LIFEPOINT

A Study From Romans

2009-07-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

At Lifepoint Church we have a mentor group of men who feel called of God to enter the Gospel Ministry. Recently one of their projects was a study in the first chapter of Romans. Here then is Bruce Keith's article-

Romans 1:14-24

What is the purpose and occasion of Paul’s writing the book of Romans? Although Paul is well aware of the Roman church he has not yet personally visited it (Rom. 1:10). However, as we will soon see, Paul feels a very deep obligation to its members. First of all, He is an apostle to the gentiles, of whom the majority of the Roman church is made. Secondly, as a citizen, he is well aware of the environment in which the church must struggle. We will touch on this further in this commentary. So Paul’s purpose is to introduce himself and his theology to a people he has yet to meet. In doing this he intends to be both compelling and influential. Needless to say, as anyone familiar with the book of Romans will know, Paul is more than successful in his objectives.

Let us begin with verse 14 which reads “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish” (Rom 1:14 ESV). I would like to comment on the word “obligation” here. I believe the KJV has a better translation as “debtor”, the reason being that the Greek word is opheiletes which means “a person indebted to.” It implies someone bound to a duty; it gives a deeper sense of “owing” than obligation. Why does Paul feel this deep sense of debt to the Roman church and to all gentiles as a whole?

If we look to Rom. 1:1 we will get some clarity. Here Paul says he is “a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” In one short sentence he gives three reasons for his motivation; he is a servant, he is called, and he is set apart. Let’s take a quick look at Paul’s sense of servitude. In 1 Cor. 9:19-23 Paul tells us that “though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.” He goes on to say that to the Jew he becomes as a Jew, and to those under the law, as under the law. The point being made here is that Paul’s sense of service in reaching the lost for Jesus is such a high priority in life that he is willing to “become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some” (vs.22). A greater example of service would be rare indeed.

As to Paul’s sense of being called we need only go back to that day on the road to Damascus. Paul’s conversion to Christianity is one of Jesus’ great works. Paul was a Pharisee of the highest standing, a persecutor of the church who witnessed and condoned the stoning of Stephen, and one who hunted and captured Christians for persecution. Then one day he comes face to face with Jesus; what an event! Better yet we read in Acts 9:15-16 the very words of Jesus saying, “he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Wow! So we see why Paul feels his deep sense of calling.

We find in Acts 13:2 why Paul feels set apart. While at a church in Antioch with many church leaders that were gathered to worship and pray, the Holy Spirit speaks to them; “set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Thus we see again why Paul feels he is a servant, called, and set apart. We need to remember that we have all been called and set apart to be servants; called by the same Jesus, to the same service, led by the Same Holy Spirit, to the same work which is moving forward with God’s work.

In the second half of verse 14 we see to whom Paul feels indebted; Greeks and barbarians, and wise and foolish. The Greeks would have been considered the wise and the barbarians the foolish but, I believe the point Paul is making is the universality of the gospel message. The work of Christ is for the whole world now, not only the Jews who considered themselves the chosen one’s of God.

Verse 15 reads “So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.” Here is a question; why preach the gospel to a Christian church? Are they not saved already? We already know that Paul has not been to Rome, yet he is going to be very sure that they have the correct message. But I also have to believe that Paul feels that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a message for everyday life as a Christian. Everything starts with the cross of Calvary and we need to keep that with us daily.

Let us walk through verse 16. Paul begins this verse with an interesting phrase, one that is very applicable to our own lives and thus deserves our attention. He says “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.” For the first century Christians this was a real problem and Paul was very much aware of it. The new church was experiencing persecution from all sides and the cost of being a follower of Jesus was often huge. Rome at this time was a place where shame would have been very understandable for the Christian. It was a place where the emperor was worshiped as a God. The worship of many gods (paganism) was supported and practiced by the government. It was a center for higher intellect, which was also worshiped. It was also the center of carnal pleasure where all forms of immorality were indulged. Worst of all, it was a place where Christian’s were hated and killed for public entertainment. Yet in the face of all of this Paul is implying that they should not be ashamed. I will tell you who is ashamed, me! I can recall many times in a secular environment where I felt a Christian perspective needed to be spoken and yet I remained quiet because I didn’t want to be looked at as “one of those." How about you? How many times have you stayed silent when there was an opportunity to speak the name of Jesus? Remember this is the one you claim is your Lord and Savior. This is the one we say we believe is God’s answer to man’s eternal destiny, and yet our lips do not part.

Imagine if you will a scale. On one end would be something like witnessing to a man who asks during a bible study “can someone help me become a Christian?" On the other end would be Roman soldiers saying “renounce Jesus or you will be fed to lions as the public applauds your death.” This scale is used to measure points of shame where we hide our faith and, as you can imagine, there are multiple situations and points of shame between the seeker at a bible study and being fed to lions. So the question is not, “if you had to pick a spot where do you think you would fall," but rather, it is “if there was a spot for every point of shame in your life, that is, the times you hid your belief, where would the cluster fall”? Can you picture this? We all have moments of utter weakness as well as those of great conviction and courage, but where does the majority fall? In other words, where do you live your life? These are questions only you can answer and we need to ask them often.

Paul’s next phrase in verse 16 is “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” The word for “power” here is dunamis, from which we get out word dynamite, and can be translated as “mighty force”. This same word is used in 1 Cor. 1:18 where it says “but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”. And again in verses 23-24; “but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." It is important to understand that Paul is using the word “power” in the literal sense, not an allegorical sense. He is saying that Christ is the literal power of God. In sum, Paul is saying do not be ashamed of the gospel because it is the literal power of God through Christ and into all who believe, resulting in salvation.

“To the Jew first and also to the Greek”; we need to remember God’s special love for His chosen people the Jews. In Peter’s second sermon to the Jews in Acts 3:26 he says “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” It was through them that God chose to reveal Himself to the world. All of God’s plans began with the Jews.

In verse 17 we find a very powerful statement about faith. Paul writes “For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’” In the phrase “from faith to faith” the word for “from” is ek which means “point of origin” or “starting place”. In the same phase the word for “to” is eis which means “to, into, point reached”. The point being made is that the revelation of God's righteousness begins with faith and ends with faith. There is nothing before, after, or in between, it is with faith only. Then to drive the point home Paul quotes from Habakkuk 2:4, “But the righteous will live by his faith”. At the time Habakkuk wrote this he was grieving the evil that was falling upon the Israelites. God was bringing armies against them and they were dying. So God gives him a revelation which, when literally translated, reads, “By faith the righteous shall live.” Even in the time of Habakkuk God is saying that faith is what determines those who live and die and this is the point Paul is making to the Romans.

Verse 18; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” It is interesting to note here that the word for “revealed” is “apokalyptetai” and is the same word used in the previous verse 17. The meaning is to “remove the veil from or unveil something once hidden”. We see that verse 18 is the antithesis of 17, and in each something is being revealed. In verse 17 the righteousness of God is revealed through faith and in verse 18 the wrath of God is revealed in the same manner through unfaith, or as Paul says “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” In both cases God will act, there is no neutral position and we are all one or the other.

Verses 19-20; “Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His Invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Paul makes a couple of startling claims here. For one thing when man stands before Christ in judgment and claims “there was never any proof that God existed” he will be told that the very world he lived in demanded a creator, yet he was unwilling to believe it. Secondly and most importantly, in verse 19 Paul claims “that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them." Do you see what God did here? He made Himself known to man by making Himself evident within man. God makes testimony of Himself to each of us individually and still we turn away. What more can we ask of Him?

Verse 21; For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." This is the next stage of unbelief, of turning away from God. After turning away from evidence of God in the World and evidence of God in their heart, they become speculators following after their own imaginations and desires. A heart that follows such a path finds itself in utter darkness, lost.

Verse 22; “Professing to be wise, they became fools." This is so obvious in the world today. Some of the most educated people refuse to acknowledge even the possibility of God. In fact they spend their entire lives in all out war against the very idea. These are the wise who have become fools.

Verse 23; “And exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures." Here they have fallen into the sin of idolatry, what may be argued to be the basis of all sin. At this stage the individual has completely removed from the heart and life the one true God and worships the self and man-made idols. Today’s favorite idols are money, status, possessions, quest for eternal youth, and even man-made good looks, just to name a few. God is irrelevant and self is everything.

Verse 24; “So God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them." Here again is another startling truth; that a man can turn so far away and become so lost in sin that God will turn him over to his own sinful desires. At this point the journey back to God is difficult at best, maybe impossible. I like to hope that one can never fall too far away, but that is a discussion for another time.

In closing, let me bring us back to verses 16 and 17 for it is there we find the answer to humanity’s dilemma.

For the Christian first- do not be ashamed of the gospel, for it is truly the only way of salvation. Yes, we will be criticized and mocked in the public square, but know that you stand on the shoulders of great people who came before you. We have been entrusted with the great privilege of being God’s voice in a fallen world. Without us the world does not hear the gospel.

Have faith in the power of God for it is by His power that we will persevere.

For the unsaved; hear the words of Paul when he says that the gospel is the power of God for salvation. Jesus Christ is the door through which we enter into eternal life; “to everyone who believes.” It is at this point that God’s power enters into you and begins to reveal His perfect love and boundless grace. We do not earn this, we cannot earn this, it is truly by grace that we receive it.

Finally, brothers and sisters, I pray that as we move forward into the days ahead we will stand firm as the body of Christ. As this country in which we live becomes more secularized, the persecution of the church will grow stronger. Know that we are here with a purpose and remain strong in the truth.

God Bless You

The Roman Road

2009-06-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

Every Christian is called to lead others to Christ. But how do we do that? What can we tell them?

We know the answer is in the Bible, but where?

In our Wednesday night Bible study on the book of Romans we discovered a well known, and well used way of helping others to know the truth of the Gospel.

We call it

The Roman Road.

Rom. 3:10, "As it is written, 'There is none righteous, not even one...'"
Rom. 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Rom. 5:12, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned."
Rom. 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Rom. 5:8, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Rom. 10:9-10, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
Rom. 10:13, "For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

While it may be a bit overwhelming to memorize the whole book as Martin Luther advised, it is certainly not too much to commit these seven verses to memory. That way you can always have with you the tools to share the most wonderful gift you have with those you know and love. Or even everyone else!

Romans Bible Study

2009-06-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

This week the Pastor started teaching verse by verse through the Epistle to the Romans in our Wednesday night Bible Study.
Don't miss out on the experience of this masterpiece of Christian knowledge.
As Martin Luther wrote in the introduction to his commentary on the letter,

This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes. Therefore I want to carry out my service and, with this preface, provide an introduction to the letter, insofar as God gives me the ability, so that every one can gain the fullest possible understanding of it. Up to now it has been darkened by glosses [explanatory notes and comments which accompany a text] and by many a useless comment, but it is in itself a bright light, almost bright enough to illumine the entire Scripture.

Join us every Wednesday night at 7 PM at Lifepoint Church. Everyone is welcome!

Galatians

2009-04-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

Pastor Glenn started a new study on the epistle of Paul to the Galatians this past Wednesday evening.

It seems that within the lifetime of Paul the Apostle all kinds of false teachers had managed to work their way into the church and add religious laws to the simple grace of the Gospel. The letter Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia to help them know their freedom in Christ can be a help also to us in this day of countless "religions."

The pastor has chosen Galatians 5:1 as our key verse in this study.

Join us Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary as we study God's word.

2009-04-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes called the mountain peak of the letters written to the Church, Ephesians is a book of the abstract and the practical, the heavenly and the common.
Starting with the sublime, revealing the mystery of the Church, the Body of Christ, Ephesians reaches right into the home, teaching the principles of godly family life.
Join us as we uncover the riches of the book of Ephesians and begin our course of Body Building.

The Bible as Poetry

2009-03-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

We know the Psalms to be Hebrew poetry- yet the Hebrew authors worked with the thoughts expressed rather than with meter or rhyme of the words as in our own English poetry. For example a Hebrew poet would repeat a thought in a different way as his "rhyme."

Some English poets have made their own "translations" of the Psalms as a means of expressing them. One such poet was Mary Sidney Herbert, whose own translation of Psalm 51 precedes the King James Bible of 1611 and uses the favored iambic pentameter of her contemporary William Shakespeare.

Psalm LI : Miserere mei, Deus

(The Psalmes of David, 1599)

O Lord, whose grace no limits comprehend,
Sweet Lord, whose mercies stand from measure free;
To me that grace, to me that mercy send,
And wipe, O Lord, my sins from sinful me;
O cleanse, O wash my foule iniquity;
Cleanse still my spots, still wash away my stainings,
Till stains and spots in me leave no remainings.

For I, alas, acknowledging, do know
My filthy fault, my faulty filthiness,
To my soul's eye incessantly doth show;
Which done to thee, to thee I do confess,
Just Judge, true witness; that for righteousness
Thy doom may pass, against my guilt awarded,
Thy evidence for truth may be regarded.

My mother, lo! when I began to be,
Conceiving me, with me did sin conceive;
And, as with living heat she cherish'd me,
Corruption did like cherishing receive;
But lo, thy love to purest good doth cleave,
And inward truth, which, hardly else discerned,
My truant soul in thy hid school hath learned.

Then (as thy self to lepers hast assign'd)
With hyssop, Lord, with hyssop purge me so,
And that shall cleanse the leapry of my mind;
Make over me thy mercy's streams to flow,
So shall my whiteness scorn the whitest snow;
To ear and heart send sounds and thoughts of gladness,
That bruised bones may leave away their sadness.

Thy ill-pleas'd eye from my misdeeds avert;
Cancel the registers my sins contain;
Create in me a clean, pure, spotless heart;
Inspire a spirit where love of right may reign,
And cast me not from thee; take not again
Thy breathing grace; again thy comfort send me,
And let the guard of thy free Spirit attend me.

So I to them a guiding hand will be,
Whose faulty feet have wandered from thy way,
And, turn'd from sin, will make return to thee,
Whom, turn'd from thee, sin erst had turn'd astray.
O God, God of my health, O do away
My bloody crime: so shall my tongue be raised
To praise thy truth, enough cannot be praised.

Unlock my lips, shut up with sinful shame,
Then shall my mouth, O Lord, thy honour sing;
For bleeding fuel for thy altars flame,
To gain thy grace what boots it me to bring?
Burnt offerings are to thee no pleasant thing;
The sacrifice that God will holde respected
Is the heart-broken soul, the spirit dejected.

Lastly, O Lord, how so I stand, or fall,
Leave not thy loved Sion to embrace;
But with thy favour build up Salem's wall,
And still in peace maintain that peaceful place;
Then shalt thou turn a well-accepted face
To sacred fires, with offer'd gifts perfumed,
Till even whole calves on altars be consumed.

[Note: Miserere mei, Deus, Have mercy on me, God]

Source
Select Psalms in Verse. W. H. Aston, ed.
London: H. Hatchard, 1811. 112-115.

online source: Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature

New Post by Pastor Glenn

2009-02-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

Those of us who have known Pastor Glenn for any length of time know of his soft heart for the lost and needy.
In a new post on his blog he gives us a lesson from the Bible on the tender heart of Jesus for even the outcasts of society. Be sure to read Pastor's article A Passion for Compassion.

MythBusters

2009-01-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

How to share your faith using Mythbusters.

Part of MythBusters’ success is driven by the desire inside most people to determine truth from non-truth. We’re wired to care about what’s true and what isn’t…it’s part of our pursuit of justice, fairness, and science, to name a few. Truth is also a major player in our relationships with each other.

Read the rest of this article on the Christian Post today.

Do you have any questions about Christianity? Maybe someone in your family told you something about the Bible and you just don't know how to prove it. Or they have asked you a really serious question about knowing for sure they can be saved. Times like these we need to know the truth.

Recently Pastor Glenn has initiated a Q&A- Ask the Pastor program at the church. You can write your questions down and turn them in at the church or you can email them to us at lifepoint1@live.com. Read more about this at Pastor Glenn's blog.

Be your own mythbuster and get the facts straight here from Lifepoint Church.

New blog post by Pastor Glenn

2009-01-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

Be sure to stop over at Pastor Glenn's new blog and read his latest article on the opportunities given us to mature in Christ through personal Accountability.

And don't forget to join us Sunday morning as we continue studying the book of Nehemiah in the series "Rebuilding Defenses."

REBUILDING DEFENSES

2009-01-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

Nehemiah was a man with a burden for the things of God. He was also a man of great faith. It was his undertaking to rebuild the walls of the holy city Jerusalem which had long fallen in to disrepair.

Battling the forces from both outside the walls and inside he overcame the obstacles and lead the people to the task's completion.

The book of Nehemiah is not merely a book of history reminding us of the faithfulness of God to His people in a time long ago. It is a lesson to us of the personal battles we must undertake to keep up our spiritual defenses against attacks, both external and internal.

Be sure to join us Sunday mornings at 10:00 as Pastor Glenn leads us through the book of Nehemiah.

(Don't forget you can also listen to past messages on your computers and iPods from our sermon library here.)

New Year's Resolution

2008-12-30T10:06:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again already, and in spite of my dread of the cliche' of New Year "resolutions" I will offer a proposal to you, with perhaps a little challenge.
Founding Father and second president of the United States John Adams made it a practice of reading through the Bible every year, often reading through the New Testament in the original Greek. He was not alone in this, it was generally accepted that all educated men would do this, and many of the founding fathers wrote of their habit of Bible reading.
In contrast to that, we have modern America which holds the enviable position of highest per capita Bible ownership, while untold millions of Bibles sit on shelves and in closets collecting dust.
Let me interject here-- I am not in the least trying to make anyone feel guilty. I can only wish for the years I have wasted in other pursuits instead of quality time getting to know God through His Word.

So what will be our plan? Well, I can tell you one that will not work. At least, I have never heard of it working for anyone. People always tell me, "I decided to start at the beginning of the Bible and read through." When they got to the "begats" it all started going downhill. Me too.

Here are some suggestions:

Buy a One Year Bible
This Bible contains a daily entry with a reading from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Psalms, and two Proverbs.

Do a Google search.
Try "Bible reading plan" or "read through the Bible".
There are also many options online:

You can download a free program to keep track of your reading on your computer.
You can also download a widget for your desktop that tells you the reading for the day.
Many sites offer daily "through the Bible" reading selections online.
Others offer a Through the Bible in One Year scripture selection guide you can print out and keep in your Bible.

One of my favorites is to read through the New Testament. Amazing as it may seem you can easily read through the New Testament in one month. By doing this you can avoid the lengthy geneologies, repeated histories and endless pronouncements of the Law. By the time (10 days) you have finished the gospels it is like having read the same biography 4 times. Talk about getting familliar with a story! More than this, it is in the New Testament we find out what "Christianity" is all about. It is the New Testament which reveals the Gospel to us. It is also the New Testament which shows us how to live as "the Body of Christ."

Another quick search tells us "the Bible contains everything we need for, "living, salvation, faith and practice, life and godliness. . . So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:17)

My personal recommendation to you is to set a bookmark for the ESV Daily Reading Bible. Simply go to your computer, clink on the link, and read your selection for the day.

Some final tips:
Reading through the Bible on this plan will take you 20 to 30 minutes a day. Be sure to set yourself this much time.
If you find yourself where you don't have the needed time, read just the New Testament portion of the reading.
If you miss a day (or several) DO NOT go back and try to catch up. Read that day's selection and keep on. At the end of the year you will have "read through the Bible" anyway. Nobody will say, "Oh but you missed a day," and next year you will catch that missed section. Right?

Make this challenge to yourself and expect to be pleasantly surprised and wonderfully blessed.

Happy New Year!

Lifepoint Christmas Banquet

2008-12-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

Friday night the Lifepoint church family met at Dolce Cafe and Bakery to celebrate Christmas with a banquet.
It was a wonderful time of fellowship and conversation.
After dinner the Children's Ministry treated us to a play of the Nativity. Then the Woship Team lead us in some Christmas carols.

A great time was had by all!

Go to our web album here to see more pictures.

p.s. See your picture? Simply right-click and save it to your computer!
- or email us at lifepoint1@live.com for a larger size file

Advent

2008-12-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

This is the season where we're all getting ready for Christmas. Mixed in with all the Christmas items are "Advent" ones. Especially Advent "calendars."
What exactly is "Advent?"

Looking this up we find that Advent is "the season at the beginning of the Church calendar which leads up to Christmas." Of course "High Church" calendars are a little different than the ones we are used to with the small groups and the youth activities.

Actually advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which has the meaning "coming." So then it refers to the coming of Jesus!

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

The singlular moment in all of the history of the universe is what we celebrate this time of year known as "Advent." This is the first coming of the Lord.

But wait, there's more. For this is indeed the "First" Advent.
There is also a "Second Advent."
What could be so spectacular that it could be considered a "Second?"

Remember the words of the angel to the disciples on the Mount of Olives after the Ascension of Christ?

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."

The Old Testament prophets did not make the distinction between the two comings. This can be seen in Scriptures such as Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7 and Zechariah 14:4. Since these prophecies seem to speak of two individuals, Jewish scholars thought there would be both a suffering Messiah and a conquering Messiah. What they couldn't understand is that the same Messiah would fulfill both roles. Jesus fulfilled the role of the suffering Servant (Isaiah chapter 53) in His first coming. He will fulfill the role of Israel’s Deliverer and King in His Second Coming.

The Second Coming is foretold in Revelation 19:11-16

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’”

Maranatha!

A blog post on Prayer

2008-12-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

Dennis D. has his own blog site over at Veracity !

Take a look and check out his always timely article on prayer today.

Be sure to check your Lifepoint blog and those of all of our blog friends regularly. And don't forget to leave a comment to let us know you're there also.

God bless!
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WELCOME!

2008-11-24T19:08:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our blog!

We are Lifepoint Church in Rancho Cucamonga California.

Here we will be sharing the happenings in our church family. We want to keep you up to date on things going on in our church, upcoming church events, things that are of interest to us found on the web, teachings and messages from our pastor and staff... pretty much whatever you look for in a good blog!

If you are looking for a church home take a look at our blog and see if we might be people like you- people who love the Lord and want to love others as He does. You are just as welcome here at our blog as you will find yourself at "our" church.

Check out our "regular" web site at www.Lifepoint-Church.org. There you will find directions to our church, find out more about our pastors, what we believe, and you can download podcasts or streaming audio of recent Sunday messages.

Don't forget to come back often!