It has been said through polling surveys that around 78% of Americans believe in heaven. And most people belieive they will be accepted by Saint Peter at the gates to heaven. If only we would read the Bible!! Yes there is a Hell! And, yes, there is a heaven! The difference between the two is about as opposite as you can imagine! One is peaceful and beautiful, God’s spirit fills this place, while the other is dark and very noisey! Crying and grinding of teeth!! So, given the choice, which would you pick? If you want hell, do nothing… and you will get there! If you want to go to heaven, believe, trust, and obey the Word of God! God will not look at your worthiness of heaven, he will look at your life and see if you truly trusted Jesus to be His Son! Heaven awaits you!!

Stop and think about the holiday we call Thanksgiving, and have you ever attempted to make a list of the things you are tahnkful for? You start with the STUFF, and OH do we have the stuff! Don’t forgwet anything! And don’t throw everything in to a big category… And when you are done with the STUFF, make a list of all the people/friends you have ever known! That’s right EVERYONE! And when you are done with that go to your FAMILY! And, yes, you must include those relatives who are on the naughty list! Don’t forget all the people that make up the CHURCH you attend EVERY Sunday! Now go to the store and buy another spiral nootebook, and when you get back home, let’s work on the Thanksgiving that really counts. So far everything we are thankful for has been temperary stuff. Now let’s work on the eternal… the life events that have brought you closer to the God who has so faithfully shown himself to you! Yes, go back to the beginning, Sunday School or family devotions or the friend who told you about God. And then remeember every life door God opened for you… and every door Him closed on you! I need a new pencil! And another notebook!! Thanksgiving is REMEBERING! Communion is remembering Jesus, and it is Thanksgiving at it best!

Proverbs 2:1-5, gives us the far reaching reason for wanting wisdom! It says, “My son/daughter, IF you ACCEPT my words and store up my commands within you, Turning your ear to wisdom and APPLYING your heart to understanding, and IF you CALL out for insight and CRY aloud for understanding, and if you LOOK for it as for silver and SEARCH for ir as hidden treasure, THEN you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God!” We cannot sit back and do nothing! Wisdom is a free gift from God, but we are the determining factor in whether or not we receive the gift! Vere 6 tells us, “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” What an amazing God! His desires for us are always the best way to live! Read His WORD, accept it as truth and live a life full of His amazaing blessings!

We live in a world of broken promises! All to often it is the broken promises of a parent to a child, been there, done that! Or a promise made in a crisis moment thaat we knew we would never keep, but in the moment, we made a promise. Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, believe and know he is a promise keeper! God told King Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted, and God would give it to him… WOW, amazing that God would do that… Solomon was king, he had all the “stuff”, he had all the toys, he had more wives than he knew what to do with…; Solomon did not ask for a tangible, hands on item; he asked for wisdom! Wisdom, an non-tangible thing thaat “touches” every tangible thing we have.
The book of Proverbs is written with us in mind, we have stuff, too much stuff, the one thing all us can use more of is wisdom! Every day, every aspect of life is wrapped in our need for wisdom. Follow along with us and listen to the sermons, and receive the wisdom found only in God’s Word!

Every day we wake up with a list of things we intend to accomplish . It may be going to work or shopping or calling a friend or having lunch with a co-worker. Every list is different, but yet many things are the same. At the end of the day, when we are thinking back on what we did or did not do, does your mind take you to your intended to do list? And you ask yourself, “Why didnn’t I do that?” In Matthew 25, Jesus tells tell parable of the sheep and goats, they are judged to be a sheep or a goat by what they did or din’t do! A staggering truth from Jesus! Paul writes that God prepares good deeds for us to do each day… another amazing thought about our God! We desires for us to be doers of love, not just intenders! Write down on thing you have been putting off, now go do it! You will fell better and God will smile, knowing you are His child!

Who was your favorite teacher? Why were they your favorite teacher? What did you learn from that teacher or were they your favorite for a reason other than to learn? I do not remember too much about my school teachers; some were loud, some were quiet, one was very monotone, and some were young and some were old. I am who I am today, in a small way, because of those who dared to teach me! Jesus is without a doubt the greatest teacher to ever teach! Although I have never sat in a class taught by Jesus’ physical presence, I have heard him teach and have read his “papers” many times! Yes, Jesus is the author of math, science, sociology, manners, and anything else you would want to learn, but the greatest lesson I have learned from Jesus is that I need him! I need him so I can love, so I can be happy, so I can forgive, so I can be the salt and light he says I am!
Teachers teach and students learn, I am a student of the greatest teacher to ever teach! His name is Jesus Christ! Let him be your teacher today!

We live in an ever changing, always competetive world. In the sports world every player needs to know, that if they are going to shapen their skills, they must compete with players who will challenge them. In the world of the church, we can fall into the mindset of the world. We can see ourselves as we stack up against the church down the street or across town. We are tempted to grade ourselves on a scale created by us or by the evironment we live in. God doesn’t do that, nor does He want that for us! He will ask us one question and he demands an answer to his question, “Are you being obedient to my Word?” We cannot look to someone else for the answer, we must give the answer! In a parable Jesus told the story of three men, each were given a different number of talents. That’s right, different nuber of talents! When the Master came for an accounting of what was done with the talents, each man was judged according to what he did with the talents he was given. Each stood before the Master, alone. Our Church stands alone, given talents and gifts by God. We are accountable for what God has given us and not on what the church around the corner was given. We must be diligent in our obedience to God and God alone! My prayer for for you, is that you will be obedient to be a good steward of the talents andd giifts God has given you. How will you answer when he asks you what you ahve done with the talents he has given you?

The question in front of us is rather simple, “Are you a good person?” When answering this question we can look at it from three vantage points, and each may have a very different answer. First opinion is yours, do you think you are a good person? Most of us will answer the question with a very positive “yes”. That’s what we think of ourselves in the good moments! And we may be asble to come up with a list of “facts” to back up our answer. And so, we move through our days thinking we are a good person! But, and there is always a “but”, we ask your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, and your family the question… they see you from a different and widely varied perspective. They get to see and hear you in many of life’s circumstances. How did you respond when… what did you say when… and where did you go when…? OOPs! maybe we are as nice as we think and then again, may be not! The third opinion of whether or not you are a good person comes from the one who created you, God, himself. He said your goodness has value only in light of your obedience to His Word! Jesus said many people will do good deeds, but our doing must be for Him and not for ourselves! Only what we do for Him will be put on the scales of good and evil! And it all begins with surrendering our lives to Him! Living a life of repentance and forgiveness are at the foundation of living a holy life, a life pleasing to God.