May 21, 2009 at 10:35 am
· Filed under Bible Teaching, Calvary Chapel, Calvary Chapel Assistant Pastors, Calvary Chapel Pastors, Christian, Christian Living, Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach
Ephesians 1:1-6
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Redemption in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Paul in writing to the ephesian elders, begins to show us how truly amazing the love of God is. In verse 3 Paul states that we have been “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”, the amplified makes this a little clearer by stating that this blessing was given to us In Christ. God loved us so much that He not only gave His son, but He gave us every spiritual blessing through His son. We have these blessing through our act of submission to Jesus Christ. He is able to move and work in our lives when we allow His will to usurp ours.
Paul would go on to say in verses 4 & 5, that His love for us is premeditated. Many believers love to argue the idea of predetermining who will become saved and who won’t. My goal today is not to stir that pot or even provide my opinion in this matter. I simply find it amazing that God would choose to love me especially before my ability to choose Him was even presented.
Paul’s message in these first verses establish a foundation of God’s love for us before creation and His provision for us to live in the fullness of His holiness and righteousness through the blood of His son. The gospel message is not about a man who performed miracles, changed lives, created a paradigm shift in thinking, although all of these things took place. The gospel message is a story of a God who loved His creation so much that He would do anything, even die, to tell them of His love and offer them an oppurtunity to spend eternity with Him.
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April 21, 2008 at 6:01 pm
· Filed under Calvary Chapel, Calvary Chapel Assistant Pastors, Calvary Chapel Pastors, Christian, Christian Living, Ministry Helps, Unity in the Body
Well the guys at the SMP are at it again. For those who don’t know the SMP is now private but the discussion is still as open and edifying as ever. If you have been involved in the past or were a lurker who would love to join in now go to www.simplemindedpreacher.com. Make sure you accept the guidelines and hit apply and if your like me you will experience the same sensation Charlie did when he found the “Golden” ticket.
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April 14, 2008 at 2:02 pm
· Filed under Calvary Chapel, Calvary Chapel Assistant Pastors, Calvary Chapel Pastors, Christian, Christian Living, Hampton Roads, Unity in the Body, Virginia Beach
I have to say it is so neat to see the technological advances we have made. I shocked the receptionist at the eye doctor the other day when I transferred funds from one account to another from my phone. Well as usual “with great power, comes great responsibility” ‘Uncle Ben’ Spiderman. As we see the amount of internet pornography, gambilng and other flesh feeding websites continue to grow, I believe we have a responsibility to use this as a way to reach the “Wired” genereation. The internet has a ton of blogs and social networking sites. I am hoping and praying that ‘we’ can use these to further the gospel.
If you are on facebook or myspace look for me or Calvary Chapel Hampton Roads.
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April 14, 2008 at 2:02 pm
· Filed under Calvary Chapel, Calvary Chapel Assistant Pastors, Calvary Chapel Pastors, Christian, Christian Living, Hampton Roads, Unity in the Body, Virginia Beach
Sorry for the long hiatus, but I am back and would love to chat about whatever. Let’s start talking…..
Ready… Set…. Go!!!!!!!!!!
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June 28, 2007 at 8:21 am
· Filed under Bible Teaching, Calvary Chapel, Calvary Chapel Assistant Pastors, Calvary Chapel Pastors, Christian, Christian Living, Hampton Roads, Ministry Helps, Unity in the Body, Virginia Beach
Well,
It should come as no surprise to me that people will leave a church. It has happened from the beginning of time and will continue until after the 1K reign. Lifeway did a recent survey, in this they listed 6 reasons (as if there were only 6).
- Poor leadership
- Different Style
- Specific Program
- Disillusionment
- Inner Hurts
- Church Size Read the rest of this entry »
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June 11, 2007 at 11:43 am
· Filed under Tech Fun
For those of you who like me forget more and more as you get older.
Check out the TravBuddy it can help you remember where you’ve been and maybe where your going.
Now if I could just remember what I was doing???
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June 1, 2007 at 2:42 pm
· Filed under Calvary Chapel, Calvary Chapel Assistant Pastors, Calvary Chapel Pastors, Christian, Christian Living, Ministry Helps, Unity in the Body
Well we have adopted a new saying at out church and it is one that i hope we can stick with “Make it Real!!!” We live in a world of virtual everything, with plastic people and false pretenses. Jesus Christ came to be real, John would say He is the “Living Word”. Jesus sought to keep it real, He was real with His family, His disciples, and even His accusers. So I ask you (or maybe I am just aksing myself) “Why is it so hard to keep it real?” Read the rest of this entry »
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