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They did not die in vain. Let’s not live in vain. The sincerest thank you that a citizen can offer those who died for their liberty, is to live out said liberty before God and man. They prayed to God and gave everything so that we can do the same. Americans, shake free from the prevailing lies about what it means to be free. Many enjoy this Constitutional liberty but do not value it; talk about it but do not understand it; want it but do nothing to preserve it. This Memorial Day give some time to reflect on the price that has been paid. As you meditate, do not passively mourn; they didn’t. Renew your vigor and valor for the cause of God and the Constitution which preserves our freedom to serve Him and one another in this fair land we call home.

Please read Genesis chapters 1 through 3 slowly. Picture in your mind what is happening. The account of the fall of Adam and Eve is doubtless familiar to most people who’ve grown up in the West. After recording for us the mighty acts of God in creation, Moses goes on to tell of how mankind fell from innocence and fellowship with God to a state of sinfulness and separation from God. The story opens with chapter 3. Adam and Eve are, most likely, just getting acquainted with their new world.

Tithing is the first step of Grace Giving. It was the first method used by God to teach His people stewardship. It was the first method God used to finance His Kingdom work among men.

What is Easter to you -- just another religious holiday? A time when your wife, mother, or family member pressures you to attend church with them? Perhaps for you it is a bit more meaningful, -- it is a time for tradition. At Easter the family attends church, has a festive meal, or reunion. For some, it is about the children. At Easter the children get their special spring outfits, have egg hunts, and receive their annual basket of goodies! Perhaps a review of the first Easter morning will shed light on how this historic day should be viewed by us. In your heart and mind, return with me to that bright morning. Let’s walk through it and meet the people that were there, that witnessed it for themselves, and for us.

What is love? What is Christian love? After all, doesn’t the Bible say that God is love? Shouldn’t love be one of the dominant characteristics of genuine Christians? The answer to each of these questions is YES. But hold on a minute! Does this mean that Christians accept all manner of sin and blasphemy against God in the name of love and if they do not they are then “unloving?” Let’s see what the Bible says about Christian love and how it really transforms us not to be like the fallen culture around us but to be like Christ.

Identity. What a loaded topic this has become in the last decade. With all the attention given to “understand” our identity, one would expect that we, as a culture, had learned something. But the sad reality is that we haven’t. How do I know that we have not learned from the exorbitant attention given to identity by our media, the music industry, government agencies, advertisement, and the public school system, and pop-culture? It is evidenced by not only the gender confusion being produced, but also by more subtle observations such as how people have become nearly obsessed with labeling themselves with logos, flags, tattoos, clothing, hairstyles, jewelry, and music. This is an attempt to find and secure identity in things, celebrities, sexuality, and brands. It is sad to watch as people created in the image of God seek meaning in everything but God. This is condition of lost humankind. In the Epistle to the church at Ephesus, the Apostle Paul expounds some of the great truths of Christian identity. We learn in chapter one that our identity as believers in Jesus Christ is secured by God’s choice in eternity past (1:3-6). We rejoice in the identity we’ve been given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (2:1-9). Our identity is not just in eternity but it is also here and now as we live (2:10) so that our new identity in Jesus comes with a new purpose for life - good works. But that’s not all, not by a long shot! Our new found position in our Lord Jesus Christ includes new relationships, new foundation for life, and a new purpose for existence! As the Church of Jesus Christ, Scripture says we are…

Did you know that marriage has a mission? Marriage is not a mere sociological invention of man instituted for the propagating and stabilizing of societies.

It is imperative that local congregations recover true Christian love with its doctrinal faithfulness, purifying power, and deep wells of joy flowing from Christ and His Word.

I want to encourage our congregation to make OTHERS our 2023 MISSION. Let’s be passionate and purposeful to live this year for God’s glory in ways that shine the light of the Truth of the Gospel of Christ to those around us. And, let’s do it with such humility that when they see God’s love through us they are compelled to give glory to our Heavenly Father.

Put away your anxiety, uncertainty, and pain. Turn from sin and dis- belief to faith and hope in the knowledge and trust that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 13-16). Forget about the holiday stress and pressure of our culture. They do not know our God.