August 9, 2024, 3:00 PM
Greetings in Christ!
I hope and pray you've had a good week and are ready for a good weekend.
I am happy to report that our Wednesday night meal and Bible study got off to a good start this past Wednesday, August 7th.
I'm leading a Bible study through the book of Ephesians. This study will go through the end of 2024.
Please make plans on being in attendance on Wednesday nights. I think you'll be greatly blessed by the fellowship, the meal, and the study in God's Word.
As I told the class this past Wednesday night, the only homework assignment is to bring a friend (or two) next week!
This Sunday at FCC, I am going to preach on Psalms 51 and the emotion of SHAME.
Satan uses shame to tell all of us that we are messed up people beyond all repairs.
This is one of the things, I believe, that keeps people away from church and away from having a relationship with Jesus.
So many of us feel like we don't "measure up" and we are not "good enough."
How good do we need to be to measure up?
The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard."
The 51st Psalm is written by David, and it speaks of facing our failures -- our SINS.
It speaks of what to do when we’ve really MESSED UP and have FALLEN.
What do we do?
We sometimes believe that we have to have everything in order and our lives "straightened out" BEFORE we come to Jesus. The problem is that we will NEVER reach that point on our own.
It's like Wayne Smith used to say, "If we are waiting for all the lights to be GREEN, we'll never go downtown."
So we are to come to Jesus like the old hymn says, "JUST AS I AM and waiting not."
Jesus, however, expects us to be different because of coming to Him. It's like what Jesus told the lady caught in adultery: she was forgiven of her sins, but to "go and sin no more." She was to leave her old life of sin behind.
God didn't just say He loved us; He showed it. The Bible says, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
That is pretty amazing. Before you and I even knew God, and before we knew we needed Him in our lives, Jesus died for you and me.
Therefore, let us strive to leave the old life of sin behind and be new creations in Christ!
We'd love to see you on Sunday at FCC. Our Bible School starts at 9:30 am and Worship at 10:30 am.
God Bless,
Greg H.
Greg H.
