Pastor Marc Bertrand

How to Open Yourself to Love When You Didn’t Grow Up with It. By Marie. “You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” I was always someone who craved love and attention. This is not to say that I accepted love willingly—quite the opposite, in fact. If someone decided to like or even love me they would have to pass through a path of obstacles, being pushed, pulled, and tested at every corner. Only then, upon arrival at the finish line, would they gain my acceptance. As you can imagine, this eliminated a number of potential friends and partners, and I often found myself lonely and disappointed. The root of my inability to accept love easily stems back to my childhood. My mother was unable to connect with me. She got pregnant during the height of her modeling career. After she gave birth, her career dried up. She resented the attention that a baby attracted and, in addition to this, she was highly addicted to narcotics. Growing up with my mo...

Creation as God’s lavish love—Genesis 1 In its ordered, Genesis 1 sketches God’s power, his creativity, his brilliant design, and his loving and careful delight in what he has created. His power is easily evident. God simply speaks, and the variety of things spring into being, generally from less to more complex. Moreover, God then gives his creation a degree of independence to act and propagate  on its own rather than waiting for him to create each new creature. Most people in the ancient Middle East and Mediterranean worlds believed in a sort of primeval chaos. Here, however, God establishes the world’s orderly design, commanding each form of life to reproduce according to its kind. God organized creation so that birds bring forth birds and cattle bring forth cattle; he provided genetically for continuity in forms of life. (Genesis was not written to address modern scientific interests; the point here is God’s order from one generation to the next, not resistance to change over ...

Creation of EVE the mother of all living. King James Bible :Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Eve in the Bible was the wife of Adam, the first man that God created. Eve was the mother of Cain and Abel and Seth and “other sons and daughters” (Genesis 4:1–2, 25; 5:4). Eve was the first woman, the first wife, and the first mother in the world. The name Eve comes from the Hebrew word chavâh, which means “the living” or “life.” She was called “Eve” because she was the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20). God created her after allowing Adam to see that he did not have among the animals a suitable companion—that is, there was no other creature like himself. So God created Eve as Adam’s counterpart. Eve was made in God’s image, just as Adam was (Genesis 1:27). God gave a command to Adam and Eve while they were living in the garden of Eden. He told them not to eat of a tree called “the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” becaus...

"What does it mean to love one another?" In John 13:34 Jesus taught, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Then He added, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (verse 35). How do we do this? What does it mean to love one another? The “one another” in these verses is a reference to fellow believer s. A distinguishing mark of being a follower of Christ is a deep, sincere love for brothers and sisters in Christ. The apostle John reminds us of this fact elsewhere: “He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:21). In giving this command, Jesus did something the world had never seen before—He created a group identified by one thing: love. There are many groups in the world, and they identify themselves in any number of ways: by skin color, by uniform, by shared interest, by alma mater, etc. One group has tattoos and piercing...

Should Christians Love Each Other More than the “Lost”? The amount of pain, violence, heartbreak, and suffering can be quite overwhelming to those who follow Christ when there is a clear message in the Scripture to help the poor and love people…just as Jesus did. The book of Matthew gives many examples. “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise  your heavenly father.” Matt. 5:16 “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!… If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that…If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?” Matt. 5:44, 46, 47. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matt. 20:28 “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The enti...

Why Don’t Christians Love Each Other? Why don’t Christians love each other? Oh, I’m not talking about the 1 in 100 example from all the Christians you know who actually do love other Christians in their daily life. I’m speaking in general terms here. Why don’t Christians love each other? Maybe your reading this and thinking: Well, of course, Christians love each other, Marc. I go to a church tha t is filled with people I love and these people are so kind to me and are people who love me. We bring each other meals when we are sick, we give money for church projects and we go to lunch at Restaurant’s after service and have a wonderful time. Yes, I get that. But why don’t Christians love each other? I’m not interested in hearing about you how you think your friends are proof when ordinary kindnesses are involved. I think you’ll find that your friends are probably more surface driven than you realize. I think you’ll see that their likely more interested in having a pleasant time with you ...

"Why do so many Christians fail the 'practice what you preach' standard?" Christians have often heard the accusation “practice what you preach.” There are several reasons why Christians do not practice what they preach or at least appear to others to not be practicing what they preach. First, not all who profess to be Christians really belong to Christ. Jesus warned in His parable of the wheat a nd the tares that there would be false believers in the world, sown by the enemy Satan, whose aim is to cripple the testimony of Christians so that our witness to the world would be compromised. Satan tries to destroy Christ’s work by placing false believers and teachers in the world who lead many astray. One has only to look at the latest televangelist scandal to know the world is filled with professing “Christians” whose ungodly actions bring reproach on the name of Christ. In Matthew 7:22, Jesus warned that many would profess faith but do not know Him. He also told us we w...

What does it mean to be a secular Christian? . Contradiction in terms. A Christian by definition accepts that the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ actually did something wonderful for humanity and the rest of the moral universe, If Jesus isn’t God then He was nothing more than a criminally suicidal lunatic (or a legend which is what Dawkins actually believes and how he can get away with coini ng the term “secular Christian” to confuse the rest of us.).The term is an oxymoron, that is to say that it is self-contradicting. It basically describes a person who goes to church service regularly, lives by the norms of decent western society, and may believe in God, but doesn’t live as a bible-based follower of Christ. This is in contrast to a, “carnal Christian” (another oxymoron), which is a person who divulges in the, “sins of the flesh” like drinking and immorality but still considers themselves, “Christian”. Note that both are definitely not Christians according to scripture.It means...

Christ and the adulteress:A STORY ABOUT SIN AND MERCY The story of Jesus and the adulteress in the gospel of John (8:1-11) is certainly a classic passage in biblical literature. Though this section is left out of many ancient manuscripts, it bares all the marks of a true account in the life of Jesus. The real message that it carries to us as believers of the Way is so dramatic that to dispose of  it would be to remove part of the heart of the gospel of John along with its emphasis on the divinity of Jesus Christ. There is a belief by some, including myself, that this section may have been removed in many ancient manuscripts because of the fear that it would tend to weaken the seriousness of adultery among married women through misunderstanding. JESUS AND THE ADULTERESS MEET. In this passage about Jesus and the adulteress, Jesus was teaching the people in His temple in Jerusalem when the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in the act of adultery. As usual, the scrib...

Judgement of Solomon, 1st. Book of the Kings, 1 Kings 3:16–28 recounts that two mothers living in the same house, each the mother of an infant son, came to Solomon. One of the babies had been smothered, and each claimed the remaining boy as her own. Calling for a sword, Solomon declared his judgment: the baby would be cut in two, each woman to receive half. From the first book of Kings, Chapter  3, this Bible story exemplifies the wisdom of King Solomon. Two mothers living in the same house, each the mother of an infant son, came to Solomon. One of the babies had died, and each claimed the remaining boy as her own. Calling for a sword, Solomon declared his judgment: the baby would be cut in two, each woman to receive half. One mother did not contest the ruling, declaring that if she could not have the baby then neither of them could, but the other begged Solomon, "Give the baby to her, just don't kill him!" The king declared the second woman the true mother, as a mother ...

The Prodigal Son Parable | Returning Home to God‎. What can I learn from the parable of the prodigal son? Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I...

The prodigal son, biblical parable of the Gospel of Luke. What do you believe is the main theme Jesus is communicating in Luke 15 11 32? a)The main theme that Jesus is communicating is the importance of seeking forgiveness no matter how heavy or serious the offense may be. b) The three characters are the father, the elder and and the younger son/the prodigal son. The prodigal son, or lost son, was an abuser of grace. Grace is most often defined as unmerited or unearned favor. He had a loving father, a good home, provision, a future, and an inheritance, but he traded it all in for temporal pleasures. We are the prodigal son. The parable of the Prodigal Son, or Lost Son, is found in the New Testament of the Bible in Luke 15:11-32. It is the third of three parables in that chapter directed at a mixed audience of tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees (religious leaders), and teachers of the law. All three parables are on the topic of lost things being found: a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a ...

The Golden Calf - Ten Commandments Broken, Why did Moses break the stone tablets? I have long been puzzled over the Bible event where Moses broke the tables of stone on which were written the ten commandments by the finger of God. I have wondered whether God approved or disapproved of the actions of Moses. There is nothing in the text to suggest that God wanted Moses to break the stone tablets , but there is also no record of God admonishing Moses for his actions. We are left to speculate as to whether or not Moses did the right thing. Or are we? If we remember the background of what the ten commandments are, we might receive some light on this matter. God had called to Moses out of Mount Sinai and given the terms of His covenant with the nation of Israel. They were to obey His voice and keep His covenant, and in doing so they would be a special treasure to God above all other people on the earth. The “special-ness” of Israel would be that they would serve God as a kingdom of priests ...

Exodus 34:14, KJV: "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:" Exodus 34:12-16 God describes idolatry as harlotry, playing around with someone else's spouse. It is a case of divided loyalties. God becomes angry, jealous, when this happens spiritually. In fact, in Deuteronomy 4:24, His anger becomes so hot that He describes Himself as being a consu ming fire. Fire symbolizes God's radiant glory as an aspect of His holiness. God does not stop with one form of idolatry because He again specifically warns in Leviticus 17:7: "They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations." And again in Leviticus 20:6, "And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people." Zeal and jealousy are opp...

How does Jesus REALLY save?. The Church, based on the Old and New Testaments, with insights from the writings of the bible, teaches how Jesus saves, is it consistent with our knowledge of a loving God. God desires for us all to go to heaven. He doesn't judge us, or condemn evildoers to hell. Those who choose evil condemn themselves to hell by choosing to withdraw from the Lord's love and mercy.  The Lord God Jesus Christ saved us by showing us how to live our lives. His entire life on earth was about overcoming evils and temptations, and his death was the conclusion of that struggle. Just as we are faced with evils and temptations in our lives, Jesus struggled against those same temptations as a human. In overcoming them, He taught us the way to live. We are saved when we open ourselves to the Lord and his love, and draw nearer to the Lord; and we do that by living our lives loving him. What does that mean? It means obeying his commandments (avoiding evil), being of use and lo...

"If an unmarried couple has sex, are they married in God's eyes?" It is true that sexual relations is the ultimate fulfillment of a couple becoming “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). However, the act of sex does not equal marriage. If that were so, there would be no such thing as premarital sex—once a couple had sex, they would be married. The Bible calls premarital sex “fornication.” It is repeatedly c ondemned in Scripture along with all other forms of sexual immorality (Acts 15:20; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:13,18; 10:8; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Jude 7). The Bible promotes abstinence before marriage as the standard of godliness. Sex before marriage is just as wrong as adultery and other forms of sexual immorality because they all involve having sex with someone other than your spouse. If an unmarried couple has sex, does that mean they are married? The Bible gives us no reason to believe this to be the case. The act of sexual relations ma...