Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church
     
 
Pastor Carolyn Poteet - "Building Our House on the Rock "

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Messages of Grace

(Past Recorded Sermons) 




















 
This Sunday
Sept. 10, 2017




Sermon Title:
"Spiritual Riches" 
 
 
 

Scripture:
Acts 19:1-10
Ephesians 1:1-14 





CTCT-20170529_235534_1 September 7, 2017

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

It is good to be back with you all after my vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is always a treat to spend time with family!

As I am writing today, the country is holding its breath, waiting for the second major hurricane to hit this season. I have good friends who had to evacuate from Houston, and several EPC pastor friends are working hard to help their communities. At this moment, one of my cousins is driving north out of Miami, planning to shelter at her grandparent's home in Georgia.

Meanwhile, the madness in North Korea is rising, with no easy solution in sight. And even in Kenya, our brothers and sisters continue to face unrest as the Supreme Court last week annulled the results of the recent presidential election. They are praying that God would calm the storm of violence before the next vote.

Are you looking for good news? I certainly am!

Whether we find ourselves in a literal storm or a storm of bad news, the best thing we can do is run to the eternal Good News of Jesus Christ. He is our rock and our fortress, able to calm storms with a single word. Ps 46 says, "The Lord speaks, the earth melts."

Starting this Sunday, we are diving into the solid rock of the Word by focusing on the book of Ephesians. This book is chock full of amazing truths to weather the storms of life, truths like "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith...," "we are God's workmanship...," "how wide and long and deep and high is the love of Christ...," "put on the full armor of God...," and of course, "he is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine." Each chapter and each verse offers more soul food, more richness to dig into together.

As we have shared, we are offering a small group series to coincide with the sermon series this season. We will have signups for small groups on Sunday morning, and you can also sign up on our website. We offer small groups at church on Sunday morning and Wednesday night Family Fusion, as well as in private homes on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Find one that fits your schedule and dig in! If you are not able to join a group, you are still welcome to pick up a study guide and follow it as part of your personal devotion time.

My prayer is that as the world around you gets crazier, the faith may become clearer to you and your family. The house built on the rock can withstand any storm!

Hurricane Relief: If you are looking for a trustworthy organization where you can donate toward hurricane relief, you may want to consider donating to the EPC. You can check out their website at epc.org/emergencyrelief. Churches like my friend Alan Trafford's congregation in Lake Jackson, TX, are setting up relief and rehabilitation programs in their communities. Several EPC churches, including Alan's, are going to be host sites for mission teams. Christ EPC in Houston is working directly with Samaritan's Purse as a volunteer host site. If you would like to send a check, you can make it payable to Evangelical Presbyterian Church and designated Hurricane Harvey Relief and mail to: Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 5850 T.G. Lee Blvd., Suite 510, Orlando, FL 32822.

May God protect those in peril on the land and on the sea!

Blessings,
Pastor Carolyn
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