Church Of The Lost Sheep

'He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee,  standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”' -Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century Luke 18:9-14 in the English Standard Version Bible [This is the  6th  message of this series] It's in our nature to think that we are justified in God's eyes and that we can gain entry into God

" Both Jesus who sanctifies and those who are sanctified [that is, spiritually transformed, made holy, and set apart for God’s purpose] are all from one  Father ; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, “I will declare Your (the Father’s) name to My brethren (believers), In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.” Hebrews 2:11-12 [This is the 5th message of this series] Troubles of Pandemic Proportions Whether we like it or not, the world is still in a pandemic . Depending on where we are, m any of us are still vulnerable to getting sick and infecting others. Many still do not know where they will find their next meal or how to pay their bills. People we know are getting sick and many are worried.  There are varying degrees of infection and different mandated protocols and restrictions. Most places are requiring quarantines, social distancing and facial coverings, others need proof of vaccination, others negative test re

The Lord's Prayer ' One day in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” So Jesus told them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ' Luke 11:1-4 [This is the 4th message of this series] Prayer Every generation was taught by the preceding generation how or what to pray. And it just all depends with, to whom they pray to. Every belief system (including unbelief) have their exercises, procedures and processes. Every kind have rituals and a list of phrases to recite. They have prayer beads and incense, they have incantations, breathing techniques and "magic" words, they have sacrifices, gongs, bells or whistles, they have water, oil, ash or sand and several other things in order to reach

' For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' -Apostle Paul writing to the 1st church in the City of Rome, 1st century Romans 5:6-8 [This is the 3rd message of this series] Heroes Through the centuries, countless noble people have risked their lives trying to save good people, especially for people worth dying for (loved ones, family, countrymen). Prince of Heaven There is One Man who placed everything on the line and died for people who absolutely have no idea about what He was doing or why, and even if they did find out would absolutely not care one bit. You see none of us are worth the blood and the sacrifice of the Prince of heaven. But He risked it all and gave His life anyway. And when we finally are able to wrap our mind arou

' He said to another, “Follow Me.” But that one said, “First let me go and bury my father.” But Yeshua said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ' -Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century Luke 9:59-60 TLV [This is the 2nd message of this series] Jesus of Nazareth [ The Name Jesus in their language is Yeshua, t he TLV uses Yeshua in place of Jesus] Countless people have expounded on this excerpt we read above from the Book of Luke as people who have read or heard of this verse do not understand what it means. So as Jesus was indeed turning the world upside down, He was also setting things straight. Heartless? For many, this statement would appear that Jesus is heartless and do not care for His family. And they might think that this is His nature as He also was recorded to have said: “My mother and My brothers are these who are hearing the word of God and doing it" after someone told Him that His mother and brothers were

  ' He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” ' Mark 9:35 With the Olympic Games, the gold medal goes to the one who comes in first -- the fastest, the highest, the strongest, the greatest, the best. And it is the same for every other competition; sports, academics, arts, whatever it might be. Everyone is aiming to finish first in every aspect of life.  The Greatest In the excerpt from the Book of Mark we read above, before Jesus called His disciple over, they were busy arguing with one another, debating who among them was the greatest. They probably were saying we think we have the top three but who gets the bronze, the silver and the gold medal. And Peter, James and John were probably in the thick of that fight. Each one saying, me, me, no me.  The Last Place Jesus called them over and schooled them by saying w hoever among you wants to be first, must be the last