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#SayWhat?

Thursday, January 5th, 2023

And so it begins. “What am I talking about?” you may ask. This week I embark on a journey I have NEVER taken before. And perhaps when I get into the meat of it, I may still ask myself the question: “Why? Why did I say I would do this? What possessed me to preach on Revelation?”

Yep. You read that right. A sermon series on Revelation.  Now to be honest, I have preached from Revelation before. The “safe” passages like the 7 churches in chapters 2 & 3. Or a sermon on worship inspired by chapters 4 & 5.  I’ve used chapters 21 & 22 in funeral messages before.

But preaching a whole series on Revelation? Not this dude! Until sometime in the Spring of 2022 I got a wild hair to do a series of devotional posts on my Shadow blog. Then I went in for back surgery in June and, as I was awake at night, I got a wild hair to possibly do a sermon series on Revelation.  So I got my Bible and put my awake time to good use and began to do a sparse outline of Revelation.  I finally conked out at chapter 9 but the seed had already been planted.  I wanted to push it aside but God wouldn’t let me. So I began to strongly consider it and then committed myself by announcing from the pulpit one Sunday that my first sermon series in 2023 would be one on Revelation. I saw a lot of smiles and heads nod. I also saw a lot of eyes “blow up,” like seriously?

Then I began to read Revelation over and over in different translations. I was trying to saturate myself with the message of the book. There were months I read Revelation twice in different translations. I highlighted and underlined. Strangely, I did not take notes. I wanted to allow the message to soak in.

So…this Sunday starts the Theme for 2023. As you can see it is called Victory! This Sunday will also start the series which I have entitled The Lamb Wins!! The next post will tell you about Sunday’s sermon.

 

Posted in Doctrine, Opinion, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #SayWhat?

#UnexpectedDawn

Thursday, December 29th, 2022

Every seven years it happens.  Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on Sunday. So…let me be the first to wish you a Happy 2023.

I started a week later than planned on my Christmas series because I was doing a series on the Feasts of the OT and had to wait a week due to having a guest speaker. So that put me behind for the 4-week series I had planned. Rather than cut it short, I decided to run it into the new year and simply take up the first Sunday with the final one. I’ve called it The Unexpected Dawn as part of my Expect the Unexpected series.

What will 2023 bring? Of course, no one really knows. Only God does and He isn’t telling!!  🙂  There are certain things I am sure of though.

God is Present.

God is Sovereign.

God is Omniscient.

God is the One who is ultimately in control. 

We often hear people going into a new year making all sorts of resolutions. I stopped doing that years ago. I know me. I know I will break them quickly and then feel shame. So I stopped making resolutions and started asking God what He wants me to do for Him this coming year.  One way that has helped me is it has given me an “eye” for is seeing God work in ways I never dreamed of. It has also helped me to realize that “tomorrow will be a better day.”

The dawn of the coming of Messiah was something prophets predicted and people waited for.  That day finally came and sadly, many were not looking, ready for it, or denying it was here. There was a group of people who didn’t have that feeling. They saw a star and chose to follow it. We know them as the magi or wise men.  The gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were a glimpse ahead of who and what this child would become.

He would usher in a new period, a new age, a new identity, a new message of good news for all people. 2023  lies ahead of us. What message will we carry?  Please join us at 9 and 10:45, either in person or via live stream, to hear the final sermon for 2022 as we consider the Unexpected Dawn which the Savior will usher in.

Happy New Year 2023!!!

Posted in God, hope, Jesus, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #UnexpectedDawn

#UnexpectedNews

Thursday, December 22nd, 2022

Talk about unexpected news! How about good unexpected news!

The weather event that was supposed to come starting last night (Wednesday) and affect us through the whole week is not materializing (at this point). The cold temps (single digits)? Yes. The blanket (more like a heavy comforter) of snow? No. I’m okay with that!!

We will be offering both a Christmas Eve and a Christmas morning worship to our folks. The CE service is from 6-7:00 and the Christmas morning service is from 10-11. Both will have common elements. The only difference will be the songs which will be sung and how they will happen.  And if you are unable to attend or would simply like to join in, the Sunday morning service ONLY will be live streamed.

My topic will continue the 4-week series I’m preaching with this being the 3rd one: The Unexpected News. The Gospel is for all people-rich, poor, clean, unclean, whole, blind, deaf, prostitutes, immoral- you name it.  I will be looking at the very familiar Scripture (to most) in Luke 2: 1-17 where the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, then he is joined by a whole chorus.

It is hard to believe next Sunday brings us to the end of 2022. My last sermon in this current series will on January 1. Then I start a series on Revelation. Now that ought to be interesting……Hmmmmm.

Join us this weekend if you are able to. If not, join us on line Sunday morning. You can go to the church’s website for information on directly connecting to the live stream.

Posted in Christmas, Church, Jesus, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic, Story | Comments Off on #UnexpectedNews

#UnexpectedChild

Thursday, December 15th, 2022

There are a lot of truths which make us feel Christian doctrine is confounding. The Trinity for one. Who of you totally understands it? Certainly not me! He is three-in-one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To understand it is hard enough; to explain it so it can be understood? Above my pay grade. 🙂

God made flesh is one which boggles the mind and has us grasping for answers to understand how God could come to earth in fleshly form. ‘Course it is easy to say, “God can do whatever He wants to do,” but that still does not help us understand it any better.

There are more I can add but I’m guessing none is more difficult to understand, and to wrap our mind around than the two I want to deal with this Sunday. “God made flesh” is one; He was one person with two natures is the other.  He was born of a virgin and He was fully God and fully man.

They might appear to be heavy topics for a Christmas message (and they are), but they are absolutely essential, not only to our Christian faith, but to truly realizing the meaning behind this holiday.  It will not be an easy topic to preach on or to listen to, but one that is essential.

Join me please in person if possible. If not, join us at 9 & 10:45 as we live stream both services. Meanwhile, may I ask you to pray for me, for us? Thanks.

Posted in Christmas, Doctrine, Jesus, Sermon Series/Topic, Story, Truth | Comments Off on #UnexpectedChild

#ExpecttheUnexpected

Thursday, December 8th, 2022

When someone uses the phrase “Expect the Unexpected” they are saying something which is pretty obvious: there will be times when something happens to you-you don’t know where, when, or why-that will totally surprise you.

Have you ever watched It’s a Wonderful Life? (Hard to imagine there is someone who hasn’t).  There is a scene in it where George comes home defeated and Mary informs him “George Bailey lassos stork.” He is so surprised and asks her, “Mary, Mary…are you on the nest?”  I chuckle every time I see that. Who says that today? But to my point: he was surprised.

Imagine Mary’s surprise when she is visited by Gabriel (not Clarence) and is told she is going to have a child. Her first reaction is to be expected: “How can this be since I am a virgin?” Gabriel tells her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”

Mary’s song called the Magnificat is a response to this announcement and to Elizabeth’s confirmation (the baby leaping in her womb when Mary showed up). It is a beautiful song of praise to God. I will be focusing some on this song of praise and what it says to us.

I hope you will join us in person. If not, then I invite you to join us via live stream at 9 and 10:45. Expect the Unexpected will be a four-week series that will focus on the birth of Jesus and get us ready for the new year.

Posted in Christmas, Sermon Series/Topic | Comments Off on #ExpecttheUnexpected

#Feasts#Delivery

Thursday, December 1st, 2022

My short series on the Feasts of the OT will come to a close this week. A short recap of the previous weeks:

  • God Redeems His People- Passover
  • God Separates His People- Firstfruits and Pentecost
  • God Reminds His People- Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and Sukkot (Booths/Tabernacles/Ingathering)

This week’s sermon is God Delivers His People. This one is a bit different in that it will also lead right into our Christmas celebration. The two feasts this week are Hanukkah (aka the Feast of Dedication) and lesser-known one called Purim.

Neither feast finds its roots in the OT Law where God requires the Jewish people to observe them as He has the others before mentioned. As we will see, Hanukkah found its roots during that Intertestamental period (between Malachi and Matthew) as a celebration of the Maccabean revolt against Syrians. Purim is a feast of celebration for the salvation of the Jews during the time of Esther.  Both are feasts of celebration of God’s preservation and protection.

I chose these two and chose to do them last because I felt they would be a great lead-in to our celebration for Christmas.  I begin next week with a 4 part series called Expect the Unexpected. Here is the lineup:

  • The Unexpected Birth
  • The Unexpected Child
  • The Unexpected News
  • The Unexpected Dawn (January 1 sermon)
  • AND THEN COMES REVELATION!!

I hope to see you this Sunday for the final “feasts” sermon and then during the month of December. If you are unable to be there, we do live stream our services at 9 and 10:45. You can go to the church’s website (ovcf.org) to see where to watch.

Posted in Christmas, Christmas History, Preaching, Sermon Series/Topic | 2 Responses »

#Feasts#Reminders

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2022

None of you are as old as me who read this. That means I am as “old as dirt” to quote someone recently.  It also means that I need reminders from time to time. I have noticed that I tend to write things down a whole lot more than I used to.  I am so thankful for post-it-notes! 🙂

We all need reminders from time to time. Forgetting is not something relegated to older people.  Going into a room and not remembering why you went there is not cordoned off for just old people. If that happens to me, I just go back out and then hope I will remember. Or sometimes I look around the room hoping it will jog my memory. “Tricks of me trade my boy, tricks of me trade.”  I heard that once. Oh yeah, on MacGyver (the original).

The two feasts we will be looking at this week are feasts of remembrance. Yom Kippur (aka the Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (aka the Feast of Booths).  Both feasts played a big part in helping the Jewish people to remember what God had done, how faithful He had been.

My desire this week is to show why these feasts held such a prominent place in the lives of the Israelites and how they can serve as a reminder to us of God’s faithfulness and forgiveness.  I think they fit nicely into the whole idea of being thankful (which this Thanksgiving holiday is all about).  I hope to see you in person at 9 and 10:45 or, if not, then via live stream at the same times.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Posted in Forgiveness, God, Sermon Series/Topic, Thanksgiving | 6 Responses »

#Separation#Firstfruits#Pentecost

Thursday, November 17th, 2022

What do you think of when you think of the word holiness? I can tell you what some have in mind. Monasteries, organ music, long prayers and religious-sounding chants all are mentioned.  Someone else said, “Holiness brings to mind thinness, hollow-eyed gauntness, beards, sandals, long robes, no sex, no jokes, frequent cold baths, fasting, hours of prayer, wild rocky deserts, getting up at o-dark-30, stained glass, and self-humiliation.” Yeah…not a great picture.

So to talk about holiness gives some people the “whilly’s.” I Peter 2:9-10 tells us we have been set apart to be the people of God and with that separation came special privileges.

The two feasts I am going to be speaking about this Sunday both deal with separation: Firstfruits and Pentecost (also called “Weeks.”) The former deals with separation based on faith; the latter deals with separation based on promise.

Please join us as we continue the series called Feasts with a Purpose. We meet at 9 and 10:45.

Posted in Doctrine, Sermon Series/Topic, Thanksgiving | Comments Off on #Separation#Firstfruits#Pentecost

#Feasts#Passover

Thursday, November 10th, 2022

One of the understandings that I believe many NT followers of Jesus lack is that of the importance and purpose of the OT feasts. We hear they are in the OT and we turn our antenna off. And to make it even more drastic, we know that we need to read the OT to hear about them and what their purpose was.

Read the Old Testament? Read Leviticus? Are you kidding me? For many, that is a recipe for sleep mode. I confess…I have had that attitude in the past. But I decided to stop snoring publicly when I talk about the OT. I decided to stop downplaying its importance.  There were several reasons for doing that. 1) It was making a mockery of God’s inspired, written Word. 2) I began to really come to grips that Jesus is throughout the Bible. I mean, I knew that, but I finally allowed it to sink in. I began to read some books about it. Jesus on Every Page. The Unfolding Mystery. Christ from Beginning to End were just some of them.

And then…and then…I decided I would do something I had never done before. I would focus on the feasts in the OT as they relate to Thanksgiving and, of course, to NT followers of Jesus. I begin that 4-week series this Sunday. My title is God Redeems His People. I’ll be looking at the Passover and this is the only sermon in which I will focus on only one feast. But how can I not? This is possibly the most important feast/meal the Jews were to observe and there is absolutely no doubt it relates to us.

I invite you to join us we all work our way through a new subject for me and most likely for all who are there. We have two services at 9 and 10:45 and live stream both as well.

Posted in Doctrine, Forgiveness, Jesus, Sermon Series/Topic, Thanksgiving, The Cross | 2 Responses »

Will Reed #SpecialGuest

Thursday, November 3rd, 2022

It was around 2017 when Will and Teresa Reed returned home on furlough from the mission field in Africa. By the time they came home they were hurting. From the trauma of a hostile environment that caused them to move 3 times, to being personally traumatized, as well as severe exhaustion that came from a baby who never slept, they needed to come home. It was during that time they came to visit OVCF as one of their supporting churches. All of that combined caused some severe anxiety and PTSD, which the counselor told them they needed to deal with. It was recommended they stay home and heal.

It is now 2022 and with the necessary healing taking place (and also the birth of two more children), Will and Theresa sense God calling them back to Africa under the auspices of the mission organization, SERGE. It was the same one they were involved with before.  Their plan is to return, Lord willing, to Nairobi, Kenya to serve with SERGE as counselors/helpers/support (and any other words that fit that description) in 2023.

Will is preaching this Sunday and will also tell the story of their healing and subsequent “call” to return to Africa. Pastor Ryan, Diana, Jo and I had lunch with them almost 2 months ago to renew our ministry with them.  The leadership of OVCF is committed to putting them in the mission budget for 2023. The folks need to meet them and see what a genuine and real couple/family they are.

Please pray for Sunday.  For Will as he preaches. For them as they consider their move and raise the funds to do so. And pray for the church as we are challenged to follow God’s calling on our lives, no matter where it leads. Join us if you are able to in person. Or you can’t, then please watch the live stream at 9 and 10:45.

Next week I start a 4-week series on Feasts with a Purpose.  I’m going to take a look at two different OT feast each week and how they show us Jesus and apply to Christ-followers today. Join me won’t you?

Posted in Faith, Family, Health, Missions, Sermon Series/Topic, Story | 2 Responses »

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