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February 23, 2020

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church                              February 23, 2020

Church Service Notes

 

AM Service         

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:7

Do you keep a calendar?  If so, is it a computer calendar, a wall hanger, a planner notebook, pocket sized or do you have several?  I have many calendars.  There is one hanging in our kitchen, on three in the office, and I have a planner I carry.  What type of things do we write on our calendars?  Appointments with the doctors, birthdays, anniversaries, dates bills are due, trips that we have scheduled, visits planned with friends.  We put a lot of information on our calendars.  Part of the reason we put these things on the calendar is to keep of track of what is ahead.  We see a birthday on the calendar and we know we need to plan to send a birthday card.  We see a visitor is scheduled to come by and we know we need to clean house.  The calendar is a tool we utilize to make sure we are prepared for what is to come.  It is also used to help us make sure we a preparing others for what is to come.  If my wife has an appointment that is outside our normal routine, she sees it on the calendar and it reminds her to inform me that I need to pick up the children from school.  I see on the calendar that there is a picture day scheduled at school, it reminds my wife and I to make sure our children are dressed for pictures.  The calendar is a great tool for keeping us focused on the tasks at hand and preparing ourselves and others for what is to come.

There are two key components to the effectiveness of a calendar.  One is to write down the appointments.  If you fail to write down a bill is due on a certain day, how easy is it to overlook that payment! Also, you have to consult your calendar.  Just last week I started my workweek on Monday and thought to myself – I have a free week to focus on all the tasks I need to complete.  And so I went to work and I was able to get a lot completed.  On Thursday, I had a phone conversation with a coworker and he asked me how my training on Tuesday had been.  I realized then I had forgotten my appointment.  It was written on my calendar, but I had not checked my calendar all week.  It won’t does us any good to not look at our calendars.

Now, let me ask: how many of us have the end of the world on our calendars?  Our Scripture tells us that the end of the world is at hand and that we should be watching for the end.  Is this something we are focused upon?  Are we busy about the needed business to be ready for when the end comes?  Are we helping others be prepared for the end of the world? 

What exactly is the end of the world?  The end we are referring to is when Jesus Christ shall return.  The Bible tells Jesus is going to come to earth a second time.  The first time Jesus came He was borne a baby, He grew up, He lived a life without sin, He gave himself to die as the sacrifice needed to pay the death penalty for our sins, He was buried, He rose from the grave alive, He appeared to hundreds of people, and then He ascended into heaven.  The purpose of Jesus’ first coming was to be the sacrificial lamb to offer atonement for our sins.  When Jesus comes a second time, He will not be as a lamb, but rather as the conquering, victorious, leader of angel armies!  When He returns Jesus will call all the Christians out of this world and into heaven.  Jesus describes the scene in Matthew 24, two people will be together, then the one who is a Christian shall be called out of the earth and the other person, the nonbeliever, will be left behind. 

For the Christian, when Jesus returns it will start a beautiful future.  A future in the new heaven and the new earth.  We will be transformed into new bodies that no longer have the pains of this world.  In the new world there will be no more sorrow, no more tears, no more death, no more sin!  It is a glorious future that awaits the Christian.  So why delay?  Why does God allow the world to spiral into further debauchery and people continue to suffer?  In 2 Peter 3:8-13 we are told why.  God wants all people to be saved.  God wants every person to become a Christian.  To God, time is different – God is on the eternal system, not our 24 hours a day system.  God will send Jesus back to earth when God is ready.  And no one knows when that will be.

Unfortunately, for the non-Christian that is left behind, their future is not so beautiful.  The Bible tells about horrible tribulations in the time on earth when God chooses to bring about the end.  Some Bible scholars interpret the Scriptures to mean that a person who heard the Gospel prior to Jesus’ return will not have an opportunity to change their heart and seek Jesus afterwards, meaning they will be lost and condemned to hell.  Although God does not want anyone to go to hell, and God is patiently allowing us every opportunity to surrender our lives to His salvation, one day the end, that is already at hand, will finally be realized. 

As we consider this coming end.  Let me ask are we living with a watchful eye, watching in prayer with our hearts, living righteous lives on the ready for Jesus’ return?  The end is on the calendar, the Bible tells us that.  We may not know the exact date, but we do know that at the end of today, we are one more day closer to that end.  Are we doing what we can to prepare the other people in our lives for that day?  Are we making all the arrangements necessary?  Are we sharing the Gospel with people so they can choose for themselves whether to believe Jesus or not?  We need to make every day count, and live it for the glory of God, pointing others to Jesus as best we can!  We are running out of days to continue our delays…

Let’s commit to living each day for the Lord and to share His love with others!

 

PM Service

Scripture: James 3:1-12

James has shared with us in chapter the importance of proving our faith with works of ministry.  In chapter 3 James addresses how the words that leave our mouths reveal what is in our hearts. 

Verse 1 begins with a guidance to teachers and leaders of the church.  Being in a position of influence brings greater responsibility.  We must take care of our responsibilities and make sure we are leading people accurately according to God’s Word and not our opinions, other people’s opinions, of falsehoods. 

Verse 2 contains the truth that all people cause offense when they sin.  When we sin it offends other people and it offends God.  Very frequently our sin is accompanied by sinful words.  We speak our sins in many ways.  James also tells us in verse 2 that a person who can control the words they speak, is perfect.  What James means is that if we control our words so as to not sin, we can likely control our actions to not sin.  This is a step in maturing in Christ.  We are not perfect people as Christians.  But we should be closer to perfect today, than when we first surrendered our lives to Jesus. 

James makes the connection in verse 2 between our words and our whole body including our heart and soul.  Jesus makes a similar connection.  We see in Matthew 12:33-37 Jesus making this connection.  Verses 33-34 Jesus shares that the fruit of a tree reveals the identity of a tree.  If there are peaches growing on a tree, it’s a peach tree; and if its pecans on the tree then you have a pecan tree.  So it is with us – our words reveal our identity.  Jesus makes the point in verse 35 of how our hearts contain treasure, be it good or bad, and whatever is in our heart will come out of mouth and also be revealed in our actions.  Jesus says in verses 36-37 that we will be judged by the words we speak.  So what will it be for us?

Consider the power of our words.  The first half of Proverbs 18:21 tells us that in the power of our words is both death and life.  Are we speaking life or are we speaking death?  Does the love, the gospel, truth, all the things of God fill our hearts and come forth in our conversations?  Or is it evil that we speak? 

If evil is what is coming from our mouths then we need to remove the evil from our heart.  Proverbs 4 gives us great instruction on how to ensure our hearts are filled with good treasure!  Proverbs 4 tells us to listen to God’s Word, to the wisdom of God, to make it a part of our life, and to be grounded and live in it.  It also warns us not to dabble in evil, to avoid evil, to remove evil influences; this keep evil rot out of hearts and will keep it out of words too!

I cannot help but be reminded of Psalm 1:1-2 where we are told the benefits of dwelling on God’s Word.  Let’s be people who are filling our lives and hearts with the Word of God and speaking its love and truth to others, the power of life!

If we can be of help in some way to you, please let us know.

In Christ’s Love,

Charlie Tucker

February 16, 2020

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church                              February 16, 2020

Church Service Notes

 

AM Service         

Scripture: Matthew 19:13-15

This morning we will celebrate our children letting them help us in the choir, taking up the offering, and sharing pictures of their favorite Bible stories.  Jesus wants us to bring children to Him.  The disciples wanted to restrict children from coming to Jesus and becoming a nuisance, or slowing Him down, or whatever reason.  But Jesus tells them to let the children come to Him!  Jesus prays over the children and blesses them.  Today one way we can bring children to Jesus is by bringing them to church.  The church is God’s fellowship of believers who are supposed to be imitating Jesus on earth.  While we are not perfect, together in unity we can serve God and point others to God including children.  Bring your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren to church so they can enjoy Christian fellowship.

I want us to look at a couple of different passages this morning that tells us the importance of praying for our children and making sure we as parents bring our children to God.  First we have John 4:46-54.  A nobleman travels to Jesus to seek healing for his son who was near death.  The nobleman was willing to travel a great distance, he had heard about the miracles of Jesus – the signs Jesus had already performed.  Jesus meets the nobleman but Jesus does not go back with the nobleman to see the man’s son.  Instead Jesus pronounces the son healed and tells the nobleman to return home.  When the nobleman returns his servants meet him and tell him that the son is healed.  The nobleman learns the time of his son’s healing was the same time Jesus pronounced the boy healed.  This sign leads the nobleman to come to a true faith in Jesus with his whole family.

From this record we can learn that Jesus is not limited in His powers to bring healing.  The nobleman thought Jesus had to be physically present with the son to bring healing but distance is no obstacle to Jesus.  Today, we may not see Jesus in person but we can still pray to Him and He can still bring healing.  We are never too far from God for Him to hear our prayers!  We can also see how God can work through children to bring saving faith to an entire household.  If this child had not gotten sick, the nobleman probably does not visit Jesus.  The child’s sickness leads to the encounter with Jesus and the faith followed.  Don’t underestimate the power of children to be used by God.  This is why it is important for us to reach children with Sunday School, Wednesday nights, church services, Vacation Bible School.  The children we reach may take the Gospel home with them and reveal it to parents who have never before believed in Christ unto salvation.  We need to invest in children!

We also have Mark 21-42.  The record includes Jairus, a leader in the synagogue.  Jairus’ daughter is sick to the point of death.  And as the nobleman he decides to seek Jesus for healing.  We need to consider what this meant for Jairus.  At this point in history the majority of the synagogue leaders have drawn a line in the sand opposed to Jesus.  They have made Jesus an enemy.  For Jairus to now go seek Jesus was a risk to his reputation, his career, and his relationships.  Many other leaders would despise Jairus from what they viewed as a betrayal if he sought Jesus.  He might have even been removed from leading the synagogue.  If he were removed from the synagogue what would he do to support his family.  In this time era a person simply did not switch professions as we can today.  Jairus would have a difficult time securing a means of income if he were removed from leading the synagogue.  Certainly there would be friends of his that would turn on him and reject him.  However, Jairus weighed the costs and he knew for the good of his daughter he had to seek Jesus.  What about us today?  Are we embarrassed to take our family to church and have our friends see us Jesus people?  Will following Jesus cause us to miss opportunities with our friends?  If we do skip on these things of Jesus, what does that mean for our children?  Will they ever have their sins healed by blood of Jesus and receive His righteousness and forgiveness?  All our children need healing spiritually, will we take them to church and to the Lord or will we be fearful of our own reputation and costs?

Jairus reaches Jesus and Jesus agrees to go with him to his daughter.  Along the way they are interrupted by a woman who reaches out to touch Jesus’ robe and is miraculously healed.  Jesus stops to engage the woman and thus delays reaching Jairus’ daughter.  Do you think it might have angered Jairus when they were delayed?  Do you think he might have been impatient in the circumstance?  Wouldn’t you and I?  After all, his daughter’s life is on the line.  Why delay?  Then we see the miracle – this woman had tried every possible medical intervention seeking healing, she had spent all her money seeking healing, but only Jesus brought the healing.  Perhaps it would have been reassuring to Jairus now, to see a seemingly impossible issue healed for another – maybe it boosted Jairus’ confidence that Jesus was the right person to seek.  For us today, we need to remember all the times Jesus has answered our prayers, healed us, wrought miracles in our lives the next time we grow impatient with His timing.  God is in control, we must trust the Lord!

After the delay tragic news is delivered.  The daughter has died.  It is suggested Jesus is too late and shouldn’t be bothered anymore.  But look at Jesus’ response: Jesus tells Jairus to keep on believing.  This is what we must do too.  Now Jairus has a decision should he choose not to bother Jesus anymore and leave to bury his daughter or will he keep on believing and bring Jesus to the girl?  What would we choose?  Jairus brings Jesus to his daughter.  We find professional mourners at his home verifying her death – this girl was dead.  But Jesus speaks to His plan to heal her describing her as only asleep.  Jesus reaches her room and then performs His miracle resurrecting the girl.  It’s a beautiful record.  For us, we must choose to keep on believing.  Don’t give up on your children, grandchildren, great grands, or anyone else.  Keep on lifting them up to Jesus in praying for His healing, for salvation to come, for rescue from evil, whatever the impossible obstacle it is not greater than Jesus who breathes life into death!

Bring the children to Jesus!

 

PM Service

Scripture: James 2:14-26

Verse 14 begins our passage tonight with the question of validity of a person’s faith.  Quite simply, if a person claims to have faith in Jesus but never has evidence in the form of good works is the faith a saving faith or not?  I am afraid there are many people who claim to be Christians but who’s lives lack any evidence of good works to prove their faith.  I am not a judge of the heart, the Lord is, but James tells us here that we should be seeing good works in a true believer.

In verses 15-17 James gives an example of a church goer who sees a fellow church goer in need but chooses to not offer real help.  We assume the example of church goers since the terms brother and sister are used which was a common manner of addressing fellow believers or church goers.  What are we to make of church people that ignore others needs for help when they are in a position to help?  James suggests this is a dead faith.  Some Bible scholars would describe a person of such faith not as a true believer in Christ but rather an intellectual in the Bible.  People who know the Bible, know the scriptures, who have been to church, who can answer questions about religion but who do not have a transformed life full of good works are like this example.  And I am very afraid many church roles are filled with people such as this.  And James says such a faith is dead, it is a part from Christ.

In verses 18-20 James presents another example.  The demons, the followers of Satan, we are told do indeed know there is one God and that Jesus is God’s Son.  They fully believe it.  But they have chosen self over surrendering their life God.  How many people fill our church roles today that know the truth of Jesus but have never surrendered their lives to the Lord?  James tells us such people are just as separated from God as the demons are.  James also notes the demons trembled at Jesus – they had an emotional response to Jesus but they never surrendered their lives to Him.  Again, how many people on church roles had an emotional experience in their past by which they claim salvation but they didn’t surrender their life to the Lord and Savior?  James warns if a person does not exhibit good works in their faith, then they do not have true faith. 

Next James provides positive examples of faith in action, good works proving one’s faith.  In verses 21-24 James brings up the example of Abraham.  The example of Abraham is key to understanding James’ teaching.  In Genesis 15:5-6 the Bible records that Abraham is counted as righteous by his faith.  In Romans 4:3 Paul refers to the Genesis passage when teaching that a person is saved through faith alone, not by good works.  James believes this truth too.  Just as Paul taught a person cannot earn salvation through god works, James never says a person’s good work saves them.  Rather James is teaching us that good works prove a person’ faith is true and real.  In Genesis 22 Abraham willingly presents Isaac to God as a sacrifice, in doing so Abraham demonstrated and proved his faith.  Of course God spares Isaac and provides a ram for the sacrifice.  But look at the proving power of Abraham’s faith to other people and to himself.  James tells us the obedient good work of Abraham proved his faith, it didn’t save him, but it proved his faith. 

In verses 25-26 James shares the example of Rahab.  Rahab is a contrast to Abraham.  While Abraham was a noble person that God chose, Rahab is a prostitute among the enemies of God when God chooses her. Consider the people of Jericho, enemies of God opposed to Joshua and the Israelites.  They know the Israelites serve a powerful God but they do not choose to join them, they remain opposed to God and believe they are safe behind their wall.  Rahab receives the Israelite spies and she has a choice.  Should she make her belief in the God of the Israelites real by trusting in Him, risking her own safety, and hiding the spies?  Or would she reject God and turn the spies over to her authorities?  Rahab makes a decision of true faith and hides the spies and trust in God for salvation.  She is of course saved.  Her faith was demonstrated in her good work to hide the spies.  We have opportunities to prove our faith through good works.  Are we?

It is not just James who teaches true Christians should have good works in their life.  Jesus teaches this in Matthew 7:21 acknowledging many people will not enter heaven that think they are saved, but only those do the work of God.  And they are doing the work of God because of their faith, not to earn salvation, but because God changes the believer and transforms them to be like Jesus who did so many good works!  Ephesians 2:10 tells us it is God’s plan for Christians to do good works.  In Titus Paul emphasizes the need for Christians to do good works in 1:16 and 3:8.  Let us be found faithful in good works serving others and serving the Lord!

If we can be of help in some way to you, please let us know.

In Christ’s Love,

Charlie Tucker

February 9, 2020

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church                                February 9, 2020

Church Service Notes

 

AM Service         

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

All year we have been looking at the vision for our church that originates in these verses.  The verses described the race we are running together as a church and our vision is that we will run our race in such a way as to hear well done my good and faithful church.  Our race includes worship, fellowship, discipleship, evangelism, and missions.  Some days it might be difficult to feel up to the race.  It may seem as though everything is uphill, or like running through mud, or the crowds are blocking us and holding us back.  When those times come we are going to need to dig deep and push forward, we have to decide to commit and not quit.  I ran cross-country in high school.  The races would have front runners who finish the race strongly, there would be some who would struggle, some would resort to walking, some would stop to rest before pushing again, and then there would be some who would stop, step off the course, and quit the race.  As a church I don’t want any of us choosing to quit – we need to find ways to keeping going onward for the prize that God has for us!

In athletics coaches will often use a certain motivational ploy to encourage their team to press onward and not quit even when the training is hard, or the odds seem too much, or a deficit too large to overcome.  The coaches will share with their team pictures, newspaper articles, or video of previous champions.  The hope is seeing the other champions will encourage their team to get through it all and proceed. 

How about us as a church?  Who do we look toward as inspiration?  Hebrews tells us: we are to look to Jesus, our glorious and great Savoir, the author and finisher of our faith! It is Jesus we are called to imitate as we run our race together.

When we look to Jesus what do we see in our mind’s eye?  For some of us we see the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.  For some maybe we see Jesus performing a certain miracle.  Maybe we see Jesus on the cross or Him revealing His nail scarred hands.  Today I want us to look Jesus as He ran His race.  Jesus’ race ultimately took Him to the cross where He was crucified to pay the price for our sins.  It was a supremely difficult race and yet Jesus finished the race.  Jesus did so because He was committed to obedience to the Father and He know the joy that would be achieved in the atonement.  But the cross was not the only part of Jesus’ race.  And while we may not be called to die on a cross as Jesus was, we can look to Jesus’ life to see how He handled other obstacles that we will face and we can learn from His example!

Consider Philippians 2:5-8       Jesus has existed for all time and part of His race was leaving the perfection of Heaven, cloaking the fullness of His Diety, and humbling Himself to be a person.  Sometimes our race may take us to places we have never been, places that are uncomfortable, and may require us to humble ourselves.  Doing so may be hard for us, but when the time comes we need to look to Jesus!

Luke 2:42-52        Here Jesus as a boy is found discussing the Scriptures with the doctors of the Scriptures for that day.  As a boy Jesus was found to be astonishing in His knowledge of the Scripture.  If you are a Christian you cannot use inexperience or youth as an excuse, look to Jesus.  And Christians, how well are we studying the Scriptures – running our race in a worthy manner demands we learn them!

Matthew 3:13-17  In the text John the Baptist is baptizing his disciples when Jesus comes looking to be baptized.  John the Baptist, knowing that Jesus is the Lamb of God, tells Jesus he is unworthy to baptize Jesus.  How do respond to compliments and people proclaiming good truths about us?  Do we allow pride to set in and believe in our own greatness to the detriment of our obedience to God?  Jesus didn’t, Jesus was committed to obeying God and so He insisted John the Baptist baptize Him and it pleased the Lord.  Look to Jesus when pride starts to grow!

Matthew 4:1-11    Satan comes and tempts Jesus again and again.  And in response Jesus quotes Scripture back to Satan again and again.  Jesus never sins, He never succumbs to the temptation.  In our race temptations will come – we must look to Jesus and stand firm on God’s Word to resist the temptations!

Matthew 4:17-23  Jesus is recorded as preaching repentance, Jesus goes to people who need help, Jesus helps the people, and Jesus shares the Gospel truth with people.  In our race we must also help those in need, we must call for repentance from sin, and we must share the Gospel – God’s plan for people’s salvation!

Matthew 7:28-29   Here Jesus is recording as teaching the Scriptures accurately.  Are we prepared to teach the Bible accurately?  We must be learning it!


Matthew 9:35-38   Jesus interacts with the crowds and He sees the multitudes and is moved with compassion!  How do we see people we encounter in our race?  Do we see them with the same compassion as Jesus?  Our hearts must break for those who are apart from the Lord.

John 4:3-10 Here Jesus must needs go to Samaria.  Why?  So He could meet the woman at the well.  Keep in mind this was a culturally unacceptable interaction between different people groups.  Yet Jesus went and shared the Gospel.  How about us?  Will we avoid those different from us, will we avoid the places society tells us not to go?  Look to Jesus!

John 13:3-5, 13-16          Here Jesus washes the disciples’ feet, Jesus as a servant!  We will humble ourselves and serve others as Jesus did?

Matthew 26:36-44          The night of the arrest, Jesus prays to the Father for help and declares to the Father His commitment to the Father’s plan.  This when Jesus’ race was entering the hardest stretch.  What will we do when our race becomes difficult or even dangerous?  We will try to go on our own strength?  We will try to avoid God’s plan and find our own way?  We must obey the Lord, pray like Jesus did for the strength and for our faith to persevere!

Let’s all run our race in a worthy manner and whatever we encounter, let’s look to Jesus – our Awesome Savior for the push and inspiration to run onward! 

PM Service

Scripture: James 2:1-13

In tonight’s passage of James we find a teaching on not showing partiality to certain people over others.  Verse 1 tells us not to do it, verse 4 equates considering it with evil thoughts, and in verse 9 the respect of persons is called sin. 

The example James uses to depict the teaching is the treatment of a rich man in a congregation compared to a poor man.  In the example, the rich man is catered to in hopes of receiving something in return whereas the congregation is embarrassed of the poor man and pushes him aside.  James offers reason against such treatment in our passage.  Often rich are favored by people in hopes of receiving something in return; the rich does not have to only refer to money but can refer to elite authority, position of influence in politics or economy, rich in power, rich in opportunity, rich in anything we desire.  James is writing to a scattered church in his time: the elites of Jerusalem, the Jewish religious leaders and Roman authorities, have persecuted the Christian church and driven people away.  Many of the scattered began to establish churches wherever they arrived when they fled the persecution.  Some then tried to garner favor from the rich in these new places even though the rich had lead the persecutions in Jerusalem.  Why did some turn to the rich in the new places?  Because they chose to apply human standards to people and establish value to people based on the person’s capacity to help them.  This sis wrong!  God does not measure people’s worth by human standards such as wealth, attractiveness, power, authority, position, family, or anything else people use to measure greatness. 

Consider the Old Testament examples, Jacob younger than Esau but he becomes the chosen lineage, David the youngest of his family, too young to fight, but he slays the giant Goliath and becomes a great king in Israel’s history.  Gideon least of his family and least of the tribes but he will lead the people to victory and battle and freedom from oppressors.  Deborah a woman chosen to lead the Israelites to victory in an age of history when women were not supposed to lead.  None of these individuals would have been picked by the people of their time to do great things, they would have been passed over for other prominent people – but God loves all and uses all for His glory.  God looks for faithfulness, willingness, and obedience in us, not the human standards.  The Old Testament also shows us what happens when we blindly entrust ourselves to those rich by human standards.  The nation of Israel would repeatedly make alliances with heathen nations that boasted mighty militaries and the Israelites would rely on wealth to buy protection and yet God would humble the Israelites in spite of the earthly riches these others offered.  We must learn not to value people over others. 

We need to ask ourselves do we favor some and reject others?  If so, who are we favoring?  Are we valuing the wealthy, politically connected, those we have things in common with, those we are comfortable and familiar with? If we value some and reject others wanting them out of our churches, or refusing our help to them, or refusing to share the Gospel with them then we are guilty of sin.  This sin happens today it is manifested in economic groups, racial distinctions, political alignments, age differences, past history, family history, music preferences, clothing choices, appearances, and so many things.  What message does it send to people when we, the church reject other people?  I believe this type of rejection drives people away from the church, leads them to discount the Gospel, and leads them to turn away from God far more than we realize. 

We must stop rejecting people and stop choosing to value human standards.  Verses 9-11 give us a truth we must consider and it is a great equalizer.  James tells us that if we choose to value people in this wrong way, then we are guilty of the violating the whole law.  The whole law that condemns murderers, lairs, and thieves.  We must realize we are sinners before God, God doesn’t value one of us over another.  God loved us all so much He sent Jesus to die for us all on the cross.  Praise the Lord and give thanks to Him that He does not value some arbitrary standard in relation to us and who He extends His saving love towards.  The Lord desires all of us to be saved regardless of our human shortcomings. 

Verse 12-13 contain a reckoning we must consider.  If we choose to value certain people over others and to discriminate with our love then we will be judged accordingly.  We will not receive mercy ourselves.

Verse 13 ends with a phrase telling us that mercy triumphs over judgement; over the favoring of the human values.  Consider the power of extending love people that have experienced rejection repeatedly.  Don’t underestimate the power of sharing God’s love with others as we are told in verse 8.  We must love one another!

If we can be of help in some way to you, please let us know.

In Christ’s Love,

Charlie Tucker

February 2, 2020

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church                                February 2, 2020

Church Service Notes

 

AM Service         

Scripture: Romans 1:16-17

Central to these verses is the Gospel of Jesus Christ: that God loved us so much Jesus left heaven and came to earth, Jesus lived without sin, Jesus died on the cross for our sins, Jesus was buried and then He rose from the dead. 

The verses tell us that the Gospel is for all people.  In verse 16 it reads “every one” and verse 17 tells us the Gospel is for the Jew and the Greek which in Paul’s terminology of the era would have included all people.  The Gospel is not something we earn, buy, steal, inherit, achieve, or gain by any of our own means.  The Gospel is received by faith as it tells us in verse 16 with the reference of believing and in verse 17 with the admonition to live by faith.  It is faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that brings us salvation, that rescues us, redeems us and restores us.

What is the salvation saving us from?  This morning I want to present three things we are saved from.  First, is guilt.  Prior to receiving the Gospel, we are all sinners with guilt in need of forgiveness.  The guilt of our sins is a burden we bear, some of us may carry the burden better than others, some of us may numb guilt’s sting, and we may learn to ignore guilt, but it is present all the same.  When we receive the Gospel we are freed from the guilt because our sins are forgiven.  It does not mean we escape all consequences of sin, but we are forgiven and restored into right relation with our Holy God.  We see the forgiveness of sins being offered by Jesus to those with faith repeatedly throughout His ministry.  Jesus would often encounter people the world saw as needing physical healing.  Jesus would proclaim that by these people’s faith their sins were forgiven and in order to show the other people present His authority to forgive sins Jesus would also provide physical healing.  It is through our salvation that we find freedom from guilt.  Our sins, which stain us crimson red are washed by the blood of Jesus to be white as snow. 

Second salvation saves us from the curse of sin on our present and future life.  The Bible tells us before salvation we are slaves to sin.  Our nature is cursed to succumb to temptation and commit sin.  It controls our lives.  Until we find our freedom in the Gospel and by the power of the Holy Spirit we can live free lives, able to withstand temptation.  We no longer have to be slaves to sinful habits.  The drunk can be sober, the thief steals no more, the addicted is loosed from addiction, the hater loves, sexual deviants are pure!  Consider the example of Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus was a traitor to his people, siding with the Romans to tax Jews.  Zacchaeus cheated his people, stealing from them as he collected the taxes to take extra money for himself.  Then Zacchaeus met with Jesus and He was changed!  After Jesus, Zacchaeus returned what he had stolen plus extra!  Zacchaeus was able to live a new life repentant from his past for God’s glory because of the salvation offered by Jesus!  Consider Saul, an enraged, murderous man who hunted Christians down for the purpose of killing them.  Then Saul encountered Jesus and he was transformed into Paul the missionary!  Jesus has the power to transform lives!

Finally, salvation rescues us from eternity in hell, the lake of fire.  The Bible tells us that our sins condemn us to everlasting torment in hell if they are not forgiven.  Hell is a real place.  It is a place of agony and suffering.  Thirst is never quenched.  The worm never dies.  Smoke and fire.  The most horrible things we have experienced in life or can imagine cannot compare to the horror of hell.  And people will go there apart from salvation in Jesus.  Consider the testimony of the rich man who died and went to hell.  He begs for a moment of relief but is left with none.  Then he begs for someone to tell his brothers so they will turn from their sins and find salvation.

This year we have introduced a vision for our church in which we run our race together in a manner worthy of pleasing God.  Our race includes worship, fellowship, discipleship, missions, and evangelism.  Last week we discussed evangelism.  Today we see how the Gospel has the power to bring salvation, it is our duty to share the Gospel with people so that they may be saved!  If no one tells people, how will they hear to believe? People need salvation and we have the Gospel!

I want to encourage everyone to think of one person they know who needs the Gospel.  Let’s join the North American Mission Board’s Who’s You One Campaign to share the Gospel with that person.  Commit to praying for them and commit to share the Gospel with them!  If all Christians will share the Gospel faithfully how might the people we know change, our families change, our communities, our nation, and our world?

PM Service

Scripture: James 1:19-27

After reviewing how we can move through the trials and temptations of life and avoid falling into sin, James now turns the focus of his teaching to the importance of the Word of God.  Verses 19-21 emphasize the need and importance of bringing God’s Word into our life.  Verse 21 contains the culmination of this teaching by commanding us to receive the Word of God with meekness, with humility.  Verse 20 tells us the goal or outcome of allowing the Word of God to transform us – that the righteousness of God grows in us.  Contrasted to the Word of God is our own wrath.  We are to be swift to hear, we are to listen to God’s Word, receive it with meekness and let it transform us.  How many of us are too proud to let God’s Word move us?  How many of us don’t value the Word of God to bring it into our lives and allow it the opportunity to speak into us?  How many of us argue with God’s Word or with God and come to a place of wrath?  As verse 21 tells us we must remove all sinfulness and wrong desires and seek God and His Word!  We must allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives!

Verses 22-25 tell us to not merely read or hear the Word of God but we must also apply the Word of God!  We must be doers and not just hearers!  James provides the example of a person looking into a mirror and forgetting how they look.  James compares this to a person who would receive God’s Word but choose not to apply it.  The mirror is a truly absurd thought.  Mirrors are purchased so we can examine ourselves.  How absurd for us to forget our appearance after looking in a mirror?  Consider the use of mirror.  Many of us look in a mirror to review our appearance for the purpose of finding imperfections that we may correct prior to presenting ourselves to others.  What is the point of the mirror if when we see the imperfections in the mirror we choose to do nothing to address them?  The mirror would have no use to us.  It’s the same way with God’s Word.  When we read or hear it taught, God is speaking to us and prompting us to actions in our lives.  If we choose to ignore the leading from God’s Word, what is the point of even seeking it?  I fear this true for many Christians in our churches today.  We have often heard God’s Word taught to trust in God but how many of us constantly worry, we’ve heard it taught to not forsake the gathering of believers but how often do Christians choose not to attend church services, we’ve heard it taught to evangelize but do we share the Gospel, we’ve heard it taught to sing God’s praises but how many of refuse to sing hymns, how many of us give thanks in all things, how many of us pray without ceasing, how many of us do good at every opportunity?  How many of us are truly applying what we are taught?  Verse 25 connects God’s blessing in our lives with our obedience to apply God’s Word.  Are we receiving the blessings we desire?  If not, maybe we need to consider our application of what we have been taught.

In verses 26 and 27 James instructs us with how to live by God’s Word.  Verse 26 gives us an example of what not to do.  We should not allow our words to be uncontrolled.  We must carefully consider our words, the impact our words will have on our reputation, their impact on our relationships, and their impact on the representation of Jesus.  Once spoken, words cannot be silenced.  The verse commands us to guard against deceiving ourselves.  Many people deceive themselves by prioritizing their own words over God’s Word.  When we do this we hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can lead others astray, and we can become a stumbling block to unbelievers.  Verse 27 tells us what we should do: we should help those who are in need of help. Jesus did this, He sought out people in need and He helped them.  We must do the same.  Jesus also lived in the world without sin.  We must strive to live in the world without sin too.  Sin can disqualify our witness in the eyes of some people.  People who do not believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior often look for sin in the lives of Christians to validate their own choice to not follow Christ.  We must show others living holy is possible and also better.  It is important that as we do the work of Christ we do so in a holy manner.  Let God’s Word speak to you, apply it, and live accordingly.

If we can be of help in some way to you, please let us know.

In Christ’s Love,

Charlie Tucker

January 26, 2020

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church                                January 26, 2020

Church Service Notes

 

AM Service         

Scripture: Romans 10:8-17

Today we will continue discussing our vision of running our race in a worthy manner as Rose of Sharon Baptist Church.  Our race includes worship, discipleship, fellowship, missions, and evangelism.  We have looked at implementing actions teams to engage in missions and evangelism.  Last week we focused on missions.  This morning we will focus on evangelism.

Evangelism is sharing with other people about the love of God to fix our sin problem.  All people have a sin problem that results in the imperfect life we have, separates from our holy God, and leaves us condemned to eternity in hell.  The Gospel is the love of God who sent His son, Jesus, to live for us.  Jesus lived without sin, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and then He arose from death. If a person believes in the truth of Jesus, repents of their sin, and decides to surrender their life to Jesus’ Lordship, they can be saved.  It is our responsibility as Christian to share the Gospel with others so they may know the truth and have an opportunity to surrender to Jesus.  Romans 10:8-17 tells us the need to evangelize.

Verse 8 reminds us as Christians that we have heard the Gospel truth, we know the truth of the Gospel.  Verses 9-11 present the Gospel to us.  Verses 12-13 contain very important teaches we must take to heart.  The Gospel is for everyone.  God loves all people and every person regardless of their sins.  We must love people and every person the same way.  We cannot choose to withhold the truth of the Gospel from people for reasons such as not liking them, rivalries, past wrongs, different backgrounds, jealousies, or any other reason – the need for the Gospel extends to all people.  Remember, no matter how different we think we are, all of us are sinners in need of God’s saving grace!  Verses 14-15 emphasize that we must verbally share the Gospel so others can hear it and choose to be saved or not.  Many Christians try to excuse themselves from sharing the Gospel by proclaiming they will live exemplary lives before others.  While that is noble and something we can strive for, we must share the Gospel with words.  If a person never hears the Gospel and all they see from us is good behavior and kindness, they may think nice things about us, may be thankful they know us, but they still have a sin problem and not know the Gospel’s answer.  It is tragic for us to not share the Gospel with people.  Verse 16 tells us that not all people will believe the Gospel.  It is not our burden to save people, that is the work of the Holy Spirit, our task is to share the Gospel and allow people an opportunity.  While it is disappointing for a person to reject the Gospel, do not underestimate the seed that you plant, others may water it and see the decision made.  However, we must be faithful to plant the seed of the Gospel.  Verse 17 concludes the passage by reminding us that people must hear the Gospel if they are going to believe. 

I want to encourage you to share the Gospel with others.  There are resources available to help you in sharing the Gospel.  Our morning service was blessed to have Dion Brown join us and share with us the 3-Circles evangelism tool.  Our Association has different resources that can be shared to help you share the Gospel if you would like.  I want to encourage you to practice sharing the Gospel with another Christian and then share the Gospel with someone you know who needs the Savior!

 

PM Service

Scripture: James 5:13-18

For our evening service we joined with Oak Dale Baptist Church to pray for our churches.  I want to encourage you to prey for Oak Dale Baptist Church regularly, for God to move in their congregation and community to draw people to Him.  Pastor Tim Dudding shared a devotion with us during our service that focused on prayer.  This passage of James repeatedly focuses on prayer.  It provides the example of Elijah, who was regular person like you and me, but who had a powerful prayer life.  I believe we need to grow in our faith and follow Elijah’s example in praying.  We need to be praying for salvations, for healing both physically and spiritually, and for restoration.  Join me in praying.

If we can be of help in some way to you, please let us know.

In Christ’s Love,

January 19, 2020

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church                                January 19, 2020

Church Service Notes

 

AM Service         

Scripture: Galatians 6:7-10

Before we look into today’s Scripture I want us to review our previous messages in January.  This month we started by introducing our church vision: that Rose of Sharon will run our race for God in a worthy manner so that when our race is complete we will hear will done my good and faithful church.  Inspiration for our vision came from Hebrews 12:1-3.  Then we considered the different parts of our race: worship, fellowship, discipleship, missions, and evangelism.  We considered how are church is engaged in these different aspects of the race.  In order to better engage in missions and evangelism we introduced action teams; our effort to reach out into our community and share the Lord’s love with people.  This morning we will see an emphasis on mission work in Galatians.

Our Scripture tells us we are to be ready to do good to all people at every opportunity.  It tells us we are to do missions!

Verse 7 begins by advising us to take the following commands seriously.  God is not be mocked by hearing His Word without actually doing it or allowing it to transform us.  We are to allow God’s Word to move within us and guide us through life.

Verse 7 then combines with verse 8 to tells us to sow spiritual things in our lives rather than things of the flesh.  A farmer does not plant cotton seed when he wants to raise corn.  If he wants corn, he will plant corn seed.  The same is true in the things of the Spirit, the things of the Kingdom of God.  If we desire to see these things grow in our lives, then we must sow such things.  How do we sow?  We sow with our time investments, where we spend/invest our money, where we use our resources, what we study, what we teach others, what we tell others; all these are ways we sow in our lives.  Make no mistake, we are investing in something whether it is good spiritual things or meaningless things that will not impact eternity or sinful and evil things.  I want us to consider some questions and what is important to us.  Is the salvation of our family important?  Is the salvation of our friends important?  The salvation of people?  The redemption of people from sin?  The freedom from sin, shame, and guilt that is available in Christ?  The transformation of people through Christ?  If these things are important, are we sowing in them?  2 Corinthians 9:6 tells us that if we sow a little we will only reap a little and if we want to reap much then we must sow much.  What and how much are we sowing?

Verse 9 gives us a promise that if we are faithful to sow and do the Lord’s work, in time we will reap.  But we must not grow weary, faint, and quit.  How do we not grow weary.  In truth, doing the right thing can be demanding and difficult.  How do not grow weary in unending work?  God gives us the answers in His Word!  Luke 18:1 tells us to pray so we will not faint.  Matthew 4:4 Jesus speaks to the importance on feeding our souls with God’s Word.  Hebrews 10:25 advises us to meet with other believers for encouragement.  Isaiah 40:28-31 tells us to rely upon on wait on God to renew our strength.  By God’ Word we must seek Him first in order to not grow weary.

Verse 10 concludes today’s passage.  It tells us to do good to all and especially to fellow believers.  Why do we do good, why do we do missions?  I am reminded of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:16.  Our good works, our missions point other people to God the Father, they share God’s love with people, they open the door to share the Gospel unto salvation.  Church we must engage in missions and evangelism. 

 

PM Service

Scripture: James 1:13-18

Last week in James we studied dealing with trials.  Trials are those circumstance in life that come at us often with not control on our part.  Trials are things we must experience and persevere through.  Tonight we will look at the teaching on dealing with temptation.  Temptations are not things we must experience as we do trials.  Temptations can be avoided.  It is important that we remember James 1:22 as we look at tonight’s Scripture, that we be doers of the word and not hearers only; we must apply what the Bible tells us about temptation.

Verse 13 declares to us that God does not tempt us.  God only brings us good things and so He is not the source of temptation.  God is in control of all things so He does allow temptation to occur.  Why?  If we consider the temptation of Job we can see that in temptation God gives us the opportunity to glorify Him by withstanding temptation.  This is a means of testifying to others about the greatness of God in comparison to Satan as the case in Job.  It’s also a way of testifying to other people that life includes a valid path along the narrow road following Jesus as opposed to wandering through the carnal.  In resisting temptation and maintaining righteous living, we are an example to others.  And this example will bring us opportunities to share the Gospel and God’s love with people.  Resisting temptation is so important. 

Verses 14 -15 outline the development of sin and the negative consequence of sin.  Temptation starts with a desire.  Desire itself is not always a bad thing, desire is often a good thing.  When we become hungry we desire food, this causes us to eat and nourish our bodies all good things.  Desires are however often accompanied by temptations.  Temptations are avenues to satisfy our desires outside the will of God.  For instance, we may be tempted to steal food to eat.  The temptation to steal is a sinful way of satisfying our desire.  The verses discuss the rise of the desire, the conception of the sinful means to satisfy the desire, then the sin, and then the consequence – death.  It’s important we understand how temptation works.  Temptation does not come from God but rather from the devil and the workers of iniquity.  The temptation attracts us into taking something by sin.  It is very similar to fishing: the fisherman offers an attractive bait to a fish.  The fish consumes the bait but it does not know that inside the bait is a hook leading to its capture.  And so it is with temptation.  The temptation matches our desire with an attractive bait that we must sin to obtain.  Once we commit to sin we are exposed to the evil hook and the resulting consequence.  And sin does bring consequence.  We may not experience the consequence immediately, we may not think the consequence is even all that unbearable.  However, sin has grave consequences.  Even the littlest sin separates us from God, it makes us imperfect and condemns to eternal hell unless we receive salvation through Jesus Christ.  Even as Christians, sin has dire consequences.  It can bring sickness, physical suffering, financial loss, loss of friendship, loss of reputation, and even death.  And this one way we are to deal with sin, if we realize that following sin is negative consequences, this truth should act as a deterrent to sin.  By not sinning, we won’t suffer the negative consequences of sin.

I can’t help but think of King David.  King David saw Bathsheba bathing and desired her.  He is tempted to enter an illicit affair with her.  We know the rest of the story, David succumbs to temptation which leads to a pregnancy, which leads to a ruse attempting to deceive a just husband, the murder of the just man, and then family suffering for David’s future.  If David had known all that awaited the temptation would he have followed through with the sin?  I like to think he would have known the cost was not worth it.  What about us?  We must learn to recognize temptations that we fall for result in costly consequences for us.

James gives another reason beyond negative consequences to avoid sin in verses 16-17.  Now James reminds us of the wonderful good things God has given us because His love for us.  The love God shares with us is constant and has nothing but good for us.  When we are loved and we acknowledge the love, we cannot help but love back.  We should remember God’s love for us when tempted and show our own love for God by obeying Him and not committing the sin.  Love involves trust.  If love the Lord we must also trust the Lord and remain faithful and obedient to Him.  Love should keep us from falling into temptation and committing sin. 

Again I think of David.  In 2 Samuel 12:7-8 the prophet Nathan confronts David about his sin.  As he does so he reminds David that God had made David king, protected him from Saul, given David the kingdom’s wealth, given David wives.  And had that not been enough for David, then God could have given so much more.  In spite of God’s great love for David, David ignored all he had been given, and became envious.  David should have been content with God’s great gifts and God’s love.  So should we!  We need to learn to rest in God and find contentment in all He has given us rather than dwell on temptations.

Tonight’s passage ends in verse 18 with a third truth to consider in the avoidance of temptation.  By God’s grace and power we are capable of resisting temptation.  Many of us excuse sin in our lives blaming our humanity as a reason to allow us sins.  We claim there are some sins that are just weak spots for us.  But when we become Christians we are gifted with the Holy Spirit indwelling us.  With the Holy Spirit living in us we have the power of God to resist temptations.  We are new creations in the Lord.  We must accept this truth and accept that are capable of resisting sin.  The Bible tells us that God will not allow us to be tempting beyond what we can bare and when we are tempted God will provide an escape for us.  We need to believe we are capable of resisting sin.

James teaches us how to avoid sin, consider the negative consequences, love the Lord and obey Him, and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to resist the temptations.

If we can be of help in some way to you, please let us know.

In Christ’s Love, Charlie Tucker

January 12, 2020

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church                                January 12, 2020

Church Service Notes

 

AM Service         

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

Last week we introduced our vision for Rose of Sharon: that we would run the race God has planned for us in a worthy manner so that when we reach our finish line we will hear “well done”.  So what is our race?  It is the work of the church: worship, fellowship, discipleship, missions and evangelism.  This morning we will consider the different aspects of our race and how our church is engaged in each.

Worship: We are called to worship in the Bible; that is why we offer praise, sing songs, read the Scriptures, give thanks, and rejoice together as a church.  Verses of the Word of God that tell us to worship include Hebrews 13:15 which tells us to speaks praises to God, Psalm 149:1 which tells us to praise God and sing together, and Romans 12:1 tells us to present our whole body, our lives, as a sacrifice of praise to God.  Clearly, we are commanded to worship as a church.  Our church does this primarily through our worship services and the songs, offerings, praise reports, Scripture reading, and praise reports we share in those services.  Since we are engaged in worship, the next question for us is if we are worshipping in such a way as to hear “well done”.  How do we know if our worship is worthy?  Consider Matthew 15:8-9.  Jesus tells us that true worship comes from the heart.  Worthy worship will be focused on the Lord and come from our heart.  We must examine ourselves and seek the Lord first in all things.

Fellowship: Christian fellowship involves us gathering today to share friendship and to encourage each other in the name of Jesus.  Hebrews 10:23-25 tells us to gather together as believers and to encourage each other to do good works.  Acts 2:442 provides us with an example of the early church fellowshipping together.  Our church fellowships often in many ways, but how can we know if our fellowship is worthy or not?  1 Corinthians 11:17-34 provides an example of unworthy fellowship.  The unworthy fellowship was not in unity, it was divided, people were being selfish, people were being jealous, and the fellowship was not focused on God. 

Discipleship: Matthew 28:19 records Jesus’ instruction to the apostles and to the church for their work moving forward just as He would ascend into heaven.  Jesus tells us to make disciples, to teach people all that He had taught.  Making disciples involves teaching.  Our church teaches through Sunday School, VBS, Wednesday night services.  As individuals we need to take advantage of these opportunities to learn and attend the teaching times.  And those who teach need to be prepared and ready for their classes.  2 Timothy 2:15 shows us the way to disciple others in a worthy manner; it tells us study the Word ahead of teaching and to teach the Word correctly. 

Worship, fellowship, and discipleship are three of the five parts of our church’s race.  I believe we are engaged in this aspects, we can always improve how we do them and should be striving to improve them.  These three aspects are in many ways inwardly focused on the church.  We worship in our church service, we fellowship with church members, and we disciple by teaching others at church.  The remaining two parts of our race: missions and evangelism, are outwardly focused and I believe where I church has the most need to grow. 

Evangelism is mandated in the Bible in Acts 1:8 which tells us to be Christ’s witnesses to all people and 2 Corinthians 5:20 which tells us we are Christ ambassadors – his representatives to other people.  Missions is mandated in James 2:14-20 which describes how faith must be accompanied by faith, James 1:27 which tells us to care for those in need, and Matthew 25:34-40 where Jesus discusses caring for the thirsty, hungry, clothing people, sheltering people, visiting people, and caring for those in need. 

How do we improve our race regarding missions and evangelism?  Our church engages in these activities as individuals choose to outside of church.  We need an organized church approach to evangelism and missions.  It is my plan to implement action teams that will reach out to our community and help people and share the Gospel with people.  The action teams will include a builder team to participate in an existing association outreach that builds wheelchair access ramps in partnership with the local hospital.  A team to reach out to our church members who are home-bound and in nursing homes to maintain relationships and make sure needs are met.  A sports team that will promote outreach among families in the different little leagues to introduce the gospel to people.  And a prayer team that will support the other teams and lift up their missions in prayer.  In the coming weeks we will discuss these teams more and their implementation.

PM Service

Scripture: James 1:2-12

Last Sunday night we introduced the Book of James and considered its background.  Tonight we will begin studying its teachings.  As we study through James I want us all to keep James 1:22 in mind which tells us to be not only hearers of the Word but also doers.  We must apply what we learn. 

James begins his letter by discussing the trials and troubles we will face in life.  Trials are things we experience life that enter our lives many times through no fault of our own.  For the early Christians receiving this letter they were in the midst of a trial by persecution.  The early believers would soon be arrested, imprisoned, and executed for their faith.  This causes many believers to scatter and leave Jerusalem for the safety of them and their families.  Today we have trials involving family relations, maintaining our homes, our safety, financial security, our health, and the loss of loved ones among other trials.  Verse 2 tells us that we will experience the different trials and that when the trials come we should consider them a joy.  How do we look for joy during a trial?  The key is to look at what awaits in the end of the trial.  Our outlook and attitude in facing a trial matter.  I think back to John 16:33 which tells us that the overcoming victory of Jesus is already won.  I think about Hebrews 12:2 which tells us that for the joy of God’s plan being complete, Jesus endured the cross.  God brings about good through trials and we must look for the good when we enter the trial and we must trust the Lord to provide the good and the joy.  It gives us the hope we need to experience the trial and to be able to count it as joy.

Verses 3-4 introduce how God brings good through the trial.  Verse 3 begins by telling us to know.  This is us mentally accepting the God will work good out of the circumstance.  We must mentally choose to seek God in the midst of the trial and His good.  To help us in knowing we can think back on the past when God has worked good out of impossible circumstances in the lives of the people in the Bible, in the lives of people from history, our church members lives, our own family, and our own life.  Verse 4 uses the work let.  It is one thing to know that God can bring good out of a trial it is another for us to let God move in our life during the trial.  We too often try to take matters into our own hands or depend on others rather than trust God to do what is needed.  We must let God work, listen to Him as we seek Him in the Word, and respond to how God leads us. 

Verses 5-8 give us help in knowing how to trust the Lord.  The verses tell us to ask for wisdom.  We need to have the wisdom from God to see His ways in a trial.  Many times we ask in prayer for rescue from a trial, relief, encouragement, and strength.  How often do we pray for wisdom?  God is faithful to grant us the wisdom if we will ask with faith.  Many times our prayers are offered without genuine faith.  We may say a prayer for God’s help but in our actions look everywhere else possible for the help rather than looking to God.  We must ask in faith for God’s wisdom to see us through trials we experience. 

Verses 9-11 is used to remind us that anyone and everyone is subjected to trials.  In the scattered state of the early church is was easy for the disconnected people to believe they were enduring a trial while others were being spared or to think that others were experiencing trials while the one had somehow made himself safe from the possibility of a trial.  Trials come to the rich and the poor, male or female, young or old.  The verses refer to what is known in the Mediterranean as the sirocco.  The sirocco is a unique weather event similar to el nino we experience.  During a sirocco hurricane strength winds develop over the Sahara Desert in Africa.  The winds drive the desert sands north into southern Europe and into the area of Israel.  Its scorching hot winds devastate crops covering them with desert sand/dust and destroy harvests.  The sirocco can destroy mechanical equipment and drive sand through building’s exterior cracks.  In Italy the sirocco is known as the blood rain as it results in red colored rains as the sand in the winds mixes with the moisture over the sea as the storm crosses the Mediterranean Sea.  No person controls the sirocco; it comes when it wants, it impacts all in its path.  And so it is with trials.  We will experience no matter our status, it is simply a matter of time. 

The passage ends with verse 12.  Verse 12 concludes that the person who perseveres though the trial is blessed.  If we allow God to work in us through the trial we will experience His love and come closer to Him.  We are also told we will receive crowns of life – these are crowns in the present not in the future afterlife, blessings for the now.  We must learn to seek God first and trust Him in all things – doing so will bring good for us.

If we can be of help in some way to you, please let us know.

In Christ’s Love,

Charlie Tucker

January 5, 2020

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church                                  January 5, 2020

Church Service Notes

 

AM Service         

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3

As we join together for our first Sunday in the new year I want to ask how many of us made New Year Resolutions?  American’s most frequent New Year Resolution is becoming healthier by dieting better and exercising more.  As we make this resolution, or any other other resolution, we envision the result in our life if we successfully fulfill the resolution.  Perhaps we envision ourselves thinner, full of life, and looking good in a bathing suit at a beautiful beach!  This vision of our potential self inspires us to commit to our resolution and inspires our discipline to complete the exercise routine and to choose the healthier food options even when it may not be what we would prefer in that moment.  The vision, of what could be, motivates us in the present. 

What about our church?  What is our vision and what are we trying to do?  All churches share a purpose and the Bible tells us different means to fulfill our purpose.  As was shared during our November revival services, the church has five functions: evangelism, fellowship, missions, worship, and discipleship.  Rose of Sharon Baptist Church, we are to be engaged in these five actions.  Evangelism is sharing the Gospel truth with people to invite people to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and thereby join a personal relationship with Christ and experience salvation.  Fellowship is the gathering together of believers to lift each other up, to encourage, to bear burdens, to share our lives together.  Missions involves reaching out to people not in the church to meet their needs and share love with them to better their lives.  Worship is giving praise and thanks to God, singing to the Lord, giving our tithes, prayer, and so many other ways in which we acknowledge the Lord God Almighty.  Discipleship is our training of believers to grow in the faith, to better understand the Scriptures, to seek God more completely, raising up future leaders in the church, and growing people to be more like Christ.  This is our work.  This work comprises the race in which we are running that the writer describes in Hebrews 12:1-3. 

We are all running in a race.  Rose of Sharon has a race to run and each of our members are participants in that race.  This is not a short distance sprint, rather it is a long distance race that we will continue until the Lord calls us home.  The race has obstacles, challenges, hills to climb, rocky terrain to cross, mud to push through.  The race also has downhills in which we will gain momentum, flats when the running will seem easy, and winds at our back to push us.  We do not not run this race against other churches or against other entities.  Most runners in long distance races run knowing they will not win the race.  So why do they run at all?  They run to achieve, for the fulfillment of saying they finished their race.  And that is how we must run our race for God, we must run to complete the race God has put us in.  As we run we can envision and look forward to the prize and crowns that await us if God judges that we have ran our race in a worthy manner.  Our vision, Rose of Sharon, is to run our race in the worthy manner so that we may hear from God: “well done my good and faithful church”. 

As we look into the Scriptures in Hebrews we find in verse 1 the writer telling us that we are running this race before a great cloud of witnesses.  The witnesses are cheering us on and encouraging us to complete the race and to keep running.  Having people cheer you onward is so encouraging and motivating in long distance running.  To have friends cheering you on half way up a steep hill drives the runner to press on and reach the summit.  We need this encouragement in our Christian race too.  The writer of Hebrews tells us we have the great cloud of witnesses doing just that for us.  Who are these witnesses?  Some of them are the people from chapter 11 of Hebrews – the Hall of Faith chapter.  Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, the judges, the prophets, the martyrs, and other believers are watching our lives and cheering us onward.  Can you imagine, King David is cheering for you!  The one who slew the giant Goliath is cheering you onward up whatever hills we face and on toward the finish God has for us.  I believe the angels are cheering for us. The Lord is cheering for us! And we must cheer for each other.  We must encourage one another to run our race together!

Verse 1 continues and tells us to lay aside every weight and the sin that hinders us.  Runners we must do this in the Christian race.  We must repent and run without sin.  If we have sin our race will not be in a worthy manner.  Our vision is to hear from God that we ran in a worthy manner.  If we try to “do” church at set service times and then live for ourselves and sin without concern outside the service then we are not running worthily.  The race extends beyond the church service into every minute of our lives.  And we are running to evangelize, if our lives are full of sin, how can anyone take our evangelism seriously?  Sin must be left behind.  We must also shed the weights.  Weights such as our fears to evangelize, weights of fear of the unknown, weights of prideful traditions that we value higher than the Lord’s leading, weights of fear from judgement, weights of perceived inadequacy, or any other weight that we use as excuses to not move forward in the race.  Whatever the weight you may have, Jesus says to cast it on Him, and our Lord is strong enough to carry whatever weight there is; so let God carry it for you and rely on His strength!  There are also the weights of lifestyle.  Any long distance runner knows the importance of proper training and preparation.  Runners will train their bodies with practice runs, they will eat the right meals to fuel their bodies, and they will hydrate properly to ensure optimum performance.  They will get sufficient rest the night before the race.  All of this involves discipline and it ensures the runner is positioned for maximum success.  Christians, we must discipline ourselves to ensure we will run in the most worthy manner. 

Verse 1 continues with the instruction to run the race patiently.  We must heed this instruction.  If we get too far ahead of ourselves we risk burning ourselves out.  If try to run on our own we will not have the encouragement of our fellow runners to push on it.  Running long distance is a mental race.  Running the race we run as a church is also mental.  We must mentally commit to continue to run patiently no matter what we encounter.  When it seems to easy to stay in bed and sleep – we must get up and go, when it is too daunting to speak to someone – we must share God’s love, when life has been to difficult – we must praise the Lord for He is always good, when it seems no one hears our lesson – we must prepare and study the lesson to disciple our class, God’s Word does not return void! 

Sometimes the race is going to be hard and we are going to want to quit.  Verse 2 and 3 tells us what we must do when that thought comes.  We must look to Jesus!  Jesus never quit His race, even though His race involved people abusing Him, when it was uphill as He carried the cross to exhaustion, when the nails were being driven into His hands, when He was lifted up on the cross to hang fighting for breath, at any moment Jesus could have stopped His race.  Jesus could have called down angels to wipe out the people cheering His death.  But Jesus didn’t.  Why?  Because Jesus had a vision of God’s plan being fulfilled and that was the salvation of people!  Freedom from sin! Restoration with God for people!  This vision kept Jesus on course in His race and He finished for us.  Now we must finish the race for God!  Let’s not quit.  Let’s be found faithful and obedient and run in a worthy manner.  Envision the fulfillment of our race, the working of God in people’s lives around us, in our community, our country, and our world, and envision the voice of the Lord telling us well done good and faithful servant as we receive the crowns He rewards us with.

 

PM Service

Scripture: James 1:1

Tonight we will begin a new verse by verse study in Scripture and we will be working our way through the Book of James. Who is James and why did he write this letter that became Scripture?  There are two predominant theories as to James’ identity.  One is that James is James the son of Zebedee.  James the son of Zebedee was a disciple of Jesus and the brother of the disciple John.  Circumstances against his authorship are his early death.  James the son of Zebedee was martyred as stated in Acts 12:2.  This dated to the year 44 A.D. 

The second primary consideration for the the identity of James, and the theory I believe, is that James is the brother of Jesus.  Jesus’ brother James was also martyred but at a later date in the A.D. 60’s.  Bible scholars point to the authoritative nature of the Book of James, the timeline of the deaths and other events in Acts as supporting the theory of James the brother of Jesus as the author. 

What do we know about James?  James is named Jesus’ brother in Matthew 13:55 and in other places.  The people of the time clearly recognize James as a sibling of Jesus.  Matthew 13:55 recognizes an important truth, James’ father was Joseph.  Knowing Scripture we realize James is Jesus’ half brother since they had the same mother, Mary.  We also find something interesting in John 7:1-5.  Here the siblings of Jesus are found to be not believing Jesus’ claim as the Son of God.  The conversation here seems to be sarcastic as Jesus’ brothers suggest He go to the upcoming feast and perform works to prove Himself.  Evidently Jesus’ brothers have not seen or at least are not believing their eyes when it comes to Jesus’ miracles.  I think this tells us something about the childhood of Jesus.  Some suggest Jesus performed miracles as a child and Jesus showed His power in immature means as a child.  However, if these claims were true then wouldn’t His siblings have known Jesus was at least a miracle-worker by the time we find them in John 7.  Being they are found dismissive of Jesus’ claim in John 7, I believe we can conclude Jesus most likely did not perform miracles as a child but waited until His time was come for His ministry as suggested elsewhere in Scripture. 

So, in the Books of the Gospels James is recorded to be Jesus’ brother and unbelieving.  It is also interesting in that James is not mentioned at the crucifixion.  In John 19 we have an account of the crucifixion and Jesus is recorded in verses 26-27 as seeing His mother and His disciple John.  Jesus proclaims from the cross that John is Mary’s son and in this way places responsibility for Mary’s care on John.  I believe this is further evidence of James not being a believer in Jesus at this point as Jesus is entrusting His mother care to a non-blood family member.  However, at some point James’ belief would change and powerfully so. 

We do not know what event leads to James changing his belief regarding Jesus but we do know he does eventually accept Jesus as His Lord and Savior, the Messiah.  Perhaps it was the resurrection, perhaps it was the testimony of the disciples or others in the early church.  But we find in Acts that James becomes a leader in the Jerusalem church.  Acts 12:16-17 records part of Peter’s miraculous freeing from prison following the martyring of James the son of Zebedee.  Once free Peter makes his way to way to a home and tells te believers there in verses 16 and 17 that they should tell James and the other brethren what has happened.  This James is the brother of Jesus and now he has become a fellow believer and apparently a leading one as recognized by Peter. 

Acts 15:1-29 records the church in Jerusalem resolving a matter concerning new Gentile believers and if they should be required to be saved.  Paul and Barnabas report to the apostles and elders of the church in Jerusalem the conversion of the Gentiles.  Peter testifies to the matter that the Gentiles should not need to be required to take on Jewish traditions as a condition of salvation and only faith by the grace of God should be required.  Then in verse 13 James speaks after all the debating is complete and provides the resolution to the matter that others follow.  James agrees with Peter and so faith and the grace of God is agreed as the way of salvation.  James recommends the Jerusalem church write the Gentile believers and send messengers of the resolution as well as instructions on right living and encouragement.  The church does so.  Later in Acts we find James leading the Jerusalem church again through the same controversy.  James instructs Paul to appeasing actions regarding the faith and puts to rest some division within the church while also reaffirming that salvation is through faith alone. 

James is transform from an unbelieving family member to a leader within the church capable of resolving sensitive issues and strong personalities.  James knows the Scriptures as evident by the quotations he makes in resolving issues and he is also practically minded as evidence by the instructions he sends to the Gentiles.  James is also relationship minded as evidence by how he handles the controversy around Paul.  The practicality of James, his knowledge of the Scriptures, and his value of relationships will be key within his letter, the Book of James.  James’ letter is written to believers in Christ.  Based on the language and lack of mention of certain events many Bible scholars date the letter to the 40’s A.D. meaning this could be the first written Book of the New Testament.  Being so early it gives us a wonderful foundation for practical church matters and how to live as Christians. 

I am also encouraged by the transformation of James.  Here is a person that shared a roof with Jesus nearly his whole life but he is found to be unbelieving at first.  Eventually he is converted and places his faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior and becomes a prominent church leader.  There is hope for the loved ones in your life!  Keep praying for them, keep living the gospel before them, and keep loving them for Jesus!

If we can be of help in some way to you, please let us know.

In Christ’s Love,

Charlie Tucker

Contact

Rose of Sharon Baptist Church
Pastor Charlie Tucker
231 Sam Sells Road Doerun GA 31744
(229) 782-5566
pastor@roseofsharonbc.org

Our Mission

The mission of Rose of Sharon Baptist Church is to reach, preach, and teach. We endeavor to reach people, preach the gospel, and teach God’s Word.

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” Song of Solomon 2:1

Weekly Schedule

Sundays
9:45 a.m.  Sunday School
11 a.m.  Morning Worship Service
6 p.m.  Evening Worship Service

Wednesdays
7 p.m.  Mid-Week Classes and Prayer Meeting

© Rose of Sharon Baptist Church 2023