No study

There will be no meeting tomorrow night. The article we discussed last week is posted in the previous post. Enjoy the rest of your week and we will see you Saturday!

A Strange Paradox

Here is the article we were discussing at last week's study. The Freedom of Grace & the Bondage of the Neighbor written by Dr. Steven Hein. We really recommend reading this article as it ties into The Freedom of a Christian book.

The Freedom of a Christian...continued

Tomorrow night's study will begin at 7pm. We will be discussing pages from The Freedom of a Christian pg. 57- 65 along with The Freedom of Grace & The Bondage of the Neighbor article by Dr. Steven Hein. Please email before 3pm if you plan to attend.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 

Thy Will Be Done Among Us...

We live in a democratic culture that values very highly personal independence, individual freedom, self realization, and self determination. Anything that restricts "rights" is often looked upon very critically. We want to be in charge of our lives, from cradle to casket. However, in the Third Petition of the Lord's Prayer, Christian's pray to their heavenly Father that His will, not ours, be done. In outward Christendom, society's love of freedom expresses itself in the teaching that man is free to "choose" to follow Jesus. When carefully examined, we realize that this is a claim that we are able to emancipate ourselves from the kingdom of the devil and join the kingdom of God, as if both were human organizations or clubs. If we accept this thinking for argument's sake, we might wonder: If our will is stronger than the devil, what prevents it from creating for ourselves a pain-free paradise on earth? The simple answer is: God's will be done. Cross We Suffer With Jesus pg. 12

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient... ...But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved... Ephesians 2:1-5

To Live a Holy Life

Lord Jesus, by Your precious blood You redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, and called me to be Your very own, a fellow citizen with the saints. You, O Lord, know all things. You know that I love You. You know that my renewed heart desires to serve You in righteousness and holiness, to cast aside the sin that so easily entangles me, and to run with preserving the race set before me. I grieve, O Lord, that I have so often failed to do what You, my precious Savior, have asked me. So often I have refused to follow You and Your example, instead choosing the paths of the world and the desires of my sinful flesh. In me there is no good thing. The good that I would do, I do not; an the evil that I would not, that I do. I am so wretched! Who will deliver me from this body of death? To You, my Savior and loving friend, I flee. Uphold me with Your willing Spirit. You are the Author and Perfecter of my faith, having delivered me from the guilt and punishment of sin and having redeemed me from its power and dominion. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Purge every evil desire and thought from my heart and mind, and fill me with a pure love for You and Your will. Whether I live or die, may I be Yours alone and forever. Amen.

Bible Study

This week's Bible study has been canceled. We will see you soon! Enjoy the rest of your week.

A World of Words

After hearing from our pastor on Sunday about language, I kept being reminded of the introduction to the Third Commandment in Free to Be. Here it is.

Free to Be pg. 21
From the moment you are called out of bed in the morning, until the moment you say good night, your day is filled with words. They pop out at you from the toothpaste tube, spill out of the radio or TV, stare at you from the cereal box, and much more... Words follow you wherever you go, and can even invade your dreams. Everything depends on words. Words can sometimes be a nuisance and don't always get the job done, but we'd be lost without them. 

Which world of language do you live in on a daily basis? Is it Scriptural, gossip, or babble...? If God's Word isn't defining your speech, thoughts, and actions then something else will. Every morning when I wake up something is already defining my thoughts, speech, and actions, but thankfully through my parents and other people I am washed from my old sinful way of self centered thinking and given a new mind, a mind that delights in God's Law and is restored back to receiving and giving.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.  Psalm 19:14

There is only one thing the soul needs....

Thanks be to You, Lord Jesus, Captain of our salvation, for the goodly weapon of Your Word, with which we drive the enemy before us, and can rout thrones and potentates. Create in us a zeal for Your Word, willingly to hear and learn it, that we may always have our weapon polished and ready. Amen.

We were reading from The Freedom of a Christian...and we thought this really tied in with the prayer from Psalm 119 that is listed above.
The soul needs only one thing: the Word of God. When this is missing, the soul lacks the one thing that is essential... For what else could it possibly need? The Word brings life, truth, light, peace, righteousness, salvation, joy, liberty, wisdom, power, grace, glory, and every other blessing imaginable. 

After reading all of these blessing that come with what the Word of God creates, how can I not want but to surround myself daily with God's Word? Through faithful pastors, parents, and friends is the only way I see this happening for me. Faith doesn't come from looking within yourself. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Psalm 119:165

The Freedom of a Christian

Thursday night's meeting we will be discussing passages from The Freedom of a Christian. Read pages 49-57 prior to Thursday's study. Bring in a Scripture from Sunday's sermon that correlates or builds on this passage. Email by Wednesday night if you plan on attending this week's study.

Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. John 6:28-29