Balancing Ministry N' Work

I was ready for us to continue our series in Matthew 25 this morning but felt like we should take a break. We will come back to it next week and wrap it up in two weeks as we head into the Christmas season. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There is no agenda, no stress, it is time to be with family, friends, and good food. Before I forget, our door is always open on Thanksgiving. If you are out and about or have no where to go, you are welcome to join us. With Thanksgiving upon us, it seemed fitting to pause and talk about being thankful. We are going to look at two examples this morning starting in Exodus. Exodus 15:1-18 “ 15  Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said: I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted; he has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea. 2  The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3  T...

Last week we wrapped up Matthew 24 and as we move into chapter 25, we find that Jesus is still talking about His second coming. Over the next couple of weeks, we will see that He emphasize key behaviors expected of those who follow Him. Matthew 25:1-13 “ 25  “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2  Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3  When the foolish took their lamps, they didn’t take oil with them; 4  but the wise ones took oil in their flasks with their lamps. 5  When the groom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  6  “In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’  7  “Then all the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8  The foolish ones said to the wise ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’  9  “The wise ones answered, ‘No, there won’t ...

We ended last week with these verses. Matthew 24:42-44 “ 42  Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43  But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. 44  This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” The Lord is coming, and we need to be prepared for it. We will not know the day or the hour, we do not know when our days will be up, we do not know who is watching, and we do not know what in our lives will try to knock Jesus off of the throne of our hearts. We need to remain faithful! We need to stay alert! We need to make our hearts, minds, and every part of our lives His. Psalm 25:4 “Make your ways know to me, Lord; teach me your paths.” If we are following Jesus, if we are living for Him, being missionaries in our personal mission fields, being who He created us...

When we last looked at Matthew 24, we read that when our Lord returns it will not be in secret, in will not be known to only a select group of people, and He will not be in a disguise. Matthew 24:27 “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” When our Lord and Savior returns to this earth it will be a surprise, it will be sudden, it will be scary to many, and will be visible to everyone. There will be no missing His return. Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Jesus’ words mirror what was documented in Isaiah. Isaiah 13:10 “Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine.” Isaiah 34:4 “All the stars in the sky will ...