1 Thessalonians 4:1 Therefore, brothers, just as you learned from us how you had to live in order to please God, and just as you are living this way now, we ask you — indeed, united with the Lord Yeshua, we urge you — to keep doing so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Yeshua. 3 What God wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to manage his sexual impulses in a holy and honorable manner, 5 without giving in to lustful desires, like the pagans who don’t know God. 6 No one should wrong his brother in this matter or take advantage of him, because the Lord punishes all who do such things — as we have explained to you before at length. 7 For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one. 8 Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh, which is his.*******
9 Concerning love for the brothers we do not need to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other; 10 and you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do it even more.
11 Also, make it your ambition to live quietly, to mind your own business and to earn your living by your own efforts — just as we told you. 12 Then your daily life will gain the respect of outsiders, and you will not be dependent on anyone.
13 Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people 14 do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died. 15 When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; 17 then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other with these words. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Story of Ellen MaleyMatthew 28
She is moving to Paris, France through Envision through the Christian Missionary Alliance Church
A key urban center
110+ people groups
Less than 1% are Christian
1 church for 30,000 people in France
People believe they do not need religion but they do need to build relationship with each other
"Innovate, establush, and strengthen coomunitues of faith in key urban environments"
People in France are hungry for relationships
She has to raise $3000 per month for living expenses
Her goal for January 2019 is $14,000.
You may give monthly or pray or just join her team.
Sermon through Pastor Jeff Jimenez
Preparation for teaching or preaching for him which is shared with us
Actually there is more here than meets the eye. This more than about being sexual moral and not sexual immoral but is how we treat other people especially the weak
It is God's will that we be sanctified in order to grow to be more lije Jesus
This is all done by the power of the Holy Spirit not in our own power
There are many definitions of sexual immorality- from the Greek this is marriage between one man and one woman. I understand this, but how would God relate to people committed for life to one person whether opposite sex or same sex?
Why does Paul's emphasis on sex?
The practice that existed in Thessilonica
Paul is saying that married people to be faithful to your spouse while single people need to be faithful to God and to be remaining sexual holy and moral.
In our current culture, sex is viewed as a right whether married or single.
Richard Foster says sex is like a river. In control it is beautiful, unctrolled it is dangerous.
Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians to remain pure.
How do we remain pure sexually while disregarding other people such those who have an impairment to keep from God and His church using their God given gifts and graces?
You cannot be holy while living in sin.
Any struggle with pornography is hard on our own, but we need God and others to live holy lives exempt from sexual immorality.
Too often the church has failed when they tell people you are becoming whole in sex within marriage, but in reality we are able be whole whether single or married in the completeness of a relationship with God through Jesus. The meaning of life is to please God in everything we do. This is also in how we relate to other people who are different than we are especially people with impairments. The greatest San Diego has to offer people is in our relationship with God through Jesus but too often we miss this because we want to live our way rather than Gos's way. We are called to serve others and God is not to benefit ourselves, but to benefit God and other people.
True freedom is being able to lmeae God in all we say and do. How do we please God? To live in obedience to His Holy Spirit in evetything we are, do, and say. The truth is that we need Jesus' Spirit to fully guide us to live more and more like Jesus. Jesus meets us where we are to lead us out of sin to live the Holy lives He calls us to live. This is not done alone but we need other people with God. Jesus lived a sinless life, killed and died on the cross, and resurrection on the third day to give His power to us to live Holy lived.
We come and pray to seek God through receiving His body and blood in the Holy Eucharist then prayer and benediction in word and singing sending us foreward to live Holy lives by Jesus' Power and Spirit.
***
Mount Carmel Church of the Nazarene in San Diego, California, United States for Sunday, 22 July 2018 with Pastors Jeremy & Chelsea Peugh
"Our God is Relational"
Romans 8:26-39
Romans 8:26 Similarly, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we don’t know how to pray the way we should. But the Spirit himself pleads on our behalf with groanings too deep for words; 27 and the one who searches hearts knows exactly what the Spirit is thinking, because his pleadings for God’s people accord with God’s will. 28 Furthermore, we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called in accordance with his purpose; 29 because those whom he knew in advance, he also determined in advance would be conformed to the pattern of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers; 30 and those whom he thus determined in advance, he also called; and those whom he called, he also caused to be considered righteous; and those whom he caused to be considered righteous he also glorified!31 What, then, are we to say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare even his own Son, but gave him up on behalf of us all — is it possible that, having given us his Son, he would not give us everything else too? 33 So who will bring a charge against God’s chosen people? Certainly not God — he is the one who causes them to be considered righteous! 34 Who punishes them? Certainly not the Messiah Yeshua, who died and — more than that — has been raised, is at the right hand of God and is actually pleading on our behalf! 35 Who will separate us from the love of the Messiah? Trouble? Hardship? Persecution? Hunger? Poverty? Danger? War? 36 As the Tanakh puts it,
“For your sake we are being put to death all day long,
we are considered sheep to be slaughtered.”[Romans 8:36 Psalm 44:23(22)]
37 No, in all these things we are superconquerors, through the one who has loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers, neither what exists nor what is coming, 39 neither powers above nor powers below, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which comes to us through the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord. (Complete Jewish Bible).
This week has been a week of reflection.
Remembering the times walking on the beach sharing stories together.
With marriage we begin with passionate love leading to companion love.
What does relationship really mean?
Building relationships take time and effort.
Gos's relationship with tge Israelites.
Jesus did thibgs in relationship, not alone.
The disciples were first students, failed, Jesus called them to be His disciples.
This passage in Romans 8 is relationship passage.
A quote by C.S. Lewus from "Mere Christianity".
Coming to Jesus, He moves in and we realize we need change.
Paul is convinced that salvation is for this life.
In some in the Jewish tradition some believe therd is no life after death, but otherd do.
In Paul's day, one in 200 are Christians, while today in the United States there is 1 out of 3 who are Christian.
The early church fathers, mostly wrote on waiting. Today, Christian writings are mostly on evangelism.
God comes to us to say He wants to be with us to allow us to get to know Him.
When we want to be in relationship with someone, we will do anything to build relationship with someone. God wants this kind of relationship with us which he will do anything to build relationship with us.
A quote from James E. Faust.
True love has what to do what I want to please others.
What we learn from a relational God:
1. Learn to practice patience. Psalm 42:9.
2. Learn to work for hope.
God has Wisdom and He gives us hope.
3. Learn to practice unity. God has called us to be together because we are not solo Christians.
4. Learn to Work for peace. Peace us not absence of violence, but peace is the opposite violence. Our job is yo Imitate God.
5. Learn to pray. Pray is a two way conversation with God in listening and speaking. Prayer is how we can see what God is doing. Always remember God loves us and has hope.
Think about this Marcus Borg:
God loves us already and has from our very beginning. The Christian life is not about believing or doing what we need to believe or do so that we can be saved. Rather, it's about seeing what is already true that God loves us already and then beginning to live in this relationship. It is about becoming conscious of and intentional about a deepening relationship with God. (Marcus Borg).
God saves us from what will destroys us.
Prayer Beneduction Sending Forth.
***
No comments:
Post a Comment