It has been two months since my last blog post. I have been thinking about what to write during that time and wondering. Wondering what will make a difference in someone's life--to make it worth the time to read. I recently read an encouraging (at least for me) editorial (March 17, 2012)  by Michael Gerson from the Washington Post that caused me to reflect upon the work of the writing process and the humble gift given by the Great Creator God of heaven and earth to those who who use it. Gerson pointed out the hypocrisy in one Presidential candidate's platform stance against teleprompters and use of written or prepared speeches. It is hypocrisy, for any public speaker who embraces such a stance, for then they might be prone to embarrass themselves not to mention waste the time of their listeners.  When the candidate in question, who I do not mention by name because I would not vote for such a one anyway, gave a "Super Tuesday victory speech", it was a "20-minute ramble of lame jokes, patriotic platitudes and half developed campaign themes."  I call this a waste of his listeners time, a lack of respect to their minds and an insult to the office for which he aspired to their votes.

As a preacher, I know the best sermons are those that have been birthed through deep study of the Scriptures. Such a preacher knows his material and has prepared notes, outlines, yes and even manuscripts. When such a preacher begins to preach, he may or may not use his notes. But, he knows his sermon because the message is well crafted. Such a man or woman, boy or girl, who is prepared to speak does not waste his listeners time.

Gerson concludes with these poignant thoughts: "It is actually a form of pride - in a politician or anyone else - to believe that every thought produced by the firing of one's neurons is immediately fit for public consumption." Why can he say this? Because, "The craft of rhetoric involves the humility of repeated revision." And this is especially important for one who is called to lead, "Because language and leadership are inseparable."

Yes! There it is! Food for thought no matter what your background, culture, political motivation or religious persuasion. Now for me, as a preacher, that part about "the craft of rhetoric involves the humility of repeated revision" --well that's just inspiring. It is true. And I do value the gift God has given me to preach, and I do recognize my ability to speak extemporaneously, and I do favor expository preaching. However, if I was to grab your attention, (yes, that means you who are reading this) to what theme or topic would I most want to draw you? To one message! One singular message! To the Revelation of Jesus Christ!

Why to this message? Because the Bible calls this message, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show His servants."

To show His servants what? Answer: "The things which must shortly take place."

The introduction to the book of Revelation is compelling. It is not something that anyone should ignore, that the God of heaven and earth, the One who claims to be the Creator of the entirety of the Universe is the same One who has put thoughts of eternity into your heart. I pray your heart will be touched enough by my humble words to investigate this blog post further. Respectfully given from my heart to any honest-hearted soul out there searching for truth.

My two churches where I am the pastor each have a website. I have begun posting a series of sermons on those websites which I have called "Mercy & Truth in Prophecy." If you follow along, and if you have an honest heart, I believe you will find what I found out over 30 years ago. That the Bible actually can be intelligently understood and that Jesus Christ is faithful and true. But you don't have to listen to my sermons to find this out. Many others have been preaching messages of the Bible and especially the final messages through the books of Daniel and the Revelation for over 150 years now. You can also go to my church websites for a list of trusted Bible study sources. Trusted I say, because these lessons teach how the Bible interprets itself and follow the historical approach that the  reformers like Luther, Calvin and Wesley all used.

Here are links to the Bible study pages of my two churches websites. You may choose either link.

Camden  link

Brunswick link

And here are the links to the sermon pages for each website, if you want to check out the first five sermons in the series labeled  "Mercy and Truth in Prophecy"


Camden Sermon link


Brunswick Sermon Link

Strict Bible Interpretation vs. New Thought

What is a strict Biblical interpretation? There are many philosophers that have come and gone, but most share one thing in common. They do not hold to a "strict Bible interpretation" about life on this earth. One such philosophy that has come to my attention recently is that of "New Thought."  What do they mean by calling themselves "New Thought thinkers"? It seems to me that anyone can have an original thought. So, the Bible is considered as outdated by such thinkers? A check of Wikipedia reveals the basic philosophical ground of "New Thought". You can click on that link to read what I read if you are interested. However, it seems to me to have some basic tenets in common with "New Age." But, I do not want to go into them here.

Instead, I hope to create some dialog with any philosopher type individual out there who is sincerely and honestly a searcher for truth. Below you can read where I base my thinking, that is upon which philosophical ground.

So I will repeat the original question: what is a strict biblical interpretation?
I can tell you this: There is only one way to understand or interpret the Bible, and that is on its own account--let scripture interpret scripture. However, modernism and post-modernism have allowed philosophers and others who do not hold the Bible as completely divinely inspired to give their own interpretations of Bible passages and to dictate what is useful or intelligent or makes logical sense from the Bible and discard anything that does not comport with their intellectual ideas or their ideas of what is believable. Hence, social and news commentators like Peter Jennings have been heralded for producing some of the most egregious and damaging material to the veracity of the Bible--like "The Historical Jesus." And just where did Jennings get his material? From "researchers" and "social scientists" and philosophers, some like new thought thinkers, who have the audacity to call themselves theologians. 

But there is nothing new about new thought thinkers, only repackaged-material from older and now dead philosophers of times past. Just given new vocabulary. But no, I don't consider it new, just a new package which takes a while to decipher and then society and philosophy move on to the next great philosophical mantra that can enable them to ignore the veracity of the Bible and the claims of the divinity of Jesus Christ--to their detriment I might add.

I will make any honest seeker an offer. Why don't you give me your best understanding and personal philosophy of life...as I have given mine. Over time as we can have a discussion. Please let no honest-hearted seeker rationalize that just because I base my entire philosophy of life on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and the belief in the divine inspiration of the Bible and therefore the trust in its veracity...please do not rationalize that I am not worthy of the discussion with you. My understanding is that many intellectual people who don't like dogmatic Christians or their views will rationalize that they just don't get it and are therefore not worthy of such a discussion. At least I am up front of where my search for truth has landed--that is the philosophical ground upon which I stand. Everyone stands on some philosophical ground, even if it may be somewhat unclear to them or undefined.

The ground I stand on is full of assurance. But it is not hateful, though it may appear that Christianity has exhibited hateful characteristics over the past 2000 years. God has much to say about "wolves in sheep's clothing" who have given a false Christian witness within the realm of Christianity. But false witnesses have also been found in science and philosophy which is one reason why science and philosophy are always in flux. There is always a new view emerging that people of new generations begin to adapt and adopt.

However, the Bible is still the same and has not been changed. Just the religious denominations that come from it have compromised because many have accepted modern and post-modern philosophical thinking in place of much of what the Bible teaches. Hence, the "search for the historical Jesus" movement and similar movements that have cast aside the veracity of the Bible for the uncertainty but excitement for new ideas, which eventually evolve into other new ideas and repackaged philosophies.

It seems that almost no-one wants to accept the Bible teaching about how sin came into our world, after God created this world in six literal days in perfection. Thus, many ignore the Bible teaching that all humans are sinners in need of the Savior and that He, Jesus Christ, has provided the only means of salvation, and it is freely offered through belief in His life, death and resurrection and even faith in His current ministry as the believers High Priest in heaven. Just because the Bible teaches that and I believe it, however, is no reason to not have a conversation with me in your search for truth. 

You just get to know that whatever I say in such a conversation, I will try my best to use MY philosophy as the basis for how I answer you. We will share some things in common. However, I am at a disadvantage in that I do not know where you are going to be coming from unless you elaborate your view point as to why you believe or think a certain way on a certain point.

I am looking for those who are honest in heart and thus are sincerely searching for truth.

If anyone is willing, I am also willing.

A Thanksgiving Vision

The Title of this, my most recent sermon is, A Thanksgiving Vision.

It is based on the following Scripture: Philippians 3:13-16; 4:4-7. I believe Paul's letter to the church at Philippi most clearly articulates his vision for mature disciples. And in this sermon I articulate the answer to that question: What is Paul’s vision for mature disciples? As pastor of two small churches  I have searched this out in order to better define the vision the LORD God has placed upon my heart.

My purpose is that my hearers may desire to mature as disciples of Jesus Christ and thus both worship and work together in Christian unity and a bond of love.

Below I have included the beginning text of the sermon:

You may download and listen to the entire sermon here

Philippians 3:13-16  ¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,  ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  ¹⁵ Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.  ¹⁶ Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

Philippians 4:4-7  ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!  ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.  ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Pray with me: Father, please help us to listen to Your word and walk by the same rule and be of the same mind. In Jesus name, Amen!

       The title of today's sermon is A Thanksgiving Vision. You see I have a vision for what I would like to see this church be. What should we as a church be doing to do the works of God? And how should our worship reflect our attitude toward God? Paul wrote about what it means to be a mature disciple. Do you see it there in chapter 3:15? “Let us, as many as are mature, have this mind.” My purpose today is that my hearers may desire to mature as disciples of Jesus and thus both worship and work together in Christian unity and a bond of love. Yes, I include not only members of this church but also our visitors and those who attend our services. I think that is possible for, “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.”

       Does that sound too ecumenical? Well hear me out. For I do not believe in unity, just for the sake of unity. But I do believe in unity of belief and faith in God’s word. That means we should understand the same things. If we are in disagreement on a doctrine, then there cannot be unity. For unity comes through agreement.

       Now the Apostle Paul knew this too, and yet He is writing to the Christians in Philippi, Greece who were a pretty self-sacrificing bunch yet apparently needed some instruction in unity. Why would they need instruction in unity if they already had the same doctrines? For, they were all taught the same bible doctrines by the Apostle Paul Himself. Good question. Paul is not so much concerned with correcting their understanding of doctrine as he is with warning them about others—outsiders to their community who would try and come in and ruin them by spreading disunity or false doctrines.

       It happened that way in Thessalonica, a city not too far away from Philippi. And it happened in Corinth and it happened in Galatia. In Corinth, they were spreading disunity because they liked certain pastors or preachers better than others. That means some they didn’t like. And as a result they fell into disobedience of God’s holy law. In Thessalonica some had stopped working and had become disruptive and undisciplined. And in Galatia, false teachers had come in and were teaching false doctrines. The devil doesn’t care how he causes disunity in God’s church. But we do see that Paul has warned the Philippians about these two ways—through teaching false doctrines and through usurping a leader’s authority, or through both.

       The Philippian church was of a different sort. It began with some godly women who Paul had met at the riverside. You may remember the name Lydia, a seller of expensive purple cloth. Then there was the jailer and his family. You might remember the jailer who was converted when Paul was imprisoned there the first time. He was going to kill himself when he thought all the prisoners had escaped until Paul stopped him. Paul had compassion on this man who had chained him and the man was converted. Yes, and Paul writes to this group and commends them for how loyal they were to his work in the Lord and how they supported him when other churches had not.

       And we do see some warnings but mostly we see encouragement. He encourages them to live rejoicing. He encourages them to be humble. And He encourages them to live a life of faith in Jesus—that means to live out their faith or we might say to practice their faith. And He encourages them to worship and work together in unity. That’s what he means when he says, “be of the same mind!” Seven times in this little book Paul says to be of the same mind, or be of one mind, or have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. Seven times! And an eighth time he writes that the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds…through Christ Jesus.

     I hope you will want to listen to the whole sermon. It will challenge those of you who want to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is 33 minutes total.

DOWNLOAD: A Thanksgiving Vision

 

Achieving Excellence, Part 2

In this sermon, Achieving Excellence-Part 2, I have included the text for the last half of the sermon because it speaks to the theme of my blog very strongly-- A Meeting of Mercy and Truth. You may download the audio for the whole sermon here: Download Achieving Excellence-Part 2

Here is the main point: Paul did not want to be found without the righteousness which is through faith in Christ, because the righteousness from the law could not save him.

Homiletical idea: True excellence and salvation will only be achieved by righteousness through faith in Christ.

Below is the last half of the Sermon

         Where do mercy and truth meet? Only in Jesus Christ. In fact, mercy cannot exist without truth and neither can truth exist without mercy. Those who think that love is only a sentimental feeling do not really know love. Love, the Bible says, is of God! (See 1 john 4:7-8). And thus mercy is of God and truly only of God. And God is also true. His character is spotless and pure and He desires us to also be spotless and pure, yes even without sin. That is, He desires us to be righteous even the righteousness which is from the Law.

        But we are sold under sin from our first act of sin; and, even from our birth since we are born into sin through no fault of our own. We are born into sin because our first parents, the first two human beings on earth, who were created directly by God Himself, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God. Yes Eve was deceived by the devil who was disguised as a talking serpent. But in reality, she trusted to her own opinion of what the serpent was saying about God. And thus, she heard in the serpents words, that she could, "be like God." She forgot, that she was already created in the image of God and chose to disobey God's simple command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And so she ate and then went forward to tempt her husband.

        Now Adam must have loved Eve very much. Here he was not so much as deceived as he was beguiled. For he chose to trust his own opinion instead of asking God what he should do. And Adam's mind must have thought that he could not live without Eve and could figure out no other way. He certainly chose to eat the forbidden fruit and joined his wife in disobedience and in distrust of God. Love was beguiled through sin. Beguiled they were by the serpent, Satan who himself was the father of sin.

        Satan committed the first sin ever, we are not told when, but where. Satan, who was created by God as Lucifer, the lightbearer of God, who stood near the throne of God and was the "covering cherub" of God's Shekinah Glory and Presence...the Bible says concerning this high angelic being --by the abundance of his "trading" (slander against God) "you became filled with violence within, and you sinned" (Ezekiel 28:16). Sin began in heaven.
        A great number of other angels chose to join Satan in rebellion against God. And the Bible says that war broke out in heaven (see Revelation 12). And God had to cast them out of heaven. Now God could have destroyed those rebels immediately. But, in His wisdom and love He knew that the best way to handle the problem of sin would be to allow it to play out. All the other intelligent beings which included the loyal angels (a 2/3 majority according to Revelation 12) would need to see the consequences of sin. God wants everyone to love Him and each other. And therefore, God gives everyone of His created beings the power to choose. We are not robots or automatons. We are free moral beings with freedom to choose. And human beings who were the newest intelligent beings of God's creation would be protected as long as they obeyed their Creator. Why? For obedience shows loyalty whereas disobedience shows disloyalty.

        To whom you render obedience is the one to whom you show loyalty. And by disobeying God, Adam and Eve gave their loyalty to the father of lies. At that point in time all humanity became sold under sin, the wages of which is death. Thus according to the righteousness which is from the law—Paul calls this our own righteousness—according to the righteous requirements of the Law of God, all humans have inherited unrighteousness. The Bible says, there is none righteous, no not one! (Romans 3:10, Paul quoted from Psalm 14. Or was it Psalm 53? Two psalms, nearly identical in emphasizing the same exact thing…No one is righteous! The Bible says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All humans fall short of the righteous requirements of the law of God.

Yet God's love for His creatures is strong. He could not let us go and be destroyed forever. It was in God's great plan from the beginning of creation, that Jesus would become the Redeemer if there was ever a need. The need became real when sin came to this earth and humans became sold under sin. Now, all humans were doomed to death without the help of the pure and spotless Lamb of God who became the Savior of the world. Through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross almost 2,000 years ago, through belief in His taking the penalty of death in your place, that is through faith in Jesus and desiring to obey Him any human being may now have eternal life. You are not saved by your obedience. You are saved by His obedience. You accept His mercy and His truth together for they are one in Him. And you must receive all of Him. Therefore, the Bible says, "you have died with Christ" and now "you also live with Him. The old life of disobedience is no more, and you desire to live a new life in Christ, a life of obedience to Jesus.

        The Bible doesn't tell us all the details surrounding Satan's apostasy and "trading" when he was still in heaven. However, I'm sure God pleaded with him and worked long and hard for his salvation and that of all the angels who eventually rebelled against God. God also knew that the first two humans may have sinned, but not to the degree that Satan had. Jesus affirms that the only sin that will not be forgiven is the sin against the Holy Spirit. When someone continues to refuse the loving and merciful pleadings of the Holy Spirit so much so that he/she will never repent of his/her sins, then the Holy Spirit respects his/her choice and ceases to plead with such a one. That's the way it was with Satan. That's the way it was with Pharaoh in the time of Moses. That's the way it was with the first king of Israel, Saul. That's the way it was with Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus and then went out and hung himself. And that's the way it is for anyone who denies his/her opportunity for forgiveness of sins and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

        Mercy is always pleading through the Holy Spirit to us human beings. And mercy will continue to plead until Jesus says, "It is done!" (Revelation 21:6). And then Jesus will come again. The Bible says, "Our God will come and shall not keep silent; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth that He may judge His people: Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah!" (Psalm 50:3-6).

        And this is truth! Jesus is the Judge and is ever seeking to judge in favor of His people (Daniel 7:22). Jesus is seeking to judge His people with HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! This is why mercy has been pleading for so long. It is not that God is not Just. He is. Yet mercy is also strong in our God. And He is still seeking through the work of the Holy Spirit to bring the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ to all who will accept Him as Savior and Lord. If you truly accept His mercy, then you must also accept His truth. If you accept His peace, then you must accept His righteousness. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." And thus we see that willing obedience is the trademark of true love. Give your will to Jesus today by choosing to obey Him. Then He will work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. This is the fruit of loving Jesus. This is the fruit of obeying Jesus. This is the fruit of mercy and truth meeting in your life and character. This is the fruit of receiving the righteousness that is from God, the righteousness that is through faith in Jesus Christ. Amen!

Achieving Excellence!

Achieving excellence!

Does that grab your attention? I hope so because the title of today's sermon is achieving excellence. At what thing would you like to achieve excellence? Think about that a moment.

          Yes I'm assuming that all of us want to be good at something. When a baby boy is born, his mother may look on him and wonder, what will he be like? Or if the baby is a girl, she may wonder will she be like or will she be different? And it different, how different? Will my child become famous? Or, at what things will my child excel? Will he be good in school? Will she be good at something? Will she be a doctor? Will he be a lawyer? Will she be a good cook? Will he be a good mechanic? The Lord knows I needed a couple of good mechanics on my vacation. Will she be artistic? Will he be athletic?

          It doesn't take long for children to develop the same desires. Yes even children want to be good at something. Do you know that be true? You were a child once yourself. You should know that, right? Did you want to be good at something as you were growing up? And not just good, perhaps very good. Perhaps, even the best – better than everyone else.

          We human beings are hardwired to want to be good at something and even to want to be the best. When I was young I wanted to be the fastest miler in the world. I wanted to win the Olympic 1500 meter race. I dreamed about it and fantasized about it. It was not to be, not even close; but, that was something I wanted. Yet, it was something I could not achieve. What happens when--you want something so bad and you can't achieve it. Well generally, you find something else you're good at. Right? Because we all want to be good at what we do. And if we are just mediocre, then we will tend to find something else that we're good at. Isn't that true?

          We want to achieve excellence. Sometimes this is called mastery. And we generally like the things we are good at. And we generally don't like the things we are not so good at. Of course I'm speaking in general.

          This dynamic is drilled into us throughout our school years. We are taught, "If you want to be happy find the things you are good at, and do them." Or, the teacher may say, "Find the things that you like and try those." Certainly, most of you have probably heard that from your teachers as you were growing up. Perhaps you have said it to your own sons and daughters as they were growing up. Maybe you said it as a teacher; I know I did as a teacher.

          The apostle Paul was doing just that – the things he was good at. He probably could have done almost anything. He was a highly gifted man. He was courageous, independent, and persevering. He was highly talented and well trained in oratory skills and debate. He could reason with extraordinary clearness. Thus, he became a zealous defender of the Jewish religion. In the book, Acts of the Apostles Ellen White writes that the apostle Paul had a, "withering sarcasm" with which "he could place an opponent in no enviable light."
         Paul was proud of his Hebrew upbringing. He called himself a Hebrew of Hebrews, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the eighth day according to the Law of Moses. Not the ninth day or the 10th day – that was important – the eighth day just like the law prescribed. And concerning that law he was a Pharisee. That means he knew the law well and he upheld it above all things. The law was the most important thing to Paul – to argue about, to debate about…to win debates about. To point out to people, "this is what is important in life."

          So we might say that what Paul was good at is what he considered to be the most important thing in the world. And that was probably true about many people in Paul's culture at that time.
          Now today some people might think that what is important is to be a great basketball player. They follow the Michael Jordan's, the Kobe Bryant's, the Lamar James's, etc. etc. And, that consumes people's minds who might say, "We want to be good at that because everybody is watching that."

          Well the same principle was true in the apostle Paul's day. In Paul's day there was not basketball or even a whole lot of athletics going on like today. However, the academics, the intellectuals, and especially the religious elites were looked up to by the masses. According to what Paul wrote in the beginning of Philippians chapter 3, and you can read it for yourself, he considered himself to be blameless according to that law. I guess we could say when it came to his education about that law he considered himself to be blameless... before he met Jesus Christ.

           Now imagine that everything was going great for Paul in his own mind – before he met Jesus. He had already, in his mind, achieved excellence. He was the best of the best! And he was just going forward, striving to get better. Imagine Tiger Woods at the height of his golf game before he fell.

           Paul was getting better and better until he met Jesus Christ. This great man was persecuting the church of Jesus. Persecuting Christians! And he was very successful at it. Because of his high intelligence and skill in debate and oratory, those he was persecuting could not win against him, nor survive. But that's another sermon for another time.

          In the audio-download of this sermon I will talk about… what the apostle Paul counted as loss… for the sake of knowing Christ.

             How much should you be willing to lose in order to know Christ?

          Open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 3 and follow along. I will begin reading at verse 7 all the way through to verse 11. Download: Achieving Excellence

         

God Is At Work

It has been awhile since my last post. I have preached several sermons since last August of which I think are worthy of an ear. However, I have not written any posts from them to this blog yet. You are welcome to download them from my church websites. I just want to reconnect with my blog today though.

It has been a busy season. I am looking forward to an outdoor church experience on Jekyll Island soon, Oct 22 to be exact. Both the Camden and Brunswick Seventh-day Adventist Churches will meet together that day to worship our Lord at Great Dunes Beachfront Park. We will have several testimonies about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and what it means to us interspersed with songs of praise. For Sabbath School, several teachers each will present a piece of the lesson of Righteousness by Faith.

Right now the Camden church is engaging in meetings with Tony Moore. (You can check out his website at http://biblicalworld.org). Tony is presenting his archaeology series, "In Search of Meaning from the Sands of the Past" from October 7 through Oct. 16. Actually, on October 14 He will begin to present his newly completed film series, "Tracing the Footsteps of Jesus." This is one of the first times it will be seen in a public venue and is the result of over seven months of filming and over four years of travel back and forth between the holy lands of Jesus day and his home in California. I am excited to have our small church host Tony as a gift to the community. Several interested souls have been attending the meetings thus far.

And just to let you know something about how God works, I have had three divine appointments on three separate days last week. God has led me and has trusted me to lead three different men into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. One was recently baptized and is searching for the role God has ordained for him to act in winning others to Christ. Selah! The other two are searching to know truth, and are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I say Selah again! I pray they will continue to remain open as the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS influences them and leads them into more truth through the work of the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Memorials To Freedom--Sermon Series

Herein I am posting links to all seven sermons that I preached in this series. I began on Memorial Day weekend and preached through July 4th, Independence Day:

Words of Christ in Blood Red based on Luke 24:44 – 53 which I previously blogged about and posted on my Facebook page through my blog, http://ameetingofmercyandtruth.blogspot.com . This sermon shows how Jesus opened His mission to His disciples through His teachings, through His cross, and through their preparation to receive the Holy Spirit.

Now I will post the remaining six sermons and let those who want to listen do so. All the sermons show that God has set up memorials in Scripture so that His people may remember Him and "worship Him in spirit and truth" as Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well (see John 4).

The Earthly Sanctuary and God's Law this is the second sermon in the series based on Luke 24: 44 – 45. This sermon will show listeners the difference between the perpetuity of the law of God and the temporary necessity of the earthly sanctuary. It answers the question, "When Jesus fulfilled all things written about Him at the cross, did He end God's Law, or did He strengthen it with grace?"

The New Testament Speaks is part three, based on Acts 1:1 – 8. It shows that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples so that they might be witnesses to Jesus of all He did and of all He taught. It shows that the New Testament speaks the same as the Old Testament, just more clearly, especially about how to be saved and how to live your life while waiting for the return of Jesus Christ.

Our Communion Watch is the fourth sermon in the series based on Matthew 27:32 – 37. It shows the true purpose of communion is to remember, understand and proclaim the Lord's death until Jesus comes again. It will challenge all those who tend to avoid Church when communion is held to consider whether or not they are really following Jesus.

To Have His Fathers Name isthe fifth sermon based on Revelation 14:1 – 12. It shows what it means to follow the Lamb wherever He goes and what it means to have His Father's name written in your forhead. In the last days of earth's history and just before Jesus comes again, only those people who have His Father's name written in their foreheads will be saved. This is a must listen if you love Jesus.

Revelation 14 and the Seal of God is the sixth sermon based on Revelation 14:6-12. It shows that those who preach the three angels messages of Revealtion 14 are preaching the last message of mercy from God to humanity. The messages urge all people to worship God in spirit and truth. They urge all people to accept and receive the seal of God and not to receive the mark of the beast. They show the everlasting gospel includes the hour of God's judgment. It is good news to believers and a warning to unbelievers. And, it shows the importance of keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath of the Lord God of all Creation. It is present truth for all people today. Will you choose to listen? I pray so.

How The Spirit Bears Witness is the seventh and final sermon in the series Memorials to Freedom. It is based on 1 John 5:6-8 and shows why and how the Holy Spirit bears witness about how Jesus came. The Scripture states He came by water and blood. Why so emphatic? What does this have to do with disciples and followers of Jesus Christ and what does it mean for how we should bear witness? Can we bear witness like Jesus did? Can we finish the work of Christ so that He may come again, this time in Glory and reap a bountiful harvest when He raises the dead in Christ and changes in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye those of His people who are still alive at that time?

I hope you will take the time out of your busyness to listen. You may just learn new truth that the Bible has been trying to give to you since you were born. Let God be praised in your life and may He bless you richly in your spirit and heart as you prayerfully consider these sermons. Please let me know how you are affected and changed by them. Thank you.

Grace be with you all,

Pastor Dean Read