Pastor's Thoughts
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice to follow your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." Psalm 119:9-16 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 About what do you think when you hear the word "stewardship"? "Oh, no! Pastor is going to talk to me again about money." The second part of that statement is correct. Because the Bible often talks about money and the Christian’s proper use of it, there are times when I will talk about money. The part that I would especially have you think about in this message is the phrase, "Oh, no!" THE THIRD COMMANDMENT Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. What does this mean? We should fear and love God that we do not despise preaching and his Word, but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it. "You place defiled food on my altar. Who of us doesn’t look forward to summer - blue skies, warm temperatures, summer fun. School is out. Vacation time has come. But what about our summer worship? As Christians, our walk with our God is year long. Our love for God in Jesus takes no vacation. Yet the temptation is there is push God and his worship into the background of our summer lives. This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.” Haggai 1:7 For seventy years God’s people had been in exile and their homeland lay in ruins. The people had turned their hearts away from the Lord and the Lord withdrew his hand of blessing from them. A remnant was carried off into exile in Babylon. Seventy years later another remnant returned to Jerusalem. However, it wasn’t long before they started to fall into the same sinful pattern as their forefathers. They started to rebuild the temple. The foundation was laid. But then they stopped. For twenty years God’s house was ignored. “The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built,” the people said. Though this people didn’t realize it, once again they were telling God that he was not important to them in their lives. They were telling God that they hated him. The book of Haggai is only two chapters long but this book contains some powerful words of admonition that come from the Almighty God and also call us to repentance today. If you want to tell God that you hate him, here’s how to do so. “When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 1:8 What did you get for Christmas? Was it something you really wanted? Was it something you really needed? Was it something that will make you happy for a long time? What did you give for Christmas? Did your gifts reflect your love to those who received them? Did you give more than you received? Did your gifts make those who received them happy? THIS WE BELIEVE When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31 "He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44 Ours is a confessional Lutheran church. We clearly teach what we believe and what we reject. We believe that we teach the Bible correctly and are happy when people search the Scriptures to see if what we teach is true. Why is this important? Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. When we as Christians want to talk about commitment, where do we have begin?
"But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?'
"By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty. "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty. Malachi 1:7-9
Recently the Baptist church held a revival at the Walworth County Fair Grounds. Through the use of giddy, enticing, exciting music and preaching they want people to "experience" Christianity and to chose to believe in Jesus Christ. While we rejoice over everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ for their salvation, there is some dangerous theology here of which we need to be aware. Is faith a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast? Or is faith a conscious decision on the part of a person in which he asks God to come into his heart.