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Church Message
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Five military
recruiters came to a high
school to make a presentation
to the senior class. Each
recruiter represented a different
branch of the service.
Each was given 15 minutes
to make their pitch. The
Army, Navy, Coast Guard,
and Air Force recruiters each
got up and did a nice job but
they ran over on their time.
When the Marine recruiter
got up to speak, he only had
two minutes left before the
kids would be dismissed. He
walked up and stood completely
silent for the first
minute and just stared at the
students. When he finally
spoke, he said, "I doubt
whether there are two or
three of you in this room
who could even cut it in the
Marine Corps. But I want to
see those two or three in the
dining hall as soon as we are
dismissed.” When he arrived
in the dining hall, he was
mobbed with requests for
applications. The motto for
the Marines is "We’re looking
for a few good men.”
If you look in the
Bible, you can find several
"good men” - Moses, Job,
Joshua, the Apostle Paul,
John the Baptist, Peter, and
many others. They were not
perfect but set a beautiful
example we would do well
to follow. The Scripture also
gives us many examples of
"good women” – Esther,
Mary the mother of Jesus,
Lydia, Mary the sister of
Lazarus, etc.
The one that the
Bible holds out as one of the
best is Abraham. He is called
the ‘father of believers.’
That’s because he had such a
strong faith. One example of
his faith was when the Lord
asked him to sacrifice his son,
Isaac. Don’t forget, Isaac was
born when Abraham was
100 years old. He was the son
to whom the promises were
attached – that Abraham’s
seed would be as countless
as the stars, he would be the
father of a great nation, and
most importantly, the line
from whom the Savior, Jesus,
would come.
One day (cf Genesis
22), God asked Abraham to
sacrifice his son. As difficult
as this request must have
been for Abraham, he shows
us that he was willing to
carry it out. Right before he is
about to slay his son, the
Lord intervenes. He told
Abraham that he now knew
that Abraham loved the
Lord more than his son.
While I can’t imagine
ever being faced with
such a request, I know the
Lord asks me to demonstrate
my love for him all the time.
Abraham’s faith was evident
from his love for God, his
obedience to his command,
and his trust in God’s promises.
Our faith is made clear
in the same ways.
When we make it
clear by our choices and our
priorities that we love the
Lord and his Word more
than anything else, we
demonstrate our faith. Will
you go to church on Sunday
morning or stay in bed? Will
you read Scripture or simply
watch TV?
When you are
tempted to lie to your boss,
have an affair with someone
at work, cheat on your taxes,
etc. you let the Lord know
what you think of him.
Abraham showed his faith
by his readiness to do what
God asked.
When you do not
worry about the future, face
trials and troubles in life
knowing the Lord is watching
over you as he has promised;
when you know that
death is no longer your
enemy but your friends; that
your sins are forgiven
through Jesus Christ because
God says so; you are living
by faith.
We can never be as
"good” as God wants us to
be. Our faith is often weak
and imperfect. Thank God
we have a Savior who wasn’t.
Through his perfect life
and innocent death, he
gained forgiveness, life and
salvation for us. That’s why
we rejoice and look forward
to celebrating his birth and
his return to take us to glory
on Judgment Day. |
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Festive Sweater Party at the Mariner's Museum
Thursday, December 5th 5:30pm-8:30pm. Meet up with friends after work and join us for the last First Thursdays of the year! Enjoy live music by Something Different With Brad and Ashley, tour the USS Monitor Center and engage in a friendly festive sweater competition for a prize package valued over at $100! Food and adult beverages will be available for purchase.
American Red Cross Blood Donation Opportunities:
Webb Center 49th Street, Norfolk, 23529, 12/4/2013, 10:00 AM 4:00 PM, Sponsor Code:ODU
Patrick Henry Mall 12300 Jefferson Avenue,Newport News, 12/10/2013 1:15 PM 4:15 PM Sponsor Code: PHM
Victory Family YMCA 101 Long Green Blvd, Yorktown, 23693, 12/11/2013, 12:00 PM 6:00 PM, Sponsor Code:VFYMCA
Patrick Henry Mall 12300 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, 12/20/2013 1:00 PM 6:00 PM Sponsor Code: PHM
AHOY BOATERS
Join the Parade! Trim your vessel in holiday spirit and join the festivities in the 17th Annual Yorktown Lighted Boat Parade on SATURDAY, December 7th, 7 PM. Register now to participate in the York River competition for Best of Show. Registered boaters receive a participant pennant and Captain’s bag. Registration forms are available at Wormley Creek Marina, online at www.yorkcounty.gov/cyc or call 890-4970.
Yorktown Chorale Concert at Zion United Methodist Church
On Sunday, December 15th at 7:00 p.m., the Yorktown Chorale will be presenting a concert at Zion United Methodist Church, 2109 Seaford Road, in Seaford. All are welcome to this free concert. Light refreshments will follow this event. Any questions, please call (757) 898-7417.
Poquoson Baptist Church’s Christmas Musical ... "One King"
10:30am December
15th, 2013
283 Wythe Creek
Rd., Poquoson, VA
23662
Christmas musical
celebrating the
birth of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For
all ages free and
open to all. Come
and Enjoy.
For more information
on the event
contact Larry
Whitcomb 757-868-
8891
Email: whitcomb@pbc.hrcoxmail.com
Summit Christian Academy is hosting two Open Houses
for families interested in classical Christian Education for children in grades K4 through 12. On Tuesday, January 28th at 7 pm, join us at our Grammar School (K4-6) campus located at 69 Saunders Road in Newport News. On Thursday, January 30th at 7 pm, at our Upper School (7-12) located at 4209 Big Bethel Road in Yorktown.
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