(CLICK THE PICTURE) Good morning everyone. I’m praising the Lord this morning because He allowed me to be around to celebrate another birthday! I’m grateful for the transformation He continues to make in my life daily through the Holy Spirit. That’s where the message is going today. Let it bless you.
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, remind us that each step that we take in our walk with You counts, not just the goal. If we are to be Christians, then we must be a Christian people each step of the way. Help us to see that every day of our lives contributes something to the person we are becoming and our conduct influences others around us. Fill us with the Holy Spirit, so that we may stand firm in the trials that we encounter daily. In your holy name we pray, Amen.
Let’s eat.
Work of the Spirit
Convicting the sinner
John 16:1-8
“I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith. For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy service for God. This is because they have never known the Father or me. Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember my warning. I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer. “But now I am going away to the One who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
General work; regenerating the believer
John 3:1-5
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.
Special work; Sealing the saint
Ephesians 1:10-13
And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,[a] for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago.
Quote of the Day
Too many churches today are devoid of the Spirit of Pentecost because they are dry and stale, where people are in a stupor; where worship services are wooden and so scripted that they are hollow; where the preaching is dull and flat; where the singing is Geritol-tired and without the vim and vigor which speaks of a crucified, died and risen Lord; where if anyone taps his foot and says, “Amen”, he is stared into silence, and if anyone shouts, “Thank you, Jesus” the people call the EMS or 911!
Carlyle Fielding
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REV. ELDER G E STERRETT
FOUNDER
GCKRS HELPING HAND FOUNDATION – THE RELATIONSHIP FACTORY
James H. Taylor Sr. – Kankakee City News has published my Daily meal message for a decade.