The Advantages of Knowing God

Scripture Passage- Romans 3:1-8

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The first advantage of knowing God is that we know-

• God's Word is True. vv1-2

The second advantage of knowing God is we experience that-

• God's Actions are Faithful. vv3-4

The third advantage of knowing God is that we can depend on the fact that-

• God's Righteousness is Perfect. vv5-8.
  

Do you want to know God, or not?

If you do, repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

If you don't, you will come up with all sorts of excuses, and in the end that is what they will be, excuses. You can call into question His Word, His actions, His righteousness. If you persist in doing so, you will be justly condemned.

Elements of a Great VBS

Vacation Bible School has always been one of my favorite events of the year. We are in the midst of our VBS this week at Cross Lanes Baptist. I loved VBS as a child and I enjoy it as an adult. There are several elements that need to be present for a great VBS.

1) There must be solid planning and preparation. VBS planning for next year should begin as soon as you complete VBS for this year. A church should ask what they did well, what they didn't do so well, and how they can improve their effort.

2) Advance publicity and outreach lays the groundwork for successfully reaching into the community. Creative outreach can provide inroads into your community and to enable you to reach new families.

3) Adequate training is important for preparing teachers, and for providing a safe environment for everyone involved.

4) Sufficient staffing for your VBS from registration of children to their release is needed.

5) Prayer before, during, and after VBS helps to maintain a spiritual focus and provides fertile ground for the Gospel.

6) Timely followup with all visitors will give your church a better opportunity to reach new families. The longer the prospects lay dormant, the less likely you will be able to reach them.

VBS is still a very effective tool to reach out to children and families. Your level of investment in it in terms of time and resources will determine your level of return.

Genuine Faith

Focal Passage- Romans 2:17-29

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The Jews were the covenant people of God, given the law of God, and were particularly responsible to God. Many of them however, became proud and self righteous and missed the point that they had been blessed by God to be a blessing to the nations. They had a false religious confidence in their own righteousness. There are many people today who have a false religious confidence.

What characterizes genuine faith?

1. Genuine faith reflects who you are. v17

2. Genuine faith depends on what you know. vv17-20

3. Genuine faith is demonstrated in how you apply what you know. vv21-24

Genuine faith is a matter of the heart. The essence of genuine faith is not first and foremost outward, visible, or material. What matters to God is a deep, inward work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. What matters to God is whether or not you have come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith for salvation.

Where is your faith?

What do you want on your gravestone?

"Daddy, what do you want on your gravestone?" The question came out of nowhere, but was not unexpected from my 9-year-old son, Nathan. He is known for asking the difficult questions and not being satisfied with simple answers. My immediate answer was, "I don't know, but that is a really good question."

I am not planning on scripting the answer for use any time soon. But what we put on our gravestone, really represents what we think about life, death, and eternity. Many families simply put the full name, date of birth, and date of death of their loved one on the gravestone. The "dash" in between represents a life that was lived. Others put a photo of the one who has passed or perhaps a family photo on the gravestone. While others use a catchy slogan or phrase.

So, I put some more thought into this and my answer is??

Name, appropriate dates, and John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

I told my son my well thought out answer to his question. His response? "That's a long verse. We'll just put the reference on there."

What do you want on your gravestone?

God Will Judge the Secrets of Men

Focal Passage- Romans 2:5-16

Listen to Sermon Here

In Romans, a strong case is built, that no matter who you are, because of sin, you are under the judgment of God, and in need of His righteousness and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

God provides a window of opportunity to all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Those who repent and believe in Jesus will be spared the coming judgment because Jesus paid the penalty that was due. All who reject God and die in their sins, will suffer the judgment of God.

According to the Bible . . .

* God will judge our works. vv6-10

* God will judge without favoritism. v11

* God will judge by the law. vv12-15

* God will judge according to the Gospel. v16

God will judge the secrets of men. You will either stand in the righteousness of Jesus, or you will stand in the horror of your own moral nakedness.

Do not wait until it is too late. Run to Jesus! When you come to Jesus, your judge will be the one who died for you. We could not look to anyone who would be more predisposed in our favor. All that can be done for sinners, He has done.

Same Sex Parents Acceptable for Children

According to the West Virginia Supreme Court, a mother and father in the home are irrelevant and same sex parents are acceptable for children. A ruling by the court on Friday took this position unanimously.

Read Article in Charleston Gazette

Read the Ruling Here

An infant child in Fayette County was placed in a foster home in 2007 after being born to a drug addicted mother. Herein lies the first problem. Why are same sex couples permitted to be foster parents at all? The WV DHHR created the problem to start with in that sense.

Thomas Fast, the child's court appointed guardian-ad-litem, recommended the child should be relocated to another family. Part of the argument was based on overcrowding in the home. The DHHR agreed with Mr. Fast, as did Judge Paul Blake, who ruled that the child needed to go to a home with a mother and father. The Guardian-ad-litem and the judge are to be commended for their common sense and traditional values.

Kathryn Kutil and Cheryl Hess, the same sex couple, challenged Judge Blake's ruling and the case made it to the Supreme Court. The WV Supreme Court overturned Judge Blake's ruling and said the primary motive in removing the child from the home was to get the child into a traditional family.

My question is, what is wrong with the idea that the child should be in a home with a mother and a father? The WV Supreme Court pointed to the best interests of the child. The best interests of the child long term would be served by being in a home with a mother and a father.


Rulings like this one from the WV Supreme Court will have a profoundly negative impact on families. Traditional families are in enough trouble on their own. The foundation is crumbling. As the family goes, so goes the culture. Families in this culture are in trouble.

Shame on the West Virginia Supreme Court for this ruling.

The Moral Confusion of Barack Obama

President Barack Obama is a self professed "Christian". God is the ultimate judge of a man's heart. We must leave this up to Him. But as I survey the fruit of our President, I see moral confusion at best.

While professing to be a Christian, President Obama has worked diligently to roll back as many advances as possible that President Bush had made in the pro-life effort. He moved quickly after his inaugaration to federally fund abortion internationally. This was only the beginning. This is the man who, when asked when life began responded, "that is a question that is above my pay grade."

President Obama issued a proclamation recognizing a National Day of Prayer, but refused to do anything publicly to recognize it.

In his apology tour to the world, trying to right all of the wrongs that America has apparently committed, Obama delivered a speech in Cairo, Egypt. In it he identified himself as a Christian, then referred to the Koran as the "Holy Koran". What?? The Holy Koran?? Really?? Are you serious Mr. President?? Did you mean the part where the "Holy Koran" says for Muslims to make war on all the infidels around them (9:123)??

Then our President declared the month of June to be "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Pride Month". Special treatment for immoral behavior. Endorse it, celebrate it, encourage it. That is Mr. Obama's plan.

God help us. This nation is imploding morally. We must pray for President Obama. We must pray for his salvation. We must pray that he would see the need to value life. We must pray for him to make righteous decisions. This is the commandment of God to His children.

We must humble ourselves before a holy God and cry out to Him for mercy on behalf of a nation that has largely forgotten Him and failed to honor Him.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

God, help us!

Your Life and Flight 447

On May 31st, Flight 447, an Air France Airbus A330, prepared for departure from Rio De Janeiro in route to Charles de Gaulle Airport, 11 hours away in Paris, France. The passengers settled in, buckled their seatbelts and prepared for takeoff. Flight attendants went through the obligatory safety preparations. The pilot communicated the estimated time of arrival to everyone, and they took off.

The plane reached cruising altitude and everything was routine. There was communication between the plane and Brazilian ground controllers almost three and a half hours into the flight. Then tragedy struck. The plane apparently ran into a line of strong thunderstorms and the cabin broke apart in the sky and fell into the ocean. The waters in that region of the Atlantic are in excess of 20,000 feet deep.

228 people died instantly, most likely never knowing what happened when the cabin depressurized. 228 people stepped out into eternity to meet God in an instant.

We should pray for the families of those who went down on Flight 447. Only God knows the spiritual condition of those on board. There are a number of spiritual principles and parallels that we can draw from this.

*Most of life is routine. We all go about our business, expecting to go through our day without any major problems. As the passengers settled into their seats on Flight 447, they were thinking of the long flight ahead, of meeting up with loved ones when they reached France, any number of things.

*Life can turn instantly and dramatically when storms come up. Flight 447 was at cruising altitude. Three and a half hours into the flight, some of the passengers were resting, others were reading, others were watching an in-flight movie to pass the time. Then the plane hit the storm, something malfunctioned drastically, and the plane broke apart.

*Death is permanent. 228 passengers were on the flight that left Brazil. 228 passengers were plunged into the dark waters of the Atlantic, and life on this earth ended for them, in an instant. Only God knows their eternal destination.

This is very sobering. I wonder, as you go through life, are you prepared for the storms? Are you prepared for the permanency of death? Life is fragile and can be over in an instant. If your hope is in Jesus your eternity is secure!

Romans 10:9-13 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."