"The Bible Helps Us Stand Strong" 2 Kings 22:1-2; 23:1-25

Read: 2 Kings 22:1-2

Summary of 2 Kings 22:3-20:

·         In the 18^th year of King Josiah’s reign, which makes him 26 years old, he has his secretary, Shaphan, go to the temple and check in with the high priest, Hilkiah, to make sure everything was going smoothly in the rebuilding of the temple.

·         Hilkiah found the Book of the Law and gave it to Shaphan to bring it back to Josiah. Shaphan read the Book of the Law in King Josiah’s presence and Josiah tore his robes because of what was written.

·         He then sent five of his trusted men to the prophetess Hulda to find out what the Lord meant in the Book of the Law.

·         And the message which he received back was that Judah was going to be destroyed. And this is where we pick up the story….

Read: 2 Kings 23:1-25

I. Introduction

            One of my favorite things to do whenever I go somewhere on vacation or when I am traveling is collect rocks from wherever I go. It may be big rocks or small rocks, cool rocks or not so cool rocks—I love all of them. In fact, people who know that I love rocks; when they go on vacation, they don’t bring me back a t-shirt, rather they bring me back a rock—to which I greatly rejoice! I’ve actually got a rock pile in my room that’s about 3 foot long by 2 foot wide and 2 ½ feet high. And I also have many rocks spread all throughout my room in Michigan. I look at these every time I wake up and every time I enter my room because it reminds me that God is my rock. He is my cornerstone and even when things in life don’t seem to be going my way and life seems tough, I know that God will always be there because He is my Rock; He is my fortress. And I know that when God is my Rock, when I am built upon Him; I can stand strong.

            Not only do I love to collect rocks, but I also love to read. Some of my favorite men to read about are them known as the Puritans—like William Bridge, William Bates, Richard Baxter and John Owen to name a few. One of my favorite quotes from these men is from John Owen who said, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

This story about King Josiah is certainly about how he was able to kill sin because he had God who was his rock and cornerstone of his life.

II. Sin Had Killed Those Who Went Before King Josiah

            King Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not all the kings were like this. On the back of the outline in your bulletin there is a chart of the kings and it is helpful to look at this when examining it or it might get confusing. After King Solomon died, the nation of Israel was split into two nations—Judah(the Southern Kingdom) and Israel(the Northern Kingdom). All of the Kings of Israel were wicked and did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, therefore they were destroyed. Their sin had killed them. It was their sin that destroyed the entire nation.

            However, the nation of Judah, survived roughly 200 years longer than Israel. This nation had some evil kings, but they also had a few good kings. For example, King Hezekiah, who was Josiah’s great-grandpa, did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. But King Hezekiah’s son was King Manasseh and he was Josiah’s grandpa. He reigned for 55 years doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.

After he died, King Josiah’s father, named King Amon reigned on the throne. But he only reigned 2 years. He was killed by his own people due to his sin—literally; the sin which he committed killed him. Thus, after King Amon died, Josiah was made King. And young King Josiah was not about to have sin kill him as it had done to those who had gone before him.

            But what shouldn’t King Josiah do? What were the other kings doing wrong? Well the people of Judah and the kings were following the ways of the other nations around them by worshiping their gods. They were not worshipping the One True and Holy God who delivered them out of slavery in Egypt. For example, Josiah’s grandpa, King Manasseh, he built altars to the starry hosts, he sacrificed his own son in a fire, he practice sorcery and divination, he consulted mediums and spiritists and he carved Asherah poles and placed them in the temple. These are just a few of the idols that King Manasseh made for the people. He did this because he was following the ways of the nations around him; thus allowing sin to not only kill him, but also sin was killing the whole nation of Judah.

            And King Josiah’s dad, King Amon, followed in his dad’s footsteps by doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, worshiping idols and bowing down to them. And King Amon’s officials were not happy with this. They had enough, so they killed him. Literally, he was killed because of the sins he was committing. The nation of Judah surely didn’t have the Lord as their Rock and they certainly were not killing sin.

III. King Josiah Killed Sin

            But King Josiah did something different than the 57 years of kings who reigned before him. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…not turning aside to the right or to the left. He killed sin. The Bible commands us to kill sin and to flee from sin, but it sometime seems confusing on how exactly this is done. Well, this story of King Josiah and the Bible points each day from VBS provide for us with 6 ways on how we can stand strong in order to kill sin.

First, King Josiah realized the love that God has for him and the nation of Judah and he realized that this love would help him stand strong. After hearing the Book of the Law read and after consulting the prophetess Huldah, Josiah immediately renewed the covenant that God had with the nation of Israel from Mt. Sinai. The covenant stated that God would be their God and they would be his people. They would follow the 10 Commandments and all the other laws He would give them so that they would be different than other nations. They were to be a holy nation, separating themselves from all the other nations. This covenant clearly shows the love of God given to His people because He called them His people, He delivered them from slavery, He provided for their physical needs in the desert by providing manna; He protected them from all the nations who would attack them and He showed His love to them in many other ways as well. Therefore, King Josiah recognized these acts of love and wanted to renew the covenant which God had originally made with His people. And by renewing the covenant, Josiah remembered the great and deep love that God the Father had for him and for the nation of Judah. This helped King Josiah kill sin and stand strong on God as His Rock.

Do you ever think deeply how much God loves you? He loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to live as the God-man. He died a cruel death on a cross for the sins of those who believe in Him as their Lord and Savior. He has adopted us as His sons and daughters who are co-heirs with Jesus Himself. People of God, this is amazing love. This should help us as we strive to kill sin and it also will keep us firm on the Rock because nothing on heaven and earth shall separate us from this love that God has for us.

Second, King Josiah had advisors who were his family and friends. Surely as a young king at age 8, he couldn’t rule alone without any guidance. He had five trusted friends and his mother whom he sought guidance from. His mother, Jedidah, gave him guidance on how to rule the kingdom in a right manner because she saw her husband killed by his own people due to his unfaithfulness to God. His five trusted friends were the friends that he sent to the prophetess Huldah in 2 Kings 22:12. They were:

• Shaphan—his secretary
• Hilkiah—the high priest
• Ahikam
• Acbor
• And Asaiah—his attendant.

These men probably were around during King Manasseh’s reign and also during King Amon’s reign, therefore they knew the wickedness and the evil things they had done. Now they could properly raise the young King Josiah in a manner of following the Lord after all the wickedness that had come upon them. These people definitely helped King Josiah in his walk to kill sin in his own life and in the nation of Judah.

            Just as King Josiah had trusted in these advisers, we too, need people that we can trust in guiding us. Often times these are close friends and family members. In my life, my parents have been the ones who have provided the greatest amount of guidance on how to be a godly man. And my college roommate, Harrison, and another college friend, Jonathan, talk on the phone weekly to make sure we are walking with the LORD. These are sometimes painful conversations, but having someone as an accountability partner to be guided in life is such a blessing and a wonderful gift! Just as King Josiah was given family and friends to help him stand strong, so we are given family and friends to help us also stand strong on God our Rock so that we may kill sin.

            The third way which King Josiah killed sin is by seeking the Lord. The story of King Josiah is also told in 2 Chronicles 34-35. The Chronicles account provides us with a little more detail about King Josiah’s life. It says in 34:3 that in the 8^th year of Josiah’s reign, which makes him 16 years old, he began to seek the God of David. We aren’t told that in the Kings narrative, but we are told that he went to the prophetess Huldah to “inguire of the LORD”. King Josiah wanted to know what God said about the finding of the Book of the Law and what it meant for the people; therefore he sought God through the prophetess Huldah, who gave him a lot of knowledge about what was to come. He also sought the Lord in many other areas of his life as well—these all helped him kill sin in his life and in the land of Judah and helped him stand strong on God his Rock.

            Many times, when we talk about ‘seeking God’ we can be confused at to what this exactly means; well, King Josiah went to the prophetess because he wanted to know what the Book of the Law meant. So he sought out the Lord through the prophetess. We too can seek out God on our very own—it is called prayer. Prayer brings us before the face of God and into His holy presence through Jesus Christ. John Piper says this about seeking, “Seeking involves calling and pleading, O Lord, open my eyes. O Lord, pull back the curtain of my own blindness. Lord, have mercy and reveal yourself, I long to see your face.” And God promises that when we seek Him, we will find Him (1 Chronicles 28:9; Hebrews 11:6). When ask, we will receive, when we seek, we will find and when we knock the door will be opened unto us (Matthew 7:7). When we seek God through prayer, we will be killing sin; sin will not be killing us.

            The fourth way which King Josiah stood strong in order to kill sin was by trusting in the LORD. This is evident from the fact that he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and not evil like his forefathers did. His forefathers trusted in the idols of the land, but King Josiah trusted in God as his Rock and his Salvation which helped him stand strong. This was his response to the love that God so graciously lavished upon Him and the nation of Judah.

            We also, need to respond to God’s love by trusting Him. Trusting Him above and not equal to other people and we need to trust Him over all the idols in our life. This is very hard to do and it takes time. And this isn’t a half-hearted trust of sometimes trusting, but it is a life-long commitment trust in God as our Rock and salvation. We trust in the Lord always for He is our eternal Rock. As we place all of our trust in God and God alone; then we can stand strong on God our Rock as we kill everything else that is not worthy of any ounce of our trust.

            And the fifth way that King Josiah was able to kill sin was by reading and listening to the Word of God—the Bible. Josiah was not searching for the Book of the Law, but he was given it after it was found. Therefore, after hearing it read to him, he realized the sin of the nation by worshiping other gods and not the one true God. So the Book of the Law helped King Josiah recognize what sin was and what sin wasn’t. And after he recognized what sin was and what sin wasn’t; it allowed him to begin killing sin.

            Therefore the same is true of us. When we read God’s Word, which we have available in many languages and translations—even the original languages!—when we read God’s Word we can begin to recognize the sin in our lives that needs to be killed. God’s Word corrects the sin in our life so that we may kill it. God’s Word helps us stand strong by getting to know God as our Rock so that we may kill sin.

            And last, but not least, after recognizing the love that God has for him, after consulting his friends and his mother, after seeking the Lord, after trusting in God as the only God and after reading the Book of the Law, he obeyed the Book of the Law by taking action. He destroys and takes down many idols, high places, Asherah poles and places of sacrifice to other gods. And Josiah did two main things to the sin in the land: he desecrated it and defiled it. He desecrated these places by turning them from a sacred religious site to a god, into a place that was now in ruin. And he defiled them by making the once ‘pure’ and ‘holy’ sites of worship into places of dirtiness, impurities—making them unclean.

            By Josiah desecrating these places and defiling these places, he was killing the sin in the land of Judah. And so we must do the same:

• We need to recognize the love that God has for us because He is our strength

• We need family members and friends who can encourage us and build us up
• We need to seek God through prayer so we don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything
• We need to trust in god for He is our eternal Rock
• We need to read the Bible because God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path
• And finally, we need to obey the Word of God, but taking action in killing sin.

IV. Conclusion

King Josiah killed sin, but he couldn’t do this by himself. He needed help from God, who was his Rock in order for King Josiah to stand firm. All the things that we learned at VBS this week were evident in King Josiah’s endeavor to kill sin in order to not let sin kill him like it did to the kings who went before him.

• On Wednesday we learned that God’s love helps us stand strong
• On Thursday we learned that family and friends help us stand strong
• On Friday we learned that prayer helps us stand strong
• On Saturday we learned that trust God helps us stand strong
• And this morning, we learned that the Bible helps us stand strong

All of these things that we learned this week in VBS will help us stand strong on God our Rock which will help us kill sin in our lives.

And John Owen’s quote that was shared earlier is just a small portion of a bigger quote, he says, “Do you mortify your sin? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you….Indwelling sin always abides while we are in this world; therefore it is always to be mortified.”

All the sins that King Josiah killed in the land and in his life were done throughout his entire life. He rested in the fact that God was his Rock in whom he could run to in all circumstances of life—especially when he needed to kill sin. May we too, in our daily life, continually kill the sin which so easily entangles us by having God as our Rock and Redeemer.

Vacation Bible School: Kingdom Rock!

This week we had Vacation Bible School here at Bell One. They do their VBS in the evenings from 6:30 until 8:00 from Wednesday to Saturday and then end with a big celebration on Sunday morning. The theme this year was "Kingdom Rock" and we discussed different things that help us "stand strong".
Wednesday--God's love helps us stand strong
Thursday--Family and friends help us stand strong
Friday--Prayer helps us stand strong
Saturday--Trusting in God helps us stand strong
On Sunday morning I am preaching on 2 Kings 22-23:25, but only reading a portion of it. The title is "The Bible helps us stand strong". This was the last text assigned from VBS and the Bible point for that day also. Therefore that is the reason for the title and text.

The place was pretty decked out with ancient medieval stuff and castle-like stuff--pretty crazy how "all out" they went; but it was totally worth all the effort of set-up and take down and everything because it was awesome! I was surprised that they put that much effort into it, but I am telling you that it was totally worth it. The kids loved it; absolutely loved it.

I worked with the middle-school group and the youth director here. It was a lot different than doing ministry in Byron Center that I do at Heritage CRC. At Heritage, most students attend the Christian schools. These students here are lucky to even attend church each Sunday, maybe....maybe once a month. Definitely gives me a wake up call to not let me take the education I've been so graciously given and provided for to have. So amazing. There is a Christian school here that is pretty popular, but most of the kids here don't attend that school and this church. I should definitely write a blog about the demographics of the area. Okay, I will. But not now, I've got to go to bed.

Well, prayers would be greatly appreciated for tomorrow morning and evening. Tomorrow morning will be lots of fun and tomorrow evening will be as well. Morning service is 9:30 (12:30 MI time) about King Josiah. And evening will be Psalm 112.

God is good.

Birthday

 
So it was my birthday the other day.......I really don't like making a big deal outta my birthday, so I try to keep it hush hush. But that didn't manage to happen. I received three packages the day before my birthday and of course, since I didn't know they were for my birthday, I opened them :) And the above is what I got from my Dad, Mom and sister and then from Denae as well. And then, on the day after my birthday, I received this lovely card from my nephew and a gift from Brandon and Katie as well. What a pleasant surprise!

I apologize for not writing much this week. We've had VBS in the evenings, therefore it has taken my evening 'relaxing' time away from my day, therefore its been pretty busy and crazy this week. But that is OK. I am fine with that.

And thank you to all of you who called, emailed, facebooked, texted or whatever you did to wish me a happy birthday--it was greatly appreciated that you made this day extra-special for me! It truly was a great birthday! Thank you!

Well, I better finish up worship orders and go over sermons before too much later.

Blessings.

King Josiah and Sin

My time in Bellflower, CA thus far has been absolutely amazing.Yes I miss home and family, my girlfriend and my church family and so many others, so I will be back for sure. But I've learned so much about God and about myself. One thing that I wanted to write about is sin. I don't know how this is going to go and I am not a very good editor, so I apologize ahead of time for my lack of flow and the possibility of any spelling/grammar (and grandper) mistakes.

One thing that I love about preaching is sermon preparation; specifically the research aspect of it. I love researching the Bible. The dangerous part here is having too much research being part of my sermons. But anyways, here at Bell One (First CRC in Bellflower), VBS starts up tomorrow and runs through Sunday morning. Please pray for this; it is from 6:30-8:00 every night (9:30-11 MI time). Except on Sunday morning, where I will be preaching on the text assigned for that day. And the theme is "Kingdom Rock" and where the kids (and volunteers) will be learning about how different things in our life help us "Stand strong upon the Rock (God)"; such as prayer, family, etc. On Sunday, the title is "The Bible Helps Us Stand Strong" and the Scripture is the story of King Josiah from 2 Kings 22:1-23:31. The parallel story is also from 2 Chronicles 34-36:1 (before you read any farther, you should definitely go read these passages). Did you read the passages yet?

I have always found an interest in King Josiah and have done many chapel talks about him and a youth group lesson on him as well because he is absolutely amazing.

This man was an amazing man of God, so here I go, digging into his story.

The nation of Israel split into two nations--Judah (Southern Kingdom) and Israel (Northern Kingdom). The Northern Kingdom went into exile much earlier than the Southern Kingdom on behalf of the Assyrians due to the unfaithfulness of the Kings. Therefore, the Southern Kingdom was left due to the mercy and grace of God and the faithfulness of a few kings. Eventually they would be brought into exile as well via the Babylonians due to the unfaithful kings. Josiah becomes king of the Southern Kingdom at the young age of 8 years old. Yes, 8 years old.

But before that, his great-grandfather--King Hezekiah--(2 Kings 18-20) becomes king at 25 years of age and reigns for 29 years; and "he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.." (18:3). His son, Josiah's grandfather was Manasseh who was 12 years old when he became king and reigned for 55 years! (2 Kings 21:1-18). "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord..." (1:2) and he even caused Judah to commit sin (vs 16). His son, Amon, Josiah's father, was 22 when he became king and reigned just 2 years (2 Kings 21:19-26). "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord....He forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD" (vs 20, 22). Amon's officials conspired against him and assassinated the king due to the sin he was committing. Therefore, the people made Josiah the king (vs 24, 26). Josiah's reign is recorded in 2 Kings 22:1-23:31 and 2 Chronicles 34-36:1 as noted earlier in this blog entry. The prophets that we have record of at his time are Zephaniah and Habakkuk. And the beginnings of Jeremiah's prophetic ministry also. (Reading these books and chapters 1-6 of Jeremiah give great historical context and theological context to the situation and narrative).

Josiah began reigning as king at a young age of 8 years! He reigned in Jerusalem for 31 years and "he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left" (vs 2). The Chronicles narrative gives us more detail about ages of Josiah when things were happening, but for the sake of non-confusion; I will be sticking with the Kings narrative and possibly referencing Chronicles.

We can notice from this narrative 2 things: First, we notice all the things that Josiah did; and second, we can notice the motivation for these things. And if you haven't read the Scriptures that were suggested to read, I would now advise you to read at least the account in 2 Kings 22:1-23:31.

First, the things that Josiah did answers the question: what did Josiah do? Here we go!

It all began in the 18th year of his reign and if you do the math, this makes him 26 years old (one year older than me). He began by simply rebuilding the temple. He sent his secretary, Shaphan, to the temple to talk with Hilkiah, the high priest, to make sure that everything was going smoothly (2 Kings 22:3-7) in the rebuilding of the temple. And this is the part that gets interesting. Josiah's first thing was to simply rebuild the temple, nothing more, nothing less. And sure enough, look what was found--the Book of the Law (vs 8-10). Each king of Judah and Israel had accessibility to the Book of the Law, but it most likely became lost during the evil King Manasseh's reign or somewhere down the line, but what was lost, is now found! And notice here, the reaction to the lost item. Hilkiah, the high priest simply said that he found it and then gave it to Shaphan. He didn't read it, he gave it up. But Shaphan took it and read it. Now these reactions to the finding of this book aren't stated, but we can tell from the grammar and language used because notice that Hilkiah simply says he found it, Shaphan reads it and then brings it to King Josiah saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book" (vs 10). Did you hear or read or see what Shaphan calls it?!?! He called it "a book". Not "the Book of the Law," but "a book".....It appears that Hilkiah and Shaphan weren't moved or their heart wasn't softened by the reading of this.

But then Shaphan read from "the Book of the Law" in the presence of King Josiah. And now, notice Josiah's reaction in vs 11. "When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes." Now whether the "Book of the Law" means the first five books of the Bible or just Deuteronomy; whatever it is--Josiah was grieved by the words in it. These words penetrated his heart and caused deep grief inside him so much that he "tore his robes."

For the sake of time, we are going to summarize verses 12-20. In summary, Josiah sends Hilkiah, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah to go to the prophetess Huldah to inquire of the LORD. They receive bad news that destruction will becoming to Jerusalem because they have forsaken God and worshiped other gods and idols. But because Josiah's heart was responsive, because he humbled himself, and because he tore his robes and wept the LORD heard him. Therefore Josiah was promised that his eyes will not see the disaster that will come upon Jerusalem and Judah. But the disaster still would come.

So, the first thing Josiah does or Josiah's initial concern was to rebuild the temple and bam! they found the Book of the Law. He weeps and grieves. Story over right? Not even close. Now two things Josiah has done--one intentional (rebuild the temple), the other non-intentional (found the Book of the Law).

Josiah then begins to "purge" Judah and Jerusalem and purifies the land (2 Chronicles account). (I know the order is different in the Chronicles account, but it is not being contradictory--just believe me (: ).

But before he purges and purifies the land, he calls together everyone in order to renew the covenant. "Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant" (23:3). And then he begins to go to work.

Beginning in the Temple of the Lord here is a list of what he did:
1. He removed all the articles made for Baal, Asherah, and the starry hosts; he burned them in the Kidron Valley (right outside of Jerusalem--Google it) and then to the ashes to Bethel (23:4)

2. He did away with the pagan priests (who by the way, were appointed by former Kings of Judah) who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to the starry hosts (23:5)

3. He took the Asherah pole to the Kidron Valley and burned it; then he grounded it to powder and spread the powder al over the graves of the common people (23:6)

4. He tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes (King Rehoboam started these--don't Google it) where women weaved to Asherah (23:7)

5. He removed the horses from the entrance of the temple which were dedicated to the sun (a common Assyrian practice) (23:11)

6. He burned the chariots which were dedicated to the sun (23:11)

7. He pulled down the altars erected by former Kings of Judah which were on the roof--most likely so that they could sacrifice to the stars, sun, and moon to be 'closer' to them. (23:12)

8. He pulled down the altars in two of the temple courts which King Manasseh (Josiah's grandpa) had built (23:12). And for numbers 7 and 8; He removed them, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble in the Kidron Valley (23:12)

After the Temple of the Lord; He desecrated the high places where priests burned incense and broke down the shrines at the city gates in the towns from Geba to Beersheba (23:8). (Might need a Bible map for these--go sell your dryer and buy an ESV Study Bible--I promise its totally worth it.)

Then he went to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, specifically Topheth, where he desecrated it so no one could sacrifice their son or daughter to Molech, the god of the Ammonites. (23:10). Yes it is true, back then some would sacrifice their first born child to the gods. Terrible, I know; I stood on the remains of the temple in Tel Dan in Israel, listening to archaeologists tell me that they found bones of people--specifically young children. Unbelievable.

Josiah continues on to the east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption--most likely the Mount of Olives--and he desecrated the high places which Solomon had built for Ashtoreth, the god of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of the Moabites and Molech (23:13). There he smashed the sacred stones (most likely graves they worshiped) and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones (23:14).

He then heads to Bethel where he does a number of things:
1. He demolishes the altar and the high places which Jeroboam built (23:15)

2. He burned the high place and ground it to powder (23:15)

3. He burned the Asherah pole (23:15)

4. He took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar to defile it (23:16)

And then he heads to Samaria and did here just as he had done in Bethel: he removed and defiled all the shrines and high places which the Kings of Israel built (23:19). And he slaughtered all the priests of those high places on the altars and then burned human bones on them to defile them (23:20).

And all throughout Judah and Samaria, he got rid of mediums, spiritists, household gods, idols and all other detestable things (23:24).

Wow! What a purge!

The sin in the land was corrupting people's behavior. This worship was allowed by the two former kings--Amon and Manasseh--but not Josiah. He wasn't going to have any of this in his land, but it causes me to ask a question: why did he do this? Why did he feel this way? What was his motivation for doing this? This is the second thing we can notice and takeaway from Josiah--his motivation for this purging/cleansing/purifying of the land.

A quick answer is that Josiah did this because he wanted to glorify God. As true as this is, it goes deeper than this--why did he want to glorify God? How was he able to do this purging?

First, Josiah had advisers. These were his secretary, Shaphan; the high priest Hilkiah and his mother Jedidah (and I assume others as well). Young King Josiah needed guidance in his young start as king over the land of Judah. He had experience 2 years of his father's evil ways and 6 years of his grandfather's evil ways; but most likely, he didn't remember any of that. Therefore, those around him did and helped him realize that he should do something different than those who had gone before him.

Second, Josiah had consulted godly people. He sought out the guidance from the Lord via the prophetess Huldah. He did this because he possibly knew that what was written in the Book of the Law was bad, but he probably didn't realize how bad it was; therefore he needed someone to explain it. This is where Huldah comes in.

Third, the most important motivation for all this purging and purifying was due to the finding of the Book of the Law. He knew there were bad times ahead for Judah and he knew they needed to change. Therefore as 22:19 says he humbled himself (he asked for help), his heart was responsive (he listened to the Book of the Law) and he tore his robes and wept.

The basis and motivation for the purging or as others call it--the reforms--that Josiah made was because the things that the people were doing, was completely going against what God had said in the Book of the Law. They weren't following what was written down as the Law which was the requirements of the covenant between God and His people.

Now I want you to realize some more context a moment. (I'm sorry this is getting long, I am getting excited though!) Judah was the last nation of Israel left--they were the only people left whom God promised to channel His blessings through (Genesis 12--going back to Abraham). And because of their unfaithfulness to the covenant, God had enough. He was going to destroy them! But weren't these His people? Weren't these His chosen people?! This honestly should scare us....seriously. God's people were about to be destroyed due to their sin.

And Josiah attempts to get them back on track by purging the land because of the Book of the Law which was found. The Book of the Law motivated Josiah to kill sin.

What a remarkable man of God Josiah was; and he died in Megiddo (I've stood here) at the age of 39 (23:29-30). He was so remarkable, that he surpassed the man after God's own heart (David) in being faithful to God--vs 25 "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did--with all his heart, and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with the Law of Moses."

So one lesson that I like to pull from Josiah is the importance of God's Word. In America, we have so many Bible study tools, Bible translations, Bible commentaries, etc. available to us right in our homes. But do we use them as we should?

The apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training for righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

You see, Scripture is inspired by God who used the different skills, abilities and gifts of many men to write down what we call the Bible. These are useful to us says Paul. They are useful for four things.

1. The Scriptures are useful for teaching. If you read the Bible cover to cover; you will learn so much history. But it's more than history--it is about God working through history. And when you learn about God working through history, you find that God is revealing Himself in many different ways all throughout history. Therefore you learn about God, the character of God and how He works and does what He does.

2. The Scriptures are useful for rebuking. It is useful for reproof. For us to know that God isn't always pleased with what we do; we have His Words to tell us this. Therefore, reading God's Word provides us with a guide on how to live.

3. The Scriptures are useful for correcting. When we mess up, God's Word is a guide to holy living--it corrects us in a way that is beneficial, not in a harmful manner. Therefore, again, reading God's Word provides us with a guide on how to live.

4. The Scriptures are useful for training in righteousness. Training in righteousness is of great value. God expects us to be holy and to pursue holiness and righteousness in all that we do. We are to glorify God in all that we do. Reading God's Word will train us to be righteous.

And the Scriptures are useful for these four things because we need to be equipped for every good work which, by the way, He already has planned out for us to do. The Scriptures help us kill sin and pursue righteousness.

So going along with the VBS theme: the Bible helps us stand strong in times of sin engulfing and encroaching in on us. The Bible helps us stand strong to kill sin and pursue God.

Josiah used the Scriptures to seek God and kill sin.
We can use the Scriptures in the same way--to seek God and kill sin.

Josiah used Scripture in a very radical; actually, a very counter-cultural manner.
How will you use the Scriptures?

Will you be like a Hilkiah who found the Book of the Law, but didn't bother to read it?
Or will you be like Shaphan, who received it and read it?
Or will you be like King Josiah, who received it, he heard it and was grieved because of his and his people's sin?

God's Word helps us recognize our sin; when we recognize our sin, it is then that we can kill it.

I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes. It is by the puritan, John Owen:

"Be killing sin or sin will be killing you."

Sermon Preparation

Some have asked how I prepare for my sermons, well here is a short rundown of what I like to do. Although I like to do it in this order, many times it doesn't go like this or in this order at all. And I don't think I have to say this, but prayer is involved in every step and then beyond and before and in every step as well. Out of all the things done for the sermon, prayer is the most needed and where the most time should be spent.

1. Choosing a Text:
It is easier to choose a text when a series is going on, but if no series, then I usually resort to the Heidelberg Catechism, the Church calendar or something that I've either read in devotions recently or something I've learned in class recently.

It is absolutely essential to not to come to the text with preconceived notions about what I want to preach about. This can be helpful at times when there are times of tragedy (9/11 or Boston bombings for example), but for the most part when preachers do this, they tend to say what they want to say instead of what God wants them to say. This is the difference between exegesis and eisegesis. Exegesis is taking the truth from the text and preaching it to the congregation; while eisegesis is reading things into the text to make it say what the preacher wants it to say.

I occasionally will open a few commentaries to know the parameters of the passage or where the passage begins and where it ends; just so I know I am choosing a proper passage. But this can be done when translating passages also.

Therefore, it is important to pray a ton during this step and to make sure you come with an open and clean mind to the text. That is just a little run down.

2. Translate from Original Language
After the text is chosen, then I usually, but not all the time, translate it from the original language (OT--Hebrew; NT--Greek). If it is too long to translate, then I will look intensely at the Greek or Hebrew to digest it and figure it out, but 95% of the time I will translate it. I translate it because it gets my feet immediately wet in the passage. There are so many different nuances and amazing truths to be found in the original language; therefore it is a blessing to know it and to be able to translate it. At this stage, this usually this provides a sufficient outline of the text as well.

3. Find Things (this is done in the original language)
This is a discombobulated mess sometimes at this stage because it just seems like getting things down on paper. I figure out how many types of verbs in the passage and what tense they are in and other grammatical things. I write down any words that are repeated multiple times in the passage. I write down any other things that seem to stick out also. And I try my best to find an outline of the text also from the original language translated.

4. Outline
I now force myself to make an outline. If I absolutely can't then I go to step number 5.

5. Check Commentaries
I like to make an outline myself because I don't like borrowing a lot of stuff from commentators; it is okay to do so, I simply don't want to be heavily reliant upon them. But this is good to check out the historical situation to whom the writer was writing too. Like what was going on back then and how did people treat this subject back then, etc. And its also good to make sure the outline that I came up with coincides or agrees with other trusty and reliable commentators.

6. Finalize Outline
This is more of a sermon outline, rather than a grammatical outline.

7. Start Typing.
I begin typing and just keep on typing following my outline

8. Edit
I then read through it and revise it. I practice preaching it twice to make sure if flows nicely.

9. Print Final Copy
I print then the final copy and read through it a few times. Then I underline parts that I know will catch my eye when I look back down. I number the pages and also right "SLOW" down each side of the page.

10. Practice
I practice a few more times and make changes when necessary.

11. Preach
Then on Sunday morning/evening, I will preach it.

Like I said, these aren't clear cut in stone rules to follow. This is just a general outline of what I do to prepare. There are multiple little steps in between and other steps taken when necessary. And once again I want to emphasize that prayer is extremely important throughout this whole process also.

So that is what I basically do to prepare for a Sunday morning or evening when preaching. If I am on twice--morning and evening--then this is done double time!

First Sunday

The first Sunday here at First CRC in Bellflower went well! They actually all call it Bell One, so that is what I will be calling it also, just FYI. I preached morning and evening services and there was a luncheon in between to celebrate my arrival and a wedding anniversary of 65 years. It was such a great time!

I preached on James 2:14-26 in the morning and Psalm 27 in the evening. Their services are at 9:30 AM and combined in the evening with Bethany CRC at 6:00 PM. So the night is a little different than normal time, but it gave me a lot of time to prepare for the evening that's for sure!

I had 4 boxes of books shipped and those arrive on Friday, so that was a huge blessing to have here now! I moved my desk at my house into a more suitable location. Now I feel fully settled in :)

I received numerous texts and emails from people back home on Saturday and Sunday and I wanted to say thank you for your prayers, support and encouragement! They have meant so much to me!

"The Separation of Faith and Deeds" James 2:14-26

I. Introduction

            This passage from James is a difficult passage. The great theologian Martin Luther even struggled with this passage throughout his whole life wrestling with it mainly because he thought that James and Paul contradicted themselves. Luther thought James emphasized works or deeds too much rather than being saved only by the grace of God through faith alone.

This passage comes across as difficult for some because people don’t take into consideration the context of this letter or the historical situation which James is addressing. People simply take the Scriptures at face value without digging into them; therefore it appears to be contradictory, but this isn’t the case due to the context of this letter.

And the situation which James is addressing seems to be a problem in the church or the churches to whom he is writing. This problem is that the church was favoring the rich and neglecting the poor in their very own church and community. The main point of this passage is that the works we do must not be added to faith; rather the main point is that genuine faith includes works. You see James wants us to realize that the very nature of a Christian’s faith includes works. And this main point needs to be heard in light of the historical context of this discriminating and neglecting of the poor or this passage doesn’t make sense. To a church community which is discriminating against and neglecting its poor members. James emphasizes, ‘works’ not as a means to obtain righteousness but as a natural and essential element of true, saving faith. James is not contrasting faith versus works here. Rather, he is contrasting two types of faith: a non-saving faith versus a saving faith.

            He first describes non-saving faith in verses 14-19. And then James describes saving faith in verses 20-26.

II. Non-Saving Faith vs 14-19

            James begins in verse 14 by stating his thesis or the main point that he will argue in this passage. And this thesis is that faith and works must not be separated. In other words, there cannot and must not be any separation between faith and works.

            He first proves this thesis by providing two examples of non-saving faith. The first example is found in vs 15-17 in which he describes a real situation or scenario of when a brother or sister is without food and clothes. And James says that the churches response to this is: “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed” but they do nothing about the physical needs of this person. They basically say to the person in need, “Hey, I know you need help, but I wish you well; go find clothes yourself and find your own food.” And in vs 16 there is a key question; this question may seem simple, but it is quit complex and the question is: “what good is it?” What good is it if someone comes to you or you see someone who needs food and clothes and you wish them well, but do nothing?! And the way this is asked it implies the answer, “well it’s not good!” So James is ultimately passing judgment upon this church for their lack of care and concern for the poorer members.

            But you see people of God, we do this same thing. We see people who are in need, whether it would be food, clothes or whatever, and many times we simply offer a pious cliché of wishing them well such as, “May the Lord bless you” or we assume someone else will handle the situation. And when we say these things without any action on our part, this is what James is describing as non-saving faith. And when our faith is not accompanied by action, James points out that this is when our faith has gone from a faith that is growing and alive into a faith that is now decaying and dead. No longer alive; dead.

This is a serious problem in the light of the summary of the law by Jesus saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” The churches to whom James was writing to were guilty of not loving others as themselves and we too people of God do not love others as ourselves as much as we should.

            James second example of non-saving faith is found in vs 19. He says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder!” You see, even the demons know about God’s existence and God’s oneness, but their faith is clearly insufficient because “they shudder.” It isn’t just a fearful shuddering, it goes beyond that—they shake as their hair stands on end because they know of God, but have no commitment to Him. James is proving that true, saving faith involves more than just knowing about God; it is committing ourselves to God and to following His law which He has written on our hearts. You see, there are three parts to faith; faith is a knowledge about something; faith is a belief or conviction and faith is a trust or commitment.

Take marriage for example: it is one thing to intellectually understand the concept of marriage—to have knowledge about it. And also to believe in it as a valid human institution; yet it is quit another thing to walk down the aisle and say, “I do” making a lifelong commitment to another person. Therefore it is one thing to intellectually understand God’s existence and also to believe God’s existence; it is quite another thing to personally commit yourself to God. James is explaining that true, saving faith involves all three of these aspects—knowledge, belief or conviction and a trust or commitment. You see, demons know about God and believe in God but have no commitment to Him; therefore they shudder—they shake violently as their hair stands up on end.

What about you? Do you only know and believe in God? Or do you have a personal commitment to Him? God the Son Jesus Christ came to this Earth so that we could commit our very own life to the Father in heaven. Christ set the perfect example of what a commitment to the Father looks like. Through His life, death and resurrection from the dead, Christ has reconciled us back to the Father allowing us to commit ourselves to Him each day.

Have you made this personal commitment to Christ? He is inviting you; He is calling you to follow Him with your whole life. He wants your faith to be more than knowledge about Him and more than a belief—He desires a commitment. Will you give it to Him? Will you offer your whole self to Him no matter what the cost? Committing to Jesus isn’t just about saying a prayer at some point in time; it is about a life long relationship with Him in pursuit of holiness and desiring to be like Him in every way. It may cost you a lot, but I promise that it is worth it.

III. Saving Faith vs 20-25

            James furthers his argument that faith and deeds cannot be separated by providing us with two examples from the Old Testament of saving faith in vs 20-25. He restates his thesis in different words and again in question form in vs 20 “do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?” Well if you want evidence then take a look at Abraham and Rahab says James.

            The first example of saving faith that James uses is of Abraham. The specific story is a familiar story from Genesis 22 about Abraham being called to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on an altar. But just in case you aren’t familiar with this story or the details sometimes became missing as we become too familiar with a story; here is a recap:

            This story takes place after the promised child to Abraham and Sarah, Isaac was born—their only son together. God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burn offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” It is important to remember that God had promised Abraham that he would be a great nation one day. And even in their old age, Abraham and Sarah had finally received a son—their only son. And now God called him to sacrifice his only son! But Abraham, even though it was their only son, he continued, by faith following God all the way up until Isaac was lying on the altar and the knife was ready to slay Isaac. God calls out to Abraham to not lay a hand on Isaac, and thus provides a ram to be sacrificed! What a remarkable act of faith by Abraham!

And when we simply read this passage we assume that this could be the only time in Abraham’s life that he displayed a saving faith which includes works due to James only mentioning this specific story. But if we dig into vs 22, we notice some key words. “You see that his (Abraham) faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did” You see, James is not simply talking about this example of Abraham’s faith and works being combined, rather James is talking about Abraham’s whole life being an example of faith which included the works that he did. Abraham’s works were not added to his faith as an ‘extra bonus’ rather his works were included in his faith throughout his entire life.

James concludes this example of Abraham by stating in verse 24, “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not faith alone.” At first glance this statement may seem contradictory to what Paul says about being justified by faith not by works. But without getting too much into it notice the last word, the key here is found in the word, “alone”. To James, faith alone is a faith that does not include works. And a faith that doesn’t include works is not faith at all according to James. And we must consider the historical situation and the purpose of James writing this letter and the type of faith that he is describing—a faith that includes works due to the church he is writing to not showing any works to those who are in need. Therefore, James is not contradicting Paul at all; rather he is agreeing with Paul.

James then gives us a second example of saving faith which is the story of Rahab and the two spies found in Joshua 2. The story is another familiar one where Joshua sent two spies to Jericho to spy out the Promised Land. They end up at a prostitute’s house who is also a non-Israelite—named Rahab. She shelters and protects the spies from the King and makes an oath with them for her and her family to be saved. And sure enough in Joshua 6 her family is saved when the walls of Jericho fall! James explains that she displayed her faith by offering kindness to the spies by what she did.

But why did James use these two people—Abraham and Rahab—when he could’ve used any other characters from the Old Testament? Well you see, James has paired Abraham and Rahab because they serve as two extremes on opposite ends of the spectrum which include everything in between. This is a writing device in Hebrew known as a merismus where two extremes are named which includes everything in between.

 You see, Abraham is the father and hero of the Jewish nation, whereas Rahab is a Gentile, a woman and a prostitute. This summarizes that no matter who you are or what you have done, the call for demonstrating true, saving faith is the same for all God’s people—whether you are a patriarch or a prostitute. All those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of their life are called upon to demonstrate the kind of true faith that manifests itself clearly in the works of kindness and obedience—they are called to make a commitment.

            James then ends his argument of faith and deeds in vs 26 by using a comparison: “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” When the spirit leaves a physical body, the body becomes dead and it begins to decay. This is the same with our faith; when our faith does not include deeds or works, then our faith is dead and begins to decay. This then supports his main point that faith and works must not and cannot be separated. The deeds that are done are included in our faith; they are not added to our faith; rather they are merely a visible extension of our faith.

IV. Conclusion

            In conclusion, James writes this portion of his letter because he is facing a serious problem in the Jewish Christian churches of Jerusalem and the surrounding area which is the discriminating and neglecting of the poor members of the church and community. James exhibits a positive view of works—not as a means to obtain righteousness but instead as a natural and essential element of true, saving faith; James is not contrasting works versus faith, rather he is contrasting a false non-saving faith versus a true, saving faith.

            James is not arguing that we must do works to be saved. And I am not arguing that we must do works to be saved. Rather, our works are a visible extension and display of our faith; our works are necessary to be included into our faith. Works are not necessary for salvation; rather works are included in our faith.

            Before I came to Bellflower, I lead our youth at my church back home on a mission trip to New Jersey. One of those days we went into New York City and we saw 6 homeless people. When we were traveling around New Jersey, we saw many people whose houses were damaged and/or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy which left them with nothing. And the house we worked on the couple had looked at wood studs on their main floor for 7 months, now there are white sheets of drywall on them looking forward to some paint on them. These high school students answered the call by faith to go to New Jersey to help hurricane Sandy victims whom they didn’t know.

But what good was it? This question is asked by James twice in this passage: “What good is it?!” What good is it if we have faith, but we have no deeds? The implied answer is that it isn’t good.

            Many of us find ourselves having faith, but no deeds. And then the question arises: do we need to go where the next natural disaster is to do works or deeds to have them included in our faith? No! Just drive around here and look for those who are in need or into downtown or maybe there are people here in this church who are in need. There are physical needs that need to be met, but there are also spiritual needs which need to be met. So the question I want to leave you with is this: will you help or will you simply offer a pious cliché response of, “I wish you well; go find some clothes, go find some food yourselves.” or will you sit back in your easy chair watching others do deeds of service?

            Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called to follow God’s law of loving our neighbor as ourselves. But do we do it? And whether we do or not, we need to ask ourselves, what good is it? What profit is it that we help them? Well you see, James says that we not only following God’s law, but we are also showing our faith because our deeds are included in our faith. We are saved by Jesus Christ’s perfect life, perfect death and His perfect resurrection from the grave. He gave all that He had. He gave His life for you; will you do the same for others?

For example:

·        There is VBS coming this week, have you came up with every excuse in the book about how you were too busy to help or maybe you didn’t even think of helping? Or have you considered if there was any way that you could be involved?

·        What about the man you see driving to the grocery store with a sign begging for food, do you get extra groceries for him and his family or do you drive by him each and every time?

·        What about the prostitute you saw who is in need of the deep and real love of Jesus Christ, will you offer it to her or him?

·        What about the person at your work place who seems to be struggling or having a bad day, will you offer encouragement or simply say, “Well, I hope your day gets better”?

·        What about the family who is going through a divorce, will you offer encouraging words and will you be that someone that they can talk to about anything anytime? Or will you ignore the situation every time that you talk with them acting like nothing is wrong?

·        What about the family who is considering adoption, do you tell them that you are praying for them and not pray? Do you continually ask them how they are doing financially, but then

never offer any support yourselves?

·        Do we as a church body treat everyone the same—those who are dressed in suit and ties—and then those who aren’t?

·        Do we as a church recognize a need in the community and fulfill it or do we sit back and think that some other church in Bellflower or the surrounding area will do it?

·        Are we including these works into our faith or are we only happy with sitting comfortably in our home with our own faith without our own deeds?

People of God, I want to commend you for the deeds/works which you have showed to me since I’ve been here. The love and care that I have received has been absolutely amazing; I cannot thank you enough or repay you for the kindness and compassion which you have showed to me. May God continually work through you this summer and the remainder of your life as you extend God’s love, compassion and kindness to all those whom you come into contact with.

            But I wonder, what if someone came walking in here who you didn’t know and wasn’t your summer intern; would you have treated him or her the same way? Would you show the love of Jesus to him or her? If you treat him or her like you did me, then I have no doubt in my mind that they would be taken care of. I pray that we will do this to all whom we come into contact with.

So remember people of God: when we have no action to our faith—then our faith is dead.

May our faith not be dead, rather may our faith be alive!

For surely when our faith is alive and when we have genuine faith, then our faith and deeds will never be separated.

Speak O Lord

I was introduced to this song by my friend, Jonathan Stockeland. We sang it multiple times on the trip together as we would be eagerly listening for God's leading or before we would open the Scripture. We also sang it as his wedding. Here is the youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGg40zKRvAg

Goals

I wanted to provide you with information about what I am looking forward to here in Bellflower and what my goal for this blog is.

First, what my goal for this blog is, is basically to keep people back home in Michigan in the loop of what I am doing. Many asked to keep them posted and I figured this was the easiest way to do so. I may not just write about what I am doing, but what I am learning, a devotional here and there, and posting my sermons on occasion.

Second, what I am looking forward too. This list is not complete, but just some things off the top of my head

1. I look forward to seeing the church (specifically the CRC) outside of West Michigan. I have been in Churches all around America, but I have been a member of one church in Byron Center, MI my entire life. Therefore I am looking forward to what the church is like, how it operates, worship styles, etc. in Southern California.

2. I look forward to writing 2 sermons almost every Sunday. There are going to be times when I don't have to write 2 sermons, but most times, I will have the privilege of doing so. This will not only give me great discipline now, but also it will benefit me in the future. It surely is a privilege and honor to proclaim God's Word each and every Sunday to God's people.

3. I look forward to meeting new people. I love meeting new people and so far, I have met a lot of new people and I am excited to get to know them over my time here in Bellflower.

4. I look forward to focusing on one thing. During the school year, I am in school full-time and serve as the Youth Director at the church back home, therefore I find myself balancing one and the other. Now the council back home has allowed me to focus solely on my ministry here at First CRC and I am really looking forward to being able to focus on one objective.

5. I look forward to alone time. I love my alone time with God spent back home, but this is in a different capacity. I'll be living alone and doing things alone at times. I am looking forward to this time, but also am hesitant because I know loneliness will creep in at times, but I need to know confidently that I am never alone.

Like I said, this is not a complete list, but a short list and may be added to it later.

Blessings.

A Few Details

Many have asked what my address is here in Bellflower, well I don't feel comfortable giving that out here, so if you would like it, please email me at bjmulder3@gmail.com or facebook me or asked my mother and we can get it to you.

Also, the website for First CRC in Bellflower, is bellonecrc.com

California

Hello Everyone!
I first want to say thank you for taking the time to read this and also for all the prayers and encouragement which have been sent my way as I have prepared to come to California and as I am now here.

I flew out of Grand Rapids on Monday at 3:07 P.M. God blessed me with being able to fly with Tom Byma from First CRC in Bellflower, CA. He was in Grand Rapids for the CRC Synod and we caught the same flight back together--such a blessing.

We transferred in Chicago and then headed to Los Angeles to be picked up and head to dinner. After that I was dropped off at my home--the parsonage. It is a beautiful parsonage with lots and lots of room!

Today I woke up and received a tour of the church from the secretary, Debbie Smith who is a wonderful lady. She spent much time today showing me around and working details out with me, etc.

I was told I would have a car waiting for me, but currently I didn't have one, so Debbie took me to go get it. I talked with the man I received it from--an extremely nice gentlemen. I even got my first baked loaf of bread also! It is zucchini bread and I am really looking forward to that.

I met three men from the church last night over dinner which was absolutely fantastic.They are a bit older than me, but still fantastic to get to know such godly men here.

Many have asked what my responsibilities will be out here, so I thought I'd write it on here:

Bell One is vacant right now, so I will be the only pastor. They have a combined evening service with Bethany CRC, so I will be leading every morning service and every other evening service.
I will be making house visits and visits to the elderly home near by where some members are.
So in a nutshell I will be basically doing everything a "Senior" Pastor would be doing.
And I am so looking forward to it.

God has richly blessed me so far in Bellflower by the people at First CRC (Bell One) in Bellflower. Thanks be to God for these caring, kind, compassionate and loving people!

To God be the glory.