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Posts Tagged ‘Lent’

First Sunday of Lent-Feb 18

15 Feb

 Must Grow-Many people feel that a new believer is suddenly transformed into a good and holy person when they are saved. Some even feel that baptizing them as an infant makes them a good and holy person. Yet, though the Bible talks about us being Born Again, it does not grant us instant spiritual maturity. A Christian who is Born Again needs to grow up and mature just as a new baby does. Preaching alone will not do it, just as a child doesn’t learn how to live through weekly lectures from his parents, he only learns facts. A boy learns how to be a man and how to treat a woman through watching his father and a girl learns how to be a woman and how to treat a man through watching her mother. A girl learns what a man should be by watching her father and a boy learns what a woman should be by watching his mother. We have so many problems today because kids have very little opportunity to observe their parents. Christians need to observe more mature Christians to learn how to walk with Christ but very few churches provide that opportunity anymore. Many high school graduates act very immature today because our society expects students to learn how to live by listening to lectures in school and it doesn’t happen. Many Christians still act like unbelievers because they have never had the opportunity to learn to walk with Christ.

 

 

Video-Meaning of Lent

12 Feb

 

Ash Wednesday-Feb 14

12 Feb

Ash Wednesday-A received its name from the fact that Christians used to place ashes on their forehead as a symbol of mourning. The color for today is black symbolizing mourning because it is a time when we mourn our sin that caused Christ to die on the cross. The penalty for sin is death but Jesus paid the price to redeem us from the power of sin and death that we might have life. Some people give up something for Lent as a sacrifice to remind them of the price Christ paid, but Christ wants us to put sin out of our life all year, not just during Lent. Lent is a time to ask Jesus to cleanse us of all that is displeasing to Him. If fasting or sacrificing something helps to remind you of the cost Jesus paid, then do it but if it is just a ritual that doesn’t mean anything, find something that will. It should never be done as an open display of our piety before men, but should be done privately between us and God.

 

 
 

Sermon-Seek Ye First-video

11 Aug

Many Americans today are seeking prosperity, hoping it will bring happiness, but God has a better plan.

 

 

 

Fifth Sunday of Lent-Mar 26

21 Mar

Go the Second Mile-Jesus said, “And whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him two.” The Romans had a law that a soldier could compel a bystander to carry a burden for him, but he was limited because he could only compel you to go a mile. Anyone would have go the mile or risk being arrested, so it is nothing beyond what is expected, but to go the second mile would be an act of kindness. By doing an act of kindness (going the second mile) you are showing God’s love for them and when they ask why you do it, you have the opportunity to tell them about how God loves them and died for them. In our increasingly secular society, it is becoming a matter of every man for himself. Those who look out for others with no thought of return are rare.

 

 

Fourth Sunday of Lent-Mar 19

16 Mar

Matt. 6: 19-21- True Treasure- The Scriptures say, “Don’t lay up treasures for yourself on earth where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves can not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also. Why lay up treasures that won’t last (material goods), when you can stockpile treasures that will last forever (souls saved). Our society measures people by the size of their bank account, which may disappear in an instant but God measures us by our devotion to serving Him. Many Christians will find themselves paupers in heaven because they did not lay up treasures for eternity. You can not take what you gather on earth with you when you go, but you can send treasure ahead for when you get there.

 

 

Third Sunday of Lent- March 12

08 Mar

 What will you give-Matt 13:44-46-When the merchant found the pearl, he sold all that he had and purchased it. Christ, through His death and resurrection has given us eternal life but He has also given us far more, He has come to give us life and that more abundantly. He knows how we need to live to get the most out of life. If we walk with Him in this life, we can enjoy life far better than anything we can find on our own. Is that life worth giving up all our earthly pleasures to obtain? Our earthly pleasures will give us pleasure for a short while, but they soon fade, but life with Christ will never fade. In addition, it promises eternal life with Christ. During Lent, we think of giving up momentary pleasures, but Christ asks us to turn away from all temporary pleasures to gain that which will last a lifetime and beyond.

 

Second Sunday of Lent-Mar-5

03 Mar

You Can’t Serve Two Masters. Jesus said, you can’t serve two masters. You must love one and hate the other. (Matt. 6:24) That is especially true of God and Satan. They are exact opposites. You must choose between them or be torn apart. Lent is a time to focus on who we are serving and make sure we are following God and not Satan. Liberal philosophy is so deceiving because they use words, we understand but with a different meaning. No Christian would be against two people loving each other but love to them means sex solely for selfish pleasure, not true love and concern for each other. True love can be really satisfying for two people, but the love the world promotes is very destructive. We have to know what they mean by what they say or we will end up supporting things which go against God. Satan goes around like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour. He seeks to deceive even the people of God. Therefore it important to study the Word of God so you will not be deceived. Choose one of the four Gospels and read a chapter a day between now and Easter and see what Jesus says about living a life pleasing to God.  If we truly love God, we will want to obey Him. We can please Him by doing what He wants us to do (obeying His Commandments). God set down His commandments as guidelines to show us how to live a life that is pleasing to Him and that would bring us peace and fulfillment. He knows what is best for us and did not give us the Commandments to spoil our fun but to help us avoid that which creates strife and dissension among us. When we ignore His commandments, we throw away that peace and fulfillment and stray into things that create strife and dissension.

 

 

First Sunday of Lent-Feb 26

22 Feb

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God

 

 
 

Lent Intro-Video-Feb 22

17 Feb

Ash Wednesday is this coming Wednesday and will kick off Lent.