Come out and join us tomorrow for worship service with Baptismal service immediately following.

Matthew 3:13-17

New International Version (NIV)

The Baptism of Jesus

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴ But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
¹⁵ Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
¹⁶ As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Cross references:

1. Matthew 3:13 : 3:13-17pp — Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21, 22; Jn 1:31-34
2. Matthew 3:13 : S Mt 3:1; S Mk 1:4
3. Matthew 3:16 : Eze 1:1; Jn 1:51; Ac 7:56; 10:11; Rev 4:1; 19:11
4. Matthew 3:16 : Isa 11:2; 42:1
5. Matthew 3:17 : Dt 4:12; Mt 17:5; Jn 12:28
6. Matthew 3:17 : Ps 2:7; Ac 13:33; Heb 1:1-5; 5:5; 2Pe 1:17, 18
7. Matthew 3:17 : Isa 42:1; Mt 12:18; 17:5; Mk 1:11; 9:7; Lk 3:22; 9:35; 2Pe 1:17

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Our Daily Bread -- Gifted To Serve

February 17, 2013


Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn
READ: Romans 12:3-13

There are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. —1 Corinthians 12:6

It occurred to me one day that my right foot does all the pedal work when I’m driving my automatic transmission car. It alone works the accelerator and the brake. The left foot is idle. What happens if I decide that to be equitable, my left foot ought to replace my right foot half the time when I am driving? If you have never done so, please don’t try it!

If we don’t require such equality of the members of our own body, why is it that we sometimes expect it of people in the church? That seems to be an issue that the first-century church at Rome faced. Some were thinking more highly of themselves than they ought (Rom. 12:3) just because they were doing some things others were not doing. But Paul reminds us that “all members do not have the same function” (v.4). We’ve been gifted according to God’s grace (v.6). He gave us those gifts to serve others, not ourselves (vv.6-13). Our service is to be marked by diligence and fervor, for we are serving the Lord, not man (v.11).

So, let’s not look over our shoulders to see what others are doing or not doing. Look at how God may be able to use you in His kingdom today. He has gifted you just as He has pleased (v.3). —C. P. Hia

Lord, lead me today as You see best. Use the gifts You
have given me to encourage others on their journey.
Help me not to compare myself with others
but to be content with who You have made me to be.

We can’t all play the same part in God’s band of service, but we should all play in harmony.

Our Daily Bread

By prayer and supplication . . . let your requests be made known to God. —Philippians 4:6

After all these years, I still don’t fully understand prayer. It’s something of a mystery to me. But one thing I know: When we’re in desperate need, prayer springs naturally from our lips and from the deepest level of our hearts.

When we’re frightened out of our wits, when we’re pushed beyond our limits, when we’re pulled out of our comfort zones, when our well-being is challenged and endangered, we reflexively and involuntarily resort to prayer. “Help, Lord!” is our natural cry.

Author Eugene Peterson wrote: “The language of prayer is forged in the crucible of trouble. When we can’t help ourselves and call for help, when we don’t like where we are and want out, when we don’t like who we are and want a change, we use primal language, and this language becomes the root language of prayer.”

Prayer begins in trouble, and it continues because we’re always in trouble at some level. It requires no special preparation, no precise vocabulary, no appropriate posture. It springs from us in the face of necessity and, in time, becomes our habitual response to every issue—good and bad—we face in this life (Phil. 4:6). What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer! —David Roper

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer. —Scriven

As Valentine’s Day winds down, many thoughts cross my mind.  The first and most obvious is of course Danny and how I miss him and the love that we shared.   I still have that love and treasure it every second of every day; I just don’t have the physical Danny.  I know he is in Heaven with our Lord and Savior- the ultimate Valentine!  How could I deny him that?  I know the last 6 months have been so lonely and sad for me but I can hardly imagine what they have been for him, in the presence of God our Savior! 

John 3:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

As much as we loved each other, Jesus loves us so much more.  When we said our goodbyes 6 months ago, I did so with a heavy heart, but at the same time I had peace with it.  I knew he would be reunited with Jesus and so many that had gone on before.  I thought how awful and hard it would be for someone to say goodbye and not have that peace in their heart that they would one day be together and reunited in Heaven.

Take what is left of this day and tell Jesus, that special loved one, friend, child, parent, even the person in line at Wal-Mart, tell them that you love them!  So many people have helped me I could never tell them all.  They may not even know they helped me!  But today I want to tell you- from my heart to yours, Happy Valentine’s Day!

If you don’t do anything else today, LOVE!

 Luke 10:27 (NIV)

²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]”

 

I love you,

Trish

Where You Are Weak, He Is Strong

Weak or strong? If you had to pick one of those words to describe yourself, which one would it be? I think most of us would probably say 'weak.' But did you know that we don't have to remain defeated by our weaknesses?

The only way to overcome your weakness is to rely on God's strength. To do that, you have to stop focusing on your weaknesses. You cannot look at everything you are not. You must look at everything God is. Focus on His strength and all He is willing to do for you.

The weaknesses of the world are not your inheritance. Jesus did not come to earth, die on the cross, and rise again on the third day for you to be weak and defeated. He went through all that to give you an inheritance, authority in this life and His strength to rule over your circumstances.

In any area where you stumble, God is ready and willing to provide you with His strength. So the next time you find yourself confronted by your weakness, remember and declare that where you are weak, He is strong!

Joyce Meyers

Rick Warren devotional

Will You Give It All?

God waits to see what we're going to do with what we have before He steps in and turns a little into a lot. The Apostle John, in his account of the feeding of the 5,000, tells us that the hero of the story is a little boy. (John 6:9)

There are three things to note about this little boy.

He gave what he had - The boy didn't have much, but he gave what he had. Never underestimate what God can do through ordinary people and limited resources given to him in faith. If you want to be used by God just get available.

He gave God all he had - The boy gave all five loaves and both fish. He didn't hold anything back from God. If you want a miracle in your life, you cannot hold anything back from God.

He gave it immediately when it was asked for - The boy didn't hesitate. As soon as it Jesus needed it, the boy gave it to Him.

Why don't we give like that when we need a miracle? Either we don't believe that God will take care of our needs if we give sacrificially to him or we think, "What's the use? How could my little bit help?"

The important thing is to be willing to give as much as we can. That is what God accepts.

Valentines Day Banquet

Let Go of Doubt

Rick Warren devotional

There are two things that cause self-doubt in your life --

Comparing your abilities to others - When you compare your abilities to others, you will begin to doubt my abilities. Instead of looking to God, you start looking at everybody else. You think these other people have more talent, more abilities, more education, or more experience. The moment you start comparing yourself to them, you're going to be filled with self-doubt.

The Bible says, "It is dumb [stupid] to compare yourself to other people." (2 Corinthians 10:12) God doesn't want you comparing yourself to anybody else. He created you to be unique. He wants you to be you.

Remembering your past failures -- Remembering your past failures is like putting a movie in your mind of all your mistakes and playing it over and over. It tortures you to death and it causes you to doubt your abilities.

God does not want you focusing on your past. If you stay focused on your past mistakes, you can't get on with your present. And God can't use you in the future. God says forget the past.

Don't let your past doubts, don't let your past guilt, keep you from being used by God. God essentially says, "I don't care what your past is. I want to use you!"

Avoiding spiritual burnout

Avoiding Spiritual Burnout

You cannot love people the way God loves you without God's power in your life because human love runs out.

If you feel that nothing seems to be worth the effort, or life seems to be futile, or you find yourself blaming God for your problems -- "Why did you let this happen to me?" - these are warning signs of spiritual burnout.

1 Timothy 4:8 says: "Take the time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit." (Phillips) How do you stay spiritually fit so you can love people? By building spiritually refreshing habits into your life.

A Daily Quiet Time - "This is the reason we never lose heart. Our body does suffer wear and tear but every day the inward man receives fresh strength." (2 Corinthians 4:16) Outwardly our body suffers wear and tear, but inwardly we can be spiritually renewed every day by spending time alone with God.

A Small Group--A Christian without a small group is an orphan. You need a small group. The Bible says, "Let us encourage one another." (Hebrews 11:25) You need to get together in a small group at least weekly where you can share needs and problems, where you care for one another.

Worship--Praising God will renew and rejuvenate you. Psalms 59 says, "I will sing of your strength in the morning and I will sing of your love for you are my refuge in times of trouble." You need that emotional release and that recharging that comes from singing. Put on a Christian tape or CD, sing along and see how God restores your soul.

Our Daily Bread

Daily Bread -- New Eyes

February 2, 2013

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn
READ: Ephesians 1:15-21

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know . . . the riches of the glory of His inheritance. —Ephesians 1:18
A college student I met had recently placed her faith in Christ. She described her initial life-change this way: “When I trusted Christ for salvation, it felt like God reached down from heaven and placed a new set of eyes in my eye sockets. I could understand spiritual truth!”

It was moving to hear how her encounter with the Savior brought new spiritual perception. But her experience is not unique. Everyone is endowed with spiritual sight when they trust Christ as their Savior. Yet, at times a “fog” rolls in and our spiritual vision becomes cloudy and unclear. That happens when we neglect our relationship with Him.

In Paul’s fervent prayer for believers’ spiritual sight, we see how important it is to fully appreciate all that God has done and will do for us through Christ. He prayed that the eyes of our understanding would be enlightened that we “may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18).

Each believer has been given new eyes to discern spiritual truth. As we keep our hearts tuned to God, He will help us to see with our spiritual eyes all that He has given to us in Christ. —Dennis Fisher

My soul within me yearns for Thee
Till Christ be fully formed in me;
Let love divine enlarge my heart,
Then all Thy fullness, Lord, impart. —Stewart

I once was blind but now I see!

Our Daily Bread

Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. —Ephesians 6:6

I love watching the skill and passion of great athletes as they give their all on the field. It shows their love for the game. Conversely, when a long season is winding down and a team is already eliminated from any opportunity for championship or playoff games, sometimes it seems that the players are merely “going through the motions.” Their lack of passion can be disappointing to fans who have paid to watch a good game.

Passion is a key aspect of our personal lives as well. Our heart attitude toward the Lord is revealed in how we serve Him. The apostle Paul said that our service includes the way we go about our daily work. In Ephesians 6:6-7, we read that we are to approach our work, “not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.”

For me, the key in that verse is “from the heart.” I have a heavenly Father who loves me deeply and sacrificed His Son for me. How can I do anything less than give my very best for Him? The passion to live for God that comes “from the heart” provides our best response to the One who has done so much for us. —Bill Crowder

Father, every day offers opportunities for me to express
my love for You. May the passion with which I live, work,
serve, and relate to others be a fitting expression of my
gratitude for Your love for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The love of God motivates us to live for God.