Black Friday 2010 Special Announcement

"For God so Loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Good Black Friday Morning to all of you, my dear brothers and sisters. I do have a special announcement this day... I see all those people on the news, lining up in the rain and snow waiting for the stores to open to get the best bargains, some have coupons, others discount slips. Some have waited for over 12 hours, others have pitched a tent...

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT---SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT---SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT...

Today and everyday... Free Salvation through the blood of Jesus, no lines to fight, just get on your knees and pray for God to forgive you of your sins and then invite Him into your heart... The Gift of Salvation is free, but it was not cheap nor is it cheap today for Jesus paid the price in full for us when he died on the cross for us.

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from The Father, full of grace and truth. (NIV)

John 3:16 - "For God so Loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)

John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him. (NIV)

Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (NIV)

This Sunday morning I want all of you to go to church, in fact I want you to go and line up on Saturday evening, pitch a tent, get in line first, get a good seat... Lutheran, United Methodist, Baptist, Assembly of God, Church in Christ, Church of God, the Free Churches, etc., all of you, go and line up, pitch that tent, and be sure you are there early so you don't miss out... The first 10 through the door will get their name put in a hat and there will be a drawing, that person who wins will get to go to heaven... Oh stop it Dan, just stop it... SALVATION IS FREE, AND IT IS FREE TO EVERYONE, even if you never went to church.

But folks, not all will make it, you see some people only know of Jesus, they really DON'T KNOW Him one on one and that is what it takes. Jesus knows if you are serious, if you have faith or if you are a phony. Some folks need to have assurances that only faith can give them. I mean we pastors can point it out in the Bible, we can tell them what we believe, but each person, one on one, must invite Jesus into their lives. How do you know if you have done that? Folks, often myself and other pastors, gospel singers, TV preachers, have told you where to find the scriptures and give our message to you and then offered up that prayer of salvation, and we all pray that people come forward and confess themselves over to Jesus. The dirty little secret is, none of us really know how many people came to Christ. We can say, thousands came forward, but did they do it in the heat of the moment or because they really wanted Jesus into their lives? And then there is this big thing about repenting from sin. It is easy for a person to raise a hand when the call is made, but the next day, when back at home, and the preacher not looking, do they repent and turn their life around? Let me tell you right now, if you are saved you know what I am talking about for if you are saved, when it happened your life was made different. Gone was the sin and you really want to walk away from it. Gone is the hate for others. You might not like how a person lives but you cannot hate people. I know a man, he dressed up very neat all the time, he is a good work leader, he goes to church on Sundays, and I believe he is even on the usher team... but I heard him yell out already I hate that person and named them, I really hate them, and that statement came from his heart. If you are like that person, brother or sister, that must change, you cannot hate and get into heaven. I am not judging you, as a pastor that is not my job, but as a pastor it is my job for the Lord to lay out the ground rules and help you with them.

Folks, that is why you need a good, and I said a GOOD church where the Pastor preaches and teaches messages that come from God and out of the Bible.

So again so there is no mistake in what I have said today, on this SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT... Salvation is free and comes only from God through Jesus our Lord and Savior who died on the cross for us. You DO NOT need to line up at your church to get a good seat for Salvation, for the salvation does not come from your church, it comes from God through Jesus our Lord. Can I say it again another way... It is a free gift, paid in full by Jesus when He died on the cross for you and for me... for all of us. According to the Bible, no one, no one will get into heaven without going through Jesus and so I want to repeat that verse in the Bible... and here it is again...

John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him. (NIV)

When you pass from this earth you do not need to show up at the gate with a "Discount Card" or a senior citizens card. Just show up, and if you have Jesus in your heart and you have answered the call by Him after you came to Him (more on that later) then you will be admitted. Sadly, some will be turned away.

So forget all those sales, forget all the discount cards, and let's right now pray for that FREE GIFT from GOD, our salvation. Not one of us is really worthy of it, none of us, but Jesus did not mind that fact, in fact He really knew we were not worthy. But once we are saved, then we will be worthy of joining Jesus in Heaven some sweet day, and until then we will need to try our very, very best to repent and follow in the footsteps of Jesus... AMEN.

Dear Father in Heaven, forgive us of our sins this day, and Lord, help us to know that this gift of salvation is free to all, free to all of us, regardless of race, or religion, or anything else. Father, help us to understand the rules that we find in the Bible on how to live a life that is pleasing to You. Lord, now I ask, forgive me of my sins for I am a sinner and help me repent and walk toward You and away from sin. Pick me up when I slip and help my slips to be less and less each minute of each day. I love You, Lord, and I ask that You speak to me and lay out my assignment for each day for I want to walk it with You. In Jesus' name, Amen... And Lord, please, heal my wife...

Go forth now enjoying the season, and know the real meaning of the season... This season is a fun season, it really it, and that makes it all the more fun when you walk it, talk it and live it with Jesus. And please, I know you are blessed, as we all are blessed, so please share those blessings.
Love ya, Pastor Dan.