Church Of The Lost Sheep

“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God." Matthew 5:23-24 in the Message Paraphrase Version [This is the  25 th  lesson of  this series ] The Will Smith & Chris Rock Saga Several days ago a scandalous event took place on live TV. People who have not witnessed what had unfolded weren't spared. Because soon enough, everyone heard about this infamous slapping incident. Everyone, prominent people, social media, the news, all are still talking about it a week later. Some have sided with Mr. Smith because for them it was a matter of him defending his wife's honor. Some are siding with Mr.  Rock, applauding how he de-escalated the tense situation. (There is always two sides to a stor...

The Lord of Shabbat "At that time  Yeshua  went through the grain fields on  Shabbat . His disciples became hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and eat them. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not permitted on  Shabbat .” But He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he became hungry, and those with him? How he entered into the house of God, and they ate the showbread, which was not permitted for him to eat, nor for those with him, but only for the  kohanim ? Or haven’t you read in the  Torah  that on  Shabbat  the  kohanim  in the Temple break  Shabbat  and yet are innocent? But I tell you that something greater than the Temple is here. If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of  Shabbat .” Leaving from there, He ...

" Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." -Apostle Paul, 1st century Colossians 3:12 [This is the  21st message of this series] This lesson is intended for mature believers (or adulting believers). For a more orderly study, please go through all the  previous messages   first, if you haven't yet. New Nature This is the  6th part of this  series , within a series. To continue, we were talking about how the Apostle Paul is telling the first church in Colassae what "to do",  now that they are living their new life. Replacement Whenever we quit doing certain things, we now have this free time. The first five lessons of this mini series told us what we ought not to do. And so when we take those out of our day, what do we do in its place? Yes it's physics, f or every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Out with the old and in ...

God is Kind, but Not Soft "Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what  you’ve  done. You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change. You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The...