Scripture – NIV
1 Thessalonians 4:3a –
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified:
Romans 6:6-7 –
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
1 John 1:9 –
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Galatians 5:16-23 –
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
John 16:8 –
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
Bob’s thoughts:
We had a couple of our grandchildren with us this weekend, so we took them where they were familiar and to see more family. Our younger grandson always sat through the service with us till our daughter helped resolve the issue of the volume in the children’s room, and now he goes with the other children. It took a bit to get used to being able to follow the message without distraction.
Before the service, my youngest granddaughter came and showed me her prize, she had gotten the last Oreo from the extensive snack assortment. She held it up to show her treasure like it was a most valuable item. May we hold Christ likewise.
I loved the harmony of the female lead singers and I believe this was the first time they sang an older praise song that I was familiar with.
The pastor related the limited picture we get when we form a concept from something as simple as a bumper sticker. What if our life in Christ was from such limited info? It reminded me of a favorite bumper sticker story.
There was a sticker laying on the dashboard of my truck that said, “Try Jesus, if you don’t like Him, the devil will gladly take you back.” I was shopping at Giant Eagle with my soon-to-be son-in-law when we returned to my truck to find a woman waiting who said she had to talk to me. She said she sent her husband in to do the shopping so she wouldn’t miss me, implying that he was not pleased and had no option to refuse. She related problems with her family and I asked if we could pray over her. She was encouraged and free from her troubles and I gave her the bumper sticker as a reminder of how much God cared for her.
The story went on to touch dozens of people that I know about and I’ll never know how many more. I was always grateful my now son-in-law got over the surprise of praying in a Giant Eagle parking lot and married into the family.
Use that small window to help someone in their walk with Christ and maybe use a “Just Because” card.
Jan’s thoughts:
It’s always a blessing to worship here with our family. The coffee is delicious, the snacks are plentiful and yummy, and I get to stand and sing next to my 14-year-old grandson who is taller than I am.
“Speak O Lord” is a new song to me, and the ladies who sang it sounded absolutely marvelous.
It’s been a couple of years since this church presented their life-sized Candyland, so I’m looking forward to seeing that again at the end of the month. This outreach event is an amazing transformation of the facility and the characters teach the visiting children important lessons.
Today’s message, Made For This, is the first in the Lenten series A Jesus Shaped Life. The pastor emphasized Jesus’ saving His people from both the penalty and the power of sin. A Jesus shaped life is a life of obedience that, through the power of Christ, is free from the power of sin.
He reminded us that we are all works in progress, that even the best person we know was not born like that. Human nature was always in conflict with the Holy Spirit, but if we ask to be filled with the Spirit, He will gently nudge us toward repentance and Christlikeness.
Our prayer for this church:
Lord, we thank You for the wake-up calls You give us and pray we don’t miss a single opportunity. Amen.
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