Easter: June 2, 2006

Old Testament Lesson

Jeremiah 31:27-34

The Lord said that He would make a new covenant with His people, and write the Law upon their hearts. We see in this passage the proper order of holiness. It must start with the Law being written upon your heart; that will change everything else. Once God's law is upon your heart, it changes you actions, it changes your thoughts, it changes everything about you.

Today, if your actions are the same as they were when you were converted, are you truly converted? This change must start on the inside and work its way out. Yes, our actions to affect it, but it must start inside. Today, have you made peace with God? Is His law written upon your heart?

New Testament Lesson

Ephesians 5:1-20

When we see sin mentioned in the Bible, there aren't distinctions. Today in this passage, we a listing of sins that will keep us from entering into the kingdom of heaven. First, those that are immoral. Yeah, that makes since. Those impure. Well, obviously. Then, the greedy. Well, there it went from preaching to meddling. Surly, that's not as bad as the others, right? Well, according to the Word this morning, greed will keep you out of the kingdom of God as quick as sexual immorality will.

We cannot categorize sins in to those that others do and those that we do. No sin is acceptable. No sin shall enter before God. No sin shall be taken lightly. Within this passage greed is as condemned all type of sexual immorality. Today, how do our lives stack up in light of that?

Gospel Lesson

Matthew 9:9-17

It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. That is what Jesus says in this passage. Until we admit that we are sick and sinful, He can offer us nothing. Until we admit that we need Him, we can't fully receive His grace. He came to save us, to love us and the call us. Until we understand that we are in need of saving, in need of being loved, and in need of being called, we can't fully know just how much He has for us.