Monday, July 13, 2009

Sunday Sermon~July 12, 2009

My favorite thought taken from Phil's Sunday School class:
"Jesus limited Himself when He took on human nature.
Our life in Christ is unlimited when we take on the nature of God."
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Excerpt from Pastor Frank's prayer~"...Not only are we fellowshipping with each other but we are fellowshipping with the mercy and grace of God."
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Private sorrow has turned into public joy over a 'prodigal' come home.
Furrowed brow is gone and happy words spill out of smiling lips.
His cup overflows and I am glad.~A
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Marva weeps at the altar and suddenly, I remember.
Marcia died on this day two years ago. Her twin.
She worships God and holds her sorrow.
She knows her other half is worshipping God too,
and she is closest to her when she worships Him.
Give her joy for her sorrow, O God,
Hold her near.
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The Roth's are not here and our body misses them.
Will you be back? No one else can take your place.
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Theme for month of July: We should know people who do not know Jesus.

Scripture: John 4:46-54~"So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water into wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him,"Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."
The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"
Jesus said to Him, "Go your way; your son lives."
So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
And as he was now going down,
his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"
Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him,
"Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."
So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him,
"Your son lives."
And he himself believed,
and his whole household.
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Jesus' message was the same whether he was relating to the lowliest of the low, such as the woman at the well, or the loftiest of the lofty, such as Nicodemus.
His message was this.
"You need to know me.
You need to be born again."
What a message of hope for the sinful woman.
A new chance, a fresh start.
What a message of confusion for the learned man,
who couldn't figure out how one could possibly
be born all over again.
He thought too much.
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I have quite a few notes, but I got stuck on one particular point of the sermon and after that my notes seem disjointed. Therefore, I will share that one particular point with you.
Like a wave on the shore, it is pounding it's thought into my soul, and I do not know the answer.
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The thought is this. Jesus said to the father of the sick boy, "Unless you see me do a miracle for you, you won't believe in me."
Will we believe in Him even if He never does another thing for us?
Would I love Him even if He never answered another prayer?
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Why do I have a relationship with Jesus Christ?
I've been reading the book of Daniel.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Obednego were men with great faith in God.
They refused to bow down to another god and the king was furious, asking them if they had a god who would deliver them.
They said, "Our God is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace and He will do so, but if He doesn't, we would never serve the golden image which you have set up."
I just love that.
They had complete faith that God would deliver them
but they said that even if He didn't,
they would worship Him only.
I think too often we pray for safety and protection
when perhaps we should pray for courage, grace, and boldness
to go through the things that He is not going to protect us from.
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Several other thoughts from the sermon:
The man believed in the word that Jesus spoke to him. Don't argue with His word. He will make it happen. PF-"I believe Him. I believe every promise and because I believe Him I am going to go out and live like a believer."
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"The consistency of our lives speaks louder than words."
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My final thought, well, not my final one, but I am wondering if Jesus just wants a friend who doesn't require a whole lot from Him. Maybe He gets tired of being the answer man. Maybe He would like a friend who listens to Him and cares about Him. Maybe Jesus is lonely for a friend who loves Him unconditionally.

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