Mark 8:31 “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

This morning, I am addressing a subject that will probably end up in our pulpit at one point: “Things the Church or the Christian Can Lose.”  Although we cannot lose our salvation, once we have been born again, there is much we can lose. I urge Christians to be very careful not to forfeit the great possessions that come with a close walk with God.

These are the words of Joseph after his father’s death, and in response to his brothers fearing the wrath of the brother they sold into slavery.

Danger approaches when theological prowess takes precedence over simple Bible reading. In the first Bible college I attended, I remember hearing a teacher talk about unbiblical statements that we make. He said that it was not uncommon to hear a preacher, pray, “Lord, be with us….“ he went on to explain the theological nonsense of that statement, the idea that God was everywhere, that there was nowhere God could not be, and that, therefore, of course He was, “with us.“

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loveth at all times…” but today you will be assaulted if you are loving toward “sinners.” You may remember that Jesus was accused of being a friend of sinners:

A Christian view of liquor is well reported by J.Frank Norris in the following discourse.  He was a young man who had been accepted to pastor a very influential church. For, perhaps, the first time in his life, he was “somebody” –but there was a problem. A committee was promoting liquor in the community, and some of the men in leadership of that committee were members of his church. He had to make a decision. 

As parents, we have all told our children something only to have them later say they did not hear us. As married people, sadly, this also happens between husbands and wives. We get used to people talking; we think we know the direction they are heading conversationally, and we simply complete their comments in our minds without hearing them clearly — then confusion happens.

In our busy world, I would like to express a few thoughts in the area of giving. Expenses are high, and world events brings uncertainty, but Paul’s instructions are simple and clear.

I do not want a ministry without blessings, without hard work, or without a heart broken for the lost. The church without a broken heart for the unsaved will soon not be at church at all. The church that will not work for the Master will find itself without the Master.

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Genesis 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

The spiritual mess the world is in stems from our trying to think about life with no differences, such as “all religions are the same,” or “all personal choices are fine,” and other foolishness ideals. Of course, there are differences!

A Stewardship Story: A man married the woman he loved more than life itself. He was a very busy, hard-working man and she was a very beautiful but selfish and lazy woman. He gave her a beautiful home and provided all her needs.

Luke 11:46 “…Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.”

During stewardship month, we are considering what we can do to use our time, talents, and treasure to better glorify God. While hearing the crazies on the news, I started thinking about being a good steward of the world in which we live and scribbled these thoughts: