Emmanuel Ministries Thoughts (4.27.2010)

Sunday we were back at Emmanuel Ministries to minister. Both the small group of Spanish-speaking people and the English-speaking group stayed together as Márcia and her son cooked some food to follow the service.

We picked up in Philippians 1.27-30:

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Our main focus was in verse 27: Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. I spoke about keeping our life in line with Christ even when things go wrong and we are persecuted or suffer. Afterward, I had the opportunity to minister to several people about how the message affected them. It was a true blessing.

Finally, on Sunday I read one of Jonathan Edwards' famous 70 Resolutions. I decided I would begin to apply it to my life. He wrote, "Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better." May the Lord my God assist me in fulfilling this resolution. Resolutions are not just for New Years Day.

Resolved.

"Resolved, to ask myself at the end of every day, week, month and year, wherein I could possibly in any respect have done better." (Jonathan Edwards, great American preacher/theologian)

I will adhere to this resolution from this day forward.

Pete ><>
blog.missionbrasil.org

Back to the Cross

you did it once
you did it twice
you've sinned again, and spit on Christ
you asked forgiveness the other day
same sin repeated, don't you get it?
you don't know how to repent
wearing grace thin, it's such a shame
no willpower, lack of loyalty
a new excuse, a dangerous game

repeated - you've sinned again
weakness - you mock God
mercy - your credit card
you can't fool God - God's not mocked

as the dog returns to its vomit
so the fool returns to his folly

will you learn from your mistakes?
will you turn from your sin?
you face the world and turn from God
that's your bag and it's so wrong
you don't know how to repent
forgiveness starts and sinning ends
when you're weak he is strong
stop excusing yourself for wrong

back to the cross
you face the world with no regard to God
get back to the cross
stop using grace to justify your sin

("Back to the Cross" -The Crucified)


"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may
abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
(Romans 6.1-2 ESV)

Resurrection Sunday Sermon: "Christ is Risen"

It has been a while since I last posted to my blog. It has been a busy time for our family, but we have continued ministry with Emmanuel Ministries. Next month it will be one year since we began our current work here in Dade City.

I have continued on with the series in the book of Philippians, but I broke from it again to preach a message related to the Resurrection of Christ, really the whole of the salvation message. Below is a very simple outline. The introductory portion of the message was not recorded, so I add it here close to what I actually said.

• Intro: Being a Christian is not about a cause. It's not about a movement or politics. It is not a fad. It is not about miracles or religion. It is not about me. It is not about you. It is about Jesus: the Savior who endured the cross and died brutally, rising again on the third day. We celebrate this today.


• The Sign (Matthew 16.1-4)


• The Cross (Hebrews 12.2)-also cited Matthew 20.28, Jesus died as a "ransom for many."


• The Victory (Matthew 28.1-10)- also cited 1 Corinthians 15.55 "O death where is your victory?" and 1 Corinthians 15.57 (our victory comes through Christ).

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