Sermon post...Ezra installment...and some master class thoughts.


Here is the sermon from Sunday on service and spiritual gifts.  I can not stress enough the importance of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ serving alongside of us being used by God to affirm what He has given to us.  I am praying for many of this congregation to flourish in the joy of the Lord because they are participating in the Your Divine Design series.

Here is the next installment of the Ezra series.  Ezra gives us a prayer of confession that has principles we need to follow in our day.  Don't minimize your sin and make sure to maximize your God.

I can't believe that I am over half-way through my next online masters class through Belhaven University.  This class is covering the Gospels and Acts.  There are more students in the class, so the ZOOM class sessions can be a bit of a ZOO!  This 7 week class will include a total of 5 papers.

 Each gospel has an original audience.  The Gospel of Mark was written to the Christians in Rome who were under persecution.  The Gospel of Matthew was written to the Jewish Christians encouraged to grow in their faith.  The Gospel of Luke was written to the Gentile Christians to know they had made the right decision about this Jewish Messiah named Jesus.

 A self imposed exercise was to explore if there were corresponding audiences today.  The persecuted Christians of Rome (Mark) could be the Christians today who are alone or severely outnumbered as they enter home, school, or work environments hostile to Christianity.  The Jewish Christians (Matthew) could be Christians today who have grown up in and with all the benefits of the church whose faith is being challenged by a world that is ever changing away from God.  The Gentile Christians (Luke) could be Christians not raised in the church and therefore "catching up" with information about this Messiah who loves "outsiders."

 I will update you when I get through the Gospel of John and add his original audience to the list.  I don't doubt there will be a corresponding audience too.  This might be a great guide to know which of the Gospels to recommend to someone to read in regards to them and the original audience.  I am thankful that the online master's class has been immediately beneficial to my life and the church I serve.

 Adam
A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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