| Daniel 7:9-10 | We Serve the King | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Reign of Christ the King | |
| As those who have received a Kingdom through faith in the Lord of lords and King of kings, Jesus of Nazareth, let us strive as we complete this Church Year season to offer to God acceptable and worthy worship. As those who know that one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, let us choose to be his subjects now, obedient to him in all things, submitting to his will and reign for his glory.
“How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.” |
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| 3John 1:1-14 | Contending for the Truth | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| As those walking in love and in truth, we offer our spiritual leaders no greater joy than to walk in the truth, in the grace and love in Jesus Christ. “The faith” that has once for all been delivered to the saints by the apostles has been entrusted to us to affirm, to defend, and to contend for. This is our stewardship, a faith that we, God’s saints, must strive to know and declare. It consists of the body of truths concerning Jesus Christ delivered in true testimony to the Church by the apostles. Let us earnestly defend and withstand every instance where misled and ungodly people may seek to undermine or deny. As we draw this Season after Pentecost to a close, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess, and defend the truth once for all delivered to the Church. |
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| 2John 1:1-13 | Walking in Truth and Love | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| The commandment from the beginning given to us is to walk in the truth, in love, and according to the commandments of the Lord. We need never fear, for his commandments are not burdensome; through the Spirit, we have both the power and grace to keep God’s will and bring glory to his name as his own elect children. As the Season after Pentecost ends, let us recall God’s simple yet transforming commandment of love, and honor God as we care for others with the care of the Lord. |
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| Matthew 5:13-16 | Salt & Light: Open Hearts, Open Hands, & Open Mouths for God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis and Rev. Rob Bell | |
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| May God grant us the grace to be salt and light in the midst of a generation desperate to see tangible evidence of the Kingdom of God in this community, for the Father’s glory sake, Amen! |
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| Revelation 21:1-6 | The Inheritance of the Saints | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | All Saints Day | |
| The triune God has sworn that he will in fact create a new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells, where his holy city, the New Jerusalem will descend for his saints to dwell within. God will end death, mourning, tears, and distress, for the former things will pass away, and will never come to mind. This is the inheritance of his saints, those who cling to the risen Savior in faith and love. |
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| 1John 5:13-21 | The Assurance of Never-Ending Life | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| Only through faith in the Father’s testimony regarding his Son can anyone receive the never-ending life promised to us. This life–never-ending days of love, joy, and peace in God in a new heavens and a new earth–is rooted in our knowledge of God and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we draw near to the end of this, the longest season of the Church Year, let us walk with joy on the straight and narrow Way given to us by God. Only in Christ can life be received; only in the Father can we know real peace. Glory to God for his unspeakable and amazing gift of never-ending life in Christ. |
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| 1John 5:6-12 | Life Is in His Son | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| The life that we enjoy and the hope that we cling to are rooted in a simple faith in Jesus Christ–the same faith that overcomes the world is the same faith that has been testified to by the Father, John the Baptist, the prophets and the Scripture, the apostles, the water and the blood, the Holy Spirit, and the works of Christ. God himself has taken the stand and offered his own testimony: he has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son. During this Season after Pentecost, we ought to remind ourselves daily that the love of the Father allowed him to send his Son, who alone is the source of our life, our forgiveness, and our hope. Let’s embrace the testimony of God! |
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| 1John 5:1-5 | Overcoming the World | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| Our faith in Jesus Christ has caused us to triumph over the devil and the powers; we have now overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil through our confidence and trust in the work of Jesus on the Cross. The victory is not based on who we are or what we have done, but rather our faith in God’s finished work in Christ. During this Season after Pentecost, let us remain steadfast and stable in our confession of the victory won for us through the blood of Jesus Christ, a victory which has made us overcomers of the world, the flesh and the devil. |
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| 1John 4:1-21 | God Is Love | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| We are called to live and thrive in an atmosphere of love and affection, of care and giving, of hospitality and generosity, for we have been born of the Father, who is love. Love is not defined by our loving God, but in his matchless gift of our Lord for our redemption to be our atoning sacrifice. The true test of discipleship and the new birth is love: genuine, true, humble, real. During this Season after Pentecost, as we affirm the soon return of Christ, let’s affirm that we were born from and born to love, moved by the example of Christ and the power of the Spirit. This is how we prove we truly know and are born from God. |
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| 1John 3:11-24 | Love One Another | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| The wondrous love of the Father that made us into his very own children now can be revealed in our acts to one another. This clear, simple, and practical love reflects the very same compassion that adopted us into God’s family. This same overwhelming, conquering love should be practically displayed in the midst of the people of God, not merely in words and ideas, but in deeds and in truth. The message of God from the beginning is that we love one another with the love of the Lord. During this Season after Pentecost, during this age as we await the coming of our Lord, we are called to walk in love, to abide in love, and to love one another just as we have been commanded. Through the Spirit, let us grow in sharing the love of Christ with one another, for this is the meaning of what it means to abide in him. |
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| Our Life Together: Session Two | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Sacred Roots | |
| The Bible tells the Story of God’s determination to restore his Kingdom rule, anchored in his loving-kindness and covenantal faithfulness. The Lord God is determined to restore his creation and save out of all humankind a people of his own possession forever. God’s Story is authoritatively told in the Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit, the same Scriptures which reveal God’s Kingdom purpose through the covenants to the Patriarchs, the history of Israel, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and his church. Since the coming of the Holy Spirit, this Story of rescue and restoration has been cherished, celebrated, and guarded by the Church through the ages, the people of God, in whose life and faith the Story continues to be told, enacted, and expressed. In all aspects of our life together–our theology and worship, our spirituality and discipleship, and in our service and mission–the Story of God’s glory and grace is embodied in us to the world. |
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| Our Life Together: Session One | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Sacred Roots | |
| The Bible tells the Story of God’s determination to restore his Kingdom rule, anchored in his loving-kindness and covenantal faithfulness. The Lord God is determined to restore his creation and save out of all humankind a people of his own possession forever. God’s Story is authoritatively told in the Scriptures inspired by the Holy Spirit, the same Scriptures which reveal God’s Kingdom purpose through the covenants to the Patriarchs, the history of Israel, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and his church. Since the coming of the Holy Spirit, this Story of rescue and restoration has been cherished, celebrated, and guarded by the Church through the ages, the people of God, in whose life and faith the Story continues to be told, enacted, and expressed. In all aspects of our life together–our theology and worship, our spirituality and discipleship, and in our service and mission–the Story of God’s glory and grace is embodied in us to the world. |
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| 1John 2:28-3:10 | The Children of God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| It is truly wondrous to see the manner of love the Father gave to us that made us into his very own children. The same love that adopted us into God’s family now motivates us to seek him with our hearts, to obey his will, to keep his commandments through the Spirit. We are God’s children now (not as reward for good works but as a gift of grace). We ought to purify ourselves even as the Father is pure, for we know that one day we will see him, and be transformed into his image. During this Season after Pentecost, let us walk in the Spirit and so please the Father whose grace has enabled us to be called the children of God; and so we are. |
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| 1John 2:18-27 | Beware of the Antichrists | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| Since the time of our Lord, we have been jettisoned into the last hour, the final epoch before the consummation of all things at the return of Jesus Christ. Even as prophesied by our Lord and his apostles, numerous false messiahs have bellowed their own identities, professing to be the Christ whom we seek and adore. However, we are called to be vigilant against all such imposters and pretenders; we await the soon return of him who walked the paths of Palestine, who in eternal power and glory will come in the clouds to rescue his own and restore his creation. Stay awake, and be ready! |
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| 1John 2:15-17 | Love Not the World | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| Although this world system seeks to leave the impression that its vast array of thrills and delights own both an invincibility and permanence, the truth of the matter is that this world, along with its lusts and desires, is passing away. All of its cravings of the sinful nature, the lusts of its greed, and its run-amok pride and pretension are destined for destruction and end. Those who embrace them as an end are with them bound to be disappointed and disillusioned. Let us then, during this Season after Pentecost, determine to love not the world, or any of its values, goals, or practices. We believe in Jesus, the Son of God, the one who overcomes the world and grants life eternal to all who cling to him in faith. |
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| 2Corinthians 3:18 | Beholding, Seeking, and Displaying the Glory of God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Sacred Roots | |
| The only answer is to rediscover the Story of God in Christ, to love it with all our hearts, and live it out with honor and joy in the presence of our
neighbors, inviting them to see things, as it were, from the vantage point of the God who tells his message clearest in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
The discipline of meditation is our attempt to make God our vision again, to behold his glory, seek to experience and embody it passionately, and to
display it with power in the context of our lives. |
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| 1John 2:1-14 | Christ Our Advocate, and the New Commandment | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| Unlike the common negative view of advocacy that so many of us have in regards to lawyers, the advocacy of Christ is integral to every facet and phase of our discipleship in the church. The apostles gave instruction for us to not sin, i.e., to keep the commandments of God and not transgress his will. However, in the event that we do transgress, we are not alone, but rather have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Because of his death and shed blood, God can be both just and the justifier of people like ourselves. Christ our savior advocates before the Father on our behalf, reminding the Lord of his supreme sacrifice and its efficacy over sin. Let us remember that, when we do sin, we are not alone; our high priest represents us before the Father, ensuring our ongoing communion with God. |
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| 1John 1 | Word of Life and the God of Light | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| The apostles gave witness and testified to what they heard, and saw, and touched–the Word of life has tabernacled among us, and we have beheld his glory. The life which was with the Father has come into the world, to reveal the Father’s glory, to redeem us from our sin, and to restore creation from the curse. Now, through the witness of the apostles, we can now have fellowship with the Father and with the Son through their proclamation of the Gospel. During this Season after Pentecost, let us remind ourselves constantly of our new connection with the Father through the Word, and walk n the light, forsaking darkness, and confessing our sin to receive cleansing and forgiveness through Christ’s blood. |
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| James 5 | Patience Until the Lord's Coming | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| In light of the great promises God has given to us, and the amazing grace he is working through us, we must be patient until the coming of the Lord. The Kingdom journey is not a sprint, but a marathon, not a 100-yard dash but a cross-country race, and we should set our hearts and attitudes for the long run, the whole course. God in Christ through the Holy Spirit has given us the resources in the Church to complete the journey. Let us be patient like the farmer, steadfast like the prophets, resolute as Job, and prayer-ful as Elijah, all the while trusting God to supply our need in time of hurt. During this Season after Pentecost let us wait on the Lord and be of good courage for his promises are true. Wait on the Lord! |
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| James 4 | Warning Against Worldliness | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Season After Pentecost | |
| We must recognize our sanctified status as children of the living God, called to be in the world but not of it, to give testimony of Christ’s presence without conforming in friendship to its sick and tortured ethic. Let us, then, as we ponder the headship of Christ during this Season after Pentecost so conduct ourselves as to show that we are resisting the enemy, submitted to the will of God, humbling ourselves before the Lord, trusting patiently for him to provide us grace as we wait on him. God alone gives grace, and that to the humble. |
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