Church Family,

                Since we’ve just finished the Gospel Discernment series I wanted to leave a few encouragements and understandings that I hope will equip you as you continue to be spiritually discerning.

 Gospel Discernment Matters.

In this most recent series, we looked at a portion of that understanding via being more spiritually discerning, ensuring we know what the Gospel is, and by being aware of false teaching in our county so that we can reach people with the Gospel.

 Why Did We Address this Topic?

~ The topics addressed came up in conversations, and meetings were had, from various people from within the church.

As an under-shepherd, it’s served me and the church well to address things that people from within the church are dealing with. And if one person is dealing with an issue, it's likely that others are dealing with it or are affected by it as well. This is why we’re looking at the topic of Grace on Wednesday Nights. We’re the Body of Christ, what affects one of us affects us all.

~ To Follow the Biblical Pattern.

We take our cue from the Bible: The New Testament has 27 books and out of those 27 books, with the exception of Philemon, 26 of them address false teaching/teachers. In some of those letters, false teachers are addressed by name and publicly. From God’s vantage point it’s a high priority to address this topic from time to time because His message of salvation, the Gospel, must be defended when attacked. We must get the Gospel right. It is God’s most important message.

~ We care about our community.

Our community is composed of people– people we love and know. And each one of those people have an eternal destiny. Some of the people you know may be involved in systems within our county that get the Gospel wrong via misunderstandings on baptism and Who God is. As was mentioned in the series, “If we get the Gospel wrong, what god are we worshipping?”, and, “If we get God wrong as to Who He is, then what god are we worshipping?”. We want our loved ones experiencing God and His love for eternity. Continue to ask God for tender heart, a Scripture filled mind, and opportunities to build relationships that lead to Gospel conversations.

 Was it Right for Us to Address This Topic?

Yes, it was right for us to address this topic. Why? So that lies that have eternal consequences can be exposed and so truth can be revealed to, as the Bible communicates, ‘snatch people from the fire’.

Sometimes we’re tempted to judge right or wrong based on the response we’ll get. Ex.: If the outcome feels good, it must be right. Or, if the outcome seems bad, it must be wrong. What’s most helpful in discerning truth is answering the question, “What does the Bible say?”. Answering that question gives us the answer as to if something is right or wrong, true or false. Even if a topic is difficult to address, when we address it we’re being faithful to God and we’re serving ourselves and others well.

 Use This Series As Part of Your Evangelism Tool Box.

This series, as difficult as some of the content may have been to hear, can be used to help us discern between truth and error and it can help us to know the signs of a false Gospel when compared to the Biblical Gospel. And in doing so, the Scripture mentioned in the series can help you to communicate truth. Be a critical thinker without being negatively critical in your approach. Love and truth are necessities in evangelism.

 A Church Needs to Be Known for Teaching and Living the Whole Counsel of God.

Sometimes a church is only known for what they’re against; and that’s not good because that perverts holiness, makes the church devoid of love, and vacuums the life out of ministry and people. Sometimes a church is only known for what they’re for; and that’s not good because a church like that perverts the love of God and makes His love appear as a sappy unChrist-like love, lacks holiness, it can slowly pull people away from the Biblical God. However, when a church teaches, learns, and practices the whole counsel of God we have a balance. A Biblical life is a balanced life.

 Don’t Fear Going Into the Unknown.

If a leader or pastor that you trust (or any other leader for that matter) brings up a point or position that maybe you’ve not heard before, you owe it to yourself to investigate and ask questions. We may be tempted not to go in the direction of the unknown, but when we do- we learn. The Bible shows several examples of people learning something they hadn’t known before. When we do the same, we get to be led by God and get to know Him in a way we may not have before.

Some of you may not have been able to hear the series, Gospel Discernment, yet. If that was you, be encouraged to listen via our website, Facebook page, or our YouTube page as a great portion of this series deals with false teaching with dire consequences in and around our county. For those who were able to be present and listen, I sincerely appreciate you being present. And if you need to re-listen to it, feel free. For all… I’m thankful for your desire to get to know Christ more and for the desire you have for your community to know Christ. As always, if you have questions, let the elders and/or me know and we’ll get together.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Scott Welch

pastor Christ Community Church

Psalm 119:176, ‘I have wandered off like a lost sheep; search for Your slave, For I have not forgotten Your commandments.’

There are times in a Christian’s life where we go from ‘prone to wander’ to ‘wandering’ to ‘wandered off’. We see the pleasures of sin for a season and we fool ourselves in becoming satisfied with them instead of being satisfied in God. In reality when this happens we're not satisfied and we know it. We know it because we as God’s sheep will never truly be comfortable away from the Shepherd. It’s ironic that in times like this, the One person we love is the One person we need but is also the One person we run from. We’re not truly satisfied in times like these because we know the Shepherd is the only One Who is truly good. We’re also not satisfied during times of wandering because we still remember the Good Shepherd’s commandments and that His law is good. One other reason we’re still not satisfied is because our soul cries out for the One Who rescued us from the wolves, Who gave us grace, and brought us into His green pasture… and we know this because our soul cries out, “Search for your slave!”, as Psalm 119:176 says. Even in the midst of our prideful wanderings, we want to be found by Him because we belong to Him, Christ, our Good Shepherd.

When you do your wander, remember that God chose you, called you, and rescued you. Turn back to the green pasture and go back to the Good Shepherd; He has good things for His sheep. But best of all, Christ is there.

Christ’s blessings,

Scott Welch (pastor)

Psalm 107:5-6, ‘⁵ Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. ⁶ Then they cried out to Yahweh in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses.’

                In so many ways, we (God’s Church) are a lot like Israel in the Old Testament. In Psalm 107, God tells about Israel coming out of Egypt, traveling through the wilderness ‘Hungry and thirsty’, and because of that ‘their soul fainted within them’. Likewise when a person becomes born again symbolically speaking, they’ve come out of Egypt. In other words, Christ has delivered that born again person from the penalty of sin, has changed their desires to favor Christ and His Kingdom, and He will keep them eternally. But like Israel going from Egypt into the wilderness, it doesn’t take long until we find ourselves in the wilderness too. Maybe the wilderness could be because it’s a spiritually dry season, a hurt, disobedience to God… there could be any number of reasons. And now we’re hungry and thirsty and our soul is fainting within us. There’s not much life in the wilderness. Enter hope.

We can learn a great deal from the Israelites. What did they do in their wilderness situation? They cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And what did God do? He delivered them out of their distresses. So, what can we do?

 Honestly acknowledge where you are. If you’re in the wilderness spiritually, own it.

 Cry out to God. When your soul faints within you, go to God; cry out to Him. The ‘crying out’ implies a deep desperation. The only way that type of desperation can adequately be met is by God’s Spirit and His Word. If there’s sin to be confessed, confess it. If it’s an issue of simply trusting Him, or you’re hurting, or you’re spiritually dry, etc., let God know.

 Be prepared for the answer. As it pertains to your spiritual life, God promises that He will ‘deliver you out of your distresses’. God may miraculously deliver you instantaneously and if so, praise God. But the answer to being ‘delivered out of your distresses’ may be answered in a way that will require you to grow. And we definitely grow in the wilderness as we trust God. But look at the text: God… ‘HE delivered them out of their distresses.’. It is God that delivers and God who chooses how deliverance comes when we’re in a spiritually dark place. The Bible also communicates that in our spiritual growth (our sanctification) that we are to submit to His Lordship (being obedient to His guidance) and that we are to ‘work out our salvation with fear and trembling’ (continue in faith to obedience to His Word). So we are to partner, or cooperate, with Him in this process. God will give you the power via His Holy Spirit and you obey. What does this process look like? Read and study your Bible. Prayer: we talk to Him, confess sin, ask for help, and praise Him. Repent: turn from sin and turn back to Jesus as is necessary. And then in faith, we obey what we’ve read and studied. One more asset that God give: a trusted Christian friend. This wilderness is a great place to begin to trust in a Christian friend that is as mature or more mature than you; you need someone to help you take the journey.

 Embrace the process during the difficulty for the sole purpose of getting to know Christ more. Will the spiritual dryness go away in one day, 3 weeks, or longer? Who’s to say? But as we keep pressing in faithfully, God will reward your faith and in your pain, you will get to know Him in a way that you hadn’t before… and spiritual dryness will give way to times of refreshing from the Lord. Because you can’t know God’s comfort unless you experience pain, know that this process of pain is where we get the knowledge of knowing the Holy Spirit as our comforter. And knowing God in the comforting way that only He can give, is worth eternally more than this world can offer.

Be encouraged… The spiritual landscape for the Christian is composed of more than just wilderness; there are greener pastures that the Good Shepherd has for you. Be encouraged because He cares for you.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Psalm 81:10-16, “I am Yahweh your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 11 “But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel was not willing to obey Me. 12 So I released them over to the stubbornness of their heart, That they would walk in their own devices. 13 Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! 14 I would quickly subdue their enemies And I would turn My hand against their adversaries. 15 Those who hate Yahweh would cower before Him, And their time of punishment would be forever. 16 But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.””

We Christians have a lot in common with the Old Testament nation of Israel. We are called and chosen by God, they were called and chosen by God. He blesses us, He blessed them. We disobey God, they disobeyed God. We repent, they repented. And God’s love is steadfast. But there is a truth, among many, that we see in Psalm 81 and that is if we open our mouth wide, God will fill it. In other words, if we operate in faith, God will reward our faith; As we obey, we will see God in His good faithfulness to us. There is no end to the blessings that God has for His people. He desires to give us good things because He himself is good. It pleases Him to have a faithful people. And when His people are faithful, we are happy.

As we approach this new year, approach it in faithfulness and obedience to God. Expect God to be good, because He is. Expect that even in the midst of difficulty, He gives us joy. Expect His great faithfulness.

Psalm 1:1-3, ‘1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the way of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of Yahweh, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.’

Christ’s Blessings to you in your new year,

Pastor Scott Welch

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 6:60-67, ‘60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 The Spirit is the One who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” 66 As a result of this many of His disciples went away and were not walking with Him anymore. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go?”’

What Do You Fear?

Have you ever noticed that when the Name of Jesus Christ is spoken in public by some Christians (not all, but some) that sometimes the voice gets quieted as His Name is uttered? I have; and I believe I’ve been guilty of that myself. Why? Is it because I’m ashamed of Christ? Paul, in Romans 1:16, implies that the potential for that to happen is there. Is it because I’m afraid that I’ll offend someone because they most likely don’t have a saving relationship with Him? Maybe. Is it because I don’t want to be too pushy? The reason could be all three or more. What Jesus said in John 6:65, “… no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” apparently was so offensive that people who actually followed Him walked away from Him. The point is, we don’t want to offend. We fear we may lose… a friendship, status, ego.

What We Forget…

  What we forget is that Jesus, the Biblical Jesus, is by nature offensive to a world that does not know Him. We know He is love and we know He is gracious. We know this. Yet the Lord perfectly holds all of those attributes as well as being perfectly holy. And holiness is what makes the unredeemed person shrink back. Sure, Jesus may be tolerated in certain circles for a moment like at a dinner time prayer or when an almost non descript phrase is spoken like, “God helped me with that!”. But the message He brings and His full counsel (the entirety of the Bible) is offensive. And we forget that. Remember, God says in His Word that there is a reason that He is offensive…

1 Corinthians 2:14, ‘The natural person (the unsaved) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.’

Matthew 24:9, “Then they (the unsaved) will deliver you (Christ’s disciples) to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My Name.”

The very Name of God, knowing that He is the Savior, implies there’s something that we need to be saved from. The very title of God, Lord, implies that we must (and will eventually) submit to Him. Neither of these is something a person apart from Christ enjoys considering. We forget the human nature is like that– rebellious. And so when we think about furthering our witness about Christ with someone, we get caught up in what might be a denial of Christ on their part. 

What We Need To Remember…

Simply put, people without Christ are naturally offended by Christ. And when you bring His Name and truth to bear, it is greatly possible, because of all that Jesus is, you will offend. But remember this, too… God is good and it is His desire to save, to rescue, to make things right, to forgive. Remember His compassionate heart when He says in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out.”. Though people will turn Him away, they may also follow Him. He has good things for those that belong to Him: salvation, fellowship in dark times, and continual blessing. So what do we do when those that we’re trying to reach are offended?

Our Response to Offenses

Remember Truth

John 6:67-69, ‘67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”’ 

Trust God

1 Peter 2:23, ‘When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to Him (God) Who judges justly.’

Rejoice

Matthew 5:11-12, “11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me (Jesus). 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in Heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Even though Christ is offensive to those who are in a current state of rejection, His heart is that people would come to Him. And our joy is to partner with Him in that process. Remember the reality of our calling to proclaim the Gospel, but also remember that we serve a compassionate God Who, while He bled and died on a cross for sinners, we (in our former disobedience) were in that number that came to Him for forgiveness.

Onward In Christ,

Scott Welch

pastor

1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ‘³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,’

                I’ve been a Christian for just over 31 years and in that time, I’ve found very few churches, church para ministries, ministers, pastors, and/or people that regularly go to church that actually know what the Gospel is. There are some, but when I say very few, sadly I mean ‘very few’. Why is this the case? I believe the responsibility rests on the pastor, he’s the one who is responsible to properly feed Christ’s sheep. But it also rests on the individual to take responsibility to receive the Gospel. If you go on many church and parachurch ministry websites, you won’t find the Gospel. And understand, the main reason a church or a para church ministry exists, (or should exist), is because of the Gospel. There’s a thought in military aviation, “Military aviation is unique from private & commercial airliners because military aircraft carry bombs, missiles, and guns. Without that capability and use of weaponry, they’re simply a commercial airliner.”. In the same way, a church or ministry without the Gospel or the proclamation of the Gospel in all they do is simply a social club. Period. And a church or a ministry without the Gospel or it’s proclamation begs the question, “Should it really even be called a church or a ministry?”.

There are several components to a church, but the main component is Christ and His Gospel. And if you truly don’t have the Gospel and are calling yourself a Christian, a church, or a ministry, then really… what are you doing… what’s the point? If you look at any company’s website, or go into their brick and mortar building, upon entering they will tell you via a web page, pamphlet, large sign on the wall, etc., who they are, what they do, and why they do it. Some churches start in that direction, which is good; but when it comes to the main thing, the Gospel, they’re simply lacking as there is no Gospel mentioned whether on their website, sermons, or from the pastor or people. Why? I don’t know the motives but here are some thoughts: Some may not want to offend, an oversight, fear, bring people in with slick marketing, they’d rather promote the church or ministry, etc., I don’t know. However I do know this, it’s a problem nation wide.

What about the individual person? Let’s say a person who is a Christian (has the Gospel/has been born again) but never proclaims it and doesn’t have plans to deliver it. That would be like a ship holding precious cargo without ever having a destination. But honestly, if you have as the Bible says, ‘this treasure in your earthen vessel’, (if you truly have the Gospel), why wouldn’t you have a plan to share it? I believe what the church forgets is that we are just the shell of a vehicle that God uses while His Gospel is the inner working (the engine and all the parts) of the shell of the vehicle. What matters most is the Gospel inside, not the vehicle. And, what is more alarming, is that there may not be the Gospel resident in a church and in people who claim the Name of Christ. Could this be a main reason why people don’t share the eternal hope of Christ… because they really don’t know Him or His Gospel? Maybe.

In just the past year, below in italics are examples of what I’ve heard from ministers when a Gospel presentation has been made or there’s an opportunity for a Gospel presentation. Next to the italicized statements is my commentary about those statements. Understand that the context of these examples are from sermons calling a person to come to Christ for eternal forgiveness and not for existing Christians to grow closer to God…

 “Accept Jesus in your heart.”

That’s a part of the application, but it’s not the Gospel. To the lost person, that should bring up several questions: Why should I accept Jesus into my heart? Who is Jesus? What does it mean to accept Jesus into my heart? What’s the context?

 “Live in such a way that when at the end of this life we will see Jesus. Run the race to obtain the prize.”

It’s Scripture; but it’s Scripture taken out of context. This ‘Gospel presentation’ is based fully on works and not God’s grace. It’s not the Gospel.

 “Make peace with your Creator.”

How? How does someone make peace with their Creator? Who is the Creator? Why should I make peace with this Creator? Again, this is works and not grace. And again, it’s not the Gospel.

And sadly, repeatedly, and is the norm… no Gospel presentation is made when there could’ve (and should have) been one made.

In the above examples (and many more that aren’t mentioned) there’s no cross, no blood, no perfect life of Jesus, no death, no tomb or resurrection, no sin to be repented of, no crying out for mercy, no wrath of God from which we need to escape, no love, and no grace. Understand, this isn’t an article to disparage any one certain person or denomination, but it is to sound an alarm. If we can’t find the Gospel in Christ’s Church at any given time, then as Jesus said, we’ve lost our salt. We need the Gospel to be saved; it’s that simple. Not a quippy saying, not a slogan, not a feeling… we need the Gospel to be saved.

Within the Gospel is the only rescue plan of God in which sinful mankind can be forgiven from sin through the perfect Person and work of the God-man Jesus Christ.

So what is the Gospel? The Gospel is the following:

 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ‘³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,’. That is the Gospel, or, Good News.

To explain the Gospel, I’d like to offer the following from 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:

Vs. 3, ‘… our sins’.

- We were born in sin and our sins miss God’s perfect mark of moral perfection. When we sin we rebel against and hurt Him and we hurt others and ourselves. So we need to find out Who God is. He is: Perfectly: Triune (a Trinity– God the Father, God the Son {Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit}), Holy, Righteous, Wrathful, Loving, Gracious, Merciful. We find these attributes in the Bible in Matthew 3:13-17, Isaiah 6:1-10, Psalm 14:17-19, Romans 1:18, 1 John 4:16, Psalm 145:9.

- Who we are...

God’s Creation & Image Bearers of God, Sinners. Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3:1-6, Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23, 1 John 3:4, James 2:10

- What the punishment is for being a sinner and for sinning...

Eternal death and receiving God’s just wrath in Hell for our unpardoned sins while being separated from God’s Love. Romans 6:23, Revelation 21:8

All of this tells us Who God is, what sin is, who we are, and why the unforgiven are punished justly.

Vs. 3-4, ‘³ … Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,’

What the Gospel is…

There is Good News of eternal life by being rescued through the forgiveness of sins and being made right with God by Jesus Christ’s perfect life, death, burial, and resurrection.

John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:3-5

Between hearing the Gospel and choosing whether or not to receive Christ and His redemptive work on our behalf, we need to consider the cost (consider what following Jesus will entail). Luke 14:25-33

How to Properly Respond to the Gospel...

Place your faith in Christ alone, repent, and receive forgiveness from God.

Mark 1:14-15, John 3:16, John 3:36, Romans 10:9-13

For a more in depth look, go to:

www.loveled.org/why-we-need-jesus

It’s my hope that this helps to not only see the problem that our country, and world, faces and why it faces it, but how we can better our presentation of the Gospel.

In Christ,

Scott Welch

pastor

1 John 3:13, ‘Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.’

       Should we, as Christians be surprised from the onslaught of evil targeting of Christ, Christianity, and the Church? From the subtle to the ‘in your face’ demonic presentation of the Super Bowl half time shows, to the blatant blasphemy of the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympics and the perverted use of gender to have an advantage in the Olympics, there is no doubt to any rational person that Jesus Christ is in the crosshairs of a real devil, real demons, and people who hate Christ. So again, should we be surprised? The Bible communicates that we shouldn’t be surprised. The world system and those who are in it hate God and hate the people of God.

John 15:19, ‘If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.’

This what they do because this is who they are. Why… why do they hate so much and why do they act out, sometimes without regard?

1 Corinthians 2:14, ‘The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.’

1 John 5:19, ‘We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.’

Romans 8:7, ‘For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.’

Whether or not this is the era when Christ will return and subsequently 2 Timothy 3:13 will come into effect, ‘… while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.’, understand that those who do not know Jesus and are not known by Him will hate God and His people– despite what era it is. The hate will manifest in large and vibrant ways, (such as what happened in the 2024 Olympics). But hate against Christianity will also manifest as quietly as your very moral next door neighbor (who would give the shirt off his back) politely rejecting your invitation to talk about Christ or to go to Church.

HOW DO WE RESPOND TO EVIL AND HATE AGAINST JESUS CHRIST & HIS CHURCH?

Don’t be surprised; in fact, expect hate.

1 John 3:13, ‘Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.’

Receive your blessing and rejoice.

Matthew 5:11-12, ‘11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’

Even in evil times, God is sovereign.

Psalm 22:28, ‘For kingship belongs to the Lord, and He rules over the nations.’

Pray for the lost to be born again.

Romans 10:1, ‘Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.’

Love people. Whether they are your enemy or a beloved family member that doesn’t know Christ– love them with the love of Jesus. This includes loving the worst of the worst.

Luke 6:27, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”

Give people the Gospel.

Mark 16:15, ‘And He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation.”’

1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ‘3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,’

Be faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:1-2, ‘This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.’

Until Christ returns, evil will be present in this world. But, how we respond is extremely important on so many levels. It’s incumbent upon us to remain faithful but take heart, God is ever faithful and remains sovereign.

Pastor Scott Welch

Christ Community Church

Psalm 31:24, ‘Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! ’

As the psalmist puts it in Psalm 31:24, ‘Be strong and let your heart take courage…’. Many people look for strength but look in the wrong places. So how can we be strong and take courage? We look at what the psalmist wrote in the whole of Psalm 31.

We can be COURAGEOUS because we TAKE REFUGE in the Lord.

Vs. 1, ‘In You, O Yahweh, I have taken refuge;’ & vs. 20, ‘You hide them (Your people) in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man;’

We daily commune with God by reading His Word and praying to Him. Doing those things reminds us from where our help truly comes. As we find refuge in Him, the rest of verse 1 and verses following, (2-4), we find we won’t be ashamed, we’ll be protected, He’ll listen to us, save us, He will lead & guide us, He will help us to avoid traps, and we find that He is our strength. We find courage from God because we are safe in Him.

We can be COURAGEOUS because we TRUST in the Lord.

Vs. 5, ‘Into Your hand I commit my spirit;’ & Vs. 14, ‘But as for me, I trust in You, O Yahweh,’

There is nothing more valuable to a person than their soul, as we will live forever. In this verse, the psalmist shows that He is completely trusting in God by committing the most valuable thing to Him. We find courage from God because we can trust Him.

We can be COURAGEOUS because we REJOICE & are GLAD in the Lord.

Vs. 7, ‘I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,’

God knows every trouble that we go through and vs. 7 states. But even though terrible things may come our way (vs. 7-13), we know that God will never cast us off. Therefore, we can truly be glad and rejoice in Him. We find courage from God because we can celebrate Him.

We can be COURAGEOUS because the Lord is perfectly GOOD.

Vs. 19, ‘How great is Your goodness,’

Since God is perfectly good, we can know that ultimately good will win. Knowing the outcome in the battle of good and evil gives us courage. In other words, when we know God will win and He is for His people, we can have great courage in that truth.

We can be COURAGEOUS because the Lord LOVES His people.

Vs. 23, ‘Oh, love Yahweh, all you His holy ones!’

The Bible lets us know that we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). God’s perfect love is the one thing that can give us the courage to face anything. When we are in a battle and we know that He loves us, we know that no matter what losses we may endure we have, and will have, His love. Without His love, the universe ceases. But with His love, the Bible proclaims that all things are possible.

May you find courage in Christ today, 

Pastor Scott Welch

Psalm 25, ‘To You, O Yahweh, I lift up my soul.’

We lift our soul to God when we first come to Him for eternal forgiveness.

We lift our soul to God when we grow spiritually.

We lift our soul to God when we cry out to Him in need.

We lift our soul to God when we need grace.

We lift our soul to God when we mourn in grief.

We lift our soul to God when we need to be comforted.

We lift our soul to God when we seek truth.

We lift our soul to God when we are in pain.

We lift our soul to God when there is no where else to go. As the Apostle Peter answered Jesus in John 6:68, ‘Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.”’

We lift our soul to God when we need wisdom.

We lift our soul to God when we need a reminder of His love.

We lift our soul to God when we need to persevere.

We lift our soul to God when we have come to the end of ourselves.

We lift our soul to God when we are reminded that He is, in fact, our everything.

Christian, be encouraged that you have access to Jesus to lift your soul up to Him always…

‘But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’ Ephesians 2:13.

Lift your soul to Christ always.

Christ’s Blessings,

Pastor Scott Welch

*Colossians 1:17, ‘… And in Him (Christ) all things hold together.’

                There is a thought in our culture that God will never give us more than we can handle. However, when we look at the raw Biblical examples and difficult life experiences, we find that this sentiment just isn’t true. Maybe this thought comes from a sense of autonomy, that we’re totally in control; and therefore if we’re in control, maybe God has stayed His hand. After all, God would never challenge or bring pain into our lives... would He? The truth is so much deeper than what we may have thought.

In Acts 17:28, the apostle Paul conversed with people in Athens who were not believers in God and he said, “for in Him (God) we (all of humanity) live and move and exist”. Literally speaking from the original Greek, all humanity is: created by God, caused to move by God, He is the cause of why we live, and the reason for our continued being is found only in God. When we pair that with *Colossians 1:17, we find that God is a necessity in our lives not only for surviving microscopic attacks that constantly bombard us, but also for doing something as simple as pushing a vacuum cleaner. Apart from God, all things implode and cease to exist. The truth is that we need God for everything we encounter. At the very foundation of life from conception to death, God always gives humanity more than we can handle… and Job (from the book of Job) would agree. But why?

There are 2 reasons humanity is given more than we can handle:

1. To show our utter dependence on God in all ways (physically, mentally, emotionally, and most importantly... spiritually).

2. To give God glory because He is humanity’s giver and sustainer.

Are you depending upon God from everything from breathing to salvation in Jesus Christ alone?

Are you giving glory to God by thanking Him for giving us our needs and for sustaining us?

Christ’s Blessings,

Scott Welch, pastor

2 Timothy 2:11-13, ‘¹¹ It is a trustworthy saying: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; ¹² If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we will deny Him, He also will deny us; ¹³ If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.’

When we say, “God is faithful.”, we mean that He truly is faithful. But, like the phrases, “I love you.”, or. “I’ll be praying for you.” can lose their potency for various reasons, (including using those terms flippantly), the phrase, “God is faithful.”, can fall into that same category. The phrase could be said so much that it has the great potential to not be taken as seriously as God intends. This phrase out of 2 Timothy 2:13 is a promise from God; so let’s look at the weightiness of this great promise.

The word ‘faithless’ in vs. 13 has a deep convicting meaning. The Greek for the word faithless is ‘apisteō’, (AH-PIH-STAYOH), and its literal meaning for this particular verse is, ‘to betray a trust, be unfaithful’. Think about that. When people reject God due to being born in sin and choosing to sin, they literally betray Him (our Creator) and in the process people who haven’t trusted in Christ are unfaithful to Him. God has offered His Son and His Son’s atoning sacrifice. To be apart from a saving relationship in Christ, (to be lost), is to have affections for something other than Christ while at the same time having no affections for Christ. Those who are in that state are choosing to have faith in what they choose over God to satisfy themselves in place of God and what He has for them. When people continue to be in a state of lostness, they’re saying, “My affections are for a cheap substitute over God and His goodness.”. And when we do that, Timothy was right to pen the words, “… we are faithless.”. In other words, people apart from Christ have betrayed the trust of God and are unfaithful to Him, their Creator. But, God has grace… a more redemptive plan… a more excellent way.

The word ‘faithful’ in 2 Timothy 2:13 has a deep meaning as well, but it also has an all-encompassing meaning that reassures God’s people that He is in fact faithful; and this gives us cause for eternal relief. The Greek for faithless is ‘pistos’, (PIH-STOSS), and its literal meaning for this particular verse is, ‘trusty, faithful’ and more specifically, ‘God, abiding by His promises’.

Now, before we move onto the fact that God is indeed faithful to His children, we need to recognize the fact that God is true and true to Himself; so much so that Timothy reports about God in 2 Timothy 2:13 that, ‘He cannot deny Himself.’. Understand that this is linked and has its foundation in vs. 12. God is faithful. But God is not only faithful in the things that appeal to us (eternal life, the goodness of God), but God is also faithful in all things. Remember, from His own self proclamation God says in John 14:6, “… I am the Truth,”. God is faithful to perform what He has said which includes redemption and condemnation, all things pertaining to judgement and clemency, wrath and grace, holiness and the carrying out of righteousness, and everything in between. As the Scripture says, “Will not the judge of all the Earth do right?”. God cannot deny Himself because all Who He is, His Name, His reputation are bound by His unique perfection. It is impossible for God to do anything but remain faithful to Himself, and therefore He cannot deny Himself, Who He is and what He does. He is trustworthy. And we need to be thankful that God is truthful, that He keeps His Word, that He is indeed faithful in all things and not just the things that appeal to us.

As we circle back to the word ‘faithful’ in the phrase, ‘God is faithful’, in 2 Timothy 2:13, we need to look at verses 11-12 as foundational verses for vs. 13 which state, ‘¹¹ It is a trustworthy saying: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; ¹² If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we will deny Him, He also will deny us;’. God is faithful, there is no doubt about that. Paul says in vs. 11, “if we died with Him, we will also live with Him.”. That is an absolute. God is faithful and God is faithful to His people. If we have repented (denied ourselves/died to ourselves and turned to Christ) and placed our faith in Christ alone, we will live eternally with Him. And then in vs. 12, “If we endure, we will also reign with Him;”, Paul communicates the truth that God’s people will endure (this is what God’s people do) and so as a result, we will reign with Him for eternity. Beloved, God is faithful to keep that promise. But as we saw earlier in vs. 13 and now with vs. 12 being the foundation of vs. 13, we see that Paul also wrote, “If we will deny Him, He also will deny us;”. The Lord will deny those who turn away from Him.

The fact is that God is faithful. And the point of 2 Timothy 2:11-13 is that no matter what and in all things, God is faithful and abides to all of His promises. He keeps His promises. When people reject God, they are rejected by Him. When God saves people, He saves them and keeps them. God is faithful to do all that His Word says. He is faithful to minister His people, to heal the broken hearted, and to bring justice whether now or at judgement day. All of this and everything that happens in between is His faithfulness in action. As the Scripture says about God’s faithfulness, “It is a trustworthy saying.”. God is faithful.

Christ’s Blessings,

Pastor Scott Welch

Jeremiah 31:25, ‘For I satisfy the weary soul and fill up every soul who wastes away.’

      There are times when we get so weary that we just want to fall apart, cry, and hide away. As Christians, one of the many wonderful things that God brings to our relationship with Him is that He calls out what the problem is. He not only knows that weariness will happen, but He calls it out for what it is. And, God is honest about what will happen and where we are emotionally. He knows, and lets us know, that we will get weary. What are some of the many ways we become weary?

WE GET WEARY WHEN MY EXPECTATIONS ARE UNMET.

The very definition of stress, it’s been said, is when the point at which we realize our expectations will not be met. What, or who, are we building our hopes on? What expectations do we have? Are we expecting these expectations to be met by others… or ourselves? We get let down again and again by ourselves and by others. No matter who is the cause of our stress, we get weary as the stress mounts.

WE GET WEARY BECAUSE OF SIN.

One of the greatest markers of knowing that you belong to Christ is that you mourn over sin. If you didn’t have a saving relationship with God, there wouldn’t be a struggle with sin. Certainly, you mourn and get weary over the sin of others; but you mourn and get weary more intensely over your own sin. The closer you grow to Jesus, the more you see His holy love for you. The more you see His holy love for you, the more you see that while God despises sin, He loves you and deeply desires that your love for Him grows. As your love for Him grows, the holier you become practically. In Romans 7:24, the apostle Paul understands the hatred for personal sin. We see this hatred and despondency when he cries out, ‘Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?’. We know that God knows sin is a definite impediment, a huge pothole, to growing closer to Christ. As a result of sin, our own and the sin of others, and the longer we live in this world… the more weary we get.

WE GET WEARY IN THE WORK.

For the Christian, the work that goes into bringing the Gospel to people, whether in evangelism or discipleship, won’t end until death or the return of Christ. Sin never takes a holiday, the flesh, the world and the devil continue to deceive, and death is always at work. And as we labor to ensure the Gospel is working in our personal lives and that it’s being brought to others, we know that Gospel work can get us to the point of being weary. Whether we’re financially paid or volunteering, the work of the Gospel is difficult. But God says about this in Galatians 6:9-10, “⁹ And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. ¹⁰ So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.’ . God has rewards for His people.

WE GET WEARY WAITING FOR CHRIST’S RETURN.

The apostle John penned the following in Revelation 22:20, ‘“Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.’ He let us know that Jesus is coming quickly and with his “Amen”, John affirms Christ’s return. But not only that, John prayerfully says, “Come Lord Jesus.”. It’s a prayer that He knows will come to pass; Jesus Christ will return. But for now, the Bible says that creation groans (Romans 8:22). Why? Because we live in a sin condemned world. But for the Christian, like John, we know that there will be a day when Christ will return and He will make all things right. But in the meantime, we groan and we get weary in the waiting.

YOUR WEARINESS IS PURPOSEFUL.

Notice in Jeremiah 31:25 that it is possible that in our weariness God will allow us to waste away. But take heart, God’s providence is working. Like everything else in God’s economy, your weariness is purposeful; it has a purpose. Remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane; He was weary in His humanity. But His weariness drove Him to the Father where He would be satisfied in communion with His Father. Ultimately, for all the various purposes that God has for us in our weariness, isn’t that the main purpose for being weary… to bring us to the Father?.. to lean on Him, to trust in Him afresh, to collapse and say, “You revitalize my soul. I’ve learned, again, that task can only be done by You.”? How else will He fill us as we waste away, unless we go to Him?

PRACTICE GRACE.

Many times when we get weary it’s, again, because of stress; our expectations haven’t been met. And many times, more often than not, we have the potential to give ourselves a pass more than others. But hear the Word of the Lord as to how God the Holy Spirit can work grace in you to give to others:

Colossians 3:12-15, ‘¹² So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; ¹³ bearing with one another, and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. ¹⁴ Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.’

If there’s a time when you complain about someone, do you take the same amount of time to tell God how thankful you are for that person? Practice grace in your relationships.

BUT- GOD WILL SATISFY MY WEARY SOUL.

 God will employ Himself to satisfy your weary soul:

Psalm 119:41, ‘May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me, O Yahweh, Your salvation according to Your Word;’

 God will use His Word, primarily, to satisfy your soul:

Psalm 119:50, ‘This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your Word has revived me.’

 God will use prayer to satisfy your weary soul:

Philippians 4:6-7, ‘⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

 God will use others to satisfy our weary soul:

2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ‘³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.’

In your weariness, God is your source to satisfy and fill you.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

The Christian has many reasons to live for Christ; here are just a few.

WE ARE AWESTRUCK

Psalm 90:2, ‘Before the mountains were born Or You brought forth the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.’

                God has always been, always is, and always will be. There was never a time that God did not exist and there will never be a time when He ceases to exist. God is self existent; as we’ve learned in our ’WHO GOD IS’ series, this is the ASEITY of God. God exists by His own power eternally. This should invoke many fantastic thoughts. One thought would be the following: God being the only One to possess aseity, this should invoke terror. Think about it; to think that we as creatures could even think about sinning (and actually sin against Him) against One Who is infinitely powerful enough to have no beginning or end is just mind boggling. And beyond that, God chooses to exercise patience towards us in the midst of our rebellion. But, God’s aseity should also invoke wonder, majesty, and thankfulness as this same Being goes beyond patience and provides salvation. God’s aseity should provoke us to be awestruck and all that being awestruck encompasses.

WE WERE GIVEN CHRIST

Romans 5:6, ‘For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.’

       God doesn’t owe mankind anything. And yet, even when we endure pain He affords us the privilege to come to Him to get the comfort and help we need. He is benevolent and beyond that, God is a Savior by nature. We who deserve eternal death and wrath are given Christ. As Titus 3:5-7 says, ‘⁵ He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ so that having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.’.

WE HAVE POWER OVER SIN

        The same power that worked in Jesus to conquer death is the same power that now works in us, (Christians), to have victory over sin. As we place our faith in God, we ask the Holy Spirit to work His power in and through us to choose against sin and actively choose and carry out obedience to Him.

Romans 6:8-14, ‘⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, ⁹ knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. ¹⁰ For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives to God. ¹¹ Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, ¹³ and do not go on presenting your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.’

While there are many more reasons to live for Christ, these few are good starters and healthy reminders of what an amazing God we have. He is worthy to be praised.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Christ Community Church

Proverbs 2:6, ‘For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;’

James 1:5, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.’

So you’re a Christian parent or grandparent and your kids and/or grandkids are school age (elementary to even college) and you’re trying to, as the Bible says, “Train up a child in the way they should go.”. BUT– we live in a culture that says wrong is right/right is wrong, young children are allowed to have trans-sexual/reassignment surgery apart from parental consent, same gender intimate relationships are deemed fine by the culture even for children under the age of 18, kids are allowed to identify as a girl if they’re a boy and the other way around, and so on and so forth. Christian parents and grandparents, you have a weighty battle against you that has the media, social media, governmental systems, and social circles that are levied against you, your children, and Biblical truth.

You need to understand that the LGBTQ lifestyle has found its way into mainstream culture and has been accepted as normal. It has methodically and cleverly indoctrinated people into an anti-moral/anti-biblical culture as the Bible said it would, (Romans 1:24-27). It’s not just adults who’ve accepted the LBGTQ+ lifestyle, but children have followed suit that this lifestyle is acceptable and is the norm. If you’re a Christian, you know it’s not the norm… it’s far from it.

HOW do you protect your child from the LBGTQ+ lifestyle and have them see the value of loving Jesus Christ? The same as addressing any other anti-Biblical philosophy...

 Believe what you see.

If the culture is selling you and your family an anti-Biblical message, know that it means to hurt and not help while disguising itself as the answer you need. Don’t snuggle up close to it, don’t coddle it and make it a part of who you and your family are… dismiss the rhetoric entirely as a lie and embrace Biblical truth.

 Hold fast to the Truth.

God’s word is eternal; it will remain forever while this culture will morph into something else. Hold fast to what God says. There’s a reason why God’s Word says He’s a strong tower.

 Ensure that the church you’re a part of teaches the whole counsel of God.

This means several points:

~ Biblical faithfulness and exposition of the Scripture.

~ has a stance against the LGBTQ+ lifestyle.

~ loves/prays for/shares Biblical truth with those who are enslaved in the LGBTQ+ lifestyle whether they declare themselves to be homosexual or are ‘allies’ of those who practice homosexuality in it’s various forms.

~ clarity in proclamation of the Gospel. The Gospel is the only thing that will give anyone true freedom whether from gossip or homosexuality.

 Have open-ended conversations with your child.

~ Your child needs to know that they can approach you about this (and any other topic) again and again.

~ Their questions are allowed to be limitless while your answers are to have a foundation of love and Biblical truth given graciously.

 Teach your children to treat their LGBTQ+ friends kindly as they are image bearers of God, while at the same time guarding their own hearts as to how they’re influenced.

~ Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

~ Matthew 7:12, “Therefore, in all things, whatever you want people to do for you, so do for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

~ Proverbs 4:23 , “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”

~ 2 Corinthians, 6:14-18, ‘14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 16 Or what agreement has a sanctuary of God with idols? For we are a sanctuary of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them;’.

You as a parent will need to teach your child how to love their friends while not approving of their lifestyle.

~ Matthew 22:39, “And the second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’”

 Give your child a plan of action.

~ have them pray for those they know that are deceived by this lifestyle.

~ encourage them to bless those they know that are deceived by this lifestyle. Love shown from one of God’s servants is a powerful tool that God uses to set people free.

~ teach them to invite their friends to church and how to give their friends God’s truth and His Gospel. Evangelism isn’t just for church leaders and adult Christians, it’s for anyone who is a Christian regardless of age.

~ work with them on the specifics as to how your plan will work; each situation is unique.

This is difficult territory to navigate; but it needs to be navigated with humility and the love of Jesus and not condemnation. As you and your child seek God for His answers, you can be sure that God will walk you through these complicated situations. God desires to equip you and has a heart for setting people free.

John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Christ Community Church

1 Corinthians 2:1-2, ‘¹ And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.’ 

        When Christians get to Heaven, our desire will be Christ and everything He gives. The cares of this world, the hurts and pains we endure, pursuits that are temporal (and more often fruitless), and sin will not be present. We will be with the Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), angels, and Christians. We will be about the work He has for us and we’ll be about worshipping Him. Heaven will be truly heavenly, as the Bible describes it (Revelation 21:1–4/21:22–27/22:1–5, John 14:2–4, Matthew 6:19–21, Psalm 16:11, Luke 23:42–43, Hebrews 11:14–16).

But, we’re here on Earth now. Is there anything wrong with pursuing marriage, friendships, raising children, Biblical excellence in all things and in all that we choose in life? No. But when we pursue things and allow those things to be the 1st priority over Christ, we’ve automatically begun to act like those who have no hope; we begin to act like unbelievers. And those who don’t trust in Christ put their hope in substitutes. Jesus talks about this trap of seeking the world over God when He speaks in Matthew 6:32, “For the *Gentiles, (*non Jews/unbelievers in God), seek after all these **things (**needed worldly goods), and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”. Jesus desires the next verse for us when He says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”.  You want better health for your body for the new year? That’s a great thing to desire, but is your plan to grow spiritually the priority over your body? Both can work in tandem under His Lordship. You want friendships and character lessons for your children and see sports as a way for that to happen? That’s wonderful– but in that pursuit, will Christ be first and will He be honored in the process? For all things, ensure that Christ and His ways are number 1 and that your pursuit or task is submissive to Him. The point is to have as much Heaven as we can to be lived out on Earth; His will be done. And the way for that to happen is to submit all of us and all pursuits to Him. When we do that, we’ll truly see the beauty of what He is creating in us, in our families, and in all we do. All other ways are counterfeit; a cheap substitute no matter how shiny they are. But according to Jesus Christ we are free to pursue all things as long as He is not neglected and dishonored, but that all pursuits honor Him.

If we’re to be faithful to God, our pursuits in life must be grounded in knowing Christ. When Christ is the lens by which we see all other things, whether it be marriage, raising children, education, work, etc., we’ll be able to make right choices not only for the wide scope of the new year but also for our daily living.

In all things, know Christ and have Him be your foundation.

Christmas Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Christ Community Church

John 8:12, ‘Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”’ 

        At Christmas time we are reminded about the event of Jesus’ birth, (as we should), but are we remembering the Person of Christmas? When Jesus was born, the world was exceedingly dark. Spiritually it was dark as there had been no prophets for around 400 years; there was a famine of God’s Word. Socially it was dark in that women and children were viewed as property in some cultures, and very little as anything more in other cultures. There were systems in place that kept societies under totalitarian rule. During the dark time before the advent of Christ, there were very few who were financially well off while there were an immense amount of financially poor people. But when Jesus was born, He offered an exclusive light that was eternal and one that would bring eternal hope.

As a result of His birth, Jesus Christ would now walk amongst us, spreading and giving His light through the light of the Gospel. People would physically be healed, the miraculous would manifest, and most importantly through the Gospel of Jesus, people would be set free from humanity’s foundational problem– sin. When Jesus was miraculously born, He was the fulfillment of light spoken about in the Old Testament (Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 9:2, Levitcus 24:2). And now, as people receive Him, they no longer walk in darkness but we have been reborn to follow Jesus in true spiritual light (John 8:12).

       As we look at the person of Christ this Christmas, be reminded (especially in dark times as these), that He was the One to be born that would give us light; and He does. Jesus is the One Who lights our dark paths. Jesus is the One Who brings light to a bleak culture. And Jesus brings eternal light so that our hope can be secure, no matter what we experience in this life. Jesus Christ, the reason for Christmas, is the Light of the World and He has come that we may have the light of life in Him.

Christmas Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Christ Community Church

Enjoy these verses about the love of God. Let them inspire you, comfort you, and may they be rooted deep into your spirit.

• John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
• Romans 5:8, ‘But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’
• Isaiah 41:10, ‘Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.’
• 1 John 4:16, ‘So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.’
• Romans 8:35-39, ‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
• John 15:12-13, ‘12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.’
• Jeremiah 31:3, ‘The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.’
• 1 John 4:19, ‘We love because he first loved us.’
• Zephaniah 3:17, ‘The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.’
• Ephesians 3:17-19, ‘So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.’
• 1 John 4:10, ‘In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’
• Psalm 86:15, ‘But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.’
• Psalm 147:3, ‘He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.’
• Psalm 118:6, ‘The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’
• Galatians 2:20, ‘I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.’
• 1 John 3:1, ‘See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.’
• Psalm 103:8, ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.’
• Ephesians 2:4-5, ‘But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—’
• Psalm 136:26, ‘Give thanks to the God of Heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever.’
• Ephesians 2:8, ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,’
• Isaiah 43:4-5, ‘Because you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.’
• 1 John 4:7-14, ‘7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.’
• Deuteronomy 7:9, ‘Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,’
• Romans 5:3-5, ‘Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.’
• 1 Corinthians 13:13, ‘So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.’
• Lamentations 3:22-23, ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’

Pastor Scott Welch

Romans 12:1-2, ‘Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world (the world system), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.’

                As we see the culture around us decay, Christians feel the pull of the culture. We feel it pulling us away from the God we love. The culture around us brings us a whole spectrum from wickedness to things that appear to be good. And because the Christian lives in the world system, we feel ourselves being pulled down spiritually. This world is not our home. But we battle, sometimes we fall, and the struggle to pursue Christ or cave to the world is at times excruciatingly difficult. But we desire holiness and in our desire to want so much for things to be right and godly, we can become deceived. Sometimes as we look at the culture we can be tempted to settle, gravitate to, and run after anything & anyone that says they’re a Christian, says they’re/it’s  good, says they’re/it’s moral. So the thought is, “If I’m connected, or my family is connected, to THAT (whatever THAT moral thing is) then God must be in approval of it.”. Not necessarily. What God is in approval of is what He has revealed in His Word (Salvation in Christ alone, family, marriage, friendships, love, anything that’s in line with His Word.). Over the course of time in this world, the pressures mount upon us (Christians) and wear us down and, again, we can be tempted to cave in to the pressures. And, we can cave into the pressures that seem good and at some level probably are good. But are they of God?

Enter discernment. Biblical discernment is using God’s wisdom based on God’s Word to figure out what is approved by God and what is not approved by God. Charles Spurgeon said this about discernment, “Discernment is not the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong; rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right.”.

A practical way to think of it would be this example:

My week is exceedingly busy and part of my routine in the week is to workout daily; but also part of my routine is to spend time reading my Bible daily. Both are acceptable by God, but if something constrains my week and a decision must be made between one or the other, the workout will be sacrificed so that I’m able to spend quality time with God. Does the sacrifice hurt? Yes. Were both choices good choices? Yes. But one choice, Bible time, was better. This particular choice is demonstrated in 1 Timothy 4:8. Other choices will require courage; lots of it. Count on it. And the reason why some choices will require discernment and deep courage is because these choices could affect your family, your career, etc. Your best answer will always be the one that pleases God. Your choice may not please your spouse, your kids, your friends, your boss, etc., but Christians are required, and it’s now part of who we are, to be faithful to Christ.

So, how do we protect ourselves? How do we make the right choices?

Be familiar with our Bible. It’s been said that if a Christian is cut that we should bleed Scripture.

Spend copious amounts of time in prayer. When you’re face to face with the Holy One, and that’s what’s happening in prayer, sin disintegrates in His presence (Isaiah 6:1-7).

These are the two weapons that we have at our disposal that will cause us to turn back to God, turn to the things He desires, and ask for His wisdom. And notice they are based on  a relationship with Christ. As we get to know our God more, the more we become like Him.

We always need discernment; renew your mind and refresh your spirit.

Christ’s blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Lamentations 3:31-33, ‘³¹ For the Lord will not reject forever, ³² For if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness. ³³ For He does not afflict from His heart Or grieve the sons of men.’

   Suffering is one of the most difficult concepts for a person to understand. It could fairly be said that no one will understand suffering completely in this life. But God, in His compassion, does help us to grasp this heart wrenching concept to a certain degree through His Word.

   There is a misinformed thought that God doesn’t cause afflictions and that the only attributes that come from God are love, joy, peace, and happiness. Certainly, God does give those things in abundance, but He also “makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). We struggle with the difficult fact that God allows and brings pain because the understanding of God is misinformed. One point to help us to understand God and suffering is that He is perfect in all of His ways (Psalm 18:30) and that He is more concerned about our holiness than His happiness. In the entire Biblical context, God will use whatever means to not only make His decretive will come to pass, but also to have people submit their will to Him. The latter, due to the personal choosing of sin, doesn’t always happen in this life. But, when a person sees that a calamity, a tragedy… a pain, comes into their life and recognizes that God will use that pain to shape their character to be more like Christ, that person is, (as the Bible calls), growing in grace. It is the gracious hand of God in our lives to use all things to conform to His image. And His ways are best; not always easy, but best. In times like these a few correct questions we can ask are: “God, what are you teaching me?”, “How can I use this to grow?”, and “How can I use this to glorify You, Lord?”. These questions are for the new Christian as well as the mature Christian. Interestingly enough, we find that when we are holy, we are most happy; suffering helps to accomplish that growth.

   Notice in Lamentations 3:31-33 that God will not leave His people in pain forever. Notice, too, that when He causes suffering, it’s NOT from His heart as if He has no feeling about it or that He takes pleasure in your pain. But instead, He uses pain in our lives to bring about changes that glorify Him and helps us to be more Christ-like. And all of this comes from His lovingkindness; and He has compassion on us in the midst of suffering. In times of suffering, we’d do well to remember Romans 8:28, ‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.’. All things include suffering in life's list.

   One other needful encouragement would be to ‘Delight yourself in the Lord’ as Psalm 37:4 says. When we are in the most pain, delight yourself in Him knowing that the ways in which He is accomplishing an amazing work in you is what’s best.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Romans 6:17-18, ‘¹⁷ But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.’

                For those of us who are Christians, it's very possible that we sometimes forget who we are and what we have in Christ. The more we remember what we have in Christ the more we will remember who we really are. Salvation in Christ is not just the pathway to eternal life, but here in this life it means freedom.

Before we believed in Jesus, the Bible declares that we were slaves to sin; we did what sin told us to do as it was our master. But in Christ, what follows below is our path:

-We are a thnkful people able to thank God for setting us free from sin and setting us free to God.

Romans 6:17a, ‘But thanks be to God…’

-We are no longer enslaved to sin. Positionally before God we are a reflection of His Son. Bought back from sin’s slve block and in the eternal righteousness and protection of the Son of God.

Romans 6:17b, ‘... that you who were once slaves of sin…’ We are now willingly obedient to a God who is in the business of changing hearts from chasing after Hell to chasing after holiness. One who is holy truly understands what genuine freedom is.

Romans 6:17c, ‘... have become obedient from the heart…’

-We have a new Teacher now that educates us on godly love, holiness, mercy, kindness, and everything that a Christian thrives upon.

Romans 6:17d, ‘… to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,’

-We have been set free from sin. This encompasses the fact that we no longer have to obey temptation and when the next life comes, we will be in the presence of God where no sin dwells.

Romans 6:18a, ‘… and, having been set free from sin,’

-We, through Christ, are willing slaves to a perfectly good Master who has our best interest at heart. As we grow in Him, we hunger after righteousness because we are learning, and have learned, that Christ-like righteousness is what satisfies the human heart.

Romans 6:18b, ‘have become slaves of righteousness.’

Thanks be to God, truly, that our Master is Christ.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Ephesians 5:8, ‘For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.’ 

                Every so often we succumb to the sin that dwells within us. The Apostle Paul personally had the same problem in Romans 7, specifically in vs. 23 when he said, ‘but I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members.’. Now throughout Romans 7:13-24 we see Paul not only saying that sin dwells in him but, in fact, he does take responsibility for acting on it. And when he said in Romans 7:24, ‘Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?’, he, like us, wanted to be delivered from it. Paul’s, and our, only means of deliverance is found in Jesus Christ.

God knows that we are tempted to sin but He’s also given us a promise to deal with temptation and practical and strategic things we can do in our battle with sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 states, ‘No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.’. God provides a way of escape. And there are five main points that God has given us to have victory in the battle of sin: Biblical Truth, Prayer, Being Filled With The Spirit, Die Daily/Kill the Flesh, and Walk in the Spirit.

 Biblical Truth: Jesus told His disciples in John 8:31-32, “³¹ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”. Knowing God’s truth and the promises He has for you are part of preparing yourself for the battle at hand. Also, knowing promises like the following encourage us that God is for us to win in our daily battle with sin, Romans 8:1-4, ‘³ For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.’. Jesus provided victory over sin for us on the cross so that by living according to His ways in His power, we can now claim that victory daily. Set aside a daily time to know God through reading His Word, the Bible, and renew your mind as Romans 12:2 says. Know God, be strengthened, get set free.

 Prayer: 1 John 5:14, ‘And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to His (God’s) will He hears us.’. It is God’s will that we don’t sin but that we live righteously. Make asking God to deliver you from sin and living righteously part of your prayer life.

 Filled With The Spirit: When we are saved, God the Holy Spirit takes residence in us Romans 8:9. But during the times that we are tempted we are told in Ephesians 5:18, ‘And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,’. When we ask God to be filled with the Spirit, we are literally asking God to empower us to live under His mighty influence. In the Old Testament, we see time and again where people would set up an altar and present themselves to Him in a manner of submitting themselves anew to Him (Genesis 8 & 15, 1 Kings 18:31–32, etc.). In the same way, we submit ourselves to Jesus’ lordship where we are at, we live in His presence, and we submit to the authority of His Word. We need His influence; so be filled with the Spirit.

 Die Daily & Kill the Flesh: 1 Corinthians 15:31, ‘I affirm, brothers, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.’. When we die daily to sin, we make ourselves unavailable to sin and things that tempt us to sin. When we die daily, we realize that we are dead to sin, Romans 6:11, ‘So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.’. Jesus died on the cross for our sin and was resurrected. We, being born again in Him, associate that His death was for us in that He paid for our sin, and we have a new life in Him. Our ‘old man’, the sinful man, is now dead. How can a dead man walk, run, breathe, or sin?. Now that we’re born again, we desire good things, godly things. But our flesh, our fallen sinful nature is still with us and we are tempted by it (Romans 7). So what do we do? We die daily to those temptations and we kill the flesh. We deny our will to sin and submit our will to the Lord’s will. Colossians 3:5 gives us a vivid example, ‘Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.’. In dying daily and killing the flesh, we intentionally agree with God and intentionally reject sin.

 Walk by the Spirit: Galatians 5:16, ‘But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.’. When we ‘walk by/in the Spirit’, we are literally living in a state of obeying Christ and His Word, operating under the power of God the Holy Spirit, and we’re being directed by our Heavenly Father. Continuing to walk in the Spirit it will become a habit. As we habitually ‘walk’ in the Spirit (obeying God’s promptings and the Bible) we spiritually grow. To continue in this walk, it’s vital to continue in God’s Word, pray and have fellowship with other believers (Church, discipleship, etc.).

As you can see, it really should be understood that getting sin out of your life and battling with it daily is not a ‘one-two punch and then you’re done for the day’. It’s a daily battle. Until we’ve passed from this life and are in the presence of the Lord, the Christian will always have this battle. You just need to choose to fight it, be preemptive about it, and be intentional about it. As Christians, a daily part of our Christian life is spent repenting: turning away from self and selfishness (which keeps us enslaved) and turning to Christ (Who brings us freedom). In doing this we please God, learn what freedom is, and we get to experience what it means to truly walk in freedom. Be encouraged! God is truly for you and it’s His desire that His children defeat sin. As a result, we are privileged to live in victory and Honor Christ.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Psalm 99:5, ‘Exalt Yahweh our God And worship at the footstool of His feet; Holy is He. ’ One of the biggest problems the Church has in America is that we do not know, really know, Who God is. Those of us who know that we’re born again and why we’re born again, still fall short of really knowing God. Schedules, worldly indoctrination, and just plain selfishness get in the way of knowing Who God is. But thank God, Psalm 99:5 has a lot to say about Who God is and what God calls us to give Him. To understand Who God is will take all of eternity but a great place to start is His Lordship. He is Yahweh. Yahweh means that God is ‘the existing One’, the proper name of the one true God. He is the only One of His Kind, there is no other like Him, and there is no other that is of His kind. That information ought to tell us something exceedingly important: since there is none like Him, since He is existing without end from the past and into the future (He is everlasting to everlasting), and there is no other, then we have to conclude that the Lord, Yahweh, is God. And since He is the Lord God, His very existence demands our utmost respect. His very goodness and patience gives us reason, without excuse, to adore Him. His very rule lets us know that we are to be subject to Him as our only King. Then we move to the attribute that causes men to either run and hide or to initially close their mouths and render to Him the worship He deserves; His holiness. In Isaiah 6 & Revelation 4:8-11, God is spoken of in His holiness that He is not just holy, He is not just 2 times holy, but that He is thrice holy. The thrice is used in a picturesque format to denote God’s perfection and completeness in His holiness. He is so holy that He cannot look upon sin and so He turned away from His Son on the cross because of the sin He bore. 2 Corinthians 5:21a states, ‘He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,…’. And yet God in His holiness loves His Church because we are made in the likeness of and wear the righteousness of Christ. Again 2 Corinthians 5:21, in whole, brings good Pastor’s Pen cont. Pastor’s Pen cont. news for His own and for the sinner yet to be made a new creature, ‘He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.’. The promise given is the promise fulfilled through the bloody cross and Christ’s resurrection. In fact, God the Holy Spirit is given to us, the Church. We have salvation from the holiest act that has ever been and we now have the power to do holy acts in the King’s service. And our Triune God, of course, remains steadfastly holy. It is because of Who God is, what He has done/is doing/and will do, and because of His goodness toward people that causes us to respond in our praise in two appropriate ways. 1. We exalt the Lord. Exalt: make much of & to be lifted up to the uttermost. Yes, we lift GOD up in our hearts (the spiritual seat of our worship). We lift Him above our wisdom and our selfishness and we give God the due honor He deserves. 2. We ‘worship at the footstool of His feet’ which brings us low; this is not only a good thing but a blessed position. What does the Bible say about humility?... Psalm 138:6, ‘For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.’ and James 4:6, ‘But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' From this position of lowliness, we proclaim His greatness over our lowliness, His kingship over being subject to Him, and His great love toward us despite our sinfulness. Both in tandem as a response to the Lord God in His perfect holiness, one response lifts Him up higher than anyone or anything and the other response brings us low… to the lowest position we could be. And yet, it’s the best position we could be in, isn’t it? To be at the feet of Yahweh starting now and reaching into eternity is better than the highest position that the world could ever give us. Exalt and worship the Lord your God, for He is infinitely worthy. 

Christ’s Blessings to you, 

Pastor Scott Welch

1 John 4:16-17, ‘¹⁶ And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. ¹⁷ By this, love has been perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in this world.’

Depending upon the day, the hour, or the season, or depending upon the circumstance, the reaction we get from others, a misperceived response, or our emotional state, physical state, or an unmet expectation, we can wrongfully judge God and doubt His love for us. It’s ironic that those who are His own are the ones who seem to doubt the most but should have the most reason to believe in the love that God has for us. But from time to time, we can fall into the struggle of not believing His love.

Increasing Your Affection Toward God Because of His Love Toward You

An affection for God comes from the knowledge and belief that God truly loves you. (‘we have come to know and have believed...’ 1 John 4:16). If you are in Christ the truth of His love that He has deposited in you (‘the love which God has in us’, 1 John 4:16) cannot be denied. And, His love can’t be denied because of Who He is, (‘God is love’, 1 John 4:16). Knowing that this perfect Being has His love toward you while Him knowing your past and Him knowing your current propensity to sin is a great comfort. He knows Who you are and yet loves you and accepts you because of Christ. As Ephesians 1:5-7 says, ‘⁵ by predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace…’.then your affections, your thankfulness, your recognition can only fit in one place and that is to God.

Over time, this love grows because you abide; you stay with Christ (‘the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him’, 1 John 4:16). And you stay for many reasons (His sovereign faithfulness is one reason), but you also stay because you are the recipient; you know that God has given you light when you didn’t deserve it. God’s love is continually proven to us through His faithfulness. Our source of faith, our source of love, is Himself perfectly faithful and loving and can’t be anything less. Again, because of His great love, our affections grow.

Let Your Confidence in Christ Continue to Grow

There’s a wonderful word in 1 John 4:17 and it is ‘perfected’. The word from the Greek language is (teleioō; pronounced: TELL-I-AH-OH) and it means ‘complete (perfect), for example: to add what is yet lacking in order to render a thing full’. The salvation work that God started in us was started from love, (Revelation 13:8, ‘…  the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world’…), continued in love, (Romans 5:8, ‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’), and is being worked out in love in our lives, (Ephesians 2:10, ‘For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.’). Because of that love that God has given and is continually pouring into us, as we continue to believe and abide His love is being completed through building us up, or adding what we lack. This is truly the work of God. And this work is happening in dark seasons, doubt filled seasons, seasons where we’re having trouble seeing His work in us, and seasons when we are filled with faith. Jesus’ faithful love to us by His sacrificial work for us on the cross, with a promise written in His blood, shows His unending faithfulness to us.

God promises in Philippians 1:6, ‘For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.’. This is why, as 1 John 4:17 says, ‘we may have confidence in the day of judgment’. For the Christian, it is truly in the faithfulness of God in Christ that our confidence can be high in this life and in our eternal destination!

Lamentations 3:22-23, ‘²² The lovingkindnesses of Yahweh indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.’

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Exodus 4:1-5, ‘¹ Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” ³ And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. ⁴ But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— ⁵ “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”’

Bearing the Name of Christ, Christians have a responsibility to live lives of excellence.

WHAT EXCELLENCE ISN’T

     Within each ministry and with every minister, (every Christian is a minister: Eph. 4:11-12), excellence has nothing to do with talent, how many people or resources there are, how much or what kind of training you’ve had, or how much you have. Excellence has nothing to do with age, our perceived wisdom, or our experience. Conversely, talent, training, and other supplements can be used to enhance excellence, but these attributes don’t make up Biblical excellence. As it has to do with how ministries operate in a local church or departments in a company, we might be tempted to think that because a church may be 1, 000 members that it’s that way because they have all the talent and therefore they’re excellent. A 75 member church can be just as excellent as a 1,000 member Church. Excellence can be had, but there is a struggle involved to attain it.

OUR STRUGGLE FOR EXCELLENCE

     As Christians, we desire to be excellent for God and others; but we do struggle. One that knew this struggle all too well was Moses. God has called every believer to be excellent where they’re at with what they have. But there are times when we put faith in ourselves instead of God, we fall short of excellence. Examples of this are in Exodus chapters 3 & 4. Moses in Exodus 3:10 was told by God, “So now, come and I will send you to Pharaoh, and so you shall bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But then Moses in 3:11 says, ‘But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”. Here we see that God has chosen Moses for this specific task, and Moses questions what is a clear command from God. In Ex. 4:1, Moses still displays hesitation in trusting God; but He does do what God commands in Exodus 4:3-4. Then, in Exodus 4:10, Moses gives a protest based on trying to trust in his own ability and not God’s. God answers him but Moses’ whining pathetic protest flows into vs. 13… ‘¹⁰ But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”, “¹³ But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”. In verses 14-17 following, God’s anger is kindled at Moses and the Lord accomplishes His will by using not only Moses, but now Aaron as well. In Exodus chapters 3 and 4 we see the immense patience of God in the midst of not only a very stubborn individual, but also a disobedient individual. Had excellence been employed by Moses, his faith would’ve been in God and he would’ve accomplished what God commanded him to do. Do you see a pattern here? Partial faith, partial trust. All too often, we act the same as Moses.

WHAT’S OUR MOTIVE FOR EXCELLENCE?

     Something else besides a lack of trust in God that causes us to stumble, and that’s when our motives become selfish in our pursuit of excellence. It could be said that a pursuit of excellence with the wrong motive just a hollow shell. There has to be integrity in our motives and integrity is a fruit of a holy heart. When we do something, what motives do we have for doing that thing? In wanting to walk in excellence, we need to critically and fairly examine our motives. If we want true excellence our motives need to come from Christ, our perfect example. As Ephesians 6:5-9 says, ‘⁵ Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the integrity of your heart, as to Christ; ⁶ not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ serving with good will as to the Lord, and not to men, ⁸ knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. ⁹ And masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.’

Verse 5 points to ‘… the integrity of your heart, as to Christ’. The Bible is communicating to us that any integrity that we carry is from Christ and whatever we do, we do so with our motive fueled by Christ. Ensuring our motives are Christ honoring could be said like this: Christ is the springboard from which the Christian’s integrity jumps. This constant decision to refer our heart to Christ will regularly get us to ask important questions to ensure our motives are Biblical and not to feed our ego. 

Some questions we should ask in our pursuit of excellence:

-Whatever the task is, what’s my motive?

-Ultimately, am I doing this task to please God?

In the task I’m accomplishing, am I fishing for compliments and recognition (which feeds the ego), or am I fully satisfied with commendation from God and the rewards He will give? One quick note on this: to receive praise in a humble way is healthy and in doing so, the humble heart gives the praise back to God. But understand that positively being acknowledged is part of God’s work of creation in us. To be sure, God does want us to honor one another. We see this honoring and praising with Paul commending the Church in the opening of his epistles, Jesus commends the Churches in the book of the Revelation, and we see praise given in the book of the Song of Solomon. However, for us to constantly seek the approval from people out of a need based sense of affirmation falls into idolatry and we’d be better served if we were satisfied in God and His promises. Settling in that truth not only brings comfort, it also regulates your expectations, gives glory where it’s due, and it also doesn’t place others in judgement if they don’t come through with a compliment. Excellence, true spiritual excellence, always points back to Christ. The Holy Spirit shows us this example in John 16:14, “He will glorify Me,…”.

 -Are others benefitting from this?

 -Am I treating this task, paid or not, as a task that is directly from and for God?

 -Am I getting joy out of the task knowing that this benefits God and others? Even menial and/or painful tasks can be filled with joy. (Hebrews 12:2, ‘… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’)

OUR EXCELLENT EXAMPLE

     Christ is the pinnacle of excellence. However, as we saw in the life of Moses in Exodus 4, a failure of trust in God lead to Moses failing to fully obey God which equaled a lack of excellence on Moses’ part. Moses had one job: obey God. He obeyed God but only partially so. Had he fully obeyed God, his excellence would have been a shining example. This account also shows us that true excellence has nothing to do with what we ‘think’ we can do, what tools we have or don’t have, or what we sometimes ‘prefer’ to do and in what way we prefer to do it; but rather excellence is about what God does through us while we are fully and joyfully obedient to Him. In other words, we trust Him and His power, submitting our body and our will to Him, while at the same time we use what He’s given us to the best of our God given ability. Excellence, true excellence then, is trusting God and joyfully living in obedience to Him; which is a form of worship. When we are excellent unto Him, we are actually worshiping God.

To execute the plan of excellence, then, is to:

 -Trust in God– Constantly place your hope in Him knowing that He will accomplish what He desires in the way He desires through you.

 -Obey God– What you know about God, walk that out in your daily life faithfully. He will take care of the results.

 -Continually look to our perfect and excellent example, Jesus Christ. How did Christ live, walk, talk, etc.? We emulate Him.

So, the best example of excellence is Jesus Christ. John 8:29, “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”. Did you catch that? Christ did what was pleasing to the Father and therefore everything that Christ did was an example of excellence. Jesus obeyed and His motives were to do the Father’s will and serve humanity by providing the only sacrifice for sin as the Savior of the World. Christ’s motives weren’t money, prestige, accolades, or recognition. He always made the most of His time and His effort. Spiritual excellence, then, on our part is exclusively found in Christ who lives in us.

Galatians 2:20, ‘I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.’

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Romans 14:23, ‘But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.’
Distinctive: that marks distinction or difference; distinguishing from others; characteristic, (Webster’s 1959).

                In our world, there are distinctives everywhere, both good, neutral, and evil. Distinctives are needed to distinguish for various reasons. To use a neutral example, if you go to a butcher and you want a cut of meat, you not only ask for a cut of meat but you also ask for the specific kind of meat. And then, you ask for a specific type of cut of that specific kind of meat (whether it be sirloin or a side). If you’re not that specific, the butcher can’t help you. Is it mean of you to want that specific cut of meat? No. You have a designated goal, maybe a certain type of dish you’re wanting to prepare, and only that cut of meat will do. It’s a specific need based on a standard. When it comes to distinctives within religious circles, people need to have distinctions not only to identify what, or who they worship, but how they will worship.

Decades ago, in the 1960’s and before, it seemed that you could go to most evangelical/protestant churches across the country and get a church service with minor differences but also had many similarities. By and large, one of those similarities that could be guaranteed would be that a sermon would be preached from the Bible and it would be preached pointing to God and with mankind’s need for Christ in mind. The distinctiveness of preaching Christ crucified, and everything that came with it that made a church a church, was expected. Over the decades, the church has to a great degree lost that specific quality and has moved toward self improvement, self exaltation, and culture catering. As a result, the Church has moved from Biblical truths and Biblical norms toward cultural mimicry and relevance seemingly to gain cultural acceptance. The apologetic for the parts of the Church that have moved in this direction, then, is based mostly on a jellied conscience that seeks (sometimes without knowing it because it lets its love for the world slip in that direction inch by inch) to be in favor with the culture. Has the Church forgotten that Christ is to be exalted and that the Bible has been given to us by God and that we follow His Word in the power and love of His Spirit? It seems that many churches have become so much like the world, that the only differences are specks of morality which gives it a sort of  credibility in the world’s eyes. To a great degree in some churches a holy distinctiveness has been lost. There is no doubt in this age, for a faithful Christian, that there is a need for Biblical distinctives.

We Need Distinctives in our Primary Beliefs

As long as there is sin and there are sinners, there will always be a need for Christians to make a stand for the primary Biblical beliefs and walk in them. Christ and His Word above all makes us distinctive. We need to make sure that we have the very Biblical fundamentals down and this, above all things, makes a Christian Church a Church. Doctrines like Salvation (by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone), The Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit), and Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man are some of those primary and unique distinctives that set Christians distinctively  apart from all religions. If we lose that, we lose it all and become just another moralistic religion.

We Need Distinctives in our Secondary Beliefs

Secondary Christian beliefs are not beliefs that are needed for salvation but they do have a major impact on how we live out the Gospel. And yes, if your freedom in a secondary belief is lived out wrongly it could lead someone away from Christ or at least cause someone to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:9). Having distinctives in secondary beliefs are important as well because like primary distinctives they will, again,  shape how an individual and a church navigates through life. For ex.: A distinctive for some churches would be that they believe in sprinkling in baptism while some believe in immersing. And even in some distinctives that we hold to, we find that going against some secondary beliefs would be a matter of violating the conscience (Romans 14:23), which then would be a sin. For example: something within Scripture seems so clear that to go against that distinction would be sinning and could possibly lead someone down a path away from Christ. Is it necessarily a Heaven or Hell issue? No. But it is of vital importance for that individual and/or Church to have that distinctive or, again, they would violate their conscience within a deeply held conviction and thus, sin. We need to have grace on both ends of the distinctive. But at the same time, we need to hold to our secondary distinctives. In fact, an argument could be made that in some cases if we let go of some or all of our secondary distinctives then we compromise against a worthy position that we once held in Scripture. In discerning our secondary distinctives a good question could be, “Despite what pressure the culture brings, does this secondary belief bring me closer to Christ/is this honoring the Biblical text?”. God promises us wisdom (James 1:5). But there is no doubt in an anti Biblical culture, we need secondary distinctives.

Faithful in our Distinctions

What was distinctive about those we look to in the Bible like the Apostle Paul, Mary, Deborah, Moses, etc.? What was distinctive about the different Israeli Tribes, the various New Testament Churches, and individual ministries? What can we learn from them in holding to their distinctiveness? What about you? What is distinctive about you and what things do you hold to that are Biblical that as a distinctive are a blessing to you and others? The more wicked the world becomes the more we’ll need to be distinctive in the entirety of our lives and certainly as a local Church. People will need to see a light, and having distinctives helps to add illumination to that light. Will the light be too bright for some? Yes. But Christ’s Church finds comfort in being distinctively faithful to our Good Shepherd and how He distinctively leads us.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch

Christ Community Church

                If you’ve been with us these past few Sundays, (Jan. 8-22), we’ve focused on a series called ‘The Superstition Dilemma’ dealing with superstition & magic from outside of the Church, occultic teaching masquerading as Christianity from within the Church, and using discernment to find Truth in dealing both evils from within and outside of the Church. Like the sentence you just read, the series was filled with lots of content. Instead of a conventional newsletter this month, and to equip us going forward, I’d like to list Scripture references and resources that will supplement you in your walk with Christ so that we can all be on our guard and ready when false teachings come around. Above all, the Bible will always be your greatest source of Truth and discernment.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

 Scripture about false teachings and false teachers: 2 John 1:7-11, 2 Timothy 3:1-8, 2 Timothy 3:13, Titus 1:10-16, 2 Peter 2:1-22, Matthew 7:15-20, Matthew 24:24, Mark 13:22, Colossians 2:8, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, 1 Timothy 6:20-21, 1 Timothy 1:3-7, Romans 16:17-18, Ephesians 5:11, John 8:44, Ephesians 4:14, Revelation 12:9, Matthew 24:11, Galatians 1:6-9, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Corinthians 11:3-5, 2 Corinthians 11:12-15, Hebrews 13:9, Deuteronomy 13:1-5, Deuteronomy 18:20-22, Jeremiah 23:1-40, and Jude 3-23

 A Description of False Teachers and False Teaching: Jude 4-16

 Search the Scriptures to ensure what you hear lines up with God’s Word: Acts 17:10-11

 Test what you hear, Hold on to God’s Word: 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 1 John 4:1-6

 Your Spiritual Armor: Ephesians 6:10-20

 Rebuke them Sharply: Titus 1:13

 Don’t Listen to the False Teachers, but Love God Instead: Deuteronomy 13:1-4

 Stay Strengthened by God’s Word & His Spirit: Hebrews 13:9

 Don’t have close fellowship with false teachers: 2 John 1:9-11, 2 Timothy 3:5

 Beware: Matthew 7:15-16, Colossians 2:8, 1 Timothy 6:20-21

 Pastors & Elders- Biblically Shepherd the Church: Acts 20:28-31

 Remain Faithful to Christ: Jude, 17-23

 Continue in Spiritual Maturity, Speak the Truth in Love: Ephesians 4:13-15

 Pray against the works of evil: 2 Corinthians 10:4

 Pray for the Salvation of the false teachers and for those that are mislead: Romans 10:1

 Give the Gospel that false teachers and those that are mislead may be saved: Jude 20-23, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

HELPFUL RESOURCES

ONLINE BIBLE & BIBLE READING PLAN:

Bible: Biblegateway.com

Christ Community Church Bible Reading Plan: loveled.org/the-bible-resources/spiritual-growth-resources

WORSHIP MUSIC:

CityAlight, Sovereign Grace, Shane & Shane, Banner of Truth Publisher (hymns)

MINISTRIES:

John Piper: desiringgod.org, Alistair Begg: truthforlife.org, Mike Winger: BibleThinker.org, John MacArthur: gty.org, Ligonier ministries: Ligonier.org, Voddie Baucham: VoddieBaucham.org, PrestonWood Baptist Church:  PrestonWood.org, Paul Washer: HeartCryMissionary.org, Wayne Grudem: waynegrudem.com, American Gospel: americangospelfilm.com, Creation: answersingenesis.org

WOMEN:

Elisabeth Elliot: ElisabethElliot.org, The Sheologians: Sheologians.com, Proverbs 31 Ministries: Proverbs 31.org, Alisa Childers: Alisachilders.com

PODCASTS:

Wretched: Wretched.org, Cultish: TheCultishShow.com

PRINTED RESOURCES:

Banner of Truth Publisher, Strongs Concordance, Vines Bible Dictionary, Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem, Read the Puritans

Should there be any questions or concerns, please know that the elders and I are available.

Ephesians 6:10-20, ‘¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength.

Christ’s Blessings to you,

Pastor Scott Welch