Hello to you and WELCOME! January is really flying by, isn’t it? We’re doing well here in Morrilton, living every day to its fullest without fear, always trusting in God’s promises and providence, and making wise choices. I am thankful to be a member of such an outstanding congregation of the Lord’s church. God has blessed us with health and the freedom to worship together in person. In many places Christians simply cannot meet in person due to virus restrictions. For those of you who cannot meet in person, please go to Facebook and find our services online. We offer Facebook LIVE every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and also on Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. Our services are recorded so anyone can view the programs at their convenience. Just go to “Mickey Burleson” and you’ll see.
This Sunday morning we will continue in our series “Becoming a Great Church” with a sermon on UNITY. The church of Christ at Rome was known for their FAITH and their OBEDIENCE (Romans 1:8, 16:19). Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples.” Remember what He was speaking of? LOVE. Our lesson today is on UNITY. We must be united in the One Way, Jesus, the One Truth, Jesus, and the One Life, Jesus. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Our text can be found in Ephesians 4:1-6.
This evening at 5:00 we are “Counting Our Blessing One by One in 2021” and thinking about how we should Love Life and See Good Days. If you want to love life and see good days, then don’t return evil. Don’t repeat evil. And don’t respect evil. Peter asks us to be of one mind, have compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous, and never seek revenge but seek to bless and be a blessing to everyone. Read that for yourself in 1 Peter 3:8-12.
How can we correctly understand the Bible? As we read the Scriptures, we should ask ourselves certain questions: #1 – Who is speaking? #2 – Who is the speaker speaking to? And this week; #3 – When was it spoken?
In Leviticus 11, God gave the Israelites instructions as to what they could eat and not eat to be pure and righteous before Him. Do we have to obey Leviticus 11? Let’s answer our three questions. Moses is speaking. He is speaking to the Israelites. He is speaking under Old Testament authority. Today, we do not live under the Law of Moses or the Old Testament. We live under the authority of Jesus Christ and the New Testament (Galatians 3:24-29). Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4 regarding foods and said, “God created ‘foods’ to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” We cannot obey both Leviticus 11 and 1 Timothy 4 at the same time, so what should we do? Answer the question “When was it written?” and we know to obey 1 Timothy 4.
May God bless us with strength, faith, love, understanding, and the fullness of God!
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