But the first fence in scripture was built by Eve in Genesis 3:3. God said not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge but Eve states she was not to even touch it. Eve felt she needed to be more strict than God so she added a fence around God’s command. She then confused her fence with God’s command and the fence became the point of her rebellion. Many rebel against the fences, not God!

There are positive aspects of the fences we place around God’s commands when they act as our personal convictions:

• Fences protect the immature
• Fences protect our weaknesses
• Fences give us security and a sense of control in a complex world
• Fences clarify ambiguity

However, when we allow the fences to become the focus of our faith and redefine our fences as what God commands, we enter into dangerous waters.

• Fences can perpetuate immaturity. We don’t have to listen to the voice of God, be led by the Spirit, think for ourselves, or learn to discern good from evil. In essence you reduce Christianity to following a list of rules.
• Fences can give us a false sense of security and control because we can’t fence God in.
• Fences can lead us to redefine Spirituality by our fences. We can confuse faith with traditions, culture and personal preferences. This can lead us to majoring in the minors and miss what is really important.
• Fences can become the means by which we judge others. We measure holiness by external behaviors rather than internal heart attitudes.

As we study God’s Word, it is our responsibility to follow our conscience and formulate our own convictions and personal boundaries. However, for the sake of unity let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification ~ Romans 14:19.

The Cautious Christian never ventures very far into the gray area himself and tends to be very suspicious of those who do. The Cautious Christian sets up his fence just outside outside the gray area, which he views as a buffer to keep from falling into sin. The danger of this type of thinking is he then equates his fence with God’s standard, essentially eliminating the gray area and establishing his fence as the new boundary. He then tends to become a self-appointed “border patrol” watching for those who cross the border and setting up “No Trespassing” signs.

The Carefree Christian understands the freedom we have in Christ, disregards the fences of the Cautious Christian and sets up his own fence much closer to the boundary line. However, the Carefree Christian may end up flaunting his freedom and become a stumbling block to others. Because the Carefree Christian may be more enlightened regarding his freedom in Christ, he may look down on the Caution Christian with a air of spiritual superiority and a condescending attitude. Also, the Carefree Christian may become a Careless Christian and step over and fall into sin.

How do we not allow these gray area issues to become a source of disunity in the church? Romans 14 deals with these issues and provide us with these principles:

1. Be fully convinced of what your own convictions are and then live them out for the Lord’s sake, giving thanks to God (verses 5-6).
2. Don’t worry about what someone else is doing. They will stand before God to be judged for what they do, as will you (verse 10).
3. Don’t let your freedom become a stumbling block to others. Don’t trample the scruples of others or flaunt your freedom in Christ. Instead, gladly restrict your freedom for the sake of others. Don’t compromise the integrity of the gospel, but don’t violate the unity and love of the fellowship of believers (verse 13).
4. In the gray areas, if you regard it as sin, (forbidden by God), then it is sin for you. Do not violate your own conscience (verses 14-23).

– The unruly means those who are disorderly, undisciplined or insubordinate. It is used of an army in disarray, undisciplined soldiers marching out of step or insubordinate soldiers who deliberately break rank. These are people who deliberately, willfully and intentionally disregard God’s law and should be reproved for the wrong done and warned.
– The fainthearted are discouraged, disheartened, and ready to give up. These people should be treated gently and encouraged.
– The weak are those who want to do the right thing but can’t. Often the one who sins is “caught” or tempted by the deceptive power of sin. They got their eye off of the goal, wandered off the path, lapsed in a moment of pain or weakness. These people should be supported with true concern. We should not minimize the sin, but we should be always mindful that we all stumble at times.

Our attitude towards those who are caught in sin reveals our own heart. Galatians 6:1 tells us Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch over yourself, lest you too be tempted. When we are spirit-led we will have a attitude of humility with a health fear of our own inclination to sin. We will feel grieved when someone falls into sin. We restore the sinner with gentleness and concern while examining our own work and heart.

If we react to sin with an attitude of superiority, arrogance and harshness, thinking we are above such actions, we are acting with a legalistic mentality and need to repent ourselves! Let our reaction be as Christ, towards grace, mercy and compassion, always seeking not retribution, but restoration.

Join us as we open our hearts to the depth of God’s unfathomable love. Easter Sunday will be a inspiring celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Both the 9 am and 10:30 a, services will meet in the main auditorium. The worship team will be ministering at both services. Pastor Ed’s message will be The Way, the Truth, and the Life.

At the 9 am service, there will be child care for pre-school children as well as classes for children in k-grade 2 and grades 3-5. At the 10:30 am service, there are classes available for children age 3 through grade 8. The children will be learning, at their own level, the story of Christ’s redemption.

1. Sin is anything that is contrary to the nature and character of God.
2. Sin is rejecting, disobeying, or failing to live up to the requirements of God’s Law.
3. Sin is anything that takes what God has created as good, such as power, pleasure, wealth and self-esteem, and perverts it to serve an unworthy purpose.
4. Sin is a polluted river that branches and rebranches into thousands of tributaries.
5. Sin is an inner controlling force that enslaves us to evil desires.
6. Sin is an inner darkness of the heart and mind that blinds us to spiritual truth.
7. Sin the the willful refusal to surrender to the rule and reign of Jesus Christ.
8. Sin is deliberate crossing of the line into forbidden territory.
9. Sin is a kind of reverse moral polarity that alienates us from God and produces an aversion for righteousness.
10. Sin is the folly to trying to live independently from God and the futility of living our own life contrary to God’s Word.

Sin blinds us … enslaves us … defiles us … corrupts us … perverts us … condemns us … hardens us … deceives us … robs us … alienates us … contaminates us. Our sin is far more pervasive, far more insidious, far more malignant, and far more powerful than we can possible know BUT no matter how much we sin, we cannot out-sin the grace, mercy, love and forgiveness of God.

The guilt of our sin stood as an insurmountable barrier between us and God. A price had to be paid, a price that you and I could never pay. The price of our redemption was a price that only Jesus could pay.

Jesus paid that price on the cross and cried out, It is finished! Those words were the victorious declaration of a redemption secured for the people of God. Justice has been satisfied, our debt was paid. Those who put their trust in the finished work of Jesus are fully, finally, and forever set free from the penalty of their sin. This is Good News!

Come and refreshing yourself with speakers on nutrition as well as spiritual and emotional health, Zumba, yoga and weight training classes, breakout sessions for chair massages, blood pressure checks, prayer, skin care, BMI, spiritual journaling, makeup application, healthy eating and more. You pick the sessions you want, you create your perfect day.

Cost: $10.00, includes all sessions and a healthy lunch, plus giveaways and raffles! Sessions are filled on a first come, first serve basis and you must sign up before Wednesday, May 2. To sign up or for more information, please email Michelle or call the church office.

Note: There are no breakout sessions during the speakers and lunch (10:30 – 11:00, 12:00 – 1:00, 1:00 – 1:30)

• Weight Training with Diane (30 min) 11:00 – 11:30 ____
• Yoga with Stacy (30 min) 9:30 – 10:00 ____ 2:00 – 2:30 ____
• Zumba with MariaTherese (30 min) 1:30 – 2:00 ____
• Blood Pressure Checks with Holly – Walk Up, No Sign Up Needed
• Skin Care with Michele 9:00 – 9:20 ____ 9:30 – 9:50 ____ 10:00 – 10:20 ____ 11:00 – 11:20 ____ 11:30 – 11:50 ____ 1:30 – 1:50 ____ 2:00 – 2:20 ____
• BMI Checks with Kety 11:00 – 11:10 ____ 11: 15 – 11:25 ____ 11:30 – 11:40 ____ 11:45 – 11:55 ____
• Gourmet Salads with June 11:30 – 12:00 ____
• Prayer Group with Claudine 11:00 – 11:20 ___ 11:30 – 11:50 ___ 1:30 – 1:50 ___ 2:00 – 2:20 ___
• Chair Massages with Leslie 11:00 – 11:15 ____ 11:20 – 11:35 ____ 11:40 – 11:55 _____ 1:30 – 1:45 ____ 1:50 – 2:05 ____ 2:10 – 2:25
• Makeup Application with Michele 9:00 – 9:20 ____ 9:30 – 9:50 ____ 10:00 – 10:20 ____ 11:00 – 11:20 ____ 11:30 – 11:50 ____ 1:30 – 1:50 ____ 2:00 – 2:20 ____
• Spiritual Journaling with Barbara 9:30 – 10:00 ____ 11:00 – 11:30 ____

We deny sin when we ignore it, cover it up, redefine it, minimize it, trivialize it, excuse it, or blame others. We deny sin when we have a casual attitude towards it or reduce it a simple list of Do’s and Don’ts.

On other other hand, we deify sin when we focus more on the sinfulness of sin than on the goodness of God. We can become fixated on sin, in ourselves and beat ourselves up, and live with a lingering guilt, shame, and sense of condemnation. Or we can become preoccupied on exposing the sins of others and morph into head-wagging, finger-pointing, self-righteous Pharisees. In either case, when we do this, we actually deny the power of the Blood of Christ to forgive.

The truth is, sin is something we all struggle with, no matter how often you attend church or how long you have been a committed Christian. We are far more deeply stained with sin than we would like to admit. The antidote for sin is not more rules, stricter rules, or trying harder. The answer is God’s grace, which He gives to us in abundance. We are not yet what we are destined to be but God is not finished with us. God is restoring us in His image according to His glory. Isn’t that good news?

– We judge superficially and condemn people without hearing their side of the story. We judge a person’s character and value by their outward appearances, before we know their background, experiences, hurts, needs and motives for why they do what they do. All we see are the outward behaviors and we presume and condemn people on their appearances alone.

– We judge self-righteously with a critical fault-finding spirit that has an amazing ability to see the tiniest speck of sin in someone else’s eye and be totally blind to the plank of self-righteousness sticking out of our own eye. Jesus is saying, first take the plank of self-righteousness out of our own eye before we presume to help others with their sins. When we judge and condemn others, we forget we are forgiven sinners in continual need of the grace and mercy of God ourselves.

– We judge harshly and without mercy. We are being judgmental when we are act in ways lacking in tolerance, and compassion, when we are unreasonable, dogmatic and quick to throw stones at those who fail to measure up to our standards.

The quality that ought to characterize Christians, that we should have a reputation for in the eyes of the world, is for being gentle, kind, fair-minded, considerate, tolerant, generous in one’s dealing with others, willing to yield, open to reason, big-hearted, and good-willed.

The Tabernacle, particularly the seven pieces of furniture associated with the Tabernacle, is especially rich in meaning for the person who diligently searches out God’s Word. If you are thinking to yourself: “Tabernacle?! That sounds terribly boring and totally irrelevant to my life,” then here’s great news for you—you’ll see Jesus as you’ve never seen Him before. And, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, your heart will burn as the Spirit of Christ opens your mind to understand the scriptures concerning Christ!

Scripture talks about judging in a positive and a negative sense:
Positive: To form an opinion, to discern, evaluate or assess the value or legitimacy of something or someone.
Negative: To condemn, criticize and pass judgment on; to convict as guilty; to have a judgmental spirit.

When Jesus says, “do not judge,” He does not mean we’re supposed to suspend all our critical faculties. There are many times when scripture tells us we are supposed to judge:
– We are to judge ourselves. (1 Corinthians 11)
– We are to judge sin in the church (1 Corinthians 5)
– We are to judge prophecy (1 Corinthians 14)
– We are to judge ministry and spiritual leaders (1 John 4:1)

We are commanded in scripture to judge between what is right and wrong, what is good and evil, what is from God and what is not from God. When Jesus says, “Do not judge,” He’s saying that we’re not to have a judgmental spirit that is quick to criticize, condemn and pass judgment on others. Those who have a judgmental spirit are characterized by:
– a self-righteous attitude of superiority
– a critical, fault-finding spirit
– a tendency to judge others harshly, without tolerance, mercy or compassion.

If we want to be like Christ, we should extend mercy and understanding, forbearance and forgiveness, believe the best and extend grace. Because that is what Jesus did, when on the cross, while the crowd was still mocking and jeering, He called out to His Father, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do!”