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When God Makes a Fist

April 22, 2018

 Ezekiel 34:25-31

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace
25 “I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. 30 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. 31 And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

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Join the Pursuit!

To find God is to begin a lifelong pursuit of Him. This sounds like a contradiction or a bit of nonsense, but it’s true. When a man falls in love with a woman, he does not ask for her hand in marriage that he may end his pursuit of her, but only to begin it in earnest. So it is and should be in a person’s relationship with God. When a person is called by God and surrenders his life to Him, he has found God in fullness and secured the promise of spending eternity with Him in heaven. But what salvation also wins for the believer is a newfound peace with God that leads to fellowship, intimacy, and real friendship with Him. Too often, our church’s pulpits and programs have taught that a person’s pursuit of God ends in baptism and that’s a terrible mistake. To those whose growth in God has been stunted by such spiritual malpractice, A. W. Tozer has written a wonderful word of challenge and encouragement. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God reads like a modern day prophecy written to a people in exile and offers the would-be pilgrim a clear pathway back to the Promised Land. A group of us here at the church are reading through this book and meeting on Sunday mornings at 8:30 to discuss what we’ve learned. We’d love to have you come and join the pursuit!

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Why Argos Waited for Odysseus

April 15, 2018

Revelation 14:1-5

14 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

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High Cotton

April 8, 2018

Acts 12:1-5

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

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