21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation[a] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Believe it or not, there are people who call themselves Christians, that think that the reason Christ came to earth, suffered, and died was just to show us how to live. They think that our only purpose is to live like Christ lived. Not only is that wrong, it is impossible.
We can't live how Christ lives, because Christ was perfect. Now, just as we have many of the traits of our parents, we have some of the same traits as Christ, because we have been born again in Him by baptism and through faith. But we can never be like Him, because he was without sin.
Not only that, the other more important thing is that Christ didn't come just to show us how to live. He came to save us. He came, in the words of Paul here in his letter to the Colossians, "he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him". That's why he came. He came so that you could enter His eternal presence. He came, because without him you would remain hostile in mind and evil in His sight.
Jesus is more than a good example. He is more than a good teacher. He is your maker, redeemer, sanctifier, and Lord. He is your everything. He is your Savior. He is God! Honor Him as such today! Give Him the glory today! Repent and rearrange your life so it reflects what you really know and believe about Jesus, the Son of God!
Prayer: Lord, help me always to proclaim that you are more than just a good guy. You are God, You are Lord, and You are my Savior. Amen.
CALENDAR
Fri- Youth leave for NYG 6am
Sat- Men's breakfast 8am; Worship 5pm
Sun- worship 8:30; Sunday school 9:45; Worship 11
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
WORSHIP WORKERS FOR THIS COMING WEEKEND:
Acolyte- 8:30- Sarah Cluver 11- ???? (Alaina Heitgerd will be in New Orleans so I need someone to volunteer)
Ushers- Don Hance, Rich Boeger, Doug Walters, Don Tate
Altar- Set up- Marilyn Foster and Sue Ruhl; Clean Up- Terry McKenzie
Elders- Sat- John Hachtel; 8:30- Jason Cluver; 11- Randy Fischer
Greeters- 8:30- Don and Donna Sherman; 11- Doug and Ruth Walters
Lay Readers- Sat- John Hachtel 8:30- Steve McDowell; 11- Paul Brockfeld
Piano (Saturday and Sunday)- Barb Dreyer
Projectionists: Sat- Kathy Fischer; 8:30-????? (Schaumbergs will be in New Orleans so I need someone to volunteer); Faerber
________________________________________________________________________________
YESTERDAY'S QUIZ: Name a chapter or verse in Isaiah that talks about the coming Messiah, namely Jesus.
Directions to the range: DO NOT follow the signs to Whetstone Creek. If you follow the signs, you will not go to the firearms range. From Warrenton take I-70 to the Williamsburg exit. At the top of the ramp turn right and head north into Williamsburg. At the first stop sign go straight (Sign will tell you to turn left to go to Whetstone Creek CA - do not turn left). At the second stop sign go straight. Road will turn to gravel as you leave Williamsburg. Once road turns to gravel it is approximately 2.3 miles to the range on the right. Parking lot is before the range.
Below is the link I did on KFUO AM 850 this morning about our men's retreat coming up on Sept. 23-25. Go to www.t3mensretreat.org to register and mark your calendars today! I want you to go!
http://www.kfuoam.org/2016/07/06/ht-2016-07-06/
Here's how it works: