It is Finished ~

John 19:30 The Finished Work of the Cross –

Jesus cried, “it is finished,” and then He returned to Heaven sitting down at the right hand of God the Father. The work of redemtion is complete, paid in full as a result of the finished work of the cross. Jesus Christ’s death covers your every sing, from the cradle to the grave.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “This is not of yourself but a gift from God, not by works that anyone can boast.” You can not add to the completed work of the cross! Saving faith requires trusting and having faith in the finishing work of Christ.

~ Pastor Turner

Forgiveness

Forgive those who hurt you ~

It’s hard to believe when people hurt us it may have been unintentional or done in ignorance. Being flogged, humiliated, and nailed to the cross, Jesus said “Father forgive them” and remember what he says next; they don’t know what they are doing. As a result, forgiving means we are refusing to remain a victim. Moreover forgiveness allows us to let go of a grudge & keeps us from retaliating. Therefore freeing ourselves from the control of those who offend us. Jesus said to pray for anyone who mistreats us. By praying for them, we are doing for them what God does for us, and what they can’t do for themselves.

~ Pastor Turner

The Holy Spirit Acts 2 ~

G. Campbell Morgan – writes about the accusation leveled at the Holy Spirit filled disciples on the day of Pentecost; the one of many in the crowd, that the disciples were drunk. –

First of all, carefully consider Peter’s answer to the accusation. “They are not drunk in the way that you think.” Then, compare this with Paul’s injunction in Eph. 5:18 “Don’t be drunk with wine… but be filled with the Spirit.” While one is a false and destructive method of attempting to realize life’s fullness. Yet the other is a true and effective method.

Has anyone ever charged you with being drunk with Christianity? We lack the flashing eye, and the pulsating song, and tremendous enthusiasm of an overwhelming conviction. Ultimately this is what our cities need to create the opportunity for prophetic proclamation. Furthermore, the church’s responsibility is that her members be so Spirit filled that the Holy Spirit may be able to produce the new phenomena required to startle this age. What is the use preaching if the world isn’t amazed by it!

The Holy Spirit in Us ~

God’s preparing amazing people, and those type of people are hard to ignore. As a result, the world can’t help but check out someone whose life is completely different, exhilarating with the fullness only the Spirit of God can give. We can’t live this amazing life without an amazing partner… Therefore Jesus promised his disciples a partner, an advocate who would be with them forever. Because the fullness of their life depended on how full they were with the Holy Spirit.

Of course we want to live such amazing lives that people will wonder what happened! Just one visit with Father God to fill or refill us again with the Holy Spirit & you’ll be amazed.

~ Pastor Turner

February 20th,

Prayer Changes Everything

This week’s Prayer Changes Everything describes three aspects of prayer taken from a story in Luke. Lets take a look at Luke chapter eleven, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray. So Jesus taught them to pattern their prayer after what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.” He gave the disciples an example they could understand. This instance was about a neighbor needing bread around midnight because of an unexpected guest.

The Lesson learned is this;
* Pray for something specific – in this case bread
* Have confidence in the request – knocked at midnight
* Be persistent – kept knocking

We serve a gracious, great, caring, merciful God! And once we know His will we are able to ask Him specifically for what we need. Then, have the confidence He will answer, if we continue to be persistent not giving up before the answer comes.

God answers prayer through Jesus Christ!

Pastor Turner

February 5th,

~ Love – I heard a preacher say, everything I ever need to know about theology I learned from one song, “Jesus Loves Me This I Know.” ~

Why has this simple song become so universally known & loved? Because it expresses the single most significant and profound truth known to humanity in three simple words – Jesus loves ME. No doubt, receiving the love of Jesus and living in it everyday is the first step in having a love that’s worth giving away.

Let’s stay connected to the living Christ and there we can be the life & hope to those around us. For this reason, Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches, apart from me you can do nothing. Therefore, when people who know us say, what’s different about you, we can say Jesus loves me and He loves you too!

~ Pastor Turner