The Gift of Jesus

October 27, 2013 Led by Eric Gintert Matthew 12:22-37 "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37 Justified = "just-as-if-I'd never sinned"; render or regard as innocent, righteous, free Idle = useless or barren, lazy, negative particle Words that are spoken with no effect, they have no real purpose. Cast not your pearls before the swine. (Matthew 7:6) "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Matthew 12:34 Most religions think God (or who they call god) looks and rewards based on their outward person (their good works and performance). But God looks at the heart and sees what is inside them (1 Samuel 16:7).  Good treasure of the heart brings forth good things and evil treasure brings forth evil things. You can tell what is on the...

Being a born-again Christian through blood of Jesus Christ, I was a little surprised to find my city listed amongst the least minded bible cities in the United States. According to a recent Barna Group report, Cedar Rapids, IA was listed as the 9th least bible-minded city in the nation, noting only 18% of the population to read the Bible weekly and strongly attest to it's accuracy.  Ephesians 5:15-16 "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Though I was disappointed to my city ranking, it wasn't completely a new revelation. Seeing the world through God's Word in the past ten years has been an awaking to say the least, especially in Cedar Rapids, IA.  I grew up hearing the coined phrase that "change works from the outside in". Meaning, change in our culture and tradition starts on the outer most coasts like California and Florida. Therefore, the last and hardest to change was t...