Ridge Life Podcast: Recent Episodes
Pleasant Ridge Christian Fellowship
Welcome to Life at the Ridge a weekly podcast of Pleasant Ridge Christian Fellowship. To learn more please visit our website at lifeattheridge.church
In this final chapter God tells us exactly why Nineveh is deserving of His judgement. God will destroy all of His enemies, but we must not forget who the real enemy is.
Why does God destroy His enemies? Why was Nineveh going to be destroyed? How would Nineveh be destroyed? Nahum chapter 2 outlines for us God's destruction of His enemies.
Does God's wrath make you feel uncomfortable? Is God really that mean? In the book of Nahum we are going to see a full display of God's judgement against the city of Nineveh.
As we begin to work our way through the book of Nahum, it's important to understand the historical setting and background.
In this section of Mark we see Jesus touching the lives of several people and having power to heal.
Jon Sparks gave this message out of the life of David as to why David lost his way and some helpful lessons on how to stay on the path that pleases God.
These last few verses of the book of Jonah are comprised of some questions God has for Jonah. We find that Jonah still has some much needed heart surgery to be accomplished. God asks Jonah these questions to deal with his heart issues and change his perspective.
So here’s Jonah, he has just seen an entire nation, an entire city repent at a very simple but straight message about repentance. We might think OK show’s over, this was a great triumph! Jonah probably is happy by this point.
Jonah’s probably thinking I can go home now, mission is over. But that's not what we're going to find in chapter 4. Chapter 4 actually tells us otherwise. It tells us that Jonah was angry. So there is a huge problem in Jonah’s heart and God is going to instruct Jonah through His grace that is going to hopefully help Jonah grow in his understanding who God is.
Jesus has tremendous authority and power. He has the power to rescue sinners from Satans dominion and take them from darkness to light.
The repentance and the grace of God is so fantastic to see in how the Ninevites responded to God's message. Not only did the Ninevites repent, but God did as well!
Through the preaching of Jonah the people of Ninevah repent. The people believed God and repented. Why is repentance necessary for God's grace?
God shows great grace to this great city because they repented.
After Jonah was swallowed by the great fish, we hear him praying from inside the fishes belly. What did Jonah learn, what did he say?
Vs 17 is a striking verse, as it reveals to us about God's sovereignty. The LORD prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, but we see a greater God who is at work in Jonah's life and is making all things to work together for good.
The LORD sent a great wind on the sea to pursue after His prodigal prophet. The LORD will send storms in our life to bring us back to Him.
What is the book of Jonah about? Why does God decide to use this prodigal prophet for His own desires? What does the book of Jonah teach us about God?
This is the last message given by the prophet Haggai. The message is specific and for only one person Zerubbabel. His message brings strength and encouragement by reminding him of God's promises.
Today in our passage, God's people are going to be given painful, unexpected news. We're going to hear again about difficulties that God has brought into their lives. And we're going to see that through all of it, God has a loving and shepherding and gracious purpose for His people.
Have you ever been discouraged? The people during Haggai's day had found themselves discouraged in the attempt to rebuild the temple. God gives Haggai another message to encourage the people to continue to accomplish the task He has instructed them to accomplish.
Haggai confronts the remnant that has returned from Babylon about not rebuilding the Temple. His message is a simple one, "Put God first".
The book of Mark is a fantastical book. The Gospel of Mark records many aspects of Jesus’ ministry, but it has no account of his birth. This gospel begins when Jesus is already an adult. Mark portrays Jesus as the suffering servant. As you read through Marks Gospel you see the actions of Jesus. Jesus is constantly on the move. Mark focuses on those actions and shows Jesus as a servant, performing miracles, and that he was crucified and resurrected.
What is the purpose of fasting? How will we know if we are fasting correctly? What does Jesus teach us about fasting?
What does a true fast look like? What will fasting actually accomplish? What kind of fast does the Lord desire?
What is fasting and why should we practice it? Why isn't fasting something that as believers we don't do? God's Word has quite a bit to say on this amazing Christian devotion.
Why did God choose to have the events unfold the way they did on that early Sunday morning? Why tell the resurrection story the way that it’s recorded for us in the Gospel accounts?
As we read of Christ's entrance into Jerusalem on what is known as Palm Sunday we encounter three different groups of people in the crowd. Jesus came as the King but do we accept Him as such?
In the garden Jesus prays to His Father. He tells His disciples that they need to keep watch.
What do grapes have to do with our Lord's passion? These were some of his list intimate words our Lord spoke with His disciples the night before His crucifixion and death.
Christ's passion is set before us in these 10 verses. This is the last week of his life. The cross is now imminent, perhaps three days away. Everything is coming to a close. There are 4 word’s that will help us capture his passion as Christ is exalted and lifted up.
This is our last message out of Malachi. So far we’ve seen God exposing and confronting the apathetic, insincere and loveless worship of his people. Today you will see a difference.
What Malachi will be focusing on here in his last message is all about the second coming of Christ.
God's people had become spiritually apathetic. Their response to God's indictments was "we're fine" "no problem here". God shows them ways to reveal to the people that they had become spiritually apathetic.
"God you delight in evil!" "Where is the God of justice?" Israel was saying all the wrong things about who God was and in turn God told them through Malachi that their words were wearisome to Him. Their words revealed a deeper problem and that was their hypocrisy. Is there any hope? Yes through God's messenger who will come.
Are we faithful in our relationships? How will we know if we are? Malachi addresses the peoples faithless relationships and shows them the sin that they had committed against each other but ultimately God.
God's disgust with the way His people were worshiping Him, was in direct connection with the priests. The priests were not leading the people spiritually and with integrity. Today the church is to be led by godly spiritual men and there are some very good reminders here out of Malachi that can help the church know how the spiritual leaders should be leading.
The priests were allowing the people to bring polluted sacrifices for worship. God was very displeased in their worship. Their response was "How have we despised you?" In essence their sacrifices they were using was a reflection of what they thought of God. They had lost respect for God.
What message does the book of Malachi have for us who live in 2024? Surprisingly his message is very applicable for us who know Christ. This is an introduction to the book of Malachi.
How many days are you going to live? What will your life consist of?
Moses gives us a life lesson at the end of his life out of Psalm 90.
What is the Day of the Lord? What will happen? What can we learn from what Scripture teaches about this very important event?
What is your picture of Heaven? What is it that we hope in? What does it mean to believe in the hope of Heaven?
What does it mean to believe in the crucifixion and resurrection? What does the crucifixion and resurrection mean for the believer in Christ?
What does it mean to believe in the name of Jesus Christ? What does His name mean for those who believe and those who don't?
Psalm 111 is overflowing with thanks to God for His works. The Psalmist not only gives thanks with his lips but with his whole heart. How can we give thanks to God that is heart felt and with our whole heart?
What can we give thanks for? Psalm 92 helps us understand who God is and why we should give Him thanks.
Psalm 86 is a prayer of David. Throughout this Psalm David gives praise and thanksgiving to the only true God.
Do we desire the blessings and goodness of God? David gives us a good understanding of how to have the blessings and goodness of God in our life out of Psalm 34
Paul lists seven spiritual gifts here in Romans 12. In this list he tells us how to use them in humility.
How can we pray better? What examples do we find from Scripture that we can learn from?
Paul charged Timothy to remain faithful no matter what. Are we remaining faithful to Christ and our testimony? How can we remain faithful?
In seasons of darkness and distress, trial and trouble what do our prayers convey to God? How do we express our heartfelt grief?
In Romans 12 we are called to change our thinking as concerning the grace of God in reference to our spiritual gifts. The gifts are to be used in humility. When we use our gifts in humility, it glorifies God.
Women keeping silent in the church? Is this a real command? What does it mean? Why does Paul talk about it in connection with spiritual gifts?
Christ is coming back and He is expecting us to persevere till He returns. How can we stay faithful? How are we to live the Christian life? Paul gives Timothy some instructions on how to remain faithful till Christ returns.
How is the church gathering to be conducted? How are the gifts to be used in the church service? Paul gives us some more principles for the worship gathering.
What is the purpose of tongues? Paul draws some truth from the Old Testament to help us grasp why God uses tongues as a sign.
What's the purpose of tongues? How are tongues to be used in the worship service? Tongues are beneficial but only if used biblically. Paul gives us some principles for worship out of I Corinthians 14.
What does Scripture teach about money? Paul gives Timothy some instructions about money to teach others in the church about.
Paul finishes his reason why love is paramount to spiritual gifts in vs 8-13. Love never ends.
Paul sums up his description of love in vs 7 with 4 characteristics of love. Are we living up to God's standard of love?
Paul is trying to help these believers at Corinth in understanding the purpose of love in using their spiritual gifts. In order to help the Corinthians,Paul describes what love is. Paul gives us two positive descriptions of love followed by seven negative descriptions of what love is not.
Paul instructs the Corinthian church on how to use their spiritual gifts. They are to be used in love. In this first part we will examine why love is important when using spiritual gifts.
Do you know how to recognize a false teacher or teaching? Paul gives Timothy some instructions on what false teachers look like and how to spot one.
God gives each person a function as a member of the body of Christ so it can function in unity through their spiritual gift(s). How does the body of Christ work? How can we have unity with such diversity?
What is the manifestation of the Spirit and how does knowing that help us live in unity? We continue our journey through I Corinthians 12:7-11
What does the Corinthian church teach us about diversity and unity? Can unity be attained with diverseness of spiritual gifts? What does that look like?
Testimonies from the team that went to Honduras for a mission trip:
Cayla Maurer
Jeffrey Maurer
Adrain McGuire
Allan McGuire
Maria Miller
Jonas Schmucker
Maria Miller
In I Corinthians 12-14 the overall theme of the spiritual gifts are for the purpose to bring unity within the body of Christ. Paul had to address some issues that these believers were taking part in how they were using their spiritual gifts and it was causing a false spirituality. How can we guard against false spirituality?
What does spiritual maturity look like when we use our gifts within the church? What are the marks of spiritual maturity? If the goal is maturity in the body of Christ, how will we know if we are heading in the right direction?
How does God mature the church? He does it through the building up of the body of Christ when we use our spiritual gifts, however this building up of the body cannot begin until there is an equipping of the saints so they can do the work of the ministry.
Jerry Maurer one of our Elders is teaching out of I Timothy for our Elder series out of I Timothy.
How does the church mature? Who directs the maturing process of the church?
How is God using us to help the church mature?
Do you know what a spiritual gift is or what the gifts are? We will be working through this topic over the next few months.
Paul's dialogue with King Agrippa gives about the resurrection gives us some things to think about if the resurrection has made a difference in our lives.
Some details about the Elders in the church. Some basics on how the Eldership should function and look.
What is the result of when the body of Christ sees one another? The result will be maturity. The goal we should be striving for is maturity in the body. Paul said it well in Colossians that we labor to present every man mature in Jesus Christ. How can we serve one another so the body matures?
The last few verses in Colossians are a good reminder to us that we are part of the body and called to serve.
Have you ever wondered how you should correct someone in the church that you thought was doing wrong? Is this a task we are supposed to be doing or is it only for the "professionals" that are in charge? What about widows? Is the church obligated to take care of every widow? What about single mothers or women that have been abandoned? How can we effectively correct and care for those in the church family?
How are we to make disciples? How can we declare the mystery of Christ with clarity and compassionately?
Are we living on mission and making disciples as we have been commanded? Paul gives us some helpful advice in how to make disciples in the natural rhythms of life.
Are we devoted to prayer? Have we been partnering with God through prayer to see His kingdom come and His will be done? In these last few verses out of chapter 4 Paul has some really good instructions and encouragement for us.
Are you a living example in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity? Paul's command to Timothy was he was to be a living example of those things to those whom he was teaching. Whose example are you following? Are you being a good example of those things to others? Why are we to be an example of those things? Allan brought the Word to us this Sunday out of I Timothy 4:12-16.
Are you in what seems like a dead end job? Does your boss not treat you fairly? Is it possible to glorify Christ where you work? How? Even if you are in what seems like a horrible job? Paul gives instructions to slaves and masters (Col 3:22-4:1) in how they are to conduct themselves towards each other despite their situations and be a living testimony of how the Gospel has changed their lives.
It was a joy to have Jeff Fater from RETA to bring us some thoughts from God's Word about Jesus being pro life.
Does God's Word promote slavery? Is God OK with slavery and people having slaves? What was the purpose of slavery?
Pauls instructions to Timothy was to labor for godliness or to be Christlike. Are we laboring for Christlikeness?
The message from the book of Micha gives us a different perspective of the ruler that would come from the little town of Bethlehem.
Isaiah 60 gives us a tremendous prophecy about the coming of Christ and His kingdom. Not only does this prophecy tell us about His second coming but it also hints to His first coming.
God has specific instructions for children and fathers. If we desire a Christlike home then each member of the family needs to follow the commands that ate outlined in Scripture.
How was Timothy going to be a good minister of Jesus Christ? Paul gives Timothy some specific instructions in how to do this. As followers of Jesus we too can gain some practical insights from these instructions as well.
Husbands are we fulfilling the biblical command of loving our wives? How do we know? What is the standard of a loving husband? How can we love our wives better and learn how not to be harsh with our wives?
Paul is showing us how the Gospel has changed our relationships in the church and now begins to tell us how the Gospel has and should transform our lives in our marriages, homes and families. What exactly is a submissive wife? What does it mean to submit? We hope to give you a fresh and biblical perspective on one of the most misunderstood and misused topics in Scripture.
Would you say that your life reflects an attitude of grumbling or being grateful? When others hear you talk what would they say? What would God say? As we continue our teaching out of Colossians 3 Paul is going to give us a reminder that a life of thanksgiving is the result of being a Spirit-filled believer that does all to the glory of God.
How will we know that we are in the last days? Paul tells Timothy what will mark the last days is Christians departing from truth and running after false teaching and false doctrine. How can we as believers make sure we don't fall prey to false teaching and false doctrine?
Is the Word of Christ dwelling in you? How do you know? What does it look like when Christ's Word is dwelling in you?
Is the peace of Christ ruling in your hearts? Jesus transforms us, but also gives us the ability to transform our relationships.
Do you love your fellow brother or sister in Christ? Is it a real love? How can we keep from hypocritical love? How will we know if we really are loving one another? Paul encourages us as believers to put on love above everything as it is what brings unity in the body of Christ.
How are the relationships in your life? Would you say they are healthy, or on life support? God is very concerned about our relationships with one another because if we are citizens of heaven we are to be displaying the same Christlike qualities in our relationships that God has shown to us trough the Gospel such as compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance and forgiveness. Are you practicing these? How can we display these qualities?
How important is the church (body of Christ) in this day and age? Paul told Timothy that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth and within the church we are confessing the mystery of godliness. What is this mystery?
It's reported that the average person tells twenty-five lies a day! Why don't we tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? We are commanded as believers in Christ to be people of truth and not to lie to one another.
How do you handle your sinful anger? Pauls command in Colossians 3:7-8 tells us we must put it away. How do we do that? God's Word gives us everything we need to not only control it but to live in victory over it. The Gospel speaks directly into our lives and gives us the power to overcome sinful anger.
What is anger? It is something that we all deal with. It often shows up in our frustrations, opinions, dislikes, when we are offended, when we're not heard, when we are hurt, ignored, used and abused. It can be a volcano eruption, or a slow simmering pot. When does it become sinful and how can we "put away" sinful anger?
Paul gives instructions to Timothy about the office of deacons. What are the qualifications of a deacon? What is a deacon?
What does God's Word say about hope for those who struggle with sexual immorality? What hope does Jesus offer?
Are you killing the sin in your life? What sins in your life need to be put to death? As believers in Christ positionally we have died to sin having been raised to new life in Him. We need to live that truth out practically by putting our sins to death.
What is the secret to living the Christian life? What will help you fight sin? What is the key to helping us have the right relationships in our marriages, families, and within and without the church? The answer is Pauls truth statement "If then you have been raised with Christ…" What does it mean to be raised with Christ?
Does God's Word give requirements for those who shepherd and lead the flock? Why are these requirements necessary?
I Timothy 3:1-7 gives us the instructions and qualifications for those who are to be in leadership as they serve the local church through teaching the Word and helping others grow spiritually. It is our prayer that Pleasant Ridge will strive to be led by a plurality of Biblically qualified men who can shepherd and protect the flock.
This was an opportunity for the church family to share how Colossians has impacted their faith walk with Christ.
Do you still struggle in sin? I know I do... often. How do we have victory over sin? The believers in Colosse were being taught in order to have victory over the flesh they needed to submit to man made rules and asceticism, which did not help. What is the answer? We need to be identified with Christ in His death. Col. 2:20-23
Is is possible to stop the indulgence of the flesh? Paul says the answer is not through asceticism (self denial) but through identity with Christ. Why is self denial not an avenue to controlling the flesh? What were these believers at Colosse being taught about how to control the desires of the flesh?
What is legalism? How does it present itself? How can we avoid the dangers of legalism and those who promote it? Paul tells the believers at Colosse to watch out for the legalists that not only will try to defraud them but also disqualify them.
How important is it to follow instructions? Do you believe that God gives us instructions for worship? Just as God has instructions for men in the church , He also gives instructions for women in the church. Following God's instructions are always best.
What has Jesus accomplished on the cross? Does His cross have power? If so power to do what?
What has the work of Christ accomplished? Is the work of Christ sufficient to our sin and sanctification? Are we captivated by Christ's work on the cross?
Have you been captivated by false teaching? How can we recognize false teaching? How do we become captivated by Christ?
Why should we pray? Paul's instructions to Timothy for the purpose of prayer is rooted in the Gospel and who Christ is.
How important is your walk with Jesus? How can we continue to walk with Jesus? What does this walk look like? Paul instructs the Colossian believers the importance of their walk.
Paul had a great struggle for the believers. His struggle was that they would remain firm against the plausible arguments that promoted false teaching and doctrine.
How can we serve Jesus? Every Christian is a minister (servant) to minister on behalf of Christ.
What is prayer? Why should we pray? Paul gives Timothy some instructions of how to approach prayer not only for his life but for the life of the church.
How has the work of reconciliation changed you? What happened in reconciliation and why did it need to happen? God's Word challenges us to live differently now that we have been reconciled.
Jesus is the firstborn of the dead. What does that mean? How does His resurrection change how we live and what we can expect in our future resurrection?
Has Jesus lost His place of honor in your life? Is He the King that we proclaim Him to be? The truth is Jesus is the King and He is over all.
How has your faith in Jesus Christ affected the way you live? If you were to give your faith a check-up how is it doing? Is your faith growing or become stagnant?
Is Jesus supreme? Is Jesus first in your life? Often in our lives, Christ is marginalized. He often isn’t first: usually it's our family, our careers, hobby and other interests that push Jesus to the side. In vs 15-19 of chapter 1 Paul gives us a beautiful poem of who Jesus is and how He is above all, before all, and is over all. It causes us to place our focus on Jesus. Paul gives us reasons why Christ should be first in our lives and in the entire world. He talks about how special Christ is and why he must be first.
Pauls prayer in chapter one is summed up in vs 13-14 with two great blessings to those who know Christ; You have been delivered from darkness and you have forgiveness through the redemption of Jesus Christ. Are these blessings a reality in your life? Do you know Jesus?
What is the will of God? How can we know how to live a life that is worthy and well pleasing of God? Our lives must be conformed to the Gospel and allow the Gospel to shape our lives.
What is the use of Gods law? Why do we have it? Is it still relevant for us today? This is the second message from our Elder Series out of I Timothy.
Has your life been shaped by the Gospel? Paul's words to the believers at Colosse remind them of their faith in Christ and how the Gospel has changed them. What does a Gospel shaped life look like? This is the second part to the message Gospel Shaped Christianity.
Has your life been shaped by the Gospel? Paul's words to the believers at Colosse remind them of their faith in Christ and how the Gospel has changed them. What does a Gospel shaped life look like?
Do you see Jesus clearly? What things in your life or in this world have caused you not to see Jesus clearly? The book of Colossians was written to a group of Christians that were facing the pressures of the culture that caused them to be tempted to give in to the world, Paul wants them to have a clear view of Christ and how to walk with Him. Paul's words to the believers at this church were "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ" Colossians 1:28
This is the first of many messages out of the book of I Timothy. The Elders will be teaching through this book the first Sunday of every month. In this message we learn about Paul's commission to Timothy and what he wanted him to do.
How are we doing with loving one another and practicing forgiveness towards each other? The church at Sardis was told by Jesus..."You have the appearance of being alive, but you are dead..." Revelation 3:1-3 As followers of Jesus we need to remember the importance of love and forgiveness in the body of Christ.
Do we desire truth? The church at Sardis had an appearance of being alive but really they were dead. Do we have an appearance of desiring truth?, walking in truth? or obeying truth? What is truth?
How is your listening? Many of us say we hear, but are we listening? It's important to listen to the truthfulness of God's Word, what He says and act in obedience to His Word. The message that Jesus gave the church at Sardis was you have the appearance of being alive but you are dead… How well do you think they were listening?
Jesus' words to the corpse church at Sardis is "...you have an appearance of being alive, but you are dead....strengthen what remains and is about to die" Rev 3:1-2. What spiritual aspects of your Christian life need strengthening? Has your worship for God become stagnant or non existent? Why? and how can we overcome this?
As we begin the new year, what's important as a follower Christ? In the letter to the church in Sardis Jesus has these words to say "‘...I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent..." (Revelation 3:1-3) Join us for the month of January as we look at some important Biblical truths that we have received, heard and strengthen those truths that remain.
How was it that the Jews missed Messiahs coming? They were looking for someone else. The prophecy found in Zechariah gives us a great understanding of who Jesus is and what we should expect at His coming.
Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.” John 19:19-22
Is He the King? How do we know? If He is the King what does His crucifixion mean?
God's Word tells us about Jesus who was not only the King of the Jews but He is the eternal King whose kingdom is not of this world. Have you beheld the King?
When the wisemen came to Jerusalem to seek the Messiah, what did they find? Jesus was born "King of the Jews" yet Herod and all of Jerusalem didn't seem to care and were troubled by this news of the wisemen seeking the Messiah. What is your response to the birth of Christ?
When we look at Psalm 118 we are reminded 5 times about the steadfast love of God. God's love is woven throughout this Psalm. Are we thankful for His love?
In times of distress where do you find strength? What gives you joy? unfortunately many people look for strength and joy in relationships, people, addictive substances and vices but not the Lord. For believers in Jesus Christ our strength should be in God.
In your salvation what are some things that you are thankful for? In Psalm 118 the Psalmist declares giving thanks to the Lord because he trusts in God alone for his refuge and help.
David Russell from SonSet Solutions came to bring us an update about the ministry we support and some helpful reminders about how we can pray and support the ministry.
We can learn a lot, apply and change in our lives to help us to have a more affective prayer life. As we already covered about Jesus’ habits of prayer, asking and receiving, and hindrances to prayer we will look at the mechanics of prayer. The how. Prayer is not just saying all the right words to get God to do something. Prayer is relationship. Relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Over and over we are told in Scripture that God does answer prayer. When we pray we are coming together with God to accomplish His plan, His purposes in this world in us and through us. Prayer changes things, but unfortunately many prayers go up, but yet actually accomplish anything. There are many that have said “prayer doesn’t work” I’ve prayed and prayed, but nothing has changed. So what is the problem. We know it can’t be God, because God is Holy, righteous, powerful. He is loving and good and it’s his desire to hear us and as we saw last week, since he didn’t spare his own son, he will graciously give us all things.
There are hindrances to prayer, I’m sure we all could come up with a list of things that may hinder prayers, but we will focus on the big three and we need to be aware of them so we can make sure our prayers are getting through to God.
Prayer is important for those who know Christ as their savior. Last week we looked at the habit of Jesus’ prayer life. He prayed often and through his life we can be challenged that we too need to devote ourselves to prayer. Questions however may arise in what is the purpose of praying? What does it accomplish and How does prayer work? Does prayer work?
There are some misunderstandings of prayer and how it works because we have a very unbiblical thinking of who God is and what He says. Your theology (what you believe about who God is and what he says) will affect your philosophy (how you live out your life).
For the month of October we are going to examine the Scriptures as what they teach us about prayer. We find throughout all of Scripture the importance of prayer, all the way through from Genesis to Revelation we find prayer as the outlet of power that puts us in connection with the spiritual realm to accomplish God’s work, God’s way. In the New Testament we see Jesus as the example of prayer and how it should look in our lives. We see these examples all throughout the Gospel accounts. Jesus had a habit of prayer. What is a habit?
It is an act repeated so often as to be done involuntarily; that is, without a new decision of the mind each time it is done. This was the prayer life of Jesus. Jesus prayed, He loved to pray. Sometimes praying was His way of resting. He prayed so much and so often that it became a part of his life.
This has been a topic of much discussion ever since our Lord talked with His disciples which is known in Scripture as the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. It's important that we focus on Christ’s return and not so much as the timeline of the events.
Why does Jesus need to return? Wouldn’t it be easier to just take Christians out of this world allow the world to self destruct and just go on with life? Or maybe even you have talked with people who feel as if this world is just going to go on and on. Always continuing the way that it’s always been. Interesting enough, Peter writes about these types of people in the last days and calls them scoffers who follow their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
So why is it important that Jesus needs to return? When we understand the "Why?" it will help us understand God's plan of redemption.
We have been spending a few weeks on the second coming of Jesus Christ. It’s not a matter of if Jesus will return but a matter of when Jesus will return. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ then you need to be focusing on what the Scriptures teach about our Lord’s return and not be so focused on the other events. After all Jesus is the main event. He is to be center stage and what we need to be looking for. We find throughout Scripture in the Old Testament and New references of Jesus' second return. It is something that is going to happen but How does the Bile teach that He will return?
What will Jesus do when He returns? God's Word gives us some very specific things that we can expect at His return? What does this mean for the beliver in Christ? How does this affect our outlook on this life and what's to come? Ready or Not Jesus Christ is returning and will fulfill all of His promises.
Ever since our Lord Jesus resurrected and spent 40 days with his disciples and then was taken out of their sight as he ascended into Heaven, we are reminded of the words of how Acts 1:9-11 describes the scene “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Since our Lord’s ascension there has been an expectation of His return. The Apostles believed Jesus was going to return, the early Christians lived and died in expectation of His return for centuries, the church has been proclaiming the return of Jesus Christ.
Today we are going to look at the last 3 verses of his letter to the Philippian church. The things that he speaks about is dealing with the relationship within the body of Christ The Church and these last few words are instructions for the saints. One of the things that we have to learn is how to live together within the body of Christ. All of us who know Christ have been redeemed by Him and have had our sins forgiven and so all of us are equal at the foot of the cross. Just as Paul says in Galatians 3:23 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”
The difficult thing in our lives is because we still struggle with sin, and since the church the body of Christ is not perfect yet, we are growing in sanctification, we have to work at our relationships within the body of Christ. The things Paul is going to remind us here in these last few verses will be helpful for us to remember.
When we think of Paul’s situation he was very content. As we just spent a couple months on contentment, Paul had just stated earlier that in whatever situation he had found himself in he had learned to be content. The verses that flow out of his contentment is this thankfulness that he expresses towards the Philippian church.
One of the things that we see when we are faced with difficult circumstances is that it allows the church, the body of Christ , you and me to be a help and provide a need to someone else. When we do this we grow in our worship to God.
Can you be content in any situation? Paul the writer of the letter to the Philippian church could. It wasn't because he was some super Christian. It was simply because he had learned the secret to being content "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13. We have been discussing contentment over the past couple weeks and now we want to put legs to what we have been studying and seeing how we can be content in ANY situation. We will cover a wide range of situations and learn some biblical principles in contentment.
Can you be content in any situation? Paul the writer of the letter to the Philippian church could. It wasn't because he was some super Christian. It was simply because he had learned the secret to being content "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13. We have been discussing contentment over the past couple weeks and now we want to put legs to what we have been studying and seeing how we can be content in ANY situation. We will cover a wide range of situations and learn some biblical principles in contentment.
Can you be content in any situation? Paul the writer of the letter to the Philippian church could. It wasn't because he was some super Christian. It was simply because he had learned the secret to being content "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13. We have been discussing contentment over the past couple weeks and now we want to put legs to what we have been studying and seeing how we can be content in ANY situation. We will cover a wide range of situations and learn some biblical principles in contentment.
Are you content? Right now are you content with the situation and where you are in life? Contentment defined according to Gods Word means to be "self-sufficient". Does your life need outside means to make you content? Paul says in Philippians 4:10-19 that he has "learned to be content" How did he learn this? What is the secret to contentment? How can we practice this secret in our lives?
The command to rejoice always should be obeyed and lived out regardless of our circumstances. We have already discussed how we act reveals what we have been thinking about, and in order for us to have peace and joy and be able to rise above our circumstances we need to be thinking rightly. In connection with that thought Paul tells us that he has modeled this and lived that out. (Vs 9) Paul picks up that thought and adds to it that he himself has learned the secret of contentment. What ever situation he has found himself in he has learned how to be content. Are you content as a follower of Jesus Christ? When things don't go the way you thought, are you content?
"Think on these things" Paul's words are a command of what we need to be thinking about in order to fulfill the command to "rejoice always". Last week we covered 4 of the 8 virtues we are to be thinking about. "whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise." As a follower of Christ we must think biblically and change our thinking in order to fulfill these commands of "Rejoicing always" and "Do not be anxious about anything"
What do you think about? What we do reveals how we think. The command that Paul has been stressing in Philippians 4 is to "rejoice always" and within that command he tells us that we should "not be anxious about anything" but rather "pray about everything" and to "think on these things" What things? We are given 8 things that we are to be renewing our minds on in Philippians 4:8-9.
What controls your thinking? Why do you do the things that you do? What we do reveals what we think about. God's Word tells us in Philippians 4 that we need to be rejoicing always, and as we looked at last week the answer to our anxiety and peace in our hearts and minds is through proper prayer. Paul continues his thought in vs 7-8 about what we think about and how that thinking does affect the outworking of how we live and what we do. So what should we think about? How can we have the proper thinking?
We’ve been looking at these last few things Paul is teaching in chapter 4 to the church at Philippi. Vs 6-7 talk about anxiety or worry and how to deal with it properly. All of us have had an encounter with anxiety or worry. It creeps in our lives and causes us to worry over big and little things, gnawing away at our insides. We worry about all sorts of things. We tend to think that our worries are not significant enough or they are too big that God would not be concerned about them or that He could not handle them. God's Word gives us the instructions on how to handle our anxiety and it is through proper prayer. So what do you worry about? What have you done about it?
When things don't go "right" in your life, how do you respond?
What relationships in your life have recently changed? How did you react? What other disappointments have you had recently? How have you reacted? Has anyone recently slandered you? How did you react? As we have been studying Philippians 4. The command is for us to "rejoice always" Last week we looked at the things that should be giving us joy, but this week we need to focus on how the believer in Christ can have joy and obey the command.
The next verse in vs 5 says "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;" The word reasonableness has to deal with gentleness or forbearance. How can we be gentle or forbearing when things are not going right? How can we fulfill this command by rejoicing always?
As we have been seeing one of the major themes throughout this book is joy, or rejoicing. I have said that we are to rejoice in spite of our circumstances. We need to find our joy in Christ not in the circumstances. The Christian life is to be one of joy, a joy that transcends the negative things in life. I believe Paul lived this out very well, as his circumstances were bleak. Paul was under house arrest chained to a Roman guard and yet he viewed his circumstances as an opportunity to rejoice. Paul’s mindset on choosing to rejoice even in the midst of his circumstances allowed him to not only be content, but also joyful, even when circumstances were tough. And this is what Scripture calls us to do as well. Choose to rejoice.
One of our missionaries that we support Carlos and Barbara Barahona with Nueva Esperanza (New Hope) gave an update and spoke for us. Carlos and Barbara started the work in Honduras and have been there for 29 years. The ministry seeks to affect permanent change in the spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical lives of poor children living in Honduras. Children are given daily care and attention along with being taught biblical values, personal hygiene, and life skills. If you would like to learn more about their ministry please visit their website. https://hopeinhonduras.org
Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10 "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection..." The word Paul uses for power here is the word "dunamis" We get the word dynamite from this word. Christ's resurrection has great power. Power to do what?
Who are the Elders and what do they do? God's Word gives us important instructions on how a church is to be led and the purpose of having Elders and what those Elders are to be doing. Contrary to popular tradition an Elder is not a decision maker or board member. This message will cover the importance of being Biblical in the way Pleasant Ridge is led and the importance of having Biblically qualified men who serve as Elders.
Are you ready for the return of Christ? He's coming back. Paul stresses to these believers at Philippi the importance of living like a citizen of Heaven, because Jesus is coming back. When Christ returns what will happen? How will we change, what will that look like? What will it look like when Jesus rules on this earth? Are you ready for the return of Christ?
"Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us." Philippians 3:17
How's your christian walk going? After Paul has just told us about the prize that he is pressing on towards which is holiness and to be like Christ, Paul is now stressing the importance to imitate or to follow the example of those who do walk in holiness. Are you walking in holiness? What does a Christians walk look like when they are not walking in holiness? Why is it important to walk in holiness? How can we walk in holiness?
Last week we saw that Paul made mention of a different resurrection for the believers. All the dead in Christ will be resurrected but Paul said he wanted to attain the out-resurrection. As we saw the out resurrection is a further seperation of believers who will be separated to a place of honor and service in the coming kingdom. These are believers who have sown much in the kingdom, they are the ones who have laid up treasures in heaven, they are the ones who stewarded their salvation well and used it to advance the Lord's kingdom.
The next set of verses vs 12-16 lays out for us the why and the how of obtaining this out-resurrection. Are we striving and pressing on towards the goal? What is the goal?
Are you ready for resurrection? A couple weeks ago we looked at how the believer in Christ grows and Pauls last statement in vs 11 talks about the future resurrection. Every living human being will face eternity. Those that know Christ that have fallen asleep will be resurrected in Christs likeness. All those who are alive and remain when Christ returns will be changed in a moment in a twinkling of the eye when mortality will put on immortality. Even those who have died without Christ will be resurrected to face eternal Hell fire and the judgement of the Lamb. Pauls statement in vs 11 gives us some details about the future resurrection but what does it look like for the believer and more importantly how can we be prepared for it?
How do we grow in Christ? Paul in his defense of what a true believer is tells us in Philippians 3:10-11. Pauls says "That I may know Him..." To know Christ means to know Him experientially, or to know Him personally or to know Him by personal involvement with. Our growth in Christ is one of the most important experiences that believers should have. What does this growth look like and how does it happen?
The verses that we are going to look at today come right on the heels of this idea of people who were promoting the outward, the flesh, and the religious externals to gain grace with God. What we’re going to see is Paul saying he’s had it all and lost it all so that he could gain Christ. There is a larger picture here at work other than salvation and that is having Christ as our all for everything we need.
Paul begins this new part of the letter with the words "Finally my brothers rejoice in the Lord" and then he spends some time warning them and reminding them to be on the look out for the counterfeits in the church. What do these counterfeits look like? How can we protect ourselves and others from these counterfeits?
As we sum up all of the prophecies concerning the virgin birth, we are faced with a decision of what are we to do with the doctrinal truth of Christ being manifested in the flesh. How does that change us? Paul gives us a interesting topic to discuss in I Timothy 3:16 with the "mystery of godliness" What is this mystery? The mystery is Christ being manifested in the flesh. But what is interesting is that Paul says it's the mystery of godliness. What does that mean?
What do we know about the virgin birth? Did it really happen? How do we know? No doubt a virgin birth is a miracle and unusual. There are over 400 prophecies about Jesus that we find in the Old Testament alone. In fact Jesus Christ, fulfilled numerous predictions that were given of his birth. Micah predicted He would be born in Bethlehem, and He was. Hosea predicted He would be called out of Egypt, and He was. The prophets said He would arise out of Galilee, and He did, out of the little town of Nazareth. The odds of one person fulfilling just eight of the predictions Jesus fulfilled is one in 10 to the 17th power! Truly a miracle!
Isaiah the prophet prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 about Immanuel 700 years before Christ would dwell on the earth. The story behind the prophecy is truly amazing and all of it points to Christ who would be sent to be a redeemer for fallen humanity.
Bethlehem was the birth of Jesus Christ. It was also the place where a redeemer would be predicted long before Christ took on flesh and dwelt among us.
Doctrine is very important for the life of the church. The truth is everyone has some form of doctrine that they believe , but the problem is that many of those things don’t line up with the truthfulness of God’s Word. It’s always important to go back to the source and make sure we are getting an accurate view of Who God is and what God says. Scripture teaches us some very important truths about the prophecies of Christ and the message of the Gospel. Jesus’ coming was predicted for thousands of years. The Old Testament contains some 300 specific predictions about the coming Messiah.
The very first prophecy about Christ is found in Genesis in the third chapter. In this chapter we have recorded for us the historical fact of the origin of sin, where it came from, how it happened and the result of its effect on this world, but in the midst of this catastrophic event God brings about hope for his creation.
What do we learn from the lives of Timothy and Epaphroditus? These two men are a great example of Christians who followed the example of Jesus. What about their lives can we learn that will help us be joyful servants? We will finish up Philippians chapter 2 with this second part on "Joyful Servants".
Thanksgiving is a time that our nation has set aside a day that we observe a day of thanksgiving I thought it would be a great time to remind us what God’s Word teaches us about gratitude. Gratitude is a constant theme in the Bible. In fact it is mentioned over 150 times in Scripture and 33 times that we find that word gratitude it is tied with a command to be thankful.
Are we a people of gratitude? There are lots of things we can be thankful for and rightly so, but is that what thankfulness is? Are we to be only thankful for the stuff? What is thankfulness? We’re going to look at Colossians 3:1-17. Within this text there are three verses Vs 15-17 and they are the summit of a Christians life who is experiencing the fulness of Christ in their life. Thankfulness is more than just a word but it’s more of a lifestyle. True thankfulness is a way of life for the believer in Christ.
As we have been working through this letter to the Philippians we have seen that Paul stresses this idea of humility and unity to the church. We saw this first when Paul told us about unity in chapter 1 of vs 27. Then again in Ch 2 vs 2. Then we were given the great example of humility by showing us what Christ did for us 2:3-8. The last couple of weeks we looked at how we are to allow that humility and unity to be at work in our life as we are working out our salvation without grumbling or disputing. By doing so we will be blameless, without blemish shinning as lights in this twists and crooked generation.
That brings us up to where we are going to looking at this next portion of Scripture Ch 2 vs 17-30. We are given 3 examples of humility and sacrifice in Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus. What do we learn from these three men? How does their lives help us understand how we should be serving one another in humility and unity?
Are you letting your light shine? This is the emphasis of the next two verses we will be looking at in Philippians 2:15-16. Paul says we are lights in this world. The world that we live in is dark and twisted and it's important that we are living up to our calling and purpose in Christ. How do we know if we're allowing our light to shine? What does having our light shine have to do with complaining?
Whining and complaining seem to be a favorite past time of the world that we live in today. In our text in Philippians 2 Paul commands those who know Christ to "Do all things without grumbling and disputing" Why shouldn't the Christian complain? What does God think of those who complain? Has complaining become a respectable sin? Never have we seen such a society that has so much and yet complain. Dissatisfied and discontent are the hallmarks of a person who complains. When we get to the heart of complaining what really is it? Why do we complain? and how are we to "Do all things without grumbling and disputing"?
As we have been looking at Philippians we have already seen that God calls us to unity within the body of Christ (Philippians 1:27). The only way that we achieve unity is through humility. Paul has given us the greatest example of humility by reminding us about the humiliation of Christ and it is that same attitude that believers are suppose to have (Philippians 2:1-8). Now we come to vs 12-13 and there is a call for us to "work out our salvation". This command is still in the context of unity and humility. What exactly does "work out our salvation" mean? We are all faced with a difficulty because it says for us to "work out.." but also it says that it is "God who works in us..." Vs 13 how do we reconcile both those things? How do we "work out our salvation"? How do we know if God is at work in us? What does this have to with humility and unity?
We’ve been talking about unity and humility within the church and to show us what humility looks like Paul is giving us the greatest example of humility by teaching us who Christ is and what Christ did. It’s important to understand these doctrines because God sets forth the truth and it’s our responsibility to obey it. To know who Jesus is is extremely important because your eternal destiny depends on it. There is only one Jesus that can save and that is the Christ that is revealed to us in Scripture, only He can save. God’s Word assures us that every knee will bow to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. And yet there are people who go on living thinking that they will never have to bow to Christ as Lord and they do this by staking their eternal destiny against the sure word from God.
So what do we learn about humility and unity from Christ being exalted? What can we take away from this doctrinal truth that will help us in our Christian walk?
As Paul stresses the importance of unity to the believers at Philippi his attention turns to promoting humility amongst each other by not allowing selfish ambition or conceit to be part of their lives (Philippians 2:1-4). In Philippians 2:5-11 we see a beautiful and powerful passage about Jesus modeling for us an example of humility. This passage is not only important doctrinally as it shows us who Jesus is and and what He has done, but practically Paul uses the example of Christ for us to learn from to promote humility and unity amongst ourselves. What do we learn about Christ's humility that will help us? Do we have the same mind among ourselves that was found in Christ?
Have you ever found yourself having a hard time getting along with other belivers? Who's right? Who's wrong? How can we learn how to get along? One of the major themes that is throughout the book of Philippians is unity. As we begin to look at chapter 2 it is one of Paul's desires that the believers at Philippi would "complete my (Paul's) joy" by being in unity. Unity within the body of Christ is a mark of spiritual maturity. How exactly though are we suppose to allow unity to be at work in our lives?
As we continue to look at Paul's statement of "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" We find Paul with a hard decision as he thinks about how leaving this world is far better because he will be with Christ, but he also recognizes by staying here in the flesh it would profit the believers at Philippi. What do we learn about our lives living here in the flesh? How can our lives be used to encourage and strengthen others? Most importantly how do you view your life for the purpose of living for Christ?
Does the life you live reflect the worthiness of the Gospel? Think about that. Since Christ saved me and resurrected me from death to life, does my life reflect the Gospel message? Paul's words here to the Philippian believers in 1:27-30 were a reminder to do just that. How do we make our manner of life worthy of the Gospel? What does that mean? What can we expect the outcome of living such a life be?
What does death mean for the believer in Christ? Paul stated in Philippians "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain" What was the gain that Paul was looking at? Do we view death as a gain? How should a believer view death? How can death be used to exalt Christ?
Paul in his letter to the church at Phillipi has just finished telling them about his circumstances in his life and how he knows God is going to use them for the furtherance of the Gospel and now we come to this passage here in Philippians 1:19-26 where Paul makes the statement "To live is Christ" What exactly does that mean? It's a rather interesting phrase, but Paul saw something intrinsic about Christ and his life. What was it? The way Paul lived his life brought him peace and joy in the midst of difficult circumstances. How can we do the same?
Some of the most difficult circumstances Paul faced in life he met them with joy and looked at them as an opportunity for the advancement of the Gospel. How could imprisonment, beatings, hunger, peril, danger etc be used for the Gospel? Paul say's in his letter to the Philippians that what has happened to him was for the "advancement of the Gospel" How so?
Furthermore how can we use our circumstances for the advancement of the Gospel? Could we say that God permits us to be in the circumstances so that the Gospel would be advanced? How do we know?
How have you been running the race so far? Tired? Full of energy? About to collapse? Steadily? The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we need to run the race and not loose heart. What will enable us to continue with patience and not get discouraged? How can we practically apply Hebrews 12:1-3 to our lives?
In Paul's letter to the Philippians in 1:12-18 he gives them a testimony of what the Lord has and is doing in his life. It’s interesting that when we read about the life of Paul as it is revealed through Scripture we see that Pauls life was a life that was marked with hardships, difficulties, let downs, depression, being abased, threatenings, danger, and discouragement. To say that Paul’s life was easy would be an understatement. Yet Pauls life was filled with joy even in the midst of his most unpleasant circumstances.
Unfortunately there are many who believe that a life without difficulty or disappointment is the mark of a Christian life that is blessed by God or that if they have difficulties or disappointments in their life then God’s love must not be towards them.
So the question must be asked where do we find real joy? Where is the happiness? How can we find joy in the circumstances that we find ourselves in? How can we know that the circumstances that I am placed in are of God’s doing and what is the purpose of them?
We’ve been spending some time here in this prominent prayer that Paul prays for this church at Phillipi. Sometimes we think prayers need to be long and formal, yet Paul prays this prayer in about 50 words and only one sentence. The depth, the weight, the doctrine and the truth that drips from this prayer is just absolutely outstanding. The way the prayer is structured is just fantastic as well. There is a progression that begins with a challenge to love more and more with a knowledge of the Gospel, using discernment, then it flows into the reason behind that challenge it’s to help us be ready for the day of Christ and then the prayer reminds us of the result of the challenge “To be filled with the righteousness of Christ” and then it triumphantly ends with these words “to the glory and praise of God.”
As we have been looking at this letter to the Philippian church Paul has just expressed his joy and his love for all the believers at this church in Philippi. On the heels of his greetings, we find his prayer for this church 1:9-11. The prayer only covers three verses but yet it is a tremendous and spirit filled prayer for this church. I believe that the words Paul prays for this church comes from an intense desire for them to grow in their love and fellowship towards each other. What’s awesome though is this prayer is not just for this church at Philippi, this prayer is Holy Spirit inspired Scripture and therefore it is for every church and every believer.
In this second part Paul tells us that we are to be abounding in love with discernment.
As we have been looking at this letter to the Philippian church Paul has just expressed his joy and his love for all the believers at this church in Philippi. On the heels of his greetings, we find his prayer for this church 1:9-11. The prayer only covers three verses but yet it is a tremendous and spirit filled prayer for this church. I believe that the words Paul prays for this church comes from an intense desire for them to grow in their love and fellowship towards each other. What’s awesome though is this prayer is not just for this church at Philippi, this prayer is Holy Spirit inspired Scripture and therefore it is for every church and every believer.
What makes this prayer so powerful? What is in this prayer that will help us as believers to foster unity and fellowship?
As we approach this letter to the church at Phillipi, Paul addresses the whole church “to all the saints” and the overseers and deacons. Many of the churches Paul planted were house churches and consisted of about 30 people. Each church was unique and different because of all the different make-ups of the people that were in each church. No doubt with all the differences, how did these early churches maintain unity and fellowship? Likewise how can we as a diverse church body achieve joyful fellowship?
Philippians 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
The letter that Paul wrote to the church at Philippi just overflows with joy. Even when Paul penned these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he is convinced and sure of the completion of the salvation process that will take place at the day of Christ. Remember where Paul was. He was in a prison. He had seen what God had done in the believers lives at Philippi and he himself with assurance knows that the work that God began in their life would also be the same God who would bring it to completion it on the day of Christ.
What exactly though is this good work that God is doing in the lives of those who know Christ? Is it something that we do or only Christ? What will the finished work look like?
Paul’s letter overflows of Joy towards the believers here in Philippi and in his prayer for the believers here in Philippi Paul says that he prays with Joy. That phrase "praying with joy" is most interesting because not only of his circumstances, but regardless of his circumstances Pauls outlook in his prayer life is that of joy towards his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Today’s message is not so much of how to pray but more in why Paul could pray with Joy and I think it will give us a pattern to follow as well as we keep our focus on Christ.
Today we begin journeying our way through another book of God’s Word. In light of the most recent events that have erupted in our country I think it’s a good reminder to bring our focus back to the Word of God and renew our mind with the truths of Scripture. If we’re not careful we can be sucked dry by feeding on all the things that are going on and forget to renew our inner man.
The book of Philippians speaks to our life and reminds us of joy, unity and fulfillment that we can find in Jesus Christ.
Over the past couple months we haven't been able to participate as a church in coming and remembering together. Why is this ordinance important for the believer? What do we learn from it by participating in it together?
In the world we live in we are very self-centered, very self-focused it's all about me.
What can I get? How fast can I get it? If it hurts somebody else, it doesn't matter. It's all about what can we get for ourselves. Basically it comes down to I want it when I want it how I want it the way I want it, and nobody better get in the way of that. All of us struggle with selfish ambition and pride. What is the answer for the Christian to live a life without pride?
We’ve spent the past 8 weeks talking about fear and we have looked at several reasons why we shouldn’t fear and last week we talked about about to overcome fear. In this message we will explore some things to think about in terms of how as believers we should respond to this coronavirus pandemic. What should we be focusing on? What types of things should we be thinking about?
Over the past few weeks we have been talking about why we shouldn't fear, but how exactly do we change our habit of not fearing? Is there any hope for the fearful? God's Word gives us the how to and life and hope for our parched dry lives that have been made barren by fear.
We’ve been spending the last couple months on this topic about fear, and I hope these messages have not only resonated with you but also have pointed you to Christ as the only means by which we can deal with our fear. Romans 8 shows us that God's love far surpasses anything we can encounter in our lives.
Our Text here today is found in Psalm 24. This is the last Psalm what has become to be known as the Shepherd Psalm Trilogy. We get these glimpses of Jesus as our Shepherd in different roles as they are described for us in Psalm 22,23,24.
In Psalm 22 we saw Jesus as the suffering savior and we need not fear because Jesus already suffered the curse of sin for us. He is the shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep.
In Psalm 23 we saw Jesus as the guiding shepherd and we need not fear because it is Christ who gives us everything we need and it is Hi who guides His sheep.
Psalm 24 is the last of the trilogy of these three Psalms. We see Jesus here as the Chief shepherd He is the king of glory who rules and reigns with all authority and power.
It is only when we get an accurate view of who Christ is that fear, doubt, and faithlessness succumb to His ruling presence in our hearts.
Psalm 22,23,24 are known as the Shepherd Psalm Trilogy, as it covers Christ not only as the shepherd who gives his life for the sheep in Psalm 22, we see Him as the shepherd that guides us in Psalm 23, but then in Psalm 24 we see Him as the ruler and keeper of His flock. We all love the soothing words of Psalm 23 but what does it mean for Jesus to be our guiding Shepherd? In this message we explore how Jesus guides us in all circumstances.
There has been suffering in our world. Lives lost, weakened health, job loss, economy recession, and peoples hope and well being shattered. Is there any hope and healing for the believer in Christ? What about the unbeliever? Psalm 22 outlines for us a beautiful but rugged picture of the Suffering Savior Jesus Christ. In this message we will look at another reason why we shouldn't fear and particularly fear suffering. Jesus is our suffering Savior who bore in His body God's wrath. Let's praise God for His provision in our life and worship Jesus who became the suffering Savior on our behalf.
Today we celebrate what is known as the day Christ resurrected from the grave. In Scripture we are told that Christ rose from the grave on the first day of the week which is a Sunday. In reality when we gather together on Sunday we are celebrating Christs resurrection every Sunday. The death of Jesus is a glorious truth, foundational to our Christian faith.
How do you handle fear in your life? Do you stand strong or do you crumble? God's Word gives us some insight on how we are to handle fear.
Is is possible to find peace amongst all the troubling times? Is there any hope for those who are overcome with worry and anxiety? God's Word gives us a strong footing in a ever caving world.
Has fear gripped your heart recently? God's Word tells us over and over not to fear. As we look in Psalm 46 we see some dire circumstances and how God was at work through all of them.
Some practical application for our growth in Christ is learning how o be spiritually fit. Jude Souza was our guest speaker and shared with us not only the vision that God gave him and his wife Bree for mission work in Brazil, but also shared the Word with us about being spiritually fit.
One thing we cannot overlook is that the Christian life is a life of struggles, defeats and victories, but we have the Holy Spirit that helps us grow in our struggles, defeats and victories, and it is these struggles, defeats and victories that God is using to make us more like His Son Jesus Christ. What do you do in the times of weakness and inability? Do you rely on the flesh or the Spirit of God? Ultimately God is the one who does the sanctifying work in our lives!
The previous chapter leaves the believer in this place of constant struggle...The Law constantly revealing of how wicked we really are, and we cannot please God in the flesh, through the keeping of the law. So where is the victory? It’s found here in Romans 8 where there is no condemnation and no seperation!
Why do we need growth in our lives? In the Epistle to the Romans Paul lay's out for us a doctrinal foundation of growth for the Christian life. Over the next few weeks we are going to explore this important doctrine of sanctification as Paul explains it to us in Romans 6,7,8. In Romans 6 Paul asks a question that really helps us grasp this idea of not only our position in Christ but why should a Christian live in such a way that it reflects what is true about those who know Christ. What is your motive for living and growing in Christ? Why do you desire sanctification in your life?
What does it mean to grow spiritually? How do we know if we are growing spiritually? What does God use to help us grow? What are some misunderstandings about spiritual growth? In this message we lay a doctrinal foundation about what growth is, what the Word of God teaches, and how it applies to the believer. Are you ready to grow?
This is the last message out of this series about our Lord's teaching on his second coming and being prepared for his coming. To sum up all of our Lord's teaching he will give this last parable about the sheep and the goats. What do sheep and goats have to do with being prepared?
We're wrapping up the these last few parables that our Lord gives concerning when he will return. As he has been teaching us, we don't know when he will return as it will come unexpectedly, and suddenly. The Lord has been giving us these parables to illustrate these important truths. As we are waiting the true servants need to be serving. In Matthew 25 we learn about the parable of the talents and as we already saw two servants were busy in serving thus proving that they were true servants. What about the third guy who only had one talent?
Our Lord calls for us to be prepared. Constantly. Here in Chapter 25 he reinforces it by teaching two parables: The parable of the virgins in verses 1-13 and the parable of the talents in verses 14-30. Jesus want's us to understand very clearly that we need to be ready. We need to be prepared and we do that by making the most of the opportunities the Lord gives us.
As we have been going through the teaching of our Lord about His second coming in Matthew 24, we now turn to Matthew 25 and our Lord has been instructing us with parables, stories if you will about when His second coming will be. Of course no one knows the exact time, even Jesus himself does not know, but he has stressed over and over 4 times that He is coming and we need to be prepared. In Matthew 25 Jesus will give us another parable about the 10 virgins and teach us about being prepared for his coming.
What do we learn from this parable that has not already been covered? Why would Jesus feel the need to stress again about being prepared? What does a wedding ceremony have to do with Christ's second coming?
As we have been studying the second coming of Christ, our Lord is stressing the point that he is coming. So we need to be ready, be prepared, be watchful, and alert. He is coming. In this last few verses of Matthew our Lord gives another parable to stress his coming and when he comes he will be looking for the wise and faithful servant. What does it mean to be wise and faithful and how does this relate to his second coming?
In this text in Luke its known as Maryʼs hymn of praise. It’s a song that Mary sang in response to Elizabethʼs recognition through the Holy Spirit that Mary was expecting the promised Messiah. In this praise song, Mary Praises God for His great mercy, but also for His righteous judgment. In this portion of Scripture we can understand how Mary made room in her heart for Christ and hopefully we too can learn how to make room in our hearts for Christ.
Ready or not, here I come! The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be unexpected and come swiftly without warning. Jesus in his Olivet Discourse gives some more details about His coming. In the verses to follow in vs 36-44 in Matthew 24 our Lord gives two examples of His coming. First he reminds us of how the judgement of God came upon those who perished by the flood, and also gives us another parable about the the thief that comes when the master of the house didn't know about it. What do we learn from these examples that helps us understand about His second coming?
The hope of every Christian is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. After Christ has just taught about His return to the disciples, he then begins to give a series of several parables to help illustrate the truths. The first parable he gives is about the fig tree. What awesome truths can we learn from this? How will this help us to be prepared for Christ's return?
So Jesus has explained to his disciples the birth pains, the sign of the abomination of desolation and the times of tribulation. We now come to verses 29-31 and we see Jesus coming in the clouds with "power and great glory" and His elect will be gathered with a loud trumpet call. In these few verses we can get a few ideas of what the coming of Christ will look like. The important thing to remember is that Christ is coming and he has given his disciples and countless generations the sign of his coming. Are we prepared for it?
What are you thankful for? As Thanksgiving is approaching us we often ask this question. Ultimately all of our thankfulness should be summed up in Christ. When we think of Christ's Words here in Matthew 24 these are going to be troubling times, how can the generation that will be living during that time be thankful?
As believers we should be looking forward to Christ's second coming. During the tribulation times things are going to get very severe and Christ will come to put an end to sin and restore His kingdom. We should be thankful that Christ is coming back! Are you ready? Are you prepared?
So we finally come now to the key triggering event that is going to set everything in motion that is called the "Great Tribulation". Matthew 24:15 is a key verse that ties the birth pains in vs 4-14 in with what will happen in the great tribulation in vs 15-31. What is this abomination of desolation? How will all this take place? How does knowing about these events help us as believers now? How can we be prepared?
This is the last indicator that our Lord gives before the end will come. According to Matthew 24:14 the last indicator will be a world wide proclamation of the Gospel to every nation. How does a Christian's life play into this truth? What is the responsibility that Christians should have in proclaiming the Gospel now?
With as many of the indicators that our Lord gives us in Matthew 24 about the end of the age, we still are not at the end yet. So far we have covered 3 of the 6 indicators, these are the mass deception, wars and rumors of wars, and famines, earthquakes, pestilence, signs, and terrors. We still have 3 more to cover.
Famines, earthquakes, terrors, pestilence, and signs...oh my! These are the next events that happen that signals the end of the age. Jesus gives us some very specific details about it and His second coming. As we have been dissecting the Olivet Discourse as found in Matthew 24-25 we have seen some interesting and wild events that will take place. What assurance does this bring to those who confess Christ and follow Him? We must be prepared.
As we continue to study our Lord's sermon about His second coming He gives us some very specific details and indicators about the end. In vs 6-14 Jesus tells us about all these events that are going to happen but "the end is not yet" How will knowing about these events prepare us?
Are we living in the last days? When we look not only at the state of our country but the world as a whole, we can definitely see evil, sin and corruption on the rise, but does this mean that we are approaching the end of the age? When will the end of the age be? How will we know that we're close. Jesus gives us the answers to those questions in his sermon found in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25.
This is our first message out of our new series entitled "Be Prepared" We will take a journey through Matthew 24-25 over the next couple of months and discover some fascinating realities about Christ's coming and the end of the age.
Up to this point, Ephesians has not been a very personal letter. Perhaps this was because Paul intended for it to be circulated among several of the churches in Asia Minor. But now, this brief conclusion oozes with his evident care for these Christians. What do we learn from this last few verses? We learn the importance of the church and the care that should be evidenced among the believers.
We come to the crowning jewell of this text about our spiritual warfare. Paul tells us exactly how we fight… It’s no surprise that how we fight is through prayer.
Paul says we fight spiritual battles through spiritual prayer. What does it mean to pray in the Spirt? How do we use prayer to fight in the spiritual battles?
Do you know how to use a sword? As we come to the 6th piece of armor for the believer, this is the only piece of armor that is both offensive and defensive. While the other pieces of armor that we have considered were necessary to protect the soldier from the enemy’s attacks, they could not kill the enemy. Only the sword can do that.
The helmet is essential because it protects the head. Without the helmet we go unprotected in enemy territory. Have you ever thought of why what you think about is so important? As one person said it “Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
Why is it called the helmet of salvation though? What does salvation have to do with our head?
One of the ways the enemy shoots his arrows at the believer is through conflict and offenses. When someone mistreats or opposes us, our instinctive reaction is to justify ourselves and do everything we can to get our way, before we know it, believers are holding grudges, refusing to fellowship, and allowing bitterness to take hold of their life all because we refuse to resolve conflict and offenses that happen in our life. How can we handle conflict and offenses in a biblical way instead of being defeated by the enemies arrows?
One of the darts that the believer is often confronted with is the fiery dart of anger. Anger, in and of itself is not sinful. Anger is very necessary and a useful reaction as a communication of feeling in reaction to another's behavior. Anger however can become sinful when we either vent or internalize it. We either blow up at someone often using damaging words or actions, or we clam up and hold on to the anger often leading to bitterness or resentment. How is the believer to handle anger righteously? How can we fulfill the command of Ephesians 4:26 "Be angry and sin not"? We must use our shield appropriately.
Is there any hope for the sexually immoral?
Christians who battle against the fiery darts of sexual temptation such as pornography, SSA (Same Sex Attraction) homosexuality, lust, adultery, fornication etc can quench these fiery darts of the spiritual enemy. How? Through faith!
Throughout God's Word we are commanded to fear and not to fear. Our goal as Christians is not to become fearless. When we talk about overcoming fear and quenching these fiery darts of fear we’re not talking about eliminating all fear. It’s not good to be completely fearless. God gave us the emotion of fear for a specific reason. There are times when we should fear, and there are things we should fear. The believer needs to distinguish between natural healthy fears and sinful fear. God's Word tells us we overcome fear through love.
How do you as a believer in Christ handle worry and anxiety? We should be using our shield of faith to extinguish all the fiery arrows that come our way. For many worry and anxiety are arrows that are being constantly shot at them. How exactly do we use our shield to extinguish them? God has given us His Word on how to do it. Do you believe it and are you willing to put it into practice?
The next piece of armor for the believer is the shield of faith. (Ephesians 6:16) As believers we are to be using the shield to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one. What is this shield of faith? How does the believer in Christ use it? Even more important what exactly is faith? God and His Word are essential to being able to take refuge in, but how exactly does the believer do that?
As we learn that the Christian life is a battle we realize that we are to take up the spiritual armor the Lord provides for us. The shoes that the Christian is to be putting on is suppose to allow him we to stand firm against the attacks of the Gospel. But how exactly do we put on these Gospel shoes? Is the Gospel for a one time use only for the Christian?
It’s absolutely imperative in order to have a strong footing in the battle against Satan, that we use the shoes of the Gospel of peace. Why do we need the shoes of the Gospel? Because it is the Gospel that is under attack. So as christians in God’s army we must clearly understand the gospel so that we can defend it against attack.
For fathers day we had a few men in our fellowship share what God, the Scriptures and experience has taught them about being a father.
We are in a spiritual battle and we need to ready ourselves with the armor of God so that we may stand strong in the evil day, having done all that we could do to stand.
Paul calls us to put on the breastplate of righteousness. This breastplate will protect the Christian from the relentless attacks from Satan and the spiritual evil forces that are at work.
We now come to the actual armor that the Lord has provided for us. When the apostle Paul tells us how to stand firm against the evil spiritual forces, he lists six pieces of spiritual armor to put on. The first piece of armor mentioned is the belt of truth. Why is this mentioned first? Why is truth so important? This belt of truth stands in opposition to the so called "truth" of our society today.
Paul told us earlier in vs 10-11 that we are engaged in spiritual warfare and that we need to use His strength and His armor. In these next two verses vs 12-13, Paul is going to tell us why we need His strength and armor. Remember Paul is summing up who we are in Christ and how we are to live the Christian life and we are to know that if we live godly in Christ Jesus, and if we are light and live like light we will face opposition from the enemy, so get ready for battle!
JC Ryle a pastor in the 19th century wrote:
“The saddest symptom about many so-called Christians is the utter absence of anything like conflict and fight in their Christianity.”
In Ephesians, Paul has just shown how the Spirit-filled home is a glorious picture of the loving relationship between Christ and the church (5:18-33). But he continues by telling us that the Christian life is nothing less than warfare against the devil. It is vital for your survival as a believer to know that you are in God’s Army and daily you are engaged in a battle with an unseen spiritual enemy that seeks to destroy you. We need to be strong so we can stand.
Not everybody can celebrate Mothers Day.
Think of the women whose had an abortion. What does Mothers day mean to her?
Think of the women who has wanted to have a child but yet has not been able to have one. What does Mothers Day mean to her?
What does it mean to someone whose Mother was abusive, abandoned them or greatly immoral?
Can those who are pained with the thoughts of Mothers Day or any other type of holiday have true joy on a day like Mothers Day? The answer is yes! However the way to joy may surprise you.
Have you ever been at a job where you had a problem with your boss, or another employee? How did you handle it? Was it spirit filled? In this last part of this passage in Ephesians 6:5-9, Paul writes to show how Christian workers and bosses should treat each other. Granted, it is addressed to slaves and masters, not to employees and employers, but the principles are still the same.
When we look at the Gospel, it does not end with just what Christ did, but it continues in our lives. We should be rehearsing the gospel everyday in our life as that will keep us humble, enable us to walk in the Spirit, and have victory over the flesh. Christ calls every one of His followers to take up their cross and follow Him. Have you been crucified with Christ?
Does the resurrection matter? The Apostle Paul certainly thought so. Paul gave a whole thesis on why the resurrection matters in I Corinthians 15. The facts of the resurrection are irrefutable. It is, indeed, one of the best attested facts of ancient history. Jesus Christ arose from the dead, but why does it matter? In this message we will examine the reasons why the resurrection matters.
As we look at the message of the Gospel, we are forced to take a hard look at ourselves. Jesus died for sinners. Jesus was punished for our sin. What does that mean? Without the fundamental truth that man is sinful there is no good news of the Gospel.
What does it mean that God is Holy? In this message we lay the groundwork for the Gospel message. The Gospel begins with the Holiness of God. When we get an accurate view of what it means that God is Holy we then can begin to understand that there is more to the Gospel than just Jesus dying and resurrecting.