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Encouraging Word January 29, 2010 Dear Church Family,
What is your “faith” grade? I very seldom give away the details of my sermon before Sunday, but this weekend is different. We are challenged in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. So, my message this Sunday simply gives you an opportunity to assess where you stand in your relationship with God. Here is the grading scale:
You get an “F” if you have forsaken the truth. This is the person who has heard the truth claims of Scripture, but refuses to believe.
You get a “D” if you deny the truth. This is the agnostic that says, “Maybe there is a God, maybe not. I don’t know.”
You get a “C” if you are considering the truth. This is the person that is seeking for answers and is considering the truth claims of the gospel.
You get a “B” if you believe the truth. Believing is good, but the Bible says that even the demons believe and shudder.
You get an “A” for accepting the truth, or acknowledging the truth. Jesus says, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” He also says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one come to the Father but by Me.”
So, I hope you will be here this Sunday to assess where you stand and you might even want to invite a friend that needs the Lord. 2 Corinthians 13:5 continues by saying, “…test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you----unless, of course, you fail the test?” I hope to see you this Sunday.
Sincerely,
Pastor Mark
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Newsletter “Love and Respect” Chuck Swindoll shares about the time that four-year-old Suzie had just been told the story of Snow White for the first time in her life. She could hardly wait to get home from nursery school to tell her mommy. With wide-eyed excitement, she retold the fairy tale to her mother that afternoon. After relating how Prince Charming had arrived on his beautiful white horse and kissed Snow White back to life, Suzie asked loudly: “And do you know what happened then?” “Yes,” said her mom, “they lived happily ever after.” “No,” responded Suzie, with a frown, “they got married.” Apparently, she didn’t think getting married and living happily ever after is one and the same thing! You’ve probably heard about the couple who hadn’t communicated for some time because they had been arguing. They were riding on a Sunday afternoon in the country, and he spotted two mules on the side of the road. So, for the first time in 3 weeks he spoke to his wife. He pointed to the mules and said, "Some of your relatives?" She replied, "Yes, by marriage!" And back into their stewing silence they went. We all laugh, but marriage, and even more specifically, marital relationships take a lot of hard work. Did you know that the secret to marital happiness is summarized in one verse in the Bible? In Ephesians 5:33 Paul writes, “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” This is the summary statement of this entire passage of Scripture dealing with the husband/wife relationship. So, what is the secret to marital happiness found in this verse? It is simply this; Husband, love your wife. It sounds so simple, but if we can learn to apply this verse to our marriage relationship, then amazing things will happen. A couple of years ago, I was introduced to Dr. Emerson Eggerichs book entitled, Love and Respect. The subtitle of the book is, The Love She Most Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs. He bases the entire book on Ephesians 5:33 and the radical changes that will take place in your life when you make the commitment to live this verse out on a daily basis. Amanda and I will be leading a study based upon the principles from this book beginning Sunday evening, February 14th. We will actually introduce a few principles from the study at the Valentines Banquet on February 12th. I hope you will make plans to attend the banquet and participate in the study. We want our marriages to be a reflection of Christ and the church instead of a reflection of mules out in the pasture! Pastor Mark
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