Monday by Mark Gilliam

What do we believe?

We believe that a New Testament church is an expression of God’s people gathered in a community of baptized believers who have entered into covenant with one another.

Why do we believe this?

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 – For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

We’ve heard Pastor Jason say it so many times from the pulpit at the beginning of our worship times, “Thank you for bringing the church into this room. The church is not a building; it’s people”. That group of baptized believers creates a community and as a community it is vitally important that we covenant together in the mission that Christ has for us as a church in fulfilling the Great Commission both locally and globally. When we covenant together, our mission is clarified as well as our expectations of each other. Within that covenant is real freedom as we worship together, prayer for one another and serve each other and others all for the glory of God and the salvation of those who would believe.

Many times when I go to make a visit to a hospital or a funeral home to minister to someone in our church, I hear stories of how a deacon or someone in their small group or their ABF has already been by to see them, pray for them or met some other type of  need. What a pleasure it is to see Christ’s bride, the church, function in the way that it is supposed to and what a witness to a lost world of the greatness and love of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Please pray for these requests from our prayer cards:

Kelly has pancreatic cancer.  Please pray for him as he goes through his chemo treatment.

Al has just been diagnosed with cancer.

Eddie has lung cancer…pray for his healing.

Harold was diagnosed with bone cancer.  He has just developed an infection.

Salvation for Michael, Steve, Barry, Gary, Bob, Steve, Ron, Rich, Tyler, Joe, Meadow, BJ, Matt, Dennis, Frank, Lenny, Jack, and Michelle

Strength and wellness of baby Julia

Thankful that Melissa was able to share her faith with a family member

Terry has brain cancer.  He has had surgery and is going through chemo

Stephanie is going through chemo and radiation for cervical cancer

Tommy grieving the loss of his father

Abbe coping with stress in school

Pray that Paul and Sarah will find peace, comfort, and trust with the Lord

Be in prayer for Pastor Jason today as he continues in the “Renew Your Belief” series.  Pray for strength and for the Holy Spirit to move as he speaks.

By Jason Pettus

What do we believe?

We believe that there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ.

Why do we believe this?

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Why does it matter?

The exclusive claim of Christianity that it is through faith in Jesus alone that people can be saved from an empty meaningless life and an eternal torment in hell, is disturbing for some.  There are two perspectives that it is wise to look at this fact from.

One, everyone has exclusive claims. For someone to say that Jesus is not the only means of salvation is an exclusive claim. It is a claim that calls Jesus Christ a liar or a lunatic because Jesus Himself claimed to be the only means of salvation (John 14:6).  So either He was not telling the truth of He was crazy. What can come across as an ecumenical compromising position is in reality an affront to any person that takes their faith system seriously.  For there to be truth, only one claim can be right.

Two, Jesus provides the only practical and plausible means of salvation. All other religious systems demand that a person earn the right to be saved. The problem is that the cost of sin is death. Unless a person can knowingly and willingly die and then by their own power be raised again, they cannot save themselves. There is no person and no religious system that provides that except Christianity. Jesus willingly took our place and died our death and was raised in victory. We receive the benefits of His divine intervention through faith and are saved.

This is from Leslee Bandy, a Hoper serving with Sojourn Church in Fargo.

Hey guys!
Just thought that I would give you all an update on the ongoings of Fargo! The past 3 weeks or so have been busy and super rewarding! School has been going great and I have been able to start a couple of good relationships with some of the people in my classes! Some specific ones to pray for there would be Myrantha, Luke, and Sara!
Work has had its ups and downs, but overall it has been great as well! One girl that I met there on my first day has been very open to talking to me and I am getting closer and closer to sharing the full gospel with her! Some specific people to pray for here would be Tasha, Ronnie, Sami, Austin, and Penny!
Well, thats what I have so far! and now I’m off to make some posters for Moorheads Fall Festival that Sojourn is doing! Hope all is well in BG!!

By Bill Starr (Elder)

What do we believe?

Glorification is the culmination of the salvation process at the time of Christ’s return that results in the believer experiencing communion with God throughout all eternity.

Sanctification is the lifelong process whereby the believer is transformed into the image of Christ through progressive growth in holiness, both in attitude and action.

Why do we believe this?

Romans 6:22 – But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Why does it matter?

There is a progressive nature to salvation. Romans 5 teaches that we are justified by faith; we have a legal righteous standing with God because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ; our sins are forgiven; we are declared righteous; we are adopted into God’s family as His children; we have peace with God and we are declared free from the penalty of sin. Once we are justified, the process of sanctification begins and we become more like Jesus; we have victory over the power of sin. Sanctification is the public evidence that our faith is real. Finally, when we enter into the presence of God we are glorified, having been set free from the presence of sin as we await our resurrected bodies to be given when Christ returns to earth to reclaim His rightful place as King and ruler.

The big purpose of Romans 6 is to show why justification by faith always brings sanctification with it. Or as the old-time teachers used to say: this chapter teaches why the faith that alone justifies, is never alone, but always brings a holiness of life with it. It dethrones sin, enthrones God, and makes war on sin in our own hearts and bodies.

God alone is the one who is our decisive deliverer from slavery to sin, and our part – which is real and crucial – is dependent on His. We do not free ourselves – we have been freed! We don’t make ourselves slaves of God as we have been enslaved by God.

This is why all of Christian ministry is so serious. What we do at Living Hope on Sunday mornings in worship and in Sunday School, and what you do in your small groups and what you do in your family devotions and times of teaching your children, and what you do in your personal times of prayer and meditation over the Word – all these things are utterly serious matters because they are the means that God appoints for the triumph of faith over sin. If a person begins to fall away from these precious means of grace, nobody should take it lightly.

Are you becoming more like Jesus? Is He your greatest treasure? Is knowing Him and being like Him and spending eternity with Him your greatest desire? Is Jesus the object of your affections?

By Matt Haste

What do we believe?

Justification is the act whereby God declares a person innocent and righteous by counting the righteousness of Christ to his/her credit through faith in the completed work of Christ.

 Why do we believe this?

Romans 5:1-5- Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Why does it matter?

Apart from Christ, we are guilty before God. In Christ, we are counted innocent and righteous. How is this change brought about? The biblical answer is, “We have been justified by faith.”

You have probably seen a criminal trial before. The entire process leads up to the climactic decision at the end. The evidence is weighed. The attorneys make their case. And then, the judge renders a verdict. The Scriptures teach that each one of us will someday face judgment before God after we die (Hebrews 9:27). The remarkable truth of the doctrine of justification is that Christians can actually look forward to this day because our verdict has already been rendered. We have been justified by faith.

Being justified means that you are declared to be both innocent and righteous. You are innocent because the guilt of your sin is no longer counted against you. It has been applied to Jesus instead when he died on the cross. You are righteous because the goodness of Christ has been credited to your account. This means that you are holy in the sight of God.

The result is phenomenal, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Take a few minutes today to praise God for the blessing of justification. Read through Romans 5:1-5 and consider the fruit that justification produces in your life.

This is a praise from one of our prayer cards.

Wanted to let you know God has provided a job for me!! Last Thursday I was offered a teller job at US Bank 🙂 It is more than I ever prayed for!! Praising God for blessing me with a job that has the insurance benefits I needed! Thanks to all for the prayers!

from CW

We’ve got a real bad situation going on here in Central Texas.  Literally multiple wild fires burning hundreds of acres and many homes with a 30+ MPH winds fanning it all.  Evacuations all over central Texas.  Many homes already lost.   We need God to intervene quickly.  We would appreciate you sending this to all Trustees and their church families.  Tomorrow is suppose to be more of the same!

– From a contact in Texas

By Todd Crosby

What do we believe?
Regeneration is the new birth, whereby God gives to a person a new heart that responds to Him in repentance and faith.

Why do we believe this?

Titus 3:4-7 – But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Why does it matter?

On Wednesday of Week 3, we discussed the depravity of man and his spiritually dead state according to the Bible. So the question is how does a person who is dead and unable to respond overcome their deadness? How does a person become alive in order to respond? How does a person become born again? Nicodemus asked the same question to Jesus in John chapter 3. Christ does not respond with “say this prayer” or “do this thing” or anything like it. Listen to Christ’s response in John 3:8, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” What he is saying is that regeneration (being born again) is a work of God alone and we only see the results of it. At the beginning of his gospel, John makes this point clear when he says that believers are “born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). These are the ones “who did receive him, who believed in his name” and “he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). The implication is clear. Man is reborn by the will of God. This is how our deadness is overcome. At that point, we are ready to respod rightly in belief with repentance and faith.

The important thing to remember is the fact that we do not cause anyone to be born again. God initiates regeneration (being born again). We are simply messengers of the Good News, and we are commanded to share that Good News (Matthew 28, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:47, Acts 1:8). In evangelism, we must understand our role and responsibility. No more, no less. We spread the seed of the Gospel and God will make it effective ever how he sees fit.

How does understanding that man is spiritually dead affect your evangelism? Does it encourage you, challenge you, or does it humble you?