Mission City Church w/ Pastor Josh Hershey

The greatest commandment in God’s kingdom is that we are to love the Lord with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. The Good News is that God has given us a new heart and poured His own love into it through the power of the Holy Spirit. We live from that gift! We can fulfill Jesus’ “new commandment” to love one another even as He has loved us! This morning we will delve into how the Bible defines love and what to do when our love begins to wane. Jesus says we must “remember from where we have fallen.” Love is always the high point! Join us as celebrate National Love People Week.

Daniel and Ester each teach us what it means to “trust the Lord” and “be faithful” in Exile. The books encourage concerning God’s mysterious providence and exceedingly great promises! The Lord’s purposes never fail! Join us as we look at the stories of the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lion’s den, and Haman hung from his own gallows!

Last week we discovered that King Hezekiah was a great king who began kingdom reform on Day 1. He cleared out the idolatrous rubbish and held a covenantal renewal ceremony and a Passover. After that foundational work, Hezekiah got busy building the kingdom. And all the people were enthusiastically involved with their service and gifts. When the enemy came up against the kingdom that was worshipping the Lord, he would be utterly defeated! The Lord gave His angels charge over His redeemed! There was victory and rejoicing! Join us as we continue to learn from the life of the great Reforming King, Hezekiah!

The book of Ezekiel is full of powerful supernatural visions and ‘sign acts’ or ‘street theater’ from beginning to end. The exiles are shown the awesome holiness of God, the unwavering justice of God, but also, the mind-blowingly wonderful resurrecting restoration of God! Join us!

After the deeply depraved moral chaos and spiritual darkness of King Ahaz’s reign, God raised up another kingdom reformer. King Hezekiah! His reform began on Day 1. Hezekiah cleared out the rubbish, refurbished God’s House and restored proper worship, and brought spiritual renewal not just to Jerusalem and Judah, but to Northern Israel as well! He shows us that the kingdom is evangelistic. It is a kingdom that it takes the Passover seriously. An inviting kingdom. A thankful kingdom. A light that shines bright in the world Join us and be encouraged by this powerful Kingdom Reformer!

This evening we will be delving into the RESTORATION verses of Jeremiah. Though an angry king threw God’s word into a roaring fire and threw Jeremiah down a well to die, God still thundered His WORD OF PROMISE through this prophet for those who submitted to exile in Babylon. God promised to make His people like a well-watered garden! Both IN EXILE and AFTER EXILE! He wrote them a LOVE LETTER OF HOPE! Join us as we unpack the power God’s restoration and hope in our Midweek Bible Study!

After the reign of King Jehoshaphat the Davidic lamp is flickering very low. It looks like it is just about to expire! Nevertheless, God had promised that a king from David’s line would continue to reign. And God keeps His promises!! From the great reformer King Jehoshaphat until the next great reformer, King Hezekiah, there are many kings who reign over the course of a century who are a mixed bag of good and bad—with special emphasis on the child king, Joash. Join us as we learn of God faithfulness to His kingdom people this morning!

The great reforming king, Jehoshaphat, had already sent teachers throughout the land. Next, he set up righteous judges in the fortified cities. Not long after that, the people are met by a large enemy seeking to invade the land! What will the people do? They “seek the Lord” and are given a word from the Spirit to “stand still and see the Lord’s salvation.” The kingdom people simply “sing to the Lord” and “praise the beauty of His holiness.” As they sing, the Lord “sets ambushes” for the enemy. Jehoshaphat’s reign shows us the power prayer and praise in holy warfare. His reign teaches us that the battle belongs to the Lord! Join us!

Jeremiah was a prophet who lived among the banished priests who formally served at the tabernacle in Shiloh. God raised him up to declare that Shiloh was happening all over again! The Lord’s House would again be destroyed! The ark would again go into captivity! Jeremiah was raised up to lead the people to relinquish their old world so they could step into a new one. To submit to Babylon so the Heavenly Potter could mold them into something new. Would the people listening to this weeping prophet? Do we? Jesus said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it” (Luke 17:33). Join us!

King Jehoshaphat led a powerful reformation in the land of Judah just like his father Asa had. He ‘tore down’ and ‘built up.’ He sent teachers of the Word of God throughout the land. On top of that, he understand the importance of hearing from true prophets of Yahweh. Prophets who truly understood what was happening in the spiritual realm. Who could speak truth into the midst of a court full of “yes men” prophets. Because He sought the Lord, he experienced the mighty protection of the Lord in battle. Yet, for all of this, he still made one mistake in creating an alliance between himself with Ahab. Join us we learn “kingdom lessons” from the great King Jehoshaphat!