A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Monday, December
3, 2018
Harvest
time is drawing to an end for this season but this
Amish farmer was still hauling hay on Millport Road in
Lampeter Township on Friday.
"To
Seek And To Save"
Message
summary: This
is the very heart of the
mission. Jesus "came to
seek and to save the
lost." He accomplished
that mission. Now all
who call upon the Lord
in earnest faith will be
saved.
Note:
Brooksyne had an
early morning meeting
today and frankly I have
not been feeling well
(upset stomach) so we
forgo the podcast
reading for today's
message.
"For the
Son of Man came to
seek and to save the
lost” (Luke 19:10).
Yesterday our pastor preached from the account of Zacchaeus which he admitted seemed an unusual text to begin a Christmas series but by the time he was finished it was very clear how it was.
The
pastor showed a
graphic yesterday
asking us to picture
Zacchaeus in the
nativity scene, one
who Jesus had come to
seek and save. I'll go
farther and urge you
to place yourself in
that scene. Jesus
continues to seek and
to save the lost.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Loving Father, You
rescued us from the
dominion of darkness
and transferred us
into the kingdom of
Your Son in whom we
have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins.
Where would we be
today without the
redemptive work of
Jesus who bore the
pain and disgrace of
our sins that we might
be forgiven and
receive eternal life.
We give You praise now
and forevermore
through Christ Jesus
our Lord in whose name
we pray. Amen.
Yesterday
began the first Sunday
of Advent, a period
when many churches
typically begin to
place a focus on the
events concerning the
birth of Christ. The
first Christmas songs
of the season may also
be used and many
churches use a series
leading up to
Christmas Sunday. Our
church began one
titled "Come Near".
From a
preaching perspective
it can be a
challenging time.
People expect and we
want to preach on this
theme yet the Biblical
narratives concerning
the human dimension of
Christ's birth only
take up several
chapters in Matthew
and Luke's gospels and
most people who have
been in church are
pretty familiar with
that part of the
Bible. So we seek to
be creative yet
Biblically faithful
You, oh
Lord, have made a
way
The great divide You heal
For when our hearts were far away
Your love went further still
Yes, your love goes further still
The great divide You heal
For when our hearts were far away
Your love went further still
Yes, your love goes further still
Yesterday our pastor preached from the account of Zacchaeus which he admitted seemed an unusual text to begin a Christmas series but by the time he was finished it was very clear how it was.
The entire
account is found in Luke
19:1-10, a
portion of the Bible
dealing with Christ's
final journey to
Jerusalem some 33 year
after His birth. Now
Zacchaeus, as many of
you know was "a wee
little man" who
climbed a Sycamore
tree to see Jesus as
He passed by. He was a
deeply loathed chief
tax collector and
perhaps the last
person the crowd would
expect Jesus to give
any attention to.
That's sure what the
observers thought.
Jesus called Him out
of that tree and
invited Himself over
to his house, which
culturally seems very
unusual to us!
Zacchaeus
demonstrated his
earnest desire to
change and the portion
ends with a great
purpose statement by
Jesus. "For the
Son of Man came to
seek and to save the
lost” (Luke 19:10).
This is the
very heart of the
mission. Jesus "came
to seek and to save
the lost." He
accomplished that
mission. Now all who
call upon the Lord in
earnest faith will be
saved.
The
pastor showed a
graphic yesterday
asking us to picture
Zacchaeus in the
nativity scene, one
who Jesus had come to
seek and save. I'll go
farther and urge you
to place yourself in
that scene. Jesus
continues to seek and
to save the lost. He "gave
Himself for our sins
to rescue us from the
present evil age"
(Galatians 1:4). In
virtually all search
and rescue operations
the one(s) being
sought after are
desperately wanting to
be rescued. But in the
divine search and
rescue mission many
choose to remain in
their sins and lost
condition. They
essentially reject the
outstretched Hand of
rescue.
We can all say the words to John Newton's great hymn. "I once was lost but now I'm found, I once was blind and now I see"!
We can all say the words to John Newton's great hymn. "I once was lost but now I'm found, I once was blind and now I see"!
You alone
can rescue, You
alone can save
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us, led us out of death
To You alone belongs the highest praise
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us, led us out of death
To You alone belongs the highest praise
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Loving Father, You
rescued us from the
dominion of darkness
and transferred us
into the kingdom of
Your Son in whom we
have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins.
Where would we be
today without the
redemptive work of
Jesus who bore the
pain and disgrace of
our sins that we might
be forgiven and
receive eternal life.
We give You praise now
and forevermore
through Christ Jesus
our Lord in whose name
we pray. Amen.Special
Year-end Financial Appeal:
We want to thank all who
have financially supported our
ministry this past year (and some for
many years!). We realize there are many
fine ministries and causes requesting
support at this time but if the Lord
would lead you we surely need and
appreciate the financial support from
our readers and listeners. Like
many ministries, we typically see a
spike in giving at the end of the year
for which we are most thankful.
Our ministry labor is comprised of approximately half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies for which we receive compensation. Each of these ministries essentially is the same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of us. Our goal for many years is that each would provide half of our ministry expenses and income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
Please Note:
We also provide this easy option due
to the convenience, for
international supporters, and for
those who may not be concerned
regarding receiving an official tax
deductible receipt.
Click here
to send an offering using PayPal.
This will open to a page that states
"Brooksyne Weber"
Thank you
Our ministry labor is comprised of approximately half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies for which we receive compensation. Each of these ministries essentially is the same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of us. Our goal for many years is that each would provide half of our ministry expenses and income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
Please Note:
We also provide this easy option due
to the convenience, for
international supporters, and for
those who may not be concerned
regarding receiving an official tax
deductible receipt.
Click here
to send an offering using PayPal.
This will open to a page that states
"Brooksyne Weber"Thank you
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"You
Alone Can Rescue" Video
Matt Redman
Finally today:
Like many churches
Calvary Church seeks to control
the drum volume by using a
plexiglass enclosed
_______ (whatever they call it).
When I saw this yesterday I
recalled a new Babylon Bee
article titled, "Church
Commits To Using Only
Cage-Free Drummers By 2025"
(This is satire!)
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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