Saturday, May 14, 2016

We don’t have to be scared – v2


We don’t have to be scared
for God is always with us
the Spirit walks with us
all of our lives;
We don’t have to be timid
no matter our struggles,
we can walk boldly
through the dark

God walks with us
on our life’s  journey,
Christ is with us
through the fires of life;
We may traverse the waters,
the storms around us,
We don’t have to be scared
for our God is always near


===============
edited May 14, 2016
We don’t have to be scared – v2


May 14, 2016
We don’t have to be scared
May 13, 2016
Each day is a blessing
Romans 8:14-17
devotion for May 13, 2016
read May 13, 2016
&
May 12, 2016
Come, Holy Spirit
John 14:25-27
devotion for May 12, 2016
read May 12, 2016
&
edited May 12, 2016
Peace in the struggles – v2
May 11, 2016
Peace in the struggles
John 14:8-17, 25-27
devotion for May 11, 2016
read May 11, 2016
&
 “Creation in All Directions”
by Brad Gabriel
for May 9, 2016 to May 15, 2016
The Upper Room Disciplines 2016

All of my poems and photographs are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 41,210+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

sermon, "Do You Want To Live Forever...?", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, Patten, ME, May 8, 2016, Mothers' Day



May 8, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the instructions”
Live, Now and Forever
(What did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
Luke 10:25-37
John 3:14-17
Mathew 19:16-22
Psalm 47


“Do You Want To Live Forever…?”

Prayer for God’s Word to be heard through me or in spite of me…

Today is Mothers Day…a day where we honor those who bore us and those who are like mothers to us.. We usually want give them something special on this day…something to say thanks for all they have done in our lives. There are cards that we can buy to try to tell them how much they mean…I remember that when I went to buy a card for my mother I would read the card and if it made me cry…then that was the card  she got… There are assorted candies and gifts that we can give to honor the one who brought us into the world…we are God’s gift to them and we are their gift from God…There are even things we can buy them to make them look younger. There are face washes…moisturizers…make-up…hair dyes…treatments that we can buy our moms to make them look years younger…”I love you mom but you are looking older so I thought I would buy you something to make you look young again…”OK…I have earned all my grey hairs and wrinkles…I just as soon keep them thank you very much… What is humanities obsession with being young…? It seems that if we show signs of aging we just have to turn back the clock. We want to live forever and look young while we do it. But are we, as humanity, missing the mark on all this living forever…life eternal?

We are all on a reading journey as we read the instructions that Jesus gave the first disciples and what He intended all to follow to do. We are gathering the knowledge that we need to be Christ Ambassador’s in a world in need of a Savior. Now Jesus wants us to “go and do likewise”…to take His example, His instructions and follow them. Some of the instructions may not be words but actions that Jesus showed His disciples. Now I hope you all brought your bibles this morning. If not there are some in the pews. I want us each to look up the instructions…for ourselves…instead of me reading them to you. Who knows, maybe after we are done it is something we will continue to do… just sayin.

So…where have we been so far? The first instruction was on Easter Sunday to a woman called Mary Magdalene…Go, tell. Just that simple…go tell others I am alive… Go and tell…ministry is an action. The next were stay…wait…witness (stay where they were and to wait for the Holy Spirit, then to witness to and for Him all over the world). Another is touch…heal. We may touch lives by our words or actions but either way we can bring healing to others…and to ourselves. Now the one that seems against each other…“Beware…don’t worry”. We are to beware but not worry as we are doing so…we are to “walk in the world” with our “eyes wide open” but go into it anyway… And then there is one of my favorites…“Don’t Argue, Agree to Disagree.” Now we decided that we, as the body of Christ, need to come together as the “body” not just as different parts. We need to unite together so that we can see God’s Kingdom Come and His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven all heaven is in agreement so is should be on earth…

The next thing that Jesus taught…was “Live, now and forever”…eternal life. So what is meant by eternal life?

“Eternal life means escaping the power of death. This life is ruled by death. Everything that lives will die. Physically, there is no way to escape it. But death wasn't the end of the story for Jesus -- God brought Him back to life. In the same way, death isn't the end of the story for us. The Bible says: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” “"Eternal life" also refers to the quality of this life. Jesus said "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). "Abundantly," in the original language, means "more extremely." When ordinary life is routine and boring, Jesus gives you a new life that is Xtreme!”

Now Jesus instructions to the religious leaders of His day was to remember that God was and shall always be the God of the living and life with God was everlasting. I am reminded of the story of the rich young ruler. It is found in Matthew, chapter 19, verses 16-22. Let’s read this encounter together and see about this eternal life thing…read text…

The man had done everything that he thought he needed for eternal life but his priorities were a little eschewed. He had much wealth and that was more important to him…that was what he relied on…that was his god that took care of him not the God of eternal life…we too can get a little caught up in the god of self-preservation. We don’t live life for God because we are afraid of the cost. God wants us to live life to its fullest and depend on Him and not live a life of fear of tomorrow…he is more than enough…

The leaders of Jesus day really didn’t get it…they felt that eternal life was after death but as we live for God…to honor Him…to do as Jesus did…we begin to live that eternal life here as we worship God with our actions and not just words… The parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke is a good example of that. Let’s turn to Luke 10 verses 25-37 and hear about how we can live that abundant, eternal life here on earth…read scripture…

We live life eternal here by doing what God would have us do. Our rules and regulations won’t get us there…speak of the way the religious leaders acted… It is only by accepting Jesus are we given eternal life and it is only by following His example that we can live it…live the preview of it…on this side of eternity…

One of the most “famous” scriptures about eternal life is John 3:16… Let’s look at the scripture before and after and see it in its context…John 3 verses 14-17…
WE shall have eternal…through Jesus and only through Jesus…speak from the Spirit…Who is Jesus and how we live eternal life here on earth…

Go, tell…stay, wait, witness…touch, heal… be on guard, don’t worry…don’t argue, agree to disagree…Love, the Main Thing…Live, Now and Forever…these instructions really are as simple as that. Eternal life is God's own life, living in you. If you want to know what that means, look at the kind of life Jesus lived. Piercing insight into the most troubling and confusing problems people face. Strength to win the struggles with sin that people usually lose. God's miracle-working power that turns impossible situations into exciting victories.   But we as Christians sometimes forget that we can have that abundant life here…not just in eternity. We have spent so much time on learning the instructions Jesus gave His disciples then and all who will follow. If we ignore His instructions and not follow them to the point of us truly being that image of Christ our commissioning that Christ gave all of His disciples we cannot live them out in our lives. As I have said before…there are going to be times when we forget these instructions. One way of remembering is reading God’s Word each day…if we spend time daily with the Author of the manual, Immanuel we will have more of a chance of following the instructions for life.

May be if we begin to listen and follow the commissioning that Christ gave on all of our livesmaybe…just maybe we can turn the tide of chaos in the world into order…God’s order. Maybe someday we will be that “Body of Christ”…working together like a well oiled machine bringing about the Kingdom. But it is a choice…yours and mine. Do you think that if we started to live life the way God would have us live, we would have a glimpse of eternity here on earth? I say yes with the help of the Holy Spirit which guides us in all truth…the truth of our God and king. As we live life as if we were in God’s presence now we would want to bring others into His glorious life. If people saw the glory of God upon us…maybe …just maybe we could help them see eternity. Maybe if we asked ourselves do you want to live forever” we would not be like the rich young ruler and walk away because we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket…the basket of abundance of our Living God and our Risen Lord Jesus Christ...

Amen.

May 8, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the instructions”
Live, Now and Forever
(What did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
Luke 10:25-37
John 3:14-17
Mathew 19:16-22
Psalm 47
and sermon, “Do You Want To Live Forever…?”
text

video
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
May 8, 2016
&
May 1, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the instructions”
Love, the Main Thing
(What did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
1 Corinthians 13:1-7a
Mark 12:28-32
Psalm 67
The Proof of Your Love by King and Country
sermon, “Love, Is A Many Splendid Thing…”
text:
video
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
May 1, 2016
&
April 24, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the instructions”
Don’t Argue, Agree To Disagree
(What did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Mark 9:33-35; Matthew 18:18-20
Romans 12:15-17; Philippians 4:1-3;
2 Timothy 2:22-25; Titus 3:8-9
Psalm 148
sermon, “Can We Just Get Along…”
text:
video
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
April 24, 2016
&
April 17, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the instructions”
Beware, Don’t Worry
(What did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
Mark 13:9-11
Matthew 6:25-34
Psalm 23
Philippians 4:4-7
sermon, “Be Courageous…”
text:
video:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
April 17, 2016
&
April 10, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the instructions”
(What did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
Acts 3:1-10 AMP
Mark 6:53-56 AMP
Psalm 30
sermon, “Touch… Heal…”
text:
video:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
April 10, 2016
&
April 3, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Sermon Series:
“When in doubt…read the instructions”
(What did Jesus instruct His disciples then and now…?)
Acts 1:1-14 NKJ
Psalm 150:1-6
sermon, “Stay…Wait…Witness”
text:
video:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
April 3, 2016
&
March 27, 2016
Stetson Memorial UMC
Resurrection (Easter) Sunday
Acts 10:34-43 AMP
John 20:1-18 AMP
sermon, “On the Third Day”
text:
video:
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message from Mystery Box
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Resurrection (Easter) Sunday
March 27, 2016

All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 41,220+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

We don’t have to be scared


We don’t have to be scared
for God is with us
the Spirit walks with us
all of our lives
We don’t have to be timid
no matter the struggles
we can walk boldly
through the dark
God walks with us
on the journey
Christ is with us
through the fires of life
We may traverse
the storms around us
We don’t have to be scared
for our God is near


===============
May 14, 2016
We don’t have to be scared

May 13, 2016
Each day is a blessing
Romans 8:14-17
devotion for May 13, 2016
read May 13, 2016
&
May 12, 2016
Come, Holy Spirit
John 14:25-27
devotion for May 12, 2016
read May 12, 2016
&
edited May 12, 2016
Peace in the struggles – v2
May 11, 2016
Peace in the struggles
John 14:8-17, 25-27
devotion for May 11, 2016
read May 11, 2016
&
 “Creation in All Directions”
by Brad Gabriel
for May 9, 2016 to May 15, 2016
The Upper Room Disciplines 2016

All of my poems and photographs are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for usage. See all 41,210+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.