Dee Berryhill was baptized on September 16, 2007 at Immanuel. May God bless him as he seeks to serve the King of kings.
(thanks to Marty and Brian for the photo)
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Bits and Bytes
Here are some “sound bites” from yesterday morning’s sermon on “Truth or Consequences”:
- You must be grounded in the Truth or face the consequences.
- Jesus IS the TRUTH.
- Christianity isn’t a religion; it is a relationship with God through Jesus.
- The major religions of the world have man trying to reach God; Christianity is God reaching down for man.
- Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life; NO ONE gets to the Father except by Him.
- All religions ARE NOT simply different paths to GOD. ONLY Jesus gets us to God.
- If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence against you to convict you.
- People who get mad and leave the church over the littlest things don’t realize that there is no “perfect” church.
- Moral desertion of the church is doing anything and everything the lost world does.
- Intellectual desertion of the church (apostasy) is to abandon or quit your faith.
- A consequence of not being grounded in the TRUTH is being deceived by the enemy.
- Muhammad lied about speaking with the angel and made up the Islam religion deceiving nearly one billion people today.
- Joseph Smith lied about speaking to an angel and finding golden tablets resulting in millions being deceived today in the Mormon church.
- Charles Russell invented his own religion that deceives millions in the Jehovah Witnesses movement.
- Jim Jones deceived nearly 1000 people in the Peoples Temple cult and they died in the jungles of Guyana.
There are three things to help you not be deceived:
- Stay in church (Hebrews 10:25)
- Stay in the Word of God (Psalms 199:11)
- Abide in the Spirit of God (John 15:6)
If you have been deceived or have strayed away from the teaching of the Bible, there is still hope. That hope lies in Jesus. You can come back to HIM today and be reconciled. He is there waiting for you. Now is the time to return.
Bro Rick
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Mission Quote of the Week
“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.” – Hudson Taylor
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Bits and Bytes
Here are some “sound bites” from last night’s sermon on “Don’t Murder”.
- Unresolved anger in our hearts can spread to others
- Anger in our hearts can lead to actions that won’t please or honor God.
- Hatred of your brother with unresolved relationships directly effect your relationship with God in a negative manner.
- Unchecked anger in your heart moves you into an arena where you pass the accountability stage to men to your being accountable to God directly.
- “…whoever says ‘you fool’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” Matt 5:22c
- For most church people, this commandment deals with the attitudes of our hearts, not the actions of our hands.
- Satan is interested in getting Christians to cross the line from agitation to anger.
- “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Eph 4:26
- Being angry with someone then assassinating their character with gossip and slander is the same as murder in God’s eyes.
- If hate and anger is not confessed and dealt with, it produces a wrath that grows stronger and stronger until it seeks to destroy.
- God won’t accept our worship or our offerings if we harbor hate and anger towards our brother.
I sincerely hope that if you are angry at someone you will deal that that person instead of stewing about it. When you are the one angry, you are the one that suffers. The person who has offended you is getting a good night’s sleep, isn’t consumed with the problem in the waking hours, AND may be totally unaware that you are (still) angry.
Again I say, “Forgiveness is the key to a healthy life.”
Bro Rick
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9/11 Anniversary
My family and I were in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, when the towers fell. Sally just happened to be flipping through channels that day. I was doing email. She shouted for me to “Come and look” as a plane or something had hit one of the towers. We watched in confusion as we saw another plane fly into the second tower. We thought it was a replay, but now, both towers were on fire. Once we realized it was a second plane, I knew deep in my heart that it wasn’t a mistake; we were under attack.
How do we deal with that now? Sometimes I feel like America has forgotten. We’ve gotten tired of it all and the TV networks won’t even show the planes hitting or the towers falling. Gone are the flags, the ribbons, and the temporary perceived need for God.
We are now in our 6th year of a foreign war. We grow weary of hearing about the war, of Bin Laden still being at large, and of our soldiers dying “over there”.
There will be memorials in New York and Washington, D.C., today as we remember those who died in the attacks. In New York City, they will hold the memorial in a park, instead of “ground zero” and read the names of those who died.
I think it is good to remember. But, too often, that is where we fall short. We simply “remember”. We don’t change; we don’t grow stronger. Oh, true, our nation has changed. We now, for some reason, tolerate Islam. In trying to make everyone “feel” good, we have accepted Islam into mainstream America. We are allowing our nation to be subverted from within. Our very foundation is crumbling.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think any less of people who follow Islam than folks who follow Mormonism. Or Hinduism. Or Buddhism. Or Satanism. They are misguided and deceived. They are lost and are headed to an eternity OUT of the presence of God. We are to love them. We are to share the Good News with them.
Stand firm! There will be a day when Christians will no longer have a voice in America. We see it already creeping into our schools, our courts, and our places of business. Stand firm! Live for Jesus! Make a difference! Don’t compromise in your own life! Pray for our nation.
May God have mercy on us all.
Bro. Rick
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Forgiveness
Last night, I spoke about the Fifth Commandment, “Honor your Father and your Mother”. The last point of the sermon was on forgiveness. I said that “Forgiveness is not a feeling. Forgiveness is a choice to NOT hold on to anger or the desire for revenge.” This, of course, was in the context of honoring your parents by forgiving their failings.
To be able to forgive your parents, or anyone else really, should not be dependent on their apology. What if they never apologize? What if they aren’t sorry? Does that mean you will never forgive?
Make your forgiveness proactive. Sometimes, you need to address the problem by stating that you forgive the person, even when no apology is expected or rendered. Perhaps they are desiring reconciliation, but are too humiliated or embarassed to offer an apology or ask for forgiveness.
Consider Matthew 18:21-35:
Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. “Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” (NASB)
Go ahead. Give up your “right” to be angry. Give up your “right” to hold a grudge. You have been forgiven much; how then can you not forgive?
Bro. Rick
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Mission Quote of the Week
I would like to make a new weekly feature called “Missions Quote of the Week” spotlighting quotes from previous missionaries or contemporary quotes regarding missions.
I’d like to kick this off with my all time favorite quote from Jim Elliott:
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose.”
Bro Rick
Immanuel Southern Baptist Church 