​     It's a sad story.  A man has been found guilty of a crime that will result in his death.  But he's innocent.  What must it be like to be innocent and all are crying for your blood?  Or, what about the man who is guilty and walks away scot-free?
     Just such a story happened in the Bible.  It's recorded in all four gospels.  The one that Pastor Josh uses is found in Mark 15:6-15.  A big holiday is coming up.  And, as the custom is at the time, Pilate can free a prisoner.  He has two.  Prisoner #1 is Jesus.  As far as he, Pilate, can tell Jesus had not committed any crime.  Verse 10 even states that Pilate knew that the only crime was one of envy that the chief priests had against Jesus.  Prisoner #2 is Barabbas.  He's a known terrorist who is both a murderer and a thief.
     Apparently it's also the custom that the people get to choose which one to put to death and which one to save.  Now, the priests have done their homework.  Obviously, they have placed people in the crowd and may have even bribed them to shout that they want Jesus condemned to die.  So, when Pilate asks them which one to condemn, the crowd yells "Jesus, crucify him!"  In fact, Pilate asks them a second time just to be sure that he heard them right.  "Jesus, crucify him!" a second time.
     Barabbas walks free.  Jesus is crucified.  Physically speaking, Jesus died in Barabbas's place.  The Light of the World died for a man who came from a very dark place.  But, that's the way that it goes.  The Light of the World died for everyone whether from a very dark place or not.  It's just that Barabbas was the first.  Neither history nor the Bible tells us what became of Barabbas.  Whether he continued on as a terrorist or took advantage of his second chance and might have been one of the hundred and twenty in the upper room in Acts 1:13-15.  No one knows.  We just know that Jesus died for him.
       He died for you, too.

    "I don't want a rock to do my part."  Josh retorted.  This, of course, refers back to Luke 19:40, "And he answered and said unto them, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."  The disciples were praising Jesus and the Pharisees wanted him to rebuke them.  Jesus responded by saying that if the disciples refrained from praising him, the stones would cry out.  
     Missouri has plenty of rocks.  Just think of the noise they would make it they all cried out praising Jesus.  Douglas County by itself could really set up a clamor should all the rocks tune up at the same time.  The last count of the population in this county is around 13,000.  Could 13,000 voices set up such a chorus?  Thirteen thousand people lifting their voices in praise to Jesus the Christ would surely be heard.
     Anyone who has some acquaintance with the Bible knows that names referring to Jesus are "Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)  Knowing and believing just this alone should make everyone want to shout.  The God of our Lord Jesus Christ has "put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church." (Ephesians 1:22) If nothing else, praise him because he came here to give all who would believe on him everlasting life. (John 3:16)
    Excuses for this present-day world are diminishing.  There's been over 2,000 years pass.  The story has been told and retold.  It's available for those who want to hear it and those who don't.  The story of Christmas is not hidden under a bush.  All the world knows it.  Very few there are who might not know of Jesus and why he came to this world.
     We aren't like the disciples in Matthew 8:23-27 who cast out into the water on a boat.  Jesus was asleep when the tempest tossed the boat so much so that waves came over the top of it.  Scared to their core, they woke Jesus up thinking they were going to die.  Begging to be saved, Jesus was surprised to find them so fearful.  "O ye of little faith..." (Matthew 8:26) is what he said to them.  Then he rebuked the waves and wind and it stopped.  All was again calm.
     The good thing is they turned to Jesus.  The bad thing is they should have known they were safe when Jesus was with them.  How many times do today's believers have to learn this lesson?  Many, probably.  But it shouldn't be so.  Grow in your faith.  Trust and obey Jesus each day.  Renew your faith daily.  Maybe then, mankind will be able to shout louder than the rocks.  Amen.   ​

   "Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure..." (Isaiah 5:14)  "Enter in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction..." (Matthew 7:13)  Both are warnings not to be taken lightly.  Isaiah spoke his message nearly 800 years before Matthew did.  Hell is a very real prospect.
     When this world was created the book of Genesis speaks of the earth being without form, void, and full of darkness.  Then, God turned on the light.  And He called the light "good" and separated it from the darkness.  Then sometime later Adam and Eve were created.  The serpent which we now know to be Satan tempted Eve and both Adam and Eve sinned.  What exactly was their sin?  Rather than following God's warning, they chose to heed Satan's temptation.  They went against God and, for this reason, fled
from God's sight.  Ultimately God banished them from the Garden of Eden.  Genesis 3:22 says that man now knows good and evil.  If he should eat of the tree of life then he would live forever.  Imagine continuously living in a world that has fallen to evil and Satan's wiles.
     We are in this fallen world but everyone ends living here with death.  In the meantime man has a choice to make.  He can become a part of the kingdom of light, or the kingdom of darkness.  Isaiah 9:2 says that the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.  "They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."  Don't forget, God is the one who turned on the light in the beginning.
     Isaiah the prophet comes along.  He is God's prophet and his prophecy is one of hope.  True prophecy brings hope.  Without prophecy it's just a pipe dream.  Mankind needed hope.  He had been walking around in spiritual darkness for far too long.  Thank God for hope in the world to come. 
     There are two kingdoms on this earth.  Choose one.  Walking in darkness and the world and all its' lures is part of the kingdom of darkness and Satan is the master.  The kingdom of light is expressed in John 8:12.  Jesus said, I am the light of the world.  Following him and there is the light of life.  To his followers he said, "You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." (Matthew 5:14)
     Heaven or Hell?  Two choices.  Two distinctly different outcomes.  It's impossible to go to heaven and walk in darkness.  Choose to walk in the light.  ​

   Straight from the heart, "I'm just me, nothing special or great.  All I can do is preach what the Lord gave me."  Pastor Josh went on to say that the sermon may seem a simple one and he is what would be called a 2 x 4 preacher.  This week had been a challenging one for him.  When water backs up in the house and it seems like it keeps getting worse, the challenge seems to fade into a losing battle.  Can't just stop trying to find the blockage.  Water has been backing up for two days.  Friends and snakes, plumbing snakes, were helping to find it.  Still no success.
     The sermon is from Acts 11:21-26.  It's the story about where the people who are followers of Jesus are first called Christians.  But, to make it more meaningful, one should back up and take a short course on what has taken place.  This is what Pastor Josh does. 
     In Chapter 9 of Acts, Saul of Tarsus encounters the Lord.  This is the Damascus Road experience.  As soon as he's back on his feet he begins preaching Christ. (Acts 9:20) This made the Jews mad in Damascus and they wanted to kill him but he got away and went to Jerusalem.  Saul wanted to join the disciples but they were afraid of him.  Barnabas defends Saul (Acts 9:27) to the apostles but still there are those who want to slay him.  So, they send Saul off to Tarsus.
     After this, in Chapter 10, Peter has a vision from God.  In the vision God tells Peter three times, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." (Acts 10:15)  After this, in the same chapter, Peter is told by the Spirit to go to Cornelius the Centurion's house.  While speaking to them the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. (verse 44)
     In the beginning of Chapter 11, Peter acts as a testimony to the church at Jerusalem of the Gentiles being saved.  Even so, when the church at Jerusalem heard that many at Antioch were being saved, they sent Barnabas to see what was going on.  Remember Barnabas, the one who stood up for Saul in Chapter 9?  He goes to Tarsus and fetches Saul and they both go to Antioch and remain there for a year.  This is when the disciples were called Christians. (Acts 11:26)
     Barnabas encountered the 'cold-water committee' at Jerusalem when it came to Saul.  But it didn't change Barnabas's conviction that Saul had been changed from the inside out by God.  Just like Peter, God told him not to call anything impure that He had made clean.  Just like the backed-up drain.  The snake was threaded through the pipes one more time.  And all was flushed out and made clean again.      ​

     Solomon is the author of Proverbs.  He was the King of Israel from 970 to 931 B.C.  He is most remembered for his wisdom.  The first story that comes to mind is the one of two women fighting over a baby.  Both had a child during the night but one of them died.  An argument over who the living child belonged to was taken to Solomon's court.  After he heard the facts he ordered that the baby be cut in half and each woman should receive half since they could not agree who the actual mother was.  One woman cried out to spare the baby and let the other woman have it.  This told Solomon that the woman who cried out was the actual mother because it mattered to her what happened to the child.
     Resources say that Proverbs contains 513 of over 3,000 sayings or proverbs of Solomon's. (I Kings 4:32)  Be that as it may,  our weekly sermon covered only Proverbs 14:9-16.  These verses are timely ones and still have relevance for today's world.  However, the entire book is one of great interest and is valuable for in-depth study.  
     "You can't be saved until you believe.  Believing--what does the Bible mean?" as he opened the sermon.  He pointed out that many people believe, that they have head knowledge.  But this is not enough.  "The devil believes but it doesn't change his soul."  Believing, which is having faith that God is going to do what He says, has to be a living faith.  It has to have action behind it or it is nothing more than a dead faith (or belief).  Just like the devil, he believes but it doesn't change who he is.
     "The devil will war against our faith.  We live in a world full of dead faith, people who make a mockery of faith.  It seemed right to Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit.  Lot looked toward Sodom because it seemed right to him to desire the land.  Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup because it seemed like the thing to do." 
     Of course, there are other biblical stories that play the same refrain.  Even today, many are repeating the same errors in judgment as they did back then.  "There's a world out there trading the blessings of God for something that seems right to them.  If the Bible wasn't true, why do they ban it in communist countries?  Whatever the devil offers is too cheap." In closing Pastor Josh said, "Do all you want to do, but follow God.  Obey the ten commandments.  Tell your kids the truth.  Remember that John 3:16 still applies." ​

     "I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more..."  It's the beginning of a hymn that's been around for quite some time.  Pastor Josh, in addition to preaching, plays the piano and other instruments as well as singing.  He opened this service singing the lines quoted at the beginning of this paragraph.
     Quite an opening for a service from the book of Jonah, Chapter 1:14 through Chapter 2:2.  Although Jonah was the example, Pastor Josh pointed out that this is the condition of mankind, too.  He went on to point out that Jonah was fast asleep (Chapter 1:5).  God had put the ship in jeopardy on his account and he was sleeping peacefully.  Mankind repeats the same old mistake by not realizing they're in danger and headed to a devil's hell.  Jonah was going to go to the far end of the world, as far as man had been. Pastor Josh said, "There's no 'fraidy' hole you can get in that God doesn't know you're there."
     "If the Church would really understand that since Pentecost the world has not been the same." continued our pastor.  Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension (Acts 2).  "It started out with 11 disciples.  You can never get so far that God can't see where you are.  Go as far as you can, do as much as you can, and then do it all again.  God will be there." encouraged the pastor.
     Jonah was sinking to rise no more.  He was pitched overboard.  But God had prepared a great fish (Jonah 1:17) to swallow him up.  Jonah had no hope except that God had sent the fish.  Here Jonah is in open rebellion and God prepares a place for him. The fish saves Jonah so, too, Christ saves mankind.  Don't despise witnessing.  Remember, this all started when Jonah didn't want to witness to Nineveh.
     Here Jonah is on the other end of the world and at the bottom of the ocean.  Out of despair he cried out.  When all seems lost the stoutest of hearts cry out.  God hears.  Jonah remembers God.  He also remembers his actions that got him there.  He prays.  "Salvation is of the Lord." he says.  He ceased being in danger.  The fish spit him out on dry ground.
     Remember to stop and pray.  Know where the victory is.     ​

​     "I might have brush hogged a little too early." continued Pastor Josh. "But the fields really needed it.  Then the rain came.  It was just enough to green up everything again.  Well, the sage grass started growing.  I probably should have waited until the sage grass was through.  It got so high it was impossible to see the new calves.  Oh, maybe a little black spot would pop up now and then.  But, most of the time, I couldn't see them."
     "Going out into the field I could see the paths the moms had made.   They weren't straight but they were if you were a momma cow.  These paths went to water, the pond.  The calves would follow mom to the water and then I could count and see how many we had."
     This story was at the tail end of the sermon taken from Hebrews 12:1-17.  Someone has to go first and the same is true with faith.  Abraham didn't know where he was going but he stepped out.  Others are mentioned in Hebrews 11 such as Noah who built the ark and Moses who led the people out of Egypt.  There are many who stepped out so that others could do the same.  There's strength in that and it should encourage others.
     "If God gives you the ball, run with it.  God has given you his grace, his Word and his Spirit.  Run with it.  Lay aside the weight (sin) that you can run faster.  Holiness is the task that is set before us."  Pastor Josh continued, "Don't go through this world and say 'I'll sin but it'll be okay.'  It's not okay.  We're not perfect.  That's why we need to be sat down and corrected.  A believer's walk has to be guided by the Holy Spirit."
     He went on to say things like: "It's not enough to just quit sinning--fill up your life with God."; "If you walk in the light, look up.  We're Christians which means we're like Christ."
     Why the tale of the sage grass?  Hebrews 12:13 "And make straight paths for your feet..."  Even the cows make paths to life-giving water and they make them for others to follow too.

​     It's an ancient battle.  Actually, it could be considered a duel of sorts.  The year was 1063 B.C.  It's safe to say that this battle was over three thousand years ago.  And yet, it is probably as well-known a battle that there is.  As soon as one reads that it was between the Philistines and the Israelites this battle between two men will jump to mind.
     Yes, it is David and Goliath.  The match between these two couldn't have been more lopsided.  Goliath, as far as is known, was at least nine feet tall, a powerful and imposing warrior who was able to fight while wearing close to 200 pounds of armor.  That's impressive.  He was an accomplished enemy.  And he was fearless.  For forty days he called out the Israelites. (I Samuel 17:16)  Verses 8, 9. and 10 of chapter 17 recounts the goading he gave Israel.  "Send a man to fight me.  If he kills me, we'll be your servants.  If I kill him, you'll be our servants."  That was the meaning that was repeated by Goliath for forty days.
     The Philistines knew that all was not well with King Saul and chose this moment to strike.  Here they are in the valley of Elah which is well inside Israel.  They are camped on one side of the valley and Israel is camped on the other.  The Philistines were certain to win.  After all, who of the Israelites had a champion like Goliath?
     Enters David, the young man who plays the lyre to sooth the nerves of the king.  The young man who spent his youth as a shepherd, and tended the flocks of his father.  He is older now since the last time Saul saw him.  He had been out to the battlefield and heard Goliath's taunt.  Now he approaches the King.  He wants to fight Goliath.  He pleads his case to Saul.
     No one, not even Saul, believes that he can be a match for this giant.  However, he pleads anyway and persuades Saul that he was able to whip the lion that stole a lamb in his care and a bear, too.  This was the tipping point for Saul.  He offered David his armor but David declined and took five smooth stones from a brook, his staff, and his slingshot.  Out he went to meet Goliath.
     This time the taunt was from David.  "This day the Lord will deliver thee into mine hand..." (I Samuel 17:46)  With that, David loaded his slingshot with one of the smooth stones and slung it.  The giant fell.  The stone sank into his forehead.  He was dead.
     This story was renewed for us in the Sunday sermon.  "Don't be a coward especially when it's against the devil." said Pastor Josh.  Then he repeated this engaging battle written in the Bible.  "What's the giant in your life?  Don't you know that the Lord has equipped you to do battle just as he did David?"

     Pastor Josh is not one to stand on ceremony.  Just because some think that "this is the way we've always done it" and that continuing on the same path is necessary, our pastor doesn't necessarily agree.  So, this past Sunday, he broke with ceremony.
     God must be working on him.  Our church has just spent the past 5 weeks listening to sermons on the ten commandments. (One had to attend the evening services to get the other half of the commandments; hence, five weeks, ten commandments.)  Now, this week, our beloved preacher preached most of Romans 8.
     There's a total of 39 verses in this chapter.  And, if one has never been privy to hearing a verse-by-verse sermon, it is truly something to behold.  Speaking for myself only, it was a new experience and, hopefully, one that will be repeated again.  Taking notes, which is what I do, was a taxing experience.  But, it was also refreshing.  Kind of like someone had blown away all the cobwebs and here was this beautiful chapter waiting to be seen through fresh eyes.
     Romans 8 is hope for the believer.  Paul, the author of Romans, is speaking to those who are in the Spirit.  Those who are in Christ Jesus are free from sin and death.  The law was perfect but man was not.  God made up the difference and sent Jesus. (Romans 7:24-25)  Sinful man was now able to become a new creature.
     "The old man's dead.  I may drive the same truck, the same tractor, wear the same old clothes but the old man is dead.  I'm a new man." said Pastor Josh as he expounded on verse 3.  As he continued on it was clear that there is a definite division between the flesh and the Spirit.  It's the believers' responsibility to know who he's cheering for.  It's important to walk God's way, not the way of man.  Remember that the Word of God will stand when the world's on fire.
     Life comes from the Spirit.  Sin comes from the flesh and leads to death.  Live by faith and not by experience.  As it is now, we live by faith for the things not seen.  A day will come when faith will end in sight.  God showed his love towards man when he sent his Son to redeem him.  It's about what God wants.  Please Him.  ​

   As far back as Genesis 12 God said that he would make a great nation.  He as much as said so to Abraham who is referred to as the father of the Jewish nation.  Because of a great famine the people of God wound up being in bondage in Egypt for four hundred years.  God had told Abraham that this would happen. (Genesis 15:13)  
     The story of Moses and the pilgrimage from Egypt is a familiar one.  God has brought his people out of bondage.  He says as much in Exodus 20:2.  In fact, this is the very introduction to the Ten Commandments.  "I am the Lord thy God, which has brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
     God has redeemed his people and now they are returning to the promised land.  God must have looked at them and realized that some changes needed to take place.  The first thing that he asked for was some respect.  The first four statements he makes have to do with Him:  no other gods before Him, no graven images, no bowing down to them, and don't take the His name in vain.
     The last six have to do with how other people are to be treated:  honor your parents, don't kill or commit adultery, don't steal or bear false witness,   and don't covet your neighbor's possessions.  Those are the ten  commandments.
     Four hundred years they spent in bondage.  Four hundred years among pagan worshipers.  Four hundred years of mistreatment.  Is it any wonder that God wanted his people to write these commandments on their hearts so that they could have a better life than the one they had been in.    ​