Promises

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Bible Reading: Psalm 46:1-3, 10 “God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling…..10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Promises

Text: 2 Corinthians 1: 20

#1—Philippians 4:13

            Whatever might come along…….

            Infusions–

#2—Deuternonomy 31:6

            40 years of daily miracles–

#3—Jeremiah 29:11

            A promise given during tough times–

#4—Exodus 14:13-14

            Don’t freak out–

#5—2 Timothy 1:12

            I know—

            I have believed—

            That Day–

Living Hope

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been [c]grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”

Living Hope

Text: 1 Peter 1:3; 2:9, 24; 5:8-9

The Apostle Peter wrote this letter, from Rome, to Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). It was written about 30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. His intent was to encourage these believers as they faced severe persecution.

#1—The high price paid for our salvation demands our holy living.

1 Peter 1:13-16, 18-19.

#2—Believers are not just anybody.

1 Peter 2:9—

Ephesians 2:10—We are God’s “masterpiece” or “creative work.”

#3—Arguments interrupt our prayers.

1 Peter 3:8

#4—We are to rejoice even in hard times.

1 Peter 4:12-16

#5—Motives for service counts.

1 Peter 5:2

Difficult times will continue to come our way. But God is at work in those times to bring about victory and to work in our lives for good that honors Him!

Truth

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Bible Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Truth

Text: John 3:5-8

Look at all the new terms we’ve learned over the past year.

Fake news is not new. Jesus addresses the issue of “fake news” in his nighttime conversation with Nicodemus.

Nicodemus—A Pharisee; member of the Sanhedrin (The Sanhedrin was comprised of 70 Jewish men with the purpose of creating and enforcing Jewish Laws. In some ways, it was like a Congress/Supreme Court combo.

Jesus addresses the fake news by saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you.” Some versions of Scripture translate this as “verily, verily” or “I’m telling you the truth.”

Jesus is not asking Nicodemus to simply trust him. By saying, “verily, verily” Jesus is actually saying, “I know this firsthand.” It was part of Jesus’ claim to be God. Jesus is not merely aware of these truths; He is the One who originated them.

The Fake News—Salvation by works

The Truth—Salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Born of the water and the Spirit—

Ezekiel 36:23-27—

How to be “born again”—Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 10:9-10; Romans 10:13

The Characters of Easter–Jesus

Troy Mills Christian Church

Easter, April 4, 2021

Text: Isaiah 53:3-5

Bible Reading: Romans 6:8-11 “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Text: Isaiah 53:3-5—

          700 years before the birth of Jesus, Isaiah prophesied about his birth and his death.

          Old Testament prophets wrote in the “prophetic perfect tense.”

Griefs & Sorrows—

          Genesis 3—When sin entered the world.

Psalm 107:20—God sent His Word” and healed & delivered them.

          When God sends His Word, things happen.

1 John 3:8—Jesus, the Word, came to destroy the works of the devil.

Mark 1:40-45—If you are willing; I AM willing.

John 10:10 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

The Characters of Easter—Pilate

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Bible Reading: Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

The Characters of Easter—Pilate

Text: Galatians 4-5

Backstory—

          How things worked–

          Pilates’ hatred of the Jews—Luke 13:1

          Sandredin’s hatred of Jesus—John 7:1; John 11:49

          Lies—Luke 23:1; Mark 12:15-17

Pilates’ attempts to set Jesus free—

          Physical abuse—John 19:4

          Sent him to Herod—Luke 23:6-12

          Barabbas—

                    A murderer—Acts 3:14

                    An insurrectionist—Mark 15:7

Pilates’ disillusionment—John 18:38 “What is truth?”

The Characters of Easter—Judas

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Bible Reading: Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Text: Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Our Free Will–

John 13

          Washing of feet

          Sacredness of the table

          Jesus announces his betrayal.

John 13:26—

Judas, the disciple

          Matthew 10:2-4

          Note Matthew 10:1

          The Miracles

Judas the thief

          John 12:6

          Gospels written after the fact.

Judas the betrayer

          Matthew 26:14-16

          John 13:27

The Characters of Easter—John

Troy Mills Christian Church

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Isaiah 61:1-3 ““The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

The Characters of Easter—John

Text: 1 John 3:14-16

From fisherman to Apostle—Matthew 4:18-22.

          Zebedee—would have had to give his blessings.

From “Son of Thunder to Apostle of Love”

Mark 3:17–Jesus names John and his brother James—Boanerges, Sons of Thunder

          Luke 9:54—Willing to call fire down on a village in Samaria.

          Matthew 20:20–Requested positions of power in Jesus’ Kingdom.

          John and James’ mother, Salome, was a sister to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The Upper Room—John 13

          Jesus used the disciples’ fascination with who was the greatest (Mark 9:34) to teach      

          what it meant to serve one another.

          Philippians 2:5-11; Mark 10:45

John—author of 5 New Testament books; Elder of the Ephesian church; fisherman; sentenced to death in boiling oil; sentenced to the Island of Patmos; given of Jesus’ mother, Mary; last living Apostle; only Apostle to die of natural causes.

          Ecclesiastes 7:8a— “The end of a thing is better than its beginning.”

1 John 3:14-16—Two transitions:

          #1—From death to life—from self-serving to serving others.

          #2—Loving the brethren [others]

True living, really living, is a life spent serving others!

Do What with My Nets?

I have no doubt that the “Jonah & Sons” fishing company was one of, if not the premiere fishing enterprise on the Sea of Galilee.

Scripture makes it sound as if they had additional partners, at least they did until Jesus came by in Mark 1:16-18.

Several times in Scripture we are warned about trusting in our own abilities, or our own understanding. Solomon warned his son, three times in Proverbs about not putting your trust in yourself. (Proverbs 3:5-6; Proverbs 14:12; and Proverbs 16:25)

An observation I have made is that it is not a challenge for most of us to trust God for things we know little about or for things we have no abilities or prior experience in. But when it comes to things we have been “trained” in, or the things we have spent our lives doing, I have observed that often we jump in and rely upon our own devices rather than put our trust in God and follow His directives.

In first 8 verses of Luke 5, Peter, the fisherman, has a moment with Jesus, the Messiah, that was defining.

Peter had been fishing all night only to come up empty handed. After Jesus had completed his time of teaching from the boat, He tells Peter to cast out a little further from the shore and throw his nets in. Peter’s answer is a bit condescending to Jesus. He lets Jesus know they had already been fishing all night. After all, Peter was the professional fisherman, Jesus was a carpenter (stone mason). But, since you said so, here goes.

Read the results. Use your imagination about what happens when a fisherman listens to the Creator of the sea and the fish! The results speak for themselves.

Peter, the fisherman, the Apostle and follower of God learned a great lesson. It always pays to listen to what God says. (By the way, in the way of thinking of biblical times, listening and obeying were the same thing.)

As someone who has been around the block a couple of times, seen a lot, been privileged to do a lot, I am of the opinion I need to put my trust in the Creator now more than ever. I have no desire to simply repeat my experiences, even the good ones. This is a new day, a new time, we have never been this way before and God is wanting to do a new thing. So, we need to let go of the old. Listen to the words of the Creator.

I think Peter, the fisherman, the Apostle, and the follower of God would agree!

Always in Pursuit!

Don

A Faith of My Own

In a previous article, I mentioned how Peter came to faith based upon his brother, Andrews’ conviction that they had found the Messiah.

I can only imagine the many conversations they had about the coming of the Messiah as they were sailing on the Sea of Galilee, hauling in their nets, and then mending their nets in preparation for the next day’s work. I am sure they both shared their dreams about life with Messiah.

I know enough about Messianic expectations among the Jews that many had their own opinions of what Messiah would be. Some thought He might be a mighty warrior. Some thought he would be a great politician. Some believed he might be a combination of warrior and politician. I doubt that too many, if any, thought he would come as a baby in a manger, learn how to be a carpenter, then suffer crucifixion.

Many of us came to faith because of our parents, or grandparents. Some may have come to faith because of a sibling or close friend. We believe because they said to believe. But at some point, we need to own our belief. We need to know what and why we believe. He faith of our parents or grandparents will not sustain us. Andrew’s faith was not sufficient for Peter’s trial and tribulations later in life.

Peter found his own faith at some point. There was a time in John 6 when many who had followed Jesus, turned away from Him. Jesus asked the twelve if they wanted to leave too. Peter speaks up and says, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One (Messiah) of God.”

The capstone of Peter’s profession though is when Jesus asked the disciples about what they were hearing about who He was. Then He turned the tables on them and ask, “Who do you say I am?”

I can only imagine that Peter did not hesitate one nanosecond. He responded by saying, “You are the Messiah. The Son of the Living God.”

I cannot say for sure what it was that caused Peter to be so confident with his answer. Perhaps it was his experience in the boat with Jesus as recorded in Luke 5. Perhaps it was a miracle or two or perhaps it was a private conversation with Jesus. Whatever it was, Peter came to faith.

How about you? Are you living off someone else’s faith? A parent, grandparent, spouse, pastor? Jesus is asking you that same question he asked the twelve. Who do you say I am?

Always in Pursuit!

Don

“We Have Found the Messiah!”

These were the first words Andrew said to his brother, Simon, after he had encountered Jesus.

I have been intrigued with these words or perhaps better yet, I have been intrigued with the relationship between Simon and Andrew.

Nothing indicates whether Andrew was older or younger than Simon. But from Simon’s immediate reaction to Andrew’s words, he must have had a great deal of confidence in his sibling. After all, they were in business together, sailed the Sea of Galilee together and presumably shared a great faith in God thanks to their father, Jonah. Simon’s faith in Jesus as the Messiah was initially based upon Andrews’ faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Andrews’ faith in Jesus as the Messiah was based upon John the Baptizer’s faith in Jesus as the Messiah. But there must have been something, early on, that caused Andrew to leave John the Baptizer and become convinced that Jesus truly was the Messiah.

But Simon also left everything, as Andrew had done, to follow Jesus.

At some point, Simon started believing in Jesus as the Messiah on his own, rather than basing his belief upon Andrew’s faith. But isn’t that how it works?

I came to faith via the faith of my parents and grandparents. But at some point, it became my faith. Their influence was stimulus used by the Holy Spirit to get me started but their faith would not be enough to sustain me.

I have often wondered about this influence thing. Who would drop what they are doing, follow Christ, based upon my words or my life?

If the answer is “0” then I need to ask, “What needs to change in my life?” How about you? Who are you influencing to follow Jesus?

Three Scriptures:

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth.”

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world.”

Esther 4:14 “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

Always in Pursuit!

Don