I will live in community for I cannot mature without others! I am best when I am with other people. No Lone Rangers! 2. I will find community and not wait for others to find me! No lost and found managers! 3. I will make room in community for people different than me! Mo penguin parades! 4. I will live at peace with people of my community! No Rambo’s please! 5. Not surprised by imperfect people because community is messy! Judges belong in our court system. Source: Pastor Brady Boyd Message at New Life Church given on January 18, 2015.
Tag: church
Do You Want a Front Row Seat in Heaven or Hell?
To get a front row seat at a NFL playoff game or the Super Bowl it may cost you 10 thousand dollars! In Heaven your seat has already been paid for but you have to claim
your seat! If you have a reservation in Hell you earned that all on your own by denying your sin and Christ’s atonement! There is an increasing number of Christians being martyred for their Faith in Christ today! If you miss the rapture of the Church you will have a second opportunity during the 7 year tribulation period. However during the tribulation period in history you will pay with your life for professing Christ! If you deny Christ before you die and before the rapture and tribulation period you will have a terrible outcome separated from God forever living in the midst of a great furnace! Things are heating up on earth so cool out with Christ! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
What is the Book? Revelation 1:11
The Book here is the Book of Revelation! Notice that when Christ gave this Revelation to John he was to immediately release this to the seven churches in Asia. God puts a priority on “His Church” and “His Body” and does not leave us in the dark! The world is in darkness and like the navigator told the pilot we are making very good time but I do not know where we are? We are so Blessed in the Body of Christ to know future events and are not taken by surprise when history unfolds before us. History confirms the Bible both past, present and future! How Blessed we are! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Revelation For 2014
As the year closes out I try to look back and see the greatest revelation given to me by my daily personal Bible reading and study. This is not revelation from other ministries which is important also because no one has the corner market on revelation for it is spread across His Body the Church! Here is the highlight for me from God’s Word for 2014. What we see on earth was first in Heaven! Happy New Year! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
A Story Everyone Needs To Hear Again! Luke 2
This is an old story but is vogue today and has application above all the bad news we hear today! It is more than a warm feeling on a cold night! This is a radical, revolutionary story that has changed you, me and the whole world! This is the greatest story ever told to the world! How does a pregnant teenager tell her story? You could imagine social media buzz today if she tried to explain how God got her pregnant? What would Joseph tell the media? The shepherds were gathered around a small fire trying to keep warm and guard their sheep! An angel appears before them and tells them not to be terrified! Some of the shepherds were thinking my mommy told me not to be a shepherd! First one angel and then a host of them! God wants all people to hear the Good News! Notice Jesus birth was announced to people living on the margins! The church is to serve people living on the margins! The dignity Herod also heard the news but tried to kill Jesus! The angels through the shepherds spread the news! Shepherds were looked down on in their culture! They hung around dirty, smelly sheep! They were considered scavengers and thieves! David got his rough and tough training as a shepherd boy! If you want to take down a giant call a shepherd! They were the most unlikely people to hear the news first! Remember the lambs were raised to be sold to be sacrificed at Jewish feasts! The lambs were sold to be slaughtered! The lambs were destined to die for sin! The Good News for us and the lambs is that a greater sacrifice was born in Bethlehem. God said I give my life for you! Jesus came for the willing! Are your motives and plans for your life set in concrete? Do you have premeditated plans that leave God out of your life? This is a question we need to answer as we lead into 2015? Herod although a governor had no room for Christ and died a miserable death! Have you predetermined what you are going to do with your life? You have to be more than curious you have to be committed! Would you do anything God called you to do? Would you carry a baby for a Holy God? Why are we chosen? We get excited about the Royal couple and their baby and a baby coming out of Rome or Jerusalem! We must say yes to God even when we do not know the outcome! Are you ready to sign up? Mary was a virgin and told the people she was impregnated by the Holy Spirit! This never happened before and never after in history! Then they had to spend Christmas in Egypt to escape from Herod! Joseph and Mary were imperfect parents raising a perfect God! Do not divorce her! Joseph had to change all his plans! Love her, surround her and protect her. Joseph had a good job and business as a carpenter. I have to build my business! The Roman government requires a lot of Crosses! God has a plan for you and it usually is not your plan! You have to choose! It did not work out the way I thought but God’s plan is a perfect plan! For His plan for your life carries on into eternity! God takes the willing and builds character! Yes God I will go! How willingly Joseph and Mary obeyed! Faith is hard to explain? The natural mind thinks linear and logic does not fit! Sometimes Faith does not make sense? By Faith we let God fill in the blanks! Faith is not normal! The only thing normal in life is the setting on your clothes dryer! Could you raise God as a baby? Verse 17 goes on to say they worshipped Jesus then they went out and told everyone! The story of Jesus is now ours to tell! The angels appeared and then they diminished! Why fear the angels who are messengers? You are now the messengers! Popular culture has a fear about hearing the Good News? We have a story to tell to the nations! We all have a story to tell! With all the troubling news in the world we should be encouraged to tell the Good News! We will either tell or we will retreat? God is not looking for a perfect people to tell the perfect story! Today we are the messengers! Tell God’s story this week! How do we invite people to our Christmas Eve services? We have an amazing story to share with you and we invite you to come with us! We are caretakers of this story! The story is ours! We are the beneficiaries! We are now story tellers! Luke 24:46-49 You are witnesses of these things! You and me together go and tell! What do you want to happen this Christmas Eve? Isaiah 9:2, 6. People in darkness see a great light! A child is born and a Son is given! A wonderful councilor, Prince of Peace! Help people see the great Light! Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. December 21, 2014
Separation of Church and State
You cannot divorce religious belief and public service. I have never detected any conflict between God’s will and my political duty. If you violate one, you violate the other. President James Earl Carter, Jr.
Prayer 1 John 5:11-15
Our relationship with God involves prayer! How would you describe your prayer life? Here are some possible answers to this question. 1. Unashamed begging-desperate 2. Loud and lengthy-convicted 3. Terrified whispers-uncertain 4. Sterile and formal-religious, distant and impersonal 5. Speechless-do not know what to say, wordless 6. Confident prayers. Some say prayer is just a conversation with God. No! First you need to know who God is and then teach our children who God is! If we know who God is we can pray confidently! If you do not know who God is then you will pray amiss! If you do not trust God then you will trust in the wrong things. How would you describe God? God is love! He has given us eternal life through His Son! What is eternal life? Eternal life includes past, present and future. He cleans all your files past, present and future! Life means an existence without end. Jesus gave us a sample when He raised the dead! He has promised to raise you one day from the dead! He has prepared a place for you! When I came to Christ a new life began in me! All things were made new! A new reality struck me like lightning! Born again! A blessed assurance of confidence entered my life! Fear and anger and hate were replaced by love, peace and joy! Now I know He loves me and it changed everything! He is more precious than silver and more costly than gold! When we find out who God is we can pray with confidence! The world will wear you down with it’s troubles and religion! We are talking about relationship here! When you come before the creator and ruler of the world and ask anything according to His will and purpose for your life you got it! God is unique in that He can hear all our prayers all at once! Like a mother who can hear all her screaming kids at once. God’s faithfulness is like a money back guarantee! After 25 years of marriage I have learned about non-verbal communication. With eye to eye contact I know the answer before I ask her! When we are intimate with God we know the answer before we ask Him! I know of some schools that give the students the answers before the test but that is cheating! With God you ask in prayer and He will give you an answer! Either yes, no or wait. We can approach God with confidence and know He is listening! He respects you and hears your prayers. Through the Holy Spirit it is like eye to eye contact with God! God is leaning into you! He is paying attention to you! He also wants your attention! We should ask for things He wants to give us! Revelation; Pray His promises to you! Reading and studying the Bible will lead to proper conversation and prayers to God! We already know the answers to our prayers if we pray His promises! God will bring good people into your life and lonely people to minister too! Just as in marriage intimate relationship with God leads to success! That is why Satan works overtime to break up relationships and marriages. We are going to tackle next year with a strong foundation for our families as provided to us in the Gospel of John Chapters 14, 15,16 and 17. Jesus said, “Ask in my name and I will do it!” If we remain in Him we will ask the right things! Marriage should be a picture of our relationship with God! We His church are His bride! In regards to prayer we can ask from those we know very well! Our promises from God are guaranteed! They are sure! Good as gold! Here is a sample of His promises to us from the Bible. 1. He gives us peace. John 14:27. 2. He wants to give us rest. Matthew 11:28. 3. He wants to give us courage. John 16:33. 4. He wants to give us wisdom. Luke 21:15. 5. He wants to give us a family. Psalm 68:5-6. The Bible says you have not because you ask not! Do you take time to ask or try to go it on your own? Pray God’s promises! It is so exciting to give God the Glory when He comes through! God loves to hear from you as you remind Him who He is! A father likes to hear from his children that he is their father! Prayer changes circumstances! One of the Greek words for prayer in the New Testament means to invert in a good sense! From poor to rich! From sad to joy! From lonely to relationships! From purposeless to purpose! From weakness to power! From hate to love! From hell to heaven! Try God and see He is good! Source; Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Sunday School Truancy!
My little brother Tommy and I moved to Colorado in 1962. I was 12 years old and Tommy 10. We attended a Methodist church in Loveland. Our parents would drop us off for Sunday school and then return one hour later for the main service. Our parents would give us a dime each for the Sunday school offering. That was big money then since gasoline was 20 cents per gallon! The problem was there was a Dairy Queen just one block up from the church and it was open on Sunday! A dime would buy a big milk shake so we cashed in! We showed up at the Dairy Queen with black pants, white shirts, bow ties, crew cut hair with lots of butch wax on top! The hard part was after church when mom asked us what we learned in Sunday school? We struggled and sweated but came up with an answer like he talked about God. It was the owner of the Dairy Queen that blew our cover! We came into the store one Sunday morning and the owner said, “My goodness boys your church sure gets out early!” We went into panic mode and went back to Sunday school! The point here is back in those days the shop owner could have sold out for money and looked the other way! He did not and the Christian faith at that time in our history was a strong social net to protect our culture from unrighteousness! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Church Nonsense!
Growing up in a small rural farm community in Nebraska my parents took us to a small town Methodist church for religious instruction. Here are some of my thoughts as a child attending services: Pastor, We will now close in a silent prayer. My thoughts, How will God know? God really must be smart! Pastor, We will now sing the 1st and 4th stanza only. My thoughts, What is wrong with the 2nd and 3rd stanza? Pastor, Are there any unspoken requests this morning? Please signify by raising your hands. My thoughts, God must be deaf? Pastor, We are blessed again this morning by Mrs. Magillicuddy who is going to sing her favorite song, “Through it all.” My thoughts, Not again? Can we do better than her? This woman hurts my ears! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Discernment Versus Deception 1 John 4: 1-4
Some will talk about Jesus but want you to follow them! Heresy is about self-promotion! Is Jesus at the center of our worship? Right worship should lead us to follow Jesus and not a personality. Some people want you to follow them and use Jesus to accomplish this. Some want to gather followers around themselves rather than lead people to be followers of Jesus! I am not cynical and do not see a devil behind every bush but let the Holy Spirit give you discernment to see deception even in a religious place! Source; Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado.