Sunday, 1/31/16 Ps 22:1-3, …hast thou forsaken me? ..so far from helping me… I cry…but thou hearest not… But thou art holy… Even Bible giants went through the deepest, darkest valleys. 1You’ll be no different. 2God is still God, with all His goodness, in those valleys. 3This too shall pass. Matt 27:1, When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. Just because you can gather others to join you in sin and to add their voices to yours so that you all agree that you’re acting “justly” doesn’t make it so. (We’ve all done it...)
Mark 7:5
“Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?”
Everybody has a tradition that they or their family have always done. I’ve traveled to foreign countries where their traditions have been different from mine. I’ve been to homes of people who have traditions different from mine. No matter where you go, you have to deal with traditions.
Jesus dealt with this touchy subject when the disciples sat down to eat without washing their hands. The tradition of the Pharisees was to wash their hands before eating bread. They literally felt that it was a sin to eat without washing your hands. Jesus very wisely instructed the Pharisees that not all traditions are about right and wrong; rather, some are simply a custom that has been handed down from previous generations.
We have four amazing sermons for you from the week of 02/07/16 now up at Baptist City!
- The Warfare that's going on in Your Mind
- It is Life that Reproduces
- Four lessons from four passages
- Encouragement in rearing children
Mark 1:19
“And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.”
Jesus had just come down from the time of temptation, and the first thing He did was to go soul winning. He went to the Sea of Galilee and saw Simon and Andrew and said to them as they were casting their nets into the sea, “Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.” For most people, that would be a good day of soul winning. Imagine going home after seeing these two men get saved and telling others how the LORD used you on that day. That would be an exciting time!
Matthew 22:4
“Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.”
In the verse above, a man was making a marriage for his son. In order for this marriage to be a success, someone had to prepare. It says about this man’s preparation, “…I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.” This marriage was a success because of the preparation that was made.
Matthew 18:11
“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
One of the things you will commonly deal with in church work is trying to bring back those who have gone astray. It is very difficult for parents to have to deal with a wayward child as it pulls heavily on their heart. I have also watched many pastors and church ministry leaders grieve over a person going wayward. Seeing someone you love and someone who you have invested time and energy into go the way of the world is no easy burden to carry. Trying to bring the stray back is one of the biggest tasks I see God’s people attempting to do.
Psalm 101:2
“I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.”
The potential of your future will be determined by the way that you walk. A person who is careless in their daily walk will be a person who will do things that will severely limit their potential. On the other hand, a person who walks wisely and is careful with what they do in their daily walk will find their future a blessed one with increased potential. The psalm above gives us four characteristics of those who walk wisely.
The 02/07/16 FBC Hammond bulletin is up at Baptist City.
Matthew 3:10
“And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
Any farmer who has an orchard plants the trees so they will bear fruit. That is the only way the farmer can make a living. If he planted the trees and they never bore fruit, he would quickly become bankrupt. He needs the trees that he planted to bear fruit in order to make a living.
Malachi 2:17
“Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?”
In the last few verses of the Book of Malachi, God deals with the relationship of the husband and wife. In verse 16, He specifically warns the husband to “take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.” The spirit God was talking about was the spirit of the wife. God then says the one thing that can weary a relationship to the point of destruction are the words you speak.