Cork Methodist Church: Recent Episodes
Jade Fulford
Our desire at Cork is for everyone in the sound of our voice, to experience what it means to authentically follow Jesus in every aspect of their lives. We believe that every last soul needs to know and experience the Love and Life found in Jesus. Every one of us are called to change the world around by allowing the Love and Life of Jesus to shine!
For days a man observed his wife as she undressed and stared in the mirror for a few minutes,
He pretended that he did not see her, but noticed that she looked worried, she tightened her
belly, raised her butt, and lifted her arms as if everything were out of place.
One day the man took the mirror out of the room and hid it. She came home from work,
undressed, turned to the wall and freaked out!
Interesting trivia: Jack Kirby the mind behind the comic book hero ‘Incredible Hulk’ was
inspired to create this character after witnessing a woman lift a car to free her trapped child.
Woman throughout history are responsible for some amazing things. A mother’s love for her
children is incomparable to anything on this earth. We refer to God as a masculine figure, but
the love a mother shows her children has a direct correlation to the characteristics of God.
Everyone wears a mask. It can bring us success in life. It can protect us from danger. It can
help to make us more approachable. But it can also be deadly. These masks we put on each
day play a part in covering up parts of us that we don’t want the world to see. We project a
strong image of ourselves out of necessity. As we pray for guidance on how to take off our
mask, let’s remember that God can’t heal what you don’t show Him.
An interesting discovery has been made in the last 20 years or so that has revealed a protein
strand in all living creatures that play a fundamental role in our existence. This glycoprotein is
called Laminin. If analyzed under a microscope it has an incredible resemblance of a cross.
Additionally there are other studies that prove a “God-Spot” in our brains. The study found that
several areas of the brain are involved in religious belief, one within the frontal lobes of the
cortex – which are unique to humans.
End of verse 12 it says so the body of Christ may be built up very important types of churches. There is the church which is all of us. Which is the body of Christ that we are considered the church, but then there is this church or this ministry, there’s the body of Christ which is the church which is us which is bigger than all of these walls and all of this building and all of the buildings and all of America that’s the church. We are the body but then there’s this church as in our ministry and the things that we are doing
We’re gonna talk about if I were to give us a name it would be called the fight. Alright, so there’s a time for everything. How do we differentiate between the time of war and the time of peace. Aren’t we supposed to be forgiving people after all? Aren’t we supposed to be forgiving if our neighbors? or to offend a short of strike as we turn the other cheek?
So this morning we’re talking about about going to Church. Now you’ve heard me say many times say something along the lines of "going to church doesn't it make you a Christian" no more than going to Burger King makes me a whopper. There’s not a mandatory method of saying you’re not going to heaven if you don’t go to church, but I want to introduce something to you or I want to share something with you today that I will share with you the importance and the relevance of Church where we’re ask and we’re told that we should go. Church doesn’t make us a Christian but going to church does do something for us as the body of Christ.
Fire and brimstone and you gotta get your act right to get squared away. If you don’t you’re gonna go to hell and you’re gonna burn for eternity who’s heard that yes OK so I have a different side of hell that I want to talk about and actually want to talk a little bit about Jesus and we know that many think that Jesus himself went to hell after he died on the cross.
Our amazing pastor Bob gave an amazing sermon. You would have to listen to find out what he said.
Paul is he was a very very good teacher and we take a lot of the lessons that we have before Paul was Paul he was Saul and he did something absolutely horrendous saw Jesus would search, and he would he would be one of the chiefs that would find Christians throughout the land, and he would arrest them, and he is one of the leading factors for a large number of Christians to be murdered to be killed
" Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident"- Psalm 27:3 seeing acts of kindness from the people in this always the opportunity and our quiet times for the enemy to slip in and say you are not good enough this morning I want to preach this morning. I’d like to have a conversation on how I’ve learned that the enemy is right, you were not enough we’ll talk about that in just a little bit.
" Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through pslams, hymns , and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts" Colossians 3:16 expressions of our love song one is music and the other is action which is equally important. God always creates with purpose. Remember this everything that God has built has a purpose everything that God designed has a purpose. There’s nothing that God has created that does not serve a purpose music is no different Music by the way is spiritual music is spiritual music for just a second before we dive into the fact that music existed before mankind was even constructed.
"All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast"- Proverbs 15:15
" Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy"- Proverbs 31:9 When or why it is appropriate to speak, we speak up we speak up for those in need we speak up for our friends and we even speak up for ourselves and how do we know when to do that? How do we know when to step into that role when we are supposed to be slow to anger And we’re supposed to listen more than we speak
"My Dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become Angry" - James 1:19 so deceive yourself, but what but do what it says anyone who listens to the word it does not do what it says it’s like someone who looks at the mirror, and after looking at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it, not forgetting what they have heard but doing it, they will be blessed in what they do really really like what we share with what is being shared here what James is teaching and it says it says look it says look intently at the perfect law.
reference to this demon possessed boy that the disciples were unable to help Matthew 17;14- 19 when they came to the crowd, a man approach Jesus, and melt before him Lord have mercy on my son. He said he has seizures and is suffering greatly he’s off And falls into the fire or in the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him you unbelieving and perverse generation as Jesus kick in a few tables there Jesus replied how long shall I stay with you? How long should I put up with you saying how long till you see these miracles and you see me talking about our father in heaven.
Strongest muscle in the body looking on paper the strongest muscle in the body is the muscle surrounding our jaws. We have an immense amount of pressure we can chop down on , but if we look at a sense of what more can this do the strongest muscle in our body is our tongue. It has the ability to shape the world around us.
Breaking free from the spirit of offense means that we have to understand that offense comes from emotion, and emotion is a gift from God from the point of our creation. Humans have emotions because all people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). God Himself has and feels emotions. He gets angry (Zechariah 1:15; Matthew 21:12-13). He feels sadness (Genesis 6:6; John 11:35; Ephesians 4:30). The Lord was pleased with His creation (Genesis 1:31). He loves and delights in His people (Psalm 149:4; John 3:16; Romans 5:5; 1 John 4:9). Remember that God gave us free will and with that free will comes the opportunity to use the gifts and tools given to us for both good and evil. Much like a knife is a useful tool to open a letter or prepare a meal it can also be used to hurt someone, even unintentionally.
A spirit of offense is not a mysterious, unknown spirit circling around us. Spirit of Offense simply
means, we were hurt by someone and struggle in our spirit to let the offense go. Walking around
with a spirit of offense, whether the hurt is big or small, can leave us spiritually and emotionally
broken.
There is a difference between being offended and having the spirit of offense. First, let’s look at
what a spirit is. A spirit is not a ghost, it is not a left behind entity of someone who’s passed
away. Hollywood makes serious money from movies that depict spirits as haunting ghosts with
unfinished business.
2 Thessalonians 3:17
I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This
is how I write.
Based on this verse and other points of evidence, it's possible that false teachers had been
sending letters to the Thessalonian church with the apostle Paul's forged signature. For
example, in some of Paul's other letters, he mentions false claims about his teachings (Romans
3:8), or makes a point of noting that he's personally inscribing certain words (Colossians 4:18;
Philemon 1:19). To assure the Thessalonians that this was genuinely his letter, Paul attached
his signature to it. Paul's handwriting itself might have had a distinctive style that his associates
would have recognized (Galatians 6:11)
Waiting is hard. Waiting on that promotion. Waiting for the kids to get out of diapers. Waiting
for your spouse to get ready to go. What about waiting for that surgery, or that storm in our
lives to pass. We know it’s coming, but waiting is tough. What about waiting on the Lord? What
do we do when we are in God’s waiting room?
Who ever fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge. IF the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death. A large population is a King's glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined. - Proverbs 14:26-28
In the past we’ve explored the Ark of the Covenant and its’ contents. God’s Testimony (the 10
commandments), Aarons budded staff, and the jar of manna. We know that this represents the
LAW and mans inability to live under the law. The lid representing the mercy seat is a prelude to
Jesus and the Grace given to us. For we cannot meet the requirements of God’s law, but
through His mercy He gave Jesus as a living sacrifice for us.
The way we view war is linear in that we have opposing sides fighting with various weapons
and strategies. It’s purpose is to have one side or the other surrender. But the difference
between a physical war and a spiritual war is individuality. Satan is not battling for our souls in
some great war in heaven. The battle is within us personally. Mostly with internal struggles.
When The Ark of the Covenant was constructed, three items were placed inside. A container
holding manna, Aarons staff, and a second set of the 10 commandments carved in stone.
These “tokens” were encased in a wood box that was coated in gold. The lid or “cover” of this
box was called the mercy seat. Let’s explore what and why these contents were placed inside
and the significants of the lid (the Mercy Seat).
We’ve all heard, and to an extent know about grace. But understanding it brings us so much
closer in relationship to God. Let’s explore Grace today.
Many people find the doctrine of the Holy Spirit confusing. Is the Holy Spirit a force, a person, or
something else? What does the Bible teach? So much can be learned about the Holy Spirit, but
as an introduction, let’s focus on the fundamentals.
Beginning to understand what the Trinity is a difficult task. It’s like explaining the existence of an
entity that we can’t truly comprehend. Incidentally, when we shift our question from “what is the
Trinity?” to “Why does the Trinity exist?”, the answer not only comes a little easier, but we begin
to truly comprehend the depth of God’s love for us.
Sometimes as a young person we learn scripture and take it as truth without consideration. For
instance, most of us grew up hearing about the Trinity. We learn that The Father is completely
God, The Son Jesus, is completely God, and The Holy Spirit is Completely God. Even as Jesus
was baptized, John baptized Him in the name of the father, the son, and the holy ghost. We
take that at face value as we mature in our walk with Christ. But to understand the Trinity
brings us closer God’s nature.
We think of freedom often when we celebrate holidays like Independence Day, Memorial Day,
Veterans Day, etc. It’s a foundational staple for our country. Men and women gave their lives so
the we as Americans can have the freedoms we celebrate. Actions taken by leaders in our lives
served as a catalyst to free us from bondage. In this lesson, we’ll discussed the spiritual chains
that still exist in our lives, and the way God wants us to break free and live the lives he’s
prepared for us.
Jesus... The savior of the entire world walked with us, talked with us, performed many miracles,
died and rose again. During His life, He prepared his disciples to carry on His work. We look at
the omnipotence of our Father and read of these impossible deeds. Now we are expected to
carry the torch and be disciples in the world we live in now? How do we follow someone like
this. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and unqualified when we look at the life of Jesus. But in all
actuality, Jesus has never called on the qualified... He qualified those that He called.
"I Will guide you in the way of wisdom and I will lead you in upright paths. When you Walk, your steps will not be hampered, and when you run, you will not stumble." Proverbs 4:11-12
This is our primary purpose for living. We look at worship as something we do on Sundays. Worship is often associated with music. Many times we see the phrase corporate worship being used. It's God's desire to have an intimate relationship with us. Worship is the method in which we gain an audience with the presence of the Lord,. But what is it ? Why is it so important? What does it do for us? And should we even return on our worship?
Scripture is infallible. Yes it’s written by man, but it is completely God inspired. Scripture can sometimes
be taken literally, and other times figuratively. This is the reason Jesus spoke in parables. The
complexity of the Bible isn’t written in this manner to confuse us, but to leave openings in our
understand to question and learn more about God. Often times you can read the same scripture twice
and if have a different meaning to you both times. This was by design
As we study the virtue of the Lord, and walk in the knowledge of Jesus, the measure of our
understanding of God also relies on one important thing.
Who does God say WE are?
It is God’s will for us to live a healthy, abundant life. How do we pray for healing? What
can we expect? How can God heal people around us, but not heal us? It is God’s
desire for us to live a healthy, abundant life.
- Many people quote this scripture: “by his wounds, we are healed.” And think of it as
New Testament text. It may surprise you to know that it was written long before Jesus
was born.
With everything life is throwing at us. Sickness, death, loneliness, desperation, addiction, relationships, etc, it can sometimes be overwhelming. It’s human nature to want to fix things. Something wrong with our relationship? What can WE do to make it better? Lonely, what can I do to get out of this rut I’m in? Many times, we can’t fix things on our own. And even though we know God, we still turn to our own abilities to fix the brokenness in our lives.