Pastors' Corner

What Christ’s Blood Does for Believers

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:09:01 +0000

Monday, July 12, 2010
Read | Romans 3:21-26
Knowing what we believe is a key to strong, life-sustaining faith. Yesterday we saw two of the blessings that are ours through the blood of the Savior. Today we will look at two more.
By trusting in Christ as Savior, we are . . .
Justified. Justification is the process by which God declares us “not guilty.” Romans 3:23 condemns all mankind as sinners who are under a sentence of death and facing a dreadful eternity apart from the Lord and His blessings. But everything changes for the person who accepts Christ’s shed blood as payment for his sins—through Jesus, our heavenly Father declares the sinner not guilty, provides him with Christ’s righteousness, and adopts the new believer into His family (Gal. 3:26). Jesus’ sacrifice satisfied our sin-debt, and His death was counted by God as our own (Rom. 5:9).
Reconciled. Before salvation, we were separated from the Lord and spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1). We had no way to span the gap between Him and us. Christ sent His Holy Spirit to convict us of our guilt (John 16:8), make us aware that we need a Savior, and bring us to saving faith. Jesus, the Lamb of God, removed the barrier
of sin that separated us from God. Christ reconciled us to God “having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20).
As believers, we should understand what occurred when we received Jesus as Savior (Acts 16:31). Through His sacrifice, we are redeemed, forgiven, justified, and reconciled to God. That is, Christ’s blood has brought us from death to life—and has let us enter into an eternal relationship with the Father.

For More go here: http://www.intouch.org/magazine/daily-devotional#%23

Jamie Mitchell’s Prayer at the Pennsylvania House

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 10:54:34 +0000

Written by: Ray Pritchard
Date: Jun 15th, 10:10

Last Wednesday Jamie Mitchell, pastor of NewSong Fellowship Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, gave the opening prayer at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Usually these prayers are so bland as to be utterly forgettable. Jamie’s prayer was definitely not bland. By way of full disclosure, I should add that Jamie is a good friend, I’ve preached at his church, and we were the speaking team at America’s Keswick for their Memorial Weekend Conference. He is a powerful preacher of God’s Word.

His prayer speaks for itself. I’m glad for a pastor with this kind of courage.

Prayer for the House of Representatives – June 10, 2009

Our gracious Heavenly Father, we come before You today because we have nowhere else to go. For You are the true and living God. You are the Maker of Heaven and Earth. You are the sustainer of man and all that we are or ever will be. You are the only real HOPE for our nation and our commonwealth. We come before You in this grand hall, before the important and the powerful, in complete humility and brokenness because Your holiness consumes our failings, reveals our iniquities and lays bare all of our unrighteousness.

* We have worshiped other gods, failing to acknowledge You alone and called it multi-culturalism.

Guide and bless these men and women, who have been sent here by the people of Pennsylvania, and who Your Holy Word calls, ordained ministers of peace, to govern this great commonwealth. This is from AwakenGeneration.com a website from AFA. I thought is was worth reading!

Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. May they choose today to be servants of You, Almighty God, and then prosper their steps for their obedience. May we live in reverent fear of your greatness in comparison to our insignificance. I ask it, in the name of your son, our living savior and Master, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

* We have exploited the poor and naïve; and called it the lottery. * We have made excuses for the law breaker and called it tolerance. * We have demeaned the law keepers and called it politically correct. * We have neglected our neighbor and called it self-preservation. * We have rewarded laziness, irresponsibility and called it welfare. * We have killed our unborn and called it a choice. * We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. * We have neglected to discipline our children and called it releasing their creativity. * We have abused power, been party to back room dealing and even hoped for our colleagues down fall and called it political savvy. * We have squandered our resources and paid back favors with taxpayer’s funds and called it a stimulus. * We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

We come to ask Your forgiveness and seek Your help and guidance. We know Your Word says, “Woe to those who call evil good,” but that’s exactly what we’ve done. We have ignored Your spiritual compass and have tried to guide our paths with our own values, desires and indulgences. * We confess that we have mocked the absolute truth of Your Word and called it relativism.

* We have worshiped other gods, failing to acknowledge You alone and called it multi-culturalism.

* We have exploited the poor and naïve; and called it the lottery.

* We have made excuses for the law breaker and called it tolerance.

* We have demeaned the law keepers and called it politically correct.

* We have neglected our neighbor and called it self-preservation.

* We have rewarded laziness, irresponsibility and called it welfare.

* We have killed our unborn and called it a choice.

* We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

* We have neglected to discipline our children and called it releasing their creativity.

* We have abused power, been party to back room dealing and even hoped for our colleagues down fall and called it political savvy.

* We have squandered our resources and paid back favors with taxpayer’s funds and called it a stimulus.

* We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women, who have been sent here by the people of Pennsylvania, and who Your Holy Word calls, ordained ministers of peace, to govern this great commonwealth.

Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. May they choose today to be servants of You, Almighty God, and then prosper their steps for their obedience. May we live in reverent fear of your greatness in comparison to our insignificance.

I ask it, in the name of your son, our living savior and Master, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

I thought this was worth reading. It is from the AwakenGeneration.com website.

Know What You Believe

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:27:58 +0000

READ | 1 Peter 3:13-16 Some people claim that it doesn’t make a bit of difference what they believe. In fact, certain individuals go so far as to deny the existence of truth. Yet our belief system actually matters tremendously, because it is the foundation for our character, conduct, and decisions.
For instance, a person who concludes that there is no God and no eternity will live selfishly for the moment. On the other hand, someone who trusts in the Lord and His promise of heaven will have a completely different lifestyle and purpose. Obedience, faith, and responsibility will characterize him as he lives to please his heavenly Father.
Knowing what we believe is critical—first of all, because our salvation depends on it. In John 8: 24, Jesus made a powerful and unequivocal statement about this subject: “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” The Bible is very clear that all people have sinned and in their natural state are separated from God (Rom. 3:23). The punishment for sin is death, which is eternal separation from the Lord. But the Father, in His love and mercy, sent His own Son to die in our place. As a result, everyone who believes in Jesus is forgiven and receives His free gift of salvation.

Believers are to share the good news of salvation, but the world’s hostility can make us afraid. Today’s passage encourages us not to fear. Telling others about Jesus doesn’t require lofty words or long quotations of memorized Scripture. Simply be ready with an answer if you’re asked about “the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

Success and Money

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 10:02:00 +0000

I received the following daily devotional via e-mail. It is from In_Touch_Ministries and seems to put money in perspective. I felt it was well done so I am passing it along:

READ | Luke 12:13-21
The belief that wealth equals success is a common misconception. True success means becoming who God wants you to be and doing the work He has prepared for you to accomplish. Jesus said the man in Luke 12 was a fool because he spent his life pursuing wealth but was not rich toward the Lord.
An idolatrous attitude about money is revealed by an insatiable desire for more. Materialism affects rich and poor alike. So whenever financial concerns have top priority in our thoughts and begin to dictate goals and desires, we can know we’ve succumbed to the foolishness of greed. Worrying about finances is actually a warning sign of misplaced priorities and displays a lack of trust in God.
Money is a vital part of our lives, but it should never come to have a higher place than the Lord intends. Everything belongs to God. We are merely stewards of all that He entrusts to us, and one day we’ll give an account to Him of how we have used what He gave us to oversee. Our goal is not to become wealthy but to be found faithful.
In His great wisdom, the Lord has prescribed a remedy for our tendency to overvalue money. Giving it away breaks the grip of greed, teaches us to trust and obey God, and is the avenue through which treasure can be stored in heaven.
If you hunger more for worldly riches than for the treasures of knowing God, then you’re climbing the wrong ladder of success. Genuine eternal blessing is measured in relationship with Jesus, not monetary accumulation. Make Christ your top priority and chief joy, and you will experience true prosperity.

I also just wanted another post on our Blog!

Have an AWESOME day and be BLESSED!

Welcome to the FBCLakePark Blog

Thu, 14 May 2009 10:11:17 +0000

We invite your comments and prayer requests. If any of you attend our Wednesday evening prayer meetings (yes- Wednesday evening-they are fun, we sing, usually have a short scripture study from Pastor Don and prayer) you know that Pastor Don likes Blogs. Hopefully he will post a few links to his favorites here for the rest of us to check out.

This is just a reminder, but we are need of some help for our VBS program.
We need donations as well as some of the following:

Snack Items: Trail Mix, M7Ms, Mini Marshmallows, Vanilla wafers, Animal Crackers, Popcorn, Craisins, Raisins, Peanuts, Almonds, Chewy Granola Bars, Flavored Ice Pops.

Craft Items needed: Pony Beads(letters) Markers, Glue, Crepe Paper.

Classroom Items: Empty Spray Bottles, NEW wide Paint Brushes, 8 or 9 oz. Paper Cups and Paper Towels.

Items needed for VBS Family Fun Day on Sunday June 21st: Hot Dogs, Buns, Foil, and canned drinks.
If anyone can help with these items it will be GREATLY appreciated!!

Let us know your thoughts-we look forward to exchanging ideas.