Soap Wednesday 1/5/11- Matthew 3:1-17 (11-12)

S Matthew 3:1-17 (11-12)

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

O

1. John knew his place and the place of the one coming after him.
2. His orders were to go out and tell that Messiah was coming; “the kingdom is at hand.” He did and a part of that was to baptize with water those who were seeking repentance/ coming back to the Father.
3. Jesus on the other hand was coming and when He comes He will “reap” the wheat. He will stand on the threshing floor and reap the harvest. Those not a part of the harvest will be burned with fire.
4. The harvest will come to an end, and Jesus will come and go to the threshing floor. I don't know when that will be, but it will come.

A

My actions today are to be similar of John the Baptist’s. He went out to tell of Jesus’ coming. I am to do the same. John went out before He came the 1st time; I am to go out before His 2nd coming. Jesus is coming! Therefore I must, I MUST, go.

P

Lord show me today who You would want me to speak with. God I am Yours! You direct my going out and my coming in. Use me today for Your Glory!

SOAP Tuesday 1/4/11- Matthew 2:1-23 (1-5)

S Matthew 2:1-23 (1-5)

Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

O

1. The Wise men from the east were looking for the Christ. They came to capital of country where the star led them. They were looking for Christ!
2. Herod the king, was from Israel, and he did not even know where the Christ was to be born.
3. Scribes told them where He was to be born. Bethlehem- a small town outside of Jerusalem. Not where one would think the King of Kings would be born.

A

My thoughts are drawn to this part of the passage b/c there are three types of people in the passage. 1. Those from afar who want to know about Jesus and where they can find Him. 2. Those close by who don’t know about Him, nor care! 3. Those who know, but seem to be indifferent or don’t care about what they know.

I definitely don’t want to be like the last two, and the only way that will happen is to be in His Word and Grow.

P

Lord please show me Yourself today. God as I am in Your Word please allow it to come alive and reveal Yourself to me. I desperately desire to be Yours and to have You control my life. I know where You are and also how to be close to You. Please direct my path today!

Christmas Blues

The line at Walmart tonight was a long one. Not at the check-out counter but at the customer service station (returns). As I stood there, upset that I had to wait and wait and wait to return a gun for Nathan, I thought about the families in front of me and also the one behind me. I wondered if they had gotten over Christmas.

As I walked the store there was still a little bit of cheer in the aisles, but not as much as last week or the week before. To be honest, even I am down somewhat. This is not to be the case! You and I, those who know Jesus as Lord, are to be LIGHT. We are to shine on the hillside so that all can see Him. Christmas, the day where we exchange gifts, may be over, but we are called to give the good news away to those who have not heard. Take the time to tell someone about Jesus today; tell them about Riverbend too.

This Sunday is a new year at Riverbend! We are kicking off 2011 in the book of Jude. It is not a long book; it only has ONE chapter. Over the next 4-5 weeks we will walk through this great little letter. Please spend some time today and tomorrow reading over the book and also ask God to use me to proclaim His good news to us on Sunday.

Merry Christmas!

Brian

Praise Him!

It is hard to describe the joy that is in my heart today. God has blessed and to see His hand working in the life of Riverbend is a great thing. Please don’t take this for granted. We are to be walking with Him and growing in Him daily.

This morning I read Proverbs 22; it is one of my favorite because of verse 4 which says, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.”

What a verse! This verse has been somewhat of a life verse for me. It is one I have prayed for myself for sometime and one that I meditate on desiring those qualities to be in my life (humility and fear of the Lord). As you and I are in the midst of this CRAZY Christmas season, please stop for a moment and look at your life and your priorities.

Yesterday I went to a funeral service. It was one like I have never gone to before, and probably never will again. The service was for Bro. Bobby Moore. Most of you don’t know him, but he was the pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Southaven for over 34 years. Over the past year and a half God has placed Bro. Bobby in my life to challenge me to grow in a number of different areas. At first God did this through having Bro. Bobby speak 3 or 4 times at the associational pastor meetings. But in these recent days I have had the opportunity to spend time in Bro. Bobby’s home where he would encourage me in the ministry and challenge me in God’s Word.

The funeral was a celebration of a life spilled out for God. One of the greatest things about Bro. Bobby was his daily devotion time with the Lord, and each of the family members took time to read portions of Bro. Bobby’s devotional journal. It was AWESOME. He truly loved his LORD and he desired to know Him more each and every day.

I tell you this to encourage you to be in His WORD. Allow the Father to fill your heart with real joy this day. Allow Him to fill your cup this AM so that you might spread the reall JOY of Christmas to those you come in contact with today. Be His!

God is SOOO GOOD!

Over the last two weeks Riverbend you all know we have asked you to pray about giving to the Be A Part of MORE campaign for our new building. Well You all did just that and you gave and God Blessed. He has done just what He said He would do, Ephesians 3:20-1-- “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

He blessed with an offering totaling $33,925.

That is over $1,000 more than we needed! He knows and He provides! Thank you for all your gifts. Please continue to pray for Riverbend and the work God is doing in us and through us.

A Great Day of Worship!

December 12th, 2010 at Riverbend Church will go down as a great day of worship. As I looked in the eyes of you in the AM services I sensed many if not most of you “got” the message. I can’t tell you how that feels as a pastor, to look out and see the congregation “get” what is being said.

Then on top of that, to come back and be led to the throne as we were in the PM service, it was awesome. Pastor David and the band did a phenomenal job leading out in worship as they did. And on top of that we took part in the Lord’s Supper. It is always a great time when Riverbend partakes of the Lord’s Supper. Seeing each one come forward and take it is something else. Each time I lead out in it, it means more to me. Remembering the cost of salvation and the death that He died for me almost is overwhelming. He did it for me. He died so that I might live eternally. Eating the bread and drinking the juice is a great reminder of His death and payment for sin.

What a day!

One thought for you as I go. God stated more than once that obedience to His Word was more important than sacrifice. Go wants you and me to obey His Word even more than He wants us to perform some “religious” ritual that we always do. So as we partake of the Lord’s Supper I want to be aware of this and not “just” take it. I want it to mean something and I believe it does, not just for me, but for the whole church family. Thanks for being a part of it @ Riverbend.

Just a Few Words

Sunday AM Worship was something else. To be honest, I was somewhat concerned about the reception of the message, but as I looked into everybody’s eyes I sensed that for the most part the message got across. As stated Sunday, spiritual warfare is not necessarily a bad thing. If you know what it is and you are on your knees, gaining strength from the Lord to combat it, it can be a good thing. No I don’t mean that fighting a battle is fun, easy or a walk in the park, but knowing that you are on the right path, or walking with God is a good thing. So in that sense spiritual warfare is a good thing.

I can’t tell you how excited I am as we get ready to move into the new building. It is not just about being in a new place and the excitement of that; for me it is the opportunity to see new people come be a part of Riverbend and seeing God move mightily in hearts as He changes lives. I truly believe He is going to use us, if we will obey Him.

Make sure you are praying about what He would have you give towards the Be a Part of MORE campaign. Remember that we are taking up a special offering for that this Sunday AM and also on 12/19.