sign up on the bulletin board in the lobby if you can help in any way with our upcoming Ladies’ Day.
The Sunday morning adult Life Enrichment Bible Class just completed a study on the “Me-Attitudes.”. For the remaining Sunday mornings in August we will study the book of Jude. Think about it. Have you ever studied Jude? If you are not currently involved in one of our Bible study programs please consider this your special invitation to join the Life Enrichment Class. Come and grow with us in the knowledge of God’s word. This class meets at 10:00 a.m. every Sunday morning down the hall in Room 204.
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