God's Man

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This week we lost a voice that has sung for the Lord for more that 6 decades.  George Beyerly Shea died on Wednesday at the age of 104.  He had been a part of the Billy Graham revivals for many years.  His iconic voice will be remembered as one that touched lives for Christ.

Here is another of my recent sermons.  This starts off with me giving  the church an update on our Pastor who was recovering from a mishap at home.  And then we get into Galatians.   I hope God speaks to you through this look at His Word. To enclaves of young converts tucked away in the mountains of Asia Minor, Paul wrote what is perhaps the oldest document in the New Testament--the letter to the Galatians. What problems did they face?  Among a variety of religious authorities espousing different teachings, how were they to know who was right?  How were men and women to be put right with God?  How could Christians in the midst of a pagan culture live lives truly pleasing to God? Only one way, answered Paul, through Jesus Christ!  His answer holds true for us as well.  The details of our struggle have changed since those days, but the principles are timeless.

"God does not regret Saving YOU!" - Matt Chandler from The Village Church  

Using speaking excerpts from D. A. Carson here is a great look at what it means to be imitators.  H/T to Tim Chalies for posting this to his A-La Carte on 04 April .

Daughter wants to know why she can't rescue Mario, hack the ROM and fix it.  Great idea by a Dad who thinks being a Dad is Great.

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Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.    You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. - 4:1-6 Which System does it appeal to?  God’s System or the world Do those who are ackn...

This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.  And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. - 1 John 3:19-24 Talking a good game may get you past people for a time. Your ACTIONs will eventually reveal you. Believe in the Son and love one another... Those who follow the Son, follow the Father as the Son does Those who DO the will of the Son, do the will of the Father. Those who know the Son, know the Father For I received from the Lord what I al...

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. - 1 John 3:7-10 The fruit of the seed that planted in us.  The Holy Spirit convicts us and drives us to repentance.   Are you driven to your knees when you sin?  Do you even care?  Do Not be lead astray like those who indulge... Jesus destroyed the yoke of sin over us.  The kosmos/world system that we talked about last week is powerless over the ...

Let's Review... The epistle, or letter, of 1st John is written to all of us in general and specifically to the church at Ephesus.  John is writing this as he nears the end of his life.  The Ephesian church is not that different from our own American church.  John speaks about the Ephesians in Revelation chapter 2 verse where he writes that “… You have forgotten your first love.” There are 4 issues that are impacting the church at Ephesus. 1. An Easy Familiarity with Christ – The believers that John is writing to are the older children and younger Grandchildren of the believers that Paul met in Acts 19.  He spent 2 years with them and God lit a fire there.  The issue is that over time the intensity of the fire was being maintained.  This lead to a rejection of the High Standard… 2. The High Standards that Christianity Sets – The church was called to be set apart.  They were called to be different.  They would be hated for that difference. ...

P4CM presents Rhetoric 2012, the largest Christian Poetry event in Southern California. Propanda delivered his poem "Too Creative" as a Rhetoric Featured Poet in front of an audience of nearly 3,000 people. For more poetry and to know when the next Rhetoric will take please check out: www.P4CM.com

The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. - 1 John 2:17 Boom Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. - 1 John 2:18-20 There are 2 ways to look at the word prefix anti as it relates to the word antichrist.  The common understanding of how we use anti is to talk about something that is against something else.  In this case an antichrist is someone or thing that is against Christ.  Another way to use anti is in something that imitates something but is not of the same nature.  A False Christ.  I don’t have time to get into t...

The Cup and The Crucifixion A Spoken Word Piece by Odd Thomas Written for Trinity Church of Portland for Good Friday.

Do Not Love The World “If you love me, you will obey what I command. - John 14:15 Do You Get To, or Have You Got To? Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. - 1 John 2:15 There are somethings in this world that I love.  I love the sound of wind blowing through the trees in my backyard when I have one of those quiet moments.  Which are rare with a wife and 2 little girls.  I love a vanilla snowball with marshmallow.  I do not think that these things are what John is writing about in this verse but it could be.   The greek word in this passage is Kosmos .  It means world system.  This is what John is talking about. The system that would say that you can be pleasing to God apart from Christ.  He is talking about a system that says to live beyond yourself as long as it is not for Christ.  To give as long as it is not for Him.  This world’s system belongs to Sata...

By Walking in His Love We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. - 1 John 2:3-6 We say things like It is not about religion but a relationship.  The question is who is our relationship with?  There is a Gospel song that is titled the Shepherd’s Song.  In the song it says, “My Sheep Hear My Voice and Come Running To Me.”  It goes on to ask, “If you say that I am your shepherd, why aren't you following me?”  That question is right here in this passage.   This is not to say that we need to apply some sort of litmus test but how do you know if you are in a relationship with someone?  You want to please them.  Would you say you were loving your spouse if everythin...