Bible Study July 31, 2024

Hebrews 10:23 – 25

23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

One of the greatest opportunities we have as believers is to be an encourager. It is so easy to pass by someone who is down and not say an encouraging word. It takes little time to say a word that will lift a person up.

We send cards to people when they have lost a loved one, we send birthday cards to our friends and relatives and now many are sent via email and Facebook. It seems as though the tradition of sending Christmas cards is fading away. In many cases we pass it off as we are too busy.

There are many ways during the day we can encourage our children, family, friends, and coworkers. You can even boost the spirits of those we do not know. We introduced “God Pockets” a few weeks ago as an encouragement to someone needing a little financial help when prompted by the Holy Spirit to do so.

What way can you add some encouragement to someone’s life today? Now its time to act call them, send them a note and let them know you care.

“We need to encourage one another to fix our eyes on the risen Jesus and thus to stir each other up toward love and good deeds.” Iain M. Duguid.

God Bless.

Bible Study July 30, 2024Job 16:1 – 5“Then Job answered and said, 2 “I have heard many such things;
Troublesome comforters are you all. 3 Is there no end to windy words? Or what
pains you that you answer? 4 I too could speak like you, If your soul were in
the place of my soul. I could compose words against you And shake my head at
you. 5 I could encourage you with my mouth, And the solace of my lips could
lessen your pain.”You just have to love Job no matter what you believe. His
friends were interesting to say the least. The first seven days they were with
Job they sat on the ground and mourned with him over the situation he was in. So
far so good, they were there for him. David Jeremiah said they made an appointment
to go and meet with him. No doubt in the beginning their motives were
honorable.When they were quiet they mourned with him but they could not
keep quiet they had to speak. When they began to speak they said things that
were not true and inaccurate they were speaking their opinions and their interpretation.They actually made it worse for Job when they spoke. So many
times we tell people certain things during their time of grief when we should
simply remain quiet or leave it with “I’m sorry for your loss.”When you help someone do you sit with them, hold their hand,
cry with them, or do you offer advice? By just being there we can often
encourage them they do not need our advice they need our “being there.”God Bless.

Bible Study July 29, 2024

Romans 1:1 – 7

“Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was designated as the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul called himself a slave but most likely it was “slave” in the best sense of the word. He wrote the majority of the New Testament and although he may have become frustrated with some he wrote to those not listening he remained faithful and maybe better than slave would be the word “servant.”

The scriptures contain many letters rather than sermons and volumes of written materials, why would that be? Maybe letters are more personal than sermons when they are conveying the messages Paul wanted to communicate I can certainly see that.

A letter can be directed to a specific need, or to a specific person and best not handled from the standpoint of a sermon. It takes time to write a personal note of thanks or appreciation. There is great value in both writing and receiving a personal note. Here is a good place to allow Paul to be an example for all of us.

Maybe we should also consider stop some texting and pick up the phone and call a friend and check in on them. A spoken word will go a long way as encouragement.

Give it a try.

God Bless.

Bible Study July 26, 2024

Romans 12:9 – 12

9 “Let love be without hypocrisy—by abhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good, 10 being devoted to one another in brotherly love, giving preference to one another in honor, 11 not lagging behind in diligence, being fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in affliction, being devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality.”

I read this and it says so much.

Art Linkletter’s life was not all sweetness and light. Though married for 74 years to Lois Foerster, their daughter, Diane, struggled with drugs (LSD) and committed suicide in 1969. In 1980 their son, Robert, died in a car accident. Their oldest son, Jack, died of cancer in 2007. After his daughter’s tragic death, he received a call from his friend, the famed preacher and author, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale:

[He] said, “I know what you’re going through. A minister tries to console, comfort and sympathize, and explain why a loving, kind God would permit somebody in a wonderful family, a nice family to have this happen.”

“But Art,” he said, “He may have some other plan. He may have a plan for you. I said, “What do you mean a plan for me?” He said, “You are accepted by the American family as a part of them. Why don’t you start a private personal crusade to convince parents that they are in the front line trenches and the epidemic of drug abuse that is rapidly descending upon this country.”

I talked it over with my wife and we decided it was a very tough thing to do to go out and talk about it and I knew very little about it but I learned a lot, went around with some very good people and I began to lecture here and there on drug abuse.

And I found out that all of this radio stuff and all of this television stuff was just a preparation for me being a lecturer. I enjoyed lecturing more than all radio and TV…I just kind of slowly got out of everything else, and I, then I began to get offers of helping other people.”

Art once said the secret to his success could be summed up in a single word: Yes. He was willing to say ‘yes’ when presented with opportunities and invitations to serve and help others. He allowed the Holy Spirit to guide and direct his endeavors. He was willing to commit to things; he was willing to be inconvenienced for the sake of a cause greater than himself. He said yes.

The writer of this article said “What a guy. What a life. I never had a chance to meet him, but know I will some day on the other side of the veil.”

God Bless.

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Sunday @ Asbury Chapel

We will continue with our walk through the Book of Acts written by Luke who also wrote the Gospel of Luke and was a physician. Our message title for this series is “Acts is All About the Church Ordained by God.” Last week we took an in depth look at verse eight. We begin this week looking forward from verse nine, as you see we are in no hurry.

As a quick recap from last week the Holy Spirit empowers us to do the work that we are called to. It is through Him that all things are accomplished. In Matthew Jesus told us to sow seed and it would fall on different types of soil (Matthew 13) but He never said to quit sowing because of the soil type.

This week we take a look at Jesus’ ascension and the replacing of Judas who had betrayed Jesus there are a number of things interesting about his selection. If you would like to read ahead or catch up we will begin in Acts 1:9. If you have not heard our messages you can find them on Facebook at asburychapel.org.

Our service begins at 9:30. We are informal and contemporary (mostly) in our worship, dress is casual, and I am confident you will feel welcome here. Join us around 8:30 for a donut and a cup of coffee. We are at 1704 South Highway W in Foley, MO located at the intersection of Highway W & Y.

Bible Study July 25, 2024

Colossians 2:1 – 3 (LSB)

“For I want you to understand how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 so that their hearts may be encouraged, having been held together in love, even unto all the wealth of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

How many times did Edison fail in attempting to invent the lightbulb? The answer is not around number like 1,000 or 10,000 times that some people like to claim. It took 2,774 attempts to arrive at the bamboo filament that made Edison’s lightbulb a commercial success. While there was no actual tabulation of all the steps along the way, there is a very precise number connected to the experiments surrounding the bamboo filament — 2,774.

Failures come in life, no one is perfect and Edison is an example of failing but not being a failure. He continued to move forward in spite of the setbacks The same is true of our Christian walk, no one is perfect. We will make mistakes sometimes innocently committing a sin. When we fail, we ask forgiveness we then move on forgiving ourself as Jesus forgave us.

In order to encourage others we must stay encouraged. How do we do that? We must live in an attitude of proper thinking, belief in our self and our values while living in conviction and assurance realizing He is our source. Based on the promises of God we can be optimistic. A “can-do” attitude knowing God is there to support you will give you victory.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that it won’t work.” Thomas Edison.

God Bless.

Bible Study July 24, 2024

Psalm 139:7 – 10 (LSB)

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I lift up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.”

I remember when my son began to walk he would hold onto a table or the couch to help him along. Then when I had the chance I would always hold his hand as we walked different places so he wouldn’t fall. Never did he cross the street without me holding his hand. As he grew he became more confident. I was a proud dad.

What do you believe is the safest place to be? In a severe storm we are warned to go the basement and find the most secure place and stay still the storm is over. Storms come in our lives we cannot avoid them some more severe than others.

We have an election coming up and people are concerned about the future of America. We should pray for guidance in how we vote. But rest assured God has it figured out. When Jesus was crossing the Sea of Galilee He knew He was going to arrive on the other side even though a storm came up. He was in His Father’s hand.

We can have that same assurance when we put our hand in His hand and leave it there. If you know that Jesus has forgiven you for the sin that was in your life He has your hand. If He is not your Savior He wants you to come to Him for the security that only He can provide. Romans 10:9 – 11 is a good place to begin. There you can put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee.

“A saint’s life is in the hand of God like the bow and arrow in the hands of the archer. God… goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets it fly.” Oswald Chamber.

God Bless.