Advent Season is just about upon us

Now is the time to start preparing for this year advent season. We will be posting all the scripture reading, stories and crafts. So get out your advent wreath, dust it off and prepare for the Joy of this Advent season with your family.

Remember that Advent starts the day after Thanksgiving – Christmas


RESOURCE:



Community

The Church should be a community where messed-up people are welcome, outcasts are loved, underdogs fine a champion, the hopeless find hope, and the friendless find a friend.


Hebrews 10:24-25 (NIV): “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”



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Go and Sin No More: Embracing Redemption and Transformation

Brothers and sisters in Christ.

  • Today, we delve into a powerful message found in the Bible, a message of redemption and transformation.
  • Our focus will be on the scripture that echoes through time, “Go and sin no more.”

I. The Encounter with Grace

  • Our scripture is found in the Gospel of John 8:1-11(KJV).
  • Here, we meet a woman caught in the act of adultery, brought before Jesus by the Pharisees.
  • The religious leaders sought to trap Jesus in His words, asking if she should be stoned as the Law commanded.
  • But Jesus responded with compassion and wisdom, saying, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

II. The Conviction of Hearts

  • As Jesus wrote on the ground, the accusers began to leave one by one, convicted by their own consciences.
  • This reminds us that we are all sinners, in need of God’s grace and forgiveness.
  • The Pharisees’ hearts were exposed, and they recognized their own sinfulness.

III. The Message of Hope

  • Turning to the woman, Jesus asks, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
  • She responds, “No one, Lord.”
  • Then, Jesus delivers the powerful message we are focusing on today: “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
  • These words reveal the heart of Jesus – full of love, mercy, and hope.

IV. Embracing Redemption

  • The woman experienced not only forgiveness but also an exhortation to “sin no more.”
  • In this, we find a vital truth: Jesus offers not just forgiveness but also transformation.
  • When we encounter Jesus, we can leave behind our old ways and embrace a new life in Him.

V. Walking in Grace

  • As believers, we must remember that we are not condemned in Christ.
  • However, this doesn’t give us a license to continue in sin; instead, it calls us to walk in His grace.
  • 1 John 2:1(KJV) reminds us that if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Conclusion

  • In conclusion, the story of the woman caught in adultery teaches us about the boundless love and grace of our Savior.
  • Jesus doesn’t just forgive our sins; He calls us to a transformed life, to “go and sin no more.”
  • Let us accept His forgiveness and, by His grace, strive daily to live a life that reflects His holiness.
  • May we, like the woman, leave behind our past and follow Christ, knowing that in Him, we find redemption and transformation.

Closing Prayer

  • Let’s bow our heads in prayer.
  • Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your boundless grace and love. We are grateful for the forgiveness and transformation You offer us through Jesus Christ. Help us, Lord, to heed His words, to “go and sin no more,” and to walk in Your grace daily. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

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The Power of Hope

The Power of Hope

Introduction:

Today, I want to talk to you about the transformative power of hope. In a world that often feels overwhelmed with despair, hope shines as a beacon of light, offering solace, strength, and renewed purpose. As we dive into God’s Word, let us find encouragement and inspiration through Scripture verses that remind us of the incredible hope we have in Christ.

I. The Source of Our Hope Our hope does not stem from wishful thinking or fleeting circumstances, but from the unchanging character of our Lord and Savior. Romans 15:13(KJV) declares, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Our hope finds its foundation in God Himself, who is faithful and true.

II. Hope in the Midst of Trials Life is filled with trials and tribulations, but even in the midst of our darkest moments, we can find hope in God’s promises. Psalm 34:17-18 reminds us, “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” We can be assured that God sees our pain, and He is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28(KJV)).

III. Hope that Overcomes Fear Fear can paralyze us, hindering us from living fully for Christ. But 2 Timothy 1:7(KJV) encourages us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” When we anchor our hope in God, fear loses its grip, and we can step boldly into the purpose and plans He has for us.

IV. Hope in the Promise of Eternal Life One of the greatest sources of hope for believers is the promise of eternal life. Titus 1:2(KJV) reminds us, “In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the beginning of time.” As followers of Christ, we have the assurance that this life is not the end. We have an eternal home in heaven where pain, sorrow, and death will be no more (Revelation 21:4(KJV)).

V. Hope for the Future Lastly, let us hold fast to the hope we have in the future restoration of all things. Romans 8:18(KJV) assures us, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Our hope extends beyond our present circumstances, reaching towards a glorious future where God will wipe away every tear and make all things new.

Conclusion: Dear friends, as we journey through life, let us never lose sight of the incredible hope we have in Christ. It is a hope that sustains us in times of trial, emboldens us in the face of fear, and assures us of an eternal future in the presence of our Heavenly Father. May we continually anchor our hearts and minds in God’s Word, allowing it to fill us with hope and overflow into the lives of those around us. Remember the words of Jeremiah 29:11(KJV), “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Amen.


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2 responses to “The Power of Hope”

  1. Lonnie Embry Avatar
    Lonnie Embry

    Well Said

  2. Pastor Jimmy and Vickie Sanders Avatar

    Man can live without food for weeks, without water for three days without air for about 8 minutes. Man can not live without hope, Jesus is the hope of this present world.

How the Gospel Enables and  Empower Sexual Purity

Growing up in a churchgoing family, Kate had been taught that maintaining her sexual purity for marriage was of “utmost importance.” She had been taught many rules and regulations, but without being given any reasons for them. Having sex outside of marriage was a sin, but she didn’t really know why, and she got little help from her mom and dad either by teaching or example.

Entering puberty and the middle school years, Kate’s interest in sex was growing through what she saw on television, discussions with her friends, and her own natural curiosity. “Often,” Kate said later, “I felt ashamed and unsure what to do with these thoughts except to push them aside and move on. I was so sure they were sinful.”

As she entered high school, those normal thoughts and desires turned into temptations.

“At times, I was ashamed to even like a boy or think he was attractive because my legalistic background told me that this was sinful,” Kate recalled. Eventually, however, she yielded “almost daily” to both fornication and an addiction to pornography. Such habitual sins made her doubt her salvation and left her feeling isolated from her sisters, who seemingly didn’t struggle with such things. Throughout her teenage years and into her early twenties, she vacillated between living a life of godliness and falling back into sin. She pressured herself, made vows, and prayed, repeatedly asking God to make her obedient and rid her of sexual sin. All to no avail. Human effort in a moral cause was not enough.

Slowly, Kate was coming to the realization that the answer to her sexual struggles was not in herself, but in someone—Someone—else. She moved to a gospel-centered church and began unlearning the legalistic lessons of her youth, replacing them with a new understanding of the gospel to transform her from the inside out.

It is often said, “It’s not what you know that can hurt you; it’s what you don’t.”

Kate didn’t know the key to sexual freedom and as a result, lived in sexual bondage for many years. She is far from the first Christian to do so. Enter the Corinthians, who were a theological and moral mess. In 1 Corinthians 6:9–20(KJV), Paul reveals that their problem is that they didn’t really know the gospel and its implications for their sexual behavior. Paul asks “Do you not know?” ten times in this letter, four of which appear in 1 Corinthians 6.

His questions in 1 Corinthians 6:9–20(KJV) are intended to draw the Corinthians’ attention to the gospel and its implications for living a morally pure life that should have been self-evident and unavoidable.

But since this wasn’t the case, Paul reintroduces the gospel as the remedy.

His heavy emphasis on the gospel must not be understood as an exclusive emphasis, thus neglecting the role of the law. Paul has weaved together a tapestry of law and gospel because his pastoral strategy for liberating a heart from deep and complex enslavement to sexual sin is through the wise application of both the law (to warn and direct) and the gospel (to refocus and empower one’s heart).

How quickly we forget that only the gospel gives what the law demands. The problem with so many approaches to helping believers in this area is that they are almost exclusively law based. And to further complicate the problem, the “laws” that are given are not God’s laws— as Paul gives in chapter 6— but rather constitute helpful advice, presented as “relevant and practical.” But a diet of “relevant and practical” advice only imposes further expectations and demands as conditions for success.  When we fail to live up to these newly imposed expectations and conditions, we fall further into despair. Thus, we come to believe that while the law cannot justify us, it can sanctify us.

But the law can do no more in sanctification than it could in justification.

We cannot find strength in the law to finish our journey any more than we could find strength in the law to begin our journey (see Gal. 3:3(KJV)).

Michael Horton writes, “The law can tell us what our gracious Father calls us to do, but it can never animate our hearts or motivate our hands” to do it.  Only the gospel is the power of God for salvation (i.e., God’s means of saving us totally). This is what the Corinthians didn’t know—what they had lost sight of—and it is what we do not know. The gospel way of holiness is not self-evident. Fallen hearts think that the role of religion is to give people moral instruction to keep us from being dominated by our sinful habits.

Mark Galli, author of Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit, notes the undeniable fact that many religions, self-help, and self-improvement programs, and therapies work . . . to a certain extent. These programs “enable people to break addictions, control tempers, repair relationships, and even practice forgiveness. Many social reform groups serve their neighbor.”

But ultimately these approaches exhort people to become what they are not, making true and lasting change impossible. Behavior modification cannot transform a person’s heart. Christ, through the gospel, doesn’t give us a mere moral makeover. He gives us a whole new identity, one that comes through death and resurrection. Through the gospel, our sin is forgiven (justification), and we are empowered to live unto God (sanctification).

The point then is this:

the only source of life and power for living the Christian life is the gospel—and this is what the Corinthians didn’t know. Their ethical failures stemmed from a fundamental problem: they didn’t know who they really were in Christ. They were suffering from an identity crisis! Paul knew that what the Corinthians needed wasn’t moral pep talks to try harder or be better. No! He knew that the Corinthians needed a fresh knowledge of the gospel and its daily implications. Paul understood that before the Corinthians could pursue holiness and growth in grace, they had to know that God had first set them apart from the world for Himself.

This is what you and I need to know. This is what Kate needed to know. We must be reintroduced constantly to the wonder of the gospel so that our practice can be brought into line with our identity. We need constant reminders of our new status before God—sainthood—and exhortations to live in light of this gospel reality. We are not called to try harder, to be something we are not. We don’t become saints by our actions. Rather, we are called to become more and more who we already are in Christ because of God’s gracious actions toward us!

The glorious truth of the gospel is that even though we struggle—and often fail—we are not struggling from a position of judgment and condemnation! Why? The legal obstacles that might withdraw our new status as “saints” have been forever resolved!  Because of Christ, Paul, as the “wretched man” in Romans 7:24(KJV), confesses in faith, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1(KJV)).


Adapted from Hope and Holiness by John Fonville (© 2022). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.


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JOY

What do the scriptures tell us about Joy?

Wayne Thorn

Rev. Cecil W Thorn

In the New Testament letters, joy is a desired attribute of Christians. Paul expressed frequently the joy he had regarding the salvation of those he was writing to and prayed that they might be full of joy

JOY (שִׂמְחָה, simchah; χαρά, chara). Closely related to gladness and happiness, although joy is more a state of being than an emotion; a result of choice. One of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22–23(KJV)). Having joy is part of the experience of being a Christian.

Galatians 5:22–23 (ESV): 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Romans 15:13 (MESSAGE): Oh! May the God of great hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!

Hope=Joy+Peace

The fruit of the Spirit is … joy: One of the greatest marketing strategies ever employed was to position the kingdom of Satan as the place where the fun is and the kingdom of God as the place of gloom and misery. But the fruit of the Spirit is joy.

i. We could say that this is the joy of the Spirit because it is a higher joy than just the thrill of an exciting experience or a wonderful set of circumstances. It is a joy that can abide and remain, even when circumstances seem terrible. Paul knew this joy personally; he could sing when manacled in a dark prison dungeon (Acts 16:25).

Acts 16:25 (KJV): 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

ii. Barclay on chara, the ancient Greek word used here for joy: “It is not the joy that comes from earthly things, still less from triumphing over someone else in the competition. It is a joy whose foundation is God.”

iii. “Believers are not dependent upon circumstances. Their joy comes not from what they have, but from what they are; not from where they are, but from whose they are; not from what they enjoy, but from that which was suffered for them by their Lord.” (Spurgeon)



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