Berkshire Hills Baptist Church
190 Pleasant Street - Route 102, Lee, MA 01238
413-243-0837 or Contact us on Facebook or email!
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God's forgiveness for those who confess

9/28/2014

 
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9
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     Is there any hope for those who, after having accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, have fallen back into sin? No sin is too small or too big that it does not need forgiveness. Perhaps you were rude to a clerk at the store; maybe you told a little ‘white lie’; or maybe you have a sinful habit like looking with lust toward others either in the movies or on your computer. The reality is that sometimes Christians may still sin; even though John says our spirits can never sin (1 John 5:18), if we are not careful - we can sometimes walk back in darkness. What hope do we have?

     First, realize that disobeying God is not inevitable. This verse does not say “when we confess our sin”, but “IF we confess our sin”. As a child of God, we should not go looking for sin or assume that we can’t help but fall every now and then. This verse is not a license to do wrong, but rather a help for those who are truly struggling to be godly in this evil world.

     Second, we ought to know we are not alone in fighting the flesh. Sin affects all of us in different ways. As we strive for the holiness that Christ Jesus has asked of us - you may catch the attention of the evil one who will do all he can to place enticing, worldly pleasures before you. But understand we are all struggling with our sin nature and the way to overcome it is to choose not to be conformed to this world, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of our mind by reading the Bible! (Romans 12:1-2) 

     Third, confess your sins to God and God alone. No one, not a priest, a pastor, a parent, a friend, or a spouse can act as a mediator and forgive your sins. Only Jesus can forgive your sins, but you must first confess each one of them to Him. To confess means to acknowledge we have done wrong according to God’s word and recognize we may have hurt people along the way. When we agree with God that we have done wrong, He forgives us and cleanses us! Hallelujah! 

To learn more about God’s forgiveness, listen to the sermon below!


MP3 Download Link
(right click and choose 'save link as' to download)

Do you want God's wisdom?

9/29/2013

 
“This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” James 3:15-16 KJV
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The difference between the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God is simply amazing. God's wisdom does not cause us to do wrong or hurt other people.  God's wisdom holds us together.  On the other hand, following the wisdom of common, contemporary thinking leads us away from our loving Father. In some instances, worldly wisdom may cause us to want to get angry with people every time they don't agree with us; then we wonder why there is confusion and hurt. 

If you realize you are following the wisdom of the world in your life and you want to change - what type of wisdom should we have? 


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God's good and perfect gifts!

8/18/2013

 
James 1:17 - "17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."
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There are many gifts that our heavenly Father might give to us on a daily basis; but for those who are walking in a relationship with Christ, we need the gift of overcoming sin and living in holiness.  Consider God's goodness to us:  remembering God's goodness will keep us from sin.



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Taste that the Lord is Good

5/5/2013

 
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.  1 Peter 2:3
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In some marathons, some runners choose to race carrying a full back pack; while that may not stop someone from finishing the race, it could slow them down from obtaining the goal.  While there is something to be said of endurance training , in the Christian life – we need to be sure we are not running the race with our backpack of sin.  Otherwise, it could slow us down or even stop us all together.



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1 Peter 5:8 - Grace Overcoming Satan

2/5/2013

 
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour"
1 Peter 5:8
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While it is true that sometimes circumstances or even self can bring  suffering and pain in our lives, there is also a chance that Satan will be allowed by the Lord to cause us affliction.  In the book of Job, we learn that in order to show a great example of faithfulness in all things, God allowed the devil to cause affliction on Job.



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    Pastor Doug Mann

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