In Malachi chapter 3:1, God introduces us to the Messenger of the New Covenant in whom we delight. This covenant was a greater covenant than that which had been handed-down to the Levites in laws and stories, but which they strayed away from.  This new covenant would be about personal relationship with the Messenger of the Covenant and would solve the sin problem once and for all.

This passage covers both the first advent of Christ as the Messiah, the Savior of the world, and the second coming—which we believe is very soon to happen, when Jesus will sit in judgment as the refiner and purifier.  His first coming forces people to decide what to do about God.  The second coming will bring judgment and justice to those who reject it, and eternal blessing to those who hear it and accept it.  The question is, have you heard and accepted His salvation plan?

God requires holiness and respect for his name from those in the priesthood and those who minister to God and the people. In I Samuel 2 Eli, the priest’s sons began to treat the offerings that the people would bring to sacrifice to the Lord with contempt by literally taking by force, the most and the best parts of the animals for themselves. But God took the lives of the two sons in one day.

Again, in Malachi 2, God had a sobering message for the priesthood because of their deep levels of corruption, in that they were offering polluted food on the altar of God by offering blind, lame and sick animals to sacrifice to desecrate his name. God said he would not accept an offering from dirty hands. He cursed their blessings and their children.

I Peter 2:9 says that those who come to him are spiritual houses, and a holy priesthood and we offer spiritual sacrifices—which have been made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’s blood sacrifice. It still matters that we bring holy and pure spiritual sacrifices before the Lord. He’ll not accept offerings from dirty hands.

James 1:17 tells us that Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  

Some gifts come with seemingly flawed aspects.  Parents are sometimes imperfect, yet they make us feel loved.  Pastors, teachers and churches are often flawed, yet we come to know the love of Christ, the word of God and Christian fellowship through them. 

Daniel and his three friends were the cream of the crop in Judah; well-studied in the laws of God, able servers in the temple.  But when they were taken into captivity in Babylon, they were forced to serve in the pagan king’s court and then slated to be killed.   But God answered prayer in a miraculous way, and Daniel thanked God for his gift of mercy and prayed, To you, Oh God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might and have made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.  Let's be thankful for the good and perfect gifts from God. 

Let the church say, Amen, Amen! God has spoken, so let the church say, Amen! Nehemiah 8:5-8 tells how, newly released from terrible bondage under Babylonian captivity, the people of Judah regathered to Jerusalem and set forth rebuilding the temple. Nehemiah, the governor, declares the day to be a holy day, and that the people should no longer be in mourning, but they should rejoice in the Lord, for the joy of the Lord is their strength.

So, Ezra read the Book of the Law, and the Levites interpreted the words he read, so that all the people understood the words they heard.

And Verse 6 says: And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, Amen, Amen! Lifting their hands and bowing their faces to the ground, worshipping God.

When the word of the Lord is spoken, either by the Holy Spirit or written in His book, Let the church say, Amen, Amen!

Sometimes, things are just not as they appear…or sound. This was the case in Ezra 3:10-13. The onlookers and listeners couldn’t tell whether the sounds they heard were rejoicing or mourning. Some of the people were shouting with joy because they were delivered from Babylonian captivity and because the temple at Jerusalem was being rebuilt. But others, the elders, were mourning because they’d seen the glory of the former temple and they knew that the new one wouldn’t compare with the old one. They were mourning what had been lost.

Our country may be in this exact situation at this time of our presidential election. Some people may be rejoicing, but some may be mourning, and it may be difficult to tell the difference.

But, the good news is that God remains in full control. Just as he did in Genesis, when he used the rain and flood to cleanse the earth of all things ungodly. But he used that exact same rain and flood to lift up Noah and his family—a remnant of believers—above the devastation. Stay in prayer!

These words are true and trustworthy—that’s what Jesus said of his own words in Revelation 22:6. Just before his ascension to Heaven to be with his Father, Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised Holy Spirit to come to them. Again, this wasn’t new news, because, as Jesus said, they’d heard it from him.

In the book of John, Jesus reassured the disciples, whom he’d called friends to remember what he'd said, because his words would keep them safe from falling away from their faith. We’ve heard it from Him, whose words are true and trustworthy.

Join us for our Sunday morning service, October 20, 2024, as we welcome an old friend of Calvary Temple - Juanita Canavesio. We were inspired by Sister Juanita's testimony and her passion for the lost, and you will be too!

The Psalmist said that he would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of God than to dwell in tents of wickedness. In II Chronicles 23, God appointed and anointed gatekeepers to surround the house of God to protect both the king and the people from wicked evildoers! They were to always be on watch, with weapons in hand, and were to kill anything that was unclean in any way.

It was customary for a family to position their sheepfold at the front of their house so that it could be closely guarded by a hired gatekeeper or, sometimes, by the shepherd himself. In John 10, Jesus told us that He, the Good Shepherd, not a hireling, is our gatekeeper. He is the very door to the sheepfold, and anyone who doesn’t enter the sheepfold through the door, is a robber and a thief and has evil intentions to ravage the sheep.

Thank you, Jesus, our Good Shepherd and Gatekeeper, for loving us so much that you laid down your life for your sheep!

God used the ram’s horn, or shofar, as the trumpet of the day, to announce and commemorate important events. In today’s message, we look at three different long trumpet blasts.

1) In Exodus 19:16 a long trumpet blast was sounded for the importance of God giving the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai.

2) In Leviticus 23, a long trumpet blast was sounded to start the Feast of Trumpets, which was for the people to prepare themselves for the Feast of the Day of Atonement, when God would forgive their sins for the year.

3) The third long trumpet blast is found in I Thessalonians 4 and is yet to come. It is the trumpet of God that will announce the rapture of the church!

This is by far the most important trumpet blast of all, as it will announce the coming of Jesus in the air, along with the spirits of the saints who’ve died in Christ. They will come down from Heaven in the air, and Jesus will reunite their spirits with their bodies and gather up into the air, the living righteous. He will take us all, the bride of Christ, to Heaven to be presented to God the Father and forever be with Jesus.

This will be the crowning moment for the church. Are you listening for that trumpet blast?

Prayers of supplication are prayers that are not typical, not wishy-washy, shot-in-the-dark kinds of prayers, but are so targeted, heart-felt, sobbing kinds of prayers. The kind where we groan in our spirit and plead with God with open hands, desperately needing to receive from Him.

This is how Solomon prayed in I Kings 8 when he prayed over the newly built Temple at Jerusalem, asking God to dedicate it to His name and His presence forever, and to forgive the people’s sins who would worship there. This is how Hannah prayed when she was petitioning God for a child. No words would come from mouth; only groanings deep from within her pleading her case for a child.

And sometimes, we must care enough to pray this way over our loved ones who are walking in rebellion and need to seek God for forgiveness. God gave two men, Isaiah and Ezekiel the job of being spiritual watchmen on the wall of Jerusalem; but he also gave us charge to pray, to pray important prayers of supplication, over the walls of the hearts of those loved ones for whom we are spiritual watchmen, and to plead the case for their souls before God.