"OUR LIGHT AND MOMENTARY AFFLICTIONS"

The Church At the End of the Age – Is Our Love Growing Cold? “…let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith...Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:21-25) “Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27 Paul wrote these words to a local Church in Corinth over 19 centuries ago. Most of the New Testament, in fact, consists of letters writen to local gatherings of believers. Jesus' followers, the Apostles, were trained and sent out by Him to establish churches all over the world. Church planting was the master plan of evangelism - it was at the center of God's plan to reach the world with the Good News of the Gospel. But it seems that toda

"Then he said to the crowd, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?" (Luke 9:23-25, NLT) My "sermonette" on discipleship and following Jesus is a bit long this week... "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will

“It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." (Luke 11:1) “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words..” (Romans 8:26) There is so much to learn about prayer. The disciples watched how wonderfully, beautifully, and consistently Jesus prayed. They saw it and wanted it for themselves. I can tell you that there is nothing more valuable in your life as a believer than your prayer life in intimacy with the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Growing in prayer involves a mighty struggle against our “flesh” – the fallen nature. Romans 8:24 reveals that there is an innate “weakness” in us. The Greek word is “astheneia” – which points to a general sort of impotence – an inability that is deeply set, built-in, a pa