If there is someone who genuinely wants to get saved, and is afraid they are not listed in the Book of Life, quickly disabuse them of that thinking by telling them that God commands us to repent and believe the gospel. If you do that, you are saved, and thus prove that you were listed in the book. From the human perspective, since we do not and cannot know who is "in" and who is "out" in advance, we must not worry about who is in the book, and instead focus on obeying God, and everything will be fine. For us who want to share the life-giving message with others, our job

Our Scripture reading was found in Isaiah 48:1-22.

In this message James continues the message from the book of Nahum where we see Nahum writing the most troublesome words from God, "I am against you, says the Lord of hosts." The Assyrians would become utterly destroyed. "Woe" is used to foreshadow the fall of Nineveh, with details of complete and utter destruction. The Lord condemns the Assyrians for three sins: their cruel atrocities, their greedy exploitation of others, and their delusion that they could insulate themselves from destruction.

If properly keeping the Law before Christ’s death meant this kind of internal battle against sin—and it did—how much more is it the case that in this age, with the revelation and ministry of the Spirit that we enjoy. Will we engage the inner struggle against sin? If they were expected to live under this kind of moral code, so are we! Christ summarizes his teaching by saying that we are to be morally perfect as God is perfect. This is an impossible standard, but it is true nonetheless. Believers must have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, else they are not acceptable before God.

If properly keeping the Law before Christ’s death meant this kind of

Our Scripture reading was found in Isaiah 47:1-15.

And thus, we end our study of the first letter to the Corinthians. It has

Our Scripture reading was found in Isaiah 46:1-13.

In this message James Widgeon continues his study in the book of Nahum, focusing on the detailed destruction of Nineveh A) the city is assaulted and B) the city if discredited. Following this, we begin studying on the destruction of Nineveh was demanded, focused on three charges. We are reminded that we serve the true living God. Christians must submit to Him, to understand better who God is and who we are. The heart is desperately wicked and deceitful, so how are we to avoid this sin? There is one assured way, studying God's righteous words and keeping his commandments.

In this message pastoral intern Jansen Lorch continues our study in the book of Ruth, where we see Ruth harvesting grain in Boaz's field and she takes the ephah of barley to the city at the end of the day. Upon learning that Boaz was the man who took notice of Ruth we see Naomi expressing God's blessing upon this man for dealing with Ruth favorably. Furthermore, we see that Naomi recognizes God's kindness is still present upon them. We see Naomi instructing Ruth to obtain redemption from Boaz.

If properly keeping the Law before Christ’s death meant this kind of internal battle against sin, how much more is it the case that in this

Scripture reading was from Isaiah 45:1-25.

From time to time, specific instructions on the matter of giving need to be reviewed in the life of the church. We have done that, and I pray it serves as a reminder to us that we are called to support God’s work. Christians are called to regularly give to support the work of the church, which includes missions, benevolence, support for pastor(s), local ministries, etc. If we do not do so, how do you suppose it will happen? No government support is forthcoming; no church welfare exists; there are no money trees in the back yard! We would simply cease to exist after a while. More to the point of this passage, believers who are struggling will appreciate a helping hand from a church, whether they live nearby

Our Scripture reading was found in Isaiah 44:1-28.

In this message James Widgeon leads our continued study in the book of Nahum where we see a prophecy against Ninevah and how God is going to deal with their sinfulness. But also in the midst of it we see encouragement for God's people, Judah.