#Adulting --2

Still in II Peter, chapter 1.  Verse 5:  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

Information is not the same as knowledge.

Experience is not the same as knowledge.

Take information and experience and marry them to find knowledge.

Where information meets experience is where we find Jesus Christ.

 Commit to be more like Jesus.  Grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Take responsibility for growing in the Word.

God invites us to the table.  Some are declining the invitation.

  Commit to learning about Jesus.  Study the Scriptures daily, asking yourself

1.  What does it say?

2.  Why does it matter?

3.  How should I live differently today because of what I just read? 

Pastor Johnnie Blair

Sunday morniing 

 

 

Withdrawal

Antsy.  Man, I miss watching that giraffe pace around and around her cage.  ^_^

Meme Clarification

This meme is going around.  Isn't it the sweetest thing?

 "As your mother I promise that I will always be in one of three places.

"In front of you to cheer you on, behind you to have your back, or next to you so you are not walking alone," she said. 

 End meme

As your dad, I'd like to clarify my position.  "I will always be in one of three places. 

"In front of you to pull your chain, behind you to kick your butt, or next to you to keep track of where you are."

#Adulting --1

Adulting:  Growing up is scary.  Growing up is important.

     Hebrews 5:12 We need to give up existing on milk alone but get into the strong meat (of the Word).  Growth in age gives wisdom and discernment.

It is important to take seriously the call of God to grow up in faith.
If you are the same person you were a year ago, there is no growth.

We are designed such that in our relationship with Jesus Christ we begin to look like him, to act like him.

Peter says we need to add to our faith.  We must be able to step into the role Christ intends for us.

              The scripture lesson is I Peter 1:3-11

We are to add to our faith goodness.   Purpose in your heart  to be like Jesus.  Take on the nature and characteristics of goodness.

When the Holy Spirit imparts a Jesus spirit within you you begin to act naturally like Jesus.

Be so in tune with the divine nature within that you act naturally as Christ would act.

We no longer have to be intentional in our acts-- they come naturally.

We pick up the characteristics of those we hang out with.

Do you really want to be like Jesus?  
Are you willing to do what it takes?  Then,
    1.  commit to grow.   (pray)
    2. open your heart.   (pray)
    3. surrender to Christ's will.  (submit)  

The closing song:  "I Surrender All"

(Editor's note:  It is encouraging to hear the Lordship of Jesus Christ and submission to His will taught freely and forcefully from the pulpit.) 

Notes on message by

Pastor Johnnie Blair

Sunday morning

And the Lord said

Dear Lord, please take away this knee pain so I can get these chores done.  I've asked repeatedly for healing, but that seems not to be your will.  So relief, at least.  Please!

"I've sent you seven unsolicited calls from knee-brace vendors this week alone and you keep hanging up on them.  Oh, and five Facebook cures."

Good News and Good News

BAD NEWS:  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  (Romans 3:23).

General:  All have sinned.
Categories, sinners
     1.  Criminal:  overt lawbreaker.   Must get honest. 
     2.  Pharisee:  Thinks he's above sin; self-righteous.  Must get humble.
     3.  Hypocrite: Fake; inside a wreck. Doesn't want anyone to see, not real with people. Must get real.
 GOOD NEWS:  "God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were yet still sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8)

BAD NEWS:  "For the wages of sin is death."  (Romans 6:23a)
     Relationships are destroyed; we earn what we deserve.

GOOD NEWS:  "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 6:23b)
     Get honest, get humble, get real.

GOOD NEWS AND MORE GOOD NEWS:

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with you mouth that you profess your faith and are save.  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord is saved." (Romans 10:9-10, 13)

The enemy trains us to buy into only the bad news.

Jesus rose from the dead, defeated death.  "lt is the day that He called the death out of me." (JB)
Grace goes so much farther than my sin.

Grace goes farther, deeper, wider than anything in your life.

 Pastor Johnnie Blair 

(and the Apostle Paul)

Resurrection Sunday morning

 

 

HAPPY EASTER!

Scrabble

Celebrating National Scrabble Day!

But then, we play quite often.  As it happened, this was a very difficult and low-scoring example of our efforts.  But always challenging, always fun.

About Heaven

Concluding his prayer, John 17:24, Jeaus prays, " “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."

This expresses the heart of Jesus' desire.  He really, really, really, really, really, wants you to make it!

Heaven transcends our wildest dreams and imaginings.  What do we know about Heaven?

We know Jesus is there!  Heaven is not about the real estate, but the relationship.

Love is a constant reality.  The Father loved Jesus before the creation of the world.  His love is constant.  Constant kindness, unending, uninterrupted.

Hope is no longer needed.  Hope helps us cope now.  Hope is a dream not yet a reality, but then when the reality appears hope is unnecessary.

Glory is on full display.  We see a glimpse of glory through the cross and the resurrection, but then there will be no darkness.  Why?  Because Jesus is there! 

Believers are there! John 3:16 "Whosoever believes. . . "  John 17:24 "Those you have given me to be with me and to see my glory. . . "

There will be those in Heaven whom we did not expect to see there.
But-- There will be those we expected there who will be in hell and that is terrifying!  

His presence in you in your life right now is a deposit of being with Him in Heaven.  The love of God is a constant in your life.  Let the glory of God be revealed in your life.

Ask Him to lead and guide.  Seek gain for God's kingdom, not for yourself.

His love never sways.  This Palm Sunday think of Christ entering Jerusalem.  He came into the city bearing the hope that could save them all.

His constant love is ready to supply an eternal hope for everyone.

HE PUT HIMSELF UPON THE CROSS THAT HIS GLORY MIGHT SHINE THROUGH US.

IN HEAVEN ALL WE HOPED FOR WILL BE IN OUR GRASP.  HOPE REALIZED BECAUSE JESUS IS THERE.

INSTEAD OF TRYING TO HAVE ALL THE RIGHT ANSWERS, GET THE ONE ANSWER RIGHT.

Pastor Johnnie Blair

Sunday morning

See You in the Funny Pages

I read a select though small catalog of comic strips in the daily paper.  I learned this from my father way back in the '40s when he told me, "The only things you can believe in the newspaper are the funnies."

Sadly, things have not improved in that regard.  I still rely on the comics.  A recent example in Scott Adams' "Dilbert."

Asok:  I can't tell  if you are wise or lazy.

Wally:  I know.  It took me years to find that sweet spot.

That They May Be One

or, How to get along and keep the main thing the main thing.
 
Continuing with the prayer of Jesus, John 17:20-23 in which the Lord presents His petition to the Father for unity of believers with one another, with Himself, and with the Father

• Christian unity is based on our shared life in Jesus Christ.
• Christian unity is based on our shared life through faith in Christ through the apostolic witness to Him.
• Christian unity is important because it is a major factor in our witness to the world.
• Christian unity is expressed by believers' common love and common mission.

 With 40,000 denominations and innumerable non- and inter- denominational bodies it is critical that Christians act in unity to promote the gospel message.

• God did not get a prize when he took me.  He didn't get one when he took you, either.

We must pray for one another and pray, as Jesus did, for the bond of unity in Christ.

We must not compromise the essential elements of the gospel.  They are belief in

• the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
•  the total divinity and the total humanity of Jesus Christ
• the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus
• the Second Coming of Christ
• salvation only by God's grace through faith.

These define the Christian, his membership in the body of Christ.  We should act in unity with all who believe and teach these principles.  Other differences are unimportant.

Man has done his best to thwart Christ's prayer.  The Christian must pray as He did, follow in his footsteps.

• We should be praying for unity in the Body of Christ.
• Pray for individuals and organizations who are stepping out and doing what God commanded in terms of unity without compromising essential biblical truth.
•  Pray for other believers in your world who are living for Christ in their world. 
• Finally, ask God to use you as a vessel in your local church, in your family, and in your world to be a person who builds unity rather than dissension.  

We tend to be blind, and to be blind to our blindness.

Think others have quills? You have quills, too.

Guest speaker Rob Cochrane

Sunday morning