CONCERNING COMMUNION

By James Jester 

February 23, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:26-29

Introduction

Are the Sacraments necessary for our spiritual growth or ultimately for our final salvation? Many churches believe they are. That is certainly their business and I would not condemn them for their beliefs. But the point here is, do the sacraments have Biblical support for what these churches claim? The Protestants have narrowed the Sacraments down to two: Baptism and Communion; but even these lack a full and unquestionable support from the Scriptures (in my opinion).

If you were to ask me, what is my favorite sacrament of the two, I would have to say Communion (I’ve never been fond of water). Likewise, Communion is very meaningful to many sincere Christians; and I do not intend to offend anyone with this study.

Baptism and Communion are not necessary to our salvation for that is already accomplished by the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. The Sacraments should not be looked upon as a “law” although many churches imply this meaning. If they consider the Sacraments as such, I should remind them that my main premise to refute this idea is that the Old Covenant law was “abolished” (Eph. 2:15), as Paul declared. This I documented thoroughly in the last sermon. Since the law is gone in regard to our covenant relationship to God, there is no need for a substitute law, as the Sacraments are sometimes considered. Instead, the Sacraments should be referred to as rites or ceremonies.

by James N. Jester

December 29, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 16:14-18

Introduction

This could be considered a follow-up sermon on the recent series I did on Israelite migrations.

Ah, fishing and hunting, two very popular sports diversions to help the working man or woman escape the stresses of everyday life. They are also good survival skills too. Fishing is the easiest, but hunting sometimes can be a little more difficult. We can also see this difficulty in relation to the captivity of Israel, which of course, precipitated the dispersion of Israel and Judah throughout Asia and Europe.

In my previous series of sermons, we traced much history about the migrations of Israel. The armies of Tiglath-Pileser III, Shalmaneser V, Sargon II, Esarhaddon, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar, found that their attack upon Israel was sometimes easy, much as a fishing net would easily capture large amounts of fish. On the other hand, there were times when the invader, as a hunter after his prey, would have to seek out those people who had hidden from him in the mountains and caves or other places.

THE DIASPORA OF JUDAH

By Pastor Jim Jester

November 10, 2019

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1:1-4

Scripture Exposition

What a picture Isaiah gives in these last two verses of our reading! “O nation full of sin: a people weighted down with crime; a generation of evil-doers; children that deal corruptly; have forsaken Yahweh, and give no thought to God.” [my paraphrase]

Isaiah was one of the prophets to the southern kingdom of Judah. In chapter two, he further elaborates on the sinful condition of God’s people (the topic of the first five chapters):

“O family of Jacob, come, and let us go in the light of the Lord [The prophet calls them to repentance – A return to Yahweh]. For you, O Lord, have given up your people, the family of Jacob, because they are full of the evil ways of the east, and make use of secret arts like the Philistines, and are friends with the children of strange countries. And their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their stores; their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their carriages. Their land is full of images; they give worship to the work of their hands, even to that which their fingers have made.” – Isaiah 2:5-8, BBE

Perhaps we should take note of these things listed, many of which sounds exactly like America or any other modern country:

THE CELTIC NATIONS

By Pastor Jim Jester

September 29, 2019

Scripture Reading: Genesis 10:1-5

“Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. By these [men] were the isles of the Gentiles [nations] divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.”

Currently, the adult Sunday School class of the Fellowship of God’s Covenant People is studying from Dr. Lawrence Blanchard’s “Bible Mastery Boot Camp”. This video training program is based upon his Covenant Heritage Series of books, one of which is Book Two, Identifying Biblical Israel Today.

Introduction

This lesson will be the first of a series of sermons that will glean some of the information that Dr. Blanchard has provided in Book Two, Section One: “Tracing the Migrations of the Israelites.” In this way, many who follow us on the web site can receive some of the benefits of the “Bible Mastery Boot Camp”, at least in the form of a summary or abbreviated version of it. We certainly endorse brother Blanchard’s work; and recommend that as many as are able to take full advantage of the “Bible Mastery Boot Camp”.

Genesis chapter ten lists how the nations were divided by the descendants of Noah. Noah had three sons: Japheth, Ham, and Shem. We read in our Scripture the list of Japheth. Verse 6 begins the list from Ham, and verse 21 begins the list from Shem. After each of these lists, the Scripture repeats, “…after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations” (or a close variation). Our reading of verse 5 was no different, except for the mention of the “isles”; or, as some translations say, “coastlands”, “sea-lands”, or “coastal peoples”, which is also appropriate. In this lesson, I want to talk about some of these isles.

GOD’S LOVE STORY

by James N. Jester

September 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 54:5-8, BBE

Introduction

Our Scripture reading is a summation of God’s love story: Yahweh God is the Husband and Israel is the bride. There is a lot of Scripture in this lesson; but I felt it necessary, for the judeo-Christian world does not seem to be aware that such verses exist; and if they do, they are ignored.

If you were to ask the typical judeo-Christian to complete the phrase, “God is a God of ________,” nine times out of ten they would complete it with the word “love.” In this story, Yahweh is cast as the God of love. God’s love has been so often talked about in Christian circles that they really have a lopsided view of God’s character; and they do not know the love of God as well as they think they do. The purpose of this story is to reveal the true, one and only, object of God’s love. Only then, can one truly appreciate the love of God and how it is shown in your life.

The Apostle Paul spoke of the love of God...

HEBREWS ARE HEIRS

By James N. Jester

July 14, 2019

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4, 14; 2:1-4

The book of Hebrews was written during the last half of the first century. We do not know for sure who wrote this Epistle. The mention of Timothy (Heb. 13:23) has led some to think that Paul or one of his associates wrote it. Our friend, Bill Fink, an Internet C. I. teacher at Christogenea.com, believes Paul did write it.

The church of Alexandria appears to have been the first to consider that Hebrews was written by Paul or reflected his thought. Clement of Alexandria (c. A.D. 150-215) named Paul as the author and that he wrote it in Hebrew, but argued that Luke translated it into Greek. Origen (c. A.D. 185-253) concluded that the thoughts were of Paul but that the phraseology and composition were those of someone who was recalling the apostle’s teaching (e.g., Clement of Rome, Luke, or Priscilla). Most say it was written during the last half of the first century.

The Jamison, Fausset, Brown Commentary also believes Paul wrote it:

“The writer, though not inscribing his name, was well known to those addressed (Heb 13:19). For proofs of Paul being the author, see my Introduction. In the Pauline method, the statement of subject and the division are put before the discussion; and at the close, the practical follows the doctrinal portion. The ardor of Spirit in this Epistle, as in First John, bursting forth at once into the subject (without prefatory inscription of name and greeting), the more effectively strikes the hearers. The date must have been while the temple was yet standing, before its destruction, A.D. 70; some time before the martyrdom of Peter, who mentions this Epistle of Paul (2Pe 3:15, 3:16); at a time when many of the first hearers of the Lord were dead.” –JFB

As to who the Book of Hebrews was written to, there is plenty of confusion in judeo-Christianity.

GALATIONS ON RACE

by James N. Jester

June 2, 2019

Scripture Reading: Galatians 4:4-7

Introduction

After church last week, we went out for lunch, which we often do as a time of fellowship (or communion) with our racial brethren. One of the waitresses noticed the service dog with our group and so a discussion of dog breeds developed. I thought to myself, that people naturally will discuss breeding among animals; but if one were to discuss the subject within the human realm, it would usually be rejected as ‘not relevant’ or not the same. But of course, it is the same because it is about life and genetics and that is common to all living organisms. And so, we continue in this series to examine Paul’s statements that relate to race.

In our Scripture reading of Galatians, we saw that, “God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a woman of our race, which makes Him an exclusive kinsman Redeemer. He did not redeem all races. Thayer defines ‘adoption’ as: “that relationship which God was pleased to establish between himself and the Israelites in preference to all other nations.”

Then our Scripture further says, “…and if a son, then an heir through God” (Gal. 4:7). What a wonderful thought, that we are literally sons and daughters; and therefore heirs through our God. This is a racial relationship.