Take It! Don’t Waste It! John 12:1-8 NIV

Take It! Don’t Waste It!

John 12:1-8 NIV

Purpose:         To become like Jesus, who was a life giving Friend

12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.

³ Then Mary took about a pint^[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,

 ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.^[b]”

⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.

⁸ You will always have the poor among you,^[c] but you will not always have me.”

Footnotes:

a. John 12:3 Or about 0.5 liter

b. John 12:5 Greek three hundred denarii

c. John 12:8 See Deut. 15:11.

This is the word of God,

For the people of God.

Praise be to God,

Amen.

          Recently, I have been thinking about my childhood, because now that I am taking care of my granddaughter, I don’t want her to have the same misunderstandings or misinterpretations about life that I had. For example, I used to believe that I had a good friend, a very good friend, until my friend didn’t want to do what I suggested. Yes, I grew up thinking that my genuine and honest friends were going to agree with me on everything I thought, I said, and I did. I was not aware of people having minds of their own. I was ignorant of the great opportunity that we humans have to own our independent minds. That means that we are able to think for ourselves. It took me years to understand that each one of us has a mind of his/her own. Have you been this way??? Believing that honest and authentic friends are the friends that are going to agree with everything we think, say, or do? A real friend has his or her own mind also. Actually, an authentic friend is bold enough to challenge us. An authentic friend always, always wants the best for us. That is why they challenge us.

      Here is when easily becomes tricky, because the best for us is not necessarily what

we want; it is what we need and vice versa. What we need is a friend who gives us life and not death. For example, when we have a problem

with our husband or another friend, or another person, is this friend one who feeds the fire of our anger or is helping us to calm down and think rationally? Or when we are sad, for whatever reason, is this friend the one who helps us to have a pity party or the friend who help us to see our blessings and never give up? Or when we are on a diet and our friend sabotages our diet bringing us nice pastries, or is the kind of friend to help us to be accountable and be focus and positive in the hard work of dieting?

          I don’t want to sound mean but some of our friends are so negative and needy that they just push us down or drain us with them. Have you heard the saying Misery loves company? Well, it seems like the tendency of these friends is that. They want us to join their misery. They are in inner trouble and they want us to be in the same emotional boat with them. Perhaps we are these kinds of friends, needy and negative. For some of them or some of us, they are always in trouble. This can be classified as a friendship which gives death and not life. Real friends give life. I am not saying that we don’t have our down moments but our joyful moments should be much more often than our down moments because it is a way of living. To be joyful, positive, and with passion for life, should be a way of living.

          So, the question is: where do we find a genuine and loyal life giving friend? Or How can we become a loyal life giving friend? For us Christians, the answer is obvious. We find what is a real and genuine life giving friend in Jesus Christ. Well, the next step is what is hard to accomplish, how we apply the example of Jesus Christ in our lives in order to become a life giving friend for others.

          Jesus was an excellent friend who gave life to every person whom He encountered. His loyalty and truthfulness to God made Him reflect the same in His life. Have you known people who are themselves in all the situations? They don’t try to be another person or please people in order to get acceptance. What we see in them is what we get. This is the kind of person that we know, if we ask for advice, we are going to get the truth from them. Remember that the truth is going to set us free (John 8:32). This is the kind of person who gives live to others instead of death.

Here is Jesus eating with his very good friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead just eight days before. His death is very close. He knows it and He doesn’t care. Then, one of the disciple who has been with Him all these tree years of ministry, has become a thief, Judas Iscariot, starts complaining about the perfume that Mary has opened in order to wash/ to anoint Jesus’ feet. Focus on Jesus as a human. Think for a moment, how we reflect our inner selves, our souls, whatever is our priority in our mind, it is going to be in our hearts, and for obvious reasons it is reflected in our behavior. So Judas Iscariot was reflecting his intentions of continuing to steal money from the money bag. How many of our friends or how many of us have taken joy from other people when we are negative? How any of us have we stolen peace from others when we are at inner war? How many of us have stolen assurance from others when we are in inner doubt?

  When someone is not honest, we can perceive the cheating attitude. When someone is not genuine, we can perceive the fakeness. Then, if someone is trying to make us to believe something that is not real, what would be our reaction? I am pretty sure that each one of us would be cautious, we would doubt, we would not trust. And, if we don’t trust in a simple conversation, how we can trust in more important and serious issues?

          Well, this is when being a committed and honest Christian can be complicated. Jesus decided to trust in Judas Iscariot up until the last minute. Jesus gave Judas the opportunity to change and do good with his life and help others. Up until the last minute, Jesus gave Judas life instead of death. For when we doubt someone, this someone is not giving us life, honesty, and loyalty. This person becomes stumbling block. What does God do with the stumbling blocks? He removes them. When we don’t give life. God deals with us until we understand and experience a change in our mind and heart. Consequently, our actions change and instead of giving death, we start giving life. God let us know when we are reflecting Jesus and giving life.

So, Jesus was paying attention in how to help His disciples, friends, and people around Him on how to freely give life. Jesus knew His disciples very well since the beginning. He was not naïve. He respected them in such a way that He knew the tendencies of each one of them such as Judas Iscariot. Then, how, we apply such example of helping the needy or negative or pessimistic or the suspicious friend without let him/her asphyxiate us. Or how can we become a friend who gives life instead of death?

Pay attention on how Jesus replied to Judas negative comment, “Leave her alone.” Jesus is not mean or rude to him. He just applied His life giving attitude to His friend, Mary.  

I think, we can apply what I have called the principle of discernment. Through this principle, we honor the great gift that God has given us: our mind. What does Paul has told us about the mind? In Romans 12:2, Paul says, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. In other words, God is telling us, “Think for yourself.” Apply your own mind to every situation. That means that we are going to judge in the sense of mental review, to ponder, and to analyze the situations.

My dear ones, when we seriously think, we will be able to listen to God’s directions on how to give life through a good advice, on how to give life through a good example, or even how to give life through stopping or putting a boundary to the friend or to ourselves when we are not positive and keep dragging down other friends/people.

Let us pray,
Dear Jesus, thank You so much for the example that You have given us. Help us to become like You, a life giving friend for every person that we encounter. In Your name we pray. Amen.

         

Meditations: Read It, Study It, and then, Believe It!!! / 2 Tim...

Meditations: Read It, Study It, and then, Believe It!!! / 2 Tim...: Read It, Study It, and then, Believe It!!! 2 Timothy 3:1-17 NRSV Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be more engaged and conf...

This Is a Good Wrestling Match! Gen 32: 22-31 NIV

This Is a Good Wrestling Match!!!

Gen 32: 22-31 NIV

Purpose: After the listening to the sermon, we will understand that it is ok to come before God and tell Him everything in our heart, because God is not going to stop loving us or He is not going to cut us off from His blessings.

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.

²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared [safe].”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

This is the Word of God,

For the People of God.

Praise be to God. Amen

 

This Is a Good Wrestling Match!!!

Gen 32: 22-31;  NIV

Purpose: After the listening to the sermon, we will understand that it is ok to come before God and tell Him everything in our heart, because God is not going to stop loving us or He is not going to cut us off from His blessings.

Outline

I.       Introduction

 Talk about the WWE and its story and the story of the wrestle as a  serious sport versus entertainment activity

II.      Authenticity vs. Fakeness

III.    Explanation of the text

IV.    Conclusion[s]

V.      Prayer

        Do you know what is wrestling??? Wrestling is one of the oldest form of combat.[1] According to Athnet, which is a company which recruit athletes around the world, it says about wrestling, "It was very popular in ancient Greece and it was a very important sport in the Olympic Games. It was developed by ancient Greeks as a way to train soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. When Greece was conquered by the Roman Empire, wrestling was adopted by the Romans but not with the same popularity that it had with the Greeks. During the Middle Ages, wrestling became popular even in the houses of royal families of France, Japan, and England.[2]

          Much later, American settlers from England brought the sport with them and by their surprise, wrestling became very popular among Native American tribes. Through the early years when America started developing and consolidated as a young country, recreational wrestling became very accepted in the county fairs, holiday celebrations, and the military exercises. Of course wrestling had several styles, but just the nowadays collegiate wrestling survives with some variations from the original.[3] Actually, what we know as a professional wrestling in the TV has evolved as a

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[1] http://www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-wrestling.htm (Accessed on 9/24/2015)

[2] http://www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-wrestling.htm (Accesses on 9/24/2015)

[3] http://www.athleticscholarships.net/history-of-wrestling.htm (Accessed on 9/24/2015)

 entertainment show for people. We keep just little of the wrestling that used to practice in the ancient times.

          In nowadays, one of the most popular and well-paid sports which has come from traditional wrestling, is what we know as the WWE World Wrestling Entertainment.[1] Are you familiar with Hulk Hogan, a famous American professional wrestler and actor. That means, in nowadays, wrestling has became fake, because the wrestlers do the wrestling more for entertainment, fame, and money than for the love of practicing the sport. In ancient Greece, very often, the Greek soldiers died through the training. It was how serious the training was taken. They were training with the same commitment,  bravery, and passion as if they were fighting in battle.

          Here in the biblical text, wrestling is also taking very seriously. Jacob is risking his life in order to get something from his opponent. However, the opponent is not training for battle as the Greek soldiers, the opponent is not training for the Olympic Games, or the opponent was not performing for fame, status, or money, because the opponent is God Himself and God takes very serious our personal encounters with Him.

          Also, I need to tell you something about Jacob's character. He was very dishonest and corrupted. Jacob tricked his brother Esau before his father Isaac in order to get the blessing of the family and in this way inherent the flocks, the land, the slaves, and the good name. It was by tradition that the oldest brother was going to inherit, however, once the father gives a blessing nothing or no one could take it back. That is, Jacob stole everything from Esau.

          Jacob is ready to face his brother after 20 years of separation, and in this part of the biblical narrative, we find that God took human form, other way, it was not possible that Jacob could wrestled with God, if He was not in human form. That means, God encountered Jacob to his human level. The Divine lower Himself to the level of the ordinary. The Creator came to a level of the creature. That proves that God is faithful in His encounters. He lowers Himself, because God could win easily. On the other hand,  Jacob proved himself to be faithful and committed to God. Very often, we don't know how faithful we are until we are wrestling with God. Consequently, Jacob has experienced a deep inner transformation. The rest of the narrative doesn't say anything about Jacob's deceitful character. Jacob had to be so engaged and close to God that he said to Him, "I am not going to let you go until you bless me." Jacob didn't know the kind of blessing that he was asking God for.  However, he, Jacob knew that he needed to be blessed and that only God was going to be able and was going to be willing to give him what he needed it. Only God is able and is willing to give good things to us, even when we wrestle with Him and we just know that we need to be blessed.

          The closeness that Jacob experienced in the wrestling with God made him changed his deceitful and cheating personality. The change in Jacob was so radical that God gave him another name, Israel. Jacob couldn't wrestle with God if He, God, didn't allow Jacob to wrestle. God engages with Jacob in the most vulnerable  and weak moment of his life. God comes to our encounter when we are in the most lower places of our lives. God is the Only One who can give blessings when at the same time, He enters in our trouble inner-self. Wrestling with God gives new life and new perspectives, because wrestling with God changes us for the good and in permanent way.

          Here, Jacob is an active participant even he is against his trickery and dishonest personality. In order to be in a wrestling match with God, we need to be honest, even when this honesty can hurt us. We have to give everything that we have. We have to be willing to die in the training match. God. To be transformed in a radical way, in the way that God likes to do things, is to die in the training. When we die in the training with God, then we are going to survive in the wrestling of life. God was training Jacob to be ready to face Esau. God is training us to face whatever comes to our encounter.

          On the other hand, when we don't want to wrestle with God, then we deny ourselves the opportunity to grow and to become more and more like Christ. If someone doesn't want to get engage in the wrestling training then what serious is this person in his/her Christianity???

          Also, I need you to notice that God took the initiative to come to the wrestling match. God didn't wait until, maybe Jacob was ready. God comes to our encounter and maybe we are not ready, but even there, God provides the enough strength to wrestle with Him. That means, that God is an active subject and active person in this fallen world. God. The wrestling matches with God are real and authentic. They are not fake matches like with Hulk Hogan.

          During the wrestling matches with God, God honors the relationship with Him. First, He honors our disposition to enter in a wrestling invitation to wrestle with Him and Him alone. Second, God honors our persistency and perseverance of not giving up in the middle of the match. We are a community of faith that doesn't leave God in the middle of the way of something, because we wrestling with Him until the breaking of the day.

          Let us pray,

          Dear and Good Father,

          Thank You for the invitation of wrestling with You. We want to wrestle to the point that You are going to change our inner selves and make in us be more like Jesus. Help us to never quit a wrestling match with You, to the contrary help us to complete the wrestling match until the breaking of the day.

In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!!!   

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[1] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/04/vince-mcmahon-wants-to-take-wrestling-out-of-the-wwe.html (Accessed on 9/24/2015)

Read It, Study It, and then, Believe It!!! / 2 Timothy 3:1-17 NRSV

Read It, Study It, and then, Believe It!!!
2 Timothy 3:1-17 NRSV

Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be more engaged and confident reading the Bible.

3 You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come.
 2 For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 
3 inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, 
4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 
5 holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! 
6 For among them are those who make their way into households and captivate silly women, overwhelmed by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires, 
7 who are always being instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 
8 As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people, of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith, also oppose the truth. 
9 But they will not make much progress, because, as in the case of those two men,[a] their folly will become plain to everyone.
10 Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,  
 11 my persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 
12 Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 
13 But wicked people and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived. 
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 
15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 
16 All scripture is inspired by God and is[b] useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
Footnotes:

a. 2 Timothy 3:9 Gk lacks two men b. 2 Timothy 3:16 Or Every scripture inspired by God is also 
This is the Word of God, for the people of God Praise be to God. Amen   
 
Read It, Study It, and then, Believe It!!!
2 Timothy 3:1-17 NRSV 

Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be more engaged and confident reading the Bible. 

Outline 
I. Introduction 
II.  Why did I choose to believe in the Bible?  Develop the concept of free will and free choice 
III. Explanation of the biblical text, 2 Tim 3: 1-17   IV. Conclusion(s) 
V. Prayer


Read It, Study It, and then, Believe It!!!
2 Timothy 3:1-17 NRSV

Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be more engage and confident reading the Bible.


 Do you enjoy reading good books? I am asking you, because my experience has been that the love of reading has to be developed, and then it becomes a habit. A habit is a pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition.1 Now be careful with the material that we read also, it needs to be good reading material. If it is not good reading material, then it can easily contaminate our minds. It is something similar to the saying, "Garbage in, garbage out." That means our minds also need to be fed. As a result of the good feeding of our minds, we will have good thinking, peaceful thoughts, and feelings of hope.  And again some of my good habits were developed through the initiative of my mom in my life. My mom was a very smart woman as I am sure all of our moms were and are, and please dads do not feel bad, but mom power is very important in the life of our children. So, as I was telling you, my mom observed her children in order to know them better, and then she was able to help us better.   In fact, my mom observed in me that I didn't like to read. I was lazy about reading. Actually, I was lazy about several things, but I was extremely lazy about reading. The thought of seeing so many letters all together made me sleep. My mom knew that I didn't want, I didn't enjoy, and I didn't desire to read so many letters together. On the other hand, I really enjoyed reading

1 http://www.audioenglish.org/dictionary/habit.htm (accessed on April 29, 2015). 

comic books. My mom noticed that I just enjoyed reading comics, because they had the characters talking to each other. I liked to see the characters.  My mom discerned that I liked to see the characters, because I imagined that I was one of them. For instance, I was able to enter in the plot or drama, in the performance of the comic that I was reading. It was very good that I entered through my imagination that I was one of them. That means, that I was paying attention in what I was reading. I was part of the book!!!  Besides the desire of mom to help us to develop the right tools in order to do well in live, she put her ideas in action too. She understood that a good thought is useless if we don't believe in it and make it happen. So, my mom influenced me in order for me to develop the good habit of reading. How did she do it??? She paid me for each book I can read and explained to her. Of course, my first option and for a long time, was to choose books with so many illustrations. But, wait a minute; mom was so intelligent, because she didn't pay me for reading comics. The books I started reading were easy but good books for teenagers. They were classics.  Consequently and with time, I realized that I started believing in the plot from the books. I shared the imagination and message of the author. I also started discovering that my tendency was to keep the story in my mind for several days. After that, when I returned to the reading, I was more interested than in previous days. The awareness of the story made me read it with more concentration and eagerness, because my interest was escalating more and more. The more I read it, the more I wanted to know about it, and the more I related with it. Believe it or not, reading classics started changing my life and my perspective of it.

 In the same way that I was forming the good habit of reading; without noticing it, I was developing a character in the sense that I was deciding what to read and what not. That means I was applying my free will and my freedom of choice on what classic book to read and what not. At the same time that I was choosing what to read I was choosing what to believe and what not. For example, I remember very well one book which its title was Under the Lilies; in this book two sisters became very good friends after a very difficult childhood. The memory of this story gave me hope and helped me to try to be a good sister.     My point here is that the author was able to inspire me to believe that what I was reading was possible in my own life. She gave me hope when I used to have a conflict with my sisters. On the other hand, it is very important to understand that, even though she was a very good writer, the author’s message was not going to be useful for generations to come. Because for the author it was only possible to cover one specific human issue at the time. She couldn’t cover all human situations in life. It is impossible for an author to cover the entire range of mental, spiritual, and emotional conditions with reliable assurance of a good ending for each one of our situations.  Therefore, the message of her book was not universal. Actually, something very similar was happening in this letter of the Apostle Paul to Timothy. Timothy was the equivalent of a biological son for Paul. And for Timothy, Paul was like a father, a mentor, and an example for his life. Timothy looked up to Paul. Hard times were also similar to nowadays.  That is, the social environment of Paul and Timothy was pretty much the same that ours. Let’s put the things in perspective; for example, first, see the parallel between the first century of our Current Era and nowadays. The
 
ethical behavior was very low in those times, but what about today. Paul is telling Timothy in verse 2 that people will be lovers of themselves. In nowadays, people do not think so much about others. For example, if we want to do some business with someone, we need the assistance of a good lawyer, because we don’t want to be cheated. It is clear, the low ethical social behavior and the love of money, because people do not care for human dignity. Their ethics are based on earthly standards.  Second parallel, morality was very low in those days, but what about now? People could get easily involved in sexual relationships with whomever they pleased. They didn’t have good moral behavior. Let’s say that the majority of the people didn’t care for a marriage commitment. Additionally, no ethical commitment also, because when they divorced, they could leave easily and sadly leave the other party poor or in debt, the great majority of the time was the wives who were left behind and without no money. They were broke. There is no difference with America society 2015.  So, Timothy needed support for the difficult times that he was living. He needed encouragement when he wanted to quit and let society influence him with earthly ethics and morals and he needed motivation in order to keep living a good moral and ethical life according to God’s standards. Where was Timothy to find good moral and ethical universal standards? Where was Timothy to find comfort for hard times? Where was Timothy to find direction for his life and the life of his congregation? Where was Timothy to find wisdom for a good lifestyle? Timothy was going to find everything that he and his congregation needed in the Holy Scriptures.  The Holy Scriptures were the writings of the Old Testament. The New Testament had not come into being. Timothy was facing the burden of Gnosticism, people skeptical of what Jesus Christ did on the Cross, and they were misleading people. One of the tools that the Gnostics used to mislead people was that they created they own literature in order to support their claims. Paul referred to these books as man-made things.2 On the opposite, the great book of the church was/is a book inspired by God using the talents, minds, and hands of several people to write it, the Bible. The Bible has been of such an importance in the life of any authentic Christian believer and the Christian church that if one really wants to know the God of the universe there is not another place to get a first-hand account of this God, that in the Bible. So, the Bible has real authority in our lives, because it is the first tool that God uses to communicate His will to us.   When people say to us, “the Bible is so old-fashioned, it cannot be applied to 2015, because it is another context in human history.” We can answer, with love, grace, and applying the Gifts of the Holy Spirit that the context was not so different that our current situation in America. It was not easy. It is not easy. However, through the Bible the Holy Spirit takes care of us in all our situations, correction that leads to improvement, comforting that leads to uplifting, and direction for our lives that leads to a secure hope and to an unaffected peace.  Therefore, if we want to be morally and ethically fair and consistent people, who believe in the Holy Spirit who is God, then we must believe in the Holy Scriptures that is the Bible.

2 Barclay William, The Daily Study Bible Series. The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Westminster Press: 1975), 199.

Let us pray

Dear Holy One Thank You for the giving of the Bible in our lives and the life of the church. It would be very difficult to discern Your will if it were not
for the Bible which clearly points us to what is perfect, right, and good for our lives. Please help us to read It, study It, and then, believe in It!!!
In Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen  

Be Careful Where We Put Our Eyes/ 2 Samuel 11: 1b, 2-15, 26-27 NIV

Be Careful Where We Put Our Eyes 2 Samuel 11: 1b, 2-15, 26-27 NIV 

Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be able to understand that it    is very easy to abuse the power that God has given us when we wander far from Him.


11In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,  3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”  4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.  5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” 6 So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David.  7 When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going.  8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him.  9 But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house.
10 David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?”
Sermon for Service on Sunday, July 19, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway ________________________________________________________________________
2 
11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,[a] and my commander Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”
12 Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 
13 At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master’s servants; he did not go home.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 
15 In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.”
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 
27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.

This is the Word of God For the people of God, Praise be to God. Amen



Be Careful Where We Put Our Eyes 2 Samuel 11: 1b, 2-15, 26-27 NIV
 
Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be able to understand that it    is very easy to abuse the power that God has given us when we wander far from Him.   

Outline
I. Introduction
II. What is abuse of power?
III. Explanation of the text: 2 Samuel 11: 1b, 2-15, 26-27
IV. Conclusion[s]
V. Prayer    



Be Careful Where We Put Our Eyes 2 Samuel 11: 1b, 2-15, 26-27 NIV
  
Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be able to understand that it    is very easy to abuse the power that God has given us when we     wander far from Him.
  
 When you used to play with your friends and siblings, do you
remember who gave the instructions of the game??? In my case, I was who
the majority of the time gave the instructions for such and such game. And if
someone didn't like the instructions, then this friend couldn't play with us or
even my baby sister. Other times, I remember when I used to go to the store
with my baby sister, I was the only one who had money to buy something,
because I had saved my money. Then I decided to buy an ice cream. I
bought my ice cream, and of course, she was with me. When she asked me
for some ice cream, I said to her, "No, it is mine. I bought it with my
money." Then she begged me until I made a deal with her. Okay, I am going
to give you some ice cream, but you are going to play dolls with me and you
will pick all the toys up when we finished playing. She always agreed with
the conditions I said.
 I was not very nice, because I used the influence, the resources, and
the power that I had over my baby sister and other friends in order to do
Sermon for Service on Sunday, July 19, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway ________________________________________________________________________
5 
whatever I wanted. I didn't care if they were happy playing with me or not. I
didn't pay attention if my youngest sister was comfortable picking up the
toys after we played. And I didn't have any problem with my conscience at
night. I slept very well. I assumed that I always could get whatever I
wanted!!! Sadly and without knowing it, I was abusing my position as an
older sister and as a friend. I was using my power and position to get
whatever I wished, for my own selfish benefit. Amazingly, some children
don't learn how power, resources, and position are for the benefit of the
community and not just for oneself, and carry this attitude through adulthood
and the rest of their lives.
 This attitude made me realized that it was okay to be lazy. So very
often my friends and sister did all the work for me. And not just that, the
danger of being lazy is more than just not wanting to do the task. It is the
boredom that can lead one to look for something to do or to see that it is not
going to be very helpful or healthy for oneself. Obviously when we start
seeking for something, the first sense that we are going to use is our sight.
We are going to start paying attention with our eyes to see what is attractive
to us. Actually, in my mother country there is a saying, the eyes are the
window of the soul.
Sermon for Service on Sunday, July 19, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway ________________________________________________________________________
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 Have you thought why the eyes are the window of the soul??? Maybe
the eyes are the window of the soul, because the great majority of the time of
what we perceive and consider beautiful or ugly comes through our view or
sight. For example, the first time you saw your husband, you thought that he
was the most beautiful thing in the world, or husbands, the first time that you
saw your wife you thought that she was an angel in the form of a woman.
That is, the attraction of someone or something, very often, comes through
our eyes. Also, I believe that in some way the Holy Spirit gives testimony
of what we carry in our soul. For instance, if our eyes light up for desserts,
maybe we struggle with the sin of gluttony. If our eyes light up for
possessions, probably we have difficulty with the sin of greed. If our eyes
light up with helping people with their problems, maybe we have the gift of
compassion. So in some very clear sense, the eyes are the window of the
soul. 
 Actually, something very similar was happening to David. Here is the
great King David of Israel, resting in his palace and being lazy, when his
entire army is in the battle field fighting. He woke up and he started walking
on the roof of his palace, when suddenly he saw a beautiful woman, who
was not any of his wives, bathing. Her name was Bathsheba. He could easily
have respected her and looked in other direction and left. But no, instead of
Sermon for Service on Sunday, July 19, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway ________________________________________________________________________
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respecting her, almost certainly, he was there until she finished taking a bath.
Then he sent someone to inquire about her. Once he knew who she was, 
King David sent for her. And the Hebrew verb that is used in the Old
Testament is translated as a rape. And after he abused her, he sent her back
to her house as an object instead of a human being. 
 It is clear that David used his power, his resources, and his
position for only self-satisfaction and self-interest. David sinned with all
the intention of the world. The desire for Bathsheba entered through the
eyes of David. He assumed that his powerful position, his resources, and
his influence were able to make him untouchable and superior to do
whatever he wanted. However, once he realized that he was at a high risk
of being discovered and losing the respect and the good reputation in the
eyes of his subjects for his adultery, King David panicked and tried to cover
up the adultery as a result of a baby on the way. Without noticing, King
David started drawing himself in the dirt of one sin after another. His
situation was a bad domino effect condition. Sadly, it was King David who
invited bad luck into his life. He thought that his privileged position was
going to give him immunity, or in some sense that he was going to be able to
control the situation and other people’s lives. But the reality was that he
didn't have the control over anything outside of himself. He couldn't control

Bathsheba’s body, because she had conceived, and he couldn't control
Uriah's decision of not going to his house, because he was loyal to his
commander and to his fellow soldiers. 
 Without doubt, this David of the 11th chapter looks so different from
the David of the other chapters. It seems like he is a completely different
person. And He is. Three chapters before, he couldn't be at peace, because
the ark of the Covenant was not with him. He was even dancing when the
ark came to him. He was so connected with God, to the point of inquiring
and asking God for any of God’s directions for his life. When he was in
trouble, he prayed to God for deliverance, and every time that David got a
victory, he gave God the credit. He was a very blessed man. However, this
time was very different, because this time King David was disconnected
with God. To be disconnected with God makes us different persons. Pay
attention how in no part of this chapter did David ask God for help or pray to
God for assistance or ask God for deliverance from temptation. David
created a big problem with his sin and he began to be desperate, because he
wanted to guard his honor and good reputation as the great King David that
he had become. He tried to convince Uriah to go to his house, eat, drink, and
be with his wife, but Uriah was an honest man who didn't want to take
Sermon for Service on Sunday, July 19, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway ________________________________________________________________________
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advantage of what David was offering. As a last resort, David killed Uriah in
the battle field without any hesitation.    
 How many times we have let our sight guide us to get something
instead of stopping and asking God if this is what He wants for our lives?
Our eyes can easily become the window of our souls. What are we
watching? With what are we feeding our souls? If we see something
attractive, do we run and get it? How much do we open our minds and hearts
and invite God to live in our souls? We need to remember that the influence,
power, and resources that we have, have given to us by God in order to use
them according to His will and for the good of us and others. And the only
way we will know how to use them well is to be connected with God.  

Let us pray   
Good and heavenly Father Thank You so much for the opportunity that You have placed in our hands. The fact that we have power, influence, and resources that can affect ourselves and others, very often, is scary. Help us to be brave and intelligent enough to always ask You for Your guidance and for deliverance. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Are We Getting to Somewhere??? 2 Pet 1:12-19; Lev 26: 9-13 NIV

Are We Getting to Somewhere??? 2 Pet 1:12-19; Lev 26: 9-13 NIV  
Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be able to understand that    God is in control of the spreading of the Kingdom, even though the    world is full of negativity. 
12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 
13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 
14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 
15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 
17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”[a] 
18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
Sermon for Service on September 13, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway _____________________________________________________________
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19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  
9 “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 
10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. 
11 I will put my dwelling place[a] among you, and I will not abhor you. 
12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 
13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.
This is the Word of God, for the people of God. Praise be to God. Amen            
Sermon for Service on September 13, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway _____________________________________________________________
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Are We Getting to Somewhere??? 2 Pet 1:12-19; Lev 26: 9-13 NIV   
Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be able to understand that    God is in control of the spreading of the Kingdom, even though the    world is full of negativity.   
Outline  
I. Introduction 
II. Are we disappointed or discouraged??? 
III. Explanation of the biblical text 
IV. Conclusion[s] 
V. Prayer                 
Sermon for Service on September 13, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway _____________________________________________________________
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Are We Getting to Somewhere??? 2 Pet 1:12-19; Lev 26: 9-13 NIV   
Purpose: After listening to the sermon, we will be able to understand that    God is in control of the spreading of the Kingdom, even though the    world is full of negativity.   
 Are  you a follower of  the news on TV??? Sometimes it is very hard to hear the news because they only report bad and negative events. It is part of how they operate. Also, they tell the story according to their own point of view. That means that it is disappointing and disturbing to know that the majority of what people want to hear is depressing and harmful!!! On the other hand, it is important to notice that they are based on the events of the moment. For example, starting maybe three weeks ago, the news began reporting everything they could get about the presidential candidates. For example, such and such is saying that taxes are going to be in such and such way, or the theme about illegal immigration, or the subject of nuclear deals with other countries. At the same time, the news has spent a great deal of time on one of the most divisive and hot topics of nowadays, the gay marriage. Lately, clerk Kim Davis has been in jail for denying marriage licenses to people of the same sex. She was incarcerated for her honest and strong beliefs about Christianity. This is highly disturbing and discouraging for serious and committed Christians. And the international news is just as painful and scary as the national news. They are telling us that the world is facing the worst immigration crisis since World War II. People from Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and Syria, at least 50% of them are Syrians, seeking
Sermon for Service on September 13, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway _____________________________________________________________
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shelter from violence or persecution at home.1 They are traveling in very dangerous and unsafe ways. The human conditions that the Syrian people were living have been terrible to the extreme that they are risking the lives of their children and their own lives in order to try to change their living conditions.   In the field of health, it seems that California has passed a law that allows doctors to prescribe life ending medication for terminally ill patients.2 It is as scary and disturbing as the rest of the news. And the last news that I was interested was about a dentist that killed a poor lion called "Cecil the Lion." People want him to return to Zimbabwe in order for him to face trial for the death of Cecil.3 Ok, dear ones, tell me where is the positive, uplifting, and cheering in the world that we are living?  That is why it is very hard for me to spend time watching the news. It makes me angry and I doubt about the credibility and seriousness of the events. Please don't take me wrong, I am not advocating to quit watching or reading or listening to the news. What I am saying is that the news is full of negativity, pain, injustice, and manipulation. On the other hand, I believe that it is important to know what is happening around us, but it seems like everything is very, very ugly.   So, after reading about the news of this past week, I started understanding why people give up hope, joy, and peace. Actually, a lot of people become cynical and pessimistic, because through the lenses of
                                                 1 http://irusa.org/refugee-crisiseurope/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=europe%20refugee%20crisis&gclid=CP 7Dr4L36scCFQoKaQodNQYOlw (Accessed on September 9, 2015).  2 http://news.yahoo.com/california-lawmakers-approve-die-legislation-193816152.html (Accessed on September 10, 2015).  3 http://news.yahoo.com/minnesota-dentist-killed-beloved-lion-returns130500684.html;_ylt=AwrC1C16APJV7SgAV3LQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTByNXQ0NThjBGNvbG8DYm YxBHBvcwM1BHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg-- (Accessed on September 10, 2015).
Sermon for Service on September 13, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway _____________________________________________________________
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negativity there is just chaos in this world. The reality is that sometimes it is very difficult to see when something good is happening in the world. And even if we know that we walk in the world but we don't belong to the world, it is easy to get down and start focusing in our circumstances. We can reach the point of throwing up our hands and saying, "Ok Lord, now what!?!?! Are we getting anywhere with all this bad stuff around us?!?!!? Are we spreading the Kingdom??? I have turned my head to the right I have turned my head to the left, and I cannot see any good!!!! I am tired, disappointed, and I just want to give up!!! Well, I am sure of one thing, I don't want to be God. How He can keep up with us and not give up???  We know that human nature has not changed over the centuries. That is why in the reading of today, Peter was uplifting the recipients of his letter. They knew, we know, we have engraved in our minds and hearts the truths of the promises of God. Why was Peter concerned for them if they knew who God was and they knew about His faithfulness??? However, our human tendency is to focus on the negative of the moment, on the fact that the majority of the times, we believe that problems don't come alone, they come in groups, but they don't come in groups. We are in the mindset and in the disposition to expect the negative in any new situation. This is the moment when we can become vulnerable to thinking that God doesn't pay attention to us, that God has better things to take care of, such as nuclear deals between nations or the immigration of Syrians to Europe and other countries, or people who are having more serious challenges than we.   In fact, it seems like the same hopeless attitude was commanding the attention of the people to whom Peter was writing. He was telling them that the message of God always has been trustworthy and reliable. The promises of God shine in our hearts and minds. There are not double agendas in God's
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character or in God's communication to us, as in the news. Without doubt, as a beloved and caring Father, He is not going to let our circumstances darken our lives. In the same way that God brought His people out of Egypt and helped them through the wilderness, He is going to lead us. He is going to help us to get out of our difficulties and He is going to guide us in the wilderness of this world.    On the other hand, there is a part that we need to play in order to keep the covenant with God. It is to remember. We need to refresh our memory, indeed. Through our memory comes experience and knowledge. No one can take away our thoughts and our experience. That is why, when we are getting downhearted through the news and even through the challenges of our own lives, we need to remember the experience where in such and such situation God was there right next to us, helping us, carrying us, giving us peace and calm. That is when we know that we live above the problems of the world and even above of our own personal circumstances. It is when we hold our head up because we know that our lives have direction and meaning. It is when we know that we are getting somewhere.            
Let us pray Dear and Good Father, Thank You for Your presence in this fallen world, even though the news agencies report what they want to report and how they want to report it; even though sometimes our conditions can challenge us, we know that there is
Sermon for Service on September 13, 2015 by Claudia Nava-Galloway _____________________________________________________________
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always more good than bad in our lives, because of You. You are perfect love and divine care for Your beloved children. Help us to remember our experiences with You because in this way we know that we are getting somewhere. In Jesus Christ we pray.  Amen

This Is a Very Good Deal, Let's Close it!!!/ Gen 17: 1-14 New International Version (NIV)

This Is a Very Good Deal, Let's Close it!!!

Gen 17: 1-14 NIV

Purpose:     After the listening to the sermon, we will be able to trust in                      the deals that God commands us to make with Him.

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. ² Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

³ Abram fell facedown, and God said to him,

⁴ “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.

⁵ No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

⁶ I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.

⁷ I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

⁸ The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.

¹⁰ This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

¹² For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring.

¹³ Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.

¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

This is the Word of God,

For the people of God.

Praise be to God, amen.

This Is a Very Good Deal, Let's Close it!!!

Gen 17: 1-14 NIV

Purpose:     After the listening to the sermon, we will be able to trust in                      the deals that God commands us to make with Him.

Outline

I.       Introduction

II.      Business in the world vs. Business with God

III.    Explanation of the biblical text

IV.    Conclusion[s]

V.      Prayer

This Is a Very Good Deal, Let's Close it!!!

Gen 17: 1-14 NIV

Purpose:     After the listening to the sermon, we will be able to trust in                      the deals that God commands us to make with Him.

          Are you familiar with the Forbes magazine??? I am asking you, because I was not. Let me tell you that it is a good, a very good magazine for several reasons. First, this magazine connects people, companies, and places. One of the focus of this magazine is to talk about the wealthiest people in America. When someone is in business, very often, one dreams to get to the level of such business personalities. Can you imagine to close such a deal in your life that can produce billions in  profits. These people are the owners of companies which are changing the entire world. For example, according to Forbes magazine, the wealthiest billionaire under 40 in America is the founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.[1]

          Obviously, they are very smart people because they know when to close a good deal. Zuckerberg has created a unique form of massive communication that has been attractive to millions of people in the world. And, do you know why Facebook has been attractive to the world??? Because Facebook has covered a need. People wanted to contact people who had lost communication with them for years or where distant was an issue. Facebook just beat the barrier of time. That is, when we used to write letters to our family or friends or when we used to make long distant phone calls. Now, it is easier and practical to go to our smart phone or our tablet and connect in Facebook and in minutes we can contact whoever we want, even if this person is on the other side of the world.

          Another very important thing that these extraordinary geniuses of the business world have understood is, that in order to increase their numbers, they know that they cannot work alone. They have to work with a team. The research team. The marketing team. The customer service team. The quality team. The investors team, etc. People in the business world know that when comes to work the I becomes We. One clear example of this is, Mark Zuckerberg. He started developing his ideas since he was a little boy in middle school. However, it was not until he was in his university years when he developed Facebook. In his junior years he got the help of his dad, who employed an instructor in computer programming to help his son to obtain more knowledge in how to create communication tools and computer games. In his Harvard years, he and his partner needed more computer programmers, after that, he and his partners reached for more money through the strategy of investors, it was when Facebook opened to everybody.[2]

          Besides the understanding that their I or their me became we as a team, they changed their lives, because the passed from the student's life to the billionaire's world. The changing of their lives has been evident in their way to live their everyday  lives.

          Actually, in the biblical narrative of today, God was looking for people who can close a big and very big deal with Him. As always, God took the first step and He encountered Abram. God was commanding Abram to become a partner with Him in the business of His Kingdom. God promised Abram great profits. He was going to get such profits that he was not going to be able to count them because they were going to become nations or as numerous as the stars on the sky. God always works as a team with humans.

          It is very important to notice that in order to be in business with God, God requires a contract or a covenant with His people. This covenant is NOT because God has to be remaindered that He has to be loyal and faithful to the points that are part of the agreement. This covenant is for us to remember in what business we have entered with God. After we have closed the deal with Him, then we are going to experience a radical transformation. It is impossible to know God and not change. It doesn't exist. We cannot be the same after we experience serious business with God because He is an active god.

          In fact, do you remember the last week that we talked of how God changed the name of Jacob for Israel, because he changed from a professional cheater to a faithful servant. It was a radical transformation. Now, it is the turn of Abram. Abram was a liar and a very selfish person. When he and Sarai came to Egypt, he told Sarai that she was so beautiful and when the Egyptians will see her beauty, they will kill him. She has to say that Abram was her brother (Gen 12:12). In this way Abram was going to save his life. When they came to Egypt, Pharaoh's officials took her into the palace (Gen 12:15).  That means, Abram didn't care that Sarai was treated in the way she was, because for him the most important person was himself. Well, in this biblical account, God again changes the name of Abram for Abraham. Abraham changed when he closed a good deal with God.

          We have to noticed that also the one last important thing that God had required from Abraham was to have a visual sign of the deal that they just closed. It was a kind of signature that they had closed a very good deal. God told Abraham to circumcised all the males. Whoever was not circumcised was going to be cut off from the people because he was not in the contract with God.

          My dear ones, nowadays, we also have our visible signature which tells the rest of this fallen world that we have closed a very good deal with God. We have Jesus Christ in our hearts and minds. He has changed us and this change has been in a very radical way. We have passed from flirting with sin to committed sons and daughter of God. We have a very real and evident mark of our agreement with God when we tell other what Jesus has done for us. We show our mark when through our every day conversations with people because we are authentic people of hope. And, mainly through our every day behavior and actions in the form of Christ likeness.

          Our challenge for today is a challenge that needs to be the main focus for the rest of our lives, is to go to the world and make as much profit as possible for God, growing His business that is the Kingdom.  

          Let us pray,

          Dear and Good Father,

          Thank You so much for the high profit deal that You have closed with us. We have became billionaires. Help us to be very good investors and multiply Your profits in the only way that You wants us to do it. Spreading the Good News of the Gospel in this fallen world. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen!!!

---

[1] http://search.tb.ask.com/search/GGmain.jhtml?p2=^BNF^xdm007^YYA^us&ptb=CAF42549-F39F-41FF-97C7-46048218B6A9&ind=2015081216&n=781bb300&st=bar&searchfor=what+is+the+focus+of+Forbes+magazine%3f (Accessed on October 1, 2015).

[2] http://astrumpeople.com/mark-zuckerberg-biography-success-story-of-facebook-founder-and-ceo/ (Accessed on October 1, 2015).