DAD IS IN HEAVEN NOW

My brother called me this afternoon to inform me that Dad had slipped into eternity. Marlene and I will miss Dad but we know that he is in a better place.

The Lord's Prayer will always bring me comfort as well as a tear because Dad would Pray as I would end my visit with him:

⁹"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us today our daily bread.
¹²Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.' ¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

First Assembly of God - Bell Choir

We are so proud of our children at First Assembly of God. Listen to our NEW Bell Choir Perform for the First Time on Sunday, December 6th, 2009. Some of the children were really nervous and unsure about performing in front of the congregation but I think they did a great job.

HISTORY OF GIVING THANKS

In 1620, a ship filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World. This religious group had begun to question the beliefs of the Church of England and they wanted to separate from it. The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. Their first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow many crops, and without fresh food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring the Wampanoag Indians taught them how to grow maize (corn), a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil and how to hunt and fish.

In the autumn of 1621, bountiful crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins were harvested. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited the local Indian chief and 90 Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with the turkeys and other wild game offered by the colonists. The colonists had learned how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn and squash dishes from the Indians . . . they even brought popcorn.

In following years, many of the original colonists celebrated the autumn harvest with a feast of thanks. After the United States became an independent country, Congress recommended one yearly day of thanksgiving for the whole nation to celebrate. George Washington suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Then in 1863, at the end of a long and bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln asked all Americans to set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving.

The President must proclaim that date as the official celebration. In 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt set it one week earlier. He wanted to help business by lengthening the shopping period before Christmas. Congress ruled that after 1941 the 4th Thursday in November would be a federal holiday proclaimed by the President each year.

Thanksgiving Day is an annual federal holiday in the United States. It was historically a religious observation to give THANKS TO GOD, but it is now considered a just another secular holiday.

Colossians 3:15-17 reminds us to be Thankful and give Thanks:

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Most of us celebrate by gathering at home with family or friends for a Holiday Feast but this year remember to be Thankful for the Blessings of the Past Year and for our Salvation. Thank You Jesus!!

TRUST IN THE LORD

6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

5 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
(Proverbs 3:5-6 - NIV).

We need to acknowledge our Trust in Him - Life brings us many challenges and disaster can strike our lives without warning. This life can be hard at times, and seem to be out of control. In these moments, life is beyond our understanding. It seems we are left with nothing but our emotions and questions.

But life is never beyond God - Nothing we are going through in this life is beyond Him! The Truth is we can and must rely on the Lord in every situation. Sometimes Life just doesn't make any sense in human terms - we need to just Trust in God.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT - SELF-CONTROL

But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Against such things there is no low (Galations 5:22-23 - NIV).

But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet (1 Thessalonians 6:8 - NIV).

A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls (Proverbs 25:28 - NLT).

Suzanne Wesley, John Wesley's Mother wrote him a letter when he was a student at Oxford, which included these words: "Anything which increases the authority of the body over the mind is an evil thing."

When we allow the Holy Spirit to take complete control of our hearts, he will teach us self-control - discipline.

The moment we lose self-control, we are a city without any kind of protection. Anything uncontrolled can harm our personal relationships as well as our relationship with the Lord:

Anger (Proverbs 29:11)
Drinking (Proverbs 23:29-35)
Lust (Proverbs 6:26)
Ambition (Proverbs 23:4)
Spending (Proverbs 21:10)

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT - GENTLENESS

But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Against such things there is no low (Galations 5:22-23 - NIV).

Fragile: Handle with Care – How often have these words been put on a shipment to protect the contents of a package. In an ideal perfect world such boxes would be gently moved from place to place and nothing would ever be damaged. However, in the real world “Fragile: Handle with Care” means nothing. These words are overlooked on packages. Boxes are thrown together and carelessly dropped. Packages are opened to reveal broken and damaged contents everyday.

I wonder if God were to have placed a “Handle with Care” label on people if it would likewise be ignored? How often is the heart of an individual crushed or the spirit of a child broken? Words and actions damage and wound everyday. Healing and restoration to the human heart can be a slow difficult process; sometimes only God can make the wounded new again.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT - KINDNESS AND GOODNESS

But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Against such things there is no low (Galations 5:22-23 - NIV).


“Goodness is easier to recognize than to define.”

GOODNESS IN OUR HEARTS BEGINS WITH OUR CONVICTION THAT GOD IS GOOD

The right response is to affirm the truth – God is good – and

Then accept that many times there are no answers to the “why” question this side of heaven.

We accept that somehow, God will work everything for good as promised in Romans 8:28.

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (NIV).

8Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways (Psalm 25:8 - NIV).

16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" 17"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." (Matthew 19:16-17 - NIV).

ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT CAN CREATE GOODNESS WITHIN US

Man’s goodness only comes through God’s goodness.

God has called us to good works.

10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

Goodness must come from a good heart.

43"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:43-45 - NIV).

GOODNESS IS A CHOICE (It is lived out in the things we choose to do)

Serving Others

20On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:20-21 - NIV).

Uprightness of Heart and Life.

* What this means is that goodness includes abstaining from every appearance of evil.

22Avoid every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22 - NIV).

* An upright life is an honest one, a life that can be admired.

* Spirit-created moral and spiritual excellence.

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT - PATIENCE

SERMON THEME VERSE:

But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Against such things there is no low (Galations 5:22-23 - NIV).

TODAY'S VERSE:

In purity, understanding, Patience and Kindness in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love (2 Corinthians 6:6 - NIV).

The story is told of a man driving to work during rush hour. At a red light his car stalls. Calmly he tried to restart his car through the green light as the line of traffic behind him honks their horns. After the light turns red again, he gets out of his car and goes back to the man hanging his head out the window in the car behind him, who is still blowing his horn, and tells him, “Well, I can’t seem to get it started; maybe you could go give it a try and I’ll sit here and blow the horn for you.”

Now if you were caught in such a situation, which car would you be sitting in? Would you be laying on the horn and looking at the clock because you are late for work? Or would you remain calm in the midst of a long line of angry commuters?

• The Picture of Patience (Matthew 18:21-35).
• The Purpose of Patience (2 Peter 3:15).
• The Practical Practice of Patience (Ephesians 4:2; James 1:19-20; Proverbs 29:11; Proverbs 29:22).

With patience, we are to restore and maintain relationships with one another . . .

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT - PEACE

SERMON THEME VERSE:
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23).


TODAY'S VERSE:
6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace . . . (Romans 8:6 - NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION).

Peace is surrendering and yielding ourselves to the Lord to be in His control, for He is our ultimate peace! Once we make real peace with God we will be able to make and maintain peace with others.


A DEFINITION OF PEACE:
(1) Greek Understanding of Peace - In their understanding of the word Peace the Greeks mainly saw it in a negative light, that is was merely an absence of war and hostilities. Much like today, they failed to see the deeper meaning for peace.

(2) Hebrew Understanding of Peace 0r Shalom - Shalom was the usual word of greeting or farewell. It is found at the beginning and end of all but two of the epistles in the New Testament. Shalom can be interpreted as "The Peace" - a peace personally felt, a deep calmness and mental balance, freedom from strife whether internal or external, security from outward enemies as well as calmness of the heart, all of which is said to come to those who know God.

PEACE IS NOT!!
-Peacemaking is not avoiding a problem - just because we don't deal with a problem not guarantee us of having Peace.
-Peacemaking is not appeasing another person.

Isiah 48:17-18:
17 This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

The only way we will fully experience PEACE is when we submit to God's Will - He is looking for Obedient Believers!! We need to remember Isaiah 48:22 "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked.”

May God's Peace be with you today as you reflect upon His Word!!

(Digging Deeper: John 16:33; Matthew 10:34; John 14:27; Philippians 4:9; and Acts 16:22-25)

FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT - JOY

But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, JOY, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. Against such things there is no low (Galations 5:22-23 - NIV).

My last post was on Love - the Key to the Fruit of the Spirit but today I want to talk about something that flows from the believer when he is demonstrating God's Love through the Spirit. God wants us to not only have Joy in our Hearts but He wants us to express it through our lives.

I would ask you today do you have that kind of Joy? It is very obvious that many people don't . . . just stand in line at the grocery store check out or better yet the department store check out at Christmas Time! We have either been around such people or we have been such a person. They are Grumps, They are Gripers, They are Negative about anything and everything. As a result they (sometimes us) are not much Fun to be around.

When preparing Today's Sunday Morning Message on the Fruit of the Spirit - Joy, I found this illustration which I plan to share today and would like to share with You!

My story begins with a man was going to the Doctor's Office. As he walked in, he was met by the receptionist. He told her that he had a sore on his chin that he wanted the doctor to examine. She said to him, "Down the hall, first door to the right, and take off your clothes." "But ma'am," he said, "it's just a sore on my chin. I don't think all that is necessary," She repeated, "Down the hall, first door to the right, and take off your clothes." "But Ma'am," he pleaded. "Down the hall, first door to the right, and take off your clothes." So he went down the hall, took the first door to the right, walked in and saw a man already sitting there in his boxer shorts, shivering. He said to him, "Boy, that receptionist is really something, isn't she? I just have a little sore on my chin and she told me to come down here, go through this door and take off my clothes." The man in the boxer shorts said, "You think that is Bad? I'm the UPS Delivery man!"

13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).

Remember:
- Joy is a Constant - "Be Joyful Always . . ." (1 Thessalonians 5:16 -NIV).
- Joy is a Sign of Your Relationship with the Lord

- Joy Can be Increased - "We write this to make our Joy complete" (1 John 1:4).
- Joy is Eternal