First Naples Podcast: Recent Episodes
First Baptist Church Naples, FL
John wants us to know what love is, where it comes from and what it does: it originates in God, initiates the response, and annihilates our biggest problem.
In a world full of deception, John warns us to be careful, be Christ-centered, and be confident.
Today Pastor Alan and Ed Upton explore how to find true spiritual assurance when our own hearts and the surrounding culture make us feel like we are never enough. Discover how God’s omniscience and grace overrule our self-condemnation, replacing guilt with child-like confidence and a life of gratitude. Join us as we learn to rest in the verdict of a God who is greater than your heart.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49639106
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6hCIqPXvu8
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
We all want to know where we belong, but whose family resemblance do our daily lives actually show? Today Pastor Alan and Ed Upton dive into 1 John 3 for a spiritual paternity test to see if we are living for ourselves like Cain, or laying down our lives for others like Christ.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49635854
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9KEClPPsx4
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
John gives us a spiritual paternity test to see if we are the children of God or the children of the devil. Do we live: My life for me or my life for others?
In these verses, John tells us that Jesus came to rescue us from our sinfulness and to destroy the work of the devil.
In these verses, we see that we can have hope in a broken world through the security of our status in Jesus and the certainty of His coming.
This weeks episode Pastor Alan, Pastor Ed Upton and Mark Herzlich discuss 1 John 2:18-27. In a world full of voices promising deeper truth, this week we explore how easily we can drift from what we once knew was true. Walking through 1 John 2, we uncover John’s warning, the weapon God has given every believer, and the simple way to stay anchored: abiding in the Word and the Spirit.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49625245
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_yruViV98c
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
The good news is that believers are not left defenseless. John points us back to the Holy Spirit, the truth we have already received, and the call to abide in Christ. When we stay anchored in God’s Word and remain close to Jesus, we can stand firm, recognize deception, and live with the confidence that comes from true assurance in Him.
In these verses, John is telling us to not love the world but follow the ONE who has overcome the world.
Our assurance in heaven is the foundation and motivation for our walking in obedience and love on earth.
This weeks episode Pastor Alan, Pastor Ed Upton and Pastor Thomas Keys, III discuss 1 John 1:9n and unpack what confession really means, why hiding only keeps us stuck, and how the cross of Christ proves that God’s mercy is real and His forgiveness is sure. So come out of the shadows, run to the light, and join us as we talk about the freedom, cleansing, and confidence we have in Jesus.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49615449
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67orLY9yb3g
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
In this weeks episode Pastor Alan, Mark Herzlich and Thomas Keys discuss time management and how we can honor the Lord with the time we are given.
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
Pastor Josh Howerton: “The easiest way to waste your life is to succeed at things that do not matter.”
Today, Paul is going to teach us that the way to live a life that counts is to live with purpose, follow God’s plan, and be filled with the Spirit.
This weeks episode Mark Herzlich and Thomas Keys discuss Sunday's message, “Blessed Assurance in Jesus,” from 1 John 1:1–4. In a world full of uncertainty, John reminds us that real confidence in salvation doesn’t rest on our performance, but on the eternal, knowable, life-giving person of Jesus Christ.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49608969
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX8jt6fkBWA
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
John begins in the only place true assurance can rest, that is in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God who is eternal, a Savior who can be experienced, and the Life that must be shared.
On today's episode Pastor Alan, Mark Herzlich and Thomas Keys, III discuss 2 Timothy 1:1-7, we’re we are challenged to live for more than success—we’re called to leave a legacy of faith that shapes the next generation. Through Paul’s words to Timothy, this sermon reminds us that real faith is personal, intentionally passed down, and courageously lived out by the power of the Holy Spirit.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49605839
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4YhSm8OmE0
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
In this passage, we are going to see that a legacy of faith is built when faith becomes personal, is passed down intentionally, and practiced daily.
In this episode, Pastor Alan, Ed Upton and Peter Ku discuss believers baptism and what that is according to the Bible. We also will discuss how many believers around the world follow Jesus' example in baptism, even when it can sometimes cost them everything.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49602380
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5iRMPC8ir4
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
In this passage, we are going to see two men who are living obediently. If we are going to live obediently, we must first believe in Jesus and then take the next step towards obedience.
In this episode, we explore the profound “Great Exchange” in 2 Corinthians 5—where Jesus takes on human sin so that we can be reconciled to God. Discover how, as believers, we are freed from our old, shame-filled identities and no longer need to hide from God, but instead are called to live as new creations, carrying the message of reconciliation into the world.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49600428
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf_aCiMj8D8
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
Paul is trying to teach them that the only way you can live alive in Jesus is to live with love. Love is evidence of spiritual maturity and is the expression of Christ-like character.
Welcome to today’s episode as we kick off our new sermon series, Live Alive. Because Jesus is risen, we’re called to live with purpose, peace, and power—not weighed down by fear, distraction, or spiritual drift. In this conversation, we explore what it means to join Jesus on mission, live with eternity in view, and make our lives count for what truly matters.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49592072
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx5bZSwrexo
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
Because Jesus is alive, we can live alive with His peace, purpose, and power in our lives.
Welcome to today’s episode, where we discuss one of the most important questions anyone can face: Do you believe that it is finished? In this episode, we’ll look at the powerful words Jesus spoke from the cross, the proof of His resurrection on Sunday, and the personal decision each of us must make today about who Jesus is and what His finished work means for our lives.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49588346
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLJ2sxkF0s
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
In His final words from the cross, Jesus made a declaration on Friday that was proven on Sunday and now calls for a decision today: will you believe in Jesus or not?
In today's episode we discuss Pastor Alan's sermon on John 19:28-29; Matthew 27:45-46 and how Jesus' love for us held Him to the cross.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49584773
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQZLSlMRYJU
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
No one in human history has ever experienced the level of pain and suffering that Jesus endured on the cross for our sins.
In the fourth and fifth word from the Cross, we see God’s love for us in that Jesus physically and spiritually suffered instead of us.
In today's episode we discuss Pastor Alan's sermon on John 19:23-27 and how Jesus on the cross was the Savior for His closest family members and ultimately all of us.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49581468
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to9D6WKhEG8
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
The third word from the Cross teaches us that Jesus not only died for our sins, but gave us a new life and a forever family.
In today's episode we discuss Pastor Ed Upton's sermon on Luke 23 and the promise that Jesus saves those who put their faith and trust in Him.
🗒️Additional resources from this week:
- YouVersion notes: https://www.bible.com/events/49578087
- Sermon video replay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsRO9zPPLKs
To Connect with us, please visit us at firstnaples.org
The vision of First Naples is to glorify God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church, that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach our Neighbors to the Nations.
Pastor Alan, Pastor Ed Upton, and Mark Herzlich discuss Exodus 33–34, exploring how we can find courage in knowing that although our sin separates us from God, His grace—through a perfect mediator—restores what our sin has destroyed.
In Exodus 33-34, we can have courage to see that even though our sin separates us from God, through a perfect mediator, His grace restores what our sin destroyed.
Pastor Alan, Pastor Thomas Eugene Keys III, and Mark Herzlich discuss Exodus 19-20, where we learn that courage to obey comes from a relationship with God who has rescued us.
In Exodus 19-20, we learn that courage to obey comes from a relationship with God who has rescued us.
Join Pastor Alan and Mark Herzlich as they dive into the NEXT vision for First Naples. Here you will find clear discussion on what NEXT means for our church and future generations.
In Exodus 16, we find the courage to trust as we confront our discontentment, depend daily on His grace, and delight in resting in Him.
Join Pastor Alan, Pastor Thomas Eugene Keys III, and Mark Herzlich as they discuss this week’s sermon from Exodus 13-14, focusing on the courage to move forward because God’s presence guides us and His power saves us.
We can have courage to move forward because God’s presence guides us and His power saves us.
Join Pastor Alan, Pastor Thomas Eugene Keys III, and Mark Herzlich as they discuss this week’s sermon from Exodus 11–13, focusing on the Passover and how it relates to the death Jesus died in our place through substitution.
In the Passover, we learn how to have courage in the gospel, because we see that Jesus died the death we deserved to die through substitution, so that we could receive a deliverance we don’t deserve through His salvation.
Join Pastor Alan, Pastor Thomas Eugene Keys III and Mark Herzlich as they discuss this weeks sermon from Exodus 5-11 - Courage in Confrontation.
In Exodus 5-11, God confronts the evil in the world and the idols in our hearts through His justice and kindness.
Join Pastor Alan, Pastor Thomas Eugene Keys III and Mark Herzlich as they discuss this weeks sermon from Exodus 3 as we learn that the courage to step into your calling comes from knowing that God has not forgotten you, God has forgiven you, and God will never forsake you.
In Exodus 3, we learn that the courage to step into your calling comes from knowing that God has not forgotten you, God has forgiven you, and God will never forsake you.
In Chapters 1 and 2, we see how God is moving through the crisis and the courageous to set His people free.
Biblical courage is not the absence of fear in your life, but it is faith fueled obedience in the presence of God.
In Jesus, our Prince of Peace, we see the peace that desperately need and that He decisively gives.
A new year is often viewed as the start of new beginnings, new possibilities, and new challenges. This Sunday, Pastor Steve led us through the story of Joseph in Genesis 37. As we start 2026, we start it with a reminder of three promises: that God is good, God is with us, and God is for us.
Jesus is our Everlasting Father who founded our salvation and will be forever faithful in our lives.
Jesus is our Mighty God who fights for us and sets us free by His ultimate victory at the Cross and the Empty Tomb.
Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor who gives us hope we can hold on to when we do not know what to do. For us to understand the glory of His Wonderful Counseling, we need to see the gloom of the world’s darkness.
The Lord's Supper is more than just eating bread and drinking juice. The Lord’s Supper is a way that we give thanks for our freedom purchased by Jesus’ crucifixion and how we give thanks for our future promised by His resurrection.
Paul teaches that generosity is a partnership that shares, an investment that sows and worship that sacrifices.
Paul teaches us that the strength and joy to live life is found in Christ. True contentment is only found in Christ.
This message challenges followers to live out their faith through forgiveness, reflecting Christ’s character amid adversity.
Selena Gomez: “Everything I have ever wished for I’ve had and done all of it. But it killed me because there is always Selena. I feel trapped in my own mind.”
Paul teaches us that we can have joy in our lives by dealing with conflict, defeating anxiety, and destroying negativity.
We are going to answer those two basic questions:
-
What must I do now to be saved?
-
What must I do next after I am saved?
In Philippians 3:12–21, Paul uses the analogy of running to describe the Christian journey in life. He’s going to teach us how to find joy in the journey and to finish strong, if we’ll learn to press on, watch out, and look up.
Lasting joy does not come from your resume, but from a right relationship with God through Jesus.
In these verses, we see three important relationships we need to have and what a faithful friend looks like. A faithful friend intentionally invests, genuinely cares, and sacrificially serves.
In Philippians 2:12-18, Paul teaches us how to shine bright in a dark world by working out, shutting up, and pouring out.
Joy comes through humility by forgetting yourself and focusing on Jesus’ selfless example.
Paul teaches us how to have unstoppable joy. We have unstoppable joy when we are focused on the progress of the gospel, free by the power of Jesus, and faithful to His purpose for our lives.
As believers, we can have joy as partakers of the gospel and partners in the gospel, standing on the promises of the gospel.
Jesus expects devotion from His disciples, because devotion to Him will produce kingdom desires.
"If you were the Devil, how would you take the next generation out and ruin them without them even knowing?" (ChatGPT question)
Psalm 63 teaches us that the secret to satisfaction in life is to always be desperate for God, delight in God, and depend on God.
Psalm 40 teaches us to remember God’s faithfulness in the past and His promises in the future to give us hope in the present.
Psalm 67:1-7
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Psalm 34 is an invitation to enjoy the goodness of God by exalting Him with others and experiencing Him yourself.
Psalm 16 tells us that we can find the path of life that leads to joy by running to our refuge, remembering our blessings, and resting in our person.
Psalm 8 teaches us that God is infinitely glorious, yet He’s personally mindful of you. The bigger you see who God is, the better you understand who you are.
Psalm 3 teaches us to talk to God about our fear, see your fear through God, and talk to our fears about God. Name it, Frame it, Tame it.
Psalm 1 sets a contrast between two ways of living that have two different outcomes. One way leads to blessing and the other way leads to brokenness. The call of the book of Psalms is to choose which path you will take: blessing or brokenness.
In Chapter 7, we see the reality of sin in the believer and the rescue of the believer from sin.
Both Paul and John believed in Hell, and they teach us that Hell is reasonable and horrible, but avoidable because of God’s grace.
The path to salvation has nothing to do with what you do, but everything to do with who you receive.
When it comes to evil and suffering, there is a problem that we need to overcome and a perspective that we need to have to trust the promise of Romans 8:28.
Today, we learn that sickness is a part of living in a shattered world, where people suffer in the shadows, but can find healing in the suffering Savior.
Baptism is important because it identifies us with Christ, illustrates our salvation, and declares the gospel.
What would it take for you to truly believe in Jesus and surrender your life to Him?
In Matthew 12, Jesus will be challenged by his skeptics, and He is going to point them to a strange sign that points back to Him as the Savior of the World.
The Cross of Jesus gives us the final word, “It is finished,” which gives us strength for today and hope for tomorrow.
In Chapter 4, we see Jonah’s rage is met by God’s response that is both painful and loving for Jonah.
In Chapter 3, we see that God can use and save anyone because He has a heart for everyone, even if we do not.
Chapter 2 shows us how God’s gracious plan gave Jonah a new perspective to get him where he needed to be.
Is there something in your life that you know God wants you to do, but you don’t want to do?
Chapter one teaches us that Jonah, a prophet God’s called to go to a people he loved, had a problem that caused him to disobey and yet God pursued him by His grace even though Jonah did not deserve it.
In John 3:16, we see the greatest love story ever told: the origination, the motivation, the demonstration, the invitation, the qualification, and the ultimate glorification.
What’s on James’ heart at the end of his letter is, “How are the people? How is their relationship with God?”
James teaches us about the delusion of living like we are God and the delight of submitting our lives to God.
James wants us to understand the cause and core of our conflict with others so that we can find the cure we need in the grace of God.
Real faith in Jesus should change how we speak to and about other people. James teaches us that what we say is powerful, it points to the condition of our hearts and it pushes us to our need for Jesus to be healed.
James teaches us that there is a difference between fake faith and real faith. James teaches us that fake faith is dead and demonic, and that real faith is dynamic.
How are we going to reach our community for Jesus if we mistreat people at church?
James is teaching us that the proof that we have been transformed by the Gospel is seen in how we treat other people, especially people who are unlike us and people that we do not like.
Spiritual blessings and lasting freedom come to those who receive and obey the truth of God’s Word.
We can trust God in our temptations because He is not the cause of them, but is the only cure for overcoming them.
When trials come, we can joyfully trust God to give us what we need because He is good and is using them to make us more like Jesus.
Because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever more, we have no reason to doubt His divinity, trust in our fallen identity, or fear our eternity.
The message of Christmas is that Jesus became a human to save humanity by defeating the devil and delivering us from the fear of death.
Ultimately, Christmas means that God keeps His promises.
In Hebrews 8, we see that there were old promises we could not keep, and there are new promises that we cannot beat found in Jesus.
Hebrews 4 teaches us that we can have confidence to get mercy and help despite our sinfulness because we have a great High Priest, who is God, to advocate for us, and Man, to sympathize with us.
Hebrews 2 teaches us that we do not need to fear because our sovereign King entered our broken world to fix what we have broken.
Hebrews begins by telling us that Jesus is the exact, exalted, and exclusive Word of God and that no other voice should be louder in our lives than His.
At the end of the Psalm, David calls us to meditate on God’s goodness despite the chaos and His mercy that will eternally sustain us.
David teaches us that we can becalm in life when we let go of the shadows and look to our Shepherd.
“If you don’t learn to metabolize stress well, you will be vulnerable for an emotional escape.”
We will only ask the LORD to lead us when we see that His leadership is better than the lies that we believe about ourselves.
The first step to being calm is to consider who your shepherd is: He is powerful and personal, sustaining and satisfying.
In John 11, we see that in the face of death, we can turn to and trust in Jesus because He has forever defeated death for us.
In John 6, we learn that Jesus knows our biggest need, uses our smallest gift, and satisfies our deepest hunger.
In John 5, we learn that Jesus sees people we often look past and has the power to heal our brokenness.
In John 4, there is a contrast between superficial and saving faith. Superficial faith is a faith that Jesus does not believe in. Saving faith is a faith that believes in Jesus.
This first miracle tells us a lot about Jesus and why He came: He came to give abundant joy now and eternal joy forever. John 2 teaches us we can have joy despite our disasters, joy because of our dependence, and joy out of His death.
John deliberately tells the Jesus story through the lens of 8 miracles with the last miracle being the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. John is calling us to believe in miracles, but trust in Jesus.
“Helping people love Jesus to live for Him every day. Jesus teaches us that to follow Him we must deny ourselves and to live for Him we must die to the world."
Our mission is to help people love Jesus to live for Him every day. In John 1, we learn how we can help people love Jesus by pointing and bringing people to Jesus and leaving the rest to Him.
Each miracle was a call, not just to believe in miracles, but to trust in Jesus. Worry and fear flee from our lives when we turn to the power of Jesus and trust in the love of Jesus for us.
Life is best lived when we know who God is and who we are in light of who He is. In Psalm 8, we see God’s magnificence, our significance, and God’s amazing grace.
God will give us the sleep we need when we trust in His sovereign work over us and special love for us.
The Sabbath is a pattern woven into creation and a practice that we should keep for our good.
For those who would be followers of Jesus, Jesus offers a gracious invitation that exchanges our restlessness for His rest.
The hope of forgiveness is reconciliation that leads to restoration. The three ingredients for reconciliation are truth, repentance, and forgiveness.
We can learn how to forgive others when we see that forgiveness is a decision that refuses to seek revenge and remembers that we forgave.
The heart of forgiveness is understanding why we can forgive: because Jesus forgave us. Because of Jesus every hurt has a history, but you can choose not to live in it. Because of Jesus forgiveness is never free, but it will set you free.
The Christ-centered person is prayerful and purposeful in their everyday life to be on mission for Jesus.
The Christ-centered employees and employers sees their work as their witness and worship to Jesus and their authority as an opportunity to serve Jesus and others.
Christ-centered homes are healthy, loving, secure places where children follow appropriately, and parents lead responsibly as they cling to the grace of God.
The key to a successful marriage is to put Christ at the center where the wife lovingly submits, and the husband sacrificially loves.
The good news of the gospel is that we are no longer have to live defeated by sin but can delivered by the Risen Savior.
The more you believe in the gospel, the more you become like the gospel in your everyday life.
The secret to discovering your special calling is discovered at the altar of surrender.
The Christian life can be summarized in knowing who you are in Christ and then being who you are in Christ.
Paul is teaching that because of our new identity in Christ, we must kill the sin that is killing us by loving the God who first loved us.
Paul is warning believers by telling them what to watch out for and what to hold on to. He is warning them not to fall into the slavery of bad religion but rest in their secure relationship in Jesus.
Paul is warning us not to be captured by the foolishness of the world but be captivated by the fullness of Jesus Christ.
In 2:1-7, Paul gets to the heart of the letter teaching about the struggle for and the secret to spiritual maturity.
Luke 12:49-53
-
A fire that brings transformation
-
A transformation that brings division
3 .A division that establishes togetherness
Whatever you believe about Jesus is the most important thing about you. Paul teaches us the most essential truths about the person and preeminence of Jesus so that we will put Him before all things in our lives.
In Paul’s prayer, we have an example of persistence and an encouragement for what to pray for that will transform our everyday life.
Paul begins his letter by teaching that it is only Jesus. He points believers to the basic truths that our identity in Christ is the grounds for our activity for Christ and our eternity with Christ.
God has proven that we have eternal life through His Son alone, which means in 2024, we can live this life confidently, and share God’s testimony with urgency.
John teaches us where true love comes from and what true love does: it originates in God, initiates the response, and alleviates the problem.
In Chapter 3, we see that Jesus came to give us hope through the security of our status and the certainty of His coming.
In Chapter two, we see that although sin separates us from God, Jesus came to provide peace with God so that we can experience the peace of God.
In chapter 1, we see that JOY comes when we know who Jesus is and when we share Jesus with others.
One of the best ways to live generously is by practicing hospitality towards others based on the hospitality of Jesus towards us.
God wants His people to embody His generosity, with open hands driven by a God-given desire to serve. These hands carry the weight of those who are lost, yet they are raised high to honor Him in spirit-led teamwork, bringing glory to God and spreading His love to the world.
Generosity is the overflow of grace in my life based on the generosity of Jesus. How we think about generosity matters: Generosity comes from having the grace-filled mentality that trusts God for the ability to give in order to reflect His glory to the world around us.
Believers must set their hearts and minds on Jesus to find their gospel identity and priorities that will provide clarity in days of insanity.
This Psalm teaches us to depend upon the grace of God as we steward the gift and realize the goal of raising a family.
God, our heavenly Father, is working in and through all things by His wisdom and power for the good of His people and the glory of His name. The story of Joseph calls us to trust that God’s got this because His good providence guarantees His promises.
In Genesis chapters 42-45, the need for a process of reconciliation led to a path of restoration that ultimately led to a promise of revitalization.
Chapters 40 and 41 of Genesis, take us to through Joseph’s lowest and highest point. We learn that God has a design in the delay and we must be hopeful in suffering and humble in success.
The DecisionGenesis 39 (reading 1-12) In Genesis 39, we see the events that surrounded Joseph’s temptation and he serves as an example of trusting God to overcome it. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The Detour Genesis 37:12-36(Reading 12-28,36) The providence of God is an act of His grace and kindness by which, in His wisdom and power, He preserves and governs all the events of the lives of His creatures for their good and His glory. In God’s providence, God planned a detour in Joseph’s life and used it to fulfill His purposes for him. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The Dream Genesis 37:2-11; 50:20 Providence: God does hold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence… to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness and mercy. From the beginning of Joseph’s story, we see the providence of God and how God’s dream for Joseph’s life was not what he thought it would be but it would change the world forever. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
he Next Generation MattersActs 2:39Deuteronomy 6:1-9 Merriam Dictionary says: A conspiracy theory explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators. God’s perfect intent is for humanity to be culture makers. Therefore, parents are the primary influence in a child’s life, the church is the community that fosters the beliefs of the parents, and the school facilitates the positive attributes of Christ’s character in an academic environment. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
A Vision Focused Church Acts 2:37-47 “multi-generational, multiethnic, multiplying church that raises up the next generation of disciple-makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers that reaches Naples to the Nations for Christ.” A vision focused church is committed to a clear and compelling forward-looking direction based on the promises, principles, and purposes of God. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
A Gospel Saturated Church Acts 2:22-24; 36-41 A gospel saturated church is filled with broken people who have been radically saved by Jesus and want to share that good news with other broken people. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
A Spirit Empowered Church Acts 2:1-13; 16-18 A Spirit-empowered church and believer is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish His purposes to reach the world for Christ. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Godly Strategies For Battle 1 Kings 19 Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Hallelujah Psalm 150 Psalm 150 commands us to praise the LORD regardless of where we are and what we are going through, with what we have and all that we are, for who He is and what He has done. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Burning Heart (Part 2) Psalm 51 In Psalm 51, we see that genuine repentance is a confession for cleansing and a desire to be different that leads to restoration with God. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Like a Rock Psalm 46 “We sing this Psalm to the praise of God, because He is with us and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends his church and His Word against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against implacable hatred of the devil and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh and sin." Martin Luther This psalm teaches us to trust in God whose protection gives us security, whose presence gives us joy and whose power gives us victory. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Keeping Your Peace of Mind in a World of Turmoil Psalm 33 Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Living on a Prayer Psalm 27 This Psalm teaches us that we can have confidence despite our circumstances when we seek the presence of God in our lives. This psalm teaches us both the source of this confidence and the secret to finding it. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Walk this Way Psalm 1 Psalm 1 sets a contrast between two ways of living that have two different outcomes. One way leads to blessing and the other way leads to brokenness. The call of the book of Psalms is to choose which path you will take: blessing or brokenness. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The Good News of Jesus Christ Mark 16:1-8 Jesus was crucified for our sins, was buried and God raised Him from the dead so that whoever turns from their way and trusts in Him will be made right with God forever. The resurrection of Jesus is confirmation of Christianity, an expectation for the future and an invitation to a greater mission. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The Impact of the CrossMark 15 The impact of the cross is seen by the imprint it has on our lives. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Alone in his darkest hourMark 14:32-50 Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Building a spiritual kingdomMark 14:32-50 Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Jesus is the Model for How to Face AdversityMark 14:26-50 In facing the ultimate affliction, Jesus models how we should face adversity so that we can effectively point people to our suffering savior. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The Last PassoverMark 14:12-26 In Chapter 14, Jesus will be rejected, betrayed and abandoned. Yet, before this happens, He celebrates the Passover meal with His disciples and transforms it forever. It is the end of the old and the beginning of the new. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
An Unforgettable Woman and the Priceless SaviorMark 14:1-11 Mark begins Chapter 14 with an intentional contrast of a man who sold Jesus out for money and a woman who gave up her most valuable possession to show us the meaning of whole-hearted devotion to Jesus. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Concerning that DayMark 13:32-37 On the Mount of Olives, Jesus teaches us about His Second Coming and calls us to be alert, urgent, and confident. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Jesus, the Second Coming, and the Temple of DoomMark 13:1-31 On the Mount of Olives, Jesus is going to predict both the imminent destruction of the Temple and the ultimate consummation of the age, and call all believers to endure with hope. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Little Is MuchMark 12:35-44 In the next section, Jesus is going to take us below the surface to see himself, the scribes, and a poor widow they way He sees them. Jesus shows us His deity, the scribes insecurity, and the poor widows generosity. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The Great CommandmentMark 12:28-34 Jesus says that what God wants from us is to love Him supremely and love others selflessly based on His love for you. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
A Hope that LastsMark 12:18-27 The good news of Jesus’ Resurrection should move us from hostility towards him to finding our only hope in Him. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
King Jesus, Palm Sunday, and the End of Empty ReligionMark 11:1-22 What happens on Palm Sunday and in the Temple tells us why Jesus came and what Jesus came to do. Mark points us to the humble and saving King, Jesus, who came to deliver us from shallow and hollow religion. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Compassion Sunday:Releasing People from Poverty in the Name of Jesus.Mark 10:32-52 “if anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in Him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth.” Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Through the Eye of a NeedleMark 10:17-31 In this episode, Jesus is going to address how money and possessions have a hold on our hearts. He is also going to deal with the question that bothers us all by giving us an answer that challenges us all. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
God’s Design for MarriageMark 10:1-12 God hates divorce… because he loves marriage… God loves marriage because it reflects Christ’s love for the church… And that brings God glory. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Hell is For Real:Mark 9:42-50 In this section, Jesus is going to teach His disciples about the severity of sin and the reality of hell. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
True GreatnessMark 9:30-40 In this text, we see the meaning and the measure of greatness. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Help my UnbeliefMark 9:14-29 Jesus is going to take time to heal this kid to teach us about our need for faith and prayer as we follow Him. Jesus wants to move us from desperation to desperate dependence. When you are desperate for help, you must always depend only on Jesus. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The Lord of the MountainMark 9:1-13 In the Transfiguration, we see Jesus’ glory on the mountain, His grace for the valley, and a glimpse into our future. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Breaking Free from the Shackles of DepressionPsalm 42 In this psalm, we see the weariness of depression and the way out of depression. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Breaking free from the Tyranny of InsecurityRomans 8:31-39 Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Breaking Free from the Prison of UnforgivenessEphesians 4:31-5:2 Paul teaches us that we can break free from the prison of unforgiveness when we realize the poison of bitterness and go through the process of forgiveness by trusting in the person of forgiveness. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Breaking Free from the Bondage of Sin and Addiction1 John 1:5-10 A lot of spiritual warfare is breaking through the lies and deception that stand in the way of the truth. How do we do that? Paul tells us that we must wage war, destroy strongholds, and take prisoners. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Breaking Free from the Lies of the Enemy2 Corinthians 10:3-5 A lot of spiritual warfare is breaking through the lies and deception that stand in the way of the truth. How do we do that? Paul tells us that we must wage war, destroy strongholds, and take prisoners. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Go Tell it on the MountainIsaiah 52:7; Luke 2:8-20 Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
O Come O Come EmmanuelMatthew 1:18-25 The song teaches us the meaning and the ministry of Immanuel so that we can rejoice as we long for Him to return. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Joy to the WorldPsalm 98 The Psalm and the song teach us that we can have Joy when we know Jesus because He is the Savior who has come, the King who Reigns and the Judge who is Coming. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The One Who Walks on Water Mark 6:45-56 In this story, Jesus is going to vividly show us that His authority and identity are greater than we can imagine and how absurd it is not to trust in Him. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Jesus is More than Enough Mark 6:30-43 For Jesus, there is no problem too big, no gift too small, and no hunger too deep that He can not satisfy because He is more than enough for what we need. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Unbelief! Mark 6:1-6 Unbelief is opposition to Jesus that leads to missed opportunities to experience the presence and power of Jesus in your life. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
Do Not Fear, Only Believe Mark 5:21-43 Faith is believing in Jesus when you are helpless and trusting when things seem hopeless. Looking for past sermons? Visit: firstnaples.org/media
The Day that Pigs Flew Mark 5:1-20 In this story, we see Jesus demonstrating His power and ability to do the impossible. It is a call for us to trust in Him and His purposes for our lives. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Who Then is This? Mark 4:35-41 Each miracle was a call, not just to believe in miracles, but to trust in Jesus. Worry and fear flee from our lives when we turn to the power of Jesus and trust in the love of Jesus for us. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Kingdom Stories Mark 4:21-34 Jesus continues teaching about the Kingdom through parables. In these parables, we see an upside-down Kingdom that it is not about what you get but what you use, it is not what you do but Who you work for, and it is not just what you see but how you see it. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
A Story about Seed and Soils Mark 4:1-20 The story of the seed and soils is a picture of the power of the Gospel and how Jesus builds His Kingdom. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Trusting God in the Day of Trouble Psalm 20 When we go through days of trouble, we can trust God by reminding others of the goodness of God and reassuring ourselves of the gospel of God. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Trusting God in the Day of Trouble Psalm 20 When we go through days of trouble, we can trust God by reminding others of the goodness of God and reassuring ourselves of the gospel of God. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Crowd and the Called Mark 3:7-19 Jesus is going to teach us that there is a difference between the crowds around Him and those whom He has called to follow Him. What makes you a part of God’s Kingdom is not how “close” you think you are to Jesus, but His personal call on your life and your response to it. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Crowd and the Called Mark 3:7-19 Jesus is going to teach us that there is a difference between the crowds around Him and those whom He has called to follow Him. What makes you a part of God’s Kingdom is not how “close” you think you are to Jesus, but His personal call on your life and your response to it. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Jesus is Better than Religion1 Mark 2:23-3:6
In these challenges, Jesus exposes the cruelty of religion so that we see the beauty of His gospel. What we learn is that Jesus is better than religion.
We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Jesus is Better than Religion1 Mark 2:23-3:6
In these challenges, Jesus exposes the cruelty of religion so that we see the beauty of His gospel. What we learn is that Jesus is better than religion.
We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Eating with Jesus Mark 2:13-22 Both stories get to the heart of Jesus and his love and grace for people who do not deserve it. We see that Jesus loves the least likely and calls them to a totally new life in Him. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Eating with Jesus Mark 2:13-22 Both stories get to the heart of Jesus and his love and grace for people who do not deserve it. We see that Jesus loves the least likely and calls them to a totally new life in Him. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Turning the House upside down Mark 2:1-12 We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Turning the House upside down Mark 2:1-12 We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Authority of Jesus Mark 1:21-45 These stories in Jesus’ ministry prove that He has complete and compassionate authority over everything. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Follow Me Mark 1:14-20 A disciple is someone who follows Jesus in faith and lifestyle and helps others do the same. In these verses we see what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Disciples are called, changed by, and surrendered to Jesus. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Beginning of the Gospel Mark 1:1-8 Mark begins the gospel story with a strange man out in the wilderness named John whose mission was to tell everybody about somebody who came to save anybody. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Beloved Son and the Suffering Servant Mark 1:9-13 Jesus’ baptism and temptation tell us that He is the beloved son who identified with us and the suffering servant to was victorious for us. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Beginning of the Gospel Mark 1:1-8 Mark begins the gospel story with a strange man out in the wilderness named John whose mission was to tell everybody about somebody who came to save anybody. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Unity Ephesians 4:1-6 In Chapter 4, Paul teaches us both the cause and the cost of our unity in Christ. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Rest You Need Hebrews 4:1-11 The rest we are dying for and living in can only be found in Jesus. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Worship and Rest Luke 10:38-42 In this story, Jesus is going to teach us that being is greater than doing and that worship is better than worrying We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Time and Eternity are Meaningless Without Jesus Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Theology of Sleep: How to get a Good Night’s Sleep Psalm 127 God will give us the sleep we need when we trust in His sovereign work over us and special love for us. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
When God Makes You Rest 1 Kings 19:1-14
What we see is that God ruthlessly allows our hearts to be exposed so that His relentless grace can restore us and reorient our hearts to see that He is God, He is Good, and He is all that we need.
We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Freedom of the Sabbath: No Longer Slaves Deuteronomy 5:12-15 In Moses' second giving of the Sabbath command, he calls us and them to resist our old identity and rest in our new identity. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Gift of the Sabbath Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11 The Sabbath is a pattern woven into creation and a practice that we should keep for our good. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Shabbat Shalom Matthew 11:25-30 For those who would be followers of Jesus, Jesus offers a gracious invitation that exchanges our restlessness for His rest. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
God’s Design for Worship Genesis 4:1-26 God’s design for worship is greater than our pride and propagation of brokenness. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Male and Female: God’s Design for Gender Genesis 1:26-28; 3:16-21
God’s compassion is greater than sin’s corruption and our confusion over gender and sexuality.
We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
How the World Became Broke Genesis 3:1-15 In Genesis 3, we see how the world was broken by sin and how God promised to fix it in Jesus Christ. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
God’s Design for Marriage Genesis 2:18-24 God designed marriage to be a lifelong, committed relationship between one man and one woman which points to His love for us. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
God’s Design for humanity Genesis 1:26-31 What is God’s design for Humanity? We are designed to bear God’s image physically + share His story verbally, fueled by complete dependence on Him, within Godly community. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
God’s Design for the World Genesis 1:1-25 (Reading 1:1-3)
The basis of a Biblical, Christian worldview is found in Genesis 1:1 and in it we see that before creation, there was a creator God and at creation, there was a creative design. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Jesus’ Victory: He won the war I could never win. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 The good news of Jesus’ victory, winning a war I could never win, transforms our past and guarantees our future. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Jesus’ Sacrificial Death: He died a death I should have died 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 In Jesus’ sacrificial life, we see that He died a death that I deserved to die, for our sake as a substitute to satisfy the justice of God. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Jesus’ Perfect Life: He lived a life that I could not have lived. 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
In Jesus’ perfect life, living a life that I could not live, we see his impeccable character, his incredible claims, and his inexhaustible compassion. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Multiplication Church Acts 1:8, Mark 4:30-32
First Baptist Church of Naples glorifies God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries and world changers that reaches Naples to the nations. In Acts 1:8, we see that God’s vision is global and that our mission in that vision is multiplication. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Multiethnic Church Ephesians 2:11-22 First Naples glorifies God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries and world changers that reaches Naples to the nations. The gospel teaches us that the walls of hostility have been destroyed by the work of Christ paving the way forward for the church in the world. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Multi-Generational Church Psalm 78:1-8 “Storytelling is at the core of culture. It is how histories are passed down, how customs are shared, and how traditions become endemic to a group.” - Forbes Magazine. First Naples glorifies God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church raising up the next generation of disciple-makers, church planters, missionaries, and world changers, to reach Naples to the nations. Deuteronomy 6:2a that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son Our multigenerational vision is to continue a legacy of faith that reaches beyond our time to future generations. We need all current generations working together to accomplish this vision.
We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Naples to the Nations Deuteronomy 6:1-9 First Naples glorifies God by being a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church that raises up the next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries and world changers that reaches Naples to the nations. In Chapter 6, God gives His people both the direction and the motivation for fulfilling His vision for their lives that will sustain them for the rest of their lives. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Leads Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil Matthew 6:9-13 To pray, “lead us and deliver us”, we are acknowledging our inability to overcome the danger of evil on our own and we are relying on God our Father to deliver us from it. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Forgive Us Our Debts Matthew 6:9-15 To pray, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” we are acknowledging the forgiveness we need to get from God and need to give to others. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Give Us Our Daily Bread Matthew 6:9-13 To pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” we are daily depending on the Father to meet our needs with proper perspective based on His greatness and goodness. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Your Will Be Done Matthew 6:9-13 When you know God’s will is best for you, you will always pray Your will be done. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Your Kingdom Come Matthew 6:9-13 When we understand the coming of God’s Kingdom, it will cause us to cry for God’s Kingdom to come deeper in our lives and in the world around us. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Hallowed Be Your Name Matthew 6:9-13 When we prioritize God’s Name in our life, we will see the Power of God work in and through our prayer lives. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Our Father in Heaven Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus is teaching us that we have a personal relationship with the Almighty God of the Universe who has a perspective and power that is greater than ours. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Praying like Jesus Matthew 6:5-8 Praying like Jesus means that we understand the priority, precautions, and point of prayer. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
That You May Know 1 John 2:3-11 The Moral Test Do You Obey The Commandments of God? We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Year of Jubilee Isaiah 61:1-3; Luke 4:16-21 Jesus is the Spirit-Empowered Messiah who came on a Status-Reversing Mission that has ushered in the Year of Jubilee for God’s People forever. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Prince of Peace Isaiah 9:6-7 In Jesus, our Prince of Peace, we see the peace that we really need and that only He can give. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Promise of a Savior Isaiah 53:1-10 Isaiah teaches us that our rebellion against God led to His rejection, but His substitution for our rebellion leads to our Salvation. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Promise of a Sovereign Isaiah 11:1-10 Isaiah is going to point us to a true and better King whose character is impeccable and whose kingdom is unstoppable. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Promise of a Son Isaiah 9:1-7 Isaiah is teaching in Chapter 9 that the darkness of this world is no match for the brightness of the Son. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Stay Low and Stand Firm 1 Peter 5:6-14 Peter teaches us to stay low under the mighty hand of God and stand firm in the grace of God. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Follow the Leader 1 Peter 5:1-5 Peter points us to the type of leadership we need. He teaches us those leaders lead by example, love their people, and live in humility. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
How to Make a Difference 1 Peter 4:7-11 We are called to not just live different than the world, but to make a difference in the world around us through our prayer and our care. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Be Different 1 Peter 4:1-6 Following Jesus means being different from the world in how we think, how we live and how we die. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
How to See Good Days in a Stressful World 1 Peter 3:8-22 We must choose love over hate, faith over fear and trust Jesus over everything. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Husbands and Wives 1 Peter 3:1-8 If you pursue happiness over holiness, you get neither. But if you pursue holiness more than happiness, you get both. Truly beautiful wives have a hope in God and really insightful husbands have a healthy prayer life. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
The Witness of Submission and Suffering 1 Peter 2:13-25 Though we are citizens of another Kingdom serving a higher King, we must during our time of exile, submit ourselves to the authority that God has placed us under, in order that we may fulfill God’s purposes and be a witness to the watching world. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Our Christian Identity 1 Peter 2:4-12 Peter teaches us that we (believers) are a gospel community with a holy calling built on Christ our Cornerstone. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
It’s Time to Grow Up 1 Peter 1:22-2:3 We need to grow up because God gave us a new life that is only satisfied by the goodness of God that comes from drinking deeply in the Word of God.
We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
How to live as an Exile? 1 Peter 1:13-21 A tourist, an immigrant, or an exile. The battle for hope and holiness in a hostile world starts in the mind, reminding us of who we are in Christ. We are called to set our hope on the grace of God and set our lives apart for the holiness of God. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
I am a Stranger 1 Peter 1:1-12
If you are a Christian, you have a living hope and lasting inheritance in Jesus that enables us to live as a stranger and sufferer in a broken, hostile world. We would love to talk with you! Text 239.360.5030 with CONNECT and we will reach out to you to help you in your walk with Christ. You are loved here at First!
Go: From Naples to the Nations Matthew 28:16-20 Matthew 28 is the resurrection story of Jesus that ends with the Risen Savior commissioning his disciples. Everything Jesus says here depends on the fact He is very much alive. A dead teacher cannot send his disciples. Jesus’ Resurrection is the proof he has all authority and therefore transforms all our priorities. If Jesus died and rose from the dead, then everything He tells us WE SHOULD DO and WE CAN DO! We must not let the distractions of life keep us from the convictions that sustain us for the mission that Jesus has called us to do.
“The Vision for the Church’s Mission” Revelation 7:9-10 Dr. Paul Chitwood Five Questions: 1. Who do we see in the vision? 2. Where are they? 3. How did they get there? 4. Why are they there? 5. So what?
Revelation 7:9-10 ESV
9After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Nahum: A minor prophet with a major message of Condemnation and Comfort. Nah-who? (1:1) Oracle - Nineveh - Book - Nahum - Elkosh Nahum’s prophecy presented a great dichotomy between Condemnation and Comfort. “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Cor. 1:18 1. The Condemned: Nothing can stand against the condemnation of God’s wrath (1:2-6) “for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” -Exodus 20:5-6 “Nineveh was going to receive the judgement that had been postponed at the time of Jonah....Past blessing does not guarantee present peace. The people of each generation must seek and serve God for themselves.” -Clive Anderson Who can stand before his indignation? Indignation- anger aroused by something unjust, unworthy 2. The Comforted: God is good, our refuge, and we are not forgotten (1:7) The Lord is good “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness.” Psalm 145:5-7 A stronghold in the day of trouble “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Prov. 18:10 He knows those who trust in Him “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Prov. 3:5-6 Which Headline are you reading today? Is it one of Condemnation or Comfort? “The wrath of God is here revealed from heaven against his enemies, his favour and mercy are here assured to his faithful loyal subjects, and his almighty power in both, making his wrath very terrible and his favour very desirable.” -Matthew Henry Condemned -“Behold, I am against you, declares the Lord of hosts,” 2:13, 3:5a Comforted - “Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.” 1:15 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” -Isaiah 52:7 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Col 1:19-20 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” 2 Cor. 1:3 What word comes to your mind when you think of the Goodness of God?Faithful, merciful, grace, salvation, provision, health, family, new pastor, blessings, children, steadfast, wife, husband, Bible, eternity, protection, refuge, love, plan, purpose, justice,
Following God to the Promised Land Exodus 23:20-32 Dr. Alan Brumback God challenges and encourages us to follow Him by giving His presence to guide us and His promises to sustain us. I. God’s Presence will guide us to the place He has prepared for us. I send an angel before you to guard you on the way To bring you to the place I have prepared Tozer, A Cloud by Day and Fire by Night: If we are open to the Holy Spirit, He will lead us on the pathway; a destiny He has in mind for us. At this point, we may not fully know what that is. We may not know where we are going, but as long as we are following the Lord, we have nothing to fear. As we let go of our past, we can get a firm grip on the future God has for us. II. God’s Promises will sustain us as we obey what He tells us. Why was idolatry so alluring: - It felt guaranteed - It was convenient - It was normal - It was fun “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:1-3
Exodus 23:20-32 ESV
20 “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. 22“But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land. 31And I will set your border from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates, for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32You shall make no covenant with them and their gods.
John 14:1-3 ESV
1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin If you want to end up like everyone else, don’t make Jesus your king Judges 19:10-30; 21:25 Ruth 1:1-5; 4:13-17
Judges 19:10-30 ESV
10But the man would not spend the night. He rose up and departed and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him. 11When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant said to his master, “Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” 12And his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah.” 13And he said to his young man, “Come and let us draw near to one of these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah.” 14So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, 15and they turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night. 16And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah. The men of the place were Benjaminites. 17And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the old man said, “Where are you going? And where do you come from?” 18And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of the Lord, but no one has taken me into his house. 19We have straw and feed for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your female servant and the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.” 20And the old man said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.” 21So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank. 22As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” 23And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. 24Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” 25But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light. 27And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home. 29And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30And all who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.”
Judges 21:25 ESV
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Ruth 1:1-5 ESV
1In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 3But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, 5and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
Ruth 4:13-17 ESV
13So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin God still uses sinner-saints Judges 13:1-5 Judges 13:24-25 Judges 15:18-20 Judges 14:3 Judges 21:25 Judges 16:18-21 Judges 14:4 Judges 16:22-31 Hebrews 11:32-34
Judges 13:1-5 ESV
1And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. 2There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. 3And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
Judges 13:24-25 ESV
24And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. 25And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 15:18-20 ESV
18And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the Lord and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” 19And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day. 20And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.
Judges 14:3 ESV
3But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”
Judges 21:25 ESV
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 16:18-21 ESV
18When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.
Judges 14:4 ESV
4His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.
Judges 16:22-31 ESV
22But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. 23Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, “Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand.” 24And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, “Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us.” 25And when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call Samson, that he may entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars. 26And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them.” 27Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained. 28Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other. 30And Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life. 31Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years.
Hebrews 11:32-34 ESV
32And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Be willing to offer all you have as gratitude for God’s love not bargaining to get it. 1. Be convinced of God’s great love for you! Pattern: 1) God raises up savior 2) Israel rejects him 3) Gentiles accept him 4) He saves Israel 2. So be willing to offer God all you have out of gratitude NOT bargain 2 Options: 1) Human Sacrifice 2) Tabernacle Dedication Jephthah’s response to the Ammonites in 11:12-28 shows that he is well-versed in the Pentateuch so vowing a human sacrifice would be strange for him given how strongly it’s denounced in the Pentateuch. He is empowered by the Lord’s Spirit right before he makes the vow (11:29). The loss of his daughter’s virginity is the emphasis when the vow is carried out not her death (11:38ff.). 2 Kings 3:27 shows that the Bible is willing to describe child sacrifice, which it does not here. Jephthah is commended in both the OT (in the same list as Samuel; 1 Sam 12: 11) & the NT (Heb 11:32-34). Vows for victory in battle are legitimate things that God responds positively to in the OT (Numbers 21:-3). There is a provision in the Pentateuch to cancel out rash vows (Lev 5:4-5) & certainly someone who could rehearse the minutia of Pentateuch history would know this & rescue his only child from death. Animals didn’t stay in the house in the ancient world, so it’s dumb to think that Jephthah thought an animal would come out to “greet” him
Judges 10:6-16 ESV
6 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the Lord and did not serve him. 7So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, 8and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9And the Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed. 10And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.
Judges 10:11-17 ESV
11And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel. 17Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah.
Judges 11:29-40 ESV
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” 32So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. 34Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.” 36And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” 37So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” 38So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 40that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
Armor of God Ephesians 6:10-20 Ephesians 6:11 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. We don't fight for victory, we fight from victory. Four Challenges Ephesians 6:10-20 1) Be Strong (vs. 10) 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 2) Stand Against (11-12) 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 3) Take Up (vs. 13-17) 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, The belt of truth (6:14a)The breastplate of righteousness (6:14b)The shoes of peace (6:15)The shield of faith (6:16)The helmet of salvation (6:17a)The sword of the Spirit (6:17b) 4) Keep Alert (vs. 18-20) 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Be careful what you wish for 1. Be careful what you wish for because it can ruin you 2. Be careful what you wish for…it can point out your need for salvation
Judges 8:29-35 ESV
29 Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house. 30Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. 32And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 35and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
Judges 9:1-6 ESV
1Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family, 2“Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.” 3And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” 4And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. 5And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. 6And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem.
Judges 9:22-25 ESV
22Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. 23And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech, 24that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. 25And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.
Judges 9:36-38 ESV
36And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.” 37Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners’ Oak.” 38Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.”
Judges 9:50-57 ESV
50Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. 51But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. 52And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. 53And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. 54Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died. 55And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home. 56Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. 57And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin How can I stop running in circles and make actual progress? Judges 6:1-16 1. You need repentance not regret 2. You need Gospel-centered sermons 3. You need God’s kindness that leads to change not vice versa 4. You need an encounter with God’s presence 5. You need to know your main problem is worship 6. You need an unlikely savior 7. You need your faith strengthened to see God is way bigger than your problems Hebrews 11:32,34 “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets who…were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” 8. You need to heed warnings of judgment 9. You need a King as well as a Savior
Judges 6:33-34 ESV
33Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and they crossed the Jordan and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon, and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him.
Judges 6:1-16 ESV
1 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. 3For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. 6And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord. 7When the people of Israel cried out to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8the Lord sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. 9And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10And I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” 11Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 13And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 15And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” 16And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
Judges 7:2 ESV
2The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
Judges 8:22-28 ESV
22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” 24And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 28So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Judges 8:22-28 ESV
22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” 24And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25And they answered, “We will willingly give them.” And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. 26And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. 27And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 28So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Judges 7:2 ESV
2The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Why Does God Command Violence in the Old Testament? 1 Samuel 15:1-12, 26-33 Romans 9:5 Esther 3:5-6, 10-13 1) God commands violence in the OT because of John 3:16 2) What does this mean for us? 1) You need John 3:16 2) You need to refuse retaliation 3) You need to engage in mission
1 Samuel 15:1-12 ESV
1And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” 4So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. 8And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction. 10The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11“I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. 12And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.”
Romans 9:5 ESV
5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Esther 3:5-6 ESV
5And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.
Esther 3:10-13 ESV
10So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 12 Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Sing Worship Songs Judges 4:1-11, 16-21 Judges 5:1, 24-31 1. Songs inspire 2. Songs teach 3. Songs encourage 4. Songs praise
Judges 4:1-11 ESV
1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud died. 2And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years. 4Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. 7And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” 8Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him. 11Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
Judges 4:16-21 ESV
16And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19And he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20And he said to her, “Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died.
Judges 5:1 ESV
1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day:
Judges 5:24-31 ESV
24“Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. 25 He asked for water and she gave him milk; she brought him curds in a noble’s bowl. 26 She sent her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet; she struck Sisera; she crushed his head; she shattered and pierced his temple. 27Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell—dead. 28 “Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera wailed through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’ 29Her wisest princesses answer, indeed, she answers herself, 30‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?— A womb or two for every man; spoil of dyed materials for Sisera, spoil of dyed materials embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for the neck as spoil?’ 31 “So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might.” And the land had rest for forty years.
Fatherhood requires ENDURING focus on Jesus. (12:1-4) 5 Enemies of Fatherhood Anger Laziness Distraction Selfishness Passivity According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 19.5 million children, more than 1 in 4 (25%), live without a father in the home. Fatherhood requires DISCIPLINE both personally and to those we lead. (12:5-10) Discipline is established in the WORD Discipline is a demonstration of LOVE Discipline yields ENDURANCE Discipline authenticates SONSHIP Discipline calls for RESPECT Discipline with urgent DEPENDENCY Fatherhood requires a relentless pursuit of Holiness with eternity in mind. (12:11-14) Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Hebrews 12:1-14 ESV
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin God comically uses unlikely people and unlikely weapons to defeat the enemy Judges 3:12-31 Numbers 24:17 Revelation 19:15 Hebrews 4:12-13
Judges 3:12-31 ESV
12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. 24When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor. 26Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years. 31After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.
Numbers 24:17 ESV
17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
Revelation 19:15 ESV
15From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV
12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Series: Judges Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Judges 2:11-19 Judges points us to Jesus, who is the only one who can save us from running in circles. Judges 3:7-11
Judges 2:11-19 ESV
11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. 13They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. 16 Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.
Judges 3:7-11 ESV
7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Series: Jonah Text: Jonah 4:1-11 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Will we love the world like God loves the world? 1. Do we resent or celebrate God’s grace to the lost of the world? 2. Do we care more about our temporary, material blessings than we do others’ eternal salvation? 3. Do we really want to live in a world where people only get what they deserve? Compare Jonah 4:2 and Exodus 34:6-7. Jonah leaves something off from his memory verse! Jonah: “For I knew that you are ‘a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster…” Exodus: “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty…” 4. Do we look with contempt or compassion on the spiritually blind peoples of the world?
Jonah 4:1-11 ESV
1But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?” 5Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”
Series: Jonah Text: Jonah 1:17-3:5 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Will we share the mercy we’ve been shown? 1. God, in His mercy, can still save & use you no matter how bad you’ve messed up 2. The mercy of God must be verbally shared to be received 3. No one is too far gone for God’s mercy or so good they don’t need God’s mercy Matthew 12:38-42
Jonah 1:17 ESV
17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 2:1-10 ESV
1Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice. 3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me. 4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’ 5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head 6at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. 7When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. 8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. 9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!” 10And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
Matthew 12:38-42 ESV
38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Jonah 3:1-5 ESV
1Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
Series: Jonah Text: Jonah 1:1-17 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin
Will you change your “No, God” to “Yes, God?!”
Matthew 12:38-40
Jonah 1:1-17ESV 1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. 4 But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” 7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Matthew 12:38-40ESV 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
TITLE: Honor Your Parents TEXT: Exodus 20:12 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Romans 1:30 Luke 2:51
Exodus 20:12 ESV
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Romans 1:30 ESV
30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
Luke 2:51 ESV
51And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
Text: Galatians 6:1-10 (ESV) Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin 1. A Spirit-filled church takes care of each other (6:1-5) 2. A Spirit-filled church provides for each other (6:6-10) 1 Timothy 5:17-18 Deuteronomy 15:4; Acts 4:34 3. A Spirit-filled church is centered on the good news
Galatians 6:1-10 ESV
1Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
1 Timothy 5:17-18 ESV
17Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
Deuteronomy 15:4 ESV
4But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—
Acts 4:34 ESV
34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
Text: Galatians 5:16-26 (ESV) Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin War against the flesh. Walk by the Spirit 1. War against the flesh 2. Walk by the Spirit
Galatians 5:16-26 ESV
16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Text: Galatians 5:1-15 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin 1. You can’t save yourself by your effort 2. You can’t lose your salvation by your effort but you can prove you weren’t saved in the first place - John 10:27-29 - 1 John 2:19 - Matthew 24:13 - Jude 1:24 3. You can only be saved by being joined to Christ by faith - Colossians 2:11-12 4. God gives us warnings to keep us saved 5. You can obey the law now not because you have to but because you get to and want to
Text: Galatians 4:11-31 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin How do we make gospel appeals? 1. Appeal with Genuine Compassion Galatians 4:11-20 2. Appeal with biblical explanation Galatians 4:21-31
Galatians 4:11-31 ESV
11I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. 12Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. 21Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. 23But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. 24Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” 28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 30But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.
Title: God's Relentless Love Text: Galatians 3:26-4:11 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin Main idea: How can I give you up? How can I let you go? Hosea 1:2-3, 6, 8-9 Hosea 3:1-5 Hosea 11:8 Hosea 13:14
Hosea 1:2-3 ESV
2When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” 3So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
Hosea 1:6 ESV
6She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all.
Hosea 1:8-9 ESV
8When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
Hosea 3:1-5 ESV
1And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” 2So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley. 3And I said to her, “You must dwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” 4For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
Hosea 11:8 ESV
8How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
Hosea 13:14 ESV
14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
Big Idea: You are a son of God by faith in Jesus. Don’t go back to slavery Text: Galatians 3:26-4:11 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin 1. You are a son of God by faith in Jesus James 1:27 2. Don’t go back to slavery Romans 14:5-6
Galatians 3:26-29 ESV
26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
Galatians 4:1-11 ESV
1I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
James 1:27 ESV
27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Romans 14:5-6 ESV
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Big Idea: The law shows that we are sinners who need a Savior Text: Galatians 3:15-26 Speaker: Dr. Jon Akin 1. Sinners Romans 7:7 2. Need 3. Savior Romans 7:24-25
Galatians 3:15-26 ESV
15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. 21Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Romans 7:7 ESV
7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Romans 7:24-25 ESV
24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
Title: Living A Faith Full Life Text: Galatians 3:1-14 Teacher: Pastor Troy Maragos Topic: Law vs. Faith Big Idea of Galatians: Gospel Clarity leads to Gospel Contrast that creates Gospel Conviction which results in Gospel Community. I. Opening Statements: The Law vs. Faith Exhibit A: Experiential Questions - How did you get the Spirit? - 3:1-6 Exhibit B: Evidential Quotations - What does the Bible say about Faith? - 3:6-9ff Old Testament in Galatians 3:6-14: 3:6 - Gen. 15:6 - Abrahamic Covenant 3:8 - Gen. 12:3 - Abrahamic Promise 3:10 - Deut. 27:26 - Curses from the Law 3:11 - Hab. 2:4 - The Righteous Live By Faith 3:12 - Lev. 18:5 - Standard of the Law 3:12-13 - Deut. 21:23 - Hanged on Tree = Cursed II. Closing Arguments: Faith in Christ = Finality of the Curse 1. Perfection through the Law by Works: Unattainable - 3:10-12 2. Redemption in Christ by Faith: Unfathomable - 3:13 3. Reception of the Spirit in Abraham’s Blessing: Immeasurable - 3:14 III. Verdict of Galatians 3:1-14: Living a Faith Full life means that in Christ Jesus, all the promised blessings of Abraham come to all the nations so that all who claim faith in Christ receive all of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 3:1-14 ESV
1O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Weekend Sermon Notes Series Title: Christ Centered Community SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin We have to get the Gospel right Galatians 2:15-21 1. We have to get the gospel right for our freedom Galatians 2:1-4 2. We have to get the gospel right for the lost and hurting Galatians 2:5-10 3. We have to get the Gospel right for life change Galatians 2:11-14 4. We have to get the Gospel right for the unity of the church Philippians 1:15-18
Galatians 2:1-21 ESV
1Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8(for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. 11But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” 15We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. 17But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Philippians 1:15-18 ESV
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
Weekend Sermon Notes Series Title: Christ Centered Community SPEAKER: Pastor Kevin Taylor Gal 1:11-24
Galatians 1:11-24 ESV
11For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20(In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24And they glorified God because of me.
Weekend Sermon Notes Series Title: Nothing New Series SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin Why should we gather for worship? Gallup Mental Health Study: the only people in America who did better in 2020 than 2019 were weekly church attenders. Gather because you need to be constantly reminded of the Good News that God saves and helps 2 Chronicles 20:1-23 1. Gather because you need to be constantly reminded that God saved and helped BEFORE 2 Peter 1:5-9 2. Gather because you need to be constantly reminded that God saves and helps NOW 3. Gather because you need to be constantly reminded that God will save and help AGAIN Joel 3:12-13
2 Chronicles 20:1-23 ESV
1After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). 3Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 5And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” 18Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” 22And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.
2 Peter 1:5-9 ESV
5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
Joel 3:12-13 ESV
12Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great.
Weekend Sermon Notes Sermon Title: “Are You On Mission With God?” Sermon Text: 3 John 1-15 I. Gaius: A Man with the Right Passions (v. 1-8) 1)Live spiritually (v. 1-2) 2) Walk truthfully (v. 3-4) 3) Serve faithfully (v. 5-6) 4) Give generously (v. 7-8) II. Diotrephes: A Man with a Harmful Agenda (v. 9-10) 1) Beware of prideful ambition (v. 9) 2) Learn to submit to proper authority (v. 9) 3) Don’t lie about others to further your agenda (v. 10) 4) Don’t be a bully and mistreat others (v. 10) III. Demetrius: A Man with a Good Testimony (v. 11-14) 1) Be a good example (v. 11) 2) Have a good testimony (v. 12)
3 John 1:1-15 ESV
1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 5Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. 9I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. 11Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. 15Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.
Weekend Sermon Notes Series Title: Nothing New Series SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin Mission Statement: FBCN exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ Vision Statement: FBCN desires to be a church that makes disciples of Jesus Christ by 1) Living out the Gospel, 2) Living in Community, and 3) Living on Mission Expectation Statement: A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who gathers, grows, gives, and goes. Big Idea: Live in community by serving one another so we can all become more like Jesus Ephesians 4:7-16 1. (How community is formed) Christ’s victory builds the church (or, the gospel creates community) 1 Chronicles 26:27 Ezra 1:5-6 2. (What community does) Each person serve in their role (or, give of your time) 3. (Why community does it) So we can all be come like Jesus (or, grow)
Ephesians 4:7-16 ESV
7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” 9(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
1 Chronicles 26:27 ESV
27From spoil won in battles they dedicated gifts for the maintenance of the house of the Lord.
Ezra 1:5-6 ESV
5Then rose up the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. 6And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered.
Weekend Sermon Notes Series Title: Nothing New Series Text: Matthew 4:1-11 SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin Mission Statement: FBCN exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ Vision Statement: FBCN desires to be a church that makes disciples of Jesus Christ by 1) Living out the Gospel, 2) Living in Community, and 3) Living on Mission Believe and live out the gospel to defeat temptation 1. Temptation comes to everyone 2. Believe Jesus is the Savior 3. Live out the gospel to fight temptation not FOR victory but FROM victory
Matthew 4:1-11 ESV
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Weekend Sermon Notes Series Title: Nothing New SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin Interim Mission Statement: First Baptist Church of Naples exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Interim Vision Statement: First Baptist Church of Naples desires to be a church that makes disciples of Jesus Christ by (1) living out the gospel, (2) living in community, and (3) living on mission. Expectation Statement: A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who gathers, grows, gives, and goes. Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV) There is one command in the text: Make disciples of all nations There are three participles that show us how to obey the command: 1) going, 2) baptizing, 3) teaching Challenge for 2021: Take your next step
Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Weekend Sermon Notes PASSAGE: Daniel Wrap-up SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin God wins in the end, so don’t be afraid to live for Him now! Pattern: In the future, a king of gross wickedness will persecute God’s people, oppose their worship, terrorize for 3 & half years before he’s destroyed & God’s people are saved.
Daniel 8:15-27 ESV
15When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.” 18And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. 19He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. 22As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. 23And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24His power shall be great—but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. 26The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.” 27And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.
Daniel 10:12-14 ESV
12Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, 14and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”
Daniel 10:18-21 ESV
18Again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. 19And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. 21But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.
Daniel 9:3-8 ESV
3Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
Weekend Sermon Notes PASSAGE: Daniel 9 SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin Big Idea: Christmas is about how confession and the cross ends our separation from God ---Daniel 9:20-27 1. Confess sin ---Daniel 9:1-2 ---Jeremiah 29:10-14 ---Daniel 9:3-8 ---Daniel 9:14-19 2. Trust in the cross
Daniel 9:20-27 ESV
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, 21while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. 23At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. 24 “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel 9:1-2 ESV
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
Jeremiah 29:10-14 ESV
10“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Daniel 9:3-8 ESV
3Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
Daniel 9:14-19 ESV
14Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. 15And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. 17Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
Save Event Sermon Notes (Dec. 5-6, 2020)
Sermon Notes for our Weekend Services.
Locations & Times Expand
Weekend Sermon Notes PASSAGE: Daniel 7:1-28 SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin
Main Idea: God shows us the future so we can live for Him in the present
Chiasm of the entire book Daniel 1- Exile Daniel 2- Dream: 4 Kingdoms smashed by God’s global, eternal Kingdom Daniel 3- Saved from the fiery furnace Daniel 4- Nebuchadnezzar humbled Daniel 5- Belshazzar and Babylon fall Daniel 6- Saved from the lions’ den Daniel 7-9- Visions: 4 Kingdoms replace by the Son of Man’s global, eternal Kingdom Daniel 10-12- Return from Exile (aka. The Resurrection)
4 Beasts out of the Sea 1st Beast = Babylon 2nd Beast = Medo-Persia (8:20) 3rd Beast = Greece (8:21) 4th Beast = Rome and more…
Psalm 80:8, 13-18
-
Believe the gospel (bow the knee to Jesus)
-
Live in community (endure suffering with hope)
-
Be on mission (live as exiles for the good of the world)
Daniel 7:1-28 ESV
1In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. 2Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6After this I looked, and behold, another, like a leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. 9“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 11“I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. 13“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. 15“As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’ 19“Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, 20and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. 23“Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it to pieces. 24As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, and another shall arise after them; he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. 25 He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end. 27 And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ 28“Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”
Psalm 80:8 ESV
8You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
Psalm 80:13-18 ESV
13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself. 16They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face! 17But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name!
Weekend Sermon Notes TITLE: What you learn from the past determines your future PASSAGE: Daniel 5:1-30 SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin 1. If you don’t learn from the past, you will wreck your future 2. If you do learn from the past, you will set up your future
Daniel 5:1-30 ESV
1 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. 6Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. 9Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed. 10The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.” 13Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 17Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. 24“Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 28Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.
Weekend Sermon Notes TITLE: God humbles the exalted and exalts the humbled PASSAGE: Daniel 4:1-37 SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin 1. God humbles the exalted A. Because they don’t recognize his position B. Because they don’t repent at his patience C. Because they don’t acknowledge his provision 2. God exalts the humbled
Daniel 4:1-37 ESV
1 King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! 2It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. 3How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. 4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. 6So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. 8At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream, saying, 9“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. 10The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. 13“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. 14He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. 17The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ 18This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” 19Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 20The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— 22it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ 24this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. 26And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. 27Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” 28All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws. 34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” 36At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Weekend Sermon Notes TITLE: Faith that Walks through Fires PASSAGE: Daniel 3:1-30 SPEAKER: Dr. Jon Akin 1. Refuses to compromise its convictions 2. Trusts that God will deliver now or later 3. Experiences God’s presence 4. Shows God’s greatness to the world
Daniel 3:1-30 ESV
1King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 8Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 13Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” 19Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. 24Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” 26Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Weekend Sermon Notes TITLE: The Perfect Storm PASSAGE: Matthew 14:22-33 SPEAKER: Greg Clydesdale Obedience 22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. Solitude + Prayer Matter 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, You can be in the center of a storm and the center of God’s will at the same time 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. Jesus is God 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. Our Eyes/Mind can Deceive Us 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. Don’t Fear 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Take a Risk of Faith 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Risky Faith gets you Closer to Jesus 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. Keep your Eyes of Jesus 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus is our Rescuer 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus is All-Powerful 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Jesus is worthy to be Praised 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:22-33 ESV
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 28And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Weekend Sermon Notes Daniel Series Text: Daniel 2:1-49 (ESV) Main Idea: No faith; know fear. Know faith; no fear 1. Fear (Daniel 2:1-13) 2. Faith (Daniel 2:14-49) Chiastic Structure of the Aramaic Portion of Daniel Daniel 2: Dream of 4 kingdoms falling & God’s eternal Kingdom being established Daniel 3: 3 Hebrews saved from fiery furnace Daniel 4: The humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar Daniel 5: The Fall of Babylon Daniel 6: Daniel saved from the Lions’ Den Daniel 7: Vision of 4 kingdoms falling and God’s Kingdom being established by the Son of Man 3. Faith in Action A. Pray to God B. Be on mission for God C. Praise God D. Confess Jesus as your Savior and King
Daniel 2:1-49 ESV
1In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. 17Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” 24Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.” 25Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. 31“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. 39Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” 46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.
Weekend Sermon Notes Daniel Series Text: Daniel 1:1-21 (ESV) Main Idea: God’s people are to be IN the world not OF the world 1. FOR the good of the world 2. FOR the triumph of God and His people
Daniel 1:1-21 ESV
1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, 4youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. 6Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. 7And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego. 8But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12“Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Weekend Sermon Notes 10 Biblical Principles for Christian Reconciliation from Philemon 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 1. Pray (v.4) 2. Build a rapport by honoring what you can honor (vv.4-7) 3. Persuade and appeal by love not command [Be Playful] (vv.8-9,14,19) 4. Confession of sin is necessary, but don’t dwell on sin that’s been forgiven (vv.10-16) 5. Be motivated by God’s glory and see His bigger plan (vv.6,15-16) 6. Be willing to be like Jesus (vv.12-13,18) 7. Go above and beyond (err on the side of grace, v.21) 8. Talk as if everyone will reconcile and more (v.21) 9. Have an accountability process (v.22) 10. Remind each other that we are family (vv.6,10-12,15-16) Galatians 3:28
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 ESV From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Galatians 3:28 ESV There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gospel People Reconcile Philemon 1:1-25 1. Only gospel grace can enable reconciliation (1-3) 2. The gospel reconciles us to God and other Christians (4-16) 1 John 4:20 3. Reconciliation applies and displays the gospel (17-22)
Philemon 1:1-25 ESV Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
1 John 4:20 ESV If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
We Are The Church Title: Devoted to The Fellowship Text: Acts 2:41-47 Main Idea: Meaningful Membership means being responsible for one another’s discipleship by keeping the one another commands of the Bible 1. Gather (Assemble with one another) Hebrews 10:24-25 Colossians 3:16 2. Go (Serve one another) Galatians 5:13 1 Peter 4:10 3. Give (Meet one another’s needs) 4. Grow (Build one another up) John 13:34-35 Love one another; as I have loved you Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another Romans 15:7 Receive one another, just as Christ also received us Romans 15:14 Admonish one another Ephesians 4:2 Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. 1 Thessalonians 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words Hebrews 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. James 4:11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another 1 Peter 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
Acts 2:41-47 ESV So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Colossians 3:16 ESV Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Galatians 5:13 ESV For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
1 Peter 4:10 ESV As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace
We Are The Church Title: Devoted to Evangelism Main Idea: Until you really fall in love with Jesus Christ, you won’t introduce people to Him Mark 2:1-12 (ESV) 1. Fall in love with Jesus because he is the hero of the story Matthew 8:14-17 2. Do whatever it takes to get people to Him
Mark 2:1-12 ESV And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Matthew 8:14-17 ESV And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
We Are The Church We are the Church on Mission The Church in Antioch -Acts 11:19-30, 13:1-5 Antioch: Fast Facts
3rd Largest city at this time in the Roman Empire behind Rome and Alexandria. It was an international trade city. Nicknamed the “Queen of the East” Population of nearly 500K. Located 300 miles north of Jerusalem. Made up of Greeks, Romans, Syrians, Phoenicians, Jews, Arabs, Egyptians, Africans, Indians, and Asians making it incredibly diverse. Antioch was a strategic location and became a launch pad for global missions. How Antioch was “Planted”: Acts 8:1-5 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria & proclaimed to them the Christ. Acts 11:19-21 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 1. God designed His Church to be the Launch Pad of Missions Acts 11:19-30 The DNA of a healthy missional Launch Pad Borderless Evangelism (11:19-21) Purposeful Perseverance (11:22-23) Christlike Disciple-making (11:24-26, 13:1) Outward Focus (11:27-30) Practicing Spiritual Disciplines (12:24, 13:2) 2. The Holy Spirit is Mission Control directing God’s Work Acts 13:1-3 Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” What’s the last thing the Holy Spirit has said to you? Are you obeying His voice? IMB -International Missions Board Report 3700 missionaries on the field 562,865 people heard the Gospel 77,605 New believers 52,586 Baptisms 13,898 New Church plants 11,732 people groups globally - 3,056 unengaged and unreached QUOTE: *Dr. Paul Chitwood the president of our International missions board said this past year, “As we celebrate these victories, we are mindful that the only thing that prevents an even greater harvest is lack of more laborers in the Lord’s fields,” Chitwood said, noting IMB’s senior leaders have set a goal of growing the Southern Baptist international missionary force by 500 new missionaries by 2025. “That would take our total headcount to 4,200, which we believe is the minimum number of missionaries we need to make the maximum impact. “The vision of a great, innumerable multitude from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb demands more of each of us and of every Southern Baptist,” he said. 3. The Commander-in-Chief is always enlisting for His Mission I John 4:14 says, “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his son to be the Savior of the World.” QUOTE: “Whatever you’re good at, do it well for the glory of God and do it somewhere strategically for the mission of God.” - JD Greear “As the Father sent me, I am sending you.”’ -John 20:21 QUOTE: JD Greear in His book, “Gaining by Losing” says, “Our God is a sending God, and nearly every time he speaks to someone in Scripture he is sending them on a mission…..We think of missionaries as God’s ‘super servants’, Jesus’ navy seals. The word ‘missionary’ is never used in the Bible, however, not even once. That’s because all of God’s people are sent; all of God’s people are commanded to go. There is no ‘special class’ of sent ones. So the question is no longer if we are sent, only where and how. Many of us are waiting on a voice from heaven to tell us what God has already told us in a verse: “as the Father sent me, I am sending you’ (John 20:21). When you have the verse, you don’t need to wait for the voice. “Every believer is sent. You go from mission field to missionary” -JD Greear CLOSING BENEDICTION SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We Are The Church Title: Devoted to Prayer Big Idea: Pray because it moves God to act for His people Isaiah 64:4 Matthew 6:5-15 (ESV) 1. Prayer moves God to glorify himself 2. Prayer moves God to save the world 3. Prayer moves God to provide James 5:14-15 4. Prayer moves God to forgive 5. Prayer moves God to protect
Isaiah 64:4 ESV From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
Matthew 6:5-15 ESV “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
James 5:14-15 ESV Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
We Are The Church Message Title: Why Should I Believe the Bible is the Word of God? Text: 2 Peter 1:16-21 1. The Bible is God’s Word because it says it is 1 Thessalonians 2:13 2. The Bible is God’s Word because of its historical accuracy 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 3. The Bible is God’s Word because it accurately predicts the future 4. The Bible is God’s Word because it gives the best explanation for the world Ephesians 1:10 5. The Bible is God’s Word because of its supernatural unity John 5:46
2 Peter 1:16-21 ESV For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 ESV For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
Ephesians 1:10 ESV as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
John 5:46 ESV For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
We Are The Church Acts 20:28-38 1. The Church is pastors-led 3 terms used interchangeably in the NT to refer to the office of pastor: 1) Elder 2) Overseer 3) Pastor 1 Peter 5:1-5 Hebrew 13: 7, 17 2. The Church is deacons-served Acts 6:1-7 Philippians 1:1 3. The Church is congregationally-approved The church is pastors-led, deacons-served, congregationally-approved to reach the world for Jesus!
Acts 20:28-38 ESV Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.
1 Peter 5:1-5 ESV So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Hebrews 13:7 ESV Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
Hebrews 13:17 ESV Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Acts 6:1-7 ESV Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Philippians 1:1 ESV Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons
We Are The Church Title: The Church is a gospel-centered people devoted to The Word Text: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:4 1. God’s Word creates the church 2. God’s Word leads the church into truth 3. God’s Word grows the church 4. God’s Word is essential for the life and health of the church
2 Timothy 3:14-17 ESV But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 4:1-4 ESV I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Weekend Sermon Notes We Are The Church Acts 2:41-47 The Church is a gospel-centered people. They believe, display, and apply the gospel. The Church is a gospel-centered people devoted to: 1) Leadership The Church is a gospel-centered people devoted to: 2) The Word The Church is a gospel-centered people devoted to: 3) Fellowship The Church is a gospel-centered people devoted to: 4) Prayer The Church is a gospel-centered people devoted to: 5) Mission
Acts 2:41-47 ESV So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
John 13:34-35 ESV A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables The Unforgiving Servant Matthew 18:21-35 (ESV) Forgiven people are forgiving people Ephesians 4:32 Matthew 6:14-15
Matthew 18:21-35 ESV Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servantfell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables The Talents Matthew 25:14-30 (ESV) Until Jesus returns, attempt great things for God; expect great things from God
Matthew 25:14-30 ESV “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables The Laborers in the Vineyard Matthew 20:1-16 (ESV) 1. God’s grace is wild and “unfair” 2. If you compare God’s grace, you won’t enjoy it 3. Never too late and never too early to serve the Lord
Matthew 20:1-16 ESV “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.”
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables The Persistent Widow Luke 18:1-8 In this hurting world, Christians have two options: lose heart or always pray
Luke 18:1-8 ESV And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables How Am I Building? Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV) Pastor Troy Maragos Pastor of Next Steps 3 Rhetorical Questions of Matthew 7:24-27 1. What Are You Building? 2. Where Are You Choosing To Build? 3. Why Are You Building? 1. Building is Wiser than Resting 2. Doing is Wiser than Hearing Am I Hearing God's Word and Not Doing It? 1. Do I walk away from time in the Word without being challenged or changed? 2. Is my inner dialogue more informed by my own ideas than what God's Word says? 3. Do I find that my flesh holds my conscience hostage in areas of obvious obedience? 4. Have I invited those who are close to me and love me to confront me in areas of spiritual sin and shortcoming? 5. When convicted by the Holy Spirit or confronted by another believer, do I choose to change? 3. Obeying is Wiser than Opposing Hearing - Doing = Opposing Hearing + Doing = Obeying 6 Things we do Other than Obey God & His Word: 1. Acknowledge 4. Applaud 2. Admire 5. Affirm 3. Approve 6. Assume
Matthew 7:24-27 ESV
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables The Rich Man & Lazarus Luke 16:19-31 (ESV) 1. Will you love God or money? 2. Will you end up in eternal torment or paradise? 3. Will you listen to God’s Word or need further proof?
Luke 16:19-31 ESV “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables Luke 16:1-13 (ESV) Jesus’ crazy gift frees us to be a crazy gift to the world 1. Jesus’ crazy gift to us Colossians 2:14-15 (ESV) 2. We are freed to be a crazy gift to the world
Luke 16:1-13 ESV He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Colossians 2:14-15 ESV by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 (ESV) The Parable of the Lost Sheep There are 2 ways to be lost: unrighteous rule-breaking & self-righteous rule-keeping. There is 1 way to be found: the Father’s Love. 1)You can be lost in unrighteous rule-breaking & found by the Father’s love 2) You can be lost in self-righteous rule-keeping & found by the Father’s love
Luke 15:11-32 ESV And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables
Luke 10:25-37 (ESV) Stop asking WHO. Start asking HOW.
Luke 10:25-37 ESV And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Weekend Sermon Notes Proverbs --- Fool-Proofing Your Family 1. Teach your children the WHY as well as the WHAT Proverbs 3:1-10 (ESV) Proverbs 11:24 Proverbs 25:21-22 Proverbs 27:2 2. Teach your children the WHO
Weekend Sermon Notes The Storyteller - A Study of Jesus' Parables Parables don’t make a point; they have an impact 1. Parables reveal the open and the closed Matthew 13:10-17 2. Parables reveal the surprising nature of the kingdom Matthew 13:18-23 3. Parables reveal that it’s all about Jesus So what? 1. Press-in to Jesus and His Word with fresh eyes 2. Be part of the advance of the kingdom 3. Believe in Jesus
Weekend Sermon Notes Proverbs --- Fool-Proofing Your Family 1. Diagnose the cause (your heart) rather than the symptom (your communication) Proverbs 4:23-24 Proverbs 20:9 2. Season your communication with gentleness, love, and the willingness to let offenses go Proverbs 15:1 Proverbs 16:21 Proverbs 17:9 Proverbs 10:12
Weekend Sermon Notes Text: Proverbs 22:6 ESV If you let your kids have their way, they’ll expect to always get their way and struggle in life. English Translations: Train up a child in the “way he should go” or “the right way” English Translations add words not in the Hebrew: Train up a child in the “way he should go” or “the right way” Hebrew: Train up a child in his way Option 1: Train a child in accordance with his nature Proverbs 20:9 (ESV) Waltke: the six other references to the youth characterize his way as foolish (1:4; 7:7; 22:15; 23:13; 29:15; etc.) Option 2: Sarcastic – If you let your kids have their way, they’ll expect to always get their way and struggle in life Proverbs 22:15 (ESV) Proverbs 29:15 (ESV) Houston Police Dept on “How to Raise a Delinquent” Begin with infancy to give the child everything he wants. In this way he will grow to believe the world owes him a living. When he picks up bad words, laugh at him. This will make him think he's cute. Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he is 21 and then let him "decide for himself." Avoid use of the word "wrong". It may develop a guilt complex. This will condition him to believe later, when he is arrested for stealing a car, that society is against him and he is being persecuted. Pick up everything he leaves lying around - books, shoes, clothes. Do everything for him so that he will be expecting it. Give a child all the spending money he wants. Never let him earn his own. Why should he have things as tough as you had them? Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. See that every sensual desire is gratified. Denial may lead to harmful frustration. Take his side against neighbors, teachers, policemen. They are all prejudiced against your child. Prepare for a life of grief. You will be likely to have it. Proverbs 23:13-14 1) Secure a confession, 2) Assure of unconditional love, 3) Acknowledge your sin and need of Jesus
Proverbs 22:6 ESV
6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 20:9 ESV
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?
Proverbs 29:15 ESV
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
Proverbs 23:13-14 ESV
13Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. 14If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.
Weekend Sermon Notes Title: How to Have a Happy Marriage 1. Be aware of how unfaithfulness starts: communication & attraction Proverbs 5:1-7 Proverbs 6:25 2. Be warned of the consequences of unfaithfulness: temporary & eternal Proverbs 5:8-14 Proverbs 5:21-23 3. Embrace the gospel: horizontal & vertical Proverbs 5:15-20
Proverbs 5:1-7 ESV My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.
Proverbs 6:25 ESV Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes
Proverbs 5:8-14 ESV Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”
Proverbs 5:21-23 ESV For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths. The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.
Proverbs 5:15-20 ESV Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
Weekend Sermon Notes Title: How to Have a Happy Home Give your kids 3 things: 1. What they really want Proverbs 15:16-17 (ESV) Proverbs 17:1 (ESV) 2. What they really need Proverbs 20:7 (CSB) 3. What will really last Proverbs 10:1 (ESV)
Proverbs 15:16-17 ESV Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
Proverbs 17:1 ESV Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
Proverbs 20:7 CSB A righteous person acts with integrity; his children who come after him will be happy.
Proverbs 10:1 ESV The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
Weekend Sermon Notes Title: Happily Ever After Text: Proverbs 9:1-18 Proverbs 9:1-18 ESV Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it. The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house; she takes a seat on the highest places of the town, calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way, “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol. Proverbs 30:2-6 ESV Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.
Weekend Sermon Notes Title: You don’t have to social distance from Jesus Text: Matthew 8:1-4, 14-17 (ESV)
Matthew 8:1-4 ESV When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”
Matthew 8:14-17 ESV And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
Weekend Sermon Notes Title: Songs of Hope - What Do You Do When Christianity Doesn’t Seem To Work? Text: Psalm 73(ESV)
What do you do when Christianity doesn’t seem to work?
- Take an eternal perspective
- Run to God rather than away from Him
- Remind yourself of the Good News
Psalms 73:1-5 ESV Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Psalms 73:10-20 ESV Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, "I will speak thus," I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse you Psalms 73:23-28 ESV Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
Weekend Sermon Notes Title: Songs of Hope Text: Psalm 24 (ESV) You have access to worship God and receive blessing from Him through Jesus 1. Access to do what? Worship A. Public Worship B. Private Worship 2. Access for what? Blessing
Psalms 24:1-10 ESV 1 The earth is the Lord's and the fullness there of, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah 7 Lift up your heads, O gates!And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory?The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates!And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory?The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah
Weekend Sermon Notes Title: Songs of Hope Text: Psalm 23 (ESV) Don’t be afraid because... 1. The Warrior-Shepherd is with you 2. The Warrior-Shepherd will defeat your enemies 3. The Warrior-Shepherd will bring you safely home
Psalms 23:1-6 ESV 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul.He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Weekend Sermon Notes Title: How Jesus Fulfills the Law Text: Matthew 5:13-24 (ESV) Real Righteousness = - Sin - The Cause + Love Steal > Covet > Give Murder > Hate > Forgive & Reconcile Adultery > Lust > Purity & Faithful to Spouse Lying > Avoid Consequences > > Truth-telling Jesus fulfills the law by producing real, loving righteousness in His followers
Matthew 5:13-24 ESV 13 "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.