Take Heart! God Is Still at Work

Were you raised in the church, but stopped reading your Bible and strayed from the Holy Spirit as an adult? If this describes your life, we have some encouraging advice for you in this week’s sermon. Please join us as we study the life of a young man who had strayed far from the Lord.


Scripture: John 3:1-17
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. “

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”


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 God Is the Encourager delivered on Christian Crusaders January 6, 2008:

Jesus has given us an encouraging word. He says, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). He does not say where the Church will be standing when he returns, but it will exist. That promise is not given to any single denomination, but to those who trust him. He will be with them. God is the encourager! (When) we start a new year, it can be exciting. It can be frightening. Just remember – God is the encourager!


Sermons on YouTube Now Available
Log onto www.youtube.com, a free video-sharing Web site, where you can now view four full-length sermons on Christ’s death and resurrection by Rev. Larsen. Simply type “Rev. Larsen, Christian Crusaders” into the search box to find these sermon videos. You can also access YouTube videos on our homepage at www.ChristianCrusaders.org.


On the Light Side
TOP TEN SIGNS YOU MAY NOT BE READING YOUR BIBLE ENOUGH:
10) The preacher announces the sermon is from Galatians, and you check the table of contents.
9) You think Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob may have had a few hit songs during the 60s.
8) You open to the Gospel of Luke and a WWII savings bond falls out.
7) Your favorite Old Testament patriarch is Hercules.
6) A small family of woodchucks has taken up residence in the Psalms of your Bible.
5) You become frustrated because Charlton Heston isn’t listed in either the concordance or the table of contents.
4) Catching the kids reading the Song of Solomon, you demand: “Who gave you this stuff?”
3) You think the Minor Prophets worked in the quarries.
2) You keep falling for it every time when pastor tells you to turn to First Condominiums.
And the number one sign you may not be reading your Bible enough:
1) The kids keep asking too many questions about your usual bedtime story: “Jonah the Shepherd Boy and His Ark of Many Colors.”