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"In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts."
(Haggai 2:23 KJV) Zerubbabel was Our Awesome God's choice for the man to be in charge of getting Jerusalem rebuilt during the last of Israel's captivity in Babylon. As a descendent of King David, (1 Chronicles 3:10-19) he might have been king except for a curse placed on his grandfather, king Jeconiah, by God (Jeremiah 36:29-30). According to their custom, the Persian kings made him governor of Judea (Haggai 1:1) for the purpose of rebuilding the temple. Zerubbabel understood that his assignment was Our Awesome God's work, ordered and supported by the king of Persia, and that he had responsibilities to both. When local leaders seeking to hinder the progress asked to join in the work, Zerubbabel said, "No!" (Ezra 4:1-4). He knew that God had ordained the sons of David to build the temple (1 Chronicles 11-12). When the king of Persia banned work on the temple, he stopped the work until the ban was lifted six years later. Under a patient and persistent Zerubbabel, the slow and painstaking work on the temple continued through local opposition and royal decree. In all, it took 23 years to finish rebuilding just the temple. Zerubbabel was one of Our Awesome God's silent heroes. He didn't win a war. He didn't write a book. He just finished the job as best he could and in compliance with the applicable laws. How do you approach God's work? Do you do your best work and wait patiently for God to give the results? Are you satisfied with having completed a job for God, even when there is no recognition by people? Zerubbabel did what God wanted without public recognition. Come join us in our church as we seek the will of God and work to expand His kingdom. There is always a need for Christian teachers and new ideas in presenting Our Awesome God to others so that all may hear the Word of the Lord correctly. LWBC is a Bible believing church that tries to live Jesus Christ's commandment to "love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12 KJV) Join us this Sunday as we work in Our Awesome God's vineyard to tell everyone about Jesus Christ and His salvation. We start with small groups on Sunday at 9:30 AM and Worship Service at 10:30 AM. On Sunday evening at 6:00 PM, a Bible Study meets for an hour along with a children's program called AWANA until 7:30 PM (September through May). On Wednesdays, we meet at 7:00 PM for Prayer Requests and Bible Study along with a separate Spanish Bible Study until 8:00 PM. We love visitors!
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"And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud".
(Exodus 16:10 KJV) When a storm of life is coming and you have prayed, lift your eyes to the clouds and look for the silver lining. Get in the habit of looking for it. We know Our Awesome God has provided it and will always help if we ask, for He has a purpose for each person. The approaching storm may have dark ominous edges with flashes of lightening and growling thunder, but they have that silver lining somewhere. We want to focus on the good (silver lining) God will provide, not the looming problems we see ahead because God has promised to help us through them. A distressed person is a helpless person if the stress is great enough. It leaves one open to Satan's snares (Ephesians 6:11 KJV). So be swift to turn your back on it and look up Scripture verses that pertain to it (Isaiah 41:10). Hang onto Our Awesome God's promises of help. Look for that silver lining that God has provided for you. Pray; as the greater distress you have, the deeper you get into Satan's territory. So run to our Father God who loves you, bringing your requests to His throne and seek His power for relief. Jesus Christ has the power on Earth not man. Then as you take each of those specific promises of God, claim them as yours and turn away from your stress. Lean on Our Awesome God and you will find your faith is stronger, your trust is greatly improved, you are ready to depend on Him to overcome your distress and peace is slowly taking it away. Now you can think more clearly and, with Our Awesome God helping you, Satan will flee. We need to remember in times of stress and doubt that God has a plan, a purpose, for each of us and the power to give us help when we need it. But you have to ask and believe. Look always for that silver lining in the clouds for it is there. Once you overcome your distress with God's help, the second time is easier. You will know what to do and you will know that it will be overcome by Our Awesome God. LWBC is a loving church who tries to live by Biblical principles while encouraging all its members. Join us for church in the Sanctuary this coming Sunday at 10:30 AM. We also have Bible Study on Sunday at 9:30 AM and Sunday evening at 6:00 PM we have an hour of Bible Study and AWANA clubs for children which go until 7:30 PM. Our programs are varied but we teach and preach from Our Awesome God's Holy Bible that Jesus Christ died for you, taking your sins upon Himself and arose the third day to sit by God, interceding for you when you sin. We love visitors! "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
(Matthew 16:18 KJV) Peter was born about 1 AD in Bethsaida in Galilee, Israel. His family was all fishermen, including himself, his father and his brother, the apostle, Andrew. Peter and Andrew as well as their partners, the apostles James and John, were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee with Zebedee, the father of James and John. Peter and Andrew had been disciples of John, the Baptist. But that changed when they met and listened to Jesus Christ and He invited them to become "fishers of men". After Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus included Him in His inner circle with James and John. He took them with Him at the time when Jairus' daughter was brought back from the dead (Mark 5:35-43), on the mountain top during the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9), and through the agony of Jesus at Gethsemane (Mark 14:33-42). As predicted, Peter did deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed but after seeing Jesus again and talking to Him at the Sea of Galilee, he became a "sold out" fisherman for spreading the gospel to all men. Peter stood up at the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem and preached to them all and a great many were saved (Acts 2). It was under Peter's leadership that they chose a replacement for Judas and organized the church in Jerusalem. During his early ministry, Peter preached only to the Jews but Our Awesome God gave Peter a vision and told him not to call anything cleansed by God unclean. Not long after, Peter preached to the Roman centurion and baptized his household. Soon the gentiles were being told of Jesus by Paul and others. It was said that, when persecution of Christians started in Jerusalem, Peter went to Rome where he preached the gospel fearlessly to the church there. When they arrested him and were going to crucify him, he asked to be crucified upside down, not as his Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. Are we such "sold out" Christians? If you are a Christian who has strayed away from Our Awesome God or someone who has never been a Christian or a person who needs to help minister to others, join us at Living Word Baptist Church on Sunday at 10:30 AM for worship and caring from our church of Christians. On Wednesdays, we meet at 7:00 PM for Prayer Requests, and a Bible Study follows until 8:00 PM. We welcome all visitors and love them! "And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him...But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord : and be sure your sin will find you out."
(Numbers 32:21, 23 KJV) The book of Numbers in our Holy Bible relates the victories that the Lord God had given Joshua and the Israelites as Moses led them across the land toward Canaan. After Moses died, God told Joshua to be of "good courage" and do as God told him. So they crossed the Jordan River into Canaan and they took Jericho, a large fortified city. Then they came to a little city called Ai who had a small army and Joshua was soundly defeated. God had assured Joshua that, if they kept God's commandments, Our Awesome God would be with them and they would win. What went wrong? The children of Israel had a small hidden problem (Joshua 7:1). The problem became noticeable when Joshua sent 3,000 troops against the little city of Ai. Although this should have been enough to easily defeat Ai's small army, the Israelites fled before them. Joshua had no idea why this happened. Then Our Awesome God revealed that a man named Achan had taken an "accursed thing" from the sacking of Jericho and hidden it in his tent (Joshua 7:11). Only after the small hidden problem was found and taken care of could Israel go on to win the Promised Land. We need to remember, small hidden problems must be brought to the surface and dealt with because of the damage and consequences they cause. Our Awesome God knows that we did wrong and we need to take care of the hidden problem before we go on. Do you have those "small problems" in your life? The "hidden problems" may consist of cursing aloud or in your thoughts, it may be taking things that don't belong to you, it may be pride, it could be envy, etc. but check what you think and do with what God wants, then change anything He would not want. Small "hidden things" can grow or just may be a big problem with God. All sins are large to God. If you are a Christian who has strayed away from Our Awesome God or someone who has never been a Christian or a person who needs to help minister to others, join us at Living Word Baptist Church on Sunday at 9:30 AM for Bible Study and at 10:30 AM for a Praise and Worship Service. At 6:00 PM Sunday evening, we have a Bible Study along with AWANA for children until 7:30 PM. On Wednesday, we meet at 7:00 PM for Prayer Requests, and a Bible Study follows until 8:00 PM. We welcome all people and love them! "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet."
(Nahum 1:3 KJV) Nahum, an obscure minor prophet of Our Awesome God from Elkosh, about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem, rose up about 2600 years ago and preached about the coming destruction of the city of Nineveh by a coalition of Babylonians, Scythians and Medes. He wrote a short and concise Book in the Bible that that told of the total destruction of Nineveh around 600 BC, which was about 2 years before it happened. Nineveh at that time was the capital of the Assyrian Empire, which was one of the most powerful empires of the ancient world. The Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel in about 722 BC, about 2700 years ago, as Our Awesome God's prophets had foretold. The conquests of Israel and Nineveh were as ruthless and cruel as it was devastating. When reading this Book of Nahum, you realize the cruelty, the superstition, the idolatry, the injustice and the treachery that these people prided themselves for having. This was a nation whose capital, Nineveh, had turned from their wicked ways when Our Awesome God had made Jonah preach to them. They knew about God and His creation and His standards but they ignored Nahum's prophecy. But Nahum was right. Nineveh would never again be a world power and today, it is little more than an archaeological site. In contrast, Israel is again a nation, and a relatively prosperous one at that. Our Awesome God's holiness, justice and power are the foundation of Nahum's prophetic book. God rules over all the earth, even over those who do not acknowledge Him. Along with Nahum's writings about the destruction of Nineveh, there is also a message of hope that shines through. God is slow to anger (Nahum 1:3) and good (Nahum 1:7) and offers good tidings to those who want His blessings (Nahum 1:15). God remains the same always: slow to anger, blessing us, good to all and loving while giving us justice. We must remember that justice will occur for all, the consequences can be devastating. Come join us as we work in Our Awesome God's vineyard, telling others about His story, Jesus Christ's Salvation, and our eternal home with Him, trying to help them to understand Our Creator better. Our church starts with small groups on Sunday at 9:30 AM and a Worship Service at 10:30 AM. On Sunday evening at 6:00 PM, a Bible Study meets for an hour along with a program for children called AWANA which goes until 7:30 PM.. We have a Prayer Meeting and Bible Study that meets at 7:00 PM on Wednesday. "For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
(Hebrews 11:10 KJV) "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." (John 10:9 KJV) Most ancient cities were more like fortresses than cities. Their perimeters consisted of massive stone walls (sometimes more than one) with gates to allow or to stop the entry of people, things and animals. When war came, enemy forces would focus their attacks on these gates, which were usually the weakest part of the cities' walls. To strengthen them, gates were built as part of the watch-towers for the guards. Jerusalem had twelve gates in the time of Israel's occupation, each with a spiritual as well as a physical significance, each with an important part to play in the life and the historical experience of Jerusalem. Every gate has a spiritual part because they are a "shadow" of the reality that is or will come when God creates a new heaven, a new earth and a new Jerusalem at the end of the age (Hebrews 8:5; 10:1; Revelations 21:10-13). The gates in the New Jerusalem will each be made of a single pearl as found in Revelations 21:21. Our Christ is the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46) and Christ is the only way to get into that majestic city (John 10:9; 14:6). So each gate shows parts of the completed work of the Cross, just as Our Awesome God foretold in His Holy Bible. Jerusalem has had many different gates with many different names over the thousands of years of Biblical history. Many of the different names have been found in Our Awesome God's Bible, in manuscripts and in archeological finds. There are hints, but the Bible does not specify the location of any of the gates at any point in time. Today, you can still walk through some gates while others have been sealed or renamed, but the physical and spiritual significance of the named gates remains for the people of God. It is awe inspiring to see the detail Our Awesome God has gone to so as to remind us that without His son, Jesus Christ, we would not one day be in the New Jerusalem. Since people forget, He has given us a structure to help us remember what we owe to Jesus Christ and His love for us that saves us. Join us tomorrow at this website, 10/11/15, for #2 Significance, a continuation of the #1 Twelve Gates. Learn more about Our Awesome God by reading His Holy Bible, praying to Him and worshipping in a church that preaches and teaches the Holy Bible. Join us at Living Word Baptist Church as we pray and worship Him this Sunday at 10:30 AM and at then at 6:00 PM there is another Bible Study along with a children's program called AWANA which goes until 7:30 PM. On Wednesdays, we meet at 7:00 PM for Prayer Requests, and a Bible Study follows until 8:00 PM. First, it is time that you should know and love Our Awesome God as your creator and Savior. We can show you how from the Word of God and we love visitors. "I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness."
(Malachi 1:2-3 KJV) Malachi, Our Awesome God's prophet, prophesied about 450 BC in Israel. He was one of the last inspired prophets before the 400-year lull in divine revelation between the Old Testament and Jesus Christ. The Israelites had returned from the Babylonian exile. Jerusalem had been rebuilt, and the temple restored. But the people had not learned their lesson from the exile. They avoided idols but they had grown skeptical of God's love (1:2), careless in worship (1:7), indifferent to the truth (2:6–7), faithless in their marriages (2:15; 3:5), and stingy in their offerings (3:8). To this carnal and rebellious people God sent his messenger, Malachi, and the first message he put on his lips was, "I have loved you, says the Lord!" Why would Our Awesome God send this message? God had chosen Jacob, a younger brother, over the elder brother (Esau), who should have inherited and Jacob had been deceitful to get the full blessing. Yet God knows everything from the beginning to the end and God chose Jacob for His own. We only know " ...yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau..." The full truth we will learn in heaven, but we need to consider our society which shows faithless marriages, carelessness in worship and indifference to the truth of there being Our Awesome God who loves us. Or does that love from God make you tremble? Isaiah 66:2 says, "...to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." Have you learned the love of God in a way that makes you tremble? Malachi's burden in his book is to show us a God whose goodness makes us tremble with reverent fear. It should humble us. It should make us tremble! "A love that makes you tremble" is possibly the reason Our Awesome God chose you to become a Christian and love Him. Join us in church this coming Sunday. God is waiting for you! He Loves You! LWBC is a Bible believing church that tries to live Jesus Christ's commandment to "love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12 KJV) Join us for church this coming Sunday at 9:30 AM for Bible Study. We have Worship Service in the Sanctuary at 10:30 AM and Sunday evening Bible Study at 6:00 PM along with AWANA for children until 7:30 PM. Our programs are varied but we teach and preach from Our Awesome God's Holy Bible that Jesus Christ died for you, taking your sins upon Himself and arose the third day to sit by God, interceding for you when you sin. We love visitors! |
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December 2016
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