Sunday, May 07, 2006
'Why ... make ... faith so difficult?'
Prayer of Confession this morning at this church:
Lord of Life, why do we make the life of faith so difficult? Why do we argue endlessly over theories about God, and the doctrines of men, when the moral imperative of faith is to help those in need? Help us to go back to our roots, and to remember what it means to be faithful. The world is in need of healing. We have medicine. Let us do what we can, where we are, with what we have. Amen.
Scripture lesson:
1 John 3: 11-24
11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.
13Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
PEACE.
--ER
Lord of Life, why do we make the life of faith so difficult? Why do we argue endlessly over theories about God, and the doctrines of men, when the moral imperative of faith is to help those in need? Help us to go back to our roots, and to remember what it means to be faithful. The world is in need of healing. We have medicine. Let us do what we can, where we are, with what we have. Amen.
Scripture lesson:
1 John 3: 11-24
11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.
13Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
PEACE.
--ER
Comments:
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Excellent prayer there, ER. Now if only we can get all the religious types around the world to say it and mean it, the world will definitely be a better place!
Yep. I think some more millions will have to die first, though. Not enough humility anywhere in the world at the moment.
It's the New International Version. It's available at WalMart up the road from you about a mile or so. Since you're an-on-line missionary these days, check out:
www.biblegateway.com
It will translate the KJV into these other apostate versions for you and it don't cost nothin.
www.biblegateway.com
It will translate the KJV into these other apostate versions for you and it don't cost nothin.
# posted by 
: 11:34 PM
: 11:34 PM
I am afraid D. Dad, speaking for self at least, I don't revere many human minds.
"...the preserved Word is readily available in the KJV, 1611." Ah yes, the old Anti-Catholic Anglican Bible commisioned by the head of the Church: King James. I like its style.
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"...the preserved Word is readily available in the KJV, 1611." Ah yes, the old Anti-Catholic Anglican Bible commisioned by the head of the Church: King James. I like its style.
# posted by : 12:47 PM
: 12:47 PM << Home
