Category: Faith/ Local Churches

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
As always I pray that you are doing well so far this week. Please pray for rain as we are getting extremely dry, the last couple of showers we got dried up quickly. Are you getting into the word of God on a daily basis? Have you read your Bible today? If not why not? It only takes a few minutes to read a whole chapter. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said: “…it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Don’t just read it, let’s live by it! Let us also continue to pray for our nation’s defenders and our first responders. And please pray for all those fighting cancer! Our question for the week is; “Where in the Bible will I find all men forsaking someone but God standing with him and delivering him out of the mouth of the lion?”

Continue reading “Where in the Biblewill I find…?”

Question: Why should we be thankful this Thanksgiving?
Answer: Because according to the Bible, we should be thankful in every time and season of life. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” The Bible doesn’t say only be thankful when everything is going well, but at all times. The only way we can truly do this is if we have Jesus Christ in our life who is the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27. With Jesus, we can see through the dark clouds of life that sometimes surround us and see that there’s hope to push on, because He’s with us, and with His help we’ll get through the storm. Philippians 4:19. So, we should be thankful in everything because the Bible says we should be and that’s more than enough reason, but most of all we should be thankful because Jesus came to this earth to save us from our sins. Sin is disobedience against God and what He’s said in His Word, the Bible. All of us have disobeyed God at one point or another, the Bible says we’re all sinners. Romans 3:23. If we tried on our own to make it to heaven, none of us would ever get there because we’re sinners. But because God loves us so much, He provided His Son to be the perfect and complete sacrifice on the cross so that all people could be saved. John 3:16-17. Jesus shed His blood so that our sins could be covered by it, He died for us so that we could live. What a gift! Now anyone who calls upon Jesus to save them will be saved. Romans 10:9-13. So, this Thanksgiving it doesn’t matter how rich or poor we are, or where we live or how old we are, we all can be very thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice for us all! While you’re sitting around the dinner table eating or watching football on tv, don’t forget to say, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”-2 Corinthians 9:15.

Answer: The Bible says in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” This verse tells us that death started when sin entered the picture of mankind. The Bible tells us that sin originated with Adam and Eve after God had created them and put them in the garden of Eden, and they disobeyed God. Genesis 3:1-7. Sin is anything that breaks God’s laws or disobeys His Word. Sin started in the garden of Eden and by consequence, death started there too. If you think about it, death comes for everyone, the rich, the poor, those with a PhD and those with a GED, those in Africa and those in North America, why? Because death is universal, it affects everyone. That’s what Romans 5:12 is speaking of. Sin entered the scene by or through one man, Adam, and because Adam and Eve were the parents of all mankind, they passed down their sin nature to all their descendants. Including you and me. We all have sinned, whether by telling a lie, stealing something, thinking a bad thought or saying a bad word, none of us can say we’re perfect and haven’t done anything wrong. Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:10.

Continue reading “Question: What Does Romans 5:12 mean?”

Question: Can God forgive all my Sins?

Answer: According to the Bible, yes, God can forgive all your sins, no matter how many nor how severe they are.
The Bible says in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This verse says that if we confess our sins, but confess our sins to whom? To Jesus Christ our Saviour. Jesus died on the cross and took all of mankind’s sin upon Himself so that all people could have their sins forgiven. John 3:16-17. The Bible says about Jesus in Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Jesus was perfect, He never sinned, and it took one who was righteous and sinless to atone for everyone who was unrighteous and sinful. 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Jesus shed or poured out His perfect blood to cover our sinful blood.
In the Bible blood represents life (Leviticus 17:11) so Jesus laid down His life so that we, as people, could have life. John 15:13. The Bible teaches that before we ask Jesus to save and forgive us, we’re dead spiritually in our sins, and when we do ask Jesus to save us, He brings us to life spiritually. Colossians 2:13. Many people think that they’ve done too many bad things and sinned too much for God to forgive them, but that’s simply not true. Jesus died so that everyone could be saved, and the Bible says that whoever comes to Jesus will not be sent away. John 6:37. God says that once we accept Jesus as our Saviour, then He blots out our sins and won’t remember them anymore. Isaiah 43:25. All you have to do is call upon Jesus and ask Him to save you and forgive your sins, then He will do exactly that. Read Romans 6:23, and Romans 10:9-13 in the Bible.

Father Anthony, Carolina and Pablo Cortez would like to thank everyone who purchased raffle tickets for the St. Andrews Festival. There were a total of 918 sold tickets, and $4,590 raised in sales.
The St. Andrews 2024 Raffle Winners (in order from 1 to 25) are: Manuel Davila (BBQ Pitt), Arnaldo Benavidez ($1,000), Rogelio H. Garcia ($1000), Monique Wimber ($500), Gloria Saucedo ($500), Jason Miller ($500), Ysabella Cortez ($500), Jaime ($500), Raul ($300), Raul ($300), Linda Vasquez ($300), Margarito ($300), Alma Zamora ($300), Melissa Cannon ($200), Librado Rivas ($200), Rita Cordova ($200), Juan Robles ($200), Frances Hartley ($200), Nelda Rosas ($200), John Leija ($100), Estela Rodriguez ($100), Josiah Glass ($100), David Avis ($100), and Sonia Cortez ($100).
Special thanks from Pablo S. Cortez:
I wish to thank all the people that bought raffle tickets from me while I was selling the tickets to help the church festival. With your help, I was able to sell 918 tickets and raised 4,590.00 for which Father Anthony was very pleased. Of those tickets I sold, I told two winning tickets out of 25 prizes. The winners are Sonia Cortez, who won $100, and Arnaldo Benavidez, who won $1000.00.
For more information please call St. Andrew’s Church Rectory at (830) 709-4287.
Thanks for your help and may God bless you.

Iglesia Bautista Calvario / Calvary Baptist Church, in Lytle, TX will be having our 2nd Annual Mission Conference on October 23, 24, and 25 at 7:00 PM and October 27 at 9:45 AM. It will be bilingual and our address is 15253 Houston St., Lytle, TX.
This year we are privileged to have the following missionaries: Hno. Rubén Casas – Missionary in Durango, México; Hno. Saul Juárez – Director to Ministry Without Borders; Hna. Rut Elisabet Lerma Pizarro – Missionary to the Triquis People; Pastor David Richmond – Grace Batist Church – Evans, Louisiana; Hna. Graciela Vasquez – Missionary in India; Hno. Eric Watson – Missionary in Honduras & Texas Border
Please call (210)279-6143 if you have any questions.

Sept. 29
to Wednesday, Oct. 2 at
Black Creek Baptist Church with
Dr. Ross Chandler

We would like welcome the community to join us as we worship and learn more about God’s plan during this time of revival.
Black Creek Baptist Church is hosting a Fall Revival. Services will be held on Sunday, September 29 at 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. and Wednesday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Ross Chandler will be preaching.
We welcome the community to join us during the four day revival.
Black Creek Baptist Church is located at 798 County Road 660, Devine, Texas 78016.

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
I pray that you are doing well so far this week, as always, I encourage you to get into the word of God on a daily basis. Have you read your Bible today? If not why not? It only takes a few minutes to read a whole chapter. In Luke 4:4 Jesus said: “…it is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Let us also continue to pray for our nation’s defenders and our first responders. And please pray for rain! Our question for the week is; “Where in the Bible will I find God’s people offering covered wagons to the Lord?”
I remember as a kid my dad had a Real Estate business. Back in those days it wasn’t uncommon for local businessmen to decorate a vehicle or float to be in the parade as it would give them some free advertising. One year my dad put his Real Estate sign on the sides of his truck and turned the bed off it into a covered wagon and we rode in the back of the truck throwing candy out like settlers. Whenever we think of “Covered Wagons” we often go back to the wild west but as our question today implies there were covered wagons WAY before the wild west was settled, as we will read in Numbers 7:3 “And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they brought them before the tabernacle.” Think about it! J.W.

St. Andrews Church is having its church festival on September 29, providing fun for the whole family bingo, food, beer, face painting and live music from Latin Grammy nominated musical artist Gary Hobbs and others. The grand prize from the raffle is a custom made barbecue pit/smoker on wheels valued at $8,000 with additional prizes such as gift cards and a trip to Rome and Venice. Admission will be free for children under 12 and cost adults $5.