Genesis 2:7-8 NASB ^“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.  The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.”

In this message, Pastor Steve takes an in-depth and thought provoking look into the message and the meaning behind the following points:

• The MEANING of the Cross
• The WHY of the cross
• What Jesus said about the Cross
• The APPLICATION of the Cross for today.

Colossians 2:13

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions”

Listen now, and become a part of the family!    

Sure, there were the “interesting” characteristics;  the fresh country air, the occasional fly, and a telephone loudspeaker that seemed to know just the moment to join in the praise;  Some folks even wondered how we could manage to do what we did, with the constant lowing of cattle in the background and some of the trophies left behind.  But our time spent in worship in those walls was no worse than the circumstances our Lord, Jesus, had to stay in for his entry into this world.  If nothing else, we have been blessed to have that experience to complement our walk in Him through life.  He gave up glory to come to just such circumstances, and beyond the stable, the world wasn’t in a much better state.

Join us in this moment, thankful of what we’ve had, what we have been given, and where we are going- And in thanking Joplin Regional Stockyards- in this edition of Risen Ranch Cowboy Church and Rodeo Arena’s Sunday Service!

Billy Graff

By now you have come to know many of those who have helped to build and influence Risen Ranch Cowboy Church of Joplin-  Our Lord and Savior and Our Father, chief among them all.

But you may not yet know about the numerous outreach ministries and campuses that have begun to spring up around us, with the same purpose of heart and mission.  Serving Seneca and Neosho is probably the frontrunner of those campuses:  Billy Graff is their pastor.

Listen now, as Billy Graff tells you in his own words about his heart for the ministry, and how he, at first, turned it down.  Once you listen to what this man has to say, you will see God is alive and at work with our neighbors just to the south.

14A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

16It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

19But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, 20and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,21and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.” 

 Paul and Silas Imprisoned

      22The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. 23When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; 24and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 

The Jailer Converted

      31They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.

Mark 5:25
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

This woman had her affliction for 12 years- Physically exhausted, a social outcast, she hoped for and needed a miracle. Countless doctors had seen her, religious leaders had prayed over her, and yet she still had this affliction with no apparent answers or paths to healing.

Sometimes, problems come our way that overwhelm us, and can literally be both financially and emotionally draining, leaving us to feel there is no way out. For this woman, it was her health; but for others among us today it can range from our health to our finances, our marriages or other relationships. What do we do when we feel there is no hope? This woman realized where her hope truly lay- At the feet of Jesus.

You may be thinking, “Yes, I know I must lay my problems at the feet of Jesus, but I have tried time and again and haven’t gotten any relief.” But this woman didn’t just try; her whole focus was on reaching the Master, even if she could only touch His garment. Remember, she was a social outcast, and those who might come in contact with her would be rendered unclean; but she cast aside all the fears and the intimidation she might have to endure to put 100% of her effort and energy on touching Jesus’ garment. Nothing was going to get in her way.

And look at Jesus response- she touched Him, He felt the power go out to her and turned, asking who had touched Him. It wasn’t that He didn’t know; He was calling her to Himself to take it a step farther. To stand up and acknowledge what she had done and why she had done it. And to this He told her, “Go; for your FAITH has made you well.”

Did you get that? Not the procedure nor the mechanics of touching His garment, but her FAITH. Faith so strong that she was utterly convinced of the outcome long before she reached Him.

When God gives you something to do, it’s a calling on your life. Sometimes the very struggles we go through are the end result of us trying to balance what we consider to be OUR lives with service to Him, when what He wants of us is to be wholly committed followers and ambassadors. Yet, too often we try every other route than the one He originally placed on our Heart, because we convince ourselves that we “need” to spend more time on our career advancement, or improving our lifestyle, or getting everything else “in order” that we may go out and be His ministers. But His calling is to be FIRST. To be our Focus, since our Focus is our Future.

Luke 8
40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

We have all had hard moments in our lives, but not many as severe as that experienced by Jairus.  Yet Jairus knew the only source, the only hope, the only healing that could come in his life would come through Jesus.  Join us as we look deeper into the life and the mindset of this Hero of the Faith.

This is part 2 of this series.  Be sure to listen in on part one, “Get To Know Epaphras” from Colossians 4, and check back for next week’s continuation in this series!

Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.

This week, Pastor Steve Stafford of the Risen Ranch Cowboy Church delivered a powerful word, introducing us to this man, Epaphras, a leader in the Church at Colossi who had a true heart for ministry.

Epaphras prayed earnestly for the people of his church, and serves as a model for us all to discover a passion for those God has called on us to minister to.  It doesn’t matter if you are currently involved in a ministry or not, by the end of this service you will have a clearer understanding of how important it is that you immerse yourself in what God has been calling you to do..  You know it’s there;  it’s time to take it up and run with it!

Songs in this service:

What A Mighty God We Serve

I Go To The Rock

We Bow Down

Alleluia-I Was Made To Worship You More