Sunday, November 29, 2009

The Fruit of the Spirit is . . . Faithfulness

Everyone admires faithfulness; but many are not willing to pay the price to actually be faithful. As I reflect on the sermon this morning it occurs to me that everything we do in the Sunday morning assembly has something to do with faithfulness.
  • We began this morning with a baptism wherein our new sister in Christ joined Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection. Jesus was faithful to his mission to "give his life as a ransom for many" which allows us to be saved from sin.
  • We then sang praises to our great God in heaven who has proven himself to be faithful to his covenant promises.
  • The sermon was based on passages we find in the Bible which is a record of God's faithfulness toward us.
  • The Lord's Supper is our weekly sharing in the body of blood of our faithful High Priest and the sacrifice of himself which was given for us.
  • The contribution became the first opportunity we had as a congregation to respond to our faithful God by showing ourselves to be faithful in support of His church.
  • Our family prayer time was made possible because of the faithfulness of Jesus who allows us to boldly approach God's throne of grace.
  • We ended our service recognizing a new member who desires to become a part of our family. We are indeed a family because God was faithful to keep his promises.
Now we get to live all week long remembering that God is faithful and looking for ways the Spirit of God is developing faithfulness in our lives. When you see evidence of his work in your life encourage it, fan it into flame so that you will become a living example of the faithfulness of God!

3 comments:

Marissa said...

What were the scriptures on faithfulness that you had on the power point? I liked them!

Byron said...

I like them too, Marissa!

"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." (Psalm 145:13)

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands." (Deut. 7:9)

And the scriptures that were used in the song, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" were:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lam. 3:22-23)

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17 KJV)

Candice Rae said...

Thank you for your encouragement Byron. God is faithful and will work in the lives of those girls, just as his faithful love is shown in you.