daddy4ms

Introduction: Sabbatical as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary-“A leave of absence usually granted every 7 th year for travel, research and rest.” Today is my last Sunday at HMBC for the next 3 months as I begin my sabbatical next Sunday.   I want to begin by saying “thank you” to Hesston MB for understanding the importance of sabbatical for its pastors.   This policy has been in effect for many years and not all churches offer this to their pastoral staff so I want to start by saying thanks to you. I greatly appreciate the opportunity.   What will I be doing?   My focus for this sabbatical is going to be prayer so I will be going to a few 24 hour of prayer locations in Dallas and in Kansas City. I will be taking an online class on leading prayer ministry in the church in addition to visiting with some other church leaders about prayer ministry in their churches.   This will also include a time of rest for me which will include some time at a beach (...

Introduction: My sermon today is titled, “Power Struggle”. This title came from preparation that I did when I taught on Wednesday night at end of June on “Power”.  I asked those gathered this question and I’m asking you it today- Where do we see “power” in our culture? (money, status (get to the top), work hard, manipulation, etc.) How does that compare to power in the kingdom of God? (humility, dependance, less of me, abiding)  We will see these again in our verses this morning. Death (vs. 56) ·          The sting of death is sin . Notice the order.   I think it says, “The sting of sin is death.” Why did Paul say it this way? ·          This takes us back to the Garden of Eden.   Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for ...

Because Christ has defeated death 4  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)   17  For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! 18  Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20  The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21  so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign thro...

Today we celebrate Good Friday which is the day we remember that Jesus died on the cross for us.  Think about it.  God in the flesh died for you and me.  Why is it good? Because Jesus defeated sin, death, Satan, and sickness on the cross.  And there is so much more.  I would encourage you to look into God's Word and be reminded what Jesus' death on the cross accomplished for you. "It Is Finished!" Today, at Hesston MB, we are fasting and this gives us time to reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  We do this not out of obligation or duty or to earn God's love or make Him do what we want, but instead it flows from a response of love.

Where do we get our identity from? Birth certificate, resume, & tombstone "No guilt in life, no fear in death" from In Christ Alone-When you think about your identity, think about these words. Many people will say to me, "I know God loves me, but I don't think He likes me." The Law is not meant to terrify the believer! It makes us grateful for Christ keeping the Law in our place. Speaking about keeping the law--God doesn't grade on a curve. And if He does, Christ ruins it. Hebrews 2:10-3:1 When you think about your identity, consider Jesus! Jesus is the point. Jesus' Father is our Father. We have been adopted.  Jesus is not ashamed to call us brother or sister.   Jesus is not ashamed to call us His own. Our resume will never be enough.  Jesus is not ashamed. If we struggle with guilt/shame, we are not believing them Jesus wants us to know that He is proud of us. Your relationship with Christ is not based on what you do. He call...

Today, I read Chapter 1 from Recovering Redemption by Matt Chandler and Michael Snetzer.  To say it was good would be an understatement.  It tied in well with part of the message I preached a few weeks ago about Jesus being angry and weeping at the effect sin has had our world, relationships, and even death itself. I have a feeling this blog will be filled with quotes and thoughts from this book for weeks to come.  I only read one chapter and might have wore out a highlighter in the process. Here are a few quotes that spoke to me: "Because if you're looking at this world--and at yourself--and you're convinced neither one of them is the way they're supposed to be, then you're being given an important piece of bad news...In order for good news to be good--like the gospel is good--it must invade bad spaces." (Speaking of creation in Genesis 1-2) "Nothing is their world was dead or dying around them. Nothing was ominous or unsafe. Nothing was leaking...

Opening: I hate being late.   Raise your hands if you can relate.   Most recent example: airport in Atlanta-arrived at gate 5 minutes before departure while plane was still sitting at the gate. Why do we hate being late? It affects our schedule or plan, It is inconvenient to us or others, and it means we are not in control. Today’s Scripture from John 11:17-37 reveals an example of when everyone is accusing Jesus of being late. Background- Jesus loved Mary, Martha, & Lazarus(11:5) He stayed two more days-why?-God’s glory (11:4) (Vs. 17-27) Jesus is the Resurrection and Life Vs. 17-19-Setting of story-Bethany, Jesus is four days late, many have gathered to comfort Martha and Mary Vs. 20-When Martha heard. . . she went out to meet Jesus & Mary stayed at home Martha’s personality Distracted by the preparations and busy-Luke 10:38-42 Martha served-John 12:2 The point is not to compare two sisters. Don’t be a Martha, be like Mary but...