Salvation is of the Lord

Rev. Jim Jester

May 19, 2024

SCRIPTURE READING: Genesis 17:1-7

The first mention of God’s covenant with Abram is found in chapter 15 of Genesis. Chapter 17 continues that thought and is crucial to our understanding of the Bible.

We have just read how Abram had his name changed to Abraham, because he was elected to be “a father of many nations.” The name change signified a change in his status under God. Most seminaries teach our clergy that Abraham was only the father of the “Jews.” This makes God a liar, for the modern jews (until 1948) have never founded any nation, much less many nations. And just imagine, if you lived prior to 1948 and are reading the Bible and see the words “a father of many nations have I made thee” and you were told, as today, that the jews are the country of Israel, when there was no such country, you would respond with something like, “You’re nuts!” The people of Israel are not holed up in a particular country, but are scattered throughout the west. Israel is a people, not a geo-political state.

Sacred Names or Blasphemy?

by Pastor Jim Jester

May 5, 2024

SCRIPTURE READING: Philippians 2:9-11

In my recent sermon on Genesis 4:1, “A Mistranslation,” I provided some history on how our Bible came into being; noting how the Scriptures became somewhat corrupted. The process of preserving the Scriptures began about 3 BC by 70 translators; thus called LXX, or the Septuagint. This was the Bible of Jesus and the Apostles. But since New Testament times the Scriptures became quite convoluted since the preservation process was taken over by the Masoretes, covering the period of 450 - 1000 AD.

The Bruising of Christ

by Pastor Jim Jester

March 31, 2024

SCRIPTURE READING: Isaiah 53:1-6

We'll start today with the Apostle's Creed.  The Creed outlines the basic doctrines of the Christian faith: Jesus Christ came as incarnate Deity; was tortured, crucified and died for our atonement; resurrected from the grave for our redemption and sanctification; then ascended to the Father; from whence He shall come in judgment, bringing to earth the restitution of all things. The Creed exemplifies basic Christian doctrine.

Another Mistranslation

By Jim Jester

March 10, 2024

SCRIPTURE READING: Genesis 4:1-2

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.” (Gen. 4:1)

Most people reading this will conclude, Well, that's perfectly clear, Adam was the father of Cain.” But this assumption conflicts with New Testament references to Cain. We would expect this from judeo-Christianity, but this also seems to be the same response by some in Christian Identity. Unless one can grasp the true significance of Genesis 4:1, much of the balance of Scripture will remain a mystery. To show that the Hebrew of Genesis 4:1 is indeed corrupted, I will use the following two witnesses:

Memorial Stones

by Pastor Jim Jester

February 25, 2024

SCRIPTURE READING: Joshua 4:1-3

It is a new year, January and February have special significance, so I thought of Memorials. I need not mention what February is about; besides the Dresden holocaust against Germany on 13-14 February, 1945.

January is often referred to as “Generals Month” since no less than four famous Confederate Generals claimed January as their birth month: James Longstreet, Jan. 8, 1821, Robert E. Lee, Jan. 19, 1807, Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson, Jan. 21, 1824, and George Pickett, Jan. 28, 1825. It is ironic that MLK day sits between two of these birthdays, Lee and Jackson.

Lee-Jackson Day was a state holiday in Virginia begun in 1889. Its observation was eliminated in 2020, replaced by Election Day as a state holiday. Confederate History month, begun in 1994, happens to be in April because the Confederate Memorial Day falls during this month. It has been observed by seven southern states.

Of course we realize that all Confederate memorials have been under attack and nearly all of them removed. The Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, was the first installation on Monument Avenue in 1890, and would ultimately be the last monument removed from that site. The statue was taken down on September 8, 2021, then sent to storage.

The Preeminence of Christ

by Pastor Jim Jester

February 4, 2024

SCRIPTURE READING: Colossians 1:15-18

The epistle of Paul to the Colossians was written primarily to deal with the doctrinal heresy reported by Epaphras. The strange doctrine is not described directly, but we can infer its nature from what Paul says. It was a mixture of Judaism and some early form of Gnosticism which taught that Jesus was superhuman, but not truly God. He was greater than mankind, but not great enough to be the Savior. Thus those who believe in Christ must also go through angels to get to deeper levels of spirituality.

The Sin Nature

by Pastor Jim Jester

January 14, 2024

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12:1-2

The subject of the doctrine on Original Sin, also known as the Sin Nature and other terms (as we shall see), always brings up questions. What is it; how many are there; is it defined in Genesis? But this is not the purpose of this sermon, so I won’t be listing the sins that occurred in the Garden of Eden or sins that similarly plague us today.

The Sin Nature, or “sin” (singular), is a part of our fallen mortal nature and personality that we inherited from Adam. It is not any particular “thing,” for many things can be sinful if they hinder our fellowship with God. It is those times when we fall short of what we, or what God expects of us. It is inward sins that we feel inside, such as: impatience, anger, or jealousy; even though we do not act upon them.

Legacy of Cain

CAIN DISCLOSES HIS IDENTITY

by Pastor Jim Jester

December 31, 2023

Scripture Reading Genesis 4:16

“And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.”

A few years ago, when I took this job as a pastor of our church, someone wrote me from our web site with questions about Paganism. I didn’t have many answers. But perhaps this sermon on the legacy of Cain will be helpful to some of those questions.

We don’t know much about Cain after this statement from the Scripture above. The Bible gives a very brief list of his family in chapter four of Genesis, but it does not give any further details, such as the ages or the years that had passed on any of them, such as we see with the genealogy of Adam in chapter five. What can we surmise from this? Could it be that God is not concerned about those who are not of His family, but is rather much more concerned about His own family?

Little Known Facts about Jews

With Jews We Lose

Pastor Jim Jester

December 10, 2023

Scripture Reading: John 8:31-32

First I should discuss and define the term “ethno-religious” as it pertains to jews.   Ethno, of course, is from ethnic, signifying that there is a genetic (or racial) aspect to the religion that one follows. I made up the term; only to find later that it is not a new term. The concept certainly is not new, and is demonstrated throughout the history of the world: When we think of western culture, we think Caucasian and Christian; when we think of the East, we think of the Orientals and Buddhism; when we think of the Middle East, we find quite a racial mix (mostly cousins of Abraham) among Muslims and Jews. So, it becomes obvious that there is a connection between race and religion; although there are many racial cross-overs into other religions. It is not always simply a matter of “belief,” it is something deeper. Could genetics be involved? I think so: for just a casual observation of the various nations and societies seems to support this conclusion.

The purpose of this list of little-known facts is to draw attention to the public of the very serious national threat from the anti-Christ Jews of our day — in fact, all of history if the truth be known. This list will educate the readers about evils they could never even imagine from the most prominent ethno-religious sect in the world, the Jews. Christian Identity likewise, is an ethno-religion, because our faith and our race are tied together by the covenant God made with Abraham. It is as simple as that. Those called “Jews” today have no connection as such, but they are an ethno-religious society which they defend vehemently.

A Parable of Zacchaeus

The Gospel According to Zacchaeus

by Pastor Jim Jester

November 19, 2023

SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 19:1-9

INTRODUCTION

This sermon will be a little different for me. I do not consider myself a story teller. But Jesus told stories: we call them Parables, and He used them to illustrate something or teach a lesson.

Someone has said that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. At first glance of my subtitle, one might wonder if there is such a book as the Gospel According to Zacchaeus. Perhaps among the lost books of the Bible? No, there isn’t! But if there were, the narrative would probably go something like the following.

A parable may or may not be true.  But in the case of Zacchaeus, I believe it is true. Now, what I’m about to tell you is pure speculation, but not without historical evidence from the Gospels.