Daily Encouragement Net
The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.

Join our email list!
About Us     ListenListen to these messages    Archives


Mobile users: Visit Daily Encouragement on your mobile browser, hit "Add to home screen" or "Add page shortcut." This creates an instant Daily Encouragement App!

Donate to Daily Encouragement Net

Search Daily Encouragement
A new message is updated most weekdays usually by Noon Eastern Time (USA).
(Click refresh or reload for current message)

<Previous message                  Next message

Friday, July 8, 2022

Lancaster County farm scene
This is the view at the end of our road where we get on Donegal Springs Road. The wheat was recently harvested giving a great color contrast to the farm setting.
Click on photo to enlarge

"To Save Sinners"

Message summary: Christ said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). The process of salvation begins when we acknowledge our sin and realize our need for God’s forgiveness. Today, we challenge all of you who read this message to examine your life. Have you acknowledged your sinfulness and come to the Savior for forgiveness of sins?

Listen to audio message
Listen to this message on your audio player.

"It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Timothy 1:15).

On this date (July 8) in 1741 Jonathan Edwards stepped behind the pulpit of the church he served in Enfield, Connecticut and methodically delivered what many consider the single most famous sermon ever preached in America. He didn't have the benefit of sound amplification, powerpoint slides, let alone flashy lighting like they have in many churches now.

Here is a description of Edward’s preaching style: By all accounts his delivery was not sensational or emotional. It was not due to theatrics. One observer wrote, "He scarcely gestured or even moved, and he made no attempt by the elegance of his style or the beauty of his pictures to gratify the taste and fascinate the imagination." Instead he convinced "with overwhelming weight of argument and with such intensity of feeling".

The sermon had a title that it is hard to imagine being used today, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. But the astounding conviction from the Holy Spirit that came over the assembled listeners that day had a powerful and lasting impact. People wept and cried out to God for mercy and many were saved. The next several years America experienced a sweeping revival known initially as "The Great Awakening” (later called First Great Awakening).

The Meeting House itself where Edwards preached burned down in 1775 and only a small, engraved stone now marks the spot where it once stood. Brooksyne and I have prayed at that very spot and reaffirmed our commitment to faithfully serve God in our generation. Sadly most of the churches influenced by that great awakening have long since fallen from the faith.

In America from the early to mid-1800’s there was another period of revival known as the “Second Great Awakening” and some consider a period later in the 1800’s as the "Third Great Awakening".

Many are crying out to the Lord for another Great Awakening as the only hope for stalling our country’s rapidly increasing slide into apostasy. Among the foundational characteristics of any true revival or awakening will be the acknowledgment of sin and our need for Jesus, our redeeming Savior, to forgive and cleanse us from our sin.

Some of our readers will recall an old hymn:

Such love, such wondrous love
Such love, such wondrous love
That God should love a sinner such as I
How wonderful is love like this.

In our age of emphasis on human worth and self-esteem we tend to avoid labeling people, especially calling them a sinner. The label "sinner" is very politically incorrect, and seen by many as offensive, intolerant and judgmental.

Our short daily text is considered by many commentators to be part of an early church creedal statement. "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Timothy 1:15).

There are 5 trustworthy statements in the subsection of books known as the Pastoral Epistles (1&2 Timothy and Titus) that would have been familiar to the early church as summaries of key doctrines. Bible teacher Kenneth Wuest notes that "trustworthy" is a word worthy of unqualified acceptance. The Amplified Bible states, "The saying is sure and true and worthy of full and universal acceptance". The trustworthy statement here in 1 Timothy 1:15 has been called "the Gospel in miniature". You can stake your life (in time and eternity) on this trustworthy statement! (Precept Austin online commentary).

Throughout the Holy Scriptures "sinner" is a designation often used to describe the fallen human race. The desperate appeal from the tax collector to Jesus  was, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13). A short, concise Bible verse many of us have memorized puts it this way: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Christ said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). Indeed the process of salvation begins when we acknowledge our sin and realize our need for God’s forgiveness. Today, we challenge all of you who read this message to examine your life. Have you acknowledged your sinfulness and come to the Savior for forgiveness of sins?

If so proclaim with us,

That God should love a sinner such as I
How wonderful is love like this.


Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Praying manDaily prayer: Father, we come to you as sinners; poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore, weary and wounded by the fall. How eternally grateful we are that Jesus stands ready to save us and empower us through His mighty Holy Spirit. As we arise and go to Him He embraces us with His loving compassion, and complete pardon for our sins. In Him we have unending blessings both now and forevermore. Amen.

Prayer inspired by the hymn, “Come Ye Sinners”



Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Such Love"  Video  Congregational singing

"Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy"  Video  The Worship Initiative

"Chain Breaker"  Video  Zach Williams

Lancaster County Amish Country Drive  Video  I came across this recently published video that merely takes you on a country ride through Lancaster County. Interestingly we are familiar with almost every part of the ride as for many years we have had various chaplaincy locations in this part of the country. Through the years we have posted many photos from this area.

Weber's at spot where Jonathan Edwards preached "Sinner's In The Hands Of An Angry God"
Years ago we had an opportunity to visit the very site where Edwards preached the sermon, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God" on July 8, 1741.

Stone marking location where Jonathan Edwards preached "Sinners in the hands of an angry God"
The meeting house burned down in the years following the message but this small stone marks the location where Jonathan Edwards preached.
Click on photo to enlarge

If you care to do so you can read Jonathan Edward's sermon here. Warning: It's not "seeker friendly"

Lancaster County farm scene
Here's another farm scene from yesterday about 3 miles west of us on Beatty's Tollgate Road. The bluff in the distance is on the other side of the Susquehanna River in York County.

Contact Us

Weber couple photo 7/3/22
About Us

"We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!"

 
Personal Ministry Update

Sign up to receive our free

Daily Encouragement email!

(each weekday)

We respect your email privacy


To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday use our sign-up form or this page to subscribe to our free email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the top right side after opening this page.)



Daily Encouragement on:  Daily Encouragement on LinkedInWordpress Daily Encouragement on iHeart radio iHeart radio



Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.



Donate to Daily Encouragement Net
We want to thank all who financially support our ministry. We realize there are many fine ministries and causes requesting support but if you would like to make a donation to our ministry see here for more information.

To donate directly online click here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: STEPHEN & BROOKSYNE WEBER - 700001-237376 SERVING IN SPECIALIZED CHAPLAINCY

Make A DonationPlease Note: If you desire you can donate directly through PayPal using this link. This will open to a page that states "Brooksyne Weber".  We keep this option available due to the familiarity, convenience, international supporters, and for those who may not need an official receipt. You can also set up for recurring donations. You can also use PayPal on this link. 

Thank you,

Stephen & Brooksyne



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."



 
© Copyright 2022 Stephen C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552  USA


dailyencouragement.net

Contact Us

"Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation"