Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Oct 24th The Just for the Unjust

Today’s Passages – Mark 15 – 16; Proverbs 24

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 116 – 118; Memorize – Psalm 126:5 & 6)

“And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.” – (Mark 15:15)

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” – (1 Peter 3:18)

I am a little embarassed to admit this, but this morning is the first time that I have given some thought to this man Barabbas who was a prisoner released by Pilate at the request of the Jews. The Scripture doesn’t tell us much about this man, save that he had committed insurrection presumably against the Roman government, and was guilty of murder. Jesus, on the other hand, was guilty of nothing but loving the people who were condemning Him. I am not too surprised that the Jews would want him released as it appears that Barabbas was trying to overthrow the Roman government; but why would Pilate agree to such a thing. Pilate was the man given the authority to make the call; and he knew that Barabbus was guilty and a danger to society. He also knew that Jesus was completely innocent. It just doesn’t make sense.

However, neither does it make sense that a just God would condemn His sinless Son to death in order to set free a bunch of vile sinners like us. Did you ever make the spiritual connection between yourself and Barabbas. I know what you might be thinking right now: you’re saying to yourself that Barabbas was a bad person, and he really deserved to be punished. But what about you and me? Are we good people? Or are we as the Scripture says: completely guilty before a just and holy God?  You see, you and I deserve the same judgement that Barabbas deserved; but the Lord Jesus willingly took our place: the innocent for the guilty; the just for the unjust. It’s mind-boggling to think that God would go to such lengths to save such unworthy creatures such as we.

Oct 23rd The Sunday Afternoon Post by Assistant Pastor Ted Stahl

Sunday Morning’s Message – The Safest Place on Earth

Sunday Evening’s Message – Where Did They Go?

Today’s Passages – Mark 14; Proverbs 23

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 111 – 115; Memorize – Psalm 126:5 & 6)

This is a repeat of Pastor’s Stahl’s blog post from last year on Mark 14.

Good morning. How in the world are you? I have two thoughts that may be a help to you today.  In today’s reading we find the story of the woman with the alabaster box of spikenard: a very expensive ointment (verses 3-11). This passage caused me to ask the question, “Have I ever been angry at God?”

How about you? When things don’t go your way, or the way you perceive they should go, do you blame God? Many people do. Cain was angry with God because He would not accept his offering. During the great tribulation, the seven years, rather than repent, many will turn and shake their fists at God. Here in this passage we have Judas. John chapter 12 gives us a little glimpse into where his heart was at…

“Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” (John 12:4-6)

So Judas was angry with God (Mark 14:4-5). What happens next? Judas goes to the chief priests to betray Jesus (Mark 14:10-11). God’s Word tells us to be angry, and sin not (Eph. 4:26). Sin has a price. Judas was told by Jesus what the price would be in verse 21 of Mark 14…

“The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.”

And you know the rest of the story: Judas betrayed Jesus anyway, and ended up hanging himself. The Bible tells us that Judas went to his own place. Is that the hottest part of Hell? I don’t know, but it all started with being angry at God. We all need to ask ourselves that question: “Am I angry at God?”

Remember: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

That leads me to my second thought…

I received this e-mail the other day. It simply said…

Bob Roszak passed away yesterday on the 21 of October.

He was having problems with his heart…

George

I wish I could provide a link to what everyone was saying about this man. He was a fixture in the Buskey home for a long time. We all have an appointed time. Bob’s time had come. And here is the connection…

God had given this alabaster box of priceless ointment for us to hold onto for a while. The time had arrived to give it back: to poor it out and anoint the Saviour’s head and feet. Because of God’s grace, because of Jesus coming and dying on the cross and shedding His precious blood to pay for Bob’s sins, he is in Heaven today. One day you will see him again if you’re saved. God’s Word tells us that we are all sinners (Romans 3:10,23), and that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). The Bible makes it simple,

1John 5:12-13 says, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

All you need do to receive Jesus for your own is to call on his name. Romans 10:3 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

You can’t get to Heaven on your own. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

To God, love is an action word. Love was an action word to Bob also. Because of God’s action in John 3:16, Bob has a home in Heaven…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Peace (John 14:27)

Oct 21st Forbid Them Not!

Today’s Passages – Mark 10 – 11; Proverbs 21

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 101 – 105; Memorize Daniel 12:3)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 121

Read a good article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “Stewarding Time”

“But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:14)

I have been saved now for over twenty years, and I have had the opportunity to observe  a variety of churches. One of the things that I see consistently in strong, healthy churches is the presence of a lot of young people. As a boy, growing up, I hated going to church. I tried to come up with every excuse as to why we should stay home. However, I am noticing that at our church and at many of the churches we are associated with, we have kids that want to be here. In fact, some of these kids are pushing their parents into bringing them. We also have a lot of kids that come on the bus without their parents. It thrills my soul to see young people who are excited about their faith, and really enjoy coming to church.

It is no secret that our church, and many others like ours, have been going through a financial trial. The money simply is not coming in like it used to. It has become painfully obvious that some things that we enjoy at church will have to be cut from the budget. But one thing I will never stand for cutting is the bus ministry. I believe the bus ministry has been the most effective tool that we have for reaching people. Last night on a rainy night, we had over 60 kids ride the bus to Kid’s Club, and quite a few of those stayed for the adult Bible Study that followed. I saw a lot of life in that bunch of kids. I bet that the Lord was very pleased as well.

Jesus wants the little children to come to church. He wants our churches to love and reach out to these children. For some, the spiritual influence they get from us will be the only light that they will ever receive. Let’s keep our churches “children friendly”. I know that children’s ministries (especially running busses) are expensive; but remember, when we invest in the children of today, we are also securing the future of the church.  The kids that we reach today will be paying all of the bills tomorrow.

Oct 20th Hear Him!

Today’s Passages – Mark 8 – 9; Proverbs 20

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 96 – 100; Memorize – Daniel 12:3)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1

“And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.” – (Mark 9:5-7)

In our passage today we have the account of the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus where a select few of His disciples were privileged to get a glimpse of the Lord in His resurrected glory. But something else that was very strange occurred on the mount that day that caught the attention of the disciples. Appearing to talk with Jesus was Moses and Elijah, two of the greatest men of the Old Testament. It seems that Peter was more impressed with the appearance of the two Old Testament men than he was with the Lord Jesus in all of His glory. He wanted to make three booths on the mountain: one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus. In all fairness to Peter, however, notice that it said in v 6 that “he wist (knew) not what to say”.  One lesson that we can learn from this is that if we don’t know what to say we should keep our mouthes shut. At any rate, what happens next is amazing. God the Father booms from Heaven, “This is my beloved son, hear ye him.” He sternly rebukes Peter for even considering the other two men in the same category as His Son. Peter was willing to include the Lord, but he did not give the Lord the place of preeminence.

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” – (Colossians 1:18)

I believe that most Christians today are in a way guilty of the same thing. We want God to be part of our life; but we do not give Him the place of preeminence either. He is included in our decision making, but He is not the final authority in our lives. We give Him part of out time, treasure, and talent; but we do not recognize His sovereign right to dictate wholly what we do with them. I believe God shouts down from Heaven, through His word, the same thing to us today. He is telling us to listen to His Son. Forget about all of the other voices of influence out there and give God exclusive rights in your life.

Notice that the Father commands the disciples as well as us today to “hear Him”. Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice. I wonder how many Christians today are listening for the voice of the Saviour. It is a wonder that we can hear anything at all with all of the noises and distractions that are a part of lives today. God wants to speak to us, and He will if we will simply get alone with Him and open our hearts up to Him.

Oct 19th Don’t Lose The Personal Touch

Today’s Passages – Mark 6 – 7; Proverbs 19

(Second Milers also read – Psalm 91 – 95; Memorize – Daniel 12:3)

“And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.” – (Mark 7:33-34)

When we were kids, we would often drink from the same bottle of soda. In the day that we are living in, we rightly teach our young children to not get too close to people. We tell them not to share someone else’s cup, or even their hair brush or comb. It is even to the extreme now where many people refuse to shake hands; they simply “bump” fists. We are petrified that some sort of disease is going to be transferred to us from other people. I guess the medical experts are probably right about the fact that we are less likely to catch sickness if we keep our distance from people; but I wonder how are we going to be able to help the people that God has given to us to minister to by not getting close to their problems. In our text, Jesus stuck His fingers in the deaf guy’s ears. I don’t think he was wearing one of those latex gloves either when He did it. It gets worse. He then spits on His hands, and touches the guy’s tongue. I can see some of you “germaphobes” cringing right now.

I am really not suggesting that we throw out all that we have been taught in recent years about good personal hygiene; but I am asking us to consider the fact that in order to help people we have to be willing to enter into their world, and allow ourselves to be exposed to some of their problems. Jesus got out into the world where people live. He didn’t participate in the carnal things that they did, but he entered into their lives. I am not advocating that we throw our standards of separation out the window, either. I believe that we can live “in the world”, but through our Biblical standards, not be “of the world”. I believe this was the heart of the Apostle Paul when he said, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” – (1 Corinthians 9:22B).

The world is changing rapidly today. We are using tools of technology where we have the ability to communicate to people without getting close to them; but I feel we are losing some good opportunities to minister to people face to face in the process. Jesus dealt with people on a personal level. I hope we don’t lose that personal touch in our ministry. I still like to knock on doors in order to meet the people in our community. I still like to go to our member’s homes, and see where they live. I still like to have them into my home for fellowship. I believe it literally opens up doors for deeper ministry. I think if Jesus was still here on earth today, He would be with the people. Just a thought.

Oct 18th Preparing and Maintaining the Soil

Today’s Passages –Mark 4 – 5; Proverbs 18

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 86 – 90; Memorize Daniel 12:3)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 92:1

Read “The Habits of Fruitful Soulwinners” by Dr. Paul Chappell.

Read last year’s post from this passage – “Go Home and Tell Them”

“And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.” – (Mark 4:5-7)

I have always been fascinated by the accuracy of the Scripture. This parable of the sower is a perfect representative of the realities involved when dealing with people in their relationship to God. This story told and explained by the Lord Jesus speaks of four different types of soil, which is representative of four different groups of people. The first type of soil mentioned is hard ground that does not receive the seed, and eventually the seed that is sown upon it is gobbled up by birds. This soil type is representative of the hard-hearted person who will not allow God’s Word to enter into his heart. The last type of soil is the best case scenario, which represents a person who receives the Word of God by first trusting Christ as His Saviour; and then he goes on to produce much fruit in his life.

My focus this morning is on the two types of soil in the middle: the stony ground, and the ground with thorns. These two types of soil represent people who start out well, but eventually fizzle out spiritually. The “stony ground” Christian never lets the Word of God take route in his life. Consider what the Apostle Paul told the church at Colosse:

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” – (Colossians 2:6-7)

If a Christian is going to continue growing and eventually begin producing fruit in his life, he must get “rooted” in the Word of God. This is why our church strongly recommends our discipleship program. Through discipleship the new believer gets a good foundation, and enough strength to help  withstand the lure of the world, the tests of the flesh, and the early attacks of the devil. If the new believer is going to survive, he must get in the Word of God.

That brings us to the third type of soil – the soil that is choked with thorns. The thorns represent all of the distractions that can keep the Christian away from the Spiritual nourishment he needs to keep producing fruit in his life. By the way, this can happen to the Christian who, as a new believer, has removed the stones from his soil and has been “rooted” in the Word of God. Thorns have a way of growing up all around us; and if we are not careful we will allow a bunch of things (sometimes even good things) to creep into our lives that will pull us away from God. We need to keep our focus.

In order for us to finish our course and remain fruitful in our lives we must get grounded in the Word; and then we must maintain our walk with the Lord. Anything that pulls us out of the will of God will hinder our ability to produce fruit. We are here to produce fruit.

Oct 17th Who Is In The Driver’s Seat?

Listen to Sunday Morning’s Message preached by Pastor Erickson, “Thankful for the Crumbs”

Listen to Sunday Night’s Message – Is It I?

Check out our church calendar for information on upcoming events.

Today’s Passages – Mark 1 – 3; Proverbs 17

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 81 – 85; Memorize Daniel 12:3)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Micah 6:8

“And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.” – (Mark 1:12)

Years ago, I used to see bumper stickers on the back of tractor trailers that would say, “God Is My Co-Pilot”. As a lost man, I remember thinking that it was a clever slogan, but now that I have thought about it, I am sure that God does not want to be a passenger in your life: He wants to drive. We see in our text that Jesus was “driven” by the Holy Spirit of God into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. While Jesus walked this earth He was filled with the Spirit, lead of the Spirit; and He performed all of His miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit.

It should be the same for the followers of Christ today. We should not to be in the driver’s seat of our own lives. We should be living our lives submitted to the will of God, and yielded to the Spirit of God. Consider the following verses regarding the Holy Ghost:

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” – (Ephesians 5:18)

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. … If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” – (Galatians 5:16, 25)

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” – (Ephesians 4:30)

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” – (John 16:7-8)

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” – (John 16:13)

When I first trusted Christ as my Saviour, I recognized the presence of the Holy Spirit of God in my life. Though, I did not understand it then (nor do I understand it completely now), I knew that there was something inside of me “driving” me toward the direction of the will of God and the Word of God. I realize now that the Holy Spirit was even working in my life long before I was saved. I used to think that the Holy Ghost was kind of like an unseen force in my life; but I have come to realize that He is not a force, He is a Person, and He is God; and God does not take a back seat to anybody. God wants to drive, and we need to be willing to let Him drive us wherever He wants us to go.