9 October 2016
Update from Dusty about the orphanages and villages he visited last month in Haiti, after Hurricane Matthew.
no message today due to Patriot Quartet Concert
18 September, 2016
Special music and message from Joe White founder and leader of the Patriot Quartet of Salvisa, KY, for many years, and currently the pastor of the historic Vermilion Grove Friends Church near Olivet, IL.
Scripture used: Genesis 26 and Hebrews 5: 12 - 14
... "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil."
(song posted in context of the sermon by permission of Mr. White)
1 May 2016, Dusty delivers a special sermon.
An earlier message from our Youth Minister Dustin Long
A Special US Independence Day Message Mr. Martin: 3 July 2016.
Key Verses: II Corinthians 3: 17
-and-
Galatians 5: 1
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Christmas Eve Song Service with Heavenbound. Pastoral Minister, Wade Martin, worship leader, 24 December, 2016.
Message from Michael Luke to the Vermilion County Association of Churches of Christ/Christian Churches monthly meeting: 9 November 2016: "Do You Think To Thank".
Selected verses include Luke 17: 11 - 19 and Psalm 103 beginning with...
"Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits — who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed."
Luke 4: 16 - 21 ... "He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.'Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'"
Recorded in its entirety for those who could not attend. The service includes special music and Biblical readings. Please accept it in the spirit of the season. Thank you.
(images of the various Chrismons are available on pages like: ezartsncrafts.com/christiansymbols.html )
Photo for reference, a life size model reconstructed in Israel from http://biblicalisraeltours.com
"The Holy of Holies" 11 December 2016.
Hebrews 10 and Exodus 25: 10 - 22
including ... "Have them make an ark of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold... There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites."
Exodus 25: 23 - 30, with John 6: 53 - 58
and verse 35 "...Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
Exodus 30: 1 - 10, and
Revelation 5: 8 "...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people."
Exodus 25: 31 - 40, and
Psalm 119: 9 - 11 and 105 "...Your Word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path." (NLT)
Exodus 30: 17 - 21, Romans 6 : 3 - 4, and
Acts 22: 16... "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."
Exodus 27: 1 - 8, and John 1 : 29
... "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"
The original Tabernacle demonstrates God's Plan, His Provision, and His Presence. Begins with the instructions from God in Exodus 25, other scripture references include Hebrews 10: 4 - 14 including
... 10 "And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Various Scriptures, including: 1 Corinthians 16 : 4
... "Do everything in love."
-and-
2 Corinthians 5: 17 - 19
Key Scriptures Include: Romans 6: 16 and John 17: 20 - 23
... "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
The Ordination of Dustin Long as Youth Minister 25 September 2016.
Key Scriptures: 2 Timothy 4: 1 - 5
beginning with: "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction..."
"The Games People Play"* ends with: "Scrabble" 4 September 2016.
Key Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 12: 12 - 27, and
Romans 12: 3 - 8 begins with ...."For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,"
Key Scriptures: II Corinthians 7: 8 - 11
and Ezekiel 18: 21 - 22 ..."But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live."
Various Scriptures discuss conflict within the Church, and in life, including: James 4: 1 - 2 and
Romans 16: 17 - 18 ... "I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people."
Key Scripture: Luke 12: 13 - 21 which begins with
... "Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" Then He said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."
Key Scripture: James 1: 19 - ... through ... well, through chapter three.
with focus on 3: 9 - 10 ..."With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be."
Key Verse: Genesis 3: 1 - 24
especially 17 - 19 .... "To Adam He said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." "
Key Verses: Matthew 6: 16 - 24
-and-
Luke 14: 16 - 24
... "Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me'. Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'""
Covering several Spiritually Dangerous Assumptions: the final sermon in the series "Christians Shouldn't Judge" taken from the words of Christ, out of context, 10 July 2016. (14 seconds of dead air while he gets wound up for action)
Key Verses: Matthew 7: 1 - 6, especially verses 1 - 3 ... "'Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?'"
-and- John 8
(the woman found committing adultery... ... "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.").... ...
Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
Key Verses: Proverbs 19: 3
... "A person's own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord."
-and-
Psalm 23. Especially, verse 4
... "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
Multiple Verses including:
Daniel 12: 2 ..."Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."
- and -
John 3: 16 - 18:
..."For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."
Also see: Romans 3: 23, John 14: 16, Revelation 20: 10 - 15, Mark 8: 36
Key Verses: 1 Samuel 12: 13 - 14, Matthew 18: 21 - 35, -and-
Matthew 6: 14 - 15 ... "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
There were no message in the series on 29 May or 5 June due to special events.
based on a misunderstood verse Key Passage: Romans 8: 28 - 39
... The verse is Romans 8: 28 in KJV: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
for comparison In the NIV: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Key Verses: 1 Corinthians 4: 3 - 4
... "I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me."
Key Verses: Matthew 20: 20 - 23
... "Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 'What is it you want?' he asked. She said, 'Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.' 'You don’t know what you are asking,' Jesus said to them....."
Key Verses: Ephesians 5: 15 - 17
..."Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." (NIV)
... and Romans 12: 1 & 2
Key Verse: Proverbs 22: 6
..."Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it." (NIV)
Key Verse: Hebrews 11: 1 - 3
..."Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."(KJV)
Key Verses for today: John 8: 31 - 32
..."If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
1 Peter 1: 3 - 9
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you..."
There were no messages on 13 or 20 March due to special programs.
John 21: 15-17 and Luke 15: 1-7
"Do I love the local church more than I love Jesus and lost people?"
An eight week series on the book of Titus: "Grow, Church, Grow!"
Titus 3: 9 - 15
"Maintain Harmony"
Titus 3: 1 - 8
"....a Sweet Spirit...."
Titus 2: 9 - 15
"Our Christian Life reflects the reality and validity of Faith."
Titus 2: 4 - 8 including 1 - 3 as well
"The Importance of our Ministery to Young People", Mark 10: 12 - 16
Titus continues:
Titus 2: 1 - 3
Titus 1: 10 - 16
Titus 1: 5 - 9 (slightly low audio level)
Titus 1: 1 - 4
There's a recording hiccup at about the 20 minute mark. (sorry, but these are recorded LIVE! -CPCC sound crew.)
-- --
2015
Matthew 2: 9-20