"Cross" Examining Jesus

EASTER TUESDAY

The religious leaders were doing all they could to bring charges against Jesus.  In another feeble attempt to Cross Him up, they decided to trap Him with the old “what’s the most important commandment” trick.  (See Matthew22:34-40)  Loving God!  Yes!  Any religious person would agree but Jesus didn't stop there.  He gave them a second Greatest Commandment:  Love your neighbor as yourself!

Here’s the lesson:  We cannot say we love God as we ought without loving the things of God and the people Christ died for as we ought.  According to Christ, there cannot be a distinction between the two.  Loving God and loving others = Salvation through Christ.  Anything else is just half-gospel which, according to the Scripture, is no Gospel at all! (1 John 4:20-21)

Showing your love for God and others can be a simple gesture of good will.  This love, however, is the New Testament, agape love; a God-like, sacrificial love.  Therefore to love your neighbor, ultimately means that you would not want them to miss the glory of heaven and eternal life now, any more than you would want to miss it yourself.  

Who will you love enough to share the Good News of Christ with and invite them to worship with you this Easter?

HE SET HIS FACE LIKE FLINT

EASTER MONDAY

Sunday, I mentioned a prophecy concerning Christ written some 700 years before it came to pass. Isaiah 50:7 in the NLT states it this way:

Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced.Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,determined to do his will.And I know that I will not be put to shame.
Isaiah 50:7 (NLT) 

What was it that Jesus set His face towards?  Jerusalem and the Cross!  Why was such dogged determination necessary? Because not only did Jesus know when and where He was going to die; He knew how He was going to die!  (See Isaiah 50:6; Luke  

18:31-33)

Did you ever think about why Jesus was so "troubled in His spirit?"  Because what He faced was HARD!  Just because it's God's plan does not mean it's easy!  What would He have you to do this week that takes real determination and follow through?  Even if you fear to the point of being "troubled" or dread the task, if you know it's the Father's will, then obey at all costs!

Why Attend TVCC This Weekend?

Attend TVCC this weekend if...

• You love God and want to know Him more intimately
• You love your Church (It's the people!)
• You are blessed to be able serve others during one of the services
• You have children and youth that you want to be saved and serving God
• You want to see those you invite be saved and know God's purpose for life

Those are five FANTASTIC reasons to be involved this weekend at TVCC.  I'm going to teach Part 4 of The Gospel and... Christ - The Warrior King.  Needless to say, I have great faith in what God is going to do here when we are faithful to invite others, serve Him, and pray passionately, as we celebrate the greatest season in the life of every believer - EASTER!  

Invite your friends, family, and co-workers (and strangers) to join you this weekend and discover, not a passive Christ but our Warrior King!

Here's the lineup for the rest of the series:

Sunday - Christ - The Warrior King

April   5 - Easter Sunday - The Life-Changing Power of The Resurrection

April 12 - The Gospel and...Homosexuality and Gay Marriage

April 19 - The Gospel and...Sexual Atheism

April 26 - The Gospel and...The Abusive and Elusive Family

May    3 - The Gospel and...Baptism

See y'all this weekend!

Pastor Steve

Is Interracial Dating & Marriage Wrong?

Do we really need to talk about this?  

Of course we do!  There have been those who said, "Well, our people are certainly open to interracial relationships."  While I agree that most are, I also know that there are still deep, racial tensions in the good ole south (and north too!).  So this week we'll dive into why those tensions and what The Gospel teaches us on the subject.

While explaining our new series, The Gospel and... to a friend who doesn't attend TVCC, the need for this series was confirmed.  As we discussed the purpose of the series and the topic for this weekend, she said she loved how we at TVCC dealt with real-life struggles people were dealing with in 2015.  While we were discussing these issues, two members who are very active volunteer leaders from TVCC joined in the conversation.  One of the men was white, the other black.  As we talked, reference was made to a racist stance that I thought was long dead, about black men being in Big Sandy after dark.  (If you're not a Henry or Benton County native, there used to be a sign at the Benton County line stating such!  No kidding! I saw it as a teenager.)

What my friend said next confirmed the need to teach this message:  "That actually happened to me...recently!"  I was floored, I was angry, I wanted to call  the fire of God down on somebody.  But the bottom line?  I was hurt; sickened for my friend.  Oh yes, racism is alive and well!  However, so is God, and He has the power and capacity to heal all.  As the song says that we learned as children:

Red and yellow
Black and white
They are precious
In His sight.
Jesus loves the little children
of the world.

We'll talk about that this weekend as we continue in our series, The Gospel and...

Pastor Steve

The Gospel & ... Mighty & Miraculous Faith

Are you Christian or Deist?

Is God alive and well?  Does He still act in our world today?  Many people are more deist than they are Christian.  A deist believes, essentially, that God exists, and though He created us, has left us to make it on our own the best we can.  He doesn't intervene in the affairs of mankind.  Why do I say many "believers" appear to be deists rather than Christian?

Simply this; we make decisions which indicate that we believe ...

• God's Word is not the final authority for all I do
• God is not intimately involved in my life on a day-by-day basis

In either of the above, I am subject to the limitations of my humanness, i.e., my flesh, and I neither revere nor seek to follow God as if His Word is the basis for all truth.  

What if we DID have faith the size of the mustard seed?  What if we DO believe God not only created us and has the power to save us, but will also empower a faith in every believer that is both MIGHTY & MIRACULOUS, i.e., life changing faith!  We would live life in a totally different manner.  I so want that for all of us.  

Join us at TVCC this Sunday, online (only if you can't attend because of illness or distance), or podcast, as we discover,

THE GOSPEL & ... MIGHTY & MIRACULOUS FAITH 

See y'all there!

Steve