Recent Articles and Sermons

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

August 21, 2021

Scripture Reading Romans 11:17, 18:

17) “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakes of the root and fatness of the olive tree:

18) Boast not against the branches.  But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.”

These two verses are a portion of the mystery of God that is mentioned, seven verses later, that pertains to the grafting of the branch of the wild olive tree into the good olive tree:

Romans 11:25:  “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles [nations] be come in.”

There are five important questions that need to be answered correctly in order to understand the mystery of the verses in Romans chapter 11. 

Psalm 137 by Ewald Bash, “By the Babylonian Rivers”, KAS DZIEDAJA/CAPTIVITY, Latvian melody

Verse 1:

By the Ba-by-lon-ian ri-vers 
We sat down in grief and wept;
Hung our harps up-on the wil-low,
Mourned for Zi-on when we slept.

by Alan Breitenstein

August 15, 2021

Scripture Reading Isaiah 45:5-9

I have been wondering for some time why there seems to be absolutes only in math and little science. Why 2 people can take the same material and come up with differing opinions. Such as 2 doctors reading the same MRI, CATSCAN, or X-rays and come up with different opinions or why there are differing views as to Scripture verses. What keeps people from seeing the same views? Why do people fall for a fallacy as there being more than 2 genders and  cannot view that all races are not alike? How do we determine who is right and what determines to be right? Why do people hold on to a view or even a tradition that seems to others as being ridiculous or a lie? The Lord God guided me in finding answers to all these questions and more in this search.

I found an article searching for what the minds of the world had to say on the question of where our thoughts come from. 

PSALM 137

Jim Jester

August 8, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 9:1-16

“Psalm 9 and 10 are really one Psalm. In several ancient manuscripts and versions, they appear as a single composition. The acrostic structure, though incomplete, points to the same fact. Here we have a mixture of literary types: hymn, thanksgiving, and lament, dealing with both national and domestic [individual] enemies.” – Layman’s Bible Commentary, p. 36

This Psalm, that we know as Psalms 9 & 10, goes quite well with Psalm 137, which we are also covering.

1. Thanksgiving (Ps. 9:1-4)

2. Hymn of Praise (Ps. 9:5-16)

3. Judgment upon the Nations (Ps. 9:17-20)

4. Lament (Ps. 10:1-4)

5. David’s Prayer (Ps. 10:12-18)

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

August 1, 2021

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2:21-25

What do these verses mean?  What is Jeremiah saying to the kingdom of Judah?  Is it important to know today? 

God often pictures Israel as being planted as a noble vine or a goodly tree; a right seed.  Jeremiah then asks a disturbing question.  How did Israel change from a noble vine into a degenerate plant of a strange [or alien, or foreigner or adulterous] vine? 

Could Jeremiah, if he were alive today, ask the same question?  Is the House of Judah and the House of Israel turned into a degenerate plant of a strange vine or is it still a noble vine?   Is the kingdom likened to a well cultivated vine that has grown into a wild plant?  Is the kingdom likened to a filthy object that no amount of washing with soap can cleanse?  Is the kingdom likened to a woman who has left her husband for other men?  Is the kingdom likened to a person who has lusted after other strange women, like a camel in heat lusts for a mate?  Is the kingdom likened to the eagerness of a thirsty traveler who walks the desert searching for water till the sandals drop off his feet?  Could the same thing be said of the Israelite nations of today?  Are they being turned into a degenerate vine?

PSALM 141

by Jim Jester

July 25, 2021

Scripture Liturgy: Psalm 123: 1-4

This psalm is primarily a lament for the community of Israel, and was likely used in the temple as a liturgy. The first statement is in the first person singular and may have been sung by a priest. The remainder of the psalm is in the first person plural and was probably sung by the congregation.

“Unto Thee … have I lifted up mine eyes” (v. 1). Hard and bitter trial may come in one or more of many ways; but the text points to that of oppression, the cruel treatment of the weaker by the stronger. This may come to us in different forms than the psalmist: the IRS, unfair judges; or more personal problems, such as extreme medical issues and the seemingly endless suffering it brings. Where shall we turn? If there be no escape from it, as there often is not, we must find our refuge in God. When we have vainly looked around for help from man, “we lift up our eyes” to God, to Him that “dwelleth in the heavens.”

• We recognize the fact that He has power to deliver us.
• We believe that in His wisdom, He can interpose on our behalf.
• We are sure that our suffering is not a matter of indifference to His heart, and that our cry enters His ear.
• We must not be impatient, if the time or method of our choice should not prove to be His chosen time or method of deliverance.
• We do well to continue our prayer for relief “until He have pity upon us” and rescue us.
• Meanwhile we should: 1) let our trouble draw us nearer to divine fellowship with our Lord; 2) loosen our tie to this present world; and 3) enable us to give to those that witness our course, another illustration of the upholding grace of God. – Pulpit Commentary

CONDITIONAL DOMINION PART 2

by Walter Giddings

July 18, 2021

Greetings Kindred and fellow Sheep.  We are on a first name basis here.  My name is walter.  This Lesson comprises Scriptures that have puzzled me for a long time.  This Lesson is not possible without The First 7 Lessons!  The Subject is Twins by two different Fathers.  From Twins, Lessons 1 and 2, do we recall Two Interlopers into the ancient names of the stars :  Greek and Roman Mythology?  In Gemini the Greeks named the Twins Apollo and Hercules.  The Romans named them Castor and Pollux.  The Bible named them Abel and Cain.  The Roman names Castor and Pollux  identify the figurehead on the ship of Alexandria that carried Paul, his fellow prisoners, and Luke, the beloved physician, off the island of Malta.

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

July 11, 2021

Deuteronomy 14:21a

There are three separate, diverse groups of people mentioned in verse 21:

• “Ye”, “thou”, “thy” or “holy people”:  These are the seed of Jacob or the covenant people of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They had the LORD God as their king, until they requested that one of their own people be king instead of Him.  They were forbidden to eat any animal that died of itself, but they were permitted to give the dead animal away or sell it.
• “Stranger” [#1616, Strong’s]: sojourner.  To this group of people, the Israelites were told that they could give the animal that died of itself to them and then the people that they gave it to could eat it.
• “Alien” [#5237, Strong’s]: alien, foreigner, outlandish. To this group of people, the Israelites were told that they could sell the animal that died of itself and then the individuals that bought it could eat it.

PSALM 106

by Jim Jester

July 4, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 43:1-5

Psalm 43

The Scripture we read is actually a Part 2, or a continuation of Psalm 42, likely written by one of the sons of Korah (the Korahites accompanied David in his flight beyond the Jordan during Absalom’s rebellion). Psalm 43 is likely a supplementary stanza, added later by the same or a different author. The absence of a title for this psalm, and the recurrence of several phrases, especially the refrain, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (v. 5), puts this beyond doubt, as the verse is repeated 3 times. The separation is old since it is found in the LXX (Septuagint). Whoever wrote this psalm (both Psalms 42 & 43), has given immortal form to the longings of the soul after God. He has fixed forever and made melodious the sigh: “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Ps. 42:1).

by Paster Everett Ramsey

June 27, 2021

1 Corinthians 12

Diversity of gifts - but the same Spirit; differences in administration, but the same Lord; diversities of operations, but the same God

The diversity of gifts in the church body:

• Wisdom
• Healing
• Knowledge
• Faith
• Prophecy (preaching)

 As a body, we need the diversity of gifts.  The church is the only place that spiritual gifts will be blessed at their best ... within a group setting.