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About This Blog

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Too often internet-based discussions are filled with rancor, misinformation, and rarely result in people changing their minds. It is especially distressing when ideas and opinions hurt relationships in the same family or church or among close friends. Often we are guilty of repeating information which is either not true or only half true. I think we all say things online that we later regret, only to find out that our words will live forever somewhere in Cyberspace. This most often occurs in political discussions, but can often occur when discussing a variety of topics, even Theology. My goal is to present well researched, balanced, information and opinions which I desire to be discussed in a civil, respectful manner. Not everything will be controversial. Some will simply be educational and fun. When we do disagree with one another, I ask that we do so respectfully. The internet is full of places where people can express themselves freely without moderation. I do not want to limi
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Suffering for Right and Wrong

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  Suffering for Right and Wrong                                                       Erie City Mission     4-30-2018 One of the questions that many people ask is “Why do bad things happen to good people”? The question seems to imply that if bad things happen to bad people they are getting what they deserve, but if bad things happen to good people, then it is not fair. Some would even say God is not fair. What I am going to show from the Bible is that suffering has a purpose and that God is not only fair but loving and compassionate when He allows suffering. Some kinds of suffering are the direct result of sin or a crime. If a murderer is sentenced to life in prison, he is suffering for his crime. But not all criminals get caught and not all crimes are punished through the justice system. In fact, many times the innocent are punished for the crimes of the guilty. But when bad things happen to bad people, we often say they are getting what they deserve. Let’s say,, for example, a s
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The Parable of the Great Supper

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  The Parable of the Great Supper Erie City Mission  12 Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”   16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ 18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I h
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The Parable of the Sower

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  The Parable of the Sower Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” …. 13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 Th
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Living Water

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  Living Water Erie City Mission   10/29/2024 Today’s lesson is about Jesus the living water. We are not talking about physical water, but spiritual water. Jesus has told us that the living water he gives is the Holy Spirit. He is the source of abundant life illustrated by a fountain of clear, pure water, coming up as a spring that never runs dry.   Holy Spirit, the Living Water provides four benefits to the believer in Jesus Christ: 1). He quenches spiritual thirst forever. 2). He purifies our hearts of sin. 2). He produces spiritual fruit. 4). He produces eternal life.   First benefit . Quenching of spiritual thirst .   In John 4, Jesus meets with a Samaritan woman. The text says  Jesus “needed” to go through Samaria. Traveling from Judea to Galilee. Most Jews hated the Samaritans and would avoid Samaria altogether and add many miles to their journey. Jesus decided to go through Samaria. Why?   Was he in a hurry? No, he stayed an extra two days ministering to Samar
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Living by Grace

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Living by Grace Erie City Mission  Today we are going to focus our attention on the grace of God. What is grace? Grace is a word that is used thousands of times in the Bible. It means to show kindness, to forgive sin, to be generous, to perform a charitable act, to bestow spiritual strength or any kind of divine favor. Grace in the Bible is freely given by God to undeserving sinners. It is because Jesus died on the cross to take the penalty for our sins and he rose again from the dead to give us Eternal Life. Letters in the word, GRACE spell out G od’s R iches a t C hrist’s E xpense. Mercy is not giving us what we deserve. If I ran a red light because I wasn’t paying attention. Got a citation from a police officer, went to the judge to plead my case. If this was a first offense, he might let me off with a warning. This is mercy. I don’t deserve it, but the judge gave it to me anyway. Grace could be illustrated that I ran the red light while I was drunk. I was driving without a li
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Trained by Saving Grace

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  Trained by Saving Grace Today I want to study three verses in the book of Titus and apply them to our lives. Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. There are three main points in these verses: 1.        The Grace of God brings salvation to all men : What is Grace? Unmerited favor. God gives us good gifts free of charge, not based on any goodness in us. Grace is free to us, but cost God his only Son. Jesus Christ came to earth as a little baby. He lived a perfect life of obedience to God in everything. He offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin by dying on the cro
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Victory of the Spirit Over the Flesh

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Victory of the Spirit Over the Flesh Erie City Mission:    03-31-2024 Human nature is full of regret, remorse, and defeat. We all have times in our lives when we say things or do things that we wish we could take back or do-over. But time marches on and we do not have a time machine to send us back to fix mistakes of the past. Sometimes we live with new regrets every day and it seems that we are in a vicious cycle, making the same mistakes over and over. Even the Apostle Paul lived with these feelings:   Romans 7:14-25 14 We know that the LAW is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do . -- For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.   22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law ; 23 but I see another law at work in me , waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me . 24 What a wretched ma
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