Good morning,
Praise the Lord for this last day of February. Praise the Lord for this season of Lent in the Church Calendar. We are called to pause and ponder on Jesus our Lord, who went to the Cross. He came, He saw, and He conquered. We will not meet for our Mid-week gathering this Evening. We will gather for the Weekend services starting Saturday Evening at 6.00 PM.
I conducted a service of death and resurrection this past Monday for a woman who died last weekend.. She was 76 years old. She was blessed with 5 children, 15 grand children, and 15 great grand children. It was a very large gathering. During the visiting hours I discovered that three were 3 couples whom I had joined in marriage. One couple shared with me that their entire family loves the Lord. Each one of them is involved in serving Christ. That gives them great joy. The wife is involved in the music ministry. Her husband goes on short term missions. Their son is involved in the local missions. They were recounting the blessings and the faithlessness of Jesus in their lives. The wife shared with me that she has a great burden and passion share Christ with others, that they might discover the life, joy, and power Christ alone offers.
Last Sunday after the worship service one of the saints of the Lord poured out to me about her great burden to Share Christ to every one. She shared about the events that are unfolding the Moslem world and in the middle East. In the light of all that is unfolding we need to be passionate in offering Christ to the very needy world around us. I shared with her that the record of the world history and the chronology of the world events tell us that the kings and queens, presidents, autocrats, and tyrants do not rule the world. It is Jesus our Lord who is the ruler of the earth. "He rules the world, with truth and Grace" “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” I was provoked and challenged to be faithful to Christ in His claim on me and in His call to me.
One powerful passage is found in Romans 5:1-5, which says that because of our faith in Christ, we have four things:
1. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. We have access to God.
3. We have the joy of God.
4. We have the love of God.
Verse five says that God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit so that we can love Him and love others the way we were always intended to love!
Romans 5:6-7. "You see, at just the right time, while we were still powerless, CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY!" He died for our sins just when we needed him most. It’s very rare that a person would be willing to die for us.
Romans 5:8 says "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Because Jesus died for our sins, we are justified before God. Verse 9 says "Since we have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him." Because Jesus died for our sins, we are justified before God. Furthermore, we are reconciled to God.
Romans 5:6-7. "You see, at just the right time, while we were still powerless, CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY!" He died for our sins just when we needed him most. It’s very rare that a person would be willing to die for us.
Romans 5:8 says "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Because Jesus died for our sins, we are justified before God. Verse 9 says "Since we have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him." Because Jesus died for our sins, we are justified before God. Furthermore, we are reconciled to God.
I was reading about a 4th century monk named Telemachus, who visited Rome and saw gladiators fighting and killing each other in the coliseum. He thought to himself, “Four centuries after Christ and people are still killing each other, for enjoyment?” He jumped over the railing and went out into the middle of the field, got between two gladiators, held up his hands and said “In the name of Christ, forbear.”
The crowd protested and began to shout, “Run him through! Run him through!” A gladiator came over and hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword. It sent him sprawling in the sand. He got up and ran back and again said, “In the name of Christ, forbear.”
The crowd continued to chant, “Run him through.” One gladiator came over and plunged his sword through the little monk’s stomach and he fell into the sand, which turned crimson with his blood. One last time he gasped out, “In the name of Christ forbear.” A hush came over the 80,000 people in the coliseum. Soon a man stood and left, then another and more, and within minutes all 80,000 had emptied out of the arena. It was the last known gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.
With one act of bold kindness, Telemachus put an end to the hostilities. That is what Jesus did for us on the cross. Colossians 1:20 says that Jesus made peace between us and God with His blood, shed on the cross.
The crowd protested and began to shout, “Run him through! Run him through!” A gladiator came over and hit him in the stomach with the back of his sword. It sent him sprawling in the sand. He got up and ran back and again said, “In the name of Christ, forbear.”
The crowd continued to chant, “Run him through.” One gladiator came over and plunged his sword through the little monk’s stomach and he fell into the sand, which turned crimson with his blood. One last time he gasped out, “In the name of Christ forbear.” A hush came over the 80,000 people in the coliseum. Soon a man stood and left, then another and more, and within minutes all 80,000 had emptied out of the arena. It was the last known gladiatorial contest in the history of Rome.
With one act of bold kindness, Telemachus put an end to the hostilities. That is what Jesus did for us on the cross. Colossians 1:20 says that Jesus made peace between us and God with His blood, shed on the cross.
In Christ,
Brown
Friday March 2, 2012
Television Outreach
Time Warner Cable Channel 4
Time 7:00 PM
Saturday Evening Worship Service:
Location: First United Methodist Church
53 McKinley Avenue
Endicott, NY
Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist Church
Time: 6:00 PM gathering for Coffee Fellowship
6:30 PM Worship Service
Date: Saturday, March 3, 2012
Speaker: Rev. Brown Naik
Special Music by Laureen Naik,. For information, call 607-748-6329
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