In many areas of our lives, we are loved for how we perform: when we are pleasing our employers, our fans, and even sometimes our spouses and churches, they love us. But what happens when we aren't performing that well? Often, that love can be withheld from us. God's love is nothing like this. Richard Ledgister presents this message on the love of God and describes how it has nothing to do with how we perform. Drawing from the stories of the lost son and the lost sheep, Brother Richard demonstrates that God loved us while we were still sinners, and He will keep loving us to the end.
Scripture passages: Rom. 5:6–11; Luke 15:1–7, 11–24; Matt. 11:28–30
Looking forward to our upcoming family camp, Luke Harriman offers this message on the Feast of Booths. The Lord wanted His people to celebrate this feast each year as a testimony to their wilderness pilgrimage. The feast was unique in that the people were to live in temporary booths throughout the eight-day celebration. Brother Luke considers several characteristics of the feast and then applies these to our own yearly celebration of family camp.
Scripture passages: Lev. 23:33–44; Zech. 14; John 7:37–39
There is no better place for the believer to find him- or herself than at the feet of the Lord Jesus. There we not only receive rest, comfort, instruction, and courage but we also engage in our true purpose as the Lord's people: worshiping our beloved Savior. In this message, Luke Harriman considers the example of Mary of Bethany, whom we find continually at the feet of Jesus. We see her there wondering, weeping, and worshiping while others around her are content to complain, correct, and calculate. May we be encouraged to draw near to our Lord and truly worship at His holy feet.
Scripture passages: Luke 10:38–42; John 11:17–35; 12:1–8
Laurel Smalling asks the question, "What is your home like?" God has instituted the home for His glory and the furtherance of His kingdom, but sadly many homes don't rise to the challenge. Drawing from Genesis 12–19, Brother Laurel considers the drastically different home lives of Abraham and Lot.
Scripture passages: Genesis 11:27–13:13; 19
Preaching from the story of Moses at the burning bush, Richard Ledgister prepares our hearts for our upcoming Vacation Bible School by considering the five excuses Moses gives the LORD when He calls him to go to Egypt and deliver His people. How often we are tempted to say similar things to God when He tries to use us: "Who am I to go? What if people don't listen? Please send someone else!" Prayerfully, let us heed this call to make ourselves available to the Lord's use—wherever He may send us.
Scripture passage: Exodus 3–4
Brother Ken Huebner takes us to the story of the Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon's court for a meditation on the greatness of our true Solomon: the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the Queen was amazed by Solomon's wisdom, house, food, servants, and the rest of his wealth, so we must confess that the half of our Lord's glories have not been told. Such beauty and glory demand that we give our all to Him, knowing that we can never out give God.
Scripture passage: 1Kings 10:1–13
Richard Ledgister shared this helpful message outlining three purposes of the church, all of which must be present in any local assembly in order for there to be the proper balance. For a church to truly meet the calling she has received, there must always be evidence of ministry to God, ministry to believers, and ministry to the world.
Scripture passages: Col. 3:16; Eph. 4:12–13; Luke 4:40
After reflecting on some of the wonderful promises of God for His people, Brother Orrin Ledgister took us to the book of Romans to discuss the sevenfold blessings of our justification. More than simply having our sins dealt with, the justification we have found in Christ carries with it unimaginable blessings which we would do well to mediate on.
Scripture passage: Romans 5:1–11
During a visit to South Florida, Brother Ashton Bristol shared this powerful message on the revival of God-centered worship during the reign of King Hezekiah in Judah. After reporting on some of the work the Lord is doing in Guyana, Brother Ashton challenged us to pray for revival among the Lord's people. Just as Hezekiah restored worship practices that had long gone unobserved in Judah—including the celebration of Passover—we should be like the priests and Levites in 2 Chronicles 29 who were consecrated and prepared for the work God had for them.
During a visit to Pine Street Chapel this weekend, Brother Greg Mayhew shared this message of encouragement from the second chapter of Song of Solomon. After discussing four different ways of reading this beautiful book of the Bible—literal, dispensational, redemptive, and spiritual—he focuses on a few expressions of love between the lover and the beloved as a spiritual picture of the relationship between the resurrected Lord and the individual believer.
Imagining ourselves in the position of the two blind beggars healed by the Lord outside of Jericho (Matthew 20:29–34), Luke Harriman encourages us all to ask the Lord to graciously open our eyes. He then goes on to reflect on four instances of God opening someone's eyes: Balaam (Numbers 22), Elisha's servant and the blinded Syrians (2 Kings 6), and the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). Although the Lord has opened the eyes of every believer, we can all benefit from even more illumination.