Have you ever forgiven someone 7 times in one day?

• Or how about 49 times in a week? Or 210 times in a month? Or 2,555 times in a year?
• Now you may be tempted to dismiss this as hyperbole or exaggeration, overstatement or embellishment. You may even be tempted to dismiss this as merely rhetoric.
• But let’s not forget that it was Jesus Christ who got the ball rolling on this idea of multiplying by seven when it comes to the subject of forgiveness. It is Jesus Christ who directs our thoughts in this way. His intent was then and is now to push our minds past the human boundaries of “our thoughts” and “our ways” when it comes forgiveness. How far does he want to push us? Until we begin to think like God and obey his will concerning forgiveness.
• The Apostle Paul gives very clear support for this teaching that we are in fact to forgive as God forgives.
• He writes to the Ephesians … Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32 ESV).
• And to the Colossians … Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (Colossians 3:12–13 ESV).
• But when we discuss forgiveness, we do something pretty crazy. We reverse the process. We take God’s truth and make it fit our human standards; we bring it down to something we understand, and more importantly, what we are willing to accept.
• I say this because many not only refuse to forgive 7 or 49 or 210 or 2,555 times, but refuse to forgive even once. Too many times we will forgive only according to the rational processes of our mind and the determination of our will. What do I mean by that? I mean that we, just as Adam and Eve in their rebellion in the garden, believe that we have the right to determine good and evil. We may not realize or admit it, but that is exactly what is happening.
• We, along with probably every church across the land, have discussions as to how we can bring people into our fellowship. The Bible doesn’t have a section on programs and methods that will add members to our church. But the Bible says a lot about sin and forgiveness.
• What if we got that part right?

Easter Sunday – Unworthy Worthy Servants
Luke 17:1-10 

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Luke 17:1-10

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Hello All,

A beautiful day in the neighborhood. Here is this week’s bulletin.

• PDF Bulletin FFC April 16 2017 EASTER

We all have our expectations in life.

• Everyone. You. Me. Everybody. And these expectations dictate the course of our lives, how we live, how we understand God, how we interpret our world. The real question is not whether or not we have expectations, but on what or on whom do we base our expectations. That is the game changer. One way brings salvation and the blessing of God. And every other way brings destruction and the judgment of God.
• This morning we are going to look primarily at a group of people who followed Jesus Christ and longed for the kingdom of God. As they followed Jesus around the countryside of ancient Israel, they observed his saving, transforming work in the life of a no-good tax collector, they heard him state the intent and purpose of his ministry and they celebrated with Him as he rode triumphantly into Jerusalem in fulfillment of OT prophecy.
• And when he spoke … these people hung on his every word.
• And yet … after all of that … within a week … just days from the victory celebration of his grand entrance into Jerusalem, they were screaming, “Crucify him, crucify him.”
• What? What ever could have happened during that week that caused such a sudden and dramatic shift in their attitude?
• Unmet expectations. Unfulfilled dreams. Jesus had let them down. At some point along the way the light bulb had come on, and it occurred to them that this man was not working their plan for the kingdom of God. He had his own agenda. 
• They had supported him and given their “amen” to everything he said and did as long as they thought it fit into their plans. But this man was no Messiah. Not in their eyes. So they joined the angry crowd, “Crucify him, crucify him.”
• This morning we will observe two religious groups: A loud, demanding group who followed Christ for their own selfish purposes. And another group who we hardly notice as they quietly, obediently went about their Lord’s business.

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• An expectation is a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future; a belief that someone will or should achieve something; a belief that something should happen in a particular way, or that someone or something should have particular qualities or behavior; believing that something is going to happen or believing that something should be a certain way.

———————————–

Great Expectations – PALM SUNDAY – Luke 19

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What Are Your Expectations in Life?
It Matters. A Lot.

We all have our expectations in life, good or bad, positive or negative, happy or sad, rich or poor. And we live based on these expectations. Expectations are in fact crucial to our personal relationships. Many couples start out “in love” and their wedding ceremony is well-planned and very impressive, costing thousands of dollars and attended by family, friends and well-wishers. They travel to the Cayman islands for an amazing honeymoon, but then you find out three years later that they have divorced. What happened? Their expectations were not met.

Your friend is a Chevy guy. Why? Because the first pickup truck he bought was a Chevy and they have met his expectations ever since. Or your other friend is a Ford man because the first truck he bought was a Chevy, and he thought it was a piece of junk. It did not live up to his expectations.

We must understand the major part that expectations play in our lives. I think we could say that our expectations “rule the roost.”

So where do we “get” our expectations? What is our source? We must understand the absolute nature and importance of God teaching us through his Word and through his Holy Spirit and directing our lives according to biblical expectations that will never disappoint.

God came to them and they didn’t know it …

The people in our Luke 19 text had misguided expectations when it came to their long-awaited Messiah and the kingdom of God. Their expectations were human-based as opposed to Bible-based, so when the Son of God “visited” them they missed it.

They grumbled as Christ went about his salvation work in the life of Zacchaeus because they did not understand Christ’s true purpose for coming to Earth.

They were very fickle indeed … When it appeared that Christ was going to meet their expectations–give them what they wanted–they cheered, celebrated and hung on his every word.

But merely a week later when they saw that he was not going to deliver to them the kingdom of their dreams, then they screamed, “Crucify him, crucify him!”

Our huge lesson? It is not until we accept God’s plan and purpose over and above our expectations that we truly see and live the blessing of God, the abundant life that Christ promised.

Great Expectations – PALM SUNDAY
Luke 19

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70+ TOMORROW
Oh Yeah!

Hello Everyone,

Here is this week’s bulletin.

• PDF Bulletin FFC April 9 2017

He is a murderer,

a liar and a deceiver.

There is no truth in him.

He is an accuser and a slanderer

and deceives the whole world.

And the people marvel at him.

• Jeremiah the prophet tells us (5:30–31) that “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?
• This morning’s text tells us that “… the whole earth marveled as they followed … and they worshiped …”
• During a future time on this Earth, an actual period of history, during what theologians call the eschaton, the end days, the last days, this person will set up two powerful leaders who will dominate the political, economic and religious landscape, and the whole earth will marvel, be in wonder, amazed.
• Why? How? How does this villain, this dastardly person, get away with this? How does he pull it off? What is his secret? Are people really that gullible?
• Simple. He works an age-old scheme. Works every time. Just ask your favorite politician. He promises to give people what they want. Two things here. First, he tells people what they want to hear. He nurtures the natural, sinful rebellion found in every human since Adam and Eve. He affirms the “sweet lies” of the human heart. And second, he assures them that he will fight for them against their enemies which in this case is God and the people of God.

REVELATION MESSAGE 22 – the unholy trinity: the demon gods of deceit –
Revelation 13

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the unholy trinity: the demon gods of deceit

The Great World Leader …

During this period of Earth’s history, someone will accept the devil’s offer of world domination in exchange for worship. Christ rejected the offer, but not this great world leader who John identifies as “the beast” which arose from the sea. The sea probably signifies the abyss. This man will more than likely be possessed by a very powerful demon or by the devil himself.
But that is not how most of the world will view him. In fact, if TIME magazine is still in existence during this period of great tribulation, then this man will surely receive the award for “Person of the Year!”

• (Matthew 4:8–9 ESV) Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
• (Luke 4:5–7 NLT) Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”

From the very beginning of creation, from his beginning, his creation, the god of this world has tried to dethrone God and take over the planet. The story begins in Genesis and now as the last chapter of the saga unfolds, we see that nothing has changed.

But his time is almost to an end … forever.

REVELATION MESSAGE 22 –The Battle for Earth!
Revelation 13

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Hello All,

Yes, April is here. Yi-haa!

Also our bulletin for this week is here. 🙂

Dave

• PDF Bulletin FFC April 2 2017

God versus the devil.

• Whose side are you on? As complicated as some issues of life become, God communicates the necessary things very clearly. So where do you stand in this fight? Where are you in the eternal, cosmic struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, righteousness versus sin, God and those who follow him versus Satan and those who follow him?
• You do realize that there is a battle raging, don’t you? And that every person who has ever lived on this planet is caught up in a conflict that stretches into eternity.
• We have been given a Book that gives us the details; a holy Book, the Bible, the Word of God. But often, too often, the question is not, “Do you know, but do you want to know?”
• We humans like the gray areas, the fuzzy places. We ask questions like, “Is it really that clear?” Or we hide behind arguments over interpretation and opinion. Peter refers to some of Paul’s writings as hard to understand, but the things that we absolutely need to know are clear and plain.
• But as fallen humans, the sinful beings that we are, we seek cover in ambiguity. After all, how could we know? Or … “Oh, so complex?” Or even better, one of our favorite human escapes … “It’s complicated.” We want the middle ground where we can decide; where we determine what is right and wrong, good and evil, just as Adam and Eve sinned in the very beginning.
• But there is no middle ground. There is a line in the sand.

REVELATION MESSAGE 21- Two Great Signs and War in Heaven
Revelation 12

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