Reverend G's Words of Encouragement

I

So today we continued with our theme of Spiritual Warfare. This theme is designed to help us understand that many of the issues we face are closely connected to spiritual warfare. Please know that we face a very well foe who seeks steal, kill and destroy. In other words, it’s time to fight back. I want to use a familiar passage that is often used but highlights a component of this passage that doesn’t always get the full attention of the listener or the reader. I believe unpack you’ll what mean by that statement. So come on and go with me to Ephesians 6:10-18. If you look there, you will find these important words for us to keep as tools used against our adversary.

So why am I emphasizing the number 50 so much in my introduction.  I am glad you ask that question.  Today is the Pentecost Sunday and Pentecost

Since we are focusing on mental health let me just go ahead and state this up front that I am not a doctor but that does not prevent you or I from trying to assist or support those who may be dealing with mental health issues. Please know it’s okay to not be okay, what you do about it is what matters. So, my goal today is to not only share with you a sermon but to also offer pastoral guidance on how to get help.

Please know that today’s sermon is aimed at making us look at ourselves in the mirror of spirituality and do an assessment of how others see us but more importantly how we see ourselves.  Because it is one thing for others to see us in a certain light but it’s whole different thing the way we see ourselves.  So, let’s see how this connect to the main characters in this text, the sick servant, the Centurion, the Elders, the Friends and Jesus. 

There was a time in my life that running was something I enjoyed doing, for a short spell I attempted running track in school. When I joined the military I ran in competition events. I mean to a certain degree we all run in some form or fashion. But in all my time of being on this earth for over sixty years I have never ever seen or remembered on occasion that I would run to the cemetery in fact as a child we were taught to run away from the cemetery. Which begs the question as we just read the verses about the people running to the cemetery. So, for this morning I want to leave you with the subject running to Jesus.

Let us ponder a moment about what faith. Faith is the very essence of what we believe in it is a driving force of our character it is what keeps us glued to the principles of God's faith is the seemed that holds the blocks together, faith is the fuel that burns the engine of our life, faith is the water that quenches our thirst, faith is the yes essence of life as a belief in.

This morning we are going full throttle on the name of Jesus so if it’s sound like I am being repetitive I am. Because once you start talking

The Book of Judges mentions twelve leaders who are said to "judge" . In my experience the male judges tend to get all of the attention because

Let first start off by saying that there are so many things that bring us joy in this world, take for example the birth of baby brings so much joy, attending a wedding brings joy, moving out your parent’s home brings, going on a much needed vacation brings joy to the soul when you check in and they grab your bags and you a fresh beverage, getting a new job or leaving a job can bring so much joy. I could go on and on about joy, okay one more since you ask, when you the pinnacle of parenting and you see the birth of your first grand child it brings a joy that is unprecedented any comparison with all the other example. Which leads me to our subject today of The Joys of Steadfastness.