Tag Archives: God

Dec4

Advent Conspiracy – Worship Fully

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

This entry is part 8 of 9 in the series Christmas

by Chuck Foreman, Teaching Pastor, First Christian Church of Phoenix

None of us would dispute the observation that Christmas has been hijacked by consumerism. Even Christians get caught up in the hustle and hassle of buying more stuff than at any other time of year. We agree that Christmas should be about giving not receiving, but what kind of giving exactly? Am I really giving something worthwhile or am I just spending?

How many of you have ever received a gift you didn’t need?
How many of you have ever received a gift you didn’t want? Didn’t even like?
How many of you have pretended to like it anyway?
How many of you still have it because you can’t get rid of it and still live a happy life?
How many of you have ever given a gift to someone and you know they didn’t like it? …because they told you so. 
How many of you remember all the gifts you bought for people last Xmas?
How many of you remember all the gifts you received and from who last Xmas?
How many of you have ever far exceeded & essentially destroyed your normal monthly budget in December buying Xmas gifts?

How many of you long for Xmas to be different—less hectic and more restful, less commercial and more worshipful?
How many of you know how to make that change happen?

Sermon 12-2-12 from First Christian on Vimeo.

It’s a difficult subject to even talk about, isn’t it?
The way we do Xmas has become part of our culture. But something un-Christian has happened to Christmas…
Americans spend $45 billion on Xmas presents every December! Really?!
I wonder how many of those gifts actually meet a genuine need? Or do they fall into the category of stuff we don’t even want, and we can’t even remember who gave it to us?

Imagine the incredible good that could be done in the world, in our communities, in our churches, if even a fraction of that $45 billion was redirected to meet real needs of real people.
If Jesus is the Reason for the Season, why do we spend so much money buying so many things for so many people who don’t have any real needs?

What if this Christmas you went into your living room on Christmas morning and joyfully announced, “I didn’t buy anybody anything this Xmas because everybody already has everything!”

What if this Xmas you found people who don’t have what they need—people who aren’t getting by so well, and you redirected your normal spending—even just some of your normal spending— to meet some real needs of real people?
(Some of you have done that with the gift tags off our Christmas Tree…)
In Acts 4 there’s an almost shocking description of the early Church that always haunts me. Let me read it to you… Acts 4:32-35
I’d like to suggest this morning, as we enter the Xmas Season here at FCC, that that kind of giving is what Xmas—True Christian Worship is all about. We raised over 30K for missions overseas in our Thank Offering. That’s a good thing …But we also have some families at FCC who have some real needs right now, which we’re going to try to help meet too.

For the next 4 weeks leading up to Xmas, we’re going to be talking about how to:

Worship Fully
Spend Less (on ourselves)
Give More (to those in need)
Love All People

at Christmas time.

Worship Fully? How do you do that? Do we ever, really?
One thing for sure, you can never worship God fully if there are distractions in the way—or substitutes for him. If money and possessions come before God, we’re in trouble. Jesus said, Luke 12:15
Somehow we’ve got to free ourselves from the hold that money & possessions have on us. The best way to do that is to GIVE it away—but give intentionally and thoughtfully to meet real needs of those less fortunate than we are.

In the Bible, God makes the connection for us between:
Worship————->Taking Care of the Needy
but I’m not sure we’ve paid attention. Let’s take another look…

What kind of Worship does God really want?
Isaiah 58:1-11
How did Mary worship God?
Luke 1:46-55
(She paid attention, acknowledged what He was up to…)

How did the Wise Men worship Jesus?
Matthew 2:11

How do we give to Jesus now?
Matthew 25:31-46 (summarize)

Joseph’s Dilemna.. When the incredible story of Christmas was just beginning to unfold, Joseph, Mary’s fiancé, had a huge problem with the way God was going about things… (Explain…)

God’s Solution: Matthew 1:21
Jesus (Gr.) = Joshua (Heb.) = Savior, Deliverer. Jesus was “God to the Rescue”. He is our Hero, the One who can Deliver us from all our bondage caused by sin!

And just as Jesus is our Deliverer, so we, as His Followers, are Deliverers too! With whatever means and power we have, we are to help the helpless out of whatever holds them captive, so they too can enter into the life of freedom and joy God created them for.

The Central Miracle of Christianity? is not the Virgin Birth. It’s not the Resurrection, or any of Jesus’ other miracles… It’s Xmas!

It’s The Incarnation—“God with us” Matthew 1:23
The Central Miracle of Christianity is the very idea that God would become one of us. This is Christianity— that God gave the ultimate gift— He gave Himself!

And as His People, that’s what we do too. (slide-build bold) We Are Givers.
“Freely you have received, freely give.” Jesus gave his 12 Disciples a very demanding, draining ministry. But listen to what he told them: Matthew 10:7-8

Following is Costly (and “salty”). He talked about what it would cost to follow him: (slide) Luke 14:33
He said it not me! This is not figurative language with some more palatable, hidden meaning. Preachers are often tempted to explain this away… But you’re not going to get any help from this preacher to make this easier for you. You’re on your own. Go figure out what this is going to mean for you.
Then Jesus referred to us as “Salt”. Luke 14:34

“As my Followers, you are to be like salt—you’re either noticeably present or noticeably absent. (Ever had popcorn w/o salt?) You are the ones who make a difference in this world. If you aren’t making a difference, you’re like unsalty salt. You’re of no use. You’ll be thrown out.” (He said it…!)

Giving is better than receiving. Paul’s example about working to help the weak: (slide) Acts 20:34-35
We need to reconnect our ideas about Worship with helping those in need. When we help others, we are worshipping God with the very way we live.

When you give to FCC, you are giving to those in need. We have a significant portion of our budget that is dedicated to helping people who are struggling financially. Every year when we plan our budget, we plan to give away a lot of it. And we always end up giving away more. And God always provides.

I believe that Following Christ means being a regular Giver. Following Christ means that you understand that what God gives you, he gives you to manage for Him. He doesn’t give it to you just for you. You are a conduit of his blessing to others. If you don’t give to others, neither will God give to you. It’s that simple.

Jesus said, The Key to Finding Your Life is to Deny Yourself
Matthew 16:24-25
I have to ask: How often do we deny ourselves anything in this country?
What about generosity? How do you define generosity? What’s the dollar amount cut-off, above which you have just become a generous person, or a “sacrificial giver”?
C.S. Lewis talked about what it means to be generous: (Mere Christianity)
For the Xian, there ought to be some things we just do without. We simply decide that there will be some things we won’t have, may never have, may never do, because we’ve chosen to give away enough of our income so that those things, whatever they are, are denied to us—they’re beyond our financial reach, on purpose.

And we’re OK with that, because we know, that just like the One we Follow,
We are Givers!

II Corinthians 8:9

The richest people are those who give—of themselves—to others.

So Let’s Give! Let’s really Worship!

Let’s rethink Xmas this Xmas.

Right On!

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Check out these other great blogs:

Check out Giselle’s award-winning Christian novel: Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century a historical novel about the early church check it out! $1 from the sale of each book – no matter what format, benefits StreetLight Phoenix to help eradicate child sex slavery. www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Christian, Award-Winning Author
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

Nov14

Heaven Can Wait, Government Can Save Us

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

Heaven Can Wait, Government Can Save Us

God’s Story—Our Story: The Reign of Christ—Now and Forever

Sermon by Chuck Foreman, Teaching/Missions Pastor
First Christian Church—November 11, 2012

Scriptures: Revelation 1-5; 19-22; Romans 8; 1 Thessalonians 4-5;
I Peter 2:9-17; 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Heaven can wait, Government can save us…

SALVATION & POLITICS

We’ve bought into an idea about “salvation” that is more like fire insurance than Biblical teaching. “Just give me that ticket out of hell and into heaven, and we’re good.” That kind of thinking doesn’t cause us to do anything about the combustible material in our lives that will probably burn our house down.

We think we’re heaven bound, but that we’re still trapped in an ugly, fallen world, in which we have to scrape and claw to get what WE want. We think all we really need is a government that will make it all happen for us.
Unfortunately when we think like that, there’s nothing about us or our ideas that ever changes anything or makes a difference in this world.

Our idea of heaven is more like an Escape Route or a Safe House, not a place where Christ reigns and gives us hope for restoring God’s will & reign on earth. And we think that government ought to make things better, and we hope that it will, so we whine & moan when it doesn’t, instead of rolling up our own sleeves.

The symbol for “King” in Chinese

What if we’ve missed something? What if what God really wants to do is to accomplish something revolutionary in us, thru us, among us—here, now— as we establish His Kingdom here, while we wait for the return of our King?

Illustration: Chinese character—“King” 3 horizontal lines representing heaven, man and earth, connected by a vertical line representing the one vested w/ power between heaven and earth to rule uprightly over man.

God’s Story is Our Story: Let’s review what he’s been up to and where he’s taking us…

Creation (Genesis 1-2)

The Fall of Man (Genesis 3)

A New Nation—Israel—The People of God (Genesis 12:2-3)

Israel’s Failure—Matthew 23:37-38

The Messiah—Immanuel (“God with us”—Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)

The New Israel—The Church—The New People of God (Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:42-48)

The transformation of the politics of Paul, James and Peter…
Galatians 3:28-29 (Revolutionary for Paul!)
Acts 15:16-18 (James quotes Amos 9:11-12)
Ephesians 2:10; 3:6-11, 14, 21 (God’s mystery made known thru the Church as we do the good works we were re-created to do!)
I Timothy 2:1-4 (Pray for kings so we can live peaceful, quiet, godly, holy lives—this is ultimately what will influence people to be saved.)
I Peter 2:9-17 (The New Order)

John’s Revelation…
Revelation 1-5: Message to the 7 Churches of Asia Minor—God is going to restore all things to the way they were. You’re in on it—it matters how you live! So get your act together!

Revelation 6-18: The Cosmic Battle between God and Satan over the Church

Revelation 19: Victory! The Defeat of the Beast/Babylon/The Prostitute (Rome), The Wedding of the Lamb

Revelation 20: Satan’s Doom & the Judgment of Mankind

Revelation 21-22: The Final Act—The Reign of Christ Fully, Finally Realized

Revelation 21:1-5 God with us—Out with the old, in with the new!
(This is where we place our hope, not in the White House, not in the Stock Market!)
Revelation 21:9-10 The New Jerusalem, The Church coming down from heaven

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 Let’s go meet our King!

Revelation 22:1-3a Eden Restored

Romans 8:18-25 The Redemption of Creation

Revelation 22:3b-5 We will reign with him forever!

Jesus is Coming—perhaps soon.

Listen to his final words: Revelation 22:7 Revelation 22:12

Jesus is coming someday. On that day, every knee will bow and tongue confess that he is Lord. Are you ready? You’ll either do it willingly or not, but you will bow. Are you ready?

The question is not, Is Jesus King?. He’s King alright. The question is, Is he king of your life?

You can make him King of your life today. There’s a lot of joyful work to do in His Kingdom, as we eagerly, patiently prepare for his will to ultimately be done and his kingdom to finally come “on earth—as it is in heaven.”

Right On!

Sep28

Book Review: Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

Book Review: Not A Fan by Kyle Idleman

In preparing the book proposal for “The WWJD Church,” a 12-week small group study based on the 1897 book by Charles M. Sheldon, I was made aware of “Not A Fan” by Kyle Idleman. When writing a book proposal, you need to find similar books or books that may be considered competition. So, I read it.

Then one night, by accident (of course, with God there are no “accidents”), I came across “Not A Fan” TV show on TBN. The author, Kyle Idleman, a pastor of a church in Kentucky, told the stories he wrote about in the book. Pretty neat. Write a book – get a TV show! It was short-lived, however, as once the books stories were told, there was not more to tell.

The Idea of “Not A Fan”

Are you a true follower of Jesus or just a “fan”? Idleman defines a fan as a person who believes in Christ, but still wants to live the old lifestyle. Kind of keeping one foot in the secular world and the other in the Christian. These are also known as “Sunday morning Christians” or “Cultural Christians”. They go to church regularly, listen to the message, make a donation, even volunteer to serve somewhere, but when it comes to the rest of the week, they’re living the sinful lives that they should have left behind when they accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

“Fans are happy to follow Jesus as long as that doesn’t require any significant changes or have negative implications….

“Instead of following Jesus, they are following religious rules and rituals. They have confused the targets…

“Our punishment was taken by Christ. He has made a way where there was no way so we live with a freedom and an appreciation of what has been done. Fans are about the ‘do’ but followers celebrate the ‘done’.”

There is a cost to following Jesus.

Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.~Luke 6:22

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…~2 Timothy 3:12

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him…~Philippians 1:29

The book tells the story of one of Idleman’s parishioners who has a heart attack that “scares him straight.” He survives, but his close bout with death changes him. He goes from fan to follower. Instead of ignoring a beggar outside a store, he helps them.

To be a true follower of Christ you need to be “all in” — not just a Sunday morning Christian. Your old life has to die and you must be reborn as a righteous person.

The book also offers several testimonies of ordinary people who realized the difference between being a fan of Jesus and being a true follower.

Striving to be Christ-like is not easy. But God gave us the best teaching tool in the world – the Bible.

This book will also help. I highly recommend it.

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Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Christian, Award-Winning Author
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

Jun11

What it Means to Be “God Fearing”

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

What it Means to Be “God Fearing”

Watching the 700 Club last week someone asked Gordon Robertson, “…fearing God. Why does God want me to be afraid of Him? No one would willingly give their life to someone they fear. Why would God want one to fear Him when that defeats the purpose of coming to Him willingly? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Having grown up Catholic, “God Fearing” was not in my religious up-bringing. I heard it in movies and on TV, but never really understood what it meant. I heard it meant to respect God and His power.

But Gordon Robertson clarified it. He said that the Hebrew translation of the word fear is really “awe.” We call God, Awesome, Almighty, All-Powerful, Creator, Ever-Present and Eternal.

It’s towards the end of the show:

So respecting God and His Word is part of it.

We respect His Word by obeying it.

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.” ~James 4:6 NKJV

Excerpt from 365 Daily Answers to What Would Jesus Do?

The reader of the Scriptures should be a humble person, who shows reverence and fear [awe] toward the Word of God, who constantly says, “Teach me, teach me, teach me.” The Spirit resist the proud, even though they are zealous and preach Christ for a time without fault…Therefore it is humility that we need in the study of God’s Word. ~Martin Luther

Reflection: Some “scholars” have studied God’s Word and have decided that this or that event or Scripture is erroneous. Interestingly, quite often the parts of the Bible they want to eliminate are the ones that strike closest to home. If they can deem the passage not inspired, then they no longer are accountable to is truth. Those who, in humility, hear God speak through all of Scripture will profit–both now and in eternity–by their willingness to be held to its standard. If we ask, “What Would Jesus Do?” we need look no further than the Gospels to discover what our attitude should be regarding the Scriptures. Jesus often quoted the Old Testament as fact. He believed their accuracy.

So should we. (End of excerpt.)

Besides the scholars deciding that some Scripture is erroneous, we have readers of the Bible who pick and choose what to believe and what to obey. That, my friends, is not an option.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. ~2 Timothy 3:16-17

When President Obama quoted the Bible when he declared that he accepted Gay Marriage, he said that Jesus told us to “love one another.” But yet, he ignores all other scripture that says that sexual immorality is a sin.

Love the sinner, Hate the sin

Even if a sin is culturally acceptable like sex outside of marriage or with partners of the same gender, it doesn’t make it right in the eyes of God.

Just as we respect God, we must respect other people who are sinners just like we are. It’s all a matter of allowing Satan and our sinful nature to rule our lives or let Jesus and the Holy Spirit guide us. (Romans 8:8-11)

And check out what Jesus said to the Jews. He called them “Children of the Devil” (John 8:42-47) that’s who we are outside of Jesus Christ.

We are in a war with Satan in this world. That’s why we MUST ask “What Would Jesus Do?” on a regular basis and strive to be like Christ.

Had President Obama asked, “What Would Jesus Do?” before he made his statement, I believe he would have not done it.

Remember what Jesus said to the adulteress in the Gospel of John after all her accusers walked away — “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:1-11)

Though we may not like or condone someone’s lifestyle choice, it’s not up to us to judge them. That’s up to God. We can only keep speaking the truth and God willing, if they truly fear God – revere Him, respect His Word - they will respect God’s Word and “leave their life of sin.”

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Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Christian, Award-Winning Author
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

Mar25

Christians should be shocked by sin

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

Christians should be shocked by sin

I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
In their own eyes they flatter themselves
too much to detect or hate their sin. ~Psalm 36:1-2

The greatest security against sin is to be shocked at its presence.~Thomas Carlyle

We are as a society, less and less shockable. We are the proverbial frog in a pan of heating water, unaware of our danger. What would Jesus do about the lack of concern over sin? Wouldn’t He want to restore sight to those who are blinded by the deceitfulness of sin? A healthy fear of God is a good way to restore our sens of right and wrong, sin and righteousness.

God, who is enthroned from of old,
who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
because they have no fear of God. ~Psalm 55:19

Excerpt from: 365 WWJD: Daily Answers to What Would Jesus Do?

Why do we condone what goes on in society? As Christians, we cannot keep the blinders on. We must speak out when we are bombarded by immoral and offensive advertising, TV shows, radio shows, movies and other forms of so-called “entertainment.”

We Christians can change the world.

Kirk Cameron: An Outspoken Man of Christ

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

Kirk Cameron: An Outspoken Man of Christ

Bravo, Kirk!

Marriage is between a man and woman as defined by God in the Garden of Eden – till death do you part.

He doesn’t support gay marriage.

Homosexuality is “unnatural.”

Just because 7 states in the U.S. have legalized gay marriage doesn’t mean that it’s right in the eyes of God.

Kirk Cameron is an example of someone living the WWJD? life.

We as Christians should not condemn homosexuals that’s up to God in the final judgement. We are not perfect, and we cannot tell someone to stop doing something without showing why it’s wrong. We are to love one another – everyone – no exceptions.

Kirk spoke correctly when he said that we are all sinners and the best thing to do is teach the Word of God, God’s love for us and how God wants us to behave.

Kirk Cameron’s ministry, The Way of the Master, is dedicated to bringing people to Jesus Christ by showing them that we are all sinners.

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Enlightenment, Encouragement & Enrichment by Giselle Aguiar, Award-Winning Christian Author

Deo Volente (God Willing) – covering writing, Christian church history and Christianity

If you enjoyed this, you’ll love Giselle’s award-winning Christian novel: Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century a historical novel about the early church check it out! $1 from the sale of each book – no matter what format, benefits StreetLight Phoenix to help eradicate child sex slavery. www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award-Winning Christian Author
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

Feb19

Resisting Temptation

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

Resisting Temptation

This entry is part 23 of 23 in the series WWJD?

In two subplots in the movie Courageous, we see examples of integrity – one man who had it and one who didn’t.

How's Your Integrity?

Sheriff’s Officer, Shane Fuller, played by Kevin Downes, is a Christian, divorced dad struggling to pay his child support and alimony.

Javier Martinez, played by Robert Amaya, is Christian, married, father of two struggling to feed his family and pay the rent and bills. He hears about construction jobs, but when he gets there, they have enough men and he’s sent home.

Javier later gets a job at a factory and after a month, is presented with an offer. The company’s president tells him he can be promoted to a managerial position with increased pay if he would just fudge the inventory a bit.

Shane, is also tested daily. As the Sheriff’s Office arrests drug dealers in the city, Shane is in charge of getting the recovered drugs to the evidence locker. He is tempted to take one or two packets thinking that they wouldn’t be missed.

Which one do you think passed the test? Which one do you think stuck to the integrity and moral values of his Christian faith? Which one do you think fell to desperation and greed?

The answer is surprising. Sheriff Officer, Adam Mitchell, played by Alex Kendrick (who also co-wrote and directed the movie), notices that the amount of drugs collected doesn’t match the amount in the evidence locker. He suspects his partner, Shane, who is later caught in a sting and sent to jail.

Javier, after thinking it over and talking to his wife, tells his boss, that no, what he was asking him to do, lying on the inventory sheet, is dishonest and it goes against God’s Word. As it turns out, it was a test and Javier passed. They were looking for the honest, man of integrity to promote. They had tested many other people and Javier was the only truly, trustworthy person.

Read the rest of this entry →

Feb18

Why Live a WWJD Life?

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

Why Live a WWJD Life?

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Guest Posts

By Guest Blogger, Quiniece Sheppard

If we had asked ourselves this question “what would Jesus do”, then many of us wouldn’t be in the situation we are today. If we hadn’t taken prayer out of schools, separated church and state, married the man or woman that God told us not to marry, had pre-marital sex that lead to a STD or unplanned pregnancy, and the list could go on, then we would be in a much better place emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially than we are right now. We should not only ask ourselves “what would Jesus do”, but also “what Jesus won’t do” (WJWD), so we can fully understand the ramifications of our actions.

I wonder what happened to the “wwjd” bracelets, t-shirts, hats, etc. that we all wore as a sign and symbol of hope and faith in God. Once upon a time, the slogan was so popular that even those who didn’t know Jesus wanted to get the paraphernalia because everyone was saying the slogan and buying the symbolic meanings behind what it stood for. For many of us, life happened and we got distracted with our problems and circumstances surrounding us, so we no longer asked ourselves “wwjd”. We had a situation and we responded or reacted to it the best we knew how and we just didn’t consider what Jesus would do. If we were to be honest, we simply did what we wanted to do without thinking twice about consulting God. I know I am guilty of reacting out of my flesh many times instead of first going to the source, which is Jesus Christ.

I know some of us reading this are like the bible character named Job found in the Book of Job who didn’t do anything wrong. We played by the rules and lived a righteous life and now we are going through a lot of tough situations. We shouldn’t act like Job’s friends and pre judge anyone for all the bad things going on in his/her life right now and say that it had to be his fault for all the bad things happening in their lives right now. No, that’s not right. Scripture tells us that tribulation and trials come to make us stronger, so they happen to all of us at one time in our lives. We will all face some difficulty just like our perfect savior, Jesus Christ, did. God rewarded Job for his faithfulness and he gave him double for his trouble and I know that if we continue the good fight of faith and remain steadfast, unmovable and unshakably in Jesus Christ, he will reward us.

The bible record that Jesus is a rewarder of those who diligently seek after Him so our living righteous for God is not in vain. Let’s not do it for our own selfish gain to get the blessings of God, but let’s do it so that others may know that Jesus Christ is real by looking at the way we live and conduct ourselves. Others are watching us whether we know it or not, so let’s really give them something to see. So, let’s go back to consistently asking ourselves “what would Jesus do” and “what Jesus wouldn’t do” when we are faced with dark and gloomy situations and I bet that He’ll meet us right where we are and not only tell us what it is He will do, but He will also guide us to help us do what it is He is calling us to do. So, if you don’t know what Jesus would do or want us to do, then here it is.

Matthew 22: 37 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all our mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it” you shall love our neighbor as yourself.”

Finally, I want to leave you with a scripture I always end with in my books.

“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” Phillippians 4:9.

God bless.
Love your sis in Christ,
Quiniece Sheppard

Quiniece Sheppard is the founder of I am the Chase Ministries, LLC: a single women’s ministry whose mission is to promote abstinence and celibacy, and founder of Chasing Books Christian Book Club. Quiniece is also the author of “The Seven Deadly Sexual Sins” and “Before the Lights Go Out:11 Keys to Achieve Real Physical Intimacy”. For more information about Quiniece’s ministry and books, please visit her website at www.iamthechase.com. WWJD?

Jan26

Wisdom is a gift from God

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

Wisdom is a gift from God

This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Wisdom-A Gift from God

I’ve made my share of unwise decisions and I know many people including close family members who have made them also. All of these mistakes are opportunities to learn, but the key is to ask God for wisdom BEFORE you make the decision to HELP you make the right decision.

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. ~Proverbs 3:13-14

Joyce Meyer writes in her book “Hearing from God each Morning”

Wisdom discerns truth in a situation, while common sense provides good judgement regarding what to do with the truth. I consider wisdom supernatural because it isn’t taught by men; it is a gift from God.

King Solomon is known for his wisdom. Why? Because he asked for it. God told Solomon:

Ask for whatever you want me to give you. ~1 Kings 3:5

Wow! That’s like finding the magic lamp with the genie inside! What would you have asked for?

Solomon could have asked for wealth or for long life, but no. He asked for wisdom – to be able to discern, that is, tell right from wrong. (1 Kings 3:6-14)

Because of that, God gave him the riches and long life anyway.

Folks going through recovery from addiction memorize the Serenity Prayer and are told to recite it often. But that prayer is not just for addicts. It’s for everyone:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Each morning we should ask God to provide wisdom (notice it’s not one of the Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23) for each and every decision we need to make that day.

We must stop and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do in this situation?”

Be wise and we will live long and prosper.

Read the book of Proverbs – it’s what God wants us to do and how He wants us to live.

Follow WWJD on Twitter

Check out these other great blogs:
Enlightenment, Encouragement & Enrichment by Giselle Aguiar, Award-Winning Christian Author

Deo Volente (God Willing) – covering writing, Christian church history and Christianity

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award-Winning Christian Author
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

Jan23

God’s Story: Act 1

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

God’s Story: Act 1

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series The Story of God

Excerpt from Chuck Foreman’s sermon 1/15/12 given at First Christian Church of Phoenix

God’s Story begins at the beginning, which is always a good place to begin.

Act 1, Scene 1: Creation

This is when Genesis tells us God got it all going—the heavens, the earth, all living things-plants & animals, & then the crown of His creation, man & woman—the Image Bearers of God Himself. God described all he had made as—“Good.” Think about that—if God said it was good, it must have been really good! The final statement about creation at the end of Genesis 2 is that the man & woman got to play- in the Garden of Eden- every day—Naked! They had become one & the felt no shame! Everything was better than good, it was great!

Act 1, Scene 2: The Fall of Man

Enter—The Villain. Satan had disguised himself as one of the animals common in the garden, a snake. Let’s set the stage for Scene 2: There were two important fruit bearing trees in Eden—The Tree of Life and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil were growing in the center of the Garden.

The fruit on The Tree of Life was fair game. Eat all you want! God said. But the fruit on The Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil was off limits. Like any good Dad, God wanted to nourish the life of Adam & Eve, his children, but protect their innocence. He doesn’t want them to know everything he knows.

The consequence of losing your innocence is a downward spiral toward death. God knew it. That was not His intention for Adam & Eve. It’s not his intention for any of us either. God told Adam & Eve—“Don’t touch the fruit on that tree or you’ll die.” Thousands of years later God’s still saying the same thing to us.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.~Galatians 6:7-8

Satan, the Villain in God’s Story, the Enemy in Our Story, comes along and mocks God. He distorts God’s instruction to Adam & Eve and then outright lies to them. The Serpent’s Deception—Genesis 3:1-5

You know what happened in the rest of Scene 2. Adam & Eve believed the lie, rebelled against God and everything went South fast! A once perfect creation had been literally infected by a spiritual disease which corrupted and began the breakdown/decay of all of Nature. Scientists describe this breakdown in the 2nd Law of Thermal Dynamics or Entropy, for all you science nuts…the transfer of the heat/energy of an object to the oxygen around it. (Think of iron oxidizing or rusting—that’s why they tell us to take anti-oxidants—so we won’t rust!) The Bible calls the spiritual infectious disease, which introduced Entropy into creation & began the breaking down of Nature, SIN.

Next: Important Movement in Scene 2 of The Fall of Man…

Check out these other great blogs:
Enlightenment, Encouragement & Enrichment by Giselle Aguiar, Award-Winning Christian Author

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award-Winning Christian Author
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

Jan22

When Everything is Heading South…

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

When Everything is Heading South…

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series The Story of God

Excerpt from Chuck Foreman’s sermon 1/15/12 given at First Christian Church of Phoenix

Usually when things begin to go south in our lives, it’s not because we’ve had nothing to do with it. But we often look for someone else to blame. Those “downward spiral” times when everything in our lives just starts to hit the fan are precisely the times when we need to stop and take a long, hard look in the mirror. We need to get on our knees alone with God and honestly ask Him, “How am I doing, Lord?” What do you want to teach me right now? Not so-and-so, not my mate, not the government, not my bank—but ME!?

A couple of ‘spiritual tune up’ suggestions:

Memorize James 4:8 and take it like big boys and girls as if God were getting right up in our faces. It goes like this:

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ~James 4:8

We also need to understand and really believe that God is looking lovingly, deep into our hearts for something. He’s not looking for perfection; He’s just looking for openness to Him, a willingness to repent and change, and a desire to be used by Him.

Have you ever wondered what God does in his spare time?

Here’s what he’s up to:

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.~ II Chronicles 16:9a

God’s looking for a reason to rescue us, help us out of our downward spiral! He’s looking for some sign from us that we really want Him!

We’re going to see as we journey thru The Story of God this year together that rescuing His lost & fallen creation is THE PLOT in God’s Story—in Our Story.

Next: In the Beginning…

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award-Winning Christian Author
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

Additional Reading: The Devil Made Me Do It

Jan10

4 Misperceptions of the Christian Life

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

4 Misperceptions of the Christian Life

This entry is part 20 of 21 in the series Christianity

In 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 we read:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Sometimes as Christians, we get complacent with what we know and what we think we can do. Here are 4 misperceptions of the Christian life:

1: Misperception: I can rely on my own power to live the Christian Life

Reality: Jesus’ glory is revealed in my weakness and as I’m transformed.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

Just like jars of clay, we are vulnerable, breakable, but we hold invaluable messages. Any power that we have is from God not from ourselves.

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.~2 Timothy 1:7

You can trust God – You’ve seen Him work in your life so you believe and speak accordingly. The same God who raised Jesus will raise you up, too!

We are wasting away outwardly, but inwardly, we are being renewed (transformed) day by day.

2. Misperception: Once I’m saved, I can do what I want and play it safe

Reality: I need to die to myself and be a witness for Christ

We carry the death of Jesus in us so His life may be revealed in me, as I dei to myself.

Paul faced a lot of hazards on a very regular basis: threatened, hardships, beaten, people trying to ruin his ministry, etc. But he had given up his life for the sake of Christ. the death and life of Jesus are present with us all the time. Death through baptism, and life by the Spirit living in us.

Romans 6:3-11; Galatians 2:20; Matthew 16:24

We die to ourselves and He lives in us. We have new life – Born Again!

3. Misperception: The better Christian I am, the easier life is and the more God is please with me.

Reality: God’s power sustains me through hardship and distress and as I endure, I become more like Jesus.

We will all face trouble to some degree. Hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down. Our light and momentary troubles strengthen us.

Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4; James 1:12

The futre glory is being achieved now through our troubles. We fix our eyes on what is unseen (eternal) and not on what is seen (temporary).

4. Misperception: life is about this world and the here and now. What can I get in this life? It’s all about me.

Reality: It’s about God’s Kingdom coming to the earth through us!

It’s about Jesus’ glory revealed in my weakness as I’m transformed to be more like Him.
It’s about our need to die to self and to be witnesses for Christ
It’s about God’s power sustaining us through hardship and distress and as we endure, we become more like Jesus.

Adapted from “Misconceptions Message” delivered by Pastor Jon Taylor, 2/14/10, First Christian Church of Phoenix

Follow WWJD on Twitter

Check out these other great blogs:
Enlightenment, Encouragement & Enrichment by Giselle Aguiar, Award-Winning Christian Author
Deo Volente (God Willing) – covering writing, Christian church history and Christianity

If you enjoyed this, you’ll love Giselle’s award-winning Christian novel: Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century a historical novel about the early church check it out! $1 from the sale of each book – no matter what format, benefits StreetLight Phoenix to help eradicate child sex slavery. www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award-Winning Christian Author & Inspirational Speaker
Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar

Jan8

Standing in Faith for Our Healing

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Giselle Aguiar

Standing in Faith for Our Healing

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Guest Posts

By guest blogger, Ronnie Dauber

Our communities are often plagued with some kind of sickness and when we get it, the first thing many of us do is go to the doctor. We put our confidence in the medical world and we tend to follow its direction and accept its diagnosis because this is the norm for this world.

Jesus heals the crippled man

However, as Christians we need to get out of this mind set and begin to focus on one issue and that is, What would Jesus do? And to take it a step further, “What DID Jesus do?”

Did Jesus hand out business cards soliciting reputable doctors? Did He send them to the nearest clinic to get examined? Did He tell them they needed medical insurance first before He would heal them?

No, Jesus had only ONE prerequisite to getting healed and that was to have faith.

We need to have faith in Jesus because the Bible says in Exodus 15:26 that He is the one who heals us.

Isaiah 53:4-5 says,

“Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows….. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.”

God is telling us to NOT go to the world for our physical healing but rather, to have faith in Him because He has already healed us – we just need the faith to believe it. And unfortunately, many of us miss this because we have one foot in the Christian doorway and the other still in the world. We need to seek His Word non-stop to get the truth into our hearts and know that He HAS healed us. We need to focus on Jesus and build our faith so we CAN believe.

Jesus heals the bleeding woman who just touched his robe

So much faith she had that she was healed just by touching His robe.

Romans 8:11 says that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us and will quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in us. This is the scripture that I held onto as I took my stand in faith last year to fight AND win my battle against cancer. I read the doctor’s report with the death sentence on my life, but I also knew that my body was the temple of the Holy Spirit. So I chose to follow God and trust Him for my healing rather than be at the mercy of chemotherapy. The Lord led me to a naturopathic doctor who helped me line my body up with the healing that Jesus had already given me.

Faith is not an easy stand to take because the world fights us and says it’s foolishness, yet it brings us into a divine relationship with God. And in the end, there is no greater reward than knowing that we trusted God for our healing and now His Holy Spirit, through us, can continue His mission on earth.

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Cor. 3:16

Ronnie Dauber is a Christian who knows what it’s like to stand in faith and believe God for healing against all the odds. She is the published author of a y/a adventure series and has an inspirational blog called, “Smile, God Loves You”, where she posts frequent messages of encouragement on faith. It’s her commission in life to help other Christians grow in faith so they can have a divine relationship with the Lord and live victorious lives here on earth.

Official website of Ronnie Dauber: http://ronniedauber.ca

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Dec27

The Visit of the Magi cont.

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Giselle Aguiar

The Visit of the Magi cont.

This entry is part 7 of 9 in the series Christmas

In the previous posting, we covered the beginning of the story of the 3 Kings’ visit to find Jesus. So we continue with the excerpt from the Christmas Eve message by Chuck Foreman at First Christian Church of Phoenix:

Unintended Destination

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. ~Matthew 2:10-11a

“…and they came into the house…” Wait a minute—I thought Jesus was born in a stable? He was, but contrary to tradition, these Eastern Astronomers showed up some time after Jesus was born. But even a house in little Bethlehem Town that a lowly carpenter could afford was not exactly where they expected to find this new king. If you were looking for a king, where would you go? That’s what these guys thought too. That’s why they went to Jerusalem first—to the king’s palace…. Bethlehem was definitely not their intended destination!

A lot of us are like these Wise Men. We’ve been looking for, hoping for a palace, but we’ve wound up at a house in Podunk Bethlehem, or worse yet, a stable. Things haven’t worked out so far for us in life like we had hoped—in the pursuit of our dreams, our jobs, our marriages, our relationships. God has kind of let us down, we think.

See, God wasn’t in the palace. In fact, you’ll rarely find him there. He was in the stable—and he always has been! People, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel—“God with us” came to us in the most humble, demeaning way imaginable! You’ll find him in the stable, in the humble house. That’s the whole point of the Incarnation—The Word becoming flesh! What Jesus wants you to understand is that He gets down on your level. He meets you in your problems, in your crushed dreams, and in the challenges of life like no one else. When you’re willing to meet him there, he can change your life, like he’s able to do in no other place!

He’s not in the palace. He’s in the stable. He always has been. Don’t miss the opportunity to get to know him there—just as he is, just as you are.

Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.~Matthew 2:11b

Unexpected Worshippers

Do you realize that this is the 1st recorded incident of anyone actually worshipping Jesus? He was still a baby boy. These men were foreigners, probably not too well received in Jewish territory by anyone but Jesus and his parents. They weren’t familiar with the ways of God or His People. They were likely idol worshippers, but they were able to recognize God when there wasn’t anyone or anything else in the way. And there He was—having humbled himself and become flesh—one of us; Emmanuel—God with us!

And did you notice that they bowed down to worship him? When was the last any of us did that? Do we even know what it is to worship anymore? They bowed down and presented him with treasures! Could it be that it might take some pagans like them to teach us how to worship our own God? I think Matthew thought so.

And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.~Matthew 2:12

Get back home another way…

They couldn’t get back home the same way they had come. They knew what Herod had up his sleeve. They had to go home another way.

We’ve been talking about Going Home for Christmas lately here at FCC—home to God. Too often in life we seem to move away from God instead of toward Him. If you’ve drifted away from God, you’re not going to get back home to Him the same way you’ve come. You have to take a different route.

The Story of Christmas is about the God of the universe—Creator of the stars & the angels who announced the birth of His Son—Revealer of His cosmic plan even to pagans. He left His throne in heaven to be born in a stable, people! He wants you to get the significance of that!

And he wants to meet you, as He really is, right where you are.

Come home; come back to GOD this Christmas. I think He’s been waiting just for you. AMEN! [Right on!]

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award-Winning Christian Author
Check out Giselle’s award-winning Christian novel: Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century a historical novel about the early church check it out! $1 from the sale of each book – no matter what format, benefits StreetLight Phoenix to help eradicate child sex slavery. www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1

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Dec26

Extra Grace Required

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Giselle Aguiar

Extra Grace Required

This entry is part 20 of 22 in the series Striving to be Christlike

How did your relationships fare during the Christmas get-togethers? Were there some rough patches you’d like to soon forget? Or was there joy and good cheer all around?

I yelled at my 88-year-old mother over the phone on Christmas day. Bad daughter. I had reminded her to do something regarding a financial matter and she told me that some lady told her it wasn’t necessary. She’s been let’s say, a little unwise with her finances and I lost my cool. I reacted instead of stopping and saying WWJD?

A few minutes after hanging up, I started feeling lousy. How could I yell at my mom on Christmas?! I called her back to apologize begging her forgiveness.

She’s become one of the “EGR” people as my pastor, Chuck Foreman, (First Christian Church of Phoenix) spoke about a few Sundays ago. EGR= Extra Grace Required.

For 88, mom’s doing pretty good even after major surgery and a long recovery. She’s home in Puerto Rico (I’m in Phoenix) and doing OK. But, she’s 88, set in her ways, and even though she seems to be “all there,” she’ll forget some things sometimes.

Anyway, Pastor Chuck has been sending me his sermon notes to use as material in this blog and here’s an excerpt of the sermon message of 12/18/11 entitled: “Going Home for Christmas: Unintended Destinations—-in My Relationships”. (Listen to the whole message here.)

There is nothing more important to God than our relationships.

Ironically, that’s where most of us have our biggest issues. We’ve driven some giant wedges between ourselves and some people. We hang on to hurts, resentments & we’ve either written people off or we’ve fallen into an ungodly pattern of how we live with and treat them. We might even tell them, “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.” But it’s still on the list.

There are some things I’ve noticed about people—about us.

Settling In…

Christians are often the guiltiest of this tendency, especially when we’ve been a Follower of Christ for a long time. We stop really following Jesus and just settle in. We stop growing. Over time, our Christianity becomes more defined by our routine of attending Christian Stuff –going to church, prayer, Bible Studies, concerts, conferences, meetings—Our Christianity is more about that kind of routine than really behaving and living as Jesus would. We stop paying attention to our attitudes & how we respond to people.

When was the last time you stopped to take inventory of yourself, and genuinely, honestly take a long, hard look in the spiritual mirror and asked Jesus, “How am I doing, Lord?”

Without realizing it, we settle in to a negative pattern of treating people. Sometimes it’s only certain people, but how we view them & treat them is so un-Christ-like that we would be shocked if we saw the video playback of our own behavior toward them.

We tend to excuse ourselves thinking that certain people or groups of people don’t apply. It doesn’t really matter how we treat them. For some reason, they are the exception. This happens in marriage, with other family members, parents to children, children to parents, between siblings, in friendships, & in work relationships. No relationship is immune to the abuse of un-love.

Who is it that you exempt yourself from treating in a Christ-like way?

Violating Boundaries…

We break God’s Law by violating each other’s personal boundaries. Before we get into this, What is the purpose of the Old Testament (OT) Law? –and of our subsequent modern laws, all of which are based in some way on the OT Biblical Law. Here’s the purpose of the Law…are you ready? The purpose of the law is to protect us from each other.

In 1992, Henry Cloud & John Townsend wrote a great book called Boundaries. In leadership circles, we often refer to the parts of this book that talk about setting personal boundaries so we don’t get burned out. In other words, workaholics like me need to learn to say NO, etc. But most of this great book is for people who violate the God-given, personal boundaries of others by trying to control them. You see, for some of us, everything has to be “just so” & done “just so”. We impose our hang-ups on those around us, usually those closest to us. We become control freaks, trespassing on the lives of other people—in areas we really have no right to and usually about things that matter only to us. No relationship is healthy or desirable when personal boundaries are continually violated.

We Settle In… Violate others personal Boundaries, and We all have…

EGR People…

These are very special people. Bless their hearts! They’re in a world all to themselves—because their world is all about themselves. They have achieved the honor of belonging to their own category of living things. This category is even denoted by an acronym—E-G-R, which stands for Extra Grace Required! We all know some people who fall into this category.

We all have difficult people in our lives. Some of us have become difficult people. We all have relationships that are not what they should be—not what they could be. Often the single most dishonoring area of our lives to God is our relationships.

I’m convinced from scripture and listening to Jesus in the NT that there is nothing more important to God than our relationships with other people—-all the people in our lives and all the people we meet. According to Jesus, love for God cannot be separated from love for people. He never, ever separated what He called the “2nd Commandment” from the “1st or Greatest Commandment:” Read Matthew 22:36-40

And Jesus gave us The Golden Rule: Matthew 7:12
Don’t forget The Parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10:25-37
(Read WWJD blog post: Love Your Neighbor)

Jesus’ best friend, the Apostle John, put it this way: I John 4:7-8 & I John 4:19-21

You say, “I don’t hate so-and-so, I just can’t stand him/her!” You know, we’re not gonna feel warm fuzzies for everyone. How do you treat them?—is the question. Do your actions toward this person speak of love, or do they speak of disdain, even hate?

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The last of the “Going Home for Christmas” series was Christmas Eve. I’ll have that one up shortly. Subscribe so you don’t miss it. It was a great message.

Great Blessings!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Giselle Aguiar
Award-Winning Christian Author

Check out Giselle’s award-winning Christian novel: Deo Volente! (God Willing): Love in the First Century a historical novel about the early church check it out! $1 from the sale of each book – no matter what format, benefits StreetLight Phoenix to help eradicate child sex slavery. www.giselleaguiar.com/novel1

Friend Giselle on Facebook
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Follow Giselle on Twitter
https://twitter.com/giselleaguiar
http://twitter.com/wwjdrevival

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Act 1, Scene 1: Creation

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A couple of ‘spiritual tune up’ suggestions:

Have you ever wondered what God does in his spare time?

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1: Misperception: I can rely on my own power to live the Christian Life

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2. Misperception: Once I’m saved, I can do what I want and play it safe

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Unintended Destination

Unexpected Worshippers

Get back home another way…

And he wants to meet you, as He really is, right where you are.

Come home; come back to GOD this Christmas. I think He’s been waiting just for you. AMEN! [Right on!]

Share this:

How did your relationships fare during the Christmas get-togethers? Were there some rough patches you’d like to soon forget? Or was there joy and good cheer all around?

Settling In…

Who is it that you exempt yourself from treating in a Christ-like way?

Violating Boundaries…

EGR People…

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Sermon by Chuck Foreman, Teaching/Missions Pastor
First Christian Church—November 11, 2012

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.