And again you would probably question me, and maybe even a third time.  And my answer would remain the same.  But before you might misunderstand me let me explain by using the only Truth that I know and that is Scripture.

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:  neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And  such were some of you. But  you were washed,  you were sanctified,  you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. “

Now, as you read this scripture you can begin to see the equality of homosexuality, it is just like the other sins listed in this passage.  The thieves or the drunkards are not any higher in the list or any lower in the list, they are all sins that are Hated by God.  This is a point that people often miss, and they assume incorrectly that we Christians hate the person and that is simply not true, or we must indeed hate ourselves.  See, I have made objects an idol, I have been greedy, I have slandered so in that sin I am equal with my depravity or better worded my separation from God.

But follow on in that scripture and now you see the difference and Paul states it very clearly.  All of those things I just stated (this is me paraphrasing Paul) you guys were some of them, but not now because you found Christ.  See, this is the major part that is not understood.  When Christ saves you, you will not want to break His commands.  You will not want to do anything that would violate His standards.  Now, you will…but I pray not by choice!

So, let me leave you with a video that will explain this far better than I have here this morning.  But before I go I must reiterate that I do not support Homosexuality.  Just like I hate stealing and I hate idolatry because they are equal.  But in the model that God has set before me I love the homosexual, I love the liar, I love the thief I just cannot agree with the Sin.  I will let Ravi explain it as he is far more gifted in this area than I.

I pray that this would clear this issue up and if not message me off of the contact page and I will respond and we can discuss further.

God Bless

~ Pastor Tyler

When it comes to numbers, churches tend to err in one of two ways: they either discount them as unimportant or they put too much emphasis on them.

The reality is that numbers are important, and though they aren’t the only sign of a healthy church, they are an important measure.

For Mars Hill, numbers are a key measure of our health. For us, it’s all about the numbers, if by “numbers” you mean the number of people getting their sins forgiven, getting their lives changed by Jesus, and going to heaven instead of hell. We’d like that number to go up. We’re all for that.

When numbers are viewed from this perspective, they are a good thing to desire to see grow. This is why I commend pastors who desire to see the church they pastor grow for the right reasons.

In my conversations with pastors around the world, many have questions on church growth. So, I thought I’d share eight principles I’ve learned about church growth.

1. Begin with the end in mind and know how large you want to be.

The following is a rough breakdown of reported (which may not be entirely accurate) church attendance. Admittedly, these numbers are a few years old, but, as a general rule, they do give you a rough idea of church-size barriers.

• Churches with 45 people or fewer = 100,000 churches or 25% of all churches
• Churches with 75 people or fewer = 200,000 churches or 50% of all churches
• Churches with 150 people or fewer = 300,000 churches or 75% of all churches
• Churches with 350 people or fewer = 380,000 churches or 95% of all churches
• Churches with 800 people or fewer = 392,000 churches or 98% of all churches
• Churches with 800 people or more = 8,000 churches or 2% of all churches
• Churches with 2,000 people or more = 870 churches or 0.22% of all churches
• Churches with 3,000 people or more = 425 churches or 0.11% of all churches

Lyle Schaller, considered one of the best church consultants in the world, states in his book, The Very Large Church, that the two most comfortable church sizes are under 45 people and under 150 people, likely making them two of the hardest thresholds to pass through, in addition to the 800 mark.

In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell states that 150 is also the maximum number of people someone can purposefully connect with, which explains why some people do not like bigger churches. It may also explain why John Wesley divided people into groups of about 150, the average hunter-gatherer village is about 150 people, most military units are under 200, and the Hutterites allow their communities to grow no larger than 150.

Understanding group dynamics like this is important in understanding that there are significant challenges that come with each phase of church size, and being aware of where you want your church to grow allows you to begin preparing for those growth phases more effectively.

2. The larger the church, the more different it is from other churches of the same theology and tradition.

As a church grows, while the theology remains the same, the organization complexity doesn’t, often requiring new methods of ministry.

Size affects the number of lines of communication, how an organization stacks or does not stack leadership, access to the senior leader and family, etc. Simply put, church size does matter for how a church is run, much like a married couple who some years later find themselves with a dozen children cannot simply organize their life as they did with their first child—everything must change.

For those wanting to learn more about the dynamics of church size, Tim Keller has a helpful paper, and Larry Osborne has a helpful book called Sticky Teams.

3. Change is inevitable.

You either move forward or backward. A living church changes differently than a dying church does, but all churches change.

For a church to grow, it must change. It does not need to change in theology, but it will need to change in methodology. If a church is unwilling to change their methodology to reach and care for more people, then it is guilty of method-idolatry, which is where we confuse unchanging biblical principles with what are supposed to be changing cultural methods.

4. Don’t assign moral judgments to size and change.

People tend to wrongly attach a moral value to church size, which is unholy, unhealthy, and unhelpful. This explains why big churches are accused of being uncaring and small churches are accused of not reaching people or being well led or organized.

I pastored Mars Hill when it was small and saw a lot of people saved by Jesus. And, now that Mars Hill is large, I’m certain we take far better care of our people with far better community than we did when we were small. Many smaller church pastors, especially those who value theology well above ministry philosophy and size, tend to completely overlook or even deny the importance of church size. They will accuse those who care about numbers to be simply pragmatic, as if wanting more people to meet Jesus and grow in grace were a bad thing.

The reality is that Jesus works through churches of all sizes, and if he should see fit to bless a church to grow bigger, that is not a bad thing but a good thing.

5. If you want to grow, you need to prepare for common changes now.

Here are few of the changes you’ll face as you grow:

• You move from managing workers, to leading managers, to leading leaders.
• Focus shifts from a survival-in-the-present mode to a success-in-the-future mode.
• Expectations move from informal to formal (elders, deacons, and members).
• You have to grow from making decisions by general consensus to a handful of people making decisions.
• Communications becomes formal and written rather than informal and oral.
• People’s roles move from general responsibility to specialized responsibility.
• The church moves from being one community to being many communities (e.g. multiple services, community groups, etc.).
• The senior leaders shift their focus from being primarily caregivers to making sure people are being cared for by raising up leaders.
• The senior leader shifts from working in the organization to working on the organization.
• The members move from being connected to the pastor to being connected to other leaders.
• Focus shifts from drawing people through relationship to drawing them through events and dynamic Sunday services.

6. Be humble as a leader to seek the counsel of pastors ahead of you and receive their counsel.

Over the years, I’ve reached out to many godly pastors who oversee larger churches for advice and counsel as Mars Hill has grown. Their friendship, advice, prayer, and service to our church have been much appreciated and priceless. No man is an island, and it’s crucial to seek godly counsel and humbly receive it.

7. Discern between guilt and conviction in seasons of transition.

Developing this discernment is key, as you cannot do what everyone wants you to do and also do exactly what God calls you to do. As the old adage goes, if you try to please everyone, you please no one.

Proverbs 29:25 says that fear of man is a “trap” or a “snare,” depending upon your translation. Fear of man causes us to live for the approval of our tribe and to fear criticism or ostracism from our tribe. Fear of man is a form of idolatry—living to please someone other than Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, when you get to heaven, you’ll give account to Jesus for your decisions and actions as a pastor. Strive to be faithful to Jesus, not to the demands of people.

8. Pray and plan for people to meet Jesus.

As you often get what you pray for, and you need to prepare for it.

Mars Hill has been blessed by God to see a great harvest over the years. Like any large harvest, there is much work to do and it is tiring. As you pray for many people to meet Jesus, also prepare in faithful expectation for the work that will come if Jesus answers your prayer.

The good news is that seeing many people meet Jesus, while demanding work, is the best kind of work there is.

- Pastor Mark Driscoll – Mars Hill Seattle

~ God Bless
Pastor Tyler

Popular evangelical literature on leadership tends to fall into one of two extremes. The first extreme focuses on those who lead the church positionally (elders and deacons). While this extreme incorporates robust and weighty theology to discuss leadership it fails to engage the full breadth of leadership as it is revealed in Scripture.

The second extreme focuses on leadership from a business or personality model. While this extreme includes more than just church leaders, it fails to argue from a solid theological foundation and thus skews the person and purpose of leadership.

Both extremes fall short of how Scripture speaks of leadership. Both extremes, when they become the primary lens for defining and implementing leadership, have severe adverse effects on the local church.

“Both extremes create deformed church leaders and churches.”

When the first extreme is held, leadership becomes purely a role within the church structure and thus has little to no impact in the culture and community in which the church exists. This view limits leadership within the church to those who have a “pastoral” gifting or who can serve the programs of the church. Little to no attention is paid to those who lead outside of the organization of the church, and the leadership pool within the church shrinks significantly.

The second extreme attracts those who lead outside of the church structure, yet it fails to equip and empower them to lead as biblically faithful Christians within their spheres of influence. Because, at best, the theological depth of this extreme stops at prooftexting, and those who fall into this extreme lead their churches to address surface issues within their people and their community while never seeing deep and total heart transformation. The gospel fails to be central and powerful, while leadership axioms are given the same weight as Scripture.

Both extremes create deformed church leaders and churches.

Best Method

To avoid the extremes, one needs to have a Biblically accurate definition of leadership. Doing so allows a leader to faithfully leverage the benefits of the literature and practices of either extreme while guarding against their dangers.

Positional Leadership

Scripture speaks of leadership as both positional and as influential. Positional leadership is perhaps the most common way church leaders understand leadership (the first extreme). Acts 20, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, Hebrews 12, and 1 Peter 5 outline how positional leadership should be understood. Positional leadership is for some. It is a role that God has ordained and calls particular people to. Those given positional leadership within God’s kingdom and over his people are men and women whose character is that of Christ’s (1 Tim. 3), whose behavior reflects their identity (2 Cor. 5:14–17), who have the necessary skills and abilities to lead the church on God’s mission (Eph. 3:10, 4:11; Titus 1), and who have been called by God—thus empowered by his Spirit—to do so (Acts 20; 2 Cor. 5:14–21; Heb. 13:17). The positional roles of leadership within the church are deacon (for men and women) and elder (for men only). These persons should lead in a way that reflects how God has led his people through history: through his Word, by the power of his Spirit, and as selfless servants.

Influential Leadership

A second way in which leadership is described in Scripture is that of influence (the second extreme). Similar to those who lead from a position, those who lead through influence are called by God to himself and participate in his mission to reconcile all things to himself (2 Cor. 5:17–18; 1 Peter 2:9). These leaders are empowered by the Spirit and equipped by those in positional leadership (Eph. 4:11–16) to be ministers of reconciliation in whatever sphere of life they operate.

The consistent elements are calling and character, with some overlapping competencies. What differs is the role within the body and immediate context. Some are called to lead the church. Others are called to lead as the church.

God Calls Leaders

The mission of God is to glorify himself through the reconciliation of humanity—of every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 5:9)—and creation (Col. 1:20) to a right relationship with him (2 Cor. 5:14–21) through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:9–10). Christ then is the hope of the world. The church is simultaneously a goal and a means of the mission as God’s reconciled people given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18–20). If Christ is the hope of the world, the church is the instrument by which that hope is made manifest (Eph. 3:10).

Therefore, a Christian leader is . . .

A person called by God, given and pursing the character of Christ, so as to influence people towards living in relation to God, others, and the world as God intends.

A Christian leader is first called by God—called out of darkness and sin and into life as a new creation given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:14–21). A Christian leader is then given and pursuing the character of Christ (2 Peter 1:1–11). A Christian leader is to influence through the authority of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of fulfilling the mission of God (Eph. 4:11–16; 1 Peter 2:9).

Many Means, One Glory

Whether you are leading the church as an elder or deacon or leading the church in your home, workplace, or sphere of influence, the charge is the same: through the gospel, seek the reconciliation of all things to God the Father. The exact means of leading towards reconciliation may differ, but the goal does not. Similarly, the roles and competencies may differ but the calling and character of Christian leader leading the church or as the church does not.

If this is your foundation for understanding leadership, then you can avoid the extremes that are pervasive among evangelicals today. Go then and faithfully lead to the glory of God!

~ Jeremy Pace

~ God Bless – PT

Topic: The Bible

Author:  John Piper

~ God Bless

Pastor Tyler

First, however, let me say that our loyalty to our church should be stronger than our attraction to the better praise band down the street or to the in-depth preacher who just took a job at the church on the corner. Leaving a church should feel like leaving a marriage. It should hurt because we have lived our lives with a group of people, and now we are leaving. But, again, there are legitimate reasons to leave. Doctrinal considerations or the specific needs of our children are, for instance, two valid reasons for leaving a church. When a church is moving in a direction that an individual or a family feels is contrary to God’s Word that is another prudent reason for making a change.

But how should one leave? The usual method is to slither out the back door with the hope that no one notices. Over the years I’ve had numerous conversations with people who have left Santa Barbara Community Church, conversations that are sometimes embarrassing and sometimes hurtful. Haven’t seen you in a while, I say as we pass on State Street. Is everything okay? Then I learn that this person has moved to another church for whatever reason. I’m quick to try to relieve the embarrassment. Assuming this person has moved to a good church, I say something like Well, may God bless you and keep you. . . That’s a great church, and I’m sure it will be better with you in it. We’re all on the same team in the Body of Christ. We’ll miss you.

But these conversations—while cordial and sincere—are hurtful because they happen accidentally. A serendipitous encounter at the grocery store should not be the moment to announce that three months ago you left your church. When I have these encounters, I find myself thinking as a pastor, I’ve prayed for this person and invested my life in this family. I performed his wedding and dedicated his baby. Besides, aren’t we members of the same church universal? How could he and his family leave without so much as a good-bye?

So how do we leave a church? I offer the following suggestions:
First, leave deliberately. Don’t slither or slide. Don’t wander hither and yonder. When it’s time to go, go—and then go become an integral part of another good, Bible-believing, Christ-saturated church. The New Testament knows nothing of individual believers taking a little from here and sampling a little from over there. The biblical doctrine of the church describes a body of believers deeply committed to Christ and to one another.

Second, go graciously. Has your theology changed to the extent that you need to join a different church? Have the needs of your family or your work schedule compelled you to make a move? Fine. Move, but move graciously. Resist the temptation to concentrate on the warts and blemishes of the church you are leaving. (You’ll find, soon enough, that your new church has a few of these too!) It is important that you leave your church graciously and join your new church graciously. Eugene Peterson writes:
Every time I move to a new community, I find a church close by and join it—committing myself to worship and work with that company of God’s people. I’ve never been anything other than disappointed. Everyone turns out to be biblical, through and through: murmurers, complainers, the faithless, the inconstant, those plagued with doubt and riddled with sin, boring moralizers, glamorous secularizers. Every once in a while a shaft of blazing beauty seems to break out of nowhere and illuminate these companies, and then I see what my sin-dulled eyes had missed: Word of God-shaped, Holy Spirit-created lives of sacrificial humility, incredible courage, heroic virtue, holy praise, joyful suffering, constant prayer, persevering obedience.

Third, go thankfully. I write as a man who has been a pastor of the same church for almost three decades. During these years many people have left our church (some of them because of me). To be honest, some of the people who have left I don’t miss much. And others I miss sorely. But I always appreciate the one who takes the trouble to say good-bye.

Embarrassing or awkward as it may be, have an exit interview with one of the leaders, elders, or pastors of the church you are leaving. Explain the reasons for your departure, express your gratitude for their hard work, and commit yourself to praying for the church with which you will no longer be associated. These exit interviews are rare, but they are sweet. Pastors care about people. So when someone comes to me, shares where God seems to be leading, and gives thanks for the season of involvement at _____ , I beam with joy. Pastors are not running a business and trying to get more customers. Pastors are shepherds of a flock. On our good days we are not jealous of our sheep; we have their best interests at heart. Still, it is rarely easy to hear someone say, I gotta go. . . In fact, it always hurts. But the pain is softened when we learn that he or she is going to settle in a godly congregation of Christ-exalting believers. After all, we’re on the same team working for the same purposes.

Church membership and church involvement are serious undertakings. When we meet Christ, we are saved into the church. The Bible speaks of our being members of one another (Romans 12:4-5). We are joined together in Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16). We eat from one loaf and drink from one cup (Ephesians 4:4-5). We are to carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2). We might even find ourselves selling our property in order to meet another’s needs (Acts 4:32ff.). We are to be a forgiving community (Colossians 3:13) that is deeply in love with one another (John 13:34). The church is a precious gift to God’s people. Christ died to bring the church into being (Ephesians 5:25)! The church is the mantelpiece of God, the display of God’s splendor before the angels (Ephesians 3:10)! So let us take care that we cherish the organism that Christ suffered to create—and may God bless his church!

Let’s blog about the Elephant in the room….

~ God Bless
Pastor Tyler

So tonight they started the program off with this video and I just wanted to share it with you all I hope that you enjoy it!

The Shampoo Model

Acts 8:4-8,26-40

God calls us to be a “Missional Church”.  So what is a Missional Church?

A “Missional Church” is an authentic community of faith that primarily directs its ministry focus outward toward the context in which it is located and to the broader world beyond.

So as a Missional Church:

I.  He calls us to WORK v4-8
1.  Phillip was preaching, casting out demons, and healing the lame.
2.  Because of the movement of the Spirit there was much joy in the city.  Is there joy in our city? Our Church? Your Home? In You?

II.  He calls us to SUBMISSION v26/v29b-30a
1.  The angel told Phillip that it was time to go.  Phillip did not argue or question he simply left and went where he was told.
2.   He was told to go to the desert in the middle of the day.  This seems so illogical to man but to God this is exactly when he was needed.

III.  He calls us to an OPPORTUNITY v27-39
1.   Phillip had no idea what he was being called to go do but through his obedience and his submission he was able to give the gospel to the Eunuch who then spread this same message to the continent of Africa.
2.   In this opportunity we see that God prepared everything, in v26 we are told that this place was a desert but in v36 we are told that they came across a body of water!  In the desert the last thing that you would expect is water but God has prepared the situation and had taken care of everything.
3.   We also see that God prepared the heart of the Eunuch as he was searching for the meaning of scripture and needed someone to explain its truths.  Once again God was prepared and had Phillip in the right place and exactly the right time.

IV.   He calls us to REPEAT v40
1.   In v40 we see that right after Phillip is done baptizing the Eunuch he is supernaturally moved to another place and he immediately continued preaching the gospel and sharing Christ with every town that he came to.

However, in this life all decisions and circumstances are not as laid out and clear. Halloween is a great example of this. More to the point should we as Christians take part in Halloween? Well, because of the nature of this blog I am not going to answer this question for you. This will be something that you and God are going to have to determine for your own household what the right thing to do is. I will however briefly discuss both sides and then provide you with my own personal household’s decision. My goal is simply to bring to light our motives as Christians for our actions so that we don’t blindly go through this life but we intentionally walk as a reflection of God.

First, let us deal with the origin of the Holiday itself. It dates back over 2000 years ago to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts, whom the festival originated with, lived in the areas now known as Ireland, UK, and parts of France. They celebrated their new year on November 1st, thus designating the 31st of October as the end of the harvest and the start of cold winter, days with more darkness (lack of sunlight), and a time of year that was associated with human death. The Celts believed that this one night of the year was a boundary between the living and the dead. The festival of Samhain was believed to be when ghosts of the dead returned to earth which allowed the Celtic priests also known as Druids to communicate through them to predict the future. The celebration consisted of burning crops and animals as sacrifices on altars that were constructed to honor the Celtic deities. As with other holidays that we observe the Catholic Church would later step in and attempt to replace the holiday with a “Church-sanctioned” holiday and therefore made a holiday named All Saints day celebrating the religious dead. The term All Saints Day is also known as All-hallows Eve; which is where we get the modern name Halloween from. American culture has really taken the holiday to make it more of a day of fun and fantasy that its origin would depict. Americans all over this great country will dress up as their favorite heroes, characters, fantasies, and even in some cases favorite Bible characters. They will travel door to door to receive prizes, candy, and all sorts of different “treats”.

Now that we understand the origin lets discuss the different thoughts on it from a Christian perspective. This among a few other holidays (Easter, Christmas) can spark a wide variety of debates in the church of what is right and what is wrong. As even I definitely had a view that some would say is somewhat legalistic, although in preparing for this blog I was confronted with what is God’s heart on this matter more so than what is my heart on it. One viewpoint that Christians will take is that it is the “Devil’s Holiday” meaning that it is all evil and there is nothing about God in this day. And they will quote I Peter 5:8 saying that we must be aware of the Devil as he is “…prowling like a roaring lion waiting to devour…” and that is true but partly taken out of context when used for one specific event as that is not exactly what Peter was addressing as he was writing that letter. They will also quote 1 Thessalonians 5:22 which states that we should “…abstain from every form of evil” which is definitely true however again if taken out of context could be used for anything from smoking to diet soda to certain types of food or to even TV and computers. However, there are some that will dismiss all of this all together and say that they is nothing demonic about the holiday and that it is all harmless fun and that there is nothing wrong with dressing up and going around to the neighbor’s house to collect candy. I believe that this however is just as incorrect as the previous.

We as Christians must constantly be evaluating our lives through the context and through the “lenses” of the Bible. We must look at this the way that God would look at this. We must seek His will and His heart on the matter instead of trying to draw legalistic lines in the sand that make us feel better about us and that we are doing something right and that somehow makes us closer to God. Remember that the only thing that has made us right with God is faith in Jesus. If we are a follower of Jesus Christ (meaning we have faith in Him and surrendered our life to Him and understand that apart from Him as Savior we are going to be separated from God for eternity upon death) then we must evaluate everything that we do through His eyes. The only way to know this is to be in the Word every day and to spend time with Him every day. And in Psalm 24:1 it tell us this:

“The Earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein…” ESV

Which means simply this: God is in control of all of this! There is not a day that is not His. There is not anything that goes on that is not under His authority. Does He allow things to go on that are displeasing to Him? Sure. But we must look at the world as He does, it is filled with people who He desires to reach and bring closer to Him.
So the Harrison household is taking a different approach this year. We are still not going to participate in Halloween festivities like dressing up and going door to door. We are not going to hang decorations or attend any parties that are specifically Halloween “get togethers”.

We are however going to hand out candy to everyone that comes to our door. We are also going to give them a flashlight that says “Jesus is the light” and we are going to take the opportunity to tell them about Jesus. The reason that we are going to do this is because this might be the only chance that we get to speak to these kids and parents about Jesus. Look at it this way we are constantly trying to find time to go out into the community to share the love of Jesus with our neighbors and this one night we don’t have too…They are going to come to us! So let’s make it count Christians!! So even though I am still not a big fan of Halloween I am a HUGE fan of spreading the Gospel to those that don’t know Jesus. So this Holiday season I want you to be careful but more importantly I want you to be intentional!

God Bless,
Pastor Tyler

Ok, so I have put up a ton of videos lately and have really flaked on the blogging.  I know, I know.  I will get back to it.  However I think that you really have to see this one.  It will make you evaluate your worship!

God Bless

PT

~|~ God Bless
PT

Jesus was named prophetically. Matthew 1:20-23 says, “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us.’”
Names of Jesus – The List
Why are there so many different names of Jesus? The names serve as a description of who Jesus is and how He works in the lives of individuals. Some scholars have located over 700 titles and different names for Jesus in the Bible. Let’s study a few of them here.

God – Jesus is called God in several passages in the Bible. Along with His sinless life, miracles, and resurrection from the dead, His claims to be God stand firm (John 20:28).

Lord – In the New Testament, this term is used as a salutation to honor a man of distinction. The disciples used this term to salute Jesus as their teacher and master (Matthew 22:43-44).

Word – This title was used by the apostle John to describe the mission of Jesus. The title states Jesus’ Godhead and eternal and absolute deity (John 1:1, 14).

Messiah – The long awaited “anointed one” who would deliver Israel. Jesus came to deliver mankind from sin and death (John 4:25-26).

Alpha and Omega – These two characters were the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This descriptive title expresses the eternal nature of God – the beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8; 22:13).

Savior – Jesus is the person who rescues mankind from an eternity in hell.

Redeemer – “One who frees or delivers another from difficulty, danger, or bondage, usually by the payment of a ransom price.” In the New Testament, Jesus is viewed as the ultimate Redeemer who gave His life as a ransom (Mark 10:45, Titus 2:14).

Light of the World – Jesus is the Person who brings true knowledge of God. Those who reject this light bring judgment upon themselves (John 8:12; 3:19-21).

Lamb of God – This title refers to the Old Testament sacrificial system where God accepted the blood of animals as atonement for sin (John 1:29, 36). Jesus’ blood made atonement for sin!

Ruler of Creation – Christ existed before the creation of the world and He is sovereign over it (Revelation 3:14).

Mediator – Because Jesus is fully God, He can represent God to man. Because He is fully man, Jesus can represent man to God. Reconciliation is possible (1 Timothy 2:5).

Bread of Life – Jesus is the one and only supplier of true spiritual nourishment (John 6:35).
Way, Truth, and Life – Jesus is the only way to heaven, the only source of truth, and the foundation of all life (John 14:6)!
Names of Jesus – Personal Meaning
What do the names of Jesus mean to you? Do they have personal significance? Is Jesus your Savior, your Mediator, your Redeemer? If not, we encourage you to learn more about Him and accept the gift of salvation He has offered to you.

If Jesus is your Savior, are you overcome with thankfulness for what God has done for you? Take a moment and praise Him using His various names. “Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You are my Life, for without You my life would be worth nothing. You are my Savior and my King, the Lamb of God who atoned for my sin. You are the Alpha and Omega and You control the beginning and end of each circumstance in my life. You are the Bread of Life and I can feast on Your spiritual nourishment to keep me in perfect peace. You are my Lord and my God. In Your holy name, amen.”

-Author Unknown

~ God Bless
PT

Remember: “Who doesn’t want to be SUPER”

Love in Christ ~
P.T.

I really don’t have anything to say after that except is that does not make you worship and praise Jesus then we need to check your pulse.  I hope that you take a second and just worship and praise God for the mercy and grace that He has freely given us.

God Bless ~

Pastor Tyler