Good Friday Family!

Today, all across the world, Christians are commemorating this day as the crucifixion of Jesus and His death at Calvary. In Jewish tradition, the celebration of Passover is being observed. What a day today is! We need to be thankful that Jesus endured the cross for us, so we did not have to! We need to rejoice for the eternal life we have been blessed with! We are spending eternity with Him, and we have the presence of Him, in the form of the Holy Spirit, to guide us daily. WE ARE NOT ALONE! 

One of the last messages Jesus shares with His disciples, according to John’s gospel, is found in John 16: 32-33. 

“Indeed, the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

At that moment in time, Jesus was talking about His crucifixion and resurrection; but for us today “the hour IS coming.” Another day and time IS coming, and that “coming” is the second coming of Christ. Unlike that time, we will not be scattered! He is bringing us all together! Glory!  What a day of rejoicing that will be! This is the hope we hold onto daily as we wait for that hour coming. Glory to God!

While we wait, Jesus gave us instructions on how to wait: “These things I have spoken to you, that IN ME you may have peace.” IN HIM we will have peace every day of our lives IF we stay in Him. What does it mean to stay in Him? Stay in His Word. Didn’t Jesus just say in the first part of that sentence “these things I have spoken”? So, stay in His word and look to Him. Stay in prayer and look to Him. If you stub your toe, stay in Him and look to Him. You get a bad report - stay in Him and look to Him. You receive good news - stay in Him and look to Him. IN HIM we have peace!

Then He goes on to tell us what the world will look like (out of His great love; He is always preparing us). “In the world you will have tribulation…” The Greek definition for tribulation is pressure, persecution, affliction, anguish, burden, trouble, distress and oppression.  I bet every one of us can think of times we’ve felt one or all of those things listed. You may be going through something right now; and if so, Jesus has an answer for that in the next part of this verse. “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” Because He has overcome the world, we are standing in a position of victory IN HIM. Not in ourselves, (thank God we didn’t have to do the overcoming) but He did it! All we have to do is “be of good cheer” and stay IN HIM!

Rejoice, church family!  We belong to the risen King, and He has overcome the world so that we may stand in victory! Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you all Sunday!

-Pastor Candace

Hello Family!!

Today I want to talk to you about a pattern that I have been noticing as I study the last week of Jesus’s life and the teachings’ He brought to us during that week (John 12- 17). 

From Palm Sunday to Jesus praying for Himself, the disciples, and us, He has shared so many great truths!  They are there for you and I to take into our spirit and prosper in!

The pattern I have been noticing in John 14 and 15 is this: “Keep My Commandment.” Below are the scriptures: 

John 14:15 (NKJV)

If you love Me, keep my commandments.

John 14:21 (NKJV)

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is He who loves Me. 

John 14:23 (NKJV)

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word

John 15:10 (NKJV)

If you keep My commandment

John 15:12 (NKJV)

This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. 

The first pattern we see here is Jesus talking to us about the new commandment. In all of the above verses, the main topic is keeping His commandment. In John 13:34, Jesus tells us what that commandment is. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34).

This is such an important message to Jesus that He discusses it in John 13, 14, and 15. I am thinking, church family, that this is not by chance! He is really wanting us to get this message.  LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU! Think about the day ahead of you! Are you purposing in your heart to love others? Or do you get upset with others as soon as they make a mistake? Jesus has every right, every day to get upset with us because of our mistakes; but He chooses not to. He chooses to love us and forgive us. Do we love others and forgive others? That’s a good question to ask yourself right now. If you are holding onto unforgiveness, let it go and love others. 
The second pattern you see in the Word of God is this, “If you love me, THEN…” The key to loving Jesus completely is keeping His commandment, and what is that commandment? Loving others. WHAT? REALLY? 

To Jesus, if you love others, you love Him. If you have compassion for others and their situations, you love Him. 

So today, choose to love others, and this will be a sign to Jesus that you love Him.

-Pastor Candace

Good Morning AGC Family!

Today we are going to focus on John 14:15-17. Jesus has just taught the disciples that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He has also shared with them about believing that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Now He is going to introduce them to the greatest gift in the world next to our Salvation - The Holy Spirit!

In John 14:16-18 Jesus begins with,

“And I will pray, the Father, and He will give you another Helper, That He may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” 

Just imagine being the disciples at this time. They had never heard anything like this before. I bet their biggest concern was something like, “What are we going to do without Jesus? How are we supposed to do what He has asked us to do without His help?” And His answer to their thought is found in verse 18.  “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” He was coming to them in the form of the Holy Spirit. We have to remember that The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity. He is not the sixth man on the basketball team! He is part of the starting line-up. He is just as much of God as Jesus is. The trinity is the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Once we get a greater understanding of that, John 14:16-17 becomes a pretty powerful message.

He begins to tell them (and us!) about this “new player” that we will have on our team. The Holy Spirit is another Helper that will come alongside us and help us through life. Not only that, this Helper will abide with us forever; and His name is the Spirit of Truth. He will guide us into all truth according to God’s will and His Word. He will never lead us away from the things of God but will always have the answers to every one of life’s questions according to God’s will. If you have a question about spiritual things in your life, the Spirit of Truth has the answer. If you have questions about dealing with everyday life situations, the Spirit of Truth has the answer. This great gift from God is the gift that keeps on giving every day of our lives! Kind of like the jelly of the month club, BUT, so much greater. Glory to God!

Jesus then goes on to tell us that we will KNOW Him because He dwells in us. That is our guarantee!  If we don’t know Him, that means we have not taken the time to get to know Him by spending time in prayer or study of the Word. As we get to know Him, we hear His voice more clearly and He is able to guide us into the truth for our situation.

So, family, I encourage you today to get to know the Spirit of Truth on a greater level. Spend time with Him in the Word and prayer. Ask Him today to guide you in all areas of your life. 

I truly believe that 2021 will be a year of increased knowledge for every situation in your life, as you press into the helper that Jesus sent you, trusting in the Truth - the Holy Spirit in you!

-Pastor Candace

Happy Passion Tuesday, Church Family!

Today we will be taking a look at the scriptures John 13:31-35. This teaching takes place after Jesus talks about being a servant, and He identifies the one who will betray Him. Once the betrayer leaves, Jesus begins to speak to His family. These next few verses will be the words that Jesus speaks as a commandment on living life under the New Testament. 

Jesus sets the scene with His glory. In my mind, as soon as Jesus begins to speak of the glory, the room is filled with it. Don’t you know that they all feel the presence of the glory that Jesus is talking about! Jesus is telling them that the glorification process has begun. “Things have been set in motion and I am going to be glorified, just as God is glorified!” Praise God! I would have liked to have been a fly on that wall! 

But, in the same breath that Jesus speaks about being glorified, He continues on with a new commandment. To me, this is not by coincidence. There is a fullness to the meaning of being glorified and walking in the new commandment. Jesus says,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another by this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (VS. 34-35)

What is a disciple? Billy Graham said this, “A disciple is simply someone who believes in Jesus and seeks to follow Him in his or her daily life.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1816 says, “the disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it.” According to the Word of God and the presented interpretations, if you are saved, you are called to be a disciple - one who believes in Jesus and seeks to follow Him in his or her daily life by keeping and living by faith, confessing it, bearing witness of it, and spreading it. Spreading what? The Good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

It was Jesus’s greatest desire to bring glory to His Father and to be glorified in His Father. When Jesus said to His disciples, “by this all will know that you are My disciples” He meant that with your life you are bringing glory to Me (Jesus), and thus, bringing glory to the Father.

But, how do we bring glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? How are we His disciples? How are we known as ones who seek and follow Him daily? How are we ones who keep the faith, live in faith, profess faith, bearing witness of faith and spreading faith? Look at the words before, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” This is how we live a life of discipleship: loving one another as Christ has loved us! Love each other no matter how annoying that person may be that day. Love one another through all the hurts and the pains. Allow the love of God that has been placed in your heart to operate in you as you walk through your day-to-day life. 

So, friends, choose to be a disciple for Jesus and love each other today!

-Pastor Candace