Saguaro Buttes Community Church

Our next sermon series will be a three (3) part series on “Investigating Angels, Demons, and the Devil”. This will be followed by a series on the Book or Romans which will begin on September 29th.
I had a request to do a sermon on the Devil/Satan, and thought that it would be good to cover the subject and to also include Angels and Demons. I have included the descriptive word, “investigating” because it best describes the approach I would like to take on this series.

The dictionary defines “investigating” as: “carry out a systematic or formal inquiry to discover and examine the facts of (an incident, allegation, etc.) so as to establish the truth” and secondly “carry out research or study into (a subject, typically one in a scientific or academic field) so as to discover facts or information”

So for 3 weeks beginning on September 5th, we will investigate the subject of angels, demons and the Devil. We will look at the origins, nature, characteristics, purpose and powers of these spiritual beings. I am sure you will be fascinated by what the Bible has to say so mark your calendars.

This week our Bible Study, a “Survey of the Bible”, will be meeting at the home of Chris & Marilu Norden who live in Academy Village on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 7:00 PM. Their address is 7679 S. Vivaldi Ct., Tucson AZ, 85747. Their phone number is 867-6975. We have been rotating this study to various homes as a nice way of getting to know each other. Last week we had a lively discussion on the Book of Genesis on various topics, like Creation vs. Evolution, the origin of Satan, the first sin, etc.. We will continue this discussion as we finish up the book of Genesis at the next meeting.

Rom. 12:19 “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”
Let’s face it, God does a better job at vengeance and justice then you or I. When I have been hurt, deceived, lied to, defrauded, and cheated by people I have once trusted, I instinctively want to strike back, get even, and hit back, but God says not to, that He will take care of it. I realize that I do not have infinite wisdom or knowledge but God does. He says my job is to pray for them and “bless those who curse you” and He will balance the scales. He will take care of us and bless us as we do.
Have you ever seen a dishonest business man or an unethical con artist, I am talking about real pond scum here, who are smart enough to play the system to cheat honest people out of their money and then get away with it, time after time. They will set up phony companies, LLC’s, borrow money, and then go bankrupt on purpose. They will rip off anyone and everyone, from relatives, to neighbors, even churches with their smooth slick flattering words. It is human for us to want to take our revenge, and it is okay to pursue legal means to try and stop the person from hurting other people and to recover what losses we might. But, realize God is all knowing and He will deal out the real justice that they deserve in the end. He does a much better job, if not in this life, in the next. Sometimes our heavenly Father will do it in the present tense, by destroying their business, by shutting one door after another on these charlatans and by exposing their lies and deception. Sometimes He works justice by taking away their property through foreclosure, bankruptcy,or  the IRS. The sad thing is that many times these people just don’t get it, and they keep making the same mistakes over and over again. They keep lying when the truth would serve them better. God wants us to pray for them, that they would come to true repentance and a real change of heart. As we pray for them our hearts change in the process and we become more Christ like.

Sunday the 22nd, is our monthly fellowship meal that follows the Sunday Morning services.  All are welcome and the theme for the meal is “Summer Salads”

At Saguaro Buttes on every 5th Sunday of the month (Which happens four (4) times a year) we have a share time. We ask people in the congregation who would like to share a talent, a song, a reading, or something to bless others, to share those talents. Some even bring short sermons, or play their guitar, read poetry, or share their testimony. Being a small church it makes it possible to do these kind of services. So if you are interested in sharing a talent, please call the office and we will put you on the schedule.

One vote, by a Federal Judge (Vaughn Walker) who is gay, voids the votes of over 7 million (7,000,0000) people of California, by overturning Proposition 8, the amendment that bans same sex marriage in California. It’s incredible that one person can overturn the votes of 7 million people and reject over 5000 years of Biblical Truth. We live in a dark period in our country spiritually. The Bible says in Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness”.
What can we do as Christians?
We can pray for Revival. We need Christians to stand up for the truth and have the courage to speak out. We need fearless preachers to “preach the Word” to reprove, rebuke and exhort, and call people to repentance. We need the church to be the church, and to stand up for what is right and show the love of Christ, regardless of what the rest of the world says. We need to remember, God is the ultimate Judge and in the end He has the final say not a federal judge or even the Supreme court. Be of good courage, we are not of this world.

We have started another Home Bible Study that will meet in various homes and will cover each book of the Bible, a “Bible Survey” which will try and give a clear and understandable overview of each book of the Bible.  Pastor Dave will be leading the study and will be providing a Notebook for all those in attendance. We will also be providing light refreshments, good conversation, open discussion, and great fellowship. The next study will be at Dudley & Michele Spooner’s home on Wednesday at 7:00 PM, August 11th. They live in Del Lago or Vail area.  For more information please call the office at 647-0994.

Do you ever ask the question, when listening to a sermon, “where is the beef?”  ”Where is the Bible?”  Are you tired of hearing “Sermon Lite”  Short Sermons with colorful video clips, plenty of illustrations and, funny stories, with a few Bible verses thrown in for good measure, that when you leave the service, you wonder did you really learn anything from the Bible, from God’s Word. You are not alone.

Biblical Worldview

One recent study of people attending church found that according to Barna Reasearch “The research indicated that everyone has a worldview, but relatively few people have a biblical worldview - even among devoutly religious people. The survey discovered that only 9% of born again Christians have such a perspective on life. The numbers were even lower among other religious classifications: Protestants (7%), adults who attend mainline Protestant churches (2%) and Catholics (less than one-half of 1%). The denominations that produced the highest proportions of adults with a biblical worldview were non-denominational Protestant churches (13%), Pentecostal churches (10%) and Baptist churches (8%).”

Why

Why do so few have a biblical worldview that claim to be Christians. I believe it is because we do not have Biblical Preaching in todays pulpit.   The Apostle Paul warned us about this. 2Tim. 4:1-4 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

At Saguaro Buttes we are committed to preaching the Bible Verse by Verse, Chapter by Chapter. We want a person who comes regularly to church services to learn “The Bible”.  We want you to go away saying, ” I learned something today about the Scriptures”.

Small churches of less than 100 people make up 59 %  (177,000) of the 300,000 congregations in the USA.  In other words, most church congregations are considered small. Why would someone want to go to a small congregation when a person can go to a Mega Church with a plethora of programs, ministries, and ministers to cater to a persons every need?

Here are a few reasons why some prefer a smaller church.

Stronger Sense of  family

A small church is one where almost everyone gets to know one another. We celebrate each others birthdays, anniversaries, and important days. We pray for each other when in the hospital, or sick, or have a death of a loved one.  It becomes like a weekly family reunion each Sunday. You know each other, you share your lives with each other.

Greater Opportunity to Grow

In small churches people are needed. If you have a music talent, teaching talent, cooking talent, etc. and want to serve, there are plenty of places to serve. In a large church you don’t always feel that sense of being needed or wanted. I have known a number of people over the years that want to go to a mega church because they want their anonymity. This is not an option at a small church, if you go for any length of time, you will get to know people and they will know you.  It’s a matter of choice.

We are currently in a sermon series on I Kings. Each week we take one or two chapters of this fascinating book and cover it verse by verse. Pastor Dave Hallstrom delivers the messages each week with an emphasis on learning some of the interesting passages in the Old Testament.

Living Well by Living Wisely

First Kings
20 Messages from First Kings

Chapter 1. How to Raise a Fool

2. Passing on your legacy, and a New Beginning

3. Where does True Wisdom Come

4. What is it like to be Richest Person who ever lived

5. How Do You Honor God with your Wealth

6/7. Building God’s House with Quality

8 How to Bring God Into Your House

9 Don’t Forget God’s Promises and Warnings

10. A Wisdom Greater than Solomon

11. Avoiding the Slippery Slope

12. How to Make Good Decisions

13. How Do You Deceive a Man of God

14. Reaping what You Sow

15/16. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

17. How God Provides in Dry Times

18. When Standing Up Means Standing Alone

19. When Life Gets You Down

20. How To Avoid Costly Mistakes

21. How Repentance Turns Away Judgement

22. Speaking the Truth when it’s not Popular