Sunday Sermon - 29-April-2012 - Pastor Dennis Balan

Speaker: Pastor Dennis Balan
Full Gospel Assembly USJ

http://www.mediafire.com/?9p4ur2agc47v7go

Daily Deeds of Kindness

by Max Lucado

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

In the final days of Jesus’ life, he shared a meal with his friends Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Within the week he would feel the sting of the Roman whip, the point of the thorny crown, and the iron of the executioner’s nail. But on this evening, he felt the love of three friends.

For Mary, however, giving the dinner was not enough. “Mary came in with a jar of very expensive aromatic oils, anointed and massaged Jesus’ feet, and then wiped them with her hair. The fragrance of the oils filled the house” (John 12:3). . . .

Judas criticized the deed as wasteful. Not Jesus. He received the gesture as an extravagant demonstration of love, a friend surrendering her most treasured gift. As Jesus hung on the cross, we wonder, Did he detect the fragrance on his skin?

Follow Mary’s example.

There is an elderly man in your community who just lost his wife. An hour of your time would mean the world to him.

Pull the Plug on Porn

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

If you or someone you love is struggling with a porn addiction, take these steps to freedom.

At a men’s conference I sponsored last weekend in Philadelphia, some of my friends took the stage and got gut-level honest about their temptations. I was so proud of their courage. Shay, a young father from Ohio, admitted that he was exposed to hard-core pornography when he was only five years old. He began modeling what he saw in X-rated videos when he was just six.

Another guy from Pennsylvania told the men in the audience that he began watching porn when he was a preteen—and this led him to sex with dozens of girls in high school. Until recently this man still battled the shame of his porn habit even though he was a lay leader in his church

“It’s not enough to whisper a quiet prayer under your breath. To break free from a life-controlling habit as powerful as porn, you must talk to someone else. And you should do it sooner, not later.”

Jason, a youth pastor in northwestern Pennsylvania, preached to the men on Friday night about how to reclaim purity in our sex-saturated culture. Like so many of the guys in our conference, Jason had been exposed to porn at a young age. His lust could not be satisfied by masturbation or kinkier videos, so his addiction drove him to seek out multiple girls for instant gratification. That’s where porn leads.

Selfishness in Marriage

by Mark Gungor

All marriages start off very selfishly. When a couple begins dating, it is generally all about each person’s own interests. “I like what you do for me. I like the way you make me feel. When I’m with you I’m happy. You make me feel validated.” At the beginning, marriage really is the ultimate in narcissistic expression. The reason you are getting married is because of what he/she does for you. And it’s the same for the other person. It’s all about me, me, me!

But then you get these two me, me, me people together and something has to give. Marriages where couples are able to make the transition from selfish, me-centered thinking, the ones where the husband and wife realize that they can’t get everything they want, are the ones that make it. The marriages where couples can’t do that…and many people don’t…are the ones that fall apart. It’s amazing how many emails I receive from those selfish spouses asking, “How can I make my spouse___________? Fill in the blank with whatever fits.

• How can I get my spouse to load the dishwasher the way I want?
• How can I get my spouse to do the things I want to do?
• How can I get my spouse to keep the house better?
• How can I get my spouse to spend less money?

The Impact of Appreciation in the Workplace

by Dr. Gary Chapman & Dr. Paul White

Life in the workplace has become increasingly stressful. The financial stress from the global economy downturn has impacted businesses, non-profit organizations, ministries, schools, and government agencies. Employees in the workforce are discouraged. Team members are having to "do more" with less resources. Staff members report not feeling valued for the work they are doing, and are approaching burnout.

Sixty-five percent of workers report receiving no recognition or appreciation from their supervisors in the past twelve months. And 79% of employees who quit their jobs report that not feeling valued as one of the top reasons for leaving.

DEAR GARY...

by Dr. Gary Chapman

We are to the point of divorce. Can you help?

Question: My husband and I are at the point of divorce. Though he has agreed to look at some of your materials with me. Can you give us a starting point?

Answer: I would suggest you start with my book The 5 Love Languages. Ask him if he would be willing to read the first chapter this week if you read the first chapter. And at the end of the week, you will share one thing you learned and he will share one thing he learned. It's a good way to get started. Then, if he feels good about it and you feel good about it, take chapter two the next week. Work your way through the book one chapter per week.

Sunday Sermon - 22-April-2012 - Ps Benaiah Naresh

Speaker: Ps. Benaiah Naresh
( NECF Associate Member )

http://www.mediafire.com/?7d46bnd5o20bdlr

DEAR GARY...

by Dr. Gary Chapman

We are to the point of divorce. Can you help?

Question: My husband and I are at the point of divorce. Though he has agreed to look at some of your materials with me. Can you give us a starting point?

Answer: I would suggest you start with my book The 5 Love Languages. Ask him if he would be willing to read the first chapter this week if you read the first chapter. And at the end of the week, you will share one thing you learned and he will share one thing he learned. It's a good way to get started. Then, if he feels good about it and you feel good about it, take chapter two the next week. Work your way through the book one chapter per week. By the end of the book, I think you both will have rediscovered how to love each other, and how to stimulate warm feelings toward each other. Chances are he'll be willing to share another book with you. Sharing a book is one way to stimulate marital growth.

How do we prepare for spending time apart?

Question: My wife and I are both active duty Marines, and we spend a lot off time away from each other. How do we start talking when we know one of us will be leaving soon?

Son Reflectors

by Max Lucado

What does the moon do? She generates no light. Contrary to the lyrics of the song, this harvest moon cannot shine on. Apart from the sun, the moon is nothing more than a pitch-black, pockmarked rock. But properly positioned, the moon beams. Let her do what she was made to do, and a clod of dirt becomes a source of inspiration, yea, verily, romance. The moon reflects the greater light.

And she’s happy to do so! You never hear the moon complaining. She makes no waves about making waves. Let the cow jump over her or astronauts step on her; she never objects. Even though sunning is accepted while mooning is the butt of bad jokes, you won’t hear ol’ Cheeseface grumble. The moon is at peace in her place. And because she is, soft light touches a dark earth.

What would happen if we accepted our place as Son reflectors?

Such a shift comes so stubbornly, however. We’ve been demanding our way and stamping our feet since infancy. Aren’t we all born with a default drive set on selfishness?

I want a spouse who makes me happy and co-workers who always ask my opinion. I want weather that suits me and traffic that helps me and a government that serves me. It is all about me. . . .

God’s Answer to Racial Profiling

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

Trayvon Martin was not a criminal because he was black and wearing a hoodie. And I’m not a racist because I’m white.

We will have to wait months to find out how jurors in Florida will rule in the Trayvon Martin case. Did his accused assailant, George Zimmerman, act in self-defense when he shot the unarmed boy? Or did Zimmerman kill Martin because he just assumed any young black man walking through a gated neighborhood wearing a hoodie is a dangerous criminal?

Trayvon’s case should cause all of us to check our hearts. We’ve all been guilty of making unfair judgments. Many of us stereotype people unconsciously.

“Paul required church leaders to be free from prejudice. If we required the same today, we would raise a new standard. Leaders would confront racism from the pulpit instead of tolerating or ignoring it.”

Some Americans think all Mexicans are illegal and dangerous. Others think all blonde women are silly. Other people think all Arabs are terrorists, all skinny girls are anorexic, all Nigerians are con-artists, all Indians run convenience stores, all rural Americans are rednecks, all Jews are pushy, all black women are angry, all men with dreadlocks are potheads and all Italian-American teens act like the cast of Jersey Shore.

Sunday Sermon - 15-April-2012 - Bro Liong Kam Chong

Speaker: Bro. Liong Kam Chong
White Fields Assembly Seremban

http://www.mediafire.com/?ac97waacqel768b

The Movement Continues

by Max Lucado

The belief of French philosopher Voltaire: The Bible and Christianity would pass within a hundred years. He died in 1778. The movement continues.

The pronouncement of Friedrich Nietzsche in 1882: “God is dead.” The dawn of science, he believed, would be the doom of faith. Science has dawned; the movement continues.

The way a Communist dictionary defined the Bible: “It is a collection of fantastic legends without any scientific support.” Communism is diminishing; the movement continues.

The discovery made by every person who has tried to bury the faith: The same as the one made by those who tried to bury its Founder: He won’t stay in the tomb.

The facts. The movement has never been stronger. Over one billion Catholics and nearly as many Protestants.

Reclaiming True Friendship in the Facebook Age

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

Technology has connected us superficially. But the Holy Spirit can knit us together supernaturally.

Two weeks ago I attended a men’s retreat in Georgia with some of my closest friends. Chris, Eddie, Rick, Michael, Ray, Robert, Medad, Quentin and James were in the audience with 120 other guys. We spent 2 1/2 days together—worshipping, attending teaching sessions, praying in small groups and eating our meals together. Nobody wanted to go home. It felt like heaven because we enjoyed being together so much.

“In this sophisticated age of social networking, when everyone is supposedly ‘connected,’ we are as self-absorbed and isolated as ever. Digital technology has trivialized relationships to the point that we ‘friend’ or ‘unfriend’ a person with a click. You can have 5,000 ‘friends’ and yet be the loneliest person in cyberspace.”

When it was time to leave I asked all the guys to come near the stage. We linked arms and sang a simple chorus I haven’t heard in years. You may remember the words:

Bind us together, Lord, bind us together / With cords that cannot be broken / Bind us together, Lord, bind us together / Bind us together with love / There is only one God, there is only one King / There is only one body, that is why we can sing ...

That song was popular during a simpler time, at the tail end of the Jesus movement in the 1970s when church wasn’t as trendy and professional as it is today. Back then we didn’t have savvy marketing strategies, media-enhanced sermons and hipster preachers. But what we lacked in coolness we made up for with deep relationships.

Easter Sunday Sermon - 8-April-2012 - Rev Dr Sandy Haverfield

Speaker: Rev. Dr. Sandy Haverfield

http://www.mediafire.com/?z72bbod3jgapd6c

Easter - Pastor Mark Gungor

Pastor Mark Gungor preaches a message to our Sunday morning services.
Download MP3 of Easter: http://media.celebrationchurch.tv/audio/2011/sun/4_24_11.mp3

Jesus' Burial

by Max Lucado

When Pilate learned that Jesus was dead, he asked the soldiers if they were certain. They were. Had they seen the Nazarene twitch, had they heard even one moan, they would have broken his legs to speed his end. But there was no need. The thrust of a spear removed all doubt. The Romans knew their job. And their job was finished. They pried loose the nails, lowered his body, and gave it to Joseph and Nicodemus.

Joseph of Arimathea. Nicodemus the Pharisee. They sat in seats of power and bore positions of influence. Men of means and men of clout. But they would’ve traded it all for one breath out of the body of Jesus. He had answered the prayer of their hearts, the prayer for the Messiah. As much as the soldiers wanted him dead, even more these men wanted him alive.

As they sponged the blood from his beard, don’t you know they listened for his breath? As they wrapped the cloth around his hands, don’t you know they hoped for a pulse? Don’t you know they searched for life?

But they didn’t find it.

So they do with him what they were expected to do with a dead man. They wrap his body in clean linen and place it in a tomb. Joseph’s tomb. Roman guards are stationed to guard the corpse. And a Roman seal is set on the rock of the tomb. For three days, no one gets close to the grave.

Good Friday Service - 6-April-2012 - Rev Dr Sandy Haverfield

Speaker: Rev. Dr. Sandy Haverfield

http://www.mediafire.com/?28023qv73hswjfz

When ‘Seeker Friendly’ Is a Good Thing

J. Lee Grady Newsletters - Fire In My Bones

It’s OK to tone down certain charismatic manifestations to make church visitors feel welcome.

I love it when the Holy Spirit moves in a church service. But I also know there’s a fine line between charismatic and charismaniac. Too often, those of us who love spiritual gifts get carried away—and before too long things get strange. What is supernatural turns weird, and what is prophetic becomes pathetic.

This is not a new problem. Two chapters of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians are devoted to this dilemma. Even in the first century, people misused charismatic gifts to get attention. The abuse of speaking in tongues created pandemonium, and the lack of order invited an apostolic rebuke.

“The apostle Paul was ‘seeker friendly’ in the best way. He urged the Corinthians to leave room for spiritual gifts, but he also warned them to avoid charismatic excesses.”

I’m mentioning this topic now because Resurrection Sunday is coming up in a few days—and more visitors will show up at Easter services than on any other day of the year. Hopefully all those visitors will hear the gospel and feel God’s power—rather than walk away confused because overzealous or immature saints ruined the experience.

I’ve never been a fan of the “seeker-friendly” philosophy. I don’t want to limit God or tell Him what He can or can’t do in church. But there’s nothing wrong with creating healthy barriers so that certain “characters” in your congregation don’t ruin the meeting or scare people. In my years of ministry I’ve identified the All-Time Worst Meeting Spoilers.

Jesus' Last Words on the Cross

by Max Lucado

The hill is quiet now. Not still but quiet. For the first time all day there is no noise. The clamor began to subside when the darkness—that puzzling midday darkness—fell. Like water douses a fire, the shadows doused the ridicule. No more taunts. No more jokes. No more jesting. And, in time, no more mockers. One by one the onlookers turned and began the descent.

That is, all the onlookers except you and me. We did not leave. We came to learn. And so we lingered in the semidarkness and listened. We listened to the soldiers cursing, the passersby questioning, and the women weeping. But most of all, we listened to the trio of dying men groaning. Hoarse, guttural, thirsty groans. They groaned with each rolling of the head and each pivot of the legs.

But as the minutes became hours, these groans diminished. The three seemed dead. Were it not for the belabored breathing, you would have thought they were.

Then he screamed. As if someone had yanked his hair, the back of his head slammed against the sign that bore his name, and he screamed. Like a dagger cuts the curtain, his scream cut the dark. Standing as straight as the nails would permit, he cried as one calling for a lost friend, “Eloi!”