This is the fiftieth year that the congregation has published a bulletin according to the volume number on our header. That represents a tremendous amount of work accomplished, all of which will be counted as effort made for the kingdom of God. There’s no telling how much good the bulletin has done over the past fifty years, but I’m sure it is significant.
In essence, what Jesus is telling us is that if we only love those who love us back, then we are no better than those we consider to be our enemies. The Pharisees despised both publicans and Gentiles, yet, their behavior was basically the same as theirs in their regard for their enemies. So, how could they show their enemies that they were any different than they were? They couldn’t! Jesus, however, calls us to a higher standard: loving others as God loves us. He even loves those who don’t love Him back. That is the kind of love that we must show for others.
What I want to emphasize about these blessings, however, is that they are only for faithful Christians! We should not lose sight of the significance of these expressions! If one is not a faithful Christian, he or she does not have these blessings. It is only for those who are faithful children of God. Ultimately, these are the only blessings that will matter. Are you blessed in Christ?
What we should see are people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ with whom we want to have a full and complete relationship. That is what God sees through Christ Jesus, and it is only looking at one another from this perspective that we can be the body of believers that God wants us to be.
Do you see yourself as married to Christ? Do you own Jesus as your husband? Years ago, evangelist Marshall Keeble encountered a woman who came to be baptized in her wedding dress. He asked her if she wanted to change before she was immersed. She answered that she wanted to marry Jesus in the same clothes that she married her husband. He baptized her, wedding dress and all because she understood what she was doing.
Ahab’s attitude originated in wanting to have something that wasn’t his to have. God commanded through Moses, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17). When we don’t get what we want, how do we respond? Do we seek to impose our will on others? Do we run away and hide cutting ourselves off from everyone? Do we throw a fit and complain until we get what we want? Or, do we recognize that everything belongs to God, and it is not ours to command?
God has a standard of love that is quite different from humanity. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).
Preaching with little to no doctrinal content is not preaching, but pandering to the whims of fickle humans who enjoy a good story more than they do the truth of the gospel.
Sin is not just “moral” failure; it is a failure of perspective on our place in God’s creation. That’s what Paul is seeking to get across in Romans 1:21: “because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
People who are spiritually sick or injured should find healing through the efforts of the church. Sometimes people criticize the church as being a place of hypocrites precisely because there are spiritually sick or injured people in the church. That would be a valid criticism if the church were not doing anything to heal these spiritually damaged people. However, the goal is for spiritually sick people to become well through the work and teaching of Jesus.
Trusting God with control of my life removes anxiety, and I can be at peace trusting that God will do what is right. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” This verse is about understanding that God is in control.
Trusting God with control of my life removes anxiety, and I can be at peace trusting that God will do what is right. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” This verse is about understanding that God is in control.
Many felt 2020 was an upside-down year. But the gospel changes how we see things (Acts 17:6), giving us a heart attuned to God rather than the world's desires.
Jesus did not establish a denomination (2 John 9). A move toward nondenominational Christianity is right, because one church is not just as good as another.
During the holidays, give something that lasts. Lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21) by giving people the words of Jesus, who is the same forever.
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes lawfully (2 Timothy 2:5). To receive the crown of righteousness, we must live by God's standard, not cheat.
Christians are to give thanks always for all things (Ephesians 5:20). There is not a single thing, not even our troubles, for which we cannot be thankful.
Fire ants are pests, but they are diligent (Proverbs 6:6-8). They work together, stay consistent, and sacrifice. We should do the same in taking the gospel to the world.
The Bible begins, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). The universe had a beginning, and the only rational explanation for it is God.
God called Israel His special treasure (Exodus 19:5), and through Jesus, Christians are His own special people (Titus 2:14). God values you above everything else.