Preaching with a purpose

Although not actually mentioned in the book of Esther we can see God at work.  It is He who governs all the events of history.  God is at work bringing salvation to His people in the midst of imminent disaster.  It is He who places Esther on the throne beside Xerxes.  It is He who gives Xerxes a sleepless night so that he has read to him the logbook of activities in the past, where he discovers that Mordecai had uncovered a plot to kill Xerxes. None of these things is accidental. Read the story for yourself and see how God causes Xerxes to accept Esther when she bravely goes into his presence unasked, She could have sealed her death warrant by doing that but God causes the king to welcome her. I hope I have whetted your appetite and you will enjoy what you read.  God still takes care of those who trust in Him today.

It is certainly good to have a working conscience.  It can keep you close to God and away from sin, but sometimes you can have an over active conscience which drags you down.  Satan loves to accuse us of sins in the past that have been forgiven.  Deal with this by claiming no good of your own but the blood of Jesus which cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

Sorry I've been silent for a patch.  I had hoped to do lots of writing whilst convalescing but it seems my brain has been fully occupied with the healing in my body and not available for creative writing.  However I am healing well and looking forward to chatting to you all again.  God has been good to me and the surgery and convalescence have not been traumatic, thanks to modern surgical techniques. I am speaking at a midweek afternoon church meeting at the end of March when I hope to speak on precious gems ,silver and gold in the Bible.  Then I have a Sunday service in April and one in May.  I think I will then be able to go back on the plan for between 4 and 6 services next quarter. So as I prepare sermons perhaps I will share some bits of them with you. One is about the valley of dry bones that Ezekiel saw.