It’s not uncommon for the world to usurp the things that God has made and abuse and misuse them in ungodly ways.  It’s a terrible thing to see, and has brought much pain and suffering to out world.  But it’s even worse when wicked people take a symbol and seal of God and use it to represent a life of sin and rebellion.

This morning we were glad to have Jed Smock of The Campus Ministry USA as a guest speaker speak about this very thing.

We hope you will be blessed by his message–either that, or convicted in your heart and motivated to repentance, which in and of itself would be a blessing. 🙂

If you would like more information about Brother Jed and his missionary work, his website is brojed.org.

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Leviticus 23:9-14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰“Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you enter the land I am giving you and you harvest its first crops, bring the priest a bundle of grain from the first cutting of your grain harvest. ¹¹On the day after the Sabbath, the priest will lift it up before the Lord so it may be accepted on your behalf. ¹²On that same day you must sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb with no defects as a burnt offering to the Lord. ¹³With it you must present a grain offering consisting of four quarts of choice flour moistened with olive oil. It will be a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. You must also offer one quart of wine as a liquid offering. ¹⁴Do not eat any bread or roasted grain or fresh kernels on that day until you bring this offering to your God. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live.

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Hosea 4:1-6 Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel!  The LORD has brought charges against you, saying: “There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land. ²You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery.  There is violence everywhere—one murder after another. ³That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away.  Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing.

⁴“Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!  My complaint, you priests, is with you. ⁵So you will stumble in broad daylight, and your false prophets will fall with you in the night.  And I will destroy Israel, your mother. ⁶My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.  Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests.  Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

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Romans 12:17-21 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. ¹⁸Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

¹⁹Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the LORD.

²⁰Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.   If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”

²¹Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

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I originally shared this message on Halloween.  So there’s a short talk on that subject.  How do you think a Christian ought to handle Halloween?

It was also right before the 2010 elections.  So the rest of the talk is about some of the hot button issues then.  It’s primary time for Republicans, and not far down the road it will be election time again.  How do you decide who to vote for?  Do you use morality, popularity, random selection?  How much does the conduct of your elected leaders matter to you?

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Judge not lest ye be judged.  Ever heard that line before?  I’ll bet when you heard it, it came from somebody who didn’t want to be held accountable for their choices.  But do you think an out of context Bible verse is the best defense of irresponsibility?  Listen to the podcast and you be the judge…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:04 — 25.2MB)

Don’t you think it’s ironic that so many politicians end their speeches with the words “God bless America” and then they go on to lie, cheat and trade votes for pork and basically do the opposite of blessing the country themselves.  It’s like praying to lose weight and then eating nothing but greasy junk food.

Doesn’t it make a lot more sense, if you want God’s blessings, to do things that are conducive to receiving his blessings.  God isn’t going to rain down blessings on a sinful, narcissistic, and atheistic nation.   If we truly want to be blessed it requires humility, prayer, turning away from wickedness, and truly seeking the face of God.  And if we as a nation will do that, God promises to forgive our sins and heal our land.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:36 — 20.9MB)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Don’t Let ’em Fool Ya

What’s wrong with the church today is not the music or the modern dress or even the trend toward the mega churches with coffee bars and barber shops and all that jazz.  What’s wrong with the church today, at least in the U.S., is that it is largely ineffective.  Sure we have some outreaches and mission trips and things like that.  But where are the real miracles, and turning the world upside down, and caring for all the widows and orphans, and repentance from sin, and morality outside of church, and preaching counting the cost and expecting persecution and trials as a Christian?

It seems to me like much of the church in America is little more than a weekly club meeting to make you feel better about yourself and not to actually affect your real life. But on the bright side, it doesn’t have to be like that!

What’s it like for you?

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Are you content with your life right now?  Could you die today, happy?  Are you ready for the end?  Are you ready to meet your Maker?

We’re all going to die, but so many people are completely unprepared for that destiny.  In spite of the fact that we never know when our final day may arrive, so many people live in denial of death.  How about you?  Are you ready to expire, to pass on, to perish, to peg out, to push up daisies, to become extinct, to pull the curtains, to be deceased, to meet your demise, to depart, to be as a doornail, to check out, to shuffle off this mortal coil, to kick the bucket, buy the farm, cash in your chips?

It happens to the best of us?  Are you ready?  Would you like to be?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:48 — 21.0MB)

Jesus is alive!  I don’t know about you, but I think that’s the best news ever.  And it’s crazy to think that the King of all creation ever had to die in the first place.  What kind of God would die for a bunch of wicked, rebellious, peons?  He certainly didn’t have to die.  He could wipe us all out with a snap of his fingers and completely get rid of the mess we’ve made of things.  But he hasn’t.  He sacrificed himself to give us the hope of finding a brand new life in him.  What an amazing gift.  He must really love us!  And we can count on him and all the promises he made because he is alive.  Praise the Lord!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:41 — 19.1MB)