"Is God With Us or Not?" Exodus 17: 1-7

Pastor Dan's message today. After the children of Israel had crossed over the red sea, and had traveled some time through the wilderness, they became thirsty. The land where  they were camped was a dessert with not a drop of water anywhere. With thousands of people and other thousands of sheep, goats, cattle, and other livestock, with no water, the people began to chide with Moses. They were telling him that he had brought them there to die from thirst. They were threatning to kill Moses.
     Moses cried out unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thane hand, and go.
     Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?
     Are there any Moses left in our world today? Not that we know of. Is there any like of the children of Israel in our world today? My answer is 100% are left. Most all of us are complainers of one thing or another. The Idea here is to stop looking for a leader to get us out of this mess, and let us believe our God for our leader. We can all be leaders, if we trust God. He will speak to us just like He spoke to Moses.
God bless
Myrtle Jean Sharp

"Happy With What You Get" Matthew 20: 1-16

Pastor Dan delivered a great sermon this morning that all of us can relate to. It was about deciding our own worth against the masters who hire us. The householder went out to hire some labourers into his vineyard. It was early in the morning and the labourers agreed to work for a penny a day. Again the owner of the vineyard went out about the third hour and hired some others to work for him. He told them to go into the vineyard and whatever was right he would give them. The owner went again the sixth hour and hired some more, telling them the same as he told the others. About the eleveneh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and he said to them. Why stand ye here all the day idle? They said unto him,"Because on man hath hired us." He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatever is right, that shall ye receive. When the even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto the steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last to the first. Those who came about the eleventh hour received a penny. But when the first came they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received a penny. When they received they began to murmur against the goodman of the house, saying These last have worked but one hour, and thou hast made them equal to us, which have worked all day. Then the master answered and said, friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?  Take that thine is, and go thy way; I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to  do what I will with mine own? Is my eye evil because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. Seniority didn't come into play here. The goodness of God does not always pick the first ones. So it can be said, we get what we deserve if the boss is doing the right thing. We should be happy with what we get.
God bless
Myrtle Jean Sharp

Loving Acceptance Romans 14: 1-12

Each Sunday I try to take the pastors words from his sermon and put them into my own words. This Sunday I can find no words, but I will try.
I believe Pastor Dan was saying to us that Paul was preaching to the Roman church telling them to welcome the weak in faith into the church, but not to argue with them about their beliefs. One person's faith allows him to eat anything while another person's faith allows him to only eat vegetables. Whatever our faith allows us to eat, we are not to judge others on what they eat. God has accepted all. All will succeed because God has allowed them to succeed. Some think that some days are more important than others, while others think that all days are the same. None of us live for ourselves only. None of us dies for himself only. If we live it is for the Lord that we live, if we die it is for the Lord that we die. Christ died for all, why then do ye pass judgement upon others. Why do you despise your brother? all of us will stand before God to be judged by him. Everyone will give an account for himself. Wow! Is some of us placing judgement on others because, in other words, they are not as good as us? Or maybe because they are not a carbon copy of us. Less money, meaning to some, less succees. Less education, meaning to some, less popularity. Is that the kind of personality God picked when he chose David, the little sheppard boy, to face the giant on the battlefield, then later to become God's favorite king? I don't know about others, but I am going to repent and hopefully become a better Christian. This is the way I received the pastors sermon this morning. I hope I have got it right.
God bless
Myrtle Jean Sharp

"Pulled in Two Directions"

Our sermon for today was taken from Philippians 1:21-30. "Pulled in Two Directions." Again the pastor delivered a soul searching message. Paul is talking to the Philippians through a letter he has written while in jail. Paul was troubled by the opposition of other Christian workers toward him and was distressed by false teaching in the church at Philippi. Paul is spending a lot of time in prison because of his teaching of Jesus Christ. In this letter Paul is trying to encourage the Philippian Christians and reassure them that they must have  courage and confidence in spite of all his troubles and their own as well. In verse 21 Paul is telling the Christians that for him to live is Christ. Death would bring him more joy, but he says, "if I continue to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose." v.23 "I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing; but for your sake it is much more important that I remain alive." Paul says, "I am sure I will stay with you." v.28 Don't be afraid of your enemies; always be courageous, and this will prove to them that they will lose and that you will win, because it is God who gives you the victory. v.29-30 For you have been given the privilege of serving Christ, not only by believing in him, but also by suffering for him. Now you can take part with me in the battle. It is the same battle you saw me fighting in the past, and as you hear, the one I am fighting still.
Dear friend and loved ones, like Paul, at one time in my life I thought it more blessed to die than to live. I don't mean that I had so many problem that I wanted to die; I mean that Jesus became so real to me that I just wanted to be with Him. Then He spoke to me saying, "I am not through with you on earth you must suffer many tribulations before you come to be with me." That was many years ago and believe me I have suffered a lot. I still do and I will till Jesus takes me home. But one thing for sure, there is no victory without a battle. To those of you who may be at your ropes end, just admit that you have been a failure because you would not give it all to Jesus. It is never too late to unload all you troubles on Him. That is what He begs you to do every day of your life. It hurts Him to see you suffer more than it hurts you. He will give you peace that you never thought was possible.
God bless
Myrtle Jean Sharp