Life Lifters | Lakeshore Community Church

Oct 27 8:29 AM

Patience...Now!

Oct 27 8:29 AM

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

A lot of people confuse patience. They think patience is just waiting. There's a huge difference between patience and waiting.

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Galatians 5:22d

We're talking about living with an attitude. How to live in the Holy Spirit, the new you if you're a Christian, versus the old person, who you were before you became a Christian. By time you when you become a Christian, from that moment on for the rest of your life, life is a nonstop battle. Who are you going to live for? How do you know when you're living for the Holy Spirit, and not for yourself? Or how do you know when you're living for yourself, not for the Holy Spirit? It's real simple: the fruit of the Spirit. The more you see these nine fruit, not fruits, but fruit of the Spirit, the more you're living for the Holy Spirit. The less you're living these nine fruit of the Holy Spirit, the more, you're living your old self.

So far, we've looked at the first three fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, and peace. Today, we're going to talk about patience. This comes from Galatians 5:22d, "But the fruit of the Spirit is... patience." Patience is the word sometimes translated as long-suffering, which is literally the word in Greek. What is patience? A lot of people confuse patience. They think patience is just waiting. There's a huge difference between patience and waiting. Here's the definition I came up with for patience. Patience is the attitude that waits on God's timing for a result, by working on whatever can be done in the meantime. So, we wait on God, but we work on what we can work on. That's the difference between how many people understand patience and what the Bible says about patience. The problem with patience is that we want patience now. Think about how contradictory that is, "Give me patience now!" I want to be patient, but I'm being impatient. Does it makes sense?

Let me explain the difference between just waiting and patience. Just waiting is sitting around for results. Patience is doing all we can regardless. Just waiting is focusing on the problem. Patience is focusing on God's process. Just waiting has a critical attitude. Patience has a controlled attitude. When we're just waiting we complain. When being patient, we contemplate God. Just waiting, the result is "I got what I wanted." Patience, the result is "I got what I needed." Big difference between patience and waiting. The Bible teaches us to be patient on God, that a day with the Lord is like 1000 years and 1000 years like a day. Can you be patient and wait for God? You know, God's timing is perfect. God sets his watch differently than we set our watch. We want our problems done by noon. God wants our problems done when he has accomplished what he needs to accomplish in us. It's hard to be patient. It's hard. I'm convinced one of the most bold prayers you could ever pray is, "God give me more patience," because you know what, he'll probably answer that one real quick. He'll put you in a traffic jam, or he'll give you some people that are really hard to deal with, and you have to have patience. Patience is a virtue. That Greek word that is sometimes translated patience, mackothymia, means long suffering. It can sometimes be hard, and it can sometimes be a long, suffering process. But patience has a great reward. How patient are you these days? Are you patient with your spouse, if you're married? Are you patient with your kids, if you have kids? Patient with that cranky aunt or uncle that you're going to see at Thanksgiving and Christmas? Patient with that kind of jerky guy at work? Patient with people who don't share your faith? Patient when you're going through a trial? Patient when finances aren't arriving when you hope?

James says a farmer has to be patient for the crops, but man when that time comes, the crops come in abundance. That's how it is with God. God says, "You have to sow your patience and you'll reap righteousness." That's living with an attitude. The more patient you can be, the more you'll accomplish great things. "Better a patient man than a warrior who conquers cities." That's what Proverbs says. Do you believe that? I do. Let's pray. Father, all of us struggle with patience. We live in a country in a world that says, "Now, now, now! More, more, more!" Sometimes you say, "Not now. Not more. Less." Teach us to be patient, not to wait around, but to wait on you. We ask this through the Holy Spirit who gives us this ability to be patient. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Oct 25 8:27 AM

Finding the Missing Peace

Oct 25 8:27 AM

Monday, October 25, 2021

So today, I want to talk to you about finding your missing peace. Peace never comes from being in the right environment alone. Peace never comes through you trying to manufacture it.

Monday, October 25, 2021

Galatians 5:22c

We have been talking about how to live with an attitude, a biblical attitude. The way you live with a biblical attitude is you live with nine different attitudes which are expressed in the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit, provided for us in Galatians 5:22-23. Living with an attitude is choosing to live for the Holy Spirit, not for your old person. That's the nuclear war that we face every day of our lives - are we going to live for our new life in the Holy Spirit? Or are we going to live our whole life for ourself? The way we know that is when we live out the nine fruit of the Spirit.

So far, we talked about the first two fruit of the Spirit, love and joy. Today, I want to talk to you about the third fruit of the Spirit, and that's found in Galatians 5:22c, "The fruit of the Spirit is... peace." So today, I want to talk to you about finding your missing peace. Peace never comes from being in the right environment alone. Peace never comes through you trying to manufacture it. Peace never comes from anybody but God. In fact, when the Bible says a church has unity, the Bible never says the church should make unity. The Bible says the church should keep unity. It says in Ephesians 4:3, "Keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." The bond of peace is also from God. Peace is a gift of God. Jesus said in John 14:27, "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't fragile, like the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid." The world's peace is, "Yes, congratulations! These two nations at war have signed a peace treaty!" And how long does that last? Not very long. God's peace isn't like that. He gives you the peace that will protect your life. One of the classic passages is in Philippians 4:6-7 where the Apostle Paul says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, give your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus." You'll never understand the peace of God, and you don't have to. It will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus, it will protect you. That's the kind of peace God gives.

A lot of people are looking for peace in so many ways. They're looking for peace in yoga, getting in touch with their inner chi, and all this stuff. I know some people who do yoga, and I just humbly suggest to you that if you're doing the exercise part, okay, but anything beyond that is Eastern religion. Be very, very careful. You're never going to find peace in that, you're not going to find peace in a pill, you're not going to find peace in a relationship. That is, unless that relationship is with God through Jesus Christ. You'll never find your missing peace until it's in Jesus Christ. Have you ever put together a puzzle. And you're saying, "Where's this last piece? Where did it go?" And then you find it. "There it is! It was in the couch. The dog put it in the couch, it's in the cushion. Or, there it is, it's in the box. Or, there it is under the tablecloth, etc." So, you find that missing piece. It feels so good, doesn't it, to have put that whole thing together? Jesus Christ is your missing peace. If you can't find peace in your life, then you need to find Jesus Christ because he is, as the Bible calls him, the Prince of Peace. What does that mean? He is the peace-iest, peace provider you've ever heard of. Jesus Christ offers you a peace that you'll never find anywhere else.

So if you're a Christian, turn to Jesus Christ and pray through Philippians 4:6-7. I cited that earlier. Read it, read it to God, read it phrase by phrase and offer a prayer to God, saying, "give me this piece." If you've never committed your life to Jesus Christ, say, "Jesus Christ, I need you in my life. You're God, I'm a sinner. You died on the cross, you rose again. I believe that and I receive it by faith alone in my life." Then, you'll experience that peace. Father, I pray for all the people listening. I'm not sure what trouble or things are going on in their life, but I pray that you will give them a piece that only you can provide. Fill their heart with the missing peace they long for. But only do it through your Son, Jesus Christ, because he's the only one who can provide it. Help us all live not only with a peace inside, but live at peace with other people as far as it depends on us. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Oct 22 8:04 AM

Don't Settle For Happiness

Oct 22 8:04 AM

Friday, October 22, 2021

Today, I want to tell you, don't settle for happiness. A lot of people confuse happiness and joy. They are completely different.

Friday, October 22, 2021

Galatians 5:22b

I have been talking about how to live with an attitude. Now, if I just say, "Boy, that person has an attitude," nine times out of ten it has a negative connotation. But I'm talking about living with a biblical, godly attitude. That's what we're unpacking. In the fruit of the Spirit there are nine godly attitudes. We see just before the passage that lists the nine fruit of the Spirit, it says we have a choice. We can live in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, or we can live the way we used to live before we became Christians, if in fact we are. That's always a choice. The proof, the fruit, the evidence that you're living in the Holy Spirit and not living your old way is that you're living out these fruit of the Spirit. So, last time I talked about the very first fruit of the Spirit, which is love. Today, I want to talk to you about the second fruit of the Spirit, which is found in Galatians 5:22b, where it says, "The fruit of the Spirit is... joy." Today, I want to tell you, don't settle for happiness. A lot of people confuse happiness and joy. They are completely different. The Bible never commands us to be happy all the time. Not one time. The Bible doesn't say be miserable, either, though Christians are really good at that, unfortunately. But the Bible never commands us to be happy all the time.

The Bible does command us to be joyful all time. Paul said in Philippians, "Be joyful in the Lord always. And again I say it: Rejoice!" So the Bible calls us and commands us to be joyful, but it never commands us to be happy. Why? Because it's impossible to always be happy. It is impossible because happiness is tied to your emotions. Joy is tied to your volitional decisions. Happiness is how I feel. If you go to Disney, you feel great! You bring your young kids to Disney, we did that a couple times, it's great. Oh my goodness, you pay the admission, buy food all the time, take pictures with Mickey, buy hats and t-shirts, jackets, posters, everything! It is so awesome. You're at Disney, you're happy. Then, about three weeks later, you get the credit card bill. You're not happy anymore. It's different.

But joy says no matter what my circumstances I can have joy. By the way, the word happiness comes from happenstance, which comes from circumstance. Despite your circumstance, joy is an inner condition, an inner state. It's a gift from God. We can always be joyful. So, I'm asking you this based on what I said. Can you be joyful and not happy? Yes you can, because happiness comes and goes, up and down. Joy is available through Jesus Christ. So, I want to challenge you to live with joy. The apostle Paul not only said "rejoice in Lord always," he said it with a life that was filled with turmoil, complexities, challenges, and death threats. He had been tortured, beaten, imprisoned, etc. So much had been done to the Apostle Paul, yet he said, "Rejoice in the Lord always." Why? Because to rejoice is a choice. Happiness, is kind of a choice, but it's really how you feel. It's based on circumstances, and circumstances don't always go our way. But God always allows them to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. Joy isn't dependant on circumstances. Are you choosing joy? What are you going through right now? Tough time? Unhappy about it? That's okay. It's okay to be unhappy about it. Are you finding God's joy in it anyway? Things at work may be tough. One of my family members texted me about a job situation that's tough. I don't expect that family member to be happy, but I hope, if they're seeking God, that they're joyful. Maybe you have some health issue, or some other bad news that's coming your way. God doesn't ask you to be happy about it, to celebrate, or throw a party because you're sick. No, instead you can be joyful no matter what. You can make the choice to rejoice.

You say, "Vince, how do I do it?" Remember, the fruit of the Spirit are simply you getting in touch with the Holy Spirit, and him supplying You with supernatural joy that you can't manufacture. You can't manufacture joy. You can manufacture happiness, but you can't manufacture joy. So, you live in the Holy Spirit, remember what Jesus did for you, get filled with joy from the Holy Spirit, and be joyful, even if you're unhappy. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this reminder that we should not settle for happiness, but instead for joy. Happiness is unachievable all the time. Joy is achievable all the time when we live in your spirit and remember what you've done for us. Help us to be joyful people in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Oct 20 8:19 AM

The Lost Art of Loving

Oct 20 8:19 AM

Wednesday, October 19, 2021

Galatians 5:22

Today, I want to talk to you about the lost art of loving. Unfortunately, more and more people are losing an ability to love, they're losing the desire to love, and they're losing the willingness to love. Jesus even said, as we draw closer to the end the love of many will grow cold. Interesting, isn't it? Well, today, I want to dig into, and kind of build off what I wrote about last time,which was about living with an attitude. The attitude God wants us to live with is the fruit of the Spirit. So each time I'm doing this, we're going to talk about one of those fruit. Not one of those fruits, but fruit, because it is the fruit of the Spirit. Today, I want to talk to you about the first fruit of the Spirit. It comes from Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love..."

What is love? There are so many misconceptions about love. Some people think love is a feeling, that it's nothing more than feelings. That's not true. Love does involve feelings, but love is not primarily a feeling. Another is that love is a falling. People say, "I've fallen in love with somebody," you know? It's like, "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!" I mean, that's about the equivalent of that definition of love. It's not really love, falling in love, because if you can fall in love then you can fall out of love. Then, it's out of your control. So, love isn't a falling either. Here's the third: love is not a fantasy. Love is not a fantasy. Sometimes on my day off, we'll watch the 12 o'clock news at noonday. They still have soap operas (I think they should be called dope opera because really, I think they're dopey). In these soap operas, everybody's having an affair with this one, everyone's cheating this one in business, it's just crazy. That perpetuates this whole idea that love is a fantasy. In love, you just get swept away, and all these crazy things. So, love is not a feeling, it's not a falling, and it's not a fantasy.

The proper concept of love, the fruit of the Spirit type love, has three parts. First is that love is a choice. Colossians 3:14 says, "Put on love." In other words, make the choice to operate with an attitude of love. Second, love is also a matter of conduct. Love is an action, it's not a feeling. We choose to love. 1 John 3:17-18 says, "If anyone has material possession and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."Love is an action. And then third, love is a matter of commitment. If you read the great love chapter, First Corinthians 13:4-8, you can look at the 15 traits of love there. You see that love is a commitment. So what do I want to say to you? There's a lost art today. It's called The Lost Art of Loving. We get a chance to squash the false views of love - feeling, falling, and fantasy - and embrace true love to show Jesus' love in a dark world. We can show love by being kind to somebody who maybe doesn't look like they're having a good day at the grocery store. Or, by just helping somebody financially, or just having a great conversation with your next door neighbor, or just being a great coworker. Whatever it is, you can show love.

I had a great conversation with one of our members. He was talking to me about a dilemma he was facing at work. He might even lose his job over the dilemma. It was amazing, when we are as we were talking the individual kept saying, "Well, with every decision I make, I want to be a great witness for Christ, whether I'm working there or not." I was so impressed by that. What was his main concern? It was showing the love of Jesus to other people. I hope that will be your concern. Here's what I know: the darker the darkness gets, the brighter the light shines. In other words, when there's less and less love, then the more people see love, the more it stands out and differentiates from everything else. So, let's be the kind of people who are loving. That's the first fruit of the Spirit. The first fruit of the Spirit is love. By the way, the more you're loving, the more you're living in the Holy Spirit, since it's one of the fruit of the Spirit. The less you're loving the more you're living, as we talked about last time, in the old person. The old person is bad. The Holy Spirit is good. Choose the Holy Spirit. Let's pray. Father, I pray that you'll help all of us improve our ability and our expressions of love. It's a decision, it's an action, it's a calling, it's a commitment. Help us to do that in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Oct 18 8:04 AM

Living With An Attitude

Oct 18 8:04 AM

Monday, October 18, 2021

I want to talk to you about living with an attitude.... But I want to talk to you about living with a biblical attitude.

Monday, October 18, 2021

Galatians, 5:16-17, 22-23

I want to talk to you about living with an attitude. Whenever I say, "Boy, that person has an attitude," it almost always has a negative connotation. "Boy, he's got a bad attitude. He's got a down attitude. He's got a sour attitude. He's got an uncharitable, unloving attitude." But I want to talk to you about living with a biblical attitude. So, maybe we should call it living with a biblical attitude. I'm going to give you kind of an overview, and over the next nine Life Lifters, I'm doing my flavors, I'm going to talk about nine attitudes to live with.

I want to start by reading Galatians 5:16-17 to kind of paint the picture about the importance of living with an attitude, or a biblical attitude. Paul says, "What I say is this, let the Holy Spirit direct your lives and do not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants. And what the Spirit wants is opposed to what the human nature wants. The two are enemies." So see, Paul is setting up a contrast: live in the desires of the Holy Spirit, don't live in desires of your sinful nature. If you are a Christian, the sinful nature is the person you were before you came a Christian. Every day of life, your attitude is your choice. And every day of life, whether you're aware of it or not, whether you think of it in this context or not, here's the truth: You have a choice. You can live by the attitude of the Holy Spirit, or live by the attitude of your old nature. Some days we do a lot more of one than the other. Hopefully our goal is to live 100% with an attitude of the Spirit, and 0% with the attitude of our old nature. Attitude is important because attitude will help us choose - are we going to live for the Holy Spirit or for our old nature?

How do we live for the Holy Spirit? Watch this, you live for the Holy Spirit by living the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 talk about the fruit of the Spirit. It says, "When the Holy Spirit controls our lives," in other words, when we choose the Holy Spirit's attitude over our human nature attitude, "he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control." Then, he later says, "against such there is no law." Let me just briefly help you understand how to live in the Spirit, how to live by the fruit of the Spirit, because the fruit of the Spirit are not the same as the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are the spiritual gifts we get when we believe. The fruit of the Spirit are not the gifts of the Spirit. Second, the fruit of the Spirit are not the gift of the Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is that the moment you believe you are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help you choose the attitude to live for Him, not for our old self. These attitudes come from dependence on God. How do you live these nine fruit of the Spirit that we're going to be talking about? It's real simple. You have to depend on God, depend on the Holy Spirit. The secret to living the fruit of the Spirit, the secret to living the Christian life, the secret to living a life that chooses the Holy Spirit over your old nature and your old, pre-Christian, sinful lifestyle is this. Stop trying and start yielding. Stop trying to be better, and start yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit. He is the person of the Trinity who is most talked about in the New Testament as helping us change and live the Christian life.

Do you want to live with an attitude? You want to stop living for the old you and start living for the Holy Spirit, the new you? You want to live with an attitude that surrenders to God and lets him work through these nine fruit of the spirit? Let me just pray with you, Father, help all of us listening live by your spirit and not by our old ways. Let us embrace what you have to say to us in the fruit of the Spirit and embrace all nine fruit. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Oct 15 8:31 AM

God's Love Inspires Us to Imitate Him

Oct 15 8:31 AM

Friday, October 15, 2021

Today we're going to continue we're going to take a look at what God's love does inside of us, and specifically how it inspires us to imitate God.

Friday, October 15, 2021

Ephesians 4:32-5:2

Today we're going to continue we're going to take a look at what God's love does inside of us, and specifically how it inspires us to imitate God. I want to read Ephesians 4:32-5:2, in which Paul writes this, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." You know, leading up to this, this section of Scripture, Paul is telling us that because of God's love for us, we are no longer to live the way that we used to live. He goes and talks about the old self. He tells us to put the old self away and put on the new self, almost like you would put on a new shirt or blouse in the morning. He gives us a list of things that we should stop doing. Then, he tells us, "I want you to focus on this one thing, be an imitator of God."

A few years back, I used to be one of the worship leaders here at Lakeshore. My kids grew up seeing me playing guitar, leading the band, and singing. My youngest daughter, Mazie, when she was probably about four years old, one day I had a friend over and we were in in our dining room, sitting at the dining room table. Mazie was playing, and she used to have this toy guitar and a toy microphone. As I'm talking to my friend, I hear her kind of singing a song to herself. All of a sudden she stopped, I heard her praying, and then she looks up and says, "Okay, everybody can sit down now." She was imitating me as a worship leader. She grew up seeing me leading worship, praying, and telling everybody they can sit down now, and she was just imitating her dad, which kids do all the time. We, therefore should be imitators of our Heavenly Father, being kind and compassionate to one another. Why? Because God has been kind and compassionate to us. We should forgive one another. Why? Because we were forgiven of so much by God. We should live a life of love. Why? Because you are a dearly love child of God, and you've been adopted into his family. God's love for us is the model of how we should treat others. If we do not understand God's characteristics, then guess what? We cannot imitate him. How do you learn God's characteristics? Read your Bible, study your Bible, become a student of your Bible. That's how we get to know God.

"But Frank," you're saying, "you don't know what so-and-so did to me years ago." Or, "you don't know what this person said about my family. You don't know how they treated me." You're probably right, I probably don't know. But here's what I do know, I do know that God expects us to be kind and compassionate, forgiving those who sin against us, and living a life of love. Now what that looks like in your life, that's between you and God, but I do know that God through the Apostle Paul is encouraging us to be an imitator of God, to strive to be like him. "That's impossible," you say. Yes, it is an impossible task, but we have already been made perfect by God. Whether we act perfect or not is another story. But we should try our darndest to be an imitator of God because when we experience God's love in our life, it changes our heart. It gives us a new perspective. It allows us to do things that we thought were impossible, including forgiving that person, including loving that person that hurt you. We can do this. Jesus Christ, when we experience his love, changes us from the inside out, helping us to be that imitator of God, that dearly loved child of God that Paul talks about.

Let's pray. Father, thank you that you gave us your son Jesus, and because of the sacrifice that he made for us, we have a model to follow. You have given us a model to follow, Father, to be forgiving, compassionate, and loving. Help us to live a life of love. While that may seem like a daunting task, I pray that you change us from the inside out. Give us a new perspective. Help us to see. Help us to see what we can become when we allow your love to work in our lives. Thank you Father. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Oct 13 8:47 AM

God's Love Makes Us Alive in Christ

Oct 13 8:47 AM

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

All of us - you, me, we've all been, at one time in our lives, dead in our sins, dead in our transgressions. Not physically dead, but spiritually dead.

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Ephesians 2:4-5, 10

Today we're continuing in looking at some select verses from the book of Ephesians. To help us understand the love that God has for us, and what his love does inside of us, I want to start with Ephesians 2:4-5, which says this, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace, you have been saved."

All of us - you, me, we've all been, at one time in our lives, dead in our sins, dead in our transgressions. Not physically dead, but spiritually dead. We weren't following God at one time in our lives, but we were following the ways of the world, we were following the prince of this world, who is known as Satan. We were being disobedient to God. We were satisfying the cravings of our sinful nature in the things that we do, the things that we say, even the things that we think. Maybe I'm describing you today. Maybe you are thinking, "Are you nuts? I'm not following Satan. I'm not a Satanist." But I can tell you that there are only two teams. If you are not following Jesus, guess who you are following. This is what it means to be dead in our transgressions and dead in our sins.

But here's the good news, in fact, it's great news! It's that God's love for us has made us alive with Christ. God's love for us has made us alive with Christ! It's worth saying twice. That means that we have been saved from eternal separation from God when we die, and we are given eternal life with God in heaven. So, while it's important to know about the love of God, to know it in your mind, let me ask you a question. Have you ever believed it? Have you ever believed that Jesus is the Son of God? Have you ever believed that he paid for your sins on the cross and rose again to give you eternal life in Heaven with him? If you believe that and you receive it in your heart today, then you are a Christian, and you become alive with Christ. You cross over from being dead in transgression to being alive with Christ. That's how you become adopted into God's family. So, when you are aligned with Christ, you begin to change from the inside out. You start seeing things differently, you start seeing people differently, you start treating them differently. You see God differently in your life, and you give him a higher priority in your life. He should have the top priority in your life when you begin to follow Him. You begin living for him. Ephesians 2:10, just a couple of verses down, says this, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." I love this passage because the word workmanship, which is from the original Greek word poema. We get the word poem from that. I love to think about that, that we are God's poem, we are His workmanship, we are his masterpiece in progress. God is writing the story of your life, and and you were created in Christ Jesus to do good works. We don't do good works to earn our salvation. Good works are the result of our salvation. So, God loves you so much that he gave you a purpose. Think about that for a moment. He loves you so much, he gave you a purpose for your life with specific works for you to accomplish. When you live your life fulfilling that purpose, you are alive with Christ.

Let's pray. Father, I want to thank you that you sent your son Jesus for us and that we have an opportunity to to invite him in our lives, to believe He is who He said He is, and to receive the free gift of salvation that he offers. If anyone is reading this right now and they've never crossed that line of faith, they've never made Jesus Christ their Lord and their Savior, just say this prayer aloud. Say, "Jesus, I invite you in. I recognize that I need you in my life, I recognize that I'm a sinner and you are a perfect holy God. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins. You paid the price for me. I should have been on that cross, but you paid the price for me. I recognize that and I receive the free gift of salvation. Help me to turn from my sins, change my mind about my sin and the way I used to live, and helped me begin living for you, alive with Christ. Thank you for adopting me into your family. In Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Oct 11 8:42 AM

God's Love Adopts Us into His Family

Oct 11 8:42 AM

Monday, October 11, 2021

I really want to write about the importance of knowing and understanding God's love for us, and how when we understand that, and we have that in our lives, how it actually transforms us.

Monday, October 11, 2021

Ephesians 1:4-5

This week, I want to talk to you about God's love. Recently, in my quiet time, I was going through the book of Ephesians. God really impressed upon me the word "love" as I was reading Ephesians. The word love, or variations of it, such as loved, or loves, appears 23 times in the book of Ephesians. And 10 of those times talk about God's love for us. The remaining 13 times talk about how we should go about and love others. This really captured my attention. So today, I really want to write about the importance of knowing and understanding God's love for us, and how when we understand that, and we have that in our lives, how it actually transforms us. This is important because if you have a wrong view of God's love, it will cause you to 1) have a poor theology, and 2) to act in a manner that is unloving towards others.

I want to start in Ephesians 1:4-5, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption, to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and his will." So the point is that God loves you so much. Maybe you've never heard that before, maybe you've heard it a lot, but the truth doesn't change. God loves you so much. He loves you so much that he chose you. He chose you before the creation of the world. He chose you before time began. He chose you to be adopted into his family. He did this through Jesus Christ, who took your place and my place on the cross. He paid the price for our sins with his blood, making us holy and blameless, setting you apart for his purposes, his pleasure, and his will.

And here's the thing. God's love is rooted in grace. What is grace? When I was a new Christian, somebody told me an acronym that I've never forgotten. Grace stands for this: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. We get to experience all the riches of God's glory and his grace at the expense of Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is the one that paid the price on the cross for our sins. So, we get the benefit of what Jesus did on the cross, and God gives us this grace freely, we see this in verses six and seven. He gives us grace freely - you can't buy it, you can't earn it, you can't steal it. It's a gift from God. And we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Redeemed means we were bought at a price. Jesus paid the price in full on the cross for us. When we are in him, when we are in Christ, when we believe and we receive this gift, we are forgiven of our sins in accordance with the riches of His glory and his grace. Paul tells us that God's grace has been lavished upon us. I love that word "lavish" because it means it has been richly poured out on us or, or it's been showered upon us. Imagine just standing in the shower, and God's grace showering down on you. So, when you understand this, when you understand how much God loves you, that begins to change everything. That's what we're going to talk about the rest of this week. So let's pray. Father, I want to thank you for your grace. I want to thank you for your love, that you chose us to be adopted into your family. You loved us so much that you chose us before time began. And you've given us a purpose, and you've given us grace, you've given us forgiveness, you've redeemed us. Father, for all these things that we see in Ephesians chapter one, thank you, Lord. And thank you for changing us from the inside out, as we'll see the rest of this week. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Oct 08 8:28 AM

Victory Over Death

Oct 08 8:28 AM

Friday, October 8, 2021

One day, the Bible tells us, death will no longer be existent. death itself will be put to death.

Friday, October 8, 2021

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

I have a dear friend, and his little five-year-old grandson just went through one of the most painful and excruciating years that you could imagine before he died. What is the good news? It is that God helped that little boy have faith in him and faith that he was going home to be with God. One day, the Bible tells us, death will no longer be existent. death itself will be put to death. Let's read 1 Corinthians 15:54-57: 'When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O death, is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'

What the Apostle Paul's talking about there with the perishable versus imperishable is our bodies. Our bodies are perishable and die. The Bible tells us that on the day when these perishable bodies are made imperishable, when the mortal is made immortal, it will be on that day that death will be swallowed in victory. The word for swallowed there is the kind of swallow that a lion does to its prey. Death has been devoured in the victory that was bought for us by Christ Jesus, our Lord. And on that day we will say, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" The way it is now, death is the sting that comes with sin. The place where sin got it's power is the law, the law of Jesus, which, in His perfection, points at our lives and says, "You failed, you failed, you failed." But that law and all that stood against us was nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ was resurrected, he gave us the hope and the promise that our lives, too, would defeat death. So, we look forward to that day when the perishable will become imperishable, and the mortal immortal. And on that day, we will ask death, where is its victory, and where is it sting? We will be able to say, both now and then, that Jesus Christ has given us that victory over death by His resurrection, and the promise of our resurrection. I hope that that hope of our resurrection will give your life the lift that you need today.

By Pastor Brian Rathbun

Oct 06 8:08 AM

The Resurrection of Believers

Oct 06 8:08 AM

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

1 Corinthians 15:40-44

Some of you are gardeners. You know what it is to plant a seed, a little, tiny seed, and have something totally different spring up. It's not different than what you planted, but the body that comes out of the ground is different than what you see when you put it into the ground. I just put in a whole new lawn, put in all kinds of these little, tiny grass seeds. The hope is that there will be a full blade of grass for every seed, and maybe even more, and hopefully, because of all the seeds, there will be a nice lawn. Well, that analogy is the very analogy that the Apostle Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 15:40-44 to tell us what's going to go on with our bodies one day. He says, "There are heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body."

Death is certain for all of us. These bodies are going to die. We know that. But the good news that came to us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is that just as his body was raised from the dead, so will our bodies be raised from the dead. Just as Jesus Christ was raised imperishable, so our bodies will be raised imperishable. Just as Jesus died and was put in the grave, these bodies will die and be put in the grave. But one day, at the last trumpet, when that trumpet sounds, those who believe in Christ, their bodies will be raised imperishable. That's for all of us who believe. So, friends, when sometimes as we grow old, and our bodies age, as we get concerned about what's going to happen with us, and what will happen with our bodies, know this: The body that is sown, the body that is buried, it's in weakness, it's in dishonor, it's perishable, it's natural. But in Christ Jesus, that body will be raised, and when it is raised, it will be imperishable. It will be glorious. It will be powerful. It will be spiritual. We have that hope because of Christ Jesus and his resurrection. And I hope that that hope will give you the lift for your life that you need today.

By Pastor Brian Rathbun

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