The Shepherd’s Voice
 
The Shepherd’s Voice is one of our pastor’s communications extension to the Church, our friends and the world.  He uses it as a way to reach out to our faith community while providing spiritual insight and perspectives to the sermon messages and events and issues of our day.  We are welcomed and encouraged to comment on any of the messages by clicking the “Fine or Main Point” link you want to comment on, going to the bottom of the page and filling in and Submitting the Reply at the end of the message.  Most of the blogs have audio playback so we can listen to as well as read them.  We hope you are blessed and inspired by our Shepherd’s Voice.

Our Creator Cares Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Our Creator Cares”. 

Who cares these days and what do we care about?  Just as importantly who do we think or believe cares about us?  Today, people have become increasingly cynical motivated by self-interest and distrustful of everybody and everything. 

We are seemingly only capable of caring about the things we want and need.  We are unwilling and/or unable to see the other side of an issue, the needs and perspective of others and we refuse to compromise. 

There may have been a time when we were not so cynical.  A time when we were more trusting of one another, more concerned about one another, willing to share with one another, more willing to do what was good for the most people rather than just for ourselves?  Maybe we have stop caring because we don’t see the point in caring. 

We are increasing falling into the category of people who believe nothing matters because people don’t matter.  They believe people don’t matter because they see no reason or purpose in their being.  Since any self-assigned or self-imposed purpose is really meaningless because it is made up we tell ourselves, people wind up not being able to care what happens much beyond their own struggle for survival. 

But like David, the king of Israel, wrote in the 8th Psalm, there is no doubt that God, our Creator, cares about us, mankind.  This is evident by how wonderfully made man is.  Man is crowned with the glory and honor by being made in the likely of his own Creator as far as being able to think, create, contemplate and recognize his own existence.  And also by giving him the responsibility of managing the earth and the other creatures in it. 

By reason of the fact that our Creator took the time or effort to create us in this way and assign to us responsibility demonstrates He cares.  David’s question was not one of “if” He cares, but “why” does He care? 

Only He knows for sure the answer to this question.  But because we see He cares it should be reassuring to us in our moments of struggle and despair to know that someone cares about us.  And it should also be motivational for us to care about others even in the midst of our struggles and suffering even when or if we may feel not many care about us. 

Regardless of how it may look or feel, our Creator loves us and cares about us.  The reason He cares may have a lot to do with His love toward us.  But whatever His reason is for caring we can be confident we are not abandon and alone in this world. 

Our Creator is watching and He cares about what we are doing, what we are thinking and what we are feeling.  We, like David, should continue to ask ourselves, why?  By asking this question and looking at ourselves and others, we may discover something about and within ourselves and others that causes God’ to care and make us worthy of His concern. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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The Right Side Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “The Right Side”. 

We are living in times where a growing number of people are not concerned whether something is wrong or right.  In fact, people care little about anything beyond their own interest or cause.  We are failing to see the cause of our being and existence as the paramount and driving motivation for how we should live our lives. 

Being on the right side is about being in alignment and agreement with that purpose and reason.  The right side in this instance goes beyond the immediate situation and is not the same thing as some would view a winning side. 

The right side is not either side of an issue people are made to choose between where only one of the two alternatives is seen as right.  Neither is it a function of how one stands in regard to another person, entity or cause.  The right side is not about how some future generation shall view the choice we made and decide if it was a historically right choice. 

The right side is the only place a person can stand, the only position a person can take, the only manner in which a person may live that agrees with the true and real reason we exist at all.  For believers, we believe that right side begins and ends with God. 

God is the beginning and ending of all things.  Seeking Him, obeying Him and following Him for them is the right side.  Whatever other choices and decisions we are called to make must be made in light of that fact. 

If this is not the right side, then what is it?  Some will say there is no right side while others will say they don’t know and still others say they are in search of it.  Believers have decided that there not only is a right side, but there must be a right side to explain and give meaning to their lives and existence.  For them that side is faith in the God of Creation and the work and words of Jesus Christ. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Obstacles To Faith Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Obstacles To Faith”. 

The New Testament tells us of a certain woman with a constant flowing blood problem who had a great desire to be healed of her affliction.  After spending all of her money on doctors and her condition worsening, something she had heard or seen about Jesus caused her to believe He could help her. 

She heard Jesus was passing through and that was her opportunity to see if Jesus could help her.  She was so desperate to be healed that she believed only a touch of His clothes would be enough to be healed. 

This is an example of having a strong desire for or hope for something and believing or having faith it will come to pass and be realized.  But between the desire and hope for something and the faith to believe it can and shall be achieved lies obstacles to faith. 

Obstacles to faith are those things which will cause a person to abandon their hope, desire and faith.  The obstacle that stood between this woman and her healing through Jesus was a large crowd that made it very hard to get close enough to Him to touch Him. 

There are many people who have faith that will lose it or it will not grow into a permanent, righteous and lasting relationship with God because it encountered an obstacle that it didn’t overcome.  Many others will not ever have any faith because of these same obstacles. 

The only way for faith to overcome obstacles is for the desired outcome or object of that faith or hope be greater than the obstacles placed before it.  Obstacles will come.  The question is how great is one’s desire to receive the blessings or reward of faith. 

The woman had this issue with her blood flowing for twelve years was greatly motivated to be cured of her affliction.  With Jesus so close, she was not going to allow the obstacle of the crowd to prevent her from getting close enough to Jesus to touch Him. 

We must set our sights on what we want to achieve from our faith.  If we desire it great enough, like this woman we will find a way to overcome the obstacles to prove if the object of our faith shall come to pass. 

This woman didn’t know if touching Jesus would heal her but she had reason to believe it would and desire to be healed.  Likewise, we don’t know if placing faith in God through Jesus Christ is going to lead to everlasting life.  But like her, we have reason to believe it will and desire to live forever. 

While there are many obstacles that take many forms and variations, the four mentioned in the message were obstacles caused by reliance of senses, obstacles caused by gratification of the body or lust of the flesh, obstacles caused by conflicting influences and obstacles caused by inadequate foresight. 

Any and all of these can interfere with faith and either cancel it or stunt its growth so that it never develops into a mature saving faith that permanently, righteously and lastingly changes our relationship with God. 

This woman’s desire to be healed and her belief in Jesus to heal her was greater than the obstacles in her way to reach Jesus.  Our desire for eternal life and faith in Jesus must be equally as great to establish the right relationship with God that will endure to the end if we are to realize our hope and desire and object of our faith which is everlasting life. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Motivation For Morality Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Motivation For Morality”. 

A growing number of people both here and around the world don’t think much of or about morality.  Some never have and others no longer see it as relevant or important.  Yet it is morality that enables societies to function in peace and harmony. 

Morality establishes respect for others and trust to enter agreements and methods for interacting with others.  Morality is the idea that some things are right, good, correct, true and virtuous and should be practiced among people. 

Immortality is the absence or breakdown of these ideas which lead to conflict, injury and harm to others.  Many people may agree with the thought and idea that morality is a good thing and should be practiced.  But many more people are replacing expediency as a greater motivator of behavior and actions than morality within society. 

Expediency is not concerned with morality but with what is in the best interest or with what is the best and easiest manner to achieve a desired outcome.  The benefits, rewards and results of expediency are immediate and tangible regardless if the outcome is the one desired. 

The benefits, rewards and results of morality are not as clear and harder for individuals to measure and experience the benefits of morality.  Morality may cause a person to feel good or positive about oneself, but it may not help one achieve a desired outcome or result like expediency might. 

The question becomes why then be moral?  What profit, reward or benefit is it to be moral?  To find the answer to this question, we must look outside our world.  Because increasingly our world doesn’t reward morality in any tangible way, but expediency. 

People value the prize or outcome more than the method that was used to achieve it.  People are perfectly willing to bypass and sacrifice morality in achieving their ends because not doing so may cost them what they want.   As they watch more and more people doing this, they begin to ask why should I be left out because I’m being moral.  

If this is increasingly the case, then what becomes the motivation to be moral?  Morality has been rooted in the belief that someone outside this world will reward one for being virtuous and living a moral life.  That someone in most cases has been God. 

People were willing to go without or lose in a situation or circumstance as long as they believed the reward of morality will more than make up for anything they may have loss for morality’s sake.  But with more people placing God out the picture, they see nowhere for this reward or benefit for morality to come from. 

The motivation for morality then looks inward and toward others in the world to be validated and no such validation can be found to justify what is given up in order to maintain one’s morality.  The reward is just not there.  It only works if others agree to be moral. 

But it only takes a few to disrupt the entire system for everyone even with laws and punishments in place for those who don’t comply.  We see the results of increasing immorality as society drifts into greater dysfunction and collapse of institutions and norms that promote the general welfare of everyone. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Experiencing Fuller Life Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Experiencing Fuller Life”. 

As good as life is in many ways, suppose there is much more about it we are not aware of.  Suppose we are capable of experiencing a far greater life than our current biological life permits.  Suppose we die or experience death, because this life we now have was never intended to be permanent, but only a sample of what life really is and can be. 

These are some of the possible explanations for Jesus claiming to be the door that leads to life unlike we know or experience it now.  Jesus suggests that what we know and experience as life now falls short of what life really is or could be. 

By saying He has come that we might have life and have it more abundantly, fully or completely, suggest we don’t have real, whole or complete life but only a sample, a trial or incomplete version of what life really is and consist of. 

God did a very good job putting us in touch with this life as shallow and incomplete as it is.  The reality and sensations and beauty and everything else about it is so amazing, it is difficult for us to image anything greater.  And it is for this reason we find it difficult to seek or believe in something better. 

A caterpillar would spend its entire life as a worm if not for the faith to spin the cocoon.  But by spinning the cocoon, it allows it to be transformed into another creature capable of exploring a completely different world than the one it lived as a worm. 

It did not know its’ new world existed nor was it given any proof or assurances of what the result of its actions would be.  Yet by faith it spins the cocoon not knowing why or what will happen to it because this is what it believes it should do as the result of biological processes.  If these biological processes didn’t instruct it so, the caterpillar will live out the rest of its life as a worm. 

Human beings have no biological function or process that cause them to believe the gospel.  Instead, we must decide for ourselves what to believe.  We must decide if all we are and ever could be are worms and what we appear to be now or if we are capable of becoming more. 

We must decide if all life is and can be is what we know and are experiencing as biological creatures here on earth or if what we are experiencing as life is not life at all in its complete and full form.  This is also where Christian faith steps in. Jesus suggests and proclaims that He is the door through which if a person enters will find and experience this greater and fuller form of life. 

We are faced with a monumental and eternal choice.  Do we close our minds to the possibility that no other life than what we know and have experienced is possible or do we open our minds to the possibility we can become more than the worms we are. 

Jesus is saying by and through faith we can be transformed and experience life like we never knew existed, never could imagine or even thought possible.  All because we chose not to base all that was and is possible from the point of view of a worm and a worm’s limitations. 

Believers were and are not biologically forced to spin a cocoon like caterpillars, but had and have the insight and faith to choose to spin one for the possibility and potential it holds in doing so. They believe in butterflies. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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People Who Ponder Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “People Who Ponder”. 

Pondering is an activity which people can engage in when they want to give something serious, careful and considerable thought before coming to a conclusion, making an important decision or taking an action on an important matter. 

In past years and for many generations of people, religion and Christianity specifically played an important part in the everyday lives of people.  It was assumed in many cultures that nearly everyone believed in God and people were expected to adopt the religion of their parents and family. 

But this has changed for many people and cultures especially in recent decades.  A growing number of people have accepted the view of people who have rejected traditional religious beliefs and replaced it with emphasis on secular and nonreligious explanations and ways of looking at life. 

As a result of this alienation from religion and God, people have stopped pondering and mediating on the key questions of life that led many generations of people before them to believe as they did toward God and religion.  Those three questions asked about the origin of humanity, the purpose of humanity and the fate of humanity. 

The answers to these questions were found in a religious context and widely accepted.  Those who have rejected and accepted non-religious views to these questions have no viable and creditable substitute for these questions. 

People no longer ponder these important questions.  Without meaningful answers to these questions, people are having trouble and difficulty finding meaning and purpose in their lives. 

People are becoming reactors to circumstances, stimuli and events that drive their lives and form the basis of meaning for the lives.  And since these things are superficial and shallow, people end up unfulfilled, dissatisfied, lonely and alienated within society. 

More people are experiences mental and psychological issues and problems as the void in meaning of life takes a toll on a greater percentage of the population.  In fact, the nation recently established a national emergency hotline 988 for people in need of mental health assistance. 

Today, true Christianity is composed of people who ponder these important life questions and have come to the conclusion that God and inspired scripture like the bible provide the best answers to these important questions.  They also provide a measure of control on the outcome of their fate. 

Those who are confident in their faith and belief in Christianity and the answer it provides to these important questions, are called to help others find the peace and assurance they have found in the message of the gospel. 

There are still unanswered questions.  The entire and whole picture of existence, purpose and fate is still cloudy, but we continue to seek answers and the Living God in order to provide greater clarity to an unclear picture. 

But God has and will continue to provide the answers believers need to keep and maintain their faith in Him.  

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Forfeiting A Fortune Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Forfeiting A Fortune”. 

Forfeit means to lose the right to do or have something.  A fortune is something of immense and great value.  To forfeit a fortune then is to lose the right to have something of immense and great value. 

Most people would not knowingly forfeit a fortune unless there was something of even greater value than the fortune they are forfeiting.  This was the case when a young man was willing to forfeit a fortune for the chance of reuniting with the young woman he loved. 

By turning down the fortune, there was no guarantee that he would make contact with her, but it was a chance he was willing to take.  Likewise, there is no guarantee that all that the bible says about eternal life will come to pass. 

But based upon observed evidence, witness testimony and personal experience there exist a reasonable probability that it will come to pass.  And if so, those who have positioned themselves correctly will receive an out of and beyond this world eternal substance of value that even words are not adequate to describe. 

This belief in what is not guaranteed or proven is faith.  This is what Jamal had when he turned down the fortune to answer another question he didn’t know the answer to.  Faith that his lost love would be watching and they would make contact as a consequence of this game show.  

Believers have faith that not only does God exist and created this world and universe, but He made us for a reason and that reason includes for us to experience eternal life with Him.  Eternal life with God is what Jesus is referring to in the two parables He uses to teach us that there is something greater and more valuable than everything a person can and will possess. 

The hidden treasure in the field and the pearl of great price were worth more than all other things to those that found them had.  This is why they sold all they had in order to obtain them.  We should view God’s promises and eternal life the same way.  But sadly, there are things in the way that are causing people to forfeit the fortune of eternal life. 

One thing in the way is a failure to recognize the fortune for the fortune it is.  Many people fail to see the value of eternal life and therefore pass it by and overlook it simply because they under value it. 

Another reason for forfeiting eternal life is a lack of faith or belief that God is.  The irony of this is that millions of people believe they have a chance to win a mega jackpot fortune where the odds are over 3 million to 1, but will not take a chance on God being real when those odds are 2 to 1 or 50:50 based upon available evidence, witness testimony and personal experience. 

Another hinderance is the lack of desire to become more than what we are.  We are satisfied being human and bound and tied to the earth.  We don’t aspire to be heavenly beings on the order of angels or something much more superior than flesh and blood.  These are just a few general reasons why people forfeit the fortune of eternal life. 

If I decline to purchase a lottery ticket, then I will forfeit any chance of winning the jackpot no matter the size.  Likewise, if people ignore the gospel and refuse to seek and obey God, they will forfeit any chance of receiving the fortune of eternal life. 

People are willing to purchase lottery tickets knowing the odds because any money they will lose if they don’t win is so small in comparison to the money they will receive if they do win.  However, for reasons stated above, people do not apply this same reasoning when it comes to eternal life. 

What we stand to gain by trusting, obeying and believing God is so much greater than anything we have to lose or forfeit by seeking God.  This is where we stand today. 

The glitz and glitter of the world have blinded people to the riches of God.  As a result, millions upon millions of people, many we know personally and love, are walking away from a fortune they cannot see or appreciate. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

Comments



A World And People Adrift Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “A World And People Adrift”. 

The Hebrew writer warns his readers about drifting away from the words and teaching of Christ.  Precisely because they are the words and teachings of Christ, he urges us to assign them even greater importance and attention. 

The result of not giving His words the earnest or deepest heed or adherence is a drifting away from God and the teachings about God found in the scripture.  We can see what this does by observing those who have already done this or who never had any faith. 

Today, the greatest existential threat to America and the world is ungodliness.  One, if not the most important, causality of this ungodliness is respect for and reverence for the truth.  The standard of today’s discourse is not what is factually undeniable, but what people can get other people to believe, accept or go along with if they see it somehow benefits themselves or injures someone they dislike or disagree with. 

Without God or truth, society and the world has become disjointed without clear and unified collective purpose and identity.  Agreement can’t be found on important issues that affect the well-being of not only those in a particular nation or society, but the entire planet. 

People have become primarily seekers of pleasure that mirror a philosophy of live for today for there is nothing beyond it.  Without a shared vision or purpose, people are out for themselves. 

The things we have latched onto have no depth of meaning and are shallow attempts to find fulfillment in a life without direction and significance.  The world and people are clinging to floating bits and pieces of human inventions and idols as they drift farther away from our Creator to eventually perish in a sea of nothingness. 

Therefore, it is encumbered upon the true people of God to provide light and stability to a world and society drifting away from our Creator.  We must be guardians, protectors and advocates for truth.  We must help dispel the unsubstantiated claim that we are the random accidental product of lifeless cosmic dust whose appearance on this earth is entirely without any forethought or deliberation. 

If it wasn’t for the force we know as gravity, the cosmos would fall apart and celestial bodies would drift away and collide into each other and end up destroying each other.  God-fearing believers and upholders of truth must serve and act as the world’s gravity to help alleviate the widespread drifting the world and people are experiencing now in order to prevent us from running into each other, destroying one another and this planet God made for us to dwell on. 

We must give the more earnest heed to the words of our Lord lest we too end up adrift like the rest of the world. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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The Revelation Of God

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “The Revelation of God”. 

A rainbow is one of nature’s most beautiful spectacles that points to the hand of God.  It consists of water and light and curves to form a beautiful circle.  Scientist believe they know how rainbows are formed, but knowing how something works or is formed doesn’t explain why. 

The search for the answers to why reveal the mind and intentions of God, our Creator.  We have knowledge of gravity and can predict the motions of objects based upon mathematical formulas and equations.  But being able to describe gravity and how it is and can be used doesn’t answer the question of why there is gravity. 

Being able to use and describe light doesn’t answer the question of why light consist of a spectrum of color.  Being able to describe DNA and how it works to create and reproduce life doesn’t answer the question of why DNA can do this. 

All these things and many more examples contain and indicate purpose and intent.  But intent and purpose are not derived from nonliving and mindless things themselves but are given from without and point to the hand of a Creator whom we call God. 

God reveals Himself in the why of the things we see and observe.  The bible also supports and credits God for all these things. 

A recent Gallup poll showed that 29% of people surveyed agreed that the bible contains fables and legends and are the work of men.  I can understand why some people would say this because of some of the things the bible states to be true that have no known explanation, at least that I am aware of, as to how those things could be. 

For example, how can it be explained that over 5000 people could be fed with only two fish and five loaves of bread.  Or how can a person survive three days and nights in the belly of a whale or fish.  Or how a flood of water covered the earth and destroy all life except those contained in an ark. 

But because something can’t be explained doesn’t mean there’s not an explanation or that it didn’t happen.  And all those who claim something the bible states happened didn’t happen based on the lack of explanation how it could, produce no proof that it didn’t happen. 

Finally, God is revealed in the bible.  The bible states that God said this and God said that.  It reveals God working with and through people to accomplish His eternal purpose for them.  Along with the account and revelation the bible gives us of God requires a measure of faith. 

For reasons only fully known to Him, God has chosen to use faith to justify man’s worthiness and righteousness for salvation.  Faith requires us to believe some things we are not able to prove.  It requires us to accept some things as true without knowing for a fact they are. 

There are many things about our world and conditions under which we have to live that are difficult.  They can be difficult to explain and for us to find reasons to justify.  But if we had all the answers to all the questions, there would be no need for faith. 

For faith is only required when something is unknown and God has chosen to not to answer all of our questions so that we will have to trust and believe Him for what we don’t know.  And while God doesn’t answer all of our questions, He has given us the answer to enough of them to reveal His presence in our life and in our world. 

This revelation can be seen in the things we observe like the rainbow and in the written infallible, inerrant and inspired book we call the bible or word of God.  For in them they point to the answer to the why questions the how answers can’t provide. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities. 

Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

Comments



Living Our Best Life Fine Points

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from Sunday’s service and message “Living Our Best Life”. 

If the progress in making human life more convenient, safer and easier to live could be graphed, for nearly all of human existence the line would be almost flat.  With the harnessing of electricity and other sources of power and energy in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the line becomes an upward curve. 

So that now, people in certain parts of the world have been freed from focusing on daily survival to contemplating ways to use extra time, money and resources nearly all of humanity before them never had. 

One’s best life was and still is one in which all of one’s necessities of life and safety were and are met.  But even a life such as this has limitations.  Therefore, people for centuries have recognized that the possibility of life with God is the best life possible.  Because life with God will not have or be saddled with any of the limitations of human weakness and frailty in any life people can make for themselves. 

But now, there is a growing number of people who have abandoned any vision of a best life with God and have decided to seek their best life here and now.  To facilitate that life, there is a pursuit and love of money at the expense of the pursuit of the righteousness of God.  For people perceive money as the means to purchasing best life experiences.  

In HER song, “Come Through”, she sings about her crew not telling anything because they are trying to live their best life.  For more and more people, pursuing our best life excludes obedience and approval of God. 

Advances in human utility, tools and resources have embolden people to believe they no longer need God or look to heaven to have or experience their best possible life.  Contrarily, people of faith are extremely thankful to God for the progress that has been made in what is required to live their daily lives. 

They are thankful the all the conveniences, utilities and resources both economic and otherwise that all the people before them never had.  Yet, they realize that no matter how much their natural lives may improve over previous generations, they will never reach the point of what only God can and will provide for those who believe on and seek His righteousness. 

As Christians, and all people who fear God, let us continue to praise God for the best life He is allowing us to experience here and now as we seek and await our best life with Him in eternity. 

You can hear the complete sermon by clicking the sermon title above.  You can also see and listen to our previous Sunday School, Missions and BTU sessions by clicking this link.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices to get the latest news, updates and shortcuts to all of our ministries, functions and activities.  Click the SS Daily Bible Readings for an excellent devotional and preparation for the upcoming Sunday School study.  Don’t forget to leave a comment or question down below.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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