Thinking About Home

The thought of there being a better place for the saints of God to live after their time on earth has cheered the hearts of God’s people for thousands of years.

John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Jesus calls Heaven “My Father’s house.” Heaven is special because it’s where God lives. A place like that would have to be holy, filled with glory, a place of peace, blessing, joy, and love.

Those are characteristics of our Heavenly Father, and anyplace that is called the “Father’s house,” would have to be a place like Him. 

I counted twenty-six homes I lived in during my life time. Lately, I’ve been thinking about my  Heavenly home. Nothing compares. Jesus gave me the title years ago when I believed in Him. Many of my family and friends are already there. 

Believers, don’t let your heart be troubled. Be assured, there’s a better place awaiting.  

— Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit without their expressed written permission.—

What A Delight!

When we focus on our problems we tend to get depressed. At all times of life believers are challenged to focus on the Lord—who He is to us, what He has done for us, where He is taking us, and how much He loves us. 

Before we know it, we are praising God. We are lost in Him.  What a delight!

When we are lost in Him, our will and our desires will be lost in Him as well. When this happens, He will lift us out of our sadness and fill us with His glory.  

Psalm 37:4-5 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

In the midst of our struggles God is looking for faith and obedience in us.  His promise is that our faith will never be in vain. Trust Him 

— Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit without their expressed written permission.—

One Glorious Day

One day believers will either be raised from the dead or caught up (raptured) in the clouds. Either way, we will be changed in a “moment, in a twinkling of an eye”, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. 

Many believers call this the rapture. The word “rapture” is the Latin translation of the Greek word “harpazo”, which is translated in verse 17 as “caught up”.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

On that glorious day we will look on Jesus - the One who loved us so much that He left the glory of Heaven and endured countless sufferings to redeem us from sin. We will meet the One who conquered death, Hell and the grave - the One who loved us in spite of our sins. 

This stirs my heart. Imagine seeing His face - hearing His voice - feeling His touch. Imagine bowing at His feet and thanking Him for the cross, the blood, the empty tomb the Bible, the Holy Ghost, the church, and the blessings of life, 

1 Thessalonians 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

— Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit without their expressed written permission.—

Saved Be Grace Through Faith

The most important thing in life is knowing that you are right with God—saved. 

It isn’t enough to be good or religious, to join the church, to be baptized or to stop doing some things that are wrong, 

To be saved, there must be a time when you turn to Jesus Christ in absolute faith for salvation. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.

As surely as the stars, planets, sun and moon declare the existence and power of God; nothing declares His glory, His power and His existence any more than a life that has been redeemed from sin - saved by grace -  grace because we don’t deserve it. 

Every child of God who walks, talks, acts, thinks, and lives differently because of grace, is a bold, powerful witness to the power of our great God. Thank you, Jesus, for your blood sacrifice on a cruel cross so we can be saved. 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

— Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit without their expressed written permission.—

Showers Of Blessings

We usually think of blessings as being physical and material in nature. 

For instance, if our loved ones are well, our bills paid, our home and car nice; we say we are blessed and we are.  

But what happens when disease strikes a loved one or the car becomes junk or we can’t pay the bills? Has the Lord stopped blessing us?  No. These are temporary blessings.  

Permanent blessings of the Lord are spiritual in nature and will never be taken away from us. 

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

"All spiritual blessings" tell us that when Jesus saved us He gave us everything we need to serve Him - to be content, successful, obedient, useful to the Kingdom - to be happy in Jesus

When everything is gone, broken or spent, we will still have the best of God’s blessings. 

— Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit without their expressed written permission.—

I Am With You

In 586 BC the Babylonians invaded Israel, took the people captive to Babylon, and destroyed Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.

Fifty years later some of the people were allowed to return to rebuild their Temple. A short time later the work stopped because of opposition from the Samaritans. 

Sixteen years later the prophet Haggai called the people to rebuild the Temple. After a month they became discouraged and wanted to quit, but the Lord encouraged them. 

Haggai 2:3-4 Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord ; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:

It wasn't about what they used to have, it was and always has been about the God who dwelled in the Temple. 

If we aren’t careful, our discouragements can derail our lives and cause us to lose faith and focus. 

It’s not about us. It’s about God and His glory. As believers, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  Heb. 12:1-2. He is with us - always. 

A New Body - A New Life

Senior bodies are fading.  We do everything possible to remodel them and keep them looking good, but it’s a losing effort. 

The fact is, these bodies we wear are wearing out. Someone has said that you know you are aging when:

·        It takes you longer to rest up than it did to get tired.

·        Most of your dreams are re-runs.

·        You sit down in a rocking chair and you can't get it started.

·        Your mind signs contracts that your body can't keep.

·        When everything hurts, and what doesn't hurt doesn't work.

I’m glad we don’t have to worry about things working out for us in eternity. We have God’s Word on that.  

The Apostle Paul tells believers that when this earthly life draws to a close, and they lay down these temporary bodies, we have a new body and a new life awaiting us in Heaven, 

Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away

— Ideas for this unprofitable blog are taken from The Sermon Notebook—Biblical resources for preachers and teachers of the word of God. They allow these sermons to be used as the Lord leads but not for profit without their expressed written permission.—