|
Good Wednesday Dear Church,
I am very excited, because tonight we are beginning our Wed. Night Bible study on the book of Romans. Centuries ago, a young man named John went to a Bible study on the book of Romans in the city of London. As he began to hear about the contents of Romans, he felt his heart "strangely warmed" and he was truly converted. John Wesley would go on to preach the gospel to thousands and thousands. It was in reading the book of Romans that Martin Luther, the Father of the Reformation came to see the great love of God for humanity. It was about the book of Romans that John Calvin said, "When any one gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture." In my own personal devotions, I try to spend time every year meditating on and reading through the book of Romans. Needless to say, I am very excited to read through Romans 1:1-7 tonight at 6 PM! And we would love to have you join us! In Christ, Pastor Matt Good Afternoon Dear Christians,
I hope this Wednesday is treating you well! Today as we're preparing for our last study on the End Times, I am struck by the confidence that believers can have in the return of Christ. As Peter says in 1 Pet 1:13, "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." I think this is an incredibly practical and comforting doctrine. When life is overwhelming, when you don't know what is headed your way tomorrow, when you don't know how you're going to face tomorrow, you can have hope. As my old pastor used to say, "Hope is faith stretched out." Hope is when we can have certainty not only in what Christ has done in the past, but in what Christ will do in the future. We can look forward to Christ's return with joy, expectation, faith, confidence, and above all, hope. While we might not know all the details, we can have all hope in all that Christ will do in the future. Tonight at 6 PM, if you want to know more about the hope that we have in Christ's return, we would love to have you join us! In Christ, Pastor Matt P.S. As we've been announcing, we have moved our online home for Sunday Services from Facebook Live to Youtube. Next time you see Tony & Leesa Huddleston, please give them a big thank you for this practical way they serve our church family! Good Afternoon Dear Church,
I hope and pray that you are having a wonderful Fall day! I love this time of year, when the leaves start changing, the fire pits start burning, and the apple cider starts flowing. And this makes me think of what I was reading this morning in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. There is a "time" and a "season" for everything. There is a time for Summer, and (thank the Lord!), a time for Fall, a time for Winter, and then a time for Spring. There is a time for "joy" and a time for sorrow. Some things in life are particularly glad and joyful: the grin of a 7 month old baby, the celebration of a wedding, the delight of a hard day's work. There are some things in life that are particularly sorrowful: the loss of a friend, a time of particular stress, even tensions between family. There is a time for everything. But, just because there is a time for everything does not mean that all times are created equal. In fact, in the long run, the tears of today will fade into the joy of tomorrow like snow in the summer. For Christians, our sorrows today, real they are, are "light and momentary" (2 Cor 4:17). As Paul says in Romans 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings for this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." In the time to come, a day of resurrection, of the New Creation, of seeing our Lord face to face, we can have a glory that outweighs any loss we have endured here on earth. So my encouragement for you today Christian, whatever your stress, whatever your pain, whatever your sorrows today, look to tomorrow. Look for the day ahead, when Christ will wipe away every tear and death will be no more. Look forward and rejoice! For the Kingdom is at hand. In Christ, Pastor Matt Good Wednesday Dear Saints,
I hope and pray that you are doing well! One of the things that I love to do as a pastor is to put resources in front of you all! So I wanted to spend my midweek email sending a few emails your way! Trusting God in the Midst of Suffering - Listen to this testimony of a dear Egyptian brother in Christ, Sherif, describing how God was near to him and his family in suffering. Hebrews set to Music - Are you looking to get more out of Sunday's sermons and get to know the book of Hebrews better? Check out this beautiful rendition of the book of Hebrews by the band Psallos (also on iTunes, Amazon Music, etc.). The Briefing - Are you looking to understand the news better from a Christian perspective? Listen to Al Mohler's brilliant dissection of today's current events and news. It is my wife's favorite! Understanding Revelation - For those of you attending our current Wed. Night Bible study (tonight @ 6 PM), I commend to you Tom Schreiner's excellent discussion of Revelation! Free Books! - Finally, let me commend to you Desiring God's excellent library of free books. Most of what John Piper (one of my favorite writers) has written, such as Desiring God, Esther, Don't Waste your Life, and many more are for free on this site. Highly commend it to you! In Christ, Pastor Matt Videos Mentioned Above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJy-DFxXHjs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kto1JQ23vGU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEUtpIvjexU |
Southern Heights Christian ChurchCome here for thoughts on how to follow Jesus in our every day life! Archives
January 2022
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed