Pastor's Page

 In the light of the recent shootings in our country there will be many people calling for a change. The problem is that the change we need cannot come from the government. Passing more laws or making speeches will not fix the problem that we have in our country. 

Only so many laws can be passed to outlaw guns, knives, etc. But those laws will not fix broken young people. 

I invite you to pray. Pray for yourself first. Pray that God will change you, so that you can then help others. It is easy to pray that God will fix other people, but we need to accept the responsibility that we are part of the problem. 

The sin and hopelessness that grips our nation is something that all of us are a part of. So, pray that God will change you. 

Today, there is more than likely, another young man considering picking up a gun. It is a scary thought. 

How do we stop the next shooting? We stop it by loving those around us as God loves us. We stop it by befriending our neighbors and getting to know them in a real personal way. We stop it by caring for our young men enough to help them deal with whatever pain they are going through. 

The government cannot fix this. The government will make things worse. Passing useless laws that only make life harder for the majority, absolutely do nothing to help those who are troubled. God has already given us a way out of this spiritual darkness we find ourselves in. That way out is Jesus Christ. 

March 22, 2022

Do you Gospel?

What is the Gospel?  The greek work "evangelion" is found 76 times in the Greek New Testament.  "EvangeliThe Need for Spiritual Change In the light of recent shootings in our country there will be many people calling for a change. The problem is that the change we need cannot come from the government. Passing more laws or making speeches will not fix the problem that we have in our country. Only so many laws can be passed to outlaw guns, knives, etc. But those laws will not fix broken young people. I invite you to pray. Pray for yourself first. Pray that God will change you, so that you can then help others. It is easy to pray that God will fix other people, but we need to accept the responsibility that we are part of the problem. The sin and hopelessness that grips our nation is something that all of us are a part of. So, pray that God will change you. Today, there is more than likely, another young man considering picking up a gun. It is a scary thought. How do we stop the next shooting? We stop it by loving those around us as God loves us. We stop it by befriending our neighbors and getting to know them in a real personal way. We stop it by caring for our young men enough to help them deal with whatever pain they are going through. The government cannot fix this. The government will make things worse. Passing useless laws that only make life harder for the majority, absolutely do nothing to help those who are troubled. God has already given us a way out of this spiritual darkness we find ourselves in. That way out is Jesus Christ. Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” on" means "good news."  In classical greek an evangelist ("evangelos) was a person who brought a message of victory or joy.  The Biblical writers used this word as way to demonstrate what the message of Christ is.  It is good news.

In the English translations of the Bible "evangelion" is often written as "Gospel."  The word Gospel comes from old English and was originally "godspell" or "goodspell."  It literally meant "good story" or "good message."  Over time the word transformed into what we know today.  Today the word Gospel means the good news that we can be saved by trusting in Jesus Christ.

So . . . Do you Gospel?

First, do you know Jesus as your savior?  There are many people who know about Jesus.  There are many people who go to church meetings.  There are far less people who have trusted in Christ and have been born again.  True salvation comes through repentance and life changing faith in Christ.  Joining a church doesn't save anyone.  Trusting fully in Christ does.  

The result of believing the Gospel is a life that is radically changed by the power of God.  You don't become a religious fanatic.  You become a disciple of Christ.

Second, do you tell the Gospel to others?  Nothing we do is important compared to sharing the message of Christ.  How selfish would we be if we know Christ but never told anyone else how they could know Christ?  The Gospel starts with the love of God for us.  The Gospel continues with us.  We share the good news of salvation because we have the love of God and we love others just like He loves us.

So . . . Do you Gospel? 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16 CSB

This is the outline I share with our Men's Ministry last night. We live in a day of great confusion and great negativity. It's time for us as believers to get ourselves out of all the junk of the world and truly start following Christ. We can choose to do this. 

Philippians 4:8-9 CSB

8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. 

9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. 

Choice 

     We choose to do what God wants us to do 

     We choose to live a godly life 

     We choose to live for Christ 

Attitude 

      We take on an attitude that is positive and helpful 

      We present an attitude that helps other people 

      We take on the attitude of Christ 

Example 

     We set an example that is worth following 

     We set an example for others to follow Christ with us 

     We set an example to show others Christ in us 

Take the time to pray and seek God. If we truly seek God we will find Him and He will be able to do great things through us. We know we need revival. We know we need a spiritual awakening. 

We need to choose: Will we seek God or will we just continue doing the same old stuff? A few minutes a day in prayer can lead us to a life changing spiritual movement. Surely we can find the time to choose God and follow Christ! 

Philip Marshall pastor, Westwood Baptist Church

Philip Marshall pastor, 

Westwood Baptist Church

Can you compromise with sin? 

Isaiah 1:16-20 CSB 

16 “Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil. 

17 Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause. 

18 “Come, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool. 

19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land. 

20 But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 

People are natural negotiators. We always want a better deal. We always want more. We always want to feel like we got the better end of things. This causes a problem when we deal with God. God does not negotiate with us. He does not have to. He is God and He makes the rules. 

People don’t like rules that’s why we enjoy breaking them all the time. We always are looking for ways to lower the standards or lower the price so we can get something that we truly don’t deserve. 

The Biblical truth we need to embrace is that there is no room for negotiation when it comes to sin. 

      >We are all sinners. 

      >The penalty for sin is death. 

      >The only way to escape the penalty of sin is through Christ. 

The only response we should have to God is to accept His Word, turn from our sins, and follow Christ. This is the only path to salvation and a relationship with God. There is no other way. 

We don’t take sin seriously. 

God does take sin seriously. He sent Jesus because of our sin. He died for our sin. We wink at sin. We enjoy our sins. We don’t want to let our sins go. For most church goers, sin is just something that we talk about, but it is not something that we take seriously. We feel no remorse and we have become numb to the Holy Spirit’s conviction in our lives. This shows in our daily lives through our thoughts, our actions and our attitudes. 

People you know and spend time with everyday are going to spend eternity in Hell because of their sin. 

This is a Biblical fact. If this fact does not concern us, then we can go on and spend our lives in just pleasing ourselves. We can have a “casual” Christian life that is solely about us getting our own personal needs met. We can mistakenly live by the false idea that the only thing that matters is how we feel about ourselves. This is the basis for much of modern liberal theology. We don’t like what the Bible says so we change it or ignore it. We want a religion that fits in with our life. We don’t want the Christ who calls us to leave everything and follow Him. 

This self-centered theology has led to the state of the church in 2021. We reject the Bible. We accept sin and compromise our belief system so that people who are living sinful lifestyles are made to feel comfortable and accepted in our church meetings. We don’t want them to know that their sin is Biblically wrong, so we reject God in order to please the sinners. We are so afraid of people that we foolishly turn our backs on God. 

Luke 12:4-7 CSB

4 “I say to you, my friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 

5 But I will show you the one to fear: Fear him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear! 

6 Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. 

7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.