Easter Sunday: The Sign of Jonah

We had a great day at church this morning. The Easter message is posted below: Are you waiting to be totally convinced about Jesus before you trust him with anything? Jesus has a warning for skeptics and "religious" (yet disobedient) people alike: God has nothing more to prove to you. When Jesus rose from the dead, it was the sign that proved for all people for all time that everything He claimed and said about Himself is true.

Jesus is alive and He is Lord. Believe it!

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It's Friday... But Sunday is Coming!

Community Good Friday Service

There is a community Good Friday service tomorrow at 11 a.m. at New Seminary Church on Ouachita 1 (follow the race route down Frog Shack, go past the turnaround point, and keep driving until you see it... it is past New Zion Hill Baptist). Lineup of ministers include our pastor, Stephen Suffron, as well as Cedric Walters, Daryl Hope, Shad Porchia, Ralph Porchia, Kurbe Newsome, Carl Todd, and host pastor Roy Smith. http://goo.gl/maps/I1jKa

Questions for Jesus: Why This Waste?

Is worship simply doing things for God or is it something else?  In a story from the last week of Jesus' life before his crucifixion, a woman spent the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars for a few moments' worship.  Everyone said it was a waste (why not give to the poor?!), but Jesus called it beautiful.  It seems to be a role reversal: people defending the poor and Jesus commending extravagance.  Why?  It has to do with what worship really is.  Listen and study this story with us:

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Questions for Jesus: Don't You Care?

Life can be overwhelming-- whether it is the pressures from the world or all the good things we are trying to do for our family and for God, we often feel like we're sinking. How do we know Jesus is with us, that He cares, and that He will come through? That's the question for this week as we look at two stories of when someone cried out to Jesus "Don't you care?"
 
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St. Patrick's "Breastplate"

St Patrick’s Breastplate
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgment Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort, [i.e., at home]
Christ in the chariot seat, [i.e., traveling by land]
Christ in the poop. [i.e., traveling by water]

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

hat-tip to Jason Craig

Arkansas Gets an "F" for Protecting Children from Trafficking

One of the least talked-about but most damaging problems in America (and the world) right now is the trafficking of people (usually women and children) for sexual purposes.  These children and women are moved from place to place against their will and used to sell sex, to no profit of their own.  They are modern-day slaves.  Many organizations are waking up to this enormous problem.

Last week, I challenged our church to take time to love our neighbors, redefining "neighbor" to anyone that God shows you has a need.  Today, I was asked via an email campaign by The Defenders movement to write our governor to encourage him to "raise the grade" in our state when it comes to laws that protect children.  I went to this site: http://raiseyourgrade.org to take action.

I was alarmed to find out that Arkansas gets a failing "F" grade for their anti-trafficking laws!  Arkansas is the only Southern state right now with an 'F' grade.  There is much to be done in Arkansas.  This problem is not just something that happens in the slums of Bangkok or something.  These things happen right in our towns in South Arkansas.

I encourage you to go to the website to learn more about this problem and to take action for yourself.  It is a good opportunity to put God's Word from last week's sermon into action!

Questions for Jesus: Where Can You Get This 'Living Water'?

Unlike Matthew and Luke, which are rich with Jesus' sermons and parables, the Gospel of John focuses on Jesus teaching in the context of conversations.  On Sunday mornings, we have looked at his conversations with crowds in chapters 6 and 8, and one Wednesday night we looked at Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in chapter 3.  Today's question comes from chapter 4, when Jesus has a somewhat unlikely encounter with a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well in Samaria.

In Luke 19:44, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, because they have brought judgment on themselves "because [they] did not recognize the time of God's coming to [them]."

The woman begins by seeing and interacting with Jesus as any other Jewish man, but as Jesus reveals his true identity to her in a way that she can grasp, her eyes are open to who is really visiting with her there at the well.

Questions for Jesus: Who Is My Neighbor?

The greatest command is the command to love God and people. God loves every person. We are commanded to love, as well, but our love is limited. What does God expect in our love for others, and what can we do to open our heart to love people as God loves?

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Questions for Jesus: Why Break Tradition? (Mark 7:1-23)

Religious traditions are our ways of living out and passing on our faith, but over time, many religious traditions lose their original usefulness and become burdensome and even hinder our obedience to God's commands.  Jesus taight his disciples not to concern themselves with some religious traditions of their day.  It was appalling to the religious leaders at the time, and we might ask the same questions: Why not keep doing things the way we've always done them?  Why break tradition?

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