Who Do You Say Jesus Is?
Gold Rush VBS: Night 1
We had a great first night of Vacation Bible School 2011! There were around 20 kids in attendance, which is more than we expected for the very first night. Hopefully kids will invite their friends and we’ll have even more in the coming nights. We also got to meet a very special guest last night, Miner Max. He’ll be back tonight, and all the nights, so get ready for another exciting night! If you need more info, please contact us.
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The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
Well, without being simplistic or redundant, let me say, first off, that He is a Person. False groups and false teachers would have us to believe that He is not a Person, the third Person of the Triune God, but an ‘it, a ‘force’, the IMpersonal ‘power’ of God. But, if I may, allow me to remind you quickly, that FORCES, IMpersonal ‘its’ cannot be grieved, as Ephesians 4:30 says the Holy Spirit can. And, IMpersonal ‘forces’, ‘its’ cannot be vexed, as Isaiah 63:10 says He can. Furthermore, IMpersonal ‘its’, sheer ‘forces’ that have no personal qualities and characteristics, cannot be tempted as Acts 5:9 says the Holy Spirit can. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, He is a Peron. He is not an ‘it.”Secondly, allow me to remind you or inform you that the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit, has a ‘job’, in fact, He has many ‘jobs’, and unlike some folks we may know, He is busily at work carrying out the tasks and responsibilities of those ‘jobs’. What does the Bible have to say about the PERSON and WORK of the Holy Spirit?
This God Is Our God, Forever and Ever
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Mom and Dad are gone, I mean they are laying in that cemetery across town or across the country from where you are, your spouse is gone also, even though the two of you enjoyed life together for 40, 50, maybe even 60 years, your siblings, the freckled-faced, curly-headed, mischievous youngsters you grew up with, their hair turned gray, then silver, then white and the freckles gave way to wrinkles and guess what? Now they’re gone too! And, yes, for some, in God’s mysterious plan, even the children, your own flesh and blood offspring, are gone, too. And you find yourself all alone. One day, something like that, a situation similar to all of that, will be your situation – what then? To whom will you go, then? On whom will you lean, then?
Psalm 48:14 – Look at that verse a little more closely with me now, will you, please?The verse simply says: “This God…” the psalmist is talking there about the God of Israel, the One, True Living God of the Bible, not one of those ‘gods’ that we often make up or pursue, when we’re zeroing in on the necessities of life, and the urgencies of life, and certainly not one of the ‘gods’, made up by the minds of sinful man, made in his own image, in man’s image, in order to fashion out of it a ‘religion’, a false religion meant to suit his tastes and desires.
Jesus’ Example of Unselfish Servant-hood
Jesus’ example of unselfish servant-hood. What a powerful example, what a meaningful example. What a timely, yes, very, very timely example, His example of unselfish servant-hood was, to the Christians at Philippi in the days of the apostle Paul, and, to us who live in the days of i-pads, cell phones, Facebook and Twitter.I want to wrap up our study of this superb passage from the pen of the apostle Paul, this message from the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, TO the Church, to this church, this morning, if we can. But, before we do, I want to remind you of where we’ve been, and what we have seen.
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
What do you see when you look at the cross of Jesus? For centuries the cross has been the symbol of the Christian faith, displayed in many different ways, some ornate, some ordinary, the world over. Yet, this representation of what really is at the heart of Christianity, though millions, maybe billions have seen it, I dare say that nearly that many have misunderstood it and not grasped what it means.
What do you see when you look at the cross of Christ? An ornate piece of church furniture? An odd arrangement of ordinary wood, upright and crossbeam? A good-luck charm to be carried in one’s pocket? A piece of jewelry to be hung around one’s neck? A crucifix, with Jesus still hanging there, perhaps indicating that somehow His work is not yet finished there? The cross of Jesus, what do you see?
The Importance of Godly Mothers
Image credit: Johanna Kautt
“The hand that rocks the cradle…” I don’t think my grandmother McKnight, my mom’s mother, had any idea the long term implications of the prayer she offered up as a young wife and soon-to-be-mother. “Lord, give me a son who will be a preacher…” is how she worded her request. I don’t think God misheard my grandmother. In fact, I think He heard her very clearly. But guess what? The Lord gave her a daughter instead. End of story? No, in fact, that daughter grew up, graduated from high school, and went off to Texas to Bible College. And, there, at Dallas Christian College, my mother met and married my grandmother’s ‘answer’ to her prayer: a young preacher boy from Kansas City by the name of Johny Kautt. And for nearly 54 years they served the Lord together in churches and ministries far and wide. And, now my grandmother even has two grand-sons in the ministry, too. Beloved, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Scripture says here that that preaching team of Paul, Silas and Timothy, yes, Timothy “as they went from city to city…” God used them, He used Timothy, his mama and grandma’s ‘preacher’ son, to strengthen the churches in the faith. “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world…”
The facts are as they are. Timothy was a disciple whose reputation in Lystra and Derbe was quite favorable. And, God did use him in that preaching team to strengthen the churches and to win souls for Jesus Christ. But, how is it that that happened?
