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Pastor Jake McBride’s Corner

We are excited that God is helping us to grow in attendance and in our spiritual growth with the spirit filled sermons that Pastor Jake has been bringing to us each week! We are expecting new converts and growth in our Leadership areas as well!

Also, we have several children attending with their parents or grandparents. God is Good!

Check out our Facebook page and like it. It is under Verde Valley Church of the Nazarene.

If you want to be a part of this exciting growth, contact Pastor Jake or our church office at 928-646-6024.

Our Faith… Weak or Strong? 

All of us are all weak in some areas and strong in others. If we can interact with sinful people without falling into their patterns, we are strong in that area of our faith. However, if we must avoid certain activities, people, or places in order to protect our spiritual life we may be weak in that area of our faith.

It is important to reflect on one’s self, in order to find our strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself, “Can I do that without sinning? Can I influence others for good, rather than being influenced by them?” In areas of strength where the answer is YES, we should not fear being defiled by the world; but rather, we should go and serve God there. However, in areas of weakness, we need to be cautious.

We can’t expect everyone to agree on every subject. Differences should not be feared or avoided but accepted and handled with love. Through sharing ideas, we can come to a deeper understanding of what the Bible teaches. Differences of opinion need not cause division. They can be a source of learning and richness in our relationships. Accept, listen to, and respect others.

In Romans 14, Paul is writing about immature faith (weak faith) that has not yet developed the muscle strength it needs to stand against outside influences. For example, if someone once worshiped idols and then became a Christian, they might understand perfectly well that Christ saved them through faith and that the idols they once worshiped have no real power. Still, because of this past association, they might be shaken if they ate meat used in idol worship. Likewise, if a non-Christian once worshiped God on specific holy days were to become a Christian, they might well know that Christ saved him through faith, not through keeping of the law; however, may still feel empty and unfaithful by not dedicating those days to God.

Both are acting according to their consciences, but their honest principles do not need to be made into rules for the church. Unquestionably, some issues are central to the faith and worth fighting for, but many are based on individual differences and should not be constituted. Our principle should be everything with love.

Some Christians use a weaker brother to support their own opinions, prejudices, or standards, saying “You must live by these standards,” or “you will be offending the weaker brother.” The truth is, this person would only be offending the one trying to support their own opinion. Be sensitive to those whose faith may be harmed by our actions, we should not sacrifice our faith in Christ just to satisfy the selfish motives of those who are trying to force their opinions on us. We should follow Christ as closely as we can and neither fear or criticize them.

So as believers, we try to steer clear of actions forbidden by Scripture, of course, but sometimes Scripture is silent. At those times, we should follow our consciences. When God shows us that something is wrong for us, we should avoid it. But we should not look down on other Christians who exercise their freedom in those areas.

Believers are called to accept one another without judging other varied opinions. However, sometimes these situations have to be faced and we have to deal with those who disagree with us. We as believers should act in love so as to maintain peace. Everything we do affects others, and we must think of them constantly. God created us to be dependent on each other. Those of us that are strong in our faith must, without pride or haughtiness, treat others with love, patience, and self-restraint.

 Originally posted on Small Group Disciples – From My Notes

Burned Biscuits

From my Notes – Pastor Ron Campbell

When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.. On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!

Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing…. never made a face nor uttered a word about it!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then.”

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real tired. And besides – a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!”

As I’ve grown older, I’ve thought about that many times. Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I’m not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults and choosing to celebrate each others differences – is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that’s my prayer for you today… that you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He’s the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn’t a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket – keep it in your own.”

So, please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burned one will do just fine.

If you want, pass this along to someone who has enriched your life. How wonderful it would be if we could all Work at being kinder than necessary to the others around us, for it is more than likely that everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

“Life without God is like an un-sharpened pencil – it has no point.

 

Having Grace and Giving It Away

From my Notes – Pastor Ron Campbell

 Grace is sometimes difficult to understand. We all want to receive it. The hard part is giving it. When we are wronged we want to settle accounts. However, there’s a real problem with that. There are so many things that just can’t be settled. Vengeance is like a boomerang. When it goes out, it comes back at you. Peace cannot be achieved until at least one person puts down their vengeance. It’s the only way to break the cycle.

Now, there is a time and place for arms. For example, we need our police officers. We need strong and courageous people to stand against tyranny, and at times we may even have to personally defend ourselves. What we don’t need are hostilities. They solve nothing. They serve nothing. They only destroy.

Grace is really hard for most Christians. We feel grudges, anger, and fear. However, grace is still the answer. It is grace that heals and helps us overcome, and grace that takes away the burden of our own sins.

So why is it so hard to give grace? Maybe it’s because we don’t really understand this thing called grace. What is it? What is it not? How do we apply it? How can we put down our weapons of vengeance?

Jesus modeled grace more than any other person in history. He paid in full for the sins of the whole world, past, present, and future, at his own expense. Jesus is the primary example of God’s grace, but it can be hard to relate his example to ourselves. After all, He’s Jesus. It would help to have an example of someone like us following Christ, showing us the kind of grace we are all capable of in Christ. There are many examples of this in the New Testament.  Let’s look at Stephen, for example, in the book of Acts.

“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.” Acts 6:8

This scripture beautifully defines Stephen for us.  He was “full of God’s grace and power.” It was visibly obvious.

“All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” Acts 6:15

Stephen was the real deal, a true follower of Jesus Christ, and like Jesus, he was full of love, mercy, and truth.  He was also courageous.

Stephen challenged the rejection of Christ with truth and reasoning.  The thought of God’s love and grace being poured out through the cross to the undeserving was so repulsive to the religious leaders they couldn’t stand hearing it. Worse yet, Stephen tells them all that they are undeserving as well. The people lose control and take him out to stone him to death.  What does Stephen do?

“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”” Acts 7:59-60

In Stephen, we see the grace of God lavished to the extreme. We see grace on display in a normal person following Jesus. Like Jesus, Stephen prayed to the Father while dying, asking God to forgive them.

The grace Stephen offered was from the cross, not his own righteousness. Its power comes from God. It isn’t earned through self-righteousness. It is a gift.  Stephen looked to Jesus as master and provider. The follower points to the master, not to himself. Stephen was filled up with God’s grace because he actively sought grace from God.

When we need to give grace, we must draw it from the grace we have been hoarding. It is our source from which to pull out grace for those who have wronged us. God has freely given it to us and it is free for us to give away. The atoning blood of Jesus Christ does not fail. His sacrifice is enough to pay the penalty.

We need to offer grace to others so we don’t become the bitter thing we hate. We want to rise above and reach for something better. Grace will change us, maybe even visibly like Stephen. Pray we all shine with such amazing grace.

PastorRonSig

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