Church Of The Lost Sheep

" 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

'Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.' -a portion of a story as told by Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century Luke 14:16-20 We've all been there. God calls us and we are busy, right smack in the middle of doing something and at just the worst possible time ever (even in the middle of a pandemic). But is there ever a good time? Whenever anybody's call comes, it will always be like that and like everyone else, we will have so many questions (why me Lord, why not him, why not her) and our brain will suddenly shi

Peter’s Confession of Christ "Then Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him." Mark 8:27-30 Continuing on with our 40 day journey reading through the Book of Mark. I trust you have been reading with us. If so, you would have noticed that we skipped a few verses. These are about another healing. We could read that on our own. For today we will read about Peter's revelation. Peter was the de facto right hand man of Jesus. And not because he was the best among His closest followers. If anything, he was among the least. And not that the others were better. Every single one of them had their own weaknesses. Peter

The Leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod "Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Watch out!” He cautioned them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.” So they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. Aware of their conversation, Jesus asked them, “Why are you debating about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Do you have such hard hearts? ‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you collect?” “Twelve,” they answered. “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they said. Then He asked them, “Do you still not understand?” Mark 8:14-20 This is the 23rd day of our 40 day journey reading through the Book of Mark. I trust you already hav

The Demand for a Sign "Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven. Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” And He left them, got back into the boat, and crossed to the other side." Mark 8:11-13 Jesus with His paparazzis and His fans and supporters   This is the 22nd day on our 40 day journey reading through the Book of Mark. I trust you have found the time to join up and even to start from Day 1, even if you started late. So if you have been reading the Book of Mark, you would notice that we skipped past a few verses. These were on other healings and another feeding of a few thousand people. We could read that on our own. Pretending To Be Blind Today we will deal with how some people kept on insisting that they are blind to what they are actually seeing. Most of us are like this. Because

The Faith of the Gentile Woman "Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre. Not wanting anyone to know He was there, He entered a house, but was unable to escape their notice. Instead, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet. Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children have their fill,” He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then Jesus told her, “Because of this answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone." Mark 7:24-30 This is the 21st day of this 40 day journey reading through the Book of Mark. And we will continue from the passage from yesterday. Fame By this ti

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 This is Day 20 in this 40 day journey through the Book of Mark. And we continue fr

Tradition and Worship "Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed. Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially. And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining. So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.” Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ You have disregarded the commandment of God to

The Feeding of the Five Thousand "Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place. But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them. When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things. By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked Him, “Shou

The novel  coronavirus  is a conspiracy theory from the very beginning. No one can really be sure how it started. Goverments have their own agenda. And media have theirs, and these people stick to them. How To Deal With A Pandemic Luckily, we the public only need three things: One, to be  careful,  Two, to be  thoughtful, and Three, to be  thankful . Photo Credit: Lindsay Community Church Be Careful First, we need to be careful not to get sick. I know many of us are as strong as a horse and think this virus is no worse than the flu. But typically in the U.S., each year the flu infects 40 million, 800,000 of whom gets hospitalized and 60,000 of them die. Now mind you, the flu has a vaccine and we have medicine to treat it. The new  coronavirus  spreads like the flu, has no vaccine, no medicine and at least triple the fatality rate. We have not studied it and we do not know what long term effects it has on those who will catch it. We should not underestimate th