Matthew

We are clearly living in a very dark time, but according to Jesus; His followers would be a source of light. However, we can not bring forth this light of ourselves - it comes from our union with Jesus. He is the branch and we are the vines, without Him we can do nothing! What are you pouring into your lamp?

The Lord has given Brother David Parish a word for the year. We are living in the last days and in troubling times. Everywhere we go in our country today, people are living in fear. Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." We have a heavenly father who knows of our needs and wants to meet those needs. If we will seek first the Kingdom of God in our lives all other things will be added unto us.

We live a stressed, over-burdened generation. While stress and anxiety often consume our minds and even negatively impact our health as the Christian. Jesus clearly tells us not to worry! Worry is unbelief in disguise and therefore, is actually a sin. God's cure for worry is found in Philippians 4:4-9.

God is in process of restoring His Church. We are subjects of the Kingdom of God. In John 17:16, Jesus said, “They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.” We need to move under direction of the Holy Spirit while operating in the manifested life of Jesus Christ. Above all, we should put the things of God first in our life and set our minds on the things of Heaven. In Romans 14:17, Paul tells us, “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” We have and makeup the Kingdom of God - by being restored - to living in the manifested power of Jesus Christ.

In His sermon on the mountain, Jesus teaches us what life as a christian is all about. In Matthew chapter 6 He lays out 3 christian duties: Give, Pray and Fast. All three are to be done with sincere motives and all 3 are ways of making God our number one priority. As we give generously, pray sincerely, & fast with purpose our lives will be built on solid ground!

Jesus' statements in Matthew 7 expose our dangerous tendency to gravitate toward that which is easy, popular, or even somewhat cheap. However, Jesus was clear - following Him would be costly. The question must be asked, "Is He worth it?"

We have received a mandate to go out and reach as many people as we can in our area. Not just the surrounding towns but the entire Southeast Indiana. We are to work together with our fellow churches towards the same goal of reaching souls around us for Christ. You and I must begin to have a "large harvest" mentality and see beyond our own church. The multitudes are tired, weary, scattered, confused; you and I can show them the answer is Christ.

In telling the parable of the sower, Jesus warns that the care (worry & anxiety) of this world can choke out the effectiveness of God's word. Throughout scripture we are told not to worry and never allow fear to control our heart. God's cure for fear is keeping our eyes on Jesus, prayer and guarding what we allow into our minds. Be anxious for nothing!!

Pastor Dale Yerton kicked off Camp Meeting 2014 with an awesome message. Everybody is looking for something. If you are a treasure hunter, four words are important; House, Seed, Field, and Treasure. The house represents the church, the seed is the Word of God, the field is the world, and the treasure is the Kingdom of God. Brother Dale uses Matthew chapter 13 to show us that life is in the seed, we plant the seed in the field, then we find treasure in the field, harvest in the field, then to bring the treasure to the house!

Jesus has declared that his house is to be a house of prayer. It is to be a place of unhindered worship and access to God. The early church devoted themselves to prayer and we see throughout the book of Acts - God's amazing responses! If ever the church needs to devote themselves to prayer once again, it's now!