Pastor Sherry

Have you ever felt you were of no worth or of no value? I used to think that often. What does 1 Peter 1:18-19 say about your worth? Christ ransomed me, God had provided for my salvation before the world was even formed, for my sake. What does it say about God's love for you? God loves His child, me and wants my salvation and has always wanted it for me. What does it indicate about the long-term value of your balance sheet and financial assets? All good things come from God and no one has enough to money or possesions to pay for their own salvation, Only the precious blood of Christ could do that. What are your true long-term investments? My investments are in my spiritual well being hoping and praying to continue to walk in the Light of God. Why? Why, would one ever not want eternal life, and the love of Christ. To not do so is death!

Why are people in our culture so upset when they sense they are being judged by someone else? How do you reconcile final judgment with God's love for the world? Why must final judgment be at the core of the Good News of Jesus Christ? What happens to the Gospel when final judgment is left out or ignored? For myself I would have to say people don't like to be judged because they must face themselves and their flaws, bringing their shortcomings to light, accepting that they are not perfect. They have to humble themselves and that is not the way our society wants to act (being accountable) Just as a loving parent has to make their children be obedient and accountable so too our loving Father in heaven must teach us that we are accountable for our actions and because God has made provision for our life to be eternal through Christ, God has also said, those who do not accept the gift of grace will not be able to withstand the final judgement. Because the good news of Christ is that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners bringing us once again to God. Accepting Christ's gift- the price he paid for us with His life- accepting that He lives now and always is choosing to live, we can not save ourselves by anything we do or say, only thru obedience to Christ can we be "Holy" and one of God's children. Leaving out any part of the will of God and what one must do to be children of the Kingdom, is not Gospel at all. It is fooling ourselves, kind like finding fools gold and thinking we are rich when in actuality we are poor. Finding Christ without following His council and thinking we can be saved without accepting that Christ is Lord of all, is in vain, dead.

Holiness is being in Christ and Christ in me, forgiven and saved by grace. REDEEMED BY HIS BLOOD I am holy because I have received the gift Christ willing gave me , His grace. In all things we must be obedient to the will of God, walking humbly with God. to be willing to follow God's direction and learn to look to God for all things in all things- not relying on my own wishes and ways.

What about Christ's coming should get our undivided attention? Why should it inspire hope? Why should it inspire self control and soberness? What happens in our lives when we really don't expect Christ to some soon? Christ is our salvation and our hope is in Him. To those who love Him he is a Rock of Salvation, a fortress from the force of the world(Satan), but to those that do not follow His council He is a Rock of Destruction that will detroy those not in Christ. Our hope is in the imperishable redemption we have by being born anew, no longer part of the world. Being born anew or born again we will continually stive for holiness, being obedient children to the will of God. To me not living as if Christ will return soon it seems that one would not be spiritually gurded so as to be strong in the trials of this world. We could have no hope of salvation and not grow in our holiness as imitators of Christ. If one does not live as though Christ were returning soon I would think that they do not really have a hope in Christ nor do they believe in His promises.

The basis of the joy I feel that is indescribable is trying to comprehend that God could love me such a sinner and yet He does and beyond that provides for my lasting salvation. By my faith and God's grace I am saved. I believe that if one is to take Christ into their lives it can not help but effect our emotions and our actions feeling us with a divine joy! I also feel it is essential for us to react to this love with human emotions. Love-wonder-awe-joy-sharing. We are filled up and overflowing with the love of Christ. In my mind it would differ from the pursuit of happiness in that the pursuit of happiness speaks to me of "in the here and now" kind of satisfaction and acquisition of worldly possessions; but when we seek the happiness or joy in Christ we are looking toward the life eternal that only Christ can provide.

Many times in my life I am aware that God has tested me, by both trials and endurance and by making me humble myself before Him. But just as a parent must teach their child by lessons that are sometimes very unpleasant so to our Father in heaven must test us and teach us, I like to think of the hymn: Spirit of the living God, (Iverson 1926) The words petition God to work in our lives( Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me, melt me, mold me, fill me , use me.) God has made a difference so many ways in my life, when I have realized that God is in control, I am able to be thankful for even the trails and give praise to Christ, glorifying Him. The thought I always try to keep within my heart is that all I am , all I will be is because of God's love for me and Christ's gift of salvation.

God provided us a "Lamb without blemish" as a perfect sacrifice , and by the power of God's love for us, that gift of salvation is being kept for us, our part is to accept this sacrifice and be faithful servants of Christ

This question really made me examine the aspect of sprinkling and its connection to us, with the sacrifice of Christ we were restored to God and saved with a certain hope of salvation, forgiven. But just as Christ was obedient to the Father, we are to be obedient to Christ. My faith in Christ and the gift of life Christ gave me by His blood, makes me want to be faithful and and obey the will of God in my life. When we realize all we are and all we are to be comes from God, we can know that without obedience we can not be "In Christ" because we have not accepted the sacrifice Christ made. Extra credit Q: Once we are aware of the grace God gives to us freely and salvation thru Christ Jesus; as Christians we want to obey God and be faithful to the ways God has chosen for His people

I have given this much prayerful thought and I would describe such a person whose behavior indicates they are more concerned with this world than their life with Christ as someone , who though they say they are Christian are not really willing to allow Christ to be Lord. They are not keeping their eyes on the "prize", (Salvation in Christ) I am sure at some times of my life I have been guilty of this but I always try to keep myself aware of what worth my obedience to God will be and what a priceless gift our Lord has provided for me and the world. To get our spiritual priorities straight I would say the first step would be to pray for God's guidance and support in our life and then to seek out and search God's Word, being open the Holy Spirit working in our lives. If one keeps God ever present in their lives then they will be less likely to fail to respond to the Holy Spirit's leading and action within our selves. Pastor Sherry