29 July 2012 - PLMC

Today Pastor Reuben finished five years at PLMC
Into Luke chapter ten verses 38-42 we did see
The sermon was titled "One Thing Needful"
Pastor gave us several things over which to mull
As Jesus entered Bethany, Martha invited him in
She loved the Lord, that is obviously no sin
But sister Mary listened, sitting at Jesus' feet
Her focus on Him was utterly complete
Martha's preparatory tasks did her distract
Her complaint to Jesus was valid, that's a fact
"Martha, Martha" in response Jesus did say
This highlighted His very compassionate way
Only two other times did Jesus repeat names in the Bible
To Jerusalem and also to Simon Peter the disciple
Mary chose the good part, which will not be taken away
Communing with Jesus should be a priority every day
For this is time that cannot be replaced or bettered
True fellowship with Jesus is best if it is unfettered

With herself, Martha was seemingly preoccupied
Whilst Mary focused on Jesus who she sat beside
For Jesus, Martha was trying to do something
But Mary focused on the words of Jesus the king
To please Jesus, Martha tried and tried
Mary listened to Jesus could be her guide
For "the good part" is the living word from Him
Allowing the worldly lights to go strangely dim

Was Mary heavenly minded but not earthly good
In reply, read John 12:1-2 Pastor said we should
For washing Jesus' feet with oil and her hair
Was a prophetic act, Jesus did later declare
For when on Jesus our thoughts do fixate
Our earthly deeds will follow and be great
The more time with Jesus that we do spend
The more we love Him and comprehend

Looking at Hebrews 12:1-2, Pastor then did sayeth
We should fix our eyes on the perfector of our faith
Turning to Revelation twenty two verse thirteen
Jesus is the beginning and the end, it is seen
And if John chapter fourteen verse six we do read
He is also the way, the truth, and the life we need
"Christ is all" says Colossians three verse eleven
The truth that will set us free comes from heaven

Pastor said to have this focus, there are things to do
One key is sitting for more than just a minute or two
For sitting is really a picture of rest
That is when our focus can be best
It is never our strength, smarts, or saintliness
Without Jesus, we would achieve far less
Pastor referred to Colossians 2 verses nine and ten
In Jesus we are made complete, it says again
Interestingly, the root word for shalom is wholeness
Implying we want peace from Jesus, nothing less

Be seated and focused on Jesus, Pastor did tell
This was the key message in his sermon farewell

6 April 2012 - PLMC

On this Good Friday in our faith's Holy Week
About "The Exchange" Pastor Reuben did speak
God's love for us should keep us going
For it is constant, not to-ing and fro-ing
On the cross, for six hours Christ did hang
A "measure of His great love", as we sang
Three hours in light, three hours in the dark
When God forsook Him, the contrast was stark
For when Christ took on the sins of the world
God could not look even with eyebrows furled
Jesus was beaten and whipped night and day
Yet he chose to take our sins on Himself anyway
And no matter how betrayed or pained Jesus did feel
Soldiers were slain and the centurion's ear he did heal

To prove that Christ did this voluntarily
Pastor referred us to Matthew 26:53
Legions of angels Jesus could have called
His enemies could have easily been malled

In 1 Corinthians chapter two verse two
Paul made it clear what we should do
Ignore the other lies we may hear
Focus on Jesus, for He is so dear
In this way, we give Him access to our heart
Once there, the Holy Spirit can do its part

"It is finished", Jesus said after taking a drink
This is good news; our hearts should not sink
His work was perfect and was finally complete
Our sins forgiven, the enemy Jesus did defeat
There is nothing we can do to add to His work
From believing in Him we should not shirk

Another passage telling us what Jesus had done
Is 2 Corinthians chapter five verse twenty one
Putting our sin on the one who was sinless
So God's righteousness we might possess
The cross is a symbol of suffering and shame
But even more powerful is Christ Jesus' name
For his actions bridged an immense gap
For our sins, from God he took the rap

Looking at verses 59 and 60 of Matthew 26
To Jesus, no false accusations could affix
And reading on through Matthew 27 verse 1
It is quite clear what the Sanhedrin had done
They all plotted against Jesus and wanted him dead
Christ spoke the truth; they called it blasphemy instead

Pilate said that Jesus was not guilty of any crimes
In John chapters 18 and 19, three separate times
But with Pontius the Jews would not agree
A crucified Christ is what they wanted to see

We turned back to Matthew 27 verses 16 and 17
For this is where the exchange is actually seen
Barabbas' first name was also Jesus is turns out
That he was a hardened criminal, there is no doubt
Son of the father is what Barabbas' name did mean
There were hidden meanings in this famous scene
The Jews decided to set Barabbas free
But this is what was intended to be

On Good Friday, Pastor says not to mourn
Remember that the temple's curtain was torn
There is one real reason for Jesus' selfless act
God has great love for us, that is a fact

From 1 John four verse seventeen we do read
Boldly we can approach judgement day indeed
Because in us, love has been made complete
That is something we should be happy to tweet

Pastor related this to the parable of the prodigal son
Particularly Luke fifteen verse thirty one
The elder son's jealousy was plain to see
"My son, the father said, you are always with me"
"Everything I have is yours" he then said
We should be out celebrating instead

In conclusion, Pastor then asked how we should live
"With this truth in our hearts" was the answer he did give

25 December 2010 - PLMC

Pastor Reuben spoke on this Christmas Day
About a gift God is giving away
And then he went on, with verses, to tell
About the real meaning of Emmanuel
"God with us" is what it doth mean
In Isaiah 7:14 the word was first seen
Christ's birth fulfilled this prophecy
For Mary was in the Lord's favour, don't you see
God's favour is given, not something we earn
If to Him, our faces will turn
Per Luke 4:19, God's favours will abound
For salvation is offered to all who are around
None of us can live up to God's standards
But His grace transcends our actions and words
Per Romans 8:32, God gave us His son
So He will give all things for the price of none
All that we need to do is to believe
If we don't do that, God will grieve
If God is with us, He will give His best
For all of those who are in His nest
And per Acts 3, God wants us all to be healed
If we pray and ask, our relationship will be sealed
The bottom line can really uplift
Just reach out and take God's gift

6 June 2010 - PLMC

Pastor Reuben gave the sermon this morning
But he started by giving us a warning
Per John 8:32, knowing the truth will set us free
But this knowledge must in our hearts be
Intellectual knowledge is not enough
Even if living the truth is rather tough

The message was based on 1 Thessalonians 2
Pastor Reuben related it to what we should do
The title of his sermon was "The Focus"
What he said applies to all of us

The first twelve verses focus on the minister
Paul was exceptional, that's for sure
The verses describe all his traits good
Even in hardship, praise God Paul would
Be bold and pure, do not deceive
Don't think about the glory you could receive
Paul's motivation is seen in verse four
He wanted to please God more and more
To please God, not men is what a focused minister should do
Unlike what is seen in John 12, verse forty two
Don't let others dictate how you feel
Just go out and show true Christian zeal

In verses 13-20 Paul talked about the church
He spoke of their strength, from his moral perch
Despite persecution, they stood firm and fast
This brought glory and joy that did certainly last
Verse thirteen is clearly the key
Receive the word of God, as it may be
Look beyond the messenger to the source
No matter who is speaking, as a matter of course
And be careful of being like a Donatist
Think of Caiaphas, if you get Reuben's gist
In Matthew 26:65 he broke a Levite law
He was redeemed, as in John 11:49-51 we saw
What Paul and the Thessalonians clearly knew
To see God, not men is what a focused Christian should do

Verses 19 and 20 also help us to learn
That everything Paul did was for Jesus' return
Romans 5:5 talks about our hope
Without which, it would be impossible to cope
Because to this earth Jesus is coming again
Our focused reason should be for God, not men

Condensing all this, it is no real surprise
That on God we should keep our eyes

8 November 2009 - PLMC

Pastor Reuben spoke of the last twenty verses of Mark nine
And reminded us from Psalm 23 that God is our shepherd divine
Remember that we are not doing Him a favor
His leadership we should in fact savor
As disciples, Christ-like we should become
John 1:18 says where Jesus is from
So it is clear that Christ we must know
For God's nature is what Jesus came to show

It is stated in Genesis 1, verses 26 and 27
That we were created in the image of God in heaven
What we revere, we tend to reflect
Whether for ruin or to show God respect
About the 3 Gs Pastor Reuben was once told
To be wary of girls, glory, and gold

Returning to Mark, in which it does state
Doing God's will is a recurring trait
Of 4 As Pastor Reuben did speak
Into each we did take a peek

Archetype described verses thirty to thirty two
As Jesus shared what he would be going through
He had physical, emotional, and spiritual strength
Because He focused on God's agenda at length
This is what it says in John 6 : 38
God's will Jesus did not debate

The next five verses talked of Authority
Serving others should be our priority
If we humble ourselves, God will exalt
But the other extreme, God will halt
Gave up his authority did Christ
Even moreso we should not be enticed

Verses 38 - 41 talked about Associates
Don't for a minute think that Jesus negotiates
We tend to focus on denominations and sects
But remember Jesus' disciples included some rejects
He interacted with all no matter what they said or did
It was sin, not the sinners, that he tried the earth to rid

The rest of the chapter talked of Jesus' Action
And how we can get God's satisfaction
He did not come to tell us how to behave
The key to internal change is what he gave
Because the motivation for sin
Is self-centredness from within

To stop sinning, ourselves we can not do alone
We need strength that only comes from God's throne
As more God-centred we do become
Temptation and sin we move away from
To God we must often pray and talk
Then we can learn from our daily walk

The hymn we sang at the service's end
Into the message did so well blend:
"Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art;
Be thou my best thought in the day and the night,
Both waking and sleeping, thy presence my light"

13 September 2009 - PLMC

Pastor Reuben’s sermon came straight from the heart
From the beginning to the very last part
Seven years ago in service, tears rolled down his face
As he realised that without God’s love, there was no grace
And we must not forget the love
That comes from heaven above
God’s love leads Him to give
So that we can all live

The text was Mark seven from verse twenty four
Jesus had barely walked through the door
[He had come inside
Whilst trying to hide]
When the Syrophoenician lady came
Her daughter was sick, but was not lame
Jesus referred to children, dogs, and bread
And the order in which they should be fed
God’s plan had a sequence
So none should take offense
That the Gentiles would follow the Jews
Should not have come as breaking news
He loves us all the same
No matter what our name
So when she did beg for a “crumb”
Jesus could no longer stay mum
He had said “no, not yet”
Implying that we should not fret
In this promise, her faith she did anchor
And thus received what she was after

In conclusion, Pastor had this to say
“Look for a fresh revelation from God each day”
Then voices were raised at least one rung
As “Worthy Is The Lamb” was sung
Whilst “The Passion of Christ” was shown
I really should have known
That no matter how hard I might try
I was bound to break down and cry
So today in service, tears rolled down my face
As I again heard that God’s love gives us grace
We can never doubt that He does love and care
And with the world, that good news we must share

9 August 2009 - PLMC

Pastor Reuben started by saying that big or small
When God’s grace is revealed, we should testify it all
He prayed about his fever and his tummy
Perhaps the chilli and curry were too yummy
But there is an important point he made
He trusted God when he prayed
And if we don’t practice with a small thing
We won’t be ready when big things sting
He then turned to Mark 5, up to verse twenty
One simple story with lessons aplenty
Jesus and the disciples came across the sea
The Greek-influenced Gerasenes to see
But as soon as Jesus alit
Up came a man having a fit
He had been living in the caves
That often served as graves
The area he lived in was unclean
Demon-possessed, it was clearly seen
He had supernatural strength
And was screaming at length
Gashing himself with stones
Harming his skin and his bones
The forces of darkness want to destroy the image of God
So they frequently attack our spirit, soul, and bod
The man ran up and bowed down
Jesus of course did not frown
The man shouted in a loud voice
But it was not to rejoice
The demons live on borrowed time
For against God they do crime
Angles are good spirits that minister
Demons are similar but sinister
To go into pigs Legion did implore
There were five hundred times four
They ran off the cliff and did drown
But the man he did not frown
He was healed in many a way
It was clear to all that day
The healing was not merely physical
More important was the spiritual
Just like Mrs Osbourne and the baby who died
Came back to life, no longer one-eyed
Despite the miracle that happened before that eve
The townspeople begged Jesus to leave
They were more concerned with the cost
Than saving even one soul that was lost
But Jesus did not give up on the people
Even if they did not build a steeple
The man with Jesus wanted to go
But he had to stay and show
The wild man who became tame
Could help glorify Jesus’ name
God’s love for us is immense
The Holy Spirit we should sense
For Jesus across the sea did ride
To save but one man from the other side
So we should all be aware
That God really does care
About all of our chains
Including our physical pains
We need to break our chains internal
In order to get life eternal
So as Pastor Reuben has spoken
In Jesus’ name, our chains our broken

26 July 2009 - PLMC

On this Stewardship Sunday
Reuben’s sermon was titled “All The Way”
He used verses from Exodus and Luke
To enlighten and then rebuke
He started by referring to foundation verses three
God is good, God is love, and good comes from He
As per Psalms 119, James 1, and 1 John 4
Although I am sure there are plenty more
We laughed at his story of the bittergourd
His mother wanted the best for him, we heard
Moving on to the sermon’s core part
An important truth Reuben did impart
When looking at the Old Testament and New
There are fulfilment and parallels, not just a few
Moses and deliverance
To the land of abundance
God is one the devil can not attack
But other targets (like us) he does not lack
Viewing Pharaoh’s reaction as the plagues did appear
The devil’s four strategies became very clear
He first appeals to our desire for comfort
And then for minimal change (which doesn’t really hurt)
The family is his third target
As he does not like us to stay as a unit
His last approach is filled with stealth
He makes us choose between freedom and wealth
At this point Reuben warned about people’s toes
Stepping on them is a role he well knows
“Unrighteous wealth” we must beware
True joy and peace are much more rare
If wealth we can not deal with
Bigger blessings will be just a myth
But if we can be stewards good
And we tithe as we really should
Give joyfully and do not deceive
Then God’s full blessings we will receive
We need to be “faith in action”
God’s faithfulness will be the reaction
Don’t let wealth hold us back
For God will never let us lack

5 July 2009 - PLMC

Pastor Reuben spoke of God’s family
Which includes all of us, even me
There were lots of references to MJ
Throughout Reuben’s sermon today
But they really only served to show
How far from God some can go
Only He should we adore
Every day, more and more
From verses 31-35 of Mark three
Wrong conclusions there can be
But if the will of God we do
Part of His family us He will view
But Jesus also did remember
His natural family member
The Kingdom of God is at hand
We should join the ‘fishers of men’ band
For those who ask what is God’s will
There are two parts to fulfil
The first is to believe, follow, and repent
As Jesus was a reflection of God’s intent
And as related we all are
We should treat each other on par
The second is often viewed as tough
But God does not bluff
Think of the Lord’s Prayer
And doubt we should not dare
He gave us the ability not to fail
So we should rejoice, not wail
Per Philippians two, verse thirteen
In us His will should be seen
As truthful always is God’s word
If anything else should be heard
A lie from Satan it must be
And from it we must flee
We are not sinners saved by grace
We are saints living in His grace
Don’t forget that He deems us worthy
So don’t ever think we are unworthy
That is what the devil might say
But we are saints, so all is okay
All problems on earth can be overcome
A ‘silly child’ we should not become
The war is not in our mind and soul
Listening to God’s word must be our main goal
We can do all things in His strength
He can go to any length
Even if things look very dim
Nothing is impossible with Him

26 April 2009 - PLMC

Reuben started with a fuss
Saying "it's not about us"
This may seem a little odd
But it's really all about God
God was pleased with His Son
He was the only sinless One
Christ's ministry began when he was baptized
The heavens opened; people were surprised
A perfect sacrifice was the Christ
In God's eyes, He more than sufficed
In Christ our lives are now hidden
Feeling guilty is forbidden
It's not because of what we do
Our hope and blessings do accrue
So let us be very frank
We only have one person to thank
Without being uncouth
How should we respond to this truth?
Unworthy we cannot be
As only Christ God will see
"We love because He first loved us"
This is what we should profess

12 April 2009 - PLMC

As the sun rose over PLMC today
Pastor Reuben has seven things to say
God is still doing work in our lives
Christ has conquered sin’s evil knives
Jesus cares for His own
Us He will never disown
Peace for us there always will be
Our eternal redeemer is He
Pastor then took a detour before mentioning the last
How is this message going to change me from my past?
As we then broke for some food
Over these messages I did brood