***Reminder: Hazel Dell and Battle Ground – ONE service on JULY 5 at 10:00 am! Deaf Church at 11:30 am***
What an interesting week to live in America….I am sure, like yourself, that you were neck deep in the comments that flooded our news and social media over the Supreme Court ruling. And yet, one thing remained true for me this week: I still got to go to my church, freely worship, and hear the Bible. I don’t take that lightly and will take full use of that right as long as it is available to me.
And church never disappoints! The worship was full of the Holy Spirit, the preaching was anointed by God, and I spoke with people near and far from God with a thousand stories to hear about each precious life. We are still the light of the world! I also find it ironic that our sermon series is “I Am New” and it’s all about our identity in Christ. It is the perfect timing to talk about what God says about us…which doesn’t include being a slave to ANY sin! We can find freedom from the things that do not honor Jesus! Isn’t that the incredible message from Christ? He doesn’t waiver on sin, but He does give us a path to repentance and freedom!
Speaking of that, we have our baptism day coming on July 26. We ALREADY have 7 people signed up and we just got the info out, so jump on the bandwagon if you have accepted Christ and have not yet been baptized. If you are ready to do it, you can sign up HERE. If you have questions, email me at stacy@coffeechurch.com and I’ll point you to some Scriptures and talk you through it.
Are you reading your Bible? More so than anything else this week, I was deeply grieved by the comments from Christians who gave their perspective of this week’s events without any Scriptures to back them up. I fear that many Christians are too immature in their faith to go beyond the Sunday school rhetoric of “Jesus loves everybody”, so they create an entire doctrine from just that foundation. We also need to weave into our theology about obedience, sacrifice, trust in God, and deliverance from sin. And it’s OUR responsibility to daily be in His Word.
So, on the big picture, here’s a few resources to get you started:
- www.youversion.com for a Bible reading plan
- www.biblegateway.com for an online Bible study or a Word study
- Start in Romans this week for a proper perspective of why our culture is the way it is at this juncture in history
Also, on an important side note, we have to stop making Scripture apply where it does not. For instance: In Romans, when it says not to judge someone who can or cannot eat such things as meat according to their conscience in Christ, we would NOT be wise to apply that to believing that anybody can do anything they feel is right. The Bible is quite clear that there is sin in this world and we need to repent of it. We need to weigh out each Scripture within it’s context or I fear we will be lead astray.
One more note, if you have a question about a particular passage, you can easily google that passage with the word “commentary” included. You will find a great deal of context quickly by reading very brief histories and applications to that passage. Perhaps a good strategy for you would be to read one chapter each day and a good commentary along with it for context?
Here’s what I believe: We are all sinners. That doesn’t make any sin acceptable to Jesus. We must repent of our sins, turn from those behaviors, and walk with Christ as a new creation. Anything short of that doesn’t honor Jesus. We would all do well to walk in that Holy humility.
I am praying for you this week, North Creek! Be blessed!
