Call on the name of the Lord

 Call on the name of the Lord

The apostle Paul writes,

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

and are justified freely by his grace 

through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  

                                                                      Romans 3:23,24.

Paul goes on to write,

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.    Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!  

For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" Romans 5:6-11.

We all have sinned in one way or another. Sin is falling short of Gods ideal for our life. Sin separates us from God, and no matter how hard we work at trying to be good, our good works cannot reconcile us to God.

In the book of Ephesians we read,

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9.

Salvation is a gift freely offered by God to us through belief in Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul writing,

“...Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

 will be saved.” 

                                     Romans 10:13.

Have you called on the name of the Lord?

Please think about it. 

A Sermon for 2022

  A sermon for 2022

The apostle Paul while in Athens was asked to speak at the Areopagus by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. This is his sermon. As important today as it was then. 

Paul states,

"So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  

A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked,    "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  

Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  

You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean."  

(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  

For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  

And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.' 

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill.  

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." 

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."  

At that, Paul left the Council.  

A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.”Acts 17:17-34

For Christians this is an example of how to reach non-Christians. Paul did not condemn them. He didn’t say anything against their beliefs or lifestyle. He simply presented what he believed to those gathered. 

The result was some “sneered” at him. Others believed. While others wanted to hear more. 

When we as Christians present the gospel message this is how we should do it.

So is this the way you present the gospel message to those around you?

Please think about it.

Belief, Yes or No?

Belief, Yes or No?
John’s gospel records this conversation between Martha and Jesus,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world,” John 11:25,26,27.
Here is my simple question for today. Do you believe as Martha did that Jesus is the Son of God, or do you not? For when it comes to Jesus there is no middle ground.
Please think about it.

Please excuse the Christian

Please Excuse the Christian
Jesus told this parable,
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” 
                                                                                                                             Matthew 13:44-46.
Please excuse the Christian if he or she wants to tell you about Jesus. If they seem over eager or overly exuberant at wanting to tell you about Jesus.
You must remember that for we Christians the most important thing in our life is finding Jesus. Is realizing that Jesus is as he said,
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                                           John 14:6.
Christians believe the words of Jesus who said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. 
                                                                                                               John 3:16-18.
Christians believe that in accepting Christ they know here and now in this life that they are going to heaven.
That eternal life with God is an act of Love on God’s part.
That it is a gift from God. The apostle Paul explaining,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                       Ephesians 2:8,9.
As Jesus explained in the parable at the beginning of this article
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. 
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  
When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” 
                                                                                                                                    Matthew 13:44-46.
So I can hope you understand that because knowing Jesus in a personal way is so important to us as Christians it is only logical that we would want to share that experience with all people whoever they may be.
Please think about it.

Christian Belief

Christian Belief

Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote,
“It is to the Cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master: no path of redemption can make a detour around it.” 
                          Hans Urs von Balthasar.

The Apostle Paul wrote,
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.  
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.  
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,  but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,  but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 
                   1 Corinthians 1:18-25
C.S. Lewis wrote,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” 
                                          C.S. Lewis.
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                          Ephesians 2:8,9.
Christians do not believe we can work our way to heaven. Salvation and eternity with God is a free gift from God. It is God reaching down to mankind and saying I love you.
Jesus said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”   
                                                                                                                  John 3:16-18.
Jesus made it clear when he said,
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
            John 14:6
It is a choice everyone who is reading this must make for themselves. You either believe what Jesus and the writers of the New Testament said about him or you do not. God will not force you to believe anything you do not want to believe.
So please consider what I have said carefully.