Sunday Words of Encouragement August 12, 2018

(Post is very late today. I had a board meeting this afternoon and we had a power outage later this afternoon/evening.)

Our Sunday School teacher started a series in Corinthians which should be good. We enjoyed moving worship and then Pastor presented the conclusion of his Sermon series We Are The Strong.

Pastor summarized the series noting that Peter wrote to the church members at a time when they faced struggles as Christians. Salvation is a treasure. Every day of living is a deposit for eternity. God has gifted us with a job to do for the church. Each Christ follower should be walking under and in authority; honoring God. Mistreatment and troubles in life are a certainty. The church is at best when we give our best. We need to share God's love.

Being The Strong is part of our identity. We are not here to gain fame for ourselves. Our surnames go with us throughout our lives, but we don't live for our own name but to promote and glorify the name of Jesus. Notice that we don't even know last names of the apostles from the Bible.

We can't just add Jesus as an ingredient or condiment to our lives to use when we want. He has to be more. I am now alive with the identity of Christ.

Point: Our identity is Christ and Him crucified.

“20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20.

Stay alert, stand firm against the lion. 1 Peter 5:8.

The stone that hit Goliath was with the strength of God. Whenever the Israelites won it was not of their own strength but because the army was backed by God. We are not prairie dogs. We are eagles.

Paul says the same in Ephesians. Be strong... Put on the full armor of God. Our sword is not a plastic knife. It is a mighty sword of the Spirit to go with the shield of faith.

Pray for students going into school, a hostile territory, just as each of us goes into the hostile territory of the world each day. Will you stand firm in your identity?

Are you The Strong? That is the challenge.

We are the Strong.
Love God, love people.

This is the song that had to go with today’s message.

A Verse for Today:
Galatians 2:20 NIV
“20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Lord I pray: help me remain in You and to live as The Strong for You, by Your strength!

Sunday Words of Encouragement September 18, 2016

We had a great Sunday School lesson this morning which gave a fresh perspective on the ten commandments as given to show God’s people how to live and stay free. I plan to share that summary in the future.

Our worship was strong leading into a good Sermon and Communion. Pastor continued the “BE” series this morning with “BE Changed”.


He noted how bad habits always pop up even when we try to remove them. But, in practice, we are not good at changing habits. “They” say it takes 17 days to form a good habit but we all know that it only takes a moment to fall back into old, bad habits.

We serve a God who specializes in changing people. It is clear we need help to change. How does change happen? Paul tells the believers: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17. We are changed through Jesus, but we must be prepared for the battle that follows because it is an ongoing struggle. The battle is fought not just day by day but moment by moment. We cannot succeed in our own strength; our will power is just not enough. We need to call upon the power of the Holy Spirit to change and to live a changed life. Galatians 5:17-23.

Only by living in the Spirit can we win and produce fruits of the Spirit. (Verse 16 and verse 25.)
Steps we can take: Read the Word. Pray. Praise and worship. Set boundaries. Turn off negatives and distractions. Delete apps and banish thoughts that would lead us back into bad habits.

When the church body lives this way, there is harmony. We focus together to fight the true enemy. We seek to help the wounded instead of hurting them. Let the church be a beacon to the community and those seeking change. Be filled with the Spirit to accept the gift of change.

This is one of our praise songs which fits with the message today:

I Won’t Go Back

A Verse for Today:
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I love how the Sunday School message and the Sermon were supportive of each other. I pray that I will allow the Holy Spirit to control all moments of my life. I have assurance that this is where I find abundant joy and peace.