to join us “On the road with Jesus.” The goal is to follow Jesus so that we become like Him. It is a journey of adventure. Though it has its difficulties Jesus has promised it can all be used for our benefit and the outcome is eternal joy.
I hope you will visit here often to find thoughts about Discipleship, updates on Small Groups, Prayer Teams and other ministry and Discipleship opportunities at Messiah.
If you would like to begin the journey, click here.
Blessings, Pastor Danny
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40 Days in the Word
Begins Feb. 26th.
Join us and thousands of other churches
for the focus on the Bible created by Rick Warren and Saddleback Church.
click for more information
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A THOUGHT FROM THE WORD: a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. -Amos 8:11b
There is a remarkable story recorded in 2 books of the Old Testament (II Kings 22:1-23:3; II Chronicles 34). During the late 8th and most of the 7th century BC, the two divisions of the Hebrew people, Israel and Judah fell under the control of a foreign government, Syria.
The Hebrew people had been gradually becoming involved in religious practices which watered down or flatly denied the teachings which God had given to Moses and their early leaders. From time to time individual Kings sought to reform the religious practices, but achieved little success.
In 640 BC, a boy of eight years ascended to the throne of Judah. His name was Josiah. The Bible records that, unlike most of the Kings, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
One day, during his 18th year, in the course of repair on the temple, a lost copy of the Law, part of the Scriptures was discovered. It was brought to the young King and read. You can sense the dismay that came over him as he heard God’s word, realizing how far they had departed from His commandments.
He called the people together, read the book, and made a covenant with God (which the people joined) to walk after the LORD and to keep His commandments, testimonies and statutes.
There is something tragically ironic about the fact that the copy of the law had been lost in the temple, in God’s house. And it reminds us of how God’s word has at times been lost even in the Church. Not physically lost but neglected, distorted, denied, unheeded.
The Bible teaches that one of the worst judgments that can fall on a people is to be without God’s word—a famine of the word of God.
We don’t want that to be the story of Messiah. So, during Lent we are joining with more than 3000 other churches to participate in an emphasis on the Bible called “40 Days in the Word.”