Sermon Audio – Accepting The Name
Pastor Edward Davis – 02.28.2010

Sermon Audio – It Always Makes A Difference When Jesus Passes By
Pastor Edward Davis – 02.21.2010

2 Samuel 11:2
“And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.”

Genesis 39:11-12
“And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.”

Our decisions have consequences… always. Purchasing a new car, deciding what college we want to go to, and what career we are going to pursue are all regarded as important decisions. But sometimes we are faced with decisions that are even more difficult than those.

In the scriptures above we find David and Joseph in very similar situations. Each man had a decision to make. David made one decision, Joseph made another. One gave into temptation the other fled from it, or to simplify it, one made the right decision, and one made the wrong decision.

Decisions deserve consideration. The devil, as always, will try to interfere with our decision making process. He will use things like “the quick fix”, and “it won’t happen to me”. The graveyard is full of people who were deceived by these.

The most important decision that we will ever make is whether or not we will live for God. We should always ask ourselves what the consequences are going to be and how they will affect our spiritual relationship with God.

2 Samuel 11:27
“And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.”

2 Samuel 12:19
“But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.”

David made the wrong decision, and because of it, Uriah died, and the child died. Joseph, on the other hand, made the right decision, but surprisingly wound up in jail! Sometimes it takes a while for the consequence to come to pass.

Genesis 41:39-41
“And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.”
 
Decisions made with patience and wisdom will result in good consequences and outcomes, even if it takes a while.

Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Sermon Audio – Immediate Results
Pastor Edward Davis – 02.14.2010

Sermon Audio – How Great, Should Be Our Faith
Pastor Edward Davis – 02.14.2010

A few weeks ago, my husband and I painted our living room.  Twice.  We didn’t want to paint it twice, but it was really that bad. 

I had been thinking about this project for a long time, (since we moved in) but couldn’t come up with the color I wanted.  I had paint chips on the wall, I painted large pieces of poster board and taped them in different spots in the room, and I talked about it a lot.  It got to the point that Drew’s eyes glazed over and she just agreed with anything I said just to make me go away. 

So finally I picked my color,  Apple Green #5,  bought the paint and started painting.  The theory was that the room is dark, so a brighter color would make the room seem happier, less frumpy.  It didn’t turn out that way.  You know it’s bad when my eldest daughter, Michaela, lover of all things colorful,  walks in and says, “Wow. Crazy Green!”

It was.  This green made one feel agitated, irritated and a wee bit…crazy.  After all that work, it was WRONG!  The furniture looked almost wilted next to these walls, and the paintings were fighting the wall color, and losing.  By 9:30 that same night I had the whole room re-taped so I could get rid of the Crazy Green first thing in the morning. 

I started painting the next day with a vengeance, (a nice, muted olive green this time) and I don’t think I relaxed until the last speck of Crazy Green was covered by the first coat.  I was aggravated. I had wasted my time and money, and what was worse to me, I had wasted Steve’s time.   I was in the middle of the second coat when I realized there was a lesson in all of this. 

First of all, I repainted.  When we make a mistake in life we have two choices:  sit down and whine about it or get up and fix it.  God wants us to get up.  “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”  Proverbs 24:16.  Even in the middle of a mistake, God is there to hold us up.  We have to keep going, trusting in God’s will and plan for us. 

Everybody makes mistakes.  Everyone sins.  Sometimes they are small and not very noticeable, and other times the are big and loud, like Crazy Green.  The good news is that if we ask Him, God will forgive all our sins, even the big and loud ones.  He has promised in His Word to do this for us.  First John 1:19 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  He doesn’t just forgive the little sins and mistakes, He cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

To top this off, God doesn’t just “paint over” our sin, either.  It’s gone.  I noticed just today a little Crazy Green along the edge of the stairs.  It’s still there; it’s just covered up.  But our sins, when confessed, are completely removed by Jesus.  When He died on the cross, He took all of the sin that we had and removed it. “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”  Hebrews 8:12.  That is an amazing concept.  Our sins are not remembered by the God who knows all.  That is true mercy.

So, when things go Crazy Green wrong in your life, remember to get up and keep going.  God is with you, and has a plan for your life.  If you do sin, confess it and know that Jesus will forgive and forget.  Learn from your past, and keep moving to your future.  And never, EVER paint a room Apple Green #5!

We will be collecting medical goods for ETSU’s disaster relief efforts in Haiti. We are asking for donations of bandaids, tylenol, asprin, and other medical goods. Please have your items turned in by Sunday February 21st.

Monday February 8th: The Youth4Truth will be having a fundraiser at Pizza Hut on State of Franklin from 5pm until 8pm. Come out for a great time of fun and fellowship!

When you work with children on a daily basis, from the time they learn to talk it seems one of the first things they ask is, “Why?” Why do I have to take a nap?  Why can’t I run?  Why do I have to eat my veggies?  Why?  Why?  WHY?

Recently in my class I was doing circle time, and we were talking about making Jesus happy, when that all familiar question came up.  “Why do we need to make Jesus happy?”  My answer was because He loves us and that is what He wants us to do.

As adults we are just like children in some ways.  At times I find myself asking my Heavenly Father WHY.  Why did this have to happen to me?  Why am I going through this trial?  Why am I having so many problems when everythingseems to be going good for everyone else?  Why am I suffering?  Why am I sick?  Why is my child sick? Why, God, didYou choose me?” Why do You love me?

A few years ago when my brother passed away I found myself asking God, “Why did you take him and not me?”  You see, at that time I didn’t feel like I was worth anything.  It was then that God spoke to me in my Spirit.  He let meknow He had taken my brother because it was his time to go, not mine.  He let me know that His plan for me was notyet complete. 

In talking with a co-worker recently about the “why” question, she told me that she often found herself asking Godwhy we were born in a country where we have the freedom to worship the way we choose. This is truly a  freedom thatwe need to be thankful for.
 
Sometimes I find myself asking, “Why did You keep me until I came to know You the way I do today?”  I think myanswer to that question is that He chose me.  Even before I was born, I belonged to Him.

There are some “why” questions that we may never have the answer to until we meet Him face to face on that GREAT DAY.  Until that day we have a pastor that delivers the Word of God to us every time he steps up to the pulpit.  Butit does not stop there: if we will set aside the time each day, we can spend time in His presence through His Wordand prayer.

So the next time we think about asking God, “WHY?”, let’s remember that God has a divine plan for our life, and ifwe trust Him, He will lead us down the road we need to travel.