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Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

What The Bible Says Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Submitting to the righteousness of God is to trust Jesus Christ, who did the work of salvation on Calvary, as declared in this ...

Series: James Preacher: Taylor Fleury Categories: Pastor Taylor's Sermons Keywords: submission, resist, humble Location: ...

Series: James Preacher: Taylor Fleury Categories: Pastor Taylor's Sermons Keywords: submission, resist, humble Location: ...

Series: James Preacher: Taylor Fleury Categories: Pastor Taylor's Sermons Keywords: submission, resist, humble Location: ...

Series: James Preacher: Taylor Fleury Categories: Pastor Taylor's Sermons Keywords: submission, resist, humble Location: ...

Studies find that while less than a third of Americans trust church leaders, 90 percent of Filipinos do.While less than a third of Americans rate clergy as highly honest and ethical, across the globe in the Philippines, 91 percent of the public trusts religious leaders, according to EON Group’s 2021 Philippine Trust Index. Respondents of the survey ranked pastors as the most trusted leaders in Filipino society, compared to a Gallup poll that found clergy in the US ranked lower than 10 other professions, including chiropractors and police officers.“When people outside of church find out I’m a pastor, their demeanor changes out of respect,” said Aldrin Peñamora, director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches’ Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation Commission. Some people even ask him for prayer.The disconnect is rooted in cultural differences, religion’s role in society, as well as the impact of church scandals. Still, pastors from both countries noted the importance of having pastors engage with their congregations and local communities to build trust.Drivers of trust in the Filipino churchIn the Philippines, Catholics make up 80 percent of the population, while evangelicals make up about 3 percent. Catholicism came to the Philippines through Spanish colonialism and stuck as Filipinos made their faith their own. Today, the Catholic faith has become a cultural attribute of Filipino life.The high view of church leaders also reflects traditional Filipino values, said Peñamora: “Filipino culture values respecting the elderly, which spills over to their submission to people in authority, including religious authority.”In the Philippines, older people are considered wise, and they provide a sense of order and direction to the life of the community, Peñamora ...Continue reading...

? Temple Baptist Church - 4-14-2024Psalm 119:113-120? Introduction:? A.? Psalm 119 – The Magnification of the Word of God.? 176 verses broken down into 22 stanzas with each stanza containing 8 verses.? Each stanza begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet with each verse of the stanza in Hebrew beginning with the correlating letter.? An Acrostic. A masterpiece that only God the Word could have given to us.? B.? SAMECH – infinity or infinite – also used for support or ladder – The 15th? letter of the Hebrew alphabet – its numerical number is 60 which represents completeness.? It is one of the two closed letters with the other being found in MEM in its final form at the end of a word.? It is circular in form with no beginning or end and protects that which is within.? C.? We understand that we live in a sinful world and in sinful times.? ? 1.? In my lifetime, I have seen the world changing in so many ways as it downwardly spirals into utter depravity.? As God's children, we try to abstain from all appearance of evil while living in the midst of it.? 2.? More than ever before, we need to realize that God holds our lives in His hands.? We have a promise of perpetual protection as we walk with God within the Word of God.? ? 3.? We need to make sure that we remain within the “hedge” that God has placed around us.? Through willful sin and willful ignorance, we often remove ourselves to some degree out of the protection of our Lord.? D.? In Jewish tradition, SAMECH represents one's inner journey.? Verse 113 begins with the words “I hate vain thoughts.”? ? These words show the importance of maintaining the invisible man as well as the physical man.? Proverbs tells us “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)? E.? While we can only see the outside, God is a Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.? Who we are is what we are inwardly!? This 15th stanza shows the believer that there are Divine inner and outer protection available and this protection is found in God's Word.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? F.? God affords the believer “layers” of protection that will help to keep one's heart and mind (1) Stable and therefore (2) Stayed upon the Lord.? Then there is the outward layer of protection afforded the believer.? 1.? ? Verse 113.? Our Spirit.? The Word of God protects our thought life.? The godly man's hatred of vain thoughts.? Vain – to no avail or worthless.? The most dangerous battlefield known to man is the struggle of good and evil thoughts.? The greatest wars are waged in the mind of the believer.? Inherently, man has a God given understanding of both right and wrong.? I heard it said that man does not have a problem knowing right from wrong.? The struggle is choosing right over wrong.? Here, we once again find the love of God's Law as the deciding factor in our thought life.? ? 2 Corinthians 10:3-5? For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:? (4)? (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)? (5)? Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;? 2.? Verse 114.? Our Surety.? God protects our temporal life.? The child of God is hated by Satan, the world.? God is our infinite Refuge during the hard times of life, but it is through God's Word that we find our sanctity and peace.? When everything is going wrong in life, everything we need is in our hand tonight.? Protection from temporal calamities and persecutions.? God's Word is our chamber of retreat where we hide and find safety both physical and spiritual.? It is in the Word of God that we hide while taking the “shield of faith” in our hands.? The Word of God? supplies us grace, strength, light, life, and comfort here, and for glory hereafter.? Psalms 9:9? The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.? 3.? Verse 115.? Our Sanctification.? God protects our interaction with the world.? The world is a constant distraction of God's people and the ultimate state becomes defilement.? Our protection is through the Word of God.? We that are saved are not only separatist, we are separated from.? In this verse, we see the desire of the godly to distance himself from those who do evil.? This does not speak of staying away from every sinner for the Bible says that we would have to leave this world to do so.? It means to stay away from those who have a pattern of life that is wicked.? “Evildoers” is a persistent condition.? The Power of the wicked:? Psalms 37:35? I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.? 4.? Verse 116.? ? Our Stability.? God protects our feebleness in life.? The Word of God is the “Rock” upon which we stand.? Unmovable, unshakable, unerring, an anchor is an ever changing world.? Through the Bible, we can be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord according to 1 Corinthians 15:58.? Paul said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”? Psalms 94:17-18? Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.? (18)? When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.? 5.? Verse 117.? Our Safety.? God protects us in the perils of life.? We live in perilous times.? In the news, all we hear is about the dangers of living in the greatest nation on earth.? Because sentence against evil works is not executed, people have no respect for law and order.? ? Ecclesiastes 8:11? Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.? Proverbs 21:31? The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.? 6.? Verse 118.? Our Sinfulness.? God protects us in our temptations in life.? One of Newton's Third Law of Motion states: “? For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”? Spiritually, though God is so often gracious to the sinner, with willful sin, for the most part it is followed by a willful judgment.? Their deceit is falsehood.? What they appear outward is not the reality of that which we see outwardly.? Hebrews 4:12? For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.? 7.? Verse 119.? Our Salvation.? God protects us from our enemies in life.? The Lord will take care of the wicked.? We just need to love and stay with the Word of God.? The wicked may seem to be on the winning side for a while but the justice of the Lord will be manifested.? Jeremiah 6:28-30? They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.? (29)? The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.? (30)? Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.? 8.? Verse 120.? Our Submission.? Our protection, “safety is of the Lord,” is perpetually in the hand of God.? Life is still hard at best, but remaining in the will of God through the Word of God affords the child of God a perpetual protection.? Proverbs 19:23? The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

by Phil Johnson do of course, wholeheartedly affirm the principles of Romans 13:1-7 ("be in subjection to the governing authorities") and 1 Peter 2:13-17 ("Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution")—while recognizing also that those commands are limited by the principle of Acts 5:29 ("We must obey God rather than men").If you believe the threat to public health is real and deadly, you'll probably be inclined to submit to all the governor's orders. If you suspect politicians are milking the entire thing and exaggerating the threat for partisan purposes, you're more likely to conclude that the duty of Hebrews 10:25 outweighs any obligation to kowtow to the governor's latest whim.Circumstances surrounding the current quarantine, riots, and mass political demonstrations have greatly blurred the question of whether Acts 5:29 applies in this case. Good, Bible-believing Christians have landed on both sides of the question. If you believe the threat to public health is real and deadly, you'll probably be inclined to submit to all the governor's orders. If you suspect politicians are milking the entire thing and exaggerating the threat for partisan purposes, you're more likely to conclude that the duty of Hebrews 10:25 outweighs any obligation to kowtow to the governor's latest whim.During more than 16 weeks of quarantine (with the death toll just a sparse fraction of what experts originally predicted) the elders and staff of Grace Community Church observed every order related to the quarantine. But the rules change almost daily and are being applied unfairly. Statistically, people are far more likely to get the virus in a gym or a bar than in a worship service. (Of 3+ million cases in the US since March, only 650 have been traceable to churches.) Yet bars, gyms, gambling casinos, and even massage parlors have been given freedoms that are withheld from churches. In fact, as these and other businesses are finally being permitted to reopen, restrictions targeting churches are becoming even more onerous. The California Governor has gone so far as to tell churches they must cease all congregational singing.Governor Newsom: Unclear on the Concept.(It's supposed to be a mask, not a chin strap.)Our elders and security team cannot in good conscience become enforcers of rules that 1) we believe unfairly target the church, and 2) the government itself has declined to enforce. Owing to the arbitrary, capricious way these regulations are made and changed, combined with the fact that authorities did nothing (and are doing nothing) to enforce the masks-and-social-distancing rules on political demonstrators who gather regularly in downtown L. A. in crowds of thousands, it seems only right to leave the question of how far to go in observing social-distancing recommendations up to each individual. The degree to which we permit masks and social-distancing recommendations to impinge on our worship in the congregational context ought to be seen as a matter of conscience. "Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind" (Romans 14:5).In other words, the degree to which we permit masks and social-distancing recommendations to impinge on our worship in the congregational context ought to be seen as a matter of conscience. "Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind" (Romans 14:5). And don't be quick to condemn believers who hold a different opinion, no matter which side of the issue you have come down on.Grace Church's elders have made it possible for people with scrupulous consciences to obey every government-issued regulation to the letter. The church provides masks and hand cleanser at stations around campus, and there are ample outdoor seating spaces where people can hear the sermon, participate in the singing, and still practice careful social distancing if they are bound by conscience to do so.On the other hand, for those (like me) who are not fearful of exposure to the virus, or those who are deeply skeptical of the motives behind this level of government intrusion, they can likewise do what their conscience dictates and gather in the auditorium for worship as usual—with or without masks. If government officials choose to single those people out and enforce rules they aren't enforcing at political demonstrations, let them do so. I for one am willing to suffer the consequences if it comes to that.