On Vacation

I'm on vacation until the end of the month.  Come back in April for new updates.

Saturday Family Worship

Read Exodus 9:13-35 in preparation for worship tomorrow.
Identify the main themes and any questions you have.
Pray that God will use His word powerfully in the life of our church.
Sing: In Christ Alone

Friday Family Worship

Read Psalm 15.
Discuss what God requires of those who come into His presence.
Pray that God will make us holy.
Sing: In Christ Alone

Thursday Family Worship

Read Isaiah 6:1-7, Habakkuk 1:13.
Discuss what God's holiness means.
Pray that God will purify you that you might be separate from sin.
Sing: In Christ Alone

Wednesday Family Worship

Read Genesis 3:16-17, Exodus 19:5-6.
Discuss what you learn about God.
Pray that God will make you obedient to His law.
Sing: In Christ Alone

Tuesday Family Worship

Read Genesis 1:28-30.
Discuss what this passage teaches about God.
Pray that God would show each member of your family how they can play apart in exercising dominion.
Sing: In Christ Alone

Monday Family Worship

Read Genesis 1:1, 26-27.
Discuss what you learn about God in this passage.
Thank God for the things He has created.
Sing: In Christ Alone

Weekly Bible Reading

This week's memory verse is: Philippians 2:8-9.

This week's Bible Reading is: Acts 19-28.

Here are some things to consider as you read:

1. Acts 19. What evidences of conversion do you see in Paul's ministry in Ephesus? Is there anything you need to give up as you follow Jesus?
2. Acts 20. What was Paul like as a pastor? What did he do?
3. Acts 21. What does Paul do to prove his "jewishness"? Why did he agree to this?
4. Acts 22. What does Paul include in his testimony? What is your testimony?
5. Acts 23. How did God protect Paul?
6. Acts 24. What were the Jewish charges against Paul?
7. Acts 25. What is Paul's consistent message before every audience?
8. Acts 26. What job did Jesus give Paul? What promises did Jesus make?
9. Acts 27. What encouragements did God give Paul on the way to Rome?
10. Acts 28. What happened when Paul got to Rome?

Grace and peace,
Pastor Mike

Saturday Family Worship

Read and discuss the following verses.  You might want to go through the presentation at Two Ways to Live to prepare.

• Revelation 4:11
• Romans 3:10-12
• Hebrews 9:27
• 1 Peter 3:18
• 1 Peter 1:3
• John 3:36

Pray whatever seems appropriate - confession of belief, praise for God's grace, understanding of these truths, salvation for a friend or loved one, opportunity to share, etc.

Sing: Give Thanks

Friday Family Worship

Read John 3:1-8

Dad and Mom should share their testimony of how Jesus saved them.

Discuss what it means to be born again and how it happens.  Have Dad and Mom share their testimony of how Jesus gave them new birth.

Pray that God will use His Word this week to bring people to faith.

Sing: Give Thanks

Thursday Family Worship

Read Acts 17:10-12.

Discuss how the Bereans are described.  What is the result of their attitude toward the Scriptures. What should we do when we listen to Christian messages or read Christian books?

Pray that God will increase your knowledge and discernment in Christ.  Pray that your family would love the Scriptures.

Sing: Give Thanks

Wedensday Family Worship

Read Acts 14:8-18.

Discuss what you learn about God.  Try to find at least three things.

Pray that God would be honored as the all powerful Creator.  Thank Him for His creation and care.

Sing: Give Thanks

Tuesday Family Worship

Read Acts 12:1-6.

Discuss what we should do when we face danger or difficulties.

Pray that God would strengthen our brothers and sisters who are persecuted for their faith.

Sing: Give Thanks

Monday Family Worship

Read Acts 10:1-3.

Is Cornelius a Christian? Explain your answer.

Now read acts 10:24-27.

What did Cornelius need in order to be saved (get to heaven)? Discuss why knowing about God without a relationship with Jesus isn't enough for salvation.

Pray that God would spread the message of Jesus and give faith to all your family and friends.

Sing: Give Thanks

Weekly Bible Reading

The Memory Verse for this week is: Philippians 2:5-7.

The Bible Reading for this week is: Acts 10-18.

Here are some questions for you to consider as you read:

1. Acts 10. Why did Cornelius - a devout man who feared God and prayed - need to hear a message from Peter?
2. Acts 11. What did God do to convince the Jews that the Gentiles should be accepted into the church as equals?
3. Acts 12. List all the details about prayer you find in this chapter.
4. Acts 13. What does Peter teach about Jesus to a Jewish crowd?
5. Acts 14. What does Paul emphasize when he teaches Gentiles (non-Jewish people who would have little understanding and exposure to the Bible) about Jesus?
6. Acts 15. What arguments were presented to convince the council the Gentiles should not be required to be circumcised?
7. Acts 16. Did the Holy Spirit lead Paul when he was active or inactive? What does this imply about how we should seek God's leading?
8. Acts 17. Make at least 3 observations about Paul's method of proclaiming the gospel.
9. Acts 18. Apollos shared from the Scriptures (the Old Testament) that Jesus was the Christ. What Old Testament Scriptures would you use to do this?

You also may want to read and meditate on the Lord's Day 10 portion of the Heidelberg Catechism.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Mike

Saturday Family Worship

Today is the day to get ready to worship with God's people.

Read Exodus 8:20-9:12 in preparation for Sunday Worship. If you attend a church other than HVBC, read whatever your pastor will be preaching from.

Discuss the main themes of the passage. Dads, try to explain any unfamiliar terms or concepts so your children are ready to listen.

Pray that God would bless our Sunday Worship, give us understanding of His Word and a greater delight in His Son, Jesus.

Sing - Rejoice the Lord is King

Grace and peace,
Pastor Mike

Friday Family Worship

Read Acts 9:1-6.

Talk about the fact that people who hate Jesus sometimes hurt His followers. Point out that they are really persecuting Jesus. Also notice that when we are persecuted, Jesus suffers with us.

Pray for our brothers and sisters who are in jail or suffering because of their faith in Jesus.

Sing - Rejoice the Lord is King

Grace and peace
Pastor Mike

Thursday Family Worship

Read Acts 8:26-40.

Talk about baptism. What is it, what does it mean, who should be baptized?

Pray that God will give you a clear conscience - cleansed by Jesus and obedient to His Word.

Sing - Rejoice the Lord is King

Grace and peace
Pastor Mike

Wednesday Family Worship

Read Acts 5:1-11.

Talk about why God killed Ananias and Sapphira. How did the church react to this? Why is it important to tell the truth?

Pray that God will make you a truth-teller.

Sing - Rejoice the Lord is King

Grace and peace
Pastor Mike

Them Are Fighting Words

Acts 4:11-12 makes an assertion that is highly offensive to modern Americans (and many other cultures as well).  The Bible says that Jesus is the only person who can save us; no one else can.  This means that anyone who does not hear about, believe in and treasure Jesus is not saved.  To put it more bluntly, without Jesus you will go to hell.

This raises two major issues for us to think about.  First, we need to be bold.  We need to be willing to stand up and proclaim this truth.  It is not loving to our Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, secular, or even "christianized" friend to let them think they are going to heaven when they care nothing about Jesus.  We must proclaim Him.  We must do it even when the people around us accuse us of being unloving and intolerant.

Second, we must do much more to spread the name and fame of Jesus. We must make it a priority to tell the people groups who have never heard of Jesus about Him.  We must make the sacrifices necessary for them to hear - otherwise, they will not be saved.  Will you pray for the unreached?  Will you give so that others may tell them about Jesus?  Will you go yourself?  These are all things we must think about and do if we believe this verse and we love our Lord and neighbor.

No matter what other people believe or think - we must proclaim Jesus.  But, please don't forget to do it with love!  We are not out to win an argument, take over a country, restore our dream of some perfect society.  We want our friends and neighbors to find salvation in Jesus. For them to do so, we must speak of Him in love.  Who are you going to talk to today?

Grace and peace,
Pastor Mike

Tuesday Family Worship

Read Acts 4:5-13.

Discuss the fact that Jesus is the only savior. Talk about what this means for people of other religions. Talk about what your family can do to make Jesus' name known.

Pray that God will use you this week to tell someone about Jesus. Pray for the advance of the gospel to unreached people groups.

Sing - Rejoice the Lord is King

Grace and peace,
Pastor Mike

Up, Up and Away

Acts 1:9-11 is easy to skim over. After all the verses before deal with Jesus' commission to His disciples and the verses after deal with selecting Judas' replacement. But, the ascension of Jesus is not something we should just fly by. The Ascension is important. Without it we would miss out on a number of benefits and blessings in the Christian life.

If Jesus did not ascend we would not have an advocate before the Father (1 John 2:1). Our lives, which are hidden with Him, would be earthly not heavenly (Colossians 3:1-4). Most importantly, because Jesus went to be with the Father, we get the Holy Spirit, indwelling and empowering us (John 16:7). We can also have the confidence that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matthew 28:18) On top of that, we have the assurance from Acts 1:11 that Jesus will return bodily for us! Those are some incredible benefits and are well worth praising God for.

Here is how the Heidelberg Catechism puts it:

Question: How does Christ's ascension to Heaven benefit us?

Answer: First, He pleads our cause in heaven in the presence of His Father. Second, we have our own flesh in heaven - a guarantee that Christ our head will take us, His members, to Himself in heaven. Third, He sends His Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the Spirit's power we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is, sitting at God's right hand.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Mike

For Further Study: Kevin DeYoung, The Good News We Almost Forgot (Chapter 18)

Monday Family Worship

Read Acts 2:42-47.

Discuss what life in the early church was like. What can you do as individuals and as a family this week to become more like the early church?

Pray that God will strengthen our love for our fellow believers.

Sing - Rejoice the Lord is King

Grace and peace,

Pastor Mike

Weekly Bible Reading

This week's Memory Verse: 1 John 2:15-17

This week's Bible Reading: Acts 1-9

Some questions to consider as you read:

1. Acts 1. What were the requirements to be an apostle? Are there apostles today?
2. Acts 2. How does God expect us to respond to Jesus? Have you responded this way?
3. Acts 3. Did Jesus' suffering and death take God by surprise? Was God just making the best out of a bad situation?
4. Acts 4. What was the key to Peter and John's boldness? How can we obtain a similar boldness?
5. Acts 5. Under what conditions should we rebel against authority? What should we expect when we do?
6. Acts 6. What was the result of the apostles devoting themselves to prayer and the word?
   
7. Acts 7. What themes run through Stephen's sermon?
8. Acts 8. Waht do we learn about baptism in this passage? Should it be immediate or delayed?
9. Acts 9. What connection do you see between Jesus and the church in this passage?

You might also enjoy reading and meditating on this week's portion of the Heidelberg Catechism.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Mike

New Plans

Starting next week, I plan to post some new features to this blog.

On Sunday, I will post the Scripture Memory Verse and Bible Reading Heritage Valley Bible Church is recommending for the week. I will also have some questions to consider as you read.

Monday through Saturday I plan to post a suggestion for family worship. Lord willing these will show up at 12:01 AM so you can access them at any time that day.

I hope to also offer a brief reflection from the Daily Scripture Reading.

I hope these will be helpful to you as you read the Word and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Please pray for me. I often have great plans and have trouble finding the time to follow through.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Mike

Heritage Valley Bible Church Weekly Reading and Memorization

This weeks suggested Bible reading and memorization passages are:

• Bible Reading: Joshua 10-17
• Bible Memory: Deuteronomy 10:12-13
• Colossians Memorization Project: Colossians 1:9-14

Enjoy!

Keeping Your Word -- Joshua 9

There is no question that God hates liars (Proverbs 12:22). God cannot lie, and He doesn't want us to either (Titus 1:2; Psalm 51:6). But, what do you do when someone deceives you?

This was the problem the Israelites had in Joshua 9. The Gibeonites deceived them into making a covenant of peace with them. Unfortunately, the Israelites had standing orders from God to destroy all those who lived in the Land, not to make peace agreements with them (Exodus 23:31-33; Deuteronomy 7:1-2).

Eventually, the Israelites discovered they had been had. The question now is what should they do. God had told them to destroy all who lived in the land . But, they had made a covenant of peace; they had given their word.

The Israelites determined that keeping their word was critical (Joshua 9:19). As God's people they could not break their word, they could not break the covenant they had made. They knew that God's people had to be honest and faithful to the agreements they make, even if it hurts (Psalm 15:4).

Is there some promise you have made that is difficult to keep? Do you feel you were deceived when you made it? Honor God and keep your word.

The Cost of Disobedience - Joshua 6-7

Most of the time it is not difficult to determine what God wants us to do. His commands are written in the Bible; they are generally quite clear. The problem is we want to do something different.

Israel had that problem in Joshua 7. God have given them clear instructions that they were not to keep anything for themselves after conquering Jericho (Joshua 6:18-19). But, a man named Achan disobeyed and took some things (Joshua 7:1).

Achan's sin resulted in Israel's defeat at Ai (the next battle). 3,000 men of Israel fled; 36 were killed (Joshua 7:4-5). Achan probably thought his sin was private. No one would know; no one would get hurt. Sin is never private. It always impacts others - our family, our friends, our church, even God's reputation. Achan's sin cost 36 people their lives!

Disobedience carries a high cost, but God is extremely merciful. After revealing Achan's sin, God instructed Joshua how to defeat Ai. Joshua followed the instructions carefully and easily defeated the city. The Bible seems to indicate that not a single Israelite died in the battle (Joshua 8:25).

What a difference obedience makes. So, as you consider God's commands remember Ai -- choose obedience, choose life.

Faith Means Obeying God Even When it Seems Foolish - Joshua 5-6

Often God asks us to do things that seem foolish at the time. But, He is God and we are not. His wisdom is higher than ours and the essence of faith is trusting Him and obeying what He says. In Joshua 5 and 6, the Israelites get a lesson in obeying God, even His seemingly foolish commands.

First, God commands them to circumcise all the men (Joshua 5:2). This is not surprising; it was a standing command for all Israelite males (Genesis 17:10-14); a command the Israelites had not obeyed as they wandered in the wilderness (Joshua 5:5). It is not surprising that God would remind His people of His law. What is surprising is the timing. The Israelites had just crossed the Jordan into the Promised land. They were in hostile territory. Yet, here was God asking the Israelites to do something that would make them unable to fight for a number of days. The Israelites knew the danger. They remembered what Levi and Simeon had done to the city of Shechem (Genesis 34:24-29). But, God had spoken. He required circumcision and obedience is more important than military strategy!

Second, God gave Joshua a very strange battle plan as they approached Jericho (Joshua 6:2-6). Most armies don't conquer cities by marching around the walls (you might get shot) and blowing horns. Yet, that is what God asked the Israelites to do. So they did, and God gave them victory.

Both of these incidents are strange when we stop and think about them. God's instructions seem foolish. Yet, they were God's instructions. They needed to be obeyed regardless of what Joshua and the Israelites thought. That is what faith is; that is what faith does.

God rewarded their faith. During the days of healing after the circumcisions, He protected the army. He made sure that the Canaanites did not attack (Joshua 5:1). He also allowed the Israelites to conquer Jericho, not by arms but by believing God's Word.

How about you? Is there some command of God that you are avoiding because it seems foolish? Today is the day to obey. Commit yourself to God and step out in faith.

Big Shoes to Fill -- Joshua 1

Joshua had one of the most difficult tasks imaginable - he had to replace Moses as Israel's leader and lead them into God's promised land. Talk about filling big shoes!

God knew this would be difficult. Joshua might have doubts. So he issues a repeated command "Be strong and courageous." Easy to say, hard to do. But God also gave Joshua some great encouragements.

• God would be with Joshua (Joshua 1:5, 9).
• Joshua would succeed (Joshua 1:6)
• If Joshua carefully obeyed the law and meditated on it regularly, he would be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:9)
• Even the people encouraged Joshua and pledged to follow his leadership (Joshua 1:16-19)

You are not Joshua, but you have similar promises (Matthew 28:18, Psalm 1). When you have big shoes to fill, a big job to do, or you just aren't sure you can do what God asks; remember, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)