May 27, 2018 - Memorial Service

Sunday School

The Whole Armor of God - Part 5

Shod Your Feet - The Gospel of Peace; The Shield of Faith; The Helmet of Salvation

• We must be ready to preach the Word; the ready in season and out of season - reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching. 2 Timothy 4:21
• Remember that our position in Christ is not based on our own abilities or worthiness. Titus 3:5 - He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
• God expects us to take the gospel of peace to others. 1 Peter 3:15 - but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
• Sharing ones faith is one of the best ways to maintain our own sure footing.
• God knows that, when we are actively speaking about Him to others, we are marching into Satan's territory and digging our shoes more deeply into truth and strengthening our faith in God. 
• 2 Timothy 2:15 - Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of truth.
•  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
• Real living faith should motivate our actions of faith. Do not allow the following to weaken you: insecurity, fear, doubt, temptation, anxiety, guilt, hopelessness, hateful thoughts, discouragement of self, stress, feelings of no purpose in life, etc.
• Satan wants to distract us that he can blindside us. He's not just indiscriminately firing arrows at us. The arrows are tailored to each person's life. Aren't you glad that we have the Shield of Faith to protest us?!
• The shield is the first line of defense.
• The shield guards.
• The shield deflects
• The shield can incapacitate the enemy.
• There is strength in the number of shields. We are not alone in this fight with Satan. Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
• Acts 4:12 - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
• Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.
• John 3:16-17 -  For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
• Without the helmet of salvation, we would be unprotected from the cares of this world which bombard our thoughts and feelings daily.
• Psalm 27:1 - The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
• With the helmet securely fastened, we have confidence. Romans 8:18 - I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
• In other words, no matter what trials we face in life, we know that at the end of it all waits God's Kingdom and an eternity of His perfect reign.  Now, what could possibly be better than that?! 

Sermon
1 Samuel 17:32-37 - David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."  Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth."  But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it  and killed it.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."
Subject:  "The Importance of Remembering"

• Some things have eternal consequences when we forget where we've come from.
• We are living in the last days, remember that Satan is a lair and a deceiver.
• The army was afraid of Goliath who was a braggart.
• Will the real children of God please stand up?!
• David's family tried to discourage him. They were afraid for him but David knew that God was on his side.
• Three things about David: 1. David was willing when he said, "Your servant will go and fight...." 2. David had faith in God. He believed that God would deliver and aid him in the battle with Goliath. In Romans 4:19 - Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."  3. David remembered his own testimony when he told Saul about the lion and the bear.
• Remember where God has brought us from.    

Memorial Photos

 Today, we salute our Armed Forces living and passed on. Their service is invaluable to us all.