Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “Christian Citizenship”.

Citizenship means that a person is part of a community and has been vested or granted rights, privileges, duties and responsibilities within that community.  The people of God through Jesus Christ are part of the beloved community and are citizens of Heaven and the kingdom of God.  Our first loyalty is to this community. 

As missionaries to the people to whom we are sent, we may be granted citizenship in the country or nation to whom we are assigned.  If we are afforded any amount of citizenship, we must be careful to use it to perpetuate our mission and to serve and benefit the society we are sent to minister to. 

The United States where we are assigned is a divided nation.  Over 70 million votes have been cast for two different candidates.  People are in the streets for the first time in the nation’s history saying that the election was fraudulent, rigged and unfair when no such thing has happened.

The current occupant of the White House refuses to acknowledge the rightful results of the election and seeking ways to undo the will of the majority of the people and undermine to legitimacy of the President-elect. 

The division in this nation has been exasperated by the misguided attempt to legislate biblical norms upon a nation who no longer accept these norms.  Biblical principles and standards in candidates have been sacrificed in order to achieve these policy objectives. 

As a result, ungodly and unprincipled people have been elevated to positions of great power and influence and are fueling mistrust, discord, confusion and division that threaten to destroy the United States democracy.  By using these people and giving them a platform, we are enabling the division and unrest in this nation. 

The principle responsibility that God gave us is to “do no harm”.  We must not use our earthly citizenship to harm those will live among.  It is time for Christians to remember our mission by seeking to heal the nation, to lower the rhetoric and hold people accountable for what they are saying and doing that serve to divide and mislead people. 

This is part of our Christian duty as citizens of Heaven.  God will hold us all accountable for misusing our influence for harming the nation by enabling greedy, selfish, hateful and ungodly people to impose and legislate a biblical morality upon a population who have moved toward a more secular worldview. 

Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices.  Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday.  Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the SS Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

 

Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “Showing That We Care”.

Today is election eve of the 2020 General Election as millions of Americans cast votes to decide who will be the next president of the United States.  I hope you care enough about those who will be charged with writing, enforcing and interpreting the laws of this nation that you have or will exercise the right and privilege to vote.  

Everyone is invited to tune in this evening at 6:30 pm as the Union County Union together with the Union County Baptist Association have the World Day of Prayer.  The service will be held here at Flag Branch and will be streamed to our Virtual Church, Facebook and YouTube channels.  

This Sunday following morning worship everyone is welcome to present a gift for the Pastor and his wife in a drive thru event.  Anything you have and want to give will be appreciated.  Our Mid-Year meeting has been rescheduled to the Saturday before the 4^th Sunday on November 21^st.  You will be able to attend online or in person.  Details will be forthcoming.  

And now for a few closing thoughts from yesterdays message.  The 25^th chapter of Matthew is one in which Jesus gives three parables all related to judgment and the return of the King.  While all emphasize an important aspect of judgment, the last one often referred to as the sheep and the goats focuses on the importance of identifying with the needs of and identity of the people of God. 

In the parable, all people are divided by whether they cared about the King.  Those who did care about the smallest detail of the king’s welfare were rewarded with an eternal kingdom and life.  Everyone else was assigned to the fate of the devil and his angels.  Jesus makes the point that eternal life and the kingdom of God was prepared for those who cared before the foundation of the world. 

This is a very important point and should not be overlooked or taken for granted.  The everlasting eternal fire was not prepared for mankind, but for the devil and his angels.  But since those who cared not for the things and people of God have no where else to go, God has assigned them to the same fate as the devil because they both wanted no part of the people of the God. 

It’s amazing to see how we care about people and things that have little or no relation to us.  For instance, there are those who care about whether or not “America’s Team”, the Dallas Cowboys, win or lose. 

They don’t live in Dallas, wasn’t born there, don’t have any relatives there, never even been to or through the state of Texas, yet they care so much about them that they can get very upset if they lose or extremely happy if they win.  Why?  But there are other teams, some in their own state or nearby that they and others can care less about what happens to them. 

This is what is going on between the sheep and goats in Jesus’s parable.  There are those who care about the church (and humanity in general) much like those Dallas fans care about that team.  And there are others who feel about the Church like those who don’t care about Dallas or any other team. 

In the end, the Church is God’s family.  If they don’t care about anything else, most people who care about anything care about their family to the least of things that affect them.  How are you showing you care about the least of things that affect the family of God? 

Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices.  Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday.  Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the SS Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “Let The Celebration Begin”. 

Let me begin today by encouraging everyone to get out, be counted and allow your voice to be heard by voting for the candidates of your choice in this 2020 election.  The nation has already witnessed record early mail-in and in person voting turnout as many see clearly the many things that are at stake. 

Most of you who are reading or listening to this have already voted or intend to vote.  I urge you to not only encourage those who you expect will vote, but even more so those who will probably not vote unless you or someone else encourages or helps them to do so. 

So that if your candidate loses, it won’t be because you did not try to help and compel as many as possible to vote.  If anyone lives in NC and are not registered, they can still vote at any of the early voting locations as long as they have identification and something else with their name and address on it to prove residency. 

The other thing I want to remind our members and friends about is that Holy Communion with be this Sunday.  You can come by on Thursday from 4 to 6 pm or Saturday from 11 to 2 to pick up your bread and cup for yourselves and others. 

The Deacon ministry has arranged for a drive thru event beginning at 1:00 pm on Sunday, November 8^th to honor the Pastor and his wife on his 33^rd Pastoral Anniversary.  I know they will be appreciative of every gift they will receive.  And now just a few fine points from yesterday’s sermon. 

The Creator of this world has chosen to withhold His full identity to humanity.  As the bible says, “no man has seen God”.  Yet Jesus is, for those who will receive it, God in the person of the Son of Man.  In Jesus, God make a promise to humanity of eternal life for those who believe in Him. 

There were many who lived before Jesus entered our world who believed in the promise of eternal life without such a direct or explicit promise from God.  Nevertheless, all who believe in God and have sought and are seeking to honor and obey Him have faith that He will reward them with life. 

Up unto this present moment, all have died without having this promise fulfilled yet with faith that it shall be.  The Hebrew writer informs us that God is waiting on others before fulfilling His promise so that no one who is destined for eternity will be left out. God will confer His promise upon all at the same time. 

Once the last child of God is secured, then the rewarding of the eternal promise will be given to all and the celebration can begin.  The story of faith will take and has taken God’s children through many peaks and valleys.  But those who remain faithful until death, will receive the eternal crown. 

Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices.  Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday.  Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the SS Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “Removed, Remade and Resent”.  

In the move “The Terminator 2”, a terminator who was sent to destroy humans was removed or captured, reprogrammed or remade and resent to protect humans. Something similar happened to Apostle Paul as he initially was on a mission to persecute Christians.

Jesus removed him from the Jews and Gentiles who were at the center of his world view, remade and taught him about who Jesus really is and resent him to proclaim Christianity instead of destroying it.  

Most true believers complete a similar process in which they are removed from situations that hinder the gospel reaching and transforming them. Once they are removed, they can be remade in their thinking, purpose for living and obedience to God. Once they are remade as evidence by their obedience to God, they are resent to the people and situations they were removed from to help others go through the same process. 

There are many others God has used to accomplish His purposes who have removed or been removed from situations and circumstances in order to more clearly hear God’s word and voice.  Among those who have been removed are Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Jesus’s disciples, Jesus Himself and Paul. 

All believers are taken from and removed from the culture and people in which they live just enough so that they can hear and begin to understand the word of God.  All of God’s children will come to Him and learn from and about Him. 

As a result, their lives will be transformed into the loving obedient children they were created and destined to become.  Once transformed, they will join the effort to find and rescue the remaining children of God by helping them to complete the same process that they themselves have undergone. 

We are at a point and time now where people are distracted, preoccupied and concerned with so many things that affect their day to day lives and that of their family and compete for their attention. 

It is no wonder that so many people are not removed and detached from these things which make it impossible for remaking to take place.  God’s goal for every believer is to be remade or born again in such as way as they can never return to what they were and they are ready to sacrifice everything for their Father and Creator. 

Once converted, as Jesus told Peter, they are to strengthen their brothers and sisters by returning to them and helping them to escape the damnation of unbelief and disobedience so that they may receive the eternal inheritance of those sanctified by faith in God. 

Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices.  Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday.  Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the SS Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “Beyond Our Understanding”.  

From our perspective, things often don’t make a lot of sense.  People often find it difficult to make sense of what is happening in and around them.  Some have so much difficulty making sense of things that they see death as the only solution.  It could be their own death, the death of someone else or both. 

Recently, a group of people were arrested because they were unable to nonviolently make sense of public health safety measures that were put in place by the governor to help prevent the spread of a deadly virus to the citizens of the state of Michigan.  They were charged with plotting to murder others to overthrow the government. 

Many people have trouble living with and processing things they don’t understand.  It leads many to ask “Where is that God you keep talking about?”.  They say “what good comes from all the things we are suffering from?” and “What kind of God would permit such things to happen?” and other similarly worded questions. 

They ask questions that seek to make sense out of a loving God and what they see and experience in their own and the lives of other people.  But the answers they seek are beyond our understanding. 

This is what the Apostle Paul concluded when He saw how God uses disobedience and disbelief as His means to save all mankind by offering them mercy.  He concluded that God judgements, wisdom and knowledge is unsearchable and bottomless.  That no one is able or qualified to counsel Him or give Him anything as to place Him into their debt.  But that God is behind everything because all things are from Him, through Him and for Him. 

Therefore, things don’t have to and will not always make sense to us.  We don’t have the mind and wisdom of God in order to make sense of what God is doing.  But as Christians and believers, God requires that we have faith in His judgement, wisdom and knowledge even though we don’t understand it. 

He knows what He is doing and why He is doing it this way though it makes no sense to us.  In all this seemingly contradiction between love and suffering, God commands us to seek forgiveness and love others the way we would want others to love us.  If people would just do that, it wouldn’t end all suffering as we now know and experience it, but it would go a long way to relieving much of it.  

Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices.  Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday.  Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the SS Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me, Pastor Jordan, for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “The Priesthood of Believers”.  

If you were to die right now, how confident are you that you will be granted eternal entrance and acceptance into the kingdom of God?  If you don’t think you will or are not strongly confident you will, then it is most likely that your life is not prioritized around seeking and doing God’s will on a daily basis. 

Not only that, but you probably are not engaged in the activities of the church nor are activity seeking or helping to bring others to Christ.  Some of the blame you may attempt to lay with the pandemic.  But even before the pandemic, your situation probably wasn’t much different.  The problem is a weakness of faith or belief. 

First, you are not sure you believe the gospel and secondly, even if the gospel is true, you’re not sure the eternal life promised in the gospel is something you want or desire for yourself, much less someone else.  If this is your case, there is still time and hope. 

Why?  Because you aren’t dead yet!  And you are either reading, listening to or someone is telling you about this blog post.  The more you hear, the better chances that something or someone is going change your mind. 

Salvation comes by grace and faith.  Grace in that you’re not dead and faith which come by hearing the good news of the gospel in combination with life experiences that inform us that the gospel may be true.  By life experiences I mean that which we see and observe informs us of the possibility of God. 

The reason I say “maybe” is because if we know for sure the gospel is true, we wouldn’t need any faith.  Those who are confident that if they die right now their place in God’s kingdom is secure believe (not know) the gospel is true.  Not only do they believe the gospel, but they desire to receive what the gospel promises. 

Therefore, they are willing to do what the gospel demands and are called God’s people.  They have reasoned that it is better to seek God and be disappointed than to reject God only to find the gospel is true and end up with nothing.  It is better to live forever in obedience than to die eternally in rebellion.  

But the fear of the flames of hell doesn’t motivate believers as much as the thought of everlasting life joy and peace in a place and world that’s hard to imagine.  These are the people God calls a peculiar treasure, a chosen generation, a holy nation and a royal priesthood who have come out of darkness into His light. A people who were unclaimed, unwanted and unowned whose end was destruction but who are now saved from destruction and are joyfully claimed by God Himself. 

A people whose mission and calling is to act on behalf of God to bring God and others together.  One of a priest’s responsibilities is to offer sacrifices on behalf of others to smooth things out between the people and God.  All believers have this holy calling. 

The bible describes the people of God as a kingdom of priest.  If you aren’t feeling very priestly lately, if you are a child of God or hope to be one, you still have time to begin feeling like one.  If you have not listened to the message, be sure to click the link at the top of this blog and invite others also and learn more about why God’s people are a priesthood of believers. 

Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices.  Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday.  Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the Sunday School Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “Dereliction of Duty”.  

Something that is derelict demonstrates the evidence of having been abandoned, neglected or deserted.  The same can be said of a Christian’s duty who walks away and fails to fulfill their obligation and responsibility to Christ and the church. 

Jesus warned of this in a parable when everyone will have to give an account of what they did with the life God gave them.   In the parable, Jesus identifies a nobleman who is to receive a kingdom, a group of people within the kingdom who hate him and despise the thought of His rule, a group of faithful and dutiful slaves and finally one slave who was derelict in his duty. 

After receiving the kingdom, the nobleman returns and calls the slaves He charged to occupy until He returned so that they can give an account of their stewardship.  While the first two who reported did well and increased their Master’s money, a third slave reported he was derelict with his duty and gave an excuse for his neglect. 

The king was unmoved by his excuse and ordered him stripped of what was given him and given to the servant who had did the most to promote his Master’s interest.  In addition to that, he ordered all the people in His kingdom who conspired and rebelled against His rule to be rounded up, brought before Him and slain. 

The main message Jesus wants us to take away from this parable is for us to avoid the fate of the wicked and slothful servant.  I am very concerned and can see how many in the Lord’s church are becoming derelict in their duty.  Most of it I contribute to lack of faith in the return of the Lord and a luring away from their duty by the lust of the world. 

Regardless of the cause, the result will be the lost of their eternal inheritance and place of honor and glory in the kingdom of God.  We are all commanded by the Lord to serve others.  It is through service God prepares us and makes us fit to rule in His kingdom. 

Sometimes people can easily get so caught up and interested in something around them that has gotten their attention that they forget about, abandon and neglect their duty and responsibility for the Lord.  It is the case that people (many of whom are in our own household) must be reminded of their first responsibility so they will not end up like the servant in the parable who abandoned and forsook his duty. 

If we become derelict in our duty, the church will fall into disrepair, become dysfunctional, unusable and unproductive in fulfilling its mission and calling.  Those who truly believe in and love the Lord will not and can not allow this to happen. 

Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices.  Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday.  Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the SS Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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Greetings Flag Branch members and friends and thanks for taking the time to join me for some Fine Points from yesterday’s service and message “Choosing a Place to Belong”.  

To belong somewhere can mean several things.  It may mean that one is part of or a member of something else.  It may mean that one is in the place one is suppose to be or go.  It could one is with one’s rightful owner.  In any one context, it may mean any one of these, a combination of these or all three. 

Everything belongs somewhere because nothing exists detached from everything around it.  Everything depends on something else, is a part of or exist within something else or is one of several of a certain kind or group.  Therefore, we awake a discover we belong to a unique group of creatures on an isolated and unique planet in a tiny solar system in an immense galaxy in an even greater universe. 

None of this was our doing or of our making.  Immediately we find that most of the other creatures like ourselves don’t treat us like we belong to the same family, but have abandoned us to fend on our own.  Not only that, but those same family members are willing to steal from us, willing to kill us and willing to destroy us. 

Instead of allowing ourselves to be govern by the higher and noble virtues such as logic, love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, truth and the common good mankind has allowed his base instincts and passions such as fear, envy, greed, lust, jealousy, pride and vanity to control and direct his treatment of and interaction with those within his own family. 

With these things in play, people seek out places to belong within a world corrupted with corrupt individuals.  People seek to belong to places and groups of other people based on physical characteristics, nationality, attitudes and beliefs toward others, ideologies, economic status, location and many, many other distinctives. 

Yet with all the possible places true Christians can choose to belong, none of them seem to be quite right.  None of them seem to convey the feeling of this is where you are meant to be.  Is as if to say this place you are in now is not where you are supposed to be.  Every place we find ourselves is but a stop along a journey to where we truly belong. 

That place is outside this world.  It is outside our current ability to frame and see reality.  It is a place that can only be entered through faith in Jesus Christ.  It is the place we were created and born to belong.  And it is a place we choose to belong by putting on Christ without respect to persons. 

No distinctions are made as to who can belong based on the endless differences people separate other family members by in this world.  The children of God belong with God and won’t be satisfied in any other place until they are at home with Him.

Remember to visit our website to see our latest news, announcements and worship activities and opportunities.  Be sure to download our mobile app on your phones and mobile devices.  Don’t forget to read and listen to my Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday.  Get a jump on Sunday School by reading the SS Daily Bible Readings at our website or by clicking the link.  As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments.

 

Pastor Jordan

 

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