Just Believe or Obey the Gospel Part 2 [audio]

Adult Sunday School Apr 25th – Listen to the audio at the bottom of this post.

This is part two, listen to part one here.

Goodness will not earn us salvation, it is a byproduct of our obedience to the Gospel.

Scripture References
Col 2:11 through Col 3:4
Gal 3:26 & 27

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Just Believe or Obey the Gospel Part 1 [audio]

Adult Sunday School Apr 18th – Listen to the audio at the bottom of this post.

Acts 19:1-7 Did you receive the Holy Ghost when you believed? They went from believing, to obeying!

Don’t look to Romans 10 (written to the church at Rome) for the plan of Salvation, look to Acts where they were told believe AND obey.

Ecumenical unity should not come at the expense of God’s Word and truth.

Romans 10:10, was written to the church NOT to unbelievers.

You can believe the Gospel and remain unchanged, but you can’t OBEY the Gospel and remain unchanged.

Mat 5:13 We are the salt of our culture. Meant to be tasted.

Scripture References
Matthew 5:13-16
1 Corinthians 15:1-5
Romans 10:1-17
1 Peter 4:12-18
Acts 19:1-7

Be sure to listen to part two!

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I Am Gateway – Donna

FROM WONDERING TO WONDERFUL

by Donna Coons

I can remember as a child wondering what everything was all about, wondering what the purpose of life was and if this aching and emptiness I felt would ever go away. I never had the privilege of attending a Sunday school class or hearing a song that would touch my heart. Our family was Roman Catholic and I can count the number of times on one hand I attended services as a child. One of those times, I can remember being face down on the floor saying the Pledge of Allegiance because that was the only thing I knew to say, and I remember coming up from that prayer, wondering.

In grammar school I can remember them making us attend a service on a religious holiday, this particular day I was standing there in this big cathedral (being a brat as usual) and thinking to myself that the Lord was punishing me. My eyes grew dimmer and dimmer during the service until I could no longer see anything that was around me. I had totally lost my sight and thought I had lost my sight forever. The nuns quickly walked me out side, and little by little, my sight began to slowly come back. The Lord spoke to me and said, “You were blind then, but someday you are going to see.”
Anyway, as life progressed and I grew into adulthood, still wondering, I came upon some of the most difficult times and struggles of a young life. In my desperation, for some reason, I began to call on the name of Jesus—very loud! I opened my eyes from where I lay, and immediately I saw the most beautiful bride I had ever seen coming down the aisle towards her bridegroom.
From that point on I felt closer to some sort of answer, but still wondering. A few years after that I met a lady, Ann Reed, who befriended me. At that time, I didn’t want anyone to know she was my friend. She was older and what I thought weirdly religious. Ann never preached to me too much, but she did give me a Bible and told me to read it. As I began to read I started to feel that a long lost friend and chapter in my life had finally arrived, and I was getting closer to some kind of answer. I can never explain the sweetness I felt as I started reading the Word for the very first time in my life.

After sometime, she finally talked me in to attending church with her. An elder in the church approached me, and at that time I accepted the Lord in my heart. That was a start for me. However, I was still wondering within myself and praying as much as I knew how. It was shortly after that time, much to my surprise, that Ann Reed felt to bring me to a friend of hers church, which was in New Salem. I will never forget when I walked through the doors of that church, the Lord whispered to me and let me know that I was finally home. And this was my experience from wondering to wonderful.
The Bridegroom is ready and He would say to His Bride at this time, “Draw a little closer and I will show you things to come.” There are many out there wondering, and the Lord has all the answers for them. By the way, this lady, Ann Reed, who took me to church for the first time, wasn’t a part of the church, she just loved to reach out to people. She was eventually baptized in Jesus name!

Let me share this poem the Lord gave me.
God bless.

Sometimes in life we may not know,
Everything God has to show.
But if we follow with all our heart,
By His grace, will never depart.
From the way that’s strait and narrow
We are of more value then many sparrows.
Sometimes I wonder at His majesty in meekness,
And how His strength is made perfect in weakness.
He gives grace to the humble, but resists the proud,
When He sees a hungry heart, He pulls them out of the crowd.
And as we press toward the other side,
In His presence, always to abide.
We sow the seed, till and plow,
And it was all by His grace…anyhow.