Fellowship Renewed Church

The Year of the Lord’s Favor (Isaiah 61:1-11)

Preaching/ teaching by Elder Jimmy White.
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,    because the Lord has anointed meto bring good news to the poor;    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captives,    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,    and the day of vengeance of our God;    to comfort all who mourn;3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,the oil of gladness instead of mourning,    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;that they may be called oaks of righteousness,    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;    they shall raise up the former devastations;they shall repair the ruined cities,    the devastations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;you shall eat the wealth of the nations,    and in their glory you shall boast.7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;    they shall have everlasting joy.
8 For I the Lord love justice;    I hate robbery and wrong;I will faithfully give them their recompense,    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations,    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;all who see them shall acknowledge them,    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;    my soul shall exult in my God,for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise    to sprout up before all the nations."
Isaiah 61:1-11 ESV
May 21, 2023

Everything In Its Time (Isaiah 59:15b-60:22)

Preaching/ teaching by Pastor Eric Williams.
"The Lord saw it, and it displeased him    that there was no justice.16 He saw that there was no man,    and wondered that there was no one to intercede;then his own arm brought him salvation,    and his righteousness upheld him.17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,    and a helmet of salvation on his head;he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,    and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,    wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;    to the coastlands he will render repayment.19 So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,    and his glory from the rising of the sun;for he will come like a rushing stream,    which the wind of the Lord drives.
20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,    to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.
21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
60 Arise, shine, for your light has come,    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,    and thick darkness the peoples;but the Lord will arise upon you,    and his glory will be seen upon you.3 And nations shall come to your light,    and kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see;    they all gather together, they come to you;your sons shall come from afar,    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.5 Then you shall see and be radiant;    your heart shall thrill and exult,because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,    the wealth of the nations shall come to you.6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;    all those from Sheba shall come.They shall bring gold and frankincense,    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you;    the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,    and I will beautify my beautiful house.
8 Who are these that fly like a cloud,    and like doves to their windows?9 For the coastlands shall hope for me,    the ships of Tarshish first,to bring your children from afar,    their silver and gold with them,for the name of the Lord your God,    and for the Holy One of Israel,    because he has made you beautiful.
10 Foreigners shall build up your walls,    and their kings shall minister to you;for in my wrath I struck you,    but in my favor I have had mercy on you.11 Your gates shall be open continually;    day and night they shall not be shut,that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,    with their kings led in procession.12 For the nation and kingdom    that will not serve you shall perish;    those nations shall be utterly laid waste.13 The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,    the cypress, the plane, and the pine,to beautify the place of my sanctuary,    and I will make the place of my feet glorious.14 The sons of those who afflicted you    shall come bending low to you,and all who despised you    shall bow down at your feet;they shall call you the City of the Lord,    the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,    with no one passing through,I will make you majestic forever,    a joy from age to age.16 You shall suck the milk of nations;    you shall nurse at the breast of kings;and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior    and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
17 Instead of bronze I will bring gold,    and instead of iron I will bring silver;instead of wood, bronze,    instead of stones, iron.I will make your overseers peace    and your taskmasters righteousness.18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land,    devastation or destruction within your borders;you shall call your walls Salvation,    and your gates Praise.
19 The sun shall be no more    your light by day,nor for brightness shall the moon    give you light;but the Lord will be your everlasting light,    and your God will be your glory.20 Your sun shall no more go down,    nor your moon withdraw itself;for the Lord will be your everlasting light,    and your days of mourning shall be ended.21 Your people shall all be righteous;    they shall possess the land forever,the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,    that I might be glorified.22 The least one shall become a clan,    and the smallest one a mighty nation;I am the Lord;    in its time I will hasten it."
Isaiah 59:15b-60:22 ESV
May 14, 2023

The Verdict is In (Isaiah 59:1-15a)

Preaching/ teaching by Pastor Eric Williams.
"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,    or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;2 but your iniquities have made a separation    between you and your God,and your sins have hidden his face from you    so that he does not hear.3 For your hands are defiled with blood    and your fingers with iniquity;your lips have spoken lies;    your tongue mutters wickedness.4 No one enters suit justly;    no one goes to law honestly;they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,    they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.5 They hatch adders' eggs;    they weave the spider's web;he who eats their eggs dies,    and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.6 Their webs will not serve as clothing;    men will not cover themselves with what they make.Their works are works of iniquity,    and deeds of violence are in their hands.7 Their feet run to evil,    and they are swift to shed innocent blood;their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;    desolation and destruction are in their highways.8 The way of peace they do not know,    and there is no justice in their paths;they have made their roads crooked;    no one who treads on them knows peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,    and righteousness does not overtake us;we hope for light, and behold, darkness,    and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.10 We grope for the wall like the blind;    we grope like those who have no eyes;we stumble at noon as in the twilight,    among those in full vigor we are like dead men.11 We all growl like bears;    we moan and moan like doves;we hope for justice, but there is none;    for salvation, but it is far from us.12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,    and our sins testify against us;for our transgressions are with us,    and we know our iniquities:13 transgressing, and denying the Lord,    and turning back from following our God,speaking oppression and revolt,    conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
14 Justice is turned back,    and righteousness stands far away;for truth has stumbled in the public squares,    and uprightness cannot enter.15 Truth is lacking,    and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey."
Isaiah 59:1-15a ESV
May 7, 2023

Peace to the Far and Near (Isaiah 56:9-57:21)

Preaching/ teaching by Elder Sam Taber.
Isaiah 56:9-57:21 ESV
April 30, 2023

God Gathers the Outcasts (Isaiah 56:1-8)

Preaching/ teaching by Eric Williams.
"Thus says the Lord:“Keep justice, and do righteousness,for soon my salvation will come,    and my righteousness be revealed.2 Blessed is the man who does this,    and the son of man who holds it fast,who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,    “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;and let not the eunuch say,    “Behold, I am a dry tree.”4 For thus says the Lord:“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,    who choose the things that please me    and hold fast my covenant,5 I will give in my house and within my walls    a monument and a name    better than sons and daughters;I will give them an everlasting name    that shall not be cut off.
6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,    and to be his servants,everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,    and holds fast my covenant—7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;their burnt offerings and their sacrifices    will be accepted on my altar;for my house shall be called a house of prayer    for all peoples.”8 The Lord God,    who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,“I will gather yet others to him    besides those already gathered.”
Isaiah 56:1-8 ESV
April 23, 2023

The Provisions of God (Isaiah 55:1-12)

Preaching/ teaching by Pastor Eric Williams 
“Come, everyone who thirsts,    come to the waters;and he who has no money,    come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milk    without money and without price.2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,    and delight yourselves in rich food.3 Incline your ear, and come to me;    hear, that your soul may live;and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,    my steadfast, sure love for David.4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,    a leader and commander for the peoples.5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,    and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,    for he has glorified you.
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;    call upon him while he is near;7 let the wicked forsake his way,    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven    and do not return there but water the earth,making it bring forth and sprout,    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;    it shall not return to me empty,but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For you shall go out in joy    and be led forth in peace;the mountains and the hills before you    shall break forth into singing,    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
Isaiah 55:1-12 ESV
April 16, 2023

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Preaching/ teaching by Pastor Eric Williams. 
Easter Sunday 
April 9, 2023

Fasting and Prayer (Isaiah 58 and other texts)

Preaching/ teaching by Pastor Eric Williams.
Isaiah 58 and other texts
April 2, 2023

The Servants of the Lord: Their Heritage and Vindication (Isaiah 54:1-17)

Preaching/ teaching by Pastor Eric Williams. 
“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;    break forth into singing and cry aloud,    you who have not been in labor!For the children of the desolate one will be more    than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,    and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;do not hold back; lengthen your cords    and strengthen your stakes.3 For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,    and your offspring will possess the nations    and will people the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;for you will forget the shame of your youth,    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.5 For your Maker is your husband,    the Lord of hosts is his name;and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,    the God of the whole earth he is called.6 For the Lord has called you    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,like a wife of youth when she is cast off,    says your God.7 For a brief moment I deserted you,    but with great compassion I will gather you.8 In overflowing anger for a moment    I hid my face from you,but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”    says the Lord, your Redeemer.
9 “This is like the days of Noah to me:    as I swore that the waters of Noah    should no more go over the earth,so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,    and will not rebuke you.10 For the mountains may depart    and the hills be removed,but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
11 “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,    behold, I will set your stones in antimony,    and lay your foundations with sapphires.12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,    your gates of carbuncles,    and all your wall of precious stones.13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord,    and great shall be the peace of your children.14 In righteousness you shall be established;    you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;    and from terror, for it shall not come near you.15 If anyone stirs up strife,    it is not from me;whoever stirs up strife with you    shall fall because of you.16 Behold, I have created the smith    who blows the fire of coals    and produces a weapon for its purpose.I have also created the ravager to destroy;17     no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord    and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 54:1-17 ESV
March 26, 2023

With His Wounds We are Healed (Part VI: Isaiah 53:10-12)

Preaching/ teaching by Elder Sam Taber. 
"Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;    he has put him to grief;when his soul makes an offering for guilt,    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,    make many to be accounted righteous,    and he shall bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,because he poured out his soul to death    and was numbered with the transgressors;yet he bore the sin of many,    and makes intercession for the transgressors."
Isaiah 53:10-12 ESV
March 19, 2023