ECCE

            The Christian faith is being mocked and scorned in these times as being nothing more than "blind faith." However, our faith is not blind but is based upon truth and light. There is evidence - eye witness, historical, mathematical, and anthropological, including in my opinion the Shroud of Turin which accurately depicts the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - that confirms the truth of the Christian faith. Jesus said that we shall know the truth.      The apostle Peter wrote that we should keep in our remembrance the words of the prophets and the apostles, who prophesied and testified of the truth of the Lord and Savior, Jesus. Peter also wrote of scoffers in the last days, who desire to continue walking in their own lusts, who are willingly ignorant of the Lord's return and the judgment that will accompany Him. These scoffers say, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all thi...

      Paul referred in part to the prophet Isaiah when writing: "...Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Eph. 5:14-17). This is an incredible truth but people miss it: "Wake up!" We are to walk in wisdom, with which God freely equips the church, and by which we redeem the time in the middle of evil days.     Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica that we are expected to know the times and the seasons of the return of Christ although the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Just when men think they have achieved peace and safety, sudden destruction will come without escape. However, we are not to be like them as they are children of darkness. We are children of light and day: "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober...But let us, who are of the day, be sobe...

      The title of this message is loosely based upon the Book by Charles Dickens called "A Tale of Two Cities". There are only two nations in the world that declare "God rules". The first is Israel, and  the second, America, but both of those nations soon violated that covenant. Documents and quotes from our Founding Fathers and later presidents contain the strong belief and reliance upon God as a foundational tenet of this nation. One quote from John Adams is in a letter that he sent to the Massachusetts Militia in 1798: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." (Click here to read the complete letter). President Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address given at one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Civil War, said in part: "It is rather for us to be dedicated here to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion - that we her...

      The hype over the Super Bowl has come to a fever pitch.  The tickets to the Super Bowl are said to start at $6,ooo and go up to $10,000, and are expected to become even more expensive as the event draws near.  This Super Bowl is taking place in Las Vegas, or "Sin City", perhaps being a good reminder that the Church needs to repent even more than the heathens! (see 2 Chron. 7:14 ). The quarterbacks of both teams are Christians and say so publicly. As the event draws near, one pastor made the suggestion that believers use Super Bowl parties and get-togethers, not just to watch a sporting event, but as an opportunity to share the Gospel, calling them "Matthew Parties" instead. In considering "Matthew Parties", we should begin by looking in the Book of Matthew.      In the Book of Matthew Jesus told a parable about the kingdom of heaven being like ten virgins, five wise and five foolish, who had lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. In t...