|
" LET'S TALK ABOUT IT" July 2024 Why do we have to dress up nicely to go to Church? Let's go back to Genesis 35: 1-3 We see people attending Church service's dressed in shorts, ragged jeans, tee shirts with writings and pictures on them. shirts hanging out, short dresses, tight fitting jeans etc., low neck lines on ladies and girls. Personally, I grew up in the country many years ago and we did not have the luxury of a good wardrobe. Women always wore dresses every day and had a couple of nice dresses and hats for Sunday and Wednesday services. Men, some had a suit for summer and one for winter, or if they didn't have one, they wore a pair of their bib overalls with a white shirt and tie. Fact is people, average working people didn't have extensive wardrobes. Children, Girls wore dresses and boys wore jeans, (overalls). That pretty well was the wardrobe for the time. That was the best and always clean to attend worship. Genesis 35: 1-3. God told Jacob "To arise, go back to Beth-el and dwell there: and make there an alter unto God, that appeared unto you when you fled from Esau your brother. 2.Then Jacob unto his household, and to all that were with him. "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments. And arise and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an alter unto God, He answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went." It is possible that as Jacob began his journey of faith to Beth-el with God, he realized how much God had done for him, and how much he needed God! His response was to take everyone with him on this journey of faith so they could experience God for themselves. "Get rid of the strange gods you have with you. Make yourselves pure. Coming clean implies the need to be united in "coming clean" before God. For all have sinned, "Romans 3:23". many had "household idols" with them that they depended on, as well as God. They did not trust God alone toward sin. It was to be a reflection of what had taken place on the "inside. We would all benefit from a spiritual bath to confess and get rid of sin before we go to church. This is making ourselves pure. For some people clean is their "best." For others, heart tells them that wearing their best is showing God His value to them. For still other, their needs to be a caution that their best isn't merely showing off. It is always the heart God is looking at, rather than the exterior. However, what we wear to worship our pure Holy, God may be an indication of where our hearts are. Maybe you have never considered it before, ask yourself, "Does it matter to me how I look when I am going to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Consider, does it matter to Him?" We must all be the judge of that for ourselves. It is a personal choice; we should keep in mind that having a proper attitude toward God Himself is an important preparation for worship as you are important to Him. “LET'S TALK ABOUT IT” June 2022 Why It Is So Important to Understand How the Bible Defines Sin?The Consequences of Sin! The twin subjects of sin and salvation are the fabric the Bible is woven out of which should tell us how crucially important the subjects are. Something the prophet Isaiah said should give us a clue. In his words ... "... your iniquities have separated you and your God; and your sins have hidden His face fromyou, so that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). Paul was even more blunt stating "For the wages of sin is death " (Romans 6:23) (Please Note: this means literally “NATO” means a literal death, in Greek. In other words, ALL sin carries the death penalty. The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament were a vivid reminder that God demanded death as a punishment for every wrongdoing. Because atonement for sin is only made by shedding of blood, the animal functioned as a substitute for the offender, and bore the punishment of the person who had sinned. The consequences of sin have not changed since Old Testament days - you sin... you die! The only difference is that justice is not immediate like it used to be. But nonetheless it is certain. However, whether we pay the ultimate price for our sins or whether we obtain forgiveness for them is up to us. God in His infinite mercy sent His Son to pay the price for us. As the ancient prophet wrote ... He was pierced through for our transgressions (Heb. Him, And by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5 ). Note.Unfortunately, verses like Isaiah 53:5, John 1:29, Romans 5:18 etc, have sometimes been taken to mean that Christ's death on the cross provides atonement for sin and redemption for all humanity. This regardless of whether they have repented of their sins, trusted in Christ for salvation etc. Unfortunately this belief can be assigned to the wishful thinking category. Need to see universalism. LET'S THINK ABOUT IT! If you think the Bible seems too harsh when it says that all sin merits death, you need for a few moments to set back and think about it, envision a world without sin - without transgression of God's laws which, by the way, is God's plan for the world .. also called Heaven. Imagining A World Without Sin What would it be like to never have to worry about the safety of our children, and never have to lock the doors to our homes or cars. A young or older woman could walk home late in the evening and know she would get there safely. Pornography would not exist. There would have been no Election disasters, no government disasters. What would it be like if politicians and used car salesmen told nothing but the truth? Children would be raised in the security of two parents who are committed to one another and taught Biblical truths in our homes and our schools, parents would take responsibility for their children'sproper instruction, what are children watching, talking about, reading about? be involved with our educational system and not let our educational system poisons their brains. It is called brain washed. Be involved with what they are watching on television phones and computers the question beggars to be asked, Would children and young people be killing each other? the weapon doesn't pull its own trigger! As a boy raised in the country, we were taught that guns were a necessary tool that is needed for hunting and protection and how to handle them responsibility. The word of God states that as parents we are responsible to God to teach and instruct our Children. Proverbs 22: 6. While there is little doubt that some crimes arise out of need and desperation, the vast amounts of funds we would save on our police force, judiciary, armed forces and related organizations would ensure that no one would be in want. Are we getting the picture yet? “Let's think and pray about it” The Bible has the answer after all. But how can a tiny infraction deserve death? Let's look at it this way... Where does one draw the line between a 'big' sin and a 'small' one? If I as a 'friend' of yours, walked away with a paper clip from your desk you probably would not consider it theft. If you thought about it at all, you would probably conclude that I needed a paper clip for some reason and dismiss it. If I walked away with a five-dollar bill you would probably look at me but may look the other way. However, if I actually walked away with $100 you would probably jump up and down. So where shall we draw the line between a paper clip and a hundred-dollar bill? At a penny? A dime? A nice pen? And how much are you willing to believe, if asked, ten people would give ten different answers. And how much more would you be willing to believe that (sooner, rather than later) someone will eventually come to the conclusion that the thief is a victim of social / cultural/psychological circumstances and should see a psychologist, instead of being punished. Back to what is the truth, besides which, cultures and people across the globe have different standards.… So whose standard shall we judge by? GOD'S God made it simple. He set the standard... He said, "no sin". |
|
Sermons
|
 |
|