Lord Have Mercy
Lord Have Mercy - "Mercy Through Acceptance"
November 19, 2023 • Pastor Scott Weatherford
He was a deserter….a Denier….a man who said one thing but did another. He had followed Jesus for three years and when it came time to stand he allowed a teenage girl to intimidate him into saying “I don’t know the man”. Sad!. However the one he denied cooked him breakfast and accepted him….His name…Peter! He was a self inflated scholar. He was on a mission to stomp out this new order of Jesus followers. He had just lead a angry mob to execute an innocent man. He was not fit for anything other than rejection until he had a encounter of acceptance.…His name….Paul! She was an adulterer….Caught in the very act. She, by law, deserved death. However, a rabbi from Nazareth told Her she was not condemned…accepted…her name…she had no name according to scripture…the rabbi’s name….Jesus! All of these folks and many more have been accepted by Jesus. If they could say one thing, I believe it would be Thank you! Thank you Jesus….thank you that you didn’t give up on me, thank you that you over looked my problems and saw what I could be, thank you for loving me when I could even love myself, thank you for accepting me. One of the most powerful things that happens in a persons life is to be accepted….without condition. Acceptance is the longing of every human heart. Acceptance is so powerful that the lack of it cripples and the results of acceptance is freedom. We need acceptance, hope for it, expect it, and let it define us. We conclude this series on Mercy. I can’t think of a better way to conclude is to say thank you for accepting me…us. Thank you Jesus. In Romans 8, Paul turns the corner on his theological discourse and he starts building the evidence of God great work in our souls. He starts with acceptance. Let’s hear what he has to say….
Lord have Mercy - "Mercy Through Peace"
November 5, 2023 • Pastor Scott Weatherford
Most of the things we worry about never happen, and if they do they don’t amount to much. If that is true, then why do we expend so much time and Energy In worry? Why do we lie awake at night trying to control what is out of our control? In this season of world wide crises, we struggle. We worry. We go to the grocery store in fear. Everyone is a suspect and everything is toxic. We listen to the media and wring our hands. Tis’ the season to worry.. I am not saying that we should go about life in a “Polly Annish” way. What I am saying is that we really need to hear what Jesus says about worry and live in a His reality instead of our obsessions and concerns. The Jewish people have a word for peace, shalom. It is a precious world for the Jews. They greet each other with shalom and wish shalom for one another.
Lord Have Mercy - "Mercy, The Language of Heaven"
October 22, 2023 • Pastor Scott Weatherford
Choices define our lives…every decision becomes a destiny….what will you chose? This might settle in your mind as a compelling thought but there is something deeper here. God has already made a choice on your behalf…he has chosen mercy. Mercy is active and the action of mercy sits at the heart of God. Let me explain… God sent the Hebrew children out of Egypt and into the desert to shape them into His people. God used various circumstances like running out of food and water to teach them dependence, disciplined their rebellion to shape their character, and gave them visible signs and wonders to prove his presence. He wrote out His laws to clear their confusion. Then He instructed Moses to construct a tabernacle to symbolize His dwelling with http://them.at the center of this tabernacle was the ark of covenant. The Ark was to remind the people that they were in a covenant relationship with a Holy God. On the top of the ark was the mercy seat. It rested between two angles with outstretched wings. At the center of the covenant was God’s mercy.