The Lord in his love for us, in his infinite genius, made us coheirs to His kingdom. He gave us the ability to think and decide; the strength, fortitude and a free will to act out our decisions. He made us co-creators of life; the power and purpose to create new life through the loving embrace in the matrimonial bed. We pray that, His breath of life the spark of all creation; freely given as our inheritance in His created kingdom, as the true treasure of our personage, bathed in His glory and acclaimed in His sovereignty will be revered and treasured in our hearts. He gave us the bounty of life, to take from the land and sea, all that we need. Yet, no where did He give us the authority to destroy life. Pray with me, that this simple message will ring in the hearts of all who hear it. Pray with me, that His gifts bestowed on us will be received and respected. Pray with me, that all that is given will be loved and cherished. Pray with me, that all of His creations will be seen in the light of His glory. Jesus protect and save the unborn.
Dear Pastor Ben Jones
I enjoyed your service today and thank you for the flashlight. Both the worship program and the flashlight will make its way to the trophy wall at work, where I keep things which inspire me and remind me; first is God, then family, next community and finally career.
Several things come to mind. I think the children’s sermon is fantastic. It’s a wonderful tribute to the kids and to the parents. Just as the seeds need fertile ground to grow; as parents and grandparents, we are the soil where our children grow. To give them their place at the service and for the parents to take a moment as a church to reflect on scripture from a child’s point of view is an exceptional experience.
Thank you for your reading today. As much as I came to worship, I also came to learn. This passage from Corinthians points to an ever-troubling state of affairs where our communities, our schools, our government at all levels finds themselves burdened by division. One group against another; someone offended; some angered when their expectations or preferences are not met; many confused by their perception; many disappointed in their reality. I question how it can be, we as Christians, can bicker about the 20% we differ on and ignore the 80% which binds us together. Your comment on tolerance of other religions was well stated. Isn’t it enough to trust in the One True God, believe in the one True Faith, does each of us really have to be part of the one True Religion? Doesn’t 100% of being a Christian mean, as you said, happening on the other side of the church doors. It’s not the Church sanctifying us; it is the Lord sanctifying the Church. Walking in His light and being the people, He made us to be is the challenge we all face. God shows Himself to us in ways we can understand; isn’t the answer to our differences; “this is true for you, follow Jesus”. For me, it is a timeless message; righteousness is always beyond scripture; it’s not what we think or say, it’s what we do. Your sermon warmed my heart. I am like a 7-year-old at the candy store, I can’t take it all home, but the piece I got was wonderful. Regards,
Three Steps
Nothing is more important than the mission of the Church, which is to further the work of Christ in this world, to spread His word, His glory and goodness. The Church in its work is about collaboration not about empire building, it’s about the salvation of souls. So naturally a lot of focus has been on evangelization.
Simply put, evangelization is spreading the “good news”. The victory is ours; liberation from captivity, victory over death, sin, defeat and victory over the trappings of this world.
Now let’s travel from transcendental to practical. From theology to practice without co-opting, compromising and corrupting what is beautiful, good, and true. Three easy steps: put God first, maintaining a high meditative state of mind, living in the presence of the Lord. Second, be a saint. Realize your life is not your own. Our purpose is to draw faithfulness out of everyone, not pump religion into them. And thirdly, be intuitive. We are all hard wired for God.
The love, grace and mercy of the Lord are given by Him to us in their fullness, as it is with Faith, a gift. In this life there will never be any more or any less of Him or His timeless truths in us. So, what is innate in us is inherited as intuition. We know what we know. If this is true, then one conclusion is this:
Intuition leads to cognition
Cognition leads to information
Information leads to knowledge
Knowledge leads to wisdom
Wisdom leads to understanding
Understanding leads to consciousness
Consciousness leads to enlightenment
Enlightenment leads to self-realization
Self-realization leads to revelation
Revelation leads to God
It’s all Intuition
So, it’s not His mercy and grace which grows, or His love; what deepens are our appreciation, gratitude, comprehension, trust and adoration of Him and for His gifts
What I Am Willing to Do
What I would be “willing” to do is a question for serious consideration. I think when we pray the Our Father, we ask not to be tested, which is my first choice. Secondly, in a time of true trial, I pray that what I “must” do takes over, and what I am “willing” to do won’t matter. My deepest prayer is that I don’t realize the power, strength and courage the Presence of the Lord truly is, but I will when the time comes.