Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this day good day the Lord has given us to love and glorify Him and share His grace and blessing with those around us. Praise the Lord, for He is the Lord of the church, who has placed an open door before that no one can shut. Please pray for us for our weekly TV outreach this evening on Time Warner Cable channel 4 at 7 PM. I will be sharing from, Mathew 2.
Some of our team members will be preparing and serving the meal for the needy at the First UMC Endicott at 12 noon tomorrow. We will gather for our Saturday Evening Worship service at The First UMC Endicott at 6 PM tomorrow with pizza and chicken wings for fellowship supper and the worship at 6:30PM. I will be bringing the welcoming greetings. Rev. Earle Cowden will be the worship Leader. The featured speakers for the worship will be Rev. Bill Turner, and Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PH. D, the dean of Students of the Binghamton University.
We will gather for worship on Sunday at 8:30 and 11:00AM at the Union Center United Methodist Church and at 9:30AM at the Wesley UMC. Please pray for us and those who live in the vicinity join for a great time worship celebration.
Alice is packed and ready to drive to Boston , to care for Micah and Simeon . Janice called last night to put her mom on alert that she is due deliver little Ada at any time soon. Laureen is with our friend Kelly Johnson in Memphis TN, attending a national prayer conference and prayer concert in Indianapolis. Sunita is flying to Uganda on a work assignment this coming Monday. She will be there for 12 days.
When I ponder about the marvelous Gospels of our Lord Jesus I get excited. It was no wonder Paul was so eager to share that message. Paul was so eager because he was calling people to a revolution. The kingdom of Jesus is not an institution; it is a revolution. Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ”. He was not ashamed of it because Paul knew that it had completely changed his life. Saul of Tarsus became Paul the apostle. King Jesus had changed him from persecutor to preacher. That zealot who was out to kill Christians, was now zealous to save souls. He was once on a mission to imprison Christians but now he was on a mission to the entire world trying to tell people about this Jesus. Paul knew that this gospel was powerful because it had the power to change him, a Christ-hater and Christian persecutor, and the power to revolutionize the world.
Bob Moorehead wrote an essay a few years back entitled, “The Fellowship of the Unshamed.”
"I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit
Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has
been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow
down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense,
and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight
walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions,
mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
"I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or
popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised,
regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by
patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
"My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my
way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
"I won’t give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed
up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
"And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for 'I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..' (Romans 1:16)"
Jesus the King is calling us to be a part of this revolution.
In Jesus our Lord
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ1vXATVF6I
32 Hrs of Prayer for John 17 UNITY, Reconciliation & Healing of Our Nation (Over Martin Luther King’s 25th Anniversary)**
Two by Two is on our way to Indianapolis for a ‘Supreme Day of Prayer’ hosted at the Madame C J Walker Theatre – unlike any other this event is hosted by Prayer Ministries coming together in UNITY from across our nation. All for the Name of Jesus J
The Program, Partners and the John 17 Purpose is clearly spelled out at www.tcaamusic.net
**Here’s the exciting part – We’ve established a Prayer Line of 32 hours of continuous prayer across our nation
starting at 10 pm on Sunday the 16th and YOU (and any of your family/staff/congregation) can JOIN US!
For a detailed list of all the organizations and prayer times please see the file attached above
OR just call in and join us at any time starting Sunday at 10 pm EST.
32 Hours of Continuous Prayer
MLK Tribute: Supreme Day of Prayer
Phone Prayer Room
1 – 712-432-0232
Code 955964#
Eastern Times (please adjust for your time zone)
Contact: Sarah Lowe, National Area Leader, NDP TF
615.497.6119 ndpscan@bellsouth.net
Trusting JESUS to SHOW UP in MIGHTY Ways as we UNITE Across Our Nation in PRAYER!!!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 1-13-11
Praise the Lord for the gift of this new day. Praise the Lord for His tender mercies which are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.
Sharon Corwin, one of the beautiful servants and saints of Jesus, died suddenly yesterday morning. When I heard of Sharon unexpected death I was stunned and deeply broken. Sharon and her dear husband Denny were in Church last Sunday worshipping the Lord. They attended the Sunday School together. Though it was wintry and snowy, hazardous to drive, Sharon got ready to go to her work. After she had her breakfast and was about to leave for work, she called her husband and said she experiencing excruciating pains and sat on chair and collapsed. They called for ambulance, but because of the snowy roads it took over one hour for the ambulance to come. Sharon was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead.
I have known Denny and Sharon since 1990. Their two boys were very young when I first met them. I married their oldest son two years ago. Denny and Sharon attended the prayer conference in October in our church conducted by our dear friend Kelly Johnson. The Lord did something new in their hearts. It was the work of grace. Denny and Sharon and their two boys and daughter in law lived in the same house as an extended family. Sharon's mom also lived with them and Sharon cared for her. . . She died from home. Denny and Sharon and whole family did life together. Sharon was 59 years old. She was never hospitalized. She had a contagious smile and winsome eyes. She loved the Lord. She is in His presence now.
When I told Laureen our daughter about Sharon's death she wept. In tears she told me, "Daddy, let's sing a hymn and pray". She played the piano with much tenderness and we sang, "Be still my soul, the Lord on your side". Laureen ministered to me and together we praise the Lord for the "sure and certain hope of resurrection". It is given to us with assurance because of Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith. We are resolved to serve Jesus with Resolute hearts. As I was sleeping the Lord gave the word from Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD, Is the death of His saints”. (NKJV)
To us death never seems under any circumstances to br a precious thing. We think of death as an enemy. We think of death as a loss, but the Apostle Paul says that it is gain. In order for us to understand how God can say that death is precious we must attempt to see things through His eyes. We see things as they appear to be, but God sees everything as it stands in his eternal order and purpose. The apostle Paul once said to his son in the faith, Timothy, “when I think of you I think of your sincere faith.” (2 Tim 1:5) The death of a Christian is precious not only because it causes us to reflect on the impact that person had on our lives buy because it releases us from the suffering and pain of this life. It is true that life in the here and now can be filled with trouble but God promises in Revelation 21:4, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (NKJV).
The death of a Christian is also precious because it is provides entrance into Heaven. For the person that has given his or her heart and life to Jesus Christ death is but a transition from earth to glory. Paul said, “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, 8 NKJV)
Death is not merely death; for Christ has conquered death, for Himself, and for those who trust in Him. Death need not be, as one famous atheist said, “a fearful leap into the darkness.” Death to the prepared believer in Jesus Christ holds no such terrors. Sharon knew the truth of Scripture that to depart this life for her meant to be present with Christ. For Sharon death held no terror because she had a relationship with Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.
The truth that we must all face is this: We will spend eternity somewhere and this life is the only time that we will ever have to make the choice as to where we will spend eternity. Either an eternity with The Lord our Saviour, in the splendor of Heaven or an eternity separated from the Lord, in a place called Hell. Both Heaven and Hell are equally real.
All of us must meet death sometime. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” In light of this we should all take great care to live in such a way that when it comes our time to die, we are ready to face The Lord who is the Resurrection and life. Some day each of us will face our final hour and nothing will be more important then than the ability to say, “I am ready.” Scripture warns us to also be ready. Readiness is in establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ by Faith. The promise of Jesus is that he has gone to prepare a eternal dwelling place for every person who by faith accepts Him as their personal Savior. Jesus said in John 14:2, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (NKJV) The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (NKJV) Isn’t it marvelous that Paul reminds us that this body is a tent, and a tent was never intended to be a
permanent dwelling place. When this tent is worn out He has prepared a place for those with prepared hearts. This is not a “I hope so” or “I think so” proposition, Paul says, “I know.”
In Christ the Risen One,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9zHn4QSH-8
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday 15, 2011
6 PM Gathering: Pizza,Chicken Wings, and Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by a local worship Team, and Dave Berry
Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,
Rev. Brown Naik,
Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PhD, Dean of Students at Binghamton University
Sharon Corwin, one of the beautiful servants and saints of Jesus, died suddenly yesterday morning. When I heard of Sharon unexpected death I was stunned and deeply broken. Sharon and her dear husband Denny were in Church last Sunday worshipping the Lord. They attended the Sunday School together. Though it was wintry and snowy, hazardous to drive, Sharon got ready to go to her work. After she had her breakfast and was about to leave for work, she called her husband and said she experiencing excruciating pains and sat on chair and collapsed. They called for ambulance, but because of the snowy roads it took over one hour for the ambulance to come. Sharon was taken to the hospital and was pronounced dead.
I have known Denny and Sharon since 1990. Their two boys were very young when I first met them. I married their oldest son two years ago. Denny and Sharon attended the prayer conference in October in our church conducted by our dear friend Kelly Johnson. The Lord did something new in their hearts. It was the work of grace. Denny and Sharon and their two boys and daughter in law lived in the same house as an extended family. Sharon's mom also lived with them and Sharon cared for her. . . She died from home. Denny and Sharon and whole family did life together. Sharon was 59 years old. She was never hospitalized. She had a contagious smile and winsome eyes. She loved the Lord. She is in His presence now.
When I told Laureen our daughter about Sharon's death she wept. In tears she told me, "Daddy, let's sing a hymn and pray". She played the piano with much tenderness and we sang, "Be still my soul, the Lord on your side". Laureen ministered to me and together we praise the Lord for the "sure and certain hope of resurrection". It is given to us with assurance because of Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith. We are resolved to serve Jesus with Resolute hearts. As I was sleeping the Lord gave the word from Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the LORD, Is the death of His saints”. (NKJV)
To us death never seems under any circumstances to br a precious thing. We think of death as an enemy. We think of death as a loss, but the Apostle Paul says that it is gain. In order for us to understand how God can say that death is precious we must attempt to see things through His eyes. We see things as they appear to be, but God sees everything as it stands in his eternal order and purpose. The apostle Paul once said to his son in the faith, Timothy, “when I think of you I think of your sincere faith.” (2 Tim 1:5) The death of a Christian is precious not only because it causes us to reflect on the impact that person had on our lives buy because it releases us from the suffering and pain of this life. It is true that life in the here and now can be filled with trouble but God promises in Revelation 21:4, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (NKJV).
The death of a Christian is also precious because it is provides entrance into Heaven. For the person that has given his or her heart and life to Jesus Christ death is but a transition from earth to glory. Paul said, “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, 8 NKJV)
Death is not merely death; for Christ has conquered death, for Himself, and for those who trust in Him. Death need not be, as one famous atheist said, “a fearful leap into the darkness.” Death to the prepared believer in Jesus Christ holds no such terrors. Sharon knew the truth of Scripture that to depart this life for her meant to be present with Christ. For Sharon death held no terror because she had a relationship with Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.
The truth that we must all face is this: We will spend eternity somewhere and this life is the only time that we will ever have to make the choice as to where we will spend eternity. Either an eternity with The Lord our Saviour, in the splendor of Heaven or an eternity separated from the Lord, in a place called Hell. Both Heaven and Hell are equally real.
All of us must meet death sometime. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” In light of this we should all take great care to live in such a way that when it comes our time to die, we are ready to face The Lord who is the Resurrection and life. Some day each of us will face our final hour and nothing will be more important then than the ability to say, “I am ready.” Scripture warns us to also be ready. Readiness is in establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ by Faith. The promise of Jesus is that he has gone to prepare a eternal dwelling place for every person who by faith accepts Him as their personal Savior. Jesus said in John 14:2, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (NKJV) The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (NKJV) Isn’t it marvelous that Paul reminds us that this body is a tent, and a tent was never intended to be a
permanent dwelling place. When this tent is worn out He has prepared a place for those with prepared hearts. This is not a “I hope so” or “I think so” proposition, Paul says, “I know.”
In Christ the Risen One,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9zHn4QSH-8
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday 15, 2011
6 PM Gathering: Pizza,Chicken Wings, and Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by a local worship Team, and Dave Berry
Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,
Rev. Brown Naik,
Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PhD, Dean of Students at Binghamton University
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 1-11-11
Good morning,
I have been blessed and very privileged to have attended several Billy Graham Evangelistic crusades and the Pastors' schools conducted by the the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Ihave attended several Crusades. I recently heard an interview on the internet which was first on TV, the most recent interview of Billy Graham with Fox’s Greta Van Susteren. It took place on Monday, December 20, 2010. Graham said, “I have a tremendous amount of hope because I’m a believer in Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead. I believe he is alive right now. My wife is already in heaven. I look forward to seeing her definitely in the near future because I’m 92 now and I know that my time is limited on this earth. But I have tremendous hope in the fact I’ll be in the future life . And I’ll be there because of what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross and by the resurrection. And this gives me a great deal of hope.”
VAN SUSTEREN: If you were to do things over again, would you do it differently?
GRAHAM: Yes. I would study more. I would pray more, travel less, take less speaking engagements. I took too many of them in too many places around the world. If I had it to do over again, I’d spend more time in meditation and prayer and just telling the Lord how much I love him and adore him and looking forward to the time we’re going to spend together for eternity.
Billy Graham is something of an Abraham when it comes to living by faith. Although I believe that Billy Graham would be humble enough to say that his faith doesn’t even come close to that of Abraham. Billy Graham has preached Christ to live audiences of nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings.
In Abraham’s walk with God he exercised great faith. Abraham’s faith was evident when God called him to leave his home country and go to a foreign land.
Genesis 12:1, 4, “The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
It took a lot of faith on Abraham’s part to leave his home country for a place he had never seen, but he trusted God. He walked by faith. When Billy Graham traveled to those 185 different countries he knew where he was going and his traveling method was quite different from Abraham’s means of traveling. There was more to come that would test Abraham’s walk of faith. The greatest test of all was yet to come!
Genesis 22:2 “Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Wow! Amazing! But Abraham also had amazing faith in God. Hebrews 11:17-19 "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Abraham’s faith was so strong that he believed that God could or would raise his son Isaac from the dead! HOW’S THAT FOR FAITH?!
In Jesus our Lord,
Brown
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday 15, 2011
6 PM Gathering: Pizza,Chicken Wings, and Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by a local worship Team, and Dave Berry
Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,
Rev. Brown Naik,
Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PhD, Dean of Students at Binghamton University
I have been blessed and very privileged to have attended several Billy Graham Evangelistic crusades and the Pastors' schools conducted by the the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Ihave attended several Crusades. I recently heard an interview on the internet which was first on TV, the most recent interview of Billy Graham with Fox’s Greta Van Susteren. It took place on Monday, December 20, 2010. Graham said, “I have a tremendous amount of hope because I’m a believer in Jesus Christ, who was raised from the dead. I believe he is alive right now. My wife is already in heaven. I look forward to seeing her definitely in the near future because I’m 92 now and I know that my time is limited on this earth. But I have tremendous hope in the fact I’ll be in the future life . And I’ll be there because of what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross and by the resurrection. And this gives me a great deal of hope.”
VAN SUSTEREN: If you were to do things over again, would you do it differently?
GRAHAM: Yes. I would study more. I would pray more, travel less, take less speaking engagements. I took too many of them in too many places around the world. If I had it to do over again, I’d spend more time in meditation and prayer and just telling the Lord how much I love him and adore him and looking forward to the time we’re going to spend together for eternity.
Billy Graham is something of an Abraham when it comes to living by faith. Although I believe that Billy Graham would be humble enough to say that his faith doesn’t even come close to that of Abraham. Billy Graham has preached Christ to live audiences of nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories through various meetings.
In Abraham’s walk with God he exercised great faith. Abraham’s faith was evident when God called him to leave his home country and go to a foreign land.
Genesis 12:1, 4, “The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
It took a lot of faith on Abraham’s part to leave his home country for a place he had never seen, but he trusted God. He walked by faith. When Billy Graham traveled to those 185 different countries he knew where he was going and his traveling method was quite different from Abraham’s means of traveling. There was more to come that would test Abraham’s walk of faith. The greatest test of all was yet to come!
Genesis 22:2 “Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Wow! Amazing! But Abraham also had amazing faith in God. Hebrews 11:17-19 "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Abraham’s faith was so strong that he believed that God could or would raise his son Isaac from the dead! HOW’S THAT FOR FAITH?!
In Jesus our Lord,
Brown
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue, Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday 15, 2011
6 PM Gathering: Pizza,Chicken Wings, and Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by a local worship Team, and Dave Berry
Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,
Rev. Brown Naik,
Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PhD, Dean of Students at Binghamton University
Monday, January 10, 2011
Brown's Daily Word 1-10-11
Good morning,
Praise the Lord for another brand new week. The Lord blessed us with a very blessed weekend of worship and witness. Our friend Dave Hettinger preached during Saturday Evening worship at the First UMC, he also preached during the 8:30 worship. My wife preached at the Wesley UMC on Sunday, and I preached during 11:00 worship. We believe in the priesthood of all believers. We are so blessed that so many among us us are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are so saddened by the senseless tragedy that occurred in Arizona. May Jesus heal us and heal the nations. Let there be peace on earth.
Often I am saddened by the way our culture seduces us for entertainment. We all fall for the temptation. We want to be entertained 24 /7. Jesus came not to entertain us; He came to make us Holy and righteous. It is Satan who creates the craving in to be entrained. Our Lord was tempted to be entertained indeed. Jesus refused to be entertained for temporary pleasers. He came to make holy. The problem is that we have capitulated to the entertainment culture. Neil Postman summed up the entertainment culture in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death:
"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us."
I suggest that for the Church in N. America the danger is not that we will cease to exist due to persecution. The Church is in danger of entertaining itself out of existence.
How, then, are we to practically counter the temptations that we face on a daily basis? Jesus our Lord, dealt with each of these temptations by reorienting his life through God’s Word. Temptation focuses us on the immediate moment and not the ultimate consequences. He majors in the here and now. Temptation is Satan’s way of blinding us to God’s goal by blotting out everything except the NOW. How will this give me pleasure NOW? How will this satisfy me NOW? God’s Word refocuses us on our ultimate purpose and goal.
Soren Kirkegaard said: "I have learned to define my life backwards and live it forwards." That means that he defined his life by the goal and then moved towards it. Jesus, the conqueror of temptation, lives so that we now have the power of the Holy Spirit in us resisting the temptation so that we may live a life of victory and holiness.
What way to live?
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMCOyY0Rlus
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue , Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday 15, 2011
6 PM Gathering: Pizza,Chicken Wings and Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by a local worship Team, and Dave Berry
Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,
Rev. Brown Naik,
and Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PhD, Dean of Students at Binghamton University
Praise the Lord for another brand new week. The Lord blessed us with a very blessed weekend of worship and witness. Our friend Dave Hettinger preached during Saturday Evening worship at the First UMC, he also preached during the 8:30 worship. My wife preached at the Wesley UMC on Sunday, and I preached during 11:00 worship. We believe in the priesthood of all believers. We are so blessed that so many among us us are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are so saddened by the senseless tragedy that occurred in Arizona. May Jesus heal us and heal the nations. Let there be peace on earth.
Often I am saddened by the way our culture seduces us for entertainment. We all fall for the temptation. We want to be entertained 24 /7. Jesus came not to entertain us; He came to make us Holy and righteous. It is Satan who creates the craving in to be entrained. Our Lord was tempted to be entertained indeed. Jesus refused to be entertained for temporary pleasers. He came to make holy. The problem is that we have capitulated to the entertainment culture. Neil Postman summed up the entertainment culture in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death:
"What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us."
I suggest that for the Church in N. America the danger is not that we will cease to exist due to persecution. The Church is in danger of entertaining itself out of existence.
How, then, are we to practically counter the temptations that we face on a daily basis? Jesus our Lord, dealt with each of these temptations by reorienting his life through God’s Word. Temptation focuses us on the immediate moment and not the ultimate consequences. He majors in the here and now. Temptation is Satan’s way of blinding us to God’s goal by blotting out everything except the NOW. How will this give me pleasure NOW? How will this satisfy me NOW? God’s Word refocuses us on our ultimate purpose and goal.
Soren Kirkegaard said: "I have learned to define my life backwards and live it forwards." That means that he defined his life by the goal and then moved towards it. Jesus, the conqueror of temptation, lives so that we now have the power of the Holy Spirit in us resisting the temptation so that we may live a life of victory and holiness.
What way to live?
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMCOyY0Rlus
Saturday evening worship service.
Location: First United Methodist Church. Endicott
53 McKinley Avenue , Endicott.
Sponsored by the Union Center United Methodist Church, 128, Maple Drive, Endicott
Saturday 15, 2011
6 PM Gathering: Pizza,Chicken Wings and Coffee.
6:30 PM Worship Service
Worship Music by a local worship Team, and Dave Berry
Speakers: Rev. Bill Turner,
Rev. Brown Naik,
and Dr. Elizabeth Droz, PhD, Dean of Students at Binghamton University
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