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"This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through..." I heard the words to that song a lot growing up. It was my dad's favorite! Yesterday's sermon carried the same theme - only expanded a little more. The title was: WE'RE HOME! Steve had three major points:
- HOME - NOT!
- HOME - NEARLY!
- HOME - NOW!
Things are changing fast for our church family! We are growing! We are building a new building and have sold our current building to a group of Jews. We need to be out by the end of this month. The boxes in our building are being currently packed from floor to ceiling. One of the problems is that our temporary meeting place until our new building is completed fell through. We have no where to go! Steve's lesson was appropriate on many levels.
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There are people in our group who have worshipped here for 40 years. They are leaving behind a lot of precious memories. For them, the change will be difficult. This whole "not knowing thing" is really a stretch for many. Yet, as Steve said this morning. Isn't that usually how our God works? Things like this usually don't work out until the last minute. It gives us another exercise in faith... trust.
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1. HOME - NOT! IN THIS TENT! I am living in this world as a traveler... a visitor... an alien...! I truly am "just passin' thru!
- 2 Cor 5:1-3 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven...
- Phil 3:20-21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
2. HOME - NEARLY! IN TRANSITION! We're in transition! Things are in flux! Each new day is more fluid than firm! We're nearly to our new temporary "home" on Pitman Road. It should be ready in the spring of 2011. Flexibility is important!
- John 14:1-7 "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 "And you know the way where I am going." 5 Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?" 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.
3. HOME - NOW! IN HEAVENLY PLACES! We are to really be living in two worlds at the same time. As we're living our lives here, we need to let our hearts, minds, and souls dwell on living in heavenly realms. This is where the sermon reminded me much of our memory verses from February. What a powerful scripture to remind us of God's love and heavenly home. Let's meditate on that today!
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Ephesians 2:4-10 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. .
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