Friday, August 26, 2011

How Much Time Do We Have for Christ?

If a relationship between two people is to grow, they must have time for each other. This is true of a relationship between a husband and wife, parents and children, and close friends. This truth also applies to our relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus has a lot of time for us; do we have time for Him?


Scripture: I Peter 2:2-3 and Hebrews 5:11-14
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.


Renewing Reflections
It is our prayer that Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon Meditation delivered on Christian Crusaders July 14, 2002.

Do we know what it is to meditate? Meditation plays a vital role in the Christian’s spiritual growth. The Bible counsels us to meditate on God’s Word. The Psalmist writes, “On my bed I remember you. I think of you through the watches of the night.” (Psalm 63:9) Let us meditate on Psalm 65. . . . God has a word for us. He says, “Take some time every day to be alone with me and meditate on my Word. Then you will be adequately prepared to face life in a broken world.”


About Christian Crusaders
Christian Crusaders publishes a quarterly newsletter called the Crusader. The theme of the upcoming issue, to be published in August, is Celebrate. The Crusader is mailed free of charge to all friends of the ministry who desire to learn more about the Christian Crusaders and receive spiritual inspiration. If you are not currently receiving this mailing and would like to, contact our office at cc@naz.org. You may also call the office toll-free at 1-888 My Faith (1-888-693-2484).


On the Light Side
Time Management
The church wanted to help their congregation cope better with the stresses of modern life, so it decided to offer a course in time management.

Soon after the course was announced, a member telephoned the pastor. “What time does the course start, Pastor?”

Oh, six-ish, seven-ish.”

Thursday, August 18, 2011

God's Word Is Creative

Is the Church a power to be dealt with in our day, or does it not matter much? Imagine spending an hour with one of the builders of the early Church and learning what their greatest power was as they mingled with people of their day. We will talk about that power in this week’s sermon.


Scripture: I Peter 1:24-25
For,
“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord stands forever.”


Renewing Reflections
It is our prayer that Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon What Do We Do With the Bible? delivered on Christian Crusaders January 9, 2000.

When you are led by the Holy Spirit to say the Bible is God's Word, you have direction for living and stability in your life that you would not otherwise have. You sense the presence of Jesus Christ walking with you through life, and you await a victorious death as Christ welcomes you to your heavenly home.


Christian Crusaders Speakers
Would you like to know more about our speakers – Rev. Homer Larsen, who has been Christian Crusaders’ speaker since 1961, and our associate speaker, Rev. Steve Kramer? On our Web site, www.christiancrusaders.org, you will find information in the left-hand navigational bar under About Us, About Our Ministry. You can also find news from the latest issue of our quarterly newsletter, the Crusader. The theme of our next issue is Celebrate. Rev. Larsen writes the lead article for the newsletter.


On the Light Side
ENERGY PUNS & JOKES
• A barefooted man stepped on an electric wire and received a pair of shocks.
• A silly old man is a fossil fool.
• Did you hear about the foolish gardener who planted a light bulb? He thought he would get a power plant.
• A successful politician is a power transformer.
• Wind power is very popular because it has a lot of fans.
• A fuel cell is where the jail keeps gas guzzlers.
• Give me a home where electric buffalo roam, and I'll show you an “ohm” on the range.
• Have you heard about the nuclear physicist who went fission (fishing)?
• The best way to charge a car battery is with a credit card.
• What would you call a power failure? A current event.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Trust and Obey

Can Christians expect to live the same type of life as those who have never met the Savior? St. Peter tells believers in Christ they should not be conformed to evil desires, but live a holy life instead. However, he has some encouragement for unbelievers as well. We find out what he says in this week’s sermon.


Scripture: I Peter 1:13-21
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truths so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,

“All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord stands forever.”


Renewing Reflections
It is our prayer that Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon I Came to Bring Hope delivered on Christian Crusaders December 9, 2007.

This mission has been going on now for 2,000 years and will continue until it has been proclaimed around the world and millions of people have come to confess Jesus as Savior and Lord. That is what is going on today. In this hopeless old world, there is a message of hope for those who trust Jesus Christ. God loves them. He wants all people to be saved. He has established a kingdom, which begins here on this earth and climaxes in the kingdom of heaven. You enter this kingdom by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The carriers of this Gospel are people like you and me who trust Jesus Christ and tell others about him.


ChristianCrusaders.org
Check out our new online store! Christian Crusaders’ Web site offers a place to shop for materials that will uplift and inspire you. Browse among Rev. Larsen’s five-volume DVD video sermon series; his book You’ll Be Surprised What the Lord Can Do, filled with anecdotes and advice on Christian living; or even request an audio copy of a past sermon. These resources, an extension of our radio program, make great gifts, too.


On the Light Side
AS SEEN ON CHURCH BULLETIN BOARDS:

• People are like tea bags - you have to put them in hot water before you know how strong they are.
• Dusty Bibles lead to dirty lives.
• God so loved the world that He did NOT send a committee.
• How will you spend eternity - Smoking or Non-smoking?
• Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long, and the pay is low, but the retirement benefits are out of this world!
• Do not wait for the hearse to take you to church.
• Forbidden fruit creates many jams.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Living With Christian Hope

On what do you base your security for the future? Our families give us security in knowing that, when things go wrong, they will be with us as quickly as can be. Yet, as good as that family is, it can be taken away in death. In this week’s sermon, St. Peter describes a security that can never pass away or be taken from us.


Scripture: I Peter 1:1-9
To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.


Renewing Reflections
It is our prayer that Renewing Reflections will be a blessing in your life this coming week. This quote is taken from the sermon I Came to Bring Hope delivered on Christian Crusaders December 9, 2007.

This mission has been going on now for 2,000 years and will continue until it has been proclaimed around the world and millions of people have come to confess Jesus as Savior and Lord. That is what is going on today. In this hopeless old world, there is a message of hope for those who trust Jesus Christ. God loves them. He wants all people to be saved. He has established a kingdom, which begins here on this earth and climaxes in the kingdom of heaven. You enter this kingdom by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The carriers of this Gospel are people like you and me who trust Jesus Christ and tell others about him.


Christian Crusaders on Facebook
If you are a member of the online social network Facebook, search for “Christian Crusaders” and add the ministry as one of your Friends on the site. By becoming a Facebook Friend of Christian Crusaders, you'll receive online invitations to each sermon. Also, you can send invitations to your other Facebook Friends, suggesting they become a Friend of Christian Crusaders too.


On the Light Side
According to an old time radio historian, Bob Hope traveled to frontline war zones to entertain American troops during five wars, from WWII through Desert Storm in 1991. Speaking to our troops in the Persian Gulf, the 87-year-old entertainer questioned all the attention being given to America’s new radar-invisible bomber: “The stealth bomber is supposed to be a big deal. It flies in undetected, bombs, then flies away. I've been doing that all my life!”