God has certainly been good to our church, and I am seeing that revealed more and more in the last several weeks. We are coming up on our 4th week in a row with baptism as part of our morning worship service. In the last three weeks we have seen 4 people saved and 7 people get baptized…
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Added by Pastor Rob on July 8, 2009 at 5:45pm —
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I went out this morning, not expecting much to happen. It was raining, big storms were on the way in, I have not done very well anyway. I am talking about turkey season. So far this season I have gotten up at 4:45am all but 3 days (we are two weeks in), and I have not even seen a bird yet (It seems tougher this year). Admittedly discouraged, I almost slept in this morning but decided to go, just in case some bird out there wanted to gobble at the thunder.
I get there just before daybreak... set…
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Added by Pastor Rob on May 2, 2009 at 8:00am —
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Yesterday afternoon had to have been one of the nicest days of the year so far... and there I was, stuck in a meeting at the associational office. Yes, there was work to be done, a hispanic mission church to plant, discussion on the Hmong work, etc..., but there it was sunny, 80 degrees, birds chirping, flowers blooming, and me stuck inside.
Finally the meeting ended, yes, I am free to enjoy the day... I rush home, change clothes, grab a fishing pole, and tell Cayle it's "MAN TIME". Next thing…
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Added by Pastor Rob on March 18, 2009 at 12:25pm —
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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.
I have often heard this verse used as a wake up call to the church in America and have wondered if it was an appropriate promise for us to claim. Many theologians would argue that this passage is speaking of a specific promise to the nation of Israel and that it does not apply…
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Added by Pastor Rob on March 5, 2009 at 12:44pm —
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So I was reading in Zechariah this morning and came across Ch. 1 vs. 15a "but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure." It got me to wondering about how God must feel about our nation today. I mean, we really value our security... even created a whole new sector of government (Homeland security) just to help maintain our security. Do you think it angers God that a supposed Christian nation values security over relationship and dependance with Him? Can we really provide our own security…
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Added by Pastor Rob on February 17, 2009 at 10:27am —
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Did you catch this in the reading this mornng? 2 Chronicles 25:2, speaking about King Amaziah..."and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a loyal heart."
How many times do we find ourselves doing the Lord's work for human motives. We DO all the right things, but we have our own agenda. IT is possible to do the right thing for the wrong reasons... just ask Amaziah. I guess I see this alot in church work. When I went to seminary, it was because I wanted to preach the gospe…
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Added by Pastor Rob on February 3, 2009 at 11:34am —
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What does man gain from all his labor...? I really connected with the readings this morning. Face it, we live in a consumer driven, work to get ahead culture, yet what does all that work get for us? An ulcer, resentment from neglected loved ones, high blood pressure, stress, and in the end we all die anyway!
For me, it begs the question, if everything is meaningless, then why bother in the first place? Why be wise, when the fool will be just as remembered 50 years from now. Why strive to be ric…
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Added by Pastor Rob on January 27, 2009 at 11:04am —
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The consequences of sin can be incredibly painful. David forgot his purpose and decided he could make some decisions that not only effected him and his family, put the entire nation of Israel. It would be difficult for most of us to have as big an effect on our country with our sin, but the worldly effect can be just as damaging to those close to us as it was to David's family. While we categorize small sins and big sins, all sins can potentially harm those we love and more importantly they remo…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 20, 2009 at 7:30am —
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God chose David to re-align the kingdom of Israel and to set its house in order. After David became king he had to fight several battles to strengthen his hold on the country and to get rid of some enemies that were still in Israel. Everything was going well until he decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Without checking out the rules God gave for the transportation of the Ark, David had it loaded on a cart to move it. Uzzah, who was helping with the chore of moving the Ark, rea…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 19, 2009 at 7:00am —
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When Saul became King, he tried to stay in God's will, but God knew he wouldn't be able to last. God had already made plans to put the man he chose into the role of king. God always has a back-up plan for those that don't fulfill their responsibilities. The question is, will you fulfill your responsibilities to God and the Church or does God already have your replacement picked out?
When David was anointed by Samuel, God identified him as his next leader of the Israelites. Saul was still the ki…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 16, 2009 at 4:30pm —
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Have you ever asked for something you thought you wanted, but then found out it wasn't really what you wanted after all? When I was growing up I thought I wanted a certain toy for Christmas. My parents never questioned my request and when Christmas came, so did the present. After playing with the toy for a few minutes, I realized that it was not as cool as I thought it was when I saw it on television.
God told Samuel to tell the Israelites that having a king wouldn't solve their problems. A kin…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 15, 2009 at 7:00pm —
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Ruth is an amazing book. It has tragedy, love, and redemption as its themes. When Naomi loses her husband and two sons, she is left alone, a poor widow. She loved her daughter-in-laws dearly and when she decided to go back to her home town she told them to go back to their families. Orpah decided to go back, but Ruth refused. She told Naomi that she would stay with her until she died.
Naomi and Ruth's love for each other sustained them during their lowest times. Through Naomi's advice and Ruth'…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 14, 2009 at 7:00am —
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How can you follow the greatest hero your society has ever seen? This is the question Joshua must have asked himself when he was chosen to lead the Hebrews into Israel. Throughout his time as leader Joshua did his best to follow the will of God. At the end of his life, Joshua answered the question by telling the Hebrews,"... as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua knew he wasn't taking the place of the true leader of the Hebrews, because God is the true leader of us all.
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 12, 2009 at 9:05pm —
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What is wrong with manna? The Israelites really missed out. Think of all the arguments between the husbands and wives: What's for dinner? Oh, I forgot it is manna!
Seriously, what is it about us that makes us not be satisfied? I have old vehicles. I would love for them to be new. I see other teachers driving new or newer cars and sometimes I wish that I had one too. The reason why I don't is because my priorities are not in that direction. I prefer to take family vacations and pay on my house l…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 8, 2009 at 7:00am —
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Right from the beginning in this morning's readings, something leapt off the page for me. Go back in Leviticus chapter 1 and count the number of times it says "He is". This is refferring to sacrifice for atonement and the responsibilities of the person making the sacrifice. I guess I thought the priests did most of the work in the sacrifice process, yet here most of the work is done by the person who brought the sacrifice. Fitting isn't it that the person seeking forgiveness for the sins they co…
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Added by Pastor Rob on January 7, 2009 at 12:07pm —
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Leviticus is the book of law. It is amazing the rules God gave the Hebrews. I have often wondered why God made the rules he did, but I think he made them to have the Hebrews be completely different from the people that were around them. The ceremony that they went through took time and the time was supposed to help them focus on their relationship with God.
When Aaron had to go through the ceremony to make the sacrifice of atonement, he had to be very careful to follow the rules and regulations…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 7, 2009 at 7:00am —
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Ever ask the question, "If God already knows what will happen, then why does he make us go through all the motions?" Or "If God already knows what we are going to do, do we really have a choice in the matter?" Kind of a thinker isn't it.
I kind of laughed this morning reading through Exodus as I came to the "calling" of Moses. After God speaks through the non-burning, burning bush, performs all the miracles, (not to mention hearing HIS voice audibly, Moses' response was... "Can't someone else d…
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Added by Pastor Rob on January 6, 2009 at 11:10am —
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I would like to consider myself to be a good man, I try to do what is right, I get along OK with most people, I love my wife and my kids, go to church, etc... In fact, I would even hope that if you were to ask other people about me, that they too would say that I was a decent person. They might think I was strange, or funny, or whatever, but overall they hopefully would say that I was a pretty decent guy. Compared to your average Joe, I might be a "just above average Joe" in the likeability depa…
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Added by Pastor Rob on January 6, 2009 at 9:16am —
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Chapters 1-5 of Exodus relate the story of Moses' birth, upbringing and self-exile. Moses married into the family of a Midianite priest. His job was to be a shepherd to his father-in-laws flock. While out with them one day God spoke to Moses and told him that he was chosen to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses tried to get out of the job, but God wouldn't budge. Moses eventually capitulated and went back to Egypt to confront Pharaoh.
I think that Moses showed faith like Abram when h…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 6, 2009 at 7:00am —
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In Job chapter 1 God allows Satan to test Job. I find it interesting that God picked Job to hold up above others. He specifically drew attention to Job, calling him blameless and upright. After Satan told God Job had no reason to be otherwise because he was so obviously favored, God allowed Satan to cause Job grief.
Job suffers incredibly; he loses his children, flocks of animals, and gets a bad skin disease. Job suffers incredibly during this time, but he never turns his back on God, even thou…
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Added by WmChamberlain on January 5, 2009 at 7:54am —
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Thankful
Challenge 61 Day 20 2 Samuel Chapters 11-13 15, and 18
