2019 Annual Meeting – Saturday – Heaven is right (August 24, 2019) – Elder Joe Nettles begins preaching in 2nd Peter 3:13-14 concerning heaven being right and some things the scriptures teach us about heaven. He disproves the notion that heaven will be here on this earth before moving on to teach that we should take great comfort in knowing that righteousness dwells there and that there is no variableness or shadow or turning in heaven. He goes through what it means and the comfort we have in knowing that our citizenship is there, our possession is there, our name is written there, our charged servants in the angels are there, and, most of all, that our intercessor and high priest is there.
August 23, 2019 Friday night – Elder Branan Hooven introduces services by turning to Mark 7:37 and preaches concerning the comfort derived by knowing “He hath done all things well.” Elder Joe Nettles then preaches a message beginning in Isaiah 45:17-18 about how our God is a God of order. He shows us many examples of how the Lord has fine-tuned the universe so that we could dwell here on Earth, that his covenant of everlasting salvation stands sure by His own power. He looks at many scientific statements and theories to further affirm how science itself attests that a God of order created the heavens and the earth as scripture says He did.
Joshua series: Bezer in the wilderness (August 11, 2019) – Elder Bryce Lowrance continues a series of messages concerning the six cities of refuge in Joshua chapter 20, noting that the fourth city of Bezer is an inaccessible spot, a fortified place, in the wilderness of the plain. Brother Bryce considers what happens when Jesus comes as a fortified place in the wilderness to His church. He then turns to Isaiah 35, explaining the multi-step prophesies contained in it while emphasizing that much of the chapter concerns the gospel church of today established during the time of Jesus Christ. Brother Bryce notes that Jesus’s fortified place is not pleasing to men’s eyes, nor does it show forth what men consider beauty. He then reminds us that the place of refuge, and the joy and love thereof, is found in the fortified place that is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and to always remember that the only true source of strength in this world is found in Him.
Revival (August 4, 2019) – Elder Bryce Lowrance preaches a sermon concerning the subject of revival. He begins by considering the Lord’s statement through Haggai the prophet to the Israelites to “Consider your ways” and how the Israelites had focused on themselves before the house of the Lord. He explains what the Lord was saying and how the Israelites, and even the Lord’s people today, should respond to the Lord and ultimately evaluate our service to Him and His people. To show how complacent we can become, Brother Bryce turns to early American history and how the Kehukee Association’s Elder Burkitt bemoaned “There were but few added by baptism for several years” over a 12-year period that amounted to 1,256 baptisms. He then asks us what’s different about then versus now, adding that the Lord hasn’t changed but that we have. Concerning revival such as that in Haggai, Brother Bryce explains that the Lord pours out his blessings and that, when we respond, he pours out more blessings and gives the increase. However, he adds that we have to start off by considering our ways. Brother Bryce then exhorts the church to look at our our own lives individually and see what we need to change, adding that we are not in good spiritual shape if we find nothing that needs to be worked on or believe we’ve done enough in service to one another and the Lord. He further encourages the church not to doubt the Lord and to consider that the same God who admonished the Israelites through Haggai goes on to say “I am with you.”
Joshua series: Hebron and Fellowship (July 28, 2019) – Elder Bryce Lowrance continues a series of messages concerning the six cities of refuge in Joshua chapter 20, noting that the third city of Hebron means “fellowship.” He turns to Jesus’s lesson concerning abiding in the vine found in John chapter 15 that looks at how, here in time, there are some conditions of fellowship with Jesus Christ. Do we do things God’s way? Are we going to recognize we’ve been called into fellowship with the Son and act like the Son? Or are we going to be disobedient children and not have any joy in our lives? Brother Bryce makes clear that we should not set out to prove to the world that we’re children of God, but rather that we should “bear much fruit” due to a thankful heart for what God’s done for us. He briefly turns to the Parable of the Sower as found in Matthew 13 to establish how all four types are children of God, and he asks whether we’ve prepared ourselves to hear the word of God. Brother Bryce goes through the rest of John chapter 15 to explain what Jesus is telling us, including how the word “abide” in verse 10 is likened to fellowship. He closes by looking at the fellowship mentioned in verse three of 1st John chapter 1, noting that John reminds us that we fellowship our Father and his Son Jesus Christ by fellowshipping the church.
Joshua series: Shechem and Shoulder (July 21, 2019) – Elder Bryce Lowrance continues a series of messages concerning the six cities of refuge in Joshua chapter 20, noting that the second city of Shechem means “shoulder.” Brother Bryce then asks upon who’s shoulders is the weight of eternal salvation? He considers how verses like John 3:16 are used incorrectly to scare someone into believing the gospel. He dispels any idea that eternal salvation rests upon our shoulders, explaining that much of modern-day Christian teaching puts a weight on the children of God that they can never hope to bear. He then turns to Exodus 28 to see how the high priest then pointed to our high priest in Jesus Christ today, giving special attention to what was upon the shoulder of the high priest. Brother Bryce goes next to Isaiah 9 and considers how the government, including our eternal salvation, is upon the shoulder of a victorious, eternal Lord and Savior. He concludes by explaining that understanding the work of eternal salvation being upon His shoulders allows us to understand Matthew 11:28-30 properly, to be thankful, to come to Him for rest, and to “bear ye one another’s burdens” in the church.
Elder Bryce Lowrance continues a series of messages concerning the six cities of refuge in Joshua chapter 20, noting that the first city of Kedesh means “holy.” He asks whether we really appreciate how great and holy God is, noting that the typical view of God is far too small and common. Concerning God’s holiness, he begins in Isaiah 6 and the declaration that God is “holy, holy, holy” and set far apart and above us. He considers men’s reactions to the holiness of God as found in 1st Samuel 6 and Exodus 33 before turning back to Isaiah to affirm how seeing God’s holiness also shows us how unholy we are without Him. Brother Bryce then exhorts us to show our thankfulness for His holiness by asking ourselves to consider whether or not we are acting like it in our behavior, devotion, study, prayers, and how often we come to church. He also looks at the scriptures to establish that the same God that set himself aside sets us aside “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love,” adding that we need to be reminded we are sinners to remind us of our need for a holy Savior. Brother Bryce turns back to Isaiah 6 to look at how Isaiah seeing His God’s holiness caused Isaiah to see how unclean he was and ultimately led Isaiah to want to serve His God the much more. He concludes by turning to the New Testament to explain what we can take away from the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to “Quench not the Spirit.”
