Frogs In Te Bread-Celebration

Title: Frogs In the Bread-Celebration

Date: 7/1/18

Place: BLCC

Text: Exodus 8

CT: Hear God’s voice and act today!

FAS Sing Majesty

That’s who I celebrate this morning. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my King and he is my Savior and I could go on and on as to whom Jesus is.

At this time of year there are so many things we should honor and celebrate. There are so many people we should lift up. And I do that. I celebrate our great nation and remember and honor all those who have worked to make it strong.

But the main person I want to celebrate this morning is Jesus Christ. These past couple of months has really brought me to a new faith that brings me closer to God and His Son. I have felt his presence in ways that have shaken my core in ways I had never felt before and I have always made Jesus a part of my life.

But when my hematologist came into the office three weeks ago and told me my cancer was already in remission after the first two treatments I was in complete belief that God had me under his control. I still have a lot of treatments to go trough but I am feeling OK about.

So that is why I want us to all celebrate this morning and give God the glory he has shown to me by healing me and allowing me to continue to serve him.

Please give a shout right now of praise to our Lord…….

But the thing is our celebration is not about me. Our celebration must go deeper than just making me better. We have a Lord who is ready to save us each and every one who will follow him.

I want to first bring up a friend of mine who started coming to our church last fall after I did his wife’s funeral. He knew me and came to church. We talked a lot about Jesus and what he needed to do to be with the Lord and follow Him. He was baptized and started coming to church on a very regular basis.

But then my friend became sick. He fought the cancer and tried to hang in there but the cancer was too strong. My friend Avin Hicks had to quit coming to church and I went to him after church and shared my sermons with him. The week before Avin died he had me sing Amazing Grace to him. He said that was his way of celebrating Jesus. The next week I celebrated the assurance of Avin being with God as he left us.

1 Corinthians 2.9-10, However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”—

the things God has prepared for those who love him—

these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

Avin knew where his future was.

2 Corinthians 5.6-8 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Our celebration as followers of Christ must surely be a celebration of what Jesus can and does do for us all. Our celebration leads us to follow Jesus and Him alone. In every aspect of our life we get a victory in Jesus.

I. Okay. I will probably step on some toes this morning. I want you to answer a couple of questions before we start. I want you write the answer down. You can put it in a special code or writing that only you can read. But at least write the answer in your mind and on your heart.

Is there anything in your life that God wants you to do that you are not doing?

Is there anything in your life you are doing that God doesn’t want you to do?

Is God pulling on you? Is He talking to you? Did he call you here today to hear His Word? Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need to change something in your life? Do you need to make a commitment? Do you need to be reborn again in baptism?

Think about this as we go though God’s Word together today.

II. Let’s go to the Old Testament this morning. Exodus 8.1-10.

8.1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.”

This is interesting. Aren’t we as people of faith to stay out politics? But here we have Moses giving the leader of Egypt a message from God. If we stay quiet about what the powers that be are trying to do to silence our faith, are we following God’s Word? Just saying.