Jesus: The Believer’s Inheritance

-
Image
  It is fascinating to observe when people talk about inheritance, ones mind would immediately cater properties, wills, houses, jewelries, and other material things. All of which are centered on material temporal things.   In 1 Peter 1:4 , although The Apostle Peter used the term “inheritance” once in his letter, Apostle Paul on the other hand, mentioned this term in his letters several times. ( Eph_1:14 , Eph_1:18 , Eph_5:5 , Col_3:24 ,) But what is so significant about this particular emphasis of Peter? After all, he made a brief description of the inheritance (verse 4-5) a believer will obtain now that he is part of God’s family.   The term “inheritance” is not something new among Jewish ears. Going back to the OT, when God divided the promised land among the 12 tribes of Israel, every tribe received a portion of the land as their inheritance, except for the tribe of Levi…”the priestly tribe”. They were the only tribe that didn’t get one. God’s reason for doing so is interesting. Th

Worship News - 4th Sunday Service

-

This morning, we had a hard time finding a parking space. The lot was full! Sadly, folks were there for another event–and we could not help but whisper a prayer to the Lord that these men and women would come to know and worship the Lord!

Please pray with us as we process and wait for other documents we need to be able to open our worship venue to the general public.  We look forward to the Lord’s perfect timing and provision. Presently, working full time as a chaplain intern in San Francisco has challenged both me and my wife in strength and stamina; but by God’s grace and Sovereignty, through my workplace, I am growing in my understanding of various cultures and beliefs representative of the people in the communities we are aiming to reach.

Today, as we began our service, we could not help but feel the emptiness of the room; but, shortly after the opening prayer, there were 16 of us gathered–all repeat attendees.  We do praise the Lord for each one of these whom the Lord has brought to Northside Harvest and pray that from these will arise a core group of dedicated believers that can become our co-laborers in this new church planting ministry.

Our topic of study this morning was the Creation and Fall of man. Focusing on Genesis 1-3, my prayer was for each one in attendance to have an understanding that contrary to the pluralistic worldview of our day, there is, in fact, only one true God.  This one and only true God, who has no beginning and no end, is the Creator of the Universe.  He created man in His image to have a relationship with Him, which relationship was broken by sin. Man disobeyed God, but God in His mercy, promised a Savior, a Redeemer, through whom reconciliation is made possible.

Please pray with us as we continue on our study of Genesis next week. One of our goals is to lay a foundation that will help individuals have a biblical worldview.  In light of the syncretism or combining of different beliefs that characterize today’s society, we believe there is a need to go back to Genesis and teach through the Bible chronologically.

 

 

 

 

 

Popular posts from this blog

Marriage

-
Image
Marriage is not a man-made institution. For this reason, to redefine it is to go against the God who instituted it. Jesus said, “Haven’t you read…that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?” (Matt. 19:4 NIV) If we are to truly understand what marriage is and should be, let us look into God’s Word. God, our Creator, did not leave us without a clear definition. He not only defines marriage, He also gives provisions for the role of those who enter into it. Consider the following articles by http://www.gotquestions.org/ : 1) What is the Definition of Marriage? http://www.gotquestions.org/definition-of-marriage.html 2) What does the Bible Say About Same-Sex Marriage? http://www.gotquestions.org/gay-marriage.html Sadly, our society has been departing from the wisdom of our Creator. Even those of us who proclaim to know God are failing to follow H
Read more

From Theocracy to Monarchy, a study of 1 Samuel

-
Image
Today’s Message in a Nutshell–“From Theocracy to Monarchy”, a study of 1 Samuel The book of 1 Samuel takes us from the birth of Samuel, the last and greatest judge of Israel, to the anointing of Israel’s most beloved king, David. We find in this book a transition from “theocracy to monarchy” as God’s people chose to be “like all the nations” by demanding that a human king rule over them (1 Samuel 8:5), an outright rejection of the King of kings who had led them from Egypt to the Promised Land. Sadly, a number of believers today follow the error of God’s people in Samuel’s time. We reject God’s rule over us.  Rather than following God’s way, we instead embrace the ways of the world. The Scriptures, therefore, remind us to not love this world (1 John 2:15-17) or be conformed to it (Romans 12:1-2).  Rather, we should “set our affections on things above” (See Colossians 3). We also find in 1 Samuel repeated portraits of individuals who had a good beginning but a sad ending.  Eli judged ove
Read more

The Matter of Slander - Notes on James 4:11-12

-
Image
  The particular subject of James in James 1:36 and James 3:1-11 is the tongue. He again returns to this subject in James 4:11-12.  Based on our prior studies, it is clear that “what you say flows from what is in your heart” (Luke 6:45). In James’ imperative to “not slander one another,” the heart of the problem, as one has aptly put it, “is the problem of the heart.”  The term “slander” speaks of having the intent of defaming or of falsely accusing another. Note that in 1 Peter 2:12, the apostle Peter speaks of slander by unbelievers against believers, which is to be expected, since unbelievers speak from a heart that is fallen in Adam. In contrast, James, in 4:11-12, confronts believers who are slandering fellow believers. Ponder on Matthew 7:1-5, which calls for believers to not condemn fellow believers. Rather, believers should love one another, for “by this all people will know” that they belong to Christ (John 13:34-35). James reasons, quite aptly, that a believer ought not to sp
Read more