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Title: Not Guilty

Text: St. John 8:3-11 

As humans we will make mistakes. We will error in judgment, decisions, and actions. Mistakes are inevitable they are a part of the human experience.  We cannot avoid mistakes. We can try and make less of them but we will make mistakes. There is no human being that was, is, or will be perfect. There is only one who is, was, and forever will be perfect and that is Jesus Christ.  The problem comes not sometimes in the mistake but the way we are treated when we make a mistake. Too often we judge, condemn, and cast down our fellow man for mistakes they made, when we are no better than one another.  Sometimes the way we are treated by loved ones or those we care about after we make a mistake can be more devastating than the mistake itself.

The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God”. Also Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not”.  Just from these two verses we can take from them the fact that we are not perfect and that we are not better than anyone else. However, what does separate one person from another is the choices we make. From the title scripture we see Scribes and Pharisees (so called religious people) bring this woman who was caught in adultery to tempt Jesus hoping he would condemn the woman in an attempt to tempt him. However, the response they receive was of one that showed them they were no better than the woman caught in adultery.  Instead of condemning her Jesus had mercy on her and commanded her to, “go and sin no more” and for her accusers he said, “..he who is without sin let him cast the first stone”. When we see others fall will we be quick to condemn them like the Pharisees and Scribes or will be like Jesus and have compassion and see the shortcomings of others as our shortcomings and pray and encourage one another. Let us encourage one another when we see others make mistakes. Sometimes it is by mistakes we learn and become better. It is also by the encouragement of others when we error that we can find it easier to get over our shortcomings instead of being trapped in guilt. Remember the bible says in Romans 5:8, “But God commanded his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. God sees all our mistakes and shortcomings before they happen and before we make them. Yet God willingly sent his only Son to die for our mistakes that through Jesus we maybe found not guilty!

Jesus is in the house St. Mark 2:1-2 The question we all should ask ourselves is, “Is Jesus in our house”. By house I mean our body or within us.  1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (which is) in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”.  When Jesus is in us just as he was in some physical residence in St. Mark 2 miraculous things happen.  We need Jesus in us to help us along through life’s hardships. If God (Jesus) is in us then he is with us in all of our situations and circumstances. For instance if God lives in us through His Holy Spirit then he is in our place of residence, he is at our jobs, in our car, wherever we are God is there with us. The question is, “Is Jesus in your house today.” If not we simply have to just invite him in.  Revelations 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”.  The take home message is if Jesus is not in your life invites him in and let him change your life for the better. By Any Means Necessary Text: Mark 2:1-5  “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.   2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.   3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.   4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.   5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Sometimes we allow things to get in our way. We let the slightest obstacles in life deter us from our goals. Sometimes when faced with challenges we should meet them head on and be determined not to let anyone or anything keep us from reaching our goal or obtaining the things we desire to have. In this Bible story we have a small group of individuals who were determined to get to Jesus because they believed He was the answer for their companion’s condition.  Now I do not believe personally in New Year’s resolution but if there is anything to take into 2010 and that would be to be determined to let nothing stand in between you and Jesus.  This group of individuals in Mark 2, were determined not to let anything stop them. In this Bible story there are many lessons we can take from them. First point these four who borne up their sick comrade on the bed were determined to help him. How many of us are so determine to help our fellow man that we would go to the extent they did for this sick man. When they could not get in through the door, they carried him on to the roof cut a hole in it and lowered him down to Jesus. Second point, their determination to get to Jesus was an outward showing of their faith in Jesus. The individuals believed in Jesus so much that they were determined to get their sick companion to Jesus because they just knew in their hearts that Jesus could heal him. How many of us today have that type of faith in Christ where we will do whatever it takes to have a closer relationship with him. There is so much we can discuss in this scripture; however, the main point I want to hammer home is that in this New Year let us be determined in our endeavors. Sure life is hard, we have trouble constantly, and problems seem never ending but just like these four were determine to get to Jesus let us seek Christ with the same determination letting nothing stand in our way! WHAT IS PEACE? Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4   Part 1 in a Series - What is Peace? Merriam-Webster offers the following definition of peace:  A state of tranquility or quiet Freedom from civil disturbance  Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts and emotions From these definitions we see that peace is a state of mind in which our thoughts and emotions are at ease.  Also it means being free from disturbances.  The second part of this is what I find interesting and the one we will spend the most time on. To be free from disturbances would seem to imply the ability to have control of events that occur in our life in order to have this freedom from disturbances. However, what we all know is that we have little control over things that happen in our lives. We can control the choices we make but we have little power over things that others may due and events that may occur such as stock market crashes, natural disasters, job layoffs, etc…  The question becomes how someone can be free of disturbances when we are not in complete control of events that have an impact on us. One thing is for certain and that is most desire to have peace. Most desire to be in a state calm and tranquility and most desire to be free from disturbances. The main point to remember here is that this type of peace the world cannot give but it is something that comes from above a gift that is given by Jesus Christ. Part 2 in Series - What Is Peace? In our next series of messages we will look at different passages in the bible that talk about peace. We will pull important points about peace and how it fits in our daily lives.  The first scripture on peace we want to look at is found in the Book of Isaiah 26th chapter and the 3rd verse. It reads, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee”. Looking closely at this verse we first see that the blessing of peace is based on condition. In other words, the Lord will do something if we do something which in this case peace is given it we keep our mind focused on God and we also trust in him. What does it mean to keep our mind stayed on God? This is where we can reference scripture for help. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”. Also Proverbs 16:3 says, Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. These two supporting scriptures tell us that keeping our mind on the Lord means keeping Him at the forefront of our decision making, seeking Him for guidance, and having His will for us in mind. When we are able to do these things then He will not only keep us in peace but the scripture says, “Perfect peace” meaning peace in mind, in heart, external, and internal peace. As life challenges us daily He will keep us at peace knowing that God can do anything in any situation and also this is due to the fact that we trust Him. We tend to have confidence in those things we trust. What a peace it must be to have full confidence in the All mighty God. We need to trust Him to keep us in peace and to trust Him in that He is able to help us keep our minds on Him. This brings up the final point from this lesson. We are not able within yourselves to keep God on our thoughts it is the Holy Spirit whom we receive by God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ that enables us to accomplish this feet (John 14:26). So for this lesson we must remember peace comes from putting our full trust in the Lord.

Part 3 in a Series - What is Peace?

Isaiah 53:5

Here we want to look at another scripture that talks about peace. Isaiah 53:5 is a very famous and powerful scripture. In this particular verse Isaiah the prophet foretells the suffering Christ would endure for mankind. In verse 5 it says, “…the chastisement for our peace was upon him…” Here we want to focus on how peace is used and what does it mean for us.  To understand the type of peace explained in the verse one must understand that Christ came to reconcile man back with God. Due to the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden mankind lost its intimate connection with God.  Christ suffering and eventually death restored mankind in right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In other words, there was conflict but through Christ we have peace with God knowing that we are now justified by the shedding of Christ blood. Jesus Christ was chastised and in pain that we might be at ease.  The peace comes from being in a right relationship and fellowship with God through Jesus. Before Christ came there was not peace between God and man due to sin but Jesus paid the cost with the shedding of his own blood that we may have peace again with God and thereby share in His peace. To have peace of mind on earth and to be in peace we need to have Jesus Christ in our life for He is the peace that our minds so long for.

Part 4 in a Series - What is Peace?

Philippians 4:7 

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ”

This is perhaps my favorite scripture when addressing peace. This is because Philippians 4:7 directs us in how we should obtain peace. Peace is given or obtained by the born again Christian through prayer. For in verse 6 the Bible says, “…but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God”.  That is to say in every emergency or cause for concern we have we should take it to God in prayer. When we are burden it is through prayer to God where we receive the peace that Philippians 4:7 speaks of. Not only prayer but verse 6 says we should add thanksgiving in our prayers. We should take the time and thank God for all He has done for us. This includes past, present, and future. If we are truly honest with ourselves we know that God has delivered us all from many situations where there seemed to be no way out. Also keep in mind that God already knows our needs before we have them and even before we pray. The praying part is for us. We can find comfort in communing with God through prayer.  As we pray more to God He will in turn strengthen our faith and give us the peace that we so long for. Remember in Isaiah 26:3 the Bible says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee”. Does anybody trust in God today? Do you believe in Jesus and that He is more than able to meet your need?

Verse 7 also points out a theme that has been mentioned in the other discussions on peace and that is peace comes through Jesus Christ. He is the focal point, the centerpiece.  He is the one who gives a peace that can go far beyond our human understanding abilities. All these messages are given to us to say this: God does not want his children living troubled lives, one filled with worrying, concern, and fear. God wants us to live a life on earth of peace and victory which He will freely give to all who desire it!

Rain - St. Matthew 5:45

Rain has always been an interesting phenomenon to mankind. Even though we do not quite understand rain and how it was started or at what point rain first fell to earth, the Bible gives many accounts of rain. God used rain to purge the earth of the wicked in the story of Noah Genesis 7. It is also used metaphorically to describe blessings God would send from heaven Exodus 16:4. In the text for today’s message rain can be symbolic of trouble or life circumstance. If we look from this vantage point the just and unjust must both face the rain according to St. Matthew 5:45. This shows God’s sovereignty in that He can do whatever so pleases Him.  The question becomes can we stand the rain. At others times blessings from God can shower us like rain. In this case, I’m sure many of us would not mind the rain. Yet we cannot control rain. We cannot control when it rains or where it rains but one thing we know it will rain sometimes in our lives. As stated earlier physical rain is not the only rain. When we cry that can be viewed as rain. When trouble comes that can viewed as rain. In these instances let us ask God to help us through the rain. Also blessings can shower us like rain. In these instances let us thank God for the rain. No matter what type of rain we face good or bad we know sometimes it will rain. Can you stand the rain?

Scripture August 9, 2009
Matthew 14:22-27

 “Let us come unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and to find grace to help in a time of need”

There is so much that can be said about this scripture. This is one scripture I recommend everyone have highlighted in their bible.  This scripture gives the children of God hope and direction in their time of need. Here notice the word “boldly”. Through Jesus Christ we have free access to come before God and let Him know everything that is on our heart. Not only free access we can come boldly or confidently knowing that God is ready to listen and hear our every cry. Also God’s throne is given a descriptive theme here. “…the throne of grace…” The children of God must know they can come to the throne of grace as a Gracious God sits on his throne. This can be tied to what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee…” So when we come to this great throne of grace we can find grace which the Lord told Paul was sufficient.  Finally, we are all in need of mercy as every day we do things in error whether intentional or unintentional and we need God to have mercy on us daily. Remember God’s grace, love, and mercy was shown to us through Jesus Christ a gift and privilege we should take advantage of everyday. So to recap we can come confidently to God to obtain that which we need being mercy and grace that is sufficient.

Scripture August 2, 2009
Hebrews 10:13-17

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