Weekly Encouragement
Good Wednesday Everyone,
Weekly blessings to all and I trust God has blessed all of us richly this week. Fall is here, and a sense of order and schedule has resumed. Tonight, is our Wednesday Night Fellowship. Don’t miss this chance to be with your church family. On the menu is ham and if you are able bring a dish or dessert to share.
This Lord’s Day we began Children’s Church during our worship hour. This is such a blessing for our children to gather and learn about God, the Bible, the life of Jesus Christ, and exercise their faith. Children love church at Bethel Baptist because they are learning about who God is and what God says to THEM. As God wills – These children will grow up together and they will be able to relate to each other. There is no better way to be raised than in a Christ centered home where church is a priority. Of course, bring your own children, but if the Lord presents an opportunity, invite others you know with children and tell them what we at Bethel Baptist. Also, our children’s leaders will need assistance as we move forward. If the Lord is calling you to help in any capacity, please let Tamara or myself know. We have consistent leadership in place, but we will need your help as we move forward.
In the upcoming few weeks in our sermon series on Romans, we will be looking specifically at God’s grace. In the age’s past, God’s people of the Old Testament, found themselves in a continuous “cycle” of life, sin, sacrifice, forgiveness, repeat. God’s law, His requirement to be righteous, called for a blood sacrifice for the atonement each person’s and all peoples sins. Then a new covenant, acceptable by the law, was made with God’s people. God provided the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for our personal sins, Himself. God came to us in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ the “image of the invisible God.” Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. God came to us by His grace. God’s grace was more powerful than our sin. We did not reach a point of self-righteousness, nor we did not achieve the requirements of God’s Law. Quite the opposite, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) This is how we KNOW it was by God’s grace we were saved and nothing from ourselves.
This Lord’s Day we addressed God’s response to our sin disease – Grace. We need God’s grace because we have sinned, we keep sinning, and we will sin again. We have a fatal disease, all of us do. God’s “medicine” for those who followed Him was His perfect Law. Obey God’s Law – No more sin. Sounds so simple, but it was impossible to achieve. This was the past, the Old Testament or the Old Covenant. Now, a new covenant or a New Testament has been made between God and those who follow Him. God’s Law was not amended, diminished, omitted, or weakened in any way because we could not fulfill it. So, God Himself came to us. God’s law was fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. Because the law was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, He became the required blood sacrifice, acceptable unto God for all those who could not. Jesus Christ is the sacrifice for sin, and every person’s sin: Past, present, and future. The medicine provided by Jesus Christ covered all of us who believe in Him for the forgiveness of our sins. God’s grace is a gift available to every person but must “received by faith.”
What do we do with God’s gift of grace? Ignore it? Keep it? Question it? Refuse it? Any answer short of “opening” God’s gift and receiving God’s grace must be lovingly addressed by God’s people. An unopened package is never fully received. Consider this scenario: If someone who loved you completely sent you a gift of a new jacket, when you needed one more than anything. A jacket perfectly equipped to meet every need for the freezing environment where you live. And you know full well your loved one has sent you the perfect jacket to meet your needs. But if you never opened your gift, then you never received your jacket – Your gift. You will never experience the comfort of an adequate jacket for your needs. You will never be able to freely move and enjoy life. Because you don’t have the proper covering for yourself, you remain stuck indoors watching life pass you by. What would you say to your loved one who gave you the gift to meet your every need? What would your loved one think about you, who never opened their gift you so desperately needed to live freely? Not opening your gift would damage your relationship.
See, God’s grace is given to us as a gift because He desires more than anything a real relationship with you. God’s grace covers us, not from the daily elements like cold weather, but God’s grace covers our sin. God’s grace makes our sin invisible to His eyes. As a Christian, God’s grace covers your sins and what people need and want the most in this life is God’s grace, “They just don’t know it yet!!” Tell people about God’s grace, God’s church, and God’s people here at Bethel Baptist.
In Christ,
Pastor Michael
