News/Articles

News/Articles

submitted on Sunday, May 12, 2013 - 18:05 by stevecirlot

 

The Sovereign God of Mothers

Luke 2:19

Sunday Morning

May 12, 2013
 
 
TAG: As a woman you can trust the sovereign hand as you journey through motherhood.
 
Introduction:
 
Mary was a very young girl when the angel Gabriel brought her news that she would be the very mother of God. With the God/man in her womb Mary began to ponder that question that every mother wonders, "WilI a good mother?” Today our sanctuary is filled with women of all types. Some have many children, some hope one day to have a child, others have lost one or more children and still others have experienced the emotional pain of miscarriage and abortion. In any and all of these situations you need to know that God is the sovereign Lord of mothers.
 
To the women who want to be a mother but as of yet are not I say you can trust in God. Do not put your hope in that one day you will conceive and give birth to a child. Rather put your hope in Jesus who is Lord of motherhood. He knows what you do not know. Trust Him to carry you through life and as you trust Him for your todays He will either give you a child to raise or He will not. If He does, to God be the glory. If He does not to God be the glory. Remember this is His world and you are His faithful servant. He loves you and knows what is best for you and any future child.
 
To the mothers who have lost a child or experienced the pain of a miscarriage, I do not pretend to understand the depth of your pain but I do know who does and His name is Jesus. God knows the number of each of our days and not a single one of us can exceed that number or cut it short. Job said, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the Name of the Lord.” Find rest in knowing that the sovereign Lord of the universe understands your pain. Not only does He understand it He can soothe your ache. Trust Him and cry out to Him and He will draw near to you.
 
To the mothers who have aborted their children, God knows the emotional pain that you feel. He longs to heal your broken heart. As Jesus, God has demonstrated His ability to forgive. Jesus forgave the Jews, the soldiers and the Romans for crucifying Him. And Jesus has forgiven all those who seek to be forgiven. It is God’s nature to forgive our sin and remove us from the guilt thereof. Ask for forgiveness and God will forgive. If you have asked, God has forgiven.
 
To the mothers who are actively involved in your children’s lives I want to say, being a good mother is not always doing things right. You are going to make mistakes.  These mistakes don't make you a bad mother they just prove that you are human.  Being a good mother is being who Jesus wants you to be and trusting the sovereign control of God. Our text today said Mary treasured all these things in her heart. That means she often thought things like, "Should I have done this? Can I do a good job as a mother? How will I be able to take care of my little one?"
 
As you ponder these questions here are three things to consider. A good mother knows her place in life. She knows that she is a servant of God. This means she is to do His will in all situations. Second she needs to relinquish control of her children to God who is the Almighty and third she needs to know and believe that God loves her children even more than she does.
A brief look at some mothers in scripture helps us see this. Jochebed was the mother of Moses. In order to save her son’s life she had to place him in a basket and put him into the Nile River. By God’s sovereign power He demonstrated His love by having Moses float into the arms of Pharaoh’s daughter where she would raise him as her own. She got a slave to serve as his nanny and that slave was Jochebed, Moses’ natural mother.
A second example is that of Hannah, mother of Samuel. She cried out to God for a child then when he was weaned she turned him over to Eli. Because of God's sovereign hand Samuel grew up to be a mighty prophet of God.
Finally there is Mary, mother of Jesus. Mary had to let Jesus fulfill His destiny but before that could happen Mary had to give Jesus back to God. Because she did God demonstrated His love for you and me by allowing Jesus to die on a cross. But by God’s sovereign power He raised Jesus from the grave.
 
Mothers, you can trust God! And if you will walk daily in the Spirit and be a faithful servant of God, He will make you the best mother your child could have. God loves you and He cares for you. You are special and no one but you can be you and no one but you can accomplish in Christ what you can as a mother. 
 
Conclusion:
 
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And as you walk daily in the Spirit God will guide your path as a mother along a journey that will lead your children to greener pastures. 
 
To the children I say honor your mothers. The best way you can honor your mother is by becoming a servant of God. 
 
submitted on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - 15:46 by stevecirlot

 

To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband. Children, obey your parents as you would the Lord, because this is right.”
Ephesians 5:33 & 6:1
 
God created a man and placed him in His garden to work it, but God knew it was not good for the man to be alone. So He created a woman to be the man’s helpmate. Side by side the two would become one as they accomplished the good works that God had ordained. Then God blessed them with children. The family is God’s institution. In fact it is God’s first institution. Through the family God completes us as people. Husbands are to know and understand the ways of God so that they may instruct their family unit as to how to live a fruitful life in a fallen world. By God’s design wives are to help the husband see what he would not see apart from their intuitiveness. Kids are to grow in wisdom and stature and become followers of Jesus so that they may accomplish God given good works.
 
Between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day I will be preaching a series of messages designed to assist the family with the scriptures and insight they need to develop into the people God desires for each of us to be. The summer is fast approaching so I caution each family to be intentional at making time to develop each other, fellowship with each other and minister with one another.
submitted on Monday, October 8, 2012 - 15:42 by stevecirlot

 

Dear Church Family,
 
Well, once again I have demonstrated my absolute humanity. I messed up, but you are a gracious and forgiving church family. For that I am so very thankful. When I was preparing the letter I sent to you last week I left off one very important name. I only listed 6 men who had agreed to serve in the office of deacon. There were actually seven. The seventh man was Henry Womble, a man full of the Spirit and wisdom. As I sat down Sunday night before the service I realized my mistake. No one pointed my error out to me. I believe the Holy Spirit just did what He does so often; He straightened me out.  Since you had not had time to properly pray through the Deacon election with correct information I chose to postpone the election to this Sunday night October 14, 2012.  Please take one more week asking God’s Spirit to guide you as you cast your vote for the office of Deacon. The revised list of candidates is:

 
Aubrey Busby
Jim Grierson
Gary Guessford 
Mitchell Long
Allen Roberts
Vance Stockman
Henry Womble 

 
I am very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused and I am very thankful for the demonstration of grace and mercy by you the church and each of the prospective candidates.   It would be a joy to have any one of these men to serve as Deacon.  However, only five may serve at this time. Thanks for your prayerful consideration. I love and appreciate each of you and it is evident you love me. 
 
submitted on Monday, October 1, 2012 - 13:45 by stevecirlot

“But we have the mind of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 2:16

Because the Spirit of God lives in us we possess the ability to have the “Mind of Christ.” This does not just happen it takes some hard work on our part. Here are five facets of your life you need to develop in order to have the “Mind of Christ.”

1.  Work on your prayer life. Prayer is talking to God and that requires a two-way conversation. Study the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:5) and then ask God to show     you His truths so that you will know what you are to do in each and every situation in life.

2.  Empty yourself of all pride and selfishness (Philippians 2:7). You are born again and are a child of the King but you are to live like you are a slave. Absolute and total allegeince to God as Master is essential.

3.  Die to selfish desires (Luke 9:23). Put aside what you want so that you can concentrate on what the Master desires. Getting what you want will only make you happy for a few fleeting moments but knowing the Master is continually pleased lasts forever.

4.  Develop a practice of praise (Hebrews 13:15).Learn to praise God daily for His sovereign work in your life. Thank Jesus for your undeserved salvation and the Spirit that indwells you and brings you comfort.  

5.  Persist in all of the above practices day in and day out. Galatians 6:9 reads, “So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time [if] we don’t give up.”

Allowing the Spirit of God to develop your mind to think like Christ will provide you with the power to live out God’s desires in your life. It will replace your anxiety with peace, put a boldness in your walk and increase your ability to see the mysterious work God is doing in you, to you and around You. Your wisdom will increase and you will be filled with a joy known only by those who are filled with God’s Spirit.

 

submitted on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 - 15:57 by stevecirlot
 
I am often asked, “Why would a loving God send people to Hell?” or “If God is in control why does evil exist?” These are honest questions deserving an answer based on truth. In one of Paul’s sermons in Athens he directs the deep thinkers to The Judgment Day to help them understand who God is and why He does the things He does. This evening let’s look at that text.
Read Text
The Judgment Day brings glory to God for several reasons. (1) It motivates people to live a righteous life. (2) It puts an end to all evil and (3) it demonstrates God’s holy love for mankind.
 
The Day of Judgment Motivates People to Live a Righteous Life.
 
Just knowing that there is going to be hell to pay, knowing that God is going to hold a person accountable for their actions in the future makes them consider their actions today.
God is in control and He allows evil to exist so that people will be free to decide for themselves whether they will do good or evil. God’s will is that everyone does His will, but His will is also that everyone be allowed to decide to do His will, or not to do His will. Some people do and some people don’t. Those who do His will are living righteous, those who don’t are not. In His infinite knowledge God has set a day when He will judge people for the actions they take in their daily lives. As we look forward and are reminded of the future judgment we adjust our actions in anticipation of that day’s rewards or penalties.
 
The Day of Judgment Puts An End to All Evil.
 
On The Day of Judgment God will annihilate all evil. Sex crimes, murder, hatred, war and all injustice will be brought to an end. On this day these actions will be stopped and never again allowed to exist. Not only will they cease to exist but those people who practice them will be cast into Hell and removed from our presence and God’s presence. Our natures will be eternally changed. We will have no inclination to do evil because evil won’t exist. We will only desire to do that which is right before God.
 
The Day of Judgment Demonstrates the Holy Love of God.
 
We have all done evil. None of us are really good. It is only by God’s grace that we will be forgiven and escape annihilation in Hell. It is only by His grace that we will be welcomed into Heaven, God's eternal place of perfection. Out of love, God made a way for sinners to be forgiven yet still have their sin justly dealt with. He did this by sending His Son into an evil world to receive a just sentence for the sins of all believers. God caused Jesus to become sin so that His wrath could be poured out on our sin. By doing this justice was served, our sin was punished and we are forgiven. As Isaiah says it, "By His stripes we are healed" Isaiah 53:5 In a sense The Judgment Day for God's elect is not the in the future it is in the past. It was the day that Jesus wore our crown. Believers will not experience the dreadful Day of Judgment, but we will stand before Jesus to give an account for our daily actions at The Judgment Seat of Christ.
It was out of love that God sent His perfect Son to die for His evil imperfect creation. Paul says it this way, "God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Rom 5:8 If that is not love I don’t know what is.
Let us be like Paul. Let the lost world know there is a set day when Jesus Christ is going to judge the world according to God's righteousness. People get ready Jesus is coming.