We have no need to be discouraged at Passover time.  It is our opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to Almighty God and renew our dedication to putting on the new man.  As James says in James 4:2, sometimes we have not because we ask not.  We need to ask God for a clean heart before Him, as well as for hope, joy, peace, and a close, personal relationship with Him and His Son.

Our human names are little more than labels since they seldom reflect our character and personality. However, God's many names, and His family name, represent eternity, righteousness, perfection, godly purpose and intent. We must be overcoming now to grow in the Father's family traits so that we are perfected - complete - in His family name at the resurrection. What's in a name? Everything.

Jesus died for us, so we can be forgiven. Are we ready and willing to forgive others?

Christ fills many roles in our lives as Christians, one of those is that of being our Redeemer.  This sermon examines the topic of Christ (and God the Father) as our redeemer in detail, and reminds us how grateful we should be that we have a Redemption song to sing!

Jesus is the greatest Teacher of all time.   Gaining wisdom through Christ's Questions. 

Shouldn’t you consider, before taking the Passover, your faults in terms of the lack of faith.  Or the times you have neglected or forgotten what God has expanded to you, and made available for your future?  It is awesome beyond belief, and we need to repent of failing to remember it, and treating it with neglect, and treating His calling as something common.  It is very uncommon.  Do you appreciate it?  Only you can answer that question.

Brethren, let's use these days before Passover to make our own spiritual resolutions for rededication and spiritual renewal, and let's learn not to be careless with the "truths" of God, so we don’t lay them aside or forget about them.  Let's use this time of the year for spiritual renewal.

Heroes of faith are those who don’t do one good and heroic deed.  Heroes of faith are those who stand the test, Sabbath after Sabbath, week after week, year after year.  They are the glue that holds the Church of God together.  We certainly owe those from the past a great deal of thanks and appreciation for what they stood for.  Hopefully we are a part of those.  What does God want?  We are to be heroes of faith!!!

What do we learn from the book of Ruth?  God looks so far out there.  We not only having a loving God, but we have a God that works the plan.  He took two individuals, an old widow, and a young foreign woman, and He says, "You're mine.  I claim you; I'm not going to forget about you, and I don't want you to forget about Me.  I want to use you.  Genes and learning are passed down from generation to generation, so we should never underestimate our God, and never underestimate what God wants to do through you as you make yourself available to Him. 

God wants us to grow to the place that we're able to transfer those worries and those anxieties to His list, God's "to do" list, and we can trust Him to help us work through them.  But that takes time, that takes learning, that takes maturity to be able to do that and do it well.  But understanding that God is the Potter and that we are the clay is important.  We will reach that final point where God is complete, [His work in us is complete], if we allow God to use His skill and His power to mold us into the beings, the people, the children, and the character that He wants us to be.  And I hope that all of us can say along with Isaiah, "O Eternal, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the Potter; we are all the work of your hands."

Conversion is a process that takes work.  We need to not only be converted, but to be living a converted life.  The next time you get discouraged and wonder “am I even converted?”  stop…  and look at your life.  Chances are you see some of these things in your life, maybe not to the extent you would like or expect, but they are definitely there.  Then, instead of becoming discouraged and wanting to quit, instead of giving up--go to work shoring up these things and moving on toward the Kingdom of God with the realization that if God is for us—and He definitely is—who can be against us?

Lessons we have learned from Mr. George Meeker

Each day is a precious gift from God, and each day that passes you never get it back.  If we know brethren that we have just a short time to live, and we do know that, what would you do or are you going to do differently?  What we do with our short span of time in this life determines what is going to happen in the life to come.  Life is short!  Let’s ask God, “to teach us to number our days”, so that we can make every day count!

As in any trial, you have to forge ahead.  You learn from the experience.  You grow in God's character.  That's a part of what we must understand.  We in the church have to be supportive, helpful, kind and empathetic.  Time is not endless.  We need to start prioritizing what truly matters in life, and make intentional choices that align with our values and beliefs.

Caleb was just an ordinary man, but with great blessings in his life because he believed and obeyed God.  He had faith, he had courage, he wasn't a great man, he wasn't even a prophet, he wasn't even listed in Hebrews specifically, but by extension he certainly was. 

By implication he was a very great man, and there are great women in the BIBLE as well.  And the great men and women in the body of Christ in the church today doing the same thing, learning how to do the same things, facing our own giants, our own Goliaths, our own Anakim in our lives.

 It's our job to be responsible, to be honest, to be humble, to be zealous, and to have that fire inside for the truth of God.  If and when we practice this, if and when we stir this from within,  we will be blessed.  You and I, along with God, will be very happy with what we reap.  The truth of God is a great thing, but what does that really mean if we don't do anything with it.

Philippians 2:5 says, “let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”  That’s a sound mind.  It’s a pure mind.  It’s the mind of Jesus Christ that will go into the kingdom of God.  Let's make sure that we work and we focus on having the mind of Jesus Christ by using God’s spirit daily.

Our corrupted human nature tells us that, if we submit to God's law and God's way, God's direction, and we actually obey, our lives won't be happy.  The truth is that Spirit-led self-control, that allows us to be disciplined under God's rule, as one of the fruits of God's Spirit, is the only way to really be happy.  

God doesn’t always answer our prayers to our immediate satisfaction and instantly deliver us from our trials.  But He will always do what is ultimately best for us!  Of that we can have absolute confidence and faith.  So, next time you feel “Where is God.  I sure could use His intervention now!”  Realize that He is there and He is doing what needs to be done, even though we might not understand it at the time. 

We all need to be attuned to the still small voice in our lives.  Once we're in tune with the still small voice that comes from above, then we go to work among our brothers and sisters, among those who respond to the same voice.  There's service, there's help, there are things to be done among the people of God.  Elijah used the strength that the voice gave him and he went to work.  Refreshed, he moved on to build and to serve and to strengthen.  We must do the same.  We must serve.  We must build.  We must contribute.  But, first, we've got to pay attention to the still small voice.

How many of us ask for wisdom each day in our prayers?  To ask God for wisdom, and not just wisdom, but for His wisdom. Wisdom of course would include knowledge and understanding.  It would include insight and prudence.  Wisdom, in its simplest form, is how do things work?  How are things going to turn out the way they are?  Why do they turn out the way they do; in whatever realm or area that you're dealing with?  We're dealing primarily with God's results, what He wants to see achieved.  So, when we ask for wisdom, and again I mean God’s wisdom, then you need to know a little more about what you're asking for, and what it is that God says that He will give. 

What a tremendous significance we find in the Jubilee and the spiritual significance that it holds for us.  It holds the fact that there was a release of the land but more importantly today we have a release from sin and the penalty of sin.  It certainly stood for the return of the land going back to its owners, but we are bought back already by our Owner.  God has bought us back so we don't have to be slaves to sin, and we can be revitalized right now, today.  We are to grow and let that faith of ours grow and be revitalized because we have God's plan.  We understand the sacrifice of Christ and He lives in us and through us.

We must endeavor to practice what we preach.  If we believe that we worship a great and big God, then we must think big, and we must love big.  We must be bigger than the box.  Our good example will always speak volumes over our good arguments.  The lesson of faith and repentance has got to start here, before I share it with somebody else, for I am just a pitiful and small person, that in this moment of life is going to be used, in spite of myself, as Jonah was.

The conclusion of our faith, the end result, and the outcome of our faith is the resurrection to a spirit body.  The Feast of Trumpets is the fulfillment of our faith.  This day represents the unspeakable joy and faith in the resurrection, and return of Christ.  I hope we can see it; I hope we’re persuaded by it; I hope we can embrace it, and that we are willing to confess it just as those who have come before us.  I hope we look forward to the change of our bodies, and to the return of Jesus Christ to this earth.  It is the only answer!

After Christ returns, there will be complete change in the world and to us as well. We'll be immortal spirit beings given responsibilities by Christ Himself. Among many responsibilities, we'll be Judges and Teachers. We look at those responsibilities in this sermon and preparing for them now to be able to do them then.

Christ’s love toward us knows no bounds; His desire for us is for us to be with Him and to see that glory which He shares with the Father from all eternity.  He is not fulfilled with only purchasing our forgiveness and delivering us from sin, Satan, and this world, Christ wants us to be there with Him in the glory and to spend our eternity there.

As Christians, we know that Satan is the adversary of God and his people, but this sermon examines in greater detail about: Who Satan is, what his character is like and what his goals are, and how he works to achieve his goals.

Our only purpose for human life on earth, is to learn Gods way of life.

This split-sermon discusses what false religion is, its negative effects for Christians, and two primary aspects of it that we should avoid at all costs. It's important that we truly understand that only God's way of life embraces the truth and true worship of God.

God has done, is doing, and has promised to do far more for all of us than what would just be fair.  We deserve nothing.  He's promised to see to it that we will have everything, so we can be very thankful that our wonderful Father in heaven is so far beyond fair.

It's a high calling that God has given us.  The rewards are incredible to be able to be a part of His family.  The quest is worth it. The question is, will we, do it?  Will we put these into practice in our own personal lives?  We will need God's Spirit.  Without it, we can't attain it.  But will I, will you yield to God's Spirit in your life to allow you, to allow me, to put these into practice in my life?  I hope we will, I hope we will all be led into this kind of unity, and this kind of perfection by God's Spirit.

Balance (harmony) with God's thinking and Way of life are the only way to eternal life -- that's because God's way is the only way worth living forever. This sermon explores where spiritual balance comes from and shows that natural humans do not have balance or harmony with God. Lastly, it shows how balance is achieved as Christians.

Whether we are baptized or not yet baptized, let's ask ourselves these questions:  What do we think about change?  What's our attitude toward change?  Are we making excuses?  Are we putting it off?  How deeply do we desire change and be like Christ and to be in His kingdom and live forever?

The Ark of the Covenant, God’s box.  I hope as we consider the ark and the things in it, that we realize it is the very basis for all God’s dealings with us.  Just as He did for ancient Israel, He will feed and nourish us with perfect nutrition with spiritual food.  He will always supply all of our needs daily.  He will rescue and protect us, supernaturally with miracles if necessary.  But above all, He will never leave us or forsake us.  He will always be there.

What is idolatry? Where did it start? In this sermon we talk of these things, and we'll see a few persons' experience with idolatry from the Bible as well as some steps we should take to be ever watchful of idolatry to keep it from cropping up in our Christian lives.

Jesus told us to become perfect. Our perfection has to have a foundation and we are to build on that toward maturity. Jesus gave us a number of examples and concepts on how we can become perfect like our Father in heaven is.

A review of the covenant with Abraham, the New Covenant, and how they relate.

The Feast of Firstfruits has great meaning for God's Church. We can learn from other "firsts" in the Bible, lessons that can be applied to us today as we exercise the Holy Spirit and striving daily to live in the light of God.

God gives us a measure of His power to help us grow spiritually and overcome.

God's spirit enables us to boldly come before God for help and that we can boldly say the Lord is our helper. But there is a reckless kind of boldness that we must avoid.

God gives us the exact day of the Hebrew calendar to keep all of His festivals except the Feast of Pentecost. God tells us to count to determine the exact day of Pentecost. We will see the count begins on the day the wave sheaf offering is presented to God during the Days of Unleavened Bread. We are told to count seven sabbaths and then the day after the seventh sabbath would be the Feast of Pentecost.

Before Christ ascended to heaven, He told His disciples that they needed to focus on the work ahead using God's Holy Spirit rather than focusing on their worldly worries and concerns. He tells us the same through the very discussion He had with His disciples just before Pentecost and the giving of God's Holy Spirit to the early church.

God expects us to live differently than before and with the Holy Spirit within us, we have the help we need to become the new creation God expects us to be.

The last words that Jesus said on the day that He died by crucifixion deserves our full attention and consideration. All of Christ’s sayings were powerful and very meaningful. But the last words of Jesus on the cross as He died for us should change our lives…..

Change is something we all face in life. And for those of us in Church, there is a change we go through for both the minister and congregation when a pastoral transfer takes place. There are some ways we can cope with this, and any change, in a positive way. 

Many of us don't have the opportunity to have a job working directly for the Church, but that doesn't mean we don't have a part in God's work. We all have a part, and the sermon explains what that part is.

 

Leadership in the church is completely different than leadership in the world. In the church, it's not tied to an office but rather required by God for every Christian. This sermon goes into where godly leadership comes from, how it's acquired and how it is used in the church as well as the reasons God requires it before we're to be in the first resurrection.

The removal of leaven for 7 days reminds us that pride also needs to be replaced with humility. This doesn't come naturally and we have to learn to put on humility. Three ways on how this can be done is discussed in the sermon.

A look at ancient Israels struggles with worshiping high places.

The Sermon begins by covering the topic of "What do we believe" regarding forgiveness before and after Baptism. It then transitions to focus on the role of slavery in the Bible and the choice we make to be slaves of sin or servants of righteousness with the undercurrent of understanding the meaning of Passover and the liberty we receive when removing sin and asking for repentance.

Hidden sins are those that a person commits but does not see in themselves. Pride is one of the more evasive ones. God warns us of the dangers of pride especially when we let it continue unchecked.

 

The first thing Jesus said after His crucifixion was to ask the Father to "forgive them for they do not know what they do." Forgiveness is a mindset that we too must have.

The Bible states that Jesus, our High Priest, was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. It was only the beginning when the Devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness for forty days. Satan didn’t stop until the crucifixion of Jesus Christ….

Oftentimes John 3:16 is just a motto for some people. But the meaning has deep importance for all and is to be understood in its fullness especially in regards to Passover.

 God's relationship with Moses from early in his life to the many events that shaped Moses as a leader can apply to us today in our walk with God as we prepare for the Spring Holy Days.

We know that God wants us to trust in Him, and so how do we do that? Key points are given in how we can trust in God more fully.

The responsibilities we all have in the Church of God.

GOD made an everlasting covenant with Noah that HE would never again destroy the earth with a flood. We know that GOD will never break that covenant. But there was also another everlasting covenant that GOD made with Abraham and HIS descendants--the church today—that HE will never break but will keep for all eternity…

Time is a valuable commodity. In Ephesians 5:16 we are instructed to redeem the time because the days are evil. Our physical time on earth as human beings is limited. How are we using the time that we have? Are we rescuing it from loss or is it wasting away?

We often look at the geopolitical prophecies as to what will happen after Christ returns, but we also need to be reminded of what will happen after Christ sets up the millennial rule over this earth.

After we are chosen by God, He begins to teach us His way of life. He teaches us who He is and why we were born on this earth. God has provided us solid sound doctrine as a foundation for us to build upon. True and sound doctrine only comes from the Father and is passed down to human beings. God’s doctrine is provided for us to believe and develop a serious conviction for God’s way of life. This message shows the importance of God’s doctrine for us.

Since the Sabbath school classes will be covering the fruit of God's spirit, it is good for us to review that topic as well.

Continuation of the series on the canonization of the Bible- the period between the Old and New Testaments.

From Creation to current day we see the evidence of God's Sabbath. The Sabbath was created to be sanctified and holy as a day to be observed as a delight on the 7th day of the week as noted at Creation, during the time of the Israelites, as observed by both Jesus and His Disciples and now today by His True Church.

Pride can destroy righteous character and godly relationships with brethren and God. Satan is the father of pride along with other things. In this sermon, we look how pride affected four of Judah's righteous kings and how we may avoid some of the effects of pride.

There are many things that point to the fact that we are in the end times, but there are still a number of prophecies yet to take place.

It is God's desire that His Holy people separate themselves from the sins of society and also not be deceived by the false teachings of established religions. This sermon reminds us of the coming revival of the false Babylonian religious system that will control much of the world's commerce and power. The Bible gives us guidance on how to prepare for this powerful force.

During political elections we could get caught up in the results and be fretful and worried. There is, however, a much greater responsibility we have and that is to make OUR election sure.

A Jubilee year was announced once every 50 years on the Day of Atonement. There is much meaning with what was to take place during the Jubilee year and what the Day of Atonement pictures.


 

The Feast of Trumpets symbolizes the return of Christ and the resurrection of the saints. The sermon looks at who are the saints, their current responsibilities and what will happen to them when Christ returns.

In the Book of Revelation the glorified Jesus Christ is described as having a two-edged sword proceeding from His mouth. What is the meaning of this symbolism and what is the significance of it with respect to the Feast of Trumpets?

Many of us have observed the holy days for years. We still need to be reminded of their importance. There are some ways in which we can prepare to make them even more special this year.

 Having faith is not always something we can easily grasp.  We know we must have faith but how do we grow in it. This message focuses on how faith sits upon God's character and the need to grow in that character to grow in faith.

Continuation of the series on the canonization of the Bible.

A review of the 70 weeks prophecy, which is found in Daniel along with an important document that is found in Ezra.

 

Ezekiel 14:13-20 repeatedly mentions the righteousness of Noah, Job and Daniel.  All righteousness comes from God but the lives and actions of these individuals apparently stand out from the rest.  This sermon looks into some of the attributes of these Three Righteous Men.

There is a lot of discussion about this topic, both in and outside of the Church. When it comes on the scene, we surely don't want to receive it! 

 

God provides us with one scripture in the bible, a game plan that will help us endure to the end and enter His Family. The Bible is filled with accounts of God’s greatest servants battling to overcome sin. All of these servants were taught and trained by God individually to submit to Him and resist the devil. We will look at scriptures in the Bible that show that God is also teaching and training us in the very same way.

In addition to the historical background, there are prophecies and themes that we can find throughout the prophets.

Continuation of the series on the canonization of the Bible.

God promised Abram that if he obeyed, He would cause many nations and kings to come from his lineage.  This birthright promise was passed down to Isaac, Jacob and eventually, the sons of Joseph.  There are great responsibilities that come with being the inheritors of these promises.   As a nation, how are we doing?

It's important that we have physical knowledge in order to cope in this society, but what is most important to have is spiritual understanding. That requires us to have continuing education in spiritual concepts and doctrine.

Kindness is a fruit of the spirit and it is a character trait that we should be actively using in our lives that has synergy with love and patience.

:God gives us instructions, warnings, and prophecies about the end time.  We can read about the False Prophet that will come on the world scene yet in our future.  We will read the scriptures that God provides us about this individual.  We must be expecting and looking for this individual to come on the world scene. If we are expecting him and looking for him then we will not be deceived by him.

The Church began on Pentecost,and we are to be part of what God ordained for all who have Christ in them.

God gives us His Holy Spirit but He expects us to be involved in righteous words and deeds to stir His spirit. That requires us to ask God to stir His Holy Spirit within us and for us to USE His spirit to further stir it. I list four (4) specific ways to do this so that we may grow spiritually pleasing in God's sight.

We view power in many ways.  Man has created so many powerful feats of engineering but humankind forgets that our ability comes from God.  This Holy Day season we reflect on the power God gives us, His Holy Spirit, and are reminded that we need to live a life exercising that power by following His laws and the example of Jesus Christ. 

The Bible speaks of many mysteries, and as we prepare for Pentecost it is helpful to know what it really means to have Christ in us.

Message from HQ

At the time of the death of Jesus, the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom.  This sermon explains the significance of this powerful event.

An examination of some things that can choke out our spiritual growth.

How can we avoid the deadly process of sin?

The apostle John wrote that we need to keep ourselves from idols. What does that mean?

Israel complained, were fearful at the point of rejection God and those whom He appointed to lead, as well as rebelling against both.  In our spiritual lives we can easily do both too.  Israel came out of captivity but not spiritual bondage.  Israel believed in God but didn't believe what he said or how He did things.  What about us.

The story of Exodus provides us with many valuable lessons about God and His relationship with His people. 

Jesus not only suffered physically, but he was also treated horribly by the unmitigated hypocrisy during His arrest and trial.

 Points to consider as we prepare for Passover

As we begin to approach Passover, it's important that we examine our heart.  When God talks about a human being's heart in the Bible, He is not talking about the heart that pumps blood.  We will look at many descriptions from the Bible about a human beings heart. We will also read about the heart that God desires within us.  There is a specific heart, that the Bible describes, that is acceptable to God. He is the potter and we are the clay, He is in a process of developing a new heart within us.  As we approach Passover we need to take an honest look at our personal heart to see how we are doing.Summary

We need to prepare for the holy days and learn some lessons from Jannes and Jambrees.

Continuation of series on the canonization of the Bible.