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Every Movie has this Theme from the Bible

8/25/2014

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Every good movie has a conflict that must be resolved. Whether the movie is Ants or the Avengers, the conflict is over good and evil. The conflict of good vs evil has its source in the Biblical account of our world.

Revelations 12:3-4,7-9, 12
Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth….
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”


Angels were given free will and the devil chose to rebel against God. Evil is the result of the freedom to choose. One third of the angels followed the devil and they are called demons who join the devil in leading the world away from God.

Here are the attributes and outcome of the devil:

Angel of light
2 Corinthians 11:14-15 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Liar
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Jesus’ to destroy devil’s work
1 John 3:8-8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

Will be bound 1000 yrs
Revelation 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

Let loose for short time then thrown into eternal hell
Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.


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Locked Doors and an Open Window

8/21/2014

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The community I live in is very safe. My wife’s father was a police officer and I have had to learn to lock doors. When there is nothing valuable in our vehicles, I do not lock the doors. The other day I made certain I had the truck doors locked because I did have a couple items that would have been disappointing if they were taken. I returned to the truck three hours later to find it still locked, but I had left the passenger window down.

Sometimes, we live our lives like that locked door and open window. We safeguard our lives from bad things in the world and leave a window open that anyone or anything could access. Movies, books and other entertainment is reviewed and limited to wholesome family values, yet the computer is unmonitored.

Your life has open windows everywhere. It includes your thoughts, eyes, and attitudes. Your task is not to lock everything and put blinders on. You are invited to put Jesus on.

Romans 14:12-14
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.



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Marriage and the Mystery

8/19/2014

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My youngest son said, “I do” on Saturday to his wonderful fiancée, Kayla. They became husband and wife at a ceremony at our home that I was privileged to perform.  I am pleased and proud of them as they have committed their lives to Jesus Christ, they are committing themselves to each other. One of the scripture readings was the passage Paul writes on marriage in Ephesians 5. It includes these verses:
Ephesians 5:31-33
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.


The mystery is that Christ loves the church and willingly gave Himself up for the church. Couples are to follow this pattern in their marriage. Paul earlier tells the readers to, “Submit to one another out of reverence to for Christ.”

Nathan and Kayla are to mutually submit to each other. I still believe scripture calls for the husband to spiritually lead in the relationship. This leadership is as Christ sacrificially leads the church. Christ’s leadership is humble, strong, and centered in love.

The mystery is for the marriage to follow Christ’s example in His relationship to the bride He loves, the church.





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2 Must for Every Church to Do

8/5/2014

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The two most fundamental things a baseball team does is hitting and fielding.  The two most important things Jesus called the church to do are baptism and communion. These are two practices or ordinances also called sacraments.
Sometimes, when things are done over and over again, the meaning can become lost or changed:
Story by Calvin Wittman – pastor in Wheat Ridge, Colorado:
“I remember hearing a story about a young pastor in the northern part of our country who was called to serve his first church as Senior Pastor. After several months there he noticed that every time he administered the Lord's Supper, there were people who were noticeably upset with him. Not willing to let the problem fester he approached one of the members he knew would be honest with him and asked him what was wrong. The older member proceeded to tell him that he and some of his friends were upset with him because he was not administering the Lord's Supper in the right manner. The problem was that the former pastor, who had been there for several decades, would usually go over to the side of the church and move his hands over it in a ceremonial fashion before administering the Lord's Supper. The young pastor had failed to do this and thus had not been faithful to administer the ordinance in the right way.

This was somewhat puzzling to the younger pastor so he called his retired predecessor to find out what he had done and why he had done it. Seems the weather was often cold in that part of the country and the pastor, not wanting to drop any of the plates or cups would go to the heat radiator before the Lord's Supper to make sure his hands were warmed up before the service. But because he had never told anyone why he was doing what he was doing, many of the people in the church had attached some spiritual significance to his warming his hands.

As is so often the case, when things are done in the church over and over and over again, and there is no ongoing explanation for why they are done, people often assign their own meanings to these activities and this leads to all manner of problems.”

From River of Life major beliefs:
10. Baptism by immersion in water
      Acts 8:36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch
      said “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?”
    
      Baptism by immersion is an outward expression of the inward working of Jesus
      Christ in our lives. This is a believer’s baptism.

18. Taking Communion: The Lord’s Supper
     I Corinthians 11:24-26   and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is    
     My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” the same way, (25) after
     supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this,
     whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (26) For whenever you eat this bread
     and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The word sacrament comes from the Latin word, "sacramentum," which described the oath of loyalty a Roman legionnaire would swear to his commanding officer, and in the sense that we observe baptism and the Lord's Supper in allegiance to our Master, Jesus, we could call these events sacraments. But over the years the word has taken on a different meaning. For some denominations, a sacrament is something which, by its very nature, is a means whereby the grace of God is conveyed. In other words, they teach that when one is baptized or takes communion, by that act itself their sins are forgiven.

Both are baptism and communion is symbols, representing a life that has been changed by Jesus Christ. The act of baptism or communion does not save a person.

So, why is this a BIG deal????
Jesus commands us to do both as followers of Jesus.
Baptism:
Matthew 28:19-20
  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Communion, also called Lord’s Supper and Eucharist:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
  For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Baptism and communion are two musts for every group of believers!

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    Mark Radeke

    Husband of one, father of five, pastor and friend of many.

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