Kirkley Chapel Church

UPDATE: Due to road and weather conditions, we will not be meeting for church tomorrow (2/7). We will not be online either as Pastor Tom wants to continue his series on Jesus’ parables in person

Romans 12:18 "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." In an ambulance ride to a Kansas City hospital, my dad believed he had a life-after-death experience. He said he remembered seeing the Holt water tower and the next thing he knew, he was with Jesus. Jesus spoke to him and said: "You are at peace with men and ready to enter in if you choose." Dad chose to come back, because he didn't want to leave mom and us kids and grandkids. I cer...tainly believed dad when he told me his experience, because he was not the kind of man to make something like that up. Some time later, we found out that dad had passed away in the ambulance just south of Holt and the ambulance crew had to resuscitate him. As awesome an experience it was for dad, there was one thing that concerned him. Even though Jesus didn't say it, he felt Jesus spoke to him in such a way that the next time he might not be ready. I've often thought about dad's experience and have came to a couple of conclusions: #1) It must be important to live peaceably with all men as much as it depends on us, since Jesus spoke these words to dad. Not everyone is going to like us, and in this present world that we live in, we will not always be at peace with others. However, God expects us to love, forgive, and treat others like we would like to be treated, even if they don't do likewise towards us. #2) Jesus taught on more than one occasion for us to persevere and that "he who endures to the end shall be saved." In other words, it is important for us to not give up on our faith in Jesus and to turn away from Him. He should be our Lord, everyday, for our entire life, and then we will never need to worry about our place in His eternal kingdom. I love and miss you dad and I hope it's okay that I shared your personal testimony with others. Hopefully it will encourage all of us to live at peace with men and to live each and every day like this may be the day we see Jesus face-to-face and that we need to be prepared by making sure He is our Lord. See more

Daniel Chapter 5

Parable of the Sower Matthew 13:1-9;18-23;28:18-20

Isaiah 55:6 "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near." None of us really knows for sure what tomorrow will bring. Today may be the first of many more days to come, or today may be the last day of my life here in the flesh. James 4:14 reminds us that "you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." Not only do we not know the time of our death, we do no...t know the hour of the return of Jesus for those who are alive and remain at the time of His coming. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 warns us "for you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night." Therefore, we need to heed the words of the prophet Isaiah to "seek the Lord while He may be found" and to "call upon Him while He is near." For some, God may seem so far away that you could never find or reach Him. That is simply not true. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father making intercession on our behalf. The Holy Spirit of God has came to us here on earth to dwell among and within us. Even as I write this, I have the Holy Bible, the holy word of God, right here beside me. In other words, God is near! He is as close as one prayer away! I can be filled and touched directly by the Holy Spirit of God! I can hold His words of life and truth right here in my own hands! As long as their is blood pumping through our veins and their is air in our lungs, it is not too late to seek and call upon the Lord, because He is right here ready and waiting for us to do so! See more

Daniel 2:47-49, 3:28-30, 4:24-37

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. As I write this message, our Presidential Election is four days away. We as the body of Christ need to get out and vote! If you believe and accept the teachings of the Bible, it is impossible to separate church and state. In fact, according to the scriptures, God appoints the governing authorities himself. How...ever, history has proven that God appoints leaders of a nation according to the hearts of the people and to fulfill His purpose. In other words, when the people of a nation trust in the Lord and walk according to His statutes, God will assign them a leader that reflects their hearts intent. When a people turn from God and attempt to remove Him from their public conscience, God will turn them over to wicked leaders according to their heart’s desire. As a disciple of Jesus, you may say that since God appoints a nation’s leaders, what’s the use for me to vote? We are extremely blessed to live under a form of government that is intended to be ruled by the people for the people. In order for that to happen, each one of us is given a say and collectively we have control of our government through our vote. Cumulatively, our votes will demonstrate our nation’s heart towards God, and probably never in America’s history has the line been so clearly drawn between our political parties as to those who support Judeo-Christian values and principles and believe our government should be based on those beliefs and those who support the separation of church from state and the removal of Judeo-Christian fundamentals from our government system. Not only that, the parties have been clear as to who stands strongly with Israel and who has a history of giving them more than just a cold shoulder. As a Christian, we should look at each party’s platform through a biblical worldview as to make our decisions on how to vote. When you read the first sentence in Romans 13:1, you’ll notice that we are all subject to our governing authority and no Christian wants to be governed by an ungodly government. If we as a people no longer believe the Bible to be the truth and we no longer look at the world through a biblical perspective, then tragically our fate is sealed, as God will turn us over to our idolatrous desires and we will experience the collapse of the United States of America. If, however, we as a people repent of our sinful ways and put our trust in Jesus, He will heal our land and bless us indeed. We as Christians need to stand in the gap on behalf of our nation through prayer, but we also need to stand in the gap on behalf of the Lord through our vote! See more

Kirkley Chapel Church Revelation 4:1-2, 5:1-14

The Bethany Food Pantry has 100 Second Harvest food boxes for ANYONE who would like one. They will be open 1:00-3:00 tomorrow.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." This verse has came up and has been a topic of discussion on two different occasions this week, so I thought it might be a "word in season" that God is desiring for us to remember, understand, and use to build our fait...h and assurance in Him. We have often heard people say that "God will not give you more than you can handle," which is intended to be reassuring to us as believers and is basically a paraphrase from this verse. The word "temptation" in this verse is most literally translated from it's original context as "a putting to proof by experiment." In other words, temptation here means being put through a trial as a test of our faith. God allows us to go through various trials and tests in life, and some are even tragically difficult. However, this verse also reminds us that we are not alone. No matter what you may be going through, someone else has already experienced the same temptation and has gotten through it, so you can too. This verse also assures us that God is faithful--we can count on Him to be there when we need Him, even when we are most desperate! This verse goes on to say that God will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able, because with every test, He will provide an escape for you to get you through it. In other words, there are certainly things in life that you may not be able to get through on your own, but with God's love and strength, He will bring you through. The word temptation can also be used to describe an internal desire of our flesh or an enticement from Satan to participate in sinful and harmful behavior. This type of temptation does not come from God, because the Bible tells us that God does not tempt us to do evil. I have used this verse to encourage those struggling with drug addiction that God loves you and is faithful. The devil uses drug addiction as a tool to destroy lives, however, there is not an addiction, no matter how strong it is, that God can't deliver you from! He can open doors that no man can shut and He can close doors that no man can open, and greater is the Holy Spirit of God that is in us than the devil that is in this world! Put your trust in Jesus and He can begin to control the events, people, and circumstances that help in contributing to the drug use. What so often seems impossible to us is not impossible to God! In closing, there is one last verse that has to be said that goes right along with 1 Corinthians 10:13 and that is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." See more

Kirkley Chapel Service Dave Polley covering for Tom

Ephesians 4:3 "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." One of the scripture verses that I use in a wedding ceremony is Ephesians 4:3. It is a reminder to the couple that in order to have the Spirit of God present in their marriage, they need to make every effort to maintain a peaceful relationship with one another. The same is true for their entire household. To feel the presence of God in their home, they need to strive to provide a peaceful en...vironment for the entire family. However, this verse was written to the church, the body of Christ, as a reminder that to be able to walk together in unity, we must first of all be humble, kind, patient, and love one another (Ephesians 4:2), but we must also make it a priority to be at peace with each other. Being in discord and conflict with one another quenches the Holy Spirit and hinders the moving of God amongst us. I think we can easily get it wrong by thinking that if the Holy Spirit is present, then there will automatically be peace, but if you read the scripture carefully, we keep the unity of the Holy Spirit when we are operating together in a bond of peace. In all areas of your life, make every effort to be at peace with those around you and allow the Spirit of God to work in all of your circumstances! See more

Wednesday Night Bible Study October 14

1 Kings 16-19 Kirkley Chapel Church

Psalm 145:9 "The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works." There is so much negativity that surrounds us in this world that it becomes very easy for us to develop negative attitudes and behaviors ourselves. We begin to focus and almost continually think about what all is wrong in our lives and forget to recognize and acknowledge what all is good and right. We find ourselves grumbling and complaining about all that is bad rather than being thankfu...l for the innumerable blessings that we have been given. We catch ourselves using words that bring others around us down rather than using words that lift others up. We can easily get caught up in the fear and worry about what terrible things are happening or potentially could happen rather than having the faith that God will take care of us regardless of what is happening around us or to us. I have made a vow to God and to myself to be thankful everyday for all the blessings that God has given me. I want to be aware of God's presence within and around me, even if I don't feel it at the time. I want to recognize the work of God's hands, even in the smallest of things. I want to start waking up everyday with the attitude that this new day is a gift from God and to be thankful and appreciate all of His tender mercies that are present throughout my life. See more

Wednesday Night Bible Study

We will be starting a new weekly Bible study of Revelation beginning Wednesday, October 7, at 7pm @ Kirkley Chapel Church. Feel free to join us!