Pastor Charles spoke, in a way that only he can
About the sovereignty of God and the will of man
God and Seekers was the title of his sermon today
About Luke 19 :1-10 Pastor Charles had a lot to say
Zacchaeus was s short man who climbed up a tree
For Jesus was who this tax collector wanted to see
Jesus then told Zacchaeus to from the tree come down
For Jesus was to stay in his house on this visit to town
Others complained that Jesus went to stay with a sinner
But Zacchaeus truly repented and became a winner
For Jesus came to "seek and to save", per verse ten
This primary objective is repeated again and again
Zacchaeus' passion to see Christ led him to be bold
Similarly, Jesus came to seek the lost, we were told
This is the Augustine theology of "prevenient grace"
Divine grace precedes any decision by the human race
God reaches us through circumstances in our life
Pastor's height was given so he could marry his wife
Remember that God pursues us even if we may doubt
We can receive His love at any time, on any route
God loves and looks over us all of the time
Even if like Adam we sin or commit a crime
Of the spiritual world, we all have some fear
To dispel this is the reason Jesus did appear
"No one...seeks God" says Romans 3 verse 11
Paul said all had turned away from God in heaven
Isaiah 53:6 says we are like sheep gone astray
For "each of us has turned to his own way"
But God's remedy can be found in John 12:32
When Jesus was crucified, as He came to do
To himself, Jesus said he would draw all men
And we know Jesus will not quit on us, amen
As the Hound of Heaven, the Holy Spirit was referred
For God's relentless love for us can not be deterred
Luke 15's three parables talk of things that were lost
For the sheep and coin, they were found at great cost
But nobody seemed to be searching for the lost son
His elder brother did not do what he should have done
For he served his father well but did not know his heart
Before and after his brother's trip, he did not do his part
Per Romans 8:29, Jesus is actually our brother firstborn
He came to seek and to save us, no matter the scorn
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
21 October 2012 - ENCS
Pastor Kenneth spoke today about "Father's Love"
1 John 3:1 says that we are children of God above
Everlasting love is highlighted in Jeremiah 31:3
We are sons, not slaves in Galatians 4:6-7 we see
"Moving from Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship"
Pastor Kenneth focused on in order for us to equip
All earthly love is by God's love far surpassed
Our love versus His perfection does contrast
Experienced this love many of us have not
Even though it is talked about quite a lot
In John 14:18, Jesus provides us with a big clue
"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you"
He was of course talking about our spiritual state
Hoping that we do not end up following Satan's fate
Lucifer was the worship leader before he did transgress
But out of wickedness, he chose to be fatherless
To break our relationships, Satan doesn't need a sword
He knows that all he must do is to sow seeds of discord
But when God from Eden pushed Adam and Eve
He always loved them even though He did grieve
Pastor then spoke about orphan hearts
Versus hearts of sonship, in five parts
Image of God, Theology, Need for Approval were three
Followed by Motivation for Purity and View of Authority
Orphan hearts, to please God, harder and harder try
Hearts of sonship know it is God's relationship, that's why
Orphan hearts love the law and try to rules adhere
Hearts of sonship live by the law of love it is clear
Orphan hearts want constant earthly approval and praise
Hearts of sonship know God accepts them all of their days
Orphan hearts need to be holy to get God's nod
Hearts of sonship want to be holy to honor God
Orphan hearts view any authority with suspicion
Hearts of sonship respect those in higher position
God wants us each to make that trip
From orphan heart to heart of sonship
The prodigal son who returned with repentant heart
The elder brother for the wrong reasons did his part
In other words, the orphan heart must change
Into a heart of sonship it must exchange
For misrepresenting God's love, we must our parents forgive
None of us is perfect, but in a broken state we cannot live
On being sons and daughters to our parents, focus we must
In that way, we can learn to honor, respect, obey, and trust
For in 1 Corinthians 15 verse forty six it does say
The natural precedes the spiritual, that is the way
As the son of God and of man Jesus did himself refer
To have the heart of sonship, we should not defer
1 John 3:1 says that we are children of God above
Everlasting love is highlighted in Jeremiah 31:3
We are sons, not slaves in Galatians 4:6-7 we see
"Moving from Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship"
Pastor Kenneth focused on in order for us to equip
All earthly love is by God's love far surpassed
Our love versus His perfection does contrast
Experienced this love many of us have not
Even though it is talked about quite a lot
In John 14:18, Jesus provides us with a big clue
"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you"
He was of course talking about our spiritual state
Hoping that we do not end up following Satan's fate
Lucifer was the worship leader before he did transgress
But out of wickedness, he chose to be fatherless
To break our relationships, Satan doesn't need a sword
He knows that all he must do is to sow seeds of discord
But when God from Eden pushed Adam and Eve
He always loved them even though He did grieve
Pastor then spoke about orphan hearts
Versus hearts of sonship, in five parts
Image of God, Theology, Need for Approval were three
Followed by Motivation for Purity and View of Authority
Orphan hearts, to please God, harder and harder try
Hearts of sonship know it is God's relationship, that's why
Orphan hearts love the law and try to rules adhere
Hearts of sonship live by the law of love it is clear
Orphan hearts want constant earthly approval and praise
Hearts of sonship know God accepts them all of their days
Orphan hearts need to be holy to get God's nod
Hearts of sonship want to be holy to honor God
Orphan hearts view any authority with suspicion
Hearts of sonship respect those in higher position
God wants us each to make that trip
From orphan heart to heart of sonship
The prodigal son who returned with repentant heart
The elder brother for the wrong reasons did his part
In other words, the orphan heart must change
Into a heart of sonship it must exchange
For misrepresenting God's love, we must our parents forgive
None of us is perfect, but in a broken state we cannot live
On being sons and daughters to our parents, focus we must
In that way, we can learn to honor, respect, obey, and trust
For in 1 Corinthians 15 verse forty six it does say
The natural precedes the spiritual, that is the way
As the son of God and of man Jesus did himself refer
To have the heart of sonship, we should not defer
21 October 2012 - Proverbs 21:21
"He who pursues righteousness and love", be it father or son
"Finds life, prosperity, and honor" says verse twenty one
This sounds straightforward but is hard to do
For the mistakes I make are so far from few
Although good may be the intentions of my heart
My body and mouth don't always do their part
So dear God please let me have a brand new start
For in your overall plan, I know I should have a part
And when I feel discouraged, tired, or run down
Let me remember to smile with joy, not to frown
For I know that you are with me every single day
From your love and guidance, I should not stray
"Finds life, prosperity, and honor" says verse twenty one
This sounds straightforward but is hard to do
For the mistakes I make are so far from few
Although good may be the intentions of my heart
My body and mouth don't always do their part
So dear God please let me have a brand new start
For in your overall plan, I know I should have a part
And when I feel discouraged, tired, or run down
Let me remember to smile with joy, not to frown
For I know that you are with me every single day
From your love and guidance, I should not stray
Sunday, October 14, 2012
14 October 2012 - ENCS
Josh spoke about "Why Life Groups?" today
Read "The Lego Principle" he also did say
To understand life groups, he asked "why people?"
Josh loved God but not all who were under the steeple
He ran away from the church as a result
That is not uncommon for a young adult
But it is not enough to have a relationship with God
We must love others even if they are extremely odd
So then Josh heard "it is now time to serve me"
He realised that words from God those had to be
Then to First John 4, Pastor Josh did refer
Verse 11 says "we should love one another"
With this theme, subsequent verses continue
If we love God, we must love others too
Love is the focus of First Corinthians thirteen
It implies action, not just a feeling unseen
We need people in our lives in order to grow
Other people wrote the Bible, don't you know
Josh then turned to 1 Samuel 23 verse sixteen
Jonathan helped David in this famous scene
We must fix ourselves, Josh did then remind
Instead of fault with others trying to find
Let the Bible correct others, adult or teen
This is the message from 2 Timothy 3:16
And then from Hebrews ten verse twenty five
We must not give up meeting while we are alive
For this is how we can encourage each other
Family and friends, be it a sister or a brother
As good works in His name we are all called to do
Even if a situation is tough, we must push through
This is how we can end up serving nations
Something that can last for generations
Pastor then referred to First Samuel 22 and 23
Distressed people became mighty men we did see
We can invest in others at any time, Josh did say
Even if from His path we may occasionally stray
John thirteen verse thirty five does explicitly show
By loving others, our love for Jesus others will know
And we should love because He loves us first
That is something that will never be reversed
Read "The Lego Principle" he also did say
To understand life groups, he asked "why people?"
Josh loved God but not all who were under the steeple
He ran away from the church as a result
That is not uncommon for a young adult
But it is not enough to have a relationship with God
We must love others even if they are extremely odd
So then Josh heard "it is now time to serve me"
He realised that words from God those had to be
Then to First John 4, Pastor Josh did refer
Verse 11 says "we should love one another"
With this theme, subsequent verses continue
If we love God, we must love others too
Love is the focus of First Corinthians thirteen
It implies action, not just a feeling unseen
We need people in our lives in order to grow
Other people wrote the Bible, don't you know
Josh then turned to 1 Samuel 23 verse sixteen
Jonathan helped David in this famous scene
We must fix ourselves, Josh did then remind
Instead of fault with others trying to find
Let the Bible correct others, adult or teen
This is the message from 2 Timothy 3:16
And then from Hebrews ten verse twenty five
We must not give up meeting while we are alive
For this is how we can encourage each other
Family and friends, be it a sister or a brother
As good works in His name we are all called to do
Even if a situation is tough, we must push through
This is how we can end up serving nations
Something that can last for generations
Pastor then referred to First Samuel 22 and 23
Distressed people became mighty men we did see
We can invest in others at any time, Josh did say
Even if from His path we may occasionally stray
John thirteen verse thirty five does explicitly show
By loving others, our love for Jesus others will know
And we should love because He loves us first
That is something that will never be reversed
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
9 October 2012 - The Lord's Prayer
Most of us refer to Matthew 6 for the Lord's Prayer
Luke 11 is clearly the shorter of the reference pair
The core message is of course one and the same
Prayer consists of thanking before asking in His name
Matthew 6:9 starts with "Our Father, who art in heaven"
Followed by the "hallowed be your name" of Luke 11
And then to Luke's "Your kingdom come", which makes us glad
"Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" Matthew does add
"Give us each day our daily bread" both do proceed
Jesus did not forget about food, a basic human need
"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us"
Some translations use "trespass" instead but it's no big fuss
With "and lead us not into temptation" Luke's version does end
"But deliver us from evil" Matthew's version does append
When we recite this prayer, comfort our God does provide
But as importantly, a template for praying it does provide
So dear God, I thank you for giving us this prayer
It is yet further proof of how much you really care
Please let the words resonate in my heart
So that from your way I do not depart
Luke 11 is clearly the shorter of the reference pair
The core message is of course one and the same
Prayer consists of thanking before asking in His name
Matthew 6:9 starts with "Our Father, who art in heaven"
Followed by the "hallowed be your name" of Luke 11
And then to Luke's "Your kingdom come", which makes us glad
"Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" Matthew does add
"Give us each day our daily bread" both do proceed
Jesus did not forget about food, a basic human need
"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us"
Some translations use "trespass" instead but it's no big fuss
With "and lead us not into temptation" Luke's version does end
"But deliver us from evil" Matthew's version does append
When we recite this prayer, comfort our God does provide
But as importantly, a template for praying it does provide
So dear God, I thank you for giving us this prayer
It is yet further proof of how much you really care
Please let the words resonate in my heart
So that from your way I do not depart
Sunday, October 7, 2012
7 October 2012 - ENCS
Pastor Larry spoke of "Overflowing Love" today
With Jesus as our guide, we should go His way
From Galatians 5 verses thirteen and fourteen
We should serve others humbly in love, it is seen
That is why God sent His son Jesus to the earth
Telling us, in God's eyes, how much we are worth
And as per verses 13 and 14 of Revelations three
Whether we are hot, cold, or lukewarm God will see
Pastor Larry told a story about parking his car
He missed a chance though the Spirit did him jar
Our anger and pride can prevent God's love from flowing
Doubly so if the devil's handiwork is what ends up showing
But if in God we believe and are therefore secure
Our insecurity disappears, for God's love is pure
And if through us God's love does diffuse
Then the result is that the devil will lose
1 Corinthians chapter thirteen focuses on love
It is more important than various gifts from above
Galatians six verse seven says we should know
That we will each reap what we each doth sow
Pastor said we need to have love to have anything
This means that we must have patience everlasting
We should not keep a record of every single wrong
The enemy wants us to do so, it is very very long
But remember that God forgets when he does forgive
That is how we Christians are also supposed to live
Second Corinthians 3:18 is a statement, not a story
We with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory
We should not stop loving, let others always see
In the same way that God loves us for eternity
By accepting God, we are no longer slaves to sin
And then God's love will flow in us from within
Remember that "we love because he first loved us"
For First John four verse nineteen says it is thus
With Jesus as our guide, we should go His way
From Galatians 5 verses thirteen and fourteen
We should serve others humbly in love, it is seen
That is why God sent His son Jesus to the earth
Telling us, in God's eyes, how much we are worth
And as per verses 13 and 14 of Revelations three
Whether we are hot, cold, or lukewarm God will see
Pastor Larry told a story about parking his car
He missed a chance though the Spirit did him jar
Our anger and pride can prevent God's love from flowing
Doubly so if the devil's handiwork is what ends up showing
But if in God we believe and are therefore secure
Our insecurity disappears, for God's love is pure
And if through us God's love does diffuse
Then the result is that the devil will lose
1 Corinthians chapter thirteen focuses on love
It is more important than various gifts from above
Galatians six verse seven says we should know
That we will each reap what we each doth sow
Pastor said we need to have love to have anything
This means that we must have patience everlasting
We should not keep a record of every single wrong
The enemy wants us to do so, it is very very long
But remember that God forgets when he does forgive
That is how we Christians are also supposed to live
Second Corinthians 3:18 is a statement, not a story
We with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory
We should not stop loving, let others always see
In the same way that God loves us for eternity
By accepting God, we are no longer slaves to sin
And then God's love will flow in us from within
Remember that "we love because he first loved us"
For First John four verse nineteen says it is thus
7 October 2012 - Psalm 37:7-9
David said to "be still before the Lord"
"Wait patiently for him" and his Word
"Do not fret when men succeed in their ways"
Using "wicked schemes" all of their days
"Refrain from anger and turn from wrath"
"Do not fret"; it only leads to an evil path
"For evil men will be cut off"
At this we should not scoff
"But those who hope" in our God
"Will inherit the land" with His nod
Patience is a virtue that is hard to find
Words said in haste are hard to unwind
It is better that I bite my tongue and wait
Rather than acting in an angry state
And if this means that I must silently stew
That is still better than causing a to-do
So dear God, patience please give me
So that from anger I can really be free
"Wait patiently for him" and his Word
"Do not fret when men succeed in their ways"
Using "wicked schemes" all of their days
"Refrain from anger and turn from wrath"
"Do not fret"; it only leads to an evil path
"For evil men will be cut off"
At this we should not scoff
"But those who hope" in our God
"Will inherit the land" with His nod
Patience is a virtue that is hard to find
Words said in haste are hard to unwind
It is better that I bite my tongue and wait
Rather than acting in an angry state
And if this means that I must silently stew
That is still better than causing a to-do
So dear God, patience please give me
So that from anger I can really be free
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)