HE WHO LOSES HIS LIFE FINDS IT

I received this story from Norman Lawrence which he shared in A Dose of Inspiration.  Thanks Norm!

 

On one occasion Sadhu Sundar Singh and a companion were traveling through a pass high in the Himalayan Mountains. At one point they came across a body lying in the snow. Sundar Singh wished to stop and help the unfortunate man, but his companion refused, saying, "We shall lose our lives if we burden ourselves with him."

 

But Sundar Singh would not think of leaving the man to die in the ice and snow. As his companion bade him farewell, Sundar Singh lifted the poor traveler onto his back. With great exertion on his part, he bore the man onward, but gradually the heat from Sundar Singh's body began to warm up the poor frozen fellow, and he revived. Soon both were walking together side by side. Catching up with his former companion, they found him dead—frozen by the cold.

 

In the case of Sundar Singh, he was willing to lose his life on behalf of another, and in the process found it; in the case of his callous companion, he sought to save his life but lost it.

 

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

Why Go to Church

 A member sent me this story in an e-mail this morning.  I had read this and heard it and even used in a sermon along the way, but sometimes I think the wisdom of it has not really made an impact on God's people.  Jesus called Himselft the beard of life.  What does bread do?  It feeds people.  He also said if the branches do not remain attached to the vine they will die.  But do we really get it?  See you in worship- Pastor John

 

Why Go To Church? A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. 'I've gone for 30 years now,' he wrote, 'and in that time I have heard some thing like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.'

 

This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to the Editor' column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

 

'I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some
32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.

 

Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!'

 

When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something!

 

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!

 

Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

 

All right, now that you're done reading, if you're of a mind, send it on! I think everyone should read this! 'When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, 'Jesus, could you get that for me?'

 

The Meaning of Membership?

Is "the Church" a human organization? Or is "the Church" God's? Right now, I believe many people have not really given this question the thought it requires. Why am I a member of God's Church? And as a member what is my relationship to other members? Depending on you draw your picture of understanding and how you answer these questions you will end up with different ideas about what "the Church" is and what your responsibility is to "the Church" and the other members of this reality we call "the Church".

How can a piece of fruit grow if there are no branches? How can a leaf feed the tree if there is not a stem? Is "the Church" an organism where membership is a vital, life-giving connection or is it a dead institution where membership provides no tangible resource?

I believe sin leads many to believe they can live spiritually and remain connected to their Savior without the life-giving connections provided by God's Church. Brothers and sisters this gathering of God's people which happens each Saturday, Sunday and Monday provides us with more than we know. Please do not neglect it.

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

Pride and the Rich

    Author Steven K. Scott in a book titled, "The Richest Man Who Ever Lived" said,"In proverbs 28:11, Solomon tells us that a rich man thinks that because he's rich he's wise, and therefore ceases to hold on to the spirit of a learner.  The poor man, on the other hand, realizes his need for more understanding and wisdom, and actively searches for it."

    Christians are call by Jesus to "abide in His word."  In other words, we continue to study God's Word not because we have arrived at knowledge but because we realize that we need more understanding and more wisdom. 

Is worship something you need?

    What is the purpose of worship?  How you answer that question will determine how highly you value the time you spend with God and your fellow believers.  I believe too many Christians fail to understand all that worship provides. The service is not intended to benefit God. When Jesus was questioned about the value of the Sabbath and what He was doing on it, he said, "The Sabbath was made for man."  In other words God created this time of worship to benefit us.

    Consider a person who has had a heart transplant, or a person with diabetes taking there medicine regularly means the difference between remaining physically healthy and alive or dying.  I wonder sometimes if you could "feel" the decay of our spiritual health like we could feel the decay of our physical health, if we would be so quick to relagate worship and Bible Study to such a low priority in our lives.

    Consider for a moment the blessings we receive in worship.  Just having our sins forgiveness and knowing that we are in the presence of Almighty God and eating at His table should be enough to keeping us regular and faithful.

    What do you think?

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

Is Anyone Listening?

Today we have more ways of communicating than ever before, but is anyone listening? When we write an article for the Zion Contact or the weekly Tidings of Zion the potential is that all the people who hold the paper or receive the newsletter will read it. Reading it is only the first step. How does the writer know that anyone read the information? The only way we know if anyone read the story or the article is if they respond. I don't know how many people I made a personal phone calls to and left a message on the answering machine. The message I heard said they would get back to whomever called. But they never did. Who is listening?

God has a great message for us each week in worship. Last week the Gospel lesson was about seeds being planted in various kinds of soil. Only the seed which fell on the good soil bore fruit. However, if the seed never reach the good soil the potential found in the seed was never reached.

Listening is a vital part of our ongoing faith relationship with the Lord. But the only way the speaker or writer can know if anyone is listening is if there is a visible or audible response. Are we responding to God's message?

Writing a Sermon

What does it take to write a sermon? 

    To answer this question one must first have an understanding of what a sermon is.  Is a sermon just a nice talk?  Is it an advertisement for God's work in the lives of people?  Is it an argument to prove that miracles did happen in the past and still happen today?  Is the sermon's purpose to convert unbelievers or is it mean for only believers?  Where is the sermon supposed to take God people?  What is it suppose to accomplish?

    These are all questions which need to be asked before we can really tackle writing a sermon.  However, there is one aspect of a Christian sermon which we all need to consider; the Christian sermon is meant to be "proclamation".  It is like the town crier maing the announcement that something significant happened that will effect all the members of the town.  It is the message which tells the debtor that someone else has paid the debt.  Now what does that mean for the one who hears this "Good News"?

    I just wanted to get you thinking about something we all may take for granted.  How would you answer these questions?

 

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor John

Hebrews 13:20-21

A Person Without Folds

Are you a person without folds? Or are there some folds in your life that need to be ironed out. While this is a great goal to reach for we must allow God and His Word to dwell in our hearts to make it a reality.

Spiros Zodhiates writes... There is a significant word in the Greek New Testament which is used to describe a person who truly exhibits sincerity in their Christian life. The word is haplotes, which literally means without folds. This is best illustrated by examining a simple sheet of paper. As you fold down the edges or if you were to crumple the page, you will notice that in trying to straighten it out, there is still evidence which is permanently ingrained into the texture of the paper.

A person that is truly sincere will have evidences of "no folds." In the New Testament, this type of person is described as faithful, pure and benevolent (Eph. 6:5; Col 3:22). Also, it is used to describe a generous giver who has no ulterior motives (2 Cor. 9:13). Are you a person "without folds" in your character? In the workplace, are you the type of worker who respects authority for the right reasons? When God looks at you does He see your sincerity?

This information comes to us through: A Dose of Inspiration from www.newtouch.org