Heaston Church: Recent Episodes
Heaston Church
When people who have the Spirit behave as if they lack the Spirit, there will be division in the Church.
Believers in Jesus "come after" him to learn from him, to live for you, and to teach others to do the same.
Thomas shares on looking ahead to the future with our relationship with God instead of focusing on the past.
Jesus our Messiah bore the iniquities of his people, that the works of the devil would be destroyed.
The Creator God brings about the fulfillment of His promises through His sovereign hand.
The presence of YHWH among people results in either worry or worship. What responses to the presence of God among His people do you see in Matthew 2:1-12? What should our response be to the presence of God among us?
As we begin our journey into Matthew, we see the promises of YHWH cannot be stopped from coming to pass.
Fearing YHWH leads to life:-fearing YHWH leads to understanding-fearing YHWH leads to compassion from YHWH-fearing YHWH leads to worship of YHWH
Living in faithful obedience to YHWH requires strength and courage, and intentionality.
We worship because it is the response to God's revelation. - worship is in response to God's mercy - worship expresses joy at God's redemption - worship manages God's resources for God's glory - worship seeks the fullness of God
The people of God have a responsibility for the well-being of the vulnerable among them.
The people of God must pursue holiness in all things; -Holiness in the assembly -Holiness in battle
The shedding of innocent blood brings judgement; the shedding of Messiahs blood brings justification.
In Deuteronomy 20, we see how your God goes before you to fight your battles and give you the victory.
The righteousness of the people of God is upheld by maintaining righteous witnesses. We see that God is concerned about the integrity and motive of a witness.
As we begin Deuteronomy 19, we see when you live in God's provision, you must live according to God's justice.
*If you would like a copy of the sermon slides, as the stage TV was not operating, you can download them here https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7ol8dvafy61bn5q713kp0/Deuteronomy-19.1-14-6.4.2023.pptx?dl=0&rlkey=fv1wzvk8359wvnr4nt56qvgoq *
Are you living in the order of the King Saul or in the order of King David? 1 Samuel 28:3-8 / 1 Samuel 30:1-8
What does God forbid His people to be involved in, and how does He say He will reveal Himself to them? In Deuteronomy 18:9-22, we see the people of God must not look to the occult, but rather to the on who YHWH raised up.
In Deuteronomy 18, we begin to see the cost of living in faithful obedience to the Lord outweighs the cost of living in rebellion against the Lord: You may lose some relationships * You may not have some possessions * You will live a life of faith in the promises of God You will life a life of separation, being chosen by God. * You will know the joy of YHWH God being your inheritance
Deuteronomy 16:13-17 we see how God's dwelling among His people is what sustains and satisfies His people.
As we dive back into Deuteronomy, we see the people of God must depend on the provision and power of God to live for God.
As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we walk through Leviticus 23:9-14 and learn because Jesus was accepted by God in being raised, those who belong to Jesus are accepted by God and will be raised.
As we celebrate Palm Sunday, we look into the passover and how God's redemption determine the identity and marks the lives of His people.
The way the people of God treat their wealth should reflect the character and heart of God.
Deuteronomy 14:1-21 we see how the children of God must treat their bodies differently because they belong to God.
In Deuteronomy 12:29 through 13:18 we see, "The people of God must not allow themselves to be drawn away from God."
Deuteronomy 12:1-28: How the people of God worship matters to God and the place of God's presence is the place of worship.
Deuteronomy 11:1-32 we see that obedience that leads to blessing is an obedience of faith.
Deuteronomy 10:1-22 we learn how the people of God must give their total allegiance to God.
In Deuteronomy 9, we see the danger of the people of God forgetting God is misplaced glory.
Deuteronomy 8:1-20 we see that we learn to know God's voice in the wilderness so that you obey God's voice in the blessing.
In Deuteronomy 7, we learn that because God sets His people apart, His people must live set apart.
As we continue in our Deuteronomy series, we see how; the people of God must not forget God in prosperity and in posterity.
As we kick off a new year, we look at Luke 3 and how we are to prepare the way of King Jesus.
Week four we see how, we worship while we wait on God because waiting on God is worship.
This includes a few things:
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Worship while waiting includes praising God
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Worship while waiting includes telling others
Week three, Russ leads us through Luke 2:8-20. We get to see the reaction to the shepherds; Go & See, Go & Tell, Go Deep, Worship as You Go.
Week two of Worship A King; Worship is perceiving what God is doing and then praising Him for it.
As we kick off our Advent series, Worship The King, we will study the Gospel of Luke. We will look at a few people and how they responded to the news of/and the coming of God's King, the Messiah, Jesus. In week one we focus on Mary and we see worship is responding to God's word and God's works with our works and our words.
Deuteronomy 5:1-33, we learn that first God brings His people out of slavery then God's people live in faithful obedience to Him.
Deuteronomy 4:32-49 we learn that the people of God obey God because there is no other god besides Him.
As we continue in Deuteronomy 4, we learn that we worship God according to His prescription, not according to our preference.
Deuteronomy 4:1-14 we see that when the people of God obey God's commands they experience the life God intends.
Deuteronomy 3:1-22, When God's people walk in obedience they will see God's Kingdom overcome opposition.
Discussion Questions:
1.After reading Deuteronomy 3:1-11, where do you see obedience showing up?
2.What is the connection between obedience and God’s power?3.Have you ever experienced the power of God when you obeyed His commands?
4.What kind of opposition do you see to the Kingdom of God expanding on the earth in these verses?
5.What opposition (physical or spiritual) challenges the Kingdom of God? What power can overcome the power of God?
6.What is God doing currently to expand His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven? Do you want to participate in that?
Deuteronomy 2:1-37 we see that obedience is how the people of God live in relationship with God.
Discussion Questions:
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What are some things that God commands believers to do?
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Have you ever seen what someone else has and wanted it for yourself?
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Tell about a time where God provided for you and it was better than what you may have picked for yourself?
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What does it look like to experience the power of God?
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What is the difference between obedience from a response of being loved and obedience done to earn love?
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What is the Holy Spirit’s role in our obedience?
As we finish out Deuteronomy 1, we see the people of God must live in the power of God in order to be on mission with God.
Deuteronomy 1:6-18, we discuss if the people of God are going to possess the promises of God, they must obey the precepts of God.
As we begin our Deuteronomy series, we discuss how disobedience delays the blessings that God has for His redeemed people.
As we wrap up our Battle Grounds series, we look at how The Church stands against darkness by standing in the armor of God.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Ephesians 6:10-18
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Who are believers wrestling against? (v12)
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Where do believers get strength to wrestle with the enemies of darkness? (v10)
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How do believers receive that strength? (v11) 4. Where is Paul drawing from as he describes God’s armor?
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Talk about some of the pieces of armor. What are they? How do they look practically in the life of the Church and individual believers?
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What must undergird all of the armor (v18)
Battle Grounds week 16 we see, believers are in a spiritual battle for which they need spiritual weapons.
Week 14 we look at how through the work of Jesus, the works of the devil have been defeated.
Week 13 of our Battle Grounds series, Justin shares that anything that undermines the all-sufficient work of Christ is demonic.
We are in week 12 of our Battle Grounds series and we are learning that following wisdom that is opposed to God is to follow wisdom that is offered by demons.
Week 11 in our Battle Grounds series we see how, anger left to simmer can give the devil a place to enter.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Should a believer be concerned about being demonized? Why or why not?
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Is there an appropriate time for a believer in Jesus to be angry? If so, when and why?
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Paul cautioned about not becoming sinful when anger. What might it look like for anger to become sinful?
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What limitation does Paul give to help prevent anger from becoming sinful? Do you think Paul means this literally?
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What might it look like to give the devil a place/foothold/opportunity?
Russ shares how we are to "seek first the Kingdom of God" and how God is to be our greatest treasure.
Week 10 of our Battle Grounds series, we see how spiritual warfare includes destroying systems of thought that oppose God.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
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According to 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 in which realm is the battle that Paul (believers) wage war?
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Paul talked about he waged war and he used the image of ancient siege warfare to describe it. What are the three stages of siege warfare that he described?
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What are the strongholds that Paul says he destroys with his weapons of warfare?
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What do these strongholds look like today in our lives?
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How do we go about destroying these strongholds?
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Why might strongholds be a spiritual warfare issue rather than “just a mental health” issue?
Week 9 of Battle Grounds we look at how when we participate in worship of other gods, we participate with demons.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
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Have you ever been around an idol? What did you think about that idol?
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What does Paul (and Moses in Deuteronomy 32) teach us about the reality of idols and the so called “gods” they represent? Are idols and the gods they represent real? Does Paul believe there is an real spiritual being behind the idols?
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If there is not other gods beside the one true God, and yet there are real spiritual beings behind the idols/false gods, what are those spiritual beings?
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Paul teaches that to participate in worship of other gods is to get entangled with demons? How might this look?
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What are some ways that we might participate in worship of idols?
Some topics discussed:
How do you pray for "this kind" of demon that Jesus talked about in Mark 9?
Do demonized people know they are demonized?
Can Christians be demonized?
Can any Christian cast out demons?
God's sovereignty in creating and permitting Satan to work evil
Some 1 Enoch and theories of the origin of demons
As we continue in our Battle Grounds series, we learn that sometimes healing from God requires deliverance from demons.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
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Do you know someone who has a sickness or disability that they can’t seem to find a remedy for?
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A POSSIBLE category for sickness/disability is demonization. What do you think about that?
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What are other possible categories for sickness/disabilities?
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What was the remedy for the woman’s disability in this passage? Do you believe that remedy is still available today?
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What are some reasons we might miss seeing the healing/deliverance of God even though it happens right in front of us?
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What should be our response to God’s deliverance and healing in our life, or other’s lives?
Week 7 of our Battle Grounds series, we look at how demons can impact us in physical ways but Jesus can deliver us from the impact of demons.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
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Have you ever encountered someone you though might have an evil spirit? What did that look like? What are the various ways that the unclean spirit affects the young boy in these verses?
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Have you considered that an evil spirit can have physical effects on a person?
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If you were to see the type of physical effects in a person that you see in these verses, what might you call it?
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According to Jesus what is the reason that disciples could not cast out this demon? (compare Mark’s version with Matthew 17:19)
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Do you believe that a believer in Jesus can cast out a demon? What does Jesus tell the man is the key to the demon being cast out (v. 23)?
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How did Jesus approach the casting out the demon from the young boy?
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In v. 29 Jesus mentions “this kind” of demon. What do we learn about delivering people who have an evil spirit from this verse?
In week 6 of our Battle Grounds series, we look at how Occult practices are influenced by demons, and to participate in them is to forsake God. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does “occult” mean? 2. What are some of the practices that are considered part of the occult? 3. Have you had any experiences with any of these practices (or any like them)? 4. Do you think these things are even real? Is there really any power in them? 5. In Deuteronomy 18:9-14 we are told that the things listed there are an abomination to the Lord and that God’s people must not participate in them…why? 6. We saw in Deuteronomy 32:15-18 that the occult practices are influenced by, and are worship of demons. Why would demons influence such things? Note: If we have participated in such things, we must repent, and we may need to be prayed for if we have opened ourselves up to some kind of demonic influence.
Battle Grounds week 5, we see there are spiritual beings ruining over nations who influence rebellion against God... but Christ is greater.
Battle Grounds Week 4, we get introduced to other spiritual beings who have rebelled against their Creator, and begin looking at how these being interact with humanity
We continue in our Battle Grounds series and see that, we resist the devil by having a firm faith in our God.
Week two of Battle Grounds, we look at how the Devil rebelled against God, and he attempts to lead others to rebel against God.
As we begin our new series, Battle Grounds, we look at three key points this week; People either belong to God, or are under the power of Satan. Satan has power to blind the minds of non-believers to the gospel. God must extend grace to open the eyes of non-believers.
Justin Racca
“As the people of God:
living faithfully makes us different; forgetting makes us distant”
Justin Racca
"When you focus on giants you live within your parameters; when you focus on God you live within His"
Justin Racca
“Sometimes the place God grows you is in the place that is uncomfortable for you”
Justin Racca
“God’s blessing may not come how we expect, but it will be better than we expect”
Justin Racca
“Rebellion against God leads to separation from God; Grace from God leads to relationship with God”
Justin Racca
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Jesus suffered as an example for us to follow
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Jesus suffered to free us from sin
Justin Racca
“God’s discipline may lead to suffering, but it also leads to sanctification”
Justin Racca
“Sometimes the cause of your suffering is the consequences of you own sin”
Justin Racca
“The suffering you endure now is worth the glory you will experience later.”
“Disciple-making is how the gospel is passed from one generation to another”
Justin Racca
Justin Racca
A person who is shaped by the gospel understands:
- God’s Role in salvation
- Humanity’s response to God’s salvation
- God’s Word regarding salvation
- Humanity’s role in evangelism
- God’s role in evangelism
"The mission of the Church that belongs to Jesus is carried out by the people who belong to Jesus." Justin Racca
Justin Racca "The heartbeat of the Church is to make Jesus' final words its first work"
Justin Racca
“The church flourishes under the care of watchful shepherds”
Acts 20:28-31
Artificial faith leads to superficial growth. Authentic faith leads to supernatural growth.
Disagreement among followers of Jesus must not lead to division among followers of Jesus
You are more like to share what you know from an experience rather than what you know from an explanation
A Spirit-empowered mission will receive Spirit-filled ministry in the face of Spirit-rejecting opposition.
A church that has been impacted by God's grace will impact others because of God's grace.
Go Beyond...Bring Them in...Worship as One(Also includes Commissioning of Pastor of Hispanic Ministries and his wife, Joel and Carmen Mendez).
Teachability and accountability come from humility, and humility is where God grows His people
God's presence is Heavenly, God's presence is Overwhelming, God's presence is Purifying, God's presence is Exonerating....God's presence is HOPE.
Don't let those who are bothered by the message of Jesus keep you from following Jesus.
Don't be so consumed with God's benefit for you that you fail to share God's blessing with others.
Delighting in God leads to delighting in God's Word. Delighting in God's Word leads to delighting in God.
Before we can know the freedom of forgiveness we must know the forgiveness that God offers.
1) You need the PRESENCE of God; 2) You must increase your PROXIMITY to God; 3) Greater proximity leads to greater PASSION.
Obedience with the goal of being loved is a burden, but obedience as a result of being loved is freedom.
When we stay in God's Word, and we stay in God's Spirit, we will stay in God's fellowship.
To experience the benefit of being forgiven our sin, we must first be honest about our sin.
The reality of your spiritual life is based on your response to Jesus, the Word of Life.
The more we understand the depth of our sin, the more we will understand the depths of God's love for sinners.
- Our sin makes us barren before God; 2. God births hope in the midst of darkness...It may seem hopeless, but God is stirring.
Change your prescription:1) Understanding more than relief; 2) Faith over fear; 3) Personal growth before public growth; 4) Assurance of God's faithfulness more than clarity of God's will
Deliverance does not come through human savors, but it begins when God declares His intent to act on our behalf and it comes when we act in faith on God's word, which will not fail.
Partial Obedience to God is disobedience, and disobedience has disastrous consequences....But God is generous with grace!Obedience to God is an "all in or not in at all" thing.
Sin does not win; It's not over yet; No one is beyond God's mercy; Give yourself to God.
How does God develop leaders He can use? How does He develop people to make an impact where they are...Learn now what you need next; Entrust yourself to God; Apply integrity; Develop your skills
How does a group of Christians, the Church, get along when there are so many different perspectives...Don't Judge!You'll have to listen to learn more.
How do you thrive in unity when there is so much diversity:1. Cross Barriers, 2. Be Humble, 3. Build on Common Ground, 4. Redirect Gracefully, 5. Watch God move
1) Know your authority; 2) Know whose message you bring; 3) Know the message you bring.
Missions exists because worship of God does not (- John Piper, "Let the Nations Be Glad")
The Church is a group of people who belong to Jesus, are being built by Jesus, and who bring the message of Jesus.
A Christian is someone who has been given new spiritual life by God through believing in Jesus.
- The Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16:8-11); 2. The Spirit connects us to the Savior (1 Corinthians 12:13); 3. The Spirit empowers us to live (Galatians 5:16-17).
We were dead BUT GOD...1)...has a great love for us; 2) ...is rich in mercy; 3) ...saved us through His grace
When you pray: 1) Do not try to impress others (6:5-6); 2) Do not try to impress God (6:7-8); 3) Follow the example of Jesus (6:9)
- Believing Jesus is alive leads to living like he is alive...2. Living like Jesus is alive leads to sharing that news with others....If you believe Jesus is alive...Live like it.
Jesus made access to God possible by becoming the sacrifice we needed. This is also our Communion Service
Who you depend on to make you right is revealed in how you live. God does not want your things. He wants you.
When we participate in Communion we... - admit and confess our need for a Savior, and our need to be forgiven.- proclaim to ourselves and to others, that Jesus is our Savior, and the One whom we have trusted for salvation.- are reminded that we are loved by God, and that we are part of His family forever.- remember that we are all united with one another because of our faith in Jesus, and so we are family members as well.- also nourished spiritually by Christ. We are encouraged in our faith. We are strengthened in our resolve to live and love boldly, just as we have been loved boldly.
Duty to God does not cancel duty to government, and duty to government must not supersede duty to God.
- The Christian Life is an relational life 2. Christian relationships illustrate spiritual realities 3. We need each other 4. Authentic community is compelling
Through the Bible God speaks powerfully, and He speaks personally. Video shown can be found at this link: http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/29/politics/donald-trump-bible-twitter-feat/
Christians give because they know God is more powerful. Christians give because they know God is more generous.
How do you approach Jesus? Do you respond with a calculated skepticism, fear of people, or faith?
- We must not let a concession because of sin become permission to sin.2. We must always live in light of God's standard and not our own.3. When we fail to reach God's standard we must repent, receive, and resume.
If you want to live a significant life as a disciple of Jesus, you have to learn to become insignificant.
We can parent with freedom from fear, pride, and selfishness, because our identity is found in being adopted as children of God through Christ.
Three things from these verses:1. A follower of Christ should have a spiritual hunger that outweighs their physical hunger. 2. God is revealed through compassionate giving.3. Christ is patient when his followers struggle to trust him.
Spiritual Poverty brings right perspectiveGod's mercy is abundantHearing problems lead to speaking problemsGod's acts are always good
The first set of Deacons were commissioned at Heaston Church. This recording includes the commissioning prayer over the Deacons.
In a marriage:1. Consistent Sex Protects2. Give What is Due3. What's Hers is His and What's His is Hers4. Sex Should Not Be Used to Abuse
Who is Heaston Church and what makes us tick? What do you see when you look under the hood?
Your ability to reach people will increase as you realize your inability to do it on your own.
Followers are meant to become fishers who go on mission and trust God for His provision.
The things you believe belong to you, you will hold tightly. The things you believe belong to God, you will hold loosely.
Christmas Eve Sermon: "Praise is the response you give to the God Who sent His Son to die so you can live!"