What you worship owns you! So what do we worship? What do you spend your time thinking about? Do we have any idol’s? Some could be sex, money, fame, fortune, sports, offspring, houses, land, religion, gambling, work, school, health, success, cars, boats, airplanes or do we worship ourselves? These things have power to enslave you but not save you! All of these will one day leave you and forsake you! Pride will cause people to surround themselves with these idol’s! There is only one who ransomed His life to save you from yourself! Is it time for new management? Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you and has proven that to you by sacrificing His life for you on a Cross! Good Friday Message, Grace Community Church, Fulton, Maryland.
Tag: message
Prosperity or Poverty? Matthew 6:11
There are two extremes coming from the American pulpit! Prosperity preaching that says you can get it all if you just believe and the poverty message that if you just abstain from these vanities you will be blessed in the after life! Jesus said give us this day our daily bread! It was not give us more than we need or less than we need but what we need for today! Do not store up or throw away but trust Him for today! Do not worry about the next day but trust Him for today! If you do this you will be able to sleep tonight and the peace that the world longs for but cannot find! Your peace will come from following Jesus and just doing what He told us to do! He is the Prince of Peace!
Message to Earth Worshipers!
They love nature in spite of what it did to them! Forrest Tucker
What Should Be Our Message? 1 Corinthians 13:13
Our message should be around faith, hope and love! The Gospel means the good news! Read this translation of 1 Corinthians 13:13. “And now dwells and maintains truthfulness in God with confidence and expectation with the love of God towards Christians, but the greatest of these is the love of God towards us!” Comment: Notice here that our confidence is not in human love for others by men but God’s love towards us! Human love will always fail but Christ’s love will never leave us nor forsake us! Remember Jesus words on the Cross? Why have you forsaken me? These words validate that Jesus as well as being God was also flesh! These are the words of flesh! Then God said, “Not my will but thy will be done!” God’s will for us is eternal so do not let the flesh try to steal your purpose in God! The flesh and the spirit war against each other! Let God win and then you win! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Wonderful Councilor! Isaiah 9:6
God chose to make His dwelling place with men! A councilor is one who fixes problems! My dad was my best councilor growing up as an adolescent! He rescued me many times! Kids should learn important lessons in life from their parents! With all those close calls I had growing up God never took His eyes off me! Today many youth are exposed to a flawed view of God! There are four basic views how people view God. 1. God is a troubleshooter! We do not bother Him unless we get in a crisis! 2. God is a distant power! God is not really interested in us. This pro-active disengagement leads to many problems in marriages and home life. 3. God is a grandparent. God wants what I want! God is an ATM machine to give me my every desire! 4. God is Lord and center of my life! God is the source of all wisdom and I submit to His rule over my life! Is God a wonderful councilor to you? Are you busy and distracted by the cares of this life? I will ask God council over every area of my life! We live in cultural chaos! There are competing voices for your life! Slow down! Take time to be Holy! Pay attention to Christ! A sheep only responds to the voice of his shepherd! He will ignore all other voices! Take time to listen to the Master’s voice! People that hear from God wait on Him! John 14:26 The councilor, the Holy Spirit will teach you all things! He will remind you of everything He has taught you in His Word! Jesus was the original home schooler! Teaching requires patience, diligence, and staying with it everyday! Teaching is not a lucrative occupation! Jesus disciples were slow and rebellious! Teaching requires kindness and being intentional! The Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of all things! We as a church recite the Nicene Creed because it teaches us and reminds us of very important things! What do good parents do for us from the cradle to the grave? They teach us and remind us! As we take communion this morning Jesus taught us and reminded us to do this in remembrance of Him! God is personal and interested in you! That is why He came to earth! God came from Heaven wrapped in flesh! Fully God and fully man! He told us He would be born of a virgin, die on a Cross, be raised from the dead and ascend back to Heaven! He taught His disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit! The original Passover meals took hours to prepare! It was not fast food! God has taken great preparations for us! All we do is just receive the gift! Christ was broken for you yet His brokenness heals the world! At Passover in Jewish tradition the Messiah’s cup was always displayed meaning one day He would drink with us! At the Passover Jesus took the ceremonial cup and drank from it saying I am the long awaited Messiah! Jesus invites you to His table this morning! Jesus asked the Father if He could take this cup away from Him! Let thy will be done! God’s will was very costly to deliver us from our sin! Drink with Him this morning. He is a wonderful councilor and much more! No one can crash this party because everyone is invited! Source; Excerpt from Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. His complete messages can be seen on his Podcasts. Go to NewLifeChurch.org
Gift of Children!
Every child comes into the world with the message that God is not yet discouraged of men! Rabindrannath Tagore
Five Characteristics of the Dream Church!
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.
Message to the Muslim World!
If you were to draw a picture of the Prophet Mohammad what would he look like? Would he be kind and compassionate, loving, caring, taking care of widows and orphans? Would he sacrifice himself to help others? Would he build hospitals, orphanages, schools, care centers and shelters for the homeless? Would he help feed the poor? Would he have mercy upon a suffering world? Would his hands be bloodless and open to help others? What would his agenda be? Would he care for the afflicted? Would this man have love, joy, peace, longsuffering and patience? Would this man love or hate? The old saying is a follower looks like his leader! Look in the mirror right now! Do you like what you see? If you do not then draw a new picture of someone you would like to follow but let it be someone I just described! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Christmas Message
In this blessed season, let not blind passion darken our councils. We shall not solve a moral question by dodging it. We can scarcely hope to have a full Christmas if we turn a deaf ear to the suffering of even the least of Christ’s little ones. President Harry Truman 1949
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