01/19/2025 Church service

周日礼拜

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Isaiah 30:15: For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest shall ye be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; but ye would not.
以赛亚书 30:15: 主耶和华——以色列的圣者说：“你们回转、安息便可得到拯救；你们安静、信靠便可得到力量。
但你们却不肯。 (page 1160)
Job 22:23: “If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored…”
约伯记 22:23: 你若归向全能者，就必得到恢复。 (page 855)
Psalm 19:7: The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
诗篇 19:7: 耶和华的律法完美，能更新生命；耶和华的法度可靠，让愚人有智慧。 (page 1909)

Gal 6:2: Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
加拉太书 6:2: 你们要分担彼此的重担，这样就成全了基督的律法。 (page 1892)

Matt 4:22:37-39: And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
马太福音 22:37-39: 耶稣回答说：“‘你要全心、全情、全意爱主——你的上帝’， 这是第一条也是最重要的诫命。
第二条也相似，就是‘要爱邻如己’。(page 1600)

Romans 11:6: And since it is by God's grace, it can't be a matter of their good works; otherwise, it wouldn't be a gift of grace, but earned by human effort.
羅 馬 書 11:6: 既然是靠着恩典，就不再是由于行为了；不然的话，恩典就不再是恩典了。(page 1837)

 
 

 

 

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RETURN
Isaiah 30:15 Job 22:21-23

Time flies. That is a cliché, and yet, so very true, especially as you get older.

The holidays were special. It was a time to redirect our focus a bit – and hopefully (for some) to get a little rest.

It’s January – and things are getting busy again.

Returning is an act of coming back – maybe for some of you went back to your home town to see family – or maybe family returned home to see you?

Returning is an act of coming back – maybe it’s a physical return – but I can also be an emotional return – appreciating the ones who love you the most. Maybe it is a spiritual return.

Returning is an act of coming back – it can mean coming back into God’s Holy Presence and receiving the restoration that cannot be found elsewhere.

It means making a place in your heart to ABIDE once again.

Jonathan Edwards: “In close meditation, prayer and conversing with God, when alone and separated from the world, a true Christian doubtless delights… to converse with God in solitude and this also has peculiar advantages for fixing his heart, for fixing what is inside him.”

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength”

The verse is a message from the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, that returning to him and resting in him will save people. The verse also says that quietness and trust will give people strength.

We all need those people and places where we can let down our guard and just be ourselves.
Fully let our hair down (so to speak)
Those people and places provide acceptance and grace.

Our heavenly Father offers us that – and so much more.

It’s still January… our New Year has just begun.
It’s time to Return. It’s time to Come Home

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength”

Returning is an act of coming back – it can mean coming back into God’s Holy Presence and receiving the restoration that cannot be found elsewhere.

Job 22:21-23: Come to terms with God and be at peace; in this way[c] good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and place his sayings in your heart.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be renewed.

Returning (in our Christian lives) usually entails some form of repentance.
Maybe repenting of something we previously weren’t even aware of.

(do we take time to hear? to listen?)
Psalm 19:7: The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

God’s direction in our lives will restore our souls and gives us wisdom for living a better, more fulfilling life.

People sometimes say to me, “I don’t know how you do everything you do.”

I know from them it is coming from a place of love and concern for my well-being.

…but the truth is, I don’t do everything I should be doing. (not proud of that fact)

Sometimes (for me) overwhelm causes me to just shut down and do nothing, as opposed to doing what I should be doing.

Time management and self-preservation may actually devolve into a form of selfishness.

That’s where repentance can open the door to returning to right thinking, right actions, based on right priorities.

“Confess you faults one to another that ye may be healed” (forgiven – restored)

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength”
It’s time to Return. It’s time to Come Home

I believe the act of returning here is first and foremost a heart issue.
…and returning requires that we leave someplace else.
Returning also means leaving some other place

Forsaking abandon (someone or something).
renounce or give up (something valued or pleasant)

We have to give up – renounce – turn – turn away (forsake an old pattern)

It seems that choice will always redirect us to some form of service – service to God – service to others

To use the gifts we were given and blessed to be able to share
To follow the example of Christ

Gal 6:2: Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

“Love empowers us to fulfill the law of the Anointed One as we carry each other's troubles.”

Jesus told us what His commands were:
Matt 22:37-39: Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

vs 40: “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
“Contained within these commandments to love you will find all the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.”

“The Law of the Lord is perfect, giving new strength to the soul. “

WE are commanded by God to forgive, to love God, to love others
…but don’t let this draw you down into legalism

Romans 11:6 And since it is by God's grace, it can't be a matter of their good works; otherwise, it wouldn't be a gift of grace, but earned by human effort.

We are only branches – apart from Christ we can do nothing
…but we yield, and we find our empowerment through the Vine

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength”
“He restores my soul.”
“If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored…”

It’s God Grace that will allows us to enter into that secret place – that place of stillness and rest.

Have you ever had a moment of awareness where you finally realized you were not on the right path?

…of course you have, right?

So doesn’t that also mean we should show grace to those who are still awaiting that moment of revelation? That epiphany that leads to repentance?

When we recognize how good and merciful God has been to us

Like the prodigal son: “When he came to himself…”

To whom much has been given…

What will we do with the time we have left? Time is short, but God is great.

"Eternity is calling your soul. It inspires you to awaken, to dream again, and to take risks."

A place of peace and restoration is always there ...it is we who have to return to it.

In Zechariah 1:3 Almighty GOD says: “Return to me, and I will return to you.”

Let God’s Word guide you back to that place of returning to Him today.
Job 22:21-23 “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored…”

Make my life a prayer to You…
“If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored…”

Hillside United Methodist Church
3739 US 80
Phenix City  AL  36870
United States
Pastor: Mike J Koger

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