Monthly Archives: June 2020

CANtine June 28, 2020

Uncategorized

“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” (Hebrews 11:4, KJV)

Announcements:

Wednesday Night “Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner” Bible Study and prayer meeting. In Person

Sunday August 2 – Special Speaker Evangelist Josh Jacquard

Wednesday August 5, Quarterly Business Meeting – In Person ?

August 12-14 6:00-7:30 Outdoor Vacation Bible Club for kids ages 4-11

I heard an old, old story,
How a Savior came from glory,
How He gave His life on Calvary
To save a wretch like me;
I heard about His groaning,
Of His precious blood’s atoning,
Then I repented of my sins
And won the victory. 


Chorus
O victory in Jesus,
My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him
And all my love is due Him,
He plunged me to victory,
Beneath the cleansing flood. 

I heard about His healing,
Of His cleansing pow’r revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus,
Come and heal my broken spirit,”
And somehow Jesus came and bro’t
To me the victory. 


I heard about a mansion
He has built for me in glory.
And I heard about the streets of gold
Beyond the crystal sea;
About the angels singing,
And the old redemption story,
And some sweet day I’ll sing up there
The song of victory. 

All my life I had a longing
For a drink from some clear spring,
That I hoped would quench the burning
Of the thirst I felt within.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved!
Jesus satisfies my longings,
Through His blood I now am saved.

Feeding on the husks around me,
Till my strength was almost gone,
Longed my soul for something better,
Only still to hunger on.

Poor I was, and sought for riches,
Something that would satisfy,
But the dust I gathered round me
Only mocked my soul’s sad cry.

Well of water, ever springing,
Bread of life so rich and free,
Untold wealth that never faileth,
My Redeemer is to me.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

Final Hymn

Just as I am – without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
-O Lamb of God, I come!

Just as I am – and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
-O Lamb of God, I come!

Just as I am – though toss’d about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
-O Lamb of God, I come!

Just as I am – poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,
-O Lamb of God, I come!

Just as I am – Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
-O Lamb of God, I come!

Finding The Needle of Truth in a Haystack of Lies

Sunday Morning Sermons

Finding The Needle of Truth in a Haystack of Lies

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Faith; Means of Grace; Salvation; Atonement / Hebrews 11:1–4; Genesis 4:1–5

What religion are you? This question often generates thoughts of confusion and anxiety. There are so many choices. How in the world can I know which one is right. Some folks just ignore it all together, but there remains a nagging feeling that maybe they are missing something vital.

Some folks push aside the question and foolishly imagine that metaphysical truth somehow becomes relative. Find the truth that works for you. If you want to be a Muslim… great … others can choose Catholicism, others can follow paganism… whatever makes you feel best is your personal truth. Then again, there is that nagging feeling that must be suppressed… “what if I’m wrong?

In our passage this morning, the writer of Hebrews shows us that there was an ancient religious debate between the sons of Adam. Cain believed that he could connect with God by offering up the fruit of his works in the field. Able on the other hand did something that was rare and repulsive in that early post Eden period. Able offered a blood sacrifice… took the life of an innocent lamb. Remember, they did not eat animals yet. Why would Able do such a barbaric thing? Why would his religion be so cruel? And why on earth would God accept that and not Cain’s?

Hebrews 11:4 KJV

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

This morning we are going to discover that only through faith can you find the needle of truth in a haystack full of lies.

Mankind Has a Natural Hunger For God

Because He was Created in God’s Image

Genesis 1:27 KJV

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Because Sin Separated Man From God.

Genesis 2:15–17 KJV

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 3:6–7 KJV

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Because Sin Brought Death

Romans 5:12 KJV

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 6:23 KJV

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 9:27 KJV

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

Revelation 21:8 KJV

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Therefore it was natural for man to try to get right with God again.

 If we look through a piece of red glass, everything is red. If we look through a piece of blue glass, everything is blue. If we look through a piece of yellow glass, everything is yellow, and so on.

When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior, God looks at us through the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees us in all the white holiness of his Son. Our sins are imputed to the account of Christ and his righteousness to our account

1 Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 307.

Not All Sacrifice is Acceptable to God.

Genesis 4:1–5 KJV

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 

And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

God explained that there would be a promised deliverer.

Genesis 3:15 KJV

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God demonstrated that this deliverance would be through shed blood of the innocent.

Genesis 3:21 KJV

Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Job 19:23–25 KJV

Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! 

That they were graven with an iron pen and lead In the rock for ever! 

For I know that my redeemer liveth, And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

Able Followed God’s Revelation of Redemption By Faith.

Hebrews 11:4 KJV

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

 The Chinese character for “righteousness” is most interesting. It is composed of two separate characters—one standing for a lamb, the other for me. When “lamb” is placed directly above “me,” a new character—“righteousness” is formed.

This is a helpful picture of the grace of God. Between me, the sinner, and God, the Holy One, there is interposed by faith the Lamb of God. By virtue of his sacrifice, he has received me on the ground of faith, and I have become righteous in his sight.11471

1 Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 307.

Cain Followed His Own Path of Works to Impress God.

Genesis 4:5–7 KJV

But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 

And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 

If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

God did not accept it.

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Hebrews 9:14 KJV

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

God still rejects any human effort to attain Grace.

Romans 11:6 KJV

And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

James 2:10–11 KJV

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 

For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

Faith Alone in the Acceptable Sacrifice is the Needle of Truth.

Hebrews 11:1 KJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:4 KJV

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

Hebrews 11:6 KJV

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Romans 5:1 KJV

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

John 3:16 KJV

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13 KJV

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 16:30–31 KJV

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

At a recent prayer meeting, I was told of a young pianist who is working on a doctor’s degree in performance. According to his professor, the young man has abilities that leave his peers far behind. To the casual listener, his mastery of the piano is both enjoyable and amazing, but to the informed listener, his mastery is nothing short of incredible. Personally, I believe his mastery of the piano is a beautiful illustration of what Biblical faith is all about.

You see, this pianist has limited hearing. He is able to hear and enjoy the notes in the lower register of the piano, but as the notes get higher, they become dimmer to his ear. There are sections of the keyboard which he never hears. Had this young pianist simply chosen to play those pieces which he can fully appreciate, he would still be outstanding. Yet this pianist has chosen to play notes that he will never hear. Those notes are validated to him by other sources: by the printed score, by the directives of his teacher and coach, by the touch of his fingertips and the sense of vibration from the instrument. By faith, he strikes each note per instruction. He does not personally sense the consequence of his actions, but his actions leave a hearing audience in awe.

Pride often prevents us from accepting and acting upon truth that we do not personally or immediately experience. Our President, in his inaugural address declared that he would like to restore science to its rightful place. I am not sure what he means, but I know that there are others in positions of authority who would like to rid science and higher learning of the reality of faith. If something cannot be demonstrated in a laboratory, it must be dismissed as harmful superstition. Anything that cannot be validated by taste, touch, smell, hearing, or sight, must not be real. Such reasoning assumes that skepticism, not faith, is the true companion of true science. This is wrong.

What exactly is faith? When one compares the contemporary Webster’s dictionary with the original, it is clear that contemporary American thinking has gutted faith of its vital organs. In Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition, 2003), faith is the “firm belief in something for which there is no proof,” or “something that is believed especially with strong conviction.” Thus faith is both anti-scientific and unreasonable.

In contrast, Noah Webster’s original dictionary (1828) declares faith to be: “Belief; the assent of the mind to the truth of what is declared by another, resting on his authority and veracity, without other evidence; the judgment that what another states or testifies is the truth.” Faith is not a baseless belief that you are right and everyone else is wrong; it is the ability to take someone at his word and act upon it in confidence. Faith rests in the character of the one who says, “Trust me.” If the one trusted is faithful and true, the listener can respond in confidence, like sheep following the good shepherd.

The modern concept of faith contradicts the Biblical statement: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. – Hebrews 11:1.” Make no mistake, the reason faith is treated in a patronizing manner today is not because science makes it irrelevant. The reason contemporary faith is weak is because we have educated ourselves away from the Person of Faith, believing that only what we immediately sense or prove is real. Some call it “societal evolution” or “progressive thinking”; the Bible calls it foolishness and reprobation (Romans 1:22-23, 28).

As with the remarkable pianist, the disciple who places his faith in the God of the Bible discovers the evidences which transcend the five senses. We have the written word of our Master, which the Apostle Peter called it a “more sure word of prophecy” that surpasses what we sense naturally. His written word says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” People who responded in belief to His word serve as examples of faith in Scriptures, American history, and even today. These modern disciples instruct us in the way of practical, contemporary faith.

According to the Bible, one of the greatest evidences of our faith today is answered prayer. It is easy for those who have been disappointed with their prayer life to reject prayer. But when God repeatedly answers in inexplicable ways, it is like the pianist sensing the sound through the vibrations from the piano.

Those who have no concept of Biblical faith reject it as nonsense and reap the consequence of their unbelief.

Biblical faith believes both in God’s existence and in His charity. He rewards those who diligently seek Him. However, few today want to accept God at His word. What about you? Do you have faith to believe in the notes which God says exist, but you cannot hear? If you do, reach out by faith today, and play the Master’s Etude of Life. It is written plainly in His Book.

John 3:16 KJV

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

That is how to find the needle of truth in a haystack of lies.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 1:07 PM June 25, 2020.

Silent Soul Winning

Wednesday Evening Sermons

Silent Soul Winning

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner / Submission; Testimony / 1 Peter 3:1

Through the years, I’ve heard people say, “I wasn’t looking for God when He found me.” Let me give you a modern example of this process.

Astronaut Charles Duke is one of only twelve men who have left footprints on the moon. He was the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 16 Mission. He now lives in New Braunfels, Texas. He wasn’t a Christian when he walked on the moon. Here’s his story:

“After walking on the moon, I was bored. Fame, fortune, a spot in the history books: I had it all. But if you had been a fly on the wall in my home, you would have seen that I wasn’t so hot. I was failing miserably as a husband and father. Though I had gone to church all my life, I had all of God I needed in that one hour every Sunday morning. Even the moon had not been a spiritual experience. I wasn’t looking for God. I only knew Jesus the way you know the U.S. Presidents–in name only. My business succeeded, and the money rolled in, but I was bored again.

“But Dottie wasn’t. She had changed. Her depression had lifted, and she demonstrated a new, believing faith. She turned to God–not me–for answers to her problems. One night I attended a Bible Study with her that focused on one penetrating question, ‘Who was Jesus?’ All my life I had said the words ‘Son of God’ but had never trusted Him. That night I came face-to-face with the opportunity to follow Him. I prayed with Dottie in the front seat of our car and gave my life over to Christ. I didn’t see angels. I didn’t hear music. No blinding lights. But I knew what I knew. It was real.

The next day I awoke with an insatiable desire to read the Bible. It cost the government $400 million for me to walk three days on the moon–and it’s over. But to walk with Jesus is free and it lasts forever!”

Last week we saw a strange place from which the light of the Gospel could shine… from the life of a Christian slave. We saw that if a believer lives his life in a Godly manner, even though he is a lowly slave, his powerful life will silence accusers and bring glory to Jesus.

Peter now addresses the sojourners and their domestic relationships. The culture of the time was that women simply followed the religion of their husband, and had no say or right to say what they believed personally. Peter introduces a radical concept for the time. He proposes that women can believe something different than their husbands, because they have value as an individual with separate thoughts and convictions, and those beliefs have value. So how in the world can a woman reach her unbelieving or at least disobedient husband without turning him off completely to her new found faith? Peter gives the answer… it is to learn the art of Silent Soul Winning.

Submitting In Love Is The Right Thing to Do.

1 Peter 3:1 KJV

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;

Ephesians 5:21–22 KJV

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. 

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

Colossians 3:18 KJV

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Subject, Subjection

hupotasso (????????, 5293), primarily a military term, “to rank under” (hupo, “under,” tasso, “to arrange”),

Submission is the Wise Thing to Do.

…they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives

Proverbs 11:30 KJV

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; And he that winneth souls is wise.

The word translated “if” in the Greek text refers to a fulfilled condition. The word “even” in the Greek text is not brought out by the translators. It is, “even if.” “Obey not” is the translation of a word which speaks of a state of unbelieving disobedience. The word means literally in its verb form, “not to allow one’s self to be persuaded.” 

These husbands were of that obstinate, non-persuasable type that will not listen to reason. Their wives had often given them the gospel, but they had met it with stiff-necked obstinacy. Peter exhorts them, in view of their husbands’ obstinate rejection of the gospel, to stop talking about it, and just live a Christlike life before them.1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 72.

___

The word “won” in the Greek text means “to gain, acquire,” in the sense of the acquisition of money in James 4:13, here, “to gain” anyone by winning him over to the kingdom of God. “A soul won is a gain to our Lord who bought him, a gain to the one who won him, and a gain to that soul itself.”

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 73.

Submission is the Silent But Effective Thing to Do.

1 Peter 3:2 KJV

While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.

The husbands in question “do not believe the word,” for their wives had certainly tried to explain their new faith to them and some husbands probably would have visited their wives’ church to see what was going on. Since these men had not accepted the gospel, they were likely discouraging their wives’ dedication to Christ and attendance at Christian activities, especially when they discovered that the women no longer accepted their household religion. Peter does not suggest that the women should give in to their husbands and discontinue Christian activities, but that they should not allow their freedom in Christ and domestic discomfort (with some understandable hurt and anger) to make them feel superior to their husbands and obey them less. Instead they are to be model wives. This seeking to please is far more likely to win their husbands over than continual nagging. It will also commend Christianity to the wider society. The term “win” is a commercial term meaning “to get commercial gain” or “to win something,” but in Christian usage it is a missionary term meaning “to make a Christian” and is used in parallel with “save” in 1 Cor. 9:19–22. 1

1 Peter H. Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990), 116.

_____

The word “conversation” today refers to the interchange of language between two or more persons. When the a.v. was translated it meant what the Greek word means, “one’s behaviour, manner of life.” Thus do some English words change their meaning in the course of time. This manner of life included in it submissiveness to their husbands. Both Peter and Paul found it necessary to impress upon the Church that incompatibility of religion did not justify dissolution of marriage. This subjection to their husbands would also be a factor which God could use in winning their husbands.1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 73.

___

Jill Briscoe talks about the difference between her family and her husband, Stuart’s, family and what that brought to their own marriage. She says, “My father, a quiet, gentle man, considered himself head of his home: protector, defender, and provider. My mom was a sweet, Scottish-born Presbyterian. She believed in the sovereignty of God and her husband. My father adored my mother, put his considerable business assets into her name, and looked to her to raise the children. When my sister came of age, my father supported her when she became an excellent car mechanic and raced cars. Eventually she took her place at his side as partner in his successful car business.

“Stuart’s family was strict, conservative evangelical. His father was an elder in a small local assembly of believers, and he took seriously his responsibility to rule the household well. He considered himself the authority in his family, while his wife, a bright, articulate, efficient lady, considered herself in subjection to her husband in everything, carrying those convictions to her dress, her hair style, and silence in the presence of men at the church.

“Newly converted at a college in Cambridge and having just been introduced to Stuart’s family,” Jill says, “I remember wondering greatly about this amazing mode of doing things. I sensed an unconscious frustration of unexplored desires and frustrated gifts in my mother-in-law. It was as if those gifts sat meekly inside her heart with eyes downcast and wearing a hat.

“In that moment as a new believer,” Jill says, “I believe I stumbled on an important truth of what submission isn’t. Submission isn’t sitting down on the outside while you’re standing up on the inside.”

(Source: Jill Briscoe, “Hilarious Hupotasso,” Preaching Today, Tape No.117. From a sermon by C. Philip Green, Grace at Home–Part I, 6/11/2011)

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 1:48 PM June 24, 2020.

CARantine June 21, 2020

Announcements

“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jeremiah 31:3, KJV)

Announcements:

No Evening Service tonight… Happy Father’s Day

Wednesday Night “Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner” Bible Study and prayer meeting. In Person

Saturday June 27 8:00 Outdoor All Church Work Day

Wednesday August 5, Quarterly Business Meeting – In Person 🙂

August 12-14 6:00-7:30 Outdoor Vacation Bible Club for kids ages 4-11

Saturday August 22 Annual Sunday School Picnic

  1. Encamped along the hills of light,
    Ye Christian soldiers, rise,
    And press the battle ere the night
    Shall veil the glowing skies.
    Against the foe in vales below
    Let all our strength be hurled;
    Faith is the victory, we know,
    That overcomes the world.
    • Refrain:
      Faith is the victory!
      Faith is the victory!
      Oh, glorious victory,
      That overcomes the world.
  2. His banner over us is love,
    Our sword the Word of God;
    We tread the road the saints above
    With shouts of triumph trod.
    By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,
    Swept on o’er every field;
    The faith by which they conquered death
    Is still our shining shield.
  3. On every hand the foe we find
    Drawn up in dread array;
    Let tents of ease be left behind,
    And onward to the fray.
    Salvation’s helmet on each head,
    With truth all girt about,
    The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,
    And echo with our shout.
  4. To him that overcomes the foe,
    White raiment shall be giv’n;
    Before the angels he shall know
    His name confessed in heav’n.
    Then onward from the hills of light,
    Our hearts with love aflame,
    We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,
    In Jesus’ conqu’ring name.

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
  Nothing but the blood of Jesus.2For my cleansing this I see—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
For my pardon this my plea—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!3Nothing can my sin erase
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Naught of works, ’tis all of grace—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!4This is all my hope and peace—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
This is all my righteousness—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

  1. Faith of our fathers, living still,
    In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
    Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
    Whene’er we hear that glorious Word!
    • Refrain:
      Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
      We will be true to thee till death.
  2. Our fathers, chained in prisons dark,
    Were still in heart and conscience free;
    How sweet would be their children’s fate,
    If they, like them, could die for thee!
  3. Faith of our fathers, we will strive
    To win all nations unto thee;
    And through the truth that comes from God,
    We all shall then be truly free.
  4. Faith of our fathers, we will love
    Both friend and foe in all our strife;
    And preach thee, too, as love knows how
    By kindly words and virtuous life.

Pastoral Prayer

  1. My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
    For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
    My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
    If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
  2. I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
    And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
    I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
    If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
  3. I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
    And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
    And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
    If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
  4. In mansions of glory and endless delight,
    I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
    I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
    If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

Final Hymn

1. I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2. Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine. [Refrain]

4. There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee. [Refrain]

When Daddy Loves

Sunday Morning Sermons

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Father’s Day 2020 / Love; Father of Prodigal Son / Luke 15:11–24

Dr. Burns Jenkins was a popular preacher and writer of a generation ago. When his son went to college, Jenkins admonished him not to join a certain fraternity. This, of course, was the very fraternity young Jenkins joined. For months he lived with the secret. Then, as he spoke to a church youth group one night, he was smitten by a sense of unworthiness. Returning to his room, he wrote his father in detail of his disobedience. Two days later he received this wire: “It’s all right. I forgive you. I knew it two days after you did it. Love, Father.”1

1 G. Curtis Jones, 1000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1986), 34.

____

Father’s Day is an interesting day for which to prepare a sermon. Of course those of you who have been under my preaching for a while know I grew up with a wise man who loved the Lord and taught me a lot. Some of you however either never knew your dad, or he was not someone who brings warm memories to mind. So how can I preach a Father’s Day message that will help everyone?  

One thing is for sure, although our earthly fathers will fall short, our Heavenly Father does not! in our passage this morning Jesus tells a story about an earthly father who exhibits the love of the Heavenly Father. As we study how deep a father’s love runs, let us honor and respect both our earthly and our heavenly Fathers… because powerful things happen When Daddy Loves.

When Daddy Loves, You Are A Part of the Family

Not everyone is God’s Child

John 8:44 KJV

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Believers are Adopted Upon Salvation

John 1:12 KJV

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 8:15–17 KJV

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

When Daddy Loves He Allows You To Walk Away (though it breaks his heart)

Luke 15:11–14 KJV

And he said, A certain man had two sons: 

And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 

And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 

And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

 A. Demanding an early inheritance

  1. Implied freedom

  2. Both sons were given the money

 B. Riotous living

  1. The son left almost immediately 

  2. Traveled away from parental supervision

  3. Wasted his substance

   · His money

   · His potential

· His body

   · His prime years

  4. In a far country

   · Promiscuity

   · Drugs and alcohol

   · All kinds of vices

  5. He spent everything that his father worked to give him

   · In want

   · In famine

     • Yet in all of this, he was still his father’s son

Daddy Loves When No One Else Will

 The humiliation of a broken life

Luke 15:15 KJV

And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

  1. Because of slave labour

  2. A Jewish man forced to tend pigs

 B. The desperation of a broken life

 Luke 15:16 KJV

 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

  1. No one wanted anything to do with him

  2. Hog slop became his main meal

Daddy’s Love Leads to Forgiveness and Restoration

A. He came to himself

Luke 15:17 KJV

And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

Galatians 6:7–9 KJV

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

B. He never dreamed he could come home as a son, but perhaps as a slave

Luke 15:18–19 KJV

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 

And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

  1. Recognize his sin

  2. Come in broken humility

 C. He was restored

  1. Daddy was watching

Luke 15:20 KJV

And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 

Zechariah 1:3 KJV

Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, And I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

2. Confession

Luke 15:21 KJV

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

3. His father stopped Him in Mid Sentence and fully restored his position with him.

Luke 15:22 KJV

But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

The best robe in the house would belong to the father himself. The ring would probably be a family signet ring—a symbol of reinstatement to sonship in a well-to-do house. Slaves did not normally wear sandals, though they carried and tied a master’s sandals. The father is saying, “No, I won’t receive you back as a servant. I’ll receive you only as a son.”1

1 Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 15:21–22.

put a ring on his finger Indicative of sonship and the ability to approve transactions on behalf of his father.1

1 John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Lk 15:22.

4. Celebration

Luke 15:23-24

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. 

The calf would be enough to feed the whole village; this would be a big party! Aristocratic families often invited the whole town to a banquet when a son attained adulthood (about thirteen years old) or a child married.1

1 Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 15:23.

Conclusion:

A man who was commissioned to paint a picture of the Prodigal Son. He went into his work fervently, laboring to produce a picture worthy of telling the story. Finally, the day came when the picture was complete, and he unveiled the finished painting. The scene was set outside the father’s house, and showed the open arms of each as they were just about to meet and embrace. The man who commissioned the work was well pleased, and was prepared to pay the painter for his work, when he suddenly noticed a detail that he had missed.

Standing out in the painting above everything else in the scene, was the starkly apparent fact that the father was wearing one red shoe and one blue shoe. He was incredulous. How could this be, that the painter could make such an error? He asked the painter, and the man simply smiled and nodded, assuring the man, “Yes, this is a beautiful representation of the love of God for His children.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, puzzled.

“The father in this picture was not interested in being color-coordinated or fashion-conscious when he went out to meet his son. In fact, he was in such a hurry to show his love to his son, he simply reached and grabbed the nearest two shoes that he could find.

“He is the God of the Unmatched Shoes.” 2

When you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are adopted into the family of God, and God is your Heavenly Father. There is no limit to the Father’s love. Our Daddy’s Love Allows You to walk away even when it breaks His heart. Out Daddy loves you when no one else will.  He is looking down the road, waiting to see you heading home. He will come to meet you and celebrate your return. That’s what happens when Daddy Loves!

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:22 AM June 19, 2020.

That We Should Live

Wednesday Evening Sermons

That We Should Live

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Not From Around Here: The Complicated Life of a Sojourner / Salvation; Sanctification; Restoration / 1 Peter 2:24–25

The story has been told of a farmer who was trying to teach his son how to plow a straight furrow. After the horse had been hitched up and everything was ready, he told the boy to keep an eye on some object at the other end of the field and aim straight toward it. “Do you see that cow lying down over there?” he asked. “Keep your eye on her and plow straight ahead.”

The boy started plowing and the farmer went about his chores. When he returned a little later to see what progress had been made, he was shocked to find, instead of a straight row, something that looked more like a question mark. The boy had obeyed his instruction. The trouble was, the cow had moved!

Jesus is an object that will not move. He is the foundation of our faith, the faithful Rock who never moves, never changes in his love for believers. We can be sure that if we set our eyes on him, our path will be straight!133

Peter had been telling these first century Pilgrims that they need to follow Christ’s example of submission to suffering. Tonight we are reminded what the Cross was all about. Jesus told us that He came, not only to save us from death, but also to give us Abundant Life.

John 10:10 KJV

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

So, capitalizing on that truth and reflecting on truths learned from the Messianic passage of Isaiah 53, Peter shows us that Christ suffered and died, not just so that we don’t die… So That We Should Live.

Jesus Physically Bore Our Sins.

1 Peter 2:24 KJV

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

The word “bare” is the translation of a word used in the LXX, of the priest carrying the sacrifice up to the altar. The brazen altar was four and one-half feet high, and was approached by an incline up which the priest bore the sacrifice.1

1 Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 11 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 68.

2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Hebrews 9:28 KJV

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Isaiah 53:12 KJV

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he hath poured out his soul unto death: And he was numbered with the transgressors; And he bare the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus Died So That We Can Live

that we, being dead to sins, should live

Live Being Made Alive to Righteousness

1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

We are dead to sin

Romans 6:1–2 KJV

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 

God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Romans 7:4 KJV

Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 KJV

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 

And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Galatians 2:19 KJV

For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

Galatians 2:20 KJV

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Live Being Healed By His Stripes.

1 Peter 2:24 KJV

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

The blood of Christ heals our sin in that He by one offering put away sin forever. There is no room here for the healing of illness through the blood of Jesus. The Cross was a purely judicial matter. One goes to a hospital when one is ill, and to a law court to take care of legal matters. In the great law court of the universe, the Judge offers mercy on the basis of justice satisfied at the Cross. The matter of bodily illness is not mentioned in the context. -Wuest

Isaiah 53:5 KJV

But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.

Cliff Barrows tells of the time his two young children did something wrong. Although they were gently warned, they repeated the offense and needed to be disciplined. Cliff’s tender heart was pained at the thought of having to punish the ones he loved.

So he called Bobby and Bettie into his room, removed his belt bare back he knelt by his bed. He told each child to whip him ten times. Oh, how they cried! But the penalty had to be paid. The children sobbed as they lashed their daddy’s back. Then Cliff hugged and kissed them, and they prayed together. “It hurt,” he recalls, “but I never had to spank them again.”

Are you haunted by the memory of some cowardly, selfish, or shameful acts? Jesus took the lashes for all our sins. Now He invites us to accept His forgiveness and devote the rest of our lives to Him. He wants us to know the greatness of His Father’s love. That’s why He died! God the Judge not only declared us guilty, but also paid our penalty (1 Pet. 2:24).

(Source: from a sermon by Dennis Davidson, “Punished for You and Me” 7/14/08, SermonCentral.com)

Live Having Been Returned to the Care of the Good Shepherd.

1 Peter 2:25 KJV

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Psalm 23:1 KJV

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

John 10:11 KJV

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

John 10:14 KJV

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

John 10:27–30 KJV

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 

I and my Father are one.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:25 PM June 17, 2020.

CARantine Hymns June 14, 2020

Announcements

“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” (Luke 6:31, KJV)

  1. There is sunshine in my soul today,
    More glorious and bright
    Than glows in any earthly sky,
    For Jesus is my light.
    • Refrain:
      Oh, there’s sunshine, blessed sunshine,
      When the peaceful, happy moments roll;
      When Jesus shows His smiling face,
      There is sunshine in the soul.
  2. There is music in my soul today,
    A carol to my King;
    And Jesus, listening, can hear
    The songs I cannot sing.
  3. There is springtime in my soul today,
    For, when the Lord is near,
    The dove of peace sings in my heart,
    The flow’rs of grace appear.
  4. There is gladness in my soul today,
    And hope and praise and love,
    For blessings which He gives me now,
    For joys laid up above.
  1. I’m pressing on the upward way,
    New heights I’m gaining every day;
    Still praying as I’m onward bound,
    “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
    • Refrain:
      Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
      By faith, on Heaven’s tableland,
      A higher plane than I have found;
      Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
  2. My heart has no desire to stay
    Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
    Though some may dwell where those abound,
    My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.
  3. I want to live above the world,
    Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;
    For faith has caught the joyful sound,
    The song of saints on higher ground.
  4. I want to scale the utmost height
    And catch a gleam of glory bright;
    But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,
    “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Far dearer than all that the world can impart
Was the message came to my heart.
How that Jesus alone for my sin did atone,
And Calvary covers it all.

Chorus
Calvary covers it all,
My past with its sin and stain;
My guilt and despair
Jesus took on Him there,
And Calvary covers it all.

The stripes that He bore and the thorns that He wore
Told His mercy and lover evermore
And my heart bowed in shame as I called on His name,
And Calvary covers it all.

How matchless the grace, when I looked in the face
Of this Jesus, my crucified Lord;
My redemption complete I then found at His feet,
And Calvary covers it all.

How blessed the thought, that my soul by Him bought,
Shall be His in the glory on high;
Where with gladness and song, I’ll be one of the throng
And Calvary covers it all.

Pastoral Prayer

I will serve Thee because I love Thee

You have given life to me

I was nothing before You found me

You have given life to me

Heartaches, broken pieces

Ruined lives are why You died on Calvary

Your touch was what I longed for

You have given life to me

Final Hymn:

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You

It is you, Lord
Who came to save
The heart and soul
Of every man
It is you Lord
Who knows my weakness
Who gives me strength
With thine own hand

Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and Holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for you

Lead Me on Lord
From temptation
Purify me
From within
Fill my heart with
You holy spirit
Take away all my sin

Helper Not Hinderer

Sunday Evening Sermons

Helper Not Hinderer

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Rebuke; Discipleship / Matthew 7:1–6

The Sermon on the Mount is full of revolutionary teaching. Jesus turned the religious community upside down when he taught that internal purity was more important than external compliance. Religion tends to focus upon the outward appearance of others in order to find some fault in their walk. You see, if I can find a problem with you, then I do not feel so bad about myself.

What do we do? We are commanded to provoke one another to love and good works. Our passage today gives us three principles to practice as we help each other along the way to spiritual maturity.

Do not be judgmental.

Matthew 7:1–2 KJV
Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

A. Do not judge outside your realm of jurisdiction.

Romans 14:4 KJV
Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

.

B. Do not judge unrighteously

1. Based upon appearance.


John 7:24


24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. 


2. Based upon incomplete information.


Proverbs 18:13 KJV
He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, It is folly and shame unto him.

Deal with your own issues first.

Matthew 7:3–5 KJV
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

A. Mote = speck – small offence

B. Beam = large square piece of lumber.

1. Clouding judgment.


2. Impairing your ability to carefully deal with your brother’s mote.

C. It is much easier to try to deal with the minute faults of another than to deal with your own glaring problems.

John 8:7–9 KJV
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

D. If you deal with you brother’s sin before you deal with your own, you are a hypocrite, a play actor.

Psalm 51:9-13

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Do not give a masterpiece painting of God’s truth to a blind man.

Matthew 7:6 KJV
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

A. Dogs = unbelievers who are blind to the truth.

1 Corinthians 2:14

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

B. Swine = those still in this world, blinded by their own carnality.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

C. Pearls = great truths.

1. Trampled by those who cannot comprehend their value.


2. The swine will turn against those who offer pearls of truth.

Proverbs 9:7-8

7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. 8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

Conclusion:

Hebrews 10:24–25 KJV
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

We are commanded to point each other in the right direction. We are also commanded not to judge. How can we obey both commandments? Jesus gave us some very basic principles. Now you try to figure out why this message was preached right now and to whom it is aimed, let me warn you that you are already on the wrong path. I preached Matthew 7 because it came after Matthew 6. I cannot help the fact that God is sovereign and knows what we need and when we need it. Do not be judgmental, coming up with evaluations in areas over which you have no jurisdiction. That is ungodly and unfair! When you deal with issues within your realm, make sure that you deal with your own issues before you try to help your brother deal with his. Do not throw precious truth before folks who are not born again, or before folks who are rebelliously clinging to their sin and carnality. If you practice these principles you will be able to effectively help others along their way to godliness.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:38 PM June 13, 2020.

The Golden Solution

Sunday Morning Sermons

The Golden Solution

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Understanding; Forgiveness; Love; Social Justice / Matthew 7:12

 We are living in disturbing times.  Not only is the COVID scare unsettling, but also the deep division among countrymen. We have talking to and listening to each other. Instead, we are shouting past each other. We no longer listen to the other side, we just let them talk, ignoring them while we think how to make our next point. In our mind any opposing view is not even worth considering. This division has split families, friends, and sadly even churches.

Our passage today is widely known and seldom followed. Now more than ever we need to meditate on and follow the Golden Rule.

Matthew 7:12 KJV

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Think about this. If police officers would treat folks in the BLM movement they way they would want to be treated… things would be different. If the BLM protesters would treat officers they way they want to be treated, things would be different. The Bible is not an old dusty, and irrelevant book.  Jesus’ words are the pathway for America to Heal. This morning may God grant us the spiritual eyes to see the Golden Solution. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

We All Want to be Loved

Matthew 22:36–39 KJV

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

This is the first and great commandment. 

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 KJV

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Romans 13:8–10 KJV

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Galatians 5:14 KJV

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Philippians 2:3 KJV

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

We All Want to be Forgiven.

Ephesians 4:32 KJV

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Albert Tomei is a justice of the New York State Supreme Court. A young defendant was convicted in his court for gunning down another person, execution style. The murderer had a bad record, was no stranger to the system, and only stared in anger as the jury returned its guilty verdict.

The victim’s family had attended every day of the 2-week trial. On the day of sentencing, the victim’s mother and grandmother addressed the court. When they spoke, neither addressed the jury. Both spoke directly to the murderer. They both forgave him.

“You broke the Golden Rule—loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. You broke the law——loving your neighbor as yourself. I am your neighbor,” the older of the two women told him, “so you have my address. If you want to write, I’ll write you back. I sat in this trial for two weeks, and for the last sixteen months I tried to hate you. But you know what? I could not hate you. I feel sorry for you because you made a wrong choice.”

Judge Tomei writes: “For the first time since the trial began, the defendant’s eyes lost their laser force and appeared to surrender to a life force that only a mother can generate: nurturing, unconditional love. After the grandmother finished, I looked at the defendant. His head was hanging low. There was no more swagger, no more stare. The destructive and evil forces within him collapsed helplessly before this remarkable display of humaneness.” [source: www.preachingtoday.com]

We all Want to be Heard

Isaiah 1:17–18 KJV

Learn to do well; Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

We All Want to be Treated Fairly

Micah 6:8 KJV

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; And what doth the LORD require of thee, But to do justly, and to love mercy, And to walk humbly with thy God?

Paid What is Owed

Romans 13:8 KJV

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Treated Justly

Proverbs 18:13 KJV

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, It is folly and shame unto him.

Shown Mercy

Matthew 5:7 KJV

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Treated With Humility

Matthew 5:3 KJV

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I don’t like peanut butter. Some people get very upset when I tell them that. It’s nothing personal. It’s not a character flaw. I just don’t like it. I don’t even like the smell of it. My mother told me I ate a lot of peanut butter when I was young, so maybe I just reached my limit. My two daughters, however, do like peanut butter and that caused a bit of a problem.

When they were elementary school age I would on occasion make their lunches and one of their favorites was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I dutifully made their sandwiches making sure that I would use the knife first in the jelly, which I like, so that there would be no peanut butter residue in the jelly jar. I abhorred (that may be a little strong, but you know the feeling) when I would put jelly on my toast and detect that faint but distinct taste of peanut butter that was a result of some careless peanut butter lover contaminating my jelly with a peanut-butter-infected knife. I was not going to let that happen on my watch! Anyway, I would make their sandwiches and send the little darlings off to school knowing that come lunch time they would enjoy their sandwiches and give thanks to God above for their devoted father who so lovingly prepared their lunch.

One day one of my daughters said she needed to talk to me about their lunches, in particular about their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I was prepared to hear my praises sung as the world’s greatest PB&J maker when I was shocked to hear her complaint. Apparently I had been going a bit overboard with the jelly and skimping on the peanut butter. Jelly was oozing out the sandwich drowning out the taste of the peanut butter. That, of course, was my intention! My rationale was the more jelly the better. I loved jelly and shouldn’t everyone else. I was thinking that in order to offset the nastiness of peanut butter one needed as much jelly as two pieces of bread could possibly hold. I was giving her what I liked, not what she liked. I was being influenced by my preferences and oblivious to hers. Her simple and reasonable request was less jelly and more peanut butter.

At the end of my freshman year in college I began dating a girl. During the summer we exchanged letters and it was her custom to end each letter with a scripture, not the whole scripture but just the reference. One of her letters ended with Philippians 2:3, 4. I eagerly opened my Bible anticipating that this was some verse in the Bible extolling some virtue she had seen in me (by this time you probably see I suffer from delusions of grandeur, both as a father and a boyfriend) only to find these words: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

It hit me that day that I often, if not always, look out for my interests above the interests of others. The same feeling hit me that day when my daughter asked me for more peanut butter and less jelly. So often I impose on others my likes, my preferences, my desires rather than consider their likes, their preference, their desires.

I don’t understand how anyone can like peanut butter, but this little encounter with my school-aged daughter taught me that in order to be a good PB&J maker, or for that matter in order to be a good father or a good husband or a good friend, I need to sometimes get past that terrible smell and spread on the peanut butter good and thick!

So let us endeavor to see things through the eyes of others, and strive to achieve the Golden Solution.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 3:22 PM June 13, 2020.