Tag Archives: Service

We go forward to serve others not to earn G*d’s love but because G*d loves us through Jesus

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 27, 2015
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Mutual UpBuilding — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 27, 2015

“Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve.” Romans 14:19, 22

“Suppose a man have peace of conscience, what must he do to keep and maintain it. I answer:

First, we must labor to prevent troubles of conscience by taking heed that we do nothing contrary to conscience.
Secondly, if we will maintain our peace, we must labor to have our hearts grounded in the assurance of the love of G*d…
 Thirdly, we must use the assurance of faith in applying the blood of Christ. If we find that we have sinned, we must run presently to the blood of Christ to wash away our sin.” William Fenner (1600 – 1640) A Quest for Godliness – “For All The Saints”, volume IV (p. 344)

Peace and mutual upbuilding. These are good attributes to have in our faith lives, and in our personal lives. How do we find peace? Well, peace is the opposite of conflict. How do we avoid conflict? We can’t always avoid conflict, but we can seek to live lives of peace, formed in the teachings of Jesus. Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors, to forgive unlimited amounts of times, to serve others, and to make sure we put others first, among other lessons he taught. That will go a long way in finding peace and avoiding conflict. Mutual upbuilding, at least in my mind, is closely related to serving others. When we serve the other, we are working to make the lives of others better. In all the ways that we seek peace and mutual upbuilding, we look to the Holy Spirit to be our source of strength and our guide.

How can you be a source of peace and/or a source of upbuilding in someone’s life today?

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 1, 2015
Tags: Service   

But As For Me and My House — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 1, 2015

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

Years ago my wife bought one of those needle point canvas sayings with this verse: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. It hangs in our living room as a reminder to all that we are a house that is to serve the Lord in all we do. Now, those who know my family and my children may raise an eyebrow at this saying, knowing that my children have not always represented the Kingdom of G*d very well, yet we are a house that serves the Lord. And our house is not a showpiece, you know, a place where there is a place for everything and everything has its place — and yet we are a house that serves the Lord. And I do not know all of my neighbors and they all do not know me; and sometimes they get mad at me and my children because we park too close to the mailboxes, yet we are a house that serves the Lord. And my family has strong opinions about my decisions, and the actions of my children, and yet we are a house that serves the Lord. You see, you do not need to be perfect to be a house that serves the Lord. You just need to love G*d and love your neighbor and be willing to live out that reality each and every day.

Pastor Dave