MIRAGE

  PANCAKES!!             As I pen this correspondence, we have just started the Lenten season and our approach to the realization/celebration of the Cross of Calvary. Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday has just passed. As I reflected on the Scriptural basis of these two dates on the Christian calendar something came to mind…PANCAKES!             It is traditional that on Shrove Tuesday (derived from the word shrive meaning absolution for ones sins) church organizations have pancake suppers. Do you know why they do this?             In the Old Testament, as the Israelites left Egypt, God commanded them to make bread without yeast for their journey. Why?             As it is with God often, He has multifaceted reasons for teaching us life lessons from the Word o...

  THE DUST OF THE RABBI Jesus Christ-the Mediator Matthew 18:15-20 (NIV) With so much conflict and division in our world today it is important for Christians to exercise Biblical principles in conflict mediation, resolution to conflict, peace and unity. Jesus Christ is the example to us for conflict mediation. Q: Have you ever been, or felt like, you were completely misunderstood? Q: Are you dealing with a conflict in your life right now? Jesus understood and addressed conflict!  John 2:13-16: Jesus clears the Temple. Money changers were charging God's people a years wages to make their sin offering and to celebrate Temple festivals as instructed by God. Jesus moved into action because it was a disgrace for God's people be be price gouged to worship in obedience to God, exercising their faith.  John 7:53-8:11: A sinful woman was brought out into the street where a crowd, including Pharisees, awaited to prosecute her for her sinful behavior. Jesus tells the angry mob,...

 THE DUST OF THE RABBI-Rest Like Jesus Mark 4:35-41 (NIV) As we approach the conclusion of the sermon series, "The Dust of the Rabbi". The ancient Jewish folk talk told to the young Levite priest in training, we learn to follow the Rabbi-Jesus Christ. Over the last few weeks we have learned: 1.  What the Dust of the Rabbi means to us today. 2.  How to pray like Jesus. 3.  How to serve like Jesus and today, we learn to "Rest Like Jesus". Q: Do you get enough "real" rest? When you wake up in the morning do you feel refreshed and ready to experience a new day? As we learn to walk more deeply in relationship with God, Jesus teaches us that it is possible to rest in the midst of turmoil around us when we walk with Him! In our Scripture text today, Jesus rests in circumstances where everyone else with Him is filled width fear. We learn through Christ's example the importance of self care. We see that the Son of God went off frequently to rest. (Luke 5:16) NI...

THE DUST OF THE RABBI III-Serve Like Jesus Matthew 8:1-4 As we continue our focus on the imitation of the life of the Rabbi, Jesus Christ, we learn how to serve others, the Kingdom of God and God Himself. When we look more closely at the historical and sociological situation that Christ's ministry bloomed upon the world in we learn so much about what God expects of us in our approach to Him and others. Not so much has changed about humanity in thousands of years. Let's look more closely at Jesus' life and service: 1. Jesus was raised in the home of Joseph & Mary, His parents. He was raised a carpenters son. Being brought up in a faithful Jewish home Jesus' first priority was to God and then family. The Word of God tells us that Jesus' ministry started near the age of 30 years of age. He spent the early years of His life at home with His mother and siblings.  Jesus stayed and cared for His family following the death of Joseph until the time was right for Him to s...

  TO LENT OR NOT TO LENT?      The celebration of the Lenten season has not always been a practice of the Protestant Church.      The observation of Lent began in the Roman Catholic Church thousands of years ago.      The more recent observation of the Lenten season by the Protestant Church has come after reflection regarding the pertinence in the life of the disciple of Jesus Christ. It is the relevance of practicing self-discipline, along with disciplined faith practices and its value in preparation for the holiest day in the Christian’s calendar, Easter. For that reason the Lenten practice found its way into the heart of Christians across denominational lines.      As I serve God’s people as a leader of the Church, I encourage others to observe the Lenten season for the purpose of making their Easter celebration more meaningful and to enrich their personal walk with Jesus for a focused time. I...

THE DUST OF THE RABBI/PRAY LIKE JESUS Luke 11:1-13 As we continue our focus of "The Dust of the Rabbi", we begin looking closely at the faith practices of Jesus Christ. We learned last week that IMITATION is the highest form of flattery and flattery will get us everywhere with Jesus! Q: Would you like to speak to someone today who sincerely hears you? Not only hears you in an auditory manner but who hears your heart? That, my friend, is what PRAYER is. Having a conversation with God. Isn't it interesting that out of all the disciples only one of them asked Jesus to teach them to pray? The Disciples saw Jesus in prayer frequently. WHY DID JESUS PRAY? One way we can learn to pray is by looking more closely at the prayer life of Jesus.  1. Jesus prayed as an example to His followers. 2. Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. Jesus was a faithful Jewish man. It was right and just that He should pray. It was the practice of His faith, the proclamation of His beliefs and ...