Church guide

Your Body Is Your House 2 CORINTHIANS 5:1 NKJ 1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. The "real you" is not your body. Your body is just a house you live in so you can function here on earth. Just as someone can change houses where they live, you can, and will someday, leave your body and still exist. We focus too much on our body. The inner part of us is most important. These bodies we live in are not eternal. It is not wrong to take care of our bodies, any more than it is wrong to take care of the house or apartment where we live. It is a mistake, however, to spend all our time on our body and neglect our spirit and mind. 1 TIMOTHY 4:8 RSV 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. Who a person is on the inside is more important than what their body looks like. We judge too often on the house (body) that people live in, instead of focusing on the real person living inside that body.

God Will Crush Satan Under Your Feet ROMANS 16:20 NLT 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Many don't know it yet, but the New Testament reveals that God has given authority over the devil to all Christians. Therefore we have a responsibility to exercise that authority and stop the devil. Here are some of the verses that make that clear. LUKE 10:19 NKJ 19 "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. MARK 16:17 NKJ 17 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; EPHESIANS 4:27 NKJ 27 nor give place to the devil. JAMES 4:7 NKJ 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. But one verse in the New Testament, Romans 16:20 (see above), seems to give a different message. It seems to say we must wait on God to do something about the devil, instead of doing it ourselves. For a long time, this verse confused me because it seemed to conflict with the rest of the New Testament teaching. So who is responsible now for controlling the devil? Have believers truly been given that responsibility? Or, should we look to God expecting Him to do it? Are we to wait on God to stop the devil's activities in our lives, or are we supposed to do something by using the authority Jesus gave us? One day I finally saw it. Romans 16:20 is not saying that God will do anything about the devil apart from you. God will work through you and satan will be crushed UNDER YOUR FEET. It will be your feet that do the crushing. The power working in you will be from God, but the feet will be yours. In other words, you must take action. You have to step out -- and step on -- the devil. Romans 16:20 seems to say God will stop the devil -- which would contradict all these other verses. But there is no contradiction when you realize it is God working through the believer to control the devil. In other words, the believer must control the devil, but the power to do it is of God. Believers must exercise their authority and resist the devil. We cannot wait on God to do what He told us to do.

Act On God's Word JAMES 1:22 NKJ 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. How easily we fall into the trap of listening to, or even studying, the Bible -- but not acting on its instructions. According to this verse, that opens us up to deception. We think we are spiritual. We think we are safe. But then, when things don't work out we will blame God and question why He let us down. LUKE 6:46-49 NKJ 46 "But why do you call Me `Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say? 47 "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 "He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 "But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great." Trouble is coming -- it's part of this life. If you act on the Word, trouble will not destroy you and your household. If you neglect acting on the Word -- no matter how much you hear it -- when trouble comes your way, it may be devastating. Why? Not because it's God's will, or God doesn't love you. Simply because you refused to act on the instructions which God -- who knows more than you do -- gave you for your protection. DEUTERONOMY 12:28 NKJ 28 "Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God. God gave us His Word because He loves us and desires to help us. Not because He likes to boss people around and give orders. Acting on God's Word is for our benefit.

Please everyone with Bar None please check in here. I am praying for you all.

Be Thankful PSALM 107:1 NKJ 1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. It seems the more people have the less thankful they become. Today complaints are abundant, but thank you's are few. COLOSSIANS 3:15 NKJ 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Being thankful is not optional for a Christian. If it was impossible, God would not have told us to do it. So, why are people not thankful? Gratitude is a mark of maturity. Ingratitude is a mark of immaturity. Babies are never thankful. Neither are proud people thankful. Why? Because their mindset is that they deserve not just everything they have, but even better. "Why be thankful for something less than what you deserve?" describes their thinking. A funny thing you will notice if you consider it: unthankful people are never happy. In fact, the more thankful a person is, the happier they are. (This is an example of how acting on God's Word is for our benefit. God didn't invent commands just to be bossy.) You will not be bothered with depression if you act on the Word of God and "be thankful." The cure for unhappiness is being thankful. Try it. But how can you overcome the bad habit of ingratitude? Only by changing your core beliefs. As long as you believe you are getting a raw deal, or less than you deserve, you will never become a thankful person. But if you realize that you deserved punishment and eternal separation from God -- yet in His mercy God instead gave you what He deserved, and EVERYTHING you have -- including every breath you breathe -- is a gift -- then you will become a thankful person. I give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His mercy endures forever. I will be thankful for all God does for me.

This Sunday May 5th Bar-none Cowboy Church will be having our 2nd Annual Spring Fling starting at 10:00 a.m. Come out and enjoy some live music featuring Bob Courtney, The McLain's and our Church Band. We will be serving fish and calf fries! No charge but donations are appreciated.

People Crave Love 1 THESSALONIANS 4:9 NLT 9 But we don't need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. If you want to understand why people do what they do, realize that we are created to need love. It is not just a desire, but a need. If humans are not getting love, they will do whatever they can to try and get it. Many foolish and harmful things are done simply because people are craving love. We want someone to value us, to even delight in us. We are driven by our need for love and acceptance. All of us want to be special to someone. Insecurity is fear -- fear that you are not good enough, that you will not be loved if it is known what you are really like. But God knows everything about you, and He still considers you so valuable that He was willing to die for you! When you KNOW God loves you, lesser opinions are not as important. 1 JOHN 4:18 NLT 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. If people only knew the truth about God -- that He truly loves them -- they would turn to God wholeheartedly. We are God's representatives on earth. Unless we love people, they will not believe God loves them. 1 JOHN 4:7 NLT 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

April 28th Praise & Worship and Sermon

HALLELUJAH!! is correct Jesus is alive and it is the day we have to give praise and thanksgiving to the one and only living God, Yahweh! So please come join us at Bar None Cowboy Church, Afton, Ok. Coffee and donuts at 9:00am, adult Sunday School at 9:15am, Praise and worship, children’s church and service at 10:00am. Looking forward to seeing you!

Rest A While MARK 6:31 KJV 31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. One preacher paraphrased this verse by saying "come apart before you come apart." God is our Source, so resting should be a turning to God, not a turning away from Him. It would be unwise to take a "vacation" and ignore God. Our bodies need rest, but our minds also need rest from the constant barrage of bad news and entertainment the media tries to sell us. Many fill their days with noise. The news or some other broadcast plays constantly in their background. But we need times of quietness. We need time when we allow God to guide our thinking, instead of the media. We need to make room for the thoughts God desires to share with us. We need times when we shut out all the other voices trying to speak to us and focus on God. Everyone wants your attention. Advertisers want to convince you to buy their product. Broadcasters want your attention so they can attract advertisers. But God also wants your attention, not to get something from you, but to provide you with His wisdom and guidance. God wants to communicate with you. But when you surround yourself constantly with other voices, you will miss some of what God wants to say to you. Prayer is a way for us to rest. It is a time when we can cast our load on the Lord, refocus on Him, and quit carrying all the responsibilities ourselves. ISAIAH 40:31 NKJ 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. The Bible also cautions against laziness, so resting should not be our primary focus in life. But with today's hectic pace of life, many are neglecting this part of God's instruction given for our benefit. Remember, God commanded the children of Israel to rest for one day each week. Their Sabbath was not a day full of religious activity either, but a true day of rest. While we are not under Law requiring us to keep the Sabbath in order to be right with God, it is still a principle we need to practice. To be our best, humans need to rest! Rest should be a time when you do something different than your normal daily activity. We cannot ignore God's instruction without it costing us. Many today are broken in body and burned out needlessly. We must learn to rest properly, so God can refresh us and strengthen us in order to finish our course.

Jesus Never Fails 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13 NLT 13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. There have been times in my life when it looked like Jesus had failed me, and I certainly felt like He failed me. But I was wrong! Jesus has never failed me. I have failed Him many times. I deeply regret that. I also regret the times I doubted the Lord and thought He was failing me. Jesus does not deserve to be treated that way. A lot of it happened when I was very immature spiritually. I guess I expected the Lord to make my life a bed of roses with never any challenges or difficulties. I thought I could do whatever I wanted and God would always bless it. Well, I had to grow up and realize that going my own way and doing my own thing was not working very well. Yet, through all of my immaturity, through all of my failures, through all of my ignorance, Jesus always took care of me. I always had my needs met. He always helped me and worked things out for me, eventually. It just didn't always happen at the time and in the way I thought it would. Over time I have learned I don't know much. But Jesus does! He knows everything. He knows the future, and I can trust Him, because He loves me. And He loves you just as much as He loves me. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:9 NKJ 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus Came To Save Sinners 1 TIMOTHY 1:15 NLT 15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" -- and I am the worst of them all. Jesus came into the world to save sinners: not to leave us as sinners, but to deliver us from being sinners. (The word save means to deliver.) MATTHEW 1:21 NLT 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Sin is our problem. Sin has been destroying us and we did not even realize it. Jesus came to save us from our sins, not to save us from God. God is not our problem -- sin is. God is our answer. JOHN 8:34,36 NLT 34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. God's ways are good and benefit us. Rebelling against God and choosing to sin (which is doing selfish acts that harm someone) is always (eventually) harmful. God's grace does not mean "just allowing us to do wrong without any consequences." Grace is something freely given without regard to whether we deserve it, but it should change us, making us better than we were before. God gives us the gift of righteousness and imparts His life into us. God's life, when yielded to, gives us ability to walk in light, life, and love. In other words, God's grace gives us the ability and the desire to overcome sin and satan instead of being imprisoned by them and forced to obey them. The Old Covenant gave laws against sin, but did not change people's hearts. With the New Covenant comes a new birth of the inner person changing our desires. That enables us to be able to walk free from sin's bondage, as we choose to live from our heart. Fortunately our Father is merciful and patient, so even when you do sin, you are not rejected and thrown out. You can always receive forgiveness and start over with a clean slate from God (although natural consequences may still be there). 1 JOHN 1:9 NLT 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. God will never quit loving you. He loves you right now -- just the way you are. But God loves you too much to leave you the way you are. His plan is not to leave you in sin's bondage but to make you free.

Jesus Died For You ROMANS 8:34 NRS 34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. The devil would love for us all to doubt that God loves us. But when you look at the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary, it is undeniable. God loves you! And He proved it! ROMANS 5:8 NRS 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. ROMANS 8:32 NRS 32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Sometimes it's easy to be tempted to think God does not care. But if God was just interested in judging and condemning you, why would He go through the suffering of Calvary? Being crucified is one of the worst forms of torture and death ever devised. Jesus willingly suffered all that for you, so you could go free, and avoid the suffering you deserved. Someone who was willing to do that for you, would never hurt you.

Please join me in praying for Jessica Newton and Sam Pinion's 1 year old son Gavin. He has an upper respiratory infection and double ear infection.

Always Put God First EXODUS 20:3 NKJ 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. People can lose perspective and put other things before God, such as wealth, success, pleasure, or even family. But a wise person will always put God first. PROVERBS 3:6 LB 6 In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success. Why should you put God first in your life? First, because God is worthy. He deserves first place. God is perfect! (And nothing else is.) Never forget that God knows more than you, and can do more than you can. Second, because it puts into motion God's law of sowing and reaping in your life. God says He will honor those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30). When you put God first you will be blessed. DEUTERONOMY 28:2 NKJ 2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: So it's in your best interest to put God first in every way you can. Here are some ideas for you to consider. Before you make a decision, look to God for direction. Don't ask anyone else for advice before you ask God. When you have a need, talk to God before you mention it to anyone else. When something good happens to you, let God be the first one you talk to about it, offering Him thanks. When you receive income, let giving to God come first before anything else. Before you eat, first thank God for the food. You don't need to pray for all the missionaries, or even have to pray out loud. Just look to your Source and thank Him before you eat. When you wake up, talk to God before you talk to anyone else. That doesn't mean you have to spend hours praying. It may just be saying, "Good morning, Lord!" but always keep God first. Every day before you listen to the world's news, go to the Bible and listen to some of God's good news. MATTHEW 6:33 NKJ 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. God deserves first place in my life.

Easter Sunday Service

Come out tomorrow to our church to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Service starts at 10:00 a.m. with an Easter program performed by the kids and sermon will follow. We will be serving communion and immediately following church we will be doing our Easter egg hunt for the kids.

Jesus Is Our Righteousness 1 CORINTHIANS 1:30 GWN 30 You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our righteousness, our holiness, and our ransom from sin. People now have two choices: Quit trying to be right with God by their own efforts, and accept the gift of righteousness by receiving Jesus Christ. Or, try to be good enough for God to accept them based on their own performance. One choice is impossible. No one can succeed with the second choice. Here are three verses that say "no one" can do it. ROMANS 3:20 NLT 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. GALATIANS 2:16 NLT 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law." GALATIANS 3:11 NLT 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." No one can be bad enough for God to reject them. And no one can be good enough for God to accept them. So the only way to have good standing with God is by accepting His gift -- Jesus Christ. JOHN 14:6 NLT 6 Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. ROMANS 10:3 NLT 3 For they don't understand God's way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God's way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. Yes, God desires for His people to do good, not bad. Jesus was sent to save us FROM sin, not to leave us trapped in sin. But we cannot save ourselves. We cannot make ourselves acceptable to God by our own efforts. We can only come to Him and accept His free gift, Jesus Christ. When we receive Jesus we also receive right standing with God (righteousness). ROMANS 5:17 NLT 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Remember: righteousness is a gift!

Do You Believe The Love? 1 JOHN 4:16 ESV 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. It is one thing to mentally assent that God loves you. It is another thing entirely to know and believe it. Do you truly believe that God loves you? If not, you should meditate on God's Word until it becomes clear to you. You should think about the great price God paid to redeem you. This is foundational. You need to believe the love that God has for you. God delights in you! God rejoices over you! He truly loves you! And you need to believe it! Because people act on what they believe. What you truly believe is what you are acting on. For example, if I tell you the building is on fire, you may say a thousand times that you believe me, but I know you don't believe me unless and until I see you leave the building. Regardless of what people say, or what games we may play with ourselves, the truth is that we act on our beliefs. The reason people sin is because they believe that by doing so they will be benefited. Once a person sees the truth that sin is harmful instead of helpful, they can repent (which means a change of thinking which results in a change of behavior). Why do people not believe that God loves them? Two reasons. First, because they know they are not perfect. Second, because their life experience has not been better. Can God love imperfect people? YES! Does He? YES! According to Scripture, all people are imperfect. Yet God loves us enough to die for us! Can we accept our experience as valid evidence that God does not love us? NO! We can believe that our mother still loves us even when we have had a bad day. Why can't we believe God loves us even when we have had a bad day? EPHESIANS 3:18-19 NLT 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

April 28th Praise & Worship and Sermon

Easter Sunday Service

April 14th Praise & Worship with Special Guest Carol Durmon Hogner and Hannah Hogner

April 7th Praise & Worship and Sermon

March 24th Praise & Worship and Sermon

March 17th Praise & Worship and Sermon

February 24th Praise & Worship and Sermon

February 10th Praise & Worship and Sermon

February 3rd Praise & Worship and Sermon

January 27th Praise & Worship and Sermon