Ephesians 2:1  tells us "we were dead in our trespasses and sins".  When we were living for this flesh, this life, and only our existence, we were dead to righteousness, holiness, and salvation. 

1st Peter 2:24  reminds us "that being dead to sins, we should live unto righteousness".  The Spirit of God drew us to repentance and we died to the flesh and began to seek after the things of God. 

Then Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me".

We may have lived in a moment where we were ignorant of God and his sacrifice for us.  We were unaware of all that he did to set us free from the scourge of sin in our lives.  We were dead!  But, we must thank God that those moments are gone and we have accepted the perfect sacrifice of the cross of Calvary into our lives.  We are not living for self anymore, but striving towards the righteousness and holiness of our God.

I once was dead, but now I am alive and because He lives, I can face whatever the life, this world, or the enemy of my soul can throw at me.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!
Richard Hoffman
Pastor, First Pentecostal Church

We describe love as an emotion/feeling.  "I love fishing" or "I love my wife", for example.  It's a word that we seem to use to describe things that give us something.  Whether it's enjoyment, peace, comfort, or some other word that describes the happiness we receive.  For most, that is the extent of their understanding of love.

Those that have this understanding of love have missed the true power of love.  They only see love as a noun.  To me, when love is used as a noun it usually is selfish love or how it makes me feel.  What can I get out of the enjoyment, peace, comfort, or happiness.  But what about others?  Does this love that we say we have for other things or people share the same emotion/feeling?  Only when love becomes a verb can we truly understand what power it has.

The Bible says that God is love!  It also tells us how, from the beginning of time God has reached out to man to restore us.  After the fall into sin and the separation from God, man has continually ran and hid from God.  But God's love for man despite the sin has caused him to be "moved with compassion" (Matthew 9:36) to restore us back to Him.  John 3:16 is probably the most well known scripture in the Bible and it says "For God so loved the world that he gave...".  Love gives!

God's love for man caused him to move towards us with an action to restore us.  Romans 5:8 states that "while we were yet sinners Christ died for us".  When God was not receiving anything from us, he was still giving everything to us!  He was giving us life and that more abundantly.

God's love is giving
John 15:13 proves this by stating "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends".  When we say we love something or someone, is it because we are receiving from it or are we speaking about the giving power of love?

Love covers a multitude of sin
1 Peter 4:8 reminds us to love like God loves and to give to the thing or person we love.  Our world could really use more love today.  Even our enemies and the unlovable because God loves them too.

Lets give love!
Rev. Jerry Bowers