Praise the Lord
for this Friday. Sunday is coming. Praise the Lord for these summer days. The
Lord has placed an open door that we might worship and serve Him.
The Church of
Jesus Christ affirms, "I believe in the communion of saints." The Bible tells us
that we are all called to be saints. If you have come to Christ for forgiveness
and newness of life then, in spite of your imperfections, you are in the family
of the forgiven, and you are a saint. Saints are mentioned 60 times in the New
Testament, and each time this term applies to ordinary Christians who have
turned their lives over to Jesus Christ, and who are living for him in their own
imperfect way. The Greek term for saint is hagios and comes from the word
meaning “to be holy”. In biblical use when something was holy it meant that it
was “set aside” for a special purpose. Objects in the temple were said to be
holy, but a candle stick is not a moral being. These objects were holy because
they were set apart exclusively for God’s use and purposes. We are saints, not
when we reach perfection, but when our lives have been set apart for God to be
used exclusively for his purposes. We celebrate our life In Jesus Christ. We
praise the Lord the way we can share the gift of Christian life and fellowship
with those love Christ and serve Him around the corner and around the globe.
Sunita and Andy
will be arriving back to Washington today after being away for six weeks. They
had a blessed time doing life in Albania because of Christ who is all over the
world. During my travels around the world I have been so privileged to meet
people who have put their faith in Christ and love Him and serve Him.
For a short time
today, we are going to host a young Christian family from Colorado, who will be
visiting Cooperstown, NY. They are flying in to the Greater Binghamton Airport.
Alice is preparing Home Made New York Pizza for this family. We have never met
them before. I just saw their family picture on Face Book last night. Praise the
Lord for the church of Jesus Christ around the corner and around the world.
The
early church had a spirit of love and caring that we still strive for today.
“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his
possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power
the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and
much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them....” (Acts
4:32-34). The Bible says that they enjoyed the favor of all the people (Acts
2:47).
In the second chapter of Acts we read: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (2:42).
In the second chapter of Acts we read: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (2:42).
The times when I
have grown the most have been those times when I have been in worship, or a
small group, when someone has asked for prayer because of some besetting sin,
some persistent temptation or failing, some fault or shortcoming, because it
dawned on me that I was not the only one who had problems in those areas.
The Bible
describes what our privileged relationship with other Christians should be like:
“If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
If you are walking in the light, if you are having fellowship with other
Christians, if the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed you from your sin then you
are a saint, and a member of the family of God.
The Bible says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24,25).
The Bible says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24,25).
See you in
church,
Brown
Super
Summer Music Festival
Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 6:30
PM
Location: First United Methodist
Church
53
McKinley Avenue, Endicott
Sponsored by: Union Center United Methodist
Church
Musicians include: Aric Phinney, Yancey
Moore,
David
Berry, Emma Brunson, Dianne Glann
Weekly Television outreach:
Friday
7:00 PM
Time
Warner Cable Channel 4.
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