April 11, 2011 A Week Of Praise

"Go to the village ahead of you and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you 'why are you untying it?', tell them the Lord needs it." Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, perfect delight, Visions of rapture now burst on my sight; Angels descending, bring from above, Echoes of mercy, whispers of love. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Perfect submission, all is at rest, I in my Savior am happy and blest; Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is Monday and this week I would just love to write all week on Praise. Yes, it is Monday and the day we pray for our leaders and for our veterans and for our military, and for police, firefighters and all others who work hard to keep us safe and healthy. And speaking of veterans, I have the honor today of officiating at the funeral of a dear friend, a brother in Christ and an Army Veteran. Please pray today for the family of Edgar Patterson, who was 94. As you pray for our leaders, pray first for their soul and then that they work through God before coming to us. Let's pray. Dear Father in Heaven, we want to thank You today, we want to love on You this day, and we ask and give thanks to You as You honor our prayers according to Your will for us... Lord, first today we ask to be forgiven of our sins, and then we just jump for joy over our lives which we have turned over to You. Thanks for all You have done for us... I need not rewrite the prayer list as Your word tells us You already know what is on our hearts. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen. We are still on the big trip, walking with Jesus toward the cross and then beyond. Has this not been fun and rewarding? The Big Trip 17 A Week Of Praise! 1: Luke 19:30 - "Go to the village ahead of you and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you 'why are you untying it?', tell them the Lord needs it." (NIV) Today I typed out the song Blessed Assurance, and just thinking of how Jesus sent two of His disciples ahead of Him and told them to bring back this donkey colt, how He knew where it would be, just would give you that Blessed Assurance that Jesus was in full control. As you know, this coming Sunday is "Palm Sunday" and we review this week how Jesus was praised and given glory and honor and then how fast it just went away. From leading and healing people, teaching and feeding people to being trashed, so to speak, and then put to death on the cross. Has anything ever happened to you, something like this? You are well received at work and even received a reward for doing a great job. Then just after that, someone comes on board and starts to go after you and soon you are on the outside looking in. I saw it happen to others and yes it has happened to me. Why, well because of my stance for Jesus. But this week we are just going to sing the praises of Jesus and to Jesus... Let's get going. Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. Now this verse, you are singing what? You are singing the glory because Jesus is Yours. You have been saved... "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!" Now I know I can sing this, and I pray you can also for you see, Jesus wants to be yours, He wants in your heart to stay. BLESSED ASSURANCE, JESUS IS MINE... and now we sing Heir of Salvation... Yes Jesus went to the cross for our salvation, He died for us and we inherited Salvation from Him, through the Blood He shed on the cross. Listen to the rest of the verse, then we will sing it again. Purchased our salvation, we are Born of His Spirit, yes, brothers and sisters, this would be our second birth. And we are washed in His Blood. Clean as clean can be... and folks, that is my story and I pray it is yours also. Let's hit it. Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long. Tomorrow I will be back and we are going to be praising God again, and again... Now one more time for the complete song, and yes, we are going to sing this at the funeral today. A request from the family. Now go forth and share your blessings and know that Jesus loved you enough to die for you... and I love ya also. Pastor Dan.