Victory Bible Church

Just a reminder that our weekly remote prayer meeting starts in one hour.

At sunset today the Jewish holiday Hanukkah will begin. It will continue until night fall on Friday, December 18. Hanukkah is a unique Jewish feast/holiday as it is one that is not celebrated in the Old Testament, but is celebrated in the New Testament. We read Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch(John 10:22-23). Hanukkah is a holiday/feast to remember an event that happened during the Inter...testmental Years. Many do not realize or comprehend the span of time that occurs between the end of Malachi and the beginning of Matthew. There is approximately four hundred years, which is about the same amount of time between the founding of Jamestown, Virginia and now. Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Lights, remembers when the temple was desecrated by Antiochus IV and the restoration and purification of the temple after this event. The Christmas season we also put up lights and it to can be considered a Festival of Lights. We celebrate when the Light of the World, Jesus Christ came down to this Dark World. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world (John 9:5). In Matthews’s Gospel, Jesus declares You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14). We as believers in Jesus are to shine His light, to be a mirror of His light and reflect it. So often I fail to do this myself, it is an ongoing struggle to shine His light and let me be a mirror for Jesus. How are you doing being a light for Jesus this week? Take some some time to breath and refocus on Jesus through prayer today. Tonight is our weekly remote prayer meeting at 6 PM. The call in number is 19292056099 and the code is a 316724715 followed by #. I hope you will be able to join in tonight and each Thursday. - Pastor Corey

Intercession. Do you ever make intercessory prayer for others? Do you ever plead for Jesus to make intercession in the life of a person? Recently, I read an article about Intercessory Prayer and how we sometimes need to be reminded that God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit, intercede on our behalf. Last year when I was preaching through Romans 8 we mentioned these verses. "The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we o...ught, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27). "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us" (Romans 8:34). In our prayer life when we do not know what to pray (which sometimes when watching the news or when we are at our wit's end this is so true), do we go before God and humbling ask Him to intercede on our behalf for the person on our heart or for the need before us. Many times I have to just say "God, You know the answer, I put it in Your hands" and leave it at that. I do not know the answer, because I am just seeing one small piece of a giant masterpiece that God is making. He know. Let Him intercede on our behalf. Tomorrow night is our corporate prayer meeting at 6 PM. We bring before the throne of grace the needs of those facing physical issues (cancer, COVID, and other diseases), spiritual issues (pleading that they would come to Jesus Christ), and many other needs. We also come before the LORD with praises, thanksgivings, and confessing our sin. Yet, when we do not know what to pray whether in church prayer meeting or in our private time, let us remember that we have God as our intercessor. #VictoryBiblePA #Prayer #Intercession #PrayerMeeting

Why do we celebrate Christmas? We celebrate because the perfect, sinless Lamb of God came into the world to redeem fallen humankind. His name was Jesus and He paid a bill so large that you could never pay for it. Turn from your sin (anything you think, say, or do that displeases God), repent, and turn to Him. He offers you the best gift you will ever receive, eternal life. #VictoryBiblePA #Christmas #JesusChrist

Why do we celebrate Christmas? That is the question we started to look at last Sunday. We celebrate Christmas, because we had a problem that we could not solve, sin. The payment for sin is death, eternal separation from God. Yet, if we could make the payment, who could? We celebrate Christmas, because Jesus Christ came into the world and would go to the cross to pay the bill we could not pay. He would pay it in full. #VictoryBiblePA #Christmas #JesusChrist