Mars Hill Baptist Church

Let me start by saying, “Thank you, Lord, for your blessings on me!” If we truly belong to Jesus, he will bless us beyond measure. He answers prayers, he listens, and he acts upon his promises according to his Holy Word. We were blessed this week with two messages from God in the morning and evening service. The evening message was taken from 1 John 1:7-10. This passage is a recipe for repentance. There are other recipes for revival in the Bible in Psalms 51, and for salvation in Romans 5. Today we are talking about a recipe for getting right with God.

My grandma was the best cook in the world. She could make a meal out of anything, and very often did. She raised nine children, and had a hand in raising many of her grandchildren. Times were often tough, but she always had Sunday dinner on the table for any of her kids and their families who wanted to come and spend a few hours around her table. My grandma could even make a fried hot dog taste good! If anyone ever asked for her recipe for something, she would always say, “Well, I just add a little of this and a little of that, and throw in some of the other to make it brown.” Whenever I ate Sunday dinner at Grandma’s house, she rarely sat down at the table with us because she was always walking around, making sure everyone had what they needed and wanted. She used lard, plenty of butter, sugar, and salt, and I never heard her say, “Don’t eat that; its bad for you.” Today we often obsess over our health and the foods we eat, making sure it’s healthy, low in fat, and has no sugar or salt (and no taste, either). Today, if anybody wants a recipe for a dish, we drag out the cookbook and read it or make copies to pass along. I never saw a recipe book in my Grandma’s kitchen. Grandma didn’t worry if her cooking was good for you; she just wanted to make sure you liked it.

God’s recipe for repentance says that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Where is the recipe in these verses? Read verse 9 again. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” As Christians today, we have become so complacent with the world that it’s sometimes hard to recognize sin. Satan, that old devil, has dressed up sin and makes it acceptable in our churches today. We have compromised our values and become politically correct to the extent that unbelievers can’t tell us apart from anyone else—even if that someone has never attended a church in their life! Wow, this sounds bad, and it is. Before we can confess our sin, we have to know what sin is and recognize it as a tool of Satan to keep us away from the one true God.

How do we get rid of sin? First, confess. Confession is good for the soul. Second, by asking for forgiveness: getting on our knees in prayer to God, and pleading for his mercy and grace to be extended to us. But to get rid of it, you have to first know what it is, and you find the answers in the pages of God’s word, the Bible. Anything contrary to God’s word is sin. Verse 8 tells us that we are liars if we say we have not sinned. God will have no part in the life of a liar; so confess the sin, and God will forgive it. Verse 10 says that if we say we have not sinned, we call God a liar, and his word is not in us. I don’t plan to tell God he is a liar, do you? Look closely at the life of Jesus and compare your life to his. We will all come up short of the mark; we have all sinned. Praise God that his recipe for repentance is easy: just fall down, confess and ask forgiveness. God will do the rest. Amen.

Go to church for spiritual food, to be filled to overflowing with his love and mercy. Find out what pleases God and do it. The gift of God is eternal life, but the wage of sin is death. Which recipe will you chose? I have to say, “It’s me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer; not my brother, not my sister, but me oh, Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”

Our supper for senior adults will be on March 2 at 6 p.m. On March 30, an Easter egg hunt for children will be held. April 26 is the Relay for Life. We have fundraisers coming up, so be ready to do your part. Be in prayer for our VBS this year and serve where you can. God needs helpers. Don’t forget Wednesday night Bible study at 7 p.m.

Please pray for our church, the sick, the lost, the hurting, our country, our troops, and our schools. Be especially in prayer for Mrs. Wendy Bryan this week. God is great, all the time. Amen.