There are many needs in our church, as there are in other churches. There are so much sickness and problems that life brings our way. We must know that the reason is the soon coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
On that wonderful reservation day, we will be victorious over that which Satan threatens us. His main purpose is to destroy the children of God and steal their joy. Are we going to allow him to become the destroyer of our souls? No, I feel we are all covered with the precious blood of our Savior so should not be overcome with fear of a devil who is powerless to control our destiny. We will look to the one who created us in his image and pledge daily to be a living example to a world that is lost and in need of meeting our Heavenly Father. Let's join together and pray for one another that our eyes are opened to the deceit of Satan's lies.
We proclaim the love of one who loved us so much that he gave his only Son, that whosoever comes can find eternal life. We were so glad to have Carolyn Cook's daughter Brenda with us this morning. She is a friend to us all, and we pray she will come to worship with us again soon. God bless you, Brenda. Also one of the dearest sisters I have ever known had a birthday today. Nan Parish, we pray God will pour out a blessing to you so great that you will be in awe of His greatness. We love you and thank God you are part of our family of God.
This Lord's day, Pastor Bob Cartwright spoke to us from 2 Timothy 4:5. Oh, what a wonderful sermon it was! This scripture tells us we are to watch and endure the afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and make full proof of thy ministry. Verse 3 says, "We will see times when they, meaning all of us, will not endure sound doctrine, but after our own lusts shall follow only things that are pleasant to hear." We, therefore, must be on guard that we not fall into that type of falsehood. You see, Satan has a plan to draw the children of God into a place of temptations. We must resist him, and he will surely flee from our very presence. The first thing Satan tries is to keep you so busy that you cannot spend time in the Lord's work. Or, he will make sure that you do only things that seem necessary and right in the eyes of the world.
Our strength comes from our God and that is how we will defeat the path shown to us by Satan. This path is truly one that leads to an eternal hell. We must live a devoted life so that we will hear the voice of the Father saying, "Whosoever will come I will bless." We have turned from our sinful ways and now we owe our mind, body and soul to our Loving Lord and Savior. We cannot be pleasing to God if we are always distracted by the world and its permissive ways, full of fun that only lasts for a short time, then the end is full of sorrow.
We have to evaluate ourselves and find out where we stand. Are we following sound doctrine? Are we walking daily in the footsteps of Jesus? Many have started the journey only to fall by the wayside. Why? Because they were deceived by the works of Satan around them. We must remain in the path of God's commandments. The word is our road map to heaven and, if we do not know what it says, it is easy to get lost.
Pastor gave a good example of two logs. One was rotten but gave a quick fire and the solid one was slow getting started. Now, this is the problem. The fast starter soon burns out and is gone, while the solid one catches fire and warms you for a long time. Which would you choose? Hebrews 6:19 states, "We have an anchor to cling to. That anchor is Jesus and is sure and steadfast day and night." God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Because He lives, Satan is powerless against those who stand with God's chosen few.
Before we close, best wishes to a very happy couple who just spoke their marriage vows on Saturday under the direction of Pastor Bob. We love you guys and are thankful you are one of our family.
In closing, Pastor would like to invite you to attend our worship service at the Cove Mission of Hope in Lanagan, Mo. Our services are at 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday, with Bible study at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Everyone is welcome, and God bless you in prayer.
Religion on 05/02/2019