Church Of The Lost Sheep

" For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." Romans 3:28 in the New International Version ------ " But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" James 2:20 in the New King James Version [This is the  3r d  lesson of this series] This message is actually more important to a believer than an unbeliever, but because it is added to the long list that people hold on to, to justify their stand that the bible is unreliable, and the reason they don't believe it, we have to discuss this matter in the public square. I want to add though that I find it amusing that some unbelievers seemingly spend more time studying the bible (although more to find what's wrong with it) and talking about it than many believers. They spend more time trying to justify their unbelief than some believers do to justify their beliefs. Although I'm not raining on their parade, at the rate some of them are going,...

"We share the same spirit of faith as the one who wrote  the psalm,  “I believed; therefore I spoke.” We also believe, and that belief leads us to acknowledge that the same God who resurrected the Lord Jesus will raise us with Jesus and will usher us all together into His presence. All of this is happening for your good. As grace is spread to the multitudes, there is a growing sound of thanks being uttered by those relishing in the glory of God." 2 Corinthians 4:13-15 in the Voice Bible Version [This is the 8th lesson of this series] Resurrected This song sums up the excerpt above ( 2 Cor 4:13-15), and indeed sums up  this series of messages as a whole. Christians sing songs of praise and thanskgiving, in awe and worship, of the God who made it possible for us to be reunited with Him and live forever. All these are of course, nonsense to those who do not believe and needless to say, to those who do not understand. But for those who do, it is the one t...

" For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11:10 in the Berean Study Bible Version [This is the  7th lesson of  this series ] Christians are always being criticized for their faith. This is as if non believers do not have faith on someone or something else, they do. But they find it more convenient to attack Christians for their faith rather than to confront why and how they can continue on theirs. A Christian's faith, by their very label, is (and should be) based on Christ, His finished work. Nothing else. The cross may be the symbol they use, just because most people wants something tangible to hold on to. But Christianity is all about Christ. Everything else should be built on Him alone. Apostle Paul wrote: If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men. There is more to life and living it than meets the eye.  And indeed, if Christ didn't do what He had done, fin...

'Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back any time they wanted. But they were after a far better country than that —  heaven  country. You can see why God is so proud of them, and has a City waiting for them.' Taken from the letter to the Hebrews [This is the 13th message of this series ] The excerpt above is the   Message paraphrase of this biblical passage on faith. This was taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The writer of this letter was extolling the early Jewish heroes of faith, giving us a glimpse of where their faith came from. Prologue In the preceding message we learned about Abraham and how he became ...

The Purpose of John’s Book ' Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.' - John the Apostle, 1st century This is the 6th message of this series] Im the preceding message , we discussed how the first followers of Jesus finally believed everything Jesus have told them after they have seen the final proof with their own eyes. That was the source of their belief*.  Moving forward after Jesus' work was done, He sent the Holy Spirit to continue the expansion of the Kingdom of God.  With Jesus ascending back to heaven, then the Third Person of the Holy Trinity will be taking over and working within and with those who are believing from then on.  In the beginning, it was God the Father who was with humankind. Then came the time of God the Son -- the Word who became flesh,...

Faith in What We Don't See 'The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.' Hebrews 11:1-3 -written to the first believers, 1st century [This is the 5th message of this series] In the preceding message , we discussed about the very first preaching of the Gospel -- the good news of salvation through the finished redemptive work of Jesus of Nazareth. It all begun when Jesus showed Himself resurrected back from the dead to Mary of Magdala. Jesus then told her to go back to the disciples and tell them what she had just seen and heard -- that the final proof that the Kingdom of God is here, it is real and active on earth. (Their faith has been revealed and f...

  "Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see. God accepted our ancestors because of their faith. Faith convinces us that God created the world through his word. This means what can be seen was made by something that could not be seen." Hebrews 11:1-3 In the first part of this message, we talked about joy, in the second part we talked about peace, in the third hope. Now on this fourth segment, we will continue to touch on those three, as we talk about faith. In this series, which started off like a stand up comic piece (about joy) has slowly turned serious in the succeeding two. And it will even be more in this 4th installment. This is God's sense of humor in play. Natural Some preachers employ this, without them being aware of it. God made them naturally funny, with that innate ability to make people laugh, or even smile without them trying to be funny. People gets disarmed when something someone says m...