John Cliver

[Judy Harder]

8:50am Mar 20 
"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." 1 Peter 2:2-3.

You need the basics. Without the basics of anything, you cannot progress on to the more mature. That doesn't mean that you keep on with the basics all your life, but it does mean that you cannot ignore them. They are vital. And sometimes you have to go back to the basics to get your feet back on track. If your feet aren't on track, the more mature teaching will pull you off in odd direction, First you have to know how to use the teaching and then you use it. But you cannot use what you do not know. Let God teach you: the Father will guide you, his Spirit will train you, and Jesus will teach you.

[Judy Harder]

 8:47pm Mar 20 
Today I put together koinonia, our new monthly newsletter for LCCC. This newsletter will primarily be to build community here at LCCC and in Elk County. Community is, of course, one of the primary definitions of the Greek word koinonia, as is fellowship.

Acts 2:42 is one of the first where it is translated fellowship. "They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer." This will go out to our members and to our Ministerial Alliance community here in Elk County. Look for it Sunday. Our first issue I will have to hand out due to my tendency to flop around on the floor, run out of blood and in general make a physical nuisance of myself. I will mail the others to the Ministerial Alliance. Sooner or later, I would like to mail it to the entire town.

[Judy Harder]

10:05am Mar 21 
"But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8.

In west Texas, there are two kinds of mesquite plants: big trees and small bushes. The only difference between then is that the big trees found water and the small bushes didn't. The mesquite plant can live under almost any condition, from desert to almost tropical. If there is no water it will struggle long, taking what it can from the soil, but never really growing or thriving. But as you look across the landscape, there will be a line of trees. If you went over to them, you would see that they found a river or at least, a small stream. Those plants grow into trees and become strong. The same with a Christian. The Christian who grows will find the living water and will be nourished by it. You may be a Christian even though you never study his word or pray or anything else, but you will be a stunted Christian, one who never reaches his or her potential.

[Judy Harder]

9:00am Mar 22 
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Ephesians 6:10-11.

The devil cannot do what you do not want him to do. And if God is on your side, you are fully armored against anything he may try. However, it is up to you to make sure that armor is in place and used. The greatest of God's holy armor will do not good if you leave it at home. But when you are armored, you are power against evil. God will keep you if you left him.

[Judy Harder]

8:40am Mar 23 
"God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12.

It is the enduring of temptation that makes us strong. Weight lifting will make us strong in the same way because you only get strong when you begin to press against weight that is heavier than you can lift. Keep pressing and sooner or later you will be able to lift that weight. Sing strongly and practice your singing and sooner or later your abdomen and throat and all will make you a better singer. Stretch your brain and you will learn another language. Nothing good has ever been accomplished by sitting around reading about it. It is only through the stress of the exercise that you become stronger. The same with faith. God does not send the temptations, but he helps you use them to make you stronger.

[Judy Harder]

7:31am Mar 24 
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23.

Grace, like salvation is a gift, freely given by God, its only true Source. If you work for anything at all in the Kingdom, you work for death. There are wages because there is no job. We do what we do because we love God, not in order to make him love us. The Gift is eternal life; the wages are for death. A hard concept but absolutely true.


Psalm 67
For the choir director: A song. A psalm, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

1 May God be merciful and bless us.
May his face smile with favor on us. Interlude

2 May your ways be known throughout the earth,
your saving power among people everywhere.
3 May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
4 Let the whole world sing for joy,
because you govern the nations with justice
and guide the people of the whole world. Interlude

5 May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
6 Then the earth will yield its harvests,
and God, our God, will richly bless us.
7 Yes, God will bless us,
and people all over the world will fear him.

[Judy Harder]

9:55pm Mar 24 
What a good day, Church. Got a couple of naps in this afternoon and feel refreshed and good, just in time for bed time. The Church seemed to enjoy the recreation of the Triumphal Entry, or at least until, disappointed that he wouldn't do things like I wanted, I threw my branch on the floor and left Jesus standing there. Think about it. As Jesus hung on the cross, he might even have seen a couple of the palm branches lying in the roadway, and remembered when they thought he was the most wonderful person ever. He would lead them into political and military victory over the Romans and make them the great nation they once were. When he didn't, they got mad and crucified him.

Next Week is Easter. It is the ultimate of all that has come before and in it, there is freedom, release, forgiveness, repair from brokenness, access to God the Father as humanity had in the Garden of Eden, sinlessness, power, glory - all you can think of all in Jesus. Hallelujah, Jesus is alive! Death has lost its victory and the grave has been denied. Jesus lives forever, He's alive, He's alive. Hallelujah, Jesus is alive!

Ella and I are going to sing that song next Sunday and invite you to sing along with us. What a day, glorious day that will be! I love Easter! I might even dance

9:53am Mar 25 
"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." 1 John 1:9.

What God wants from us is the acknowledgement that we need him, that without him we cannot live. He does not want groveling, nor does he want someone so broken they are in constant grief. That is foolish. If we are made in the image of God and that is so unappealing to us, how must it be to him? He wants someone who will be molded, used, glorified, sanctified. He wants someone who will allow him to work his will to the betterment of both that person's life and to the church and to humanity in general. Give him that and you have confessed your sins. And he will forgive you and use you and love you (which he does, anyway) and make great things come of you.

[Judy Harder]

8:48am Mar 26 
"For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him." Philippians 1:29.

A privilege to suffer is an odd way to put it, but it is true. There is more to the Christian life than just sitting around believing. There is also the day-to-day living, the daily interaction with non-believers, the daily suffering. We like the believing part. That is fun. But the suffering comes along, too. They are part of the same package: good and bad. And if you take the package, just like Jesus did, you have to take them both. Together, both of them lead to glory.

[Judy Harder]

 Ella Mochman Cliver 2:50pm Mar 28 
A thought from Ella:

Deut 10: 12 "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul."

All that our God has ever wanted is for us to love him with all our heart and soul – give Him all our everything. We give it to him and he gives it back to us pressed down, shaken together and overflowing.

[Judy Harder]

11:14am Mar 29 
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

There was no way we could come before God with all our sins and all our failures to have our sins forgiven. It was only through the agency of God and the perfection of Jesus that it could be accomplished. Jesus took our sins on his perfect soul and brought them before God so that God could eliminate them forever, never again to be mentioned or seen. That was the sacrifice we honor this weekend. And that is the very center of our faith in God. If you do not believe that, you don't believe much.