Beloved, one thing that I have learned as Senior Pastor of this fellowship is that leaders lead. They make decisions and sometimes those decisions are popular ones and sometimes they are not. But the truth is this; a godly leader will make strong decisions for the betterment of the fellowship.
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In today’s study we learn of a wise decision given by the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Coincidently, the
leader was not Peter but James, the brother of Jesus. James makes a decision, which ultimately determines the
fate of the church for the better. It was unpopular for some but benefited the church as a whole.

Beloved, whenever I have disagreed with a decision from a higher authority, I learned to submit to their leadership. Humility requires a heavy dose of submission and if I am going to lead, I also need to submit out of respect and honor for those serving in leadership over me.

Blessings,
Pastor Joe

Beloved, sometimes we tend to view the early church through stain-glass windows as though they had no problems. However, remember this truth, whenever people are involved, there will be problems. God uses people but the people that God uses are imperfect and therefore sometimes the greatest conflicts are in the body of Christ.

The truth is that people disagree. If you ever find two people that agree on everything, then one of them is not thinking. In fact it is not just immature people who disagree but godly people disagree. Abraham and Lot’s servants disagreed; Jacob and Laban argued; and the early disciples often quarreled with one another.

Quite honestly some issues are worth fighting for while others are just a waste of time. If it is a doctrinal issue, then we will rumble. Jude 1:3 says, “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” I will fight for the faith. Otherwise, we should follow what Rupertus Meldenius said, “In non-essentials, liberty; in essentials, unity; in all things, charity.”

Blessings,
Pastor Joe

Beloved, it was Dwight L. Moody who heard a pastor say, “The world has yet to see what God can do through one man wholly devoted to Him.” When he heard those words, it was like an arrow to his heart. He said, “By the grace of God, I will be that man!” Beloved, may we be wholly devoted to the Lord!

It was one man, David Livingston, who so greatly influenced the continent of Africa toward God that Africa and Livingston are almost synonymous terms.
It was one man, William Carey, responsible for the redemptive transforming power of Christ being effectively presented to the teeming millions in India.
It was because of one man, William Booth, who gave himself completely to God's service that there started in the slums of London the beginnings of an evangelistic movement that encircled the globe known as the Salvation Army.

Beloved, is God calling you to be that one man or woman? Maybe you are not called to Africa or China or anywhere but where you now live. Beloved, you can be that one man or woman for God if you wholly devote yourself to the Lord.

Blessings,
​Pastor Joe

Beloved, as soon as we leave these doors we become missionaries to a lost and dying world! Jesus said in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Now, while this chapter may contain no explicit teaching of the disciplines of a missionary, it does present two outstanding servants of the Lord who displayed these disciplines. A discipline is a systematic code of conduct or order. When properly applied a discipline can become a pillar on which we can build our spiritual life. Beloved, if you develop these disciplines in your life you will be a fruitful disciple of Jesus Christ!

Blessings,
​Pastor Joe

Beloved, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans in 1:16 saying, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

When Paul says that the gospel is the power of God, he is referring to the dunamis (power) of God to transform people’s lives. Unfortunately, this dunamis also has the opposite effect on those who reject the Gospel. In other words, when the Gospel is preached there can be a positive effect or a negative effect.

Concerning the Gospel Jesus said in Matthew 10:34-36, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in- law—36a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

Therefore, when we preach the Gospel, we must remember that it is divisive and that there are those who will reject it. However, any rejection of the Gospel should only spur us on to share it with others because some will receive the Gospel and enter into a life shaving relationship with Jesus Christ!
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Blessings,
Pastor Joe

Beloved, it is because Jesus Christ has been resurrected that you and I can experience the forgiveness of our sins and the justification of our souls as Acts 13:38-39 says, “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.”
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It is because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead that you and I can now experience eternal life. In fact Christ’s death and resurrection is the guarantee that God will bring us up and out of the ground: A thinking, feeling, remembering, recognizable person who will live forever. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 says, “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;  43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;  44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”

Christ’s resurrection also means that we will meet up again with believing loved ones lost through separating death. It means living in a world without sorrow, and pain and separation. Beloved, Jesus Christ has been raised! He is the resurrection and the Life!
Blessings,
Pastor Joe

​Beloved, in today’s study we will begin focusing on The Apostle’s Paul’s first recorded sermon. This is the first and longest recorded sermon from which some consider the greatest preacher of all (besides Jesus Christ). I have entitled this: Operation Proclamation. Paul has said that he is not ashamed of the Gospel and hence he is a proclaimer of God’s Word!
Unfortunately, what we learn from the beginning of Paul’s sermon is that many Israelites had missed the opportunity of a lifetime. Have you also missed that opportunity? My prayer is that you would take full advantage of the opportunity presented to you in Christ Jesus!

Beloved, Our God is a missionary God, He is outreach oriented. Because of His character and passion to reach the lost we also should be mission active.

It was the Apostle Paul who said “yes” to the mission God had given him. Paul was all in and the world was all out. He said this in Philippians 3:7-9, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”
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This week we get to see a missionary in action and the beginning fulfillment of his mission. Beloved, God has a mission for your life. Are you willing to see it to its completion? It has been said that some people make things happen, others watch things happen, while others are left wondering what happened. My prayer is that you would answer, “yes” to God’s call on your life to make things happen in you and your family’s life! You’ll never be the same because the things of this world will grow dim and the eternal will grow rich in your heart!

Beloved, Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18- “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Beloved, despite public persecution, a prophesized famine, a difficult economy and a deranged madman the church goes on. Throughout church history many have proclaimed the demise of this grand institution, many except our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who instituted the Church and on whom the Church is built.  
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Kingdom growth cannot be halted by difficult physical circumstances or by intimidating persecution. God is still on the throne; Almighty God is He and He cares for His own through all eternity. Beloved, the promise of Jesus that His church will not be overcome also leads us to trust the same truth for our lives

​Brothers and sisters as we dip into the book of  1 Timothy today. May we be reminded that the theme of 1 Timothy is that the Gospel leads to practical, visible change in the lives of all those who accept and believe it, and that the true Gospel as opposed to false teaching will ALWAYS lead to godliness. I hope that we allow that change in our lives everyday and that we encourage it in one another especially in our young adults, youth, children and those new to the faith. 

In His Service,
Jimmy Rosas