(#081) 1 Corinthians 16 - Do You Know the Person You Worship?

Class Outline:

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Welcome To 

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!  

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Welcome to this Bible lesson!  Who is Jesus Christ?  At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God.  

 

As I taught you last week, the Lord…Jesus…the Christ…the Jewish Messiah was speaking to a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.  At that time in human history, the Jews wanted nothing to do with the Samaritans because they were half breeds…half Jewish and half Gentile.  In addition, it was quite uncommon for Jewish men to speak to women in a public setting, especially if they were strangers.  Therefore, the woman was quite surprised to be engaged in an intimate conversation with Jesus.  John, Chapter 4, Verses 25 and 26…

 

JOHN 4:25

The woman at the well said to Jesus, “I know that Messiah is coming…He who is called the Christ…and when that One comes, He will explain all things to us about what is to come.”

 

JOHN 4:26 

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

 

Jesus Christ is God the Son in human form!  Some people recognize this truth and some people reject this truth.  The woman at the well recognized Jesus as the Christ.  But when she went to tell the men of her town about her experience, she was less than direct with them…John, Chapter 4, Verses 28 and 29…

JOHN 4:28

So the woman left her waterpot at the well, and went into the city (called Sychar) and said to the men…

 

JOHN 4:29 

“Come…see a man who told me all the things that I have done…this is not the Christ, is it?”

 

But the way she asked the question expected a yes answer!  When the men came to meet Jesus for themselves, here’s what they concluded in John, Chapter 4, Verse 42…

 

JOHN 4:42

…the men were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe…for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this One is indeed the (Christ…the) Savior of the world.”

 

After inspection, these men made their own decision about the Christ, and they came to the right conclusion.  Jesus is the Messiah.  Many other people come to this world, who after being presented with the facts about the Christ, come to a wrong conclusion that sentences them to an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  Pretty sad.  L

 

Why does Barah Ministries exist?  At Barah Ministries, we introduce people to the Lord.  We make a difference by teaching the Word of God verse-by-verse from the Lord’s perspective and not from man’s perspective.  Barah Ministries is provided by God for the benefit of unbelievers, to give them the gospel message…the good news concerning Jesus Christ’s salvation offer.  Barah Ministries is provided by God for the benefit of Christians as well, those of us who want a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Lord through the study of His Word.  

 

Why do we study the Word of God?  The apostle Peter makes it clear in Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verses 15 to 18…

 

SECOND PETER 3:15

…our beloved brother Paul…according to the wisdom given him by God…wrote to you (believers in Christ)…

 

SECOND PETER 3:16 

…as also in all his letters…speaking about the same things (over and over in all his letters)…in which letters are things that are hard to understand… which the untaught and the unstable distort…just as they distort the rest of the Scriptures as well, to their own destruction.

 

SECOND PETER 3:17 

You therefore, beloved (you believers in Christ…you divinely loved ones)… knowing this beforehand (about what is to come at the end of human history)…be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men (false teachers)…and fall from your secure position (in Christ through doubt)…

 

SECOND PETER 3:18

…instead, be diligent to keep on growing within the sphere of God’s grace and keep on growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

That’s why we study the Word of God….to grow in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We implore you to keep on learning about the Lord and to always compare what you learn, both at Barah Ministries and in the world, with what the Bible says.  That’s not just an invitation, it’s a responsibility!

 

God has an enemy…Satan…whom God made ‘the ruler of this world.’  In John, Chapter 12, Verse 31, the Lord says…

 

JOHN 12:31

“Now judgment is upon this world…now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out (he will be dethroned at a future time).”

 

Satan is like a cockroach.  When a cockroach finds food in your house, he invites all of his buddies to invade your house as well.  Satan is the same.  When we give him an opening through sin, he invades the soul through false teachers with their false teaching, looking to wipe out the confidence we get from the Word of God implanted, replacing it with fear, uncertainty and doubt.  The apostle Paul warns us in Ephesians, Chapter 4, Verse 27…

 

EPHESIANS 4:27

…do not give the devil a single opportunity.

If you give Satan an inch, he’ll take a mile.  Reject his lies at every opportunity.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Do You Know the Person You Worship?

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

When we hear about or read about the speculation of unbelievers about the Lord Jesus Christ…speculation such as, “He is not God” … He is “like a god”… He is a messenger … He is a teacher … He is a prophet … it doesn’t bother me at all.  Even the ridiculous things don’t bother me…like “How could a loving God allow the Holocaust” … or “He was secretly married to Mary Magdalen and was having sex with her” … “His teachings on sexuality are anti-nature and completely out of date.”  

 

Why don’t these things bother me?  The Bible makes it clear where unbelievers are coming from…First Corinthians, Chapter 2, Verse 14…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 2:14

…a natural man (an unbeliever) does not accept the things of the Holy Spirit of God…for they are foolishness to him…and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

 

But when I hear a believer in Christ entertaining notions like “You can lose our salvation” … or “You can lose your fellowship with God by sinning” … or “when you sin, you’re out of fellowship with God and your prayers don’t get above the ceiling,” that’s when my blood boils a bit.  As believers in Christ, there’s no reason we have to be that stupid when we have the Word

of God telling us a completely different story.

 

I should say this made me mad until recently when I realized that believers in Christ who believe these things have no idea who the Person is that they worship.  Do you know the Person you worship?  Do you know the Person you pray to?  In today's Lord's Supper Celebration, you'll be introduced to a God who specializes in the impossible…what I call a God of "UN."

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

The prophet Jeremiah says it well in Jeremiah, Chapter 10, Verse 6…

JEREMIAH 10:6

There is none like You, O Lord…You are great…and powerful is Your name.

 

As His servants, we believers in Christ run the race of our lives that is set before us.  Rather than being encumbered by the world and its perverted thoughts, according to Hebrews, Chapter 12, Verse 2, we believers in Christ are to keep on…

 

HEBREWS 12:2

…fixing our eyes on Jesus…the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…who kept his eye on the joy set before Him…enduring the Cross…despising its shame…and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God the Father.

 

The group Culture Club reminds us that our Almighty God loves us unconditionally…and that unconditional LOVE HAS A NAME…JESUS!

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

LOVE HAS A NAME

Jesus Culture

 

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

LOVE HAS A NAME

Jesus Culture

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, thank you for Your response to our prayers because we know You are a God who specializes in the impossible…we know that You LOVE to answer prayers and You LOVE to fulfill dreams and You LOVE to perform what we consider to be miracles when for You, all these things are just a routine "day at the office" …

 

Teach us to have absolute confidence in You…teach us how to pray without limits…teach us how to dream bigger dreams…remind us that in Your eyes we are completely adequate, deeply loved, totally forgiven, and surrounded by your grace and peace…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ's

name...Amen.

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Do You Know the Person You Worship?

 

Welcome to The Lord’s Supper Celebration!  It’s a regular occurrence when believers in Christ set aside time to think about the deep, imitate and personal relationship we have with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  As we reflect, we look back to the Cross…the most intimate moment in divine history…and we remember the Lord’s words in John, Chapter 15, Verse 13…

 

JOHN 15:13

Greater love has no one than this…that one lay down his life for his friends.

 

The Lord laid down His life for us at the Cross…He was buried…and on the third day, He was resurrected from the dead to prove that He is who He says He is…the Sovereign God of the Universe who holds all things together by the Word of His power.

 

Every month we obey the Lord’s command in First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26a

…as often as you eat this bread (representing His body)…and as often as you drink this cup (representing His blood)…as part of The Lord’s Supper Celebration…

FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26b

…you proclaim as a reality and you announce the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross…and His resurrection from the dead… until He comes again at the second coming.

 

In this sacred celebration, we commune with the Lord.  We enjoy the elements…the bread and the wine…and as we do, we remember our dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ, both for our physical sustenance and for our spiritual sustenance.

 

What a great question for believers in Christ to consider.  As is this question…when you pray, do you even know who you’re praying to?

 

I have had family members attribute their thoughts about me…thoughts that don't describe me at all. I've been in relationships where the way people describe me makes me wonder why they would ever want to be in a relationship with the person they are describing.  My conclusion is that some people are in a relationship with others who don't know them at all!  If that is true in our relationship with people, it is certainly true in our relationship with God.  So I ask you believers in Christ…do you know the Person you worship…do you know the Person you pray to?  Do you know intimately the Person who went to the Cross to die for you?  This is the Person we celebrate today.

 

The God we celebrate today is what I call an “UN” God.  He is unrealistic.  He is unlimited.  He is unconditional.  I think it’s important to keep on reminding you who it is you worship…who it is you pray to because I think when you remember who the Lord is it can change the character of your prayers and your life.

 

Our “UN” God specializes in the impossible because He is unrealistic.

  

REALISTIC

Considering reality to be only the things that exist… the practical things…the things that are known.

 

People who are “realistic” bore me.  In my mind, “I’m just being realistic” is code for “I’m dead but not buried yet.”  It’s what people choose when they have had a lot of their dreams shattered.  Rather than blaming themselves for their shattered dreams because they didn’t prepare well enough or they didn’t wait long enough for the dream to unfold, they blame fate…and they quit.

 

Our God is unrealistic.  Was it realistic for Mary to think she would have a virgin birth?  Hardly.  Yet she did!  Luke, Chapter 1, Verses 30 to 34…

 

LUKE 1:30

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary…for you have found favor with God.”

 

LUKE 1:31 

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” 

 

LUKE 1:32 

“He will be great and He will be called the Son of the Most High…and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David…”

 

LUKE 1:33 

“…and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever…and His kingdom will have no end.”

 

LUKE 1:34 

Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

 

Mary was being realistic.  The rest is history.  Nothing is impossible with God.

 

Is it realistic to think the God we worship was resurrected from the dead? Hardly.  Yet He is!  Luke, Chapter 24, Verses 1 to 6…

 

LUKE 24:1

But on the first day of the week (Sunday)…at early dawn…the women who were followers of Jesus came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared (to anoint his body).

 

LUKE 24:2 

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb…

LUKE 24:3 

…but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

 

LUKE 24:4 

While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men (angels) suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing…

 

LUKE 24:5 

…and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead Ones?

 

LUKE 24:6 

Jesus is not here…but He has risen from the dead.

 

Our unrealistic God did what most, to this day, consider to be impossible

 

Is it realistic to think that God has the power to part a sea?  And would He do this to save the Jews?  Exodus, Chapter 14, Verses 13 to 16…

 

EXODUS 14:13

But Moses said to the Jewish people, “Do not fear!  Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today…for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.”

 

EXODUS 14:14 

“The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

 

EXODUS 14:15 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.

 

EXODUS 14:16 

“As for you, Moses, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it…and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.”

 

It was said by God, and it was so.  They are still finding piece of chariots under the Red Sea from the Egyptians whom God buried there.  You pray to

a very unrealistic God.  Are your prayers unrealistic?

 

Do you know the Person you worship?  We have an “UN” God.  He is Unlimited!  Is it realistic to think He can heal you when the doctors tell you that you have seventeen months to live?  Psalm 103, Verses 2 and 3…

 

PSALM 103:2

Bless the Lord, O my soul…and forget none of His benefits…

 

PSALM 103:3 

…the Lord who pardons all your iniquities…the Lord who heals all your diseases…

 

You have a God whose unlimited power confounds the medical community.

 

Is it realistic to think God can protect you in every circumstance?  Is He so personal that He would care about you that much?  Psalm 91, Verses 1 to 7…

 

PSALM 91:1

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

 

PSALM 91:2 

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”

 

PSALM 91:3 

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.

 

PSALM 91:4 

He will cover you with His pinions…and under His wings you may seek refuge…His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

 

PSALM 91:5 

You will not be afraid of the terror by night…nor of the arrow that flies by

day…

 

PSALM 91:6 

…nor will you fear the pestilence that stalks in darkness…nor of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

 

PSALM 91:7 

A thousand people may fall at your side and ten thousand people may fall at your right hand, but none of these things shall approach you.

 

Is God so intricate that He could pick you out of a crowd of people who are being slain?

 

Is it realistic to think that God has already provided everything you need, everything you want, ALL the desires of your heart in eternity past, and you just haven’t seen it yet?  Philippians, Chapter 4, Verse 19 says “yes!”

 

PHILIPPIANS 4:19

And my God…the Father…will supply ALL your needs according to His glorious riches for those in union with Christ Jesus.

 

When we return from the break, we’ll take the offering, we’ll enjoy the elements of the Lord’s Supper, and then we’ll finish up our lesson on our “UN” God…UNrealtic…Unlimited…and UN on more thing!

 

FIVE MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Do You Know the Person You Worship?

 

When the apostles went forth with the gospel message, the Lord told them to take no provisions with them.  The Lord wanted them to know He would provide, and He did.  He encouraged the apostles to be generous rather than worrying.  Matthew, Chapter 10, Verse 8…

 

MATTHEW 10:8

Freely you received (the gospel message from God)…freely give (the gospel

message to others).

 

Because of your generosity, people all over the world who have access to the internet can receive the gospel message free of charge.  Our all-powerful, omnipotent God can direct hearers to our website so they can get an accurate gospel message.

 

Today, my prayer is that God the Holy Spirit opens your heart with a spirit of generosity. It is my sincere hope that He gives you a burning to desire to provide your treasure as the means of distributing the gospel message through this ministry so that it can be enjoyed by people all around the world.  Deacon Denny Goodall is on vacation with his family.  Please pray for their protection and their safe return home.

 

OFFERING SONG

HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET

Danny Gokey

 

THE LORD'S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Enjoying the Lord's Supper Elements

 

Bread and wine.  The Lord gave us these things to remember Him.  We will enjoy the elements together in a few moments as we listen to The Lord’s Supper Song.

 

Obeying our Lord's command, we keep on celebrating Christ regularly…we eat bread to remember who He is as a PERSON...the ONLY Sovereign God of the Universe…we drink wine to remember His WORK on the Cross…the voluntary sacrifice He made to deliver us from sovereignty to sin.  We remember with gratitude what God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ have done to save us.  Luke, Chapter 22, Verses 14 to 16…  

 

LUKE 22:14

When the hour came (and His crucifixion was set for the next day)…Jesus reclined at the table…and the apostles reclined with Him.

 

RECLINING AT THE TABLE SLIDE

 

LUKE 22:15-16

And Jesus said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you

before I suffer…for I say to you, I shall not eat it again until all that it

means is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 

 

Luke, Chapter 22, Verses 19 and 20…  

 

LUKE 22:19 

And when Jesus had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body, which is being broken for you… keep on doing this in remembrance of Me."

 

LUKE 22:20 

And in the same way, Jesus took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This

cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood."

 

Let's keep on eating this bread…let's keep on drinking this cup…and let's do both to REMEMBER the Lord.  Let this celebration encourage our hearts and our minds, filling us with awe and reverence and gratitude.  Let's keep on being transformed by the Lord's life…His death…His burial…His resurrection from the dead…His ascension to God the Father…His seating at the Majesty's right hand…and by the nourishment we get from His Word, which feeds our souls.  

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Do You Know the Person You Worship?

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

What does God do when we make mistakes?  What does God do when we sin?  Genesis, Chapter 3, Verses 8 and 9…

 

GENESIS 3:8

Adam and Isha (after they sinned) heard the sound of the Lord God (Jehovah Elohim…God the Son) walking in the garden in the cool of the day…and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

 

GENESIS 3:9 

Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”

 

Do you know the person you are worshipping?  When we hide from God,

our loving and compassionate Lord seeks us out.  Here’s June Murphy to sing one of my favorites of her songs…YOU RAN AFTER ME.

 

LORD’S SUPPER SONG

YOU RAN AFTER ME

June Murphy

 

THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION

Do You Know the Person You Worship?

 

Best of all, we have God who is UNconditional.  John, Chapter 15, Verse 13…

 

JOHN 15:13

Greater unconditional love has no one than this…that one lay down his life for his friends.

 

In the world, I am not loved.  I’m a laughing stock.  I live a life of persecution.  I am a Pastor.  I am black.  I am a Christian.  I am a divorcee.  Any of these would be enough for ridicule.  All of them make me a joke to most people, including my family members.  Most of my family members don't have the slightest idea who I am as a person.  And truly…they don't want to know me.  They enjoy judging me.

 

John, Chapter 15, Verse 20 comforts me…

 

JOHN 15:20

Remember the word that I (the Lord Jesus Christ) said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, and they did, they will also persecute you…if they kept My word, and some did, they will keep yours also…

 

I don’t mind being a laughing stock.  I expect it, and I signed up for it.  I know who I worship.  I know who I pray to.  And when I meet Him for the first time, I know who I am meeting.  He is the One who hung from a Cross for me.  He is the One we celebrate today.  Do you know the Person you worship?  Do you know the Person you pray to?

 

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

The Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, wants a relationship with you?  Do you have a relationship with Him?  If not, what are you waiting for?  First Thessalonians, Chapter 5, Verse 2 says…

 

FIRST THESSALONIANS 5:2

For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

 

The Lord doesn’t want you to be surprised, and He certainly doesn’t want you to miss out on your “so great” salvation opportunity.  On the day before Thanksgiving in 1987, the news on the radio in my hometown…Chicago, Illinois…was quite shocking.  Our beloved Mayor, Harold Washington, was dead.  He was in a meeting in his fifth-floor office at Chicago’s City Hall.  He slumped forward, his face rested gently on the desk, and in a moment, he was dead from a massive heart attack.

 

I can remember the day as vividly as if it were yesterday.  What I remember most was wondering what it must be like to get up in the morning, and as you’re getting dressed, not knowing that in a few short hours you would be dead.

 

All of us will die physically one day.  That is hardly at issue.  What we don’t know is when we will close our eyes in this life.  My concern is that you may be one of the people who is walking around today unprepared for this reality.

 

I was talking to a young man on a trip to Mallorca, Spain who was quite 

unprepared.  I asked him if is he is a Christian.  He said, “No.”  I asked him why not.  He said, “To tell you the truth, I don’t even think about God.”  I appreciated his candor.  I told him, “It would be wise to think about God all the time.”  He asked, “Why?”  Here’s what I told him.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22a says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

You were born physically alive, yet spiritually dead.  That's bad news.  The worse news is that you may not have even known that is your situation.  

 

The good news is that the Lord Jesus Christ paved the way to get you out of the predicament.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22b says…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22b

…yet all those in union with Christ (all believers in Christ) will be made spiritually alive.

 

Do you want to be saved?  Do you want to spend eternity in a relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord Jesus Christ?  The Lord Jesus Christ provides the plan.  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31 says…

 

ACTS 16:31 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

Right now, right where you sit, you can spend the gift of faith given to you by God…and you can use this faith to be saved…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…

 

EPHESIANS 2:8

For by God the Father’s grace you have been saved through faith (in Christ for salvation) … and that grace and that faith and that salvation are not from the source of yourselves…it is the gift of God the Father…

 

EPHESIANS 2:9 

…so being saved is not as a result of your works (deeds you have done in

self-righteousness)…so that no one may boast (about saving himself).

 

Right now, the Lord Jesus Christ wants to save you.  Funny thing about the young man I was talking to…he knew what faith is…he said to me, “It sounds like you’re saying if I put my confidence in Jesus Christ, I will be saved forever.”  It’s exactly what I am saying.  Faith is placing your confidence in the object of your faith.  When Jesus Christ is the object of your faith, you will be saved.  John, Chapter 3, Verse 36 warns…

 

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment…

 but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

How can you get to heaven?  Right where you sit, RIGHT NOW, you can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you.  John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the gospel message from the Word of God), and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”

 

Who is this God who saves you?  The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ…in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4… 

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (Paul) delivered to you as of primary importance the gospel message I also received from God… that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…

 

Won’t you join me in heaven?  If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ right now you will.

 

Mayor Harold Washington had no idea that he would not celebrate Thanksgiving in 1987…at least not on earth.  Yet he was somewhere.  He was in heaven or he was in hell.  Quite often, my thoughts drift to the young man in Spain.  I wonder what God the Holy Spirit chose to do with the seed our conversation planted.  I’m sure the Spirit knows how to get him saved.  I hope to see him in heaven.

 

If you choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you’ll have no concern

about the moment you close your eyes in this life.  You’ll be in heaven.

You’ll have no chance to go to the Lake of Fire.  Do it now!  Don’t let the day of the Lord sneak up on you!

 

SONG INTRODUCTION

 

God’s plan for mankind is filled with hope.  Hope in the Greek language means “absolute confidence.” Believers in Christ have absolute confidence in a future filled with blessings.  We have hope, even when we encounter tribulation…First Peter, Chapter 5, Verse 10…

 

FIRST PETER 5:10

After you believers in Christ have suffered for a little while, the God and Father of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in union with Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

 

First Peter, Chapter 1, Verse 13 says…

 

FIRST PETER 1:13

Therefore (believers in Christ)…keep on preparing your minds for action (obedience to the Lord)…keep on being sober in spirit (control yourself)… keep on fixing your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (keep on being determined).

 

Here’s June Murphy to remind us we have hope in her song THERE’S JUST ONE HOPE.

 

CLOSING SONG

THERE'S JUST ONE HOPE

June Murphy

 

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

THERE'S JUST ONE HOPE

June Murphy

CLOSING VERSES

 

         A Doxology of Praise to Our God

 

Let’s close with words of worship for our Almighty God.  

 

Psalm 95, Verses 6 and 7…

 

PSALM 95:6

Come!  Let us worship and bow down…let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

 

PSALM 95:7 

For He is our God…we are the people of His pasture…and we are the sheep of His hand.

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 58…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:58 

Therefore, my divinely loved ones…keep on being steadfast…keep on being immovable…and keep on abounding in the work of the Lord, always… knowing that your labor is not in vain when you are in union with the Lord.

 

Romans, Chapter 15, Verse 13…

 

ROMANS 15:13 

Now may the God and Father of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing…so that you will abound in hope by the power of God the Holy Spirit.

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

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