Coming to the Still Waters

     I finally made a decision about the direction over the next months while in Gaylord and really I think the decision was made for me.  After looking at Jesus so much in the Gospel of Matthew and his multiple interactions with Peter and looking at the denials of Peter and the restoration of Peter on the seashore with Jesus and Peter's first sermon on the day of Pentecost, it seems that looking a Peter was a good progression.      So last Sunday we did a run through of Peter's life found in the book of Acts to get set up for his writings of 1 & 2 Peter at the end of his life.  Peter now speaks to us with much experience and you still hear the fire in his voice when it comes to Jesus and His resurrection.  He is in Rome and it is a hard time to be a Christian.  Nero is on the war path to eliminate the people of "The Way" and so Peter is instructing the Christians scattered abroad on how to respond and cope with this much persecution.      First, Peter address

Holy Week, Day 3: Tuesday

Day 2 of Holy Week...

Great information....

     The disciples have learned to listen to what Jesus says by this time so when He said, "Wait" they waited and the Holy Spirit did come and they were equipped to go out with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Many get hung up on the way the Holy Spirit came or the described physical events that happened but I am more interested in what happened after that.  Peter, the one who cowered to a little girl in the outer courtyard when Jesus was on trial, stands before the assembled crowd and preaches a sermon that should be the model for all sermons to follow.      One aspect of Peter's sermon is that he uses the Bible as the textbook to explain what was happening.  The Old Testament passages were used to give clarity to what they were experiencing.  Today we also have the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus and the apostles to draw upon.  The sermons we give today should follow this example to go to "the Book" for explanation and clarity to the worl

Another stand alone sermon this Sunday from Acts 1:1-11.  I titled it in my mind - What's in my Back Pocket?  When it comes to going forward with the Great Commission, what does the Christian and the church have in its back pocket to rely on.  I came up with 6 points. 1.  We have the message of Jesus.  The Bible is our source for the information that we have about our Savior.  It is not hidden nor hard to get a hold of (especially in America).  We have it in so many forms today and so many tools to study it that we can rest on the availability of the message of Whom we are talking about. 2.  We have the confidence of the evidence of Jesus.  We have our own conversion experience and the transformation that is happening in our lives.  We can chart ourselves from being blind to now seeing.  Not only that but we can have confidence in other brothers and sisters in Christ that we have seen take the same journey.   3.  We have the power of the Holy Spirit.  The disciples were told