Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

September 9, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 19:23

Who do you think the “they” are in this verse? Some interpret the word to mean the “Roman soldiers”; others to mean “the band of chief priest, Pharisees and scribes of Israel(i).” Was it the Roman soldiers who took His garments after the Roman soldiers crucified Him or was it the chief priests, Pharisees and elders of Israel(i) who crucified Jesus and then the Roman soldiers took His garments. Which one do you think it is?

by William Finck

August 26, 2018

Scripture Reading: Psalm 44:19-23:

Being here [at FGCP] in March after the death of Pastor Mark Downey, and now passing through again after the burial of Clifton Emahiser, I thought I should seek to offer our community some encouragement.

Disaster and Death: Why Do We Suffer?

This is a broad topic. I won't ever be able to discuss every detail. But Yahweh willing, here we will hit on the important aspects. Perhaps anyone who hears this will stop blaming God for our woes.

In modern times when we have floods and drought, when we have pestilence and disease, very few people who are affected by these things ever even consider what manner of sin they have committed, or what manner of sin they have allowed to exist in their communities, that they should suffer such things. But as our ancient ancestors believed, when such calamities befall us, they are clearly punishments from Yahweh our God. The proof that such a concept was prevalent even in relatively recent times is found in the very origin of the word that is used to describe such calamities, which is crisis. In English, a crisis is a time of danger or trouble. But in Greek the word is decision or judgment, and in our Scriptures it describes the judgment of God. While modern secularized dictionaries attempt to obfuscate this connection, it is the true origin of the modern English use of the word.

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

August 12, 2018

Scripture Reading:  Revelation 2:14-17

On July 20th, 2018, I received an email from the lawyer of the two prisoners in the Michigan jail system, who had filed a law suit against the state of Michigan for their decision in not allowing them the opportunity to participate in a separate Bible study and worship group in the prison. This email came about a month after I had a short talk with the lawyer about my being the “expert witness” in the case in the place of our co-pastor, Mark Downey. Even though everything seemed to be a go, the lawyer and his associates had determined from our short talk on the phone that I would not be a good “expert witness” in the case. I didn’t think that I was auditioning for the role.

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

July 29, 2018

Scripture Reading:  John 15:18-25

I am interrupting my Deuteronomy series to compile some of my arguments I will be using in this case which is just next month. After talking with the prisoners’ lawyer by phone, he said that the judge was open-minded. The prosecutors had asked that the case be dismissed, but the judge refused. The upcoming court case in the state of Michigan is to determine whether the prisoners in Michigan will be allowed to hold services under the Christian-Identity banner. There are jewish synagogue meetings, Muslim worship meetings, Judeo-Christian services, Roman Catholics have their mass, but no Christian-Identity meetings are allowed in Michigan reformatories at the present time.

By Allen Breitenstein

July 15, 2018

Scripture Reading:  John 14:10-21

Before I begin, I want to thank the Father, Son, And Holy Spirit for this message. Believe me, I could not have done this without Them constantly feeding me verses and information.

The message today is focusing on seeking the counsel of the Lord. Special attention is made on these three introductory verses:

• Verse 13: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” and,

• Verse 16: “I will pray the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever”, and

• Verse 20: “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father and ye in me and I in you.”

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

July 1, 2018

Scripture Reading:  Deuteronomy 12:20-22

While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they did not eat the flesh of any of the clean animals that were used in role of a sacrifice. For the sacrificial animal was killed at the door of the tabernacle, and part of it presented to God and the priests as a peace-offering.

Leviticus 17:3-5

The penalty for failing to bring the sacrifice to the door of the tabernacle was to be cut off from the kingdom. What exactly does that mean? Was the person forbidden thereafter to come near the tabernacle? Was he ostracized? Did all his family and friends eliminate all contact with him? Or did it mean that the person had to be executed? It probably meant the latter, as I don’t know how it could have been done when they were traveling in the wilderness.

But when the Israelites finally took possession of Canaan land, where many were given land that was a great distance from the one tabernacle and later the one temple, they might kill what they pleased for their own use of their flocks and herds, without bringing part of the sacrificed animal to the altar.

The unclean Israelite, who might not eat of the holy sacrificed animal, was allowed to eat of the same animal when it was only used as common food. The distinction between clean persons and unclean was sacred, and designed for the preserving of the honor of their holy feasts, and therefore must not be brought into their ordinary meals.

DANIEL'S 70 WEEKS

Copied from the sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore

June 17, 2018

Scripture Reading:  Deuteronomy 12:17-18

These regulations and ordinances are now over. There is no Temple in existence, so we couldn’t keep these ordinances if we wanted to. Jesus the Christ is our sacrifice. It was God, Himself, who paid the sin debt for His peculiar people. That put away all the animal sacrifices forever.

Was this time prophesied? Was there a remnant of God’s people who knew what was the correct time that the true Passover Lamb would be offered? And if they did, then how did they know?

by Jim Jester

June 3, 2018

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 32:44-47

This lesson could be considered the sequel to my other lesson, “The Handmaiden of God’s Word.” In this sermon, we want to take notice of the time in Israel’s history when God gave them a song.

Perhaps we should begin with this question. What is the music of your church: classic, blended or “let it rock?” Some churches use religious rock, others use Jesus jazz, or holy ho-down. For many, the question of church music is of little consequence since the mantra of most church leaders has become: “Lighten up: our MTV culture demands new methods and new music!” Other churches, perhaps a bit more conservative, but unwilling to alienate anybody; build a church with a little bit of everything, attempting to be inclusive. They ought to be called the Schizophrenic Church. Well, here at our church we just keep it simple and use traditional hymns.

Does God really care what kind of music we sing? Our unequivocal answer – He cares! From the ancient Israelite nation, to the 21st century church, God’s concern for His people’s music has not changed. From Scripture and church history, we find that God’s people have always guarded their music carefully.