Sunday Words of Encouragement October 2, 2016

We had another lovely Sunday. Our Sunday School teacher has been reading This Present Darkness and his message today addressed spiritual warfare. I am saving that message for another day. Our Pastor started a new series on the Healthy Church.


When a young couple marry they are passionately in love, expecting “happy ever after” where the marriage continues smoothly; all love, love, love. But that is not reality. Neither party is perfect. There are discord and struggles in any relationship. Just as Satan battles against marriage, health, finances and more, he also battles against the church and relationships in the church. Satan’s attacks are not a single shot but a constant eroding. Any relationship has to grow, not stay at its beginning level. The journey begins with excitement. If something negative happens, ripples spread through the rest of the relationship. This can lead to troubles, even to death. As a church we must choose to be healthy.

Titus was in Crete where the community was suffering from moral decline and negative influences. Paul’s letter to the young Titus addresses issues in the church. Paul states that he has been ‘sent to proclaim faith,… to teach those whom God has chosen to know the truth’. Titus 1:1-4.

Sermon Point: The Healthy Church has a growing, deepening passion for Jesus that compels them to proclaim faith and live by truth.

Salvation comes by faith. We each have a tiny snippet of life on earth compared to the time we will spend in eternity. Why do we place so much importance on the tiny snippet? Our focus, and certainly the focus of a healthy church, needs to be on eternity. We should be using our life snippet to reach others with God's truths.

Look at the example of end time churches described by God in Revelation 2 and 3. The churches 1) have lost their first love; 2) were impoverished; 3) were compromising standards; 4) had sin in leadership; 5) were apathetic, dead; 6) were weak; and 7) were lukewarm. The health of the church matters to God. Congregants are to commit to church in support and to remain to work through any troubles in the relationship.

If I have a problem with our passion level, the one responsible to fix it is me. We need to be prepared, and help others to be prepared, for eternity.

Church Health begins with a passion for Jesus. Pastor challenged us to turn up the passion level.

I found this song video which gave me chills - times could be coming.

Whether here on earth or in heaven, I want to be found "Guilty" of sharing God's Love and Truth.

A Verse for Today:
Titus 1:1 (NIV)
1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives.

Lord, help me to remember that my life is less than a blink of eyes in your measurement of time. Help me to focus my efforts on sharing your love and message to those in darkness who need to hear the truth.