Sermon Notes ...Christ WILL Come Again!!!

Before our Sunday School class began yesterday I had an opportunity to go into our little prayer chapel...a room set aside for prayer. It was a very moving experience as I studied the pictures on the walls and thought about what they really meant...and how Jesus is our Great Shepherd, and that He came to seek and save that which was lost...

Read what Jesus said in Matthew 18:11-14...

"For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

What do you think? 

If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, 

does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains 

to seek the one that is straying? 

And if he should find it, assuredly, 

I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven 

that one of these little ones should perish."

I was reminded of the 23rd Psalm:

"The Lord is my Shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil; 

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me int he presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

And then our choir sang this beautiful song yesterday in church, "Dwell in the Light Forevermore". 

If you click on this link and click on the arrow you can listen to it.
https://www.lorenz.com/choral/church/choral/church-choral/dwell-in-the-light-forevermore 

It wasn't an easy song to learn, but it had such a beautiful message. Here are the publisher's words about how this song was written:

"I was working on Susan Bentall Boersma’s new lyric, Dwell in the Light Forevermore, on Friday, December 14, 2012, when a lone gunman burst into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, inexplicably taking the lives of twenty young children and six adult staff members within a matter of minutes. As news of the tragedy spread, I, like so many, was devastated by the senseless loss of life. I found Susan’s words to be a source of solace and hope that day: 

"Into the valley of shadows

under a veil of gray,

God calls the good and faithful,

then guides us on the way...

Through the valley of shadows, 

lost in the dark of night, 

our God goes before us to lead us to the light. 

There will be no more night! 

No need for lamp or ray of sun, the Lamb will be the light. 

There will be no more night! 

No need to fast, to watch, to weep around the throne so bright. 

My dear friend and mentor, the late Dr. Robert H. Reardon, President of Anderson University (IN) from 1958-83, said to me several years ago following the unexpected death of his wife, Geraldine, “Grief is a common journey we all share in life. Though none of us wish to take the trip, eventually we must all travel it.” Pain and disappointment come in many forms. Life is never scripted quite the way we would have chosen. But by faith we know that God walks with us and goes before us shedding light in our valleys of shadows, longing to embrace us when we reach the end of the journey‒be it long or short– with joyous words ushering us into the eternal presence of Christ’s holy light: 

"Out of the valley of shadows,

We step into the day,

We see the Lamb upon the throne

and hear the Savior say:

“Well done, well done, my good and faithful one! 

Come, dwell in the Light of Life forevermore!” 

This is the eternal hope to which we cling!" – Lloyd Larson

I know I haven't been keeping up with the Pastor's sermon notes here lately, and I must apologize to our pastor as well as to you. It seems like each week things have come up that have distracted me from my purpose, and by the time I got around to it, it was time for the next message! So today I just want to say thank you to our Pastor A.C., for his faithful commitment to our church for the past 18 years. This past Saturday we had a luncheon to celebrate his upcoming retirement.  He will be with us a couple more weeks, and then on to enjoy whatever the Lord has for him and his wonderful wife Leslie.  Here are a few pictures from the celebration:

The church gave him this plaque, which is appropriate for him as he loves old cars...

His message this past Sunday was about the Ascension of Jesus Christ, from Acts 1:1-11.  Some of the key points were:

• Jesus HAS to come back again...we've made such a mess of things here on earth...we need Jesus to come and straighten it all out...
• We don't know when He is coming...but we've been given work to do in the meantime....both in "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth...even in Interlachen..."
• We've been commissioned by Jesus to preach the Good News... (Matthew 28:18-20) and to be His witnesses
• We need the Holy Spirit to help us do that...(see Acts 1:8)
• We have that ministry to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick...be the hands, feet and eyes of Jesus to a lost and dying world
• Our world is in a mess. We need to get out of our comfort zone and reach out to those who need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and His Salvation.
• We need to be more accepting of God's people...welcome them and pray with them and for them, and introduce them to Jesus, and let Jesus do the rest.
• We need to "reach out and touch someone" with the love of Christ today...
• Jesus IS coming back again...
• 
  
• "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Acts 1:11

Therefore...let's get going...there's work still to be done until He comes again...

Sermon Notes: FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Pastor A.C. Myers, 6/2/2019

Please Note : I want to repeat this disclaimer here...the notes, outline, and content included here are based upon my own personal understanding of the message that was being given. I am not attempting to completely quote or reproduce this message or any other message I've shared previously. Just as each person reading these notes may glean insights and thoughts that seem to directly apply to one's own situation and interpretation, my own delivery of these messages is skewed by my hearing and translation of what is being said. Some may read my notes here and wonder if they were hearing the same message as I...and I say, God speaks to each of us as He wills...there are things He is trying to get across to each individual that may be entirely different than what the person sitting next to you in the pew is needing to hear... That is how the Holy Spirit works! He knows what we need to hear and how to apply it to our hearts. So it is with that understanding that I present these sermon notes to you.