May 16, 2024 · 9:00 pm

Conflict

1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.

James 4:1-2

Conflict is inevitable in life. Sometimes fights cannot be avoided. Human beings need to learn to deal with conflict as it doesn’t go away for long.

James here identifies certain desires that lead to conflict in the home and in the church. He teaches that the desire for pleasure, lust, character assassination, and covetousness are some of the factors that lead to constant infighting and stress. God’s people ought to examine themselves regularly to make sure these foibles are not at work in their lives. If they are, Christians should repent and turn from these foolish argument starters.

Conflict will happen under the best of circumstances. Let us resolve not to add to it by living in ungodly attitudes and mindsets.

Tony French

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May 13, 2024 · 9:00 am

Bless The Lord

1 Bless the LORD, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.2 Bless the LORD, my soul, And do not forget any of His benefits; 3 Who pardons all your guilt, Who heals all your diseases; 4 Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with favor and compassion; 5 Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the Lord, Child of God. Do not forget His blessings and benefits to you. The Lord is good, holy, and worthy of our praise.

The Lord does many acts on our behalf………

**He Forgives

**He Heals

**He Redeems

**He Blesses

**He Satisfies

**He Renews

Bless the LORD, my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Tony French

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May 9, 2024 · 4:00 pm

Christian Growth

Today, let’s talk about the three Ls of Christian growth. We find these principles scattered throughout the Bible. Let’s look at them for a few moments.

What is the first L?  It is listen. To grow in Christ one must learn to listen.  We must listen to God’s Word, listen for the promptings of the Spirit, and listen as God speaks through others. We love to talk, but, we would do much better if would learned to listen.

Psalm 34:1 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

The second L is learn. Spiritual maturity requires us to learn more about Christ through the Scriptures. We are to be learning everyday of our lives. The growth we experience may arrive slowly. However, it will be steady if we are continually learning through the Bible, through the Church, and through the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The final L is love. To grow in Christ we must grow in love. There more we understand what Christ has done and who He is, the more we increase in love for Him. Jesus loved us more than we can ever understand (Romans 5:8-11).  Therefore, we should be continually flourishing in love day by day.

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Let us all make commitments this week to grow in the three Ls. May we master the art of listening. Let us seek to gain a greater grasp of the Word of God. And may the end result be a thriving love for God and for others.

Tony French

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May 6, 2024 · 9:00 am

Life Build

So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let’s flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go quickly, or he will hurry and overtake us, and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

2 Samuel 15:14

David, the powerful warrior and king, was betrayed by son and was forced to flee for his life. His life was spiraling out of control. David’s fall was speedy and sudden.

What do we do when our lives are falling apart? After all, it happens. Let me suggest four steps we can take to start our own personal comeback.

***Repent of Any sin  (1 John 1:9-10)

***Refocus on what is important

***Release all bitterness  (Matthew 6:12-15)

***Rehearse the Lord’s Blessings  (James 1:17)

Tony French

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May 2, 2024 · 6:00 pm

Godly Wisdom

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 3:17-18

The wisdom of God is great and wonderful. James tells us about the glory of the Lord’s wisdom at the end of James 3. Several words are used to describe the precepts of Christ.

**Pure

**Peaceful

**Self-Controlled

**Merciful

**Impartial

**Honest

Those who exhibit the wisdom of God will bear the fruit of righteousness which results from these attributes listed in v. 17. A peaceful life will be the ultimate outcome of a Christian who seeks to live for Christ and obey the wisdom of Scripture.

Tony French

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April 29, 2024 · 9:00 am

Will of God

Epaphras, who is one of your own, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings, always striving earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

Colossians 4:12

How do we fulfill God’s will in our lives? There are many ways to follow Christ. Allow me to mention four ways today.

**Listen to God through His Word and His Church.

**Obey God and glorify Him in your life.

**Value the truths of God’s Word and the life He has given us.

**Evangelize the lost in word and deed.

Tony French

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April 25, 2024 · 6:00 pm

Wisdom of God

14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

James 3:14-16

In this passage, James teaches the Church about the failure of worldly wisdom. Jealousy and selfish ambition causes people to have an improper view of themselves and “lie against the truth.” Human beings can be deceived so easily and it’s important for God’s people to be on guard against this scheme of the evil one. 

Worldly wisdom does not come from the Lord. James describes this wisdom as “earthly,”  “natural,” and even “demonic” in nature. What sounds good and right to the worldly person is often diametrically opposed to Christ’s will and His Word. This earthly philosophy leads to chaos and further sinfulness when followed.

God’s people have the wisdom that comes from above. God’s Word provides us with the truth. The Holy Spirit leads us to righteousness and true goodness. And the Lord’s Church holds us accountable to the truth as we meet regularly for worship.  

Let us be thankful and give praise for the wisdom of Christ. Without it, we would be tossed to and fro by godless teaching and wisdom.

Tony French

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April 22, 2024 · 9:00 am

Praying For Daylight

Fearing that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and wished for daybreak.  Acts 27:29

This Scripture (Acts 27) contains the account of Paul’s shipwreck at the end of the book of Acts. Paul had warned the captain that travel was unsafe earlier in the trip. Nonetheless, the captain insisted on further sailing despite the treacherous conditions. Eventually, the storm overcame the ship and they were forced to abandon the vessel and swim for shore. Everyone made it to safety and the shipwreck resulted in no loss of life. You can read the entire account chapter 27 for further details.

What has always struck me about this scripture are the concluding words of verse number 29. Luke wrote they “wished for daybreak.” Other translations recount the words as they “prayed for daylight.” These words describe quite well the situations we sometimes face. We may not experience a literal shipwreck. However, this phrase perfectly illustrates how we feel when life is difficult. We simply long for the light when life is at its darkest point.

Many of you can relate to this language. You have wondered if the darkness will ever lift and if the metaphorical sun will ever be visible again. You feel as if your life is sinking and there is no hope. What is a Believer to do?

It sounds trite, but, KEEP BELIEVING. There is no magic formula to overcoming trials in life. There will be seasons when you simply must hold on and keep going. In those difficult hours, keep praying, keep asking, and keep the faith. Keep on traveling even when you don’t feel like it. Go forward even when it looks as if there is no hope. Forge ahead knowing that tears and trials do not last forever.

I know that “keep believing” is simplistic counsel when one is facing the complicated, gargantuan difficulties that this life offers.  There will be seasons when this attitude is the only thing that will carry you through. Make a decision and make a choice to keep going and not surrender to fear, doubt, and bitterness. When you escape the darkness you will be glad you did not give up.

Stay in the fight, dear Christians. Better days are on the way. Jesus is coming again!   Be encouraged even in your darkest hour. I’m praying for you.

Tony French

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April 18, 2024 · 9:00 pm

Ministry

Serving Jesus should be a burning desire within the life of a Christian. We are called, commissioned, and sent to serve Christ through serving others. This post will deal with concrete reasons we can and should serve Jesus every day. Why should we serve?

*He loves us. Christ loves us, therefore, we ought to serve Him. His love was manifested to us when were at our worst. Shouldn’t we be willing to give Him our best?

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.  Romans 5:8-11

*We should also minister to others because it is worth the cost. Service is never easy. We would much rather be served than serve our fellow humans. In the end, attending to the needs of others will cost us. However, it also gives us blessing, strength, and joy knowing that when we love others we are following in Christ’s footsteps. Serving Jesus is always worth the effort.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6

*Finally, let us serve out of our growing love for Christ. Giving ourselves to others is an expression of our love for God. Let us serve Him because we love Him.

Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, You who serve Him, doing His will.  Psalm 103:21

And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.  1 John 4:21

Dear Believer, commit to serving Jesus this week. After all, it’s the least that we can do!

Tony French

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April 15, 2024 · 9:00 am

Psalm 3

**God is our Shield   

But you, Lord, are a shield around me, (V. 3)

**God is our Strength  

My glory, the One who lifts my head high. (V. 3)

**God is our Savior

I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. (V. 4)

**God is our Sustainer

I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. (V. 5)

**God is our Shepherd

I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side. (V. 6)

Tony French

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