Welcome to Living Hope Church.
2840 B 1/2 Rd
Grand Junction, CO
(970) 243-0402
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I wrote a little poem which didn't make it into the message on Sunday.
A Christian without fellowship is like:
a student without school
A carpenter without a tool
A Christian without fellowship is like:
A salesman who never sells
A school with no bells
A Christian without fellowship is like:
An author with no books
A restaurant with not cooks.
A Christian without fellowship is like:
A parent with no kids
An auction with no bids.
A Christian without fellowship is an oxymoron.
SMJ
I only touched upon it briefly in the message, but those two men in white offer an interesting study. Throughout the scripture we see angels communing with mankind. Often they are telling us not to be afraid. What these two angels ask is such an appropriate question - why are you standing here doing nothing? Seems like a good question to ask our selves! SMJ
This is an intriguing book which I am working through. It sure does make you think! Today's gem:
"People need vision and they need hope. Their very souls seek some conduit for meaning." (p.41)
Vision, hope and meaning. I am challenged to see that our church is pointing people in a direction where they gain all three in a God honoring manner. SMJ
I Peter 1:3 says: "In his great mercy he has given us new birth..."
It seems as though the longer I have been a believer, the less I feel the need for his mercy. I mean, let's face it, I've learned sin management techniques. I avoid the situations which tempt me to sin. My dependence upon mercy is reduced as I seek to live a righteous life. And yet, that is a significant part of his mercy. As "righteous" as I may at times feel - I am always in need of his mercy. I think it could be argued that I may be more in need of his mercy the more righteous I feel.
When I begin to believe the lie of my own righteousness (of course I was made righteous by faith in Christ - but somehow begin to feel that after his initial work was done it is up to me to maintain that righteousness) I think that I become like Buzz Lightyear int he movie Toy Story. When Woody seeks to convince him (Buzz) that he is just a toy, Buzz responds "You are a strange little man, and you have my pity." Yet is was Buzz who had it wrong. (A fact he discovers later in the movie.)
God is perhaps most merciful towards me when I get a little full of myself! SMJ
Preparing sermons demands that a large number of decisions be made. Any text - particularly a historical text - has a number of directions it can take you. Our text for Sunday provided three distinct directions I could have headed. I could have emphasized verses 4 and 5, and talked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Another direction we could have headed was from verse 8 and the whole issue of the great commission.
This of course would have been further broken down to understanding the power of the Holy Spirit as it relates to our witnessing, what being his witnesses entails, and an understanding of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.
I chose to look at the impact of the kingdom because it provided an opportunity for me to give an overview of Acts, and also fit well with our discussions of the past three weeks where we also spoke of the kingdom. SMJ
