Sunday Devotional – David Gives Praise

David was a person who one to hide his his feelings for the Lord his God. God had presented himself to his servant-king in such a way the David was quick to sing out the praises of the Almighty God. David played before the played music (I Sam. 18) before the Lord. David danced (II Sam. 6). His expressions of praise and worship are a lesson for us to observe.

“Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof” Isa. 42:10

We too are to be brought to a point that when the word of God is preached or taught we ought to be as excited as David was. We should make it a habit in our lives to openly express our love for the Lord with all sincerity of heart. Study with us this weekend.

Ruth and Boaz

This month’s Sunday Devotionals have been centered on the theme of covenant. We learned that covenants are agreed relationships between people with the intent of honoring and respecting the covenant.

Ruth entered into an agreement set up by her mother-in-law, Naomi . Naomi had lost her two sons, one who was married to Ruth. Naomi had the experience of a marriage covenant and wanted nothing more than Ruth to experience the same in it’s fullness.

Marriage is an honorable covenant (Heb. 23:4) approved of God. Let us examine what about marriage covenants that our Lord honors

Join the the New Berean Family as we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of our Founder & Pastor and honor the Lord for the great things he’s done Psalm 126:3. We will be sharing and encouraging the “Pastor & People” with the testimonies and witnesses of the ones who have themselves blessed by the things God has done through New Berean.

Date/Time: September 28, 2019, 4-8 pm

Price: Adults $40, Youth under age 12 $20

Attire: Formal

Special Guest Speaker: Antonio Harris, Pastor Highland Avenue Baptist Church , Cincinnati, OH, (former Youth Pastor New Berean Baptist Church)

Call or email by Sept. 21st to purchase your tickets

757.483.4821 or nbbcMinistry@yahoo.com

Good Pastors are those pastors who have accepted the call of God on their life. Pastors are the appointed of God who share God’s heart for the flock (Jer. 3:15, I Tim 3:1-7 ), the ministry and the Commission to reach the world (Matt. 28:18-20). They have been called to oversee the flock of God to :

-Feed them – John 21:17, the have been charged by the Lord in their calling to feed the flock of God with the word of God. Teaching and preaching to the flock is of the utmost for it is in the word of God that we will grow in our faith. It is why we should be in attendance at our respective local assemblies as often as we can.

– Account for them – Heb. 13:17, being in attendance in our respective local assemblies is our role. Pastors cannot feed us if we are not assembled at the table. Taking account is the pastor’s role for the scriptures have concluded that he “must” give an answer to the Lord on the state of the flock. If they cannot give a good account, it is not profitable on our behalf and God will deal with us as he should. The Pastors must…

– Take the oversight for them – Acts 20:28-30, God set up and ordain Pastors to oversee the local assemblies. The church of Jesus is collection of Believers worldwide but it is in the local churches in which God chose to work his “Commission”. He gave the local churches the responsibilities of preach the gospel to the world, baptize the converts and disciple those who follow in faithful obedience the things of Christ. The oversight of all this great work is on the individual pastors of the local assemblies, sharing the same goal in mind (Matt. 28:18-20)

– Be Examples to them – 1 Tim. 4:11-13, Pastor are the examples the Lord has chosen to lead his flock. The lead through their example serving God people. The share their time away from their families, to be with our families. Pastors give of their time in preparing and studying God’s word, standing in God’s stead to declare God’s word to God’s people. They are the examples God has divinely appointed for us to pray for, encourage and cheer for in the work they do.

The Covenant’s Expectations (Matthew 5:1-12)

This week’s Sunday Devotional reveals to the Believer what is expected of them regarding new covenant we now have in Christ Jesus. Jesus in his message to the disciples is that God expects them to conduct themselves in a certain manner.

On the other side of our acceptance of Jesus as our Savior, we are provided divine guidance of how we are to conduct ourselves before God and man. We have been saved and delivered to perform good works which God has ordained (Eph. 2:8-10). By faith we are expected to follow the instructions of this new covenant. We are no longer expected to live as we once did, but unto this new life.

As all things become new (II Cor. 5:17) in our life, we’re to let our light, the light of Christ shine that men might see those good works and glorify our Father in heaven.

As we close out this month’s lessons, let us exhort one another to live in agreement to the instructions of our New Covenant in Christ.

Former Members, Family & Friends Youth Reunion – Join us as we begin our Youth Recognition weekend celebration with this special event. We’re excited to invite and have former youth members of New Berean share, meet and greet with our current youth members.

We are inviting you to join in an afternoon of fun, fellowship and food and an opportunity to “pay-it-forward” by letting our youth know what impact the youth ministry of New Berean has impacted their adult lives.

Myth 7:  Forgiveness Means You Can Gossip

Do you know what she said to me today? We need to pray for her! Instead of talking directly to people and engaging in conflict, we talk about people by masking our gossip as a prayer request. But gossiping is wrong, just like the  original offense.  Jesus gives us a protocol in Matthew 18: 15-17 on addressing sin in others: “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses’. If they still refuse to  listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to even listen to the church, treat then as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

Gossiping is not included in that list. Don’t allow your words to sow seeds of dissension.

Biblical forgiveness:  The best piece of advice I ever heard about forgiveness is: you know you have forgiven someone when you stop talking about the offense in a negative light.

Myth 6:  Forgiveness Means You Wish for Justice

Is it possible the reason why dramas shows involving courts and police officers are still so popular is because we have an innate need for a sinner to receive justice? We want criminals to get a fair jail sentence and stop hurting innocent victims. It is the same in real life.  We may have forgiven a person, but when we see that person succeeding in life, do we secretly think life is not fair?  Don’t secretly hope that person fails in the future so it balances the fairness scale.

Biblical forgiveness:  The prodigal Son parable in Luke 15:11-32 is  a prime example of justice and grace.  The eldest brother wanted his prodigal brother to pay for all his wrongdoing. Yet the father extended a hand to rejoice and celebrate because the prodigal turned from his evil ways. Pray that the offender gives their life to Christ.  Let grace balance out the scales of justice.

Myth 5: Forgiveness Means You Can Forgive Halfheartedly

Forgiveness is often a process. If an offense is particularly heinous, it may take several attempts to actually rid your heart of the pain associated with it and free the offender from their wrongdoing. Merely saying you forgive, but not doing the hard work of surrendering the pain to Jesus does yourself and the offender a great disservice.

Biblical forgiveness: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any roots of bitterness or resentment that have taken root because of a wrongdoing that was not forgiven fully.  If the Holy Spirit reveals nothing, then  you know you have forgiven. If the Spirit  reveals a picture, word or vision of an offensive way, get rid of it quickly, so it does not take root.