As we wake up to this ever changing world we are living in, two questions we may ask ourselves could be:
Where is Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be done as it is in Heaven?
Where is God’s Righteousness?
With more and more of the world trying to push God out of it, we have to assume that they do not care about making this world into a place or kingdom similar to Heaven. I was once told in a sales seminar that you can never win an argument when the person’s ears are closed. What that means is that even if you have the truth, if their anger or hatred is so great they will not allow themselves to hear anything except more anger or hatred, they will not want to listen to what you have to say. Our battle has to be with the human heart and that battle is fought usually hand to hand, one-on-one, starting with our immediate family and working our way out to the world. When the world tries to tell us what is right and what is wrong, it can leave some of us confused and looking for answers. Why aren’t people acting right? Or we say ,”That is not right!” We then have to ask ourselves, what is right? Who is the arbiter of what is right and what is wrong? Is it our parents or grandparents, our teachers or professors, our priests or pastors, our husband or wife, our friends, our politicians or doctors? If you profess to follow Jesus Christ, then the answer should be fairly obvious! We are going to explore God’s Righteousness this weekend and I invite you to come out and see how we can know what is right and what is wrong!
With His Righteousness
June 14, 2020 • Ben Sorbello
With His Peace
August 30, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames
You've probably heard the old song that is most-often sung at Christmastime that says, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me". It's a nice thought and something we could certainly use right about now in our world, but I have to ask, how is that working out? The world, and even many believers, are being crippled with fear and angst as seemingly every single new day brings something scarier than the one before it. While those who know Jesus Christ and trust in God's sovereignty should be moving away from fear and toward faith, many are finding that the exact opposite is happening. How can we have peace as we see what is going on? Why are so many people angry at each other and unwilling to get along, love one another, and overcome the chaos? My friends, I submit to you that the answer to these questions is that we have been searching for peace within OURSELVES, but that's not where it's found. This week at Friendship, we'll finish out the FORTIFY series by discussing what it means to be fortified with God's peace. We'll talk about the story of Gideon, who came to realize that "The Lord is Peace" (Jehovah Shalom). Peace is not something that happens accidentally in our lives; we must submit to the Lord and clothe ourselves with HIS character. This is our only true hope as we battle the fear and anxiety associated with our present world.
With His Holiness
August 23, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames
You may have heard of this old thought-provoking question: If being a Christian were illegal and you were arrested and charged, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Pondering your answer to this question forces you to practice one of the most basic disciplines of the Christian walk, yet one we often neglect - self-examination. Being a Christ-follower is about more than what we say we believe in our hearts, because our faith is shown through action and behavior. While perfection is not required, there must be some outward evidence of our internal condition, some fruit that sprouts from the seeds of faith planted within us. In the Bible, we are commanded to be "holy" just as God is holy. That sounds very intimidating and impossible to us, but that's primarily because of our misunderstanding of the word. God is HOLY in that He is "set apart", different from His creation. His thoughts and ways are higher. This week at Friendship, we'll talk about being fortified with God's holiness, which in turn helps us to live the "set apart" lives to which He has called us, to be in the world and engage with unbelievers while exhibiting evidence that clearly distinguishes us from them and their worldly behaviors. We ought to reflect God's "set apartness" in our earthly lives until we are made permanently holy in heaven.
With His Trustworthiness
August 16, 2020 • Ben Sorbello
"Trust Me". How often in our human existence have we heard that phrase? How do we know WHO to TRUST? Life is full of daily decisions we have to make, and in order to try and make the best ones, we need information and facts. Where do we go for them? Who is our source? Do we turn to the media? Our parents? The nightly news? Our friends? Our pastors or priest? The government? The teachers and professors? Books? The Internet? Google? Doctors or lawyers? As Christians, how many times have we put our trust in any of the above when the TRUTH is there is only one true and trustworthy source - the God of the universe? How do we trust God and not the world? This is what we will be exploring this weekend as a church family, so I challenge you to trust me and come out and be a part of this exploration!