Christian Ramblings

SSS 8/21

"The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had it's foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Matthew 7:25-27 The rain and wind will always come, but when your foundation is the rock, you will always stand.

Plug into the Kingdom of God before plugging into the local church.

--8/8--

Context: after praise and worship there was a Q&A with a member of the congregation that is a doctor to encourage the congregation to take the vaccine. At the end of the Q&A, the Q&A was opened up to members of the congregation. After the Q&A, the "sermon" was a panel of the pastor and several active congregation members being asked questions relating to the sermon series.

COVID Talk

Delta variant more transmissible than the original variant.

Vaccine slightly less effective against Delta than original. No need to get revaccinated yet, but yearly vaccination or booster might be necessary.

Vaccine 97-99% against Delta variant to keep you out of the hospital. Only 50-70% effective to preventing mild symptoms.

Methodist Hospital system's COVID patient numbers increased 10-fold.

Safety precautions for school:

Getting vaccinated
Masks on at all times
Social distancing
Don't let your guard down
4-5 days after COVID exposure get a test; any sooner might be false positive.
"Love your neighbor as yourself" and prevent spreading to other if you have exposure.

>------------<

"The Church" Sermon Series Panel

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end if the age." Matthew 28:18-20

It is dangerous to be in a local church but not in the universal church; you will go to hell.

Being "abused" by the church means you are serving for recognition instead of being a servant of God. (I disagree.)

To balance church and home life check your heart and communicate. Correct prioritization order: God, Spouse, Children, Ministry. Example: Pastor postponing bible study a week in order to take a break with his wife.

The church can't gather new disciples if he existing disciples don't do their part. Too many wrong churches that don't actually change people's lives.

Disciples should be approachable and able to go into conversations about Christ with non-believers.

Church members should be expected to 'love, serve, and give' (give time, talent, and treasure). Members should look at the scripture outside of church (during the week) in order to mature.

If you trust God, but not the church, you are saying you don't trust the body of Christ, and therefore can't love them properly.

--8/15--

Saul/Paul was not originally a member of the church. He prosecuted Christians-at the time called The Way. He learned of God and started to follow him, but didn't fully get along with the other apostles.

One of his letters to the church of Corinth accused them of being chameleons, and doing actions with their neighbors that weren't Godly.

"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men." 1 Corinthians 6:9 Although gay people are not condoned in the bible; they are still our neighbors, and God calls Christians to "love your neighbor as yourself". (The LGBTQ community has ridden on the coattails of the black community. Being black is also something that you are born into, while gender is something you choose.)

A/N
Sorry this is late.

--8/22--

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:18
We are in the last days. No man knows when Jesus will come back. It is bad to live for yourself or your children instead of for God.

"For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's word, we will tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep." 1 Thessalonians 4:14-5 Jesus will come back to the world to collect his believers: the Rapture.

"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm." Proverbs 13:20 Be around fellow followers.

"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents; ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." 2 Timothy 3:1-5 You should live for God instead of for yourself. "The love of money is the root of all evil." If you don't think about what you are posting-and whether it honors God- before you post, you aren't doing it for God. (Think before you speak: What would Jesus do?) Some claim to be worthy of going to heaven because they are "good" people. This is wrong. The way to get to heaven is by believing that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and God raised him from the dead. Not fully devoting yourself to God is a form of godliness. It is an indication that we are in the last days.

People who love the world can't follow God. Jesus is sometimes referred to as the bridegroom of the church. Connection is tested when the bride and groom are separated right before the wedding. The foolish bridesmaids did not get enough oil and they asked the prepared bridesmaids for oil, but they said no(salvation is individual). The foolish bridesmaids are false believers who hope that their association with true believers will allow them to enter heaven.
Believers might be tempted by seeing successful non-believers, but they will go to hell. We must wait for God to come back through the storm and trust him (be faithful).

"'...Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given for her to wear.'(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people. The. The angel said to me, 'Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' And he added, 'These are the true words of God.'" Revelation 19:7-9 We must prepare for the return of Jesus Christ.

Our pastor is thankful that God saved him and kept him alive so that he could know Him instead of letting him get killed before he got his oil for his lamp. You have to tear down your foundation on sand, and build a new foundation on rock.

A/N
I suggest reading the Left Behind series and watching Linsanity.
One sentence summary: For his glory.