The Shepherd’s Voice
The Shepherd’s Voice is one of our pastor’s communications extension to the Church, our friends and the world. He uses it as a way to reach out to our faith community while providing spiritual insight and perspectives to the sermon messages and events and issues of our day. We are welcomed and encouraged to comment on any of the messages by clicking the “Fine or Main Point” link you want to comment on, going to the bottom of the page and filling in and Submitting the Reply at the end of the message. Most of the blogs have audio playback so we can listen to as well as read them. We hope you are blessed and inspired by our Shepherd’s Voice.
22
Jan '18
Fine Points Monday Jan. 22, 2018
22
Jan '18
Greeting FB Members and Friends
Thanks for joining me for another edition of Fine Points and welcome back. Idolatry, putting anything or anyone before God, is a widespread condition not only in America, but around the world and just one of the types of conduct that will keep us from inheriting the kingdom of God. Our personal conduct counts and is pivotal in determining our eternal destination. Just why it is so important and how God knows and keeps track of what we do is worth exploring and understanding.
But Apostle Paul wants us to be aware and warned that there is more to salvation than just acknowledging who Jesus is and believing on His name. It is therefore imperative that we recognize the fact that regardless of all the other good work we may do in Jesus’s name, our personal conduct can disqualify us from inheriting the kingdom. Now that we know what can disqualify us, we must be careful to avoid those things while focusing on the positive aspects of personal conduct the Apostle also tells us about in the verses that follow.
Yesterday we began a new series of BTU lessons that focus on Lifestyle Priorities. The goal of the series is to help us to live out our faith in a world we are called to live in, but not be like. We will address concerns such as how do we maintain a Christian identity, what makes us different from non-Christians beside our belief in the person of Jesus Christ, what do we have in common with non-Christians and where and how do we distinguish ourselves and many more personal faith concerns and questions. The Great Commission is for us to make disciples of all nations. But that task becomes increasingly difficult if and when we are too distracted and caught up in the world and not trying to save the people in it. Are we affecting the world or is it affecting us?
I anticipate some interesting and relevant observations from our group discussions that will challenge us and lead us to reevaluate our personal relationship with God in Christ and our personal calling and role in this world. I invite all of you to take time over the next two weeks to evaluate, pray and mediate over the discussion questions that were given out yesterday and be prepared to share your thoughts with the rest of the congregation. Some extra ones were left out in the vestibule for those who did not get one during BTU. Let’s encourage one another to take part and get involved in this important discussion.
Finally, let’s keep one another in prayer as several members are recovering from surgery, others are dealing with illnesses and so many other issues we must address day by day. Also, when you get the chance congratulate Sis. Wanda Hubbard on her well deserved retirement! Well, that’s all for now. Until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
15
Jan '18
Fine Points Monday Jan. 15, 2018
15
Jan '18
Greeting FB Members and Friends
Thanks for joining me for another edition of Fine Points and welcome back. This is my second Fine Points message of the year and it happens to fall on Dr. MLK, Jr. weekend. For those of you who may not be aware, Dr. King was murdered 50 years ago in April. Much has changed since then in race relations and opportunities for people to make a better life for themselves and their families. The most disturbing aspect for me is the failure of many to make the most of the opportunities that have been afforded us.
The reasons for such failures are many and complex, but the fact that people by and large have forsaken the God of our fathers accounts for much of the economic and social despair we find ourselves in. When we forsake God’s law and commandments it opens the door for many problems and troubles that could have been avoided that increase the already difficult struggle to survive. The rich are getting richer and everyone else is completing for a piece of a shrinking slice of the economic pie.
At the time of his death, Dr. King was advocating for a fairer and just distribution of the wealth of this nation and fifty years later the nation hasn’t made much progress toward achieving that end. So, in some ways things are better than they were 50 years ago and in other ways they are the same or worst. Which leads me to a few final thoughts and comments on yesterday’s message “Living Like Animals”. T
he sermon title was designed to be provocative because people don’t want to be associated with animals. Yet, if we abandon God either by denying His existence or influence in our lives, what is left is a person who is governed by his or her carnal or animal desires, passion and mind just like every other animal on this planet. Animals do what their mind and body move them to do. And so, when we live like that also, we are living like animals. But if we believe in a Creator who make us in His divine image, we can seek to be like Him and resist the temptation to succumb to our carnal nature.
We are part animal, but we are part divine. And we can choose to follow our animal instincts or our divine calling. Yielding to our carnal side is natural and easier for us to do than rising above and resisting those urges and prompting to follow the lead of a Creator we must seek with the divine part of our being. I refuse to believe my existence has no more meaning than that of a rat, dog, horse or cow as just another animal who will live and die without consequence. But rather, we are uniquely and wonderfully made like no other mammal on this planet.
There is something special about us that no other creature can claim. And because of that uniqueness, we should refuse to live like the rest of the animals and seek out the reason we are different from them beginning with a love and belief in a God who is responsible for that difference and a commitment to fulfill His design and purpose for our life. Don’t live like an animal, but like a child of God. Well, that’s all for now. Until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
08
Jan '18
Fine Points Monday Jan. 8, 2018
08
Jan '18
Greeting FB Members and Friends
It’s another day the Lord has made for us to rejoice and be glad. Thanks for joining me for another edition of Fine Points and welcome back. 2018 has gotten of to a rocky start for many in and out of the church. Several members are combating illnesses and health issues and have made doctor and hospital visits and found it prudent to stay home yesterday. We have experience below average temperatures here and around the nation that has causes considerable hardships on many.
Water lines and pipes have frozen and some have burst. Some of the churches in Marshville had limited or no service because of lack of water related issues. For a time, we too had no running water, but God was gracious and the water problem was resolved in time for morning worship. Thankfully, the weather is forecasted to be much better this week so hopefully things will improve and go a little better.
Yesterday was the first Sunday of the year and like us many congregations observed the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is significant to our faith because it recreates the Passover meal and blood that delivered the Israelites from death of the firstborn in Egypt. God said the blood would serve as a token to allow Him to passover judgement wherever He saw the blood. To place the lamb’s blood on the sides and over the door was an act of faith and obedience. Faith requires both belief and action. This is why James 2:26 tells us that faith without works is dead.
Jesus has become our Passover Lamb. We have been instructed to believe that a second eternal death awaits us all. But God is willing to passover His judgement of this death if the blood of Jesus is present and applied to our lives. How do we apply the blood of Jesus so that it is present in our lives? By allowing the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to reshape our lives into someone who lives to please and serve the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are internalizing the blood of Jesus Christ like painting the blood around our hearts as Israel did around the door. If we are true and sincere in our faith and obedient the blood will remain, otherwise it will not.
In the judgement, God will take what I would describe as a spiritual x-ray that only He can take and see the results. The purpose of the x-ray is to find the blood of Jesus in and on our hearts. The blood will either be there or not be there and its presence or absence will determine our eternal destiny. Just as the blood served as the passover token to prevent death in Egypt, it will serve again as a token to passover death into life. Do not trifle with the blood of Jesus. It’s amazing that this blood is available and it is the only hope we have of escaping the judgement of God. Well, that’s all for now. Keep in mind the Missionary Program this Sunday and remember to do whatever we have been asked to do for it. Until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
01
Jan '18
Fine Points Monday January 1, 2018
01
Jan '18
Greeting FB Members and Friends
So glad that you could join me for this New Year’s edition of Fine Points and welcome back. Today is the first day of the year that will be. We all survived the year that was 2017 and now we are about to enter uncharted territory. None of us knows how the year will unfold. I know we have hopes and dreams and plans and expectations for this year. But we are not in control of whether or not they will be realized. Everything we want to do or accomplish is always depended to some measure on what other people do. This is because we live in an interconnected world.
We plan and make decisions based upon what we think can and will happen, what we think we can and will do, what we think others can and will do and what actually happens. Sometimes something expected, unwanted or unanticipated happens which causes us to amend or adjust our plans. Depending upon how crucial or critical the event was, our plans may continue or they may have to be abandoned. In any case, we must not live in fear of what might happen and do nothing, but have faith that things will work out as we hope and plan and that we will be able to make the necessary adjustments as needed along the way. But the amazing thing about all this is that the God we serve and believe in already knows how all things will happen in 2018 on January 1st.
He already knows our plans, hopes and dreams and knows which ones will be fulfilled and which ones won’t. He knows who will be born, who will live and who will die. He knows who will win and who will lose. He already knows what the headline events will be and the things that people will be talking about this year. Isn’t this amazing! Millions of people will be glued to their TV sets and in NFL stadiums around the country this weekend to see which teams will make it to the next round of the playoffs. God already knows! God already knows what is going to happen to each one of us every day of this year today. Seeing then that God has this knowledge, what should we do?
I believe we should ask Him to be our partner, our guide and our friend. We should ask Him to give us the desires of our hearts that will be in agreement with what He wants for us. I believe we should ask Him to watch over us and our family and friends to keep and protect us from the evil and evil ones of this world. We should partner with Him through the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ to carry out His will for the people and things of this planet and world. There are 365 pages and 12 chapters in the book of 2018. Today, we are living out page 1. God has already seen every page and knows what’s on every one and if you and I are on it and what we are doing on it.
The glorious thing about it, we control to a large degree what our character is doing on each page. Even though the book has already been written, we are writing our part on each page day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment each day we are allowed to live this year. Let’s make our story and character one God wants to continue. Well, I hope you all have a blessed week and year and that something good expected or unexpected happens to you and the ones you love. So, until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
25
Dec '17
Fine Points Monday Dec. 25, 2017
25
Dec '17
Greeting FB Members and Friends
So glad that you could join me for this Christmas edition of Fine Points and welcome back. Today is Christmas and many families arose at the break of day to open presents and to see what Santa left underneath the Christmas tree. I can remember such moments growing up in my small town as a boy. Those were some of the happiest days of my life. Later that morning and day, all the children in the neighborhood would be inside and outside showing off and playing with the things we all received for Christmas.
Like every period of time in human history the world was not perfect. We suffered and still have to contend with inequality and injustice and all the other ills that plague our nation and mankind. But the world seemed a little more innocent and God-fearing in those days. And Christmas, while still marred with elements of heathen and pagan practices then as now, still managed to maintain a portion of Christian religious meaning for a large number of families and people.
Today, the world is much different than the one I remember as a child. People are flying airplanes into buildings, sending images of people being beheaded around the world, blowing themselves up in order to kill other people, and even using trucks and cars to run over and kill other people. These things were unhear of and unthinkable growing up in those days. People in my small town knew one another and their families, but today, even in small towns, we are becoming a nation of strangers. Christmas was special then, because at that moment despite all our difference and problems, in the end we recognized our common humanity and God’s good purposes for us all on our tiny planet.
We are losing that sense on oneness and general welfare Christmas symbolizes and we are becoming a more introverted and impersonal society. Christmas was one of those holidays that helped to unite us as a family, neighborhood, community, town, city, state, nation and world. Christmas is about God’s love for mankind and the love we should have for one another. For a growing number of people, Christmas is losing its religious and humanity focus on the peace and well-being of our neighbors and the world. Some of you I will see at Church this Christmas morning as we gather together to attempt to place the focus of this holiday where it belongs. Well, I hope you all have a blessed week and that something good expected or unexpected happens to you and the ones you love. So, until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
18
Dec '17
Fine Points Monday Dec. 18, 2017
18
Dec '17
Greeting FB Members and Friends
So glad that you could join me for another edition of Fine Points and welcome back. Christmas is only a week away. Many people are rushing to get that last minute shopping done and find those last minute deals. For many of those people, Christmas is or has become an end of year shopping spree and excuse to attend and throw parties. They will not attend Church nor do they profess to be Christians. They are among the many who haven’t found Christ in Christmas.
Even for those who do profess to be Christians, so many of us get caught up in the many trappings of the holiday, that Christmas is about the fact that Christ was born in Bethlehem and shepherds and wise men came and visited him and gave him gifts. Yet, the birth of Christ is so much more than that. Christ was born for two reasons: To be the King of God’s people and to save His people from their sins. If we have not been saved from our sins by receiving Christ as our Lord, Savior and King, then we like so many others still haven’t found Christ in Christmas. Instead Christmas is an excuse to do whatever it is we do between Thanksgiving and December 25th.
How could a so-called religious holiday degrade into something that has so many aspects that have nothing to do with the reason Christ was born? The reasons are many and complex, but the primary reason is that it did not originate as a sole religious holiday dedicated to emphasizing the reason Christ was born. Telling people that Christ was born and explaining why He was born are two different things. Instead, the church attempted to supplant pagan and heathen holiday practices and beliefs with Christ. They were successful in changing the name of what people were doing to Christmas but that is all they managed to change.
As a result, Christians are stuck with a holiday named for our Savior many in the world celebrate that barely emphasize the fact that Christ was born and much less the reason He was born. So how should Christians celebrate Christmas? What each individual Christian does is up to him or her, but I would like you to consider that everything we do that does not reflect directly on the fact that Christ was born and the reason He was born, distracts people from finding Christ in Christmas. They believe Christmas is about those things they see us do. We tell people Christmas is about what we do and say it is about.
In an attempt to put the focus on and where it should be, we will and have been having a Christmas Day service. It begins at 11:00 am and I hope you will be there with your family to put the focus where it belongs. Well, I hope you all have a blessed week and that something good expected or unexpected happens to you and the ones you love. So, until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
11
Dec '17
Fine Points Monday Dec. 11, 2017
11
Dec '17
Greeting FB Members and Friends
It’s Monday and the beginning of the work week. So glad that you could join me and welcome back. We were given a nice day to come out and praise and worship the Lord together yesterday and many of you took advantage of that opportunity. While it looked like a snowy weather forecast could interfere with our ability to meet and while some did experience some frozen car doors Sunday morning, the snow didn’t come and some warm water opened the doors which allowed us to have a wonderful worship experience.
I hope our senior members and friends are looking forward to their fellowship meal and trip to McAdenville this Saturday. The meal begins at 3:30 pm. We hope all seniors will come for the meal, even if they decide not to go on the trip. Be sure to get the word around to all the seniors and offer to give them a ride and any assistance they may need to be able to participate in the Senior outing.
We were treated to a visual reminder and announcement about the real meaning of Christmas and our Christmas Day service. Hopefully, it will play the next two Sundays and everyone will have a chance to see it. It is also available for viewing at our website by clicking on the “For Us Is Given” banner. And now for a few final thoughts from yesterday’s message “Faith in a Fallen World”.
The world we now live in has fallen far from the “very good” world God originally made. Death, disease, evil, perversions and many other things plague the once very good world and affect us all. None can escape the consequences of living in a fallen world which has made many people to become resigned to evil as the way of life and death. The overwhelming effects of a fallen world has caused them to see little or no value or hope in resisting evil and living their life devoted to Good and God. But we must have faith and help them to have faith in the promise of the Lord to return for us and not allow us to perish in this fallen world.
And while the pains and disappoints we will experience as a result of the world’s and our fallen condition may at times seem like more than we can bear, we have His word that He will not allow that to happen. He will not put on us more than we are able to bear. So, let’s continue to have faith that we will escape from this fallen cesspool of a world we must live in for now and keep our heads up because our redemption, salvation and deliverance will come. We can have faith in this because we have the Lord’s word on it. Well, I hope you all have a blessed week and that something good expected or unexpected happens to you and the ones you love. Until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
05
Dec '17
Fine Points Monday Dec. 4, 2017
05
Dec '17
Greeting FB Members and Friends
Thanks for joining me on this day after the Lord’s day. I look forward to this time to speak to you and reflect on our journey to glory together. At my age, it is only reasonable to expect that my time of life is running below the half-full mark of time I began life with which creates a greater sense of urgency to finish the work God has charged me to do. By the grace and help of God, we have made significant strides to create a place for people to come and learn about the Lord.
One of our challenges today is to get people to a place to hear and experience the gospel for themselves. I have been giving much thought and prayer to this challenge and I hope I will have something to share with you about it soon. In the meantime, let us begin to identify at least one person we want to see sitting among us each Lord’s day and begin praying for that individual on a daily basis. With God’s help and guidance, we can help lead people to saving faith in Christ. In this way, we will help increase the kingdom of God one soul at a time.
Once that soul is securely seated in the kingdom, they can do for someone else what we did for them and we can begin to identify another person to pray for and help enter the kingdom. This is one of our callings as Christians to spread and share the gospel with as many people as we can while we still can as long as we can. This is one of the things that should bring us great joy and give meaning and purpose to our lives. When Christians are not experiencing this joy and sense of purpose, it could be that we are not “Watching Our Steps” which was the subject of yesterday’s message.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to listen to it again by going to our website or on our mobile app. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to trip someone up and cause them to fall. Oftentimes, it is usually something small we didn’t see or else we would have avoided it. It is usually something small that a person is stumbling over that is causing them to fall from the grace of God. As a result, we don’t experience the joy and divine purpose a right relationship with God brings to our lives. When we fail to watch our steps and fall into disobedience, the seriousness of the fall can have devastating consequences.
No one knows the extent of the injuries before a fall and some never recover from their injuries. This is why it is so important for us who are determined to receive the gift of God of eternal life to measure our steps and think about what we are doing before we do it. For if there is a chance of us falling into disobedience, why take the risk of injury from which we have no idea if we will recover from. God’s blood is precious and He will not allow it to be used in a trifling manner. So then, let’s watch our steps and look out for potential hazards that will cause us to stubble into disobedience that can lead to injury we may not be able to recover from. Well, I hope you all have a blessed week and that something good expected or unexpected happens to you and the ones you love. Until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
27
Nov '17
Fine Points Monday Nov. 27, 2017
27
Nov '17
Greeting FB Members and Friends
Today is Monday, November 27, 2017 and I don’t know about you, but I’m both happy and glad to be alive. I suppose most people are glad to be alive, but not all people are happy. I’m not always as happy as I am at this moment, because at any moment something can happen to dampen my enthusiasm. But it is good to know that the last chapter of our lives will always have a happy ending if our hope and faith is in Jesus Christ.
I was so glad to see all of you yesterday and especially Rev. Byars who is recovering from shoulder surgery. There are several things scheduled for this Saturday I would like to reminder everyone about. First, the Men’s Fellowship breakfast will begin at 8:30 at Golden Coral. The Gospel Choir rehearsal is at 10:00. Our Mid-Year meeting begins at 1:00 with the Young Adults doing a nursing home visit immediately following the meeting. Later that evening, the Young Adults will have a social event at the bowling lanes in Matthews. The Ushers were planning on doing something Saturday as well but rescheduled in light of all that is going on.
As we approach the end of the year, it is easy to get caught up in the idolatrous frenzy of spending for the sake of doing so. Let us be wise and careful over that which the Lord has given us and use it in such a way as to please the Lord. And now for some final thoughts from yesterday’s message “Living With Hope”. Christians choose to believe as Job did that the answer to the age-old question “if a man dies will he live again?” is yes. Today, we have even better reasons to believe it to be so than Job did, because we have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
As I sit here this morning writing this message, I am aware of so much adversity and trials and troubles facing just the members and friends of Flag Branch not to mention all of the other people we share this world with. Living with these things on top of feelings of anger, fear, hatred, envy and all the rest can lead people to do some of the awful things we see happening in our society and around the world. That’s why living with hope that the last chapter of our lives ends with eternal life makes each day so much better to live through.
And when we live with hope long enough, we will get used to some things like Sunday worship, forgiveness, love, mercy, longsuffering, giving and patience among other things. Job lost everything except his wife and she told him he should curse God and die. But Job refused to give up hope that his prayers would be answered and that God would make everything alright in the end. We too must live with hope to the end for that is what our God is expecting for us to do. I hope you all have a blessed week and that something good expected or unexpected happens to you and the ones you love. Until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
06
Nov '17
Fine Points Monday Nov. 6, 2017
06
Nov '17
Greetings FB Members and Friends
Well, it’s another beautiful day that the Lord has given us. If you can see or hear this message and understand what is being said, if you have the strength to dress yourself and feed yourself, if you have food to eat and clean water to drink and bathe yourself, then for all these reasons and so many more this is a beautiful day.
Regrettably, our beautiful days are often mired by wicked and evil acts perpetrated on people who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Houses of worship in the US were once considered safe havens, sacred and off-limits to evil acts such as the one that took place yesterday in Texas where a man entered a Sunday morning worship service and gunned down in cold-blood at least 26 worshippers and left many others clinging on to their lives. I am still trying to process the fact that someone would give $17.4 million dollars for a wrist watch when even a faction of that amount could help to relieve the suffering and improve the quality of life of so many people. Both of these incidents are indicators of how little people have begun to value the lives of other people.
What a great privilege it is to know and worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. As tragic as the killing at the First Baptist Church in Texas was, if the worshippers who were murdered were strapped in and ready to go they had nothing to fear and everything to look forward to. Yesterday’s message, like many messages, was intended to help us to see the need to be prepared to go into judgement at any moment. Sadly, we are living in an increasing dangerous world. Death may be lurking around so many corners that it was not lurking behind before. But we do not need to live our lives in fear of death, but in fear of God and in the hope of eternal glory. This is a beautiful world despite the evil that plagues our daily lives. We have much to live for, much to thank God for, much to enjoy about this present world that is all within the will of God. This is the part of the Christian message we must work to get out.
A growing number of people believe that Christianity is all about restricting my freedom and taking my money. But Christians enjoy a vast array of freedoms all designed by God to make our lives better while helping others to make their lives better. I want to thank all of you in advance for everything you have done, are doing and shall do to honor me for 3o years of pastoral service. I look forward to the activities this weekend and hope everything turns out in a way God will be pleased with. Thank you for your time and until we meet again,
Blessings and Peace
Pastor Jordan
