Church Of The Lost Sheep

As Newborn Babes "So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech; like newborn babies [you should] long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation [its ultimate fulfillment], if in fact you have [already] tasted the goodness and gracious kindness of the Lord." 1 Peter 2:1-3 [9th message of the New Believer Series] This message will really start off this series. This one will define what this whole series will be about. New believers (being reborn) will all need to start as that, newborns. And in this series, we will assume that we are all newborn babes. We shall start with baby food, yes regardless of where we are currently at in our Christian walk. Milk The Apostle Peter told us that like newborns (and as newborn believers) we should long for milk, or the milk (the basics) of God's teaching. And he premised this ph...

What Defiles a Man "Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.” After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable. “Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.) He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.” Mark 7:14-23 BSB The Heart of Man Again we see Jesus being stal...

Why Tell Stories? "The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?” He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again: 'Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing.     Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing. The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears     so they won’t have to listen; They screw their eyes shut     so they won’t have to look,   ...

A Story about a Vineyard “Listen to another illustration. A landowner planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, made a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to vineyard workers and went on a trip. “When the grapes were getting ripe, he sent his servants to the workers to collect his share of the produce. The workers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned a third to death. So the landowner sent more servants. But the workers treated them the same way. “Finally, he sent his son to them. He thought, ‘They will respect my son.’ “When the workers saw his son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him and get his inheritance.’ So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those workers?” They answered, “He will destroy those evil people. Then he will lease the vineyard to other workers who will give him his share of the produc...

Jesus Teaches His Disciples Stop Judging “Stop judging, and you will never be judged. Stop condemning, and you will never be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your pocket. The standards you use for others will be applied to you.” Luke 6:37-38 Easier Said Than Done Continuing on these lessons, we will read the next verses from teaching # 10, with Jesus Himself teaching His disciples. Like what I mentioned from the previous lesson , before I came to understand what the good news of Jesus is all about, many if not all of these teachings totally didn't make any sense to me. The Golden Rule (do unto others what you want them to do unto you) -- even though most people mistreat us and do all sorts of bad things towards us, how then can we treat them good? Nonsense, right? The world says survival of the fittest. But if you think about it, the cockroach...

Jesus Teaches His Disciples Love Your Enemies “But I tell everyone who is listening: Love your enemies. Be kind to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who insult you. If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other cheek as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t stop him from taking your shirt. Give to everyone who asks you for something. If someone takes what is yours, don’t insist on getting it back. “Do for other people everything you want them to do for you."  Luke 6:27-31 Easier Said Than Done Continuing on our lessons regarding the hidden gems of Scriptures, we continue with Jesus teaching His disciples. Before I came to understand what the good news of Jesus means, my curiosity just got the best of me and so I decided I need to read the gospels for myself to find out what this is all about and why some are really so crazy into this Jesus stuff. This led me to read the gospels. When, I got to the verse above, especi...

Jesus Teaches His Disciples Woes “But how horrible it will be for those who are rich.     They have had their comfort. How horrible it will be for those who are well-fed.     They will be hungry. How horrible it will be for those who are laughing.     They will mourn and cry. How horrible it will be for you     when everyone says nice things about you.         That’s the way their ancestors treated the false prophets." Luke 6: 24-26 If you think about it, this is the flip side or the Side B of the previous teaching. If you missed Side A, it would be worthwhile to start there and then flip back here. Well Off Jesus taught His disciples that riches are nothing but temporary material things of this world. Well Fed Jesus taught them, that those who are always full, will go hungry. Laughing Jesus continued, it will be sad for those who ...

Jesus Teaches His Disciples Blessings "Jesus looked at his disciples and said, “Blessed are those who are poor.     God’s kingdom is theirs. Blessed are those who are hungry.     They will be satisfied. Blessed are those who are crying.     They will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, avoid you,     insult you, and slander you         because you are committed to the Son of Man. Rejoice then, and be very happy!                 You have a great reward in heaven.                     That’s the way their ancestors treated the prophets."  Luke 6: 20-23 Poor Jesus taught His disciples that you are blessed for the Kingdom of God is yours in your poverty. Ma...

Milk 7 Don’t Throw It All Away "So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching."  Hebrews 10:19-25 Primary School is over, after going through the first few verses of Hebrew 6. Now we jump to Hebrews 10 above and finish off this teaching and close it out, like our Creator resting on the 7th day. Now it is complete, after a believer receives God's gift of reconciliation, he now live out his remaining days as a new creation, after being reborn both in ...

Milk 6 "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment ." Hebrews 6:1-3 Judgment Everyone, deep in their gut know that there will be a Day of Reckoning. This day is when each one's karma catches up to them. Christians believe in eternal judgment, but not in the way that most people think. You see God already judged this world and had given it over to what each one desires. God is not one to force anyone to do what is not in their heart to do. He doesn't need to do that. And why would He? Freewill Him is like a Father patiently waiting for a prodigal son or daughter to come to their senses. Now in our Heavenly Father's ultimate grace, mercy and act of clemency, He offered His Son to take humankind's place of judgment, con...

Milk 5 "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead ," Hebrews 6:1-3 Resurrection The Old Testament Jews have always believed in the resurrection of the dead. This was evident in the narrative about Jesus bringing Lazarus from the dead. When Martha first met Jesus as He came to be with them, Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha responded, “I know he will rise again... in the resurrection at the last day.” But Jesus have something else in mind. Jesus' response to Martha was: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die." Do You Believe Then Jesus asked her, "Do you believe this?” This belief is...

Milk Part 4 "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms,  the laying on of hands ," Hebrews 6:1-2 Today, one of the more misunderstood if not under utilized practices of the apostles is the laying on of hands. In the Old Testament, this act was used to set apart a person for leadership. But it was also done over sin-offerings before it was slaughtered. In the New Testament, because Jesus was the last sin-offering, the apostles no longer laid their hands on animals, nor offered up animals to be slaughtered. Blessing But they still laid hands on people to set them apart and to anoint them for service to the Lord, such as in the "commissioning" of the seven in Acts 6:6 , who basically acted as assistants to the apostles, and also as recorded in Acts 13, as they set Paul and Barnabas off in their mission. ...

Milk Part 3 "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God,  instruction about baptisms ," Hebrews 6:1-2 Baptisms Lost on this narrative about the elementary teachings is the letter s. Yes for there are teachings with an s, as the Lord permits (we are on part 3 right now and counting). Another lost s is on baptisms, baptism + s = meaning there might be more than one kind of baptism. And the bible tells us so. Water Baptism Recorded in the Book of Acts, after Paul and his group have left Corinth, Ephesus and the nearby cities, a native of Alexandria came to Ephesus. He was a Jew named Apollos. Paul left two of his disciples, Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus. Let us follow the narrative in Acts 18 "Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures...

Milk Part 2 "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God," Hebrews 6:1 Foundation Whenever a house is built, the foundation is laid down first. Jesus puts it like this: "I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."  Luke 6:47-49 Both the Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul, wrote about Jesus being the chief cornerstone of the foundation of the Christian faith. Jesus is the real ...

A Call to Maturity "Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits." Hebrews 6:1-3 BSB Like new born infants, every new believer who has been born again has in fact become babies again -- no of course not physically but spiritually. So the writer of the Book of Hebrews is telling its readers that each of them should move up from babies, leaving the elementary teachings (milk) and start progressing to eating meat, and thereby maturing in the faith. Although, he is disappointed that people who ought to be partaking of solid food are still not ready for it. What Are The Elementary Teaching Paul wrote to the first church in the City of Corinth: "Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached...