Eastside Church Weekly Sermon Podcast

Abe is back this week.  There are no sermon notes for this sermon.

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For many believers, Sunday morning goes something like this: Beat the alarm clock into submission because Saturday’s late-night fun wasn’t compatible with Sunday’s early morning responsibilities. Oversleep, jump out of bed and hit the shower. Yell upstairs to make sure the kids are up. Run through the house, simultaneously dressing children, letting the pets out, eating a bowl of cereal, and making lunch plans with in-laws. Herd the family into the car. Argue with the spouse who asks, “Why are we always late?” Screech into the church parking lot. Run through the front doors of the sanctuary. Plop down in a pew. Elbow the spouse, who made another crack about being late. Open a hymnal. Sing some songs. Hear a sermon. Leave church to meet the in-laws at the restaurant. Go home and take a nap. Sound familiar? There’s obviously something wrong with this all-too-common Sunday scenario Where is the worship” This family made it to the service, but the time of praise and study of the Word was just something on their list of activities. There was no room for an encounter with God, because the time of worship seems to be an interruption of their Sunday, not the focus of it. Psalm 100:1-5 instructs us to “enter…His courts with praise.” Does this admonition characterize your entrance into worship each week? Don’t let the “Sunday rush” become a problem for your household. Remember, worship is not something you have to do; it’s something you get to do! So, plan ahead and prepare your heart, mind, and family to meet the King.

Preparation for Praise Above, we dramatized the way many families set about going to church. Sure the folks in the illustration were physically present; what was missing was preparation for worship, which is another matter altogether. You see, God does not want simply “church attenders”; He is looking for worshipers. In the fourth chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman with whom He discusses religious observance. Midway through their conversation, He declares, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers” (John 4:23). Do you see the implication here? We often hear much about people “looking for those who worship Him “in spirit and truth.” “Spirit” means our praise can never be just another item on our to-do list. True worship is not an obligation, burden, or scheduling item, but rather a total spiritual recognition of God’s grace and loving-kindness.

“Truth” means that real praise is not just an emotional high. Unless worship is based on the truth of God’s Word, then all we have is a sentimental feeling that we find soothing. And simple feelings will neither last nor promote the life change that God desires to see in us. Are you worshiping the Lord “in spirit and truth”? Are you the kind of worshiper God is seeking? Take some time this week to do a spiritual checkup, and discover if your worship is real…or routine.  Read Psalm 24:1-5

This weeks sermon is delivered by Youth Minister, Peter Reed.  Abe is recovering from heart surgery.  No sermon notes are available.

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No sermon notes available.

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The war recalled in Honor of Veterans Day

Long before the Great War, the red poppy had become a symbol of death, renewal and life. The seeds of the flower can remain dormant in the earth for years, but will blossom spectacularly when the soil is churned. Beginning in late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders became the scene of stupendous disturbances. Red Poppies soon appeared.

In 1915, at a Canadian dressing station north of Ypres on the Essex Farm, an exhausted physician named Lt. Col. John McCrae would take in the view of the poppy strewn Salient and experience a moment of artistic inspiration. The veteran of the South African War was able to distill in a single vision the vitality of the red poppy symbol, his respect for the sacrifice made by his patients and dead comrades, and his intense feeling of obligation to them. McCrae would capture all of this in the most famous single poem of the First World War,In Flanders Fields.

By John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row by row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard among the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

The audio is a little bit of an improvement over last weeks.  There are still a few dropouts because of the issues with our wireless mics.  The sermon notes are below:

Psalms 39: 1-10

Definition: “God, in the totality of His essence, ithout diffusion or expansion, multiplication or division, penetrates and fills the universe in all parts at the same time.”

I. Scriptural proof of His omnipresence: Psalms 139: 7-10 Where can I go from your Spirit? If I go up to the heavens,  you are there; If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

Isaiah 57:15 For this is what the high and lofty One says- He who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit. To revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Jeremiah 23:23-24 “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.

I Kings 8:27 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!

Acts 17:27-28 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said,’ We are his offspring.’

II. Practical lessons to be learned: A.    David found it impossible to escape from God. B. The omnipresence of God encourages us to believe in God’s providence C. It should put fear in the hearts of the wicked. D. His omnipresence has a sobering and restraining effect on Christians.

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We live in a nice section of the country. It’s a great place to bring up children. It’s a nice place to retire. People are friendly and we have plenty of conveniences. The streets are safe. The economy is good.

Still…upon reflection, I think we’d all agree that it’s not much like heaven. We have several things in our town that you’d never see in heaven.

OUR TOWN HAS A CEMETERY, BUT HEAVEN DOESN’T. There are no hillsides dotted with the markers of loved ones “across Jordan.” You won’t find silent cities of the dead in heaven, for no one ever dies there! John wrote, “…there shall be no more death…” (Revelation 21:4).

OUR TOWN HAS A HOSPITAL, BUT HEAVEN DOESN’T. This time of year the hospitals are filled with the sick, but there are no sicknesses, diseases, or injuries in heaven. Sickness is a result of sin (in the garden), and all those ill effects are reversed in heaven. John said, “…the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

OUR TOWN HAS A JAIL, BUT HEAVEN DOESN’T. We live in a wicked society. Every night the news tells us about those who were robbed, raped, assaulted, extorted, beaten, or killed the night before. We rush to fasten our windows, bolt our doors, and secure our homes.

But did you know that there will be no bad news in heaven? The doors on those mansions have no dead bolts, the windows have no locks, and there are no burglar alarms. “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27).

The wedding feast is by “invitation only” and nobody crashes that party! Heaven doesn’t need a jail, for there will be no criminals there.

OUR TOWN HAS A NURSING HOME, BUT HEAVEN DOESN’T. We daily see the aging process in our loved ones and ourselves. Our skin wrinkles, our vision dims, our strength fails, our hearing goes, our energy wanes (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:3-7). But in that land there are no retirement homes and no nursing facilities. In heaven we receive new, incorruptible bodies (2 Corinthians 5:1-6).

OUR TOWN HAS A FUNERAL HOME, BUT HEAVEN DOESN’T. Hardly a week goes by without some sadness mixed with our blessings. We face heartaches, and sometimes heartbreaks, far more frequently than would be our choice. We find ourselves visiting funeral homes to bid farewell to our loved ones.

But the Bible says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying…” (Revelation 21:4).

OUR TOWN HAS A DRUG STORE, BUT HEAVEN DOESN’T. Here we have to deal with headaches, arthritis, and a million other pains. There are no drug stores in heaven! John wrote, “…neither shall there be any more pain…” (Revelation 21:4).

OUR TOWN HAS SECURITY LIGHTS, BUT HEAVEN DOESN’T. Most businesses and homeowners pay additional fees for street lamps, but in heaven “the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (Revelation 21:23). “There shall be no night there” (Revelation 21:25b), so there will be no street lamps, no night-lights, no candles, and no light switches.

OUR TOWN HAS ADULT VIDEO STORES, NIGHTCLUBS, AND PLACES TO GAMBLE, BUT HEAVEN DOES NOT. There are many places of temptation in our community. The devil and his workers are busy (I Peter 5:8), and their influence is seen all around. Oh, how we wish we could lay our armor aside and just rest from the constant battle of faith (Ephesians 6:13-18).

That day is coming! In the land where we are staking our claim, the devil has no passport. In fact, he will have been cast down into the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10). His helpers, too, who are personified as the beast and the false prophet by John, will be cast into that lake (19:20). There are no porn shops, beer stores, or casinos in heaven (cf. Proverbs 20:1; Ephesians 6:18).

Don’t you want to go to such a place? Have you made your reservations by trusting in Jesus, submitting to His will, contacting His blood, and reaching His grace? His requirements for salvation are found in His Gospel. These include: learning about Him (John 6:44-45); believing in Him as God’s Son (John 8:24); repenting of all sins for Him (Luke 13:3); confessing faith in His deity (Romans 10:9-10); and being baptized into Him (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16). He then asks that we live faithfully unto death (Revelation 2:10. Then we will be ushered into a place that is not really much like our town!