Fire the Cannon!
Faith Baptist of Zephyrhills
Oct. 1st, 2021
Hey Church!
If you are a Tampa Bay “sport” enthusiast, it is a great time to be a fan! In 2021 the Lightning won the Stanley Cup for the 2nd straight year. The Rays played in the World series in 2020, and they are headed to the playoffs again this year. And the Tampa Bay Buc’s won the Superbowl in 2020 and are the favorites to repeat!
Do you know what they do at Raymond James Stadium when the Buc’s score a touchdown? They fire the cannon! Yep, every touchdown is celebrated with a big blast! It is the sound of victory and the fans love it! The cannon has been going off a lot since Tom Brady came to town.
Do you know what is the cause for “blast” in heaven? Do you know what is the reason for a “celebration” on the streets of gold? What makes heaven rejoice?! It is when a “lost” man, woman or child repents and comes home! I think that we all would agree that we do not know nearly as much about heaven as we would like. But one thing we do know is that heaven has a “party” when a person is born AGAIN. Heaven celebrates the birth of every person into God’s family. But not everyone understands that.
Jesus was criticized for many things, including the love and time he spent on people who had made bad choices. He was called a “friend of sinners”. It drove the “religious” people mad. The people who thought they had it all together. So Jesus addressed this. As we are learning, Jesus was a master storyteller. So in response to their criticism, he told three stories about lost things: a sheep, a coin and a son. His stories resonated with men and women. Who hasn’t lost something and spent considerable time searching for it until it is found? We all have! And when you find what was lost – you have a celebration! And the greater the value of the item, the bigger the celebration.
On Sunday we are going to learn 3 important truth’s from Jesus stories:
1. Everyone Matters to God.
2. We Never Stop Searching for Lost Items that Matter to Us.
3. The Greatest Celebrations on Earth & in Heaven are when People are Found alive!
That is just the introduction! Then we are going to look more closely at what we do when a loved one strays away… it is a very important message! I hope you can join us at 9:30 am as we learn ‘WHEN IS IT TIME TO FIRE THE CANNON”!
Remember that there is a Church luncheon on Sunday. The theme is mexican. Come and enjoy a great meal and time with friends and family.
Have a wonderful weekend and remember that God loves you!
Pastor Mike