Good Shepherd Community Church

Today is Ash Wednesday on the Christian Year cycle. A number of Christian group gather for worship for the beginning of Lent. The actual word lent comes from Latin, ver which refers primarily to spring. However, the term as used in church is time of preparation for the coming focus on Jesus' sufferings and death and the glory of his resurrection. Even if you do not observe Lent with fasting and self-reflection the ritual of Ash Wednesday brings before us some vital Biblical truths. Primarily the mark of ash on the forehead carries the truth of our mortality and the need for ongoing repentance in our lives. This podcast looks at the trail of ashes in the Biblical story.

The writings of the Apostle John gives prominence to the idea of overcoming the devil and world system and the old human nature termed our flesh. We are engaged in a spiritual war consisting of many battles. We can overcome the world, the flesh and the devil in union with our Lord Jesus. We conqueror only because Jesus overcame and our faith is in him. However we cannot be passive in this battle. Our faith must be active in the war. The Lord has gifted us with necessary actions that equip us and build us up. These consist of reading the Bible for understanding of the writer's thoughts, praying which is talking to God as expression of our relationship to him and other believers. A major means is attendance and active involvement in the corporate worship of our God and Savior plus active fellowship with our spiritual family, fellow believers. 1 John 5:3-5 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers (overcomes) the worl

Christians live with many persuasive voices—religious, cultural, and spiritual—and therefore must not be gullible nor cynical, but discerning. John's command is clear: "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God." The reason for testing is that many false prophets have gone out into the world. False teaching often sounds spiritual and convincing. Discernment, however, is not suspicion; it is love guarding the truth. Several key tests drawn from the text: 1. The Christological Test The primary test concerns the identity of Jesus Christ. True teaching confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh—fully God and fully man. Any teaching that denies or distorts Christ's incarnation, deity, humanity, or saving work reflects the spirit of the Antichrist. Redefining Jesus while using religious language is a mark of error. 2. The Apostolic Test True doctrine aligns with the apostolic witness preserved in Scripture. Those who know God listen to the apostles' teaching; those sh

1 John is a theologically rich and compact book - essential divine truths are laid out in rapid succession and are often repeated; such is the case in this passage. In only nine verses John puts forth the following doctrines: 1) The Love of God for His People 2) The Reality of the Mutual Abiding of God and the Believer 3) The Gift of the Spirit 4) The Father Sending His Son from Heaven 5) The Profusions [outpouring, extravagances] of the Love of God 6) The Necessity of Brotherly Love It is the Spirit who confirms these realities and necessities in the Christian life. Thanks be to God for such a rich feast for our minds and hearts!

Using Psalm 95 the author of Hebrews warns believers, Christians, of the danger of falling away from following Christ. Two references are recalled of how to Stop the regression by remembering God's Word of promise and the confession of a true faith. "Well, on Saturday, about midnight the pilgrims began to pray; and continued in prayer till almost break of day. Now a little before it was day, good CHRISTIAN, as one half amazed, break out in this passionate speech: "What a fool," quoth he, "am I, thus to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom called Promise; that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle." Then said HOPEFUL, "That's good news; good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom, and try." Then CHRISTIAN pulled it out of his bosom, and began to try at the dungeon door; whose bolt (as he turned the key) gave back, and the door flew open with ease: and CHRISTIAN and HOPEFUL both came out. Then he went to the outward door that led into the castle ya

This passage is one of only two in the New Testament declaring the great description of God's nature and being: "God is love." The riches of divine truth in this passage can be summarized as follows: v. 7 - The Command, the Source and the Power of Love v. 8 – The Unfortunate Truth and the Great Declaration v. 9 – The Manifestation of the Love of God v. 10 – Propitiation Is the Divine Remedy for Our Sin v. 11 – Jesus' Work of Love is our own Model of Love v. 12 – God's Love is Seen in the World When We Love One Another Christ's example of sacrificial love in going to the cross is our model as to the extent of sacrificial love to which we should go in loving our brothers and sisters in the church.

Among all the books that make up the Bible, the Book of Ecclesiastes is unique literature. It is part of the wisdom literature of the Bible. But it is different. Sometimes when people read it they can become sad and feel a sense of loss. The reason may lie in how the word in Hebrew transliterated as havel is translated. The English translations vary. Some render it as "vanity," others as "meaningless" or "futile" and some as "purposeless" A more literal translation would be merest breath (Robert Alter) carrying the idea of a vapor, wind, something real but illusive. The author of Ecclesiastes who says he is a Teacher or Preacher relates how people such as himself try in vain to obtain lasting fulfillment in various things or activities to excess and to the exclusion of God, who alone can give true meaning to life.

In Acts 2:39, the Apostle Peter states that the promise of salvation is for "everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." The only reason a person ever comes to saving faith in Christ is because the Lord sovereignly calls him or her, quickens spiritual life in them, and enables them to repent of sin and believe the Gospel. As verses 40-41 indicate, the called one must respond by coming to Christ and by submitting to Christian baptism. We must share the gospel of Jesus with others, but ultlmately it is God's calling which will bring them to saving faith. He will do it; this is his great work. To him be the glory!

Psalm 86:6-8 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you,for you answer me. There is none like you among the gods, O LORD (Yahweh),nor are there any works like yours. ESV Psalm 50:14-15 Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Pay your vows to the Most High. Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will honor me." This podcast is an An offering of praise to God for his kindness and mercy in answering prayer yesterday in sending help to deliver me and my friend from a serious situation. Bible truth expressed in these verses demonstrated in a personall event.

The psalmist Asaph, the leader of the temple worship, shares a struggle he had in his mind and spirit with his faith. The struggle was a result of a wrong perspective in considering the arrogant unbelievers in contrast with the believer such as himself. He had thoughts that would have harmed the people if he spoken them aloud. He felt hopeless in understanding God's dealings with the unbeliever and with the believer such as himself. However, when he went into the sanctuary of God he understood the end of the wicked and his own future, " afterward you will receive me to glory." Following this revelation he burst into affirmative praise and confession: Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever! An interpretive reading of Psalm 73.

The book of 1 John was written to strengthen believers in their holy faith. It was written to give them the assurance that they belong to God as his beloved children, in spite of their struggle with their own sin. This passage gives believers four grounds or reasons that they can have assurance that they really are saved from their sins and are secure in God. It's because of their "deed-doing," their "truth-keeping," their "love-giving", and their "Holy Spirit-abiding." In other words, the ongoing presence of good works in their lives, their belief in and fidelity to the truths of the Gospel in the Word of God, their sacrificial love for fellow believers, and their continual abiding in the presence and fellowship of the Holy Spirit are marks, evidences, that they possess true and saving faith. When they feel condemned for their sins, they can look at these realities in their lives and rest in the assurance that God has saved them and is working in their lives.

Malachi is the last prophet who ministered to the remnant of the Jews who returned to the land from Persia. See 2 Chronicles 36:15-23. The people have been in the land and have rebuild the temple and their houses. However there are serious problems with the people's relationship to Yahweh, their Covenant Lord. Malachi presents God's message that called for their repentance and His promise to come down himself among in the form of a disputation. It is in the style reverse catechism, that is questions and answers. This podcast only considers chapter 1 using the Christian Standard Bible and the World English Bible.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God. To love God and our neighbor as ourselves is not only the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets but it is the grand goal of the Gospel. In Genesis 4 Cain demonstrated the opposite of love when he rejected God's prescription for proper sacrifice and hated and killed his brother Abel. But Christ demonstrated true love in that he laid down his life for his people. Thus he demonstrated the principle of sacrificial love that we as his people are to follow. Christian love is affection that is rooted in action which moves us to love God with all of our being and moves us to love others by meeting their spiritual and material needs.

Mankind has this God driven need to designate times, seasons and years. In the Bible the designation of a New Year and its yearly celebration is given in Exodus 12, this month is to be the beginning of a year. Our current custom of marking a New Year on January comes from paganism and the Roman emperor Julius Caesar and it is in honor of the Roman god Janus, the two directional god of beginnings and transitions who faces backward and forward. But what is the Biblical meaning attached to new beginnings? Psalm 90 is the prayer of Moses on such an occasion. O God our help in ages pass and our eternal home. Teach us to number our days and give us hearts and minds of wisdom to number our days.

The appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ will be with great effect. The previous passage speaks of how God's people will be changed into his likeness by entering his presence. Even the very hope of his coming has a purifying effect on his people. In contrast, those who practice sin are guilty of "lawlessness," a succinct description of the nature of sin. But Christ's coming will deal radically with sin. Verse 5 of our passage says that our Lord will also "take away sins." This is accomplished primarily through his death on the cross (Heb. 2:14). His death also empowered him to "destroy the works of the devil" (v.8). Thus as the Holy Spirit applies these benefits to God's people, he engenders inevitable righteousness in their lives as well as love for the brethren.

Although we celebrate the birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth on December 25 it is highly improbable that he was born on this day! The accounts found in Luke and Matthew do not give us an exact day they do relate a timeframe of the year. Consider Luke 2 and the revelation to the shepherds out in the fields at night. No shepherd would have his sheep in the wet cold winter in Israel! This is the season of little grazing grass necessary for their life and health. The time for flocks grazing is the Spring and Summer and early Fall but not Winter. John's gospel directly links Jesus with the fulfillment of the Feast of Israel recorded in Leviticus 23. After Jesus immersion by John and his return from the wilderness the Prophet Forerunner of the Messiah declared- "Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29,35 Using the historical indicators identified in the gospel accounts mostly likely Jesus was crucified at the Passover in the Spring of AD 33 on Thursday or Friday April 2 ,3. The shadow of

In view of Christ's certain coming, three realities stand out for believers. First, they are commanded to abide in Christ, specifically to abide or remain in the true doctrine of Christ and to abide or remain in a Christian lifestyle that reflects the righteousness of Christ. Secondly, they are assured of the certain hope of Christ's return. This will mean their resurrection from the dead and their reception into his bodily presence, as well as the end of sin and evil and death. And thirdly, Christ's appearance confirms our privileged position before him as children of God. He loved us first before we ever loved him, and he sent his Son to die for our sins. He has done all that was necessary to remove our sins and bring us into his everlasting fellowship.

All Episodes Wayne A Conrad The Antichrists Identified Episode Downloads 0 Total 0 Today Description Send us a text Many people throughout Christian history have been fascinated by the identity of the antichrist. The Apostle John is actually the only biblical write to use the term antichrist! He uses it 5 times in his first two letters. Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:18 John must have been remembering the words Jesus had spoken ."Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will lead many astray. Matthew 24:4 John's concern is the theological identity of the antichrist. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now