Non-denominational church serving Greensburg, Latrobe, Ligonier, Irwin and Jeannette, Pennsylvania

Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland

1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus are known as the Pastoral epistles in which Paul writes and commands the proper order of the New Testament Church. Paul writes to his son in the faith, Timothy, encouraging him to remain in Ephesus and complete the work he was called to, which is to command the Elders to teach no other doctrine but sound doctrine, which produces love and changes lives.

1 Timothy 1:1-11 - Teach No Other Doctrine

The Gospel we proclaim is historically grounded in the scriptures, and we find Truth for Life in the Word of God. 1 Corinthians reveals in Chapter 15 the specific details of the Gospel. Without each of the events: Christ first dying for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that He was buried and rose on the third day according to the scriptures, there would be no salvation possible for anyone. The details found today in Matthew 27 and 28 complete the teaching of Christ’s victory over the grave and the proof that there is life after death for all who follow Christ. What are we to do with such a miraculous message? Jesus completes the teaching of Matthew, telling us to Go Into All The World and Preach The Gospel, The Good News, to every living creature. May we as a Church Community follow His Will and spread this Good News to everyone.

Matthew 27:55-28:20 - Death, Burial and Resurrection

Today, we relive the history of Christ’s death for our sin. May the Lord open our hearts to understand more deeply what He went through for each of us, taking upon Himself the punishment we deserved for our sin and rebellion against our Creator God. May we be open to repent and ask God to change our hearts and make us more like Jesus; hating sin and it’s effects upon our lives, and those we love. Lord, free us from the bondage of sin and make us obedient to your ways that we might experience Abundant Life and joy in living.

Matthew 27:27-66 - Jesus Died For Me

Can you imagine God being arrested by the very people He created? Yet this had to occur in order for the death of Christ on the Cross to be accomplished. There was no other way for mankind to be redeemed, forgiven, and justified that we might inherit forgiveness of our sin and receive eternal life. The trials, denials, and betrayal were all part of the plan even though we see this as a setup. God the Holy Trinity set everything up for the sake of you and me finding the purpose of our existence. To bring us back into the union, friendship, and peace with our Creator God. To deliver us from the destruction of sin and death and give our lives a beautiful purpose. Peace with God and a relationship with Christ our Savior!

Matthew 26:47-75 - The Arrest Of Jesus

The Parable of the Talents teaches us about biblical stewardship. It's about the responsible management of something that He entrusts to those He cares for. God created us all with talents; we are to grow our gifts from God for His Glory. Each of us has a calling upon our lives. It is to reproduce the life of Christ in others by the work of the Holy Spirit. By this work, we can reach others in and through our lives. We have been created to bring God glory, and He gives us His Son as the gift that can transform life. The gift of Salvation is to be distributed to the world, so there is the fruit of souls being saved. His Will is that we bear much fruit. So the evidence of a good steward is that He be found faithful to His Lord doing what He had told us to do. Sowing seed, watering it, and God giving the increase and multiplying the talent.

Matthew 25:14-30 - The Parable of The Talents

When Jesus came to the world at His first coming, He came to be the Light that would shine amid the darkness of our sin. As we prepare for the Brightness of His Second Coming, we must first understand what it is like to be impacted by spiritual darkness. To live and walk in darkness is a horrible existence. Darkness destroys people's lives and brings people to despair and hopelessness. Spiritual darkness is caused by sin and not having any resources to be delivered into the Kingdom of Light. The purpose of Christ’s coming is that we might have the Light of Life as Jesus is The Light that eradicates the darkness of sin in all of our lives. Come to Jesus to light your path, so you no longer need to live in darkness.

Matthew 4:16 - The People Who Sat in Darkness Have Seen a Great Light

God has given us His Word, the Bible, to reveal Himself, His redemptive plan, His moral perfection and His eternal Love. God uses His Word to transform us to new creations in Him as well as prepare us for persecution and spiritual opposition. When we receive God’s Word, as the Word of God in truth, we experience it’s effective work in our lives. In verses 13-20 Paul expresses his gratitude to God for The Thessalonian Church who remained faithful and full of joy in persecution.

1 Thessalonians 2:13-20 - Joy in the Midst of Persecution

Last week, we ended with the declaration that Peter made to Jesus that He is The Christ, The Son of The Living God. Jesus told Peter that the only way he would know this was by direct revelation from God. We are all confronted daily with the Truth that Jesus is Lord of all, yet we live at times as though He isn’t. For us, like Peter, we have to experience daily encounters with the Truth given to us by the Spirit of God through the Word of God. Christ becomes to us not just Savior, but Lord, as we have a relationship with Him. We learn to live in ways that reflect Christ’s Lordship by humbling ourselves in daily living and yielding our will to His will as taught to us from His very teachings found in today’s Gospel reading. We will see and learn things today regarding the power and authority manifest in Christ’s interaction with Peter then with His Father witnessed by Peter, James, and John at The Transfiguration.

Matthew 16:15-17:8 - Who Do You Say I Am?

The Lord knows where we are with Him by what is sent and comes out of our lives. Our testimony of being followers of Jesus is that we are becoming more like Jesus everyday, and that our lives manifest His love, mercy, grace and truth. Today we study what that means.

Matthew 12:33-50 - A Tree Is Known By Its Fruit

When we become followers of Jesus Christ, we then begin to realize there is a cost to live for Him. It’s not a worthless cause to live for, but an honor to serve Him. Sacrifice is part of our daily journey as we live for Jesus. We turn from lives that used to be self-focused, to lives that are lived for Christ and His Kingdom. We are given the privilege to serve the Greatest person who ever lived - God incarnate, The Messiah, The Savior, Our Savior. He paid the cost for our sin, and we serve Him for a cost we could never repay.

Matthew 8:18-34 - Cost of Discipleship

Today, we continue with the Sermon On The Mount. Jesus continues His message in how to live as Children of God and Children of The Light. There is an expectation that is reflected on Jesus being clear regarding sin and attitudes we have when we don’t follow the teachings of Jesus. He truly has saved us to become like Him in all our daily dealings with life and people. We cannot live as Christ lived apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. We are incapable to live out these deep teachings apart from truly having the life of Christ dwelling within us and living out from us. These truths are not suggestions, but commands from the Lord.

Matthew 5:33-48 - Oaths, Retaliation and Love

Jesus teaching in this section of scripture describes the inability of sinners to obtain perfection by their own efforts. We evaluate our self-efforts to achieve God’s standards by what we don’t do that is sinful. However, Jesus says it’s not only the act of sin, but the thought of sin that is harbored within our hearts that declares us guilty of breaking His law. Jesus never said the law had no bearing upon human responsibility, but that we had to exceed by action our personal commitment to the law. Thank God only Jesus could fulfill the law perfectly, and by trusting in Christ, and His life, we through Him have the law fulfilled within us. He took our sin, all our breaking of His Commandments upon Himself; to forgive us and impute to us His perfect righteousness.

Matthew 5:17-26 - Christ’s Righteousness in Scripture

The beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry began the day He was Baptized. The Holy Trinity is seen participating together: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as Jesus is baptized. The reality of why Christ was born will now be manifest to the entire world and all of human history. That Christ alone fulfills all righteousness by His very life, God being manifest in the flesh, in His human life. Jesus didn’t need to repent for any sin, yet He was baptized and being sinless identified with us as sinners. Now He will enter into the reason for why He was born, as John says in his Gospel, Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. Because of Christ, we are set free from the power of sin!

Matthew 3:13-17 - The Baptism of Jesus

It’s amazing how God directs His Word to deal with every season of life as well as His time table for Christ’s return. Today, we move toward the completion of the Prophet Malachi’s vision of God’s redemptive plan for His people and the ungodly. As we study the Word of God, we are well aware that God does not ignore sin, nor does He hide from justice and eventual judgement. The Day of The Lord details the certain events that will transpire at the end of history. God will personally intervene in our world to accomplish His plan that was established before creation. We see this fulfilled in the period of the Tribulation, Second Coming, and continuing throughout the 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom. Then completed when the New Heaven and New Earth are established at the end of the Millennium.

Malachi 4:1-6 - Sun of Righteousness

When the hearts of fallen people try to do religious things apart from having a loving obedient relationship with God, everything seems like a waste of effort. There is no reward and no sense of blessing. The flesh profits nothing. Only the Spirit gives life. <br />
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Yet God chooses to remember and record the lives of His remnant, those who fear, honor, and respect The Lord and those who love talking about God and meditate and think often of The Lord. Malachi says there is a difference between the ones who serve God and the ones who don’t. God sees our lives. May we live our lives for His glory and renown.

When the hearts of fallen people try to do religious things apart from having a loving obedient relationship with God, everything seems like a waste of effort. There is no reward and no sense of blessing. The flesh profits nothing. Only the Spirit gives life. 

Yet God chooses to remember and record the lives of His remnant, those who fear, honor, and respect The Lord and those who love talking about God and meditate and think often of The Lord. Malachi says there is a difference between the ones who serve God and the ones who don’t. God sees our lives. May we live our lives for His glory and renown.

Malachi 3:13-18 - People Complain, God Remembers

We know from Bible history the first messenger preparing the way of the Lord was John The Baptist at Christ’s first coming. He had a message of Repentance. The second messenger is believed to be Elijah, prior to Christ’s Second Coming. When Christ returns prior to His actual Second Coming, the World will experience what is called The Day of The Lord. In this section of scripture, we see the coming judgement upon all who live in habitual sin and do not fear the Lord. Yet in this prophecy, we also see the heart of God crying out to Israel to Return to Me, and His always faithful promise, and I will return to you. May we all come to realize these are the days to get right with God and to surrender to all His Ways.

Malachi 3:1-7 - The Coming Messenger

In the days of Israel’s long journey throughout Old Testament History, we have learned from their example. They were rebellious, unyielding, forgot God’s judgements, and mercy. They were given help and after God delivered they would forget His mercy presuming upon His Grace. The people, along with the Spiritual leaders and the Priests, would take their relationship with God casually; cutting corners in worship, devotion and personal sacrifices. God speaks in today's message on their need to repent and follow Him with all of their heart - not unlike today’s Church.

Malachi 2:1-9 - God Warns The Priests

We continue today to reflect on the offenses the priest's made in not offering to The Lord the best offering. Because of their hearts of spiritual declension and apathy, their ministry was rejected by God. However, The Lord is always merciful as He corrects His people to repent and confess their wrongs so He can restore them to His work and that they would once again have the joy of their salvation. In today’s church worldwide, there is correction going on at all levels of His Bride by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit to revive and restore His people to a passionate and holy relationship with Himself. Our church community is part of God’s work of spiritual renewal. Pray for one another to be all we can be for His Glory and that our offerings are not polluted by sin and rebellion against God.

Malachi 1:10-14 - Polluted Offerings (Part 2)

When Spiritual declension marks a nation there is a need for the Church to repent and turn back to God.  In this passage God speaks to Solomon and the Church sharing the 4 actions that bring about revival.

2 Chronicles 7:12-16 - Revival Birthed by Prayer

As Christians and leaders, we must recognize true Worship of God comes from us giving our very best from the heart. What is acceptable is our broken and contrite hearts that God will not despise. Israel was giving to God a blind, sick and lame sacrifice that depicted the condition of their hearts as being bored and out of living communion and fellowship with God. As a result, their lives became empty of substance and meaning as their Worship became mere dead religion and not living, thriving, and loving for the many blessings God had provided. We learn as modern day believers how to truly Worship God with our hearts.

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