"The Resurrection of Jesus Christ"

Christ Church - Sermon Notes from Pastor Dr. Bob Smart

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58

The first word "therefor" is referring to the previous verses about the second coming of Christ.

"corruptible shall have put on incorruption"vs.54. Think about it...the mortal will be clothed with the immortal, all because Christ took the sting of death for us and gave us the victory!

1) Stand firm. Keep your hands on the plow, don't look back...we stand firm because Christ stood firm.

2) Give yourself away... completely, freely, with abandon to the Lord. Don't just give your advise or a certain amount of time, give all of yourself all the time.

3) Know for certain. Because you know that your labor, in Jesus name, is not in vain. Be confident in Christ, doubt is evident by your "dead ends".

If people were computers

You never know when the Lord will return, it will be a glorious day! But what will you be doing when He comes? Will you be serving Him? Or will you be concerned with the things of this world?

I was eating lunch with my sister Lydia and was thinking about this. And so I said to Lydia "you know that God loves you, right?" Lydia said "yes!" And I said "He loves you so much that He died for your sins; He took your sins like they were His and paid for them." Lydia looked at me and said "If people were computers, then it is like Jesus downloaded our sins to His computer." I laughed, "yes, you are absolutely right!"

It's late...

and I should be in bed...

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:15-17

"...All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us..."

-gandalf-

So ...

The new year has come and gone, even the Luner new year. God is still the same even today. He is faithful.

The day after Christmas, Grammy, Ben and I took a road trip to the east coast to visit friends and family. We were borrowing my Uncle Todd's PT Cruiser in trade for my Grammy's purple Toyota, which is very hard to get into because the handles on the two driver side doors broke off--this was an interesting surprise to my Uncle I think. Ha ha! Sorry ... any way, we got stuck on the east coast because the PT broke down and needed a new transmision. We were already cutting it close so that I could come home in time for the next semester of College. Ben and I ended up taking a flight back home so that I could sign up for the classes I needed. It was good timing actually, Grammy ended up staying longer than she thought to help her Aunt move. And Ben and I got to stay almost a week at the Bouldens house, which is a good place to be stranded.

I am only taking 2 classes this semester instead of the 5 I was taking last semester. English and Chinese are interesting classes to be taking at the same time. The 2 to 3 times the hours of class time that you are supposed to expect for homework seemed a little much to me last semester, but with my English class I am finding that it is just about right.

I am in the second stage of a possible job nearby at a retirement home. So we will see how that goes. God knows what is best and I am excited to see what He has in store for me.

It's hard for me not to share some of the things Lydia says. If I don't write them down I might forget them, and It would be a shame to forget them!
Lydia is learning how to read, and Lydia started saying the letters on an ornament on our tree. "N...O...E...L..." Still not sure what she was trying to read, Hannah came up and said "Noel!" And Lydia said "yes there is!"

Merry CHRISTmas!

Did you know that you have a shaking machine on the back of your neck? Everyone does you know. When you are cold and you shake it is because of the shaking machine on the back of your neck. At least that is what Lydia tells me... You also have a tickle machine in your mind and it gets turned on with no buttons. Anyway, just some wisdom from a 5 year old.

I think I know more of what I will be doing this next semester. I talked with Dad last night and we went over some things. I don't have the money that I had last semester, and I don't want to go into debt at all. So I think I will be taking Math or English, and then Chinese 102. So not full time this semester. I will be trying to get a job in the area so that I can pay for more classes later on though.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lyonsjia/CelebratingChristmas2008#

This college student...

Finals are finished! I am really happy about this right now, as you can probably tell. :-)
God helped me to get through Economics, Math, Humanities, Business and Chinese courses. I am just trusting God right now. I never thought I would be going to college, but that is where He has me right now, and I am excited and a little anxious to know why. But I don't HAVE to know why, maybe I never will, but I trust He has a plan and I am just to follow where He leads.....Which brings me to wondering where He is leading me to next. So far I am planning on getting a part time job and taking classes at the community college near by. No doors have closed, and my parents are all for it, so that is where I am headed. But I know that God works in ways we could
not have imagined and "man makes his plans, but God will direct them".

Teaching my niece Maggie the Chinese Yo yo

We voted!

waste not, want not

Labor Day! What a wonderful time to eat things you don't normally do... like hot dogs, hamburgers, coleslaw, and..... Ginger Ale! Our Ginger Ale decided to make a fountain when it was opened. And Ben, I guess, does not like to waste....

Discovery

We took my cousins to the Children's Discovery Museum yesterday here in Normal. It was a really cool place! If I was their age, I would be running all over the place and would never want to leave. Three floors of creative fun! We went in the morning, and then after lunch and nap time, I took 3 of my cousins with Hannah back, until it closed at 5. Amelia, after getting ready for bed one night, had this slightly mischievous look on her face and whispered to me "I have a REALLY good idea!" I asked her "what is that?" She said "tomorrow, when I brush my teeth, and put the tooth paste on my toothbrush, I am going to brush my lips!" I thought that this was funny, and I asked her "well,why are you going to do that?" And she said "I never thought of it before!"

Laura, Luke and Hannah making things with Perlor Beads

Here a cousin there a cousin...

My Uncle Michael and Aunt Christie are in Guatemala on a missions trip for about 8 days. So we are watching their kids as they serve. Having 6 of my cousins in our house has been quite different. But good! Now we know more of what it is like to have 8 kids in the house. Though I guess technicly it is 9, including me. But there is something about being 25 that puts you in a different category than "kid", even though I am still living at home. This morning we are all doing chores, cleaning bathrooms, washing windows, and doing odds and ends that have to get done before our family leaves for Taiwan in August.

Amelia with our huge flowers! And she really wanted a picture with them.

Isaac mowing our lawn, he has been such a great help!

My Refuge and Strength

Dad gave the call to worship today, Ps 18:2-3a in Chinese and English. Pastor Duane Otto preached today at Christ Church. Here are some of the notes I took today on the sermon. A lot is my interpretation of what he said."My Refuge and Strength" Ps. 3 When hard times come, it reminds us of who's we are, because it is in those times that we seek refuge in the "lap" of our Lord.God is a shield about me, He watches over me, and anything that happens to me is from His hand, even the bad. We tend to put up our own "safety net", and not put our full confidence in Him. Romans 8:28A good indication of the trust you have in God is, do you worry ? Do you fear? vs. 5-6Peace comes from God. Remember who you are in Christ. John 14:27; Eph. 2:14 Sunday School - Strategize and "plan" less - Pray moreEven Jesus (fully God, and fully man) prayed. He even asked that "this cup pass", displaying a reliance on the Father. Pray alone or with others. Remember we are not a "lone wolf". We are part of the body of Christ and need to help "bear each others burdens".Pray the Psalms, there are Psalms that apply to different situations. Example: David repenting of Adultery Ps. 51

Fortune Cookie

Have you ever gone to a Chinese Restaurant and picked up a fortune cookie? I have thought it strange that they have them in the Chinese restaurants here in the States, but not in China. The whole time I lived there I did not see one. I guess it is an American tradition really. Anyway... I find it interesting to read what they say, and I wonder who gets the job to come up with these "sayings". Sometimes they are scary (trust me), funny, and thought provoking. I don't believe in "fortunes" but I do believe in God. And wonder sometimes what God does with fortune cookies. He uses us and our weaknesses, he uses the wrong things that we do... does he use fortune cookies?

So, what do you think of this one, My Uncle got this after we all ate at the Hot Wok.

"Women are mothers at heart, men are bachelors at heart."

Do you think this is somewhat accurate?
I know this is a far fetched really weird post, but I was trying to find something to post, and this came to mind.

Weeds!

The weed guy came over to our house and saw me outside. He asked, "What are you going to do about your weeds?" I told him maybe he should ask my parents....so I go to get them. "Mom and Dad, there is this guy outside asking what we are going to do about our weeds, and he wants to talk to one of you. Dad: "we want to keep them." Mom: "he said that about my three dandelions?! I'll go talk to him." The result....Hannah gets paid to dig up the three dandelions (OK, OK, it was 57).

What?

Praise the Lord, we are homeless no more! I never thought that I would be considered normal, I have always been out-side of Normal. But now that we have a house in Normal, I guess that means I'm normal? But if most people are living out-side of Normal, like I was, and there are only a few people in Normal, does that mean that those in Normal are normal? Or do we just think that we are normal? Do normal people move to Normal because they think that is where they belong? Or do un-normal people move there because they want people to think they are normal, and hope that when you live in Normal that you will become normal, or at least that people will think you are normal?

Home is where the family is

After 6 months of living out of suit cases, at various family and friends houses, my family is still wondering what God has for us on a more long term basis. Do we go out on missions for awhile? Do we settle down, buy a house with a white picket fence, and get a nice job here in the states? Please pray for us.
I took a train and saw my family this weekend. Some really good news! My little sister prayed to receive Christ as her savior! Some other news, Ben is off to MT, he will be taking a Gray Hound bus to see J&J. Not sure how long he will be gone. I guess only God knows what he has for him in this timeThe snow around here has been amazing! So deep, and powdery, for the longest time. It is only now starting to be really good snowball snow. This Hawaii girl is not so sure what to think of the below zero weather we have had recently, but I think I am getting used to it.

Bloomington is NOT Normal

I just came back from visiting my brother Ben and my Uncle Todd in Bloomington-Normal. It was a last minuet decision to go really. Instead of leaving on Friday night like normal, I left Dark and Early Saturday morning at 6am. I sat in the Starbucks across the street to wait for the 6:55 Metra to Chicago. It was a nice time to have a cup of coffee and read my Bible.
Ben picked me up in Uncle Todd's PT cruiser "Ruby". And we had lunch and then went shopping for a bit. Afterwards we Saw the movie "The pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith and his son, acting as his son, in this film. It was neat to see them acting together. The movie is based on a real story, about a low class income family getting to the top. And all the impossible things that the father had to do to get there. I liked the fact that he had to work real hard, and he seemed to have a good work ethic. One thing I did not like about it was the fact that the mother quit on him, and just gave up on her husband, she was not supportive at all, and even though they made it seem like an okay thing that she left her son with the father and went off, the reason was pitiful. The other thing I did not like about it was the message that real happiness and success is from how much money you make. Now it did not say that blatantly, but that was the message that came across to me.
On Sunday after church Ben and I went out to Starbucks and had a nice time talking. We like to do that, While I get my *cough*-ee, (Ben's interpretation) Ben gets his hot chocolate. Starbucks is a nice place to talk, I wonder what they put in there drinks, because I am not always that talkative. Maybe it is just coffee in general, because even though I really like Starbucks, Caribou Coffee is my favorite coffee shop.