Saturday, October 24, 2026
Don’t be deceived!
During Children’s Time, Marissa and Cora challenged our ability to perceive the truth. They had two cups — one with grape juice and one with soy sauce. Marissa gave Cora a sip of each and based on her expression we had to guess which one she was drinking… did she trick us? Watch the service on Facebook to find out!
What a great reminder to beware of the Father of Lies who tries to deceive us away from following Jesus!
Becky shared praises and prayer requests — including how Tracy’s prayer ministry tent is drawing in crowds of people seeking prayer.
We also praised God for Joel (pastor in Puerto Rico) and his recovery from surgery. We prayed for blessing on Mary Lynn, and for Jake at the Young Leaders Conference, for Mark’s recovery from illness, and for unity in our church.
And we sang and praised God together!
Pastor Chuck continued his message from Philippians 2 about remaining in unity — and how our attitude should be like the attitude of Jesus Christ: “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. (v.6)
He shared how his father, a police chief for many years faced having to work for an arrogant man who once reported to him… and did so with grace. A powerful example of humility in the face of difficult circumstances.
The conflict Paul was addressing in the Philippian church was based on pride — which we know comes from the deceiver. He asked, Eve… “did God really say that?” Doubting the word of God is the first step down a slippery slope.
Unity always begins from a place of humility. “We’re doing things MY way” causes fracture and distraction. Humility does not come naturally to us — which is why we must focus on the cross of Christ where “he became obedient to the point of death.”
Jesus emptied himself of his God status when he became flesh and dwelt among us. He changed his form to become a human. If you ever doubted Jesus’s love for you, look to the cross. He took on that agony as a human. He felt the nails. Why? For you and for me, so he could cry out, tetelestai “It is finished!” The word used in the marketplace to say, “the transaction is complete.”
The price has been paid. Now, will we accept His forgiveness and surrender our lives to God? How much heartache, loneliness, and feelings of abandonment are you willing to take for Jesus? He died with your name on His lips.
Extreme obedience looks like Christians being slaughtered for Christ — for example in northern China in the 1890’s and now in Nigeria by Boka Haram. Will you stand at the point of a gun speaking the name of Jesus? Can you say, “Send me to heaven.”
There is a lot going in our church, our country and our personal lives. Listen to this encouragement from Micah 7: 11-13: “The day for building your walls will come, the day for extending your boundaries. In that day people will come to you…”
What we do and who we are makes us a target for that liar – (Satan) but we have a perspective that the world cannot understand. We look to the cross and the king on the cross who spoke our names – “that one is mine!” We have the encouragement that things have been laid to waste – maybe even punishment—but – God says, “I will bring your back! I will still love you. I will rebuild your walls and extend your boundary.
I love how the passage in Philippians ends: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Be like Jesus. Whatever your strengths are – think of others higher than yourselves.
Amen.
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