Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Election Day Sermon, Applying Biblical Principles to Government, Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle



Body Network Personhood Florida Bryan Longworth
We read this morning from Psalm 33 about how Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and that nations are not protected by the multitude of their army or the power of their military force but there protected based on the protection of God God's sovereignty and that is most often based on whether that nation is obeying God's word or violating God's word.
In Proverbs 14:34 we read, “righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people” and in Proverbs 28:12, we learn, “When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory; But when the wicked arise, men hide themselves.” (Ref. vs. 28) (NKJV)
With something so important as the course of a nation, the course of a state, the course of a County, the course of a city, with something this large at stake, you would think that God's people would show up. You would thing that God's people would study to know the issues and would go out and exercise their right to vote. I believe that we have a responsibility to vote for godly men to rule over us. There are over 65 million evangelical Christians, yet in any given election only half or maybe less vote! In fact many Christians aren't even registered to vote. It's amazing when you look at the differences in some of the political races and the margin versus the amount of Christians not even registered to vote in those states. Here in the state of Florida, over 600,000 evangelical Christians are not registered to vote. That’s almost enough people to get the Florida ProLife Personhood Amendment on the ballot. We’re going to go to them so that we can register them so that they can sign the person had the Florida ProLife Personhood Amendment.
It is important that we realize it is important whether a nation obeys God or not. The people that we elect to rule over us hold important positions of power. We need to vote based on biblical issues based on their positions and we need to vote that way as opposed to voting for our pocketbook which sometimes happens.
Christians did come out strongly in 2008 but they voted for what they thought was hope and change a boy we sure have gotten some change, but we need some hope, and we actually need more change to return back to the founding principles
William Penn said, “Governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them; and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. Wherefore governments rather depend upon men than men upon governments. Let men be good and the government cannot be bad. . . . But if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn. . . .[T]hough good laws do well, good men do better; for good laws may want [lack] good men and be abolished or invaded by ill men; but good men will never want good laws nor suffer [allow] ill ones.”
[William Penn quoted from: Thomas Clarkson, Memoirs of the Private and Public Life of William Penn (London: Richard Taylor and Co., 1813) Vol. I, p.303.]
Matthias Burnett instructed his congregation, “Consider well the important trust . . . which God . . . [has] put into your hands. . . . To God and posterity you are accountable for [your rights and your rulers]. . . . Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you. . . . [L]ook well to the characters and qualifications of those you elect and raise to office and places of trust. . . . Think not that your interests will be safe in the hands of the weak and ignorant; or faithfully managed by the impious, the dissolute and the immoral. Think not that men who acknowledge not the providence of God nor regard His laws will be uncorrupt in office, firm in defense of the righteous cause against the oppressor, or resolutly oppose the torrent of iniquity. . . . Watch over your liberties and privileges - civil and religious - with a careful eye.”
[Matthias Burnett, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Norwalk, An Election Sermon, Preached at Hartford, on the Day of the Anniversary Election, May 12, 1803 (Hartford: Printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1803), pp. 27-28.]
Charles Finney warned, “[T]he time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics or the Lord will curse them. . . . Christians have been exceedingly guilty in this matter. But the time has come when they must act differently. . . . Christians seem to act as if they thought God did not see what they do in politics. But I tell you He does see it - and He will bless or curse this nation according to the course they [Christians] take [in politics].”
[Charles G. Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1868), Lecture XV, pp. 281-282.]
As we look at this election season and as we look at the presidential preference primary that is coming up for the Republican Party this Tuesday, if you are registered Republican and haven’t voted yet, I encourage you to go out and vote and let your voice be heard. We’re going to look at some of biblical issues surrounding this campaign and look at the various candidates and see how they match up to God's word , the Bible, because we do have a responsibility to vote for men that would uphold righteousness. We’re going to examine where the candidates stand on key issues such as: whether the candidates fear God and are just, whether they will defend the sanctity of human life, whether they will defend traditional marriage and the family, and whether they support limited or expansive government.
As Christians, we have an obligation to vote for godly men to represent us; however, electing the right man as president will not redeem America. To turn things around, we need to turn back to God with all of our heart, all or our soul, all of our mind, and all of our strength. We need to look into the perfect law of liberty (the Bible), examine our lives, families, churches, cities, states, and nation in light of God’s word, and where needed, we need to amend our ways. We need to humble ourselves, and pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked way so that our God can hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land. (2 Chronicles 7:13-14.)


Body Network Personhood Florida Bryan LongworthPastor Bryan Longworth is the number one ranked prolifer and Tea Party Advocate on Twitter (@BryanLongworth), serves as the director of Personhood FL, a prolife organization working to pass the Florida ProLife Personhood Amendment that will end abortion in FL, as the associate pastor at Covenant Tabernacle in Port St. Lucie, FL, and as the director of SOHL, Sanctity of Human Life of the Treasure Coast. Longworth is a Wall Builders Black Robe Regiment Pastor and a Family Research Council (FRC) Watchmen on the Wall Pastor. Longworth has participated in the Alliance Defense Fund's (ADF) Pulpit Freedom Sunday since 2010. Longworth continues to be involved in the pro-life movement and in calling the church and our nation to repentance. The church and America needs revival and reformation like never before. The blood of over 55 million children cries from the ground for vengeance, and God will avenge! God send us a true move of God lest we perish in our iniquity!


Covenant Tabernacle World Outreach Center

Covenant Tabernacle World Outreach Center in Port Saint Lucie Florida is a nondenominational, charismatic reformed church that believes the Pentecostal gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to believers today. We believe God has called us to worship, proclaim His word, and Disciple the nations in obedience to His commandments.

Vibrant Worship

At Covenant Tabernacle, we believe in worshiping God "with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30 - NKJV) As a part of our worship, we blow the Shofar as blown in ancient Jewish worship.

Powerful, Bible based Preaching

We believe that the word of God is true (2 Samuel 7:28) and that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV) We encourage all believers to develop a Biblical Worldview that shapes our view on not only our personal life but also our family, friends, loved ones, church, and civil government.

Discipleship

We believe in following Christ's Great Commission to "'go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV) As such, we believe in discipling individuals, families, communities, cities, states, and nations in obedience to God's word.

Personhood FL Launches New Florida ProLife Personhood Amendment Petition!

Sermon, 12-18-11, What Kind of Nation Have We Become When We Value Possessions More Than Human Life, Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Every Region, Every County, Every City, Every Church, Every Pastor for Life!

Petitioning for Personhood Florida's ProLife Constitutional Amendment to End AbortionI have a dream that one day all innocent human life will be protected by love and by law in Florida. For this to happen, we need your help to make the case for life in every region, every county, every city, and every church. Indeed, we need every pastor in the state of Florida to present the prolife personhood petition to their church.

In reference to salvation, the Apostle Paul ponders, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher"? (Romans 10:14 NKJV) In reference to the personhood petition, we might ask: how shall they petition without a preacher, and how shall they preach if they haven't heard? I recently attended a large pastors meeting in Orlando with my dad. Central Florida Co-Chair Jay Rogers joined to help present the prolife personhood amendment to Florida pastors. You would be surprised at what we found! We met pastors from all over the state. The pastors all received the petition with open arms. Those who hadn't previously signed the petition singed it at the conference and took additional copies to pass out to have their congregations sign the petition! What percentage of Florida pastors do you think have heard about personhood? Answer this weeks online poll to give your opinion. We'll announce the poll results and the actual percentage next week.

To reach every region, every county, every city, every church, every pastor, we need your help. We need volunteers who will mail letters to pastors, call pastors, visit pastors, attend pastors fellowship meetings, and petition in churches, and we need donors who will provide the necessary funds to pay for the mailings. Will you help us with one or more of these tasks?

We are currently organizing teams of volunteers in counties across FL to contact churches in their county. Will you help us take the message of life to every region, every county, every city, every church, every pastor? Please join us for a conference call/training Tuesday, November 15 from 9 - 10 PM.  This call will cover key strategy for ending abortion and protecting all innocent human life. Register to join us on the call here.

Monday, September 5, 2011

STOP Your Tax Dollars From Going To Planned Parenthood


Planned Parenthood Teen Time Bus, Your Tax Dollars at Work
St. Lucie Taxpayers Against Planned Parenthood Funding is recruiting fed-up local taxpayers. On Thursday September 8, 2011, the group will picket the Children’s Services Council Taxing Authority (CSC) meeting at 7:30 a.m. The CSC meeting starts at 8:15 am. The CSC has been funding Planned Parenthood (PP) with local tax dollars for many years including $500,000 last fiscal year. Altogether, PP, the largest provider of abortions in the U.S. has benefited from more than $3 million in local St. Lucie tax dollars. Every year, a portion of St. Lucie residents’ property taxes go to the CSC. The little-known taxing authority can be located on residents’ property tax bill.
PP contends that tax dollars are not used directly to fund abortions. However, tax funded programs include graphic sex education youth programs that do not oppose abortion. Additionally, PP staff members have salaries subsidized by taxpayers while they are free to advocate abortion. The abortion giant already receives more than $300 million nationally in tax dollars. Similar programs in Martin County were discontinued after taxpayer watchdogs showed red-faced council members that funded programs could not be substantiated or were already duplicated by other government agencies.
Taxpayers picket Children's Services Council for Giving Tax Dollars to Planned Parenthood
This year PP has come under increasing scrutiny from taxpayers across the country as they have been widely implicated for assisting teenage girls in subverting parental notification laws, covering up statutory rape, accepting donations specifically to abort black babies and covering up child sex trafficking.
After the picket, organizers from St. Lucie Taxpayers Against Planned Parenthood Funding are asking taxpayers to go into the meeting and address the CSC during public forum, and respectfully asking them to cease funding of PP with tax dollars. Each member of the public is allowed to speak for several minutes.
Please consider speaking. It’s easy to speak for 3 minutes – you can read what you have written to the board members. Learn what to say at: What Would You Say To Someone Who Gives Your Tax Dollars To Planned Parenthood? Also see the Stop Planned Parenthood website http://www.stopp.org/article.php?id=5252 and the Expose PP site, http://exposeplannedparenthood.net/ - Go to “Get the Facts” section.
The CSC office is located at 546 NW University Blvd, Suite 201, Port St. Lucie, FL 34986 across from the entrance to Tradition Field. (View a map here.) E-mails opposing the PP funding can be sent to the CSC’s Executive Director, Sean Boyle at sboyle@cscslc.org.
STOP Your Local St. Lucie Tax Dollars From Going To Planned Parenthood.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Sermon, Why We Must End Abortion NOW, Training Our Children to Obey God Where We Have Failed to Do So? Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle

Why We Must End Abortion NOW
Training Our Children to Obey God Where We Have Failed to Do So?









Why We Must End Abortion NOW
Training Our Children to Obey God Where We Have Failed to Do So?

No parent wants to admit to their children that they have made mistakes in the past, yet that is exactly what God asks parents in general and fathers in particular in Psalm 78. In the 60s, we saw the rise of the sexual revolution in America, and the promiscuity has gotten progressively worse since that time. It is time that we turn back to God and look at His principles and His precepts. Here in Psalm 78:1-8, we read,

"Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments; And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God." (Psalms 78:1-8 NKJV)

Now go back and consider which generation was that God originally instructed to train their children in obedience to the law of God. They were the very generation that refused to go into the promise land, that would not believe the promises of God, that would not believe that God would deliver them, that didn't believe that God was strong enough to give them the land. These were the people God was talking about. They needed to train their children to obey God where they had failed God. And we are definitely living in such a time today where we need parents that are willing to admit that they were wrong. Parents that are willing to look at the precepts God has given us, His instruction book, and to realize that I have failed. I have made mistakes. We need parents who are humble enough to admit that, and to be willing to train our children in obedience to the Lord.

Biblical World View - 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Prayer - Nehemiah 1.

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. It came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the citadel, that Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire." So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said: "I pray, LORD God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, "please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned. "We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. "Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations; 'but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.' "Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. "O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man." For I was the king's cupbearer. (Nehemiah 1:1-11 NKJV)

Disciple the Nations - Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”

Deal Faithfully in regard to Physical Intimacy. - 1 Timothy 5:12 - “[Rebuke] elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.”

Establish Justice - Amos 5:15 – “Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

Job 31:1 – “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?”

Defend the Poor and Fatherless - Psalm 82:1-4 – “God stands in the congregation of the mighty ... How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked.”

Rescue Those Staggering to the Slaughter - Proverbs 31:8&9 – “Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

Proverbs 24:11-12 “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?” (NIV)

A Watchman on the wall - Ezekiel 33:1-11

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: 'When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 'when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 'then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 'He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 'But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.' "So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. "When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die!' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. "Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'Thus you say, "If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?"' "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?' (Ezekiel 33:1-11 NKJV)

Warn that God punishes nations for the sin of child sacrifice - 2 Kings 21:1-16.

Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; he raised up altars for Baal, and made a wooden image, as Ahab king of Israel had done; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem I will put My name." And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft, and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger. He even set a carved image of Asherah that he had made, in the house of which the LORD had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; "and I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers-only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them." But they paid no attention, and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the LORD spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, "Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), "therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle. 'And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 'So I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become victims of plunder to all their enemies, 'because they have done evil in My sight, and have provoked Me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.'" Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD. (2 Kings 21:1-16 NKJV)

Body Network Personhood Florida Bryan LongworthPastor Bryan Longworth serves as the associate pastor at Covenant Tabernacle in Port St. Lucie, FL, as the director of Personhood FL, a prolife organization working to pass the Florida Personhood Amendment that will end abortion in FL, and as the director of SOHL, Sanctity of Human Life of the Treasure Coast. Longworth is a Wall Builders new Black Robe Regiment Pastor and a Family Research Council Watchmen on the Wall Pastor. Longworth continues to be involved in the pro-life movement and in calling the church and our nation to repentance. The church and America needs revival and reformation like never before. The blood of over 55 million children cries from the ground for vengeance, and God will avenge! God send us a true move of God lest we perish in our iniquity!

Covenant Tabernacle World Outreach CenterCovenant Tabernacle World Outreach Center in Port Saint Lucie Florida is a nondenominational, charismatic reformed church that believes the Pentecostal gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to believers today. We believe God has called us to worship, proclaim His word, and Disciple the nations in obedience to His commandments.

Vibrant Worship

At Covenant Tabernacle, we believe in worshipping God "with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30 - NKJV) As a part of our worship, we blow the Shofar as blown in ancient Jewish worship.

Powerful, Bible based Preaching

We believe that the word of God is true (2 Samuel 7:28) and that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV) We encourage all believers to develop a Biblical Worldview that shapes our view on not only our personal life but also our family, friends, loved ones, church, and civil government.

Discipleship

We believe in following Christ's Great Commission to "'go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV) As such, we believe in discipling individuals, families, communities, cities, states, and nations in obedience to God's word.

Sermon, Why We Must End Abortion NOW – And Who Is My Neighbor? Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle.

Sermon, Why We Must End Abortion NOW, Training Our Children to Obey God Where We Have Failed to Do So? Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle, Personhood

Sermon, Why We Must End Abortion NOW, Training our Children to Obey God where we have failed to obey Him. ProLife, Pro Life, Pro-Life, preborn, unborn, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, Abstinence, Revival, Reformation, Great Awakening, Repentance, Restoration. Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle Worship Service. Prolife, pro-life, abortion, Repentance, Revival, Reformation, A True Move of God. Join us as we worship the King of King and Lord of Lords and call the church and our city, state, and nation to repent before a holy God. For information about Covenant Tabernacle, Port St. Lucie, visit Covenant Tabernacle's website http://www.CovenantTabernacle.com.

No parent wants to admit to their children that they have made mistakes in the past, yet that is exactly what God asks parents in general and fathers in particular in Psalm 78.The 60s saw the rise of the sexual revolution in America, and the promiscuity has gotten progressively worse since that time. It is time that we turn back to God and look at His principles and His precepts. Here in Psalm 78:1-8, we read,

Sermon, Why We Must End Abortion NOW, Training Our Children to Obey God Where We Have Failed to Do So? Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle, Personhood

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Sermon, 02/06/2011, Why This Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Won't Wear His Roethlisberger Jersey

Why This Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Won’t Wear His Roethlisberger Jersey



Today is the day that football fans live for. This is the day they dream about all year, hoping their team will make it to the Super Bowl. Only two will. Only one will win. It seams that some teams never make it while others make it regularly, only to lose. A few, make it regularly and win.

I am a football fan. More specifically, I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and have been since they beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X. I was a fan during the days of the steel curtain in the 1970 when the Pittsburgh defense dominated and Terry Bradshaw, Linn Swan, John Stallworth, and Franco Harris provided the offense. I was a fan in the 1980s when the Steelers couldn't win. I was a fan in the 90s, when Pittsburgh got to one super bowl and lost. And I have been a fan during the last decade when the Steelers have played poorly at times but have also played well, making it to several championship games, only to be beaten by the New England Patriots and then winning two and now appearing in their third super bowl in the last decade.

I will be rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight. I will be waiving my terrible towel. But I won't be wearing my Ben Rothlisberger jersey. I haven't worn it all year. Big Ben's off season behavior, including wild drunken parties and allegations of rape, have kept my jersey in the closet this year.

It's not just that Big Ben is looked up to by many young people, but Ben has claimed the name of Christ, wearing "PFJ" (Play for Jesus) on his shoes in college and the NFL (until the NFL prohibited him from writing on his shoes). As such, Big Ben has a responsibility to represent Jesus Christ as an ambassador to the world. This is a huge responsibility that requires him to live his life in a way that is worthy of the calling of Jesus Christ and to be holy even as God is holy.

One day, Big Ben will stand before the throne of God for judgment. God isn't going to ask him in that day how many super bowl trophies he won. He isn't going to ask him how many yards he passed for or how many MVP trophies he won. He's going to ask if his name is written in the lambs book of life, and if it is, He's going to ask whether he lived a life worthy of the calling of Jesus Christ.

Certainly, everyone makes mistakes. Everyone sins. But it is sad that so many athletes spend so much time developing their skills and so little developing their character. It is sad that the parents of these athletes have invested so much time and money to facilitate this sill development and so little effort discipling the next generation in obedience to God's commandments.

We know about Ben Roethlisberger's problems because of the media attention he receives. What if your life was exposed to that same scrutiny? What if everyone knew how you act when you think no one is looking? What if people saw how you act and how you talk when you're at home, or on Friday night, or Saturday night? What if you had a big screen TV above your head that displayed your thoughts for all to see? What would people think? God sees everything you do and hears everything you say. He also knows your thoughts and the secrets of your heart. You too will stand before God one day and give an account for your life. In that day, what will you say?

Opening Passage Psalm 1.

Ephesians 4:1 - "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called..."

1 Peter 1:1-25.

vs. 3-5. - Q - How does God describe our inheritance?

vs. 6-12. - Q - How precious does God say our faith is?

Q – What is the end of our faith?

vs. 13-16. - Q - In vs. 13-16, Peter calls us to what standard of living? _____________________.

vs. 17-21. - Q - How are we to conduct ourselves?

Q - We were not redeemed with corruptible things, like _________________ and _______________, but with __________________________________.

vs. 22-25. - Q – How do we purify our souls?

Q - Is our faith based on corruptible or incorruptible seed?

We Were Bought With a Price

1 Corinthians 6:15-20 - "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For 'the two,' He says, 'shall become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."

Training to Win

Run to Obtain the Prize

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. "

How Can A Young Man Cleanse His Way

Psalm 119:9-11 - "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."

Psalm 1 - "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish."

Body Network Personhood Florida Bryan Longworth

Pastor Bryan Longworth serves as the associate pastor at Covenant Tabernacle in Port St. Lucie, FL, as the director of Personhood FL, a prolife organization working to pass the Florida Personhood Amendment that will end abortion in FL, and as the director of SOHL, Sanctity of Human Life of the Treasure Coast. Longworth continues to be involved in the pro-life movement and in calling the church and our nation to repentance. The church and America needs revival and reformation like never before. The blood of over 55 million children cries from the ground for vengeance, and God will avenge! God send us a true move of God lest we perish in our iniquity!

Sermon, Why We Must End Abortion NOW, And Who is My Neighbor? Am I my brother's keeper? What responsibilities do I have to my brother? Aside from the obvious responsibility to not harm my brother, I have the responsibility to Deal Faithfully in regard to Physical Intimacy, to Wait Until Marriage and Bring Up Children Only in Marriage, to Defend My Brother from physical danger. ProLife, Pro Life, Pro-Life, preborn, unborn, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, Abstinence, Revival, Reformation, Great Awakening, Repentance, Restoration. Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle Worship Service. Prolife, pro-life, abortion, Repentance, Revival, Reformation, A True Move of God. Join us as we worship the King of King and Lord of Lords and call the church and our city, state, and nation to repent before a holy God. For information about Covenant Tabernacle, Port St. Lucie, visit Covenant Tabernacle's website http://www.CovenantTabernacle.com.

Covenant Tabernacle World Outreach Center

Covenant Tabernacle World Outreach Center in Port Saint Lucie Florida is a nondenominational, charismatic reformed church that believes the Pentecostal gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to believers today. We believe God has called us to worship, proclaim His word, and Disciple the nations in obedience to His commandments.

Vibrant Worship

At Covenant Tabernacle, we believe in worshipping God "with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30 - NKJV) As a part of our worship, we blow the Shofar as blown in ancient Jewish worship.

Powerful, Bible based Preaching

We believe that the word of God is true (2 Samuel 7:28) and that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV) We encourage all believers to develop a Biblical Worldview that shapes our view on not only our personal life but also our family, friends, loved ones, church, and civil government.

Discipleship

We believe in following Christ's Great Commission to "'go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen." (Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV) As such, we believe in discipling individuals, families, communities, cities, states, and nations in obedience to God's word.

Sermon, Why This Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Won't Wear His Roethlisberger Jersey, Football, NFL, Ben Roethlisberger, Super Bowl, Tiger Woods, golf, Vince Lombardi Trophy, Major League Baseball World Series, Gold Metal, Run to Win, Discipline Body, Rape, Fornication, Sexual Sin, Repent, Repentance, Turn Back to God, Judgment Day, Stand Before God, Give an Account for your Life, Covenant Tabernacle, Pastor Bryan Longworth, Covenant Tabernacle Worship Service. Prolife, pro-life, abortion, Repentance, Revival, Reformation, A True Move of God. Join us as we worship the King of King and Lord of Lords and call the church and our city, state, and nation to repent before a holy God. For information about Covenant Tabernacle, Port St. Lucie, visit Covenant Tabernacle's website http://www.CovenantTabernacle.com.