Hello All,

Here is this week’s bulletin.

Dave

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Guest Speakers Next Two Weeks:

• SUNDAY OCTOBER 23: Andy & Jaycie Johnson (and girls—Bella, Gwynnie & Lucy), missionaries with TEAM, are sharing with us in our SS & MW services. We will be taking a love offering for Andy & Jaycie. Don’t miss our potluck meal after church today.
• SUNDAY OCTOBER 30: Richard & Janet Martin will be sharing their most recent trip to Myanmar in the SS and MW services.

Another magnificent fall day! Yay, fall!

Here is our bulletin.

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Message: “Smyrna: The Poor, Rich Church!”
Message Text: Revelation 2:8-11

Jesus Christ: “I have a message for you, a message set in eternity.”

• The words of the first and the last, the One who became dead and came to life. I am the One who was before all creation, and I am the one who will be standing and remain when all else is gone. I am your Lord, Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of kings on earth. I love you and have set you free from your sins by my blood and have made you a kingdom, priests to our God and Father. I am the Alpha and the Omega; I am the One who is and who was and who is to come; I am the Almighty. I have a message for you, a message set in eternity.

Message: “Smyrna: The Poor, Rich Church!”
Message Text: Revelation 2:8-11

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This Sunday—October 16!

Faith Fellowship “Barn” Service & Wiener Roast!

@ 5 pm 

@ Stan & Debbie Dixon’s!

Ya’ll Come Now!

• Wieners, buns and table service will be provided. Bring a dish to share and your own drink. Come for a great time of fellowship.
• Strings accompaniment. Mary Dixon on the keyboard. Yi-Haa!
• Meet at the church parking lot at 4:40 pm if you need a ride or want to follow someone.

Hello All,

Beautiful “day in the neighborhood” this Friday.

Here is our bulletin.

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“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Are we hearing God? Are you hearing God? And before you answer too quickly, I want you to understand that many don’t hear him but they think they do. Many—thousands upon ten thousands—will sit in churches across our land this morning assuming that they are hearing God, convinced that they are doing the right thing, because someone is standing in the pulpit of their church preaching from the Bible. But the problem is that even though the Bible is used, and a lesson is taught, God is not being honored as God. And the word of God is not being honored as the word of God.

How could this be? Is this even possible? In church, all dressed up and looking good, message from the Bible. How could this not be a good thing?

Let’s look at some precedent, an example of this very thing which is available to us in the biblical record in the OT. As crazy or unlikely or preposterous or outside of your religious box as it may sound, we will see from your Bible and mine, that the preacher, the prophet, picks up God’s word, tells lies and … the people love it.

Is that wild or what? But listen to the prophet Jeremiah:

• (Jeremiah 5:31 NIV84) 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?

You may have noticed, probably have noticed, that people love having things their way, whether it is how their burger is prepared or their morality or immorality, as it may be, or their life direction. People love to choose what they believe is right for themselves. Some love to choose what is right for everyone else. People love to have things their way. But Jeremiah asks, what will that person do when the end comes? What will you do when the choice is in God’s hands and no longer yours?

We are in a time of turmoil as a nation, and we will have people, both liberal and conservative, many of them standing in pulpits, telling us what we should do, who we should believe, even who we should vote for. Some will, in the name of God, call us to certain choices. They will quote and misquote Bible verses and demand that we listen to God, telling us that God says this, and God says that. And what you had better do if you are a good person, or a good Christian, or a good whatever their context calls for.

But here’s the thing about speaking for God. If you say that God said it, then you better make sure that he did, or what will you do in the end when God calls you to account? What will you do in the end when God calls you to account for the words and agendas that you pushed in the name of God?

We can collect everyone’s opinion and analyze the data from the news services or from Gallup polls or examine the latest from George Barna, follow Breitbart on the web. Whatever suits your fancy. We can talk to all of our Christian friends and share opinions and read books and attend seminars and listen to all of our favorite preachers.

You’ve heard “last man standing”. Well, how about “last information standing”? Will our information stand up to the judgment of God?

We will not be ready if we are not hearing God!

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

God is talking to us now. Are we listening? What happens in the end is all about being prepared and ready for the end, having the right information, God’s information, before it is too late. The book of Revelation, really the entire Bible, is about preparation, and Revelation is the final chapter in the Book of Divine Preparation, the Bible.

REVELATION MESSAGE 4 –
Revelation-The Final Chapter of Preparation / Revelation 2 / 100916 AM

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Christ exhorts each of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 with those words.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Are we hearing God? And before you answer too quickly, I want you to understand that many don’t hear who think they do. They have convinced themselves, but they have also had help in the convincing. Many—thousands upon ten thousands—will sit in churches across our land this morning convinced that they are hearing God because someone is standing in the pulpit of their church preaching from the Bible.

How can this be? Let’s look at the precedent we have available to us in the biblical record, and I believe that I can state without the least bit of hesitation or exaggeration, that we have overwhelming evidence of this very dynamic. As crazy or unlikely or preposterous as it may sound, we will see that the preacher, or the prophet, picks up God’s word, tells lies and … the people love to hear it.

Listen to the prophet Jeremiah:

• (Jeremiah 5:31 NIV84) 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?

So what will we do when the end comes?

You can collect everyone’s opinion and analyze data from Gallup polls or examine the latest from George Barna or follow social trends at the Pew Research Center. You can talk to all of your Christian friends and read books and attend seminars and listen to all of your favorite preachers.

But will your information match God’s information?

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

What will you do when the end comes? What happens in the end is all about being prepared before the end comes, having the right information before it is too late. The book of Revelation, really the entire Bible, is about preparation, and Revelation is the final chapter in the Book of Divine Preparation, the Bible.

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Scripture Reading … Beginning to end, first and last …

• (Revelation 2:7a NKJV) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
• (Psalm 90:2 NLT) Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.
• (Isaiah 41:4 ESV) Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
• (Isaiah 44:6 ESV) Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.”
• (Isaiah 46:9–10 ESV) Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.”
• (Revelation 1:17 ESV) When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.”
• (Revelation 2:8 ESV) And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: “The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.”
• (Revelation 22:13 ESV) I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

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