show a Love like no other.

sunday night church services are my absolute favorite.

everyone there is there because they want to be there.. not because its sunday morning and everyone they know is going to be at church so they feel required to attend.

but sunday nights its your family. your church family.

sunday nights are all about fellowship, worship, and of course preaching.

I am going to be completely honest with you all and tell you that for a long time I wasnt excited about going to church at all. 

I mean I didnt dread it or anything but I just wasnt excited about it.

well lately that has all changed...

I think its because I have completely given all my stress, worries, and successes over to God. and He has taken them and made me more like Him.

well tonight at church our assistant pastor preached due to the fact that our regular pastor is in iraq on a missions trip. yes you read correctly, iraq.

but anyways, he was preaching on witnessing.

and well this hit me hard.

I have to admit I have done a terrible job of telling people about Jesus.

and tonight pastor vernon encouraged everyone to witness more, although it felt like he was talking directly to me.

he also encouraged us to witness in unique ways.

to find ways to talk to people you might not be able to face to face.

so. 

I am going to do a little witnessing right here on blogger.

1. I want everyone out there to know that you are a sinner.

everyone is... no one is perfect. everybody makes mistakes.

romans 3.23-

For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

2. because we are all sinners we are going to a place called hell.

its real.

and the devil wants nothing more than for us to spend eternity there with him.

he doesnt want to be alone... and he knows that we all will be there with him.

romans 6.23-

For the wages of sin is death....

3. but...  that same God that we sin against and dissapoint everyday loves you more than you can even imagine.

actually, He loves you so much that He sent his son Jesus to die for you.

that is a lot of love if you ask me.

john 3.16-

for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

His love isnt the shallow kind of love in so many of our worldly relationships.

let me tell you a little more about His death. just so you can see a little more clearly how much love He has.

it started when Jesus was praying in the garden. He prayed to the point of where he was sweating blood. which has been proven to be completely physically possible. when someone is at the point of sheer exhaustion.

He was praying that if there was any other way to save the world from burning in hell, that God would allow it. but He also said not my will but thine.

later He was arrested, mocked, beaten, and spat upon. 

the next day He went on trial. the people found Him guilty even though he had commited no crime. He had never sinned. He had never even thought about sinning.

now comes the torture and the crucifixion. 

this is an explanation from an actual doctor as to what happened that day..

listen to this while you read.

"Preparations for the scourging were carried out when the Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. It is doubtful the Romans would have made any attempt to follow the Jewish law in this matter, but the Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more than forty lashes. The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus' shoulders, back, and legs. At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped. The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood. The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still need a crown to make their travesty complete. Flexible branches covered with long thorns (commonly used in bundles for firewood) are plaited into the shape of a crown and this is pressed into His scalp. Again there is copious bleeding, the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.

After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and the robe is torn from His back. Already having adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, its removal causes excruciating pain just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, and almost as though He were again being whipped the wounds once more begin to bleed. In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return His garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross is tied across His shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion begins its slow journey along the Via Dolorosa. In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock, until the 650 yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed. Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action being careful not to pull the arms to tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of the stipes and the titulus reading "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" is nailed in place."

-dr. c. truman davis.

thats what Jesus went through for you and for me.

thats how much He loves you.

4. but just Him dying is not enough.

three days later He rose from the dead.

and stole the keys of death so that we could forever be with Him in heaven.

He loves you and wants you to spend eternity with Him.

all you have to do is realize your need for a Saviour and ask Him to forgive you and save you.

He wont turn you down, no matter what you have done.

He will take away your sin and change your life completely.

eternity with someone who loves you more than anyone on earth is just a prayer away.