Greetings Brethren and Friends,

Before the foundation of the world, God had a plan to redeem us from our sins for the purpose of glorifying Him.  He put all things under His feet, and gave Christ to be to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all-Ephesisan 1.22,23. He chose us to be with Him before the foundation of the world-Ephesians 1.4.  This was the plan of the soverign, all knowing, all powerful God.  God has always wanted us to be holy and without blame in a relationship with Him.  He loved us and sent His Son Jesus, that through Him, by His grace we might be saved.  But it is really not about us, it's all for God's glory.  We should be at the center of God's world, not He at the center of our world.  Through Jesus we are redeemed and accepted into fellowship with Him and In Him we obtain an eternal inheritance and He gives us the Holy Spirit to seal our inheritance.  We are beneficiaries of God glorifying Himself and we should be grateful and thankful.  But it's not about us.  It's all about Him.

Greetings Brethren and Friends,

Jesus taught His disciples (and us) to pray-Matthew 6,9.  His model prayer was to our Father in heaven and included the words, HALLOWED (holy) be thy name, to show that we should honor our God and to speak to Him with all humility and respect.  Our prayers should express our weaknesses and our dependance on Him for His strength and His forgiveness for our confessed and repented sins.  Pray earnestly, pray often for our families, for the spread of the Kingdom, for our Elders, our ministers, our enemies and those who are outside of Christ.  The avenue of prayer is a gift given us by God and we should give daily thanks to Him for His love, His mercy and His kindness.  Jesus frequently prayed to the Father before speaking, acting or making decisions and we would be wise to follow His example.  Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?

Father, humbly and respectfully we come to You on bended knee to thank You for your love, mercy and kindness that brought us Jesus, our Savior and redeemer.  We thank You for gifting us with the avenue of prayer, our Only means to talk to You and express our thanks and our need for Your help and guidance as we face the trials, tribulations and temptations in this lost and dying world.  We pray for our ministers who are spreading Your gospel both here and abroad.  Bless them and strengthen them as they do their work. Bless and help our Elders who are keeping watch for our souls.  We pray for the lost and for our enemies that their hearts might be softened and they would turn back to You.

Thank You for the kindness You show us each day; praise and bless Your holy name.  This prayer we offer in Jesus name, AMEN

Greetings Brethren and Friends,

Jesus said: "If anyone hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge Him for I did not come to judge the world but to save it.  The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge Him on the last day."

Jesus Christ is the righteous judge whom we all will stand in front of on that last day to give account for things done on earth, whether good or bad.  Jesus does not want to condemn man, and there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  If we repent, we will stand before Him forgiven and justified, not because of our greatness, but because of His love, grace and actions He took on our behalf.  True, all have sinned, but it is also true that all can be justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Him.

It sounds frightening to say we must all stand before the judgement seat of Christ, but Judgement for the obedient means salvation, not condemnation.  We have a choice, step into the light of Christ, or learn what staying in darkness means.

Christ will make no mistakes at judgement, for He knows the hearts of all.  God be thanked for sending us His beloved Son in whom is redemption and eternal life and for His inspired word by which we will be judged.

RE: John 12.47-48; 2 Corinthians 5.10; Romans 8.1;3.23; 2 Corinthians 4.3-6.

Greetings Brethren and friends,

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge-Proverbs 1.7.  The beginning of wisdom-Proverbs 9.10.  Leads to life-Proberbs 19.23.  Prolongs days-Proverbs 10.27.  Hates evil-Proverbs 8.13.  By the fear of the Lord one departs from evil-Proverbs 16.6.  So fear the Lord and depart from evil, it will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones-Proverbs 3.7.

AMEN

Greetings Brethren and Friends,

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  And God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of Your Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Father, we come to you this morning, not to ask for anything more than You have blessed us with, but to thank You for the love You have shown us through Your Son, Jesus, and for His giving up His Life that we might have a more abundant life in Him.  By this Father we can know love.  We have great sorrow to know that our sins are the reason for His death.  But we find peace and joy in our hearts to know the love You have for us.  And that now in You through Jesus, we have received reconciliation. 

In Jesus name we offer these words of thanks. AMEN

RE: John 3.16; Romans 5.6,10.