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Rev. Joel D. McMahon III
Joel D. McMahon is a pastor, teacher and counselor currently serving San Felipe United Methodist Church in historic San Felipe, Texas.
to believe in God, but Paul suggests our problem isn't a lack of evidence—it’s a lack of desire. We avoid or suppress the truth because if God is real, He is Lord, and if He is Lord, we are not.
Conflict can be either glue or a wedge in a relationship. I all depends on how you handle it.
Scripture reminds us to “be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:1–2).
A Christian couple believes in God, but a Christ-centered couple builds their life around Him.
Last week, we discovered that selfishness is the root beneath every single relationship problem. It’s what starts the friction.Today, we are talking about the silent killer. If selfishness starts the problem, neglect is what eventually kills the relationship.
We are starting a new message series that is going to pull the curtain back on 5 things that could be called “Love Killers.” Five of the biggest things that destroy our relationships. • Next week: We’ll talk about neglect. Nobody plans to intentionally neglect their relationship, but you have kids, life takes over, and what once was a priority eventually drifts. • Week Three: We’ll look at spiritual apathy in our relationships. • Week Four: We’ll tackle unresolved conflict. • Week Five: We'll address dishonesty and deception.It sounds heavy—and it is—but it is incredibly important.Today, we have to start at the absolute root. We are talking about selfishness, because selfishness is the underlying sin beneath almost every other relationship problem.
Jesus summarized the entire Law and Prophets with two commandments: love God and love your neighbor. In doing so, He revealed what life is really about.
Let me try to rephrase this passage as if Jesus were speaking it to us today.“As you are going daily with Me, do not forget to invite people to learn more about Me. As you go on vacation, to work, to the gym, to visit your friends, to pay your taxes. Let your walk with Me be so natural and part of your everyday speech that people feel free to talk openly about faith and life. Let your identity as my disciple be so real that it splashes on everyone around you. Flood the world with the love of the Triune God.Show people what it is like to obey my teaching. Let the love of God be the rule of your life. Remember, I’m always with you as we walk this messy life together.”
Weighed down with heavy burdens of fatigue, guilt, anxiety, perfectionism, responsibilities and mistakes? Jesus promises a way to rest in the middle of all the busyness. And it’s probably not what you’d expect.
What have you worried about today? Chances are, the list is pretty long. Did you know Jesus promises us that we don’t have to worry? How is that even possible? Understanding this promise from Him can transform the way you approach your concerns and give you the relief you’re looking for.
What’s weighing on you right now? With so much happening in the world and our lives, having a peaceful mind can feel impossible. While Jesus doesn’t promise a trouble-free life, He does promise you a path to peace. That’s what this message is about.
It can be difficult to feel God’s presence when you’re facing things you don’t understand. But Jesus promises to be with you always—through highs and lows. He has an encouraging word for you in this message.
Think about all the things competing for your attention every day—family, busy schedules, social media, and more. Jesus promised us that we'll know His voice, and He'll guide us where we should go. How do you cut through the noise to listen? That’s what this message is all about.
If you ask most people if God loves everybody they will usually reply, “Yes.”But in truth, what many people honestly believe is that God loves everyone but them.This message is to reassure you that YOU ARE THE ONE JESUS LOVES.
Three Amazing things about Easter:1. Your Sins have been forgiven.2. You don’t have to fear death.3. You’re going to live forever.
“Eye has seen, nor ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor 2:9
Luke 16:19-31Why do we talk about hell? Because what you believe about eternity affects how you live today, and if we don't understand the horrors of hell, we'll never truly appreciate the goodness and the grace of the price that God paid by sending his Son that we could have eternal life.
The recent attack on Iran has caused people all over the world to wonder one of two things.First, is God really in control of the days we are living in? Second, Is Jesus coming soon?
Worship comes from the old Anglo-Saxon word “weorthship” which means “being worthy.”In this connection all of the Christian life becomes worship. Every act of obedience to God states from the depth of your being, “Lord, you are worth this.”In this sense, all of life should become a continuous offer of worship to God.The home is where this all begins as Christians endeavor to live out their marriages in the shadow of the Cross.
Just as God kept his promise to David, in spite of his sin, God will keep his promise to us.
While your past and present sin might drive you further from God, it doesn’t necessarily drive Him further from you. This is the message of Christmas: God has drawn near to those who have drawn away from Him, and those who have been drawn away from Him.
Matthew 1:1-16This unlikely list of unlikely people may be the greatest chapter on the grace of God in all the Bible! In these forgotten names from the past, God turns the spotlight of his holy grace on fallen men and women, and through their lives, we see what the grace of God can do.
. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. - May this Holiday season be a time when you come to know the peace of God in ways you’ve never known it before.
Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 1 Kings 19:3-4
Matthew 6:25-33An anxious heart will weigh you down, but scripture says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, we present our requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, at that point, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.”
I Corinthians 13:1-8aToday we’re continue our series on fear by looking at the fear of intimacy.Fear of intimacy is a feeling of discomfort with emotional or physical closeness, often stemming from childhood trauma, neglect, or fear of rejection. It can manifest as avoiding physical contact, difficulty being vulnerable, or maintaining a facade of perfection.
2 Timothy 1:7God has not given us a spirit of fear, and yet, so many people live paralyzed by fear, especially the fear of being rejected. This does not come from God, and today we are going to let God’s word empower us to overcome the fear of being rejected.
For some of you, this is your greatest fear: Failure. If you let it overtake you, it will cost you more than you can ever imagine, and your greatest fear, failure, will lead to your greatest pain, and that is regret.
Matthew 16:15-19The Greek word for church is “ecclesia,” which means “called out.”In the NT this word is used some 114 times and is translated as “church”, “gathering”, or “assembly”.The early Christians saw themselves as being “called out.” What were they called out from? Look around you. Check out the news. They were called from the same things we are called out of today.As the old hymn says, “Jesus call us o’er the tumult of our life’s wild restless sea.”Paul tells the Roman church, “And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people.”
James 5:13-16God continues to offer healing for spiritual, emotional, relational and physical needs.
Ephesians 6:10-20Since the war is not over and Satan is not yet destroyed, we need to make sure that our defences are in order. Paul tells us to ‘put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes’ (Ephesians 6:11). He then mentions six pieces of equipment which we need.
Romans 5:12-21Why would Jesus be our substitute and take the wrath that we deserve? Why would the King of Kings willingly lay down His life? Why would the Author of Life submit to death? Because God loves us with a love greater than we could possibly comprehend.If we are ever tempted to doubt God’s love for us, we need only look to the cross.
John 14:15-26• The Holy Spirit is GOD.• The Holy Spirit brings us to God and applies to us the benefits the Son has purchased.• The Holy Spirit is the Helper from God who lives in us, empowers us, leads us, comforts us and gifts us for service.
How God guides us:Scripture (what does the Bible say/teach?)The Holy Spirit (how is the Holy Spirit leading?)The Counsel of the Saints (seek the advice and prayers of other Christians)Common Sense (God guides our common sense and reason)Circumstantial Signs (providential/confirming signs)
John 12:1-8Jesus says in John 8:31-32 (AMP), “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples. And you will know the truth...and the truth will set you free....”If we don’t study God’s Word consistently and apply this truth to our lives, we will lack the power we need to mature in Christ and glorify God in this world, and even more than that, your relationship can’t be what it should be.
2 Timothy 3:10-16Reading the Bible is essential for understanding God's character, His plan for humanity, and how to live a life pleasing to Him. It provides guidance, encouragement, and wisdom for navigating life's challenges, and it reveals Jesus Christ and His love for us.
Matthew 6:9-15We were created by God to have a relationship with him. Jesus’ death on the cross made this possible and prayer is the way we deepen and strengthen our friendship with him.
Matthew 7:7-11In Matthew 7:7–8, and in many other New Testament passages, the promises to answer our prayers appear to be absolute. However, when we look at the whole of Scripture, we see there are good reasons why we may not always get what we ask for.
Matthew 6:5-15Prayer is the most important activity of our lives because it is the main way in which we develop a relationship with our Father in heaven. In fact, Jesus expects us to pray. It’s a given in our walk with God.
Job experienced everything that those touched by last week’s tragic flood in Kerr County are going through. He lost his property. He lost his children. His health suffered. Yet through all of this, he did not lose his faith.
Leviticus 17:10-12Without the Virgin Birth, we have no forgiveness of sin. Jesus lived His entire lifetime without sin. There was no sin in His flesh, and there was no sin in His Blood, because His Blood came from His Father, God Almighty in Heaven, not from any earthly father. When they drove those spikes into the hands and feet of Jesus and the Blood came forth, it was not just anybody's blood. It was not the blood of a mere mortal man; it was the very Blood of God and it made possible salvation and deliverance for all who will receive it.
Acts 1:1-9Dr. A. C. Dixon, a great preacher in the last century said, “When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do. When we rely upon education, we get what education can do. When we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. But when we rely upon the Holy Spirit, we get what God can do.” The great folly of the contemporary church is that we have set aside the plan Jesus had for us, and replaced it with many other supposedly good things. You see, He did not say, “You shall be social justice warriors or community organizers.” He said, “Tarry in Jerusalem until you receive power from on high, and you shall be my witnesses.”Brothers and sisters, we have been relying on the wrong things.
Acts 5:1-6Today, I want to share with you how to keep the fire burning in your heart. I want to give you four things—three of them negative, and one of them positive—to keep the fire of the holy Spirit burning in your heart and soul.
Acts 2:1-12Sometimes people say that we need another Pentecost. We don’t need another Pentecost any more than we need another Bethlehem or another Calvary. Bethlehem is God with us. Calvary is God for us. Pentecost is God in us.Today we will be looking at 4 words dealing with the Holy Spirit: Baptism, Indwelling, Sealing and Filling.
Last week we looked at the reality of demonic forces, how they do the work of our spiritual enemy, whose mission is to steal, kill, and destroy. Today, we want to look at God’s spiritual beings, known as angels, because truthfully, so many people today don’t even understand what the role of angels are in the spirit world and in our lives, as well.
Mark 5:1-13Please recognize this: There is an evil force that is more wicked than you could ever imagine that wants to steal, kill, and destroy everything that matters to the heart of God. The demons want your family, your marriage, your children, your finances, your health, and your relationship with God. Bottom line is, they want you. Satan is described as a roaring lion, seeking someone, anyone to devour. His mission is to steal, kill, and destroy; therefore, you do battle, not in your own power, but in the authority of who you are in Christ.
John 14:15-18 Until his Aldersgate experience, John Wesley was a sincerely religious man. That evening at Aldersgate, he was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Before he tried. Afterward, he did. Before, he was sincere. After, he was saved. The difference between the presence or absence of the Holy Spirit is results. God wants to empower believers to live a supernatural life. As we study scripture, what we find is that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and is absolutely and completely necessary and essential to live the life that God wants us to live as followers of Christ. God wants to fill His children with His Spirit so that we can live a supernatural life pleasing to God in all ways.
Ephesians 6:10-13As we do battle, we recognize that we don’t battle with the weapons of this world, but with the weapons of the spiritual world. What do you have? You have the helmet of salvation. You have the breastplate of righteousness. You have the shield of faith to quench the fiery darts of the evil one. You have the belt of truth. You have the shoes with the Gospel of peace. You have the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and you can pray in the Spirit on all occasions, invoking the power of God to do battle on your behalf.
Ephesians 6:10-20Though we live in a physical world, there is another world. There is a spirit world, where there is a war raging. There is the, the Kingdom of Light versus the kingdom of darkness. When we engage in the spiritual battle, we don’t fight with the weapons of this world; instead, we engage in this battle with prayer and by faith and using God’s word. In this world, there is a very real spiritual battle going on.
John 20: 18-21Easter morning Mary Magdalene met Jesus outside the tomb. He told her to go and tell His disciples that He had risen. Obediently, she did. To her frustration, they didn’t believe her.Then, that evening, while the disciples were hiding out in fear, Jesus showed up in the midst of them.Then they believed, and Mary was vindicated. Sweet!Thomas, who wasn’t there when Jesus appeared, refused to believe the disciples when they informed him that they had seen the Lord. Later, Jesus appeared to Thomas, and he believed.The disciples were vindicated. Sweet!Notice the pattern: Someone experiences the presence of the Resurrected Jesus and they tell others. The others won’t believe. It takes Jesus to convince them.When we’re saved, we want to share what we have found with others. In fact, we have, like Mary been told to by the Lord. When we first share the Lord with someone, they probably won’t believe us. That’s okay. Share anyway, and sooner or later the Lord will vindicate us.
On Easter morning, when God raised Jesus from the dead, He confirmed that all that Jesus said was true, and that all the benefits He offered could be ours, and that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)It's incredible, All it takes is that you to make a commitment of your life to Him.
Isaiah 53:1-6We call it “Good Friday” because that is the day that Jesus died on the Cross to pay the price for every sin you ever committed or will commit so that you could have Eternal Life.
Philippians 3:4-14 SAVING FAITH is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. It means resting upon Christ alone and what He has done rather than upon what you or I have done to getus into heaven. The Bible says,"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31a)
Luke 15:11-20In trials, God wants to be with you.In discipline, His purpose is to bring you to forgiveness and reliefIf you’ve taken off on your own, He wants you to get back with Him so He can help you.
John 21:1-17The story in today’s scripture reminds us that we worship a God who is the God of all grace. He’s the God of the second chance, and the third chance, and the fourth, and the fifth, and the sixth too.You may even have been staying away from the Lord because of something like this. You shouldn’t do that. Remember – Jesus knew you were going to do the thing you feel keeps you from Him. He died for sinners, like you, and like me. And so now He asks, “Do you love me?”As He asks, just say, “Yes,” and come home.
John 12:1-22From the other gospels we know that Jesus had been telling them that the Son of Man must be delivered up for crucifixion. He was very clear about this.We also know that the disciples did not want to hear this and it seems evident that they didn’t fully grasp what He was saying.But Mary had learned the importance of sitting at His feet and listening to His words. But more than that, I’m convinced she heard His heart. “If You are to be crucified, then I will anoint You now for Your burial.” It was an act of extravagant love.Why did she love extravagantly? Because she understood how much Jesus loved her.
Jeremiah 1:4-10Question: How do you find out who God says you are?The short answer is : Read the Bible and Talk to God. For the longer answer, listen to this message. In it you will find that you are not defined by your performance, your possessions, or other people's opinions. You are defined by what God says about you. And He says you are blessed, chosen, holy, blameless, adopted, forgiven, loved, a masterpiece, a new creation, and you belong to His family!
2 Timothy 1:7Jesus said, “The thief comes but to kill, steal and destroy. I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.Inordinate fear is one of the enemy’s tools to paralyze you and keep you from living the abundant life Jesus wants you to have. We have to get rid of it before we can move on in our daily lives and in the Kingdom of God.
Mark 2:1-12God is the only one who is your Creator. God is the only who owns the earth and all of us in it. God is the only one who loved you so much that he sent his son to die on the cross for your sins…so that by the blood of Christ He purchased you from sin and death…He is your Creator, Purchaser and Owner. God is the only one who has a right…to label you…If we could live our lives simply rejecting all the labels that other people try to stick on us…and instead choose to let God be the one to label us…our lives would be so so so much better.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon on apathy before.One of the most silent, yet deadly of the negative emotions. We need to deal with it, or it can destroy us.God wants to help you with it.
Galatians 6:3-4Comparison is a snare that can easily ensnare us and distract us an cause us to stumble in our walk with the Lord.It can leave us prideful. It can leave us jealous. It can actually cause us to resent God’s goodness in the life of others, and ignore his blessing in our own lives.How do we avoid this trap?
Mark 9:38-50 Many of us, in looking back, can identify people who have been stumbling blocks in so many ways. In fact, it seems that many make a career out of pinpointing those people who have been stumbling blocks in their lives. There are many others who have latched onto this and make their living helping people find those in their past they can blame for their problems, insufficiencies, addictions, etc.Jesus has made it very clear what we are to do with those people. We are to forgive them and move on with our lives, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. In our Scripture lesson today, we find Jesus telling us of the rewards of being a stepping stone for others, and the dire consequences of being a stumbling block. The message today is a call to examine ourselves and see if we have been or are being stumbling blocks to others, and encouraging us to be stepping stones instead.
Faith is a powerful thing, but I want you to understand that unbelief is powerful as well. Unbelief is a great force. The power of unbelief is so great that it extends throughout all eternity.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Sometimes we don't know if something is good or bad, but we can be thankful that God is working for our good in everything.
Mark 2:13-17What you do speaks louder than what you say.“Your talk talksYour walk talksYour walk talks louder than your talk talks.”
Veterans can be freed from their pastpeople abused as children can be set freeVictims of all sorts can receive new life and new positions in lifeBruised and broken people can be made whole
2 Chronicles 7:11-16It has been said that “religion and politics don’t mix.” But is that really true? Can we have political views outside the considerations of our Christian faith? The answer is, no, we cannot. Our faith should inform our political views. The Bible gives us two truths regarding our stance toward politics and government.
What we need in God’s church today, more than anything else is a greater revelation and appreciation of Jesus and everything that He has done for us! In Hosea 4:6, God lamented, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”Let’s not be numbered among these people. Instead, let us be a people who are full of the knowledge of Jesus, His person, His love, and His finished work.Don’t let custom, wrong teaching, ignorance or pride to rob you of the Abundant Life He has for you anymore!
John 10:7-11When Jesus said he is the door of the sheep, he meant that the fold has only one entrance; life has one source; spiritual nourishment is obtained one way; heaven can be entered only through one entrance. And the single means of access to all that is life is Jesus.Jesus is the door into a life that is completely different than you could ever imagine without Him.Once you begin to experience the life He has for you, you realize, “People Need the Lord.”
Psalm 91I need Him. You need Him. And as you look at the people all around you, they need the Lord, too.
Everyone has an Accuser Not everyone has a Savior Not everyone has an Advocate But you do. Jesus promised Him.When you are saved, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, comes and walks with you.The accuser condemns. He leaves no hope. The Advocate convicts. Leading to repentance and restoration and life.So the next time the Accuser starts talking to you, bringing up all sorts of things from the past. Remind him of your testimony. Let him know that on a certain date, at a certain time you received the washing and cleansing of the precious Lamb of God, and all those true things, have been swept away, and are gone. There’s no longer a case to be made, so he needs to take it up with the Judge Who has already found you not guilty.
Romans 5:1-11Salvation has 2 parts, like a coin or a door. On the one side is Justification. On the other, Sanctification.Justification - Justification is the way of entry, the door, if you will, into the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven. It is really believing and receiving the fact that Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead to pay the price that had to be paid so that you could be cleansed and freed from sin and reconciled and reinstated into a living relationship with the One True God. It’s an act of faith, and only that one act of faith can save you from the judgment that God will soon pour out on the world.2. Sanctification - Sanctification is what you step into when you go through that door.The moment you believe and receive, you are related to God and at peace with Him.You no longer are a part of the world that He must destroy to rid creation of the horrid taint of sin.The moment we have peace with God, we have the peace of God.
Psalm 103:1-5What are the ways you forget the LORD and his benefits?Distraction by everything screaming for your attention. Maybe it’s things like work, schedule and media demanding your attention. It could be pride that tells you things are going fine or that things have gone fine before. Maybe there is significant physical or emotional pain in your life that drowns out your view of God’s benefits. Maybe you are simply tired in life. One or several of these reasons might resonate with you.Whatever the reason that causes us to forget, can you see the danger of forgetting? Can you see the need to remember?
You’ve probably have been told that God loves you. As John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is good and right that this attribute be made much of, for God’s love is the heart of the gospel, and the heart of the entire Bible. But the question I want to answer today is, “Why does God loves us?” Why does He have this love that gives salvation and blessing and eternal life. Why does He love us?
1Thessalonians 4:1-8Our Scripture today can be summed up succinctly in these 3 statements about how we live as Christians:1. Live a God-pleasing life.2. Your sanctification is God’s will.3. To reject this is to reject God.From the moment of salvation on, the Christian life is a life of giving as much of yourself as you know to as much of God as you understand.When you’re first saved, it’s easy, because you know all the things you have repented from.Lying, Cheating, Stealing (blatantly), Sexual Immorality.But then as you move on, the Holy Spirit begins to teach you.The little white lie to avoid hurting someone’s feelings is still a lie. That creative accounting you did on your income tax is dishonesty.All those pens and tools laying around the house from your workplace are Stolen Property.That anger, bitterness and unforgiveness you find in your heart; Jesus said it’s murder.That temptation that you gave in to. You sinned.So it becomes a little more complicated. But you pray, ask for forgiveness, and you move on.You choose to do that.Every time you deal with the stuff that the Holy Spirit reveals, and choose God’s way, you’re choosing God. And that pleases Him.Sometimes it’s hard to take that step.It’s hard because you have to wrestle and come to a decision. You have to choose God’s way over the ways of the World.
1 Thessalonians 4:3This is the first message in a series on sanctification. Sanctification, Paul says, is God’s will for our lives. It is for the person who is not just trying to “get by spiritually” – but for the one who wants to please God in every way and be all he or she can be for the Lord.
Jesus says that the work we are to do for God is to believe in Him Whom He sent. The word translated “believe” in this context means to “entrust”. We are to entrust our very being to God. This kind of faith can be divided into three progressing categories: Acknowledging faith, Saving faith, and Living faith. In this message we review these three aspects of the Christian Faith.
Revelation 5:1-10Takeaways from the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 2024:What we saw confirms that the Bible is true, because it fulfilled prophecy about the Last Days.What occurred reminds us of the importance and sanctity of Holy Communion.What we saw reminds us of what is at the core of the Christian faith.The reactions of others give us wonderful opportunities to share our testimonies.In order to be ready to share the Good News, we need to be sure that we can share our personal testimony succinctly.
Revelation 3:14–22 is a letter from Jesus to the church at Laodicea in Asia Minor. It was given to John in a vision and had the purpose of saving the church from lukewarmness and possible destruction. It's a message that every church needs to hear. These are solemn words of counsel and love to a church that is content with itself, and feels need of nothing.
Revelation 3:7-13The Philadelphians, these people that Jesus said had a "little strength," were true to His word and true to His name. As they trusted and obeyed, they discovered He kept His promises to them in the midst of people who were antagonistic to followers of Christ.
Revelation 3:1-6The church at Sardis was a church with great reputation. They were known far and wide, and they were active, filled with activity, action, and programs, they were huge, some called it a mega-church because of its large fellowship. They are proud because of the success of their programs and activities. By the world’s standards they were successful, but then notice what the Lord says: “you are dead.”
Revelation 2:18-29“Jezebel” was teaching in Thyatira that sexual immorality was okay for Christians. Jesus had harsh words against that in this letter, and this is just what many are demanding today: that we accept their immoral, un-Biblical behavior just as it is, in the church, and not only tolerate it, but also approve of it, and consider them to be Christians in good standing. This is exactly what Jesus says here we must never do in His church, or we will become exactly the kind of “Jezebel” that He is calling out here. Allowing blatant, un-Biblical immorality and teaching in the church, is wrong. Tolerating in the church what God has prohibited is NOT a virtue!
Pergamus was the compromising church. The message we get as we read Jesus’ letter to this church is:“Don’t compromise your humility, your integrity nor your purity.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18As we conclude our series on “Bad Words,” we look at what the Bible says about death.For the unbeliever, it is a bad word. For believers, although it has been turned into a word that no longer has the penalty of sin attached to it, if we are honest, it is still also a bad word and a sad word.
Matthew 6:1-4 Every person, is appointed to die, after that the judgment. But, if you don't give your life to Christ, you'll be punished for every evil work you've done. If you give your life to Christ, He took your punishment for you, and you're actually going to be rewarded for every good work you've done. Even the word judgment becomes a good news word because of what Jesus did!
Sooner or later a couple is going to have a conflict. If conflict is handled in self-centeredness, conflict becomes a wedge; if handled in love, as the Lord desires, it become glue to the relationship.Two concepts to remember:1. The objective is to resolve the conflict, not win a fight.2. When one of you wins, you both lose!
John 15:1-8All through the New Testament you can see that spiritual fruit is expected from the Christian life. Jesus tells us, “You shall know them by their fruit.”It is very important to note that the fruit the Lord expects in our lives is not the goal of the Christian, but the proof, or evidence of our abiding in Him.
John 15:1-7Before you can abide in the Lord, draw life from Him and bear fruit, you have to be connected!
Luke 24:44-49Repentance is not a bad word. The Greek word we translate “repentance” means to “change your mind.The most important thing we must change our mind about is God.Once we change our mind about Him, and realize that He loves us and is for us, and we need Him, we’ll quit running an hiding from Him, and He will begin to change our hearts.
John 3:16-21The Good News changes everything. The Good News takes all the bad news and filters it and changes it, so that all these words (condemnation, repentance, judgment, death) that were very, very bad news for us as sinners, all change because a Person, a Messenger, The Messenger came into this world, and brought the Good News!
2 Chronicles 20:1-30We worry a lot about the “What-ifs” don’t we? When faced with a challenge or problem in life we can waste a lot of time on the ‘what-ifs.On Easter morning the two Marys realized they had a problem: “Who will roll away the stone for us? At the moment the question came up, they had 2 choices. They could just get on to the tomb and see what could be done, or they could have gotten caught up in the “what-if” game:What if the guards are mean to us?What if they refuse to let us into the tomb/What if there’s no one around?Interestingly, when they got there there was no problem at all. Jesus had already risen, an the stone was no problem at all.We can waste a lot of time worrying about the “what-ifs.” What should we as Christ-followers do instead?
Mark 16:1-8 Many have grown up in the Christian faith, and believe God can, but when it comes to them, personally, they don't believe God will! They believe God might do it for somebody else, but don't believe God will do it for them. Maybe you've even heard about God doing really incredible things, but you just think God's going to do it "way over there;" “He’s never going to do it over here. That’s for others, not for me.” A child has the faith to believe not only my God can but my God will do these things in my life..
God is 100% LovingGod is 100% MercifulGod is 100% JustOnly one place that all three of these characteristics can come together to bring us into a forgiven state with God, and be brought into His Kingdom, and that place is the Cross.That’s why we sing, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
David was very confident, not only about his present circumstances, but also that in the future God would see him all the way home. He believed that valley times were appointed for His good. He learned things about God that could be learned no other way than being in the deep ravines of life. He stayed close, trusted in God's protection and guidance all the way. All because he could say, "The Lord is my shepherd."(Like a Child, God takes care of me.)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10 Jesus tells us in Mark 10:15, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a:.little child will never enter it. The way that a little child would describe God’s omnipresence would be to personalize it and say, “God is with me.” Scripture makes it clear that God, although greater than we could ever imagine, is big enough to be with each one of us in a very personal way. As we recognize His presence, talk to Him, and listen to Him we find forgiveness, peace, answers to our burning questions, comfort, purpose and hope. Are you enjoying His presence? Did you know that you could?
I have discovered you can never enter the Kingdom of God by questioning God’s motives, existence, etc. Even though I live in the Kingdom, I can never prove it to you. The only way is to approach God like a little child, trusting and believing what He has revealed of Himself in His Word and through His followers down through the ages. As long as we stand back, arms folded, saying, “I want to believe. Prove it to me and I’ll believe it,” as I did for many years, you will never make any headway. However, if you will take the things He has revealed and start applying them as if they are true, He will prove Himself to you.We begin our four-week study of childlike faith by examining the core conviction we must have if we are living out of a childlike faith, and that is that “God is for me.”
Luke 9:23-27What greater sacrifice could you give this Lent than your self-centeredness?From what I read in the Bible, this is the greatest sacrificial gift you can give to the Lord.
Jonah 3:1-5, 10Mark Twain said: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."Both of those days are important to God, too. He needs you to be you right now.The answer to why you were born is something that a lot of people struggle with, and approach in a lot of different ways.If you are one of those who has struggled with this, I hope this message will help you, because one of the things that is answered clearly in the story of Jonah is why you were born.
At this point in history, everything from social media and politics to cultural conflict has brought us to a time when we as Christians need to step back and consider our words, their power, how we have been using them and how we should be using them. Think about it. Everything you have said this week has either been life-giving or death-dealing, and there is nothing in between. The tongue has the power to kill, to destroy, to hurt, to maim and to assassinate, or to heal, help, inspire, encourage, influence, save and bring peace.
When we think of “the wilderness” we think of remote, desolate places filled with loneliness and the unknown. In the Bible we see many go through times in the wilderness.As we look at the Bible accounts of people in the wilderness, we see first of all, that although they thought they were all alone, they were in the very presence of God. Next we see that in the wilderness we can find an intimacy with God we can find nowhere else. Finally, we see that when the people came out of the wilderness they emerged with knowledge and power they could receive in no other way.In our day there are many sorts of wildernesses people find themselves in: They may involve relationships, finances, spiritual dilemmas, health, or any other number of situations where you may think that you are all alone, or that maybe God has just forgotten you.You’re not all alone. God is with you. He hasn’t forgotten you.
Genesis 12:1-4Just as God called Abraham, God calls you. It’s up to you to leave the things He calls you from and head out to the the places He wants to show you.As you answer His call, the promises of Abraham become yours.
God’s call to Abraham was to leave where he was and go where he would lead him. He had a wonderful plan for Abraham’s life. Wonderful promises were given to Abraham if he would do this.
The Question We Each Need To Ask Ourselves as this New Year Begins: “Am I Living A Life That Pleases God? Am I Living A Live Of Faith?”
Luke 4:16-21In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus reads from the Book of Isaiah written 700 years before, and declares that this Messianic prophecy is fulfilled in Him.To sum up the mission of His first advent, He has come to free us from our past, help us live in the present and look forward to the future.He came to give us a Fresh Start. What better time than the beginning of the year to make sure that we are embracing what He offers!
Jude 1:17-23 As you face all the things that are going on in the world today, make sure that your number one priority is to “keep yourselves in the love of God.” According to Jude, this is how you keep ourselves in the love of God: 1. building ourselves up in our most holy faith; 2. praying in the Holy Spirit; 3. waiting for Christ’s return.
Jude 1:5-16 Jude says that false teachers are the rebels we read about in Scripture. They’re going to be judged. And they’re dangerous to us. That’s why Jude writes:“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)
The founder of Methodism, John Wesley held that The essentials of the faith are changeless. He shared this quote from St. Augustine which sums this all up pretty well:“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” Our founder held that there is a core, essentials of the faith that all believers hold in common. These essentials are pretty well outlined in the historic creeds, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. Jude was writing to the church to exhort them to stay on track with the essentials and not be led astray by false teachers and teachings within the church.
It’s important that you know the distinction between the words Love, Mercy and Grace, because it you don’t, you can completely miss entering the Kingdom of God, and the eternal life God has in store for you.
Jude uses three words to identify the people he is addressing his letter to:“To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:…”Now these are the marks of a Christian, so this letter is written to you. These three attributes separate us from the world and bind us to God the Father through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Who is Jude? I love his explanation of who he is. He gives us his Personal Identity. He is Jude. He gives us his Spiritual Identity. He is a bond-servant of Jesus Christ. He gives us his Social Identity. He is the brother of James. I think the order he gives tells us a lot about him as well. Personal Identity, comes first, Spiritual Identity comes second, and Social Identity comes third. Although worldly people would have you believe otherwise, our social relationships are not nearly as important as our spiritual relationship. In eternal value, our relationships on earth are not nearly as important as our relationship to Jesus, and our social relationships can never be as wonderful as they could be if our relationship with Jesus is not what it should be. Jude identifies as a bond-servant of Christ. This message is about what that means.
Matthew 15: 1-9"You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME." (Matthew 15:7-8)These past few years could be officially labeled the Era of Hypocrisy Revealed. As I have read one news account after another, the words of Numbers 32:33 have come to mind: “You have sinned against the Lord, and be sure that your sin will find you out.”There have been casualties on both ends of the political spectrum from a congressman who ran and voted on a right-to-life ticket encouraging his mistress to get an abortion to a staunch women’s rights supporter being toppled from his place at the top of the entertainment industry because of multiple reports of sexual assault.In between these two extreme cases, myriads of others have had hypocrisy in one form or another revealed.We are going to run across hypocrites, everywhere let’s face it. We’ll find them in our government, in our schools, in our businesses, in our churches and in our families. Also, if we are really honest, we must admit that we ourselves can be hypocrites; so let’s see how we’re supposed to handle hypocrisy in others and in ourselves.
Manipulating and controlling people – They’re all around us – In corporations, in politics, in the entertainment industry, in our schools, in our circles of friends, in our families, in our homes, and everywhere else. People all around us are attempting to control our lives. Some mean well, but still try to pull us from God’s will for our lives. Others are predators who simply want to use us in some way. Whether they mean well or ill, we must deal with them in a liberating scriptural way that keeps us on God’s path for our lives.
We know the Lord wants us to care for those who are in need, but with some people we find we must be careful to help without enabling. Sometimes this means that we must: 1. Give them what they need, instead of what they want. 2. Set healthy boundaries for ourselves and for them.3. Allow them to face their consequences.
Criticism is something we all face. Some people mean well with their words while others mean to hurt us as much as they can. How we react is determined by how close we are walking with Jesus. Our normal, initial, prideful reactions to criticism usually come right from the flesh, and can cost us relationships, destroy our self-esteem, and give our enemies power over us.As Christians, though, we have another way to respond. Having been broken and humbled before God, our pride should no longer be the thing that determines our reactions to criticism. Instead, the Holy Spirit wants to take the criticism of others and use it to bring growth to our souls and light to others.
Luke 4:16-21Many see the transformed lives of Christians and assume that these outer trappings are what Christianity is, that Christianity is about being a good, honest, moral person.Sadly, they have missed what caused to change in the Christian, which is personally receiving the forgiveness, cleansing and renewal of life that Jesus gives to those who have received what He paid for on Calvary.
Matthew 20:1-16Although it’s best to enter the Kingdom of Heaven early in life, it’s better to enter late than not at all.
Matthew 16:13-18, John 14:6 “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” - That revelation from God is what Jesus builds His church on. He isn’t building His church on love. He isn’t building His church on the right kind of worship service, or making a better world, or social activism or political activism, or popular preaching or preachers. When it is revealed to the human heart that Jesus is the One sent by God, the ONLY ONE sent by God, everything else falls into place. Real worship will happen. Right conduct and attitudes will happen, and The Gospel will be shared.
Job 2:11-13There are 3 vital ministries we can all give to those who are hurting no matter how inadequate we might feel. They are the ministry of Presence, Listening and Help.
Listen and WorshipHebrews 12:25-29As we wrap up our review of the Essentials of Christian Maturity, we close with the importance of listening to Him and worshiping Him.
Hebrews 12:15-17 Will you live for Jesus so that you can have the blessings and the birthright promised to you? Or will you live for yourself and throw away the blessings and the birthright that you could have enjoyed? How sad it will be when eternity comes and we are told that no one took eternity from us but that we simply threw it away! Do not be like Esau.
Matthew 7:24-27 The Parable of the Two Foundations is actually Jesus’ concluding invitation to The Sermon on the Mount. He tells us that whoever hears His words and acts on them is wise, and whoever does not is foolish. He builds up to this conclusion by making it clear that there are two ways to choose from in life, a narrow one and a wide one. The narrow leads to life, and the wide to destruction. This is not referring solely to salvation, but to all of life. He then lets us know that those who are walking in “The Way” will be known by their fruit.
The question facing us all is which foundation are we building on? The good news is that if we have been building on the wrong foundation and the storms of life have caused something like a relationship, marriage, or anything else to fall apart or break down, we have the opportunity to rebuild on the right foundation, and wind up with something much better than we had before.
Ephesians 5:21-33 As you seek to please God in your relationship, he’ll help you to do what you need to do. As a result, the positive aspects of Scriptural principles and spiritual laws will be unleashed in your life; relationships can be made right you never thought could be, or better than you ever imagined they could be.
John 14:15-17 In the movie “Princess Bride, every time Princess Buttercup tells Westley to do something, he says, “As you wish,” and then he does it. The grandfather telling the story to his grandson tells his grandson that every time Westley says, “As you wish,”what he is really saying is, “I love you.” Notice that every time Westley says, “As you wish,” The point is that it is easy to say, “I love you,” but it is action that gives credence to our words. The greatest example of this is Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane when he said, “Nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done.” In essence, the Lord is saying, “As you wish.” He follows that with the action of going to the Cross. Every time we know what the Lord wants of us, our response should be, “As you wish,” followed by obedience. The combination of words and action are a strong statement to our Lord that you love Him.
James 1:19-25 God made each one of us unique, and we’re not going to all see things the same way, have the same background, etc. Imagine how dull things would be if we were all exactly the same. Because of this, disagreements and conflicts will arise. Christians should handle conflict in the right way. Two concepts to remember: 1. the objective should be to resolve the conflict., not win the fight. 2. When one of you wins, you both lose, because someone is hurt or devalued in the relationship. 3. Healthy couples fight for resolution, unhealthy couples fight for victory.
In Matthew 5:21-24, Jesus tells us that unrighteous anger is just as sinful as murder. In Ephesians 4:22-32 we see that anger is mentioned as something that must be handled rightly in our conduct and also in our relationships. Sandwiched between admonishments to holiness in living and wholeness in our relationships is the warning to not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. From this it is clear that handling anger in a right way is an essential to walking with God and having His power and presence in our lives. In this message Dr. McMahon explores how to “How to Handle Anger.”
Matthew 5:21-26 Our world is littered with broken relationships. We have them in our families between husbands and wives, parents and children. We face them between employers and employees, with neighbors, different ethnic and social groups, between nations. The Bible gives us specific steps that bring healing to our personal relationship with God, and also other people.
Matthew 6:12 It’s clear that one of the things that is definitely at the top of the list of what God wants from us is to be forgiving. Let’s face it, whether it's a spouse who was unfaithful, a parent who let you down as a child, a friend who shared something told in confidence, or some other harm, we all at one time or another must deal with whether or not we are going to forgive. If we are the Lord's we have no choice in the matter of whether we will forgive or not forgive. We forgive for two reasons: First, because the Lord has emphatically told us to do it; Secondly, because it is best for us . These 2 go hand in hand because they’re tied to our faith. Many have a hard time forgiving because they don’t really know what forgiveness is.
Genesis 22:1-14 God put Abraham’s faith to the test, and he passed! He made himself instantly available to the Lord, acted without hesitation when the Lord gave him an assignment, ant trusted the Lord with his entire being and will. We will never become mature in our faith until it mirrors Abraham’s.
Matthew 6:5-15 The name of “Father” is not one we chose for God. It is what He has chosen to call Himself. Our great need, then, is to understand what God’s fatherhood actually is—and we may begin to do so by looking at His relationship with the incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. As we consider the richness of Jesus’ relationship with the Father, we can understand what it means for us to be adopted into God’s family.
Mathew 26:36-46 I’m afraid that there are a lot of people who are still toddlers in the Kingdom of God, (doing your basic “Now I lay me down to sleep,” followed by the “God blesses” and finally our wishlist) because they have missed this important part of the Christian walk; and worst, I’m afraid that many have fallen short of grace and fallen from grace because they haven’t been taught to watch. If we are going to grow in our Christian walk, and have an effective prayer life, we must learn to both watch and pray. You can’t pray rightly if you are not watching rightly. In this message we examine what it means to watch and pray.
Hebrews 12:14To answer the question asked in an old Puritan prayer: “If I don’t walk holily before God, how can I be assured of my salvation?” The answer is, you CAN’T! That’s why God commands us here: “Pursue … holiness! — without which no one will see the Lord.”
Hebrews 12:12-13Despondency is something that can immobilize you; and the enemy loves that. If he can’t have your soul, will try to sideline you and keep you ineffective through despondency. As long as you stay on your pity-pot you’re no threat to him. The Lord wants to help you through the darkness when it comes into your life.
1Peter 3:8-16When we are born again, we receive a living hope that unbelievers cannot understand. We are to always be ready to explain this to those who inquire.The difference between living hope and dead hope is so vast, and the Lord wants us all to have a living hope.
Acts 2:36-41It’s not mean to call to people’s attention what is keeping them from entering the Kingdom of God. It’s loving. It’s not mean to want your loved ones to be saved.
Matthew 16:21-28Jesus calls us to let go of even the smallest bit of our own agenda, our own dreams, our own way of living in the world. We are called to let go of every ounce of self in order to follow Him. This is what it means to take up our cross and follow Him.
Matthew 21:1-11, Philippans 2:5-11Biblical obedience to God means to hear (really hear), trust, submit and surrender to God and his Word.Jesus said that you would know people by their fruit, and obedience to the Lord is one of the most prominent fruits in the Christians’s life.Jesus said that it was the evidence of loving Him: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.Obedience doesn’t bring salvation, it is the tangible result of salvation.It’s not always easy; it requires us sometimes to humble ourselves, to set aside what we want in oder to do what we know that God wants. It’s not always convenient; but it’s always pleasing to the Lord, and that’s what it’s all about.
Genesis 12:1-4Abraham, the father of our faith and the Children of Israel was called in the Bible “the friend of God.”He and his wife, Sarah, were both key figures in God’s plan for the world; but just like you and me, they weren’t perfect, they were human. They didn’t always get things right, but God loved them and used them mightily in spite of their humanness. He loves you, and wants to use you, too.
Don’t think that just because you mess up that God doesn’t love you and doesn’t want to use you for good in this world for Him. Peter had a hard time getting it right most of the time, but he loved Jesus, and Jesus love him and used him in miraculous ways.
Hebrews 8:6-13There are many people who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but are still living like their standing before God is based on their performance. They know that they have not lived perfect lives, and think that God will not use them because of that. They think that they have to reach some state of perfect sinlessness before God will answer their prayers or even consider them His child. It’s like they got saved under the New Covenant and then live their lives like they are still under the Old Covenant. There are no unemployment lines in the Kingdom of God. There is no probationary period you must fulfill before you can be considerd worthy. Your sin does not separate you from Him, only your unbelief.
Matthew 17:1-9As we look at the Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration, it reminds us that God has a plan;that God has not changed from Old Testament to New Testament; that in God’s plan Jesus is the only way to the Father; that the Cross is at the heart of God’s plan; and that God’s plan for creation and for us will be carried out with or without our help.
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever". - Psalm 23:6Absolute trust in the goodness of God is at the very heart of faith. It is only because of his absolute faith in the goodness of God that Job, in the midst of all his troubles could say, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”
Psalm 23You will find all through Scripture that the shepherd provides and protects. If I didn’t believe this, I couldn’t have stepped into the ministry 48 years ago.I was in a lucrative position in a secure job, and the Lord says, “You ought to be a preacher.” He called me to step out of the security of that and just totally rely on Him.But my great concern wasn’t for me, but for my family. We were going to be sent places we didn’t know, live in houses we didn’t own, and not be given much to live on. It was scary, as one who was striving so hard to be a good provider to just take off into what appeared to be an insecure unknown future. I had to tell Him, “Lord, I’ll do anything for you. I have found life in You. I want to serve you, but what about my family?”He replied, “Joel, you know I love you, don’t you?”I said, “Yes, and I’m so grateful.”He said, “Well, I want you to know that I love your family more than you do. I’ll make sure they’re okay. I’ll provide for them, I’ll provide for you.”Then I was able to say, “Okay. I’ll leave them up to you.”God doesn’t go back on His word. He has provided, and He has protected.
Our Good Shepherd provides contentment and peace, healing and restoration, paths of righteousness.
Have you ever seen a bruised reed? It's bent over. It can't stand erect, and the top part just has to twist whatever way the wind blows. It's helpless. A smoldering wick is just almost out. Leave it alone and it just goes out. Blow on it too hard, and it just goes out. It's dying, and it just can't take too much.There are people like that, you know. In fact, a lot of us have been bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. Perhaps that’s you, right now.Jesus loves bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. He came into this world especially for them. He’s a Gentle Savior and a Righteous Judge.
Isaiah 9:2-7“He shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”Listen as Sharon McMahon unfolds these wonderful words of life in this Christmas Eve message at San Felipe Methodist Church.
In Matthew 11:11 Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.How could one who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven be greater than John the Baptist?Does this mean that you and I are greater than John the Baptist?
Philippians 2:3-11What is the Incarnation?Why was the Incarnation necessary?What does it mean to us?It’s all about how deeply God loves you!
John 13:1-17 The account of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet was a lesson to His followers that humility is expected to be a part of His followers character. It also contains all the elements of the incarnation, the reason for the incarnation, and what we are supposed to be doing until He comes again.
Jesus Wants You to Know Where You Are Going John 13:1-4 Three things we all need to know: 1. Where we came from 2. We are all going to die 3. Where you will go when you die.
John 13:1-17 Jesus knew Who He was. He knew where He came from. He knew where He was. He knew why He was here. He knew where He was going. He wants you to know these things about yourself. First of all, He wants you to know who you are.
John 12:44-50 Jesus came as light so that we could see God, ourselves, others and the world clearly.
John 12:23-36 After Jesus’ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem as he speaks to the crowd He tells them that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. He tells them that He is going to the Cross, and will die. Instead of trying to understand they argue with Him. When The Father Himself speaks from Heaven the crowd argues about where the sound came from. Much like today, people can hear what Jesus says plainly, and instead of trying to understand they want to argue with Him and tell Him what He is supposed to do. Instead of receiving God’s Word, they fail to even acknowledge the source. This is one of the most important moments in all of time, and the crowd doesn’t even notice. It grieves me when I see people today doing the same thing. Back then, Jesus just went on and did what He had come to do. He went to the cross and died.
In this message we will examine three things: 1. The gravity of this moment. 2. Who is The Son of Man, and what’s His mission. 3. The price The Son of Man had to pay to complete His mission.
John 12:12-19 JESUS HAS GIVEN US A GUIDE TO MEASURE OUR AGENDAS BY, AND THE WONDERFUL THING IS THAT IT HAS A PROMISE EMBEDDED IN IT: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)
2Peter 2:9 Message delivered by Mrs. Sharon McMahon on Laity Sunday, October 16, 2022 at San Felipe United Methodist Church.
Luke 4:16-21 Doubtlessly, the most important ministry of Jesus is saving us from our sins. But, according to Luke 4, He can do more than that. He can help you get through the traumas of living in a fallen world. He can help you. And one of the most important ministries of Jesus is that He wants to anoint us with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 4:18 Jesus came not just to save you for heaven. He came to set you free on this earth from every sin that can bind you. You don't have to live in bondage. You don't have to be controlled by something else. He wants you to be free from bondage, and He has come so you don’t have to live in it any more!
Luke 4:16-21
The Greek word that is translated as broken in this passage is the word suntribo, which means to break, to shatter in pieces, or to bruise. The word translated heart is kardia, which is where we get our word cardiac. So Jesus is saying, "I came to heal those who have had their hearts broken, shattered, and bruised". He still does that today.
Luke 4:16-30 Jesus makes it clear: “I am the One you have been seeking. I am the Messiah. I am the Savior of the world.
Psalm 103:5 Jesus makes it clear that our Heavenly Father has good things to give to those who will depend on Him. Some people miss out on the good things God wants them to have because they’re afraid that what He has for them is not what they want.
Psalm 103:1-4 At the Cross, God took the crown off His Son, Jesus, and put it on us. He took the crown that was meant for us and put it on His Son.
Psalm 103:1-4 The highest price that's ever been paid for anything or anyone was paid for you. It's the blood of Jesus. The full ransom. Paid for you. You see, the Cross isn’t just a down-payment for the forgiveness of your sins, and now you’re supposed to be making payments for the rest of your life. The Cross didn’t just transfer you from being a slave of sin to being a slave of God. Jesus’ death on the Cross was a “full and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.” Your debt has been paid off, and you are no longer a slave. You have been restored to the position of a child of God. You have been fully and totally redeemed.
2 Timothy 3:1-7
For the past 50 years the United Methodist Church has been struggling over an issue that was decided emphatically on the Cross over 2000 years ago.
Sin is taken seriously by God, and it should be taken seriously by us, as well. If it wasn’t important, Jesus wouldn’t have had to go to the Cross.
If you tell people who practice these things that they are okay, you are being a party to their damnation. You are lulling them into thinking there is no danger when their souls are in danger of hell fire.
The church cannot condone what Jesus died for, but it can let sinners know that Jesus has set them free.
That is what is at stake at this time---the souls of people.
It’s not about hating anyone. It’s about where people will spend eternity, and also the quality of life they will have in the here and now.
Psalm 103:1-5 Some say healing does not happen anymore, that miracles like healing died out with the Apostles; however, the Bible shows us there’s actually a pattern in Scripture where forgiveness and healing are in the same verses. If that’s the case, how do you believe one half of a verse and not the other? Psalm 103:3 states that God forgives all our iniquities and heals all all diseases. God still heals. It is one of the benefits of being a believer. This entire passage is as true today as it was over 2,500 years ago.
Psalm 103:1-5 Let me tell you, the benefits of being in the Kingdom of God, of living the life you were created for, are out of this world! They are literally divine! The first benefit listed is, “He forgives all your iniquities.”
Scripture: Genesis 3:8–10; Luke 10:38–42
All of the things we have considered on this podcast for the last six weeks are connected to the fact that the thing God wants most from us, and what will give us the most fulfillment in life is a personal relationship with Him. At the heart of that is really communicating with Him day after day, and you cannot do that without hearing His voice.
Mark 4:21-25 Jesus taught that we must heed and tend to what we hear. We will hear more if we handle well what we hear. Also, if we don’t take care of the words God gives us, then even what we have will be taken away. God is speaking all the time, but we need to listen—tune into His voice. Satan is also trying to speak to us. There was more than one voice in the Garden for Adam and Eve to listen to. They chose to listen to the wrong voice, and they chose to believe the wrong voice. Jesus warns us to be very careful what we hear and how we manage it.
Judges 6 Sometimes we may think we’re hearing God’s voice, but we’re not sure. You may be praying about something important, and want to be sure you are hearing the Lord correctly, or whether you’re really hearing Him at all. Job or career Financial decision Relationship Friendship you’re not sure is really good for you A decision as to whether this is really the person you should marry If you should stay in a relationship or get out In these matters and a lot of others, you may know what you want to do, but you’re just not sure that the voice you hear when you are praying about these things is the Lord, or just what you want to hear.
1Samuel 3:1-8 If you want to hear from God, you’re going to have to want to hear His voice. If you don’t listen for it, you will not be able to hear it. Samuel had to be coached to hear God’s voice, and I’m hoping that this series will do that for you.
The Holy Spirit now resides in you and walks with you, and speaks to you. Prophecy is when He tells you something the Lord wants you to share with another person or group to encourage them, build them up, and comfort them.
John 15:13-15 God wants to be your friend. He created you with free will and the ability to hear His voice and speak to Him. His desire is to walk and talk with you in the cool of the day. He wants to restore the sort of relationship you were created for. The sort of relationship Adam and Eve had before the Fall. He even went to the Cross for His friends so we could have this relationship.
John 10:1-16 Jesus said, “"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me (John 10:27). I have learned that God still speaks today, and that communicating with God is at the heart of the personal relationship He wants to have with each of us, and that deep down each of us longs to have with Him. This is an introduction to a series of messages on hearing God today.
Luke 11:1-13 Jesus’ teaching to us in Luke 11:1-13 can be summed up in three words: Identity, Priority and Trust.
Acts 2:1-21 On the Day of Pentecost, we see what can happen when the Body of Christ is of one accord.
John 17:21 Our purpose, as believers in Jesus Christ, is not to save the world, nor is it to change the world or transform it. Our job, above all, is to bring the world to an awareness of Who He is, and when men and women come to that awareness they will do one of two things: Either they will accept Him and be saved, or they will reject him and continue in the lost condition in which the whole world continually exists.
1John 4:7-11 Today we’re going to wrap up our looking at the question, “Why would a loving God send anyone to hell?”
Romans 1:16-20 God put eternity in your heart and makes Himself known through His creation so you would look for Him, and His Word says if you look for Him, you'll find Him, because he's not far from each of us.
Exodus 33:18-19 When Adam and Eve sinned, God drove them out of the Garden of Eden. Many use this account as a basis for questioning the goodness of God, holding that He just got mad and drove them out in a fit of anger as punishment for disobeying Him. However, when you take this incident in context with the whole Bible, and in light of God’s goodness, you can begin to understand not only the reason He drove them out, but also why. He did it out of a goodness and love that reaches down through the ages even to you and to me.
John 3:16-21 Jesus has told us to take this Good News into all the world. That means to everybody. We have Good News for the world: “Nobody has to go to hell!”
Ephesians 2:1-10 In this Easter season we celebrate the fact that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins, and rose from the dead to offer you eternal life. Because He did that, we have a choice, and that’s what this message is about. Where you spend eternity is your choice, and how you spend eternity is your choice
Luke 24:1-12
As Peter left the empty tomb Easter morning, he was amazed. There are three amazing things that are ours all because of Easter: 1. Our sins are forgiven! 2. We don’t have to fear death! 3. We are going to live forever!
Mark 14:1-11, John 12:1-11
Mary’s hopes, dreams, and security were all tied to this alabaster box that she broke open and anointed Jesus with. In anointing Jesus with this valuable, fragrant perfume, Mary gave her all. When Jesus’ body was broken and His blood poured out at Calvary, He gave us His all. That was His alabaster box. What’s yours? I saw a prayer the other day that pretty well sums up our alabaster box: “Lord, I give You all my heart. I give you all that I am. I give You FULL CUSTODY, NOT JUST WEEKEND VISITS.”
1 John 3:2-3 It’s Spring, and time for Spring Cleaning. As the weather warms and new life springs forth, we are moved to start cleaning, aren’t we? Coincidentally, it’s also the season of Lent when we are called to examine our hearts and see if any cleaning is needed there as well. In today’s message we discuss what it means to be pure in heart and how we become persons whose hearts are pure, and how we keep them that way.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In these days of tremendous theological confusion, it is vitally important that the church of Jesus Christ be firmly settled on the Gospel message. Our only message is contained in these 23 words found in 2 Corinthians 5:21. God has not commissioned us with a message about political power or military might. Nor are we called to right all the wrongs in the world, or to pass judgment on every passing trend. We’re not given the task of transforming the world. The church has been given one major task, and that is to share the Gospel with every person on earth (Mark 16:15). If that is our task, we need to make sure we know what the Gospel is, and that’s what is shared in this message.
Mark 9:38-50 Many of us, in looking back, can identify people who have been stumbling blocks in so many ways. In fact, it seems that many make a career out of pinpointing those people who have been stumbling blocks in their lives. There are many others who have latched onto this and make their living helping people find those in their past they can blame for their problems, insufficiencies, addictions, etc. Jesus has made it very clear what we are to do with those people. We are to forgive them and move on with our lives, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. In our Scripture lesson today, we find Jesus telling us of the rewards of being a stepping stone for others, and the dire consequences of being a stumbling block. The message today is a call to examine ourselves and see if we have been or are being stumbling blocks to others, and encouraging us to be stepping stones instead.
Luke 9:23-27 What greater sacrifice could you give this Lent than your self-centeredness? From what I read in the Bible, this is the greatest sacrificial gift you can give to the Lord.
Luke 4:1-13 The usual Lenten message about temptation goes like this: “Jesus was tempted. He didn’t give in to temptation. Be like Jesus. If you fail, just try harder.” Temptation is not just passing or failing a test. It is about learning about who we really are, and where our personal spiritual growing edge is. During this Lenten season I encourage you to not try to ignore your temptations, but instead to face them and let the Lord help you to understand what is really going on in your heart. Satan wants to use temptation and failure to shame you, guilt you, isolate you and separate you from the love of God. The Lord wants to use the temptation you experience to free you from the shackles that have kept you from the life and love He wants to share with you.
Luke 9:28-36 At the end of this time of prayer, Our Father in Heaven spoke, and this is what He said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” When you get alone in prayer, and the Lord draws near, at the end of that time you leave knowing you are loved, and walking in His authority. Brothers and sisters, it just doesn’t get any better than that!
Mark 7:14-23 Jesus says that the things that defile us and make us unclean aren’t outward, but come from the depths of our our hearts, and that changing our actions doesn’t change our hearts. So what can we do to have a heart that is clean and undefiled? In another place He tells us to make the tree good, and then the fruit will be good, that good fruit cannot come from a bad tree. Although we cannot change our hearts. God can. This message is about how that happens.
Mark 11:27-33 The chief priests, scribes and elders asked Jesus about the source of His authority for the wrong reason, but it is a very important question that has eternal significance for each of us, both temporally and eternally: “Where does the authority of Jesus come from? From God, or from men?”
Mark 6:52
We often think of a hardened heart as one that is opposed to God or the things of God. However, as we see the Apostles struggle with who Jesus is, we see something else. A hardened, or calloused heart may just be oblivious to the things of God. The Apostles had already made up their minds about Who Jesus was, and what they expected from Him. Because of that, they couldn’t see Him for Who He was, and how they should relate to Him.
Mark 6:1-6 Charles Spurgeon once said, “We often talk of unbelief as if it were an affliction to be pitied instead of a crime to be condemned.” Henry Drummond’s words reiterate this when he states, “Christ never failed to distinguish between doubt and unbelief. Doubt is can’t believe. Unbelief is won’t believe. Doubt is honesty. Unbelief is obstinacy. Doubt is looking for light. Unbelief is contentment with darkness.” As I pondered Mark 6:1-6 this past week, the question arose in my heart, “Why couldn’t they believe? And then it dawned on me. The people in Nazareth couldn’t receive anything from Jesus because they thought they knew Who He was. Their hearts and minds were filled with presumptions, presuppositions and conclusions that were all totally wrong. Like the old spiritual says, “We didn’t know Who You was.” They didn’t know Who He was because they had already made up their minds Who He was. Because of that, they missed out on so much, and caused others to miss out as well. As we begin 2022, I pray that all of us will take time to set aside any presuppositions, assumptions and presumptions about the Lord so we can see Him as He really is. Let’s make sure that we get to know Him, not just about Him.
John 2:1-11 I have performed hundreds of weddings in my lifetime, and one thing is always the same. Everyone wants the wedding to be perfect, no flaws. People plan, and fret, and cry and all sorts of things, but still, things do go wrong.
I have seen wedding rings tied so tightly to a pillow that no one could get them loose. I have seen unity candles that just wouldn’t light. I’ve seen cute little flower girls notice that there were flowers left in her basket when she got to the Bride, and just dump what was left on the floor right behind the bride. I had a groomsman pass out from locking his knees in such an amusing way that it made America’s Funniest Home Videos. And here, as Jesus attends a wedding, disaster strikes. They run out of wine, and it’s going to be so embarrassing to both families. Why it happened, we don’t know, but we can identify with a lot of the possible reasons. It could have been poor planning. It could be that a delivery hadn’t come when it was supposed to. It could be that the supplier put the wine on back order because he was having supply chain issues. It could be that a lot of unanticipated guests showed up. It could be that the guests just really drank a lot. Just let your own imagination run wild. No matter what the cause, no matter if blame can be pinned on somebody or some thing, they ran out of wine and it was about to get tragically embarrassing. The good thing is that Mary notices and asks Jesus to help. That made all the difference in the world!
John 1:1-18, Hebrews 2:14-18 When you look back over the Bible, throughout the Old and the New Testaments, what you discover about the Incarnation is that: ▪ Christmas is Jesus enduring a human birth so that you and I can have a spiritual birth. ▪ Christmas is Jesus coming to a stable so that one day we can live in a mansion. ▪ Christmas is Jesus having an earthly mother so that we can have a heavenly Father. ▪ Christmas is Jesus becoming poor so that we can be made rich. ▪ Christmas is Jesus welcomed at his birth by some shepherds, so that when we are born again, we can be welcomed by the angels who rejoice in heaven. Jesus is the only one who could do what I've been talking about. Because for Jesus to meet our need, he had to be both God and man. At Christmastime, we celebrate the coming together of Deity and humanity, God becoming flesh.
I find it fascinating that it’s the time we celebrate the Lord’s birth that negative emotions and behaviors seem to surface more than at any other time of the year. I think that this occurs in Christians’ lives because of old habits that haven’t been dealt with, yet. In our Scripture reading today we are told to “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24) This Holiday Season is an opportune time to do exactly what God’s Word is exhorting us to start doing. To help you with that, I want to share with you the “Three R’s” of Rule (The Golden Rule), Relationships, and Relinquish.
Luke 11:33-36, 15:8-10 Have you ever been in a situation where darkness kept you from knowing what to do? Of course you have. We all know that there are a lot of situations in life where light really helps. The Bible is the best light for life we can find. If you don’t read it, you are going to live in a lot of darkness, and you can get hurt. This book is so important!
John 14:1-6 Jesus has dominion now. He's not going to receive it some day in the future, He received all authority 2000 years ago on when He entered into heaven on Easter day and presented Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. At that time God gave Jesus a name above all names, and no matter what you're going through today, Jesus has dominion in your life. So I encourage you, don't listen to the enemy. He's a liar, he's a thief, and he's a fraud. Jesus has dominion, now.
Hebrews 12:1-3 In Hebrews 12 we are reminded that we live out the course of our Christian faith surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. In that crowd are those from the beginning of time who lived and died in faith all the way up to the present. “Witness” has two meanings, both of which are applicable to our Christian life. On the one hand all of those believers who went before us bear witness to the centrality of the Cross of Jesus Christ. They lived and died in faith, not having their faith made complete without the Cross. They looked forward to what the Lord was going to do at the Cross, while we look back at what He has done for us. Both those who lived before and after that moment in time are united by that. So they bear witness that there is no other Name in Heaven or or earth by which we may be saved but the Name of Jesus. The other meaning of “witness” is to be an onlooker, to behold something as it takes place. In that sense we are given the mental image of one in a race who is being cheered on by those surrounding the track. We are are reminded that we are not alone in this Christian journey, but are surrounded and encouraged by loved ones and other brothers and sisters in Christ who have finished the course and kept the faith. Think of all those who have gone on before who have contributed to your conversion, helped you, inspired you, taught you and encouraged you. From time to time it is good to pause and give God thanks for every one of them. I have a long list of loved ones, neighbors, friends, teachers and mentors. I’m grateful to God for them, and I am grateful to them. How about you?
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “All Scripture is inspired, or God-Breathed.” Because it is God’s Word, it brings understanding, order, strength and life. If we don’t receive it as God’s Word to us, we miss out on our best life. Sometimes we need to consult the owner’s manual provided by the Manufacturer.
John 4:7-26 Satan, the Bible says, come only to steal, to kill and destroy. He doesn’t want you to prosper. He wants you to die spiritually. He wants to famish you and keep you dehydrated. He wants to keep you from the goodness of God’s Word. That’s what the Parable of the Sower is all about. On the other hand, God wants to fill you, fulfill you and prosper you. He wants to give you life, and give it abundantly.
Mark 8:22-25 Jesus wanted to make this man whole. He would have touched him as many times as it took to bring him to wholeness and clarity of sight. I submit to you that there are those walking around without clarity of sight. Oh, they’ve met Jesus, He has touched them, they are counted among those that walk with Him, but they are fumbling around and just don’t see the Kingdom or their Savior very clearly. Sometimes pride prevents them from saying, “Yes, Lord, I don’t see clearly yet. Please touch me again and make me whole.” Sometimes, just “good enough” is all they want.
John 6:24-35
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the Bible had 40 writers, but only One Author. It is a spiritual book written by the Greatest of all Spiritual Beings for spiritual beings. The unsaved cannot understand this book because they do not have spiritual eyes to see or spiritual ears to hear. Only those who are alive spiritually can grasp it. Sadly, as a result of the “Enlightenment” there are many people today who think that the Bible is no more inspired than a great novel like “Gone With the Wind.” They think it should be read and interpreted the same way any other great work of literature, such as Shakespeare, and that we should interpret the Bible according to our own world view. The truth is, the Bible is of no private interpretation. I like the way Pastor Robert Morris says it, “You don't interpret the Bible, the Bible interprets you.” The Bible is God's Word, and God’s Word was around long before the Enlightenment occurred.
Mark 8:14-25 The Bible is a spiritual book written to spiritual beings by a spiritual being. The Bible even tells us that the natural man, the natural mind, cannot understand this book. The way we understand this book is we approach it as little children. We don't read this book like, well, I've read it before, or I'm a Sunday School teacher, or I'm a pastor. We come to God saying, "Lord, I'm just a little child, and I cannot understand this book unless You open my spiritual eyes.”
Isaiah 6:8-13, Daniel 4:4-14; Revelation 17:1-5 Fifty years ago, if you had asked someone what Babylon represented symbolically in Biblical prophecy, people would have told you that Babylon was either Rome, London, Paris, the Roman Empire, Western Civilization, New York City, or the Catholic Church. We can see clearly today that they would all have been wrong. No one could ever imagine how far from the Lord our nation could go in such a short time! Today, since the time of the Lord’s return is closer, we can see things clearer. So what does Babylon represent?
Mark 4:10-20 I want to share something with you today that I think will be really helpful to a lot of you in your understanding of the Bible. What I hope to do is pull back a curtain that will open new areas of spiritual understanding to every one of you, because once you are familiar with this, you will see the Bible in an entirely new light.
1 Timothy 2:1-7 On this day following the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I would like to cover quickly 2 areas that I think some people may struggle in knowing how to pray, Afghanistan and our country.
Jude 1:17-23
As you face all the things that are going on in the world today, make sure that your number one priority is to “keep yourselves in the love of God.” According to Jude, this is how you keep ourselves in the love of God: 1. building ourselves up in our most holy faith; 2. praying in the Holy Spirit; 3. waiting for Christ’s return.
Jude 1:5-16
Jude says that false teachers are the rebels we read about in Scripture. They’re going to be judged. And they’re dangerous to us. That’s why Jude writes: “Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)
Jude 1:3-4
"I exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3) This sentence is one of the most pertinent messages from the Word of God to His church today. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, says this in his commentary about this verse: “When I gave all diligence to write to you of the common salvation - Designed for all, and enjoyed by all believers. Here the design of the epistle is expressed; the end of which exactly answers the beginning. It was needful to exhort you to contend earnestly - Yet humbly, meekly, and lovingly; otherwise your contention will only hurt your cause, if not destroy your soul. For the faith - All the fundamental truths. Once delivered - By God, to remain unvaried for ever.” -John Wesley John Wesley held that The essentials of the faith are changeless. He shared this quote from St. Augustine which sums this all up pretty well: “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” Our founder held that there is a core, essentials of the faith that all believers hold in common. These essentials are pretty well outlined in the historic creeds, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. Jude was writing to the church to exhort them to stay on track with the essentials and not be led astray by false teachers and teachings within the church.
Jude 1:1-2 Jude’s prayer for the recipients of his message is peculiarly suited to those who were facing persecution and pressures from outside the church and enemies to the faith within the church whose aim was to misrepresent God’s grace and mercy as license to continue in sin. The church today faces the same pressures from without and within as did Jude’s first readers, so his message can help us today, just as it was a help to his first recipients. Also, our need for mercy, peace and love to be multiplied among us is just as needed in our age as it was in his. In this message we will first of all look at the meaning of mercy, peace and love and then the strong relationship between them.
Jude 1:1-2
Jude uses three words to identify the people he is addressing his letter to: “To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:…” Now these are the marks of a Christian, so this letter is written to you. These three attributes separate us from the world and bind us to God the Father through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: (Jude 1:1)
Who is Jude? I love his explanation of who he is. He gives us his Personal Identity. He is Jude. He gives us his Spiritual Identity. He is a bond-servant of Jesus Christ. He gives us his Social Identity. He is the brother of James. I think the order he gives tells us a lot about him as well. Personal Identity, comes first, Spiritual Identity comes second, and Social Identity comes third. Although worldly people would have you believe otherwise, our social relationships are not nearly as important as our spiritual relationship. In eternal value, our relationships on earth are not nearly as important as our relationship to Jesus, and our social relationships can never be as wonderful as they could be if our relationship with Jesus is not what it should be. Jude identifies as a bond-servant of Christ. This message is about what that means.
Message by Ayrton Rochester Ephesians 1:7-14
"Many people believe in Christ, but believing in Jesus as the Son of God is not all that is required."
Luke 9:51-56
David is referred to in the Bible as a man after God’s own heart. He wanted to please and bless the Lord with his entire being. Listen to what he says in Psalm 119:24-24: Your testimonies also are my delight; They are my counselors. My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. (Psalms 119:24-25) Testimonies are the things in the law where God reveals what pleases him and what does not. It delighted David to discover ways to bless the Lord. He says “they show me how to live the best life.” Now listen what he says about his soul: My soul cleaves to the dust. My soul hangs on to the world. Then he says, Revive me according to your Word.” Refresh my life, renew it, in accordance with your Word. We need to take heed to the example that David gives us here. He knows that his soul needs training. Often you’ll see him in the Psalms instructing his soul. In Psalm 103, he says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. If you want to bless the Lord with your life you are going to have to do two things. One is find out what is important to Him. That’s why He gave us the Bible. The other is that our spirits have to train our souls.
Luke 9:51-56 If you look at nearly any tombstone in any cemetery you will find the following: name, date of birth and date of death. Life gets summed up by a small dash between the dates. How about Jesus? We know He was born at a specific point in time, and He died on the cross at a specific point in time. But we also know that He was alive with the Father in Heaven eternally before He was born, that He still lives today, presently seated at the right hand of God the Father, and that He is going to return some day to judge both the living and the dead. Still, Jesus has a dash, and His dash is important because His dash was spent letting us know how we should spend our dash.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 I was just talking to someone this past week who does a lot of counseling, and she shared how surprised she has been to discover that there are many, many people who have never been told “I love you.” The Good News is that You are loved. The Cross shouts “I love you!” to a world filled with hurting, helpless, hopeless people. He loved you and died for you, and called to you even when you were unlovable and unlovely. He didn’t wait for you to straighten up to start loving you. He loves you now, with all your imperfections.
Job 38:1-11 There are people today in the church who are trying to tell us Christianity is outdated, and needs to get with the times on the issues of salvation, sexuality, morality and more. These are people who are darkening counsel. Like Job and his friends at the beginning, they try to be experts in something they know nothing about. I’ve been told by one person in this group that words like “heresy”, and “blasphemy” aren’t to be used any more. If we bought into that, wouldn’t it mean that there are no standards or norms to go by in the church concerning such things as the deity and humanity of Jesus (which is where most heresies gravitate) and that it is okay to smear and insult the Lord? Darkened counsel steers away from and casts confusion around God’s will and God’s plans. We need to make sure we don’t become guilty of this sin.
Deuteronomy 6:1-12 This is a challenging time to raise a child. Fathers, do you know how to be good fathers in these times? Here’s how to pull it off.
1 Samuel 15:34-16:1 What do you do when you’ve done exactly what you’re supposed to do, exactly what you know the Lord wanted you to do, and circumstances just get bad? Ever been there? This is what happened to Samuel.
James 3:2-10
Do you remember what happened to Isaiah when he realized that his words had condemned him? An angel took a live coal with tongs from the altar of God and placed it on his lips and cleansed him. Although we can never take back one hurtful, damaging word we have ever uttered, the Lord has cleansing for us as well. Instead of an angel coming to us, The Lord Himself has come to us. And He hasn’t brought a live coal from the altar of God with tongs to cleanse us. Instead, He has brought His own blood, through the Cross, which is more powerful and cleansing than anything else in heaven or on earth. So today, let us remember any condemning words we have uttered, confess them, and receive the Lord’s cleansing, and then resolve prayerfully from this moment on to watch our words. If you do this, you will be amazed at the trajectory and direction your life will take! If you would like to know if you have been guilty of condemning words, just listen to this message.
Isaiah 6:1-8
Isaiah went to the Temple because he thought God needed to be filled in on what was going on. The Lord revealed to him what was really going on and invited him to be a part of the solution.
Acts 2:1-21
On Pentecost Sunday we remember God’s great gift to us following the death of his Son in our place on the Cross. It is the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Yet so many Christians reject the gift of the Holy Spirit – either out of false assumptions of fear and ignorance, or simply out of misinformation - missing out on a wonderful and crucial gift from God himself. The Holy Spirit, given first at Pentecost is more than a contagious positive attitude or an emotional form of Worship. He is the Promise of the Father that the disciples were told to wait for in Jerusalem. He is the 3rd person of the Trinity. He is the Helper promised by Jesus. "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17) As we read on in the New Testament we see that every new believer was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Promise of the Father to every believer, not just way back then, but also today.
Genesis 16:1-2
It struck me this past week that it is not enough to just know God’s will. When we have a promise or a direction from the Lord, we need to always realize that there are three elements involved: God’s will, God’s way, and God’s timing. To not take all three of these into consideration really can cause us a lot of anxiety, frustration, and stress, and can result in our missing the blessed life we could be living. I submit that this is the key to holy living: Living in God’s will, in God’s way, and in God’s timing.
Luke 1:34-38; John 2:1-5; John 19:23-27
In the Garden of Eden God presented Eve to Adam, and Adam to Eve. He entrusted them to each other. They were to be helpers to each other in life, and they became husband and wife. God has continued to do this down through the ages, bringing men and women together and creating families. Then, the Lord entrusted Adam and Eve with a tiny, helpless little baby, and Adam and Eve became Father and Mother, and their lives were even more complete. God entrusts husbands and wives to each other to help them be complete in this world. He entrusts children to us with the call to help each child become the person God created them to be. In helping us all to be the unique person God has created us to be, God has given us examples in the Bible as to how to do this. Being a mother is no exception, and we find one of the best examples on motherhood in Mary, the mother of Jesus.
1 John 4:7-21
In his first epistle, John reminds us that the most imperative commands of God are to love Him and to love one another. If we say we love Him and are not truly loving those around us, we haven’t even begun our life in Christ. We’re lying to ourselves and others. Many Christians today are walking in hate because they have never learned what hatred really is. I discovered something this past week that I think really helps us understand what hatred of those around us is really like from a biblical perspective. Since hate is the opposite of love, I just took 1 Corinthians 13 and reversed it! As I share 1 Corinthians 13 and then in reverse in this message, I invite you to reflect on your own conduct in your homes, at school, at work, driving in the parking lot, and wherever else you make contact with other people. So often, I think when people hear 1 Corinthians 13 defining love, they get a little warm fuzzy in their heart and think, “that’s so sweet,” and never consider it being a description of what their life should be like.
1John 3:16-24
As I looked at 1John 3 this past week, something hit me. John is talking about the right now. He uses the present tense in talking about our relating to Jesus, and His abiding in us. The Bible, and Christian experience both show us that the Christian life is a current, thing, happening in our lives today. Yes, we look back with gratitude and to help understand the present. Yes, we look forward with hope in our hearts for all that lies ahead for us with the Lord. But we don’t waste today. And I’m afraid many do. I’m afraid many either live in the past, with mistakes and events holding them prisoner, and many others are just wishing and waiting their lives away, wasting the precious life that the Lord has given them today.
Matthew 7:1-6
When Jesus said, “Do not judge...” He meant, 'do not condemn'. He meant, 'do not set yourself up as a judge over someone else'. He meant, 'do not judge with a blind eye to your own sin and your own judgment'. He meant, 'do not be a prideful faultfinder'. He did NOT mean, 'do not judge between evil and good'. He did not mean, 'do not practice discernment'. He did not mean, 'do not talk to others about their sin'.
Luke 14:26
There is a phenomenon in our society today that makes it very difficult for many people to understand what Jesus is calling us to do today. Many believe that when it comes to character or compromise, you must always cast aside character and compromise your values. One of Satan’s sneakiest ploys is to bring us to a point where we compromise our values. If anything, or anyone, − even your own family or your own personal interests and desires – might cause you, or provide justification for you, to rebel against what God has taught in His Word, then refuse to be drawn away. Don’t let anything prevent you from being a disciple of the One who is greater than all these things.
1 Corinthians 15:1-23 In this message we review three things the Resurrection gives us: 1. A Revelation of the tremendous power of God. 2. The Proof we are on the right path. 3. The Promise of Eternal Life.
Luke 23:33-47 Today, in our country, we have way too many people just looking for ways to be offended and grudges to bear. What we need is a whole lot of people who will start loving like they’ve never been hurt. We need a move of God in this area like never before.
Luke 9:23-26
We are currently in a series called “Jesus Unfiltered.” When the Father spoke at the time of Jesus’ transfiguration, He said, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.” In this series, we’re taking some well-known things that Jesus has said and trying to really listen to them anew and afresh without all the filters and glosses that have been implanted in our hearts and minds by our culture and environment. Today we are looking at Jesus’ invitation to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Think about this for a moment. Why did the Father send Jesus? To reveal the heart of God through His teaching, His death, and His resurrection. To invite us into the Kingdom of God, to open the door to the Kingdom through His death on the cross for our sins, and to rise again to offer us eternal life. You see, The Cross was why He came into this world. When you take up your cross, you get to live the life that God created you for. You get to live the life you were created to live, being the person you were created to be, and deep down have always wanted to be.
John 6:47-59 During our Jesus Unfiltered series, we’re looking at the fact that many of us take our preconceptions to the Bible, and miss out on what we really need to hear. We now come to what may very well be the hardest of all these sayings. In fact, after Jesus spoke these words, the people who heard them responded like this: When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60 ESV) So exactly what had Jesus said to elicit such a response? We find the words in verse 53: So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. (John 6:53 ESV)
John 14:6
We are currently in a series called “Jesus Unfiltered.” When the Father spoke at the time of Jesus’ transfiguration, He said, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.” In this series we’re taking some well-known things that Jesus has said and trying to really listen to them anew and afresh without all the filters and glosses that have been implanted in our hearts and minds our culture and environment. This morning, we are looking at one of the most important statements that Jesus ever made, and one of the most controversial: Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Matthew 25:34-46 At the end of the day, we will all stand before His glorious throne, and Jesus says we will be sorted out, just like sheep are sorted out from the goats. One group, those who are depicted as sheep, will enter into eternal life. The other group, who are depicted as goats, will go away into eternal punishment. With all the filters taken out of the way, we are left with the warning that we will stand before Him already judged by how we have lived our lives. So, have we lived as sheep or goats?
Mark 9:2-9 On the mount of Transfiguration, as God reveals Jesus to us for Who He really is, and tells us what He expects us to do with these words: This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!" (Mark 9:7 ) Have we really been listening to the words of Jesus, as our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus have both told us to? Or have we been listening through filters and assumptions that keep us from really hearing what He says?
Jonah 1:1-3 Many Christians today do not have the conscious presence of God in their lives. We should not settle for God’s protection, His provision, or His promises without His presence. When we have the presence of God, we need nothing more; and we should settle for nothing less. There are four things that will rob us of God’s manifest presence in our lives: (1) direct disobedience, (2) divided devotion, (3) displaced dependence, (4) determined defiance.
Jonah 3:1-5,10
When I met the Lord, one of the things that I realized was that my past was filled with times when I had selfishly hurt others, and I couldn’t undo any of my actions, words, thoughts, attitudes. I had damaged people’s faith and a whole lot more. It was really horrifying and crushing to me how my self-centered, sinful attitudes and actions had a ripple effect around the world in a bad way. Jesus couldn’t erase my past, but He gave me the opportunity to start over, living a different kind of life a life that emanated goodness instead of evil. He’ll do the same for you.
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Mark Twain said: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."
Both of those days are important to God, too. He needs you to be you right now.
The answer to why you were born is something that a lot of people struggle with, and approach in a lot of different ways.
If you are one of those who have struggled with this, I hope this message will help you, because one of the things that is answered clearly in the story of Jonah is why you were born.
1Samuel 3:1-20 I’m afraid that a lot of us have lost our hearing, and really aren’t hearing any more from God Himself. Since the ’60s our nation has been losing its hearing. Back then We were told that we needed to cast off old, outdated ways of thinking and values, and basically, just quit feeling guilty about being immoral. This was the time of the sexual revolution, the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. It was the time to turn on, tune in, and drop out. The God is dead theology that became popular at that time defined God as that voice in the back of our head that made us feel guilty when we said the d-word. We were told that we didn’t need to listen to that voice anymore. I remember thinking at one point in my life, “Why doesn’t God make Himself known to us like He used to? If there was a God like a read about in the Bible, of course, I’d serve Him.” Well, as I honestly dug into this, I made a tremendous discovery. He hasn’t changed at all, and He still speaks to us today just like He did in the Bible. As it says in His Word, “He is the same yesterday, today and forever.” We just need to have ears that are willing to hear, and eyes that are willing to see.
John 1:18
Through the years I have heard questions like this multiple times: “If God’s really there, why doesn’t he let us know?” “Why doesn’t He just appear in the sky and say something?” The thing is, He HAS let us know. This is what John is trying to get across to us. He has let us know. We just have to be serious about looking for Him.
John 1:1-18 Although John doesn’t mention it, the manner in which Jesus, The Word, became flesh is very important to our salvation. This morning, as we affirmed our faith, we affirmed this when we said those historic words in the Nicene Creed: “ For us and for our salvation, He came down from heaven; He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made human.” In the Apostles’ Creed, we affirm that “He was born of the Virgin Mary.” The truth of the virgin birth of Christ is a truth opposed from every side. The world mocks the idea of a virgin birth, viewing it as a primitive, medieval superstition. The devil hates the virgin birth because it teaches both the humanity and the deity of his nemesis, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, many nominal Christians, due to ignorance, doubt it or think it’s incidental. It’s not incidental. It is foundational.
Luke 2:1-20 In this Christmas message we pause and contemplate on what characteristics make up the most beautiful, meaningful of gifts. We can see that the first is love, the second is sacrifice, and the third is that somehow the gift shares a part of you with the one who is loved. That is exactly what we see in God’s coming into this world that first Christmas night. Love, for you. Sacrifice, for you. And the Gift He gives, is Himself. The gift of salvation was not something He could just send. He had to deliver it personally. You see, the incarnation had a very important purpose: He had to come so He could die. He had to die so you could have eternal life. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!
It's Christmas and my mind wanders to the glories of Christmases past, my family, my brothers, and that one Christmas I told you about. But I'm glad we've set aside a time to consider the gift of the baby in the manger. He paid everything for the wonderful gift that He offers you. Everything!
Luke 5:4-11
This is the Advent Season. It’s a time when we remember that the Lord kept His promise and came the first time, and we now wait for His coming the Second time. But living in this “in-between time,” He wants to be continually coming into your life. Every day we should be giving as much of ourselves as we know to as much of God as we understand. This means that when the Lord shows us an area of our lives we haven’t surrendered to Him, we do it. It may be a bitterness. It may be a prejudice. It may be a habit that is sinful. It may just be nagging worry. It may be a tremendous hurt from the past that you just haven’t let go of and it haunts you and it controls you. He’ll let you know what it is. Let me tell you, in that area, the Lord is doing the same thing for you that He did for Peter, the Young Ruler and millions of others through the ages: He is inviting you to trust Him. And if you will, you will see miracles in your life. Your life will become one of excited anticipation of what the Lord is going to do next.
1 Peter 5:6-11 The enemy loves labels, because if you take on and identify with the label instead of the Lord, he has you! Black, White, Hispanic, Men, Women, Right, Left, Liberal, Conservative… the list goes on and on. When asked, “Are you on our side or their side?” The answer should always be, “No. I’m on the Lord’s side.” You see, if you choose a label to live by, you are going to be pushed into all the values that go with that label, and it’s easy to fall into following the label leaders and definers instead of the Lord, and that label can become your religion; And, as Jesus told Satan, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." The beautiful hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” ends with this statement: “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” When you responded to Jesus’ call to follow Him, and were saved, you did that. When you were baptized, you made a statement publicly to the Lord, the church and to the world that you were giving Him your soul, your life, your all. The water symbolized dying to self and the world, and living to God. In that moment you affirmed your response to the Lord’s words, “If anyone wishes come after me, they must deny themselves, and take up their cross daily, and follow me.” You declared your intention to do just that. You humbled yourself before Him. You put Him before your pride, your understanding and any other influence in life. So, how have you been doing at keeping that commitment?
I Thessalonians 5:1-24
It seems incongruous to many to even think about being thankful in our current climate of politics, pandemic, division, immorality and lawlessness. And yet, this is exactly what Christians are called to do, not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day. In the midst of his final instructions to the Thessalonians in his first epistle to them, Paul says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” It is the Christian’s way of life. In his18th-century classic, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, William Law made the following statement:
“Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it. Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it turns all that it touches into happiness.”
Law, who was a mentor to John and Charles Wesley, makes a great point. When you see God at work and respond to what he is doing with thankfulness instead of resistance, you will develop many other virtues he describes.
***For Prayer, or Counselling, email me at prayer@his24-7.com
Luke 5:1-11 Have you ever noticed that when people get in a panic they sometimes do irrational things? They do these things because they feel they have to do something, and they don’t know what to do. In our country right now, many are on the verge of panic. They feel helpless, and out of control of their lives. The pandemic, our current political divisions, the deep divides on so many levels are so frustrating because it seems we can’t do anything about them. On top of this, it looks like God could do something, but isn’t. In the midst of all the chaos, many believers are trying to trust in God, but having difficulty doing it. During the next few weeks we are going to be asking the question, “Can You Trust God?” We begin by asking the question, “What Can I Do?” The short answer is, “Start being obedient in the little things that you know God wants you to do every day, even if you don’t understand why.” You see, obedience in the little things has eternal impact you may not ever even know. So many people put off being faithful in the little things looking for the big thing they can do for God. I think one of the greatest examples of someone deciding what they were going to do for God is Paul. He decided that what he needed to do was stamp out Christianity. The “Big Thing” he decided to to caused untold pain and suffering and death. Our obedience is much more important that what we decide to do for God.
Romans 1:1-7 A saint, from a Biblical view, is anyone who has heard the call of God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and has responded to that invitation by repenting, turning from the ways of the world and the flesh, and started following Jesus. They have been washed and cleansed by His precious blood and made righteous and pure in the sight of God. The word saints means holy ones. Holy means set apart for the service of God. You see, that is every born again believer. They have been set apart from the world, and are now in the service of God. A saint is not one who has been exalted; a saint is one who exalts Jesus Christ. A person becomes a saint when Jesus Christ becomes his Savior. There are only two classes of people in the world: the saints and the ain'ts. If you are not an ain't, then you're a saint. And if you are a saint, you have trusted Christ. It is not your character that makes you a saint, it's your faith in Jesus Christ and the fact that you are set apart for Him. As Paul said of himself in the beginning, he was a bondslave of Jesus Christ.
Joshua 5:13-15 It’s election time, and many voices are challenging us, asking, “Are you for us, or our adversaries?” Our reply should be the same as that of the Lord when He was asked that question by Joshua, a clear “No.” “I’m not for you and what you want, and I’m not for them and what they want. I’m for the Lord and what He wants.” You see, Joshua was operating at the level of it being “us” or “them”. The Lord took him to a higher plane, and caused him to see that it in life, the choice is never just “us or them”. The choice is always between us and Him. In the heat of the American Civil War, one of President Lincoln’s advisors said he was grateful that God was on the side of the Union. Lincoln replied, “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” How about you? In all the political turmoil at this moment in our land, Don't let the Donkey or the Elephant cause you to forget that you belong to the Lamb.
Hebrews 10:19–25 The Bible says, “In the last days there will come times of difficulty.” Times of stress and tremendous pressure and hardship and darkness and evil. It will not get easier to be a Christian, and God is telling us what we will need to do to hold fast to our confession of hope: Get together to encourage one another, and stir each other up to love.
Matthew 22:1-14 Are you like that first group who were invited and refused to show up? Are you like the fellow who showed up, but for the wrong reasons? Or are you one of that second group who who received the invitation, were surprised and overjoyed to get it, and have shown up for the party for the right reason, because it was the most important thing you could ever do?
Revelation 7:9-10 Forces have been hard at work over the past decade to bring division in our country along racial lines. In connection with that, I would like for us to consider whether or not a Christian can be a racist.
Matthew 21:23-32 Repentance involves three things: Recognition of our sin, renunciation of our sin, and returning to God. The more we come to understand what repentance really is, the more we will realize that it is, in fact, a wonderful gift from God.
Luke 15:25-32
One of the main things we learn from the elder brother is that you can be in the right place and still have your heart in the wrong place. His heart wasn’t right toward his brother, and his heart wasn’t right toward his father. When we really dig into this, this is what we see: He has been living miserably in blessing! He is secure in his position with his father. He has a loving father who really love him. He is secure in his inheritance. The father has made it clear, everything he has is going to him. You know what I think the elder brother is missing? A real relationship with his father. He has been trying to be a good, dutiful son, but he has been doing it based on his own idea of how this father-son thing was supposed to work.
Luke 15:25-32 In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the point that Jesus is making to sinners, tax-collectors, Scribes, Pharisee, to you and to me, is that when you come to yourself, and respond to Jesus’ invitation to come home, you’re not simply allowed home and tolerated. You are welcomed and you are wanted. That’s what the fatted calf is all about.
Luke 15:20 Before they crucified Jesus, they stripped Him, beat Him, and spat on Him. While He hung on the Cross, they hurled insults at Him. He willfully took on all that humiliation for the same reason as the father in the parable. Because of love. He could have defended Himself and avoided all that shame, humiliation, and pain, but He willfully chose not to. Because of love. As a result, we can be forgiven, restored — accepted. We do not have to fear going home to our Father and confessing our sins, no matter what we have done, or how many times we have done it (remember, Jesus taught his followers to forgive 70 times seven).
Luke 15:22 Once you give up your rights, and receive the shoes of sonship, you receive this reward: First, the Father is always with you. You have His presence. Also, all the Father has is yours. You have access to His resources. This is something we don’t do just one time. This is what Paul meant when he said, “I die daily.” Every day we lay aside our rights and put on the shoes of sonship. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” I’m afraid that there are a lot of Christians who live without the Lord’s presence or resources because they have never given up their rights.
Luke 15:17-24 When the Prodigal Son returned to his father, the father immediately gave him three gifts that signify three things that our Heavenly Father give us when we come to Him through Jesus, His Son. He gave him a robe, a ring and shoes. Last week we saw that the Robe reflects the Robe of Righteousness that the Lord covers us with, that shows that we are in a right standing with God. It’s an expensive robe. Our righteousness was purchased with Jesus’ Blood at Calvary. It isn’t earned, it’s a gift. Today I want to tell you about the Ring. The ring showed everyone that the father had granted him the authority of a son or daughter. You have authority as a son or daughter of God. How do we walk in that authority, though?
Luke 15:17-24 The keywords and phrases in this passage are “Father,” “Hired Servant,” “No Longer Worthy,” and “Son.” The Prodigal Son wanted to be treated like a servant because he had been bad, but the father still treated him like a son. The main point I want to make is: We’re not children of God because we serve; we serve because we’re children of God.
Romans 8:28 Toward the end of the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, we see the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, where all those who have answered God’s call and become a part of the Bride of Christ are gathered a a joyous feast at the culmination that God has been working toward since the beginning of time. As we look around today we see that everything is moving inexorably toward this conclusion that God has purposed. Wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, outbreaks of disease, disregard for law and human life were all foretold as things that would happen as the final day when the Lord returns approaches. That day is nearer than it ever has been before. And God’s call has been issued to every person He has ever created. He doesn’t want a one to miss their seat at that table in Heaven. God’s purpose is for you to be at that table. He created you to be at that table. He wants you at that table.
Romans 8:28-32 If you’re a believer, and you’re in a tough spot, you have a promise. All things work together for good for those who love God, and are called according to His purpose. Joseph, David, Esther, The Widows who served Elijah and Elisha, Peter, James, John and Paul, and cloud of other witnesses encouraging you, “Hang on, child of God, joy comes in the morning.”
Romans 8:26-39 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Perhaps more than any other promise in the Bible Romans 8:28 has helped people trust God through experiences that seemed utterly pointless and painful and evil. People have held fast to the “all things” and believed the word of God — this too, this terrible thing, this seemingly pointless thing, will turn out for my good. I must say that I have in my life lived through this promise many times. I have experienced tragedy being turned into blessing, the meanness of others turned to blessing for me and my family, and what looked like dead ends turn into catapults to success. I can attest to the Lord’s faithfulness in this promise, and want to spend this Sunday and the next two helping you to understand it and embrace it in your own life. Today I want to focus not on the promise itself, but what it is that makes a person a beneficiary of this promise. Today I want us to answer the question, “How can I know that this promise is for me?
Romans 8:12-18 One of the things every Christian knows it that Jesus keeps His promises. When we gave our lives to the Lord, He fulfilled the promise that He and the Father would come and dwell in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. What I want us to look at today are some of the wonderful things the Spirit attests to in the heart of every believer. If you have been doubting your salvation, I hope this message will help bring you to that place of confidence that first of all, you are saved, you are His, and secondly, that you have a formidable inheritance!
Galatians 5:16-25 If you are a born-again Christian, you aren’t just any person— You have the divine nature that the Holy Spirit has planted in you. And an essential part of that is self-control. This is one of the significant signs of being saved. The POWER of sin has been broken, and now, being free from sin, we choose not to sin. This joyfully, lovingly choosing the important thing over the urgent thing is an aspect of the Holy Spirit’s fruit in your life. You see, self-control in a Christian’s life is not reaching down deep inside and getting your own will-power. It’s not “getting your act together,” as they say. It’s a supernaturally natural response to God’s love and grace that have been shed abroad in your heart.
Romans 6:11-14 In order to win the battle against sin in your life, you must first know what God has done for you in Christ; and then look to Him continually, seeing life in Him as preferable to all other things. This message is to help you in both areas so you can have a victorious life in Christ Jesus.
In Romans 6:11-14, the apostle Paul reminds us of the seriousness with which we should view sin, and as I look around today, I’m afraid that many today have forgotten its deadliness both physically and spiritually and are treating this deadly force more flippantly than an unloaded gun.
Matthew 10:34-39 This is where the litmus test comes to many Americans today. Maybe it has already come for you. There will come times in your life when you know what the Lord wants you to do, and it is in conflict with what your loved one wants you to do. When faced with this, which way do you go? Do you follow your loved one, or do you follow the Lord? "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:37-39)
Matthew 9:35-38
Matthew 9:35–38, describes a situation a lot like ours, today in the United States. It also tells us how Jesus responded to that situation. As we consider the situation that Jesus faced, in light of our own, it becomes very apparent that the Lord four things from us right now: 1. See the need 2. Be moved with compassion 3. Anticipate the harvest 4. Pray that the Lord will send forth workers to bring the harvest in. The Lord wants to bring revival to the US. -It’s up to us to pray it in.
Matthew 28:16-20
I think it is so appropriate that it was Matthew the Holy Spirit chose to relay to us the Great Commission of our Lord, since it’s all about making sure that everyone in the world has a chance to hear our Lord’s invitation to be a part of His Kingdom. You see, when Matthew was called by Jesus to be His disciple, he was a tax collector, an outcast of society looked on as a traitor of his people and beyond God’s redemption. In the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus is at Matthew’s house right after calling Matthew to follow Him, Jesus heard the Scribes and Pharisees grumbling about Jesus associating and eating with tax-collectors and sinners. In response, Jesus used the stories of the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Son to call out the religious leaders for alienating people from God instead of doing what they could to reach them with God’s forgiveness and love. How grateful Matthew must have been that day that Jesus deemed him and his friends eligible for God’s forgiveness and love! If there was ever a lost coin, it was Matthew, and Jesus found him. If there was ever a lost sheep, it was Matthew, and Jesus went looking for him. If there was ever a lost son, it was Matthew, and Jesus welcomed him home. So listen now to these words of Jesus recorded faithfully by His servant Matthew, and as you do, may the Holy Spirit bless us with ears that hear clearly, and may the words reach deeply into our hearts.
Acts 2:1-21 Whenever people look around, and look at the news, and they see the COVID-19 outbreak and the riots, and they ask you, “Do you think we’re in the last days?” You can confidently reply, “Yes, all of these things just let us know that the Bible is true, and that means that it’s still very true that “whosoever calls upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.” How about you? Have you called upon His name? If you have, you know that His word is true, because He has kept His promise and His Holy Spirit is within you giving you peace and confidence in the middle of all this craziness. If not, why not do it now? Why not call upon the Name of the Lord and become a part of that happy, confident throng that knows the Lord’s peace and presence? Isn’t this a good time? Could there be any better?
Acts 1:1-11 It really is amazing how little attention is given to the Ascension since it is the confirmation and consummation of Good Friday and the Resurrection. Here are some things to think about.
John 14:15-24
The purpose of this message is to help you to really understand what it means to love Jesus, what the commandments are that we are to keep, and the tremendous blessings that are promised to those who love Him. You see, the very essence of the Gospel of Jesus is wrapped up in this 14th Chapter of John, and some of the most important, life-giving, life-altering promises Jesus gives are tied to this statement, “If you love me, you’ll keep my commandments.” Regrettably, many people think they know what Jesus means, and really don’t have a clue. Contrary to what a lot of people think Jesus is not saying here, “Show Me you love me by keeping my commandments.” He says, “If you love me you will.” You see, loving Jesus is not the same as keeping his commandments. Loving Jesus comes before, and the results of loving Him are that we keep His commandments. Keeping His commandments is the fruit that comes forth from loving Him.
John 14:1-14 Good moms love. Good Moms protect. Good Moms sacrifice. Good Moms want their children to be safe. Your good God does the same. Out of His great love for you, He has done everything He can to make a way for you to be spared from the ravages of sin and the awfulness of the judgment that lies ahead. Do you know His peace? Do you have an assurance of your salvation? If not it could be that you have been trying to come to and relate to God in another way than the way He has so lovingly made for you through His Son. He wants you to have it.
Psalm 23 We are in a time of crisis and uncertainty right now as we face Coronavirus 19. I don’t think any of us have ever felt more like we were going through the valley of the shadow of death than right now. My prayer today is that God would open His Word to you in such a way that you will be able to move on through this valley of the shadow of death with faith, not fear, knowing that whatever comes your way, the Good Shepherd is with you, and for you, good lies ahead.
Hope That Does Not Disappoint Luke 24:13-31
4 verses in Luke 24:13-31 convey an important message for all of us today: I. THE LORD KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON IN OUR LIVES. (Luke 24:18) II. JUST BECAUSE WE CANNOT SEE HIM DOESN’T MEAN HE IS NOT THERE. (Luke 24:16) III. OUR GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENTS AND DISILLUSIONMENTS COME FROM MISPLACED HOPE. (Luke 24:21) IV. WHERE TO START MAKING SURE OUR HOPE IS IN LINE WITH GOD’S. (Luke 24:25-27)
John 20:19-23 Back on March 11, just we were beginning to wake up to the seriousness of this pandemic here in the United States, I attended a Lenten Lunch in Brookshire, Texas. By the next week quarantine had begun, and churches had to suspend gathering to worship for a while, and I must say, I miss that, and look forward to gathering once more in our Sanctuary in San Felipe to worship in the presence of my Lord and my brothers and sisters in Christ. But during his message that day, the speaker asked us a question, and then asked us to share our answer with the person next to us. The question was, “In the midst of all this threat of pandemic, what are you feeling?” I turned to the gentleman on my left and asked him what his answer was. It turned out to be the same as mine. “Peace.” We both just grinned at each other for having found we were true brothers in Christ and shared for a while about how no matter what happened, we knew everything was going to be all right. How about you? Are you you at peace in the midst of this worldwide storm? That’s what the Lord wants you to have, right now.
John 20:1-18
As we look at the Easter story of the Resurrection we find in the 20th chapter of John, we find 2 things Mary experienced that are meant for every one of us this Easter. First, she experienced The power of the Resurrection, and in an instant her life was changed forever. Next, she experienced a newer and deeper relationship with Jesus and her Heavenly Father than she could ever have imagined!
THE CROSS Matthew 16:21-23 It is at the Cross, and only at the Cross that God’s mercy and justice are satisfied. Through the Cross He gives you Justice. You are condemned and a price must be paid. He gives you Mercy by taking your condemnation upon Himself. Before you received what Jesus did for you on the cross, you were already condemned to hell, and there was nothing that could done by any person or you to deliver you from your sentence of death and darkness. But now, because of the Cross, He can give you what you don’t deserve. You see, it’s not just that His Justice condemned you to hell and His mercy sends you to heaven. His Justice and His Mercy have now sentenced you to Heaven!
Psalm 34:19 Can you hear it? If you are the Lord’s, through His Word, the Lord is making it clear that He is going to get you safely through this. You will be delivered safe and sound at the end. The Lord has faith for you, not fear. He wants you to have peace, not panic. Just trust Him. It’s going to be okay. Friend, if you are not a believer, and you have been living in restlessness, fear and lack of peace, these promises can be yours if you will receive the gift of love, deliverance and life that is offered to you through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:5-14
At the beginning of the Gospel of John, we read these words: “But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name..” (John 1:12) The word translated here as “authority” also means “power” and “right.” Power, authority and rights are given to be exercised, not ignored. Christians who have been born into the Kingdom of God are called to live like it. Although many today want to use the excuse, “I have no choice,” the Bible makes it clear that God has given us the power of choice since the beginning of time.
Jesus said to the woman at the well, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." If we don’t know the Gift of God and Who Jesus is, we are missing the life He offers us. However, once we know Who Jesus is, we know what the Gift of God is. The Gift of God is G.R.A.C.E. - God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
Isaiah 58:1-12 The people of Israel were upset because it seemed their fasting and religious ceremonies were not bringing the proper response from God. God made it clear that they were going about things in the wrong way. Going hungry was not the way to get God’s attention. Seeing that the hungry around them got fed would get His attention. Taking on a humiliating appearance didn’t impress or move the heart of God at all. Lifting up the humiliated and downtrodden did. He shows them the problem in their relationship with Him. He proposes a solution to them. He makes a promise to them. As we enter into the season of Lent, He also makes a proposal to all of us who can learn from Israel’s mistake.
Matthew 6:24-34 God has promised to meet His followers’ needs, but He never promised to provide their wants. Because we don’t grasp that, we are prone to struggle because we are expecting him to do something He never committed to.
Romans 8:28-39
There is a tension that we who are Christians wrestle with on a daily basis. We serve a God we know has the power to save and protect, but sometimes He doesn’t. We serve a God we know is good, but He doesn’t always protect us from things that are bad. There is a resolution to this tension that actually makes us stronger, more confident believers than ever, when the answer is revealed.
Matthew 4:23-25
God makes His presence known in our lives in so many ways. So far we have looked at the fact that you are not alone when you are lonely or when you need deliverance. Today we remember that we are not alone when we need healing in our lives.
Psalm 34:19
The Bible makes it clear that we will face challenges in this life, but promises us that we do not face them alone.
You Are Not Alone Genesis 28:10-16
Loneliness is a major epidemic sweeping across our nation according today. It is terribly destructive, increasing the chances of heart attack, depression and suicide. It stems from rejection, insecurity, sorrow, tragedy, loss, increased mobility, self-centeredness, and most notably, our nation's drift from its Christian roots. If you are lonely, or know someone who is suffering from loneliness, you will find in this message helpful. It provides steps to help you be free from loneliness and provides guidance about what you can do to minister to those who are lonely.
I Kings 11:4-11
In the accounts of David and Solomon we see that God made promise to David and to his descendants. There is a condition, though. They must keep His statutes, commandments, ordinances and testimonies. David embraces the conditions, and is blessed. Solomon, on the other hand, disregards them and finds that God was deadly serious about the consequences. No man began with more promise than Solomon did. Yet a good beginning doesn’t mean a good finish. Solomon drifted and finally defected. We need to learn from the accounts of David and Solomon how important it is to guard our hearts and how to do so.
I Kings 2:1-4
“... keep the charge of the LORD your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn..”
What note would I leave if I just had moments left to live? What would I like to pass on to my children as my most important admonition? What words could I leave them that would continue to help them long after I was gone? I think I have found just the right words in the Scripture Lesson that was read this morning. I think I would share these dying words of David to his son, Solomon.
I Samuel 7:1-12 The Children of Israel have reached a turning point in their relationship with God. They look back with spiritually opened eyes, and they can see, yes, the recent victory over the Philistines, but they can see farther back. They can see back through the 20 years they lived without His Presence, in idolatry and sin. Even when they didn’t deserve it, he was helping them. One of the greatest things He did to help them was to help them realize how important He was to them. How about you? As you look back over this past year, can you see His help? I’m sure you can. 1. Comfort and sustaining in a sorrowful time. 2. Healing – Physically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally 3. Help y9u didn’t deserve 4. Blessings 5. He may have seen you through a tough time and taught you wonderful, liberating lessons through it. 6. Even further back, I am sure you can see His hand of mercy at work even when you were far from Him. The words “thus far” convey the idea of looking forward as well as back, don’t they?—Looking forward in faith. After looking back and seeing that the Lord has helped us through so many yesterdays, we know we can trust Him with all all our tomorrows.
Luke 2:1-20 Peace is an important part of the Gospel, and an important part of the Christmas message. The angels announced it. Jesus Gave it. The Holy Spirit imparts it. Paul encourages it. But Where is the peace? Just like the Kingdom of God, it is at hand. Here is the pathway!
Matthew 3:1-12
"Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; (Matthew 3:8)
The call to repent is woven throughout the tapestry of the entire Bible. Repentance does not merely begin the Christian life. According to Scripture, the Christian life is repentance from beginning to end. Regrettably, the call to repent is strangely absent in many modern churches today. The message preached is ‘God loves you’, which is true, ‘God cares for you’, which is also true, and ‘God has a plan for you’, which again is true. But, some churches are more concerned about being “seeker friendly” than biblically literate and legitimate. To proclaim the words of Jesus, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” or the words of the Apostle Paul from Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” that is the real message of the Gospel that still needs to be preached, and still needs to be heard.
Matthew 24:36-44
Jesus splits His discourse on final judgment and coming into two parts. First, He speaks of God’s judgment against the corrupt religious elite coming within these people’s lifetime. And it does, in 70 A.D. His warning concerning this is to flee when they see it coming. His second warning concerning the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus speaks of as happening later in time. And unlike the destruction of the Temple—which Jesus says will happen before all of the disciples pass away—Jesus explicitly says that God the Father is the only One Who knows when this coming, this parousia, this advent, will be. The warning for this is, “Be Ready.” Many people find this warning to be scary, but it’s not meant to be. It’s meant to be helpful. If you’re the Lord’s and you heed it, it will give you peace. The question for us today is, “Are you ready?” Are you living in Obedience? Are you harboring Bitterness or unforgiveness? Is there a sin you have been reluctant to confess and ask for the Lord’s forgiveness? Is there A relationship that needs healing? Is there An apology that needs to be given? Is there An attitude that needs to be changed? If you are not ready, there’s no better time to get ready than right now.
1Corinthians 2:1-5
so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5)
THE CHURCH IS LOSING ITS MOORINGS, AND IN THE PROCESS, ITS MESSAGE. I’m afraid that many in the United States church are placing their faith in the wisdom of men instead of the power of God. Although they may be trying to do good works in God’s name, they have fallen into the idolatry of listening to people instead of God. In the course of doing so, they have found themselves in a mess, and far from God. They have become the very people that Paul warns Timothy about: But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) They have placed their faith in ideological idols instead of the power of God, but they can turn back in an instant.
Philippians 3:1-11
We are living in the time when the world waits of the consummation of Jesus’ glorious kingdom when sin and death and their repercussions will be finally obliterated. In this time, we are called to join with Jesus by entering His kingdom and participating in the reclaiming of this world by believing in Him, taking up our crosses and following Him. As we live lives dedicated to Him, and witness for Him, we will face persecution and resistance just like Jesus did. We may very well find ourselves suffering for our faith. That is what Paul is talking about. When he speaks of the fellowship of His suffering, he’s not talking about just bearing up under some inconvenience in life. When you come to know Him and walk with Him and are living a life that is a mission for Him, you will be attacked by the enemy, Satan, and worldly and misled people. As you experience those things, and stay steadfast in your faith, you will know Him and His presence in ways you never could, otherwise.
Colossians 3:1-15, Philippians 4:6-7
The key to having the peace of God guarding your hearts when troubling things arise is to, yes, to pray, but there’s something very important that precedes your prayer, and that’s thanksgiving. That’s what I really want to explore with you this message: What exactly is this thanksgiving Paul mentions time and time again in his letters? Because it’s not what you might think.
Sweet Surrender Luke 9:23-27
Throughout the Bible, God calls upon us again and again to yield ourselves to Him. He will not compel such surrender, though. Instead, He invites. He wants consecration, not coercion. In our scripture lesson today, Jesus invites us to follow Him, and He lays out how to do it. We must take up our cross daily. Jesus demonstrated what that was like in the Garden of Gethsemane when He prayed, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Thy will be done.” Taking up your cross is surrendering your life to God through Jesus Christ. Many people who bear the name Christian have never experienced the reality of what God offers because they haven’t taken up their cross, yet. The hymn writer, John Sammis shared a powerful truth in the middle of his hymn, “Trust and Obey” when he said, and we often sing, “But we never can prove the delights of His love until all on the altar we lay.” He’s saying, “If you really want Me in your life, if you want forgiveness and peace and joy that you’ve never known before, The first thing that you must do is give up. You have to surrender.”
Genesis 28:10-19
God told Jacob three things he needed to hear while he was in the wilderness. Which one of these do you need to hear today? 1. “I am their God”? That’s the beginning point to God, as you see the Lord at work in others around you. 2. “I am your God”? This is when you begin a personal relationship with the God who has been pursuing you in love, just as he pursued Jacob. 3. “I am with you”? Your God is not bound by geography or circumstance. Nothing is too large to keep him away. No matter what you may be facing, God is with you.
John 7:37-44 Sharon McMahon, 10-20-2019 The word says that God has put eternity in our hearts. We have a spiritual thirst. Until we have that spiritual thirst slaked, most people walk around with an unnamed earning...sometimes an unnamed dread. They don't know what it is, but they are satisfied. They aren't fulfilled and they thirst for that nameless commodity. They try to fill that thirst for whatever they think it is, peace, wealth, fame, etc) in worldly ways and they eventually find that none of the avenues they tried have worked. Jesus knows what you need to quench that thirst. That's the river of living water (running water) he's offering here. And he's offering today. The Holy Spirit was just a promise when Jesus spoke these words, but it a promise awaiting your invitation today.
Philippians 2:5-11
The declaration “Jesus is Lord” indicates that Jesus is God. Jesus holds, as He has told us, “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18); The realm of Christ’s reign covers everything that happens in heaven and on the earth. No one—not even those who deny His existence— can be free of His rule or outside His sphere of authority. Even death cannot release anyone from the authority of God’s Son. He is Lord of both the living and the dead. All people must decide to either yield or rebel against Him, but they have the opportunity to make this choice only while they are still living. After death, they will acknowledge Christ’s lordship through accountability to Him. If we have not bowed the knee to Jesus in life, still, we will bend it in the judgment.
Romans 1: 1-18
An ungodly world pushes and pressures us to be ashamed to even mention the Gospel today, just as it did in the time of Paul; and the ungodly continue racing toward judgment unaware of their fate, even though it is written plainly in scripture that the wrath of God is about to be unleashed on all that oppose His will. When we realize that the Gospel is the power of God to save from His wrath, we, just like Paul, will feel an obligation to share the Gospel with those who are lost. How could we not want to share so great a salvation with those who are still perishing once His love has been shed abroad in our hearts?
When the Lord explained to the disciples what was expected of them as far as avoiding being a stumbling-block to others, and the lengths they were to go to in forgiving those who sinned against them, they didn’t feel adequate to the task, and responded, “Lord, increase our faith.” The disciples had reached a point we must all come to before we can truly begin walking in faith. We must come to the realization that there is no way we can live up to God’s expectations in our own strength, and that we need His help. In response, Jesus explained to them exactly what they needed to do if they wanted greater faith.
John 14:1-14
With this message we conclude our series “Whom the Son Sets Free” by acknowledging that Jesus sets us “Free from Uncertainty”.
There are many in the church today who live their lives in uncertainty and dread because they have actually never believed and received the Gospel. Like the founder of our denomination, John Wesley, before his “Aldersgate Experience” (when he finally appropriated the Gospel and was granted an assurance of his salvation), they attend church, they try to be good and do good, but there is a nagging within that something is missing. They have no inner peace or assurance of their relationship with God. Sadly, many have sat in pews on Sunday morning for years and never been presented with the truth of the Gospel and therefore have not had the opportunity to adequately respond to it. We live in a time of upheaval and chaos, but in the midst of it, God offers us peace. It is so important that people come to know that there is something they can hold on to. There truly is something that can give meaning to their lives. They need to know that in midst of all the confusion of this age the answer is found where it has always been. It is found in Jesus, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is only through Him that we will ever have uncertainty banished from our lives and be set free indeed.
We find a scriptural, spiritual principle at work here in Exodus 34:6-7 where God reveals His nature to Moses. He reveals Himself as merciful and forgiving, but in no wise pardoning the guilty of sins being passed on from generation to generation. Many have a problem reconciling these attributes of His nature, and wind up focusing on one or the other. Either He is a God of wrath or a God of mercy, and they cannot fathom a God that is both. Here the heart of the Gospel is revealed, It is only through the Cross that both aspects of God’s nature are coherently reconciled. The challenge for us is, “How do you move from the side where the sins of the parents are being visited on the children to the side where you are living in the blessing of God, and break the cycle of teaching our children to sin?”
As we begin our study, “How to Be Free from Generational Curses”, we need to understand that God is exactly Who He says He is in Exodus 34:6-7 ..."The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." Instead of really trying to understand God as He has revealed Himself, they listen to the voices of others who depict God as either wrathful and vengeful or a pushover. Some will even go so far as to separate the God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Testament. In listening to others instead of to God, they wind up addressing not the One True God, but an idol they and others have created to replace Him. They will never find true salvation or understand the Christian Faith as long as they try to serve their idol instead of accepting Him as He truly is, the One True God. The revelation God gave of Himself to Moses differs not at all from the revelation He gave to us all in His Son, Jesus Christ. When we embrace that truth, we can begin to see scriptural, spiritual principles at work in the world and in our lives that we could never see before, and really begin to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “Whom the Son sets free, is free indeed.”
Exodus 4:1-9
One of Satan’s biggest ploys is convincing us that we are unworthy of God’s love and fellowship. He loves to lead us into a destructive, distracting circular trap where we quit praying because we feel unworthy to pray, and then, we feel unworthy to pray because we haven’t been praying. The truth is, your worthiness never figures into the account because Jesus settled that on the Cross, and in doing so set your worth for all eternity. Your value to God has been set by Him, in spite of your unworthiness. You will never be able to earn what He has already given (worth), so go ahead and pray to your Heavenly Father Who lovingly looks past your unworthiness because He cherishes you. If the Devil starts trying to call your attention to your unworthiness, just tell him that he’s missing the point. It’s your unworthiness that makes you eligible for God’s wonderful mercy and grace.
1 John 1:9-10
We are coming to the end of our review of some of the things Jesus has set us free from. Jesus has told us, “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” In the past weeks we have looked at a few of the many of the things that Jesus has set us free from: addictions, anger, bitterness, hopelessness, lies, and worry. Next week we will wrap up with the fact that we can be set free from generational curses. Today, though we are going to look at another very prevalent condition that Jesus sets us free from, and that is regret.
Jeremiah 29:8-13, Ezekiel 37:1-10
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB)
In 1 Peter 3:15 Peter instructed the early church to always be ready to give an account for the hope that was within them. The hope that was within them is the same hope that resides in the heart of every believer today. It comes when we repent of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. At that moment we are moved from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Futility, hopelessness, death and despair are replaced with faith, hope and love. One of the things that Jesus came to free us from is hopelessness. Are you in despair today? Well, God has plans for you, and He wants to give you a future and a hope.
Luke 4:16-21 We are in a series entitled “Whom the Son Sets Free” and in our scripture lesson from the 4th Chapter of Luke today, we hear Jesus announcing His mission here on earth. He has come to set us free from things that have been binding us, hindering us and holding us captive. He has come to set us free from things we have done in the past and things others have done to us in the past. He has come to set us free from things that are holding us prisoner in the here and now. One of the things that holds us prisoner and keeps us separated from God is our sin. The enemy has been using it to steal, kill and destroy us since Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The enemy is a liar, and will use a multitude of lies to keep us from God. Today, we’re examining just three of the most prevalent and very serious lies about sin.
Ephesians 4:25-32
This is an angry time in our nation, and honestly there are things going on that can cause anger. It is the result of fear, frustration, pain and unfairness, and there is plenty of that to go around. In these tumultuous times it is easy to get pulled into the fray and find ourselves being conformed to the world when we are being called to being transformed by the renewing of our mind.
Anger itself is not a sin. Handled wrongly it can lead to sin, but handled rightly it winds up being a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth and Christian witness.
Are you handling your anger rightly? If not, this message may help you find your spiritual growing edge!
Genesis 4:3-7
Many of us struggle with addictions. The Bible makes it clear that there is hope. If you want to be set free, there is hope. God wants you to know that with and through His power, that you can master the addictions in your life, and whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
“Free from Worry” Matthew 6:25-34
We could say from a biblical perspective, worry is the sin of distrusting the promises and the power of God. That’s what it is. It is a sin, and we must acknowledge it It is the sin of distrusting the promises and the power of God, and it did not come from God. Once we acknowledge this, and confess our sin of worry, The Lord can help us be set free from its bondage. In this message Dr. McMahon shares three keys to unlocking the chains of worry that bind us and keep us from living that abundant life Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to provide.
Hebrews 12: 14-17 Bitterness not only poisons the people around you but bitterness, not dealt with according to scripture, will also poison you. And sadly, so many people in our nation today are bound by it. The good news is that the Lord has come and made a way to set you free from bitterness!
Deuteronomy 28:1-14
You are an heir to the promises God made to Abraham and his descendants. The New Testament writers make it clear that these promises are for all who come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. One of the promises that is yours is found in Deuteronomy 28:13 "The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully….” I have seen the power of this promise played out in life after life that has embraced the Lordship of Jesus and endeavored to please Him in all that they do. Jesus died to free us from the curses of the law so we could live in God’s blessing. Don’t miss out on His blessings. You can be the head instead of the tail. It’s up to you.
Living in God’s Promises 2Peter 1:1-15
The Bible is filled with verses that promise you God’s help on life's journey, but not every Christian is aware of this, and others never see His hand at work in their lives. Listen to find out why some people never see God at work in the world today, and how you can become one of those who do know His power and presence in your everyday life!
Romans 9:1-20, 30-33) Here in the 9th Chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul makes it clear that the descendants of Abraham who inherit the promises of God are those who have placed their faith in Him, not their works or their heritage. When we receive the righteousness granted through God’s mercy in Jesus Christ, we become heirs of the promises of God, which are many. This is the first in a series exploring God’s promises for believers today. In this message, we look at how God keeps His promises. How Does God Keep His Promises? • On His Terms • To His Intended Audience • By His Methods • In His Time
BLESSED ASSURANCE Romans 5:1-5
The Lord never meant for the Christian life to be “iffy”. Assurance of salvation, peace with God and His abiding Presence in our lives are all provisions the Lord intends for each of us to have. He doesn’t want you to go through life fretting in insecurity and doubt. Instead, He wants to give you a sureness and security that gives you the confidence of His love in this life and assurance that you are going to heaven.
PENTECOST (Acts 2:1-21) The Holy Spirit came to empower the church, and He still does today, when we follow His way.
(Luke 22:14-20) People have many ideas about who Jesus is and why He came to earth. Jesus said Himself that He "came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke 19:10). When we gather around the Lord's table, the elements speak to us of His sacrifice, His substitution, and our salvation. We celebrate our redemption in remembrance of Him.
Handling Criticism Acts 11:1-18
THE HOLY SPIRIT CHANGES YOU! Look at the transformation in Peter. This is the guy that was ready to call down fire from heaven on a village that didn’t respond favorably to The Lord’s teaching. The one who not long before this moment cut off a guard’s ear defending Jesus. The one who cursed when he denied Jesus the third time and the rooster crowed. The Holy Spirit changes you. When you’re born again, what the Lord thinks matters more than what people think, but not in a haughty way---in an humble way. When the love of God is poured out in your heart, you have a holy confidence in who and what you are that doesn’t need validation from the people around you. but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1 Peter 3:15) One of the ways Peter was changed was how he handled criticism. Criticism is always difficult to accept, but if we receive it with humility and a desire to improve our character it can be very helpful.
Handling Criticism Acts 11:1-18
THE HOLY SPIRIT CHANGES YOU! Look at the transformation in Peter. This is the guy that was ready to call down fire from heaven on a village that didn’t respond favorably to The Lord’s teaching. The one who not long before this moment cut off a guard’s ear defending Jesus. The one who cursed when he denied Jesus the third time and the rooster crowed. The Holy Spirit changes you. When you’re born again, what the Lord thinks matters more than what people think, but not in a haughty way---in an humble way. When the love of God is poured out in your heart, you have a holy confidence in who and what you are that doesn’t need validation from the people around you. but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1 Peter 3:15) One of the ways Peter was changed was how he handled criticism. Criticism is always difficult to accept, but if we receive it with humility and a desire to improve our character it can be very helpful.
The Greatest Adventure of All Acts 11:1-18
Peter had to unlearn something that would keep him from carrying out the mission the Lord had for him to do, and keep him from the fullness of life that God had for him. In this particular case, it was living out of tradition instead of God’s Word and God’s will. It’s the same with us. We can rock along in life doing our best to live a godly life, and then the Lord will show us something about ourselves that we hadn’t even been aware of. Maybe His Word speaks to us about really forgiving, or showing us bitterness in our hearts we weren’t even aware of. Prejudice Racism Arrogance Pride PAST REGRET FEAR LACK OF FAITH An addiction It may be something else. If you are trying to walk with Him and please Him, He will show you where you need to grow. And He does it not just to be bossy or pick on you. He does it because He loves you and has more real life for you than you were aware was even possible.
Three Life Lessons Acts 9:36-43
We learn three major lessons from the 9th Chapter of Acts: 1. Use your gifts. 2. When you find yourself in an impossible situation in life, remember Who is in charge. 3. Some things are more important than life.
In John 19:21 Jesus says, “...as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” In Greek the first “send” and the second “send” are two distinct words with slightly yet important different meanings. The first “send” means to send on a mission, or to accomplish something. The second “send” means to send with a message. The church has a mission, and the mission is to get out the message of the Gospel. Everything else is secondary.
This message we are commanded to share has the power to transform, bring forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God and eternal life, IF we share it.
It is popular today to do mission work without sharing the Gospel. If the people we serve do not hear the Gospel, they cannot be saved, and will perish in their sins. They may be fed, they may be helped, but they are still lost. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” To have the opportunity to share the Good News and to choose not to leaves them lost and unforgiven. It is to choose to let them retain their sins. We have a great responsibility entrusted to us by the Lord. We dare not shirk it.
“Our Mission Is the Message” – Part One John 20:1-31
We have a message, and a dire responsibility to share it. And next week I’m going to talk more about that. Today, however, I want to focus on the leading cause in our not sharing the Good News, because it is the leading factor in the church’s impotency today. We could simply call it a Thomas-like attitude. Ir’s not simply doubt. It’s doubt laced with pride.
The Importance of the Resurrection (Luke 24:1-12) The Resurrection Certifies your salvation, sets your course and defines your destiny.
“Those Who Were Sent Went” Luke 19:28-40 Palm Sunday
So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. (Luke 19:32)
Those disciples who were sent to fetch the donkey for Jesus for His entry into Jerusalem experienced the very essence of our life in Christ in this life. They listened to Jesus, did what He said, and discovered things were exactly as He said they would be. As we take the steps Jesus tells us to take as His disciples, we find the same thing happening in our lives. The important thing is that we must start taking the steps!
The Rich Man and Lazarus Luke 16:19-31
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is found at the end of a discourse that Jesus began back in Luke 15 in response to the Scribes and Pharisees grumbling because Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. He responds with five parables: The Parable of the Lost Sheep, The Parable of the Lost Coin, The Parable of the Lost Son, and Parable of the Unjust Steward and now the Parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus. All of these parables are indictments against those who have been given the responsibility of shepherding God’s people but have used their position for their own ends instead of God’s. In addition to giving us some very specific information about the afterlife, the parable is a warning to the Scribes and Pharisees, and an invitation to repent and enter the Kingdom of God. The Good Shepherd has come to seek and save those who are lost, both those lost in their badness and those lost in their goodness.
The Parable of the Unjust Steward Luke 16:1-17 This parable is considered by many scholars and students of the Bible to be the most difficult parable that Jesus ever told. The problem is that it appears to commend dishonest behavior. Most people just skip over that part of the parable and them concentrate on the straight forward admonitions on stewardship that they see there, with the summary of the teaching being that all we have been entrusted in life should be handled in a way that is pleasing to God. The Parable of the Unjust Steward really is much richer than that when you consider the context, though.
This parable is a part of a discourse that Jesus began in response to Scribes and Pharisees grumbling about Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. The crowd is still the same, and this parable cannot truly be understood apart from the Parables of The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and The Lost Son which precede it. It is actually a rebuke of the Scribes and Pharisees who have been mishandling the great responsibilities entrusted to them by God, a warning to them, and an invitation for them to step into the Kingdom of God themselves.
The Temptation of Jesus – Part 3 Luke 4:1-13
Sadly, for the most part, here in the United States we’ve been totally neglected a vital part of the Christian life – something that God has called each of us to – holiness.
Polls and experience consistently indicate that there’s little difference between those who claim to be born- again and the population at large when it comes to sexual morality, financial priorities, materialism, hedonism, and worldview. Those who claim to be Christians think and act just as the world does. We may claim to believe in Jesus and the Bible, but our lives don’t back up the claims. The bottom line is that most Christians know very little of what it means to resist temptation. And then we wonder why we’re as miserable and confused as the lost world around us. Or, why we have so many marital and family issues, why we lack peace, why our churches are fragmented and lack power. Jesus won so that we could win, so that we could be victorious but first, we must fight. We must resist! Will you?
Lent is a time to pause and consider our relationship with the Lord, and is an invitation to draw nearer to Him no matter how close or far from Him we are at the moment.
“The Temptation of Jesus” -Part 1 Luke 4:1-13 Satan is not creative at all. He only has three basic temptations and one tactic. The three temptations are summarized in 1 John 2:16: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. No matter what temptation you are dealing with, it will fall into one of these three categories. Satan’s only tactic in these three categories of temptation is to raise doubt in our minds about the Word of God. He twists the Word of God. He makes subtle changes to the Word of God. He adds to the Word of God or subtracts from the Word of God. He takes verses out of context. All of Satan’s temptations revolve around misusing or abusing the Word of God. And this is the way he tempts you. He twists the Word of God and raises doubt about what God has said. This is why it is so vitally important to know the Word of God.
Living a Godly Life in an Ungodly World Jude 1:1-25
In these last days, we are told that many will fall away from the faith, and that “wolves in sheep’s clothing would infiltrate the church.
How are we to live Godly lives in such ungodly times?
In his brief epistle, Jude gives us answers.
The End of Mercy and Grace Matthew 7:15-23 Jesus warns us that at the Judgment many will be shocked when they are turned away from heaven, having been deceived by false prophets and also deceived themselves. It takes faith, but not supermarket pick-and-choose faith. It takes the faith that is laid out in God’s word, the Bible, from cover to cover, beginning in Genesis and ending in the Book of Revelations. It takes utter faith in God, trusting in Him, and acting out of that trust. As you listen to this message, I encourage you to take Jesus’ warning seriously yourselves, and think hard on this subject of salvation. We need to think very hard about whether we really know and do God’s will—because Jesus’ chilling warning here was not intended just for us to point the finger at someone else. It’s intended to make us think about our own lives—whether we both practice God’s will and share an accurate version of the Gospel by which people may truly be saved.
"Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. " (John 20:30-31)
People respond to the miracles of God in one of three ways. They either believe, they don’t believe, or they believe and hide it because they fear other people. Which group are you in? If you are a believer, you know the wonder of living life in the Son. If you are an unbeliever, God is trying to get your attention. If you are a secret believer, the Lord is calling for you to leave the darkness and come into His
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, "They have no wine." (John 2:3)
Mary was moved with compassion when she saw disaster coming at the wedding feast, but she knew just what to do. She took her concern in faith to Jesus. We would all do well to emulate her demonstration of intercession and also heed her last recorded words, “Whatever He tells you to do, do it.”
Where do we go when the “wine” runs out? Where do we go when we have a need we can’t meet on our own—a problem we can’t face by ourselves? The account of the Wedding Feast at Cana makes it clear that we should go to Jesus. It shows that God cares, God is able and He is willing to help with whatever fiasco we are facing in life.
One of these days there is going to be a Marriage feast for Jesus and His Bride, The Church. He is looking forward to it with great anticipation. He wants it to go well. He wants it to be well-attended. He wants you to be there. He has already sent you an invitation. He has come and delivered it personally, and worded it several ways so you will not miss it. Just like any other Bride or Groom, He wants you to assure Him you’ll be there. If you haven’t already given it, He anxiously awaits your RSVP, because the moment just won’t be the same without you.
“The Miracle at Cana (John 2:1-11_ This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. (John 2:11 NIV) Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding feast. That’s significant. One of the things we can conclude right off is that Jesus likes weddings, and He likes Marriage, and He likes families. This account in Jesus’ life is one of the richest in the Bible, encompassing and reinforcing God’s activity from Genesis through Revelation. This message is the first in a series exploring this account.
When we surrender our lives to God through Jesus Christ and we are born again, God’s nature, which is love is imparted to us through the transforming power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Why do you suppose that God commands us to do something like love one another and our enemies if it is our nature to do so? I think it is because as D. L. Moody put it, we leak. We can be distracted by things that can cause us to drift away and lose His holy presence by grieving the Holy Spirit. The commands to love help to keep us on track, and if we have drifted, to repent and get on track again.
The Gift of Peace, Part 2 - Inner Peace John 14:23-27
The Gospel has never been needed in the United States more than right now. Life expectancy in the United States has dropped for the second straight year. The cause for the increase is attributed to an increase in deaths from substance and alcohol abuse and suicide. People who abuse alcohol and drugs are trying to deal with pain and despair. They are longing for a peace within, but can’t find it. There is an obvious correlation between this lowering in life expectancy and our nations’ pushing The Way, The Truth and The Life out of our conversation. When Jesus came into this world He brought with Him a peace that passes all understanding. It brings peace with God, peace within, and peace with others. As people surrender their lives to God through Jesus Christ, they receive a peace that Jesus wants each of us to have. Jesus said, “The thief comes but to kill, steal and destroy. I came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly.” As the thief steals the Good News of the Gospel from the lips of the church, people are left only with paths of destruction to follow. It’s time for the church to quit kowtowing to political correctness and special interests and once more proclaim the Good News loudly and clearly that Jesus Saves so that lives can be saved from destruction and despair. It has never been so evident: People need the Lord.
Jesus came to bring three kinds of peace- Peace with God, The Peace of God, and Peace With Others. In this first message we will look at Peace With God, because without having peace with Him, we will never truly know peace. The old adage is very true: “No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.”
What Are You Waiting For? Joshua 18:1-4
This Advent I think God wants us to really become aware similarities between this Old Testament story and the story of a lot of Christians today. 1. By inheritance the land belonged to them, They were Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. 2. They had been told to take possession experientially of what was theirs legally. 3. They were dragging their feet when it came to stepping in and taking possession of what was theirs. It’s the same s in the church today. The word of God is rich with Gods promises toward His children, yet they are not personally appropriating them and walking in them by faith. You see, this is the current message of Advent. “Just like we can’t sit in a folding chair if we don’t open it, we can’t discover and live in the promises of God if we don’t open the Bible and our hearts and appropriate them.
Where’s Your Growing Edge? 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 Paul want to visit the Thessalonians because he wants to help them with what is lacking in their faith. Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith. (1Thessalonians 3:10) He wants to do this because he wants them to be able to stand blameless before the Lord when He comes. To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (1Thessalonians 3:13) The fact is we all have a growing edge in our journey of faith. That area where we’re called to be moving forward with the Lord. The question facing us today is the same as it was for the Thessalonians: Will we be able to stand blameless before the Lord? C. H Spurgeon said, “Conversion is a turning onto the right road. The next thing is to walk on it.” Just like the Thessalonians, we are on a journey of faith, and as Paul put it so well, we should be pressing on toward the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Have we gotten started? Are we still moving on with the Lord?
Thank God for Turkeys! John 17:1-11 Definition of a turkey: someone who doesn’t remotely fill the bill. A person who seems to be a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. If turkeys are people who don’t remotely fill the bill, as square pegs in round holes, then Jesus certainly got a bunch of turkeys for disciples, didn’t He? Yet despite all their mistakes, rashness, brashness, impetuousness, selfishness, lack of faith, and blindness....despite the fact that they were turkeys when it came to being disciples, Jesus loved them, and had faith in them. If you feel ill-equipped for the job the Lord has called you to, don’t despair. You’re in very good company. All through the Bible we see people doubting their worth and ability be the person God is calling them to be, and to do the tasks He is assigning them. In each case God proves Himself able to take up their inadequacies and do something glorious with them. Every time we doubt ourselves and still move on in faith, we find, just as those who have gone before us that His grace is sufficient and His power shines through our weaknesses.
Marks of a Christian – GRATITUDE Luke 17:11-18 There are certain marks that all of us who have found life in Jesus Christ should share. They are the manifestation of the transforming work that God does in His children as they go about living in the world but not of the world. One characteristic that should distinguish us from the world more than any is the mark of Gratitude. One of the things I noticed in considering the story of the 10 lepers this past week was the difference in proximity to Jesus that the ungrateful lepers experienced compared to the grateful leper. At the beginning of the story all 10 make their petitions known to Jesus from a distance. Then something happens. As they obediently head off to show themselves to the priests they are all healed. One, the Samaritan in the group, turns back. He returns glorifying God, falling at the feet of Jesus expressing his thanks. The other 9 went on their way having never experienced the closeness to Jesus that the one grateful healed man experienced. There is a closeness to God that we can only experience as we realize that we are blessed with life and the faculties to experience it by God Himself. The natural response when you recognize your blessings and Who they are from is to express gratitude. One of the most important things that strikes me in this story is that expressing gratitude to God is worth it. It is worth it because it brings us into a closeness with God that is known in no other way. In our desire to thank God, we are moved to draw close to Him. When we draw near to Him, He has promised to draw near to us. There is an intimacy with God that is known in no other way because it springs directly from our hearts and communes directly with His. This is the core that all of the rest of our relationship with God emanates from, and should be an obvious mark in every Christian’s life.
You just say “I Corinthians 13” and someone will say, “Oh, I love that passage!” It is sometimes referred to as “The Wedding Passage.” I fear that many like it in the way we might like it the way that we like an Italian opera. It is beautiful to listen to, but they haven’t the slightest idea what the beautiful words mean.
Paul did not write these words to be hung on a wall as a plaque, or to be recited from time-to time. He wrote them to inform some people who had gotten off track that they needed to get their priorities straight, and their greatest priority should be love.
With all the rudeness, self-centeredness, meanness and impatience in our world today, I think it is a good time to revisit “The Love Chapter” and take its message deep into our souls.
Marks of a Christian: INTEGRITY Psalm 15:1-5
For the Christian, integrity is the product of our union with God through Jesus Christ. Too many Christians think that all God requires of us is a limited investment. “Just believe that Jesus died for your sins, call Him your Lord, count on His grace, and that’s it.” They see it as being on the same level as joining some service organization where you agree to participate in the activities, but then you go on with “real life.” You’re expected to contribute from time to time, and meet some minimum standards, and that’s it. But true Christianity is not anything like being a member of an organization. The Bible tells us that it’s like a marriage or an adoption. It changes our status in the world and our connection to God. There’s no time off or even needing some space for awhile. You are integrated. The Bible says you’re grafted into the vine. You are joined to God and to other Christians, and you bear the marks of the family. And one of the marks is integrity.
Marks of a Christian: Loyalty Matthew 26:30-35, 69-75
Of all the elements that seem to have slipped from our culture in this age is the element of loyalty. As we look at our culture we are finding its absence in relationships at all levels : marriages, families, friendships, churches and our nation. The Bible makes it clear that one of the defining marks of a Christian is loyalty at all levels. Sadly, as the church has drifted from our Lord and His Word, and the world has seeped in, we find many exhibiting a conditional loyalty, one that is professed, but is embraced only so long as it doesn’t become inconvenient or uncomfortable. How hollow would our excuses for being disloyal to our Lord sound if we stood at the foot of the Cross and explained to Him why we chose convenience and comfort over our relationship to Him, recognizing all the inconvenience and discomfort He chose to endure for us?
Marks of a Christian – Purity 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
The depth of immorality that permeates our nation today is obvious. You see it every day. Dr. David Jeremiah writes, “America’s …moral compass seems no longer to have a true north. The needle spins crazily, looking for a direction on which to settle, a direction that can lead a nation on a path of integrity and morality.” There is no doubt that much of the turmoil that appears in families, the economy, and our government is the result of that wildly spinning moral compass. The most vivid description of America’s present moral situation may be found in Stephen Hale’s book, Truth Decay, where he compares America to a sinking ship especially the Titanic after it collided into the iceberg. He proclaims, “our ship is taking on water”. He goes on to elaborate more by stating, “We are a nation that finds itself in deep, dark, unexplored waters, groping for answers, searching for direction, and looking for some familiar landmark that will put us back on course.” To a great extent the churches of the United States are largely to blame for this as they have abandoned the Word of God for moral relativism and lost their own way. You can’t see God while you are pursuing the world. As we have tried to win the lost we have forfeited our soul. We must reclaim the pursuit of God and sanctification ourselves or the morality of our land will continue to sink further into darkness, with the churches of our land sinking right along with it.
Sadly, we live in a culture really, where many of us live without honor. Just turn on your television or read the news and you will have to admit we’re becoming a culture that is really without honor. In Mark 6:5-6 we learn that Jesus was actually limited in what He was able to do in his own hometown because the people who should have honored Him the most, honored Him the least. We find here a Biblical principle that explains why the churches in our nation are so powerless and ineffective today, and also why the foundational institutions of our land are falling apart. At the heart of it all is honor.
Job 2:1-20
From the beginning of the Bible to the end we see Satan being allowed to test God’s servants. Satan was allowed to test Adam and Eve, Job, Peter, Judas, and Jesus. It is in the times of testing that we really prove whose we are. As someone once said, “It is in the darkness we can see the stars.”
When you get down to it, the only sure things are the things of God. One of the best things about being a Christian is that we have a certain future! The Christian life isn’t a “hope-so” kind of thing, it’s a “know-so” kind of thing. Those who have become overcomers can count on 4 things: A new start. A home. Himself. Happiness. These are things we can count on if we are sanctifying the Lord Jesus in our hearts.
PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR I John 4:15-18
As we continue to push God and the Lord out of the conversation of our nation, I see people becoming increasingly fearful, and that is understandable since this fallen world is a tough place to be without His peace, strength and presence. I find it interesting that our denomination actually began from people handling fear in the right way. The birth of our denomination demonstrates the truth of these words found in 1 John 4:18, “….Perfect love casts out fear.” What Fear is Fear is a gift to alert us of danger. It is a negative emotion that calls our attention that something is wrong so we can do something about it. The problem comes when the enemy uses it to control you. What Fear Does Fear Paralyzes. Matthew 25:25 Fear Robs you of blessings. Matthew 25:28 Fear separates you from God. Mathew 25:30, Revelation 21:8 Fear is contagious. Deuteronomy 20:8 Fear is not just your problem. Fear is at the heart of some of the worst sinfulness in your life. Arrogance - fear of vulnerability Impatience – fear that time will run out , covetousness, jealousy – fear that there will not be enough What To Do Sanctify the Lord Jesus in your heart. I Peter 3:15 Surrender to His sovereignty In your birth In your life In your death Trust God Face your fear Examine it. Some are baseless Some show areas where you need to mature spiritually Do it anyway Habituation – familiarity causes fear to dissipate
I John 4:10-18 Mark 4:35-41
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1John 4:18)”
Storms can arise in our lives when we least expect them. Here are Two Things to Remember When You Are in the Storm: First, Jesus is with you. Next, You’re in the storm for His purposes. In the middle of the storm, He is with you, He is for you, and He is working out His plans and purposes for your good. The boat may rock, but it is not going to sink. You will come through stronger in your faith than when the storm arose.
RESPECT Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. (1 Peter 2:17)
Aretha Franklin’s recent death has helped elucidate one of the qualities of life that has slipped away from us as our nation has been pushing God further and further out of our conversation, and that’s the quality of respect. The most prominent place we see the need for and call to respect today is in the arena of words. Words have power to harm and power to heal. One day we will give an account of every idle word we have spoken, yet rudeness and disrespect are the most common things we hear and read today. Today we're going to look at this characteristic that has slipped away from our current culture and consider why and how we should show respect. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. Even though the world throws respect out the window, as followers of Christ, it must be ingrained in us.
In the Bible, confession can be seen in the sense of affirming truth, as in Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It is also used in the sense of admission of our sin to God, so our relationship with Him can be healed. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1Jn 1:9-10) In the NT, the idea is that of “saying the same thing” - (Omo+Logos -same thought or word) that we admit that our sin is just as bad as God says it is. It’s popular these days to refer to sins as “mistakes” or “making bad choices.” Well, sin is always a mistake, and sin is always a bad choice, but they’re not the same thing. "The terms “mistake” and “bad choices” both imply an error in judgment—something unintentionally. This might be 1. Turning onto a one-way street, going the wrong way. 2. Pouring salt into your coffee, thinking it was sugar. 3. Mis-typing a web address and ending up on a wrong site. "These could all be legitimate mistakes. They happen because we get distracted or careless. But a sin is more than a mistake. It’s a deliberate choice to do something you know is wrong," Confession involves seeing ourselves as we really are, and acknowledging it. When there is confession, God is reverenced and praised, sin is acknowledged, and faith is declared.
The Power of Your Words Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death.. (Proverbs 18:21) For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. (Matthew 12:34)
Our words show Who we are, Whose we are, and What’s in our heart. We are responsible for them, and one day will be judged over how we have used the Power of our words. At this point in history, everything from social media and politics to cultural conflict has brought us to a time when we as Christians need to step back and consider our words, their power, how we have been using them and how we should be using them. Think about it. Everything you have said this week has either been life-giving or death-dealing, and there is nothing in between. The tongue has the power to kill, to destroy, to hurt, to maim and to assassinate, or to heal, help, inspire, encourage, influence, save and bring peace.
The Law of His Return and Reign 2 Peter 3:3-18
Jesus’ return is inevitable. It has been foretold for thousands of years in God’s Word. The Old Testament foretells it. Just as The Old Testament writers foretold His birth, death, and resurrection many hundreds of years before they happened, they also foretold the return of Jesus. Because they were spot on about His birth, death, and resurrection, we can be sure that they will also be right about this. Jesus has promised it, just as He promised to rise from the dead after 3 days. Since He was able to keep that promise, we know He will keep this one as well/ He quoted Old Testament prophecies about His return the same as He quoted them about His death and resurrection. His apostles talk about it in their epistles to the churches a lot, and we know that they received a lot of information about this that they have passed on to us. We are witnessing the fulfillment of this law daily Throughout Scripture we find three admonitions given to us about the Lord’s return: Watch faithfully. Work diligently. Wait peacefully. When the Lord comes, will He find you among those who love Him and call Him Savior and Lord? When the Lord comes, will He find you doing what He has commanded you to do? When the Lord comes, will He find you eager to see Him? When the Lord comes, will He find you ready for His appearing? When the Lord calls with a shout from heaven, will you instantly rise to be with Him? When the Lord appears in the clouds, will your heart rejoice with exceedingly great joy? You have it within your grasp to positively answer these questions. How will you choose to respond to the Lord’s challenges upon your life? The fact is, He is coming again!
And Jesus came up 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 the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Mat 28:18-20) God gave humanity reign and rule over the earth. They were to exercise their dominion under the reign and rule of God. Authority was theirs because He delegated it to them. Ownership and rights still belonged to God, but He entrusted rule and care of all living and creeping things into their care. This is very much like a Power of Attorney – gives you the authority to represent someone and act on their behalf. Now this is the thing, a power of attorney is only valid as long as both parties are alive. If either party dies, the power of attorney is no longer valid. On the day that Adam and Eve partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they died spiritually, and the authority He had delegated to them was no longer theirs. Our dominion was lost. In our dead spiritual state, however, we still have that imprint of what God intended for us. - to have dominion. That explains why we still want to climb mountains, cross oceans, go to the Moon and Mars. The entire point of the Cross is to bring us to life, spiritually, to restore us each to the relationship Adam and Eve had before the Fall. All of the Old Testament from that point on is preparing us for something glorious, and that is the restoration of spiritual life to those who are spiritually dead, and the revival of that Power of Attorney granted to us giving us dominion. As He said, “The thief comes but to kill and steal and destroy. I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.”
THE LAW OF MIRACLES John 20:30-31
Miracles are, first of all, God’s way of confirming His message. In the Old Testament He confirmed His message through the Prophets through miracles. In the New Testament and today God uses miracles to confirm the Good News that the Kingdom of God is here, and can be entered through faith in Jesus. Miracles are also God’s supernatural way of being involved in your life. He uses them to get your attention, help you in carrying out His directions to you in life, to confirm His presence and to accomplish purposes and meet needs. God performs miracles every day, but they are easily overlooked because they often blend in with the rest of His creative work. Do not miss His miraculous involvement in your life by deciding how God is going to do something and exactly what He is going to do.
"THE LAW OF UNITY" John 17:20-21 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21) Created in the image of God, unity should be evident in us on two levels, just as in the Godhead, on a personal level and on a collective level. The power of the Law of Unity is so great that literally, nothing is impossible to those who will unite themselves...that means agree on the same purpose, have the same goals and same motives. We cannot expect to see the total, awesome power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our homes, in our churches, in our society, or in our nation, until there is unity in Christ and His Word.
THE LAW OF GREATNESS Matthew 18:1-4
All of us, to some degree or the other have this desire for greatness deep within our soul. Actually, it is very understandable, because god has placed a sense of destiny deep within each of us. In fact, the Bible says,“He has set eternity in the hearts of men.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) The problem is, that since The Fall, that connection to significance and eternity has been smudged and turned into something tainted by pride, self-seeking and self-centeredness. “There’s nothing that makes you more miserable, or less interesting than self-absorption.” Dr. Tim Keller Jesus warned about how this fallen, self-centered seeking for greatness was easy to fall into, even in religious settings. He called it the “Leaven of the Pharisees.” (Matthew 16:6) Into all of the self-centered misdirection of this world, Jesus tells us that He “has come to seek and to save that which is lost.” He has come to call us out of the influence and ways of the world into His Kingdom. And as we step out of the world and into His Kingdom, all of a sudden, our sense of destiny and eternity is validated and put right.
The Law of Responsibility Luke 12:42-48
There are Spiritual Laws at work in God’s creation, Spiritual Laws that are just there. Embedded in His creation. So far we have reviewed the Laws of: Use – Use it or lose it. Strength, Languages, skills, abilities Generosity – give and and it will be given to you Perseverance – “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
In this message we examine the Law of Responsibility, a law that is evident to believer and unbeliever alike, throughout the Bible and all of creation. It’s there. It’s ingrained in us and the world.
There are times when I have felt overwhelmed and been tempted just to throw in the towel. In fact, I can remember 2 occasions when life was so overwhelming that I did that. I just threw in the towel, and said, “God, that’s it.” Can you identify with that? Are there times when it’s all you can do to keep yourself from just giving up? If you can relate to this, then listen as we continue our study of the Laws of the Kingdom of God and consider the Law of Perseverance.
“THE LAW OF USE”
"For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. (Matthew 25:29) The “wicked, lazy” servant never took, never owned, what was entrusted to him. He took something of great value and hid it in a hole, and went about doing as he pleased. I checked this recently, and a talent at this time would be worth $1,400,116.57. He ignored the greatest assignment in his life, and it cost him dearly.
**The Law of Use is: “Use it or lose it.” In the Old Testament we see this same principle I once walked by the field and the vineyard of a lazy fool. Thorns and weeds were everywhere, and the stone wall had fallen down. When I saw this, it taught me a lesson: Sleep a little. Doze a little. Fold your hands and twiddle your thumbs. Suddenly poverty hits you and everything is gone! (Proverbs 24:30-34)
Just like the servants in the parable, we’ve all been entrusted with different things by our Master, God. Spirituality, Mind Physical Bodies (Exercise/No activity), Relationships, Farms, Ranches, & vineyards It applies to all of life, no matter what your age, stage or station. We’ve been instructed to manage these things. Are we in the Kingdom and using them the way He told us to, or are we ignoring Him and going about our own business? Eyes, Mouth, Feet, Hands, Arms, Body,Talents, Abilities, Intellect Material Resources, Skills
Are we doing with them what He instructed us to do? Amount doesn’t matter. It’s not too late **Have you entered His Kingdom? Are you following His instructions with what He has entrusted you? If so, you know His blessing. If not, today’s the best day ever to get started!
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38)
Did you know the word” believe” is used 272 times in the bible. The word pray is used “371” times in the bible. Thae word love is used “714” times in the bible. But the word give is used “2162 times”. Do you think God may want us to learn to be generous? (Stats from Rick Warren’s 40 Days Of Community) There is a Law of Generosity in The Kingdom of God that governs every aspect of life. The reason why people don’t realize the awesome power of this law and fail to recognize its positive effects in their personal lives is because they haven’t left where they are to go where God wants them to be. Jesus said, “The thief comes but to kill, steal and destroy. I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly. Entering into the abundant life begins by leaving the realm of the thief and starting to live in God’s Kingdom.
Genesis 12:1-3 God’s call to Abraham was to leave where he was and go where he would lead him. He had a wonderful plan for Abraham’s life. Wonderful promises were given to Abraham if he would do this. The same plan and promise God made to Abraham are also for you. We find this promise to us from Jesus Himself in the Gospel of Luke, the 18th Chapter, beginning with the 24th verse. The Rich Young Ruler has just heard this call from the Lord to leave everything and follow Him, and he is sorrowfully walking away.
And Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! "For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." They who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But He said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God." Peter said, "Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You." And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life." (Luke 18:24-30) That’s the promise, But we never can prove, the delights of His love, until all on the altar we lay. For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows are for them who will trust and obey.
Mark 3:31-35 Last week we saw Abraham called to leave his country, his people and his father’s household and go where God told him to go. Because Abraham believed, he obeyed. In Abraham, we see a model of what the faith looks like. Today we examine a snippet of our Lord’s life and allow Him to show us Himself what this leaving country, people, family and land to follow God looks like. As we do so, we learn that God’s business takes priority over earthly business and that our relationship with God always takes priority over human relationships.
Genesis 12:1-4 Abraham is our model of faith in the Bible. He was asked to forsake everything in order to follow God’s call. 1. Leave your country 2. Leave your people 3. Leave your father’s household 4. Go to the land I will show you Hebrews 11:8 puts it this way: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” That’s always how it is in the life of faith. Many times you will be called to step out for God and you will be precisely where Abraham was—believing God but not knowing what the future holds. It may be scary, but in the presence of God, you know everything will be okay.
The next time you are faced with the choice of acting in faith (trusting, believing and obeying), or unbelief (distrusting, doubting and opting to do it your way and then hoping God will bless it), I hope you will see it as more that just a choice, I hope you will start seeing all those times as tests. Tests to show that you really believe God.
Jesus talks a lot about faith and its importance. He commends the faith of some and is amazed at the unbelief of others. We begin this series on Faith by looking at the basic meaning of faith, and some of its prerequisites.
“I Believe in The Communion of Saints”
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”
In The Apostles’ Creed we affirm, “I believe in the communion of saints.” Because these words come near the end of the creed, we may tend to overlook them, but we shouldn’t because they teach us something important about the Christian church. Four major truths confront us as we consider what we mean when we say, “I believe in the communion of the saints.: 1. The Gospel is for everyone. 2. We have communion with Christ. 3. We have communion with the saints who are alive on earth. 4. We have communion with the saints in heaven.
“I Believe He Will Come Again to Judge the Living and the Dead” John 14:1-3; II Peter 3:3-10 II Timothy 3:1-5
In the Apostles’ Creed we affirm that we believe “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” These simple words consist of two complementary truths: 1) Jesus is coming again. 2) Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. The New Testament refers to the second coming of Christ in over 300 verses. That means one of every 13 verses deals with some aspect of our Lord’s return to the earth. It is so central to the New Testament that Christians everywhere have always believed that Jesus will return someday. Though we differ (and argue!) over the details, Christians of all varieties unite in believing that Christ himself will return to the earth. Jesus said in John 14:3, “I will come again.” Here are five words that help us understand what that means. His second coming will be … Personal (It will be Jesus and not some substitute) Literal (Not a vision or a dream) Visible (“Every eye will see him”) Sudden (Not a gradual return) Unexpected (Like a thief in the night). Acts 1:11 makes it clear that Jesus himself will one day return to the earth. It will be “this same Jesus” who is coming again. Twice in one verse Luke uses the word “same” to tell us something crucial about the Second Coming. The same Jesus who left will one day return. And he will return the same way that he left. If plain English can have any meaning at all, those words teach us that Jesus is coming back personally, literally, visibly and bodily. We might also add that his coming will be sudden and unexpected. Luke 24:50-52 informs us that as Jesus reached out his hands to bless his disciples, he began to rise from the face of the earth—evidently without any warning whatsoever. We can assume that his return to the earth will be no less astonishing and no less surprising.
“He Ascended into Heaven and Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty” This is one of the key affirmations of the Apostles’ Creed and it is also one of the most neglected areas of Christian faith. Even though we (along with all Christians) believe in the ascension of Jesus, we don’t think about it very much, and we don’t talk about it nearly enough. Although we would never say it this way, perhaps it doesn’t seem quite as important to us. We know that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead for our salvation, and we know that we couldn’t be saved without Good Friday or Easter Sunday. Where does the Ascension fit in? To many people it seems like a P.S. to the main message of the gospel—perhaps a convenient way for Christ to go back to heaven. But does it really matter today? And is it essential to our Christian faith?
What would happen to your faith if tomorrow morning both CNN and Fox News were carrying this story: “Body of Jesus Found near Jerusalem"? Suppose the story was running because someone really did find the bones of Jesus in a box in the Holy Land. What would be left of our Christian faith? Would it matter at all? Or would we go on as if nothing had happened? On this point the Apostles’ Creed offers this clear affirmation: “The third day He rose again from the dead.” No ifs, ands or buts about it. Jesus died on Friday; on Sunday morning he came back from the dead.
“I Believe Jesus Was Conceived of the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary” “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35). Today we are looking at the part of the Apostles’ Creed which states: “I believe in Jesus Christ … who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.” We tend to just consider this during the Christmas season, But we are considering it today because the early Christians deemed this truth so highly that they included it in the first Christian creed. Because of its importance, I want to go over what this means, and what is at stake. When we affirm the Christian faith through the Apostles’ Creed, we are making a claim about Jesus, grounded in the Holy Bible, that cannot be made about any other person. It is a claim that could not be made about anyone else. I want to go over this with you today by considering 4 questions: 1. What exactly do we mean when we say that Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit” and “born of the virgin Mary?” 2. How could the God, Who is limitless, somehow “empty himself” and enter the world as a human being born of a human mother? 3. What difference does it make that Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” and “born of the Virgin Mary?” A. Biblical Authority: Will we believe what Scripture plainly teaches? B. Jesus Christ: the Virgin Birth forces us to confront what we believe about Jesus Christ. C. Salvation: The actuality of the Virgin Birth makes salvation entirely by grace. God does it all because we could not do any of it. 4. Why did God go to all this trouble? The “Why?” of all of this is found right there in the Bible, in Jesus’ own words: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“I BELIEVE HE DESCENDED INTO HELL” 1 Peter 3:18-22, Hebrews 11:39-40, Luke 23:42-43
I. While every article of the Apostles’ Creed is essential to our faith, and understanding what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, the crucial results of Jesus’ descent into Hell are lost on many because people are hesitant to even consider Hell. A. Actually two of Jesus’ most important statements are tied to this. John 14:1-3 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. (2) "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. (3) "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:6 Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” B. Without an understanding of death and Hell from a Biblical perspective, and the importance of the statement in the Creed, “He descended into Hell,” we will miss out on the richest aspects of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. II. Understanding death A. Separation from God B. Separation of the soul from the body III. A Biblical perspective of Hell A. Sheol – the holding place of the souls of the dead. B. Until Jesus came, it had to sections 1. Hades – the holding place of the evil dead 2. Paradise, or Abraham’s Bosom, the holding place of the righteous dead. 3. Illustrated in Jesus’ account of the rich man and Lazarus in Juke 16:19-31 IV. What Jesus did A. The salvation of the righteous before Jesus’ work on the Cross was not complete. Even they could not come to the Father but through Jesus. Also, God reaches back through time and preaches to everyone in Hell, on both sides of the chasm. (Hebrews 11:39-40, 12:2-4, I Peter 3:18-22) B. Now, all from Adam and Eve forward have had the opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. C. The question of what about all those who died before Jesus came is answered in this article. He descended to the holding place of the dead, and all who heard Him preach had the opportunity to accept or reject Him at that time. No one, from any age, comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.
I Believe in the Life Everlasting (Easter 2018)
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
On this Easter morning we continue in our study of the Apostles’ Creed, by looking at the affirmation, “I believe in the life everlasting.” We want to look at what the Bible calls eternal life and ask ourselves, what do we mean when we confess what the apostles have handed down to us to affirm in the Creed, “I believe in the everlasting life, or in life everlasting?
I Believe in the Resurrection of the Body 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 In these words of The Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” we affirm what the Bible says comes afterlife, and that is a physical afterlife. In order to understand this affirmation of our bodily resurrection and the significance of that hope, you have to also understand what the Bible teaches about death. So in this message, we will be looking at what the Bible teaches about death and then what it says about this Christian hope of a bodily resurrection.
“I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins” Psalm 130:3-4 Before Martin Luther became the father of the Protestant Reformation, he was a Catholic priest. He was obviously brilliant and devout. But he was burdened with a nagging sense that his sins were not forgiven. It was as if God’s judgment hung over him like a heavy weight. He never felt the assurance that his sins were forgiven. After years of this, while studying the book of Romans, he encountered the phrase, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). As he meditated on this, he began to see clearly that God forgives us, not because of anything we do, but solely on the basis of what Jesus did for us when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. He called that truth “the gate to heaven.” After embracing this truth, Luther said that the phrase, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins” was the most important article in the Apostles’ Creed. He wrote, “If that is not true, what does it matter whether God is almighty or Jesus Christ was born and died and rose again? It is because these things have a bearing upon my forgiveness that they are important to me.” To these words of Martin Luther, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, would shout a resounding “Amen!” You see, it was as he heard Martin Luther’s words on this matter of faith and sin that he felt his heart “strangely warmed” and the burden of guilt that had plagued him for so many years just rolled away. When we come to the essence of the Christian living, it’s all summed up in these seven words: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” Today, using Psalm 130:3-4 as a guide, I want us to examine three questions about forgiveness that every one of us needs to ask and receive an answer if we are going to join Martin Luther and John Wesley in the fullness of the Christian Life.
The Temptation of Jesus – Part 2
Luke 4:3. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” As we look at the Temptation of Jesus, 2 questions come up: 1. COULD JESUS HAVE SINNED? 2. WHY WAS TURNING STONES INTO BREAD WRONG? The answer to the first is yes, or He couldn’t have been our Savior. The answer to the second is found in Jesus’ answer to the devil. Any thing sought without reference to God. Without considering God is a step away from God and His presence in your life. The Biggest source of sinfulness throughout the history of the world is this: Deciding what we are going to do with no reference to God whatsoever.
I Believe in the Holy Spirit -John 14:16-25
In the Apostles’ Creed we affirm, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” Have you ever thought about what you are saying when you stand and make that affirmation? Interestingly, many have never really considered this, and in doing so miss out on much of the richness and fullness of the Christian life. In this teaching we explore Who the Holy Spirit is and the part He plays in our relationship with God the Father and the Son.
“I Believe In The Holy Catholic Church.” (Matthew 16:13-19) "I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. (Matthew 16:18) Some are bothered by the word “catholic” when we say, “I believe in the holy catholic church.” They think it has something to do with the Roman Catholic Church. This is not so. Note that the word “catholic” is always spelled with a small “c.” If it were spelled with a large “C” that would refer to the Roman Catholic Church. But catholic with a small “c” simply means “universal.” If we take the basic meaning of ekklesia (the Greek word we translate church), and add the meaning of the 2 words “holy catholic,” we get something like this: The church is the … 1) Worldwide body of true believers in Jesus, 2) Who go against the flow of society as they follow the Lord Who has called them to come out of the world J. I. Packer calls the church the “supernatural society of God’s redeemed people.” I like that phrase because it reminds us that the church is not an organization like the Rotary Club or the Lions Club. Because the church belongs to God, it is truly a supernatural society of those whose lives have been transformed by Jesus Christ.
From the early days of the church Christians have affirmed their faith in Jesus with these words from the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth… and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.” With these words we enter the second major section of the Apostles’ Creed. The Creed itself is Trinitarian—with a section devoted to the Father, a section to the Son, and a final section to the Holy Spirit. Of the 105 words in the Creed, 65 occur in the section relating to Jesus Christ. This tells us something important. The Christian faith is all about Jesus! He is the heart and core, the very cornerstone of all that we believe. You can be mistaken on some other issues and still be a Christian, but if you are wrong about Jesus, you are wrong in the worst possible way. Our faith in Jesus must be more than just an emotional experience of “having Jesus in my heart.” Our faith must rest on the revealed truth about Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord. If we take this affirmation from the Creed and examine it, we can see that it contains four statements: · I believe in Jesus. · I believe He is the Christ. · I believe He is God’s only Son. · I believe He is the Lord. Each of one of these statements is essential to the wholeness of the Christian faith.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Today we begin looking at the Apostles’ Creed by considering its first phrase, “I believe in God The Father.” The Bible declares God’s existence. It does not attempt to prove it. Certain things are so true that philosophers call them “properly basic.” They are so true that you can’t properly understand reality without them. From a biblical standpoint, the existence of God falls into that category. Either you believe in God or you don’t. If you do, then you are in good company. According to the latest poll I could fine, 89% of those surveyed say they believe in God. Nine out of ten Americans say they believe in God. Most Americans believe in God, even if they can’t agree on what kind of God they believe in. If that’s true, then it may seem unnecessary to devote a sermon to the first phrase of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God.” This may seem like a kindergarten lesson, a truth we learned in Sunday School many years ago. But it’s always dangerous to take our faith for granted. Maybe we don’t know everything we think we know.
REPENTANCE
Rightly Understood, The Entire Life of the Believer Is to Be One of Repentance Spiritual Growth “Moving on Toward Perfection RELIGIOUS REPENTANCE Religious Repentance os Selfish Religious Repentance is Self-Righteous Religious Repentance is Bitter All the Way Down TRUE REPENTANCE Deep Humility vs. Pride Wise Courage vs. Anxiety Burning Love vs. Indifference Godly Motivations
Like a Little Child - “My God Can Do Anything!” Luke 1:34-37
"I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." - Mark 10:15
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God… 37 For nothing is impossible with God." - Luke 1:34-35, 37
Many have grown up in the Christian faith, and believe God can, but when it comes to them, personally, They don't believe God will! They believe God might do it for somebody else, but don't believe God will do it for them.
Maybe you've even heard about God doing really incredible things, but you just think God's going to do it "way over there;" “He’s never going to do it over here. That’s for others, not for me.”
A child has the faith to believe not only my God can but my God will do these things in my life..
“Like a Little Child – God Forgives Me” Luke 7:36-48 If there is one thing children seem to grasp well, it is the concept of forgiveness. Two children can be at each other’s throats one moment, forgive each other, and two minutes later you would never know that there had ever been a strain in their relationship. It’s the same in their relationship with God. They take 1John 1:9 for what is said: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” We adults, on the other hand have a very difficult time accepting the simplicity and purity of God’s forgiveness and try to add provisions like penance and probationary periods as requirements to the forgiveness God so readily offers through our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
To enter the Kingdom of God, we need to in all childlikeness be able to say, “My God forgives me!”
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10
Jesus tells us in Mark 10:15, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a:.little child will never enter it. The way that a little child would describe God’s omnipresence would be to personalize it and say, “God is with me.” Scripture makes it clear that God, although greater than we could ever imagine, is big enough to be with each one of us in a very personal way. As we recognize His presence, talk to Him, and listen to Him we find forgiveness, peace, answers to our burning questions, comfort, purpose and hope. Are you enjoying His presence? Did you know that you could?
Jesus says that He has come into this world where the thief is killing, stealing and destroying so that we could have life, and have it abundantly. Are you living the abundant life that Jesus offers? If not, you are really missing out on a wonderful thing!
I have discovered you can never enter the Kingdom of God by questioning God’s motives, existence, etc. Even though I live in the Kingdom, I can never prove it to you. The only way is to approach God like a little child, trusting and believing what He has revealed of Himself in His Word and through His followers down through the ages. As long as we stand back, arms folded, saying, “I want to believe. Prove it to me and I’ll believe it,” as I did for many years, you will never make any headway. However, if you will take the things He has revealed and start applying them as if they are true, He will prove Himself to you. We begin our four-week study of childlike faith by examining the core conviction we must have if we are living out of a childlike faith, and that is that “God is for me.”
"Committed or Completed?" (Acts 19:1-7) Paul asks these 12 disciples, “Into what, then were you baptized?” when he discovered they had not received the Holy Spirit. I have discovered through the years in talking with thousands of people about their faith journey that this is an important question for us all to ask ourselves. When you were baptized, what was the reason for it? Was it to receive the forgiveness of sins that can only come through Jesus and commit yourself to serving Him as Lord, or was it for some other reason? You see, the reason in your heart at the time of baptism makes the difference as to what you were baptized into. The Holy Spirit is given to those who repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Here is a list of other things I have learned people have been baptized into: John’s baptism – a baptism of repentance Church Denominational Religion “My friend did it” “Everybody else is doing it” “To please my parents” “Turn over a new leaf How about you? “Into what, then were you baptized?”
Extra Grace Required – The Hypocrites Matthew 15: 1-9 "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME." (Matthew 15:7-8) This past year could be officially labeled the Year of Hypocrisy Revealed. As I have read one news account after another, the words of Numbers 32:33 have come to mind: “You have sinned against the Lord, and be sure that your sin will find you out.” There have been casualties on both ends of the political spectrum from a congressman who ran and voted on a right-to-life ticket encouraging his mistress to get an abortion to a staunch women’s rights supporter being toppled from his place at the top of the entertainment industry because of multiple reports of sexual assault. In between these two extreme cases, myriads of others have had hypocrisy in one form or another revealed. We are going to run across hypocrites, everywhere let’s face it. We’ll find them in our government, in our schools, in our businesses, in our churches and in our families. Also, if we are really honest, we must admit that we ourselves can be hypocrites; so let’s see how we’re supposed to handle hypocrisy in others and in ourselves.
"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." (Matthew 1:23 NASB)
Have you ever noticed just HOW remote, HOW nondescript, How lowly every aspect of Jesus’ birth was? Consider His city of birth, Bethlehem, His home town, Nazareth, His place of birth, His name, His appearance, His first visitors, His parents, and His family tree. All are lowly. I just really noticed it this past week, and I think God would be pleased to tell us something through these things, and that is this: “No matter where you come from, or where you are, no place is too little or too lost for God. No matter how lowly or ignoble your surroundings, status or stature, you’re good enough for Him.”
The Word Became Flesh John 1:1-18 Many of us have only a “snapshot” or two of the Jesus we profess to believe in and follow. Some only really know about the “Baby Jesus” of Christmas. Others only really know the “Crucified Jesus” of the Cross and Resurrection. Most of us have the Birth, Crucifixion and Resurrection aspects of Jesus down pretty well. Although His Birth, Death and Resurrection are all extremely important, there are other aspects of the One Whose Birth we celebrate this Christmas that are important as well, if we are really going to know Him in His fullness.
If we are really going to come to know the Word Who became flesh and dwelt among us, we need to know that Him also as Jesus, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. We need to know that Him as Jesus, the Infinite God-Man. We need to know Him as Jesus, the Soon-Coming King. And we need to know Him as Jesus, the One Who stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, desiring to share Himself with us and for us to share ourselves with Him.
Extra Grace Required! - The Manipulators Matthew 2:1-8 Manipulating and controlling people – They’re all around us – In corporations, in politics, in the entertainment industry, in our schools, in our circles of friends, in our families, in our homes, and everywhere else. People all around us are attempting to control our lives. Some mean well, but still try to pull us from God’s will for our lives. Others are predators who simply want to use us in some way. Whether they mean well or ill, we must deal with them in a liberating scriptural way that keeps us on God’s path for our lives.
“Extra Grace Required – The Needy” - Acts 3:1-8 We know the Lord wants us to care for those who are in need, but with some people, we find we must be careful to help without enabling. Sometimes this means that we must: 1. Give them what they need, instead of what they want. 2. Set healthy boundaries for ourselves and for them. 3. Allow them to face their consequences.
The Pilgrims who celebrated that 1st Thanksgiving were doing their best to live with their lives consecrated to God. As they endeavored to do so, GOD SHEPHERDED THEM.
They were a people who had, through Jesus Christ, had the Creator/Creature relationship we were all created to live in restored, and were doing the best they could to live properly as HIS PEOPLE AND THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE.
His providential hand had brought them to the time of that 1st celebration, and because of what they had been through, what they had seen, and where they were, just like that man born lame and then healed by God, THEY COULDN’T HELP BUT GIVE THANKS.
Now, there are people today who are trying to deprive the church in our country of the great Christian legacy of these Pilgrims by trying to change their story, so I want to share with you an article by MICHAEL MEDVED - “WHAT’S THE TRUTH ABOUT THE FIRST THANKSGIVING?” so you can unashamedly give thanks to God yourself this coming Thursday.
Criticism is something we all face. Some mean well with their words while others mean to hurt us as much as they can. How we react is determined by how close we are walking with Jesus. Our normal, initial, prideful reactions to criticism usually come right from the flesh, and can cost us relationships, destroy our self esteem, and give our enemies power over us.
As Christians, though, we have another way to respond. Having been broken and humbled before God, our pride should no longer be the thing that determines our reactions to criticism. Instead, the Holy Spirit wants to take the criticism of others and use it to bring growth to our souls and light to others.
A lot of people want to have a very real, intimate faith with God, but don’t recognize that God will often use the valley to prove His faithfulness and bring you to this type of faith.
What Do You Do in the Valley? (Habakkuk 2:1-3) Habakkuk means to embrace or to wrestle. If someone who comes to a point of crisis in their faith will continue to embrace God, or even wrestle with Him through the difficult times they can grow much closer to God than they were in the past. In fact, if you look very closely at those who are closest to God, they are often those who have been through the most difficult times, and God has proven Himself faithful. What do you do when you are in “the valley?” You listen; you record, and you wait, living by faith, because the Lord is in His holy temple.
Habakkuk is a man who believes in and knows God, but he is having a really difficult time understanding what’s going on in his country, and why God is allowing it to continue. As we listen to the situation that Habakkuk describes, he could very well be describing the United States in 2017. Habakkuk had a burden for his country and the way things were going. He grieved over the situation and cried out to God about it. You very well may have a similar burden for your country. Habakkuk has questions. Why is God allowing this? Why doesn’t He do something about it? God responds, “I AM.” “I AM doing something.” If you have questions, God has answers.
“How Should We Approach the Old Testament?” Acts 15:22-29
As Christians, instead of “cherry-picking” verses or as some say, “Taking a supermarket approach,” to support our point of view, it seems to me that we should be doing just the opposite. Instead of grasping The Book, we need to let The Book grasp us. After all, it is God’s Word, and we are endeavoring to live a life pleasing to Him after having repented of our sin and appropriated the death of Jesus on the Cross as payment in full for our transgressions. With Jesus as our Lord, the first place we should look to find out how to live a life that pleases to Him is The Bible. With this in mind, How Should We Approach the Old Testament? How does it fit in? Does it apply at all today?
Psalm 103:1-5 As David lists the Lord’s benefits in Psalm 103, one of the most important is the fact that “He redeems our life from the pit.” The two main pits that the Lord delivers us from are the pits of death and hell. Being redeemed from these pits by the precious blood of Jesus sets us free from the bondage and penalties of sin and gives us eternal life. How wonderful it is to be freed from being stuck in the circular self-destructiveness of living in the pit of sin and have the ability to move on through life in a positive and creative way! There are many other pits in life that the Lord desires to deliver us from as well. Any time we find ourselves in situations that have us helplessly trapped, we should remember that the Lord we serve loves to help us out of our pits, be they situational, relational, emotional, economic, health-related, or whatever other form they may take.
In Psalm 103 David speaks to his soul, telling it to not forget the Lord’s benefits. Second in the list of benefits is the healing of all our diseases. Does the Lord still heal? Is this a benefit of salvation? This is the topic Dr. McMahon discusses in this latest message shared at the historic San Felipe United Methodist Church in San Felipe, Texas.
David’s spirit tells his soul, in Psalm 103, to first of all bless the Lord. Next, he tells his soul to focus on the benefits of the Lord. The first benefit he lists is the entrance to all the others. All the other blessings and benefits from God flow from our being forgiven by God for all our iniquities. So, how do we get there? How do we enter into this blessed life? It begins with a profound decision that will transform our entire life. The only gateway to a relationship with God is repentance. In this message Rev. McMahon discusses the distinctions between: 1. Iniquity, transgression and sin, 2. Spirit, soul and body, 3. Repentance and remorse, 4. Being called and being chosen. Understanding these distinctions helps us to fully grasp our need for salvation and what it really is.
In Psalm 103 David’s spirit tells his soul to do two things. First, David tells his soul to “Bless the Lord.” Then he tells his soul to “Forget not His benefits.” He then lists five benefits of a right relationship with The Lord, and the ensuing results of this: pardon for your iniquities, healing for your diseases; redemption of your life from the pit, crowning with lovingkindness and compassion; satisfaction of your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. David is wise to command his soul to stay focused on these benefits because even those who have enjoyed these benefits can be so easily distracted and forget. Prosperity, need, temptation, sin, guilt, calamities, tragedies, and busyness can all cause us to forget. Yes, and sometimes a perfect storm of several distractions can hit us all at once or in rapid succession. Here’s the good news: If you have forgotten these benefits, they are still available. Which do you need to remember today?
In Psalm 103:1 David expresses the very heart of his relationship with The Lord as his spirit commands his soul to bless the Lord. He has decided to intentionally make his thoughts, will, choices, and emotions a blessing to God. This should be the very essence of our Christian life, so I want to make how to do this as clear as I possibly can in this message.
As you study the Bible and then look at the news it is pretty obvious that we are living in the Last Days. As Christians, this should not be disconcerting, but exciting, since everything the Bible has predicted is coming true. The exciting thing is that if the description of the Last Days is true, it confirms all the rest of the Bible, and we know that we will soon be forever with the Lord. The reason so many get fearful as it appears that the Lord’s imminent return will be soon is that they have doubts about the Bible. Sinners live with the nagging question, “What if the Bible is true?” Lukewarm believers live with the nagging question, “What if the Bible is not true?” Once we settle in our hearts the veracity of God’s Word, we can live with confidence and joy as we enter these Last Days.
The Confident Christian I Corinthians 15:19 There are several different kinds of Christians that we see today: The casual Christian, worshipping occasionally, little interest, nonchalant. The comfortable Christian. Worship place better be comfortable, sermons better make them feel good, and they shy away from anything that goes against their comfort. The convenient Christian. Their faith is driven by convenience, and fails when it is challenged by true discipleship. The cultural Christian who just goes along in what they have grown up in, with no deep commitment. The misdirected committed Christian who is committed to something lower than being a disciple of Jesus. They may simply be committed to a cause or a congregation, but not to Jesus as Savior and Lord. All of these live in a “hope so,” “iffy,” shallow faith. Then there is the confident Christian, who lives a rich, deep, rewarding life of confidence in their Savior and God.
Jesus hasn’t called us to be better people. He has called us to take up our cross and follow Him. Dying to self is not just simply trying to be good for God. Instead, it is living daily the prayer that Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Thy will be done.”
In Ephesians 4:22-32 we see that anger is mentioned as something that must be handled rightly in our conduct and also in our relationships. Sandwiched between admonishments to holiness in living and wholeness in our relationships is the warning to not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. From this it is clear that handling anger in a right way is an essential to walking with God and having His power and presence in our lives. In this message Dr. McMahon explores how to “Be Angry and Sin Not.”
Rifts occur in the best of relationships, and when they do, healing needs to take place for the relationship to be restored. God has demonstrated what we need to do to bring restoration to our personal relationships when damage has occurred through the steps He has taken to bring healing and wholeness to our relationship with Him. Just as repentance, confession, the giving and receiving of forgiveness, and bringing forth “fruit worthy of repentance” are necessary for the restoration of our relationship with Him, they are also the basic steps we must take if our broken relationships are to be mended.
“How to Forgive”
Luke 4:16-21, Matthew 6:9-15, Matthew 18:21-35, Ephesians 4:30-32
In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus explains very clearly why He came to us. He came to set us free from our past so we can live in the present and look forward to the future.
It is very clear that bitterness and unforgiveness keep us in bondage to our past, keeping us from the wonderful life of liberty and hope Jesus offers us. No wonder He requires us to forgive!
It is through the crucial practice of forgiveness that the door to freedom from our past is given.
However, many balk at even taking the first step in forgiving others because they don’t know what forgiveness really is, let alone how to really forgive.
That is what this message is about; What forgiveness is and is not, and how to forgive others so you can be set free.
It is clear from Scripture that God requires forgiveness. In fact, following the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus immediately states in the following verse, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Although the Bible makes it clear that this is an imperative from our Lord, many who bear His Name harbor bitterness and unforgiveness. Sadly, in doing so, they are grieving the Holy Spirit and missing out on the presence of God’s Presence and Power in their lives.
The reasons to forgive can be summarized in 2 simple points: First, it’s the best for you. Next, God commands it. Listen as Dr. McMahon explores “The Importance of Forgiveness.”
None of our relationships can be their fullest without God’s help, and He wants to help more than you could ever imagine! Follow “God’s Prescription for a Good Marriage,” and you and those around you will be blessed!
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be the Person of the Trinity that would indwell us as we endeavor to live as disciples of Jesus. Through Him, we would be in intimate contact with the Godhead on a moment by moment basis.
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)
The Holy Spirit is called the Helper by Jesus for good reason. It is through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that God will help us in all of life.
One of the most crucial areas He desires to help us in is our relationships with others. Lamentably, this is an area that we usually try to handle in our own power, our own way. I say lamentably because we hardly ever get it right.
The two greatest commands God has given us both involve relationships: And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)
None of our relationships can be their fullest without God’s help, and He wants to help more than you could ever imagine.
In the 5th chapter of Ephesians we are given insight into what the love God wants looks like. Instead of being simply an emotion, the love God wants to see in us is actively exploring the other person in order to give what will please them. First of all, in our relationship with God, we are told: “Try to learn what pleases the Lord. “ (Ephesians 5:10) “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.” (Ephesians 5:17)
Then, in the love between husbands and wives we see the same thing. God commands us to give to each other that which the other needs from us the most. Wives are commanded to respect their husbands, while husbands are commanded to love their wives. Dr. Larry Crabb tells us that a woman’s deepest need is to be able to share herself deeply with those close to her. She needs a safe environment in order to do this, so God has commanded husbands to provide it by loving them like Christ loves the Church. Dr. Crabb says that a man’s deepest need is to feel like he counts in some way in this world. For that reason, God has commanded wives to respect their husbands, thereby meeting that deepest need. God has set the precedent for us to follow in our relationship with God and between husbands and wives here: Find out what is important to them, and to the best of your ability, provide it. As you lovingly explore and try to provide, you will find God’s power through the presence of His Holy Spirit, will be with you, helping you, just as He promised.
The Holy Spirit of God is not just a contagious attitude, a frame of mind, or a sense of community. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, just as real as the Father and the Son, and just as important to us in our Christian lives.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be the Person of the Trinity that would indwell us as we endeavor to live as disciples of Jesus. Through Him we would be in intimate contact with the Godhead on a moment by moment basis.
The Holy Spirit is called the Helper by Jesus for good reason. It is through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that God will help us in all of life.
One of the most crucial areas He desires to help us in is our relationships with others. Lamentably, this is an area that we usually try to handle in our own power, our own way. I say lamentably because we hardly ever get it right.
The two greatest commands God has given us both involve relationships: And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)
None of our relationships can be their fullest without God’s help, and He wants to help more than you could ever imagine.
The Parable of the Two Foundations is actually Jesus’ concluding invitation to The Sermon on the Mount. He tells us that whoever hears His words and acts on them is wise, and whoever does not is foolish. He builds up to this conclusion by making it clear that there are two ways to choose from in life, a narrow one and a wide one. The narrow leads to life, and the wide to destruction. This is not referring solely to salvation, but to all of life. He then lets us know that those who are walking in “The Way” will be known by their fruit.
The question facing us all is on which foundation are we building? The good news is that if we have been building on the wrong foundation and the storms of life have caused something like a relationship, marriage, or anything else to fall apart or break down, we have the opportunity to rebuild on the right foundation, and wind up with something much better than we had before.
"Lessons From Bartimaeus" (Mark 10:46-52) 1. Don't wait for perfect conditions. Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city… Mark 10:46 2. Concentrate on what you have. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David…” Mark 10:47 3. Don't be swayed by public opinion. Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Mark 10:48 4. Jesus hears the cries of desperate people. Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. 51 "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see." Mark 10:49-51 5. Follow Jesus when times turn good. "Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. Mark 10:52
In today’s message we focus on two factors that can blind us to God’s activity in the world.
First, there are many people today who can’t see the Lord at work in their own lives or around them because they refuse to believe what they do not understand completely.
Second, religious tradition can be one of the most devastating causes of spiritual blindness, clouding our vision and keeping us from enjoying all of the fullness that can be present in a relationship with God through Jesus.
“Seeing the Light” Acts 9:1-18
Five lessons we can learn from the conversion of Saul in Acts 9:1-18:
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Just because someone appears far from the Lord doesn’t mean that they are a lost cause. As Saul began his journey, he was one of the greatest enemies of the Christians of the day, yet it ended with him becoming one of their number.
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The Lord usually gives us information on step at a time. Saul was told to go to the city, and he’d receive more information there.
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Sometimes the step the Lord gives us to take is scary. Ananias only knew Saul as a great enemy when the Lord told him to go meet him.
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Generally, if the Lord’s voice becomes dim, and we have heard Him clearly in the past, we need to go back to the last thing he told us to do that we did not do and do it.
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Saul’s spiritual blindness was greatly attributable to being involved in religion, and not a relationship with the Lord.
“Eyes to See” Luke 24:13-31
Sometimes you can be looking directly at something and not really see it. God is with us, many times in plain view, but we just can’t see Him. That is what happened to the two believers on the Road to Emmaus. They were walking and talking with Jesus, but for the longest didn’t see Him for Who He was. They were in a season of lost hope when Jesus showed up. How about you? Do you have lost dreams? Dashed hopes? May you come to realize, as you listen to this message, that Jesus is with you, and He makes all the difference in the world.
Before your were ever formed in the womb, God already knew you and liked you.He knows you more intimately than you may even know yourself, and He loves you. He loves the real you, just as you are, and wants to help the wonderful, unique real you have the best life possible.
The main reasons we come to believe in Easter are: 1. Somebody told us about it. 2. The Biblical accounts and extra-Biblical confirmation 3. The difference in the lives of other people who have experienced it. 4. Our own personal experience.
In raising Jesus from the dead, His Heavenly Father, and Our Heavenly Father 1. Confirmed all Jesus said as the truth. 2. Validated all He did. - That includes dying on the cross as payment for our sins. 3. Sealed every promise that Jesus had made. Three things we are promised: 1. A Room 2. A Reservation 3. A Peace
The Sovereign Lord who controls the very elements of the universe rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday knowing He would die. He could have done so many other things, but humanity’s salvation was on the line, and nothing was going to deter Him. He entered with a plan that had begun before the foundation of the world, and nothing could stop its fulfillment.
John Newton pretty well summarized the Apostle Paul’s sentiments in Philippians 3:7-14 when he said, “I am not what I might be, I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I wish to be, I am not what I hope to be. But I thank God I am not what I once was, and I can say with the great apostle, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.’ ” Spiritual growth is critically important, but not for the reasons people generally think. Instead of being a striving to either hold onto or earn our salvation, it is important because it is the evidence that we have been saved. This is a tremendous difference! The motivation that keeps us moving forward in our relationship with the Lord is love, and spiritual growth is the manifestation of that deep, loving relationship we share with Him. If the evidence is not there, we must honestly ask if the relationship is really present.
Many today do not want hell to be a part of any Christian conversation, yet Jesus spoke more about hell that all other Biblical authors combined. If we believe that the Bible is God’s Word, and that the words of Jesus in it are true, then how can we call ourselves followers of Christ and deny the existence of something He thought was so very important. A sound, Biblical understanding of hell: 1. Affirms how totally dependent on God we are for everything. 2. Pinpoints the seriousness and danger of living a self-centered life. 3. Helps us begin to grasp the depth of Jesus’ love for us and our great value in His sight.
In our pluralistic society, anyone who takes Jesus’ claim to be the only way to heaven seriously is slapped with labels such as “intolerant,” “narrow-minded,” “hateful,” “arrogant’ and “bigot.” In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” In making this claim, Jesus puts Christianity in a class by itself, because if the way to God the Father is only through Him, then Christianity cannot be reconciled with any other religion. Interestingly, although 83% of people in the U.S. claim to be Christians, only 12% of them believe that Christianity the only true faith. This means that over 262 million people who call themselves Christian do not believe the words of the One they claim to follow. No wonder there are schisms and disputes in the Church Jesus prayed would be one! If we cannot agree with our Leader, how can we ever be in agreement with each other?
Many have been discouraged from studying the Bible because they think it requires some knowledge or capabilities they do not possess, or just do not know how to get started. It's really not hard at all, and very rewarding! Listen as Dr. McMahon explains.
How can God pardon sinners without encouraging sin? How can he simultaneously show justice in punishment but mercy in pardoning? How can he turn his enemies into his friends and bind them to him in eternal love? How can he admit men and women into heaven without spoiling the holiness of heaven? The answer to all of those questions is in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. As foolish as it seems to those who are perishing, to those who are being saved it is the very power of God!
Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. It originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. Jesus came out of the wilderness filled with power, purpose and mission. Let’s remember this year that Lent is not simply a time of admitting our sinfulness and feeling remorseful. It is, instead, a time to prepare for ministry. In our preparation we may very well need to divest ourselves of sin, for sin hinders our usefulness in the Kingdom of God, and bars us from access to His power. But there is something more important than that. This is a time to come to grips with the fact that God has a plan and a purpose for us. This is a time to seek clarity in this, so that we can go forth in power, purpose and mission.
Jesus prayed that we would all be one, and yet His followers find themselves fragmented and divided on many levels today. One of the main sources of division is a refusal by many to accept the Bible as God’s Word. Without that definitive foundation, churches and individuals find themselves anchorless and adrift, “tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.” Before we can be one, we need to agree on the basics, and Scripture as God’s Word is the most basic of all!
Suppose you had the opportunity to start life all over. If you could ask Jesus how to make the rest of your life the best of your life, what do you think He would say? I have no doubt that He would say, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33a) I also have no doubt that if you started doing this consciously, continuously, constantly, and consistently, it would totally transform your life. If you would like to know how the rest of your life can be the best of your life, listen as I share “How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life.”
As followers of Christ, we will sooner or later find ourselves in situations much akin to the Israelites’ Red Sea Experience. We will find ourselves helpless and hopeless with no escape, and calamity closing in upon us. It is at those times, we learn, that God manifests Himself most palpably in our lives, and that we get to see just how great a God we serve. Over time we learn to get excited when we find ourselves between the figurative “rock and a hard place,” because we know that God is about to do something marvelous in our lives.
Both Jesus and Paul prayed that believers would have unity amongst themselves. Doing so, we learn, would cause the world to believe that God sent Jesus. Sadly, the church today is divided, and the divisions keep people from ever entering the Kingdom of God. The statement, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and, in all things, charity,” pretty well sums up what would be exhibited by the Lord’s church if it were as He would like it, and prayed for it to be.. This phrase was first attributed to a 17th century Lutheran theologian, Rupertus Meldenius. I truly believe that it is our lack of agreement in the essentials that is what makes the church so unpalatable to the world today. We must come to one accord on three fundamental essentials of the Christian faith before we will ever be able to be of one accord. Those essentials are Jesus, the Bible and the Cross.
How do we discern the right thing to do in a specific situation as Christians? Paul prays that the Philippians will grow more and more in their love, so that they will know what is the right thing to do. This should be our prayer, as well, for ourselves, so that we will know the right thing to do.
Philemon 1:4-6 In the series “Prayer List” we are examining four of Paul’s prayers for believers. Each prayer contains a specific petition for something that believers need so that they can know the fullness of the life to which Jesus has for them. Last week we saw we need “power so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” This week we see that we need “to be active in sharing our faith so that we will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” In the message we will consider four ways to share our faith and what happens when we share our faith. We will also look at the three parts of a person’s testimony so you will know how easy it is to share your story of faith briefly with someone else.
Paul felt a great responsibility for those who came to know Jesus as Savior and Lord through his ministry, and desired that they all know the fullness of the life in Christ they has entered. To this end, he prayed for them often. In this series we will look at four of those prayers and consider the things he thought were important for every Christian to have.
In this first prayer we see that he considered it vitally important to know the power that is available to every follower of Jesus.
No Other Name but the Name of Jesus Acts 10:34-43
God doesn’t play favorites. It’s His desire that people from every nation, every race, every walk of life would be at peace with Him, and live, not in futility, but in the richness of life He created us to have.
If we truly desire to know Him, He will make a way for us to find peace with Him.
He offers that peace to everyone through Jesus Christ, whom He has appointed Judge of the living and the dead.
Would you like to know peace with God? Listen, and you will know the way! jdmcmahon@His24-7.com
2017 has begun! We have the opportunity to be closer to the Lord than ever. Let’s make this spiritually the best year ever!
Just as God made a promise to David in spite of David, He has made a promise to you, in spite of you!
Recorded Christmas Eve, December 24, 2016, during the Candlelight Service in Historic San Felipe United Methodist Church, San Felipe, Texas. Merry Christmas!
Did you know that Rahab the Harlot was Jesus’ great 28x grandmother? God’s including her in Jesus’ ancestry is a message of hope to all who think that what they have done might bar them from becoming His.
Yes, Rahab had a reputation. Her reputation is a reminder to us of who we are and what we need; but it is also an invitation to a relationship with the only One Who can do anything about it.
It is said that when you shake your family tree, you can sometimes be surprised with what falls out. This is certainly true of Jesus’ family tree, and Matthew goes to lengths to make sure and include some people we would have rather not be mentioned; but God included them in Jesus’ lineage,and Matthew saw the importance of this. God doesn’t mind associating His Son with people we would be wary of. One of those people is Judah.
Instead of beginning his Gospel with a story, Matthew chooses to begin with the genealogy of Jesus.
It is obvious that he wants to show his Jewish audience that Jesus is the Messiah, and that He is of the lineage of David; but what is not so understandable until you explore it a little is why Matthew obviously went out of his way to lift up some of the most embarrassing family members and events in Jesus’ background as he lays out Jesus’ family tree.
Why do you think Matthew would do this? Most others would skip over things he went out of his way to include, and did not have to include.
As Dr. McMahon shares some insights into this during this Christmas season, you may be surprised at the messages on can find in Jesus’ family tree.
In this sixth and final message in the series “Lost and Found,” Rev. McMahon addresses the fact that one of the main attributes of heaven is joy, and that a great source of that joy is found in the salvation of sinners, of lost people coming into the Kingdom of God through repentance and following Jesus.
Jesus makes it very clear to us through the parables in Luke 15 and also through the rest of His teachings, life, death and resurrection, that the thing that gives God the greatest joy is the repentance and return of sinners.
When you love someone, you desire to please them. Therefore, if we want to please God, it would follow that we would take what He has revealed to us about Himself very seriously, and be doing our best to first of all make sure of our own salvation, and then do our best to bring as many others into the Kingdom as possible.
If this is so, why do you suppose this is not the church’s main priority any more? Why is it that instead, in many church-attending homes in the United States that the words “salvation,” “lost,” “sin,” and “repentance” are not used at all? That the children in those homes do not know these basic words of the Christian vernacular? Could it be that we have slipped into the same trap that the Pharisees and Scribes had fallen into, and become religious people who are actually keeping people out of the Kingdom instead of inviting them in?
Rev. McMahon thinks so, and shares in this message some of the things we need to do to turn things around.
Have you ever found yourself referring to the sons in the Parable of the Prodigal Son as the “good son” and the “bad son?” If so, you might learn some surprising things as you listen to “The Lost Sons – Part 2.”
You may discover that things aren’t always as they seem at first glance!
In His “Parable of the Prodigal Son” Jesus covers that entire story of the relationship between humanity and God from the Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in the Book of Revelation. In this message Dr. McMahon explores the end of the parable, the feast, and how Jesus fits into His own story.
As far as the younger brother had separated himself from his father, his father never stopped loving him, and took him back into the family joyfully. In the same way, even though we may feel that we have separated ourselves so far from God that we think that our Heavenly Father will never have anything to do with us, He is ever ready to receive us joyfully if we will but come to our senses and come home.
The Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son in Luke 15 depict different ways of getting lost. The sheep wanders off. The coin gets misplaced. The son leaves of his own volition. We hear a lot about the lost sheep and the shepherd who seeks it out, and the son who returns home, but we don’t hear a whole lot about the lost coin, and the sort of people this parable represents. “Lost Coin People” are those who didn’t go off by themselves. Somehow they just find themselves far from God. They are those who have been abused, abandoned, neglected, and bumped. They find themselves living in shame and guilt, separated from God and much of society, thinking God could never receive them. In this parable, the Lord makes it clear that they are precious to Him, and He wants to bring them home.
When Jesus heard the religious people grumbling because He was associating with the deplorables of that time, and ate with them, He responded. He shared three parables with them that carried stinging indictments against them: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin and the Lost Son. The parables were directed at the religious people, and as a whole, suggested that everything that they had learned, everything that they has heard, everything they believed and everything they thought they know about being in a right relationship with God was WRONG! As Dr. McMahon examines this first parable, The Parable of the Lost Sheep, though, we discover we can also learn a lot about OUR relationship with God and each other.
God speaks to people today just as He did all through the Bible. Hearing His voice is very important to understanding His plans and purposes for you. In this message Dr. McMahon covers the reasons some do not hear from God, and several practical steps to hearing His voice. The "Ten Steps to God" by Herb Miller Dr. McMahon mentions can be found here: http://bit.ly/2dUU5Zd
Have you embraced Jesus’ death on the Cross as being a sufficient payment for the forgiveness of your sin? Can you easily and comfortably share you testimony with others? In Revelation 12:11 we read that we are empowered to overcome the devil with two things: The blood of the Lamb and our testimony. If we have availed ourselves of His gracious act on our behalf, there is a power at work in us and through us that is awesome! Listen as Dr. McMahon reviews this in his latest sermon, “The Blood of the Lamb and Their Testimony.”
Brennan Manning, author of All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir, 2011, said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” What a wake-up call that is to those who have been told by Jesus that we are salt and light, and that we are to “Let our light so shine before men that they would see our good works and give glory to our Father in Heaven!” How can we move from being a part of the problem that Brennan Manning describes to being a part of the solution that Jesus tells us we are? Join us as we explore this in Dr. McMahon’s latest sermon, “Who You Are - Salt and Light.”
In the 8th Chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul lists 7 things we are likely to face in our lives: Trouble, Hardship, Persecution, Hunger, Poverty and Violence. Regrettably, many Christians are overwhelmed facing these challenges because they do not know who they are in Christ. I say” regrettably” because if you know who you are, you’ll know what to do, and the good news is that in Christ, you are more than a conqueror. While apart from Christ these things are incredibly rough to face, in Christ, they are transformed into opportunities to see the glory of God. Instead of facing them alone, we have the very Creator of the Cosmos working with us, through us and for us. Having lived this life of faith Paul can confidently say, “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” Listen as Dr. McMahon explores this in is latest message “Who Are You? An Overcomer!”
Did you know that God has placed you at precisely this moment in time for a reason? Many followers of Christ as well as many unbelievers live with a gnawing dissatisfaction with who they are. The problem is they do not really know who they are, and cannot, apart from being connected to God through Jesus Christ, and are looking in the wrong places for information about themselves. Apart from Him, they will never realize that they are exactly who they should be, they have everything they need to do what they were created to do, and God will use everything (the good and the bad) to bring about His purposes for them.
Living the life God has for you always involves leaving where you are to get where God wants you to be.
Every one of us is disheartened every day by the things that are wrong in this world, and frustrated that we can do so little to make it better. That idea, that yearning for a better world is a vision given to us by God. The problem is that we often try to fix the world ourselves, or complain to our Creator about what is wrong. Instead of complaining to Him, we should accept the fact that we can't fix this broken world, and get on board with Him as to what we can do now, and prepare for what is to come.
Do you take criticism extremely personally? Do you fear rejection? Do you find it hard to express what you really feel? Do you have a hard time saying “no?” If so, you need to listen to this! Did you know that it is impossible to live as a people-pleaser and be a disciple of Christ our Lord? There is no way that you can take up your cross daily if you are more concerned about pleasing people than pleasing Him. If you follow Him, your desire will not be to please others, but to bless others, and there is a big difference. In this second message in the series, “Four Things You Can’t Do,” Dr. McMahon addresses the truth that although we know we will never be able please everybody, we find ourselves living in the “people-pleasing trap,’ This happens because we all have a deep, God-given, inner desire to be liked and loved. The enemy, if allowed, will take this God-given longing and pervert it in such a way that it winds up destroying our relationship with God, and leaving us unable to engage in deep lasting relationships with others. A longing meant to be directed toward God, when directed toward other people instead, causes us to compromise being the person we were created to be and deeply long to be, and separates us from the God who wants us to know that we are liked and loved for who we are.
Many are deceived into thinking that being "good enough" is how you attain a right relationship with God. They have a mental image of some cosmic scales that weigh our bad works against our good works, and if the good is more than the bad, we are right with God; or at least they hope this is so. Just as common it the paradigm of a ladder, with God at the top, waiting for you to climb all the rungs to be right with Him. Only when they reach that last rung, it seems God has added some more. Both of these are wrong. The scales don't exist. The ladder doesn't exist. They are both illusions that keep us from seeing that the way to God is not scales or a ladder, but a Cross; and the Good News is that the Cross is empty because all the work we thought had to be done has already been done by the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. Not only that, The tomb where the Lamb was buried is empty, confirming the sufficiency of the work that was done on that Cross.
Is there something in your past that makes you feel ashamed? Is there something in you past that you keep "beating yourself up" about? Do you feel your past is robbing you of a future? Did you know that Jesus wants to set you free from all that? He came to free us from our past so we can live in the present and look forward to the future. Listen as Dr. McMahon talks about how to make this a reality in your life.
There is a popular religion spreading in the U.S. that is insidiously infiltrating our culture and our churches. It is destroying denominations and the foundations of our culture. It sounds and feels good, and many in Christian churches are practicing it, thinking they are practicing the highest form of Christianity. Sadly, the lies of this insidious false religion are moving them farther and farther from a true relationship with God. Several of the lies about sin promulgated by this “Folk Religion of the U.S. find their foundation in relativism and subjectivism, ultimately leading to a belief that we can justify doing anything we want to do, with no real concern for God’s approval or disapproval Listen as Dr. McMahon explores this in the fourth sermon in the series “Folk Religion in the U.S.”
There is a popular religion spreading in the U.S. that is insidiously infiltrating our culture and our churches. It is destroying denominations and the foundations of our culture. It sounds and feels good, and many in the Christian faith are practicing it, thinking they are practicing the highest form of Christianity. Sadly, the lies of this insidious false religion are moving them farther and farther from a true relationship with God.
One of the several lies promulgated by this “Folk Religion of the U.S.” is that God will not put on you more than you can bear. The truth is, God will often give you more than you can bear so that you will have the opportunity of seeing Him at work in your life and glorifying Himself through you.
Listen as Dr. McMahon uncovers this lie in this third sermon in the series “Folk Religion in the U.S.”
There is a popular religion spreading in the U.S. that is insidiously infiltrating our culture and our churches. It is destroying denominations and the foundations of our culture. It sounds and feels good, and many in the Christian faith are practicing it, thinking they are practicing the highest form of Christianity. Sadly, the lies of this insidious false religion are moving them farther and farther from a true relationship with God.
One of the several lies promulgated by this “Folk Religion of the U.S.” is that your happiness is all that matters. While it is true that God is a loving Heavenly Father that wants to bless His children, there are times when He doesn’t want you happy.
Listen as Dr. McMahon uncovers this lie, and explains what God really wants in this second sermon in the series “Folk Religion in the U.S.”
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me." Are His words true? Did he really mean this? How can we know? Rev. McMahon considers these questions in this first in a series, "Folk Religion in the U.S." entitled "Many Ways to God."
Israel was cautioned to not let the prosperity cause them to forget the one true God Who was the source of their blessings, and start to think that they did not need Him. The United States of America has gotten to the point where, at a national level we have rejected Him, and are beginning to find out what it is like when God removes His protective hedge from a nation. Ultimately, at a national level we must humble ourselves, confess our national sin and ask for God’s forgiveness. What can be done to bring this about?
The Lord's declaration of ministry found in Luke 4:18-19 can be summarized by saying that He has been sent by God to free us from our past and other fetters so that we can really live in the present and look forward to the future. Before we can ever begin to minister effectively to others in the name of the Lord, we must allow ourselves to be ministered to by Him.
When we begin our walk with the Lord, we do not come close to reflecting His availability, love, fairness, patience, forgiveness, mercy, faith in our children, helpfulness and faithfulness, but as we yield ourselves to the ministry of Jesus through the presence of His Holy Spirit in our everyday walk, He gently reveals those areas of our lives that blur God’s image within us, and then helps us to change. As we do, we will more and more reflect the likeness of our Heavenly Father to all those He has put around us.
Walking in the Spirit is what brings about transformation in the believers life that others can see. Today many have substituted justice for Jesus, and religiosity for a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In doing so they have a confrontational form of religion, but none of the power that is present in the lives of those who live and walk in the Spirit. The major divisions in Christendom today come from some people trying to label the works of the flesh as sacred instead of accepting that those who practice those things will not enter the kingdom of heaven, and others who hold that we must be born again and walk in the Spirit.
The Fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s transforming power working in our lives. If we are lacking in the areas of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control, it’s not the fruit we need to be working on, but our relationship with God. The Fruit of the Spirit is the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives. The fruit is not ours, but the Spirit’s. As we walk in a loving, close relationship with our Savior, the fruit comes forth as a matter of course. Working on the fruit, and not on the relationship is an exercise in futility. Working on our relationship with God by following the Spirit is an investment that brings incredible, eternal returns!
There are three aspects of the ministry of the Holy Spirit to us that we can mirror in ministering to others. The Holy Spirit ministers to us powerfully through Presence, Listening and Helping. If you know someone who is hurting, it takes no prior training or great knowledge to minister to them in these ways.
Through God's Prevenient Grace He brings us to the point of Justification, or Salvation. When the Holy Spirit enters your life at that point, His presence itself begins to bring about a change in your life. You are aware that He is with you wherever you go and whatever you do. As you live your life in His presence, as His, you find yourself giving as much of yourself as you know to as much of God as you understand. You are beginning to live in His Sanctifying Grace!
On this Pentecost Sunday, we review the facts that being filled with the Holy Spirit was a normative experience for the early church, that it is just as important today as it was 2000 years ago, and that the Holy Spirit is just as available today as He was on the day of Pentecost. In this sermon Rev. McMahon reviews the marks of this experience, how to receive the Holy Spirit, and why many who had this experience at conversion have drifted away.
God worked concurrently, yet separately in Peter's and Cornelius' lives preparing them for their meeting at Cornelius' house. Neither of them was even aware of the other until God brought about this divine appointment which would change their lives and the world by introducing the Gospel to the Gentiles. The distinctive traits that both Cornelius and Peter shared were a love of God and a willingness to obey, even when what He required was very different than anything they had ever experienced before. God has divine appointments for us like this every day as well. Let's be sure and keep our hearts, minds, ears and eyes open so we do not miss these moments when God intends to use us in life-changing, world-changing ways!
Your calling is different from Peter's, but it is just as vital to the world. It is through both our successes and failures that the Lord is making you who you are meant to be in Him and for Him. It is much more through your failures than your successes that the Lord can help you become who your are meant to be, and be freed from the things that are hindering you.
Peter utterly failed his Lord and himself when he denied the Lord on the night of His arrest. How could he ever face the Lord or his fellow disciples after that? What he didn't understand was that he needed to fail in this particular way to be prepared to be the fisher of men the Lord called him to be. He had to fail before he could grow. Are you, like Peter at a place in your spiritual life where you feel you have failed God miserably? Do you carry a burden of remorse and regret for having disappointed God? Do you feel like you can never be used by Him again because of you spiritual failure? If so, there is good news for you in this latest sermon by Rev. McMahon.
We talk about it. We sing about it. It is embedded in our liturgy. Scripture is very clear about it. We long for the efficacious results it brings. Our life in Christ depends on it. Yet many find it hard, unacceptable or even repulsive to do; and that is to put our faith in the Blood of Jesus to release us from our sins.
There are many times we are disappointed in this world by empty promises. Jesus always keeps His word. He told His disciples He was going to be killed and rise again on the third day just as He began His final journey to Jerusalem. Knowing this, on Easter morning you would expect the disciples to be looking for an empty tomb and a Risen Lord. Instead, they were looking for His body. Why do you suppose that is so? On Easter morning we find three empty things that point to three promises that are found in different forms throughout the Bible. The empty Cross, the empty Tomb and the empty Grave Clothes all point to the promises of Forgiveness, Eternal Life and a Personal Relationship with Jesus that begins in this life and stretches on through eternity. These things have been promised, yet few really live like they believe these promises. Why do you think this is so? All this is explored in this Easter Sermon by Rev. Joel D. McMahon III.
Was it the same crowd that cheered Jesus on Palm Sunday that jeered Him on Good Friday, or was there more than one crowd? Have you noticed the parallels between what happened during Holy Week and what is currently happening in our primary election process in both parties? Do you know the name of the Rich Young Ruler? Do you feel like there is something missing from your relationship with God? We explore these and other questions in this Palm Sunday sermon.
Jesus concludes His Sermon on the Mount with a warning that the choices we make in life effect us both in our time on earth and on into eternity. He doesn't condemn, but He sets before us the options and then leaves it up to us to choose. Will we choose life, or will we choose death? He lovingly advises us to choose life.
Do all paths really lead to God? As He approaches the end of The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says we take one of two paths in this life, and He warns that one leads to life, while the other leads to death. One is broad, the other is narrow. In this age where subjectivity and personal agency are touted as the path to happiness, Jesus offers us something much better.
So many try "that prayer thing" and then say, "It didn't work!" Are you one of those whose prayers seem to fall on deaf ears? Have you asked and not received? Have you been seeking and not found? Have you been knocking and the door hasn't opened? Want to know why? Find out in this latest sermon in the series "The Sermon on the Mount."
"Judge not" is one of the most popular sayings from the Bible in our time, and yet it is used by many in a way that is entirely out of context. It is used as a back-handed way of saying, "You have no right to say anything about how I live, or what I do." As we open our hearts to these words of Jesus, they call us to a fresh way of seeing people and relating to them.
Healing is something that is not talked about much today, and yet Jesus Himself pointed to the signs and wonders He performed to confirm to John's disciples that He was the Messiah they were waiting for, and God's Word tells us that healing is one of the signs that is to confirm the Gospel. We are instructed to anoint the sick with oil and pray for them that they might be healed. When we do, people are healed today, just as they were 2000 years ago. Truly, Jesus is he same, yesterday, today and forever. The only "formula" is reaching out to Jesus in faith. At the end of this message, you will be given the opportunity to receive healing yourself.
If we're not supposed to worry about what we are going to eat, drink or wear, are we supposed to do nothing? Does God love me for who I am, or who I should be? What does Jesus mean when He says, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness? These questions and others are answered in this new sermon by Rev. McMahon. This is #23 in the series "The Sermon on the Mount."
What is the real reason we should forgive someone if they have really hurt us? Does God really expect us to forgive the big things that have hurt us deeply? What if I have difficulty forgiving? These questions and others are addressed in this latest sermon in Rev. McMahon's series, "The Sermon on the Mount."
Jesus said, "Pray like this." Then He gave us a template for prayer, not just some exact words to say. As we look at the 6 parts of the Lord's Prayer we not only see how we should pray, but we remember why we should "pray like this." In this sermon we examine the last three parts of The Lord's Prayer.
Jesus said, "Pray like this." Then He gave us a template for prayer, not just some exact words to say. As we look at the 6 parts of the Lord's Prayer we not only see how we should pray, but we remember why we should "pray like this." In this sermon we examine the first three parts of The Lord's Prayer.
Is it wrong to pray in public? How do I pray? Why is it so hard for some people to pray? We explore these questions and many more about prayer in this nineteenth sermon by Dr. Joel D. McMahon III in his series "The Sermon on the Mount,"
There are benefits to being the Lords. What are some of the things that bar us from Him and His benefits? We explore these things and others in this latest sermon from San Felipe UMC in historical San Felipe, Texas.
Paul said that in the last days some would have a form of godliness and deny its power. This appears to have become the norm in modern Christendom. How do people wind up having an outward form of godliness and denying its power? What can we do if we discover after honestly searching our lives we discover that we are in that number?
Everyone starts talking about world peace around Christmas, as if that is what Jesus came to bring. The peace Jesus offers is not world peace. The peace Jesus brings is not just the absence of conflict. It is peace on a different level altogether. How can I know the peace Jesus gives? We explore these things in this most recent sermon by Rev. Joel D. McMahon III, pastor of San Felipe United Methodist Church in historic San Felipe, Texas.
What makes Jesus different from other religious figures, such as Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, and Martin Luther King, Jr.? Are there parallels between Christianity, Judaism and ISIS? If so, what are they?Was Jesus just a man, or was He more? What difference does it make whether He was God incarnate or not? We explore this and more in this most recent sermon by Rev. Joel D. McMahon III, pastor of San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
If something is amiss in your life, if you are feeling worthless, if you feel you have made a wrong turn in life, then there is One who wants to help you! His name is Jesus, and He is a Wonderful Counselor! This is the first in a four-part Advent series in which we will look at the names Isaiah said Jesus would be called some 700 years before His birth.
Have you ever noticed that the prayers of thanksgiving offered by Jesus were often at moments we would consider tense and trying? Do you ever feel inadequate for the tasks God has put before you? Did you know that gratitude toward God is one of the chief earmarks of faith, while ingratitude is an indication of unbelief? We explore these things and more in this Thanksgiving sermon by Dr Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
Is it really possible to love our enemies? How can we do this? We explore these things and more in this 18th sermon in the series "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas
Are we always supposed to turn the other cheek? Isn't it okay to defend ourselves and our families? Do we have to give to everyone who asks? Is it wrong to serve in the military? Should the government defend its citizens? We explore these and more in this 17th sermon in the Series "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
What cloud of witnesses is the author of Hebrews talking about? How are we connected to them? If Jesus is the only way to the Father, what about all those who died before He went to the Cross? We explore these and other questions in this All Saints Sunday message by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
Does what Jesus says about divorce in Matthew 5:31-32 really apply to us today? Is divorce allowed? How did God intend marriage to be? What should we do to have a good marriage? We explore these and more in this 16th sermon in the Series "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
What is adultery? Does what Jesus says about sexuality in this passage really apply to us today? We explore these and more in this 15th sermon in the Series "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
How we handle our anger and our words are both extremely important to our Lord. We explore these and more in this 14th sermon in the Series "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
How we handle our anger and our words are both extremely important to our Lord. We explore these and more in this 13th sermon in the Series "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
How we handle our anger and our words are both extremely important to our Lord. We explore these and more in this 12th sermon in the Series "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
Is the Old Testament "old hat," or is it relevant to the Christian walk? How does Jesus say He relates to the Old Testament? Is there really one God of the Old Testament and another of the New Testament? We explore these questions and more in this 11th sermon in the Series "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
What does it mean to be Salt and Light? We explore this in the 10th sermon in a series entitled "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D. McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
What blessing can possibly come from persecution? We continue to explore this in the 9th sermon in a series entitled "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
What does it mean to be a Peacemaker? We continue to explore this in the 8th sermon in a series entitled "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
What does it mean to be a Peacemaker? This is the 7th sermon in a series entitled "The Sermon on the Mount" by Dr. Joel D McMahon, pastor at San Felipe UMC in historic San Felipe, Texas.
What does it mean to be pure in heart? This is the 6th sermon in the Series "the Sermon on the Mount" by Rev. Joel D. McMahon III.
What does it mean to be merciful? Fifth sermon in the series, "The Sermon on the Mount" by Rev. Joel D. McMahon III