This past week Tim (myself) preached! He went over Romans Chapter 5 which talks about three basic promises. If we are justified through our faith then we are given the promise of Heaven, the promise of peace, and the promise of joy through suffering. But his main point was that none of these promises will happen, since we are justified through faith, if we do not have faith. Faith is not just believing in God or Jesus. James 2:26 says, "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." If our actions do not match our claim to Christianity then we really don't have faith. We claim to be a Christian but we aren't living it out. If you are not living it out then you do not have faith and your promise of Heaven, peace, and joy are gone. We as Christian need to live our lives with actions that show our faith in God. You claim it! Now live it!

This past week Pastor Dusty dived into Chapter 3 of Romans. This chapter provides the first sign of hope in Romans. Chapters 1 and 2 show how we are all sinners and worthy of death. Then finally in chapter 3 we are shown that there is hope for righteousness. And "this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe" (Romans 3:22).
So then what is the point? Why point out for two full chapters of how there is no hope and then be like, "Just kidding! There actually is hope!" The point is, just as Pastor Dusty put it: Sin Separates...Faith Connects. Every time we sin we are puting more and more distance between ourselves and God. Buts its through faith that we can close this gap.

Romans 1

This past weekend we started our new sermon series of Romans called Unashamed. This first week Dusty preached on Romans chapter 1. This chapter is about how all are sinners and many are blatantly living in opposition to God's truth. None are exempt from this. In Romans 1:28-31, Paul goes through the things that are not proper and from a deprived mind. Such things listed are: greed, envy, deceit, gossip, arrogance, boasting, and disobedience to parents. In verse 32 it reads "that those who practice such things are worthy of death." According to this scripture, WE ARE WORTH OF DEATH! I know that every one of us have done all those things and will continue to do them throughout our entire lives. Some sins seem like no big deal. A little white lie that gets you out of trouble or slight disobedience to your parents rules that they don’t even catch seem like no big deal. But according to this scripture, even those tiny (or what seem to be tiny) sins make you worthy of death. We don't disobey the big sins like adultery or murder so we consider ourselves pretty good Christians. But those that commit adultery and murder, in God's eyes, deserve the same punishment as telling a white lie: death. It is a scary thought to think that my "little sins" are worth of the same punishment as "big sins." So the next time you are thinking about committing a "little sin" that won't hurt anyone, remember that that "little sin" deserves the same punishment as "big sins."

Additional Safety Feature for New Cars

Read: Exodus 3:1-14 and Exodus 4:10-16

This is the famous bible story of Moses and the burning bush. Moses comes across this burning bush and the Lord speaks to him from within the bush. He tells Moses that he has heard the cries of His people and He is going to deliver them from the Egyptians. The Lord tells Moses that he is going to be His figurehead to Pharaoh and His people. In Exodus 4:10 Moses insists to the Lord that he cannot be the spokesperson since he is not a good speaker. “The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say’” (Exodus 4:11-12). The Lord tells Moses that He is going to speak through him yet Moses still insists He should find some else. So the Lord did! He chooses Aaron, Moses brother, to be the spokesperson. Moses’ actions changed what God had planned! The Lord fully intended for Moses to be the spokespersons but because Moses did not have the right faith, he gave the position away to Aaron.

Are you a person of action for the Lord? When you feel the Lord drawing you toward something do you tell yourself how you can’t do it? God can call us to do a variety of things. It’s not our job to asses whether we feel qualified or if we want to do it. We need to accept our callings and run for it. And keep in mind the entire time that God will give us the power and abilities we need to complete this task for Him. And if you will not fulfill His calling, He will just find someone else for the job. So look at your life. Where in your life are you avoiding something because you don’t feel qualified? How can you change yourself to make yourself more able to obey the Lord’s calling?