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The Secret to the Great Commission

March 5, 2012 By 7 Comments
The Secret to the Great Commission

Overcoming Fear of the Great Commission There are as many methods as there are fears for Christians when they read and consider the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20. Many of us would agree that it is not easy to share our faith with friends, family, and especially....gasp....strangers. We fear rejection, we fear stumbling over our words, etc.  But maybe something is there in the words Jesus spoke to his eleven faithfuls that we've missed, and maybe it's the secret to vanquishing our fears of evangelism. Let's read the Commission together, Jesus and his disciples have just met on the mountain in Galilee where they have worshiped Him for the first time as their resurrected Lord.       And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Daily Devotions, Danae's Posts, Evangelism, Matthew's Gospel Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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How To Preach it || Gospel Open Air Preaching

March 5, 2012 By 6 Comments
Street Preacher - Open Air Preacher - Gospel Preaching

The Value of Street Preaching: A.W. Tozer ... Hailing from a tiny farming community in western La Jose, Pennsylvania, his conversion was as a teenager in Akron, Ohio. While on his way home from work at a tire company, he overheard a street preacher say: "If you don't know how to be saved... just call on God." Upon returning home, he climbed into the attic and heeded the preacher’s advice. It's amazing that He Overheard a street preacher.... you have no idea how many people hear you when you are preaching and will be the fruit of your voice. My Son Max Understands His Call: For those of you who don't know us, Danae and I make a practice of handing out Gospel tracts wherever we go. Max has watched us evangelize ever since he was 3 years old and now he has felt the burden for souls that we have modelled for him, his understanding of the gospel is taking root in his 5 year old frame through the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Generally speaking Danae and I will give … [Read more...]

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IF You Deny Me Before Men

March 5, 2012 By 2 Comments
If You Deny Me Before Men

Three Ways Christ is Denied Opening Thoughts: As I read this text tonight I was deeply convicted. I want to talk about three very specific ways a person can confess Christ, and furthermore three ways one can deny Him. For many of you the first two points may be a glaring and obvious, "I would never do that", but most of us will feel the pain of the third denial. I'm not drawing any parallels here, but my hope is that as we read through to the third denial we will be like Peter and experience grief over our actions, then with a new hope rush toward to the risen Savoir, be filled with His Spirit and boldly proclaim the Good News. Main Text: Luke 12:8-9 ESV .. “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. Matthew 10:32-33 ESV .. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is … [Read more...]

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Guilty of Good Works

February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Guilty of good works

Matthew 28:11-15 Every Verse Counts I'm finally coming up on the final few verses in the gospel of Matthew after spending the past year reading/studying in this book. There are a couple of reasons why it's taken so long to plow through only twenty eight chapters, the first being the undeniable truth that ALL Scripture is God breathed, and therefore NONE of it should be dismissed, skimmed over, thought irrelevant, or taken lightly. I mean, if God is responsible for every last word/story in the Bible (which 2 Tim.3:16 gives him credit) then everything is in there for a TIMELESS purpose, right? 1 Peter 1:25 says "the word of the Lord remains forever", so that tells us that it was written for all the ages, and nothing in it is out of date. I personally don't want to miss the message God is speaking through each and every verse because I'm on a strict "read through the Bible in a year" program. My second reason for my lengthy stay in Matthew is, admittedly, my own human shortcomings. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Daily Devotions, Danae's Posts, Matthew's Gospel Tagged With: , , , ,
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Get Your Fear in Order – Fear of the Lord

February 23, 2012 By 2 Comments
Fear of the Lord

Opening Thoughts: First off I wanted to take just a brief moment to admonish you all to dive into your Bibles. I can think of no greater treasure that we have been given on this side of eternity, outside of  salvation through Christ Himself, than God's Word. How many people are currently busy running around trying to hear a word from God by way of prophecy or teachers? Yet, much of the time they can't be bothered to even crack open their Bibles. Let us study to show ourselves approved. Don't just take my word for it, if you're not already doing it, please get in there yourself and study. God's will for your life is revealed in its pages. Main Text: Luke 12:4-7 ESV ... “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is … [Read more...]

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Breaking News: Secret Sin Exposed!

February 18, 2012 By 2 Comments
Secret Sin Exposed

Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out on the Day When All Secret Sin is Revealed Caught By Surprise : Have you ever heard the term "Like a Deer in Headlights"? It refers to a situation when someone is so caught off guard by something and they are literally stunned, almost frozen in position.  A few years ago I read a title in the newspaper that said "Alaska stripper turned soccer mom guilty of murder". The story started in 1996 when a woman who used to be an exotic dancer was being pursued romantically by three men. One of the men gave her a life insurance policy for one Million dollars as an engagement gift, so if anything was to ever happen to him she would be taken care of. The two were engaged until a short time later when the fiancée was mysteriously found shot to death. Two men were eventually tagged as the killers and were arrested, tried and sentenced to life in prison. Meanwhile the woman had gone on to marry a doctor, get some degrees of her own, and have kids. She … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Daily Devotions, Luke's Gospel, Shane's Posts Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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Fear and Great Joy in The Resurrection

February 18, 2012 By 4 Comments
Fear and Great Joy in the Ressurection

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Matthew 28:1-10 The Empty Tomb In the cool of the early morning, before the sunrise, two women quickly made their way to the graveyard clutching a parcel of spices prepared for the body of their beloved Teacher and friend. Their hearts pounded with fear as they thought of the battle hardened Roman soldiers who stood guard at the tomb, and of the impossible mountain that sealed the entrance to where He lay. All the others were in hiding, fearful of the wrath of the ones who had crucified their Leader, yet these women's love and desire to serve Him even in His death was greater than their fear for their lives. As they approached the tomb, the morning still shrouded in darkness, a bolt of lightning cut through the sky and an earthquake trembled the ground beneath them. When all was settled they saw the soldiers, who feared nothing on the battle field, lying on the ground as though dead for fear of the great angel who was now seated on the large … [Read more...]

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The Pharisees, Leavened Bread and Jesus

February 13, 2012 By 3 Comments
leaven of the pharisees

Luke 12:1-4 - The Pharisees and Leavened Bread Opening Thoughts: You know that smell of delicious home-made bread, the smell that can make a full person hungry all over again? I remember when I was a kid and my mom would pull a fresh batch of bread out of the oven, all golden brown on the top, once us kids caught a whiff of it the begging began. Mom usually had plans for it, but that didn't matter to us we wanted it while it was still hot, I can almost taste it now. Turns out that the stuff that makes it all soft and fluffy is called yeast and consequently it isn't that good for you. In fact as I learned a few years ago, there's a type of yeast (candida) that grows very quickly in your stomach when a person is on antibiotics, or for people who feed on a lot of simple sugar. This type of yeast spreads instantaneously in the right environment, which can make you quite ill without even realizing it. Sometimes the symptoms are hard to detect, but over long periods of time as … [Read more...]

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The Lamb, the Curtain, and the Cross

February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Lamb - The Curtain - And the Cross

Jonah It's interesting how most of the stories in the Old Testament have been deemed children's stories by the world and the church alike. Of course, those of us in the church would say that we absolutely believe that those stories are true, but honestly when you think of the Story of Jonah (a.k.a. "Jonah and the Whale") do you see something like this, In actuality, can you envision sinking down into the dark depths of the ocean after being cast overboard into the most violent storm imaginable, and seaweed coiling around your head, unable to breathe, and hearing the sound of a massive fish (maybe a whale) descending upon you with an open mouth? What happened to Jonah was significant for his time but also was ordained by God as an illustration of what would happen to Jesus. Jesus was buried in the earth for three days (just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days), he was then resurrected from the dead (just as Jonah was released from the fish after what … [Read more...]

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Deceptive Traps

February 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Deceptive Traps-Luke-11

Pharisees and Scribes set Traps for Jesus - Luke 11:53-54 Opening Thoughts: After several months in Luke 11 I am finally closing this chapter. The Bible is so packed with information that is so easily missed if we simply treat it like some type of daily duty, spending 30 minutes slamming through our four chapters, simply to make it through our "Bible in a Year" program. I'm not entirely dissin' the Bible in a year idea, but if we are not stewardly with our time spent in God's Word, we incur the risk of coming to false conclusions, getting caught in traps set for us, and ultimately we take the chance of misunderstanding the Gospel all together. Instead we can end up mistaking it for more of a self help guide for "your best life now road map, with a twist of  see you at the top because I'm a kingdom child" attitude, rather than a "first shall be last, cross bearing, self denying, suffering servant of all, who is grateful that God has delivered us from blindness, restored our … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Daily Devotions, Election, Gospel of Luke, Luke's Gospel, Shane's Posts Tagged With: , , , , ,
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