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Bible teaching
ministry of
Stephen &
Brooksyne
Weber
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Wednesday,
April 3, 2024
"Jesus'
Resurrection,
The
Foundation Of
Our Faith"
Message
summary:
Let
us place our
faith in the
truth of the
resurrection,
the foundation
of our faith!
Listen
to our message
on your audio
player.
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:1-4).
"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:1-4).
Over
the last few
days I
inquired with
several
whether they
were in church
this last
Sunday morning
and then asked
them, "What
did your
pastor preach
on?" (I of
course had a
pretty good
idea of what
it would be.)
One
response was
from Brian, a
man who has
been attending
a church I had
recommended
several years
ago. He has
become a
steady
attender and
Christ-follower.
His response
to my question
was, "He
preached about
Jesus raising
from the dead!"
Which of
course is the
answer I had
expected. It's
hard to
imagine any
church not
proclaiming
that bedrock
truth on
Easter Sunday!
But sadly it
does happen.
Bob,
a longtime
friend of
ours, shared
about his
first Easter
service. He
was responding
to a point I
had made in
Monday's
message about
having a "bad"
Easter
service. Here
was his email:"'YES,'
we DID have a
"BAD" Easter
Service!
At Easter 1970
in Monroe,
Connecticut,
54 years ago!
Linda (my
wife) had been
saved in High
Point, NC in
1969. We moved
to CT in 1970,
and the girls
and I were
still not
saved!
Easter
Sunday, she
suggested we
go to a church
(evangelical
in name) "for
the girls'
sake!"
The
only thing I
remember about
the service
was that the
Pastor
"preached"
(spoke) about
the ROAD
CONSTRUCTION
to be coming
soon in front
of the
church!
Linda
was distraught
as she was
expecting her
family to hear
the Gospel and
get saved,
too!"
Well five years later Bob got saved when he was 34 years old listening to a sermon by Billy Graham. He and Linda have been our friends now for some 40 years.
This
last Sunday
our pastor,
like most,
preached on
the
resurrection
using Romans
1:1-4 as his
main text. His
main point was
the truth of
the
resurrection
as a literal
historical
event that is
foundational
to the
Christian
faith.
He
stressed that
the vital
decision we
all must make
is whether we
believe this
truth or not.
Perhaps
knowing many
visitors were
present as a
means of
honoring their
parents rather
than by
conviction,
inevitably
there would be
some who've
been deeply
hurt in the
past by a
church
member(s) or a
bad experience
with a church.
Pastor made
his appeal to
this unnamed
group of
visitors to
consider the
truth of the
message rather
than the
deficiencies
of the
messengers
using in our
view a very
effective
illustration.
On
March 1st he
rented a cello
and set out to
learn a short
piece from a
composition by
the famous
German
composer
Johann
Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750).
He surprised
the
congregation
(and even his
own family who
were unaware
of his venture
which involved
a lot of time
and
discipline).
Pastor Beau
has an
athletic
background and
is not
musical. But
he proceeded
to play a
portion of the
composition
(video below).
He did a
pretty good
job for only a
month of
practice and
we sure
admired his
monumental
effort.
However his
point was
this: it would
be wrong to
blame the
composer or
his original
composition
for any
deficiencies
in the way he
played Bach's
composition to
the cellos.Likewise
how many focus
on the
deficiencies
of the church
and Christ's
followers
(which we all
have) when our
focus should
be on the
foundational
truth of the
Gospel, the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ!
All
of us have
been hurt in
one way or
another and
probably more
than a few of
us have hurt
others as a
deficient
witness for
Christ.
Pastor's
sermon reminds
us as
believers that
we should
always seek to
"be an
example of the
believers, in
word, in
conversation,
in charity, in
spirit, in
faith, in
purity" (I
Timothy
4:12b).
Let
us place our
faith in the
truth of the
resurrection,
the foundation
of our faith!
Stephen
&
Brooksyne
Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, how
grateful we
are that Your
provision of
salvation is
powerful, life
changing,
gives us
abundant life
here and now,
and also
eternal
benefits for
all who come
by faith. We
thank You for
the messenger
who brought
the salvation
message to our
attention.
Tragically,
some of those
very
messengers
have stumbled
along the way
and brought
reproach on
the name of
Christ and His
church. Their
ungodly
behavior has
influenced
others who
have also
stumbled and
lost their
way, no longer
desiring to
follow after
You. We pray
for these whom
we know, some
who are are
even family
members, that
they would
look past the
imperfect
messenger and
remember the
message of
salvation,
that Christ
came to save
us from our
sins and rose
from the dead.
Help us to fix
our eyes on
Jesus, the
sinless Lamb
of God, so
that we remain
faithful to
You. It isn't
the messenger
that changes
our lives and
destiny, but
it is the
message
presented by
You - our gift
of salvation.
"For Christ
also suffered
once for sins,
the righteous
for the
unrighteous,
that He might
bring us to
God, being put
to death in
the flesh but
made alive in
the spirit" (I
Peter 3:18).Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental
Resources
Here
is the part of
the service
this last
Sunday cued to
where our
pastor plays
the cello as
an
illustration.
Watch
on YouTube
It includes
the portion of
the message
needed to
introduce the
purpose of the
illustration."The
Old Violin"
Watch
on YouTube
Edward
Menaldino This
song is not
related to the
message but
this song came
to mind since
Edward
Menaldino, who
is now with
the Lord,
spoke a very
encouraging
word to me as
a young pastor
when I was
being
interviewed
for ordination
in 1979. "Therefore,
my beloved
brethren, be
ye stedfast,
unmoveable,
always
abounding in
the work of
the Lord,
forasmuch as
ye know that
your labour is
not in vain in
the Lord"
(1 Corinthians
15:58). Now
that's a truth
I also like to
encourage
others with!
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Weber
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To
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(This will
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Stephen and
Brooksyne
Weber -
700001-237376
serving in
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Encouragement
is our
endorsed
special
chaplaincy
ministry).Thank
you,
Stephen & Brooksyne
Stephen & Brooksyne
2024
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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 and a variety of other versions.
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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