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The renewed mind seeks after God and how we might please Him and love Him. The renewed mind then sets out to love others in Jesus name. Paul showed us how that love flows from the inside out. It begins with God and then flows outward in our service to our brothers and sisters in Christ and then continues on to those outside the body of Christ proving our love is genuine in that God’s love is extended all the way to the very enemies of God. In chapter 13 Paul shares what love looks like in our relationship to the government and to the world around us. Our love is to be universal. We aren’t to owe anyone Paul says except the debt of love. Because of what Jesus has done for us we will be eternally indebted to God for the love He has shown us.
When I read verses 8-14 here in Romans chapter 13 I am reminded of that old saying, “Jesus paid a debt He did not owe and we owe a debt we cannot pay.”
The last few weeks as we began the last section of the book of Romans that begins in chapter 12 we have been studying God’s will for the believers life. Any time you ever want to know God’s will for your life and how we are to carry ourselves in our day to day journey just turn here.
Romans 12 began with the will of God is that you present your body to God as a living sacrifice…
God’s will is that you use your gifts to build up the Body of Christ.
God’s will is that we love the Family of God
God’s will is that we love those Outside the family
God’s will is that we even… love our enemies
Happy New Year! I had to laugh this week as I was studying for today as some people might believe I chose this particular passage because of the recent events in Washington DC this past week where Bakersfield’s own Kevin McCarthy was finally voted the Speak of The House of Representatives, the third highest position in our government behind the President and Vice President. If you thought people made fun of Bakersfield before, just wait. The topic of politics and our responsibility to it is going to be heating up more and more in the days ahead.
A couple of weeks ago I titled my message “Mission Possible” with the thought of the television series “Mission Impossible” that always began with a scene where team leader, Mr. Phelps, would receive a “tape” describing his next mission. The show began with the message, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it..."
Paul here in Romans chapter 12 is telling us that our mission as followers of Jesus, should we choose to accept it (which he says in verse 1 in the (NKJV) is, “which is your reasonable service.” It’s the logical thing to do Paul says.
What chapter 13 is to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 12 is to the book of Romans. It’s all about LOVE.
How many of you recall back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, the television show that preceded all the “Mission Impossible movies that Tom Cruise made famous and went by the same name, “Mission Impossible”? It always began with a scene in which the team leader, Mr. Phelps, would receive a “tape” (a cassette tape that will tell you how old the show was) describing his next mission. The tape invariably began, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it..."
Here in Romans 12 the apostle Paul is laying out what appears to be our own “Mission Impossible” that should we choose to accept it, will become “Mission Possible” by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
If there is one word that describes the “Mission” of chapter 12 it is the word LOVE. Paul is laying out for us what love in action looks like in the life of the believer.
Here in Romans 12 we are in the last section of the book. When you study the book of Romans you can break the book down into four parts.
Section 1: The Wrath of God. Chapters 1-3.
Section 2: The Grace of God. Chapters 4-8.
Section 3. The Plan of God. Chapters 9-11.
Section 4. The Will of God. Chapters 12-16.
The apostle Paul is writing to believers here in chapter 12 instruct us in God’s will for our lives and to challenge us to genuinely love one another.
Planting churches Paul has seen it all, he’s done it all. He’s concerned about people whose love is insincere.
I ended the service last week with a question that went like this, “If everyone in the church was just like me, what kind of church would my church be? Would you attend it?”
If we each answer that question honestly its all the proof we need that we need each other to fulfill the purpose of God for our lives. We need spiritual gifts to do that.
In Romans chapter 12 Paul lists 7 gifts that are not exhaustive but gifts to help us serve the body of Christ.
Before we turn to Romans 12 turn with me really quickly to Ephesians 2 and let me ask you a question as we begin our study this morning.
Have you ever really stopped and considered God’s greatest work, His crowning achievement, His masterpiece?
Its you!
Here in chapter 12 Paul makes a pivot. He spent the first 11 chapters laying out for us all that God has done for us in Christ and now as he closes out the book of Roman’s the apostle Paul spends the last 5 chapters laying out for us what our response to “the mercies” of God.
When you look at the world around you today what do you see?
Do you feel helpless? Hopeless?
Judges 17:6, “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes”
If you are a follower of Jesus you have a weapon at your disposal that can change the world and all it takes is 20 seconds to enact it. Most of us know it by heart. Let’s say it together this morning as we open up the service. If you know it by heart say it along with me or if you don’t, read it along with me out loud. I am going to read it from the NKJV as most of you are most familiar with that translation.
What we call “The Lords Prayer” is better stated, “The Disciples Prayer” as Jesus taught this to His disciples to pray in like manner which would mean not so much as a rote prayer just repeated without thinking but rather a model prayer on how we should approach prayer.
One of the main lessons we take away from the study of Romans chapters 9-11 is nothing can stop God from fulfilling His word. Not towards the nation of Israel and not towards me and you! God is so faithful even when we are faithless we find over and over again in Romans 9-11.
The bottom line is, When God says it that settles it. The nation of Israel is proof. The apostle Paul spends 3 chapters in the book of Romans to remind us of Israel’s past, that they are the elect of God and even though currently the Jews for the most part reject Jesus as the promised Messiah, there was a reason and that reason is me and you, non Jewish people to have the opportunity to come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord. And finally, when the last gentile, the last non Jewish person comes to faith, God will once again direct His attention to the nation of Israel and when He does, the eyes of the jewish people will be open and they will declare, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Its been over 2,000 years since The Roman army under Titus rolled into Jerusalem and sacked the city destroying the temple and killing many of the Jews and taking even more captive and dispersing the rest to the far corners of the earth.
Jesus prophesied of what would take place for those who would reject so great a salvation. Like anyone who rejects Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, it ends in their demise.
Chapter 9-11 might best be summed up as God, the Jews and You as the apostle Paul here in Romans chapter 11 makes sure the church understands the message Paul has spent his life sharing with the Jews in every city he visited on his missionary journeys.
The jews in large part have rejected Paul’s message of salvation by grace where as the gentiles have largely accepted and embraced the message. The reason the religious Jews struggle with the Gospel is simple, the jewish people have for centuries been invested in a religious system that they interpreted provided salvation by works. If any religious group understood zeal it was the Jews.
Where as the non jewish world had no investment in a misinterpretation of the Old Testament for the simple reason they never studied it. No gentile even considered getting to heaven based on self righteousnesses as their own history was barbarianism.
The study of eschatology which means “last things” or “end times” has 3 basic positions with regard to the Rapture of the church. There is pre-mid and post tribulation perspectives.
I hold firmly to a pre tribulation perspective for many reasons all of which are found in the study of scripture.
Luke 4 gives us an example of how we can beat temptation. Not by our own strength, but by the power of the holy spirit. Jesus was tempted just like we were, although he never gave in to that temptations. Let's look at the example He set by his actions and words...
Hearing the Gospel, the Good News about Jesus Christ is essential to someone experiencing “Saving Faith”
Its important to note its not just any kind of faith that saves a person, its faith in Jesus Christ, believing who He is and what He came to do and placing “our weight” upon Him.
Remember the word “Believe” in the Bible means more than knowing something. To believe according to the Scriptures it means to “act upon, to rely upon, to trust in… to place all your weight on Jesus.
God is One, One Lord, One Faith, One baptism…
Last week I began what I thought was going to be a simple two part series titled “Sharing is Caring” from Romans 10 where we find 7 stages of salvation. The 7 stages are as follows
- Caring
- Praying
- Going
- Sharing
- Hearing
- Believing
- Calling
The first 4 stages, CARING, PRAYING, GOING and SHARING are what believers do with the gospel and the last three, HEARING, BELIEVING and CALLING are what unbelievers do with the gospel in order to be saved. This morning we will look at the first four and next Sunday at the last three.
Can you say this with me this morning, “Sharing Is Caring” Every time I hear those words, I am reminded of my granddaughter Reese as when she was about 3-4, her mom and dad were teaching her to share. Believe it or not, we are not born with the desire to share with others. Whenever all our kids would come over with our extended family and the grandkids and nieces and nephews, cousins, and everyone was there, I could hear Reese talking with the other kids who were fighting over toys or playing together, “Sharing is Caring” It not only was cute it's true, and we use those words a lot around our house when the grandkids come over.
The gospel doesn't require us to go find
Jesus. We don’t have to work to find Jesus. We
don’t have to go up to heaven to find Him, we don’t
need to search among the dead as if to bring Him
up.
Paul says the message is on our lips and in our
heart. All we need to do is believe and receive. All
we need to do is trust in the word of God and what
God has said all along.
Verses 6-7 speak of the Incarnation of Jesus and in
verse 7 the resurrection. Two doctrines the Jews
find it hard to accept but are a requirement for
salvation.
Don’t you love Paul’s heart for people... He is the real deal. Its why he could say,
“be imitators of me as I am of Jesus” or “follow my lead as I follow Jesus”
Paul has the heart of an evangelist... If you don’t have a passionate heart it’s hard to reach people.
You can tell someone who loves you and cares about you. They take an interest in you.
Wherever Paul went no one questioned his passion for his countryman, the Jews.
Dads often times get a bad rap…
Humor: The story is told of a family who had three small children who were determined to have a puppy. Mom protested because she knew eventually she would end up caring for the dog. True to form, the children promised that they would take care of it.
Eventually, she gave in and they brought their new little puppy home. The children named him Danny and cared for him diligently - at first. But, sure enough, as time passed, Mom found herself becoming more and more responsible for taking care of the dog.
We read last week in Chapter 9 that the apostle Paul was willing to give up his own salvation if only Israel could be saved. He more than anyone knew in spite of the blessings of God upon the nation of Israel, Israel failed. When the Messiah appeared, Israel rejected Him and crucified Him. No one knew this better than Paul, because in his early days he persecuted the church.
Jesus said “those who love much have been forgiven much and those who love little have been given little.”
Its understanding then why Paul had such great love for his Jewish brethren. He knew more than anyone what the zeal of the Jewish people was, even if that zeal was misplaced. You can be sincere and yet be sincerely wrong.
As we look at the first part of Romans 9 this morning I am reminded of something CS Lewis once said, “Why love if it hurts so much.” In Romans 9-10 and 11 we get a glimpse of the passion of the apostle Paul for his jewish brethren. Though Paul is the apostle to the gentiles by God’s calling, Paul has a deep love for the nation of Israel and the tone of the next three chapters is a contrast to what we saw in Romans chapter 8 where he joyfully proclaims “nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” Continuing on with that thought Paul turns his attention toward the nation of Israel.
We choose to remember the supreme sacrifice on this Memorial Day weekend and to appreciate the great men and women of our armed forces who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could know the freedoms we enjoy today.
Every problem, every sin in this world finds its root in brokenness. Broken fellowship with God and broken fellowship with others. The cure is to admit what the source of the problem is and to stop treating the symptoms. We need God and we need each other. I am thankful for the church and the relationships we are able to build here.
How confident are you in God’s love? If you had to rate your confidence in God’s love on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the least and 10 the most, how confident are you in God’s love for you? That all depends on where your God story begins?
Romans 8 is one of the most wonderful portion of texts in all the Bible. Oh how different our lives would be if we truly believed this. What confidence we would have before God.
If all we had were the first few chapters of Romans we might believe God is against us not for us but here Paul makes clear that if God is for you than who can be or (stand) against us?
Chapter 8 of Romans is such an amazing chapter especially in light of how the book of Romans begins.
The word “predestined” is from the Greek word proorizo, which means “determining beforehand,” “ordaining,” “deciding ahead of time.” Predestination you can say then is God determining certain things to happen ahead of time.
Ephesians 1:5 and 11 declare, “He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”
Many people get very upset when hearing about the doctrine of predestination. They really shouldn’t as predestination is a biblical doctrine. The key is understanding what predestination means, biblically speaking.
Today is Mothers Day, the second Sunday of May where we as a country stop and celebrate the women in our lives who gave us life and to those who raised us and loved us and cared for us when we could do nothing for ourselves. Happy Mothers Day to you moms with us today. We are so blessed by the number of godly women and mothers who faithfully serve Jesus each week here at Calvary Chapel and impact not only the lives of our children but us all.
I would be a miss if I didn’t say Mother’s Day is a difficult day for many people. Difficult in that maybe you didn’t have a good relationship with your mom. Maybe you have yet to have children or you are unable to conceive at all. Maybe you have lost a child or have an estranged son or daughter. Maybe your mom is no longer with you and the pain of today outweighs the joy you once had on this special day.
Though all those reasons are painful most women would still agree its appropriate to give honor where honor is due in remembering the love and sacrifice so many women have made. If you have been with us for a few years you know Mother’s Day is a great celebration for me as I am surrounded by godly Mom’s. I have been my whole life. My Mom is in heaven today and I still thank God for the gift of her life. Her life taught me more about the unconditional love of God than any one person. My wife and the Mom of our three kids, Lee. My grandmother, my two older sisters Beth and Susan, my mother in law Marj. My daughter Bree and my daughters in law, Jackie and Britney. Countless women who make up our staff and volunteers. There is no shortage of amazing women and Moms and I thank God for each of you today.
Romans 8:28 is one of the most quoted verses in all the Bible. Not only do people enjoy it they share it with others. As well. Almost every survey that is taken on peoples favorite verses these usually make the top 20 every time and for good reason!
I like the NKJV translation on a day like this because I want to help you break down these verses into bite size pieces. When people as the question, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer usually is, one bite at a time.
To fully understand and appreciate this portion of Scripture this morning its best to enjoy it one bite at a time.
The people who appreciate these verses the most are the ones who best understand the context in which they are given.
Romans chapter 8 is considered by many to be the crown jewel of any single chapter in all the Bible as it opens with the proclamation that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus and it ends with the declaration that there is no separation from God for those who are in Christ Jesus. If the gospel is good news this is great news! And yet right in the middle of the chapter the apostle Paul reminds us that pain and sorrow and suffering are all part of being members of God’s family. I titled todays message based on the text, “What’s all the groaning?”
Easter is unlike any other religious event in the world as no one but Jesus Christ has died and risen from the dead just as they said they would.
Here’s the point… Pretty much all the world celebrates Christmas. There is nothing threatening about a baby being born into the world… Thats pretty natural. It’s another thing all together to celebrate Christianities most outrageous claim, that Jesus Christ was crucified then rose again from the dead on the third day.
You can believe in Christmas and still not be a Christian, but you’re not a Christian if you don’t believe in Easter.
The reason we celebrate Easter is because the resurrection is proof that everything Jesus said is true!
What does that mean for me and you personally?
Today we celebrate what is known around the world as Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, presenting Himself openly as the King of the Jews. Palm Sunday is the beginning of the last week of Jesus earthly life as He completes His mission at His first coming, to live a perfect sinless life then go to the Cross in our place securing eternal life for all who come to Him by faith.
Most of us when we read Romans chapter 8 love reading verse 1 and learning that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And we love reading verses 38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
But who even hardly remembers reading
Verse 17, “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”
Last week we learned that being adopted into the family of God provides us with some amazing privileges. We get to call God, Abba, daddy. As joint heirs with Christ we have a new identity, an inheritance to all that God possesses. We love the idea of sharing in His riches and glory but here in verse 17 the apostle Paul reminds us we also get to share in Jesus sufferings too.
To call God Father… The first thing the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to us is we are children of God.
Easter is coming up. Here is something interesting. Before the Cross we were not family, but the Cross changed everything, When Jesus rose from the dead he said in John 20:17, “17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
Of all the wonderful chapters of the Bible most biblical scholars believe that Romans chapter 8 out shines them all. Its been said if the Bible is like a gold ring then the book of Romans is the diamond of the ring and chapter 8 is the sparkle of the diamond.
As we studied last week in verse 1 the chapter begins with the proclamation that there is therefore now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Period). No comma, period. And chapter 8 ends with there is no separation. No condemnation and no separation for those in Christ Jesus. (Period).
I titled this mornings message, “Don’t put a coma where God put a period” for the simple fact that is exactly how the Holy Spirit desired that the sentence read. In the original Greek language there is no coma there or any other condition stated in the sentence. The message is plain and clear, there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus, period. End of sentence, end of story.
I’m not going to hurry through Romans 8 as it is the pinnacle of the Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. If I could only preach on one chapter in all the Bible I am certain this chapter would be the one I would pick.
What stands between the victory we read about in Romans 6 over sin and the glory revealed in Romans 8. The struggle we must face daily in Romans 7. Its what makes Romans 8 so amazing to us.
Newton who was a pastor of a small church in 18th century England. A book was written that complied letters he had written over his life in ministry. The book was titled “Select Letters of John Newton.” You might not recall the name John Newton but you probably know him as he is most famous for writing the famous hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Throughout his ministry, he often wrote other believers letters of encouragement.
My favorite letter that John Newton wrote was when he was 83 years old. In a letter to a fellow pastor, he confessed that he had always assumed, after walking with God for 40 or 50 years, that he would have made more progress in the Christian life. He wondered why, at 83 years old, the temptations of the flesh were still as strong in him as they were when he was a young man.
The theme of Romans is the theme of salvation.
It’s not just being forgiven, it’s being given eternal life.
There was an old bumper sticker that said, “Christians aren’t perfect, JUST forgiven.” That is not true… We are perfect in Christ and we aren’t just forgiven, we are free to live righteously.
Here in Romans chapter 6 you could say the apostle Paul is taking issue with that bumper sticker and that way of thinking as it sells us short of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us in His death and resurrection.
Paul used baptism to teach us about our relationship with Jesus. We were baptized into His death and raised to new life by His resurrection.
Jesus did provide us with forgiveness when He died in our place. He also provides us victory by His resurrection!
The apostle Paul now seeks to move us from position to practical experience starting in verse 11.
But before we get to the practical application of our new life we cant forget what we learned last week as we began Romans 6. Knowledge is power to live out the Christian life.
When I read Romans chapter 6 I am reminded of the Civil War that began in this country back in 1861 between the northern and southern states over the issue of slavery. When President Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation, it put an end to slavery on January 1, 1863. The problem of slavery wasn’t overcome simply by Lincoln’s declaration. Many slaves had been beaten physically, tormented emotionally. Most were third and fourth generation slaves and slavery was all they knew. When some would tell them they were free others would tell them they were still slaves. Most slaves needed to be retrained in how they thought about slavery. They needed to be taught how to live as free men, how to embrace their new identity.
What was true then is still true today for believers. Before coming to Christ we were slaves to sin, beaten down and in bondage to the Old man, the old way of living and the old way of thinking.
In our study of chapter 5 we learned Jesus introduces us to God as royalty. We are royalty not because of us but because of how loving God is. God was aware of everything about us, we were without strength, we were ungodly sinners and ultimately we were enemies of God. The nature of God, the character of God, everything God is we are the opposite of and yet, knowing all of this about us, Christ still chose to die for us. That is agape love! It’s not what is in us that attracted God to us, it’s what is in Jesus that drew His heart to us.
It’s not over…That’s the title for today’s message. When all seems lost, when our situation seems to bleak…it’s not over. When the cards seem “stacked against you” it’s not over…The word I want you to leave with today is made up of only four letters....hope. No matter what you are going through right now, there is hope!
I titled this mornings message, “Love is Not Blind” as we will read that God’s love is so amazing that even though He knows everything about us He still loves us…
You recall from our study in chapters 1-3 the apostle Paul removed all doubt that all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. Any way you cut it, everyone of us, from the self righteous sinner to the religious to the full blown open sinner. We have all sinned.
What Abraham went through God puts all through…
1 Corinthians 10:11 tells us, “These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.”
The point is this… What Abraham had to go through we all have to go through too.
God orchestrates the circumstances of our lives to teach us how to walk by faith and not by sight.
Have you ever had your keys or phone or glasses in your hand or on your face and you are looking for them?
How many times do you go back into the house before you leave?
One of My favorite examples of forgetfulness is a story Larry Vasquez told me. He was about to leave work one Friday and he was out in his car in front of the office. He started the car and one of his employees came out and waved him into the office. He went back in and while he was there Mona came to the office and when they left they decided to take her car and leave Larrys at the office. When Larry arrived Monday back at the office there was his car, with the engine still running since Friday…
Christmas Eve I walked outside to play with my dog and a rainbow suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I had never witnessed the birth of a rainbow before. It was surreal to say the least and got my mind going a million miles an hour as I considered the promises of God and His faithfulness to deliver on all of them, some against such impossibilities no one could question the miraculous origin.
The Bible is filled with promises, something like 8,810 promises with over 7,487 made specifically to
mankind.
If you are wondering what the first promise made in the Bible is, its found in Genesis 3:15 where God says to the serpent,
“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
“18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
All this week as I was studying for this morning an old bumper sticker kept coming to mind. “If God said it, I believe it, that settles it.”
Every time I would see it I would think to myself, cool but not theologically correct. It should read, “If God said it, that settles it, I believe it.”
Let me say this right out of the gate this morning… The most important thing you need to remember this morning is this… Do you know that what you believe about God is the most important thing about you?
Circumstances will not make you or break you. They simply expose you. They reveal you. What you believe about God is the most important thing about you. It determines what you believe about everything else.
People come up with ridiculous responses to the requirements of the law the apostle Paul doesn’t even waste time trying to argue… He just says they will get what they deserve.
As the apostle Paul systematically brings everyone to the understanding that all our guilty before God he says…
In the book of Romans the apostle Paul is going to explain to his readers the gospel, the good news in how an unrighteous human can become a righteous man. How somebody who is not right with God can be made right with God. That's the gospel. And Paul breaks the book of Romans up into four sections.
The first section is all about
- The wrath of God. Chapter 1:18 to chapter 3:20.
- The grace of God. Unmerited favor of God. Chapter 3:21, all the way to the end of Chapter 8.
- The plan of God. Romans 8, or 9, 10, and 11.
- The will of God. Chapters 12-16.
Paul is explaining our need for Jesus Christ. You recall the three groups Paul is addressing in the opening chapters of the book of Romans
Like a good prosecution attorney Paul is verse by verse systematically laying the groundwork to show that every person is guilty before God. You recall in chapter 1 verse 18 Paul started his case for the worlds guilt dealing with the obvious guilty people, those who would claim there is no God, the pagan and the heathen who do not worship God but instead worship creation. Starting there was an excellent strategy to draw in the second group Paul would speak to, the moralist. The non church going person who tries to live their life pretty much by the Golden Rule. Not perfect but not as bad as the pagan who they would admit are worthy of judgment. Paul then moves on to the third group, the hardest to reach of all, the religious person who believes because they know about God and own a bible and attend church or synagogue, that is proof they are saved. After all, only saved people attend church, own a bible, listen to Christian music and have radio Christian radio stickers on their bumper ? Am I right? Wrong… Paul would say those things without a work of God’s Spirit in our heart are nothing more than worthless religion.
How many by a show of hands have ever heard the expression, “Be careful when you point your finger at someone else because when you do you have three fingers pointing right back at you.”
Here in chapter 2 we are studying the bad news of the gospel. If we didn’t have bad news there would be no need for good news. Chapters 1-3 removes the argument that we just live and die and that there are not consequences for our lives and how we lived. This knowledge is important to us as knowing the bad news is what makes the Good News of the Gospel so good!
You recall that the theme of Romans is “the righteousness of God.”
That's the theme of the whole book, the righteousness of God; or put another way, how to get right with God. Whether you're Jew, Gentile, religious, not religious, poor, rich, or anything in between, Romans teaches how anyone can be made right with God.
When you look around the world today what do you see?
Let people answer out loud….
You know what God sees? God sees potential… God sees opportunity.
Last week we began a new series in the book of Romans titled, “Made Right” as the apostle Paul lays out for us the Gospel and what it really means to be saved, to be made right with God and how we go about that. Paul uses the term gospel which means “good news”— some 60 times in the book of Romans. That's how he begins the book, with good news.
As a matter of fact Paul sees the gospel as such good news he dedicates his whole life to it, to grow in and to share it with everyone he comes in contact with. I shared with you that not just one or two but that every major revival enjoyed by the church has been traced back to a study of the book of Romans.
The book of Romans has been called the Christian manifesto of freedom.
Romans tells about how God, through Jesus, sets people free from the slavery of sin and old behaviors and sets us free to become slaves of Christ. We have a new slavery that leads to freedom, a slavery of freedom.
I appreciate when people ask me what leads me to pick a particular book of the Bible to teach on. Why I choose the book of Romans to be our next book study is that as I was seeking the Lord and praying about which book to teach through I was reminded of something that I think you will be just as excited about as I am.
Are you aware that a study of the book of Romans can be found in every major revival in church history? Its true. Wherever revival has broken out in the world, the book of Romans has played a role in its happening.
Apostasy, or to apostatize or an apostate, it's a word that means those who defect from truth or abandon the truth, or they never really had the true faith but they pretended to be a part of it.
In studying the book of Philippians the overriding theme is that of JOY. Paul speaks of the joy filled life that is not based upon the circumstances of life but is constant. Here in just three verses Paul shares with us the secret of contentment.
Its been well said, “OUR LIVES ARE ALWAYS MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR strongest thoughts. What we think shapes who we are.”
“Finally” means the rest or the things that remain. “In conclusion”
Verses 8 and 9 contain two verbs… Paul is calling his listeners to action. Not just action to do but as we see in verse 8 the action is to think, to mediate, to ponder. And the second verb we see in verse 9 is to do, to do what you think about. Thoughts produce action like the old saying by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
Are you aware that the number one threat to our joy is fear, worry, anxiety so when the apostle Paul speaks about deep lasting and satisfying joy its only right that he addresses the very thing that stands in our way. What you have to love about how the apostle Paul goes about addressing the issue is he does so in two short verses. I like that. The solution to our worry and stress is not as complex as some might think. Simple yes, simplistic no.
Think about it for a moment… what are you afraid of.
Perceived worry from real fear. Most of us worry about things that will never come to pass all the while ignoring things that are right in front of us. Its estimated that 20% of all drivers don’t wear seat belts, and that 75% text while driving. How about cigarette smoking? It says right on the package that smoking is the number one cause of lung disease and can kill you.
Let me begin this morning by asking you, what first attracted you to Jesus? What was it about Him that made you want to give up everything this world has to offer to follow Him? If we are like any of the apostles or earliest disciples at all, it is His love.
Ephesians 3:17-19, “being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
The greatest attraction the church has to the world around us is our love, our sacrificial love for one another because of the sacrificial love of Jesus for you and for me. The apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that the greatest things in this life are faith, hope and love and that of those three things love is the greatest. More than truth, more than holiness, love is what draws us to Jesus and what Jesus says draws the world to us.
In Philippians chapter three we read an autobiography of sorts of the apostle Paul’s life. He tells us about his past in verses 1-11 and his present situation in verses 12-16 and then his future in verses 17 through verse 1 of chapter 4. This morning we want to look at how the apostle Paul was able to not to live with a victims mentality or to live only for today and missing out on the blessings of what lies ahead for them that believe.
It was C.S. Lewis who said, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”
This philosophy of life is what governed the apostle Paul’s life. Paul had no problem with his past, he simply wasn’t bound by it but realized God was using it to shape his present circumstances in life and preparing him for his future. I mean how else does Paul write a book like Philippians from a roman prison cell laced with the words joy and rejoice some 16 times? Like that famous quote from Dale Carnage that says, “Two men looked out from their prison cell, one saw bars the other saw stars.” The apostle Paul saw stars. Let me ask you a very important question this morning as we study this text.
If I had to sum up the apostle Paul’s words in verses 1-8 in a thought it would be from the American missionary Jim Elliot who said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
This is what Paul experienced: He gave up his religion and his reputation, but he gained far more than he lost.
Paul gained a personal experience with the risen savior, with the living Lord.
Finally… The word finally here isn’t like Paul is saying “In Closing” and then like any good preacher continue on for another 20 minutes. No, the word “Finally” here means, “for the rest” as the apostle Paul has much to say and the word “finally” is simply introducing a new topic Paul wants to address which happens to be “false teachers” Judaizers. Judaizers were a group who taught that faith in Christ was fine so long as Gentile believers also followed Old Testament Law for their salvation, namely circumcision.
If anyone knows life can be hard its the apostle Paul. Remember he is writing this letter to the church in Philippi from a Roman prison cell. Nothing has been easy about the apostle Paul’s life since coming to Jesus. Thats what makes him such an authority on joy. He uses the word “joy or rejoice” some 16 times in jut 104 verses.
I cant give what I don’t have… If you are dehydrated you need to drink water. If you are starving you need food. If you are tired you need rest. What do you do when you read a passage like John 13:34-35 where Jesus is calling us to love one another as He has loved us?
My point is this… Often times on Father’s Day dads can feel like a failure. That’s the last thing I want you to feel like today. I remember the very first time I got to teach a message in the sanctuary when I was the youth pastor of this church back in the early 1990’s. It was a Father’s Day and I was looking up definitions of words and when I looked I up the word Father I noticed something interesting. Not in the definition but in the placement of the word Father in the dictionary. The word Father fell right between two other words, Fathead and the word Fatigue. Fathead and Fatigue… That described perfectly how I feel often times as a Father.
On this Father’s Day I want to speak to two groups of people today… Raise your hand if you are a Father with us this morning? (Give them a round of applause). Raise your hand if you have ever had a father this morning? Good, we are 100% all in today so this message applies to us all, not just dads.
The book Acts covers a period of about thirty-three years. J. B. Phillips has pointed out that in no comparable period of human history has "any small body of ordinary people so moved the world that their enemies could say, with tears of rage in their eyes, that these men 'have turned the world upside down!'"
How did a small group of 120 huddled together in the upper room ultimately,
“Turn the world upside down”? Is there anything we can glean from the
book of Acts to help us be effective in our minatory to the Lord? I believe so.
Here’s a question to ask ourselves right off the bat this morning. If you aren’t awake yet this should get you thinking… Ask yourself this question… “If everyone in the church was just like me what kind of church would my church be and to add to it, would you even attend it.”
The apostle Paul knew the value of having true friends who you can count on not just when life is good but when life is tough. The Christian life is a war, a constant battle so having friends you can count on during both the thick and the thin is critical to our success.
Before looking ahead this morning lets look back for a moment and remember how we got here to this text this morning…
The apostle Paul is writing from a Roman prison to a little church in Philippi that he started a number of years before and where he also spent time in jail. All for loving Jesus and wanting to share Jesus life with them. He was writing to say thank you for offering him care while he was in prison and to address an issue of disunity that arose between a couple of women in the church.
Happy Mother’s Day to you Mom’s. This morning I wanted to dedicate this service to our moms and to the women of our church who fill the role of moms in the lives of others, and I am not just thinking of children.
Mother’s Day is special for me for a number of reasons… I grew up in a home where I never questioned for a second my mothers love. I have two wonderful older sisters who have loved me and cared for me all my life and still do to this very day. I have an amazing Mother in law who has shown me nothing but love from the very moment I met her. And there is my wife, the mother of our children. She to me is the picture of what a Proverbs 31 woman is. Her fierce love for our family is evidenced in everything she does. My daughter Bree who is very much like her Mom. The women in this church. Some of your stories are almost beyond human in what you accomplish in the course of one day. How you do it all I will never know apart from the grace God gives you!
We all now what a “couch potato” is, “a person who spends little or no time exercising and a great deal of time watching television.”
Are you aware there are “pew potatoes” too? If you follow the analogy of the couch potato then you understand a pew potato is someone who attends church and watches everyone else without becoming actively involved.
Christianity is a participant sport you might say. It takes work to get into spiritual shape the same way it takes hard work to get our bodies into shape too.
Paul addresses the subject here in Philippians 2. Paul might have titled this message, “Working out what God is working in you…”
Speaking of working out… Here is some interesting statistics for you.
This morning in Philippians 2 we come to what some consider to be the most profound and theologically important words of all of the New Testament writers. In verses 5-11 the apostle Paul points out that Jesus is the ultimate example of what service is like. In just a few verses the apostle Paul makes clear that it was God Himself clothed in human flesh who came from heaven to earth not to be served but to serve, and not just serve but to sacrificially serve by giving His life on Calvary’s Cross. Paul points to Jesus as the ultimate example of both faith and practice and is why I titled this mornings message a “Race To The Bottom” because unlike the ladder of success the world promotes which is always upward, Jesus made it clear in both His teachings and in His modeling that the greatest among us is the servant and when you study the life of Jesus Christ you see the greatest service and the greatest sacrifice of all.
Picking back up in our series “Joy Filled Living” in the book of Philippians the apostle Paul is writing to a church that he started and that is doing really well. Its a good church, a growing church and obviously a pretty mature church based on the unity we find there. I have read this book, all four chapters, all 104 verses countless times now in my life and I am always amazed at the apostle Pauls joy. To think he is writing this book from a roman prison cell and the major theme of his writing is joy. 19 times Paul mentions joy.
Have you discovered in your own life that people more than circumstances have a tendency to rob us of our joy. I remember Pastor Chuck Smith sharing at a Senior Pastors Conference years ago (half kiddingly) he said, “the ministry would be great if it went for the people.”
The Cross is the most powerful display of God’s love for me and you because it’s a Cross that offers FORGIVENESS.
The significance of this day is lost on a great many people, just as it was in the day Jesus entered the city ridding on a donkey... We call it “the triumphant entry” or “Palm Sunday” but both of these names can easily be misunderstood. As people we often put our expectations on God and find ourselves disappointed when He isn't what we imagined or wanted Him to be... This was true of Jesus as well on the 10th day of Nissan as He entered the city.
The book of Philippians is a book about joy. 19 times in just four chapters the apostle Paul talks about joy, unshakeable joy even in the midst of the most trying of circumstances. Remember that the apostle Paul is writing to the church in Philiipi from a Roman prison cell. Uncertain of his fate he takes time to write to a little church he planted and wanted to encourage.
When you think about joy are you aware Jesus wants us to have joy? You recall that in John 15:11 Jesus said to His disciples, “These things have I spoken unto you, . . . that your joy might be full”. If the disciples had never seen Jesus laugh or smile they would not have understood what He meant by joy. Yes, Jesus was a man of sorrows but He also was overflowing with joy too.
I titled this mornings message “It’s Not About Me” for the simple fact that I believe that much of the apostle Pau’s success in this life was his awareness of the tension all believers must deal with in experiencing JOY this side of heaven.
Paul he understood what Casey Kasem, the American radio personality would say as he closed his radio program “American Top 40” each week, “Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars”
Perspective…
Have you ever met someone that a first you didn’t like them but the more you got to know them, the more you understood their story, something changed in you and you began to like them.
Paul, the prisoner of joy writes the book of Philippians from a Roman cell about JOY. The main these of this book is about JOY. In four chapters, 104 verses in all, the words joy, rejoicing, and gladness appear some 19 times.
I shared with you last week there is a difference between happiness and joy.
Paul is writing this letter to the church at Philippi, which was actually the first church that he started in Europe. You can read about the days that Paul spent in Philippi in Acts chapter 16, where you can read about one of the first converts in Philippi, a woman named Lydia, and also hear some of the specifics of Paul’s hard times in Philippi.
Phillipi was a heavily gentile city. There was no synagogue there. No Jewish presence.
In any city where there were 10 adult males they were required to build a synagogue.
With no synagogue the Jews would go down to the River side to worship. A beautiful place in nature.
Let me begin this morning by asking you a question. How different do you think your faith would be in Jesus if suddenly God whisked you away literally to heaven and you got to see your new house that Jesus has built for you and where you will spend eternity? Would it impact the way you live now? Would that experience have an affect on how you deal with life? How about suffering? Would going to heaven make even the painful things of life bearable now? If you answered yes to any of those or all of those, you get a basic understanding of what Peter is referring to here in 2 Peter 1.
For many 2020 will be a year they want to forget but I hope for you listening tonight it will be a year you will never want to forget. Why would we want to remember a year that has been marked by so much tragedy on so many levels? The answer is simple. No matter what you and I have been through God has remained faithful, God is still good.
Most all of us have a calendar program or reminders built right into our phones to remind us of important dates and things we want to remember. Things like birthdays, anniversaries top the lists but tonight I am going to invite you who are here in the sanctuary to get a rock that we have here for you. If you are watching from home I want to encourage you to find a rock around your house that you can write on. I will explain more about that latter in the message.
As we come to the end of 2020 the Lord quickened a story from the Bible to my mind that I wanted to share with you tonight in hopes that it encourages you like it did me. Its from Joshua chapter 4 and it is a great reminder to us about the goodness of God.
Remember the number one problem facing the church was persecution. Peter is reminding the church, don’t give up, keep going. Don’t misunderstand God’s plan. Remember, those who desire to live godly will suffer persecution. Pain is part of the plan.
As 1 Peter comes to a close Peter draws our attention away from ourselves and back onto the Lord where our eyes need to be as we come to not just the end of a book but then end of a year and a very difficult and trying year at that.
Candlelight service is to celebrate the fact that Jesus is the light of the world and that as John 1 declares, John 1:4, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men”. As we light the candles tonight in solidarity we celebrate the reality that Jesus was born for us, and His life is the light of each of our lives.
Light… it’s been said that when God said in Genesis 1, “let there be light that Jesus was the first thought that ever passed through the mind of God.”
Christmas is just two days away. How is your JOY meter this year? Is it high or is it low?
You see the word “Joy” all over the place…
Most all of us have heard the expression, “Timing is everything” and its true. Are you aware that the average “brick and mortar” retail business makes about 30% of their annual revenue between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Black Friday is called Black Friday for a reason. Its the day of the year that many retail businesses go from being in the red (in debt) to being in the black (profitable).
So, this morning we are talking about not our favorite topic in the Bible but a very important topic none the less. The devil. What do we know about the devil? The Bible has much to say about him.
First, his name. Well, before we get to his name let’s make this perfectly clear, the devil is your adversary Peter says, in other words he is your enemy. You can never forget that.
Temporal pain eternal glory reminds me of the mom who went grocery shopping with her 3-year-old daughter who wasn’t happy being trapped in the seat of the shopping cart and was overdue for her afternoon nap. She kept screaming and throwing a fit and her mom would say, “Just five more minutes Molly” as she kept shopping. She came upon an elderly gentleman who was shopping on the same aisle and her daughter let out another scream when the man smiled at the little girl. The mom looked at the man and then turned to her daughter and said, “five more minutes Molly” and kept pushing. This went on until the mom couldn’t take it any longer. As she came to the register the elderly gentlemen she had encountered earlier was checking out in front of her when once again the little girl let out a scream. The mom smiled at the elderly gentlemen and said, “five more minutes Molly” to which the old man said, “Molly is such a cutie, how old is she?” The mom replied, “Jenny is three, thank you, I am Molly.”
The point is, sometimes in the midst of a trial the best thing to do is remind yourself just “five more minutes” as the trial you are facing is temporal at best but the glory of God that is going to be revealed to you is eternal.
Have you ever thought about your last day on earth and how your story ends? 1 Peter chapter 4 causes us to sit up and to think about it.
Have you ever heard the expression, “Tomorrow is the Devils favorite word” Or “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?” Here in chapter 4 Peter is reminding us that time is short no matter how long you live. Last week I shared a song that contained the lyrics “100 years comes faster than you think so don’t blink”. This week Peter continues in the same vein. Since we are not promised tomorrow how should we live today?
Yesterday my mother and father in law, Rod and Marj Almstrom celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. One of the things my mother in law kept saying when asked how she felt about being married for half a century was, “Wow, it doesn’t seem like fifty years, the time has flown by”.
I thought that was interesting observation and one that must have been on Peter’s mind too, possibly considering his own martyrdom that he most likely sensed was coming soon. I say that because one of the key thoughts of Peter in the opening few verses of chapter 4 is TIME.
You can learn a lot about people by looking at what’s on their refrigerator. Yes, you heard me right. I said what’s on their refrigerator, not just wants in their refrigerator. How many of you have pictures and sayings attached to your refrigerator? Drawings your children or grandchildren made. Pictures of people, vacations you took, missionaries you support. I love those little magnets you can get from places to remind you where you have been. I especially like when you see scripture or quotes that you post to remind yourself of something you don’t want to forget.
What do you do when being good isn’t good enough? That's the question Peter deals with here in chapter 3. Peter you recall was writing a general epistle to the church at large at a time in the world when the church was suffering tremendous persecution for something it didn’t do. The church had become the “fall guy” for Caesar Nero who wanted to rebuild Rome and decided to light the city on fire and when the citizens of Rome rose up against him in revolt he blamed the fires on a small yet growing group of Christians in the city who were already under suspicion for their strange practices of worshipping without idols and practiced what they preached by loving and caring for one another when they met.
How many of you like charts? I don’t. In 1 Peter 3 we have a chart of sorts so that we can check our progress as a child of God.
It’s important to note right off that this isn’t a list that we use to check if we are saved or not. We use lists like this to check our growth because we are saved to get a pulse of where we are at and to be encouraged knowing as we draw close to God this is the work that He has begun and is faithful to complete in you!
But hear me on this. No two people are alike. Plant two trees side by side and water them the same and one will still grow taller than the other.
Last week we looked at the word submission from the wife’s perspective. We looked at what Peter and Paul had to say. In 1 Peter 3:1-6 Peter addressed the women more at length than he does men for the simple fact women had no rights other than the ones their husbands afforded them in the Roman Empire. It was much more difficult for women in those days than it is today and Peter explains out how a wife can in fact have a happy life. Peter laid it out in two words, “duty and beauty”
As promised we are looking at what the Bible speaks of when it speaks of submission. The word “submission” conjures up all kinds of thoughts and emotions in both men and women. I recall years and years ago now a guy in the church who bought his wife for her birthday one year a book. She loved to read and he gave her a book by P.B. Wilson titled, “Liberated Through Submission”. For the record, they are no longer married.
Have you ever really thought about what makes the Christian life so hard to live? There is a constant battle raging in us. The battle of good and evil, right and wrong, black and white, my will and God’s will. Of all the teachings in the Bible, living in submission to God is by far and a way the most difficult to do for it means dying to myself and my ways and wants and trusting God, looking to God and obeying God.
A few weeks ago when we began our study in 1 Peter I felt the Lord pointing me to this book to study because there are many parallels between the time in around 64 A.D. when Peter penned the books of 1 and 2 Peter and today, 2020 and the world we are now living in.
We name our children after the apostles, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and we name our dogs, Cesars, Nero, Julis, Hercules, Apollo, and Atlas.
The book of Proverbs teaches us about True Wisdom. Is there such a thing as false wisdom? The Bible says yes.
We are studying the book of Proverbs. Last week we talked about the Power of our Tongue. As we continue our study this morning in the book of Proverbs we are looking at the “Power of People” and the impact our friendships have in our life. I want to look with you at three things this morning…
- Two Ways To Be A Better Friend
- Three Friends Everyone Needs
- Love Means Letting Go
Nothing will make you or break you in this life like the relationships you have.
You might look at it like this. If you get the right friends it will set you up for success in every area of life that matters. Get your friends wrong and you will pay for it for years to come.
We're looking at the book of Proverbs. And Proverbs chapter 6 and 24 deal with this, though there are many other scriptures that deal with it.
In the book of Proverbs, there are 19 different verses that deal with the issue of laziness.
Written mostly by Solomon, Remember our definition of a Proverb. “A pithy statement that packs a powerful punch.”
Short sayings based on long experience. They are also known as aphorisms, axioms, and epigrams.
In the book of Proverbs Solomon has a lot to say about what we say.
Heres an interesting fact: the words, tongue, mouth, lips, and words occur almost 150 times in Proverbs.
On average, a reference to speech appears 5 times in each of the 31 chapters.
Solomon often times uses a contrastive couplet when speaking of the wise and the foolish. Both types of people reveal themselves to others by how they use their tongues.
The point is this… Our tongues are powerful.
We can draw people to God by our words and lifestyle or we can draw people away from God by our words and lifestyle.
A couple of weeks ago we were reading in Proverbs 5 and I was sharing with you that in Proverbs 5-7 Solomon is instructing his son on the topic of “sex” and specifically dealing with temptation and adultery. I had titled the message, “why sex sins are worse than other sins” and invited you to read Proverbs chapters 5-7 and 1 Corinthians 6. This morning I wanted to pick up the message in 1 Corinthians 6. But before we go there let me have your attention…
So as to not lose or confuse you with the title of this message let me first begin by saying, “Sex sins are worse than other sins because sex sins do more damage than other sins.”
“Sex sins are not harder for God to forgive than any other sin.”
Before we read this text this morning and pray I realize this topic of human sexuality can be very uncomfortable for some for a number of reasons. Obviously the Lord desires that we do speak about the subject for the simple fact that it is addressed within the pages of scripture frequently. It is best to be direct to avoid confusion.
This morning we are returning to our study in the book of Proverbs, on practical wisdom for everyday living. If you recall when we began the study I shared with you that Solomon is credited with writing the book of Proverbs, one of the 5 books that make up the Poetic Books in the Old Testament. The 5 poetic books are: 1. Job 2. Psalms 3. Proverbs 4. Ecclesiastes 5. Song of Solomon
Solomon wrote, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon.
1 Kings 4:32 tells us that King Solomon, the son of King David spoke 3000 Proverbs. Solomon spoke 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs. You might say Solomon was the Barry Manilow of the Old Testament in that he wrote the songs…
A Proverb by definition means,
Proverbs comes from the Latin word Proverbium “PRO”-‘on behalf of’, ‘in place of another’ Verba, ‘words’, ‘instead of words’
Today is Father’s Day, the day we honor all of our fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and all the men who fill such important roles in the lives of our families and our church. Fathers we celebrate you today! We want you to know how important you are to us. We want you to know that we realize how much you teach us. Our fathers teach us much. Mine did. I am sure yours did. They probably teach us much more than we realize.
The refrain from the song “Jesus Loves The Little Children” written by Clarence Herbert Woolston comes to mind this morning,
“Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, All are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
Sadly, many don’t feel loved today in our world.
Like many of you here today, I thought the news surrounding the Coronavirus would be the most pressing issue we would face as a country this year, but the death of George Floyd in Minnesota has dominated the reporting in the US the past couple weeks.
Reactions to his death at the hands of law enforcement have ranged from peaceful protests to rioting, vandalism, looting, setting cities on fire, and even murder.
Pentecost means 50… in calendar terms we are 50 days past Easter Sunday.
How many bought a Pentecost card to send to someone today?
Pentecost is one of the three major feasts the Jews came to Jerusalem to celebrate each year.
Pentecost Sunday is a celebration of the prophecy of Joel being fulfilled as the promised Holy Spirit was poured out on all of creation.
Happy Mother’s Day! Today we celebrate the gift of women and particularly our Mom’s who regardless of our relationship with them are the ones who gave us life. I love Mother’s Day for the simple reason God used women to reveal His love for me from my youngest memories of life. From the moment I was born God blessed my life with some very special womanI’d like to begin this Mother’s Day saying thank you to for being to me the personification of God’s love and grace. My Mom who has gone home to be with the Lord loved me and my brother and sisters “irrationally” far more than what we deserved. My wife, who gave me the privilege of being the father to three beautiful babies, Bree, Brett, and Brandon and who raised our children in love who are all grown now with families of the their own. My sisters Beth and Susan who have for my entire life been there for me, have loved me and encouraged me and been two of my biggest supporters. My mother in law Marj who from the time I met her and my father in law made me feel like a son and not just a son in law. My daughter Bree who is so much like her Mom in the way she loves and cares and sacrifices for her family. My daughter in law Jackie who like so many moms, juggles more activities in a single day than most men do in a month, a real life example of what it is to be a proverbs 31 woman.
Happy Easter! He is Risen! Just as He said. To be honest with you this morning today is a hard day for me personally… What should be the greatest gathering of the church together in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the most amazing moment in world history, we are celebrating apart from one another, practicing “social distancing” for the safety and well being of all.
I love the story of Palm Sunday… what an entrance Jesus makes…
Talk about making an entrance.
Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why am I here?” Or maybe you phrased it this way, “Why am I still here? Or maybe better still, “What on earth am I here for?”
Those are great questions to ask yourself. I have had three weeks laying in bed to ask myself and God that question.
What am I investing my life in?
What gets the best of me?
Hopefully all of us can say we are here on earth, alive today to serve the God of heaven and earth. And that the best of me, the greatest investment of my life is knowing Jesus and making Him known.
I love what God is doing in our church today…
God is on the move today by His Spirit.
God is working in the world today by His Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is completely God. The Third person of the trinity. Not an “IT” or a “force” but a “Person”.
How do we see the Holy Spirit working in the Bible?
The Holy Spirit draws a person to God
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin
When you think about your relationship with God tonight, are you living life on your own ability?
Are you growing in surrender to God?
Are you living your life by the power of the Holy Spirit?
In John 14:16 Jesus promises “Another”
God’s Word gives us incredible insight into parenting…
But it starts with children… You kids have lots of power! More than you know.
Thats why the apostle Paul begins Ephesians 6 like this…
I am so excited about the first Wednesday of the month as we study together a very important subject matter, spiritual gifts.
The reason I am so excited is I know that some of you have no idea what your spiritual gift or gifts are as you can actual have more than one.
I know that once you begin to tap into the realization that you have spiritual gifts and that God can at any time bless your life with these amazing gifts not only will you sense fulfillment in your life like never before but you will have a sense of purpose for your life like nothing in this world can provide.
Danielle’s Legacy… On August 20, 2004 Danielle Marie Gould stepped into eternity at just seventeen years of age. She was a vibrant young girl who had fallen in love with Jesus and was just discovering herself and who God had created her to be. Through the years you have heard words like “Live, Laugh, Love” as themes for many of our women’s functions. Many of the topics and themes for events we have hosted came as a result of the impact of Danielle’s life on our church at the time of her death.
She wasn’t just your ordinary seventeen year old soon to be high school senior. She was a young woman who was learning to live her life on mission, wanting to make a difference in her world for Jesus learning how to live her life “naturally supernatural.”
I’ll never forget the morning after Danielle had gone home to be with Jesus. I was sitting next to Sherrill in the living room of their home and she was riding that wave of numbness going from moments of complete brokenness to laughter when suddenly she just stopped and looked at me as said, “people will forget her”. I remember thinking then that it would be impossible but I was wrong, we do forget, not everyone, but some. But the good news of the Gospel is, God doesn’t forget.
It was after one thirty in the morning and I couldn’t sleep. I was laying in bed thinking about our cities homeless population that like many of you it overwhelms me. I pray for the homeless, I reach out to many in my daily travels. I deliberately seek them out when possible to learn more of their stories in hopes that somehow I can make a difference.
Have you heard the one about... Everyone likes a good story and Jesus was the master story teller.
Chapter 13 is a section known as the Kingdom Parables, the Kingdom Parables. There are seven of them all together. One of Jesus' favorite subjects was to talk about the kingdom. Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Tomorrow Monday May 27th the last Monday of the month has been set aside to remember the fallen in Battle of all wars. Flags are placed on the graves of those who fought and died during times of war.
Today we will be looking closely at one of the things the
first church was practicing. The Apostle’s doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and
prayers.
When I think about honoring Mom’s on this special day I find it easy to do so. It’s biblical to recognize and honor people. God commands that we honor our mothers and fathers. The passage we just read in proverbs says, “her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also and he praises her.” Mother’s Day is just one day out the year as a church we choose to publicly recognize Mom’s. And not just Mom’s but women in general too. You will understand more as the message unfolds.
We would like you to stand this morning if you are a mom, a grandma, a great grandma, a great great grandma. Even if you are not a biological mother but maybe you have adopted a child as your own, or you are a woman who is a babysitter or a childcare provider, a children’s ministry worker. The bottom line is you are a woman who loves, nurtures and and cares for people. Would you stand and let us recognize you today.
I know Mother’s Day can be difficult for some today. Your mom is not with you and the pain hurts. For others you didn’t have a great relationship with your mom and this day brings up bad memories. For some, you have lost a child and the celebration of this day is a painful reminder of that loss. Or you are a woman here today that wants children desperately but you are unable to have them. All those feelings are real but they shouldn’t stop us from recognizing the heart of God when He created woman and how in mothers we get a glimpse of God.
The miracles of Jesus demonstrate Jesus’s absolute authority and power over the devil, sickness, death, and nature, thereby confirming to all that he is indeed the Messiah and the Son of God. Also, the signs and wonders of Jesus testify to his limitless compassion for people and his longing to see people set free from all bondage.
My hope today is that you will be encouraged that when we face the storms of life, we can turn to Jesus through trust and prayer to experience the peace of God in our hearts and minds. God is with you in the storm. He doesn’t calm every storm but He is with us in every storm.
Submission used 6 times in 1 Peter, more than any other book of the Bible.
Peter could be on fire for the Lord one moment and out of the will of God the next
So a Sunday school teacher was telling her third graders about the Resurrection, and then she asked them a question. She goes, OK, students, does anyone here know the first words Jesus said when he left the tomb? And little Bethany shot her hand up in the back. She goes, I know, I know. And so she stood up and said, Jesus' first words when he came out of the tomb-- and she opened her arms up-- were this, ta-da!
Jesus resurrection is God’s Ta-da of the Bible.
You can learn a lot about people when they are under stress.
The Bible says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks
Jesus has just endured a night of beatings and is near death after 6 separate trials.
Have you really ever considered the heart of God towards you?
The day started great. A celebration where the people who were gathered in Jerusalem heard that Jesus was on His way into the city and they came out in droves and lined the streets with their jackets and with Palm branches. They had heard the news that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.
Welcome to One Service Sunday!
Lee and I have been married for 36 years and we have 3 children and 3 grand babies out of the oven and one coming in June and another this next year by way of adoption. I know what a functional and dysfunctional family looks like as our family is all that and then some. Without Jesus everything is dysfunctional and with Him and His help we learn to become functional as God intended. We are all a work in progress. Today it makes no difference if you are single or married, have kids or don’t have kids. We all fit into at least one category and the apostle Paul speaks to them all. We are all God’s kids.
Wes Bentley, a former Marine, first traveled to Africa in 1996. He delivered basic provisions, and most importantly, hope to predominantly Christian people in South Sudan, who were suffering at the hands of Islamic jihadists.
Prior to Wes’ work in Africa, he served as a missionary in Russia before realizing a greater need in South Sudan. Wes founded Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) in 1998.
To change the course of the nation, he began a Bible school for the South Sudan army chaplains. Since then, ten classes have graduated; over 400 chaplains deployed throughout South Sudan.
Currently, FRM is ministering in seven of the ten most dangerous Muslim countries in the world. In South Sudan, we have had 35 staff members killed—22 men in the last 2 years alone.
Are you ready for Christmas?
It seems like it’s been Christmas since the 4th of July this year. I never realized there were so many designated days for Christmas shopping.
Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, Green Monday (the second Monday in December), Stamp and Ship Day (10 Days before Christmas Eve), Free Shipping Day (guaranteed by Christmas Eve), Super Saturday (the last Saturday before Christmas), Gift Card Exchange Day, (December 26), A Story of Three Trees…
Let me begin by asking you a question. How many of you have a Christmas tree in your home this Christmas? The Bible talks a lot about trees, but three trees in particular…
This week's message is from Pastor Antoyne Holyde from Calvary Chapel Shoreline North London.