A few years ago I posed a question to the women’s Bible class that would help us to know one another better, the question was “Who Am I?” I instructed them to write out their responses and to return them to me. I was truly amazed at some the responses. For instance, one lady wrote a full summary of her relationship with Jesus Christ and how much she loved working in ministry and that she knew that God loved her, etc. etc.  And another told me that “God didn’t want her to spill out her sins of the past”

I was totally dumbfounded by those responses? Had I not the assignment clear  enough? However, the majority of them responded appropriately. Please, understand, that I realize that not all of us are on the same page and therefore, confusion and misunderstandings happens. It’s the same thing among the body of Christ, sad to say, there is much confusion among the saints in their knowledge (or their lack of knowledge of Who Is God).

In the next few weeks I will be sharing information that will for some enhance our knowledge of God, and for others to grow in their knowledge of who God is.  We will be looking at the attributes of God. Hoping that you will follow along. Joan

Today’s message entitled, “Ultimate Praise” is the last but not the least installment in the series “The Anatomy of Praise. The Anatomy of Praise is the compilation of Dr. Lamont E. Ricks, Associate Pastor here at New Berean Baptist Church designed to help us understand what praise really is and why it is important for us as Believers to incorporate praise in our every day life. For it is stated in the scriptures that the Lord inhabits or “enthrones the praises of his people” (Ps. 22:3)

Today’s message takes us to II Corinthians 5 where we are made aware that Ultimate Praise:

• Is CONNECTED to Our Transition From Life to Eternity (II Cor. 5:1-10)
• Is CRAFTED by our Fear for God and Love for Christ (II Cor. 5:11-18)
• Was COMPLETED on the Cross (II Cor. 5:19-21)

In the Model of Praise, praise derived from at least six experiences

• P – Pain from our past hurts
• R – Regrets from decisions that were made based on our emotions
• A – Abandonment by someone we loved or someone we thought cared for us
• I – Isolated or ostracized by the crowd because of a certain stand or conviction of ours.
• S – Setback. We thought we were on the road to recovery and the tables turned and things got worse
• E – Expectation of something we’ve wanted for a long time, i.e. a godly spouse, a timely financial bonus etc and it has taken longer than we expected

All these things make for genuine praise to the Lord.

Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright. Psalm 33:1

In our Sunday Devotional series of the month, we are continuing with Old Testament lessons on Accountability and Justice. The scriptures teach us that to much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48) and we should heed much to God’s warning.

Corruption is Challenged in every aspect and dimension of God’s order. No one can escape it as God demands we as Believers live to a standard higher than the one our world permits. As an example in the chronicles of the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 5) when Ananias and Sapphira attempt to deceived. There was immediate justice brought down on them in the presence of many to witness God’s righteousness.

In today’s lesson, the Lord deal and warns those who have the role to rule over his people are extremely held in high esteem. And by design, they are expected to live and oversee his people with a different level of urgency. We are encouraged to examine ourselves to ensure we are obeying the voice of the Lord.

Habakkuk 2:6-14

Our societies, communities both large and small have all been impacted by irresponsible and deceitful management of people and resources. Since the very beginning, sin and the subsequent refusal to repent of sin, injustices have led to the demise and destruction of these societies is only a matter of time.

The Prophet issues a harsh warning to those who are engaged in such behavior he calls evil. “Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house, That he may set his nest on high” (v9). Woe is another way of saying there is a great sorrow or distress to those it is referenced to’s there is a consequence associated to disobeying God’s established laws and an even harsher one to those who know the truth and fail to follow.

In this week’s lesson, we’ll examine how Israel regarded God’s word, how the leaders lead Israel, and what the Lord told them through His Prophet Habakkuk.

Unusual Praise – We who are born-again “usually can find a reason to praise the Lord our God. We look typically at the good things God has done in our lives, in the lives of others or the things He delivered us from. WE can call it usual because it flows automatically when we are expecting our so-called break-through or in our attempt to receive that break-through.

But is God’s wisdom, we cannot wait for a break-through to happen because it may not come when we want it too. It may not come at all (Hebrews 11:13) . It is in times like these we have the opportunity to offer up what Dr. Lamont Ricks, calls Unusual Praise.

Unusual Praise is the unscripted expression of honor and glory given to the Lord for who he is and what he is able to do. In today’s message, Dr. Ricks shares with us four encouraging points we should take into consideration regarding this special type of praise. For in times of distress and grief, we can find relief, hope and peace when we willfully offer up Unusual Praise.

• Unusual Praise Shows up in Our Darkest Hour (Acts 16:16-25)

• Unusual Praise Causes A Shift in Our Environment (Acts 16:26-29)

• Unusual Praise Can Usher Others Into A Right Relationship With God (Acts 16:30-35)

• Unusual Praise Gives Us Confidence To Stand Up To Those Who Have Violated Our Rights (Acts 16:36-40)

In a continuation of his teaching series “The Anatomy of  Praise”, Dr. Lamont E. Ricks, shares today the whats and why for “Transitional Praise“. Sometimes in our walk with the Lord, we are going to be overwhelmed and it seems as through we cannot muster up enough strength to give God praise.

But in today’s message, Moses and the children are caught in the proverbial “rock and a hard place” scenario. After leaving Egypt and from under the hard taskmaster’s hand of the Pharaoh, Israel escaped only to  run into a wall know as the Red Sea. For over four hundreds year, Pharaoh handed the Israelites, task after task, lashing after lashing to build his empires. But God heard their cries and rescued them. when the came to the Red Sea, they demonstrated the attitude and mindset we are encouraged to display when we are compassed with woes on every side – Transitional Praise  

Unconditional Praise is exactly what it sounds. It is the deliberate act of expressing gratitude and honor and worship the Lord for who he is. It is demonstrating your faith and trust in the God of your salvation for things we have no control over but are yet pressing on our lives. Sometimes this pressing can take over and overwhelm us to the point where panic sets in.

But How can we trust God when we are consumed in panic? We still desire toe serve the Lord and live our life to his glory but we seemingly cannot shake these heighten levels of anxiety.

In today’s Pulpit Points message, Dr. Lamont shares from Psalm 34 the things in our life that can bring about panic and how we can experience a praise that is unconditional. Although circumstances and situations are dynamic and can me dramatic, we belong to a God who is sovereign, omnipotent who has the ability to calm us settle us and give us peace in the midst of these situations.

Paul’s Prayer for the Ephesians – One of the more blessed things the Saints can do each other is to encourage through prayer. A lot of times we will not be able to be geographically close to someone who needs our touch of love but God has permitted to pray for one another..

In today’s Pulpit Points message, Leroy E. Ricks, Sr, shares how and why Paul prayed for the congregation at Ephesus. Why, because he had heard of the their testimony of fellowship and growth. It was encouraging to him to hear of how the Lord was using them to be a blessing.

• Paul’s Preparation for Prayer (v 15)
• Paul’s Purpose for Prayer (v 16-18)
• Paul’s Expectation of Prayer (v 20-23)

The Master Teaches How to Pray, Matthew 6:9-15

This week’s Sunday Devotional has us in a class session on prayer, taught by the Master. In our every day lives we are in constant need of communicate with our heavenly Father for direction, grace understanding and forgiveness. We are to constantly and consistently consult Him to ensure we are living the life he both desires and demands. The Lord tells us through the writer of I Thessalonians (I Thess. 5:16-18) that we are to always pray. And again, we are reminded of the spiritual warfare we are engaged in and of the weapons we should equip ourselves with – prayer (Eph. 6:10-18).

The Lord was always teaching to his disciples and those who would listen. He took the time to train them in the fundamentals of the faith, the thing his Father had assigned him to included praying (Luke 11:1-3). God wants us to communicate with him but wants us to understand there is a format and a level of respect that comes along with approaching his holy throne. At the request of one of those followers, Jesus sat his disciples down and instructed them on the process of prayer.

Join us this week for our Sunday Devotional.

Our Victory Assured

Our everyday walk in the Lord is going to be met with all kinds of challenges. Some will be easy to work through and some will be not. But in his word, the Lord our has given us the assurance of victory.

In today’s Pulpit Points message, DeWayne Cason, Associate and Youth Pastor shared with the attending congregation of the great news that God has in his word.