On January 26, 2020 there were 200 people at the Walk-For-Life event at St Joseph's Church in Osceola. Our Tri-county area has been a strong support for the life of the unborn! January 27th is International Holocaust Remembrance Day! The greatest holocaust of all is the millions of babies who are being killed in the womb. May God help us end this massacre soon!
Never forget the 6 million Jews who were killed by the Nazis!
But, never forget the 62 million babies who have died in Abortion... the worst holocaust ever in the US, and it has continued since 1973! Lets put an end to the killing! NOW!
The Wordless Book.... a Great book for children!Heights Worship Center in La Habra Heights California in partnership with the CEF - Child Evangelism Fellowship presents: The Wordless Book
Christian Civil Disobedience -Daniel 3
Is it ever right for a Christian to disobey the law? What do you say? What does the Bible say?
The example of Daniel and the fiery furnace tells us that there are times when God's children have to disobey the law. The Bible has two basic principles:
First, Christians are obligated to be law-abiding citizens. Romans 13 teaches that God instituted human government as a way of maintaining order in society. However, Romans 13 does not forbid lawful protests. We ought to promote change of unjust laws. The key is our attitude, which must be one of respect.
Second, there will be conflict between the laws of man and the laws of God. In our day there is an ever growing “gap” between those two kingdoms in areas such as law, public morality, ethics, religion, medicine, education, and the media. What is a Christian to do about this?
In Daniel 3 Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, made a huge golden statue (probably an image of himself), called all his leaders together, and ordered everyone to bow down and worship the statue. Three Hebrew teenagers—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow. Eventually these three teens were tossed into a fiery furnace. The Lord miraculously saved them and they were eventually promoted by the king. They would not Bow, They would not Bend, They would not Burn.
1. They Would Not Bow
When the three Hebrew young men refused to worship the golden image, the king was upset and said, “What god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (3:15). The king saw clearly the spiritual issues involved. He knew that to bow meant to submit to the gods of Babylon. This was a true “Battle of the Gods.”
The three young men refused to bow because they knew the Ten Commandments said there can be “no other gods” before the God of Israel. The Second Commandment prohibits all forms of image-making and worship of idols. Simply put, these young men knew their Bible and that’s why they wouldn’t bow.
2. They Would Not Bend
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, “O Nebuchadnezzar...If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king; But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).
The only power the king had over them was the power of death, and since they weren’t afraid to die, he had no power at all. He couldn’t intimidate them because they were ready to die if need be. They wouldn't bend their convictions when it came to obeying civil law. What can you do with men like that?
Observe the power of their faith: They knew God could save them. They didn’t know if he would save them. They determined to obey either way.
So many Christians want to make deals with God. “Lord, I’ll stand up for you as long as my friends don’t make fun of me or make me lose my status." But God doesn’t make deals with anyone. He calls us to be faithful and we are called to leave the results with him. He doesn’t promise us an easy road if we decide to be faithful to him. God could save them but they knew he might have higher purposes in mind that would require their death. Therefore, they didn’t try to back God into a corner by demanding that the Almighty work a miracle on their behalf. They accepted God’s will in advance without knowing how things would work out. They knew that if a child of God can do nothing else, at least he can die like a Christian. Staring death in the face, they were ready to die as true believers. What an example!
3. They Would Not Burn
The king had the flames turned up seven times hotter and tossed the three young men into the furnace. The men who threw them in were basically cremated on the spot. As far as they knew, they were about to perish in the flames. Why did God let things go this far? To demonstrate his great power to his own people so they would know that he could be trusted to take care of them. Do you know that when the furnace is God’s will for you, you are safer in the flames than anywhere else?
Nebuchadnezzar saw a fourth man walking with them. I believe it was the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He is in the furnace waiting for the young men. Jesus will also show up in our lives just when we need Him most. When trouble comes we discover that Jesus has been by our side the entire time. It is in the fires of life that we experience the presence of Christ most powerfully. He is always there, but he makes himself known in the fiery furnace.
What if next year a law is passed that says we can’t share our faith on the job or with a classmate during lunch? What if all public evangelism becomes illegal? What if proclaiming Christ becomes a “hate crime"? What will we do then?
Lessons from Daniel 3.
*The young men didn’t know what was about to happen…and it didn’t matter. May the same be true of us.
*Our job is to be faithful and let God take care of the results.
*Be faithful. Stand tall. Obey God. Live for him. Do what you know is right. And let God take care of what happens next.
*Sometimes God protects us from the fire; sometimes he protects through the fire.
*We should expect to suffer for our convictions.
*We should understand that God may intervene to deliver us but he is not obligated to do so.
*We should trust God to use our higher obedience to enhance his reputation in the world.
*When it comes time to disobey, let us do our duty with humble courage and then leave the results to God.
*Let it be said of all of us that when forced to make a choice, we chose to obey God rather than man.
*I close with one final thought. When we stand up for Jesus, Jesus stands up with us; by He's our side. The rest is up to God.
Lord, help us to stand strong and dare to be a Daniel in our world. When the world wants us to give in, give us courage to do what is right. Be with all who have been and are yet to be in the furnace. For those now in the furnace, Lord, give them special grace. Rescue those who are perishing... and, Lord, each day keep us all standing strong for you. Amen.
Concerned for all life,
Pastor Ken
There is a blessing reserved for the bold that cowards never know.
Jesus stands with His faithful ones, that’s all we need to know.
FAITH FELLOWSHIP, 2497 State Hwy 35, Luck, WI
Worship 10 AM, Sunday School 11 AM, Lunch 12 Noon
Sermon this Sunday: Life: What a Beautiful Choice!
February 2nd, Annual Congregational Meeting following services
Pastor Ken Mettler, 715-483-9202 / kbmett@hotmail.com
