Jun 16, 2018

In the Beginning God created...

Have you ever started a project (size of the project does not matter) and you being you forged ahead without consulting the designer of the project? When got to the end with the extra pieces you plugged it in and "NADA"! Then you tried turning the plug around, then a new outlet, then repositioning the project, hit it, maybe even kick it, still nothing. So out of shear frustration you find the little booklet written by the designer and starting at the beginning you then realize that what the designer had in mind was not what did to make the designer's project work.

So now you have two choices throw the project in the garage or some place out of sight or go back and dismantle your work of art and start from the beginning following the plan of the designer trusting that all the pieces will fall into place as you follow step by step.  And some steps don't seem to make any sense what so ever until all the parts are assembled and you look and see and "why of course".

At Park Hills Christian Church we started a series of study, preaching and teaching called, "Back to Genesis".  We believe all that we are to be in God was put into place before the beginning began. God created an environment (a perfect one at that) for us (man) to live in and thrive. Even our redemption was in place before the rebellion (Romans 5:6-10; Ephesians 1:3-10).  And the promise of that redemption is found in Genesis 3:15.

From that point on we see how God leads and directs step by step over the years and through the lives of different people his plan of redemption. It is in Genesis if you care to look for it.  John 5:39-40 states that, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness of me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."

So the question is, "Where is it in  the Scriptures (Old Covenant) that they bear witness of Jesus? " So let's go back and search. Back to Genesis

 The spiritual leadership is preaching, teaching two chapters per week on this concept, that the scriptures bear witness of Jesus.

When you come and visit you will see Christ presented throughout the scriptures. Hope to see you  
 soon! For further information go to this link < @phccelptx >.

In His Name
   

Jun 13, 2018

Aug 3, 2016

Trusting in the Lord

This past weekend one of our elders preached about trusting the Lord completely < https://youtu.be/U5rRmCx69yo > .  Using the passage from Acts 23:1-31 (Paul standing before the Sanhedrin),  Mike talked about allowing the Holy Spirit to control what you say in difficult situations. He referred to two other Scriptures, Matthew 10:19 and Mark 13:11. Giving his own testimony of trusting the Lord to take care of him and his family needs for the past two years of unemployment was the heart felt tug on our souls that morning.  There is a song being played on the local Christian station, "Trust in You" sung by Lauren Daigle. The chorus goes like this,

 "When you don't move the mountains I'm needing you to move; when you don't part the waters I wish I could walk through; when you don't give the answers as I cry out to you; I will trust in you". 

Are we intimate enough with our Savior that we can say, believe and live this words in our lives? I know that most of you know the Lord, but do you trust him with your very being? Psalm 23:1-4 was brought into the teaching that day. We may have to admit that if we trust the Lord but have not experience his leading in this intimate way, we have have too much of ourselves or things of this world in the way. My mother told us children a saying as we were growing up, "When you open up your closet that is full and can't decide what to wear then you have too much in your closet."

As we walk in this world clothed in His righteousness let us keep a sober mind about whom we have the privilege of serving on this pilgrim journey.  Stay close to the Lord, stay in His word.

Mike challenged us with the word of God, Psalm 42:4, "These things I remember as I pour out my soul; how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng."

Make this verse a present tense in your life:

These things I do, I pour out my soul, I go to the house of God, I am under his protection, I praise with the festive throng.

Keep following the Shepherd,

 

Park Hills Christian Church
El Paso, Texas 79904
915-566-1771 


Sep 6, 2015

When Relationships Collide

"When Relationships Collide". 
 
Conflict is everywhere around us and it touches every life that is born into this world. From something as simple as two members of the congregation wanting to sit in the same church pew or something as devastating as a broken marriage.  We learn that the Bible does not shy away from difficult issues, which includes conflict. When you read scripture one is confronted with the good, the bad, and the ugly in people's lives.  We identify very easily with many of these people in scripture because the bible often serves as a mirror of our own lives in conflict.

If you have not been to Sunday School lately you are missing out on some great sessions on all levels.  The Sunday school has been restructured somewhat, we now have three adult classes studying/discussing the sermon in depth from he previous week lead by RF Pennington, Rob Phillips, Greg Davis.

Like Solomon wrote, "There nothing new under the sun", with that in mind being under pressure is nothing new.  James was writing to the 1st century church who was encountering great and intense pressure. Persecution dispersed the new church so do we live our faith in our heads or live it our in our lives? There was the pressure to compromise when temptation arose or shrink back in times of trial. Then there was the pressure to tank into prejudicial preference when new people came into the church. What about the pressure of controlling the tongue (gossip/rumors/etc.)? Have you ever gave in to the pressure of having your own way? How about getting even when mistreated? James encouraged the believers to allow these pressures to drive them deeper in their relationship with Jesus. Pressure can be a positive thing that leads one to experience the presence and power of God.

Running from conflict is not the answer but learning how to deal with it in a healthy, God honoring way is the thing to do.  God wants to work his will in the middle of our conflicts, so don't fret.  If you allow Him to work in our lives He will show us the sources and the solutions to our conflicts. 
So let me encourage you to come on out to Sunday School and join us in one of the discussion groups.

For further information see our webpage < http://parkhillschurch.org> or our Face Book page.

In Christ,
Greg

Contact:
email:    gdavis@parkhillschurch.org
Twitter: dragoncoach1

FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real

Here I raise my Ebenezer

This Sunday morning while assisting in leading worship service, I asked the question for communion meditation, When you hear the name Ebenezer, what comes to mind? Almost all in unison said, "Ebenezer Scrooge". Yet we fail to realize the significance of the this term. In 1 Samuel 7:3-14 you get the full context of the meaning of Ebenezer.

Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer—”the stone of help”—for he said, “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!” —1 Samuel 7:12, NLT

Here I raise mine Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood. —
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

After a long period of sadness and trouble, a consequence of Israel’s disobedience, Israel repented under the leadership of a new priest and judge, Samuel. God restored their political security, and the people, for their part, re-committed their hearts and minds to their Lord. Samuel placed a large stone at the place where this restoration began. He publicly dedicated it as a monument to God’s help, God’s faithfulness, God’s eternal covenant. And as the people got on with their lives, the stone stood there, visible to all who passed that way, a reminder of judgment and repentance, mercy and restoration.The Ebenezer stone represented a fresh beginning, a reversal of course for God’s people. It also said something important about God: his mercies are everlasting; his covenant is forever.

I (Charlie) have friends who keep prayer journals. They record their requests
to God and the answers they receive. In this way, they can go back
into the past and review their walk with God; they are reminded of his faithfulness. Prayer journals are a type of Ebenezer stone.

Members of AA can tell you how long they have been sober. They keep alive the memory of the last drink they took, and with each new day, one day at a time, they move farther down the road of sobriety. AA is on to something important. Do they ask their members to count the number of years spent in drunken waste? No. They count the days spent walking in a new direction. All that went before is water over the dam. I tend to beat myself up about mistakes I made long, long ago. I don’t forgive myself, even though I accept the fact of God’s forgiveness. Perhaps you can identify with me. But that’s not what God desires.  Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.

—Philippians 3:13b,14, NLT (The Apostle Paul writing)
I should set up an Ebenezer stone, I think, to serve as a continual reminder that I am forgiven, that I have chosen a new direction, that God has made a permanent covenant with all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Samuel was a wise and godly man with a good idea. He recognized something that’s true about human nature—we’re forgetful.

At Ebenezer, Israel could stand next to that big old rock and remind themselves, “Yes, we serve a living and faithful God, whose mercies are everlasting.”

Have you set your Ebenezer?

This article was reprinted from the website
< http://www.anotherthink.com/contents/author/charlie >

See you Sunday, have a good week!!

Feb 3, 2014

Do Over: Experience New Life in Christ

We have finished the first half of the new teaching series in Bible Studies for Life.  The past 6-7 weeks have been real exciting. The general topic was presented as DO OVER! Experience new life in Christ.  Here we were introduced to the book of Romans, following along with Paul's opening premise, we are in a situation that we can not solve on our own, that problem is our sin status. Week one we discussed how and why we got there (Romans 1:16-17, 2:5-11, 3:9-12).  And that no one is exempt from that fact (Rom 3:9-12). As we moved along we come face to face with the fact that righteousness (Christ's righteousness) is a gift something, we could not give to ourselves (Rom 3:21-28).
Our next encounter with experiencing new life in Christ was learning what true love is...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). And this is a love that we can experience only in Him who died for us.
When the question was asked, "Who are you?",  there were various answers all of them valid responses.  After reading Romans 6:8-18 the question was posed again and the answers came back the same, ...slaves of righteousness (vs 18) we realized that our identity had change and we are citizens of a "new nation".
Now realizing that we are new citizens immediately there began a conflict the old self vs the new self, the flesh vs the spirit.  Scripture directs us to this reality... For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death (8:2). 

 Sin controlled us because we were slaves to sin

We are no longer controlled by our sinful nature.We are not alone in this battle!!
We concluded that this new life can't be lived apart from Christ, to live apart from Christ is to live in the flesh.  So why would you go back to living in the flesh when you have been freed from the flesh to live in and by the spirit of Christ?
As we finished the first section we wanted to continue the journey through Romans. This past week we read Romans 9:1-33, God's Sovereign Choice.  Now was a lively discussion which I will post about next week. 

So each week we will walk through one or two chapters until we conclude the book.  That should take us to the end of February where we will pick up the Bible in Life series again and begin the second six week series, Honest to God: Real Questions People Ask.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them in the comment section just below this article.

Looking forward to seeing you and serving you in Christ!

Gregory Davis
gdavis@parkhillschurch.org
Twitter: @dragoncoach1
FaceBook: Gregory Davis
915-581-5307 Home (leave a message and I will call you back)