Church of the Word Lancaster, Pennsylvania

1 Corinthians 9:8, Galatians 5:25, and Acts 13:4 were bible verses looked at. Larry Mills spoke about holding a position as a janitor. He held all the keys to the building, which made him feel a sense of authority. What are you doing with the keys that God has given you? Was a questioned asked by Larry. Matthew 16:18. If you ask someone what the meaning of a church is you would get various responses. Larry mentioned about being more interested in what God says the meaning of church is. It was the first time in the bible that the word church is being used in representing the keys of authority, Matthew 16. a) The church will be built on the revelation of who Jesus is. Matthew 24:14. b) Not even the government of hell can stop the move of the Church. c) Matthew 18:18-Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Jesus talks about giving His church keys, which is in the context of building the church. Larry read out of Colossians 1:13. Larry expanded on the fact that all we need is one word from the highest authority. Matthew 28:19. We have been given authority=keys for healing, casting out devils, and raising the dead. Larry had given and example of one of his granddaughters where she was given a fork to try to learn how  to eat with it. He expressed that his granddaughter had gotten the food everywhere else but in her mouth, but the fork wasn't taken from her hand. That fork is parallel to what our keys are. God didn't give us keys and then take them from us. We have been given keys now what are you going to do with them?

Pastor Sydney did a continuation on the gifts of the Spirit and spoke about being filled with the Holy Spirit. In addition to that, sharing with the congregation about how to go about how to be obedient to the Lord when He gives you something to share had been mentioned Pastor Sydney speaks out of Ephesians 5:15 and mentions to be being filled, because God wants us to be full of His Holy Spirit. The two things compared is drunkenness and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Leo brings up about Acts 2. Pastor Sydney goes over reasons why people drink. "You don't have to live dry, you could live full of the Spirit", mentioned by Pastor Sydney. The Word talks about alcohol and mention not to be drunk. Sober means not drunk. Drunkenness equals dull and insensitive. In doing things ask the Lord first if it is alright to have an alcoholic drink. Don't be a judgemental person towards anyone who drinks. Opposite of being drunk is being filled with Spirit and there is no limit to how much of the Spirit you can have! Saved equals healed. Acts 4:8, 4:31, Acts 6:1, 6:5 had been read out of. 1 Corinthians 14 was also referenced.

Pastor Sydney read out of the book of 1 Corinthians 12:31, continuation of the gifts of the Spirit. Look at the word and see what it has to say about your situation. Earnestly desire the gifts of the Spirit. The best gift is the one needed at that moment. 1 Corinthians 14:1. Self deceiving is where one just becomes the hearer and not doing. Our flesh can hinder God. You don't have to be without fault to serve the Lord. However, you do have to be under the blood of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:13-14. If we are not desiring the gifts of God it is because we think that God cannot use us. Yield yourself to the Lord and desire the gifts of God. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. Taking risks! Don't limit God. The Lord had a message for Kathleen English, He sees her as the diamond that she is. Acts 2. Continually be active in being filled with the Holy Spirit. Pastor Sydney compared it to a car. When you run out of gas you have to keep filling the tank. Ephesians 5:17. It is foolish not to know the will of the Lord. Luke 11:5. In order to live in the Spirit you got to stay full of the Spirit. Baby dedication had taken place.

Pastor Dale spoke on being able to be taught on how to fear the Lord. If one comes to having to make a decision on something to truly seek the Lord. If your spirit is uneasy about the situation to not act on making a decision until there is clarity. Pastor Dale also stressed the fact that when there is noise (fear, disobedience/sin, and so forth) it makes it difficult to hear that still small voice. To get into a place where you can be alone and just call out to the Lord. "When I don't know what to do....I'll lift my hands" was referenced because that is all we can do and He'll direct us.

Psalm 34

Ephesians 5:17-21

Acts 5

Pastor Sydney spoke out of 2 Corinthians 1:20 and Psalm 57 for communion.  The key point is that we need to be intentionally thankful. Lagging indicator is something that is behind what has already happened and it is how feelings are. Pastor Sydney mentioned about how tired he was, so he'd begun to just thank the Lord for what He has done for him. In doing so it brought him joy. Mathew 6:25 had been read for offering for Mission Sunday. It is not the hearer that gets the results, it is the doer. Examine yourself and ask God what are you seeing first. Pastor Sydney uses the example of a rope with no slack. Referring to that there is no slack between God and His promise. God is the God of now. Sermon: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. You want to desire the gifts. The nine gifts are wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, to another working mighty deeds, prophecy, discerning of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues, and interpretation. There are three gifts that do something. Known as the power gifts are healing, working of miracles, and special faith. Pastor Sydney points out that we are a move of God. Don't limit the move of God by being too busy. There are two kinds of faith, common faith and special faith. Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the assurance of what we hope for. Faith is the foundation of what is expected. Titus 1:4, John 1, Romans 10:15, and John 15:4-6. Hear it, believe it, and do it. Romans 4:19, Mathew 8:10, and James 2:22.

Pastor Sydney read out of Psalm 35 and Mathew 18:21. He spoke on getting back to the simple things, the simple love you had at first for Jesus. God is calling everyone to repentance. "Every hindrance and every wall be removed," was prayed by Pastor Sydney. One of the key subjects talked about was on forgiveness. Unforgiveness will keep a person in bondage. While in Iraq Pastor Sydney had seen a photo of Jesus laughing. The same image kept appearing. The picture of Jesus laughing represented the joy of the Lord. The Lord had given Larry Hostetter a message for the congregation. Larry had a dream that he had several times before. In that dream the demonstration of how God is a God of order was what had been represented in a church service. In that service one by one someone ministered a word, sang, or played and instrument. Jen Ropp had spoke about her encounter with a cashier at the grocery store and the takeaway was what your vision is for your life or situation. Anastashia Groff had shared that seeing Pastor Sydney and Jen's son miraculously being healed step by step of type 1 Diabetes is her vision. Herb Baughman had talked about the power of forgiveness and how a relative decide to stick with unforgievness and eventually died from bone cancer.

John Lehman shared about his trip to Ethiopia. In John 17 Jesus prayed for us, that we would be one as He and the Father are one. Eternal life is that we may know God and Jesus Christ. It is a father-son, Father-Son, relationship. God goes with us and is in us. It is a personal relationship. Prayer is not an appointment with God and then we leave Him. He wants us to have eternal life and to be with Him constantly. Don't limit God by being too busy to hear Him. What do you do when you are bored? Let that be a trigger to prompt you to listen to what He wants you to hear. The rest of the service was the congregation's sharing of their personal relationship with God in action.

This is Victory Sunday. Everyday is a great day to praise the Lord. Let's be worshipers in truth. God gives grace for finances (2 Corinthians 9:8), so that we can bless others. Pray for greater needs. Sermon: The spiritual side of living long is different from the world's view. The question is how long is it before I die? People have used Genesis 6:3 which says that man will live 120 years, but that was how many years it was until the flood. Psalm 90:10, which is a prayer of Moses, says that we will live 70 years or if by reason of strength, 80 years. Eighty years is not really long. This was a complaint and was considered short because of a curse. Ask God if you are finished, or if you are short on vision. Some people put more faith in the latest supplement than they do on the Word. It is godly wisdom to take care of your body. Ask God what you are to do to take care of your body. Scriptures to increase your faith for long life are: Psalm 91:14-16; Proverbs 9:10-11; 3:13, 16-18; 4:10; 10:27; 28:16; Isaiah 65:20; 1 Peter 3:10-12; and Ephesians 6:2-3. There is not a set day or time for you to die. You can lengthen your days, so we can do things to shorten our days. Death is an upgrade. We are not afraid of dying. We want to live long to accomplish the most we can on this earth. You can ask God for something more to accomplish. Keep your tongue from evil. Honor your parents. Our faith is not in exercise or a supplement or pill. Charles Capps taught that you can have what you say. He had exactly what he said he would have. Your words will work for you.

A word was given about God's trust in Apostle Dale because of his obedience and the calling that He has placed in his heart. God is calling the church to go beyond where it is. God is calling the church to prayer and to lay a supernatural foundation. It is about God's heart for souls and His kingdom. Pray. Intercede. God needs our intercession and obedience. Learn to know God's Spirit. Jen Ropp shared a victory testimony of her son's healing.Sermon: Preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord (Proverbs 16:1). God has a preparation time in your life, which is like a pregnancy. Honor the prep time and where you are now in your life, and don't get frustrated during it. Commit your works and ways to the Lord, and don't plan God right out of your life. Enjoy your life where God has you. Commit your destiny to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established. Then, your desires will pull you in a certain direction. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). Nurture the God-dreams in you. If you don't know God's plan, you are in preparation. If you don't have a job, spend 8 hours looking for one. Let go to get a hold of what is ahead for you. Ask the Lord: What do You want me to do? Learn what you need to go in the direction of your desires. Get busy where you are. Give. Pray. Do more. Desire puts you on a road that separates you from other things (the Hebrew meaning of Proverbs 18:1). Do not be afraid of your (good) desires, and one will lead to another one. God tells us to not be anxious, but to be filled with care for nothing, not careless, but carefree. Being carefree attracts others. Desires bring motivation. Worry is sin. Don't fret, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God (Philippians 4:6). Note: thanksgiving is important. A desire is a passion that you feel responsible for; it has made a claim on you. The result is that the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Watch and follow God's peace.

Jen Ropp: Hebrews 10:35-38 tells us not to throw away our confidence (faith), which has great reward. We need cheerful endurance (patience), so that after we do God's will, we may receive the promise. Abraham and Sarah's promise from God looked impossible (Hebrews 11:11-12), and it did not come quickly but manifested twenty-five years later. If God says something, He will do it. Are you obeying and cheerfully enduring? Jon Fike: "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us," (Ephesians 3:20). God can do beyond what we think, according to the power that works in us.