Words of Grace: Recent Episodes
Matt Raines
This podcast will share messages from God's word. Cover art photo provided by Simon Wilkes on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@simonfromengland
Jesus has a platform, a picture of his preferred future. It comes with a new community, new values and new resources.
The God shaped whole feels like "self-reproach." We need Sabbath to remind us only God can be God.
This text explores the holiness of Jesus and two ways to respond-standing in your own righteousness or His.
There is no-one like Jesus anywhere! He alone uses his power to honor God and serve others. This is what make Jesus stand out above all else. Our only response is to worship.
To know Him is to love Him. Using literary techniques used to develop Hero's within narratives, this series creates a portfolio filled with portraits of Jesus. Do you feel you know Jesus? In this introductory lesson we explore backstory of Jesus life and the tension created between his identity and essence.
This sermon we are looking at the early church for inspiration regarding small groups. Unfortunately the mic stopped working about 10min in the lesson.
Fostering belonging has a lot to with how we understand following Jesus. This episode explores why Christianity doesn't have a reputation belonging, why Jesus does have a reputation for belonging, and why it's important to understand the difference between a bounded set and a closed set. The audio stops 20 minutes.
This episode we being to talk about how to share the story of redemption with others. First everyone needs a story a code and a people to belong to. That is what is a biblical narrative delivers. It illustrates a correspondence between life as it is and life as God has intended. We start with the purpose of the antediluvian world through the story of tower of Babble. We discover grace means God is interrupting our cycle of dysfunction and destruction.
Ingratitude is cosmic plagiarism. It is good to have our hearts strengthened by grace. Worship Loyalty Mindfulness and Pleasing God.
Gift Oriented Jesus' gifted us with his presence with Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has offers us presents in the form of Spiritual gifts. These gift are not self indulgent but for the common good and mission of God. While Giftedness is aspirational it is not negotiable. The Holy Spirit shapes and we listen.
Community Inclusive Thy kingdom come thy will be done mean God's will in Amherst. The 90% of our work is within the city 10 at worship. We are drawn to minister to outsiders.
The bible is designed to lead its readers to the Jesus & so is everything we do as a church.
Family Functional & Grace Centered are motives that move us to make a personal relationship with God central, provide clarity, create change, and offers what Amherst needs the most.
Mission Mandate:New Beginning is a church family loving a small town.
Mission Motives: Family functional, Grace centered, Bible based, Open minded, Gift oriented and Community inclusive.
Mission Map: Build+1 Relationships, Belong to a small groups, Bring everyone to worship on the weekends, Become disciples, and Bless the city.
Measures: Do we have a +1? Tracking small group numbers, tracking visitation as weekend worhsip, celebrating member and baptism and identifying service sites in Amherst
Program to launch in 2020.
Missional Small groups January
Celebrate Recovery June
After-school program by 2021
Roll out....
Empowering Leadership>Intentional communication>Compelling environment> Repeatable processess>Conscience Culture.
Needs:Small group leaders,Compelling environment team, Lots of prayer and participation.
How do we have a conversation about racism? Own our stuff, learn our lesson and lean into the future.
How do we talk to others about homosexuality? This series attempt to create a horizon far enough away that everyone can see.
This lesson seeks to establish the direction for the trusting God series. Everyone has an approach- dialog is difficult -we have to create a new horizon- trusting God is the basis of our world view.
Once peace is found with God and humanity the only way to continue recovery is to give it away. This lesson looks at how our mess become our message.
Part of dealing with our hurt, hangups, and habit is choosing to forgive those who harm us and offering amends to those we've harmed.
All you have to do to relapse is nothing. Complacency > Confusion > Compromise > Catastrophe. We have to fight center drift with three habits Daily Evaluation, Meditation and Prayer.
How do we escape the cycle of despair? We choose reality,earnestly trust that God exists, and by committing ourselves to Jesus.
This is part of discipleship 301. Discipleship 101 is discovering God's story. Discipleship 201 is discovering God's part in our story. Discipleship 301, is about dealing with the aftermath of trying to play God in our lives. Before we bow the knee to Jesus as Lord and Savior we attempt to play that part in our lives. Consequently, our lives bear the marks of sin and self-righteousness. Recovery from such a life is process, it means we must get real.
This lesson explores...How this series works, what we bring to the table, and why it works...the grace of God.
Personality is part of the way our stories shape up. It greatly effects how we treat each other and opportunities. Ultimatley, the Gospel balances our personality and makes us adequate to the task.
Our abilities are not for us, from us, or for the future. Our abilities are used in the now to serve others and glorify God.
Spiritual Gifts tells us what we are, HEART shows us where to offer our gifts. What motivates you? What do you care about?What needs are you drawn to? What cause will you connect with?
The Resurrection is beautiful music for those that are looking for proof, a horizon, a new beginning, freedom, and hope.
Spiritual Gifts-What are they? What they are not. Why we have them & how to unwrap them.
Jealousy-Confession-Repentance how God keeps the story of a king from ending in tradegy.
There are practices in every committed relationship. With God listening to him is upmost. The fact that God listen to us is a matter of his grace. This lesson looks at the Lord's prayer and un packs what it looks like to speak with our God.
Christian spirituality it the mysterious process of God at work in the believer. Consequently the way we get more of God is by giving more of ourselves. Living God's love means hearing the voice of God through scripture, each other, nature and the inner voice.
Christians spirituality is the mysterious process of God at work in us. In lesson one we found out God is reaching out to us in relationship. Lesson two was how we can build a relationship with God by understanding his story, In this lesson we talk about how are relationship grows through commitment. What does baptism get us into? Baptism gets us into discipleship, the water and commitment.
God has gone out of his way to reveal himself to humanity. He has positioned us to see the grand narrative of restoration. Our response is to FORM a relationship with him. We begin to understand the Family (A trinity of love, Father Son and Spirit), his Occupation (God almighty unique and faithful), we discover his Recreational activities (Masterful, artist, re-creating) we learn of his Mission (God is a character that wanted something and overcame an obstacle to achieve it. Now he is in the process of celebrating the win). Humanity is the villain and the victim in the divine drama. God's redemptive love pays the debt due our villainy and make us victorious.
Why Christian Spirituality? Because more and more Americans are identifying as spiritual not religious. Because Christianity has always been relational. Because we are in a divine romance. Is the Spirit developing the fruit of Love in your life? When you look at Jesus do see love? When you were baptized did you experience the father's approval?
Purpose gives us the why. Vision gives us the what. Mission gives the way. In this lesson we hear Paul explain the way the church in Ephesus was to be the temple where God dwells by the Spirit. NB as a body of Christ must communicate clearly, live authentically as a community of grace and truth. Ultimately, as a Church of Christ we must stay engaged in our city.
Vision is the aspirational self-image guiding you to the future.
Ephesus’ self-image was that of a guardian of the temple of the great Artemis.
Paul cast a vision for the church at Ephesus. They are to be a people, a family, and ultimately a temple
The church’s aspiration self image is that of a temple
Contextually temples are the way people encounter God
Guides them into the future by forming an close community empowered by the Holy Spirit.
"And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth"
Eph 1:9-11 NLT
Recapturing momentum to see clearly by 2019. Discovering our Kingdom Concept, Developing a way to mak disciples, creating spiritual rhythms.
Like the Grinch we get a new heart when understand the meaning of Christmas. The king cares enough to come in person, we are saved by grace, we formed for fellowship, and we have unfathomable joy.
John Mclane is one tough guy. One man verses an entire crew of criminals armed to the teeth. The movie Die Hard is not you typical Christmas movie, but this is not your typical series. This week we look at Simeon a man who's hope created a die hard faith. Hopelessness is the beginning of real hope, hope must deal with our captivity to sin, hope is a person.
The sermon explores the reason that Jesus had to come and save us. The good news of Christmas is really only good in contrast to humanity's need for savior. The Christmas story reminds us who we are, that Christianity is a fight over the throne of one's heart and a reminder that we need a savior.
Series wrap up. We learned gratitude is the foundation for Christian living. Gratitude provides motivation for our walk, helps us walk with others and protects against good things from sticking.
A table prepared in the presence of one's enemy is the presence of gratitude in trying times. Gratitude has some grit to it. Gratitude is an awareness of God in the concrete. Gratitude creates courage to fight resentment. God gifts us with gratitude for the valley of the shadow of death.
Gratitude IS spiritual maturity. Ingratitude is offensive to Jesus, Misplaced gratitude is idolatry, Returning to gratitude is a matter of taking the initiative, focusing on our healing, saturating our lives with thanksgiving, and raising our voices in praise.
Friends share faith. If you don't have lost friends you are doing it wrong. Sharing faith with friends means sharing space, sharing sharing weakness, sharing the actual Gospel and sharing life. The Gospel is too beautiful to keep to ourselves.
This sermon explores forgiveness what it is, what it isn't,why we offer it, and how to go about it.
Even friendly communities need to work on communication. For friendships to thrive we must speak the truth in love.