Lloyd Pulley's Blog, page 47

May 11, 2013

Abide in the Lord

John 15:8 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.


When reading the 15th chapter of John awhile back I began pondering the idea of bearing fruit and abiding in Christ.  Familiar words to a seasoned Christian, but it was good to be reminded of what the ultimate goal in life is all about.  The ultimate goal in life is to glorify God.  The ultimate purpose in eternity is that God’s name will be known throughout all the earth, that the knowledge of God will cover the world like the waters cover the sea.


How is God glorified? He has chosen that His people, whom He created and gave the breath of life, would bear much fruit.  What does bearing fruit mean and how does one go about doing it?  Bearing fruit is what your actions produce.  It is the spiritual fragrance that comes from what you choose to do and how you go about doing it.


So how do we bear good fruit?  The only way to bear lasting fruit is found in John 15:4“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  It is by abiding in Christ.  Abiding in Christ comes from an intimate fellowship with Him.  Our relationship with God is different than our relationship with our friends.  It resembles a parent’s relationship with their child.  The parent pours their life into the child.  The child is required to obey.  Likewise, we cannot wake up in the morning and say, “This is my life.”  We must wake up and say to our Father, “This is Your life.”


Complete obedience comes from complete trust.  How do you trust someone that you do not know?  It comes back to the knowledge of God.  Make yourself available to Him through daily reading and sincere prayer.  Jesus was marvelous at complete obedience.  He not only glorified God with what He did but how He did it.  He exampled the perfect composure, the perfect peace; He was never in a hurry and always took one step at a time.  He perfectly glorified the Father, and now He has called us to glorify Him by abiding in Him.

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Published on May 11, 2013 07:04

May 10, 2013

Vacation Bible School @ Calvary Chapel Old Bridge

 


Vacation Bible School is quickly approaching! Early registration has begun, so start signing up- your kids will have a fantastic time learning about God’s Word!


 


 

July 15-19, 2013 KINGDOM CHRONICLES (ages 4-13+)


Prepare your young knights and fair maidens to stand strong in the battle for truth! During this time of music, crafts, and much more, they will learn to put on the full armor of God.


“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” -Ephesians 6:10-11.


Early bird registration has begun! For information and registration, visit ccob.org/vbs.

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Published on May 10, 2013 09:04

May 9, 2013

Calvary Christian School Run For Education!

Friday, May 17th – Calvary Christian School will be holding its annual Run/Serve for Education during the month of May.


This event helps to raise funds for school programs, the new high school building and the hardship fund. If you would like to sponsor a pastor/student, you can visit the Run for Education table in the foyer or www.calvarychristianschool.net.


Serve for Ed activities include Calvary Relief and NYC Relief Bus.


Be sure to listen to BridgeFM on Friday, May 17th from 11am-12pm for a live broadcast of our Run for Education!


Participating Pastors and staff: Pastors Kevin, Dave M., Brien, Jean Luc, Tom, Francisco and Principal Morris.

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Published on May 09, 2013 08:00

May 8, 2013

Jim Elliot’s Perspective

Consider the following quote by Jim Elliott, a missionary who ultimately gave up his life while trying to reach the Auca Indians.


“He is  no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” – Jim Elliott


 


 

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Published on May 08, 2013 08:50

May 7, 2013

Video – Is Masturbation a Sin According to the Bible?

As part of the Top 20 Questions Christians Ask series, I answered the questions “is masturbation a sin?”


 


 


 


 

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Published on May 07, 2013 08:07

May 6, 2013

Junior High Youth Group Lock-In @ Calvary Chapel Old Bridge

Last week (April26-27th) we were blessed to have 115 Jr. High Students come out to the church for their annual Lock-In. If you are not familiar with what that is, just imagine a bunch of middle schoolers staying up all night, listening to a Bible message, playing games, bouncing on inflatables, and having a great time.


Our Ignite Jr. High Youth Group meets every Wednesday, 7:30PM at our teen center. Visit www.igniteafire.com for more info and pictures from past events!

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Published on May 06, 2013 05:42

May 5, 2013

The Ancient Jewish Wedding Ceremony: Understanding Christ, His Bride, and The Church

It’s been said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  To illustrate some of the truths of the Scriptures, there are different pictures we can point to that bring fresh understanding to previously known facts.  Though no illustration is perfect, some are very helpful.  One such picture is that of the ancient Jewish wedding.  Though only a picture, a look at the different parts of the Jewish wedding ceremony will greatly enhance our understanding of Christ and His bride, the Church.


The Jewish wedding is comprised of three parts:

I. Before the Betrothal

II. The Betrothal

III. The Marriage


I. Before the Betrothal

Customarily, the Father of the groom would be responsible for arranging the marriage of his son and bride to be.


God the Father is responsible for bringing Christ’s bride, the Church, to Him (Ephesians 2.4,5).


II. The Betrothal

At the appointed time, an official betrothal ceremony would take place.  This would be a public ceremony in which family and friends gathered together to witness the betrothing of this man and woman.


There were three main parts of the betrothal ceremony:


1. The couple would publicly express their desire to be engaged with one another.


Christ has publicly demonstrated His love for us, revealing His desire to be united with us through His death on the Cross (Romans 5.8).  We also are encouraged to publicly show our love for Christ by confessing Him before men (Matthew 10.32).


2. After the vows were read, a cup of wine was tasted by both the bride and groom.


Christ Himself drank that cup of wine with His disciples during the last supper (Luke 22.20).  We also are encouraged to remember the covenant He made with us through partaking of the Lord’s Supper (1st Corinthians 11.25).


3.  The groom would then present the Bride with a gift that would be for her a tangible reminder that though they were not officially married yet, they would be.  During the betrothal period, this gift would always be the reminder that she was betrothed, and one day her groom would come and marry her.


Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit, which is the tangible reminder that we are betrothed to Christ and one day, the marriage we are longing for will come (Ephesians 1.13,14).


After the ceremony, the time of betrothal would formally begin.  During this time, both the bride and groom each had their own responsibilities:


1.  In Jewish culture, traditionally the bride and groom, once married, would move into the home of the groom’s parents.  Thus, during the betrothal period, the groom would be preparing a place in the father’s house for the bride and groom to live.


When leaving His disciples, Jesus said that He was going to His Father’s house to prepare a place for them.  Currently, Jesus is preparing a place in His Fathers house for His bride (John 14.1-6).


2.  The Bride was responsible to prepare her attire for the wedding celebration.


Knowing that the Lord could come at any time, we are called to be preparing ourselves by holy living (Titus 2.12).


III. The Marriage

Once the Father deemed the home was ready for both bride and groom to live in, the father of the groom would give permission for the groom to go and get his bride and bring her to his home.  On the appointed day, the groom would make his way to the bride’s home.  Though she knew the approximate time of the grooms arrival, the exact day and hour was unknown (Matthew 25.13).  She needed to be always ready.  Once the groom began his journey, the marriage ceremony began.  Some specific parts of the marriage ceremony were:


1. The sounding of the Shofar (trumpet) to signal the grooms approach to the Brides house.


Our official marriage ceremony with Christ will begin with the sounding of the Trumpet, the Rapture of the church (1st Thessalonians 4.13-18).


2.  A procession from the Bride’s home to the Groom’s home


3. The official marriage ceremony took place, in which the vows and contract of marriage were established.


4. The marriage supper took place, in which all members of the family feasted and celebrated the union.  This feast sometimes lasted for a period of seven days.


We look forward to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb that we, Christ’s Bride, will celebrate with Him (Revelation 19.7-9).


Recently, we have been going through the book of Revelation at Calvary Chapel Old Bridge. To stream messages or buy resources, see Bridging the Gap!

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Published on May 05, 2013 04:31