Church guide

Thanks for your help lester

FYI due too lack of attendance Branch services have been discontinued for the time,veing

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Today's reflection Question: "Is Jesus God manifested in the flesh? Why is it important that Jesus is God manifested in the flesh?" Answer: Since the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1: 26-38), the true identity of Jesus Christ has always been questioned by skeptics. He began with Joseph, the betrothed of Mary, who was afraid to marry her when she revealed to him that she was pregnant (Matthew 1: 18-24). He took her as his wife only after the angel confirmed that the child he was carrying was the Son of God. Hundreds of years before Christ's birth, the prophet Isaiah predicted the coming of the Son of God: "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and the government is on his shoulder: and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, God Strong, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace "(Isaiah 9: 6). When the angel spoke to Joseph and announced the inevitable birth of Jesus, he alluded to the prophecy of Isaiah: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, ) "(Matthew 1:23). This does not mean that they would put the baby the name Emanuel; It meant that the baby's identity was "God with us." Jesus was God manifested in the flesh to dwell with men. Jesus himself understood speculation about his identity. He asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" (Matthew 16:13, Mark 8:27). The answers varied, as they do today. Then Jesus asked a more pressing question: "And you, who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). Peter gave the correct answer: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). Jesus affirmed the truth of Peter's response and promised that, on that truth, He would build His Church (Matthew 16:18). The true nature and identity of Jesus Christ has eternal importance. Each person must respond to the question Jesus asked his disciples: "And you, who do you say that I am?" He gave us the right answer in many ways. In John 14: 9-10, Jesus said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father, how then do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father In me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak for myself, but the Father who dwells in me, He does the works. The Bible is clear about the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ (see John 1: 1-14). Philippians 2: 6-7 says that Jesus "who, being in the form of God, did not regard being equal to God as a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men ". (Colossians 2: 9 says, "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Jesus is fully God and fully man, and the fact of His incarnation is of the utmost importance. He lived a life like any of us, but he did not have a sinful nature like us. He was tempted, but never sinned (Hebrews 2: 14-18; 4:15). Sin entered the world through Adam, and the sinful nature of Adam has been transferred to every baby born in the world "(Romans 5:12) - except in the case of Jesus.As Jesus did not have an earthly father, He did not inherit a sinful nature. He possessed the divine nature of his heavenly Father. Jesus had to fulfill all the requirements of a holy God, before he could be an acceptable sacrifice for our sin (John 8:29, Hebrews 9:14). He had to fulfill more than three hundred prophecies that God had announced through the prophets about the Messiah (Matthew 4: 13-14, Luke 22:37, Isaiah 53, Micah 5: 2). Since the fall of man (Genesis 3: 21-23), the only way to settle things with God has been the blood of an innocent sacrifice (Leviticus 9: 2, Numbers 28:19, Deuteronomy 15:21, Hebrews 9: 22). Jesus was the ultimate and perfect sacrifice, which succeeded in forever satisfying God's wrath against sin (Hebrews 10:14). His divine nature made him fit for the work of redemption; His human body allowed him to shed the blood needed to redeem. No human being with a sinful nature could pay that debt. No one else could meet the requirements to become a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (Matthew 26:28, 1 John 2: 2). If Jesus had simply been a good man as some claim, then He would have had a sinful nature and would not have been perfect. In that case, his death and resurrection would have no power to save anyone. Because Jesus was God manifested in the flesh, only He could repay the debt we had with God. His victory over death and the grave won victory for all who put their trust in Him (John 1:12, 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4, 17).

I have no problem reposting this. I do have a problem being asked to not show my religion too much! I have a problem with the media and anyone else who leaves out words like Christ or God because they may be afraid to offend someone. It offends me! On the "Today Show", Matt Lauer interviewed one of the wives of one of the Navy Seals killed along with the US ambassador in Libya. He asked what she would say to her children about their dad and how she would want them to remember him. Her answer, and I quote, "His love for Christ", and then continued on with a few other things. Throughout the day and on MSN homepage, replaying the story, they have edited the "Love of Christ" part out. Why? Because using the word Christ might offend someone! Well, I am a Christian and I am offended! I'm offended that they would edit it out. Offended that we as Christians are asked to tread lightly so as not to offend someone of another religion. This man loved his country and loved his God and gave his life for both, just as Christ gave His life for him. This Founding Principle is actually embedded in our Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I hope every Christian who is offended will copy this and paste it to their status..... If we ever forget that we're one nation under GOD, then we will be a nation gone under. -Ronald Reagan **Before you say it, I already know that a lot of you don't copy & paste.** it's easy... hold your finger on this post when the word copy appears just touch it then go to your home page and where it says "what's on your mind" touch it and hold your finger where you would start writing your comment and "paste" should appear🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸. If you read to the end, can I get an "Amen!"

More from Sammys facebook Question: What does the Bible say about HONESTY? Answer: The word honesty means truthfulness, sincerity or frankness. Another definition is freedom from deception or fraud. A third definition of honesty is integrity. Honesty can preserve society. Micah could find nowhere in the land a righteous person, found in Micah 7: 1-20. Today, an honest and upright person with integrity is hard to find. So many times society will rationalize sin. Often Christians will compromise Christian principles just so they can do things the way they want. How easy it is when we are convinced that it is okay to do the things that everyone else is doing. We can try to participate in it. Slowly, we could break down our barrier and go with the crowd. But, we know that God has the highest standards. The people around us may not always want to live up to God's standards. Since God is the truth, we are honest and must imitate Jesus. Sadly, sin has affected the leaders of all lands. Sin has had an effect on society. Our family life is preserved by honesty. The family has been ruined by dishonesty and deceit. The family is the nucleus of our society. Honesty among family members will show others the strength in that family. The judgment of God is the only way to purify the people. The nation would be returned to God, and would be restored from the inside out. Any honesty that is rejected is better than any dishonesty that is accepted. To hear someone else's butter is disgusting. Flattery is a cover-up for someone's real intentions, and is false. Anyone who proclaims the truth of God has a great responsibility to be honest. We must be honest in every situation of life. Can you say that your actions and your speech are honest and direct? Would you say that you tell people what they want to hear so you can get ahead or get what you want? The biblical verses that apply are I Thessalonians 2: 1-20 and James 5:12 Trust is created by honesty. Those who have a reputation for lying or exaggerating many times can not get someone to believe in his word alone. A Christian should never be like this. If you are always honest, others will believe you when you simply say yes or no. Once a person avoids lies, half truths, and any omissions of truth, he becomes known as a trustworthy person. With God we can be honest. This is one of the great messages of the book of Psalms. Although we must repress our feelings, we should not try to hide our feelings from God. We are loved and accepted by Him as we are. He made us so creatively that we are free to grow into everything we hope to become. It is so liberating to realize that God's love is unconditional. God is very concerned about every aspect of our lives. He always invites us to share all that we are with Him, but He will share Himself with us. The book of Psalms speaks directly to our lives. Your relationship patterns can guide you and me in our prayer lives. Hebrew poetry is not designed so much to communicate information as to share the inner life and the feelings of its writers. This is a very important feature of the book of Psalms. It is very important for us, providing a dynamic aspect of divine revelation. Throughout the book of Psalms, we are able to see biblical men and women as real people. We read how they were caught up in the feelings that move us. This makes us able to feel a relationship with God that is serenely real and personal. The Lord God always tells the truth, and He wants us to follow His example. When you tell the truth, you are showing others that you realize that truth any day is better than a lie or a lie. Speaking the truth is a surefire way to build friendship and trust among others. Telling the truth is something we must do without thinking. Also when you do not tell the truth, it is like a play where you must remember every line. Whenever you are tempted to speak dishonestly, remember that our Lord God hates a lying tongue, Proverbs 6: 16-19. Think about how you feel when you hear a false comment. If we practice telling the truth, it will be second nature for us to always tell the truth. This is also a reflection of your character. Do you want to leave an impression on others that will make them think of you as a dishonest person? The adjective honestly has the conscientious meaning of what is just, right, and honorable.

Nuff said

Something from Sammy's Facebook. Service this morning@ 10 30!

Question: "What is Christian revival?" Answer: Revival refers to a spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy or stagnation in the life of a believer. It encompasses the resurfacing of a love for God, an appreciation of God's holiness, a passion for His Word and His church, a convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin, a spirit of humility, and a desire for repentance and growth in righteousness. Revival invigorates and sometimes deepens a believer's faith, opening his or her eyes to the truth in a fresh, new way. It generally involves the connotation of a fresh start with a clean slate, marking a new beginning of a life lived in obedience to God. Revival breaks the charm and power of the world, which blinds the eyes of men, and generates both the will and power to live in the world but not of the world. Breaking away from dry ritual and rote ceremony, the Great Awakening made Christianity intensely personal to the average person, as it should be, by creating a deep emotional need for relationship with Christ. Revival, in many respects, replicates the believer's experience when he or she is saved. It is initiated by a prompting of the Holy Spirit, creating an awareness of something missing or wrong in the believer's life that can only be righted by God. In turn, the Christian must respond from the heart, acknowledging his or her need. Then, in a powerful way, the Holy Spirit draws back the veil the world has cast over the truth, allowing the believers to fully see themselves in comparison to God's majesty and holiness. Obviously, such comparisons bring great humility, but also great awe of God and His truly amazing grace (Isaiah 6:5). Unlike the original conversion experience that brings about a new relationship to God, however, revival represents a restoration of fellowship with God, the relationship having been retained even though the believer had pulled away for a time. God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to revival in a number of situations. Christ's letters to the seven churches reveal some circumstances that may necessitate revival. In the letter to Ephesus, Christ praised the church for their perseverance and discernment, but He stated that they had forsaken their first love (Revelation 2:4-5). Many times as the excitement of acceptance to Christ grows cold, we lose the zeal that we had at first. We become bogged down in the ritual, going through the motions, but we no longer experience the joy of serving Christ. Revival helps restore that first love and passion for Christ. Revelation 2:10-11 refers to the church at Smyrna, which was suffering intense persecution. The cares and worries of life can beat us down, leaving us emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. Revival can lift us up to new hope and faith. Revelation 2:14-16 talks about the problem of compromise with the world and incorporating worldly values into our belief systems. Revival helps us to rightly discern what values we should hold. Revelation 2:20-23 discusses the problem of tolerating false teaching in our churches. We need to examine the messages that we hear and compare them to the message of the Bible. Revival helps us to find the truth. Revelation 3:1-6 describes a dead church, a church that goes through the motions outwardly, but there is nothing underneath. Here is a picture of nominal Christianity, outwardly prosperous, busy with the externals of religious activity, but devoid of spiritual life and power. Revival helps to resuscitate spiritual life. In Revelation 3:11, we are further warned against complacency, a life that does not bear fruit. All of these scenarios call for revival. The evidence of revival, a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon believers, is changed lives. Great movements toward righteousness, evangelism, and social justice occur. Believers are once again spending time in prayer and reading and obeying God’s Word. Believers begin to powerfully use their spiritual gifts. There is confession of sin and repentance.

More from Sammy's reflections page

Question: "Is faith in God a crutch?" Answer: Jesse Ventura, former governor of Minnesota, once said, “Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers.” Agreeing with him is pornographer Larry Flynt, who commented, “There's nothing good I can say about it [religion]. People use it as a crutch.” Ted Turner once simply said, "Christianity is a religion for losers!" Ventura, Flynt, Turner, and others who think like them view Christians as being emotionally feeble and in need of imaginary support to get through life. Their insinuation is that they themselves are strong and in no need of a supposed God to help them with their lives. Such statements bring a number of questions: Where did such thinking start? Is there any truth to it? And how does the Bible respond to such assertions? Is faith in God a crutch? - The Impact of Freud Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian neurologist who founded the practice of psychoanalysis, a system espousing the theory that unconscious motives dictate much of human behavior. Though championing atheism, Freud admitted that the truth of religion could not be disproved and that religious faith has provided comfort for untold numbers of people through history. However, Freud thought the concept of God was illusionary. In one of his religious works, The Future of an Illusion, he wrote, “They [believers] give the name of ‘God’ to some vague abstraction which they have created for themselves.” As to the motivation for creating such illusions, Freud believed two basic things: (1) people of faith create a god because they have strong wishes and hopes within them that act as comfort against the harshness of life; (2) The idea of God comes from the need for an idyllic father figure that eclipses either a non-existent or imperfect real father in the life of a religiously-minded person. Speaking of the supposed wish-fulfillment factor in religion, Freud wrote, “They [religious beliefs] are illusions, fulfillments of the oldest, strongest, and most urgent wishes of mankind. We call belief an illusion when a wish-fulfillment is a prominent factor in its motivation and in doing so we disregard its relation to reality, just as the illusion itself sets no store by verification.” For Freud, God was nothing more than a psychological projection that served to shield an individual from a reality he does not want to face and cannot cope with on his own. After Freud came other scientists and philosophers who asserted the same thing and said that religion is just an illusion/delusion of the mind. Robert Pirsig, an American writer and philosopher who typifies Freud’s followers, has said, “When one person suffers from a delusion, it's called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion, it's called religion.” What about the above charges? Is there any truth to the assertions made by Freud and others? Is faith in God a crutch? - Conclusion Jesse Ventura was wrong when he said that religion is nothing more than a crutch. Such a statement speaks to the prideful nature of man and epitomizes the type of people rebuked by Jesus in the book of Revelation: “You say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). The wish-fulfillment claims of Freud, Ventura, and others only act as an indictment against themselves and showcase their desire to reject God and His claim to their lives, which is exactly what the Bible says fallen humankind does. But to these same people, God asks that they recognize their true desires and offers Himself in the place of the false hope of humanism that they cling to. The Bible’s statements regarding the fact and evidence of Christ’s resurrection bring comfort and real hope—hope that does not disappoint—and instruct us to walk in a way that trusts God and recognizes our true “weak” position before Him. Once that is done, we become strong, just as Paul said, “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Just waiting for you! Come on by at 10 30!

Got some cool new tables come on out and see 👀 this Saturday at 10 30!

Just a reminder we are having service at 10 30 this morning! Time to talk about who your hero will be for the coming year!

From Sammy's Facebook today... Question: "Who is the one true God?" Answer: This is a profoundly important question. Because we live in a world with many competing truth claims—and many so-called gods—the identity of the one true God matters. The one true God is distinguished from all the false gods that have been foisted upon mankind by evil spirits and deluded men. Gods that are fashioned by the imaginations and hands of men are absolutely worthless (Isaiah 44:9–10), but the one true God is full of glory, grace, and truth (John 1:14). The Bible says that the one true God is the sovereign, self-existent Creator of the universe (Isaiah 42:5; Ephesians 1:11). He is spirit (John 4:24), He is eternal (Psalm 90:2), and He is personal (Deuteronomy 34:10). The one true God possesses all knowledge (Isaiah 46:10) and all power (Matthew 19:26), is present in all places (Psalm 139:7–10), and is unchanging (James 1:17). There are many false gods—Hinduism alone supposedly recognizes as many as 330 million gods—but none of them possess the attributes of the one true God. The Bible says that God is just (Acts 17:31), loving (Ephesians 2:4–5), truthful (Numbers 23:19), and holy (Isaiah 6:3). God shows compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3), mercy (Romans 9:15), and grace (Romans 5:17). God judges sin (Psalm 5:5), but He also offers forgiveness (Psalm 130:4). Any god that is not just, loving, truthful, holy, compassionate, merciful, gracious, and forgiving is not the one true God. The one true God exists in tri-unity. The Bible speaks of three divine Persons who share the same nature and essence in one God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three in one (Matthew 3:16–17; 28:19). This characteristic of the one true God separates Him from all other gods of monotheistic religions: Islam, for example, teaches one god (Allah), but it is a false god, since Allah is not triune. Any concept of God that excludes Jesus Christ is faulty. As Scripture says, “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23). The one true God wants to be known. He has revealed His power and glory in creation (Romans 1:20). He revealed Himself to Abram in Mesopotamia, calling him to a new life of faith and making of him a new nation (Genesis 12:1–3). The one true God later identified Himself as the “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6) and revealed Himself to Moses in Midian (verses 1–5). Using Moses, the one true God began to reveal Himself more clearly through His written Word, the Bible. And, finally, the one true God has given us the ultimate revelation of Himself in the Lord Jesus: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2). Jesus is “the exact representation of [God’s] being” (verse 3). Jesus is the Word of God made flesh who “made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). We all have a choice of whom to worship. Joshua told the Israelites it was time for them to choose the one true God over the gods of the Amorites (Joshua 24:15). Elijah told the people on top of Mt. Carmel that they could no longer stay ambivalent concerning God: “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). Today, people worship some of the same pagan gods mentioned in the Old Testament; or they worship more recent false gods such as Mami Wata and Cernunnos; or they worship themselves. But the worship of false deities leads only to death in the end. “This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3). May we be like Ruth, who chose the one true God over the idols of Moab (Ruth 1:16). Note: "Mami Wata" where "Mami" is the Pidgin English spelling of mammy (mother) "Wata" is the Pidgin English spelling of water is essentially a mermaid or humanistic water entity. Mami Wata is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman's upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent. Cernunnos is the conventional name given in Celtic studies to depictions of the "horned god" of Celtic polytheism. Cernunnos was a Celtic god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the underworld.

Something interesting off Sammy's reflections page here on Facebook. If you ask him he'll be glad to ad you Question: "What is pandeism?" Answer: Pandeism is a sort of hybrid of pantheism and deism. Pantheism rejects the idea of a personal God and believes instead that everything is divine—every rock, plant, animal, etc., is made of “God.” In other words, the universe itself is God (albeit an impersonal God), and, thus, all nature is sacred. According to pantheism, there is no real difference between “good” and “evil,” because all is “god” in the end. In the pantheistic view, humans are “God” as well, because they are part of the universe. Deism is the belief that a personal God created the universe but then walked away. In other words, there is a Creator, but He is not active in the universe. He has taken a “hands-off” approach to the operation of the universe. Deistic belief pictures God as a celestial clockmaker who assembled His clock, wound it up, and is now letting it run down. The “God” of deism does not intervene in the affairs of this world; He doesn’t answer prayers, perform miracles, etc. Pandeism combines these two concepts. According to pandeism, the Creator created the universe by becoming the universe. The Creator/Universe no longer exists as an individual, personal being independent of the cosmos. Rather, he/it is the cosmos and has “lost consciousness,” as it were; therefore, the god of pandeism is not involved in the operation of the universe, and neither can he/it at all discern human experience. “God” is a near to you as the chair you’re sitting on, and he/it is just as inert. The pandeistic god has no more concern for you than the chair has. The Bible presents a very different view of God. God is, and has always been, a personal Being (Isaiah 42:8). God is omnipresent—He is everywhere (Acts 17:28)—but, at the same time, He is separate from and transcends His creation (Isaiah 63:15). God has never lost consciousness, and His control of the cosmos is absolute (Job 38:22–30). God’s care for and involvement in His creation is most evident in the ministry of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who “became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Terry 's text this morning was dead on what we need to be about! Everything else is a distraction! We'll be starting up services again Saturday morning and we have bible study on Tuesday nights at 630. Food panty is the first and third Saturday of the month from 1:00 to 2:00 Come on out wed love to see you!

Top O'The Morn To You: 12 14 16 "God's Truth Isaiah 61:1" The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken heartef, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; All Glory To The Risen Lord Jesus! terry

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:17