Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Quotable Quote
"The health of the church is not found in attendance stats but by the distance between what we believe and how we behave Monday through Saturday." - Doug Jones
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
This Week at Zoe
On Saturday, 1/31/15, at 10:00 AM, the ladies will gather in the Children's Church Auditorium for their monthly Brunch. Please bring a breakfast item and your Bible. Oh...and don't forget to invite a friend!
Immediately after the service, we'll have our Covered Dish Dinner. Please bring a main dish, side dish, salad, and/or dessert (enough for your family and a little extra, if possible). We plan to finish up by 2:15 PM, leaving plenty of time for your Super Bowl activities.
Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), in Warrington, PA.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Sunday Morning Series - Learn to Discern - When We Fail at Practice
Sometimes the hardest thing is to keep doing what you know to do. By doing what God says to do and praying the Word, we are practicing for a future event. We think every day has to be significant, but that's not what happened in the Bible.
What are some ways we respond to God's direction?
1) Incomplete obedience.
2) Incomplete listening.
3) Do things completely my way.
What do these responses reinforce for us?
1) Flesh not faith.
2) Natural not supernatural.
3) Restlessness not patience.
Abraham is held up as an example of faith, but he made a lot of mistakes along the way. God made a promise to Abram and told him to leave his family and move away from Ur of the Chaldees. Instead, Terra moves the family to Haran. Abram was supposed to move and leave them behind, but he does something else. Why do we think we can improve on God's plan?
Even when Abram left Haran after Terra died, he still took his nephew, Lot. He has some extra baggage. He goes to Canaan and encounters a famine.
Has God called you to a place, and it's not as nice as you expected? Just because God calls you to a place doesn't mean it will be all peachy. God has instructed Abram to plant in time of famine, but Abram isn't listening. He goes to Egypt, and he's afraid Pharoah will kill him so he can have Sarai. He wasn't supposed to go there, and fear is the result. He was practicing incomplete obedience.
To hear the rest of this message, please visit our website and click on the Listen Tab. You can listen online, download it to your MP3 player, or podcast FREE.
If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, we invite you to our Sunday Morning Service at 10:00 AM. Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), in Warrington, PA. The church phone number is (215) 343-7686. We look forward to meeting you!
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Quotable Quotes
"Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and the angels know of us." - Thomas Paine
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
This Week at Zoe
On Wednesday, 1/14/15, at 7:30 PM, Keith Porter will be teaching in our Midweek Service. Since last week's meeting was cancelled, everyone was moved forward one week.
Come out and Learn to Discern (our latest series on hearing the voice of God). Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), in Warrington, PA.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Sunday Morning Series - Learn to Discertn - Training Days Can Be Dangerous
In Daniel 1:8-17, we see that Daniel and his friends are not in Babylon by choice. They're there because Israel sinned. The Babylonians took them back to their country because they excelled and were some of the best and brightest minds Israel had to offer. They were also not there because of a dream or call from God nor because of their own sin. They worshiped the one true God.
Early in their introduction to Babylonian culture and life, they were allotted food from the king's delicacies. They convinced the one responsible for their well being to give them just vegetables. Many people use this to say being a vegetarian is better. In fact, the meat provided was routinely offered to idols, and they wanted no part of it. They gained the trust of their caretaker, and prospered.
In Daniel 2:1-13 - The king has a dream and is so disturbed that he calls for all his wise men to interpret it. This time, however, he requires that they tell him the dream before giving its meaning. They admit to their inability to do this, and he's enraged. The order goes out to kill all the wise men - including Daniel.
Dreams come from two sources: God or the enemy. The enemy would not want those deceiving the king to be killed. We know from the the story that the dream came from God for the purpose of promotion. However, the very dream meant for promotion could have resulted in Daniel's death if he didn't step up and use wisdom.
Daniel asks Arioch, who is coming to kill him why this is so urgent? He asks for a day, and promises to not only tell the king his dream, but also the interpretation. If he'd asked things like, "Why is this happening to me or what did I do to deserve this kind of treatment," the story would have ended here. His question caught Arioch's attention and gained him an audience with the king.
Many people declare that whatever happens to us is God's will. The truth is if you don't handle a "training day" right, it could be lethal. Daniel prepared himself for those critical times when he'd be called upon to give a godly answer. God gives us the opportunity to prepare for tough times, but if we don't get ready, it's not His fault.
To hear the entire message, please visit our website and click on the Listen Tab. You can listen online, download it to your MP3 player, or podcast FREE.
If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, we invite you to our Sunday Morning Service at 10:00 AM. Children's Services also begin at the same time. Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), in Warrington, PA. We look forward to meeting you!
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Quotable Quotes
"The man who would lift others must be uplifted himself, and he who would command others must learn to obey." - Charles K. Ober
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
This Week at Zoe
Monday, January 5, 2015
Sunday Morning Series - Learning to Discern - Training Day
In athletics, there's a difference between training and game day. Training is designed to build endurance. On game day, all the practicing and building physical strength are focused on winning.
We've often looked at the life of Joseph, but today we're going to see how God used all the difficulties in his life to prepare him for his mission: to save the lives of his family and protect the Messianic line. God did not send the problems. The evil designs of his brothers and Satan's intent to destroy the Israelites were turned around to defeat them.
When Joseph was 17, he had two dreams and shared them with his brothers and father. The brothers already hated him because he was given the task to report on their activities and showed good character. The coat of many colors set him apart as favored.
Sold into slavery in Egypt, he worked in Potiphar's house and soon became management. When Potiphar's wife tempted him, he refused. She eventually found opportunity to accuse him and referred to him as an outsider/stranger/Hebrew. No doubt the other slaves in the household weren't too pleased with Joseph's great success. He faced many challenges. This was practice and training for the future.
Thrown in jail, his leadership ability is once again recognized, and he is put in charge of the prison. While there, the butler and baker have dreams, which he correctly interprets. He's been mulling over his own dreams and studying the whole subject. What is he going to face in the future - the big game in sports terms? He will need to interpret Pharoah's dreams and take charge of the program that will save many lives, including that of his family.
It was 13 long years from the time Joseph had his dreams until he became ruler over Egypt under Pharoah. He could have become frustrated and given up, but he pressed on. In every instance he did his best to perform his duties and learn all he could.
Application: Stop looking for your life to matter and look for life to prepare you to matter. Our preparation is often long and helps us succeed at a task God has for us in the future.
To hear the entire message, please visit our website and click on the Listen Tab. You can listen online, download the message to your MP3 player, or podcast FREE.
If you're visiting in the area or looking for a church home, we invite you to our Sunday Morning Service. Zoe Christian Fellowship is located at 1111 Easton Rd. (Route 611), in Warrington, PA. We'd love to meet you!
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