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PASTOR: DARREN EDWARDS

VIDEO SERMON BELOW

DATE: Sunday December 22nd, 2024

VERSE(s)OF THE WEEK:

Luke 2:11

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

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Inspirational Weekly Message

Advent week one & two, HOPE & PEACE

. Week 1 of Advent represents the Hope we, as Christians have at the coming of the prophesized Messiah “Jesus”

This “Hope; is what separated the nation of Israel from the rest of the Nations of the world.

The “Hope of a coming Messiah and Savior wasn’t a myth or legend as some then and even now would suppose, but was a prophesized reality from the Prophets of God. Geneses 12:1-3 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Now the statement “In You” means that God’s Spirit would be the one who would guide, and eventually through the Faith of Abraham, 700 years later; form the Nation of God’s people Israel.

Now during this time God again would prophesy through Isaiah the coming of the Jewish Messiah. Isaiah 53:1-12 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

Three important things to note here, one the Jewish people and their leaders didn’t believe God’s Prophet’s including Isaiah; concerning the coming of their Messiah, “Jesus.

Second thing to note here is that un-portrayed with any accuracy in modern cultures, is the fact that Jesus wasn’t a man that wowed the crowds with His physical beauty. He was just a average man.

And third “A root out of dry ground is in reference to the Spiritual conditions of the Jewish people at that time as well as the rest of the world.

Isaiah 53:3 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

“We esteemed him not, means that the Jewish people would in the future not recognize Jesus as their long awaited Messiah (Savior).

As odd as that might seem to you and me today, Jesus is still not recognized as the Savior of the world through many religions; including some Christian religions that hold Jesus as savior but not God in the flesh, making Jesus just a fleshly man and not Deity. Isaiah 53:4-5 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. The healing mentioned hear in the context of Isiah’s Prophesy is a Spiritual healing that would enable all who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of their live to be healed from the sin that they would die Spiritually.
Isaiah 53:6-7 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Isiah 53:8-9 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Isiah 53:10-11 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Isiah 53:12 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The “Atonement by Jesus for the sins of many and not all, means that the atonement shall only credit those who accept Jesus salvation offer and who are born again by the Devine Spirit of God.

That my friends is the Hope we calibrate on the first Sunday of “Advent.

Week 2 of Advent, we celebrate the “Peace” we have in Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Peace as acknowledged in our modern Dictionary is described as,

1: a state of tranquility or quiet:

: a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom

2: freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions: harmony in personal relations

: A pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity

Used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell

While all these descriptions are physically socially accurate, they are every bit as much accurate spiritually as well.

The Prophet Isaiah again Chimes in on the Peace of God in his prophesy concerning Jesus the “Messiah.

Isaiah 26:1-7 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.
The Lords salvation is like having fortified walls around you protecting you from the attacks of the enemy on your salvation.

Within the walls the attack will still come but they will not affect your salvation.

Isaiah 26:2-4 2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. 3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

The righteous nation in Isaiah’s day were the Jewish People, in our day it is the Christian nation of all believers of Jesus Christ Salvation.

Note here again that the peace only comes, and is reassured when are Heart is focused on Him.
Isaiah 26:5-7 5 For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. 6 The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.” 7 The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous.

What the Lord is saying through Isaiah is that, the once arrogant and prideful religious heart of the Jewish elite will be brought low and humble like the poor and needy of who they “Oppress.

Now what Isaiah had Prophesied 700 years earlier about the “Peace of God was now being spoken by the mouth of the promised messiah, (Jesus)

Jesus here is speaking to his supposed and future disciple’s, now listen closely to Jesus discourse.

John 14:15-29 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Note here that the Love for God and the keeping of the commandments are synonymous with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:18-19 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Jesus is speaking of the day when the Holy Spirit takes up residents in the child of God, as Jesus goes on to explain.

John 14:21-23 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”

Jesus goes on to explain the conditions again of the Spirit to dwell within the children of God.

John 14:23-24 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.

Note that Jesus says that we will come and make our home with him, meaning that Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit are all in one eternal God.

John 14:25-26 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

You see while Jesus was still in the flesh and hadn’t yet ascended to Heaven the Holy Spirit could not indwell the new and future disciple’s and Children of God.

John 14:27-29 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.

Philippians 4:7 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Let’s Pray,

Dear Lord, help us to see that you are with us. Nothing is too difficult, too messy, or too dirty for you. Jesus came to give us the gift of eternal life through the salvation that only you, our Heavenly Father, can give when we believe on your Son, repent of our sins, and confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Thank you, Father, for your immeasurable gift. In Jesus’ precious name, we pray. Amen.

Benediction

Rom. 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Statement of Faith

WE BELIEVE:

1. WE BELIEVE The scripture of the Holy Bible, both old and new testaments, to be the inspired Word of GOD, without error in the original autographs, the complete revelation of his will for the salvation of all persons and the Divine and final authority for Christian faith and life.
2. We BELIEVE In one GOD of all things seen and unseen, Divine originator of all principalities, powers and authorities, infinitely perfect and eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3. WE BELIEVE That Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, Fully God and Fully Man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and was crucified to death on a Roman Cross as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, fulfilling the prophecies concerning the messiah in the scriptures. Further, He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven where at the right hand of God He is now our High Priest and Advocate.

4. WE BELIEVE That the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and during this age, to convict man, regenerate the living sinner, and indwell, instruct and empower the believer for Godly living and service, guiding all believers to walk in Truth, Love, and Obedience.

5. WE BELIEVE That man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and is therefore separated from God and lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be restored.

6. WE BELIEVE That the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection provide the ONLY grounds for salvation and justification for all who believe, and only those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Sovereign Lord are born of the Holy Spirit, thus becoming children of God, which is a permanent condition.

7. WE BELIEVE That water baptism and the Lord's Supper (Communion) are sacraments to be observed and commemorated collectively be the church during the present age of grace. They are not, however, to be regarded as a means of salvation.

8. WE BELIEVE That the true church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the Body of Christ, His bride preserved for Him at his second coming, which is His Church of which He is the Head.

9. WE BELIEVE That only those who are members of that true church are eligible for membership in this local church body.

10. WE BELIEVE That Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of this church body and every local church has the responsibility and right, under Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, to make decisions governing it's own affairs without interference.

11. WE BELIEVE In the imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This hope has a vital bearing on every aspect of the lives of each believer that should bear fruit worthy of their calling, abilities, and spiritual gifts.

12. WE BELIEVE In the bodily resurrection of believers from the grave, of the believer's everlasting and permanent joy in the presence of God; of the unbeliever's

RCF Medical Missions Outreach 2024

FAITH

HEALING

FAITH

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.

HOPE

HEALING

FAITH

For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

HEALING

And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

LOVE

HEALING

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

PROVERBS by SCOTT STICKNEY

Proverbs of Solomon

19:

15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,
and an idle person will suffer hunger.
16 Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life;
he who despises his ways will die.
17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will repay him for his deed.
18 Discipline your son, for there is hope;
do not set your heart on putting him to death.
19 A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,
for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future.
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:15-21

Week of December 15th-29th,2024

LADIES BIBLE STUDY by SEPTEMBER JOHNSON

The Book of Revelation

“THE TWO SIDES OF THE GREAT CONFLICT“

READ Revelation 14,15

Chapter 15 … OVERVIEW

Revelation 15 is a short chapter, bridging two sections in John's series of visions. After the trumpet judgments, the focus of Revelation changed from a more-or-less chronological account to a description of certain people and events. Among these are infamous concepts such as the woman clothed with the sun, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the mark of the beast. Here, John will see one final vision before he is shown the rest of the tribulation judgments, represented by bowls.

The first vision John sees here is that of seven angels. These carry the last judgments God will use during the tribulation. The scene is one of celebration, as redeemed believers sing a song of worship to God. This echoes similar songs of praise offered by Israel after their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 15). The sea of glass mentioned here is presumably the same one referred to in Revelation 4(Revelation 15:1–4).

Revelation presents God's final judgments on sin in three groups of seven. The first set of judgments was represented by the opening of seals on a scroll (Revelation 5:1). The second set was represented by trumpets (Revelation 8:6). This last pattern will involve bowls, symbolically filled with the wrath of God. This segment also indicates that the sanctuary in heaven was filled with smoke during this time, preventing anyone from approaching God until the judgments were completed (Revelation 15:5–8).

After this brief interlude, Revelation will resume explaining the end-times judgments in chapter 16. There, the catastrophic bowl judgments will begin.

Chapter 14 … OVERVIEW

What does Revelation chapter 14 mean?
Between chapters 11 and 16, Revelation pauses its in-order description of the end times to introduce certain figures and highlight certain events. One of these events, shown in chapter 14, is a celebration which occurs very near the end of the tribulation.

John's vision here includes Jesus and the same 144,000 sealed believers who were described in chapter 7. These stalwart believers sing a song of praise to God while standing on Zion: the general area of the city of Jerusalem. The sealed believers are further described as spiritually pure, in stark contrast to the wicked people marked as worshippers of the Antichrist (Revelation 14:1–5).

Next John sees three angels delivering messages of warning and prophecy. These messages predict God's impending judgment on sin and evil. Included in these statements is a comment about those who accepted the mark of the beast, described in chapter 13. Those who take that mark are bound for eternal damnation—they are not believers. This further supports the idea that the mark of the beast is not some casual, hidden concept. Those who take it will know they are rejecting God by doing so. This passage ends with a word of encouragement for Christians who suffer persecution for their faith (Revelation 14:6–13).

The last section of chapter 14 depicts Jesus holding a sickle—a farming tool used to cut plants during the harvest. This passage symbolizes the return of Jesus, and the subsequent battle, in terms of a grape harvest. Just as mature grapes are fat and full of juice, the wickedness of unbelievers on earth will have reached a peak at this moment. Just as a winepress crushes and shreds grapes to make wine, the wrath of God will tear apart those who fight against Christ at the end of the tribulation (Revelation 14:14–20).

Join Our Ladies Bible Study Group

Our Ladies Bible study group is a great way to deepen your understanding of scripture and connect with others in our community. We (LADIES) meet every Thursday @ 11am and we welcome ALL LADIES who are interested in learning and growing in their faith.

News & Events

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*WEEKLY HAPPENINGS 2024*
*Sunday Bible Study @ 9am All Welcome

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*Last Sunday of month POTLUCK

Welcome To Rice Christian Fellowship

WELCOME VIDEO!

Join us for Sunday Service

Christmas Program

VERSE(s)OF THE WEEK:

Plan your visit

Inspirational Weekly Message

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 🌟

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Elders

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The Church, the Bride of Christ, and the Biblical Marriage, is the Gospel in Reality

Statement of Faith

WE BELIEVE:

Baptism-dead to sin - ALIVE to CHRIST

Baptism-dead to sin - ALIVE to CHRIST

Baptism-dead to sin - ALIVE to CHRIST

Find Hope and Healing

Baptism-dead to sin - ALIVE to CHRIST

Baptism-dead to sin - ALIVE to CHRIST

RCF Medical Missions Outreach 2024

FAITH

HEALING

FAITH

HOPE

HEALING

FAITH

HEALING

HEALING

HEALING

LOVE

HEALING

HEALING

Bringing Hope and Healing to the People of Kenya

PROVERBS by SCOTT STICKNEY

Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 19:15-21

LADIES BIBLE STUDY by SEPTEMBER JOHNSON

The Book of Revelation

Join Our Ladies Bible Study Group

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