Honoring All Veterans

Join the Celebration!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Guest Speaker & Church:
Reverend Kenneth Sapp
Pastor, Pleasant Grove Baptist Church

Scriptural Theme: Psalm 122:1

   Focus:           To celebrate the harvest of paying off the church and all of the
                          blessings of our families and friends this Thanksgiving season.

   Colors:           Brown and Orange

   Contribute:    Each member is asked to contribute $100.00 

    Come Celebrate With Us!

The Promise: I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6

Today’s Thought:

From the minute God begins a “good work” in us, He promises to continue working in us for the rest of our lives, transforming evey aspect of our heart and our character. He will show us how to become more like Him in our relationships, work, service, and love. If we ask Him to work in us every day, we will be amazed at what we will become when He finally takes us home to be with Him forever.

Today’s Plan:

What work does God need to do in you today? Are you open to His working in you?

The Promise: Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. Lamentations 3:23

Today’s Thought:

Life consists of a series of new beginnings; it’s our attitude toward them that makes all the difference. Each day provides new opportunities for us to get to know God better and to start over with new resolutions about how we will respond to circumstances and people. God’s mercy is new every day, no matter what we have done or how we have treated Him the day before. With God’s forgiveness, we don’t have to be burdened by yesterday’s failures or regrets. Today’s Plan: Do you extend new merc ies each day to the people you love and live with, just as God extends new mercies to you?

The Promise:

1 John 4: 9-10 tells us that God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him.  This is real love-not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as sacrifice to take away our sins.  1 John 4:9-10

Today’s thought: 

One of the greatest expressions of love is sacrifice.  God gave up His one son, Jesus, as an expression of His love for us.  This is real, unconditional love.  As you think about your most important relationships, do you love others based on how much they love you, or do you love unconditionally, regardless of how others treat you?

Thought to ponder:

What would your relationship with God be like if He put conditions on His love you?

While we don’t know exactly why God chose to make a world He knew would fall, we do know this: God has shown Himself to be good and loving in the midst of the darkest evil. Even though the brokenness of this world was caused by our rebellion, He has never let us go.

After we rebelled and the world fell, God could have been justified in turning His back on us, but He didn’t. Instead, in response to the evil of our rebellion, He showed us mercy. In response to our evil, God gave us love. He chose to rescue in stead of abandon. He chose to pay for our sin instead of letting us die in it. He chose to take our punishment Himself and offer us forgiveness. And because He did, His love has conquered evil.

We might not understand, but God’s ways and purposes are good. He didn’t make a mistake when He made the world. Even though this world is incredibly broken, God’s goodness shines through. Romans 8:28 teaches that for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, He works all things for the good—even the messiest, most broken situations. He will show Himself to be mighty. He is good and honorable, and He will fight evil in the world. And then He will defeat it. So as we walk through the fallout of this messy world and we feel wounded, hurt, and helpless, know that our good God is a Healer, He is a Comforter, and He is a Rescuer, just remember, He will be of those things to us and He will never let us go.

Prayer:
God, I thank You that You know the beginning from the end and that You only want what is best for me. Help me to be obedient and to follow Your will. In the name of Jesus. Amen

Show me a church where there is love, and I will show you a church that is a power in the community. Today let’s look at verse 39: “And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

We as believers are to be known by our love for God and others. Our love will look different than the world’s love. God’s standard of love is described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; is not boastful; is not conceited; does not act improperly; is not selfish; is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs; finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” When we display loving attitudes and behavior, we are reflecting God’s Love. “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have a love for one another.” (John 13:34-35). Think a moment about Jesus; love: unconditional-selfless-extravagant-limitless-unquenchable. That’s the kind of “just I have love you” love that Christians are to show-not just to our friends and family, but also to our enemies, the difficult people in our lives, the sandpaper people.

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you….” (Matthew 5:44-45). Loving this way is impossible to do in our own strength, but that’s the amazing thing. We don’t have to try to it our own strength. We as believers have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us…and nothing is too difficult for Him!

God is producing in us the likeness of His Son, a likeness that ultimately will reflect our Father’s love to those we interact with on a daily basis; therefore may the love of Jesus and His joy be reflected in our countenance today and always, until we meet again….To God Be The Glory!

Evangelist, Bishop Walter Humphry – Mariah Christian Center, Oakland, CA.

7pm Nightly,  August 24 – 28,2009

For More Information about Bishop Walter Humphrey visit:

http://www.moriahchristianfellowship.org/pastor.htm

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