Redeemer Weekend Sermons: Recent Episodes
Redeemer Church
08-09-2026
Ephesians 6:10-20 | The Armor of God: Standing Together in Christ
Final Message in the Ephesians Series | Pastor Daniel Bunn
As Redeemer Church concludes its 13-week journey through Paul's letter to the Ephesians, Pastor Daniel Bunn explores one of the most familiar passages in the New Testament: The Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20). While many Christians have heard this passage taught as a guide for individual spiritual warfare, Pastor Daniel invites us to hear Paul's words with fresh ears and within the larger context of the entire letter.
Throughout Ephesians, Paul repeatedly emphasizes one central theme: God has created one new people in Christ. Jews and Gentiles, once divided, have been reconciled through Jesus and united into one body. From chapters 1 through 6, Paul's concern is not primarily individual spirituality, but the formation and preservation of a Christ-centered community marked by unity, peace, love, and mutual submission.
With that context in mind, Pastor Daniel highlights a key insight often overlooked in this well-known passage: Paul's instructions are directed not merely to individual believers, but to the church as a collective community. In the original Greek, the commands are consistently addressed to "you all." The call to "put on the full armor of God" is a call for the entire body of Christ to stand together in the strength of the Lord.
The sermon also explores what battle Paul has in mind. Rather than focusing primarily on personal struggles, Paul is addressing the spiritual forces that seek to divide God's people. The enemy's schemes are those that threaten to fracture the unity Christ has established. Falsehood, bitterness, pride, suspicion, unforgiveness, rivalry, and division are not merely interpersonal problems; they are spiritual battlegrounds.
The armor of God, therefore, is expressed in the life of a united church:
Living truthfully with one another
Practicing righteousness toward one another
Walking in the gospel of peace
Remaining faithful to one another
Holding firmly to salvation and God's Word
Praying continually for one another
Pastor Daniel emphasizes that Paul does not call the church to attack, conquer, or achieve victory. Instead, he commands believers to stand. Christ has already won the decisive victory through His death and resurrection. The church's calling is to remain steadfast within that victory by bearing with one another, forgiving one another, speaking truth in love, and refusing to let the powers of darkness convince us that fellow believers are the enemy.
The message concludes with a powerful reminder that every act of reconciliation, every restored relationship, every wall that comes down, and every instance of forgiveness makes the victory of Christ visible in the world. When the church stands together in unity, clothed in the armor of God and strengthened by prayer, it becomes a witness to the power of the gospel that no spiritual force can overcome.
Key Takeaway: The Armor of God is not merely about individual believers preparing for personal battles. It is a call for the whole church to stand together in Christ's victory, protecting and preserving the unity that Jesus has won for His people.
Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-20
Series: Ephesians
Speaker: Pastor Daniel Bunn
Church: Redeemer Church
"Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power... Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." (Ephesians 6:10-11)
08-02-2026
Ephesians Series - Week 12
Living a Life Worthy of the Calling: Faithfulness in the Ordinary
Pastor Dave Brown | Ephesians 6:5-9
In Week 12 of our Ephesians series, Pastor Dave Brown tackles one of the most difficult and historically misunderstood passages in Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9. This text has often been misused to justify slavery, but Pastor Dave explains why Paul was not endorsing oppressive systems. Instead, Paul was teaching believers how to faithfully live out the gospel within the realities of the Roman world while bearing witness to the Kingdom of God.
The key to understanding this passage is reading it within the larger context of Ephesians 5:21-6:9, framed by two foundational truths:
"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Ephesians 5:21)
"There is no favoritism with God" (Ephesians 6:9)
Paul's concern is not creating a blueprint for social institutions such as marriage, parenting, or slavery. Rather, he is showing believers how to live lives worthy of their calling as adopted children of God, demonstrating the character of Jesus wherever they find themselves.
Throughout the message, Pastor Dave highlights Paul's broader vision found in passages like Galatians 3:28, where all people are united in Christ regardless of social status, ethnicity, or gender. Far from defending inequality, Paul continually points believers toward the transforming reality of God's Kingdom.
A central theme of the sermon is that Jesus redefines power and leadership. Those in positions of authority are called to use their influence the way Christ did: not for personal gain, but to empower others to become everything God created them to be. At the same time, Paul affirms the dignity and value of those without power, reminding them that they can fully participate in God's mission right where they are.
Pastor Dave also challenges a common cultural assumption that our significance depends on status, success, influence, or upward mobility. While ambition is not inherently wrong, God's kingdom work does not begin when we reach a particular position, promotion, or life stage. It begins now.
Most of life is lived in ordinary moments:
Going to work
Answering emails
Raising children
Caring for family
Doing household chores
Showing up faithfully day after day
The Kingdom of God often advances not through extraordinary achievements, but through ordinary people consistently embodying the love of Jesus in everyday places.
Key Takeaways
✅ Context matters when interpreting Scripture.
✅ Paul was addressing real people living within the Roman Empire, not endorsing unjust institutions.
✅ The gospel challenges systems of power by reshaping how people treat one another.
✅ Leadership in God's Kingdom means empowering others, following the example of Jesus.
✅ You do not need a position of authority to participate in God's mission.
✅ Faithfulness in ordinary life is deeply significant to God.
✅ The Kingdom of God takes root when everyday believers reflect Christ's love where they already are.
No matter where you find yourself today, God has given you opportunities to reveal the character of Jesus and the love of the Father through your everyday life.
Ephesians #BibleTeaching #PastorDaveBrown #RedeemerChurch #KingdomOfGod #ChristianLiving #Faithfulness #Ephesians6 #LeadershipLikeJesus #OrdinaryFaithfulness #GospelTransformation #SermonPodcast #BibleStudy #ChristianPodcast #JesusChrist
07-26-2026
Ephesians Series | Week 11
The Mission of Marriage: Mutual Submission and Christlike Love
Ephesians 5:21-33 | Pastor Dave Brown
In Week 11 of our Ephesians series, Pastor Dave Brown tackles one of the most debated passages in Scripture: Ephesians 5:21-33. Rather than reading "wives, submit to your husbands" in isolation, Pastor Dave explores how Paul's teaching must be understood in its full context, beginning with the instruction to "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Ephesians 5:21).
This message challenges common interpretations that have often reduced the passage to questions of authority and hierarchy. By examining the broader flow of Paul's argument, the original Greek text, and the example of Jesus Himself, Pastor Dave shows that the foundation of Christian marriage is not domination, but mutual submission, sacrificial love, and Christlike service.
Drawing attention to Paul's greater emphasis on husbands, the sermon explores the call for men to love their wives with the same self-giving, agape love that Christ demonstrated for the Church. Jesus did not use His power to control others. Instead, He willingly laid down His life so that others could flourish and become everything God created them to be.
This week’s message highlights:
- The importance of reading Ephesians 5 within its larger context
- What "submit to one another" means for all believers
- How the Greek text sheds light on Paul's instructions
- The difference between self-sacrificial agape love and self-centered love
- Why Christ's relationship with the Church is the model for marriage
- The biblical meaning of meekness as strength under control
- How healthy marriages become a witness to the Gospel
Ultimately, Pastor Dave reminds us that marriage is more than a personal relationship. It is a living picture of Christ and the Church. Christian marriage is intended to help husbands and wives become more like Jesus while serving as a signpost to the world of God's love, grace, and coming Kingdom.
Whether you're married, single, divorced, widowed, or simply seeking to follow Christ more faithfully, this message offers a powerful challenge to live a life worthy of the calling we have received by loving others with the same self-sacrificial love Christ has shown us.
Scripture: Ephesians 5:21-33
Series: Ephesians
Speaker: Pastor Dave Brown
Ephesians #Ephesians5 #ChristianMarriage #PastorDaveBrown #BibleStudy #ChurchSermon #MutualSubmission #AgapeLove #ChristAndTheChurch #TulsaChurch #Faith #Discipleship #ChristianLiving #Gospel #JesusChrist
07-19-2026
Ephesians 5:1-20 | Pastor Leanne Benton | Reading by Reverend Dr. Terry Bell
Ephesians: Walking in Christ Together
This week, Pastor Leanne Benton continues our series through Ephesians with a message titled "Children of Light: Learning to Walk in Love" from Ephesians 5:1-20. The service also features a Scripture reading by Reverend Dr. Terry Bell, a longtime pastor, educator, and member of Redeemer Church.
Drawing from Paul's teaching, Leanne reminds us that we are all being formed by something. As God's dearly loved children, we are called to imitate Christ, walk in love, live as children of light, and continually be filled with the Holy Spirit. Rather than focusing on rules or religious performance, this message explores how true spiritual formation happens through identity, community, wisdom, honesty, and God's transforming grace.
Join us as we consider an important question:
Who are you becoming, and what would it look like to love well today?
07-12-2026
Ephesians Series – Week 9 | Ephesians 4:17-32 | Pastor David Nunn
What does it really mean to be holy?
In Week 9 of our Ephesians series, Pastor David Nunn explores Ephesians 4:17-32 and challenges the common belief that holiness is achieved by trying harder or following a list of rules. While Paul gives practical instructions for Christian living—telling believers to stop lying, control their anger, avoid stealing, speak words that build others up, and practice kindness and forgiveness—the deeper message is that these behaviors are not the cause of holiness, but the result of a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Pastor David walks through Paul's argument in Ephesians, reminding us that throughout the letter, salvation, transformation, and spiritual growth are presented as the work of God's grace, not human effort. Through Christ, believers have been redeemed, adopted into God's family, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to become a new humanity united in love.
This message highlights the difference between striving for individual righteousness and participating in God's work of shaping His people into the body of Christ. True spiritual transformation happens as believers live in community, encourage one another, and join the Holy Spirit in building up the church.
Key Takeaways:
- Holiness cannot be achieved—it can only be received.
- Christian living flows from relationship, not rule-keeping.
- The church is being formed into the fullness of Christ together.
- The evidence of spiritual growth is truthfulness, self-control, generosity, encouragement, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.
- Jesus' command to "love one another as I have loved you" remains the foundation of Christian life.
As followers of Christ, we are called to lean into the work of the Holy Spirit, encourage one another, and help build the church into the full measure of Christ's likeness.
Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-32
Living a Life Worthy of the Calling
Ephesians 4:1–16 | Pastor Dave Brown
In Episode 8 of our Ephesians series, Pastor Dave Brown explores the pivotal transition in Paul’s letter from theology to practice. After spending the first three chapters describing everything God has done for us in Christ—choosing, adopting, reconciling, and uniting us—Paul now asks a pressing question: How should we live in response to such incredible grace?
Drawing from Ephesians 4:1–16 and reflecting on the meaning of freedom during America’s 250th year, Pastor Dave contrasts a self-centered view of freedom with a biblical understanding rooted in humility, responsibility, and service. Using the example of George Washington’s voluntary surrender of power, he highlights how the greatest expressions of freedom are not found in what we gain for ourselves, but in what we are willing to give away for the good of others.
Paul’s central challenge is clear: “Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” As adopted sons and daughters of God and co-heirs with Christ, believers are called to reflect the character of Jesus in their daily lives. Pastor Dave identifies four key themes from this passage that define a life worthy of that calling:
Humility – Putting Christ and others before ourselves.
Unity – Making every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit.
Responsibility – Using our gifts to serve the body of Christ and our community.
Maturity – Growing steadily into the fullness of Christ through faithful obedience.
A significant portion of the message focuses on humility, examining how pride subtly manifests in our spiritual lives. Drawing from Augustine’s reflections on pride, Pastor Dave challenges listeners to consider how self-centeredness can appear through spiritual complacency, misplaced priorities, religious performance, or an excessive focus on personal comfort and preferences.
The sermon also emphasizes that Christian unity is not uniformity. God has gifted every believer differently, and the church reflects His glory best when diverse people work together in love, peace, and mutual service. Paul’s call to “make every effort” toward unity remains especially relevant in a culture often marked by division, conflict, and self-interest.
Ultimately, spiritual maturity comes through what Eugene Peterson described as “a long obedience in the same direction.” As followers of Christ, we are invited to continually grow in humility, serve one another faithfully, speak truth in love, and become living testimonies of God’s kingdom on earth.
The message concludes with corporate confession and Holy Communion, reminding believers that humility, unity, responsibility, and maturity are not merely ideas to discuss—they are practices to embrace as we gather around Christ’s table and are sent back into the world as His people.
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1–16
Key Theme: Living out our freedom in Christ through humility, unity, responsibility, and spiritual maturity.
Pastor: Daniel Bunn
Series: Ephesians Week 7
Ephesians 3:14–21 | Knowing the Love That Surpasses Knowledge
Scripture: Ephesians 3:14–21
In this message from our Ephesians series, we reflect on Paul’s prayer that believers would be strengthened by the Spirit, that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith, and that they would come to know the love of Christ—a love so wide, long, high, and deep that it surpasses knowledge.
Paul begins by bowing his knees before the Father, a posture of reverence, humility, and surrender. From that place of awe, he prays not simply that the church would know facts about Christ, but that they would be rooted and grounded in His love. This kind of knowing is more than information; it is the deep, lived knowledge that comes through abiding nearness, shared life, and ongoing communion with God.
The sermon explores the difference between knowing about something and truly experiencing it—like understanding the physics of riding a bike versus actually riding one, or the wordless understanding that forms through years of relationship. In the same way, Paul prays that believers would encounter Christ’s love so deeply that they recognize it can never be mastered or exhausted.
As we consider the vastness of creation—from the immensity of galaxies to the intricacy of the human body—we are reminded that God is greater still. And this infinite God has loved us forever. The proper response is not pride or control, but wonder, humility, worship, and prayer.
Key themes:
Reverence and humility before God
Christ dwelling at the center of our lives
The difference between knowing about God and knowing God
The immeasurable dimensions of Christ’s love
Being rooted and grounded in love through the Spirit
Reflection question: Where might God be inviting you to move beyond knowing about His love and into a deeper experience of being loved by Him?
Listen and reflect with us as we continue through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
EPHESIANS – WEEK 6
Pastor: Dave Brown
Series: Ephesians
Ephesians 3:1–13 | Administrators of Grace
What does it mean to receive God's grace—and then live it out?
In Ephesians 3, Paul shares his own story as an example of a life transformed by the Gospel. Once a persecutor of the Church, Paul became an administrator of God's grace, carrying the good news of Jesus to people who had previously been considered outsiders.
This message explores the mystery now revealed in Christ: that people from every nation, background, and culture are invited into one family of God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, believers are called not only to receive grace but to embody it, extending Christ's love, reconciliation, forgiveness, and hope to the world around them.
The Church is more than a gathering place—it is God's living witness to His Kingdom, a community where His wisdom becomes visible through transformed lives.
Scripture: Ephesians 3:1–13
Additional References:
- Ephesians 1:13–14
- Acts 7:58–60
- Romans 8:38–39
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
- 1 Corinthians 11:1
- Revelation 7:9
Key Takeaway:
We are called not merely to admire God's grace, but to administer it—becoming disciples who embody Christ and help others encounter His transforming love.
EPHESIANS – WEEK 5
Pastor: Daniel Bunn
Series: Ephesians
📖 Sermon Summary (Ephesians 2:19–22 with Scripture)
Main Idea: A Declaration of Identity
Ephesians 2:19
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.”
The core message is this:
✅ If you have believed in Christ, you already belong.
Paul is not:
Giving a command
Expressing a wish
Setting a future goal
He is making a present-tense declaration:
You are citizens. You are family. Right now.
1. We Struggle to Accept the Truth About Ourselves
We often:
Overestimate ourselves (pride)
Or underestimate ourselves (imposter syndrome)
Spiritually, this sounds like:
“I don’t really belong”
“That must be true for others, not me”
But Paul speaks truth over that doubt.
2. Who We Were vs. What Christ Has Done
Who We Were
Ephesians 2:11–12
“Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ… excluded from citizenship in Israel… foreigners… without hope and without God in the world.”
We were:
Outsiders
Strangers
Without hope
What Christ Has Done
Ephesians 2:13–14
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace…”
Ephesians 2:18
“For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
Because of Jesus:
We are brought near
We have peace
We now have access to God
When This Became True
Ephesians 1:13
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.”
✅ This identity begins when you hear and believe the gospel.
3. Belonging Is Declared, Not Earned
Ephesians 2:19
“You are no longer foreigners and strangers…”
This is:
Not “you will be”
Not “you might be”
Not “if you improve enough”
👉 It is a finished reality based on Christ’s work, not yours.
4. The Building Metaphor: What We’ve Become
Paul expands our identity using a construction image:
Foundation = Truth
Ephesians 2:20
“Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets…”
The church rests on truth revealed and proclaimed
This truth is preserved in Scripture
Cornerstone = Christ
Ephesians 2:20
“…with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”
Jesus:
Aligns everything (cornerstone)
Supports everything (keystone idea)
Completes everything (capstone idea)
👉 Christ is central to the entire structure.
We Are the Building Material
Ephesians 2:21–22
“In him the whole building is joined together… And in him you too are being built together…”
We are:
The stones
Different in size, shape, and background
Stronger together than alone
👉 Unity is not sameness—it’s shared alignment to Christ.
5. A Living, Growing Temple
Ephesians 2:21–22
“…rises to become a holy temple in the Lord… a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
The church is:
Not static
Not finished
Alive and growing
👉 God is still building His people into His dwelling place.
✅ Big Takeaways
1. You Belong Right Now
“You are… fellow citizens… members of his household.” (Eph. 2:19)
Not based on performance
Based on Christ’s finished work
2. Faith Is Communal
“You too are being built together…” (Eph. 2:22)
You are not meant to follow Jesus alone
We are built together
3. Diversity Is Part of God’s Design
Different “stones” create a stronger, more beautiful whole
Unity comes through Christ, not uniformity
4. God Is Still Building
The structure is not complete yet
Growth is ongoing
Completion belongs to God
🧩 Final One-Sentence Summary
Because of what Christ has done, you already belong to God’s household—and together we are being built into a living, growing dwelling place for His presence.
EPHESIANS – WEEK 4
Pastor: Dave Brown
Series: Ephesians
📖 Sermon Summary – Ephesians 2:11–18
1. Purpose of the Church
Primary Text Context: Ephesians 1–2
The church is not merely a gathering, but a people formed in Christ.
It exists to embody the kingdom of God—living out grace, peace, love, and unity together.
📖 Ephesians 1:22–23
“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body…”
📖 Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…”
2. Jesus as “Lord” and “Christ”
Key Theme from Ephesians 1
Lord → Jesus is the ruling King over all creation
Christ (Messiah) → the promised King who fulfills God’s covenant
📖 Ephesians 1:20–21
“[God] raised Christ from the dead and seated him… far above all rule and authority…”
This means every identity and allegiance must submit to Him.
3. The Human Problem: Division
Primary Text: Ephesians 2:11–12
Division between Jews and Gentiles represents deep hostility:
Jews: covenant people with promises
Gentiles: outsiders, excluded
📖 Ephesians 2:11–12
“Remember that formerly you who are Gentiles… were separate from Christ… without hope and without God in the world.”
4. What Christ Has Done
a. Brings the distant near
📖 Ephesians 2:13
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
b. Destroys division
📖 Ephesians 2:14
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.”
c. Creates one new humanity
📖 Ephesians 2:15–16
“His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two… and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross…”
5. Unity is Already Accomplished
Unity is not something we create—it is something Christ has already established
📖 Ephesians 2:16
“...thus putting to death their hostility.”
The call is to live into this reality
6. Salvation is Communal (Not Individualistic)
Salvation is not just about individuals being saved
It is about God forming a new people together
📖 Ephesians 2:18
“For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
7. The Challenge of Individualism
Culture teaches:
Self-sufficiency
Personal success
Individual identity
But biblical formation requires community
📖 1 Corinthians 12:12
“Just as a body… has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”
8. New Identity in Christ
Identity is no longer defined by:
Background
Status
Preferences
Instead:
📖 Ephesians 2:19 (implied next verse)
“You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people…”
9. The Church’s Calling
The church is to be a place where:
The outsider is welcomed
The divided are unified
Peace is practiced
📖 Ephesians 2:17
“He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.”
10. How to Respond
Not:
“Try harder to be unified”
But:
Embrace your identity in Christ
Repent of competing allegiances
Live as one new humanity
📖 John 17:21 (supporting theme)
“That all of them may be one… just as you are in me and I am in you.”
11. Access to God is Equal
All believers share:
One Spirit
One Father
One access
📖 Ephesians 2:18
“For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
12. Communion as the Expression of Unity
We do not come to God on our own merit
We are brought near through Christ alone
📖 1 Corinthians 11:23–26
“This is my body… This cup is the new covenant in my blood…”
Communion reminds us:
We share one Savior
We belong to one body
We are one people
✅ KeyTakeaways
Jesus is Lord over every identity and allegiance
Christ has already destroyed division
Salvation creates a unified people, not isolated individuals
The church must live out the unity that already exists
True maturity requires deep, committed community
EPHESIANS – WEEK 3
Pastor: Dave Brown
Series: Ephesians
📖 Ephesians 2:1–10 | From Death to Life | Walking in Our True Identity
In this message from Ephesians 2:1–10, we explore the powerful transformation that takes place through God’s grace—and what it means for how we live every day.
Paul reminds us that we were once spiritually dead, walking in sin and shaped by the patterns of this world. This way of life ultimately flows from self-centeredness, which leads to brokenness, hostility, and separation from God. Left on our own, we follow a path that cannot produce life.
But everything changes with God’s intervention.
“But because of His great love…” (Ephesians 2:4)
God, rich in mercy, makes us alive with Christ. This transformation is not something we earn—it is a gift of grace. Salvation is not based on our efforts, achievements, or moral performance, but on the finished work of Jesus.
Through Christ:
- We are made alive
- We are raised with Him
- We are seated with Him in the heavenly realms
This means our identity has completely changed.
We are no longer defined by our past or by sin—we are now children of God.
Paul emphasizes that this new identity leads to a new way of life. The Christian life is described as a “walk”—a daily pattern shaped by who we belong to. Instead of living in self-centeredness, we are called to walk in love, reflecting the character of our Father.
Ephesians 2:10 declares that we are God’s handiwork (His masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus for good works. These works are not how we earn salvation—they are the natural outflow of a life transformed by grace.
Key truths from this passage:
- Salvation is by grace alone, through faith
- Our identity is rooted in God’s love, not our performance
- We are created with purpose
- Our lives should reflect God’s love, grace, and character
As followers of Jesus, we are called to live differently—not to prove ourselves, but to display the reality of God’s kingdom here and now.
We don’t walk differently to earn God’s love—
we walk differently because we already have it.
🙏 Let your life reflect the love, grace, and truth of the One who made you new.
EPHESIANS – WEEK 2
Pastor: Leanne Benton
Series: Ephesians
Sermon Summary: “Open Eyes” (Ephesians 1:15–23)
Main Message
Paul’s prayer is that believers would move beyond knowledge and experience spiritual revelation—having the“eyes of their hearts enlightened” to truly know God.(Ephesians 1:17–18)
Transformation comes not from information alone, but from a heart awakened to God.
Key Truth Many people have access to abundant biblical teaching, yet remain spiritually empty because information does not equal transformation. * Paul prays for awakened hearts, not just informed minds*(Ephesians 1:18).
3 Things Paul Prays We Would See1. See Hope Clearly “...that you may know the hope to which he has called you...”(Ephesians 1:18)* * Biblical hope = confident trust in God, not circumstances. * God is always at work, even when we cannot see it.
Supporting scriptures:
- “Open my eyes that I may see…”(Psalm 119:18)
- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace…”(Romans 15:13)
-
God’s work is ongoing despite circumstances(Matthew 5:45)
-
See Power Differently “...his incomparably great power for us who believe…”(Ephesians 1:19)*
- This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead(Ephesians 1:20)
- Power comes through dependence on Christ, not self-effort.
Supporting scriptures:
- “Apart from me you can do nothing.”(John 15:5)
- “The Spirit… who raised Jesus… is living in you.”(Romans 8:11)
-
“My power is made perfect in weakness.”(2 Corinthians 12:9)
-
See Jesus Accurately Jesus is supreme over all authority and power*(Ephesians 1:20–23)
- He must be at the center of life above everything else.
Supporting insight:
- When other things take His place, life becomes disordered.
Warning from Scripture The Ephesian church later lost their first love(Revelation 2:2–5)* * They had correct beliefs and actions but drifted in their relationship with Jesus**.
Final TakeawayThe central prayer of the sermon:
“God, open the eyes of our hearts.”(Ephesians 1:18)
Believers are called to:
- Move from information → revelation
- Live in hope, power, and clarity
- Keep Jesus at the center
- Continually return to first love
EPHESIANS – WEEK 1
Sermon Notes Summary: Ephesians 1:1–14”
Pastor: Dave Brown
Series: Ephesians
Series context: Beginning a 14-week journey through Ephesians. This opening message sets the stage for the letter’s big themes and asks what kind of people—and what kind of church—God is forming us to be.
Why Ephesians matters: Ephesians gives a sweeping vision of the gospel, the church, and God’s purpose from creation to new creation. It helps answer: Why did God call this church into existence? Why bring different people into one body? Why does our community need a church like this? Why does God care not only about what we believe, but who we are becoming?
Genre: A letter (epistle), so context matters for interpretation.
Author: Traditionally Paul. Though scholars debate this because of vocabulary and church language, the sermon argues Paul likely wrote it late in life, possibly from prison, as a final pastoral vision for multiple churches.
Audience: Not just Ephesus, but likely a wider circle of churches.
About Ephesians 1:3–14: In Greek, this is one long sentence overflowing with praise. Paul packs it with major themes and echoes from Israel’s story to show continuity between God’s work in the Old Testament and God’s work in Christ now.
Adoption/sonship: Echoes Israel as God’s firstborn son.
Chosen/predestined: Echoes God’s choosing of Abraham and Israel to form a people for His purposes.
Redemption/freedom: Echoes the Exodus—God delivering His people from slavery.
Blood of the Lamb: Echoes Passover and God’s saving power.
Forgiveness: Echoes God’s mercy after Israel’s failure.
Wisdom, understanding, mystery: Echoes God giving His people instruction for covenant life.
Unity: Echoes the hope of God reuniting His people under the Messiah.
Main idea: The opening of Ephesians is about identity. Paul confronts the identities the world tries to give us and reminds us who we are in Christ.
We are a people of praise — our lives are centered on God’s glory, not ourselves.
We are blessed — in Christ, heaven has broken into our story.
We are loved — God pursued us before we pursued Him.
We are chosen — our identity begins with God’s initiative.
We are adopted — wanted, welcomed, and claimed as God’s own.
We are holy — set apart for God’s purposes, not perfect but called.
We are saved by grace — forgiven through the blood of Christ.
We are free — released from sin, shame, and old masters to belong to Christ.
We are one — a new humanity under Jesus, beyond all lesser divisions and allegiances.
We are sealed — marked and empowered by the Holy Spirit as God’s possession.
Application: Before asking, “What should we do?” Ephesians first asks, “Who are we becoming?” A church that knows its identity stops chasing relevance, fearing the future, and imitating culture, and instead lives as the people of God.
Prayer focus: Lord, teach us to live as Your holy, forgiven, loved, unified, Spirit-filled people, and empower us to help others experience the freedom and life found in Christ.
HOLY SPIRIT – WEEK 4
Sermon Notes Summary: The Holy Spirit & Our “Why”
Pastor: Dave Brown
Series: Holy Spirit (Final Week)
Text: 1 Corinthians 12:1–11 (with references to ch. 13–14, Acts 1:8)
Main Theme
The Holy Spirit empowers believers with power (dunamis)—not for personal gain or spiritual moments, but to advance God’s kingdom on earth. To rightly use this power, we must align with God’s “why”—His purpose of bringing heaven to earth through love and truth.
Key Ideas
1. Don’t “Box Up” the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit is not just for a series or moment.
- He is meant to continually shape and empower our daily lives.
- We are called to stay attuned to His presence all year long.
2. The Importance of “Why”
- A compelling why gives meaning to our actions (the what and how).
- Many people lose their sense of purpose and end up living someone else’s “why.”
- Not all “whys” are equal—some lead to emptiness (e.g., money or comfort).
Key Quote:
- “Power is only as good as the story it supports.”
3. The Power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)
- “Power” (dunamis) = strength, ability, force (like dynamite).
- God gives power so we can be witnesses.
- But power can build or destroy—it depends on the purpose behind it.
4. A Bigger Gospel
- The gospel is not just about going to heaven.
- It is about God bringing His kingdom to earth now.
Key Truth:
- Not escape → but restoration
- Not evacuation → but invasion of heaven into earth
Anchor Prayer:
- “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
5. Why We Need the Spirit’s Power
- Advancing God’s kingdom requires real power because it:
- Challenges comfort and convenience
- Breaks consumer Christianity
- Confronts control, fear, and reputation
- Tears down idols (bitterness, pride, sin, tribalism)
“Some things need to be blown up.”
6. Spiritual Gifts (1 Corinthians 12)
- Different gifts, same Spirit.
- Given to each believer.
- Purpose: the common good, not personal glory.
Examples of gifts:
- Wisdom, knowledge, faith
- Healing, miracles
- Prophecy, discernment
- Tongues and interpretation
7. Alignment Matters
- The Holy Spirit won’t empower misaligned motives.
- Gifts must serve God’s purpose, not ours.
- Our hearts must match His “why.”
8. The Greater Gifts: Love & Prophecy (Ch. 13–14)
- Love = The Heartbeat
- Foundation of all spiritual gifts.
- Without love, nothing has life.
- Prophecy = The Breath
- Speaking truth from God.
- Giving voice to love.
- Key Insight:
- Love gives truth beauty.
- Truth gives love a voice.
9. Truth + Love = Spiritual Maturity
- Love without truth = enabling/self-centeredness
- Truth without love = harsh and destructive
Maturity = living both together
10. Our Calling: Witness & Prophet
- Witness (Luke’s emphasis): Living testimony of Jesus
- Prophet (Paul’s emphasis): Speaking truth after encountering God
- Both require:
- Encounter with God
- Transformation
- Spirit-enabled boldness
Reflection Questions
- What story am I serving?
- What is driving my life—comfort or calling?
- Am I living by fear or faith?
- Am I seeking approval from people or obedience to God?
Application
- Desire spiritual gifts—but prioritize love.
- Align your life with God’s kingdom purpose.
- Live as a witness: embody truth and love.
- Allow the Spirit to transform your motivations.
Closing Challenge
- Don’t settle for a small gospel.
- Don’t settle for comfortable Christianity.
- Be a Spirit-filled people through whom heaven breaks into earth.
Closing Prayer Focus
- Tune our hearts to the Spirit
- Align our “why” with God’s purpose
- Empower us to live as witnesses
- Help us reflect God’s love and truth to the world
HOLY SPIRIT – WEEK 3
Sermon Notes — “You Will Receive Power, You Will Be My Witnesses”
Pastor Daniel Bunn — May 3, 2026
Text: Acts 2:1–21
1. Scripture Reading — Acts 2:1–21
Pastor Daniel begins by reading the Pentecost narrative:
Acts 2:1 — “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.”
Acts 2:2–4 — Violent wind, tongues of fire, filling of the Holy Spirit, speaking in other tongues.
Acts 2:5–12 — Jews from every nation hear the wonders of God in their own languages.
Acts 2:13 — Some mock: “They’ve had too much wine.”
Acts 2:14–21 — Peter explains this fulfills Joel 2:28–32:
“I will pour out my Spirit on all people…”
“Your sons and daughters will prophesy…”
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
2. A Disorienting Reality
Pastor Daniel uses the viral “dress” phenomenon to illustrate how disorienting it is when what you see doesn’t match what is true.
Quote: “What you think is real may not be real after all.”
This sets up the disciples’ own disorientation after the resurrection.
3. The Disciples’ Reality Is Overturned (Luke → Acts)
A. Their old reality
Power wins.
Empires rule.
Death is final.
Jesus’ crucifixion seemed to confirm this: “Rome wins, Jesus loses, end of story.”
B. The resurrection shatters that reality
Jesus appears alive in a locked room (Luke 24).
This reveals two truths:
True power is found on the cross, not in Roman might.
Death does not get the last word — God does.
The disciples now know the truth, but they are disoriented—just like the dress analogy.
4. Jesus’ Final Instruction — Acts 1
Before ascending, Jesus tells them:
Acts 1:4 — “Wait in Jerusalem until the gift of the Spirit comes.”
Acts 1:8 — “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth.”
This taps into centuries of Jewish expectation for the promised Spirit (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel).
5. Pentecost — Acts 2
A. The disciples obey
They “waited and prayed for 10 days.”
B. The Spirit arrives
Violent wind
Fire
Languages
Galileans speaking global languages — the most shocking part to the crowd.
Quote: “This should not be possible… These people probably barely know their own language.” (Acts 2:7)
C. The crowd’s confusion
Their best explanation: “They must be drunk.” Pastor Daniel notes humorously that drunkenness does not improve language skills.
D. Peter’s explanation
Peter quotes Joel 2:28–32 to show this is God’s promised outpouring.
6. The Spirit Empowers Witnesses (Acts 2–7)
Pastor Daniel traces several scenes in Acts showing the Spirit fulfilling Jesus’ words:
A. Peter’s bold sermon — Acts 2
The same Peter who denied Jesus now preaches boldly. Result: “Some 3,000 people embraced this reality.” (Acts 2:41)
B. The Spirit-formed community — Acts 2:42–47
They:
Devoted themselves to teaching, prayer, fellowship
Sold possessions
Ensured no one lacked anything
This contradicts the world’s reality of scarcity, competition, and accumulation.
Quote: “What I have is God’s, not mine… With God there is plenty, not scarcity.”
C. Healing the lame man — Acts 3
Peter: “What I have I give to you. In the name of Jesus, stand up and walk.” The man walks; the crowd is amazed.
D. Peter and John before the authorities — Acts 4
Religious leaders demand they stop speaking in Jesus’ name.
Peter replies (Acts 4:19–20): “Which is right in God’s eyes, to listen to you or to him? … We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
E. Stephen — Acts 6–7
Stephen, “empowered by the Holy Spirit,” gives the longest speech in Acts. He becomes the first martyr.
Pastor Daniel notes: “The Greek word martyr means witness.”
7. What the Spirit Empowers Us For
Not to become:
Saviors
Judges
But to become:
Witnesses
A witness simply says: “This is what I’ve seen and heard.”
8. The Invitation to Us
Acts extends a question to modern believers:
Will we receive the Spirit’s power?
Will we bear witness to God’s alternative reality?
Will we allow this reality to take root in our homes, marriages, friendships, neighborhoods, and church?
9. The Proper Order of Operations (Acts Pattern)
Pastor Daniel emphasizes:
Wait and pray
Receive the Holy Spirit
Witness
Quote: “The Holy Spirit must be received. The Holy Spirit is not grasped.”
Rushing into witnessing without empowerment leads to failure.
10. A Final Warning and Call
Receiving the Spirit is beautiful—but dangerous:
It overturns false realities.
It reveals that peace, not might, wins.
It reveals that God, not death, is eternal.
Once you see this reality, “you can’t unsee it.”
The call:
Be bold enough to receive the Spirit.
Be bold enough to witness.
Proclaim the kingdom of God.
Love neighbors as ourselves.
This is a powerful and beautiful witness.
Amen.
HOLY SPIRIT – WEEK 2
April 26, 2026
Pastor Dave Brown
Moving from simply understanding the Holy Spirit to actively living in relationship with Him daily.
KEY IDEA
The Holy Spirit is meant to be experienced, not just studied.
1. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT JUST A CONCEPT
The Spirit lives in us and is active in our lives
We are meant to understand and experience what God has given
Scripture: John 14:16–17; 1 Corinthians 2:12–14
2. FROM KNOWLEDGE TO RELATIONSHIP
The Holy Spirit guides, speaks, and leads
Christianity is not just belief—it’s relationship
Scripture: John 16:13; Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 13:14
3. LEARNING TO LISTEN
God often speaks in subtle ways
We must slow down and pay attention
Scripture: 1 Kings 19:11–12; John 10:27
4. OBEDIENCE BRINGS CLARITY
Spiritual sensitivity grows through action
Obedience strengthens our ability to hear
Scripture: James 1:22; Acts 5:32; Galatians 5:25
5. EMBRACING DISCOMFORT
The Spirit often leads beyond comfort zones
Growth happens when we trust God’s leading
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:16; Isaiah 55:8–9
6. DAILY DEPENDENCE
The Holy Spirit is for everyday life—not just church
We are called to live continually filled and led
Scripture: Luke 11:13; Romans 8:5–6; Ephesians 5:18
APPLICATION (THIS WEEK)
Ask the Holy Spirit to speak (Luke 11:13)
Pause and listen (Psalm 46:10)
Act on one prompting (James 1:22)
Reflect on what happens (Psalm 119:15)
CLOSING
“This isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being available.”
Philippians 2:13
Holy Spirit
April 12 2026
Teacher: Pastor Doug McHenry
The Holy Spirit is the life-giving presence of God.
“Now the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” – Genesis 2:7
The Trinity is One Being, Three Persons; one essence, three personalities; Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the life-giving presence of God and breathes into our lives, makes us new and we’re born again.
It’s not something we achieve; it’s something we receive. We are not self-generated.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”
“That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realm…” – Eph. 1:18-20
“Then he said to me: ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’”
“Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘My people, I am going to bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.”
“I will put my Spirit in you and you will live…Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it,’ declares the Lord.” – Ezekiel 37:11-14
The Breath of God, the Holy Spirit, alone can bring dead things back to life.
The Holy Spirit is the life-giving presence of God from the first breath in Eden to the new life of resurrection.
Confirmation Sunday
April 12 2026
In this episode Middle School Director Jordan Black and High School Director Andrew Randoll host a Q&A discussion with 5 guests
'I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when peaople wil not tolerate sound doctrin, but according to their own desires, will mulitiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn aside to myths. But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. '
2 Timothy 4:1-5
Easter Service
April 05, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Sin is when we live contrary to God’s intention for creation.
- Our relationship with God
- Our relationship with others
- Our relationship with ourselves
- Our relationship with creation
- Our relationship with truth
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
— Matthew 27:51-54
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.
—Hebrews 6:19-20
His consecrating life-blood grants believers access to God in the holy of holies, indexing them as co-high priests, and enables them to participate with Jesus…
— Andrew Rillera
Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Maundy Thursday
April 02, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
“Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’
‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’
The high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. ‘You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’
They all condemned him as worthy of death.”
—Mark 14:61–64
“The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.
They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.
And they began to call out to him, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’
Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.”
—Mark 15:16–19
“At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.”
—Mark 15:33
“At three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).”
—Mark 15:34
“And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”
—Mark 15:39
Palm Sunday
March 29, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel.” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
— John 12:12-19
Hosanna = please save us!
Jesus didn’t come to bring the kingdom in the way people expected. He came to redefine what God’s kingdom actually meant.
— N.T. Wright
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
— John 19:13-16a
Picture of Jesus
Picture of Galilean Man
When we get the story of God wrong, we get our own story wrong as well.
— N.T. Wright
Lamentations
March 22, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Leanne Benton
Summary of “Your Kingdom Come: From Lament to Participation”
(Based on “Lamentations March 22 2026 Final.docx” by Leanne Benton)
The sermon reflects on Lamentations 5 as the closing message in a series on lament, showing how honest grief becomes a pathway to restoration and renewed participation in God’s kingdom.
1. Context of Lamentations
Jeremiah writes after Jerusalem’s destruction in 586 BC. The temple is burned, leaders killed, families exiled, and the monarchy ended. The chapter outlines a progression of losses—inheritance, leadership, dignity, joy, and spiritual strength.
2. Honest Grief Is the Beginning of Restoration
Israel begins their prayer with raw honesty: “Remember, Lord, what has happened to us.”
They recount their losses: land, family security, dignity, joy, and the desolation of Mount Zion.
Lament is described as an act of faith—standing between painful reality and God’s promises.
3. God Still Reigns
In the center of the complaint rises a theological anchor:
“You, Lord, reign forever.”
Empires fall and temples crumble, but God's throne is immovable.
This echoes Psalm 48 and shifts the focus from devastation to divine sovereignty—lament begins turning into hope when we move our eyes from what we see to who God is.
4. Participating in God’s Restoration
The people pray:
“Restore us to yourself… renew our days as of old.”
The sermon emphasizes that restoration starts with returning to God—not rebuilding walls.
Lament leads to acknowledgment of sin, repentance, and a desire for renewal.
A proverb captures the shift from lament to participation: “Pray… and move your feet.”
Believers become agents of justice, hope, and worship as they join God’s restoring work.
5. Surrendered Suffering Softens the Heart
Suffering can either harden or soften a heart.
When surrendered to God, suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope (Romans 5), and matures faith (James 1).
Jesus reminds His followers that trouble is inevitable, but peace is found in Him (John 16).
The sermon underscores that how a person responds to pain determines whether they become bitter or grow deeper in faith.
6. Hope Grows in the Soil of Lament
The sermon highlights the spiritual mystery that when someone grieves without becoming cynical or closed-hearted, hope takes root.
A heart that stays open in seasons of loss becomes softer, more compassionate, and more spacious.
This becomes the very place where hope grows and where a transformative “pivot” in one’s story often occurs.
7. The Larger Biblical Arc
Lamentations ends without closure, offering instead a plea for restoration.
But Israel’s story continues—decades later, the exiles return under Cyrus, the temple is rebuilt, and hope rises again.
The sermon emphasizes that lament is not the end but a doorway through which God’s kingdom enters.
8. Final Invitation
The message ends with a reflective invitation:
Some listeners are in seasons of loss and are reminded that God welcomes their lament.
Others have come through seasons of pain and now carry softer, more compassionate hearts; they are encouraged to move toward others in need.
A closing prayer asks God to meet His people “on the pile of rubble,” helping them grieve honestly, surrender fully, trust deeply, and step into renewed hope and participation in His kingdom.
Lamentations
March 15, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
To ask questions of God is not a lack of faith, but an expression of trust.
Healing begins when hidden pain is brought from darkness into the light of God’s presence and the care of a trustworthy community.
Discovering hope in hardship by intentionally remembering who God truly is.
An essential part of healing involves honest reflection and a return to God.
Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should the living complain when punished for their sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say: “We have sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven. “You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us; you have slain without pity. You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through. You have made us scum and refuse among the nations.
— Lamentations 3:37-45
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.
— Jeremiah 7:3-11
Repentance is part of lamenting: “We have confessed to being followers of Jesus without becoming truly shaped by the values he lived and died for. We have, in fact, applied our religion in ways that benefit ourselves but bring harm to millions.
— Soong Chan Rah
The sad truth about modern spirituality is that we often avoid feeling our own pain and in the process avoid feeling the pain of others. When this happens, it’s impossible to do the work of reconciliation…Lament requires us to take seriously the pain we see and feel and to open ourselves to how God might have us respond.
— Rich Villodas
I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life.
— Lamentations 3:55-58
Lamentations
March 08, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
The message explains that many people look forward to Lamentations 3 because it finally introduces hope, but that hope has to be understood within the structure and emotional movement of the entire book. Lamentations doesn’t offer quick fixes or simplistic spiritual answers; instead, it honestly portrays how real grief works.
The book follows a chiastic structure — a literary “mountain” that rises toward a central point and then descends in reverse order. In Lamentations, the structure looks like this:
- A: Devastation
- B: Accusation
- C: Remembrance (the central peak)
- B’: Reflection
- A’: Petition
This structure mirrors how sorrow actually feels: pain → hope struggle → pain again — but the second pain is different because it has been reshaped by remembrance.
To illustrate, the speaker tells a story of a brutal bike climb up Smugglers Notch in Vermont. Reaching the summit felt like it should be the end, but instead the road immediately plunged downward into danger, rain, cold, and exhaustion. The lesson: reaching the “summit” didn’t end the struggle, but it changed everything. That experience parallels the emotional journey of Lamentations 3.
In the chapter, we hear an exhausted “strongman” voice say, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope…” This moment is the theological summit — but the book doesn’t end there. Pain returns in chapters 4–5. The city is still ruined. Exile is still real. But the heart posture has changed. Before remembrance, God felt like an enemy; after remembrance, the people can say, “Restore us, O Lord.”
Hope doesn’t erase hardship — it reorients the heart within it.
Lamentations 3 shows that hope is not automatic. The strongman speaks hope to himself:
- “This I call to mind…”
- “I say to myself…”
Hope is fought for, practiced, and rehearsed, not simply felt.
The passage reveals three essential truths about biblical hope:
Hope is intentional remembrance.
He chooses to recall God’s covenant love.
Hope doesn’t replace lament — it deepens it.
Even after declaring God’s faithfulness, he continues to speak honestly about affliction and waiting.
Hope provides endurance, not instant relief.
Waiting “quietly” for God is active, anchored perseverance.
By the end, the writer’s circumstances remain unchanged — Jerusalem is still in ruins — but something inside him has stabilized. That inner steadying is itself an act of grace.
The message concludes by reminding us that many of us are somewhere on that mountain: climbing, descending, exhausted, or caught in unexpected weather. Lamentations gives permission to tell the truth about pain. Hope is not pretending everything is fine but speaking covenant truths into unfinished stories.
The lament tree in the lobby symbolizes this: a communal place to name sorrow and reach for hope together.
Finally, the message points to Christ, who personally entered lament and suffering. So when we rehearse hope through clenched teeth, we are not failing— we are walking the same honest path God Himself walked. The storm may persist, but God’s mercies remain new every morning, and that is enough.
Lamentations
March 01, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
A healthy spirituality is always an honest spirituality.
Healing begins when hidden pain is brought from darkness into the light of God’s presence and the care of a trustworthy community.
My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.
— Lamentations 2:11
What can I say for you? With what can I compare you, Daughter Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, Virgin Daughter Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?
— Lamentations 2:13
A healthy spirituality is always an honest spirituality.
The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. You walls of Daughter Zion, let your tears flow like a river day and night; give yourself no relief, your eyes no rest. Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner “Look, Lord, and consider: Whom have you ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the children they have cared for? Should priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord? “Young and old lie together in the dust of the streets; my young men and young women have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your anger; you have slaughtered them without pity.
— Lamentations 2:18-21
Pray as you can. Not as you can’t.
— John Chapman
A healthy spirituality is always an honest spirituality.
Laments are prayers that erupt from wounds, burst out of unbearable pain, and bring it to language. Laments complain, shout, and protest. They take anger and despair before God and the community. They grieve. They argue. They find fault…Although laments appear disruptive to God’s world, they are acts of fidelity. In vulnerability and honesty, the cling obstinately to God and demand for God to see, hear, and act.
— Kathleen O’ Conner
God’s silence in Lamentations leaves wounds festering, open to the air and possibly to healing. The benefit of exposed wounds is that they become visible and unavoidable. Left exposed, they require us to see, acknowledge, and attend to them, and then perhaps there can be energy to attend to the wounds of the world.
— Kathleen O’ Conner
A healthy spirituality is always an honest spirituality.
For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
— Ephesians 5:8-12
It is easier to let God heal my sinfulness than it is to let him heal my woundedness.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
A healthy spirituality is always an honest spirituality.
Healing begins when hidden pain is brought from darkness into the light of God’s presence and the care of a trustworthy community.
Lamentations
February 22, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Daniel Bunn
LAMENTATIONS 1:1-7
Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem (587 B.C.)
Tisha B'Av
Lamentations is meant to be felt.
"How?"
Lamentations names the pain and looks it in the face.
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long (Psalm 32:3)
What is hidden cannot be healed.
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1)
Lamentations invites us to name our pain before God.
Truthfulness is not the absence of faith. Truthfulness requires deep faith.
Where are you pretending everything is fine?
What would it look like to be a little more honest?
REVELATION 21:1-4
Teach Us To Pray
February 15, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
— Matthew 7:7-12
The aim is not to get God in on what I think he should be doing. Rather, the aim of prayer is to get us in on what God is doing, become aware of it, join it, and enjoy the fruit of participation.
—Tyler Staton
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
— Mark 2:1-5
A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses.
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
— Exodus 32:14
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.
— Numbers 23:19
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Romans 8:33-34
Teach Us To Pray
February 08, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
— Matthew 7:7-11 (Luke 11:9-13)
3 Reasons for Unanswered Prayers:
- Not “no” but “not yet”
- Complex Goods
- Evil Exists
God does not delay to give what he has promised; rather, by delaying he stretches desire. By stretching desire he enlarges the soul. By enlarging the soul he makes it capable of receiving what he is preparing to give.
— Augustine
God always gives us just what we need, himself. He even works to stretch our hearts so that we are able to receive what he gives.
Safety and security are two idols we let go unchecked in the American church.
“Safe? ... Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you”
— C.S. Lewis
Gracious Father,
you are the God of peace,
the sovereign King who gathers one Kingdom from many nations
and calls us to belong wholly to you and to one another;
Teach us to be with you before we strive to do for you.
Quiet our anxious hearts,
loosen our grip on lesser allegiances,
and form in us the mind of Christ.
Where opinions differ, give us charity.
Where fears rise, give us trust.
Where we are tempted to divide, make us one.
As we seek the future of Redeemer Church,
guide us by your Spirit.
Grant us wisdom in discernment,
patience with one another,
and courage to follow wherever you lead.
Make us a praying people before we are a decisive people,
that our life together may reflect the peace and unity of your Kingdom.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Teach Us To Pray
February 01, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.
— Luke 1:3
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
— Luke 10:38-42
The Good Samaritan shows us what love does.
Mary reminds us where love begins.
Prayer teaches us how to stay there.
“Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
— Luke 11:1
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
— Luke 11:1
“When you pray, say: Father…”
— Luke 11:2
Prayer is about presence before it’s about anything else. Prayer doesn’t begin with outcomes. Prayer is the free choice to be with the Father, to prefer his company. In our desire for certain outcomes or our confusion over not getting certain outcomes, we are tempted to begin there. But we cannot brush past simply being with the Father and arrive at anything close to the sort of prayer Jesus won back for us. Prayer starts with presence.
— Tyler Staton
Gracious Father,
you are the God of peace,
the sovereign King who gathers one Kingdom from many nations
and calls us to belong wholly to you and to one another;
Teach us to be with you before we strive to do for you.
Quiet our anxious hearts,
loosen our grip on lesser allegiances,
and form in us the mind of Christ.
Where opinions differ, give us charity.
Where fears rise, give us trust.
Where we are tempted to divide, make us one.
As we seek the future of Redeemer Church,
guide us by your Spirit.
Grant us wisdom in discernment,
patience with one another,
and courage to follow wherever you lead.
Make us a praying people before we are a decisive people,
that our life together may reflect the peace and unity of your Kingdom.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.
My Witnesses
January 18, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Michael White
The golden rule
Matthew 7:12
Intro:
“We are an underwear family”
I need you to get on board with this.
It’s the done thing in our family
I would assume that we are all underwear people, if not, please don’t tell me.
Families have characteristics.
Ways that they do things,
things they don’t do,
values they have.
When you think about your family, now or in the past, what things characterized your family?
Maybe you’re a camping family
Or maybe you’re a “we watch a movie on Friday night family”
Maybe you’re a “we say grace even in restaurants family”
There are things that you do, that show what your family values.
“Remember who you are!”
You’ve been given an identity.
A set of values
You’re not just you, you represent a group of people.
Super familiar verse
But I want to put it into its context and that’s going to add a layer to its meaning.
Scripture
Matthew 7:12
12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Context is king
This comes at the end of the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5-7
That’s important
What’s the sermon on the mount?
Riff
Jesus greatest concentrated teaching
Important because he starts out with this.
He is defining what his purpose is
Showing what is important to him
For the next 3 years he lives this out
When we get down to our verse…7:12
Doesn’t really feel related to vv. 7-11.
7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Then the golden rule comes and it doesn’t seem to follow.
It goes back to 5:17
17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
That’s the overall rubric,
What does it look like to fulfill the law and prophets?
Jesus takes 2 chapters to illustrate how you do that.
then it culminates in the Golden rule
The law and the prophets are fulfilled in how we treat other people.
That’s what the 2 chapters of the sermon on the mount are all about, how Jesus’ disciples should relate to other people.
The proof of a relationship with Jesus is a changed heart that results in changed behavior toward other people
Need to understand
This is a verse about Christian community, the church
It’s not about being an individual.
It does affect individual behavior, but in the sense of how we as individuals fit into the group.
This is about how the family behaves.
Just like your family of origin has certain characteristics,
The Golden rule characterizes the family of God
This is how the family behaves as God fulfills his plan and purpose for the world.
The movement of God from the moment sin entered into the world
Until the point where evil is finally defeated once and for all
Story arc that God is making a new creation.
The church.
We are living into God’s plan and purpose and
we do that by acting like the family of God.
It’s fundamentally about redemption.
As people come to know the good news of Jesus,
God is gathering them/us together, creating a new people, a new community of people who are living into the reality of God’s new creation.
It’s like this taste of heaven.
Here’s where the Golden Rule comes in
Those people are pointing to a world where only good is done to each other.
Can you Imagine what that would be like?
People wouldn’t hurt each other
No one would say terrible things to each other
There wouldn’t be any war
No one would need to be afraid
It sounds like heaven…
This is the profound point.
This is the answer to the line of the Lord’s Prayer
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven
A world where only good is done to each other
That’s the kingdom of God.
That’s what we point to.
That’s how disciples of Jesus live
Do to others what you would have them do to you.
This is the done thing.
This is how the family behaves.
This is how the new community reflects the character of God.
This is how we live into the day when God’s rule is complete.
That’s what the Golden rule is all about
The Golden Rule in history
Nobody really knows how it became known as the “Golden Rule”
But the story I like best is that the Roman Emperor Severus Alexander 222-35, was so impressed by the saying that he had it inscribed in gold on the wall of his chamber.
Severus Alexander
You’ve probably never heard of him, but he has a very famous descendent
Severus Snape
The Golden Rule isn’t original to Jesus.
It exists in Judaism, particularly in Rabbi Hillel,
I’d show you a photo of him, but he doesn’t have any famous relatives
and many other places,
Here’s the thing: it is almost always in the negative.
Don’t do to other people what you don’t want them to do to you.
That’s a great rule.
Would you like it if someone did that to you?
No? Then don’t do that to them.
Cutting people off on the freeway.
Jesus takes that rule and does something interesting with it.
Jesus puts it in the positive
Takes it away from being passive
As long as your not doing anything bad, you’re doing fine.
By putting it in the positive makes it more demanding.
Therefore everything you would like others to do to you, your yourselves be doing to them.
It’s proactive
“Hey, here’s this person in this situation.”
If I was in that situation, I would want someone to do this for me.
You can’t meet everyone’s need.
It’s impossible.
But don’t use that as an out.
There will be people God places in your field of vision
Me in the supermarket
You look lost can I help you.
In the negative way of understanding the rule, he didn’t have to do that.
In the positive sense that Jesus introduces, this was a great way.
It has little implications and it has huge implications.
Maybe it means you open the door for someone who is caring an armful of packages.
Maybe you stop and help someone who looks like they need help.
Maybe you grant charitable assumptions instead of assuming the worst.
Maybe you put yourself into the position of people who are affected by policies and procedures that don’t affect you and ask yourself, what would I want someone to do for me if I was in that situation?
Water at Chautauqua
We take the initiative to love people.
It doesn’t say treat others as they treat you.
We are called to live by a higher standard, a greater righteousness, a deeper ethic than
“pay each other back in kind”
quid pro quo
Feels like there could be this complex morality.
But Jesus boils down to something super simple.
There are 622 laws in the Old Testament
All the teaching of the sermon on the mount is caught up in this summary. This one thing…
Whatever you would like other people to do to you be doing that to other people.
Raises issues of identity
Whose family do you belong to?
Maybe the more revealing question is: Whose family do you look like?
What are the things that characterize your life?
Some of us, need to decide which family we want to belong to.
Others of us, need to decide that we are going to be more serious about reflecting the family priorities.
You can’t just dabble with Jesus
In the public square there are people saying Jesusy things but whose lives don’t reflect anything of the Jesus that I know.
What family are you reflecting?
Whose family do you look like?
Just because you show up at church, doesn’t mean that you are reflecting God’s family.
The biggest problem to be overcome? Our anger
Inside and outside the church.
We are all Jesusy until something happens that makes us mad or that we don’t like.
Sajan and the capital fund.
We grow. We get mentored. We watch other people live
The longer you hang out with the family, the more you figure out what the done thing is.
Which means that some us need to make sure that we are setting a good example and all of us need to continue to grow into the image and likeness of Jesus
This happened in our family.
Brian
3 criteria
I’m a girl dad
He’s a guy.
He contacts his parents 3 times a year.
I have heard from Rachel and Allie
Our family is not like that.
Brian has learned
That’s the done thing in our family
I’m sure his parents don’t know he was deployed
They’ll have three kids
But he has learned what our family looks like
We sink our roots in deeply into the family and we participate with the Holy Spirit in the creation of the new community
I am a part of a group.
I am not just me.
I am an extension of us.
All about relationships.
How we treat each other.
How we love God, by loving others
How does this help you make decisions?
The Golden Rule is like a compass.
It doesn’t address every single situation.
But, it points you in the right direction.
It might not tell you how long you need to do something or what the exact process should be, but it helps you find the right path.
Friend is dealing with a difficult employee.
They do just the bare minimum to get by.
They are passive aggressive.
They are not actively undermining things.
They seem to know just where the line is and they push it but don’t cross it.
Before you put your management hat on.
It’s complicated.
And I haven’t told you the whole story.
The Golden Rule doesn’t tell you when to involve HR, or when to start a performance improvement plan.
But it does tell you what your posture should be as you approach the situation.
An application point would be to look at your relationships and ask “Who am I not treating like I would like to be treated?”
Context of the series on missions.
Uniquely positioned to affect people
Place of hospitality and warmth
Keeping the main thing the main thing.
All sorts of churches who have become characterized by all sorts of things that are not the gospel.
God is inviting everyone into a new community. That’s the evangelistic opportunity.
We have this to offer people.
Showing people a different way, a better way. A way that leads to peace and joy and fulfillment.
We do this by living differently
lives are Characterized by the things that characterized Jesus’ life.
Holding as important what Jesus held iimportant
I want to go back to something I said early about two very important teachings of Jesus.
The Golden Rule and the Lord’s prayer
Desire is in the golden rule
Do the thing that you would desire other people to do for you.
It’s also key to the Lord’s Prayer
I desire that Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In my life and on earth in the same way it is done in heaven.
Our hearts is a not good judge of what is best.
But our hearts can be changed to desire the things that God desires.
Encourage us as a group to think about that.
What are our hearts desiring?
Who or what is forming our heart?
The gospel or our preferred news outlet?
What would your friends, your children or your grandchildren say forms you more, your commitment to Jesus or your party affiliation?
We have this amazing gift which we have been given that we can offer people.
Changed lives, changed hearts, a community where we are striving to honor God by faithfully working in our relationships to bring about a kingdom where only good is done.
Sermon question:
Who or what is forming your heart?
Who do you need to treat differently?
How can the golden rule help you make decisions this week?
My Witnesses
January 04, 2026
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
—Acts 1:8
Witnesses = Martyrs
Our proclamation of the Good News must flow out of a life transformed by that Good News.
The church is the bearer to all the nations of a gospel that announces the kingdom, the reign, and the sovereignty of God. It calls men and women to repent of their false loyalty to other powers, to become believers in the one true sovereignty, and so to become corporately a sign, instrument, and foretaste of that sovereignty of the one true and living God over all nature, all nations, and all human lives. It is not meant to call men and women out of the world into a safe religious enclave but to call them out in order to send them back as agents of God’s kingship.
— Leslie Newbigin
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
— Matthew 25:34-40
The translation of dikaiosyne poses problems, however, at least in English. It can refer to justification, or to righteousness, or to justice. Most English New Testament translations reveal a bias toward the second meaning…To find a correct translation is, therefore, crucial. A wrong translation may in fact prove the aptness of the Italian saying…”The translation is a traitor!” Perhaps, however, we should not allow ourselves to choose between “righteousness” and “justice” when seeking for the meaning of dikaiosyne. Our problem may, rather, lie in the fact that the English language is unable to embrace the wide scope of dikaiosyne in one word. Maybe, then, we should translate it with “justice-righteousness,” in an attempt to hold on to both dimensions.
— David Bosch
Instead of “righteousness,” we should think in terms of “acting-rightly” for us and our neighbors.
2 Parts to “acting-rightly”
- Spirituality — Loving God
- Missions — Loving our neighbor
The goal of mission is to ensure that every person, regardless of ethnic or social-economic status, experiences the fullness of the Kingdom of God here and now.
When I think of words to describe deeply formed mission, I have in mind such words as patience, empathy, curiosity, discernment, incarnation, non coercive, invitational, justice, and service. We need these words to combat a way of doing mission that is is often impatient, transactional, coercive, obtrusive, judgmental, disembodied, and anxious.
— Rich Villodas
The Intermission
December 28, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Leanne Benton
Guest: Amanda Mathes
The Intermission
Be still and know that I am God.
(Psalm 46:10)
BIBLICAL INTERMISSION #1:
Israel Between Egypt and the Promised Land
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands.
(Deuteronomy 8:2)
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna…to teach you that man does not live on bread along but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
(Deuteronomy 8:2)
The wilderness was not punishment.
It was preparation!
BIBLICAL INTERMISSION #2:
Elijah After the Mountaintop
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
(I Kings 19:11-12)
BIBLICAL INTERMISSION #3:
Jesus Between Birth and Ministry
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
(Luke 2:52)
In their hearts humans plan their course,
But the Lord establishes their steps.
(Proverbs 16:9)
He who began a good work in you
Will carry it on to completion.
(Philippians 1:6)
INTERMISSION #4: Redeemer Church
The Thrill of Hope - Christmas Eve
December 24, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Joy turns into rejoicing.
Look, Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. — Lucy van Pelt
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. — Luke 2:1-20
I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. — Luke 2:10
The good news is that the one true God has now taken charge of the world…The ancient sickness that had crippled the whole world, and humans with it, has been cured at last, so that new life can rise up in its place. Life has come to life and is pouring out like a mighty river into the world, in the form of a new power, the power of love. The good news was, and is, that all this has happened in and through Jesus; that one day it will happen, completely and utterly, to all creation; and that we humans, every single one of us, whoever we are, can be caught up in that transformation here and now. — N.T. Wright
Joy turns into rejoicing.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. — Luke 2:20
Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshipped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship. — Eugene Peterson
The Thrill of Hope - Week 4
December 21, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
We all long to be known and to be loved.
You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.
— St. Augustine
I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
— Ephesians 3:17-19
“Wide” illustrates his accepting love.
“Long” reveals his lasting love.
“High” proclaims his exalting love.
“Deep” displays his sacrificial love.
You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.
— St. Augustine
God wasn’t hiding from us. We were hiding from God, so God came to find us.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).
— Matthew 1:18-23
Immanuel — God with us.
God
The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
— Luke 1:35
With
Us
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
— Romans 8:38-39
The Thrill of Hope - Week 3
December 14, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Joy
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
—Luke 2:8-1
What’s the difference between happiness and joy?
Happiness is an emotional response to our external circumstances. Joy is a deeper reality that flows from the core of our being.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
— John 15:11
Joy cannot by bought, nor can we just flip a switch will ourselves to be joyous. Joy must be cultivated.
Joy is not a requirement of Christian discipleship; it is a consequence. It is not what we have to acquire in order to experience life in Christ; it is what comes to us when we are walking in the way of faith and obedience.
— Eugene Peterson
The Thrill of Hope - Week 2
December 07, 2025
Introduction: Pastor Dave Brown
Teacher: Glen Peterson
The Story we live in..... is the Story we live out.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…” Isaiah 9:2-6 (niv)
The Kingdom of God-Life in God's presence and God's power-has now become available to ordinary people like you and me.
Its right here, right now.
“Son of man, can these dry bones live?” “Sovereign Lord, you alone know."
“Non-discipleship costs abiding peace, a life penetrated throughout by love, faith that sees everything in the light of God’s overriding governance for good, hopefulness that stands firm in the most discouraging of circumstances, power to do what is right and withstand the forces of evil. In short, it costs exactly that abundance of life Jesus said he came to bring (John 10:10).” Dallas Willard
The Thrill of Hope - Week 1
November 30, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
The season of advent is marked by hope filled waiting.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
— Isaiah 9:6-7
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
— Revelation 21:1-5a
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
A waiting person is a patient person. The word “patience” means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us. Impatient people are always expecting the real thing to happen somewhere else and therefore want to go elsewhere. The moment is empty. But patient people dare to stay where they are. Patient living means to live actively in the present and wait there. Waiting, then, is not passive. It involves nurturing the moment, as a mother nurtures the child that is growing in her womb.
— Henri Nouwen
What God does in us as we wait is just as important as what we’re waiting for.
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again
Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven.
— N.T. Wright
In this season, we might not wait well. We might become impatient and disgruntled and lose hope. But, dear friend, the good news of Advent is not that we are faithful in our waiting; it’s that God is faithful in his coming.
— Rich Villodas
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again
Kingdom Culture- Week 4
November 23, 2025
Introduction: Pastor Dave Brown
Teacher: Pastor Hess Hester
Kingdom Culture: Shake and Shine!
Matthew 5: 13-17 (NIV)
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Salt only has an impact when it is in contact with the object of need.
Who in the circles of influence of your life needs Jesus Christ?
Live and speak in such a way as to create spiritual thirst in the hearts and souls of others.
1 Peter 3:15, Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
Matthew 5: 13b, c (NIV) “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world.”
Even the smallest of lights can make a huge impact. There is no darkness so thick that the light of Christ cannot penetrate it.
Matthew 5:14b-15, A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Don’t hide your light!
Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
John 17: 20-23 (NLT); “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
One of the greatest ways we shine the light of Christ is by the unity we display.
Kingdom Culture- Week 3
November 16, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Kingdom Culture: Formation
The goal of discipleship is not information transfer. The goal of discipleship is to develop the type of relationship with Jesus that forms our character.
Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
— Luke 9:23-25
Whoever wants to save their life will lose it.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor; and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
— Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
The work God wants to do in us requires us to look within: to look deeper and be deeply formed. Why? Because we are covertly and consistently being formed by a culture fashioned by shallowness. In short, we are being shallowly formed.
—Rich Villodas
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
— Matthew 7:13-14
…but whoever loses their life for me will save it.
The way of following Jesus requires a steadfast refusal to get caught up in the pace, power, and priorities of the world around us. We are called to have our lives shaped by a different kind of power, pace, and priorities offered to us by God.
— Rich Villodas
The 3 Steps to Breaking a Bad Habit
- Truth
- Practice
- Community
Although obeying rules does not lead to salvation, it can lead to formation.
3 Essential Practices for Re-formation
- Sabbath
- Examination
- Service
Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
— Luke 9:23-25
Kingdom Culture- Week 2
November 09, 2025
Teacher: Pastor David Nunn
Kingdom Culture: Bringing Heaven to Earth
How the Kingdom Shapes Community
Text: John 13:34–35; Acts 2:42–47
Welcome to week two of “Kingdom Culture: Bringing Heaven to Earth.”
Last week Pastor Dave Brown spoke about the way Jesus kind of “flips the script” on what we tend to believe a blessed life looks like. A blessed life according to Matthew 5, is one of humility, mercy, gentleness, sorrow, and dependance on the LORD. It involves persecution, rather than accomplishment, fame, or wealth. I would suggest to you that bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth will never be accomplished through powerful political movements, or even through great spiritual awakenings. That is not to say that the Spirit of God doesn’t miraculously move through great populations of people. There have been several such movements in Christian history, beginning with Pentecost which we’ll discuss in a moment. However, these great spiritual awakenings are the exception, not the norm.
The norm for bringing the Kingdom of God in earth as it is in heaven is for groups of committed disciples of Christ to live and witness to their faith in a way that touches the community around them. When the world sees disciples loving each other and loving their neighbors in the same way that Christ loves them, then unbelieving hearts and minds are refocused with a desire to understand the source of that love.
That is a process that is not built on great preaching, exciting worship, or big evangelical events that draw huge crowds. It happens as believers build humble, loving relationships in their homes, neighborhoods, workplaces and communities, and through those relationships we witness to the life-changing presence of Christ in our lives. The key to growing a kingdom culture is welcoming and joining the presence of our King within our community.
At its core, Christianity is not a religion based on rules of conduct, or commitment to a list of tenets of faith. Jesus never taught His disciples to go and establish a correct moral standard for rest of the world to follow. We are not called to be moral police for the world. We have enough trouble policing our individual, personal morality.
Again, as Pastor Dave reminded us a few weeks ago we shouldn’t be wasting time trying to manage sin; not our own, and certainly not someone else’s sin. That’s like trying to hide the darkness. It’s not possible. Instead, we should just turn on the light. How do we do that?
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
When we give ourselves wholly to God, we invite Him to bless us with His presence, His power, and His holiness. When you invite the presence of God into your life, it flips on the light that overcomes darkness. Again, to cite the teaching of Pastor Dave Brown, repentance is not just a change of behavior, it’s a change of direction. It’s a moment-by-moment choice to follow Jesus, which is all He ever asks any of His disciples to do. When we do that, Jesus doesn’t change our behavior. He changes our nature.
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
This new creation is the result of “abiding in Christ.” Does that sound familiar? It should. We spent the months of September and October talking about abiding in Christ. It is only through the presence of Christ that any of us can experience this life-changing outcome.
So, if this newly created nature comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ, what other relationships are formed as a result?
The model prayer is “Your kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven.” So, we’re talking about establishing God’s Kingdom culture in a way that impacts the culture of the rest of the world.
One person can’t do that. It requires community. Even Jesus didn’t try to change the world’s culture by Himself. Many believed that He would. They expected Him to miraculously overthrow the Roman’s, declare Himself King, and establish His reign on Earth. Instead, He recruited and taught a small community of believers who were committed to following Him. In the book of Acts, Luke shares the history of this group of 120 believers who, over the course of the first century, made a fundamental cultural impact on the entire Roman world, and beyond. In fact, the impact of that tiny congregation is still being felt 2000 years later, on the other side of the world in Redeemer Church in Tulsa, OK. That’s the power of a community of people who are committed to following Christ wherever and however He leads.
I would submit to you today that the power to alter a culture through the establishment of God’s Kingdom happens only through a community of faith. It is never the result of a single individual, no matter how gifted he/she may be.
Let’s see how God moved through that first Christian community. After the ascension of Jesus, we are told in Acts 1:15 that about 120 followers of Christ were constantly gathering to pray as they followed Jesus’ final instruction to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit to arrive. As they gathered on the Day of Pentecost the promise was fulfilled.
Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Note, they gathered as a community. They had been meeting and praying together for the last ten days. When the Holy Spirit came, they were together as a community, and how many of them were filled with the Holy Spirit? ALL of them. And together they began to speak to the people outside their gathering place. They raised such a ruckus that a crowd gathered to see what was happening. At this point Peter stood up and addressed the crowd. Now you may say, “Look! Peter’s just one man, acting on his own.”
Acts 2:14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:
Peter wasn’t alone. He stood with His fellow apostles, and they stood with the support of the other 108 believers who were witnessing to the crowd.
People often note the courage of Peter on that day. This was the man who denied that he even knew Christ on the eve of the crucifixion. Now he’s standing up and telling this massive crowd not only was Jesus the prophesied Messiah, but he accused the crowd of crucifying their Messiah. In fact, He ended his message with these words.
Acts 2:36 “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
We wonder what happened? What changed in Peter to give him the courage that was lacking just a few weeks earlier, and of course we point out that He was filled with power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t want to, in any way, lessen the importance of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s courageous preaching, but I would suggest that there is at least one other important factor: Peter was NOT alone. In the garden outside the house of the high priest none of Peter’s fellow disciples were present. When he preached at Pentecost he stood as one of twelve apostles who were supported by a community of 120, who had spent the last 10 days in constant prayer together. Can you see the strength and power of a community, even a small one, when they stand together to preach the gospel to the masses who gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost that day? Had Peter been alone, he would not have been able to even get the attention of that crowd. The Holy Spirit worked through the empowerment of the entire group. Not just one or an impowered few. ALL were empowered, and ALL went into the streets to preach the gospel.
So, what happened next? At the end of the day around 3000 people were added to their number. That was an extraordinary day. A powerful movement of the Spirit that brought thousands into the fellowship of the church. We recognize that as an extraordinary day. As I said earlier, that is NOT the normal flow of Kingdom growth. It was an exceptional outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the entire community of faith. Again, it was a community movement. It wasn’t Peter acting alone. God chose to work through a community. That’s what He always does. Look what happened next.
Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
In this passage, I believe we see what the norm for the growth of Kingdom culture in the world should be. Note the verbs that describe how this brand-new church acted:
They met together in the temple courts. This was the only place large enough for 3000 people to meet, but they weren’t just meeting. The Greek word used here actually means they continued together in one accord: as one mind. What do you think they were doing together in the temple? I think they were learning how to follow Christ.
They devoted themselves: Again, the literal translation is “steadfastly continued.” What were they continuing in doing? They spent time and effort, listening to, learning, so that they could follow the teaching of the Apostles. This is most likely why they met together in the temple. Like Jesus, the apostles were using this common gathering place to teach the people. These new converts were devoted to gathering daily and continuously learning and following the apostles teaching.
They were also devoted (steadfastly continued) to fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. Where do you think that took place?
They broke bread: In their homes. Breaking bread refers to sharing communion together as Jesus had taught the apostles. They met together in homes, ate together, and shared communion together with glad and sincere hearts.
So, they met together in the temple, not every Sunday, but every day, and they also gathered in homes sharing meals and fellowship and praying together in smaller groups throughout the week. This was not a “see you next Sunday” kind of congregational event. These people actually spent time together during the week. They were not just devoted to learning and following the teaching of the apostles, they were devoted to each other. They were devoted to being together with one another.
We in the ECC pride ourselves on our devotion to God’s Word. Some like to refer to us as people of the book. That’s good. The church in Jerusalem shows that devotion to knowing and following the teaching of Christ is fundamental to our spiritual formation, but that’s not enough. They also devoted themselves to one another. What was the evidence of that devotion?
In verse 44 we are told that the believers were together and had everything in common. The Greek word for believers is actually a verb meaning “having believed.” So Young’s literal translation says,
“all those believing were at the same place, and had all things common.”
Because they shared a common, foundational belief in Jesus Christ as their LORD, they saw each other as a family, holding everything in common. They didn’t use the pronouns my/mine, but our/ours. One of the hallmarks of a functional family is that they share. Even from a legal point of view family property is held jointly. So, these 3000 new converts didn’t just accept Jesus as LORD, they were adopted and assimilated into a brand-new family; a family built upon their shared commitment to Jesus as LORD.
So, they were devoted to learning and following the teachings of Jesus from the apostles, and they were devoted to each other; sharing with one another, caring for one another, finding opportunities to simply be together, share a meal, share communion with other members of the family. What was the result of this two-fold devotion?
v. 47 And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
That’s how kingdom culture spreads through a lost world. God works through His family. God has given us three fundamental tools to guide us through our spiritual formation. He has given us His Spirit, His Word, and His Church. What we see in the example of this first church is that all three are essential to both personal spiritual formation and kingdom growth. Too many of us who profess Christ as our LORD tend to neglect the importance of personal devotion to our community of faith. Let me just put it to you as simply and plainly as I can. If you aren’t devoted to this family that we call church, it’s because you aren’t fully devoted to Christ.
Jesus, Himself said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35
Kingdom Culture- Week 1
November 02, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
— Peter Drucker
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
— Matthew 4:17
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near…People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
— Matthew 3:1-2, 5-9
Repentance was what Israel must do if her exile is to come to an end.
— N.T. Wright
If repentance carries the tone of ‘what Israel must do if her fortunes are to be returned’, it can also have a much more down-to-earth ring: to abandon revolutionary zeal.
— N.T. Wright
The repentance for which Jesus called, then, was not at all like the regular repentance of individual sinners when they recognized their sin and underwent the normal Jewish practices for restitution. That could take place, in principle, at any time in Israel’s history…Jesus’ summons was more radical by far…Jesus was urging his compatriots to abandon a whole way of life, and to trust him for a different one.
— N.T. Wright
He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.
— Leviticus 16:21-22
At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”
— Ezekiel 3:17-21
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
— Matthew 4:17
The good news is about the living God overcoming all the powers of the world to establish his rule of justice and peace, on earth as in heaven, Not in heaven later on. And that victory is won not by superior power of the same kind but by a different sort of power altogether…The kingdoms of the world run on violence. The kingdom of God, Jesus declared, runs on love.
— N.T. Wright
Stop trying to bring about the promises of God through your own effort and worldly means.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
— Matthew 5:3-12
Life in the Vine - Week 8
October 26, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
— John 15:14-17
I call you friends…but this is my command?
Perhaps we may now hazard a guess why Scripture uses Friendship so rarely as an image of the highest love. It is already, in actual fact, too spiritual to be a good symbol of Spiritual things.
— C.S. Lewis
Appreciative love gazes and holds its breath and is silent, rejoices that such a wonder should exist even if not for him, will not be wholly dejected by losing her, would rather have it so than never to have seen her at all.
— C.S. Lewis
Now and forever more, we are friends of God. We just don’t always act like it.
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
— Proverbs 17:17
Savior AND Lord
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
— Declaration of Independence
It is impossible for any created good to constitute man’s happiness. For happiness is the perfect good, which lulls the appetite altogether…This is to be found, not in any creature, but in God alone…God alone constitutes man’s happiness.
— Aquinas
It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
— C.S. Lewis
This is my command: Love each other.
— John 15:17
When spiritual vitality is measured by sin-avoidance, we deceive ourselves into thinking that we are following Jesus faithfully. But following Jesus is to be measured by love—love for God expressed in love for neighbor. This is the good, beautiful, and kind life. It took me some years to realize this. In fact, I need to be reminded of it often.
— Rich VIllodas
Life has no better gift to give.
— C.S. Lewis
Life in the Vine - Week 7
October 19, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Leanne Benton
LOVE Each Other
NOTES
John 15:12–13
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
“To love someone is to will their good, to promote their flourishing – and sometimes that means laying something down.” ~ Dallas Willard
-
The model of love Jesus gives.
-
The meaning of laying down our life.
-
The mission of love.
——————————————————————————
- The model of love Jesus gives.
“Jesus didn’t love in general. He loved in particular.” ~John Ortberg
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
(John 13:34-35)——————————————————————————
- The meaning of laying down our life.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God…humbled himself, becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:5-8)
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
(John 15:11)
——————————————————————————
- The mission of love.
You are my friends if you do what I command.
(John 15:14)
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
(I John 3:16)
Life in the Vine - Week 6
October 12, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my
commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain
in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
— John 15:9-11
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
— John 15:9
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their
message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they
also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory
that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they
may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved
them even as you have loved me.
—John 17:20-23
One with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
He became what we are so that we might become what He is.
—Irenaeus
In all of Jesus’ teaching, what we call God is, in a mysterious but beautiful way, a flow of love
between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is a community of self-giving love;
each member of the Trinity is distinct yet somehow still one. To be with the Spirit is to be with
Jesus, and to be with Jesus is to be with the Father. It’s to enter the flow of love within the
inner life of God himself.
— John Mark Comer
Agape
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
— 1 John 4:16b
In God there is no hunger that needs to be filled, only plenteousness that desires to give…God,
who needs nothing, loves into existence wholly superfluous creatures in order that He may love
and perfect them. He creates the universe, already foreseeing the buzzing cloud of flies about
the cross, the flayed back pressed against the uneven stake, the nails driven through the
medial nerves, the repeated incipient suffocation as the body droops, the repeated torture of
back and arms as it is time after time, for breathes sake, hitched up. If I may dare the
biological image, God is a “host” who deliberately created His own parasites; causes us to be
that we may exploit and take advantage of Him. Herein is love. This is the diagram of Love
Himself, the inventor of all loves.
— C.S. Lewis
The Four Loves
If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s
commands and remain in his love.
— John 15:10
Jesus’ Commands Are All About Love
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength.
— Deuteronomy 6:4
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your
neighbor as yourself.
— Leviticus 19:18
The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself,
for you were foreigners in Egypt.
— Leviticus 19:34
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of
love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
— Deuteronomy 7:9
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law
and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
— Matthew 36-40
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
— John 15:1
Life in the Vine - Week 5
October 5, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Prayer
This week, Pastor Dave Brown continues our Life in the Vine series with a message titled “Prayer,” from John 15:7–8.
Jesus says: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:7–8 NIV)
Prayer
Prayer is about love, and that means it cannot be sustained on fluttery feelings, good intentions, and spontaneous moments alone. It needs a container…a set of practices or rituals within which that love can grow, mature, and blossom. — Tyler Staton
Jesus prayed spontaneously and routinely, alone and with others, pouring out his emotions in his own words and guided by the psalms at fixed hours in the temple. Jesus prayed like a wild, unruly monk. — Tyler Staton
Prayers about presence…
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. —Psalms 27:1
“Begin where you are.” — C.S. Lewis
In reality, the church has led the way in the art of enjoyment and pleasure. New Testament scholar Ben Witherington points out that it was the church, not Starbucks, that created coffee culture. Coffee was first invented by Ethiopian monks—the term cappuccino refers to the shade of brown used for the habits of Capuchin monks of Italy. Coffee is born of extravagance, an extravagant God who formed extravagant people, who formed a craft out of the pleasures of roasted beans and frothed milk. — Tish Harrison Warren
Prayers about fruit…
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. —Isaiah 11:1-4
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. — Galatians 5:22-23
Most of the “fruit of the Spirit” are explicitly outward facing: love, obviously, then greatheartedness, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness. Not only do these require other people if they are to be practiced, they are specifically looking out into the wider world and community…They orient the person towards others. — N.T. Wright
Prayers for Redeemer Church
Unity, Peace, and Wisdom
Life in the Vine - Week 4
September 28, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
Remain
This week, Pastor Dave Brown continues our Life in the Vine series with a message titled “Remain,” from John 15:4–6.
Jesus says: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you… I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4–5 NIV)
What Does It Mean to Remain?
The word “remain” means to dwell or make your home in. Pastor Dave reminded us that we’re all abiding in something—whether it’s comfort, worry, work, or distraction. The question is: what are you abiding in? Jesus calls us to make Him our true home. Abiding in Christ doesn’t mean retreating from life but living every moment with Him—whether cooking dinner, commuting to work, or caring for your family. It’s turning your life into a dwelling place for God.
The Fruit of Remaining
Branches can’t bear fruit apart from the vine. In the same way, we wither without Jesus. But when we remain in Him, His life flows through us, producing fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). Remaining in Jesus means letting His life and love flow through us, transforming us and blessing those around us.
Reflection Questions
Where do you naturally “abide” when you’re not paying attention?
How can you invite Jesus into your daily routines this week?
* What fruit is growing in your life right now?
Life in the Vine
September 14, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Adam Barnett
John 15:1-17 – Remain in Christ, the true Vine, the source of purposeful fruit and true joy, and the means by which the love of God is embodied in the church and declared to the world.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. – John 15:2 (NIV)
He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. – John 15:2 (MSG)
Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit]. – Jn. 15:2 (AMP)
- God removes fruitless branches.
37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. – John 6:37-39
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. - John 10:28-29
“… there are some of you who do not believe.” – John 6:64
Abiding in the vine does not make you a true disciple. It proves you are one.
When Jesus says, “in me,” He is describing a close, personal relationship and revealing that mere association without genuine faith and obedience is insufficient.
- God prunes fruitful branches.
A. Trials and hardship.
B. Loss or change.
C. Discipline.
D. Conviction of sin.
E. Scripture.
F. Focus.
G. Delays.
- God’s aim is more fruitfulness.
Leader: Father, You are the Gardener, and we are the branches.
People: Lord, teach us to abide in you.
Leader: At times Your pruning feels painful, but we know it comes from Your love.
People: Lord, we trust Your hand, even when it cuts.
Leader: You prune away what is dead, what distracts, and what hinders growth.
People: Lord, remove what does not belong, and make us more like Jesus.
Leader: In seasons of loss, waiting, or discipline, remind us that You are near.
People: Lord, help us remain in You, knowing You are faithful.
Leader: Prune us so that our lives may bear fruit that brings glory to Your name.
People: Lord, make us fruitful for Your kingdom—more love, more joy, more peace. Amen.
Life in the Vine
September 7, 2025
Teacher: Pastor Adam Barnett
John 15:1-17 – Remain in Christ, the true Vine, the source of purposeful fruit and true joy, and the means by which the love of God is embodied in the church and declared to the world.
John 15:1-17… 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. - John 15:1
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! - Philippians 2:6-8
“With the words, ‘I Am,’ Jesus presents himself as the object of the world’s desires and longing… that he is the ‘true vine’ means that the true life that man seeks and longs for can only be found in association with Jesus.” – R. Bultmann
Remaining in Christ begins with acknowledging and remembering that He – and no other person or thing - is our true source of life and spiritual growth.
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” – St. Augustine
Leader: Lord Jesus, You are the true vine, and we are the branches.
People: Keep us rooted in You, for apart from You we can do nothing.
Leader: Father, You are the gardener who prunes us with care.
People: Cut away what is fruitless, and shape us for Your glory.
Leader: Spirit of God, nourish us with Your life and power.
People: Teach us to remain, to rest, and to trust in Christ.
Leader: May our joy be found not in striving, but in staying with You.
People: In abiding love, we remain in Christ. Amen.
Here to Belong
August 17, 2025
Teacher: Adam Barnett
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” — Proverbs 29:18
Redeemer exists to see Christ exalted in our church, community, and world.
Philippians 2:1–11
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
1 - Christ Exalted in Our Church
2 - Christ Exalted in Our Community
3 - Christ Exalted in Our World
The God of King David
August 10, 2025
A Life To Learn From
Teacher: Dave Brown
The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people.
— 1 Samuel 13:14
Why is David called a man after God’s own heart?
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided forbuilding you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”
— 1 Chronicles 29:14-19
Our choices become our habits, our habits become our character, and our character is our destiny.
— Charles Duhigg
We make our decisions, and then our decisions make us. In the beginning we have a choice, but eventually, we have a character.
— John Mark Comer
Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life longyou are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature.
— C.S. Lewis
1 HUMILITY
Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
— 1 Chronicles 29:14b
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.
— Rick Warren
2 INTEGRITY
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.
— 1 Chronicles 29:17
Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
— Albert Einstein
3 LOYALTY
I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you… keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you.
— 1 Chronicles 29:17b-18
4 LEGACY
Give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees.
— 1 Chronicles 29:19
The God of King David
July 27, 2025
David's Song of Praise
Teacher: David Nunn
Faith is trusting what you believe enough to act upon it.
Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”
But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?” The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 21:1-4
Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
2 Samuel 24:1
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
James 1:13
Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:6-7
But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.
1 Chronicles 21:6
“I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
1 Chronicles 21:8
THREE CHOICES FOR PUNISHMENT
Three years of famine
Three months of being routed by his enemies
Three days of plague in Israel
David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”
1 Chronicles 21:13
So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.”
1 Chronicles 21:14
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
JUST TRUST THE LORD!
The God of King David
July 27, 2025
David's Song of Praise
Teacher: Dave Brown
A.C.T.S. OF PRAYER
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
WHY PRAY?
Prayer is not a magic formula to crack so that we can get what we want. If that’s our understanding of prayer, we will always be disappointed.
Prayer is about presence before it’s about anything else. Prayer doesn’t begin with outcomes. Prayer is the free choice to be with the Father, to prefer his company.
— Tyler Staton
Prayer is about intimacy and identity.
1 - INTIMACY
David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
— 2 Samuel 22:1
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
— 1 Kings 19:10-12
Maybe God whispers not because he’s evasive but because he’s intimate. Maybe he whispers because it’s the only way to get what he wants most. What was lost in Eden—to walk with you and I in the cool of the day. To know him and discover ourselves fully known in his presence.
— Tyler Staton
God invites us to meet him in the intimacy of the whisper. When we try to fabricate a mountaintop experience to meet with God, all we end up building is a tower of Babel.
2 - GOD’S IDENTITY
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior.
— 2 Samuel 22:2-3a
3 - OUR IDENTITY
You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall… It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of the deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield; your help has made me great.
— 2 Samuel 22:29-30; 33-36
Nothing but prayer will ever reveal you to yourself, because only before God can you see and become your true self… Prayer is learning who you are before God and giving him your essence.
— Timothy Keller
4 - PRAYER IS A PRACTICE
Teacher: Adam Barnett
2 Samuel 16:5-8 – As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all the king’s officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David’s right and left. As he cursed, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you murderer, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!”
“Few offenses plunge deeper into our flesh than false accusations, particularly when they’re hurled at us when we are vulnerable.” – Charles Swindoll
Can you relate to David in this story… because you’ve been mistreated and falsely accused?
2 Samuel 16:9-12 – Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.” But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’” David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”
Can you relate to Abishai… because your instinct in a situation was to retaliate?
2 Samuel 16:13-14 – So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.
2 Samuel 19:15, 18b-23 – Then the king returned and went as far as the Jordan. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell prostrate before the king and said to him, “May my lord not hold me guilty. Do not remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king put it out of his mind. For I your servant know that I have sinned, but today I have come here as the first from the tribes of Joseph to come down and meet my lord the king.” Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this? He cursed the Lord’s anointed.” David replied, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? What right do you have to interfere? Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t I know that today I am king over Israel?” So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king promised him on oath.
Can you relate to Shimei in this story… because you’ve hurt someone and need to make it right?
1 Kings 2:8-9 (paraphrased) – “And remember, you have with you Shimei … who called down bitter curses on me … When he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord: ‘I will not put you to death by the sword.’ But now, do not consider him innocent. You are a man of wisdom; you will know what to do to him. Bring his gray head down to the grave in blood.”
Can you relate to David, because you’re holding on to bitterness for hurt you’ve experienced?
“David at his best, and at his worst, is one of ourselves. David is a man of like passions with ourselves. David held back his bad passions at Saul, and at Shimei, and at Joab, occasion after occasion, until we were almost worshipping David. But, all the time, and all unknown to us, they were there.” – Alexander Whyte
1 - EXPECT FOR PEOPLE TO THROW STONES
Galatians 1:10 – Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
2 - BE CAREFUL WHO YOU LISTEN TO
3 - FORGIVENESS IS ALWAYS A GOOD CHOICE
Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
“When you forgive the person who hurt you deeply and unfairly, you perform a miracle that has no equal.” – Lewis Smedes
Teacher: Dave Brown
THE SIX MOVEMENTS OF REPENTANCE
1 - SIN RECOGNITION
In the Christian life our primary task isn’t to avoid sin, which is impossible anyway, but to recognize sin. The fact is that we’re sinners. But there’s an enormous amount of self-deception in sin. When this is combined with devil-deception, the task of recognition is compounded.
— Eugene Peterson
Sin is the word we use to designate the perverseness of will by which we attempt being our own gods, or making for ourselves other gods. Sin isn’t essentially a moral term, designating items of wrongdoing; it’s a spiritual term, designating our God-avoidance and our god-pretensions.
— Eugene Peterson
2 - CONFESSION
3 - CONTRITION
“My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
— Psalm 51:17
Attrition is being sorry that we were caught.
Contrition requires humility, sincerity, and a desire to change.
4 - FORGIVENESS
5 - CONSEQUENCES
Our sins have unpleasant consequences for us and those around us.
6 - ACTION
The great thing is to prevent his doing anything. As long as he does not convert it into action, it does not matter how much he thinks about this new repentance. Let the little brute wallow in it. Let him write a book about it; that is often an excellent way of sterilizing the seeds which the Enemy plants in a human soul. Let him do anything but act. No amount of piety in his imagination and affections will harm us if we can keep it out of his will.
— C.S. Lewis
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”
— Matthew 4:17
Repenting of any vice means going in the opposite direction, to practice the virtues most directly opposed to it.
— J.I. Packer
Teacher: Adam Barnett
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. - James 1:13-15
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. - 2 Samuel 11:2-4
“Satan does not fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” - 2 Samuel 11:5
When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord. – 2 Samuel 11:26-27
1 - Idleness opens the door to temptation.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! - 1 Corinthians 10:12
2 - Sin should be confessed, not covered up.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. – Proverbs 28:13
Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. – Psalm 32:5
3 - Invite the accountability of trusted friends.
Teacher: Tim Mannin
“Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” -2 Samuel 7:2
Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” -2 Samuel 7:3
“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’” -2 Samuel 7:5-7
“‘...and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.’” -2 Samuel 7:11-13
"Saying no helps children learn how to delay gratification, manage impulses, and develop self-control — qualities essential for success in life.” -Dr. David Walsh
HOW DO WE DISCERN WHEN GOD IS SAYING NO?
There’s No Way Through
There’s No Peace Within
There’s No Counsel Confirming It
GOD’S WAYS ARE GENERATIONAL
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” -2 Samuel 7:18
Teacher: Dave Brown
When they came to the threshing floor of Nakhon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
— 2 Samuel 6:6-7
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us… We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward out mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech.
— A.W. Tozer
Holy Scripture posts Uzzah as a danger sign for us: “Beware the God.” It’s especially important to have such a sign posted in places designated for religious worship and learning. We enter a church or school to learn God, be trained in knowledge and obedience and prayer. And we get what we came for—truth that centers, words that command and comfort, rituals that stabilize, work that has purpose, a community of relationships that strengthen, forgiveness that frees. We find God. We change our ways. We repent and believe and follow. We rearrange our circumstances and reestablish our routines around what now gives meaning and hope. We take on responsibilities in the wonderful new world of worship and work. We advance in the ranks, and before we know it we’re telling others what to do and how to do it. All this is good and right. And then we cross a line—we get bossy and cranky on behalf of God. We begin by finding in God a way to live rightly and well, and then along the way we take over God’s work for him and take charge of making sure others live rightly and well. We get the idea that we’re important, self-important, because we’re around the Important. Religion is a breeding ground for this kind of thing. Not infrequently these God-managing men and women work themselves into positions of leadership. Over the years the basics with which they began, the elements of reverence and awe, the spirit of love and faith, erode and shrivel. Finally there’s nothing left. They’re dead to God. Uzzah is a warning. If we think and act as he did, we’ll be dead men and women, soon or late. Dead in our spirits. Dead to the aliveness of God.
— Eugene Peterson
In olden days men of faith were said to “walk in the fear of God” and to “serve the Lord with fear.” However intimate their communion with God, however bold their prayers, at the base of their religious life was the conception of God as awesome and dreadful. This idea of God transcendent rims through the whole Bible and gives color and tone to the character of the saints. This fear of God was more than a natural apprehension of danger; it was a nonrational dread, an acute feeling of personal insufficiency in the presence of God the Almighty. Wherever God appeared to men in Bible times the results were the same-an overwhelming sense of terror and dismay, a wrenching sensation of sinfulness and guilt.
—A.W. Tozer
Fear is no longer the word I use to describe how I feel about God. Now I use words like reverent intimacy. I still fear God, and I pray that I always will. The Bible emphasizes the importance of fearing God…Our culture severely lacks the fear of God, and many of us are plagued with amnesia. But for a long time, I narrowly focused on His fearsomeness to the exclusion of His great and abounding love.
— Francis Chan
So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
— 2 Samuel 6:12b-15
Teacher: Adam Barnett
"‘Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.’” - 1 Samuel 25:7-8
David said to his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies. – 1 Samuel 25:13
Unchecked anger leads to destructive choices (which could include permanent consequences).
32 David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. 33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. 34 Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.” 35 Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.” - 1 Samuel 25:32-35
38 About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died. – 1 Samuel 25:38
When conflict occurs, put down your sword and trust the Lord.
Teacher: Leanne Benton
Revenge is the act of hurting or punishing someone in return for something they did to you.
Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.
-Confucius
After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.
The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
-1 Samuel 24:4
David chose restraint over revenge
Opportunity is not permission
Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.
-1 Samuel 24:5-7
David’s character was developed in the cave
The Lord is my light and my salvation; Who shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
He continues singing:
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
-Psalm 27:1; 4-5
Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you.
-1 Samuel 24:8-10
May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. As the old saying goes, “From evildoers come evil deeds,” so my hand will not touch you.
-1 Samuel 24:12-13
The Lord is our Judge
The Lord is our Defender
The Lord is our Avenger
When David finished saying this, Saul asked “Is that your voice, David, my son?” And he wept aloud. “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly…I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established into your hands. Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.” So David gave his oath to Saul.”
-1 Samuel 24:16-22
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
-Psalm 27:13-14
If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”
-Romans 12:18-19 - MSG
We make choices all the time without even being aware of the fact we are doing this… to brood over something…to clutch on to something… to hide. We sin and then we justify not confessing our sin or making things right. Then we find a way to bury that thought so that we forget. Sin after sin compounds, moment after moment, like some kind of terrible interest on our souls.
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. - 1 Samuel 18:10b-11
David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. – 1 Samuel 18:27
“What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to kill me?” – 1 Samuel 20:1
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” - Psalm 23:4
Even as a fugitive, David was not forsaken. God blessed him with a friend.
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. – 1 Samuel 20:1-4
1 - Jonathan's soul was bound together with David’s soul.
“Jonathan saw that David viewed life from the same divine perspective (God is sovereign and does as He pleases, and all of life is to be lived for Him). And when he saw this, his soul reflexively clung to David’s. Christian friendship exceeds anything that exists between nonbelievers — for such a friendship is founded on a supernatural mutuality of soul. The Holy Spirit makes your souls chorus the same cries. You assent to the same authority. You know the same God. You are going the same way. You long for the same things. You dream mutual dreams. You yearn for the same experiences of holiness and worship. Jonathan’s soul bound itself to David’s soul. You know when this happens, and it is wonderful." – Kent Hughes
2 - Jonathan put spiritual kinship over personal gain.
“True friends don’t compete. They complete.” - Tim Keller
3 - Jonathan’s love was sacrificial and dangerous.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13
Teacher: Dave Brown
Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.
—1 Samuel 18:7; 21:11
Saul was very angry; “they have credited David with tens of thousand,” he though, ‘but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.
— 1 Samuel 18:8-9
David went to Nob, to Ahimelek the priest. Ahimelek trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?” David answered Ahimelek the priest, “The king sent me on a mission and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about the mission I am sending you on.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.”
— 1 Samuel 21:1-2
The king ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Does the Edomite turned and killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.
— 1 Samuel 22:18-19
But one son of Ahimelek…named Abiathar, escaped and fled to join David. He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord, Then David said to Abiathar, “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your whole family.
— 1 Samuel 22:20-22
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
— John 15:18-20
The story of David isn’t set before us as a moral model to copy. David isn’t a person whose actions we’re inspired to imitate. In the company of David we don’t feel inadequate because we know we could never do it that well. Just the opposite; in the company of David we find someone who does it as badly as, or worse than, we do, but who in the process doesn’t quit, doesn’t withdraw from God.
— Eugene Peterson
God’s will for our lives can be divided into two parts:
1 - General will — Loving God and loving others
2 - Specific will — “The place were your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
David isn’t an ideal life bit an actual life. We imaginatively enter the company of David not to improve our morals but to deepen our sense of human reality: this is what happens in the grand enterprise of being human. Reentering through my believing imagination the world of David, I’m more myself—free to be myself and able find God in the middle of what’s going on right now.
— Eugene Peterson
Teacher: Adam Barnett
A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. His spear shaft was like a weaver’s rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. - 1 Samuel 17:4-7
Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” - 1 Samuel 17:8-9
On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified. - 1 Samuel 17:11
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” - 1 Samuel 17:32
Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” - 1 Samuel 17:33
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.” - 1 Samuel 17:32-37
He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!” - 1 Samuel 17:41-44
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” - 1 Samuel 17:45-47
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him. David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. – 1 Samuel 17:48-51
1) Life guarantees giants.
2) Battles require faith.
The story of David and Goliath is about keeping spiritual perspective and acting in faith.
2A) David remembered the past.
2B) David trusted in the present.
3) Prayer is our best weapon.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7
Teacher: Adam Barnett
“Through writing and reflecting, journaling keeps you alert to God’s presence and activity in, around, and through me.” – Adele Calhoun
“David’s story isn’t a stain-glassed window of a saint, but a cracked mirror in which we see ourselves and the God who loves us anyway.” - Eugene Peterson
But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. - 1 Samuel 15:22
“Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” - 1 Samuel 15:23b
Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men so I gave in to them.” – 1 Samuel 15:24
Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.” - 1 Samuel 15:28
Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. – 1 Samuel 15:35
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” – 1 Samuel 16:1-3
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7
So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah. – 1 Samuel 16:11-13
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. – 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
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David loved God – “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart…” - 1 Samuel 13:14
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David was faithful – Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. – Luke 16:10
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David had integrity – He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. – Psalm 78:70-72
Teacher: Adam Barnett
“David’s story isn’t a stain-glassed window of a saint, but a cracked mirror in which we see ourselves and the God who loves us anyway.” – Eugene Peterson
In God’s kingdom, people purposefully resist isolation and intentionally prioritize community.
1) Isolation contradicts the nature of love.
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. – 1 John 4:7-8; 11-12
2) Isolation makes you vulnerable to sin.
“Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devoir. – 1 Peter 5:8b
3) Isolation hinders your spiritual fervor.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25
1) Community fosters growth and maturity.
Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
2) Community strengthens our purpose and mission.
Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two… - Mark 6:7a
3) Community offers practical support and compassion.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Responsibility – the state or fact of having a duty (an obligation requiring loyalty and faithfulness).
We carry the responsibility of sharing God’s love and truth with others (through word and deed).
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. - 2 Corinthians 5:20a
An ambassador is the highest-ranking diplomatic officer, designated by a government as its resident representative in a foreign land.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
1) Promise: you will receive power.
2) Person: the Holy Spirit.
Before God sent the Church into the world, He sent his Spirit into the Church.
"Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But with the Holy Spirit, the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you." - Corrie ten Boom
“Without the power of the Holy Spirit, our work will be drudgery. With it, it becomes a joyful task, a refreshing service.” - D.L. Moody
3) Purpose: to be a witness.
“The church is closed today due to lack of power.”
4) Place: intentional and spontaneous.
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. - 1 Peter 3:15
5) Prayer: trust God with the outcome.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. - 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
Teacher: Adam Barnett
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:3-5
Mark 15:25 - It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” - Matthew 28:1-10
“The resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s kingdom… it is the decisive event demonstrating that God’s kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven. The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.” – N.T. Wright
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. - John 3:16-17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! - 2 Corinthians 5:17
Jesus, I believe in you. I believe you died on the cross for me. I believe you resurrected from the dead. I give my life to you. I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I welcome you to live in my heart and to fill me with your Holy Spirit. I want to live this life, and the life to come, with you. Through the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I pray. Amen!
Teacher: Adam Barnett
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. - Luke 9:51
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.” - Luke 19:28-34
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. — Zechariah 9:9
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” - Luke 19:35-38
1 - Jesus embodied peace.
Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Our sin has put wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice—we are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God’s own family and eat at the table with him in unbroken fellowship forever.” - R.T. France
Luke 19:41-42… But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace.”
2 - Jesus embodied healing.
“The blind and lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.” - Matthew 21:14
3 - Jesus embodied hope.
The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” - Matthew 21:9
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. – 2 Corinthians 4:16-17
Teacher: Dave Brown
Despair: Utter loss of hope.
— Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For sighing has become my daily food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.
— Job 3:20-26
3 Types of Despair:
1 - Spiritual Despair
2 - Emotional Despair
3 - Physical Despair
Covert despair—repressed hopelessness characterizes the spiritual condition of North American culture. Unlike the despair of the poor and afflicted around the globe who know too well their true condition, the despair of the dominant culture of North America is a denied despair, not merely hidden by wealth and power but forcibly refused It is the kind of repressive posture that must lie to itself constantly that ends in destructive behavior more devastating than the negating realities it fears to acknowledge.
— Kathleen O’Conner
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
—Luke 4:18-19
Without lament our hearts remain devoid of the light of Christ.
Lament is an essential practice for moving to hope.
Prayers that erupt from wounds, burst out of unbearable pain, and bring it to language. Laments complain, shout, and protest. They anger and despair before God and the community. They grieve. They argue. The find fault…Although laments appear disruptive of God’s world, they are acts of fidelity. In vulnerability and honesty, they cling obstinately to God and demand for God to see, hear, and act.
— Kathleen O’Conner
Hope: To cherish a desire with anticipation.
— Merriam-Webster Dictionary
3 Kinds of Christian Hope:
1 - Spiritual Hope
2 - Emotional Hope
3 - Physical Hope
To hope for a better future in this world—for the poor, the sick, the lonely and depressed, for the slaves, the refugees, the hungry and homeless, for the abused, the paranoid, the downtrodden and despairing, and in fact for the whole wide, wonderful, and wounded world— is not something else, something extra, something tacked on to the gospel as an afterthought.
— N.T. Wright
The whole point of what Jesus was up to was that he was rescuing people from the corruption and decay of the way the world presently is so they could enjoy, already in the present, that renewal of creation which is God’s ultimate purpose—and so they could thus become colleagues and partners in that larger project.
— N.T. Wright
Teacher: Adam Barnett
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. – Genesis 3:6-8
When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. – John 8:44b
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9a
“Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable… Grace has everything to do with the lover, not the beloved. It reflects a decision on the part of the giver, the one who loves, in relation to the receiver, the one who is loved, that negates any qualifications the receiver may personally hold. Grace is the most dangerous, expectation-wrecking, smile-creating, counterintuitive reality there is. Grace is one-way love.” - Paul Zahl
So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! – Romans 6:1-3 (MSG)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
— Matthew 11:28-30
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple].
— Matthew 11:29
For at least several decades the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. One is not required to be, or to intend to be, a disciple in order to become a Christian, one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship…Churches are filled with “undisciplined disciples”…Of course there is in reality no such thing. Most problems in contemporary churches can be explained by the fact that members have never decided to follow Christ.
—Dallas Willard, The Great Omission
Disciple says we are people who spend our lives apprenticed to our master, Jesus Christ. We are in a growing-learning relationship, always. A disciple is a learner, but not in the academic setting of a schoolroom, rather at the work site of a craftsman. We do not acquire information about God but skills in faith.
— Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
1 - Be with Jesus
2 - Become Like Jesus
3 - Do as Jesus Did
1 - Be with Jesus
3 Places to Experience God’s Presence
1 - Scripture
2 - Creation
3 - People
2 - Become Like Jesus
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
— John 17:17-18
In our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.
— Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
3 - Do as Jesus Did
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
—Luke 4:18-19
Our tendency today is to define “the poor” economically, on a scale of annual household income or with reference to an established, national or international poverty line. But this is only another reflection of our tendency to read our own world back into Luke’s…Luke is concerned above all with a category of people ordinarily defined above all by their dishonorable status, their exclusion.
— Joel Green, The Theology of the Book of Luke
“These people needed a break! The Pharisees’ legalism surrounding the Mosaic Law had ground them into spiritual powder.” - Stuart Weber
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30 (AMP)
A) Our families
B) Our jobs
C) Our minds
D) Our bodies
E) Our stress
1 - Come to Jesus.
2 - Take his yoke upon you.
To take his yoke expresses trust and relinquishes control over to Jesus.
3 - Learn from him.
Learn one thing from Jesus every day.
4 - Find Rest.
This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Jeremiah 6:16
“For those who live under the yoke, there is absolutely no better way to live. Who in their right mind would go back to the gods of Self, Money, Lust and Power? Who would return on bended knee to the shrines of pious performance and judgmentalism? Is not love better than hate, purity better than lust, reconciliation better than retaliation? And is not ‘better’ really ‘easier’ when measured in character rather than convenience, rest for the soul rather than selfish pride?
– Doug Webster
Choose your yoke.
Teacher: Adam Barnett
“Jesus didn’t actually say much about the kingdom of heaven in the sense that we normally mean it. When he spoke of heaven’s kingdom, he wasn’t talking about a place called heaven to which people might or might not go after they die. He was talking about something that would become a reality ‘as in heaven, so on earth’ (Matt. 6:10). So instead of suggesting that we could escape the earth to go to heaven, Jesus’ good news was about heaven coming to earth.” – N.T. Wright
Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” - John 11:16
διστάζω – to waver, hesitate, to be uncertain.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” - John 20:19-29
1 - Share with others.
2 - Wait on the Lord.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! - Psalm 27:14
3 - Pray and confess.
“Doubt is a form of rebellion. It is a refusal to relate to God on his own terms.” – Stan Harstine
Teacher: Dave Brown
“Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
— Matthew 4:17
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
— Matthew 5
The kingdom of heaven is like…
Sin may be comprehensively defined as a lack of conformity to the law of God in act, habit, attitude, outlook, disposition, motivation, and mode of existence.
— J.I. Packer
I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Woe to the sinful nation…
— Isaiah 1:2
Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Cedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.
— Jeremiah 2:10-11
Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.
— Ezekiel 2:3
Community sins are devastating.
Sin breaks the created order, which results first in slavery, then in death.
When we sin we trade places and powers with something that God created to serve us.
Repent means to stop what we are doing, to turn around, and to go the other way.
The good news is about the living God overcoming all the powers of the world to establish his rule of justice and peace, on earth as in heaven… And that victory is won not by superior power of the same kind but by a different sort of power altogether… The kingdoms of the world run on violence. The kingdom of God, Jesus declared, runs on love.
— N.T. Wright, Simply Good News
Teacher: Adam Barnett
The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.
I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name. – 3 John 1:1-15
“3 John is a treasure that provides a glimpse into early church dynamics, provides a much-needed exhortation to Christians today, and makes a significant theological claim about where the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to be found.” – Karen Jobes
1 - Walk in the truth.
“If we were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us?” - Josh McDowell
2 - Practice hospitality.
When we extend hospitality, we make our faith visible.
3 - Imitate good.
Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. – 3 John 1:11
Who has influence in my life, and is their example one I should imitate?
Teacher: Leanne Benton
1 The elder, to the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:
3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
“Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws." - Tim Keller
The great “truth” unveiled in the gospel is that the powerful, redeeming love of God is the motor that drives the cosmos. - N. T. Wright
3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.
4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.
Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world. - Francis Schaeffer
Behavior is a reflection of belief.
5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
When other’s look at us, will they see a life shaped by the truth of the Kingdom of God and the love of Jesus?
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Dear children, keep yourself from idols. – 1 John 5:21
Exodus 20:3 – You shall have no other gods before me.
- An idol is anything or anyone more important to you than God.
“Idolatry is robbery and perversion. It’s robbery because we take what is due to God and give it to something else. And it’s perversion because we give the devotion God rightly deserves to other things.” - Erik Raymond 2. Idols interfere with our identity. 3. Is there anything or anyone more important to you than God?
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. – Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
More anything else, I love / want / need / trust / desire / fear ___________________.
Don’t just remove idols – replace them.
Idols can kill your worship; worship can kill your idols.
Teacher: Dave Brown
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
— 1 John 4:7-12
“The English word love is trying to do so many different jobs at the same time that someone really ought to sit down with it and teach it how to delegate.”
— N.T. Wright
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…
— John 3:16
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
— 1 John 4:10
Love is not just something God does. It is who God is.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
— 1 John 4:8
Love is the language they speak in God’s world, and we are summoned to learn it against the day when God’s world and ours will be brought together forever. It is the music they make in God’s courts, and we are invited to learn it and practice it in advance. Love is not a 'duty,' even our highest duty. It is our destiny.
— N.T. Wright, After You Believe
Love is a disciple, a practice, an act of the will.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
— 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.
— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Teacher: Adam Barnett
1 John 2:28-29; 3:1a
And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
John 1:12-13
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
To be “born of God” specifies the origin of our identities, impulses, motivations, and attitudes.
1 - God’s children do not live in sin
1 John 3:6, 9
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
6 No one who lives (Greek: menōn = to remain, abide, stay) in him keeps on sinning.
2 - God’s children love one another
1 John 3:11
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
"A failure to love others is symptomatic of a failure to love God."
-Karen Jobes
1 John 3:16-18
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
To lay down your life is to express love through sacrificial and compassionate actions.
3 - God’s children are confident before the Father
1 John 3:19-24
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
“John says that we can set our hearts at rest whenever they condemn us… for God understands us better than our own hearts know us, and in his omniscience, he knows that our often weak attempts to obey his commands spring from true allegiance to him.”
-Howard Marshall
Teacher: Adam Barnett
If you know God, you must obey Him and live as Jesus did.
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. - 1 John 2:3-6
Do I take God’s commands seriously and do I repent when I fall short?
1 - You must not hate your brother.
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. – 1 John 2:9-11
2 - You must not love the world.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from
the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives
forever. – 1 John 2:15-17
Worldliness – an affection for that which is unlike God and contrary to his will.
Is there anything you possess or desire that interferes with your devotion to God?
3 - You must not listen to false teaching.
As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. – 1 John 2:24-26
Teacher: Dave Brown
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no
darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and
do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not
sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. My dear children, I write this to
you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—
Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours
but also for the sins of the whole world. —1 John 1:5-2:2
- Fellowship
- Light versus Dark
- Truth versus Lie
- Sin, Confession, Forgiveness
- Atonement
- Consumerism/Materialism
- Nationalism
- Stewardship/Ecology
- Sexuality
- Security
The people stood in the holy place and spoke the current religious cliche and supposed that
everything was just fine. They were in the right place, and they said the right words—but they
were not right…Religion is not a matter of arrangements or places or words, but of life and
love, of mercy and obedience, of persons in a passion of faith. —Eugene Peterson
God of grace and truth, in Jesus Christ you came among us as light shining in darkness. We
confess that we have not welcomed the light, or trusted good news to be good. We have
closed our eyes to glory in our midst, expecting little and hoping for less. Forgive our doubt
and renew our hope, so that we may receive the fullness of your grace and live in the truth of
Christ the Lord. Amen.
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Who?
The Apostle John
What?
A pastoral exhortation on truth, obedience, and love.
When?
AD 90-95.
Where?
Ephesus (and surrounding churches)
Why?
The truth was under attack.
1 John 1:5 (NIV)
1 John 1:5 (AMP)
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” - St. Francis
Teacher: Leanne Benton
Jeremiah 29:11
Proverbs 15:22
Psalm 33:11
The Infinite Infant Entered Our Timeline
What Will We Do When God Disrupts The Plan?
Proverbs 16:9
Proverbs 19:21
The Story of Christmas is Not About What We Want But What We Need
What Will We Do When God Changes Our Plan, A Holy Disruption?
Philippians 1:6
What Will We Do When Our Plans Come to a Place of Disruptive Disappointment?
James 1:2-4
Psalm 23:?
John 1:?
Philippians 3:13-14
John 16:33
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 1:22-23
1 - God was with us (past event).
Matthew 1:18-21
2 - God is with us (present reality).
God is ALWAYS with you and will NEVER leave you.
Galatians 2:20
3 - God will be with us (future hope).
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Isaiah 9:6
Peace is not the absence of conflict.
Luke 2:12-14
Luke 2:14
1 - Peace with God.
Romans 5:10
“Our sin has put wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice—we are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God’s own family and eat at the table with him in unbroken fellowship forever.” – R.T. France
2 - Peace within.
Philippians 4:6-7
3 - Peace with others.
Romans 12:18
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.” – St. Francis
Can we agree to disagree, and focus on being loving instead of being right?
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Isaiah 9:6
Psalm 90:2
Jesus was born, but he did not begin.
John 1:3 - Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
The infant is infinite.
Philippians 2:6-7
John 14:9
Christmas – God got on our level.
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” - Augustine
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Isaiah 9:6
Isaiah 9:1-5
Isaiah 9:6-7
Isaiah 9:2-7, MSG
Mighty God - El Gibbor
1 - Jesus is God.
Philippians 2:6-7
“He took to himself what he was not, while remaining what he was … he continued to be what he is, while appearing to us as what we are.” – Augustine
2 - Jesus is a Warrior.
Luke 1:46-51
3 - Jesus sees your battles and cares.
Teacher: Dave Brown
Isaiah 9:6-7
Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
Jesus has cognitive and practical mastery of every phase of reality: physical, moral, and spiritual. He is master only because he is Maestro. “Jesus is Lord” can mean little in practice for anyone who has to hesitate before saying, “Jesus is smart.” He is not just nice, he is brilliant. He is the smartest man who ever lived. He is now supervising the entire course of world history (Rev. 1:5) while simultaneously preparing the rest of the universe for our future role in it (John 14:2). He always has the best information on everything and certainly also on the things that matter most in human life.
—Dallas Willard
Colossians 2:2-3
The soul is the perceiver and revealer of truth… We know truth when we see it, from opinion, as we know when we are awake that we are awake.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
The only way we can ever know what is right for us is that it feels better subjectively than any alternative…what tastes good is also, in the growth sense, better for us.
— Abraham Maslow
The counsel is that we can arrive at our full humanness by gratifying our desires. It has been a recipe for misery for millions.
—Eugene Peterson
Matthew 7:24
We don’t become whole persons by merely wanting to become whole, by consulting the right prophets, by reading the right book. Intentions must mature into commitment if we are to become persons with definition, with character, with substance.
— Eugene Peterson
Matthew 23:36-40
Relationship with God is not something added on after we complete our basic growth, it is the essential core of that growth. Take that core out, and there is no humanity at all but only a husk, the appearance, but not the substance of the human.
—Eugene Peterson
MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Consumerism | Week 12 | November 24, 2024
Teacher: Daniel Dennison
Mark 10:17-22
“An idol is anything in our life that takes the place of God. It is anything in our life other than God that gives us meaning, acceptance, and purpose.”- Tim Keller
Matthew 6:25-26
MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Legalism | Week 11 | November 10, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
“In the past few years, I’ve observed an epidemic of sorts: patient after patient suffering from the same condition. The symptoms of this condition include fatigue, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, headaches, heartburn, bowel disturbances, back pain, and weight gain. There are no blood tests or X-rays diagnostic of this condition, and yet it’s easy to recognize. The condition is excessive busyness.” - Dr. Susan Koven
Mark 4:35-41…
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
“Margin is the space that once existed between our load and our limits. Margin is the space between vitality and exhaustion. It is our breathing room, our reserves, our leeway. It is the opposite of overload. When Jesus went to the back of the boat, he was practicing margin.” - Richard Swenson
If Jesus needed to stop, then so do we.
“Maybe the greatest enemy of the life you want is the life you are living.” – Craig Groeschel
“To walk with Jesus is to walk with a slow, unhurried pace. Hurry is the death of prayer.” - Walter Adams
"Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day; except when we are busy. Then, we need an hour.” - St. Francis
Jesus wants to infuse our lives with purpose, but not through full schedules and hurried lives.
Do I need to slow down in order to catch up with God?
- Schedule time with God.
- Learn to say no.
- Quit something.
- Adopt new disciplines.
- Resist social acceptability.
- Turn notifications off.
- Practice Sabbath.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Legalism | Week 10 | November 10, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
/> We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
—Galatians 2:15-17
/> Since in much Western theology “justification” and “salvation” have regularly been confused, sometimes even conflated, it has been easy to strip out the “Jew and gentile” aspect of these verses and read them simply as saying, “To be saved, it isn’t a matter of keeping moral rules; it’s just a matter of believing.”
—N.T. Wright
/> Legalism is the distortion of obedience that can never produce truly good works. Its first fault is that is skews motive and purpose, seeing good deeds as essentially ways to earn more of God’s favor than one has at the moment. Its second fault is arrogance. Belief that one’s labor earns God’s favor begets contempt for those who do not labor in the same way. Its third fault is lovelessness in that its self-advancing purpose squeezes humble kindness and creative compassion out of the heart.
—J.I. Packer
/> Our beliefs about legalism and grace direct affect how we view God and how we view ourselves.
/> Grace does not do away with holiness, righteousness, and obedience.
/> The Christian ideal had not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.
—G.K. Chesterton
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Complacency | Week 9 | November , 2024
Teacher: Tim Mannin
/> 1 Peter 1:1 (NIV) To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces…
Mark 12:28-31 (Message) “Which is most important of all the commandments?” Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy."
/> 1 Peter 4:1-3 (NIV) Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
/> GOD IS NOT LOOKING FOR PERFECT, HE’S LOOKING FOR PASSIONATE
PREPARE YOUR PASSION IN PRIVATE SO GOD CAN USE YOU TO SLAY GIANTS IN PUBLIC.
/> 1 Peter 4:1-4 (NIV) Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.
/> 1 Peter 4:5-7 (NIV) They will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. 7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.
/> 1 Peter 4:8-11 (NIV) Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and power for ever and ever. Amen!
/> WE ARE TIRED OF MEDIOCRE VERSIONS OF FAITH, SO WE ARE OVER THE TOP PASSIONATE ABOUT THE PURSUIT OF THE LIVING GOD.
/> Hebrews 12:1-3 (Message) Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves That will shoot adrenaline into your souls
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Technology| Week 8 | October 27, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> Poison #1: My phone controls me.
/> “We are formed in the image of what we habitually gaze at.” – Justin Earley, Habits of the Household
/> Antidote: 1 Corinthians 6:12. “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything"—but I will not be mastered by anything.
/> True freedom comes not from permission to do everything, but from not being enslaved to anything.
/> Action Step: Delete a time-consuming, unnecessary app (right now).
/> Poison #2: My phone defines my worth.
/> Other people’s words (positive or negative) don’t define my worth.
/> Antidote: 1 Peter 2:9 and Ephesians 2:10. You are God’s special possession … God’s handiwork.
/> Action Step: Memorize 1 Peter 2:9 and Ephesians 2:10.
/> Poison #3: My phone is a weapon.
/> Antidote: James 1:19-20. Let every person be … slow to speak.
/> Action Step: Be nice and say you’re sorry.
/> Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. - Deuteronomy 6:4-7
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Unforgiveness| Week 7 | October 20, 2024
Teacher: Leanne Benton
/> We were created for connection, but we can easily drift or be pushed toward isolation!
/> Genesis 2:18 "Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”
/> John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."
/> "People began to tell me they felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant. Even when they couldn’t put their finger on the word “lonely,” time and time again, people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, from every corner of the country, would tell me, “I have to shoulder all of life’s burdens by myself,” or “if I disappear tomorrow, no one will even notice.”
/> I Peter 5:8, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
/> Our very identity is discovered and uncovered in community.
/> Hebrews 10:24-25, "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."
/> James 5:16, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."
/> Galatians 6:1-3, "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ."
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Unforgiveness| Week 6 | October 13, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. – Deuteronomy 6:5
/> Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
/> 3.12e10
/> Matthew 18:26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
/> Matthew 18:28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
/> Matthew 18:32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
/> The kingdom of heaven is a forgiving place!
/> Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. - Ephesians 4:32
/> Colossians 3:1212 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Guilt vs Conviction| Week 5 | October 6, 2024
Teacher: Scott Johnson
/> You have a job – and work to do – for God’s kingdom!
/> GUILT is a counterproductive shame you feel over something in your past that cannot be changed (it’s there, alright!) and for which you have already been forgiven by Christ. Guilt interferes with your present and future – sometimes in very subtle ways.
/> CONVICTION is an invaluable gift from the Holy Spirit, a tug or nudge in your conscience to help you turn from a pattern of sinful behavior or a sinful choice you are considering, or move positively in a direction God is leading you. Unlike guilt, which springs from events in your past that cannot be changed, conviction is a very present sense of right vs. wrong. Heeding it will help you make the right choice in a current circumstance that affects your future path.
/> 1. You are an ambassador for Christ – and you have work to do!
/> 2. Guilt is a counterproductive obstruction in doing the work God has just for you.
/> 3. We need to stop looking back, live with a view to the future, and go for it!
/> 4. Conviction is a gift from the Holy Spirit, guidance to help us steer clear of sinful behaviors, actively move toward what God wants us to do, and make the best of our short time here!
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Politics | Week 4 | September 29, 2024
Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown
/> Tradition helps us remember God’s faithfulness.
/> This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance…Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on the this very day that I brought your division out of Egypt…Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, “What does this ceremony mean to you?” Then tell them, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.
—Exodus 12:14, 17, 24-28
/> One thing we can learn from this is the importance the Bible places on ritual. The Old Testament repeatedly refers to teaching Israelite children who God is and what he has done.
—Peter Enns
/> Tradition gives us anchors for belief.
/> Repetition and familiarity work. What is repeated becomes familiar, and this becomes a part of us…Far too many equate ritual with spiritual dryness. True, ritual and liturgy can be dead but only when the significance and power of those rituals are forgotten. Spiritual death is not a property of ritual itself. To the contrary, ritual has always been and will always be a means of securing for future generations the power and reality of the gospel…Ritual breeds familiarity. It seeps into one’s subconscious and, however subtly, begins to exert a formative influence.
—Peter Enns
/> Tradition “gets in the way” when we misunderstand the why behind it.
/> Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being.They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
—Isaiah 1:13-17
/> As with the Israelites, our worship practices and religious activities are intended to be symbolic of deeper realities. There is no necessary connection between these and the realities. But there is a direct connection between those realities and our ethical behavior. We can be very religious and yet be living our lives for ourselves. We can give the appearance of obedience and yet be living a self-centered life that is nothing but rebellion.
— John Oswalt
/> Tradition “gets in the way” when it no longer accomplishes its why.
/> Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”
—Acts 15:1
/> Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are…It is my judgement therefore that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
—Acts 15:10-11, 19
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Politics | Week 3 | September 22, 2024
Teacher: Dr. Dennis Edwards
/> Unity requires living as heavenly citizens
/> Unity means engaging in Spiritual Warfare together
/> Unity require humility
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Politics | Week 2 | September 15, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> 1. Jesus demands our ultimate allegiance.
/> Anyone who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. - Matthew 10:37-38
/> My Christian identity is superior to my political affiliation.
/> 2. My peace and hope are in Jesus, not the Oval Office.
/> Christ and _____________ is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
/> 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. – Galatians 1:6-10
/> 3. No matter what, God is in control.
/> God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. Psalms 47:8
/> Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. – Matthew 28:18
/> 4. This is not our home, but it still matters.
/> And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare. - Jeremiah 29:7
/> 5. Allow the Bible to influence your vote.
/> … But the word of the Lord endures forever.– 1 Peter 1:25
/> 6. Choose your words wisely.
/> “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” - Ephesians 4:29
/> 7. Pray for our next President.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
In The Way | Same and Condemnation | Week 1 | September 8, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – John 10:10
/> Satan wants to secretly, casually, quickly, and fully destroy the superabundant life Jesus wants for you.
/> Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. - Romans 8:1
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Redeemer People | Worship | Week 3 | September 1, 2024
Teacher: Leanne Benton
/> 1. Worship forms our memory.
/> When we worship, we remember God’s faithfulness.
/> 2. Worship awakens our expectation.
/> Boldness in action outside the church began with boldness of prayers inside the church.
/> When we worship together, we are actually experiencing God’s presence.
/> 3. Worship grounds our hope.
/> When we worship, we foretaste the future.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Redeemer People | Our Affirmations | Week 2 | August 25, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
/> The centrality of the Word of God
/> All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
/> The Evangelical Covenant Church affirms the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testament, as the Word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.
/> Where is it written?
/> The necessity of new birth
/> Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
— 2 Corinthians 5:17
/> A commitment to the whole mission of the church
/> He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
—Micah 6:8
/> The church as a fellowship of believers
/> They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42
/> Compelling Christian Community
/> Mission Friends
/> A conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit
/> An unconscious independence
/> …you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
—Acts 1:8
/> The reality of freedom in Christ
/> We major on the major and minor on the minors
/> Covenanters have understood that God’s Word is sovereign over every human interpretation of it, including their own. And understanding this, they have been free to allow for differences of opinion where the biblical record itself can be differently read.
—Committee on Covenant Doctrine
Covenant Affirmations
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Redeemer People | Mission and Vision | Week 1 | August 18, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> Vision is seeing where you are going and knowing how to get there.
/> Where there is no vision, the people perish. - Proverbs 29:18
/>Redeemer Church exists to see Christ exalted in our church, community, and world.
/> WORSHIP:Redeemer will be a community of corporate worship where people can express their
love for God and observe the sacraments, and where God is worshipped and glorified.
/> COMMUNITY: Redeemer will be a community where followers of Jesus experience love, support, encouragement, and grace from one another.
/> DISCIPLESHIP: Redeemer will be a community where followers of Jesus mature into Christlikeness and exhibit character consistent with one who has a personal relationship with Him.
/> “Spiritual formation is the process of the transformation of the heart (that is, the will and spirit). The heart is being formed in such a way that its natural expression comes to be the deeds of Christ done in the power of Christ.”– Dallas Willard
/> MISSION:Redeemer will be a community committed to the Great Commission, serving as Christ’s witnesses in our church, community, and world.
/> Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
/> STEWARDSHIP: Redeemer will be a community that honors God with our resources and time
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Unity | Week 14 | August 11, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> We are not called to SAMENESS. We are called to ONENESS.
/> I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. – John 17:4
/> Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. – John 17:11
/> “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me,that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent meand have loved themeven as you have loved me. – John 17:20-23
/> 1. Unity is from the Holy Spirit, not us.
/> The Holy Spirit is THE ONE who can MAKE US ONE.
/> 2. Unity is a witness of God’s love to the world.
/> 3. Unity is not an avenue to agreement.
/> Unity is not an avenue to agreement. So, take a deep breath and relax.
/> I am sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me. I love you.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Community | Week 13 | August 4, 2024
Teacher: Alison Myers
/> “You can make a strong case that of all the practices of Jesus, the two most important are SILENCE & SOLITUDE, and COMMUNITY. Because they are the two containers that hold all of the others. As a general rule, our best moments of healing and freedom and breakthrough and experience or encounter with Jesus, are either when we are alone with him in the quiet, or when we are together in community.”
– John Mark Comer
/> Jesus was formed spiritually.
/> Jesus was formed in community.
/> Jesus formed others in community.
/>Community is something we must practice.
/> We’re lonely but we’re afraid of intimacy.
/>“And so from social networks to social robots we’re designing technologies that will give us the illusion of companionship, without the demands of friendship. We turn to technology to help us feel connected in ways we can comfortably control.”
/>"This expression is very difficult to render in English, but we could translate it by saying, ‘A person is a person through other persons.’ We need other human beings for us to learn how to be human, for none of us comes fully formed into the world. … I can be me only if you are fully you. I am because we are, for we are made for togetherness, for family. …I have gifts that you don’t have, and you have gifts that I don’t have. We are different in order to know our need of each other. To be human is to be dependent.”
/> Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them. -Mark 2:2
/> Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven. -Mark 2:5
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Evangelism | Week 12 | July 28, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> Evangelism – to bring (declare or show) the good news of Jesus Christ.
/> “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” – Luke 10:2
/> 1 Corinthians 9:19-23… Though I am freeand belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone,to win as many as possible.
/> Our personal rights and preferences must be put aside for the sake of evangelism.
/> 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law),so as to win those under the law.21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law),so as to win those not having the law.22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.I have become all things to all peopleso that by all possible means I might save some.
/> 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
/> 1. Pray.
/> 2. Build, not burn bridges.
/> 3. Start with love, not truth.
/> 4. Seek dialogue, not a monologue.
/> 5. Avoid Christianese.
/> 6. Slow down.
/> Sharing starts with seeing.
/> 7. Be patient, yet persistent.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Prayer | Week 11 | July 21, 2024
Teacher: David Nunn
/> Luke 24:50-53 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
/> Acts 1:24-25 Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs."
/> Acts 4:29-30 “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
/ Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
/ Acts 2:46-47 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
/ Acts 4:32-34 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. NIV
/ Ephesians 4:3 says, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, through the bond of peace.”/ Acts 13:2-3 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
/ Acts 14:23 "Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust."
/ Acts 21:5 All the disciples and their wives and children accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.
/ Attitude of Prayer
/ 1. Desire of and acceptance of God’s will.
/ 2. Stillness
/ 3. Expectancy
/ Psalm 138:7-8 "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever."
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Simplicity | Week 10 | July 14, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
/> We must shift America from a needs to a desire culture…People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality. Man’s desires must overshadow his needs.
—Paul Mazur
/ The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of.
—Edward Bernays
/ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
/ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
— Matthew 6:19-24
/ Contemporary culture is plagued by the passion to possess. The unreasoned boast abounds that the good life is found in accumulation, that “more is better.” Indeed, we often accept this notion without question, with the result that the lust for affluence in contemporary society has become psychotic: it has completely lost touch with reality…Christian simplicity frees us from this modern mania. It brings sanity to our compulsive extravagance, and peace to our frantic spirit….It allow us to see material things for what they are—goods to enhance life, not to oppress life. People once again become more important than possessions.
—Richard Foster
/ The goal is to live with a high degree of intentionality around what matters most, which, for those of us who apprentice under Jesus, is Jesus himself and his kingdom.
—John Mark Comer
/ 1. Before you buy something, ask yourself, what is the true cost of this item?
/ 2. Never impulse buy.
/ 3. When you do buy, buy quality over quantity.
/ 4. Start giving things away.
/ 5. Live by a budget
/ 6. Spend more time in nature
/ 7. Learn to enjoy the simple things in life.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Sabbath | Week 9 | July 7, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
/> Ultimately, nothing in this life, apart from God, can satisfy our desires. Tragically, we continue to chase after our desires ad infinitum. The result? A chronic state of restlessness or, worse, angst, anger, anxiety, disillusionment, depression—all of which lead to a life of hurry, a life of business, overload, shopping, materialism, careerism, a life of more…which in turn makes us even more restless. And the cycle spirals our of control.
—John Mark Comer
/> “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
—Deuteronomy 5:12-15
/> The Deuteronomy reason for Sabbath-keeping is that our ancestors in Egypt went four hundred years without a vacation. Never a day off. The consequence: they were no longer considered persons but slaves…Not persons created in the image of God but equipment for making bricks and building pyramids. Humanity was defaced. Lest any of us do that to our neighbor or husband or wife or child or employee, we are commanded to keep a sabbath. The moment we begin to see others in terms of what they can do rather than who they are, we mutilate humanity and violate community…Sabbath keeping is commanded to preserve the image of God in our neighbors so that we see them as they are, not as we need them or want them.
— Eugene Peterson
/> By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
— Genesis 2:2-3
/> Divine rest on the seventh day of creation has made clear that YHWH is not a workaholic, that YHWH is not anxious about the full functioning of creation, and that the well-being of creation does not depend on endless work.
— Walter Bruggemann
/> There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord. Life goes wrong when the control of space, the acquisition of things of space, becomes our sole concern.
—Abraham Heschel
/> Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?…It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
—Galatians 4:8-9; 5:1
/> R.I.G. (Rest In God)
/> 1. Exchange one weekly commitment for an hour of time with God
-
Block Out 10-minutes everyday to sit with God
-
Give your phone, tv, and computer boundaries
-
Work towards establishing a Sabbath
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Secrecy | Week 8 | June 30, 2024
Teacher: Garland Tackett
/> Matthew 6:5-6 (ESV) "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
/> Jesus is always probing deeper. Into the Heart. Into the Soul.
/> W.A.I.T. = Why Am I Talking?
/> A.W. Tozer
"What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us."
/> Jesus replies in the Gospel of John:
"Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?" John 14:9
/> 5 minutes of silence
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Fasting | Week 7 | June 23, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> “In many ways the stomach is like a spoiled child, and a spoiled child does not need indulgence, but needs discipline.” - Richard Foster
/> Fasting – the deliberate abstinence from physical gratification for a greater spiritual goal.
/> 1. Should we fast?
/> “When you fast…” – Matthew 6:16
/> 2. Why should we fast?
/> Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. - Matthew 9:14-15
/> “Fasting helps us to express, to deepen, and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, to attain the Kingdom of God.”– Andrew Murray
/> 3. Why should we not fast?
/> “When you fast, do not look somberas the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. – Matthew 6:16-18
/> “The world is not a stage. When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity, but it won’t make you a saint.” - Eugene Peterson
/> 4. How to start a fast?
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Solitude | Week 6 | June 16, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> Psalm 103:1-5, New International Version:
/> 1 Praise theLord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
/> 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
/> 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
/> 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
/> 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
/> Psalm 103:1-5, Amplified Bible:
/> 1 Bless and affectionately praise theLord, O my soul, And all that is [deep] within me,blessHis holy name.
/> 2 Bless and affectionately praise theLord, O my soul,And do not forget any of His benefits;
/> 3 Who forgives all your sins,Who heals all your diseases;
/> 4 Who redeems your life from the pit,Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy;
/> 5 Who satisfies your years with good things,So that your youth is renewed like the [soaring] eagle.
/> Psalm 103:1-5, Message Translation:
/> 1 O my soul, blessGod.From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
/> 2 O my soul, blessGod,don’t forget a single blessing!
/> 3 He forgives your sins—every one.He heals your diseases—every one.
/> 4He redeems you from hell—saves your life!He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
/> 5 He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
/> 1. Comparison. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…” - James 1:17
/> Comparing leads to coveting. Coveting is lethal to contentment.
/> Focus (daily) on appreciation, not accumulation.
/> 2. Complaint. “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” - Philippians 2:14
/> “How are we landing robots on Mars, but our Wi-Fi is so slow?” - Adam Barnett
>/ 3. Calamity.“Give thanks in all circumstances…” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
/ God did not do this to me. God allowed this for me. He is with me.
/> "For years, I subscribed to the notion of an 'attitude of gratitude.' I've since learned that an attitude is an orientation or a way of thinking and that 'having an attitude' doesn't always translate to a behavior.It seems that gratitude without practice may be a little like faith without works. It's not alive. So, we don't so much want to know if you have a grateful heart, but do you have grateful habits?” - Brené Brown
/> 1. Focus on where you see the gracious and active presence of God in the story of your life.
/> 2. Talk about where you see the gracious and active presence of God in the story of your life.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Solitude | Week 5 | June 9, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi.
/> When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20:24-28
/ Greatness in the kingdom of God is the polar opposite of greatness in the world.
/ Διάκονος – a household servant (specifically, a waiter); a minister.
>/ Greatness is service. To be first, be a servant.
/ “Jesus turns this noble ideal on its head and in one of cultural history’s dramatic reversals he asks, in effect, ‘How can anyone be happy unless one is the slave of everyone else?’” - Dale Bruner
>/ Philippians 2:3-4… Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
/ 1. Slow down
/ 2. Seek opportunities
/ 3. Start new rhythms
/ 4. Serve at Redeemer
/ 5. Spiritual Gifts Assessment
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Solitude | Week 4 | June 2, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
/> Sacrament is from the Latin word sacramentum which originally referred to a soldier’s sacred oath of allegiance.
/> Two sacraments
- Baptism
- Communion
/> 3 Names to Communion
- The Lord’s Supper
- Communion
- Eucharist
/> And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
—Luke 22:19-20
/> Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
—Luke 9:16-17
/> 4 Verbs of the Lord’s Supper
1.Take: Jesus takes what we bring him. This offering that Jesus take from us is the first movement of the Eucharist; it sets salvation in the ambience of sheer acceptance. God receives us and what we bring to him, just as we are.
-
Bless: What we offer to Jesus, Jesus offers to God with thanksgiving. He doesn’t examine it for flaws, doesn’t evaluate and appraise it, criticize or reject our offerings. He prays these offerings and the lives that back them up, offering what we offer to the Father. This prayer of blessing gathers all of us and everything we are into everything that Christ is and does for us.
-
Break: Our gifts don’t remain what we bring. At the Table we are not permitted to be self-sufficient. The breaking of our pride and self-approval is not a bad thing; it opens us to new life, to saving action. We soon discover that God is working deep within us, beneath our surface lies and poses, to bring new life.
-
Give: Jesus gives back what we bring to him, who we are; and we receive what he gives. But it is no longer what we brought. It has been changed into what God gives, what we sing of as “amazing grace.” Everything we bring to Jesus is given back, but lavishly…Everything on the Table and everyone around the Table becomes gospel and is distributed to all who hunger and thirst after righteousness.
—Eugene Peterson
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Our Practice | Week 2 | May 26, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
/> Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
—Matthew 13:18-23
/> Music and silence—how I detest them both! How thankful we should be that ever since Our Father entered Hell—though longer ago than humans, reckoning in light years, could express—no square inch of infernal space and no moment of infernal time has been surrendered to either of those abominable forces, but all has been occupied by Noise—Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile—Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the Earth. The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end. But I admit we are not yet loud enough, or anything like it. Research is in progress.
—C.S. Lewis
/> Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdraw to lonely places and prayed.
—Luke 5:15-16
/> In the world there are many other voices speaking—loudly: “Prove that you are beloved. Prove you’re worth something. Prove you have any contribution to make. Do something relevant. Be sure you make a name for yourself. At least have some power—then people will love you; then people will say you’re wonderful, you’re great.’ These voices are so strong. They touch our hidden insecurities and drive us to become every busy trying to prove to the world that we are good people who deserve some attention.
—Henri Nouwen
/> Solitude confronts our escapism.
/> In solitude we not only encounter God but also our true self.
—Clowning in Rome
/> The discipline of solitude allows us gradually to come in touch with the hopeful presence of God in our lives, and allows us also to taste even now the beginnings of the joy and peace which belong to the new heaven and the new earth.
—Henri Nouwen
/> We practice solitude to know and be known.
/> Why is it so important that we are with God and God alone on the mountain top? It’s important because it’s the place in which we can listen to the voice of the One who calls us the beloved. Jesus says to you and to me that we are loved as he is loved…To pray is to let that voice speak to the center of our being and permeate our whole life. Who am I? I am the beloved. If we are not calming that voice as the deepest truth of our being, then we cannot walk freely in this world.
—Henri Nouwen
/> We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check….The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
—James 3:2-8
/> Why do we insist on talking as much as we do? We run off at the mouth because we are inwardly uneasy about what other think of us.
—Dallas Willard
/> The practice of silence helps us to listen and to observe, to pay attention to people. How rarely are we ever truly listened to, and how deep is out need to be heard. I wonder how much wrath in human life is a result of not being heard.
—Dallas Willard
/> We practice silence to listen and to serve
/> Far too often we are busy trying to “do something.” Perhaps it would be better if instead we learned to “be something.”
/> We cannot be human if we are not existing in the present, for the present is where God meets us. If we avoid the details of the actual present, we abdicate a big chunk of our humanity.
—Eugene Peterson
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Our Practice | Week 2 | May 19th, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> www.redeemertulsa.org/walkingtheway
/> “The way of Jesus”
/> Being like Jesus is the result of being with Jesus.
/> “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practiceis like a wise man who built his house on the rock.The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”– Matthew 7:24-27
/> “Salvation isn’t just about getting you into heaven. It is about getting heaven into you. Salvation is not a transaction. It is a transformation.” - John Mark Comer
/> 1) Be with Jesus
/> 2) Do as Jesus did.
/> [Video: Be Like Mike - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0AGiq9j_Ak]
/> “May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi.”
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Walking The Way | Silence and Solitude | Week 1 | May 12th, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> www.redeemertulsa.org/walkingtheway
/> “The way of Jesus.”
/> Before we learn and follow the practices of Jesus, we must seek and know the Person of Jesus.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.You believein God;believe also in me.My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going thereto prepare a place for you?And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come backand take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomassaid to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered,“I amthe wayand the truthand the life.No one comes to the Father except through me.– John 14:1-6
“The realm where God’s way is done is the ‘kingdom of God.’ It is from everlasting to everlasting. What changed with the birth of Jesus was God’s gift of a way in. To those who receive Christ as king, he gives the power to become powerless—to give up supreme rulership of our own little kingdoms and become like children. Children of the King, happy to follow in the Father’s footsteps and ready to trust him with our lives.” - Grace Pouch
/> Being like Jesus is the result of being with Jesus.
/> Pay attention to what you are paying attention to.
/> Focus on where you see the gracious and active presence of God in the story of your life.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Because of Love | Partnership in Mission | Week 4 | May 5th, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
/> On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
— Acts 1:4-9
/> Power because we’re going to need it.
/> What does it mean to be a witness?
/> We have over spiritualized our salvation as well as the mission of God.
Millions of Christians in many parts of the world still think the cross means “Jesus died for my sins so that I can go to heaven.” The “mission” of the church, then, becomes a matter of explaining to more and more people that he dies for them too and urging them to believe this, so that they too can go to heaven…That way of looking at the gospel and mission both shrinks and distorts what the Bible actually teaches.
—N.T. Wright
Can we seriously believe that God would establish a plan for us that essentially bypasses the awesome needs of present human life and leaves human character untouched? Would he leave us even temporarily marooned with no help in our kind of world, with our kind of problems: psychological, emotional, social, and global? Can we believe that the essence of Christian faith and salvation covers nothing but death and after? Can we believe that being saved really has nothing whatever to do with the kinds of persons we are?
—Dallas Willard
/> “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
—Luke 4:18-19
/> Our mission is to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and to do as Jesus did.
The people who are rescued by the cross and the love it reveals will then be shaped by the cross and the love it will reveal through them to the world…This is how we learn not only to tell the story of Jesus, but also to live the story of Jesus.
— N.T. Wright
/> Jesus did not simply die to save us from our sins. Jesus also lived to save us from our sins.
/> When the prophets Daniel and John envision the empires as vicious beasts, what they’re saying is, Beneath all the wealth, power, and excess of these dazzling empires lie grotesque monsters, trampling everyone and everything in their path. And when they depict God as tolerating, then restraining, and finally destroying these monsters, what they’re saying is, The story isn’t over; even the greatest empires are no match for goodness, righteousness, and virtue.
—Rachel Held Evans
/> The Bible is a collection of resistance stories because all of it anticipates or announces the Kingdom of God and the rule and reign of Jesus Christ.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Because of Love | The Church | Week 5 | April 28, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,and on this rock I will build my church,and the gates of Hadeswill not overcome it. – Matthew 16:18
“… like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 2:5
Εκκλησιά– an assembly of people meeting for a common purpose.
/> 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teachingand to fellowship, to the breaking of breadand to prayer.43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.And the Lord added to their numberdaily those who were being saved. - Acts 2:42-47
/> 1. Worship.
Therefore, I urge you,brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.– Romans 12:1
To be a living sacrifice isn’t just getting on the altar, but choosing to stay there.
/> 2. Truth.
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearingand his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebukeand encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. – 2 Timothy 4:1
We accept the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, as the word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.
We are INVITED to BE disciples of Jesus, and EXPECTED to MAKE disciples for Jesus.
Disciples make disciple-makers.
/> 3. Community.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Because of Love | Spiritual Gifts | Week 4 | April 21, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
/> Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
/> There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
—1 Corinthians 12:1-7
/> No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
— 1 Corinthians 12:3b
/> 1. The first Spiritual Gift Paul mentions is accepting Jesus as Lord.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
— 1 Corinthians 12:7
/> 2. Everyone is given a gift from the Holy Spirit.
/> 3. These gifts are meant to be used in community.
/> 4. Paul is calling us into unity
And yet I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
— 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
/> 5. The Greatest Gift of All is Love
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…
—1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
—1 Corinthians 13:8b-10
Paul’s description of the attributes of love in verses 4-7 offers a picture of habitual actions and dispositions. One cannot merely decide in a day’s time to start doing these things. They are learned patterns of behavior that must be cultivated over time in the context of a community that models and supports such behavior…far too little attention had been given in our communities to this character-forming task of the church. We must deliberate carefully about how to reform the church so that we can more fully devote our energies to learning how to love.
—Richard Hays
/> The gift of love is the only gift that lasts for all eternity. Here, Paul is inviting us to participate in eternity today.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Because of Love | Grace | Week 3 | April 14, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
The grace of God is undeniably and entirely a gift.
/> “Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable… Grace has everything to do with the lover, not the beloved. It has nothing to do with weights and measures. It has nothing to do with my intrinsic qualities or so-called ‘gifts,’ whatever they may be. It reflects a decision on the part of the giver, the one who loves, in relation to the receiver, the one who is loved, that negates any qualifications the receiver may personally hold. Grace is one-way love.” - Paul Zahl
/> For you know the grace of out Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich.
2 Corinthians 8:9
/> "Grace is free, nut it is not cheap"
/> So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good?That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into a new country of grace - a new life in a new land!
Romans 6:1-3 (MSG)
/> My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Because of Love | The Holy Spirit | Week 2 | April 7, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> 1. Rejoice in the Resurrection.
/> 2. Remember your Baptism.
/> 3. Return to Habits of Spiritual Formation.
/> 4. Reflect on the Gift of the Church.
5. Renew your Commitment to Mission.
/> “If you love me, keep my commands.And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocateto help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.The world cannot accept him,because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will bein you. – John 14:15-17
/> But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocatewill not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. – John 16:7
/> Acts 2:1-4 - When the day of Pentecostcame, they were all togetherin one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.All of them were filled with the Holy Spiritand began to speak in other tonguesas the Spirit enabled them.
/> We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
/> 1. Pray:“Father, Son, Holy Spirit.”
/> 2. Light a candle.
/> 3. The Holy Spirit is a Person.
/> 4. Practice routine prayers.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
"Resurrection" | Easter Sunday | March 31, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> HEAVEN JUST STARTED COUNTING TO THREE.
/> Matthew 28:1-10-1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
/> 1) Salvation.
Romans 6:23 –For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
/> 2) Status.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.– John 1:12
/> 3) Security.
/> Romans 8:1 –Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
/> Jesus, I believe in you. You are the resurrection and the life. I believe you died on the cross for me. I believe in your resurrection. Will you make me a new creation today? I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I ask you to live in my heart and to fill me with your Holy Spirit. I want to live this life, and the life to come, with you. Through the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I pray … Amen!
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Palm Sunday
"Hosanna in the Highest" • March 24, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
/> Luke 9:51 "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem"
/> Luke 19:28-34 "After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.As he approached Bethphage and Bethanyat the hill called the Mount of Olives,he sent two of his disciples, saying to them“Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”They replied, “The Lord needs it”
/> Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey"
/> Luke 19:35-38 "They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.As he went along, people spread their cloakson the road.When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
/> John 12:12-13 "The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”
/> Hosanna (English) ---> ὡσαννά (Greek) ---> hoshiya na (Hebrew)
/> Psalm 118:25 "LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success!"
/> Psalm 118:26 "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord"
/> "Darkness fell, His friends scattered, hope seemed lost… but heaven just started counting to three."
— Bob Goff
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Final Words
"Into Your hands I commit My spirit." • March 17, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
--
/> 1. Here is your son. Here is your mother.
-
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
-
I thirst.
-
It is finished
-
Into your hands I commit my spirit.
/> Of all the Evangelists, Luke is the most intentional, and the most skillful, in narrating the story of Jesus in a way that joins it seamlessly to Israel’s story…Luke is seeking to write the continuation of biblical history.
—Richard Hays
/> It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
—Luke 23:44-49
/ In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the Lord, all his faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.
—Psalm 31:1-8, 21-24
/> In Jesus’ mind, his horrible and humiliating condition in no way jeopardizes his relationship with God, whom he thus continues to address with the characteristic appellation, “Father.”
— Joel B. Green
/> This prayer from the cross is particularly difficult to keep in its crucifixion context and still pray it. A childlike relaxation into the arms of Jesus when everything is going well and we are surrounded by those we love and trust, yes. But a deliberate, trusting committal into the hands of the Father when we have been blindsided on a Golgotha intersection and out life has been totaled? Lovely as Jesus’ prayer is, it is not likely to come spontaneously from our lips in such circumstances.
—Eugene Peterson
/> What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:31-39
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Final Words
"I thirst." & "It is finished." • March 10, 2024
Teacher: Leanne Benton
--
/> John 19:28-30:
Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
/> ‘My mouth is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; You lay me in the dust of death.” Psalm 22:15
/> Hebrews 2:17:
“For this reason he had to be made fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”
/> A Testimony of His…Suffering, Submission, Sureness
/> “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14
/> “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2
/> “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said “I thirst!” John 19:28
/> Completeness Triumph Satisfaction Confidence
/> “I have brought you glory by finishing the work you gave me to do.”
John 17:4
/>“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” John 10:18
/>“Death has lost the battle! Where is its victory? Where is its sting? Sin is what gives death its sting, and the Law is the power behind sin. But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!” 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Final Words
"Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?" • March 3, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
/> 25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the Jews. 27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. – Mark 15:25-32
/> 33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. - Mark 15:33
/> 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). - Mark 15:34
/> 1. To be forsaken did not change God’s identity.
/> 2. To be forsaken did not change the Father’s love.
/> 3. To be forsaken was not a sin of despair.
/> Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Final Words
Father, forgive them. • February 25, 2024
Teacher: Dave Brown
--
/> Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.
/> Today you will be with me in paradise.
/> Here is your son. Here is your mother.
/> My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
/> I thirst.
/> It is finished
/> Into your hands I commit my spirit.
/> The first three phrases display Jesus’ character.
/> 1. Love your enemies
/> 1. Father forgive them
/> 2. My yoke is easy and my burden is light
/> 2. Today, you will be with me in paradise.
/> 3. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
/> 3. Here is your son. Here is your mother.
/> Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has a two-fold meaning for us.
/> It offers us mercy and grace
/> It is the example of what it means to be truly human.
/> Our lives are lived well only when they are lived on the terms of their creation, with God loving and us being loved, with God making and us being made, with God revealing and us understanding, with God commanding and us responding.
—Eugene Peterson
/> Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face…
—Mike Tyson
/> Who are we when following Jesus gets hard?
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Final Words
Father, forgive them. • February 18, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
/> 1. A time of repentance.
/> 2. A time of renewal.
/> 3. A time of self-denial.
/> Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. - Luke 23:32-34
/> “The crucifixion is not a spectator sport. I cannot simply watch it on the sidelines. Something bursts within me—revulsion, hatred, disappointment—but I am not left untouched. The cross, acknowledged or not, leaves its own kind of wound in us. It sets us voyaging within ourselves.” — Alan Jones
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Living the Way
Blessed at the peacemakers... • February 11, 2024
Teacher: Otis Garrison
--
/> BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED
/> Matthew 5:10, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” NKJV
I. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
/> What does Jesus mean - For theirs is the kingdom of heaven?
/> Many of Jesus’ parables focus on the kingdom of heaven
/> The kingdom of heaven is established in and through us as we are poor in spirit and live righteous before the Father.
II. PERSECUTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE
/> The first 7 Beatitudes happen because we make a choice to do what Jesus is saying.
/> With this last Beatitude - “persecuted for righteousness sake” it is a choice someone else or some outside force makes for us.
/> In the case of this beatitude - persecution happens because of loyalty to righteousness,
/> Matt 5:11, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” NKJV
/> Revile - means to use scornful or abusive language. To treat or regard with contempt or disdain; to reject or to mock…
/> Question - what does it mean if we are never persecuted?
/> Acts 4:29, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word.” NLT
/> Jesus, Himself, was reviled and mocked - Leaving us an example to follow…
/> 1 Peter 2:21-23, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.” NLT
Matt 5:11, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.” NKJV
Matt 5:12, “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” NKJV
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Living the Way
Blessed at the peacemakers... • February 5, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
/> Matthew 5:9 – Blessed are the peacemakers, for the will be called children of God.
/> You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:6-11
/> Reconciliation is not only of God, but from God, and to God.
/> All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. - 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
/> “The word of the beatitudes penetrates us with the power of the Holy Spirit in order to break up our interior soil.” - Jonathan Pennington
/>“The word of the beatitudes penetrates you with the power of the Holy Spirit in order to break up your interior soil.”
/> “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. - Matthew 5:43-45
/> 1. Pray for your enemies.
/> 2. Pray for peace.
/> 3. Do all you can.
/> Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Living the Way
Blessed at the pure in heart... • January 28, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
MESSAGE NOTESLiving the Way
Blessed at the pure in heart... • January 28, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
/> Μακάριος: happy, supremely blessed, fortunate; to be envied.
/> The Beatitudes are not only instructions on how to live, but directions to where God can be found.
/> Living the way of the kingdom is admitting that God’s way is better than our own.
/> Matthew 5:8 – Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
/> I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
/> 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here.
/> Proverbs 4:23 – Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
/> Our hearts are vulnerable when we get distracted.
/> 1 John 2:15-16 - Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
Living the Way
Blessed are the merciful... • January 21, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> ### MESSAGE NOTES
Living the Way
Blessed at the merciful... • January 21, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
/> Matthew 5:7
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
Mercy – the compassionate disposition to forgive someone or to offer aid, assistance, or help to someone in need.
The conduct God demands of us includes a continuous nature of showing mercy to others.
/> Matthew 18:21-22
"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."
/> Matthew 18:23-26
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.“ At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.'
/> Matthew 18:27
"The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go."
/> Matthew 18:28-30
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt."
/> Matthew 18:31-35
"When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.“ This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
When I am unmerciful, it shows I lack gratitude and true acknowledgement of God’s mercy for me.
Living the Way
Blessed are those that hunger for righteousness... • January 14, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
/> Μακάριος (blessed) – happy, supremely blessed, fortunate
/> Μακάριος (blessed) – happy, supremely blessed, fortunate; to be envied.
/> “We can compare the work of the beatitudes to that of a plow in the fields. Drawn along with determination, it drives the sharp edge of the plowshare into the earth and carves out a deep wound; a broad channel. In the same way, the word of the beatitudes penetrates us with the power of the Holy Spirit in order to break up our interior soil. It cuts through us with the sharp edge of trials and with the struggles it provokes. It overturns our ideas, reverses the obvious, thwarts our desires, and bewilders us, leaving us poor and naked before God. All this, in order to prepare a place within us for the seed of new life.” — Jonathan Pennington
/> Read the Beatitudes not only as instructions on how to live, but directions to where God can be found.
*\_Matthew 5:6_*
/> "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
/> Do I hunger and thirst for the wrong things?
*\_Jeremiah 2:12-13_*
/> “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
*\_Isaiah 55:1-2_*
/> "Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live."
*\_Matthew 5:20_*
"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." – C.S. Lewis
Living the Way
Blessed are the poor in spirit... • January 7, 2024
Teacher: Adam Barnett
*\_Matthew 7:28-29_*
"When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."
“The realm where God’s way is done is the ‘kingdom of God.’ It is from everlasting to everlasting. What changed with the birth of Jesus was God’s gift of a way in. To those who receive Christ as king, he gives the power to become powerless—to give up supreme rulership of our own little kingdoms and become like children. Children of the King, happy to follow in the Father’s footsteps and ready to trust him with our lives.” - Grace Pouch
To serve, or not to serve?
“The Sermon on the Mount is the most complete description anywhere in the N.T. of the Christian counterculture. Here is a Christian value-system, ethical standard, religious devotion, attitude to money, ambition, lifestyle, and network of relationships — all of which totally oppose those in the non-Christian world. And this Christian counterculture is the life of the kingdom of God, a fully human life indeed, but lived out under the divine rule.” - John Stott
*\_Matthew 5:1-3_*
"Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Living the way of the kingdom is admitting that God's way is better than our own.
Living the way of the kingdom of God involves a present responsibility and a future privilege.
O Holy Night
Christmas Eve • December 24, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Let all within us praise His holy name!
*\_Luke 2:8-20_*
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
The shepherds glorified and praised God for all the things they had heard and seen.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share, as we tarry there… none other has ever known.
*\_Isaiah 9:6_*
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
O Holy Night
Advent • December 17, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
O Holy Night
"In His name, all oppression shall cease." • December 17, 2023
_Teacher:_ Adam Barnett
In His name, all oppression shall cease.
*\_Luke 4:18-19_*
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The prisoner will be released.
The blind will see.
The oppressed will be set free.
*\_Revelation 21:4_*
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.
Amen.
O Holy Night
Joy • December 10, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
--
O Holy Night
Joy • December 10, 2023
_Teacher:_ Adam Barnett
Chains Shall He Break, for the Slave is Our Brother – Philemon
American Christianity is consumer focused. Therefore, it is me-focused.
Jesus is making things right - in all people, for all people, and between all people.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother.
Philemon 1:1-16
1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker—2 also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. 8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
Colossians 3:22
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.
Colossians 4:1
Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Max Anders
“Slavery mocks Christian compassion and brotherhood. It assaults the biblical principle of equity before God. Through forced subjection and inhumane practices, slavery tramples on God’s creation. But rather than attacking social structures and relationships, Christianity works within the human conscience. In this way, a more thorough and lasting change occurs. When Christian ethics and cultural practices conflict, the Christian response is reformation of the heart and mind rather than revolution over social institutions.”
When the human heart is captured by love, truth, and compassion, social evils disappear.
What unjust rights or privileges do we enjoy that God calls us to renounce with acts of grace?
The incarnation breaks the chains of our captivity.
O Holy Night
Peace • December 3, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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His law is love and His gospel is peace
Luke 10:25-28 NIV
“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Augustine
“All who do not love God are strangers and antichrists. The fountain of life does not belong to them. But if you have love, that fountain is yours. The Spirit of God exhorts you to drink from it, and in doing so, to drink from himself.”
Bob Goff
“Love is never stationary. In the end, love doesn’t just keep thinking about it or keep planning for it. Simply put: love does.”
Isaiah 9:6-7
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end."
Jesus is making things right - in all people, for all people, and between all people.
Lt. Kurt Zehmisch
“How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way. Christmas, the celebration of love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.”
If love is coming, let’s love now.
If peace is coming, let’s be peaceful now.
If justice is coming, let’s be just now.
Love One Another
Through • November 26, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Truly He Taught Us to Love One Another
John 13:34-35 NIV
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
David Kinnaman
One crucial insight kept popping up in our exploration. In studying thousands of outsiders’ impressions, it is clear that Christians are primarily perceived for what they stand against. We have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are for.
Unchristian
Christianity has become bloated with blind followers who would rather repeat slogans than actually feel true compassion and care. Christianity has become marketed and streamlined into a juggernaut of fear mongering that has lost its own heart.
Unchristian
Most people I meet assume that Christian means very conservative, entrenched in their thinking, antigay, antichoice, angry, violent, illogical, empire builders; they want to convert everyone, and they generally cannot live peacefully with anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe.
1. Evangelicals care more about being right, than they care about acting right.
2. They spend more time caring about what a person believes, then they spend caring for the person.
3. They are often more indoctrinated than they are biblically literate.
How do we go about loving one another?
Our love for one another must look like Jesus’ love for us.
Jesus’ love was humble.
Rick Warren
Humility is not thinking less of yourself; It is thinking of yourself less.
N.T. Wright
At the heart of Christian ethic is humility; at the heart of its parodies, pride. Different roads with different destinations, and the destinations color the character of those who travel by them.
Jesus’ love was other focused.
American Christianity is consumer focused. In this way, it is me focused.
Eugene Peterson
If people are not satisfied, we’ll find a way to woo them back with better publicity and glossier advertising. We’ll repackage church under fresh brand names. Since Americans are the world’s champion consumers, let’s offer the gospel on consumer terms, reinterpreting it as a way to satisfy their addiction to More and Better and Sexier. The huge irony is that the more the gospel is offered in consumer terms, the more the consumers are disappointed. The gospel is not a consumer product; it doesn’t satisfy what we think of as our “needs.”
A Purpose for my Pain
Through • November 19, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Our pain connects us to people.
2 Corinthians 1:3-6 NIV
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
The comforted are to be comforters.
Comforting others is a form of evangelism.
2 Corinthians 11:30, 12:9-10 NIV
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. [The Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you; my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
My pain is a platform to share the gospel!
Philippians 1:12 NIV
I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.
Getting through with intentional stages of grief
Through • November 12, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett, Melanie Fell, Leanne Benton, Dave Brown, Alison Myers, and Garland Tackett
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Leanne Benton:
Rick Warren
There is no life without change. There is no change without loss. There is no loss without pain. But grief is a choice.
John 11:33-35 NIV
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?’ He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept.
Psalm 34:18 NIV
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
1 Peter 5:10:
Restore
Confirm
Strengthen
Establish
Psalm 23:4 NIV
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
Praise be to the God… of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Dave Brown:
Romans 8:18-22 NIV
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Alison Myers:
Matthew 26:36-39 NLT
Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Surrender became my pathway to peace.
The Serenity Prayer
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Getting Through With the Help of Community
Through • November 5, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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1. Receiving help during a tough time.
2. Giving help during a tough time.
1 Corinthians 12:12, 27 NIV
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Saint Basil
“The Creator arranged things so that we need each other.”
Ephesians 4:25 NIV
“… we are members of one another.”
I am not meant to walk through _____________ alone.
Henri Nouwen
"No one person can fulfill all your needs. But a community can truly hold you. The community can let you experience the fact that, beyond your anguish, there are human hands that hold you and show you God’s faithful love.”
Dan Meyer
“Life is hard. Do it in groups.”
Galatians 6:2 NIV
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 MSG
“Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law.”
Romans 12:15b NIV
“… weep (mourn, lament, or sob) with those who weep.”
“… give helpful advice to those who weep.” - Romans 12:15
“… offer an opinion or explanation to those who weep.” - Romans 12:15
“… cheer up those who weep.” - Romans 12:15
To bear a burden is to make someone else’s struggle or sorrow your own.
Hopeful Expectation
Through • October 29, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Isaiah 43:1-2 NIV
But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFTRwD85AQ4
The Stockdale Paradox: confronting the brutal facts of our reality with the hope that we will prevail.
To lament is to groan under the burden of sorrow; to mourn.
1. Lament for lost loved ones.
2. Lament for a destroyed city or temple.
3. Lament for a crisis in the community.
4. Lament for one’s sin.
5. Lament for devastating circumstances.
a. Sickness and pain– Psalm 38:7-8, Jeremiah 15:18
Michael John Cusick
“Lament is a posture and way of being that engages with God with our truest self.”
b. Complaint – Job 3:11
c. Questioning.– Psalm 22:1-2
d. A plea for help. - Psalm 31:1-2
Matthew 5:4 NIV
Blessed are those who mourn,for they will be comforted.
Lament is not a failure of faith, but an act of faith.
Soong-Chan Rah
“The American church avoids lament. The power of lament is minimized and the underlying narrative of suffering that requires lament is lost. But absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. Absence makes the heart forget. The absence of lament in the liturgy of the American church results in a loss of memory. We forget the necessity of lamenting over suffering and pain. We forget the reality of suffering and pain.”
Hopeful Expectation
Through • October 22, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Matthew 7:24-27 NIV
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7:25 NIV
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.
1. Storms
A storm is anything that puts us in physical, emotional, or spiritual disorientation or trauma.
Give Ourselves the freedom to feel what we feel
Pray the Lament Psalms
Identify Community
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
2. Deconstruction
Matthew 7:24 NIV
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
A lot of American Christianity is not based in the gospel, so it doesn’t stand up in the storm.
Acts 12:1 NIV
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
3. Reconstruction
Crack the door to hope.
What is our hope?
Revelation 21:3-5 NIV
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Remember back to when you felt God’s presence.
Psalm 77:6b-12 NIV
My heart meditated and my spirit asked: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
Thriving in the Middle of Transition
Through • October 15, 2023
Teacher: John Wenrich
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Life is full of transitions…
1. Change is different from transition.
2. Every transition begins with an ending and ends with a beginning.
3. The stages are cumulative.
The Middle Zone is the space between where we’ve been and where we need to go in order to thrive.
1. The Middle Zone is a time of testing.
Deuteronomy 8:2-5 NIV
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.
2. The Middle Zone is a time of feeling lost.
Joshua 5:6 NIV
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
3. The Middle Zone is a time of opportunity.
Exodus 24:4 NIV
Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.
The Middle Zone is a:
1. time of testing
2. time of feeling lost
3. time of opportunity
1. Aviate
Tim Keller
“The Gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
- Navigate
Numbers 9:15-21 NIV
On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning, the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.
- Communicate
Exodus 20:1-3 NIV
And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me…"
4. Innovate
Exodus 18:17-24 NIV
What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them his decrees and instructions and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
Video Link: https://youtu.be/ry55--J4_VQ
How to Wait Well
Faith IRL • October 8, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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How to Wait Well
James 5:1-3 NIV
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
Matthew 6:24-26 NIV
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
James 5:4-6 NIV
Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Brian Rapske
“The murder here most likely is judicial. Whereby the wealthy landowners take smaller, poorer indebted farmers to court, stripping them of their land and thus of their source of income, and then hiring them back again to work their former property as sharecroppers. With dirt-poor wages, unpaid debts might then lead their new landlords to throw them into debtors’ prison, where they could rot for the rest of their lives. Once in prison, making money to pay one’s debts was not an option, so unless some better financially situated friends or relatives bailed one out, that person often died in jail.”
James 5:7-9 NIV
Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judgeis standing at the door!
William Brosend
“Christ is coming back, he is coming back soon (at least from God’s perspective), and he will wreak vengeance on the wicked—with absolute justice and equity—something sinful mortals could never do and therefore should not try to do!”
1. Be patient
2. Stand firm
You must wait; strengthen your hearts [resolutely turn your thoughts and feelings in the direction of the Lord’s return].
3. Don't complain
Craig Blomberg
“Christians often act as though judgment remains far off, a distant future possibility. James argues, however, that Christ’s return lies close at hand, on the threshold of the door way. We ought to behave as people ready for a judgment that has already begun in this life and will culminate quickly at his return.”
To wait (for His return) well: be patient, stand firm, don’t complain.
Enemies of God
Faith IRL • October 1, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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James 4:4 NIV
Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James 4:1-3 NIV
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:4-6 NIV
You adulteresses [disloyal sinners—flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
James 4:7-10 NIV
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Resisting the devil is accomplished through submission to God.
Repentance includes remorse.
William Baker
“James is ordering us to move beyond merely correct outward actions to appropriate heart attitudes of sorrow for our willful, wicked behavior. Once we realize the grievous nature of our sins and how far away we let ourselves get from God, we ought to be upset, crying at the horror of our sins.”
James 4:11-12 NIV
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
William Brosend
“To do so is to set oneself as superior to the one spoken against, is to deny the claim of the law to love the neighbor, and is to presume a role that can be held only by God.”
James 4:13-15 NIV
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:16-17 NIV
As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
Forest Fires
Faith IRL • September 24, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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James 3:1-2 NIV
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
James 3:3-4 NIV
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
James 3:5-6 NIV
Likewise,the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
James 3:7-8 NIV
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind,but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
James 3:9-12 NIV
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
1. Filter words through these three questions: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
2. Submit your tongue to the Holy Spirit, much like you have your heart, mind, and soul.
3. Speak the truth in love. And speak the truth in love.
Faith's Funeral
Faith IRL • September 17, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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James 1:22 NIV
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 2:14-17 NIV
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:18-19 NIV
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
James 2:20 NIV
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
James 2:20-24 NIV
Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
James 2:25 NIV
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
James 2:26 NIV
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
James 2:14 NIV
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?
Craig Blomberg
“The answer, throughout all the arguments and examples of 2:14-26, has been a resounding, ‘no.’ faith that does not reveal itself in works – in a changed lifestyle that glorifies God and seeks his heart for the world – is dead, lifeless, workless, and worthless. In reality, it is not faith at all; it is only the shell or the corpse of faith.”
Faith without works doesn’t work!
Worthless Religion
Faith IRL • September 10, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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James 1:13-15 NIV
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James 1:16 NIV
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
James 1:17-18 NIV
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
James 1:19-21 NIV
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
Proverbs 22:24 NLT
Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people.
James 1:22-25 NIV
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a 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.
Luke 11:28 NIV
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
James 1:26-27 NIV
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Is James Crazy, or What?
Faith IRL • September 3, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Is James crazy, or what?
Jim Samra
“James can be a difficult book to teach and preach because of its seemingly harsh tone.”
James 1:1 NIV
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
James 1:2 NIV
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
James 1:3 NIV
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
ὑπομονή – endurance; constancy; to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ.
ὑπομένω– _hopeful (or cheerful)_endurance; constancy; to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ.
Perseverance is not just a discipline, but also a delight.
James 1:4 NIV
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:5-8 NIV
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-mindedand unstablein all they do.
James 1:9-11 NIV
Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
James 1:12 NIV
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
1. Rejoice as you face trials.
2. Don’t interrupt the trial.
3. Ask God for wisdom.
Launch Week: Service & Mission
Launch • August 27, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown, Amy Cenea, and Alison Myers
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Dallas Willard
Spiritual formation is the process of the transformation of the heart. The heart is being formed in such a way that its natural expression comes to be the deeds of Christ done in the power of Christ.
Matthew 5:16 NIV
Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Redeemer exists to see Christ exalted in our church, community, and world.
1. Church
1 Peter 4:10 NIV
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
2. Community
1 John 4:20-21 NIV
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
3. World
Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Matthew 28:18-20 NIV
Then Jesus came to them and said,“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Launch Week: Community & Discipleship
Launch • August 20, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown & Garland Tackett
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Adult Discipleship at Redeemer
1. Men's Ministry
2. Small Groups
3. Sunday School
4. Women's Ministry
Dallas Willard
Spiritual formation is the process of the transformation of the heart. The heart is being formed in such a way that its natural expression comes to be the deeds of Christ done in the power of Christ.
garland.tackett@redeemertulsa.org
918-497-0484
Joseph and His Brothers
Genesis • August 13, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Samuel Emadi
“Joseph’s story is the story of the whole Bible. It’s the story of glory through suffering, exaltation through humiliation. It’s the story of the cross and the crown.”
Adversity #1: Joseph was Sold into Slavery.
Genesis 37:4 AMP
His brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than all of his brothers; so they hated him and could not [find it within themselves to] speak to him on friendly terms.
Genesis 37:18-24 NIV
But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
Adversity #2: Joseph was Falsely Accused.
Genesis 39:1-4 NIV
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.
Adversity #3: Joseph was Unfairly Imprisoned.
Genesis 39:19-20 NIV
When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger. Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
J. I. Packer
“Felt weakness deepens dependance on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away.”
Genesis 39:21-23 NIV
But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
Genesis 40:14-15 NIV
But when all goes well with you, remember me and show me kindness; mention me to Pharaoh and get me out of this prison. I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”
Genesis 41:39-41 NIV
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”
F.B. Meyer
“Joseph, though stripped of his coat, was not stripped of his character.”
Genesis 50:19-20 NIV
But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Adversity #1: Joseph was Sold into Slavery, but God saw him.
Adversity #2: Joseph was Falsely Accused, but God was with him.
Adversity #3: Joseph was Unfairly Imprisoned, but God delivered him.
Jacob and Esau
Genesis • August 6, 2023
Teacher: Garth Bolinder
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Genesis 37:1-17 NIV
Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob’s family line.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flockswith his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah,his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad reportabout them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated himand could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers,they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream,and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied. So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?” He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?” “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
Genesis 37:18 NIV
But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
Luke 19:47 NIV
Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.
Jacob Wrestles... Who?
Genesis • July 30, 2023
Teacher: Daniel Bunn
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Genesis 32:22-32 NIV
That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sonsand crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.
Interpretation 1: Jacob wrestles God
Interpretation 2: Jacob wrestles an angel
Interpretation 3: Jacob wrestles himself
First problem: “When he saw that he could not overcome” (v. 25)
Second problem: Opponent desires to flee before daybreak (v. 26)
Jacob wrestles God: based solely on Jacob’s conclusion
Jacob wrestles an angel: not based on Genesis, but based on Hosea
Jacob wrestles himself: not based on the text at all
Narrator: “A man wrestled with him” (v. 24)
Whoever the opponent is, he (a) cannot overcome Jacob and (b) desires to flee before daybreak.
My argument: Jacob wrestles a human
If a human, then who?
Option 1: an unnamed opponent
Option 2: his father-in-law, Laban
Option 3: his brother, Esau
First Support: Connections between Genesis 32 and Genesis 33
Wrestle: אבק (32:24), Embrace: חבק (33:4)
Genesis 32:24 NIV
So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
Genesis 33:4 NIV
But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.
The one who now embraces him is the same one who wrestled him
“Face of God” (32:20, 33:10)
Second Support: Connection to the Wider Story
Third Support: Jacob and Esau Reconciled?
Genesis 33:17 NIV
Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth...
Summary: I think that the narrative of Genesis 32 points toward a human opponent. And if the opponent is human, then I suggest that Esau is the most likely candidate.
My e-mail: DanielDBunnjr@gmail.com
Jacob and Esau
Genesis • July 23, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Isaiah 43:1-2 NIV
But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Genesis 25:21-34 NIV
Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was unable to conceive children; and the Lord granted his prayer and Rebekah his wife conceived [twins]. But the children struggled together within her [kicking and shoving one another]; and she said, “If it is so [that the Lord has heard our prayer], why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord [praying for an answer]. The Lord said to her,
“[The founders of] two nations are in your womb;
And the separation of two nations has begun in your body;
The one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. The first came out reddish all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau (hairy). Afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob (one who grabs by the heel). Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.
When the boys grew up, Esau was an able and skilled hunter, a man of the outdoors, but Jacob was a quiet and peaceful man, living in tents. Now Isaac loved [and favored] Esau, because he enjoyed eating his game, but Rebekah loved [and favored] Jacob. Jacob had cooked stew [one day], when Esau came from the field and was famished; and Esau said to Jacob, “Please, let me have a quick swallow of that red stuff there, because I am exhausted and famished.” For that reason Esau was [also] called Edom (Red). Jacob answered, “First sell me your birthright (the rights of a firstborn).” Esau said, “Look, I am about to die [if I do not eat soon]; so of what use is this birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear [an oath] to me today [that you are selling it to me for this food]”; so he swore [an oath] to him, and sold him his birthright. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. In this way Esau scorned his birthright.
Genesis 17:20 NIV
And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
Genesis 25:18 NIV
“And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.”
John Sailhamer
“The author of Genesis patiently waits until the end to thematically express the lesson behind these struggles, using the words of Joseph to his brothers: ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good’ (50:20). Out of each of the struggles, God’s will was accomplished. The point is not so much that the struggles were necessary for the accomplishment of the will of God, but rather than God’s will was accomplished in spite of the conflict.”
Elmer Towns
“Traditionally, a number of distinct privileges belonged to the firstborn son in a family. Called a birthright, this gave the oldest son, the firstborn, a special claim on the inheritance left by his father and the unique privilege of carrying on the family name to future generations. This birthright had a special spiritual significance. The possessor of the birthright was the one who 1) became heir of the covenant of God, 2) received the promises given to Abraham, and 3) offered sacrifices for the family.”
Genesis 27:41 NIV
Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near, then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
Genesis 28:10 NIV
Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
Blessing and Struggle Can Coexist.
Look for the blessing in the battle.
Abraham + Eliazar + Rebekah
Genesis • July 16, 2023
Teacher: Leanne Benton
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Genesis 24:1-4 NIV
Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
Genesis 5:29 NIV
“He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”
Principle 1- Search for answers according to God’s Word.
Genesis 24:5-8 NIV
The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?” Abraham said, “Make sure that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’ —he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine.”
Principle 2- Believe that God is faithful to His word.
Joshua 21:45 NIV
Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed;
every one was fulfilled.
Genesis 24:10-14 NIV
Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master... He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant, Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”
Principle 3- Plead with God to reveal His will.
Matthew 7:7 NIV
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
James 1:5 NIV
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Genesis 24:15 NIV
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder.
Genesis 24:16 NIV
The woman was very beautiful...
Genesis 24:17-20 NIV
She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.” “Drink, my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.” So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.
Genesis 24:21, 23 NIV
Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful...Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you?
Proverbs 14:15 NIV
The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.
Principle 4- Observe how God answers your prayer.
Genesis 24:26-27 NIV
Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.”
Principle 5- Worship God for His work.
Genesis 24:50-51 NIV
This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.
Principle 6- Submit to God’s will.
Genesis 24:54-55 NIV
When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.” But her brother and her mother replied, “Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you may go.”
Genesis 24:57-58 NIV
Then they said, “Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.” So they called Rebekah and asker her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she said.
Principle 7- Obey God’s call.
Adam Barnett
When God calls us to something, it is natural to think first about the cost, the timing, and the consequences. When we delay, we might miss our window of opportunity.
Search. Believe. Plead. Observe. Worship. Submit. Obey.
Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Abraham and Issac
Genesis • July 9, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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1. God's Promises to Abraham
2. Abraham's Faith
3. Jesus Foreshadowed
4. Our Faith
1. God's Promises to Abraham
Genesis 12:1-3 NIV
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
John Goldingay
The preparations presuppose that the making of a commitment between two parties can involve the tearing apart of an animal, which implies an enacted prayer: if I do not keep my commitment to this pact, may I be torn apart like this animal.
Genesis 15:17-18 NIV
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates…”
Genesis 22:1-5 NIV
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Genesis 22:15-18 NIV
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
2. Abraham's Faith
Genesis 22:5 NIV
Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.
3. Jesus Foreshadowed
Genesis 22:17-18 NIV
I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.
Genesis 22:2 NIV
Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac
Luke 3:21-22 NIV
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
John 3:16 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
4. Our Faith
Melchizedek
Genesis • July 2, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Genesis 12:1-3 NIV
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 14:18-20 NIV
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Psalm 110:1-4 NIV
The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 7:11-28 NIV
If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
1. Jesus is Our King
2. Jesus is Our Priest
3. God is Faithful
Blessed To Be A Blessing
Genesis • June 25, 2023
Teacher: Todd Theissen
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Genesis 12:1-3 NIV
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 22:15-18 NIV
The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
The Tower of Babel
Genesis • June 18, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Genesis 11:1-9 NIV
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
God was concerned with the hearts of the people, not the height of the tower.
Moving eastward is a euphemism for moving away from God’s intention.
The Power of a Self-Centered Culture
John Chrysostom
This is what the human race has lost in particular, not being prepared to recognize the limitations of its own condition but always lusting for more, entertaining ambitions beyond its capacity. In this regard, too, when people who chase after things of the world acquire for themselves much wealth and status, they lose sight of their own nature..and aspire to such heights that they topple to the very depths.
Jerome
When the tower was being built up against God, those who were building it were disbanded for their own welfare. The conspiracy was evil. The dispersion was of true benefit even to those who were dispersed.
The Power of a Kingdom Centered Culture
Ephesians 4:1-16 NIV
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Noah + Ark: "God's Got a Plan!"
Genesis • June 11, 2023
Teacher: Leanne Benton
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Genesis 6:5 NIV
The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
GOD’S GOT A PLAN!
We have a choice!
Rev. Jasper Williams
All of the Bible is about Jesus...all 66 books, all 1179 chapters, all 31,173 verses in your Bible are all about Jesus. If you read your Bible and you do not see Jesus, then I challenge you to read it again. Because standing in the shadows somewhere is the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. God Saves People By Grace.
2. God Saves People Through Faith.
3. God Saves People In Christ.
1. God Saves People By Grace.
Genesis 6:8 NIV
But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Grace is not a reward of the righteous.
It is a gift for the guilty.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
2. God saves people through faith.
Hebrews 11:7 NIV
By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.
3. God saves people in Christ
Genesis 6:14 NIV
So make yourself an ark of cypress wood (gopher wood)...
...Make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
Pitch = Kopher = Atonement
Genesis 6:15 NIV
This is how you’re to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
Genesis 6:16 NKJV
You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side.
Colossians 3:2 NKJV
Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.
Substance
Safety
Size
Structure
Matthew 24:37 NIV
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
Cain and Abel
Genesis • June 4, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Augustine
Faith seeking understanding.
Genesis 4:1-16 NIV
Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
1. God's Presence
2. A choice to make
3. Disobedience
4. Hope
1. God's Presence
Exodus 33:12, 14-16 NIV
Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know _whom you will send with me_…The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”
Matthew 1:22-23 NIV
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him _Immanuel” (which means “God with us_”).
What gets communicated over and over again through Scripture is that God desires to be with you.
2. A Choice to Make
Genesis 4:6-7 NIV
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Ezekiel 2:3-5 NIV
He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And _whether they listen or fail to listen_—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Matthew 19:21 NIV
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
3. Disobedience
Ezekiel 2:3-5 NIV
He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day. The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.
4. Hope
Genesis 5:1b-3 NIV
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
Revelation 22:1-4 NIV
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Our Story
Genesis • May 28, 2023
Teacher: Alison and Ryan Myers
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Genesis 3:1-7 NIV
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Remember who God is and who we are.
God always has & always will be seeking after us.
Genesis 3:8-9 NIV
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?
Romans 8:35, 38-39 NIV
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our choices always have consequences AND God can redeem anything.
Genesis 3:14-15 NIV
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Adam and Eve
Genesis • May 21, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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1. Image bearers
2. Made to work
3. Helpers
1. Image bearers
Genesis 1:26-27 NIV
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Gregory of Nyssa
This same language was not used for (the creation) of other things. The command was simple when light was created; God said, “Let there be light.” Heaven was also made without deliberation…See how worthy you are! Your origins are not in an imperative. Instead, God deliberated about the best way to being to life a creation worthy of honor.
How are we like God?
Genesis 5:1b-3 NIV
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
To say that in humankind God creates the image of God on each means that humankind is like the Creator in that it is free…freedom is a relation between two persons. Being free means “being-free-for-the-other”, because I am bound to the other. Only being in relation with the other am I free.
2. Made to Work
Genesis 2:3 NIV
By the seventh day God has finished the work he had been doing, so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Genesis 2:15 NIV
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
John Goldingay
The “work” will surely be a joy. We may have seen men “cultivating the land with such pleasure that it is severe punishment for them to be called away from it to something else,” even now when enjoyment of this work has been marred by humanity’s disobedience. The audience is invited to think of it as it was designed…
Ephesians 2:10 NIV
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
3. Helpers
Genesis 1:26-27 NIV
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:18 NIV
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
John Goldingay
The human being will need appropriate help…usually “help” denotes someone strong and powerful who can help by getting one out of a mess; the term nearly always refers to Yahweh.
Deuteronomy 33:7 NIV
And this he said about Judah: “Hear, Lord, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes!”
Psalm 121:1-2 NIV
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 146:5 NIV
Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God
Ephesians 5:31-32 NIV
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.
Creation
Genesis • May 14, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Genesis 1:1-2:3 NIV
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Millard Erickson
Creation is the work of God in bringing into being, without the use of any preexisting materials, everything that is.
Ex Nihilo: creation out of nothing.
1. The Bible places great emphasis on creation.
John 1:1-3 NIV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was with God in the beginning.Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
2. Creation is a significant part of the Church's teaching.
3. Creation plays a role in preserving doctrine.
Millard Erickson
“Since the universe is God’s doing rather than a mere chance happening, we are able to discern something about the nature and the will of God from an examination of creation. Alter the doctrine of creation at any point, and you have also altered these other aspects of Christian doctrine.”
4. Creation helps us differentiate Christianity from other religions and worldviews.
5. Creation is a point of dialogue between Christianity and natural science.
The Holy Spirit and One Another
One Another • May 7, 2023
Teacher: John Wenrich
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https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hhs.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fsurgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf&psig=AOvVaw3jh0XkxRUVQKjzhSfjcROv&ust=1683302109824000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBEQjRxqFwoTCOCM_5iD3P4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI
Dr. Vivek H. Murthy
In recent years, about one-in-two adults in America reported experiencing loneliness. And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic cut off so many of us from friends, loved ones, and support systems, exacerbating loneliness and isolation.
Loneliness and isolation represent profound threats to our health and well-being. But we have the power to respond. A culture of connection rests on core values of kindness, respect, service, and commitment to one another. Everyone contributes to the collective culture of social connection by regularly practicing these values.
Behaviors are both learned from and reinforced by the groups we participate in and the communities we are a part of. Thus, the more we observe others practicing these values, the more they will be reinforced in us.
1. The Holy Spirit is a person.
John 14:26 NIV
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said.”
2. The Holy Spirit is God.
Clark Pinnock
“Modern Christians are largely content to be trinitarian in belief, but binitarian in practice.”
Gordan Fee
“God lives in eternal relationship with himself as a Triune God. The relational implications of this for us, both toward God and toward one another, should become a primary part of our paradigm of life in the Spirit as we live together. The Spirit is foundational to (our) entire experience and understanding of (our) present life in Christ.”
3. The Holy Spirit empowers us for mission.
Acts 1:4, 8 NIV
Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
4. The Holy Spirit is the key to compelling Christian community.
2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Acts 15:28 NIV
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…”
Hebrews 10:25 NIV
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…”
1. The Holy Spirit is a person.
2. The Holy Spirit is God.
3. The Holy Spirit empowers us for mission.
4. The Holy Spirit is the key to compelling Christian community.
Forgive One Another
One Another • April 30, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Matthew 28:5-7 NIV
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
E. Worthington
“Studies are finding connections between forgiveness and physical, mental, and spiritual health and evidence that plays a key role in the health of families, communities, and nations.”
“Unforgiveness, by contrast, seems to be a negative emotional state where an offended person maintains feelings of resentment, hostility, anger, and hatred toward the person who offended him.”
Ephesians. 4:32 NIV
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Dr. Dinenberg
“The human body is an elegant, closed-looped system in which the symptoms we feel are an expression of what’s going on inside our bodies. The ‘tied up’ feeling we know all too well is actually a response to threat. The intelligent design of our organs pushes blood away from digestion because, in essence, digestion is needed less for survival than being able to run away or fight.”
Don’t fight or flight. Forgive!
Colossians 3:12-13 NIV
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselveswith compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience.Bear with each otherand forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Matthew 18:21-35 NIV
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?Up to seven times?”Jesus answered,“I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is likea king who wanted to settle accountswith his servants.As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him.Since he was not able to pay,the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be soldto repay the debt.“At this the servant fell on his knees before him.‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
There are no unforgiven or unforgiving people in the kingdom of God.
Remembering my own forgiveness will motivate me to forgive others.
Serve One Another
One Another • April 23, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Galatians 5:13 NIV
You, my bothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
How do we serve one another in love?
1. Be led by the Spirit.
2. Be humble.
3. Be a team player.
4. Be an advocate for others.
1. Be led by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 NIV
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.
2. Be humble.
Philippians 2:1-8 NIV
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
Rick Warren
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.
C.S. Lewis
A really humble man will not be thinking about humility. He will not be thinking about himself at all.
C.S. Lewis
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggest step, too. At least nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
3. Be a team player.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 NIV
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
4. Be an advocate for others.
Galatians 5:14
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 5:43-45 NIV
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
Love One Another
One Another • April 16, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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John 13:1 NIV
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The EXAMPLE:
John 13:3-5 NIV
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
The EXPLANATION:
John 13:12-15 NIV
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
The EXHORTATION:
Romans 13:34-35 NIV
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Campbell Morgan
“The measure in which Christian people fail in love to each other is the measure in which the world does not believe in Christianity. It is the final test of discipleship, according to Jesus.”
1. Love God first.
2. Rely on the Holy Spirit.
3. Sacrifice and serve.
1. Love God first.
Matthew 22:37-38 NIV
Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
2. Rely on the Holy Spirit.
3. Sacrifice and serve.
1 John 3:16 NIV
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
He has Risen
Easter Sunday • April 9, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Matthew 28:1-4 NIV
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
Matthew 28:5-10 NIV
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
1) We have been given the gift of salvation.
Romans 6:23 NIV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2) We are not condemned.
Romans 8:1 NIV
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
3) We are expected to participate in mission.
Acts 1:8 NIV
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus, I believe in you. You are the resurrection and the life. I believe you died on the cross for me. I believe in your resurrection. Will you make me a new creation today? I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I ask you to live in my heart and to fill me with your Holy Spirit. I want to live this life, and the life to come, with you. Through the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I pray … Amen!
Palm Sunday
March 26, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Luke 9:51 NIV
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Luke 19:28-34 NIV
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
Zechariah 9:9 NIV
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace and came not to conquer men, but sin.
Luke 19:35-38 NIV
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Luke 19:39 NIV
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
Luke 19:40 NIV
“I tell you,”he replied,“if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
The Kingdom of Heaven
Parables • March 26, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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R.T. France
"Chapters 11–12 have illustrated the growing divisions among men in their attitude to Jesus, culminating in the sharp contrast between true disciples and all others in 12:46–50. Division, and the problem of how some could reject Jesus’ message while others responded, are the underlying themes of this chapter too; the parables thus provide some explanation of the attitudes revealed in the preceding narrative."
Matthew 13:44-46 NIV
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
What Makes the Kingdom of Heaven Treasure?
1. The Character of the King
2. The Values of the Kingdom
3. The Culture of the Kingdom
Matthew 9:35-36 NIV
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
The Character of the King
1. Compassion
2. Mercy
3. Grace
4. Righteousness
5. Love
6. Sacrifical
The Values of the Kingdom
1. Justice
2. Peace
3. Freedom
Culture is how we do things around here.
The Culture of the Kingdom
1. Accepted
2. Valued
3. Loved
What the kingdom of heaven does not invite us into is passive acquiesce. Rather, it confronts us with choice.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Parables • March 19, 2023
Teacher: Daniel Bunn
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Luke 18:9-14 NIV
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Luke 18:15 NIV
People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.
Luke 18:35-39 NIV
As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Luke 22:24 NIV
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
The Seed and The Sower
Parables • March 12, 2023
Teacher: Leanne Benton
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Martin Luther
“We need to hear the gospel every day because we forget it everyday."
Mark 4:3-19 NIV
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow But when the sun came up, the plants are scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Mark 4:18 ESV
“And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things enter in and choke the word…”
3 Distinct Weeds:
1. The cares of this world
2. The deceitfulness of riches
3. The desire for other things
Cares = Divided Mind
Neither riches nor poverty create heart.
They reveal heart.
Other things = ...and all the rest.
John MacArthur
“Some (want to) alter the seed, or manufacture synthetic seed. They try to update the message, tone down the offense of the cross, leave the hard or unpopular parts out. Many simply replace the gospel with a totally different message…But this parable is not about enhancing the quality of the seed, improving the skill of the sower, or finding a more elegant use for the farm. It’s all about the condition of the soil.”
Good Soil:
Luke 8:15 NIV
“those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
Matthew 13:23 NIV
“who hears the word and understands it."
Mark 4:20 NIV
"hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop - some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown."
Lostness
Parables • March 5, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Luke 15:2b NIV
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Luke 15:7 NIV
“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Luke 15:10 NIV
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:11-16 NIV
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
Matt Williams
“To liquidate his portion of the estate and then to leave his family amounted to an act of the grossest disregard and disloyalty.”
Luke 15:17-19 NIV
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
“I am no longer worthy.”
Luke 15:20-24 NIV
So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Luke 15:25-27 NIV
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
Luke 15:28-32 NIV
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
A.J. Levine
“They threw a party for the younger son, and they had enough time to call the caterer and the band before anyone told the older son.”
1. The nature of repentance.
2. God’s unconditional love.
3. Joyful welcome of sinners.
Those who accept Christ must accept others accepted by Christ.
1. Share God’s joy when any sinner repents.
2. Do not give up on people when they turn away from God or family.
3. Show patient love when someone snaps out of it and tries to make things right.
4. Practice forgiveness, as you want God to forgive you.
5. Avoid jealousy and selfishness when the celebration is for someone else.
The Good Samaritan
Parables • February 26, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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If you’re not feeling it, you’re not fasting it.
Klyne Snodgrass
“The parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.”
Klyne Snodgrass
“Jesus’ parables are among the best known and most influential stories in the world. Even if people know nothing about Jesus, they either know about his stories or have encountered their impact in expressions like, ‘prodigal,’ or ‘good Samaritan.’ Jesus was the master creator of story, and nothing is so attractive or so compelling as a good story. Story entertains, informs, involves, motivates, authenticates, and mirrors existence.”
1. The Kingdom of God.
2. The Character of God.
3. Expectations of God.
Luke 10:25-28 NIV
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
Leviticus 18:5 NIV
Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them.
Luke 10:29 NIV
But he wanted to justify himself,so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Leviticus 19:33-34 NIV
“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
Luke 10:30 NIV
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
Luke 10:31-37 NIV
A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Matthew 22:36-39 NIV
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Why go to church when church can come to me?
Asking for a Friend • February 19, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"The antithesis between the Christian life and the life of the bourgeois respectability is at an end. The Christian life comes to mean nothing more than living in the world and as the world, in being no different from the world, in fact, in being prohibited from being different from the world for the sake of grace. The upshot of it all is that my only duty as a Christian is to leave the world for an hour or so on a Sunday morning and go to church to be assured that my sins are all forgiven. I need no longer to try and follow Christ, for cheap grace, the bitterest foe of discipleship…has freed me from that."
On Sundays, we go to a building for worship. We don’t go to Church because we are the Church.
What does it mean to be the Church?
1 Thessalonians 1:1 NIV
Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ekklēsia - Called Out Ones, assembly
1. Participate in God's Kingdom.
We are to live under King Jesus.
We are to be an alternative culture.
We are to be an indwelling fellowship.
We are to live like free people.
Romans 6:11-14 NIV
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
We are a dwelling place for God.
Revelation 21:3 NIV
God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
We are to act out of love.
Tertullian
But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another, for themselves are animated by mutual hatred; how they are ready even to die for one another, for they themselves will sooner put to death.
How is the Bible Meant to be Read Today?
Asking for a Friend • February 12, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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How is the Bible, an ancient document, meant to be read today?
Douglas Sweeney
“The Bible is the written word of God, from the eternal word of God, and hangs together on the work of the incarnate Word of God.”
STEP ONE: Research the World Behind the Text.
Exegesis: the careful, systematic study of the Scripture to discover the original, intended meaning.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 NIV
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Do your best to come to me quickly. – 2 Timothy 4:9
Do your best to get here before winter. – 2 Timothy 4:21
STEP TWO: Examine the World of the Text.
Romans 12:1 NIV
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
STEP THREE: Discern the World in Front of the Text.
We cannot apply the Bible without knowing what it means, but we can know what it means and not apply it.
John 14:21 NIV
“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.”
Miracles
Asking for a Friend • February 5, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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If God never changes, why do we not see miracles today?
If God doesn’t provide a miracle that I asked for does that he doesn’t love me enough?
What is a miracle?
Why does God perform them?
1. Peter’s Mother-in-Law
2. A Man with Leprosy
3. Water to Wine
Luke 4:38-44 NIV
Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.
At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
A miracle is the unnatural change in the physical, emotional, or spiritual condition of a person or thing.
Luke 5:12-16 NIV
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them…At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place.
Crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
John 2:11 NIV
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Miracles are displays of God’s glory, not demonstrations of God’s love.
J.I. Packer
A miracle is an observed event that triggers awareness of God’s presence and power.
We see miracles so often that we no longer recognize them.
1 Corinthians 12:28 NIV
And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.
Is Jesus Really the Only Way to Heaven?
Asking for a Friend • January 29, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Is Jesus really the only way to heaven?
Jesus is undeniably, unmistakably, totally, entirely, and absolutely the only way to heaven.
John 14:1-7 NIV
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered,“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Acts 4:12 NIV
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.
1. Be thankful there is a name.
2. Be a good steward of that name.
How do I live in purity in an impure world?
Asking for a Friend • January 22, 2023
Teacher: David Nunn
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Cultural Changes Since 1963:
1. Divorce rate-
1963: 3.5% of American households were headed by a divorced person.
Today: 50%
2. Out of wedlock births-
1963: 5%
Today: 22%
3. Illegal Drugs-
1963: 18 arrests per 100,000 Americans
Today: 300 arrests
4. Religious values-
1963: 1% had no religious preference. 50% attended church in the last week.
Today: 31% claim no preference. 22% attend regularly
5. Work ethic-
1963: 98% of civilian men age 30-50 were part of the work force.
Today: 81%
How Do I Live in Purity in an Impure World?
Psalm 119:9 NIV
How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.
Matthew 7:24 NIV
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."
Obedience is the key to purity.
1. TREASURE the Author.
Psalm 119:10 NIV
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
Philippians 3:8-11 NIV
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ— the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
2. TREASURE God’s Word.
Psalm 119:11 NIV
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Joshua 1:8 NIV
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
3. PROCLAIM God’s Word.
Psalm 119:13 NIV
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
What does it mean to have faith in God?
Asking for a Friend • January 15, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Hebrews 11:1, 13-16a NIV
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.
Faith is not about being right.
We shouldn’t use legalism as our primary approach to evangelism.
Romans 2:17-24 NIV
If you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
Faith is not about knowing all the right information.
Faith is about developing a relationship with God.
1 John 3:1 NIV
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
Michael Reeves
The very nature of God is to be affectionate, joyful, and bountiful; the Father rejoices to have another beside him, and he find his very self in pouring out his love. Creation is about the spreading, the diffusion, the outward explosion of that love. This God is the very opposite of greedy, hungry, selfish emptiness; in his self-giving he naturally pours forth life and goodness. He is, then, the source of all that is good…Goodness and ultimate happiness are to be found with him, not apart from him.
Faith is about living a life transformed by our relationship with God
Karl Barth
The truth of Jesus Christ is not one truth among others; it is the truth, the universal truth that creates all truth as surely as it is the truth of God, the first truth which is also the ultimate truth. For in Jesus Christ God has created all things, He has created all of us. We exist not apart from Him, but in Him, whether we are aware of it or not; and the whole cosmos exists not apart from Him, but in Him, born by Him, the Almighty Word.
1. We have a heavenly Father that loves us more perfectly than we could ever know or comprehend.
2. My response to his love should be to love him back,
3. To proclaim his love to anyone that will listen to me,
4. And to do my best to live according to his truth as expressed in the Bible.
Faith means having confidence in the promise of God.
Revelation 21:1-4 NIV
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Why Does a Loving God Allow us to Suffer?
Asking for a Friend • January 8, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Redeemer is a safe space to ask questions because no one has all the answers!
Caroline Westerhoff
“Our danger lies in questioning too little rather than too much. After all, our questions can be the voice of God.”
Why does a loving God allow us to suffer?
God doesn’t want to hurt me, but He will use my hurts for my growth and my good.
1. Suffering conforms us to Christ. I want to knowChrist—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrectionfrom the dead. – Philippians 3:10-11
2. Suffering completes us. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be matureand complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4
3. Suffering produces hope. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. – Romans 5:3-5
God uses hurts to shape hope.
4. Suffering will one day end. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. – 1 Peter 5:10
Romans 8:18 NIV
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Revelation 21:4 NIV
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Hang in there.
Let’s all hang in there together.
Prayer
January 1, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown
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1 John 1:8-9 NIV
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Corporate Confession
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and apart from your grace, there is not health in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us. Spare all those who confess their faults. Restore all those who are penitent, according to your promises declared to all people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake, that we may now live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of your holy Name. Amen.
Proclamation of Worship (Psalm 95:1-7 NIV)
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
Common Supplication
Father of all mercies, have mercy on us. Some of us are anxious, exhausted, angry, and sad. We need your peace that surpasses understanding to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Be our refuge and strength; Be our very present help in times of distress.
Great Physician, we pray for the elderly, the weak, and those with chronic conditions; For the poor, the hungry, and the isolated.
Rock of Ages, we pray for the newly unstable: For those who have lost employment, family, or friends hide them in the cool shadow of your wings; Provide for them every good thing that you, as a good Father, know they need.
Indwelling Spirit, empower your people to serve; To get wisdom, live by it, and share it freely; To embody peace amid the strife of this life; To present our bodies as living sacrifices; To suffer with Christ in patient endurance.
Give us all fresh confidence that there is: No future where you are not present, No sorrow where you are not near, And no tears that you do not care about.
And so we trust you, our generous Provider. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask these things,
Amen.
Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We thank you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life. But above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
We thank you for all these things. In the name of your precious Son, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Adam and Andrea Barnett share a powerful and moving reading of the Christmas story during our Christmas eve services.
Joy
Advent • December 18, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Joy is the deep settled conviction that God is for us.
Luke 2:6-11 NIV
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Hebrews 12:2 NIV
For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
John 16:22 NIV
“… no one will take away your joy.”
Love
Advent • December 11, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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1 John 4:7-12, 19 NIV
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We love because he first loved us.
Christmas is God’s initiation of love with humanity, and as a result, within humanity.
1) God initiated love with humanity.
2) God’s love is completed as we love one another.
Jonathan Wilson
“As we enter the kingdom of God, we enter into a salvation that is also the way of love. Love is a terribly spoiled term today, almost beyond rescue as a description of the good news of the kingdom come in Jesus Christ. However, the New Testament is full of the language of love, particularly as Christ exemplifies God’s love and enables that same love in us. Therefore, we must work to recover an understanding and practice of love.”
1 John 4:11 NIV
Dear friends,since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:12 NIV
… if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
Peace
Advent • December 4, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Peace is not the absence of conflict.
Isaiah 9:6 NIV
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Luke 2:12-14 NIV
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:14 NIV
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Peace is offered to all, but not received by all.
Hebrews 13:14 NIV
For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
1) Peace with God. 2) Peace within. 3) Peace with others.
1. Peace with God.
Romans 5:10 NIV
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
R.T. France
“Our sin has put wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice—we are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God’s own family and eat at the table with him in unbroken fellowship forever.”
2. Peace within.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
3. Peace with others.
Romans 12:18 NIV
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
St. Francis
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”
Hope
Advent • November 27, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Webster Dictionary
Wish is to have a desire for something that is usually unattainable.
Webster Dictionary
Hope is to desire with the expectation of obtainment or fulfillment.
Isaiah 9:1-7 NIV
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
John C. McDowell
Hope seeks to liberate humanity from all things that dehumanize it, act against needless suffering, and participate in God’s ”de-demonizing” of the world.
1 Corinthians 15:20-23
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
Karl Barth
The Christian perfect is not an imperfect; but the rightly understood perfect has the force of the future.
Juergen Moltmann
Faith, wherever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience. It does not calm the unquiet heart, but is itself this unquiet heart in man. Those who hope in Christ can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it. Peace with God means conflict with the world…
Two looks at Matthew 6:13
The Lord's Prayer • November 20, 2022
Teachers: David Nunn and Kayla Canfield
David NunnJames 1:13-14 NIV
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
Lord, protect me from myself.
Psalm 141:4 NIV
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Deliverance is preceded by resistance. Effective resistance is preceded by submission to God.
James 4:7 NIV
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Matthew 26:41 NIV
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak”
Kayla CanfieldMatthew 6:13 NIV
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
The evil one is not God’s opposite.
Genesis 3:15 NIV
And I will put enmitybetween you and the woman,and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
Matthew 26:38 NIV
My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Matthew 26:39 NIV
My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.
N.T. Wright
This is what obedience looks like when it stares evil in the face.
1. We need to be reminded every day that following Jesus is hard.
2. Our deliverance is already and not yet.
3. We declare victory over evil.
N.T. Wright
To pray ‘deliver us from the evil one’ is to inhale the victory of the cross.
Matthew 6:9-13 NIV
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Forgive Us as We Forgive
The Lord's Prayer • November 13, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Matthew 6:12 NIV
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:12a NIV
Forgive us our debts.
The moment we underestimate the grossness of sin, we undervalue the forgiveness of sin.
Matthew 6:12b NIV
… as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 18:21-35 NIV
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
There are no unforgiven or unforgiving people in the kingdom of God.
- Forgiveness is not about keeping score. It is about losing count.
- Forgiveness is not denial or tolerance.
- Forgiveness is not always instantaneous.
- Forgiveness is an investment in yourself.
Lewis B. Smedes
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
Daily Bread
The Lord's Prayer • November 6, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Matthew 6:11 NIV
Give us today our daily bread.
Martin Luther
We are beggars, that is true.
Exodus 16:3 NIV
If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve the entire assembly to death.
Exodus 16:4-5 NIV
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
Wesley Hill
When we come back to the Lord’s Prayer after hearing Jesus’ discourse on the bread of life and His flesh given to the world for eating, it becomes hard not to see Jesus Himself as the daily bread he encourages us to pray for.
John 6:32-35 NIV
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:53-54, 58 NIV
“Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day…This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Your Kingdom Come
The Lord's Prayer • October 30, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Matthew 6:9 NIV
Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.
Matthew 6:10 NIV
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Mark 4:11a NIV
He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.”
The kingdom of God is the timeless reign of an eternal, sovereign God both in the hearts of His children and in the entire created universe.
The kingdom of God is already, and not yet.
Psalm 145:13a NIV
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.
Mark 1:14-15 NIV
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said.“The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
N.T. Wright
“When Jesus spoke of God’s kingdom, he was not talking about a heaven for which he was preparing his followers, but about something that was happening in and on this earth, through his work, then through his death and resurrection, and then through the Spirit-led work to which they would be called.”
How to Pray
The Lord's Prayer • October 23, 2022
Teacher: Leanne Benton
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Matthew 6:5
“When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites, for they love standing in the synagogue and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full.”
Matthew 6:6
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:7
“Don’t keep babbling like pagans, for they think they’ll be heard because of their many words.”
"Our Father..."
"Our Father in Heaven"
"Our Father in the Heavens"
Matthew 10:29
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.”
G Campbell Morgan (London, 1906)
"Thus as I begin to pray according to the pattern which the Lord gives me, I find at the portal of my prayer a doctrine of God which assures me that nothing is beyond His reach, and nothing is too small for His presence and attention. Oh the infinite comfort of it!”
Our = with whom we pray.
Father = to whom we pray.
In the Heavens = where He is
Hallowed be Your name = why we pray.
1. God is worthy of our praise!
2. Prayer and praise changes us.
John Ortberg
“When God is fully cherished, the heart is fully healthy, and the soul is fully whole.”
Matthew 6:33
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”
3. Prayer and praise go together.
PRAY. PAUSE. PRAISE
Psalm 8:1
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 72:9
Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Psalm 145:3
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.
1 Chronicles 16:34
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Psalm 27:13
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Psalm 33:5
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Psalm 34:8
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
4. Prayer and praise is a form of evangelism.
Dr. Robert Webber
Worship Evangelism strikes at the heart of a very important current issue…Evangelism does not have to be severed from worship as though there is no relationship between the two. True worship is characterized by a converting power — what the ancient church called the “real presence;" what the contemporary church calls the “manifest presence” … that presence is not a gimmick, but a result of faithfulness to a worship informed by biblical principles, historically refined liturgy, and the intimacy of the contemporary.
Prajakta David
“In the life of the church, I truly believe that mission and worship are interdependent on each other. We worship God when we engage and participate in God’s global mission by loving our neighbors well.”
Dr. Dave Kersten
“God’s glory, neighbor’s good.”
Matthew 5:16
“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds AND glorify your Father in heaven.”
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Freedom in Christ
A Firm Foundation • October 16, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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John 8:31-36 NIV
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Bob Goudzwaard
In its original sense, ideology means an entire system of values, conceptions, convictions and norms which are used as a set of tools for reaching a single, concrete, all-encompassing societal end.
Bob Goudzwaard
Ideology is religion’s substitute. It says: ‘As God I create my own norms and values. I saw what will benefit humanity. And I allow no god above or power below to make any other law.
if only I had blank, then everything would be better.
Covenant Affirmations Paper
Covenanters have offered to one another theological and personal freedom where the biblical and historical record seems to allow for a variety of interpretations of the will and purposes of God.
Major on the majors. Minor on the minors.
Touchstones from the Past Lead to God’s Future
A Firm Foundation • October 9, 2022
Teacher: Dave Kersten
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Touchstones from the Past Lead to God’s Future
Isaiah 51:1-6 NIV
“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many. The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Instruction will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.”
1st Touchstone - Where Is It Written?
2nd Touchstone - How Goes Your Walk?
3rd Touchstone - God’s Glory, Neighbors’ Good
Whole Mission of the Church
A Firm Foundation • October 2, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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We Affirm a Commitment to the Whole Mission of the Church.
What to Expect: Friendly, encouraging people in a welcoming atmosphere. Authentic, heartfelt worship in music. Celebration of life through the sacraments of Communion and Baptism. Relevant, Bible-based teaching. Engaging experiences for children.
The WHOLE MISSION of the church requires the WHOLE CHURCH.
“Mission is the work of the whole church on behalf of the kingdom of God. It is working with Christ for peace, reconciliation, justice, and evangelism. Mission encompasses freeing the captives, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and telling the good news. It is life-long work, and it is holistic.”
The Great Commandment. Jesus replied:“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40
The Great Commission. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20
Fellowship of Believers
A Firm Foundation • September 25, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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We affirm the Church as a Fellowship of Believers.
1. The Church is not a holy building.
2. The Church is not an exclusive club.
3. The Church is not a weekly spiritual meeting.
4. The Church is not a moral police force.
The Church is a community of born-again believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture, we organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for worship and the proclamation of the Word of God, and observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion. We are united by the Holy Spirit, disciplined for holiness, and scattered throughout our community to fulfill the Great Commandment and Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God’s glory and our neighbor’s good.
1. We are a community of new creations. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17
2. We submit to qualified leadership.They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. – Acts 2:42
3. We worship. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord.– Ephesians 5:19
Worshipper: People who truly know God, and respond from the heart, with reverence and awe, by treasuring and enjoying God, and being satisfied in Him above all other things.
4. We embrace and obey Scripture. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.– 2 Timothy 3:16
5. We revere the Sacraments. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19) and, He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).
6. We are united. Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.– Philippians 2:2
7. We are disciplined for holiness. …Train yourself to be godly.– 1 Timothy 4:7
8. We love our neighbor. Jesus said, Love your neighbor as yourself.– Mark 12:31
9. We are on a mission.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.– 2 Corinthians 5:20
The Necessity of New Birth
A Firm Foundation • September 18, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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John 3:1-9 NIV
Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
John 13:16-17 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
1. Experience God’s Love
2. Love God Back
3. Love Your Neighbor
Genesis 1:26 NIV
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Ezekiel 34:11-12; 15-16 NIV
“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness…I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.”
When we focus on fixing our actions instead of on falling in love, it’s as if we are trying to put our a fire by getting rid of the smoke.
Rodney Whitacre
“Even though one may be virtuous and have the Scriptures of God it is still possible to be alienated from God and closed to him…No matter how good their deeds appeared to be, these deeds separated them from God, and therefore the deeds were evil. This evil…is the pride and satisfaction of religious people. Who think they know God and yet are far from him.”
Psalm 51:10-12, 17 NIV
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me… My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Conscious Dependence on the Holy Spirit
A Firm Foundation • September 11, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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1. We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
2. We affirm the necessity of new birth.
3. We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.
4. We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.
5. We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.
6. We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 13:14
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Alister McGrath
“The Trinity allows the individuality of the persons to be maintained, while insisting that each person shares in the life of the other two. An image often used to express this idea is that of a ‘community of being,’ in which each person, while maintaining its distinctive identity, penetrates the others and is penetrated by them.”
St. Augustine
“Each are in each, and in all each, and each in all, and all are one.”
The Holy Spirit makes us one with Christ (Ephesians 2:19-22).
The Holy Spirit inspires our mutual affection (1 Corinthians 15:58).
The Holy Spirit gives us common purpose (Philippians 1:27).
The Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29).
The Holy Spirit is our wise Counselor (John 14:26).
The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin (John 16:7-8).
The Holy Spirit is our source of power (Acts 1:8).
The Holy Spirit guides to all truth (John 16:13).
The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).
The Holy Spirit seals our adoption as God’s children (Ephesians 1:13).
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27).
The Holy Spirit works to renew, sanctify, and make us holy (Romans 8:10-11).
The Holy Spirit enables us to bear good fruit (Galatians 5:16-21).
The Holy Spirit testifies to the life and teaching of Jesus Christ (John 15:26).
The Holy Spirit dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Exodus 33:7-15 NIV
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.”Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”
Exodus 33:15 MSG
Moses said, “If your presence doesn’t take the lead here, call this trip off right now.”
Centrality of the Word of God
A Firm Foundation • September 4, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Evangelical Covenant Church
We covenant with each other by cultivating communities of worship committed to prayer, preaching, and study of the word, celebrating the sacraments, and building relationships across gender, ethnicity, age, culture, and socioeconomic status. We equip loving, giving, growing Christians to reach out with the good news of Jesus Christ – evangelizing the lost, ministering to those in need, and seeking justice for the oppressed.
1. Start and Strengthen Churches
2. Develop Leaders
3. Make and Deepen Disciples
4. Love Mercy, Do Justice
5. And Serve Globally
1. We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
2. We affirm the necessity of new birth.
3. We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.
4. We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.
5. We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
6. We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.
We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
We confess that the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testament, is the word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.
1. The Old Testament is the foundation of the New Testament.
2. Scripture is the perfect foundation for faith.
Phillip Spener
“Thought should be given to a more extensive use of the word of God. We know that by nature, we have no good in us. If there is to be any good in us, it must be brought about by God. To this end, the word of God is the powerful means since faith must be awakened through the gospel. Therefore, the more at home the word of God is among us, the more we shall bring about faith and its fruits.”
3. Scripture is the perfect foundation for doctrine.
4. Scripture is the perfect foundation for conduct.
If we are not shaped by the word, we are shaped by the world.
Scripture is a complete document to awaken faith, form theology, and guide behavior.
Donald C. Frisk
“If we are to be trustworthy, we dare not tame the message, tone it down, or domesticate it. We dare not accommodate it to the spirit of the age or make it acceptable by blunting its cutting edge. Whenever we are lured into proclaiming a comfortable and thereby innocuous Gospel, our sin is visited on the generations to come.”
Romans
Romans • August 28, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Romans 16:17-19 NIV
I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
John 17:20 NIV
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in my through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”
What unites us?
Contemporary culture cannot unite us
John 17:16 NIV
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
1. Comfort
2. Control or Security
3. Money
4. Approval
5. Success
6. Social Approval
7. Political Power
8. Sex and Romantic Love
Selfishness destroys unity
Our conscience cannot unite us
Romans 12:2 NIV
Do not be conformed to the patter of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Genesis 3:5 NIV
For God knows that when you eat from ]the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
What can unite us?
1. Submission to Christ
2. The power of the Holy Spirit
3. Actions defined by Scripture
Real Love
Romans • August 21, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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To be a living sacrifice isn’t just getting on the altar but staying there.
How is our God-time in comparison with our Screen-time?
Romans 12:9-21 NIV
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
1. Paul was concerned about the interaction between believers and the non-believing society.
2. Paul was concerned about the strife within the Roman church itself.
1. Love others and mean it (v. 9).
2. Be devoted to others (v. 10).
3. Show honor through humility (v. 10).
4. Sustain spiritual passion (v. 11).
5. Bless those who hurt you (v. 14).
εὐλογέω = to speak well of.
6. Live in harmony (v. 16).
7. Don't get even (vv. 17-21).
Deuteronomy 32:35 NIV
“It is mine to avenge; I will repay.”
Love others and mean it. Be devoted to others. Show honor through humility. Sustain spiritual passion. Bless those who hurt you. Live in harmony. Don’t get even.
Living Sacrifices
Romans • August 14, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Romans 12:1 NIV
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Oswald Chambers
“We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself. If you give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you — and His experiments always succeed.”
To be a living sacrifice isn’t just getting on the altar but staying there.
Romans 12:2 NIV
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
“Do not be conformed to this age.”
1. Comfort
2. Control
3. Money
4. Approval
5. Success
Scott McConnell
“It’s easy to think that those in Christian churches have chosen their God and are faithful to Him. However, pastors quickly acknowledge how divided their congregations’ allegiances can be. These gods don’t have a physical shrine, but they compete for the hearts of Christians.”
Brennan Manning
“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
Philippians 4:8 NIV
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Ingrafted Branches
Romans • August 7, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Romans 11:17-24, 30-32 NIV
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
1. Grace
2. Justice
3. Kindness
4. Mission
Romans 11:17 NIV
You…have been grafted in…and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive tree.”
1. Grace
J.I. Packer
The grace of God is love freely shown towards guilty sinners, contrary to their merit and indeed in defiance of their demerit. It is God showing goodness to persons who deserve only severity, and had no reason to expect anything but severity.
Romans 11:20-21 NIV
…[branches] were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
2. Justice
Romans 11:22 NIV
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you provided that you continue in his kindness…
3. Kindness
James 2:14-17 NIV
What good is it my brothers and sisters if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such a faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them. “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Romans 11:31 NIV
So they too have become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy.
4. Mission
- Care Well
- Teach Well
- Lead Well
Beautiful Feet
Romans • July 31, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Romans 10:14-15 NIV
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Eugene Peterson
But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?
Romans 9:30-31 NIV
What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal.
1. How can they call on the one they have not believed in?
2. How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
3. How can they hear without someone preaching to them?
4. How can anyone preach unless they are sent?
We are sent as messengers -> people hear -> people believe -> people call upon the Lord.
Do I care more about my present than my neighbor’s eternity?
Romans 10:9-13 NIV
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Romans 10:9 FGT (False Gospel Translation)
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, pray three hours per day, fast once per week, study your Bible daily, tithe 10%, serve the church, and live in perfect purity, you will be saved.
Romans 10:11-13 NIV
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lordwill be saved.”
We are sent as messengers -> people hear -> people believe -> people call upon the Lord.
More Than Conquerors
Romans • July 24, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Romans 8:31 NIV
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:32 NIV
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Kenneth Boa
“It is illogical to conceive that God would give his most treasured ‘possession’ – His only Son – to secure the salvation of sinners, and then not also give all else that is necessary to bring that salvation to completion.”
Romans 8:33-34 NIV
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Col. 2:14 NLT
He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
1 John 2:1b NIV
But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Romans 8:35-39 NIV
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37 NIV
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
1. In Christ, I am free from any condemnation.
2. In Christ, I am obligated to be led by the Spirit.
3. In Christ, I am a child of God and a coheir with Christ.
4. In Christ, I will be redeemed from this cursed creation.
5. In Christ, I am certain of my eternal glorification.
Privileges of Sonship
Romans • July 17, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Romans 8:12-17 NIV
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:2 NIV
Through Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:15 NIV
The spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.
Demands of Slavery:
1. Compulsion
2. Fear
3. Perfection
4. Brokenness
5. Ownership
Privileges of Sonship:
1. Security
2. Authority
3. Intimacy
4. Assurance
5. Inheritance
6. Discipline
7. Family Likeness
Timothy Keller
If you, by faith, belong to Christ, you are a son of God, and have his Spirit. The three are inseparable—either all are true of us, or none are.
No Condemnation
Romans • July 10, 2022
Teacher: Leanne Benton
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Romans 8:1-4 NIV
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 7:14-20 NIV
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I was to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
Romans 8:1-2 NIV
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Condemnation = declaration of guilt and the sentence for it... both pronouncement AND punishment.
NO condemnation. NO declaration of guilt and NO eternal punishment.
John 8:36 NIV
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Romans 8:1 NIV
"...for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Romans 8:3-4 ESV
“For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Galatians 4:4 NLT
“But when the right time came, God sent his son, born of a woman, subject to the law, so that he could adopt us (redeem those under the law) as his very own children.”
The law in condemning sin can only and always get a verdict of GUILTY.
David Wells
"God's HOLY love rescues us from God's HOLY wrath."
Holy Spirit = Conviction, not condemnation.
1. Self-Condemnation
Craig Groschel
“Most of life’s battles are won or lost in the mind.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-11 NIV
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
2. Condemnation from OTHERS
Adam Barnett
“We often focus on other people’s sanctification process instead of focusing on our own.”
Luke 6:42 NIV
“How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Gossips, slanderers, wickedness, evil, greedy, and depravity.
Romans 2:1-4 NIV
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
John 8:5-11 NIV
"In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" "...But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground." "At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there." "Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
3. The ACCUSER
1 Peter 5:8-9 MSG
“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on your faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ — eternal and glorious plans they are! —will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, He does.”
Revelation 12:10 ESV
“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”
John 3:18 NIV
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned..."
Psalm 103:8-12 AMP
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in compassion and loving kindness. He will not always strive with us. Nor will he keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins [as we deserve], nor rewarded us [with punishment] according to our wickedness. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear and worship Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 34:22 NIV
“The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.”
Romans 8:1-2 ESV
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
Breaking Out of the Doom Loop
Romans • July 3, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Romans 7:15-25 NIV
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Acts 15:7-11 NIV
Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.
Galatians 2:21 NIV
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
1. God's grace is not a cheap grace
2. The gospel is about grace, not legalism
3. Grace leads us to an obedience that comes from faith
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite...
Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Slaves to Righteousness
Romans • June 26, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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A Christian is free from the power of sin and death!
Romans 6:15 NIV
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!
The freedom of believers from the power of sin does not imply that believers are free to sin.
Romans 6:16 NIV
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Romans 6:17-18 NIV
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Romans 6:19 NIV
I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.
Romans 6:20-21 NIV
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!
Romans 6:22 NIV
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
You have your fruit with sanctification as the result.
Sanctification isn’t just holiness, but the process of becoming holy.
We often focus on other people’s sanctification process instead of focusing on our own.
Romans 6:23 NIV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Free & New in Christ
Romans • June 19, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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A Christian is free from the power of sin and death!
Romans 6:1-4
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again"
Romans 6:5-7
“ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
ἰδοὺ γέγονεν καινά = Behold, the new is born!
Romans 5:8-14
“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”
F.F. Bruce
"“Is this an exhortation to pull ourselves together and make a new start? Is this a good resolution to do better in the future? Is this just an exertion of the will, or an effort of the imagination? No, it is not. When men and women present themselves to the living God, he accepts them as his servants and gives them power to do his will. The Christ of whom Paul speaks is the Christ who truly died and rose again, and in the lives of those who put their trust in Him, he breaks the power of cancelled sin."
Romans Week 4
Romans • June 12, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Romans 5:12, 15, 17 NIV
[S]in entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!…For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
1. Sin and death
2. Gift
3. Relationship
4. Obedience
5. Righteousness
Romans 5:12 NIV
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…
J.I Packer
Scripture diagnoses sin as a universal deformity of human nature, found at every point in every person…Sin may be comprehensively defined as lack of conformity to the law of God in act, habit, attitude, outlook, disposition, motivation, and mode of existence.
Matthew 5:21-22 NIV
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,’ and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or s a sister will be subject to judgment.”
To be Like God.
Death is the natural result of sin.
Romans 5:15 NIV
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
Marcel Mauss
[Upon receiving a gift.] one must give back to another person what is really part and parcel of his nature and substance, because to accept something from someone is to accept some part of his spiritual essence, his soul…The thing given is not inactive. It’s invested with life.
John 3:16 NIV
“For God so loved the world that he grave his one and only Son…”
Romans 1:5 NIV
[G]race might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Introduction to Paul
Romans • June 5, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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First Feature of the Gospel – God has the power to save his human creation.
Romans 5:1-11 NIV
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Second Feature of the Gospel – its impact on the lives of those who have been justified by faith.
Lt. Kurt Zehmisch
“How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way. Christmas, the celebration of love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.”
R.T. France
“Our sin has put hostility and wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice. We are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God based on self-righteousness or cheap grace. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God’s own family and eat at the table with him in unbroken fellowship forever!”
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Like our resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, we will one day experience the incorruptible state of “glory” in which God himself dwells.
Hope in our suffering doesn’t eliminate our pain. It reminds us of God’s promise.
Romans 5:5 NIV
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 8:35, 37-39 NLT
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
"Those People, Not Us"
Romans • May 29, 2022
Teacher: Daniel Bunn
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Romans 2:1 NIV
"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else,"
Romans 2:11-16 NIV
For God does not show favoritism. All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
Karl Barth
“God’s judgment takes place ‘with no respect of persons,’ which literally means: in such a way that through every mask God sees the real faces of men.”
Paul doesn't focus on being right, he focuses on being unified.
Introduction to Paul
Romans • May 22, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Our desire is that you would read the designated section for yourself in Scripture first, and then read the three entries that correspond to that Scripture—theological, pastoral, and devotional. At the end of the three entries is space for you to write any reflections, questions, or thoughts you had on the text.
Acts 9:1-22 NIV
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priestand asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him,“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem.And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
Raymond Brown
“Paul was an itinerant artisan who would have had to struggle to get money for food. Horseback travel was difficult. And Paul would not even have been able or willing to spend money for a donkey to carry his baggage. So we have to picture Paul trudging along the roads, carrying his limited possessions in a sack, at the maximum covering twenty miles a day. Often, he had to sleep somewhere near the road, amidst the cold, rain, and snow. As a poor man he would have been easily victimized by bandits, especially in country areas that were less efficiently controlled by police. Sea journeys were not much safer.”
2 Corinthians 6:4-10 NIV
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
Romans 1:1-6 NIV
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scripturesregarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David,and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
Peter's Vision
Holy Moments • May 15, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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3 Basic Questions to Ask When Reading Scripture
1. What’s the background?
2. What’s happening in the text?
3. What does that mean for me today?
Acts 8:1 NIV
“On [the day Stephen was stoned] a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”
Acts 10:9-23 NIV
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three[a] men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
What’s Happening in the Text?
Acts 10:44-45 NIV
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all The Who heard the message. The circumcised believers [Jewish believers] who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.
What does it mean for today?
Jesus is for me too!
1. God is Faithful.
Genesis 17:1-8 NIV
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram[b]; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.
Romans 8:35, 37-39 NIV
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. God's faithfulness is not limited to our understanding.
Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
3. When we see the Holy Spirit move; we need to get on board.
Acts 11:15-18 NIV
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning…So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God saying, “So then, even to the Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to salvation.
Acts 1:8
Holy Moments • May 8, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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1. The ascension is Jesus' enthronement as King.
2. The ascension makes Christ supreme over our enemies.
3. The ascension paves our way to the Father.
1. At Pentecost, we witness the birthplace of the church.
2. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes to rest on all believers.
3. At Pentecost, we received the enabling of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 NIV
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
But you will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes on you.
"The church is closed today due to a lack of power."
D.L. Moody
"The subject of the power of the Spirit has been too much overlooked, as though it were not practical, and the result is lack of power in testimony and work. If we would work, 'not as one that beats the air' (1 For. 9:26), but to some definite purpose, we must have this power from on high. Without this power, our work will be drudgery. With it, it becomes a joyful task, a refreshing service."
Before God sent the Church into the world, He sent his Spirit into the Church.
When we witness ABOUT Jesus, we also witness LIKE Jesus.
Instead of viewing the Kingdom of God as something we BUILD, view it as something we SERVE.
N.T. Wright
"The kingdom of God is not a far-off reality. The kingdom of God and earth are purposefully intersecting. It is already significantly present in the lives of the faithful, while its fullness is still coming to this earth!"
The Pentecost
Holy Moments • May 1, 2022
Teacher: Tim Mannin
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Leviticus 26:10 NIV
You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.
Acts 1:4-5 & 8-11 NIV
While he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?
Acts 2:1-4 NIV
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Matthew 3:16 NIV
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
1. At Pentecost we witness the birthplace of the church (Word + Spirit People).
2. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit comes to rest on all believers (He Is With You).
3. At Pentecost we received the enabling of the Holy Spirit (He Has Empowered You).
Isaiah 43:19 NIV
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
The Ascension
Holy Moments • April 24, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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There is no such thing as "Post-Easter!"
1. Rejoice in the Resurrection
2. Remember your Baptism
3. Return to Spiritual Disciplines
4. Reflect on the Birth of the Church
5. Reach out to your Neighbor
George Weigel
"The disciples, a group of first-century nobodies, must have been baffled, skeptical, and even frightful about what had happened to their former teacher and what could have happened to them."
Luke 24:36-43 NIV
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
Rudolph Bultmann
"Typical encounters with the recently deceased do not issue in claims about an empty tomb, nor do they lead to the founding of a new religion. And they certainly do not typically eat and drink, and they are not seen by crowds of up to 500 people, I'm sure of it."
John 21:25 NIV
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have the room for the books that would be written.
Luke 24:50-53 NIV
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
1. The ascension is Jesus' enthronement as King.
Daniel 7:13-14 NIV
"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Our King is not only risen, but reigning and returning!
2. The ascension makes Christ supreme over our enemies.
Ephesians 1:18-23 NIV
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
3. The ascension paves our way to the Father.
John 14:2-4 NIV
My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place. for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
4. The ascension released the Holy Spirit into the world.
Joel 2:28 NIV
"I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh."
The Resurrection
Easter Sunday • April 17, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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[Sunday] [Monday][Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Easter!]
SUNDAY IS HERE! HE IS RISEN! DEATH IS DEFEATED! JESUS IS ALIVE!
Matthew 28:1-4 NIV
"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men."
Matthew 28:5-7 NIV
"The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
Matthew 28:8-10 NIV
"So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
1 Corinthians 15:14 NIV
"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith."
10 Jesus predicted His resurrection
9 People prepared His lifeless body for burial
8 The Jewish authorities made a plan to falsify this story
7 Jesus appeared to many in bodily form
6 Saul of Tarsus became one of the Christian faith’s greatest missionaries, theologians, and apologists
5 Paul’s earliest epistles were written about 20 years after the resurrection
4 Many of Christ’s disciples were martyred
3 The emergence, growth, resiliency, and existence of the Church
2 No tomb has been established and revered as the place where Jesus’ body rests.
1 Our testimonies!
Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. You are the resurrection and the life. I believe you died on the cross for me and that you rose from the dead. With that same power, make me a new creation. I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I ask you to live in my heart and to fill me with your Holy Spirit. Through the name of Jesus, my Lord, I pray. Amen.
Text the name JESUS to (918) 376-3438
Images used for today's message were:
- Sunday: SuperStock/Getty Images
- Monday: Painting by Carl Bloch: "Casting Out the Money Changers". Getty Images
- Tuesday: O Jerusalem by Greg Olson
- Wednesday: Tomb of Lazarus, Bethany (c. 1900), Apic/Getty Images
- Thursday: Leemage/UIG via Getty Images
- Friday: Close-up of "Crucifixion" by Bramantino/Getty Images
- Easter: https://riverheadlocal.com/2020/04/12/easter-sunday-the-divine-reset/
The Road to Calvary
Palm Sunday • April 10, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Luke 9:51 NIV
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Luke 9:52-56 NIV
And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.
Luke 9:5 NIV
If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.
Luke 19:28-38 NIV
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say, 'The Lord needs it.'" Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" They replied, "The Lord needs it." They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down to the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
Zechariah 9:9 NIV
Rejoice greatly Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Images used for today's message were:
- Sunday: SuperStock/Getty Images
- Monday: Painting by Carl Bloch: "Casting Out the Money Changers". Getty Images
- Tuesday: O Jerusalem by Greg Olson
- Wednesday: Tomb of Lazarus, Bethany (c. 1900), Apic/Getty Images
- Thursday: Leemage/UIG via Getty Images
- Friday: Close-up of "Crucifixion" by Bramantino/Getty Images
Repent for the kingdom of God is near
Invitations • April 3, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Mark 1:14-15 NIV
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"
1. Good News
2. Kingdom of God
3. Repentance
1. Good News
N.T. Wright
"In many churches, the good news has subtly changed into good advice: Here's how to live, they say. Here's how to pray. Here are better techniques for helping you become a better Christian, a better person, a better wife or husband. And in particular, here's how to make sure you're on the right track for what happens after death... Take this advice: say this prayer and you'll me saved. You won't go to hell; you'll go to heaven. Here's how to do it."
C.S. Lewis
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.
2. The Kingdom of God
Job 13:3, 19, 20-21 NIV
But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God... Now that I have prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated. Can anyone bring charges against me?... Only grant me these two things God... withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors."
Job 38:4-21 NLT
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb, and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness? For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores. I said, 'This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must stop!' "Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night's wickedness? As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal; it is robed in brilliant colors. The light The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence. "Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you explored their depths? Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of utter gloom? Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know! "Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there? But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!
3. Repentance
Repentance is more than simply saying, "I'm sorry." It's an active dethronement of ourselves.
Steps for Repentance
1. Acquire Sin Awareness
2. Feel Remorse for Sin
3. Confess Your Sin to God
4. Discover Root Causes
5. Establish Clear Boundaries
6. Create Accountability
7. Embrace Restoration
J.I. Packer
The idea that there can be saving faith without repentance, and that one can be justified by embracing Christ as savior while refusing him as Lord, is a destructive delusion.
God is King, but He is also our Father.
Jesus is the Son of God, but He is also our friend.
Fishers of Men
Invitations • March 27, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Matthew 4:18 NIV
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
Matthew 14:19-20 NIV
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4: 21-22
Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
1. The initiator of discipleship is Jesus.
Hebrews 12:2 - We fix our eyes on Jesus, the [author, champion, pioneer, founder, originator, initiator] of our faith...
A disciple is an adherent and follower of a Master, an intimate companion in some common endeavor, and one who learns and promotes a particular ideology.
Remain. Love. Fruit.
2. The cost (and reward) of discipleship is radical surrender.
Charles Spurgeon
"Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of the Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else."
3. The result of discipleship is a missional lifestyle.
Romans 10:9 NIV
"Declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved."
Come and Drink
Invitations • March 20, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Isaiah 12:3 NIV
"With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."
John 7:37b-38 NIV
"Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow within them."
1. Rest in Relationship
2. Not all water is the same
3. Only drink from Jesus
75% of our brain
75% of our heart
85% of our lungs
65% of our skin
30% of our bones
Happiness is the water of our soul.
Aristotle
"What is the highest of all goods pursued in action? As far as its name goes, most people virtually agree, since both the many and cultivated call it happiness."
We tend to "drink" anything that we think will make us happy.
15ppb
1.5x10^-6%
Two types of spiritual water: Clean water or dirty water.
John 4:13-14 NIV
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring welling up to eternal life."
Sin is the lead of spiritual water,
And there's no acceptable amount of sin that we can ingest that will not kill our souls!
What exhausts us is trying to control what we cannot!
Jeremiah 2:13 NIV
"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
Clean water + Dirty water = Dirty Water
Jesus + Nothing = Clean Water
Thomas Aquinas
"It is impossible for any created good to constitute man's happiness. For happiness is the perfect good, which lulls the appetite altogether... it is evident that nothing can lull man's will, save the universal good. This is to be found, not in any[thing created], but in God alone..."
Grace is not an excuse to keep drinking dirty water!
Come to Me
Invitations • March 13, 2022
Teacher: Leanne Benton
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How goes your walk?
Hurry Sickness
Come after me= a call to follow Jesus
Come to me= a call to intimacy
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Trying harder will not get us where we want to go.
Matthew 11:28-30 MSG
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.
1. Rest in Relationship
Intimacy= In To Me See
Dallas Willard
"You must arrange your time so that you are living in deep contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday experience with God."
Dallas Willard
Yes, you will always produce who you are. You can never plow around that.
2. Try softer
What exhausts us is trying to control what we cannot!
3. Take on the easy yoke
Matthew 11:28-30 AMP
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.
Whose yoke will you choose?
Jesus is not the giver of the easy job. He's the giver of the easy yoke.
John Ortberg
"The more inward ease that I live in, the more outward hard I can handle."
God direct my thinking today so that it be divorced of self pity, dishonesty, self-will, self-seeking and fear. God inspire my thinking, decisions and intuitions. Help me to relax and take it easy.
Follow Me
Invitations • March 6, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Luke 9:51 ESV
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his fave to go to Jerusalem.
K.N. Giles
"The travel narrative of Jesus has an ecclesiological purpose that invites readers to see themselves as a community on mission, always on the move, always on the journey, always in the presence of the Lord. Disciples must learn to walk the path of self-denial themselves. This travel setting becomes an opportunity for discipleship formation in which Jesus provides instruction on the nature, call, costs, and rewards of discipleship. Jesus' instructions along the way became a paradigm for the mission of the church."
Ecclesiological purpose refers to theology as applied to the nature and structure of the Christian Church.
Radical self-denial is required of anyone who wishes to follow Jesus.
Luke 9:57-58 NIV
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
Luke 9:59-60 NIV
He said to another man, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
The moment to say yes and follow Jesus is never tomorrow. The moment is always now.
Luke 9:61-62 NIV
Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
βλέπωνεἰςτὰὀπίσω.
Looking on the things behind.
To follow Jesus requires full, undivided concentration.
Lee Camp
"Jesus of Nazareth always comes asking disciples to follow him – not merely "accept him," not merely "believe in him," not merely "worship him," but to follow him: one either follows Christ, or one does not. There is no compartmentalization of the faith, no realm, no sphere, no business, no politic in which the lordship of Christ will be excluded. We either make him Lord of all lords, or we deny him as Lord of any."
Discipleship is the commitment.
Simplicity
Unhurry • February 20, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Jean Baudrillard
"In the Western world, materialism has become the new dominate system of meaning. Atheism hasn't replaced cultural Christianity; shopping has."
James Smith
"We unconsciously learn to love rival kingdoms because we don't realize we're participating in rival liturgies. Don't think that the mall isn't religious. The mall is a religious site, not because it is theological, but because it is liturgical. Its spiritual significance (and threat) isn't found in its ideas or messages, but in its rituals. The mall doesn't care what you think, but it is very much interested in what you love. Victoria's Secret is that she's actually after your heart."
The more we own, the busier we are. The busier we are, the more hurried we live.
More stuff = less time. Less time = more hurry.
Richard Foster
"Simplicity is the only thing that sufficiently reorients our lives so that possessions can be genuinely enjoyed without destroying us. It is an inward reality that can be seen in an outward lifestyle, choosing to leverage time, money, talents, and possessions toward what matters most."
Matthew 6:19-21 NIV
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Colossians 3:1-2 NIV
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
The point of this life is preparation for the world to come. You cannot take your treasure with you.
Mark 8:36 NIV
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
Matthew 6:22-23 NIV
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Stewardship is putting God's Kingdom first.
More stuff = less time. Less time = more hurry.
1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
2. Refuse to purchase the most recent gadget.
3. Develop a habit of giving things away.
4. Don't shop impulsively.
5. Before a purchase, consider the true cost of the item.
6. Live on a budget.
7. Resist the lie of advertisement.
8. Tithe.
9. Empty your storage unit.
10. Give spontaneously or secretively.
Alan Fadling
"The drive to possess is an engine for hurry."
Jesus (Luke 2:15)
"Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."
Sabbath
Unhurry • February 20, 2022
Teacher: Ryan Myers
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Karl Rainer, S.J.
"Knowing God is more important than knowing about God."
Genesis 2:1-2 NIV
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Exodus 20:8-11 NIV
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Why most of us don't practice the Sabbath:
- Pride
- Distractions
- Fear
Remember these two things:
- Definitions matter
- Pay attention to what you're paying attention to
We are all practicing various things.
- What are you currently practicing?
- What do you desire to practice going forward?
Sabbath is about practicing delight!
Dan Allender
"The only parameter that is to guide our Sabbath is delight. Will this be merely a break or a joy? Will this lead my heart to wonder or routine? Will I be more grateful or just happy that I got something done?"
Rhythm and improvisation as a means of both creating & connecting
Big questions begging for answers in adolescence that oftentimes go with us into adulthood:
1. What is life for?
2. Who am I?
3. Does my life matter?
Jeff Johnson
"The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to ask."
The most important and holy decision we make multiple times a day, every day, that we often are not even aware of –> What shall I give my attention to?
Slow Down and Catch Up With God
Unhurry • February 13, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Am I addicted to hurry?
Walter Adams
"To walk with Jesus is to walk with a slow, unhurried pace. Hurry is the death of prayer."
We need to slow down and catch up with God.
John 14:6 NIV
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John Mark Comer
"Jesus' weekly schedule was a prophetic act against the hurried rhythms of our world today."
Early Stage:
- Rushing everywhere
- Overly busy
- Inability to say no
- Constantly thinking of work
- No days off
Middle Stage:
- Consistently work 40+ hours
- Onset of other addictions
- Chronic fatigue
- Aborted attempts to do less
- Lacking basic gratitude
Late Stage:
- Physical pain
- Emotional deadness
- Sleeplessness
- Moral or spiritual bankruptcy
- Always agitated with others
Mark 4:35-41 NIV
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
Richard Swenson
"Margin is the space that once existed between our load and our limits. Margin is the space between vitality and exhaustion. It is our breathing room, our reserves, our leeway. It is the opposite of overload. When Jesus went to the back of the boat, he was practicing margin."
1. Schedule time with God.
2. Learn to say no.
3. Quit something.
4. Adopt new disciplines.
5. Resist social acceptability.
6. Turn notifications off.
7. Give the Sabbath a try.
Silence and Solitude
Unhurry • February 6, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Luke 5:12-16 NIV
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
1. Essential Works
2. Managing Expectations
3. Silence and Solitude
1. Essential Works
Luke 10:38-42 NIV
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed–or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Francis Chan
"Our greatest fear in life should no be of failure, but of succeeding at things that don't really matter."
Luke 5:12-13 NIV
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.
Jim Collins
"Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great."
So the first thing that we must do to break the cycle of busyness and depression is recognize that our value does not come from what we do, but who we are in Jesus...
And that is beloved Son or beloved Daughter of the Most High God.
2. Managing Expectations
Jesus had two types of expectations to manage:
1. The expectations he put on himself
2. The expectations others put on him
Luke 4: 18-19 NIV
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 5:16 NIV
"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."
2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
3. Silence and Solitude
John Mark Comer
"The wilderness isn't the place of weakness; It's the place of strength."
God's Mission
Pursuit • January 30, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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2 Corinthians 5:17-20 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Ministry of Reconciliation: a Christian's Spirit-empowered service that introduces others to God's love.
A chosen ambassador is a trusted diplomat authorized to speak on behalf of God's Kingdom.
Ambassadors of Christ live with an unquenchable desire to see others come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.
Good Works
Pursuit • January 23, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Ephesians 2:10 NIV
"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
We are God's handiwork.
Created in Christ Jesus.
John Stott
"The most common description in the Scriptures of a follower of Jesus is that he or she is a person 'in Christ.' The expressions 'in Christ,' 'in the Lord,' and 'in him' occur 164 times in the letters of Paul alone, and are indispensable to an understanding of the New Testament. To be 'in Christ' does not mean to be inside Christ, as tools are in a box or our clothes are in a closet, but to be organically united to Christ, as a limb is in the body or a branch is in the tree. It is this personal relationship with Christ that is the distinctive mark of his authentic followers."
To do good works.
We don't do good works for God... God does good works through us! We are the conduit, not the source.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.
God's Glory
Pursuit • January 16, 2022
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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The glory of God is the public display of His infinite power, beauty, holiness, and worth.
We are created for God's glory. - Isaiah 43:7
God created us for His glory, not to make Himself more glorious.
Ephesians 1:6-8 GNT
Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which he gave to us in such large measure!
1 Corinthians 10:31 - So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Oklahomans 10:31 - so whether you _ or _ or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Creation Pursued
Pursuit • January 9, 2022
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Psalm 8:3-5 NIV
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
Why has God been pursuing His people since the beginning of time?
For Love and Relationship
We Are:
1. Created Out of Love
2. Created in God's Image
3. Created for Relationship
1. Created out of Love
Thomas Aquinas
When we say that in Him there is a procession of love, we show that God produced creatures not because He needed them, nor because of any other extrinsic reason, but on account of the love of His own goodness.
John 4:16 NIV
God is love.
Genesis 1:27 NIV
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
2. Created in God's Image
Bruce Watke
A human being is... made like God so that God can communicate himself to people. He gave people ears to show that he hears the cry of the afflicted and eyes to show that he sees the plight of the pitiful.
God created us in such a way that we would be a Reflection of Him to all creation—including ourselves.
Emil Brunner
The most powerful of all spiritual forces is man's view of himself, the way in which he understands his nature and his destiny, indeed it is the force which determines all the others which influence human life.
God has created us to be stewards of the Mundane, reflecting Light and Purpose into the Dark and Chaos.
Genesis 2:4 NIV
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
Brevard Childs
"What is clear in Genesis 1 is that creation is understood, not as a self-contained autonomous act, but in closest connection with redemption. The goal of creation was God's dwelling with his people, which was a vision of the future, not a return to the past."
Revelation 21:3-4 NIV
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
3. Created for Relationship
God's pursuit of His people is so intense that He does not rest until we can rest in Him.
Wait
January 2, 2022
Teacher: Daniel Bunn
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Psalm 40:1–5 NIV
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.
Hosea 12:6 NRSV
But as for you, return to your God, hold fast to love and justice and wait continually for your God.
Psalm 37:34 NRSV
Wait for the Lord and keep to his way. And he will exalt you to inherit the land.
John 9:24–25 NIV
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
Decompress
December 26, 2021 • Decompress
Teachers: Adam Barnett, Alison Myers, Dave Brown, and Leanne Benton
/// Adam
Matthew 6:25-27, 34 NIV
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Michel de Montaigne
"My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened."
/// Alison
Charlie Chaplin
"A day without laughter is a day wasted."
Proverbs 17:22 NLT
"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a persons strength."
Ecclesiastes 3:1;4 NIV
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens... a time to weep and a time to laugh"
/// DAVE
The most important thing in life is to develop a strong relationship with God. All other good things flow out of the fountain of a deep relationship with our Creator.
John 14:15-21 NIV
"If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them."
I am in my Father... You are in me... I am in you
If we are not experiencing God's presence in our life, it's because we are not seeking him, not because he can't be found.
The Good News of Christmas is that Christ came to bring hope, joy, love, and peace to all the earth. Adam Barnett, Dave Brown, and Kayla Canfield shared a powerful reading of the Christmas narrative during our Christmas Eve worship.
Good News — God's Joy
Good News • Week 4 • December 19, 2021
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Luke 2:8-12 NIV
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Christmas is not normal joy. Christmas is great joy.
Luke 2:13-18 NIV
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Joseph Bailey
Praise God for Christmas. Praise him for the incarnation, for the Word made flesh. Today, I will sing praise to the Father who stood on heaven's threshold and said farewell to his Son as he stepped across the stars to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son, who became most finite, a baby who would one day be executed for my crime. Praise him in the heavens. Praise him in the stable. Praise him in my heart.
Everything – Love = Nothing
Good News • Week 3 • December 12, 2021
Teacher: Leanne Benton
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Mark 12:30-31
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."
John 13:34
"A new command I give to you: Love one another."
John 13:35 NIV
"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
1 John 4:7-8
"Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." "Whoever does not love does not know God... for God is love."
1 Peter 4:8
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Corinthians 14:1
"Make love your aim."
1 Timothy 1:5
"The goal of our instruction is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
"And now these three remain; faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 16:14
"Do everything in love."
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
"And now, I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all that I possess to the poor and give over my body to the flames but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Everything-Love= Nothing
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son."
"I pray that you..."
Matthew 5:44
"Love your enemies."
1 John 14:19
"We love because He first loved us."
Dallas Willard
"We must understand that God does not 'love' us without liking us... Out of eternal freshness of His perpetually self-renewed being, the heavenly Father cherishes the earth and each human being upon it. The fondness, the endearment, the affectionate regard of God toward all his creatures is the natural outflow of what He is to the core- which we mainly try to capture with our tired but indispensable old word love."
Jamie Austin
"God loves you, and there's nothing you can do about it."
Martin Luther
Now we have received from God nothing but love and favor, for Christ has pledged and given us his righteousness and everything he has; he has poured out upon us all his treasures, which no person can measure and no angel can understand or fathom, for God is a glowing furnace of love, reaching even from the earth to the heaven.
Jesus wouldn't cancel anyone
John Ortberg
"No one who succeeds in love fails at life. And no one who fails at love succeeds in life."
1 Corinthians 13:12-13
"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
God's Peace
Good News • December 5, 2021
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Luke 1:26-28 NIV
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendent of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
So why the Virgin Birth?
1. It highlights the supernatural
2. It reveals that redemption must come from God, not humanity
3. It put God's initiative on display.
4. It hints at the nature of Jesus being both fully human and fully divine
Luke 2:8-14 NIV
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
"And on earth peace"
Peace is not the absence of conflict. Instead...Peace is the result of presence!
Luke 2:14 NIV
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
1. The Glory of God
2. The Salvation of Humanity
Richard Thomas France
"Our sin has put hostility and wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice. We are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God based on self-righteousness or sheep grace. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God's own family and eat at the table with him in unbroken fellowship forever!"
3. The Holy Spirit
Arrival of Hope
Good News • November 28, 2021
Teacher: Dave Brown
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Luke 2:10 NIV
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord."
Advent means arrival
Isaiah 7:14 NIV
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV
"For to us a child is born, To us a child is given, And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, Establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever."
Webster Dictionary:
"to cherish a desire with anticipation"
"to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment"
Timothy Keller
"You and I are unavoidably and irreducibly hope based creatures. How we live now is controlled by what we think will happen later by our understanding of our future state."
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 NIV
I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. "Laughter," I said, "is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?" I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well—the delights of a man's heart. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
C.S. Lewis
"Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water...If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy [my desire], that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage."
Because of Jesus' birth, there is hope for a ruined humanity, a hope of forgiveness, a hope of peace with God, and a hope of future glory.
There's purpose in our past because God intends to use our past for his glory!
Acts 1:11 NIV
"This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
Future Leaders
Student Sunday • November 21, 2021
Teacher: Wopsle
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The call to being a disciple is a call to making disciples
John Maxwell
The best leaders lead today with tomorrow in mind by making sure they invest in leaders who will carry their legacy forward.
1. We should celebrate the faith of the next generation
2 Timothy 1:5 NIV
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
2. We should encourage the gifting of the next generation
2 Timothy 1:6-7 NIV
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
3. We should include the next generation in our testimony
2 Timothy 1:8-9 NIV
So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
4. We should pursue Jesus as an example to the next generation
2 Timothy 1:13-14 NIV
What you have heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
The Armor of God
November 14 2021 • Ephesians • Week 6
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Ephesians 6:10-18 AMP
In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious]. So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people.
Ephesians 6:10 NIV
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
"Power" in Eph 1:19 is δυνάμις (dynameōs)- "dynamite"
"God exerted" his power in Eph 1:20 is ενεργεω (enērgēken) – energy.
"Power" in Ephesians 6:10 is ἰσχύος(ischyos) – power, might, and forcefulness.
God's power is a mighty, energetic, active, dynamic force that is unparalleled and unrivaled!
Ephesians 6:11-13 NIV
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
You are in a spiritual war, and a spiritual war requires spiritual weapons.
Ephesians 6:14-17 NIV
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
1. The Belt of Truth
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness
3. Sandals made of the Gospel of Peace
4. The Shield of Faith
5. The Helmet of Salvation
6. The Sword of the Spirit
Ephesians 6:18 NIV
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.
Ephesians 6:21-24 NIV
Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
Mutual Submission in Christ
November 7 2021 • Ephesians • Week 5
Teacher: Dave Brown
Ephesians 5:21-23 NIV
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:21 NIV Ephesians 5:22, 25 NLT
"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord... For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church."
1. Husbands
2. Wives
3. The Church
Our wives are the daughters of the most high King.
To love our wives like Christ loved the church means to sacrifice ourselves in such a way that enables them to be everything that God created them to be.
1 Peter 2:21-3:2 NIV
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." For "you were like sheep going astray," but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
Wives, in the same way submit...
A better example of marital submission is our submission to Christ's headship.
In the context of marriage, submission is not about dominance. It's about love and respect.
1. Headship
2. Submission
3. Freedom
Ephesians 1:22 NIV
"And God placed all things under [Jesus'] feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."
When I submit to Christ as the head of the body, I can live into the absolute fullness of who God has created me to be.
When a husband loves his wife like Christ loved the church, he enables her to live into the absolute fullness of who God has created her to be.
A Unified Body
October 31 2021 • Ephesians • Week 4
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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A local congregation
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Members of neighboring churches
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Believers around the world
Ephesians 4:1 ESV
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
Ephesians 4:2 ESV
with all humility...
Ephesians 4:2 ESV
with all humility and gentleness...
Ephesians 4:2 ESV
with all humility and gentleness, with patience...
Ephesians 4:2 ESV
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
Ephesians 4:3 ESV
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
An Uncovered Mystery
October 24 2021 • Ephesians • Week 3
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Ephesians 3:6 NIV
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28 NIV
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
1. Strength in the Inner Man
2 Corinthians 4:11 NIV
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
2. The Indwelling Christ
Robert Munger
"The Christian life is like a house through which Jesus goes from room to room. In the library, which is the mind, Jesus finds trash and all sorts of worthless things, which he throws out and replaces with His word. In the dining room of the appetite, he finds many sinful desires listed on a worldly menu. In the place of such things as prestige, lust, and materialism, he puts humility, meekness, love, and all other virtues for which believers are to hunger and thirst. He goes into the closet, where hidden sins are kept, and so on through the entire house. Only when he had cleaned every room, closet, and corner of sin and foolishness could Christ settle down and be at home. To have Christ dwell in our hearts through faith means he is at home in every corner of our lives."
3. The Boundless Dimensions of Christ's Love
4. The Fullness of God
Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more that all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Unity by Grace
October 17 2021 • Ephesians • Week 2
Teacher: Dave Brown
1 Sin
2 Temptation
3 Salvation
Ephesians 2:1-10 NIV
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:1 NIV
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.
Sin is anytime we rebel against God in our thoughts, in our desires, in our words, or in our actions.
The ways of this World
The Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air
The Cravings of Our Flesh
C.S. Lewis
It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing...Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one– the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
The result of sin is disunity with God and disunity with others.
Disunity with God = Death
J.I. Packer
We are not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners, born with a nature enslaved to sin.
Ephesians 2:4-5a
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.
ἀγάπη—agapē
Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith— and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works so that no one can boast.
Mercy is the withholding of rightful punishment
Grace is the giving of something that we do not deserve
We have a new identity
ποίημα - pŏiēma
We have a new purpose
Prayer of Enlightenment
October 10 2021 • Ephesians • Week 1
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Acts 19:25-27 NIV
"Men, you know we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that manmade gods are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the whole province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."
- The Greatness of God
- The Exalted Christ
- Salvation
- The Status of Believers
- Unity of Jew and Gentile
- Struggle with Evil
- Ethical Obligation of Believers
- Ministry to the Gentiles
- The Church
D.M. Lloyd Jones
"Ephesians is the distilled essence of the Christian religion, the most authoritative and most supreme compilation of our holy Christian faith."
Klyne Snodgrass
"One of the divinest compositions of man, the Bach of the Bible, the Switzerland of the New Testament, and the crown and climax of Pauline theology."
James Dunn
"If theology is measured in terms of articulation of Christian belief, then Paul's letters laid a foundation for Christian theology which has never been rivaled or superseded. It is important, therefore, for each generation to reflect afresh on Paul's theology."
Ephesians 1:15-23 NIV
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
1. Enlightenment to know the hope to which we are called.
2. Enlightenment to know riches of his glorious inheritance.
3. Enlightenment to know his incomparably great power.
5 Minutes/5 Questions
October 3 2021 • The Bible • Week 4
Teacher: Dave Brown
1. How can we really trust what the Bible says?
Psalm 1:1-2 NIV
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
Reading the Bible because it says so only works if we already believe it has authority.
2. Are the modern or contemporary translations trustworthy?
The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew
The New Testament was written in Greek
3. Do we read all scripture the same way?
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Scripture is either descriptive or prescriptive.
Narrative | Poetry | Letter | Prophecy
4. How do we apply scripture to our daily lives?
Author's Context
Our Context
Partner with the Holy Spirit to bridge the gap
5. What's the deal with the end times?
Matthew 24:36 ESV
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
Doctrine 101
September 26 2021 • The Bible • Week 3
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Doctrine is a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true.
Biblical doctrine refers to teachings that align with the revealed Word of God — the Bible.
False doctrine is any idea that adds to, takes away from, contradicts, or nullifies biblical doctrine.
2 Timothy 1:13 NIV
"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus."
ὑγιαίνω (hoo-gee-ah-ee-no)
ὑγιαίνω = to be healthy
"We confess God's word, the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, as the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct."
1) The Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:12 NIV
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given to us by God.
John 16:13 NIV
"But when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth."
2) Rigorous Study of Scripture
3) Communal Discernment
The Old in The New
September 19 2021 • The Bible • Week 2
Teacher: Dave Brown
New Testament authors used Quotations
New Testament authors used Allusions
New Testament authors developed Themes
New Testament authors quoted the Old Testament
Revelation 1:7 NIV
"Look, he is coming with the clouds," and "every eye will see him, even those who pierced him"; and all peoples on earth "will mourn because of him." So shall it be! Amen.
Daniel 7:13-14 NIV
"in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
New Testament authors alluded to the Old Testament
Revelation 1:12-16 NIV
And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."
Daniel 7:9-10 NIV
"As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
New Testament authors developed themes from the Old Testament
Son of Man
It was not God + Messiah, it was God = Messiah
God has been up to the same thing since the very beginning- unveiling a divine rescue plan.
Progressive Revelation is the revealing of God's redemptive plan over the course of time.
Is the Bible True & Authoritative?
September 5 2021 • The Bible • Week 1
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Caroline Westerhoff
"Our danger lies in questioning too little rather than too much. After all, our questions can be the voice of God."
We affirm the centrality of the word of God
We (the covenant church) confess God's Word, the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, as the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct."
Phillip Spainer
"Thought should be given to a more extensive use of the word of God. We know that by nature, we have no good in us. If there is to be any good in us, it must be brought about by God. To this end, the word of God is the powerful means, since faith must be awakened through the gospel. Therefore, the more at home the word of God is among us, the more we shall bring about faith and its fruits."- Phillip Spainer
2 Timothy 3:16 KJV
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
5,800 manuscripts | 450 pages in length | 2.6 million pages of text | 100's of witnesses | 99.5% pure
Congratulations, you have won 10 million dollars!
C0ngr@tulations, you h@ve just won 10 milli0n doll@r$!
Kingdom Persistence
September 5, 2021
Teacher: Daniel Bunn
Mark 4:30-32 NIV
Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade."
Do not despise small beginnings.
Mark 4:11-12 NIV
The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!
Step Out
August 29, 2021 • Steps • Week 2
Teacher: Dave Brown & Wopsle
/// DAVE
Redeemer exists to see Christ exalted in our church, community and world.
So what exactly is a disciple?
A disciple is anyone committed to pursuing Christ and Christ’s priorities in the world.
If I simply attempt to just add Christ to my current life, I will fail miserably as a disciple.
So what type of lifestyle are we committing to as disciples of Jesus?
Acts 2:42-45 NIV
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
- Christian Education
- Fellowship
- Mission
So how important is discipleship?
Matthew 28:19-20 NIV
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
The mission of the church has always been to make disciples that make disciples.
/// WOPSLE
Ezekiel 47:2-5 NIV
He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side. As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.
/// DAVE
Discipleship is an individual commitment to a new life.
You and you alone are in charge of your discipleship journey.
Equip Classes
Sunday School
Small Groups
Men’s & Women’s Ministries
Young Adult Ministries
Christ Be Exalted!
Steps | Week 1 | August 22, 2021
Teacher: Adam Barnett
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Vision is seeing where you are going and knowing how to get there.
Proverbs 29:18 NIV
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
Redeemer Church exists to see Christ exalted in our church, community, and world.
Philippians 2:1-11 NIV
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy completely being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted himto the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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Christ Exalted in our Church
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Christ Exalted in our Community
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Christ Exalted in our World
Redeemer Church’s Mission is to lead people into the Presence of God, devotion to His Word, authentic fellowship with others, and discovering their ministry.
“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” — Joel Barker
Pray | Participate | Serve | Give
Praise the Lord!
August 15, 2021 • Psalms • Week 15
Teacher: Adam Barnett
γυμναζω Challenge — to train with one’s full effort.
Psalm 150:1-6 NIV
Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
Praise is the crown of the created order.
Psalm 150:6 NIV
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
How do you prioritize worship in the busyness of life?
How has God’s power compelled you to praise?
Search Me
Psalms • Week 14 • August 8, 2021
Teacher: Leanne Benton
Psalm 139:23-24 NIV
“Search me, God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Search Me
Psalm 139:23a NIV
“Search me, God, and know my heart;”
Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”
Jeremiah 17:9 ESV
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it.”
Jeremiah 17:9 NIV
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
It’s one thing to understand that God knows everything about us.
It’s another thing to ask Him to bring those things to our attention!
“At its core, our heart is all about self—not Christ. It’s about what’s temporary—not eternal. It’s about what’s easy—not what’s right. It’s obsessed with what we want—not what God wants.” // Craig Groeschel
The me I want to be; a me I cannot see.
Reveal My Fears
Psalm 139:23 NIV
“Search me, and know my heart. Test me, and know my anxious thoughts.”
“This is what breaks my heart about worry. It makes you miserable in the present moment to try and prevent misery in the future. For chronic worriers, this process leads them to be continually distressed all their lives in order to avoid later events that never happen. Worry sucks the joy out of the ‘here and now’ to prevent an unrealistic ‘then and there.’” // Dr. Lucas LaFreniere
What we fear the most often reveals where we trust God the least.
“God, reveal my fears. Test me, and show me where my anxious thoughts fall.”
Uncover My Sins
Matthew 7:3–5 NLT
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
We confess to God for forgiveness.
We can confess to people for healing.
1 John 1:9 NIV
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
James 5:16 NIV
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.”
Romans 5:20 NIV
Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more.
Romans 5:17 NKJV
Much more will those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”
Lead Me
Psalm 139:24 NIV
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
“Show me God what I need to DO to deal with what has been revealed.”
James 1:22-24 NLT
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance.”
Knowing God’s word is important but knowing without doing is tragic!
My Help Comes From The Lord!
August 1, 2021 • Psalms • Week 13
Teacher: Adam Barnett
Psalm 121:1–8 NIV
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:3 NIV
He will not let your foot slip...
Psalm 121:4 NIV
He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Psalm 121:5 NIV
The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
Psalm 121:6 NIV
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
Are you trusting God for help on your journey?
Are you trusting God will keep you both now and forevermore?
Grateful Praise to God
July 25, 2021 • Psalms • Week 12
Teacher: Adam Barnett
A.W. Tozer
“God wants worshippers before workers. The only acceptable workers are those who have learned the art of worship.”
Worship:
To truly know God, and to respond from the heart, with reverence and awe, by treasuring and enjoying God, and being satisfied in Him above all other things.
What is your posture before the Lord in worship?
Consumers
Evaluators
Spectators
Participants
Worshippers
People who truly know God, and respond from the heart, with reverence and awe, by treasuring and enjoying God, and being satisfied in Him above all other things.
Psalm 100 NIV
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:1–2 NIV
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:3 NIV
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
If we are made by God, and made for God, then true satisfaction is found in God!
John 6:35 NIV
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Know that the Lord + ___________ is God.
Psalm 100:4 NIV
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4a MSG
“Enter with the password: ‘Thank you!’”
Psalm 100:5 NIV
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Essential Trust
Psalms • Week 11 • July 18, 2021
Teacher: Wopsle
Psalm 91:1-2 NIV
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Our goal is to move from only talking to actually trusting.
Psalm 91:9-12 NIV
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
Matthew 4:7 NIV
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Demanding that God prove himself to you is not just a bad idea, but it’s actually sinful.
Psalm 91:14-16 NIV
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Our love of, trust in, and obedience to God positions us in His shelter.
Romans 8:28a NIV
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
Passion for the Presence
July 11, 2021 • Psalms • Week 10
Teacher: Dave Brown
Psalm 84:1-12 NIV
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob. Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.
- How can I develop this passion for God’s presence?
- Where can I experience God’s presence?
Blessed are those who dwell in God’s house.
Psalm 84:1–2 NIV
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Blessed are those whose strength is in God.
Psalm 84:5 NIV
Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
The first step in developing a passion for God’s presence is desiring it.
Psalm 84:6 NIV
As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs.
The pilgrimage is the journey from our strength to God’s strength.
Psalm 84:7 NIV
They go from strength to strength til each appears before God in Zion.
Ryan Stevenson
It's okay to cry, it's okay to fall apart.
You don't have to try to be strong when you are not.
But don't ever fight your tears, because there is freedom in every drop.
Sometimes the only way to heal a broken heart is when we fall apart.
Blessed are those who trust in God.
Yahweh - The Promise Deeper
Commander of Armies
The Living God
My King
My God
God is a sun in the darkness.
God is a shield.
God is the Grace Giver
God is the The Glory Maker
Psalm 84:2 NIV
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
Although we must develop a passion for God’s presence, he has always had a passion for ours!
Moving Through The Darkness
Psalms • Week 9 • July 4, 2021
Teacher: Dr. Joe Scruggs
Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths Most do not fully see this truth that life is difficult. Instead they moan more or less incessantly, noisily or subtly, about the enormity of their problems, their burdens, and their difficulties as if life were generally easy, as if life should be easy. — Scott Peck
Leviticus 18:1-4 NIV
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘I am the Lord your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God.
There is a great market for religious experience in our world: there is little enthusiasm for the patience acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness. — Eugene Peterson
Go to God with unfettered honesty and complete openness about your problem and struggles; even your frustrations with God.
Psalm 77:1-9 NIV
I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart mused and my spirit inquired: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
Develop a much more thorough understanding of the word, "deserve”.
Accept the mystery.
God doesn’t owe us explanations.
Don’t put God in a box.
Isaiah 40:27-31 NIV
“Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint.”
Trust and Obey
“Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human looks upon a universe in which every trace of God seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken and still obeys.” — CS Lewis
Keep praying; even though it's hard.
If we are focused on our internal feelings, we’re not focused on God.
Psalm 77:10–15 NIV
Then I thought, “To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
2 Timothy 4:7 (PHILLIPS)
The glorious fight that God gave me I have fought, the course that was set I have finished and I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:8 (PHILLIPS)
The future holds for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the true judge will give me in that day and, not of course only to me, but to all those who have loved what they have seen of him.
Create In Me A Pure Heart
June 27, 2021 • Psalms • Week 8
Teacher: Adam Barnett
We can’t fully comprehend the magnitude of God’s grace until we acknowledge the vulgarity of our sin.
Psalm 51:1-4 NIV
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
God’s faithfulness is not conditional upon human faithfulness.
Psalm 51:5–9 NIV
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Psalm 51:10-12 NIV
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Repentance (to be aware of and disgusted by sin):
“For I know my transgressions. Against you, I have sinned.”
Matthew 4:17 NIV
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Confession (to express remorse and ask for help):
“I have done evil in your sight… wash me… cleanse me…”
Restoration (to receive transforming grace):
“A pure heart… a steadfast spirit… restore me and sustain me.”
Declaration (to witness about God's grace):
Psalm 51:13 NIV
Then, I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Repentance → Confession → Restoration → Declaration
- Comfort
- Complacency
- Comparison
- Fatigue
- Isolation
Sin is my condition; Saint is my identity.
God is Our Refuge
Psalms | Week 6
June 20, 2021 | Adam Barnett
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Psalm 46 NIV
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:4-5 NIV
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
The city is safe not because of walls, weapons, or war strategies, but because of God’s Presence.
“We sing this psalm to the praise of God, because God is with us, and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends his church and his word, against all obsessive spirits, against the gates of hell, against the relentless hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world.” — Martin Luther
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
“Do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, let’s fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
Psalm 46:10 NIV
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Text the name JESUS to (918) 376-3438 to let us know!
Wait for the Lord
Psalms • Week 6 • June 13, 2021
Teacher: Dave Brown
Psalm 27:1-14 NIV
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:1 NIV
The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
- Life is Hard
- Seek God's Presence
- Happiness in Hardship
- Wait for the Lord
Psalm 27:2 NIV
When the wicked advance against me...
Psalm 27:3 NIV
Though an army besiege me...
Psalm 27:5 NIV
For in the day of trouble...
Psalm 27:10 NIV
Though my father and mother forsake me...
Psalm 27:12b NIV
For false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.
Genesis 3:17-19 NIV
Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
—Declaration of Independence“Happiness, then, is apparently something complete and self-sufficient, since it is the end of the things pursued in action.” —Aristotle
“Final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the Divine Essence.” —Aquinas
Psalm 27:4 NIV
One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
There’s a direct correlation between us gazing on the beauty of the Lord and our ability to experience true happiness.
Psalm 27:6 NIV
Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
Without the Lord, there is no such thing as true happiness.
“Present reality without hope is, to be sure, a false happiness, in fact, and utter misery...[but] If anyone accepts the present life in such a spirit that he uses it with the end in view of that other life on which he has set his heart with all his ardor and for which he hopes with all his confidence, such a man may without absurdity be called happy even now.” —Augustine
Revelation 21:3-7 NIV
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
Psalm 27:14 NIV
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Prayer & The Shepherd
June 6, 2021 • Psalms • Week 5
Teacher: Bill Clark
Psalm 23 NIV
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Do I trust God with my life?
Is your soul in the process being continually restored?
God is radically “other”.
Isaiah 45:15 NIV
Truly you are a God who hides himself.
Take the time to pray.
Find the place in your life where you need to be re-created.
Speak to God honestly.
Talk less and listen more.
Three Looks at Psalm 19
May 30, 2021 • Psalms • Week 4
Teachers: Kayla Canfield, Mark Cruz, Josiah Barkley
Mark CruzPsalm 19:1–6 NIV
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
What do you see?
What do you hear?
How do we respond?
Psalm 19:3–4 NIV
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
Kayla CanfieldPsalm 19:7–9 NIV
The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.
Life derived from and ceded back to Yahweh begins in obedience and ends in praise. Obedience is the unavoidable initiating point of praise, and praise is the appropriate culmination of obedience. — Walter Brueggemann
Obedience ≠ Perfection
Psalm 19:10–11 NIV
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Josiah BarkleyPsalm 19:12-14 NIV
But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:12–14 NLT
How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
God, keep me from consciously choosing things that are so clearly not OF you, and not FOR me.
Psalm 19:16 NLT
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Not just in actions, not just in words, but in every thought.
Surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship. — Dr. Brian Simmons
I Love You, Lord, My Strength
Psalms • Week 3
May 23, 2021 • Adam Barnett
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Psalm 18:4-6 NIV
The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
God is our Rock, and we can hide in Him from the storms of life.
Psalm 18:2 (The Message)
God is a bedrock under my feet, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight. My God – the high crag where I run for dear life, hiding behind the boulders, safe in the granite hideout.
“One with God is a majority.” — William Carey.
Psalm 18:1 NIV
I love you, LORD, my strength.
Psalm 18:1
I am loving you now, and will continue to love you, LORD, my strength.
A Christian is one who seeks and finds God, yet continues to pursue Him.
We taste Thee, O Living Bread, and long to feast upon Thee still; We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead, and thirst our souls for Thee to fill. — St. Bernard
- The love of feeling.
- The love of willing.
"The will is the automatic pilot that keeps the soul on course." — A.W. Tozer
Psalm 18:4-6 NIV
The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.
Psalm 8
Psalms • Week 2
May 16, 2021 • Dave Brown
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Psalm 8 NIV
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
- To Know our Place
- To Know our Savior
- To Know How to Worship
31% of Oklahomans report signs of clinical anxiety and depression
That's 1.25 million people in our state.
We are a pride based and a shame based culture.
We are constantly doing one of two things:
Elevating ourselves as God or Thinking of ourselves as nothing
Psalm 8:5 NIV
You have made them a little lower than the angels.
ποίημα = masterpiece
Psalm 8:2 NIV
Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
Matthew 21:14-16 NIV
The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, ‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise?”
We must praise God with our lips and with our lives.
Psalm 8:1,9 NIV
“LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
“Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name...”
Christ is either our Savior and Lord or He’s nothing to us at all.
Both sin and busyness have the exact same effect—they cut off your connection to God, to other people, and even to your own soul.
—John Mark Comer
Introduction & Psalm 1
Psalms • Week 1
May 9, 2021 • Adam Barnett
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Steven Lawson
“The Psalms have been a bedrock of comfort and a tower of strength for believers in every experience of life. From the soul-stirring heights of praise to the heart-rending depths of despair, the full range of human emotion is captured in these magnificent anthems.”
The γυμναζω Challenge
γυμναζω is to train with one’s full effort.
Psalm 1:1-6 NIV
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
- The godly do not WALK in the counsel of the wicked.
- The godly do not STAND in the way of sinners.
- The godly do not SIT in the company of mockers.
Psalms 1:2-3 NIV
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.
Psalms 1:4-5 NIV
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Just start somewhere and with someone.
Our Responsibility to the Poor
Let Justice Roll Down | Week 4
May 2, 2021 | Adam Barnett
Multidimensional Poverty: poor health, lack of health care, lack of education, unsafe living standards, limited access to food, poor quality of work, disempowerment, and the threat of violence.
“God is going to rewrite the narrative of the forgotten zip code, and it is going to become the favored zip code.” —Amy Wopsle
Galatians 2:1-2, 8-10 NIV
Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.
For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.
Prayer → Perspective → Sacrificial Giving → Time → Advocacy
Community of Equality
Let Justice Roll Down • Week 3
April 25, 2021
Guest Preacher:
Josef Rasheed, Senior Pastor of CrossRoads Covenant Church
Revelation 7:9-10 NIV
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
The community has an Equality of Location. (v. 9)
The community has an Equality of Level. (v. 9b)
The community has an Equality of Love. (v. 10)
Salvation belongs to OUR GOD who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.
Equality doesn’t start in heaven, it starts on earth . . . with US.
This is the Community of Equality God intended.
The Orphan & The Widow
Let Justice Roll Down | Week 2
April 18, 2021 | Adam Barnett
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To do justice is to make things right in relationships, communities, and creation.
James 1:27 NIV
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27 AMP
Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.
Matthew 23:23 NIV
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Exodus 22:22-24 NIV
Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.
What The Lord Requires
Let Justice Roll Down | Week 1
April 11, 2021 | Dave Brown
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Micah 6:6-8 NIV
With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 2:1-2 NIV
Woe to those who plan iniquity, To those who plot evil on their beds! They covet fields and seize them, And houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, They rob them of their inheritance
Micah 3:9-11 NIV
Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel, sho despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Lexham Theological Wordbook
This term can be used to describe the characteristic that governing authorities, kings, or judges should exhibit. Earthly authorities must conduct themselves with integrity and ensure that justice is carried out in accordance with Yahweh’s standards.
Micah 2:3 NIV
“I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly for it will be a time of calamity.”
Micah 3:12 NIV
Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.
What God really wants is for us to: Act Justly, to Love Mercy, and to Walk Humbly with Him.
That is because God is just, God is merciful, and God is humble.
Scripture is clear, God will not tolerate injustice.
Psalm 78:6-8 NIV
“So the next generation would know them, Even the children yet to be born, And they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God And would not forget his deeds But would keep his commands. They would not be like their ancestors—A stubborn and rebellious generation, Whose hearts were not loyal to God, Whose spirits were not faithful to him.”
As we embrace humility, we learn to love mercy.
We have to go out and do our research. It is not the job of the disenfranchised to educate us.
The Resurrection & The Life
I Am | Week 5
April 4, 2021 | Adam Barnett
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John 11:3 NIV
Lord, the one you love is sick.
John 11:21-26 NIV
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25 NIV
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
Bob Goff –
“Darkness fell, His friends scattered, hope seemed lost, but heaven just started counting to three.”
Mark 16:1-6 NIV
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here.
Philippians 2:9 NIV
God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name.
Your past can be forgiven, your present struggle can be endured, and your future can be secured.
“My King” (S.M. Lockridge, 1976)
Do you believe this?
Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. You are the resurrection and the life. I believe you died on the cross for me and that you rose from the dead. With that same power, make me a new creation. I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I ask you to live in my heart and to fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you for being with me here now, and for all of eternity. Through the name of Jesus, my Lord, I pray. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer for the first time today, please let us know so we can celebrate with you. Text the name JESUS to (918) 376-3438.
The Good Shepherd
I Am | Week 4
March 28, 2021 | Dave Brown
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John 10:11-18 NIV
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
- We are sheep.
- Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
- Sheep know their Shepherd.
You’ve never heard of a wild sheep before; that’s because sheep without a shepherd die.
We need a good shepherd or we’ll die too.
John 10:11 NIV
“I am the good shepherd.”
Psalm 23:1 NIV
"The LORD is my shepherd.”
C.S. Lewis
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
A Good Shepherd: Guides, Provides, Protects, and Corrects
The Good Shepherd Guides Us
John 6:37,39 NIV
"All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever come to me I will never drive away...And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.”
The Good Shepherd Provides For Us
John 6:35 NIV
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
The Good Shepherd Protects Us
John 10:11 NIV
“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
The Good Shepherd Corrects Us
Psalm 23:4 NIV
Your rod and your staff comforts me.
I’d rather limp into heaven, than run into hell.
John 10:14 NIV
I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
The Door
I Am | Week 3
March 21, 2021 | Wopsle
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John 10:1-5 ESV
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
John 10:6 ESV
This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
John 10:7,8 ESV
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. =
John 10:9,10 ESV
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 10:10 ESV
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
The Vine
I Am | Week 2
March 14, 2021 | Leanne Benton
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John 15:1-8 NIV
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
I Am the Vine!
We are the branches!
Rebecca Lyons
This tethering becomes our provision, meaning all the nutrients of heaven are offered to us right now, to renew us and bring us back to life. Everything the vine possesses belongs to the branch.
The nature of the branch is to cling to something.
Abide!
Fruit: the reproduction of the character of Christ in us, being formed into the image of Christ.
2 Corinthian 3:18 HCSB
We all...beholding as in a mirror the glory of God are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory...
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Dallas Willard
What is the central message of the church? What did Jesus preach? Not just the Kingdom of God but the availability of the Kingdom of God to everyone wherever they are. God in action is the same thing as grace and Christians burn grace like a 747 burns fuel on takeoff.
Colossians 1:6 NIV
In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
John 15:2 NIV
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Pruning is not punishment!
Dr. Yonggi Cho
I read (the Bible). I pray. And then I obey.
I’m just the branch. I’m connected to the Vine. I’ve learned to abide.
John 15:7–8 NIV
If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you. By this is My Father glorified, that you bear MUCH fruit and so prove to be My disciples.
Movements Start: Founder Knows Jesus Deeply
Movements Die: Followers Know Only Founder
John 15:5 NIV
...apart from me, you can do nothing.
Reflection Questions
- How is your spiritual life going?
- What is nourishing your soul?
- Do you need to be lifted up out of the dirt of life?
- Are there areas where you need the pruning power of the vinedresser?
The Light of the World
I Am | Week 1
March 7, 2021 | Adam Barnett
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John 7:37-38 NIV
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
John 8:12 NIV
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
1 John 1:5 AMP
This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].
- John 8:12 is an exclusive claim. I am the light of the world.
- John 8:12 is an inclusive claim. I am the light of the world.
- John 8:12 is a missional claim. I am the light of the world.
- John 8:12 is an existential claim. Whoever follows me...will have the light of life.
Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.
True Fellowship
One More Step | Week 4
February 28, 2021 | Dave Brown
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Acts 2:42-47 NIV
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Five Crucial Questions About Fellowship:
- What is fellowship?
- With whom do we share fellowship?
- What guides our fellowship?
- What empowers our fellowship?
- What should happen when we fellowship?
Tertulian
“It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See how they love one another, they say, for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred; how they are ready even to die for one another, they say, for they themselves will sooner put to death.”
Fellowship is not about fulfilling our personal need for friendship; rather it’s about our responsibility for developing a compelling Christian community.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17 NIV
“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”
When we think of fellowship, we must necessarily think of unity, unity with Jesus Christ and unity with the body of Christ.
Irenaeus
“This preaching...and this faith...the church, although scattered in the whole world, diligently guards as if it lives in one house, and believes...as if it had one mind and the same heart, and preaches and teaches and hands on these things harmoniously, as if it had one mouth. And although there are different languages in the world, the force of the tradition is one and the same.”
1 John 1:3 NIV
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”
We cannot have true fellowship without complete submission to God’s Word.
Fellowship is inherently missional.
Mission Commanded
One More Step | Week 3
February 21, 2021 | Adam Barnett
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Not Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth…should you choose to accept it.
To follow Jesus is to participate in His mission.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NLT
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
Lesslie Newbiggin
“If the Gospel is the story of the astonishing act of God himself in coming down to be a part of our alienated world, to endure the full horror of our rebellion against love, to take the whole burden of our guilt and shame, and to lift us up into communion and fellowship with himself, breaking into a self-centered search for our own happiness, shifting the center from the self and its desire onto God and his glory...Then the Perversion of the Gospel...is when Christians turn the Good News into something they could possess for themselves; privatizing this mighty work of grace, and talking as if the whole cosmic drama of salvation culminated in the question: ‘How can only I be saved?’”
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More from this series | Watch Message Video
Three Types of Reconciliation
One More Step | Week 2
February 14, 2021
Mark Cruz, Daniel Bunn, and Dave Brown
Mark Cruz on Racial ReconciliationWhat is your next step?
the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
…the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday morning.
John 17:21 NLT
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
Pastor Tony Evans
The goal isn’t just about repenting from the sin of racism, but it’s geared towards developing authentic friendships with different races and cultures than our own. Once we repent from the sin of racism, develop relationships across racial lines, then in unity, we can serve our communities. The church is supposed to be the salt and light of our neighborhoods regardless of the racial demographic.
Listen
James 1:19 NIV
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
Learn
Psalm 25:5 NIV
Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
Leverage
Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
The Heart of God is Unity
Daniel Bunn on Familial ReconciliationPhilippians 2:1-4 NIV
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Dave Brown on Spiritual ReconciliationWhat did the sons do?
How did the father respond?
Luke 15:20 NIV
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Luke 15:31-32 NIV
My son...You are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. he was lost and is found.
Tim Keller
To ask this while the father still lived was the same as to wish him dead. The younger son was essentially saying that he wants his father’s things, but not his father.
Tim Keller
They both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake. This means that you can rebel against God and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping all of them diligently.
Deliberate Abstinence
One More Step | Week 1
February 7, 2021| Adam Barnett
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“The stomach, in many ways, is like a spoiled child, and a spoiled child does not need indulgence, but needs discipline.”
// Richard Foster
Fasting is the deliberate abstinence from physical gratification for a greater spiritual goal.
Isaiah 58:6-11 NIV
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
- We fast to loose the bonds of injustice.
- We fast to turn from our sin.
- We fast as a plea for God to move.
- We fast as an expression of grief.
- We fast as a proclamation of hope.
If you’re not feeling it, you’re not fasting it.
Holy Spirit, reveal to me if something controls me.
God Speaks
House of Prayer | Week 5
January 31, 2021 | Dave Brown
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God speaks to us Powerfully, Softly, and Biblically
God Speaks Powerfully
Exodus 3:1-4 NIV
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
God speaks powerfully to engage us in His mission.
God Speaks Softly
1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
God speaks softly to give us personalized guidance.
God Speaks Biblically
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs.
// DALLAS WILLARD
God speaks biblically to engage us in a relationship with Him.
Unanswered Prayers
House of Prayer | Week 4
January 24, 2021 | Adam Barnett
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- Wow!
- Sorry!
- Thanks!
- Please!
- Yes!
- Amen!
Philippians 4:6 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God.
Matthew 21:22 ESV
Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.
John 14:13 ESV
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Our prayers are hindered when we neglect the poor.
Proverbs 21:13 NIV
If a man shuts his ears to the cries of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
Our prayers are hindered when we have selfish motives.
James 4:3 NIV
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures.
Our prayers are hindered when we hold grudges.
Mark 11:25 NIV
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins.
Our prayers are hindered when we are unkind to our wives.
1 Peter 3:7 NIV
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect...so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
Our prayers are hindered when we are disobedient.
1 John 3:21-22 NIV
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
Our prayers are hindered when we don’t seek God’s will over our own.
1 John 5:14 NIV
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us.
If you have prayed for ____ and it hasn’t happened, God is not punishing you.
Philippians 4:6 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:7 NIV
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts & your minds in Christ Jesus.
Devoted to Prayer
House of Prayer | Week 3
January 17, 2021 | Adam Barnett
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“The Church will win the world for Christ when—and only when—her people are fully immersed in prayer.”
// Evelyn Underhill
Romans 12:12 ESV
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
“Prayer is more than self-stimulation. It is not a method of creating a positive mental attitude in ourselves. Rather, prayer is in large part a matter of creating in ourselves a right attitude with respect to God’s will. Jesus taught us persistence in prayer: keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Persistent prayer makes it apparent that our petition is important to us, as it is to God.”
// Millard Erickson
“I persist; I persevere in; I continue steadfast in; I wait upon.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV
Pray without ceasing.
“It is not in the moving of the lips, but in the elevation of the heart to God, that the essence of prayer consists.”
// J.B. Lightfoot
How long should I pray, what time of the day, and what do I say?
- Wow!
- Sorry!
- Thanks!
- Please!
- Yes!
- Amen!
Billy Graham Sermon on Trusting In God
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Teach Us To Pray
House of Prayer | Week 2
January 10, 2021 | Garth Bolinder
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Luke 11:1-4 NLT
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: "Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.”
Matthew 6:9-13 NLT
Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
The Lord's Prayer is a pattern for prayer and a pathway for life.
God is Personal (Matthew 6:9)
God has a Plan (Matthew 6:10)
God Provides (Matthew 6:11)
God Pardons (Matthew 6:12)
God Protects (Matthew 6:13)
God is worthy to be praised
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
The Inclusivity of God’s House
House of Prayer | Week 1
January 3, 2021 | Adam Barnett
Be faithful to the mission, but flexible with the methods.
- Prayer
- Fasting
- Reconciliation
- Mission
- Fellowship
Isaiah 56:1–2 ESV
Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
Isaiah 56:6–8 ESV
“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”
God’s love is not exclusive.
Redeemer Church is a HOUSE of PRAYER, and all are invited!
God Was There
December 27, 2020 | Wopsle
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Ruth 1:1 NIV
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
Ruth 1:14-18 NIV
At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
Ruth 1:19-21 NIV
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
Ruth 1:22 NIV
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
Assurance of Peace
God WITH Us | Week 4
December 20, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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Luke 2:8–15 NIV
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Luke 2:14 NIV
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
εἰρήνη — God’s gift of wholeness and peace of mind
Peace is found in the assurance of Jesus’ abiding presence.
John 14:1 NIV
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.”
John 14:27 NIV
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Luke 2:11 NIV
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Unwarranted Love
God WITH Us | Week 3
December 13, 2020 | Wopsle
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Luke 7:36-37 NIV
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.
Luke 7:38 NIV
As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
Luke 7:41-43 NIV
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
Luke 7:47 NIV
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.
We think that we are unlovable.
We think our bad deeds outnumber our good deeds.
Mandatory Joy
God WITH Us | Week 2
December 6, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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Psalm 98:1–9 ESV
Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
The foundation of our joy is in the story of Christmas, and in the promise of Christ’s return.
Joy is the deep settled conviction that God is for us.
C.S. Lewis //
“Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with things of this world, when infinite joy is offered to us. Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
For the Christian, joy is mandatory.
Hope
God With Us | Week 1
November 29, 2020 | Dave Brown
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Advent is a season of expectation, hope, and preparation.
Genesis 3:11-24 NIV
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?" The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
The Human Condition
Genesis 1:26-27 NIV
"Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness...So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created it; male and female he created them.
Sin Deeply Perverts the Mind
We Have Hope in Jesus
Romans 8:33-39 NIV
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you believe in Jesus, then He has restored you back into the perfect image of God.
We Must Prepare Our Hearts
Revelation 22:12-14 NIV
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
- Have Humility
- Build a Stronger Relationship
- Get involved in God’s Mission
Called
Student Sunday
November 22, 2020 | Wopsle
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Matthew 10:1,8 NIV
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
Matthew 10:40 NIV
Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
The Call for Jesus’ Disciples
Connect people to God.
Matthew 10:41 NIV
Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.
Be a blessing.
Matthew 10:42 NIV
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Think Small.
Matthew 28:16-20 NIV
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
WorSHIP: More Than A Song
Ships | Week 4
November 15, 2020 | Leanne Benton
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"Two currents of life that meet, one proceeding from the transcendent reality, the other flowing from the religious life of the subject; one descending, the other ascending." // EVELYN UNDERHILL
We are designed for a transcendent relationship with God to fill in the gaps of our human existence!
Romans 1:25 NLT
They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
Acts 17:22–25 NLT
I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.
He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.
Worship overflows into our daily lives out of an awareness of God and relationship with Him!
"Worship is the believer's response of all that we are – mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is and says and does." // WARREN WIERSBE
"...conscious, human awareness of the presence and purpose of God.” // FINNMARK BRENNER
Bethel: house of God
John 4:23-24 MSG
It’s who you are and the way you live that counts before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is looking for; those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship.
"Many Samaritans did come to believe! Some (scholars) consider the woman at the well the first missionary… words can set you free!" // ALISON MYERS
"Once Jesus read her soul, the process of transformation began. She was free to witness, and then worship in Spirit and Truth." // MARILYNDA LYNCH
Worship unifies us as followers of Christ!
"We are not all in the same boat, but we are all in the same storm.” // BILL GAITHER
"The story of the Bible isn’t primarily about the desire of people to be with God. It’s about the desire of God to be with people." // JOHN ORTBERG
Jeremiah 29:13-14 NLT
If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you, says the Lord.
FellowSHIP in Prayer
Ships | Week 3
November 8, 2020 | Daniel Bunn
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Fellowship with God through prayer comes through time with God.
Psalm 119:164 NIV
Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.
Fellowship with God through prayer comes through vulnerability with God.
Psalm 139:1-6 NIV
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Psalm 44:20-26 NIV
If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself!Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression? We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love.
Fellowship with God through prayer comes through relationship with God.
Psalm 103:1–13 NIV
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
CitizenSHIP
Ships | Week 2
November 1, 2020 | Bill Clark
Left
- Rights
- Fairness
- Group Rights
- Doing
- Regulation
- New Ideas
- Relativism
- Change
- Whole Foods
Right
- Authority
- Liberty
- Individual Rights
- Believing
- Freedom
- Traditions
- Certainty
- Stability
- Cracker Barrel
One of those is the commandment to love one’s neighbor.
Conservative Values: You are welcome here.
Liberal Values: You are welcome here.
Our political culture is toxic right now and it is making enemies out of people who should be friends.
Make an effort to have a good conversation with someone who doesn’t agree with you about politics.
Don’t see the “other” as an enemy.
Fast from your favorite news channel.
Practice the art of empathy.
Pray for our country and its leaders, all of them.
Take your citizenship seriously—your country needs you.
Mark 3:25 NIV
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
StewardSHIP
Ships | Week 1
October 25, 2020 | Bryan Storms
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Philippians 4:10-20 NASB
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.
You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Stewardship: The conducting, supervising or responsible managing of something entrusted to one’s care.
Philippians 4:14-17 NASB
Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.
Philippians 4:18 NASB
But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.
We give as an act of obedience.
We give as an act of worship.
We give as an exercise in the spiritual gift of generosity.
Philippians 4:17 NASB
Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.
When we give, God’s work is done and treasure in heaven is stored up.
Philippians 4:19 NASB
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
When we give, we can rest in contentment through Christ Jesus.
Challenge
- Start where you are, trust God and take a step forward in your giving journey.
- Embrace the process: pray about giving, commit to God, and follow through.
Level One: Not Currently Giving
Level Two: Give Occasionally
Level Three: Consistent Giving but Not Tithing
Level Four: Tither
Level Five: Radically Generous
I'm Angry
Let’s Be Honest | Week 4
October 18, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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Ephesians 4:26 ESV
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.
Psalm 4:4 NIV
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
Righteous Anger is a holy reaction to what makes God angry.
1️⃣ Righteous Anger begins with humility.
2️⃣ Righteous Anger leads to grief.
3️⃣ Righteous Anger seeks redemption.
Righteous Anger begins with humility, leads us to grief, and seeks redemption.
Sinful Anger begins with ego, leads to rage, and seeks vengeance.
When we find ourselves getting angry and when those emotions start to rise up, we should stop and ask ‘What is this big thing that’s so important to me that I get this defensive? Why is my heart moved to feel angry?’ If you ask that question, more often than not, you’ll immediately be embarrassed, because many, many times, the thing you’re defending is your ego, your pride, and your self-esteem.
// Tim Keller
Ephesians 4:26 ESV
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger...
Ephesians 4:27 ESV
...and give no opportunity to the devil.
Satan preys on angry hearts.
What to Fear
Let’s Be Honest | Week 3
October 11, 2020 | Bill Clark
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We’re living into a new normal we don’t like and we find it scary.
Philippians 4:6 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Luke 12:4–5 NIV
I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Fear, respect, and obey the Living God.
Fear is a present moment reaction that is appropriate in the face of danger.
Imagine you had a direct confrontation with the Living God.
There is only one thing to be afraid of—the loss of friendship with God.
God just IS and always has been.
Overwhelmed & Exhausted
Let’s Be Honest | Week 2
October 4, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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“There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence… and that is activism and overwork. To be carried away by the multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work and destroys our inner capacity for peace.” // Thomas Merton
Mark 4:35-37 NIV
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
Mark 4:38-41 NIV
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
When the storm is raging, and Jesus is sleeping, which looks more powerful?
1 Release the Idol of Productivity
Psalm 127:2 BSB
In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat — for He gives sleep to His beloved.
2 Learn to Say “No”
3 Quit Something
4 Fast from ___ for a week.
“Abandon your spiritual disciplines for one week. While this may seem like a radical exercise, it may serve to free you from the performance trap, pride in your spiritual works, religious addiction, and the judging of those who do less than you. Use that time to relax and enjoy God. Spend an hour visiting with your neighbor about nothing important. Watch the sun go down. Talk a walk, not for exercise but just to walk and listen to the birds. Sit in silence. Do nothing. Need nothing.”
// Richard Foster
5 Take a Nap
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Nearness of God
Let’s Be Honest | Week 1
September 27, 2020 | Bill Clark
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Isaiah 40:1–2 NIV
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for.
Isaiah 40:6,7 NIV
“All men are like grass…the grass withers and the flowers fade.”
Isaiah 49:15 NIV
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget I will never forget you!”
Isaiah 55:8 NIV
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.”
...not by asking what if,but by believing even if.
Human Suffering & Deliverance
Faithful God | Week 4
September 20, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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We are desperate for an enduring sense of safety and security.
Psalm 91:1–16 NIV
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him, I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Matthew 4:6 NIV
“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you,” [Psalm 91:11] and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone’” [Psalm 91:12].
Jim Elliott //
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Suffering and death serve our joy and glorify our God!
Accept God’s invitation to rest.
Psalm 91:1 NIV
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Acknowledge God’s Presence with you.
Psalm 91:11 NIV
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
Apply your suffering to serve others.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NIV
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Soul liberation occurs when you replace “what if” with “even if.”
The Blazing Furnace
Faithful God | Week 3
September 13, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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Daniel 3:7 NIV
Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Daniel 3:9–12 NIV
They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Daniel 3:16–18 NIV
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
But even if God does not...
Daniel 3:22–30 NIV
The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
“The fact that Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan, identified the fourth being as deity is remarkable, though it is extremely doubtful that he would have had the insight to understand that he was in the presence of the Son of God. Yet, most Bible students do believe that this was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, who also appeared with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, who feasted with Abraham, who wrestled with Jacob, who spoke to Moses in the burning bush, who appeared to Joshua, who spent the night with Daniel in the lion’s den, and who came to be born in a stable. God manifest in the flesh!”
// Donald Campbell
Isaiah 43:2 NIV
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
But even if God does not...
Soul liberation occurs when you replace what if with even if.
Old Testament Faith
Faithful God | Week 2
September 6, 2020 | Bill Clark
Genesis 12:1-3 NIV
The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you." "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse.”
Deuteronomy 9:4 NIV
The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness. No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you.
Exodus 34:6 NIV
The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, is slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
Revelation 5:9-10 NIV
And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign over the earth."
Economy of Mercy
Faithful God | Week 1
September 6, 2020 | Daniel Bunn
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Jonah 4:1-3 NIV
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
Our Mission
John | Week 15
August 23, 2020 | Bill Clark
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John 20:10–13 NIV
Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
John 20:19–22 NIV
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Matthew 20:20–23 NIV
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
“What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Jesus’ Kingdom
John | Week 14
August 16, 2020 | Daniel Bunn
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John 18:33-38 NIV
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.
My kingdom is not of this world.
Complete Unity
John | Week 13
August 9, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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John 17:3 NIV
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
1 John 5:11-12 NIV
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
“The disciples were now entrusted with a new task. This involves inward purification. This purification is the work of the Holy Spirit. The very message which they are to proclaim will exercise its sanctifying effect on them. That message is the continuation of his message; their mission in the world is the extension of his mission.” // Frederick Bruce
John 17:20–23 NIV
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Is unity even possible?
John 17:24 NIV
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
John 17:25–26 NIV
Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.
“In this unbelieving world...Jesus goes forward. His disciples, soon to be scattered and shaken, would also go forward, infused with the Holy Spirit, united in loyalty, sure of God’s love in Christ, with a gleam of glory in their hearts, and aware of the unfailing presence of the living Christ among them. In them, and upon us as well, the Lord’s own prayer is being constantly fulfilled.” // R. E. White
The Vine & The Branch
John | Week 12
August 2, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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John 15:1-8 NIV
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:1 NIV
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
John 15:2,6 NIV
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
John 6:66 NIV
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
John 15:3 NIV
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
John 15:4-5 NIV
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:7 NIV
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
John 15:8 NIV
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
The first step of Christianity is to become Christ’s disciple; and its summit, to be Christ’s disciple.
Servant Churches
John | Week 11
July 26, 2020 | Bill Clark
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Week 11 Devotional page 91
John 13:1-9 NIV
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
John 13:12–17 NIV
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
John 13 | Jesus' picture of the kind of community God wants us to be.
Chapter 13–18 | "love" used 31 times.
Jesus wasn't just washing feet; he's giving a lesson to his followers.
God wants us to become servant churches.
A Contrast of Values
John | Week 10
July 19, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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John 11:35 NIV
Jesus wept.
John 11:44 NIV
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
John 11:57 NIV
The chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone found out where Jesus was, he should report it so that they might arrest him.
A Contrast of Values
John 12:1–3 NIV
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
John 12:4–6 NIV
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
John 12:7–8 NIV
“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
What is Jesus worth to me?
Philippians 3:7–8 NIV
But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ
The Shepherd's Voice
John | Week 9
July 12, 2020 | Bill Clark
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John 10:1–6 NIV
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
John 10:6 NIV
But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.
How do we hear to the voice of God?
Testing Truth
John | Week 8
July 5, 2020 | Wopsle
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Week 8 Devotional Page 67
John 8:12 NIV
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:31b-32 NIV
…Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Criteria for Testing Truth:Correction
Does it make you want to correct other’s mistakes?
Or do you want to work on yourself?
Conviction
Do you feel condemned because you have areas that need work?
Or do you feel FREE to run—to go and sin no more?
Challenging
Does it only confirm what you already feel and believe?
Or does it challenging some of your thoughts and behaviors?
John 8:58-59 NIV
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
John 9:5 NIV
“I am the light of the world.”
John 8:6b NIV
“Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.”
John 9:6 NIV
Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes.
John 9:25 NIV
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
The Forgiven Woman
John | Week 7
June 28, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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John 8:2-6a NIV
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
John 8:6b-8 NIV
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
John 8:9 NIV
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
John 8:10-11 NIV
Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Forgiveness is the chief gift of the New Testament gospel.
Jesus' grace empowers holiness.
Spiritual Thirst
John | Week 6
June 21, 2020 | Bill Clark
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John 7:16 NIV
My teaching is not my own, it comes from him who sent me.
Jesus claimed he was speaking for God, not about him.
John 7:37-39 NIV
On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Everyone has spiritual thirst—they may just not know it.
What if there is a God?
Bread of Life
John | Week 5
June 14, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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John 6:14–15 NIV
After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.
John 6:26–27 NIV
I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.
They saw the sign, but they didn’t see what it signified.
John 6:30 NIV
“What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?"
“Show us something, Jesus. Do one of your cool tricks and we will believe in you.”
John 6:31 NIV
Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’
John 6:35–40 NIV
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
John 6:43–51 NIV
“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
God has designed the entire universe to reveal Jesus!
“The Argument from Desire.” C.S. Lewis
“Make a meal of me! Enter into me, and I into you, and live forever!”
The Work of Jesus
John | Week 4
June 7, 2020 | Daniel Bunn
John 5:1-18 NIV
Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”
But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”
So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”
The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.
Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
What was the work that Jesus was doing?
Jesus performed the work of healing
The central tension of this passage is that Jesus has broken the sabbath and made himself equal with God.
The work of overturning unjust systems
Following Jesus is not optional
Do we fear, or do we trust?
The Gathering God
John | Week 3
May 31, 2020 | Bill Clark
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John 4:4-26 NIV
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
John 4:10 NIV
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
This is the Gathering God.
Light Brings Freedom
John | Week 2
May 24, 2020 | Wopsle
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John 3:19 NIV
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world,
John 3:19 NIV
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
John 3:20-21 NIV
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
James 5:16 NIV
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
Exposed sin has no power.
Freedom is living in the light.
What if I don't understand what the light is?
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Prayer:Heavenly Father,
I believe in the verdict. Light has come into the world! I believe that light came in the form of your Son, Jesus, and He was crucified for my sins, died, and rose from the grave in order to bring me into the light.
I know that a great price was paid for me and I receive your love in my heart right now. Please show me how to live a life empowered by the Holy Spirit, living in the light so that my deeds may glorify you.
Thank you God. Amen.
———
If you have made a decision for Christ today, please let us know.
In the Beginning was the Word
John | Week 1
May 17, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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John 1:1-5 NIV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1 NIV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
When did the story of Jesus begin?
Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
John 1:2 NIV
He was with God in the beginning.
John 1:3 NIV
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
John 1:4-5 NIV
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Psalm 36:9 NIV
“With you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light!”
Darkness cannot overcome the light of Christ.
John 1:12 NIV
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Enabled to Love
The Holy Spirit | Week 4
May 10, 2020 | Bill Clark
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Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Love is a verb, an action; it's something that we do.
Galatians 5:13 NIV
...serve one another in love.
Comfort & Joy
The Holy Spirit | Week 3
May 3, 2020 | Adam Barnett & Ruben Cenea
John 14:1, 16-17, 25-27 AMP
Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.
I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]
Links:
Mission of Hope, Haiti
Personal Experiences
The Holy Spirit | Week 2
April 26, 2020 | Adam Barnett, Bill Clark, and Tami Roach
Peace & Comfort
The Holy Spirit | Week 1
April 19, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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- Rejoice in the Resurrection
- Remember your Baptism
- Return to Habits of Spiritual Formation
- Reflect on the Birth of the Church
- Receive Gifts of the Holy Spirit]\
Luke 24:39-43 NIV
Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
“Typical encounters with the recently deceased do not issue in claims about an empty tomb, nor do they lead to the founding of a new religion. And they certainly do not typically eat and drink, and they are not seen by crowds of up to 500 people, I’m sure of it.”
// Rudolph Bultmahn
John 14:1 AMP
Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe [confidently] in God and trust in Him, [have faith, hold on to it, rely on it, keep going and] believe also in Me.
John 14:16-17 AMP
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.
John 14:25-27 AMP
I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you. Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]
Is your heart troubled today?
Lean into the peace and comfort of the Holy Spirit today.
Jesus is Alive
Jesus Is | Week 6
April 12, 2020 | Bill Clark
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John 20:1-18 NIV
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them the things that he had said to her.
Women were the first witnesses of the empty tomb.
Christianity is the only movement that grew after the death of its founder.
God has hard-wired us, not just to die, but to have a longing for eternal life.
Jesus is Glorified
Jesus Is | Week 5
April 5, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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John 12:12-15 NIV
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
John 12:16-19 NIV
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
John 12:20-28 NIV
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
John 12:23 NIV
"The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
- Glorification was accomplished through Jesus’ death on the cross.
- Glorification is the result of Jesus loving the Father more than His own life.
- Glorification demands a response from all disciples of Jesus.
John 1:12-13 NIV
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Prayer of Salvation
Father God, I believe with all my heart that Jesus died on the cross for me. I believe He rose from the dead, and that same power makes me a new creation. I renounce my past and ask you to forgive me of my sins. I receive your forgiveness today. I receive new birth in you. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. I long to be with you all of my days here, and for all of eternity. Through the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer today for the first time and accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, please let us know at this form. We would love to connect with you over email or a phone call and celebrate with you!
Jesus is Near
Jesus Is | Week 4
March 29, 2020 | Bill Clark
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Matthew 4:1-11 NIV
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ ” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Where is God in all of this?
God is all powerful, therefore God can prevent suffering. But God apparently does not always prevent suffering. Therefore, God is either not all powerful or not all loving.
// JAMES MARTIN
We are not called to be dismissive; we are called to help.
Experience the nearness of Jesus.
Despite the tragedy of all this, this time is really a strange gift to us.
Opportunity to be still.
Let the ever near Jesus come to you and surprise you with joy.
The Light of the World
Jesus Is | Week 3
March 22, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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Jesus is the Light of the World, and darkness cannot overcome it!
John 8:12 NIV
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
“I am the light of the world.”
“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Everything looks different in the light of Christ!
Matthew 5:14-16 NIV
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
“When he came, there was no light. When he left, there was no darkness.”
Calming the Storm
Jesus Is | Week 2
March 15, 2020 | Bill Clark
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Mark 4:35-41 NIV
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
"Don’t you care that we are about to die!"
"Quiet! Be still!"
“They were terrified.”
The problem was solved—but they were still terrified.
“Who is this?”
Jesus is More
Jesus Is | Week 1
March 8, 2020 | Tim Mannin
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Mark 6:34-37 NIV
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
John 6:7-11 NIV
Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
I’m not looking for big people who can do big things. I’m looking for people who know they are small and surrender to me with all that they have, so that I can use them in the biggest of ways.
Matthew 10:7-8 NIV
As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
John 6:35 NIV
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Psalm 107:9 NIV
for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
Matthew 19:26 NIV
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
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Links | OKC Community Church
Watch the full Unfinished Recap Video
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Treasure in Heaven
A Generous Life | Week 3
March 1, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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Luke 16:13 NIV
No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Mammon: riches, possessions, property, or treasure.
You cannot serve God, but also trust money to provide your internal peace and security.
Mark 10:17 NIV
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Mark 10:18-20 NIV
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
Mark 10:21 NIV
Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Mark 10:22 NIV
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Mark 10:23-27 NIV
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them & said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
Caretaking
A Generous Life | Week 2
February 23, 2020 | Daniel Bunn
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Deuteronomy 15:7-11 NIV
If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
Generous with our money.
Be generous with your money because the church needs money to operate.
Be generous with your money because generosity is actually good for you.
God does NOT want you to be generous with your money.
Implies that what we have is ours.
the land that the LORD your God is giving you...
Leviticus 25:23 NIV
The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.
Psalm 24:1 NIV
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
Everything is the LORD’S.
All human wealth depends ultimately on what God has entrusted to us in the immeasurable riches of the earth’s crust.
// Christopher Wright
Everything comes from God, everything belongs to God.
What is the amount that I can give that will be “enough”?
Why would we live our lives seeking the minimum amount that we can do?
Motivated by love.
What is the most I can do?
Stewardship
A Generous Life | Week 1
February 16, 2020 | Bill Clark
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Growth in Giving
2015 General Giving | $2,395,373
2019 General Giving | $3,638,726
Increase of | $1,243,353
NW Tulsa Giving
From Redeemer & Directed Gifts | $617,000
Missions Budget Allocation | $65,000 to date
Luke 6:27-38 NIV
But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Love our enemies.
Do good to those who hate us.
Bless those who curse us.
Pray for those who mistreat us.
Lend your money without any expectation of return!
Luke 6:38 NIV
Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.
Don’t Settle
God Cares How I Treat Others
2020 | Week 6
February 9, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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God cares how I treat others.
Philippians 2:1-2 NIV
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
So we learn here that our oneness in Christ is based on being encouraged by:
- Comfort from his love.
- Fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
- Tenderness and compassion.
- We are like-minded.
- We have the same love.
- We are one in spirit and purpose.
Philippians 2:3 NIV
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
Without exception, I found that every person who was sincerely happy — radiantly alive — was living for the purpose and cause of others. // Abraham Maslow
Philippians 2:4 NIV
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Our love for others should not just be reactive, but also proactive. We purposely look to sacrifice for others.
Philippians 2:5 NIV
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
phroneó: I think; I direct the mind to...
Life Together
2020 | Week 5
February 2, 2020 | Bill Clark
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Fellowship
Sharing in the life of Christ together; being in community with others who also love Jesus.
Philippians 1:3-8 NIV
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:4-5 NIV
“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…”
Fellowship means praying for one another.
A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses. // Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Philippians 1:5 NIV
Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
The happiest Christians are those who serve others.
Philippians 1:6 NIV
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
God will ultimately make us complete.
Please be patient, God is not finished with me yet.
Philippians 1:8 NIV
God can testify how I long for you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
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Further ResourcesLife Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer | Amazon Link
A Revitalized Prayer Life
2020 | Week 4
January 26, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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Disciplined Prayer
intentional and planned communion with God (either individually or corporately).
Matthew 6:9-13 NIV
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matthew 6:9-13 AMP
'Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV
Pray without ceasing.
Spontaneous Prayer
unintentional, unplanned prayers that erupt from your heart
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Won’t You Love Your Neighbor?
2020 | Week 3
January 19, 2020 | Adam Barnett
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Matthew 22:36-40 NIV
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Love God holistically
Love Yourself
Love your Neighbor
Four Basic Features of Evangelism:
- Embodied communication (in word, deed and life).
- Addressing the non-Christian world (to whom we proclaim).
- The Good News of the kingdom and Jesus Christ (what we proclaim).
- An approach that is consistent with the nature of the gospel (how we proclaim it).
- Within the walls of the church (where we proclaim it).
John 4:7-9 NIV
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?" (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
John 4:10-26 NIV
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Find your Samaria.
Practice HOSTIPITALITY: show hospitality where there could be hostility.
Love Yourself
2020 | Week 2
January 12, 2020 | Daniel Bunn
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Love your neighbor as yourself.
You cannot love your neighbor properly until you love yourself properly.
Who are you?
Dove Ad
Dove Spoof Ad
Who are we in the eyes of God?
Exodus 20:1-17 NIV
And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
We might love our potential selves, but not our actual selves.
Not because of what they have done, and often in spite of what they have done.
NOT Behave/Believe → Belong
BUT Belong → Behave/Believe
The only obstacle to success is my own perspective.
In God’s eyes, we are loved.
Essential Focus
2020 | Week 1
January 5, 2020 | Bill Clark
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Revelation 21:1-4 CEV
I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared and so had the sea. Then I saw the New Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband. I heard a voice shout from the throne: "God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever."
Prayer // Forgiving an Enemy // Comforting the Afflicted
Prayer
Make the Time - Robert Barron
The Jesus Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Forgiving an Enemy
Comfort the Afflicted
Pray // Forgive // Comfort the Afflicted
In the Unknown and Impossible
December 29, 2019 | Denise McKinney
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Luke 1:30-33 NLT
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Luke 1:35 NLT
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
Matthew 1:20-21 NLT
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Luke 2:6-7 NLT
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger...
Luke 2:10-11 NLT
but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
Luke 2:29-31 NLT
Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people.
A Gift For All
Advent at Redeemer | Week 5
December 24, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Matthew 1:18-23 NIV
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
John 3:16-21 NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Numbers 21:8-9 NIV
The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So, Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.
John 3:14-15 NIV
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
The Whole Story
Advent | Week 4
December 22, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Isaiah 40:1-5 NIV
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Mark 1:1-4 NIV
The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in Isaiah the prophet: I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way – a voice of one calling in the desert, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” And so John came…
Compelling Praise
Advent 2019 | Week 3
December 15, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses.
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear, the Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share, as we tarry there, none other has ever known.
Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
His Presence compels our praise.
A Mission of Revolution
Advent at Redeemer | Week 2
December 8, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Psalm 72:1-7,15-17 NIV
Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor. May he endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. May he be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days may the righteous flourish and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.
Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.
King Jesus' ministry was the launch of a revolution of love.
If you invite Jesus into your life - into your house - you can expect Him to renovate it.
He was out to change the culture.
He wants to continue the revolution he started when he walked the earth.
I want you to see the invisible people in your community who need care and love – would you do that for me?
For To Us A Child Is Born
Advent at Redeemer | Week 1
December 1, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year. With the kids jingle-belling & everyone telling you ‘be of good cheer.’ There’ll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow.
~ Andy Williams, The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
- The odds of 1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies: 1 chance in 100 quintillion.
- The odds of 1 person fulfilling 8 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power.
- The odds of 1 person fulfilling 300 prophecies: only Jesus.
Isaiah 9:1-5 NIV
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Shalom
Everything necessary to wholesome living: good health, a sense of well-being and harmony, good fortune, the cohesiveness of the community, relationship with relatives and their state of being, and anything else deemed necessary for everything to be in order.
How Do We Engage Young People
Student Sunday
November 24, 2019 | Wopsle
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Comfort is the enemy of progress. // P.T. Barnum
Acts 17:16 NIV
While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
How do we engage young people?
Acts 17:22 NIV
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
We start by SEEING young people.
Acts 17:23a NIV
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god.
We need to WALK AROUND and LOOK at what they engage in.
Acts 17:23b NIV
So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
We must PROCLAIM the Gospel to the next generations.
Acts 17:24-28 NIV
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
I Am the Temple of the Holy Spirit
Fixed Identity | Week 4
November 17, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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New creations in Christ are the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV
"I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
What I do or don’t do doesn’t make me a Christian. Jesus makes me a Christian.
Freedom isn’t permission to do everything. True freedom is not being enslaved by anything.
1 Corinthians 6:13-18 NIV
You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
- Am I finding my identity in anything that can be taken away from me?
- Am I merely resisting sin, or do I see myself as the Temple of God purchased by Christ?
Who Are You
Fixed Identity | Week 3
November 10, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Who are you?
- There is a God.
- It’s not you or me.
You and I are who God says we are.
What must I do?"
Tell me who you are and then you will know what you must do.”
Knowing ourselves is not nearly as important as knowing who made us.
1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Exodus 19:5-6 NIV
You will be my special people out of all nations, for the whole earth is mine, but you will be for me a royal priesthood and a holy nation.
We CAN choose how we treat other people.
We CAN and must respond to injustice that happens around us.
What happens next is your choice.
My condition wasn't my identity.
Ambassadors in Christ
Fixed Identity | Week 2
November 3, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NIV
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
If I am a new creation, I am Christ’s ambassador with the ministry and message of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NIV
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Approved • Accepted • Positioned • Instructed • Empowered • Appointed
Ambassadors have noteworthy reputation and character.
Ambassadors cooperate with people of all religious preferences.
Don’t be too "Christian-y" for non-Christians.
Ambassadors start with love, not facts.
Ambassadors pursue conversation with people of other faiths or religious affiliations
Ambassadors stay ready to share the Story of Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I Am A New Creation In Christ
Fixed Identity | Week 1
October 27, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Galatians 2:20 NIV
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
2 Corinthians 5:16 NIV
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Newness is not a product of what we do, but whom we pursue.
The Gaps We Share
Proverbs | Week 5
October 20, 2019 | Bill Clark
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We all have gaps between who we may want to be and who we really are.
Proverbs 16:2 NIV
All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord.
Self-Deception
Jeremiah 17:9 NIV
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Proverbs 16:18 NIV
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
James 1:22 NIV
Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Not only do we know God through Christ alone, but we know ourselves by Christ alone.
// Blaise Pascal
Covenantal Friendships
Proverbs | Week 4
October 13, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Friends are dependable.
Proverbs 17:17 NIV
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Friends are transparent.
Proverbs 28:13 NIV
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
We need to CRUCIFY our IMAGE!
Friends are safe and trustworthy.
Proverbs 16:28 NIV
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.
Friends are willing to tenderly confront.
Proverbs 27:17 NIV
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Friends are an extension of God’s love.
Proverbs 19:22 NIV
What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.
1 Samuel 18:3-4 NIV
And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
2 Samuel 1:26 NIV
I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.
Choosing Wisdom
Proverbs | Week 3
October 6, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Wise People
those for whom life's experiences have been a teacher.
Foolish People
Evil People
When you have a problem with a wise person and engage in conversation about it, you will make progress and things will improve.
When you talk to a foolish person—be graciously direct about the consequences of their actions.
If you feel a need to talk with an evil person—don't. It won't help. Find something else to do.
Proverbs 12:15 ESV
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise person listens to advice.
Proverbs 28:26 ESV
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Proverbs 15:31,33 ESV
The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise...The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 12:1 ESV
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.
Proverbs 25:19 ESV
Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth.
Wise Speaking
Proverbs | Week 2
September 29, 2019 | Daniel Bunn
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Wise Speaking
1000 words per waking hour
We either speak wisely or foolishly.
To speak wisely is to know what to say.
Proverbs 15:2 NIV
The tongue of the wise dispenses knowledge, but the mouth of fools pours out folly.
Wise people speak the truth.
Wise people know what to say, and they know how to say it.
President George W. Bush Quotes:
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?
They misunderestimated me.
Proverbs 16:24 NIV
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Proverbs 25:15 NIV
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
Wise people speak the truth, and they speak it graciously.
Wise people know what to say, how to say it, and they know when to say it.
Proverbs 15:23 NIV
To make an apt answer is a joy to anyone, and a word in season, how good it is!
Wise speakers speak the truth, speak it graciously, and they speak it in season.
Wise people know what to say, how to say it, when to say it, and they know why they say it.
Proverbs 18:21 NIV
Life and death are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit.
Whoever, then, thinks that he understands the Holy Scriptures, or any part of them, but puts such an interpretation upon them that does not tend to build up this twofold love of God and our neighbor, does not yet understand them as he ought. //St. Augustine
The Truth is this:
God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Fear or Foolishness
Proverbs | Week 1
September 22, 2019 | Adam Barnett
1 Kings 3:6-14 NIV
Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.
Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.
Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
Proverbs are like guidelines, not mechanical formulas. They are procedures we follow, not promises that we claim. They are not stepping-stones to legalism, but signposts to grace. They are designed to enable us to live out the full meaning of the life that springs daily from the hand of the Creator and Savior. // David Hubbard
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Proverbs 1:1-7 NIV
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Fear God or be a fool.
To attain wisdom, we must patiently, passionately, and persistently pursue the Person and Presence of God.
Prevailing Condition
In Courage | Week 5
September 15, 2019 | Bill Clark
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How anxiety became society's prevailing condition.
Luke 10:38-42 NIV
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Psalm 46:10 NIV
Be still and know that I am God.
What are you holding tightly in your clenched fist that you need to turn over to God?
Dear God,
I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold onto? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what you want to give me. And what you want to give me is love-unconditional, everlasting love.
Amen
Message Summary:
The only downside to living in relationship is that relationships involve sinful people...us included. So it's vital we remember to approach messy relationships with grace and the attitude of Christ. Adam Barnett continues our series be charging us to remember our own brokenness and work out our relationship issues with this in mind.
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Messy Relationships
In Courage | Week 4
September 8, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Romans 12:14 NIV
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
We repay evil with blessing.
Romans 12:15 NIV
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Romans 12:16 NIV
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
We have all sinned and are equally dependent on grace.
Romans 12:17-19 NIV
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
Romans 12:20-21 NIV
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Overlook the offense.
Pray for them.
Forgive them.
Bless them.
Eulogeó: to speak well of
Lacking Faith
In Courage | Week 3
September 1, 2019 | Wopsle
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Mark 9:14-19 NIV
When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
We don’t lose faith in God, but we lose faith in what he says about us.
Mark 9:20-22 NIV
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
Mark 9:23 NIV
“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Our lack of faith causes us not to call on the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 14:28-31 NIV
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
Mark 9:24 NIV
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Encourage One Another Daily
In Courage | Week 2
August 25, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Apostasy: a deliberate, intentional rejection of the faith a person once had.
Hebrews 3:7-11 NIV
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’
Hebrews 3:12-14 NIV
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.
"encourage one another daily..."
Admonish
TODAY
Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people. // Carl Jung, Psychiatrist
Have Peace & Take Heart
In Courage | Week 1
August 18, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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John 16:33 NIV
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
The peace of Christ is not circumstantial or conditional, and it cannot be taken away from you.
Thlípsis: an internal pressure that causes someone to feel confined and restricted; without options.
Healing Divisions
Acts | Week 12
August 11, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Acts 21:17-26 NIV
When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”
The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.
Good New For Us
Acts | Week 11
August 4,2019 | Daniel Bunn
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What God is up to in the world is good news for us.
Acts 20:32-35 NIV
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
What God is up to in the world is good news for us.
Instead, the real challenge is for God to convince us that we are already loved.
What God is up to in the world is good news for us.
God gives.
This is good news for us.
Circumcision vs. Grace
Acts | Week 10
July 28,2019 | Adam Barnett
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Acts 15:1-5 NIV
Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the Law of Moses.”
Acts 2:21 NIV
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Acts 15:6-11 NIV
The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Acts 11:17 NIV
So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?
Jesus isn’t a step on the way to salvation. Jesus is the way to salvation.
Acts 15:16-18 NIV
After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things that have been known for ages.
Acts 15:19 NIV
It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
Don’t make it difficult for anyone to turn to God.
Results of the Council at Jerusalem
- The unity of the church was upheld.
- Existing Gentile churches were encouraged.
- The future of the church was to be inclusive.
- The gospel of divine grace was reaffirmed.
Unless I also ___, I am not saved.
Paul & Barnabas On The Road
Acts | Week 9
July 21, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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- Message of Repentance
- Momentum from Persecution
- Motivation from Rejection
Message of Repentance
Acts 13:24 NIV
Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel.
When you minimize the problem, you cheapen the solution.
Momentum from Persecution
Acts 14:22b NIV
“We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
Despite persecution and opposition, the gospel was spreading.
Acts 11:19-20 [paraphrase]
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen...went to Antioch and told the Greeks the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord!
Despite...and BECAUSE of persecution and opposition, the gospel was spreading.
Motivation from Rejection
Acts 13:44-50 NIV
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 14:1-3 NIV
At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
The reactions of people—acceptance or rejection—cannot be the basis of our joy, or our obedience.
Romans 10:14-15 [paraphrase]
But how can Joe call on Jesus to save him unless he believes in him? And how can _____ believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can ____ hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
To The Gentiles
Acts | Week 8
July 14, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Acts 1:8 NIV
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 9:31 NIV
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
oikodoméō
GOD moves. PEOPLE talk about it. The CHURCH grows.
Salvation through Christ is not just for Israel but for all people.
Acts 10:9-22 NIV
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.”
Keep it all about Jesus.
Acts 10:33b NIV
“Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
Acts 10:43 NIV
All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.
We need to strive to be better gardeners.
Be Bold
Acts | Week 7
July 7, 2019 | Wopsle
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Acts 8:1 NIV
And Saul approved of their killing him.
Acts 8:26-31 NIV
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
When God says to go, we should go.
Acts 8:38-39 NIV
And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 9:1 NIV
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.
Acts 9:10-15 NIV
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.
Sometimes boldness means speaking out.
Sometimes boldness means stepping out.
1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
We need to strive to be better gardeners.
Stephen’s Speech
Acts | Week 6
June 30, 2019 | Bill Clark
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A man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 7:51-52 NIV
You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him.
Acts 8:1 NIV
And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
The Gospel advanced because of his suffering and sacrifice.
Stephen showed us how to live—and how to die.
Stephen showed us how to love our enemies.
We should beware making an idol of the "good life"
Growing Witness & Opposition
Acts | Week 5
June 23, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Acts 3:6-8 NIV
"Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.
Acts 4:8-12 NIV
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
- They were guilty in crucifying Jesus.
- Jesus rose from the dead.
- The purposes of God will not be stopped.
- Jesus is the one and only way of salvation.
Acts 5:14-16 NIV
Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.”
Acts 5:27-28 NIV
The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
Acts 5:29-32 NIV
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Acts 5:41-42 NIV
The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
Boldness:
not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger; courageous and daring
Boldness:
an undeniable sign of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit!
A Model Church
Acts | Week 4
June 16, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Acts 2:42-47 NIV
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
- Devotion to the Word
- Devotion to one another
- Breaking of bread
- Prayer
- Radical generosity
- Inseparability
- Consistency
- Awe, gladness, and praise
- Attractiveness
- Daily evangelism
Acts 2:42a NIV
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship…
Koinōnia
Acts 2:42 NIV
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:43 NIV
Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
Acts 2:44-47 NIV
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
- Radical Generosity
- Consistent Evangelism
Koinonikos
Acts 2:45 NIV
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
His Kingdom > my castle
The Holy Spirit is a missionary Spirit.
Peter’s Sermon
Acts | Week 3
June 9, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Acts 2:16-24 NIV
No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."
Do an about face in your life's direction and attach yourself to Jesus.
Wanting to want what Jesus has to give you.
- Become aware of God's presence.
- Review the day with gratitude.
- Pay attention to your emotions.
- Choose one feature of the day to pray about - particularly if you need to ask forgiveness
- Look toward tomorrow with hope in the risen Christ.
This Same Jesus
Acts | Week 2
June 2, 2019 | Denise McKinney
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Acts 1:1-14 NIV
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
This same Jesus…
This is still the same Jesus!
This same Jesus is still with us.
Holy Spirit:
The very real and powerful presence of God at work in us.
This same Jesus still overhauls our expectations.
The kingdom of God ≠ the kingdom of Israel
Faith minus vulnerability and mystery is extremism...
Brene Brown
This same Jesus still loves a good plot twist.
This same Jesus still calls us to life in community.
an unintentional “self-centered faith story”
one where we feel “close and cared for"
and those we don’t understand or don’t agree with are “distant and disregarded".
A Bigger Table | John Pavlovitz
I Will Build My Church
Acts | Week 1
May 26, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Matthew 16:13-14 NIV
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Matthew 16:15-16 NIV
"But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:17-19 NIV
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
John 1:2-13 NIV
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
There is a battle inside each of us between the flesh and the Spirit. We must choose to allow the Spirit to fight on our behalf and yield to its power. Bill Clark reminds us of this battle and the power that is at work on our behalf in the conclusion to our Third Person study of the Holy Spirit.
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Spirit v. Flesh
Third Person | Week 4
May 19, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Romans 8:12-17 NIV
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:17b NIV
...we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Paul gives two specific directives in Ephesians 5:1-2. Be imitators of God and live a life of love. These two things are seemingly impossible, and they are when we attempt them on our own. But Bill Clark reminds us that it's very possible when we are fill by the Holy Spirit and yield to the Spirit's direction.
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Filled
Third Person | Week 3
May 12, 2019 | Bill Clark
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Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Be imitators of God.
Live a life of love.
Ephesians 5:15-18 NIV
Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery (dissipation). Instead be filled with the Spirit.
Don’t be controlled by too much wine, be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
You ask for the Holy Spirit to fill you. That’s it.
Galatians 5:22 NIV
“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5 is a well-known and well-read passage, but often it's missed that "fruit" is not plural. We don't receive parts of the fruit, or only percentages of the fruit. When we choose to follow Christ, and yield to the Holy Spirit, we get it all! Adam Barnett continues our look at the Third Person of the Trinity with the reminder of all the power Holy Spirit provides!
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Fruit of the Spirit
Third Person | Week 2
May 5, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Galatians 5:22-26 NIV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Spirit-fueled development of Christ-like character is evidence of knowing God.
Unhealthy
A marriage lacking the collective fruit of the Spirit, therefore, failing to thrive.
13% love
10% joy
12% peace
11% patience
12% kindness
10% goodness
11% faithfulness
10% gentleness
11% self-control
100% love
100% joy
100% peace
100% patience
100% kindness
100% goodness
100% faithfulness
100% gentleness
100% self-control
Love keeps no record of wrongs.
Galatians 5:24 NIV
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
The Holy Spirit has been working and moving since before the dawn of time. Our tendency is to isolate the Spirit to period of Pentecost, but the Holy Spirit has been an active part in history and lives in us today. Adam Barnett begins our study of the Third Person of the Trinity by encouraging us to be led by this powerful Presence in our lives.
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Walk by the Spirit
Third Person | Week 1
April 28, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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The Holy Spirit cannot be isolated into one singular event in history. (Pentecost)
Galatians 5:13-15 NIV
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Freedom is not a license to sin, but a mandate to love.
Galatians 5:16-18 NIV
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
“I know that in * [INSERT NAME]*, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing.”
— Romans 7:18 (paraphrase)
The Weekend that Changed the World
Easter 2019
April 21, 2019 | Bill Clark
Revelation 1:12-15,17-18 NIV
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters...and he said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!”
The Stones Will Cry Out
Life with Jesus | Week 7
April 14, 2019 | Adam Barnett
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Luke 19:28-34 NIV
After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
Zechariah 9:9 NIV
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
As the ambassador of the ultimate Kingdom, the Prince of Peace came not to conquer men, but sin.
Luke 19:35-38 NIV
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Jesus didn’t come to claim kingship of the throne, but kingship of hearts and minds.
Luke 19:39 NIV
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
Luke 19:40 NIV
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Jesus will receive the praise He is due!
The parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18 is not a command to pester God until He gives in to our desires, but an exploration of the character of God. Daniel Bunn uses this text to remind us that God can and will bring justice to His people, whom He loves.
Character of God
Life with Jesus | Week 6
April 7, 2019 | Daniel Bunn
Luke 18:2 NIV
He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.
Luke 18:3 NIV
And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
Luke 18:4-5 NIV
For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
Parables are told to address specific situations for specific audiences.
Luke 18:1 NIV
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
We no longer believe that what we are doing is leading to the goal that we desired in the first place.
The lesson is persistence: don’t give up.
Luke 18:6-8 NIV
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
The parable is not about persistence; it’s about the character of God.
Faithful prayer is not so much about what or how we pray; it’s about knowing the one to whom we pray.
Paul tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God." and Jesus tells us that we must recognize our sin, turn to Him, and repent. But this is not a scary thing. Adam Barnett continues our series on Life with Jesus by encouraging and reminding us that God is not waiting to condemn us, but to welcome us with open arms.
Repent or Perish
Life with Jesus | Week 5
March 31, 2019 | Adam Barnett
Life with Jesus is impossible without repentance.
Repentance
A change of mind that results in a change of action.
Luke 13:1-5 NIV
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Luke 13:6-9 NIV
Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”
Jesus’ ministry is a display of mercy in view of the coming judgment.
Jeremiah 12:17 NIV
“But if any nation will not listen, then I will completely uproot it and destroy it,” declares the LORD.
When we minimize the PROBLEM, we minimize the SOLUTION.
If SIN is not a big deal, neither is the CROSS.
Prayer of Confession:
O Christ my God, at the last day, we will all stand before your judgment seat. Now, drawn by your mercy and seeking your grace, I come before your presence. I bring before you my unrighteousness, my evil thoughts and deeds. Look on my heart, broken by guilt and humbled in your presence; my sins are more than I can count, and I pray for your mercy. I am your own, marked as yours in baptism and sealed with the Holy Spirit. Yet, I have not been true to your call or faithful in your service. O Lord, my wrongdoing and the weight of what I have not done overwhelms me, but I know that your mercies are endless, they are new every morning, and your compassion surpasses my understanding. Stretch forth your hand to me and receive me, as you welcomed the returning prodigal, the repentant thief, the woman who wept at your feet, and even Peter who had denied you. Where sin has abounded, let grace abound even more, that I may live and serve you now, and, at last, rejoice in the eternal kingdom where you, the ever-living Father and the gracious life-giving Spirit, reign for all eternity. Amen.
Worry is part of the human condition. But Jesus tells us that we are to seek to trade that worry for absolute trust in God and His provision. Adam Barnett continues our series by challenging us to begin to trust in God today!
Greed & Worry
Life with Jesus | Week 4
March 24, 2019 | Adam Barnett
My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened. - Michel de Montaigne
Luke 12:22-34 NIV
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Whatever God gives me, I steward well.
Greed and worry reveal our lack of trust in God and our lack of eternal perspective.
- ``` Am I stewarding my possessions in a God-honoring way?
2.
Am I trusting myself more than I am trusting God?
3.
Am I serving God’s Kingdom or building my own?
4.
Am I suffering to chronic worry?
```
Worry is irreverent.
Worry is irrelevant.
Worry is irresponsible.
Worry is ignorant.
When His disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, He answers by sharing three different points about prayer. Denise McKinney explores these points and how they impact the way we encounter Jesus and view God’s love for us.
Shameless Persistence
Life with Jesus | Week 3
March 17, 2019 | Denise McKinney
Luke loves REVERSALS
Luke 11:1-13 NLT
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:
“Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. Give us each day the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.”
Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
This is how we should pray—
for what God wants.
Luke 11:2-4 MSG
Father, reveal who you are. Set the world right. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
When we keep praying for what God wants—
God gives us what we really need.
And when God gives us what we really need—
We find our way.
Bill Clark continues our series about living Life with Jesus by sharing from the Parable of the Good Samaritan to illustrate Jesus’ call that love has no limits on who is our neighbor!
Who is My Neighbor?
Life with Jesus | Week 2
March 10, 2019 | Bill Clark
Luke 10:25-37 NIV
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:27 NIV
Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.
Love has no limits on who is our neighbor.
For followers of Jesus:
Who isn’t your neighbor?
Just don’t pass them by.
The invitation to follow Jesus and walk in life with Him is one that is transformative, but requires sacrifice. Adam Barnett opens our series on living life with Jesus by exploring this cost to follow and putting it in perspective with the cost that Christ paid.
The Cost to Follow
Life With Jesus | Week 1
March 3, 2019 | Adam Barnett
Luke 9:51-56 NIV
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.
Luke 9:57-58 NIV
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Luke 9:59-60 NIV
He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
The moment to say yes and follow Jesus is never tomorrow. The moment is always now.
Luke 9:61-62 NIV
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Our service to the Kingdom of God must supersede all other commitments.
The Story of Dr. Paul Carlson
David made a profound choice in 2 Samuel to not make a donated sacrifice, but instead to pay for the sacrifice himself. This idea of sacrificial giving is felt throughout Scripture. Bill Clark is joined by special guest Julie Earp to talk about the challenge to think about whether our giving governs our spending, or the other way around.
Beyond Strength to Sacrifice
Beyond Belief | Week 4
February 24, 2019 | Bill Clark & Julie Earp
2 Corinthians 9:10-15 NIV
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Colossians 1:15-20 NIV
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
It’s possible for us to seek what we believe advances the Kingdom of God but be at odds with what God wants and has planned for. David learned this with his desire to build the temple that God had planned for Solomon. Bill Clark continues our series by exploring how we are to continually seek God’s vision for us rather than our own.
Beyond My Kingdom to God’s Kingdom
Beyond Belief | Week 3
February 17, 2019 | Bill Clark
David was a living contradiction. We all are.
2 Samuel 7:1-16 NIV
After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”
But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’
“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”
We are pilgrim people.
To be a pilgrim is to realize what we do is not actually about us—it’s for those who don’t know God—and for the generations to come.
For a follower of Jesus, the only right obsession is the Kingdom of God.
When David danced before the Ark in worship to God, he did so not caring about how he looked to those around him. Despite his place as King of Israel and Judah, he knew his role in that moment was simply worshipper. Adam Barnett continues our series by encouraging us to remember that we were made to worship our King.
Beyond Work to Worship
Beyond Belief | Week 2
February 10, 2019 | Adam Barnett
2 Samuel 6:12-16 NIV
Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.
2 Samuel 6:17-19 NIV
They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.
2 Samuel 6:20-23 NIV
When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
David moved beyond work…to worship.
1 | Worship is our reckless response to God’s love.
2 | Worship is for an audience of one.
Worship like Jesus is watching you. No one else.
3 | Worship is our all-encompassing identity.
David was faced with a decision after being anointed King over Israel and Judah, where was his base to be? Does he play it safe in Hebron, or take he riskier but option and take Jerusalem. Bill Clark opens our Beyond Belief series by exploring this dilemma facing David, and how we face the same dilemma regarding what God has called us to as a church.
Beyond Victory to Vulnerability
Beyond Belief | Week 1
February 3, 2019 | Bill Clark
2 Samuel 5:1-5 NIV
All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’” When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
2 Samuel 5:6-10 NIV
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David. On that day David had said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.” David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it, from the terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.
Micah 6:8 (Paraphrase)
Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justice now. Love mercy now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
Scripture is the God-breathed and inspired word of God. It is the perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. As such, we can rely upon its authority. Adam Barnett concludes our Why series by exploring why the Bible is authoritative.
Why is the Bible Authoritative?
Why? | Week 4
January 27, 2019 | Adam Barnett
“Our danger lies in questioning too little rather than too much. After all, our questions can be the voice of God.”
— Caroline Westerhoff
"We confess God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, as the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.”
1 | Scripture includes the Old and New Testaments.
2 | Scripture is the perfect rule for faith.
3 | Scripture is the perfect rule for doctrine.
We can’t add to Scripture with our experiences and we can’t subtract from Scripture with our skepticism.
4 | Scripture is the perfect rule for conduct.
2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
1 | The Bible is unique.
2 | The Bible is widely accepted.
3 | The Bible claims to be authoritative.
2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV)
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Direct Revelation
The actual words of God are recorded by the prophets
Inspiration
The Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they wrote; therefore, it is Divine Truth
4 | The Bible welcomes our challenge.
5 | The authority of the Bible requires faith.
"True doctrine is crucial if the church is to remain in sound health and fulfill its mission." — Dr. Jonathan Wilson
In John 14, Jesus himself says that He is "the way, the truth, and the life." Adam Barnett explores the crucial question of why Jesus is the only way, and the reasons we can put our trust in Him alone.
Why is Jesus the Only Way?
Why? | Week 3
January 20, 2019 | Adam Barnett
“Our danger lies in questioning too little rather than too much. After all, our questions can be the voice of God.” — Caroline Westerhoff
Because He said so.
John 14:1-7 NIV
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
John 14:11 NIV
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.
1 | Jesus Performed Miracles
2 | Jesus Lived a Sinless Life
3 | Jesus Died Without a Fight
Isaiah 53:7 NIV
“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”
4 | Jesus Defeated Death
- Origin
- Meaning
- Morality
- Destiny
One of the most common and vexing questions about God is why He allows bad things to happen to good people. Bill Clark examines this question in light of the truth that we are never disconnected from the love of God.
Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?
Why? | Week 2
January 13, 2019 | Bill Clark
Why do bad things happen to good people?
John 21:25 NIV
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
Philippians 4:11-12 NIV
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Denial
Anger
Blame
Acts 14:22 NIV
We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.
1 | Suffering is a necessary part of the Christian life.
Romans 8:18 NIV
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
2 | Suffering and pain awaken us to God.
3 | No matter what happens to us, we are never disconnected from the love of God.
Romans 8:38 NIV
…neither death nor life…will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
4 | When bad things happen, our faith instructs us to get through it.
"Pain insists on being attended to. God whispers in our pleasures, speaks to our consciences, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world." - C.S. Lewis
The Bible tells us that as created beings of a Holy God, our purpose is simply to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. As we begin our look at the big questions, Bill Clark explores how this question affects our daily interactions both with God and others.
Why Am I Here?
Why? | Week 1
January 6, 2019 | Bill Clark
Why am I here?
1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Isaiah 43:6-7 NIV
I will say to the north, "Give them up!" and to the south, "Do not hold them back." Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth — everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
The purpose of man (humankind) is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
Impose / Propose
Psalm 86:12-13 NIV
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love for me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
For God so loved the world…
Being on the team is a great thing, but sometimes we start to question our own necessity and our own ability once it’s time to actually get in the game. Joe Scruggs challenges us to get in the game spiritually. It’s easy to hang around, enjoy church, and sit on the sidelines, but we have to get in the game.
Getting in the Game
December 30, 2018 | Joe Scruggs
Getting in the Game
Intentionally engaging in the process of knowing Christ better and adjusting our priorities to be consistent with what we understand to be His priorities.
Intentionally
Joshua 24:14-15 NIV
Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Process
Knowing
Adjust Our Priorities
Isaiah 43:1-3 NLT
But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Bill Clark concludes our Advent series, Presence, with a word about the power of Christ becoming man. Sharing from Galatians 4:4, he encourages us to allow ourselves to be shocked and surprised again at the truth of this story.
Christmas Eve
Presence | Week 5
December 24, 2018 | Bill Clark
Galatians 4:4-5 NIV
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
The message that the Savior has arrived and God’s presence is with us is one that was met with immediate responses from the Shepherds talked about in Luke 2. What will our response to this monumental news be? Adam Barnett poses this important question as we head toward Christmas Eve.
A Presence That Demands A Response
Presence | Week 4
December 23, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Luke 2:6-7 NIV
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:8-20 NIV
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
The fact of the child was news. The function of the child was gospel.
- Proclamation
- Amazement
- Reflection
- Praise
Bill Clark continues our Presence series with a brief but powerful message from the song of Zechariah described in Luke 1:67-79.
Zechariah
Presence | Week 3
December 16, 2018 | Bill Clark
Luke 1:67-79 NIV
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
The news that Mary was going to have a baby, and that baby would be the son of God, should have made Mary panic and fear. Instead, she praised God and focused on the call He placed on her life. Adam Barnett continues our Advent series, Presence, with the reminder that God has the ability to do the impossible.
Revolutionary Presence
Presence | Week 2
December 9, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Luke 1:26-38 NIV
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:37 NIV
For nothing is impossible with God.
Luke 1:46-49 NIV
And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NIV
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.
Luke 1:50-53 NIV
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
Luke 1:54-55 NIV
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.
Luke 1:46 NIV
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
- God is the God of the impossible.
- God’s Presence changes everything.
- God is a promise keeper.
The Presence of God arrived in earthly form in the person of Jesus. But Jesus’ story did not begin in Bethlehem. He has existed since before time began and his arrival in the earth was foretold from ages before. Bill Clark opens our Advent series, Presence, by looking at the poetic and powerful words of John 1.
Promised Presence
Presence | Week 1
December 2, 2018 | Bill Clark
We all need something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
John 1:1-14 NIV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1 NIV
In the beginning was the Word…
John 1:3 NIV
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made.
John 1:14 NIV
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
We all need something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
Jesus came and gave us things to do.
What do you love?
John 1:16 NIV
We have received one blessing after another.
The third milestone of a healthy life is that we have something to hope for.
For our inaugural Redeemer Worship podcast episode, Denise McKinney and Alison Myers sat down with Rick Fraley and talked about the story behind his Christmas piano concert. We also took time to just talk about worship, share a song and introduce the theme of Advent.
When Paul encouraged us to have the same attitude as Christ, he was speaking not just to the condition of our hearts, but to the way we live out that attitude. Wopsle wraps up our discussion of Philippians 2:5 by exploring what it looks like to align our actions and attitudes under the example and leading of the Holy Spirit.
Attitude of Action
Philippians 2:5 | Week 8
November 25, 2018 | Wopsle
Philippians 2:1 NIV
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
Philippians 1:27 NIV
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
Actions
Philippians 2:5 NIV
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Attitude→ Actions
2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Philippians 2:12-13 NIV
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Holy Spirit → Attitude → Actions
Jesus’ attitude of mercy was beautifully displayed in his interaction with the accused woman in John chapter 8. The mercy of Christ doesn’t excuse sin, but it has a transformative effect on those who experience it. Be transformed by putting on an attitude of mercy every day.
An Attitude of Mercy
Philippians 2:5 | Week 7
November 18, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Philippians 2:5 NIV
In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.
John 8:2-6a NIV
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
John 8:6b-8 NIV
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Matthew 9:13 NIV
Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
John 8:9 NIV
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
John 8:10-11 NIV
Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Mercy treats our sin; it doesn’t tolerate our sin.
Therefore, the more we taste it, the more we transform!
Matthew 5:7 NIV
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:7 NIV
Blessed are the eleémón, for they will be shown mercy.
The joy that Christ displayed through all circumstances is an example for us to follow in our daily lives. Bill Clark reminds us that true joy, from the true source of the vine, is not dependent on circumstance but is steadfast.
Joy
Philippians 2:5 | Week 6
November 11, 2018 | Bill Clark
Philippians 2:5
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
John 15:9-12 NIV
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Passion Clip
Hebrews 12:2-3 NIV
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and loose heart.
John 16:22 NIV
No one will take your joy from you.
We can exhibit and embody the peace of Christ by remembering how Christ has shown peace and restoration in our world and in our own lives. Denise McKinney reminds us that although hostility tears people apart, peace can tear down the walls of hostility we have built.
Peace in Christ
Philippians 2:5 | Week 5
November 4, 2018 | Denise McKinney
Ephesians 2:12 NLT
In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
He calls them to remember.
They must experience peace themselves before they can give it away.
Ephesians 2:13-14 NLT
But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
He gives the but now reversal.
Hostility tears people apart…
Peace tears down walls of hostility.
Ephesians 2:15-18 NLT
He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
He unveils God’s reorientation package.
One new humanity in place of two.
Boolean Algebra
1 + 1 = 1
The closer we move toward God setting all things right in the world, the farther we should move away from Us vs. Them mindsets.
Colossians 3:15 NIV
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
We invite the peace of Christ into our own lives.
We major on the major and minor on the minors.
We promote learning and discussion about how God wants us to respond to the needs for peace in our world.
We invite action that puts peace into practice.
John 14:27 NIV
My peace I give to you.
Patience is essential in having healthy and uplifting relationships with others. Jesus displayed patience and when we have patience, we are seeing the evidence of Christ in us. Adam Barnett lays out what patience means, how it’s shown, and why it’s so important!
Patience
Philippians 2:5 | Week 4
October 28, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Philippians 2:5 NIV
In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.
PATIENCE
the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset.
Ephesians 4:2b ESV
…with patience, bearing with one another in love
Makrothymia = longsuffering
- Patience is not permissive.
- Patience is not passive.
- Patience is not powerless.
- Patience is not aPathetic.
- Patience is evidence of Christ in you.
- Patience is a tool for evangelism.
- Patience is a universal necessity.
- Patience is closer than you think.
Bill Clark explores the fearlessness of Christ as we continue in our series studying Philippians 2:5 and Paul's admonishment to have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus.
Fearless
Philippians 2:5 | Week 3
October 21, 2018 | Bill Clark
Philippians 2:5 NIV
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
Fearlessness
To have a complete reliance on the promise of the Covenant God.
Isaiah 43:1-5 NIV
But now, this is what the Lord says – He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
Does God have the resources to meet the needs of your life?
Therefore, can I take risks in my life for the sake of others?
- Will I love people who don’t think like I do?
- Will I speak kindly with a person who is afraid or perhaps different than me?
- Will I trust that God is a superabundant God and there is enough for everybody in God’s economy?
- Will I risk some of my resources for the sake of those in need?
Having the same attitude as Christ means having compassion for others. That compassion cannot be sourced from within ourselves, but we must seek to be a conduit for Jesus' compassion. Adam Barnett continues our look at Philippians 2:5 and what having the attitude of Christ truly means.
Compassion
Philippians 2:5 | Week 2
October 14, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Jesus’ compassion for humanity is one of His most attractive and appealing attributes.
Mark 1:40 NIV
A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
Mark 1:41-42 NIV
Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
Mark 1:41 MUV
Filled with compassion, Jesus healed the man first, and then reached out, took his hand and helped him up.
Mark 1:43-45 NIV
Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Our leprosy isn’t our SKIN… it’s in our SIN.
Message Summary:
Paul instructs us in Philippians to "have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus." But what exactly does that mean? Bill Clark begins our 8 week series on Philippians 2:5 with a word on Christ’s humility.
On Humility
Philippians 2:5 | Week 1
October 7, 2018 | Bill Clark
Philippians 2:5-11 NIV
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5 NIV
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Humility & Confidence
We have studied for the past 3 weeks the ways we are called to live out our redeemed life in Christ and what being a redeemed person really looks like. Pastor Adam Barnett concludes our series by reminding us of the things we share and how we are called to live those things out in love with those around us.
Share
Redeemer People | Week 4
September 30, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Colossians 4:2-6 NIV
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
1 | Be devoted in prayer
2 | Be watchful and thankful.
3 | Pray for opportunities to clearly share the gospel
4 | Be wise how you treat outsiders.
Pluralism: a condition or system in which two or more groups, principles and sources of authority COEXIST.
Eagerly cooperate with people of all faiths or religious preferences.
The Christian mission must first be an affair of love, not an affair of truth.
Pursue true and genuine dialogue with people of other faiths or religious affiliations.
As a result of love and dialogue, be prepared to share the story of Jesus.
5 | Make the most of every opportunity.
6 | Speak graciously.
Worship is an essential part of our spiritual life and an essential part of being a redeemed person! God’s presence can change everything! Bill Clark and Denise McKinney discuss worship and how we can experience God’s presence throughout our daily lives in week 3 of our Redeemer People series.
On Worship
Redeemer People | Week 3
September 23, 2018 | Bill Clark & Denise McKinney
Psalm 33:1-3 NIV
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.
Worship is about experiencing the presence of God.
Exodus 25:1-8 NLT
The Lord said to Moses,“Tell the people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings. Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them. Here is a list of sacred offerings you may accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linen and goat hair for cloth; tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; onyx stones, and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest’s chestpiece. Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.
Bring what you have and are willing to give - I can use it to build my tabernacle where I will live and go with you.
3D Tabernacle Video
Exodus 40:34-38 NLT
Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Moses could no longer enter the Tabernacle because the cloud had settled down over it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted. The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.
God’s Presence In:
Creation | The Garden | The Mountain | The Tabernacle | The Temple | Jesus | Pentecost | The Church
Ephesians 3:17 NLT
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
WE are the Tabernacle!
Bring what you have and are willing to give - I can use it to build my tabernacle where I will live and go with you.
Psalm 27:8 NLT
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Growth in our faith is an essential part of a vibrant relationship with Christ. And growth happens both individually and corporately. We grow together as we grow on our own. Adam Barnett and Wopsle share in our second week of the series how both types of growth happen within our church and the body of Christ.
Grow
Redeemer People | Week 2
September 16, 2018 | Adam Barnett & Wopsle
As Redeemer People, we are deeply committed to our spiritual growth, individually and corporately.
As REDEEMER PEOPLE, we are deeply committed to our spiritual growth, individually and corporately.
As Redeemer People, we are DEEPLY COMMITTED to our spiritual growth, individually and corporately.
As Redeemer People, we are deeply committed to our SPIRITUAL GROWTH, individually and corporately.
As Redeemer People, we are deeply committed to our spiritual growth, INDIVIDUALLY and corporately.
As Redeemer People, we are deeply committed to our spiritual growth, individually and CORPORATELY.
Luke 2:52 NIV
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Welcoming young people isn’t just allowing them to be in our church, but inviting them to influence what we do and how we do it.
Matthew 19:14 NIV
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
John 15:5 NIV
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Jesus responds to a particular request from a mother of two of his disciples with a surprising answer about a person’s place in the kingdom. Jesus tells her that the greatest among his followers is the one who becomes a servant, as Christ became a servant. And to do that, there will be suffering. Bill Clark opens our series on the way to lived a redeemed life by exploring how serving is essential.
On Serving
Redeemer People | Week 1
September 9, 2018 | Bill Clark
Matthew 20:20-28 NIV
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:24 NIV
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
Matthew 20:21 NIV
"What is it you want?"
MOTIVATION
Matthew 20:25-28 NIV
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and that their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must become your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
SUFFERING with Jesus
Matthew 20:23 NIV
"…you will indeed drink from my cup."
SELF-SACRIFICING Servant
What is God calling me to do?
God does not promise that we will not face difficult and even dark seasons of life, but He does promise that He will be with us in all of it. Joe Scruggs shares with us from his own life how God is present in what seems to be the darkest of times.
God Is Present
God Is | Week 5
September 2, 2018 | Joe Scruggs
What is GOD’S ROLE in this season?
Accept the MYSTERY, especially with WHY questions.
Be brutally HONEST, God can handle it.
Psalm 77:1-10 NLT
I cry out to God; yes, I shout. Oh, that God would listen to me! When I was in deep trouble, I searched for the Lord. All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven, but my soul was not comforted. I think of God, and I moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. You don’t let me sleep. I am too distressed even to pray! I think of the good old days, long since ended, when my nights were filled with joyful songs. I search my soul and ponder the difference now. Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he slammed the door on his compassion? And I said, “This is my fate; the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
Psalm 42:3, 9-10 NIV
My tears have been my food day and night…I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony…
Don’t put God in a BOX, He might not work in the way you think He should.
God will get you THROUGH, but it’s NOT EASY.
Act on the LIGHT YOU HAVE, even if it’s very DIM.
Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our enemy’s will, looks upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken and still obeys.
C.S. Lewis | The Screwtape Letters
Keep PRAYING, even though it’s HARD!
EFFECTIVE prayer is when we become more FOCUSED ON GOD.
The truth that God is Healer can carry with it a lot of emotion for a lot of people. Adam Barnett teaches a hard message but reminds us that God still heals, just not always in the way or timing we want.
God is Healer
God Is | Week 4
August 26, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Luke 5:17a NIV
One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem.
Luke 5:17b-19 NIV
And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
[ Man on Mat Photo ]
Luke 5:20 NIV
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
I was an ENEMY of God, and now I’m in GOD’S FAMILY. I was a SLAVE to sin, and now I am GOD’S CHILD!
Our EARTHLY HEALING doesn’t compare to our ETERNAL HOPE!
Although God CAN heal us, we must never presume that He MUST.
"Get up, take your mat and go home."
Duane Miller | YouTube
We were created to live in relationship, and one of the most important relationships we experience is that of friendship. Wopsle continues our God Is series by exploring how friendship impacts our lives and how God is the ultimate example of friend!
God is Friend
God Is | Week 3
August 19, 2018 | Wopsle
Luke 19:1-4 NIV
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
Luke 19:5 NIV
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him,
"Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
The very first word Jesus ever spoke to this man was his name.
A friend knows YOUR NAME.
John 11:43 NIV
…Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
1 Samuel 3:7-8,10 NIV
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. A third time the Lord called, "Samuel!"…The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
Luke 19:5,6 NIV
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
A friend spends QUALITY TIME with you.
Revelation 3:20 NIV
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
We try to hard to know GOD’S WILL,
when we need to work on knowing GOD.
Luke 19:8 NIV
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything,I will pay back four times the amount."
A friend CHANGES your life.
Luke 19:9-10 NIV
Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
He BEFRIENDS us before we BELIEVE.
He allows us to BELONG before we BEHAVE.
God cares for all people and pursues and seeks out those who have gone astray, which is all of us at one time or another! Bill Clark explores the Seeking God in the second week of our God Is series looking at four attributes of God’s nature.
The Seeking God
God Is | Week 2
August 12, 2018 | Bill Clark
Reckless Love
by Cory Asbury
God cares for ALL PEOPLE
Jesus liked to hang out with the wrong kinds of people.
Luke 15:1-7 NIV
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
We all like sheep have gone astray…
God loves every person as if there was no one else to love.
God is a Pursuing God
People Matter to God
God is a Seeking God
Revelation 7:9-10 NIV
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."
The Lost, the Last, and the Least
God is refuge. He is the definition of the word. Adam Barnett starts our series, God Is, looking at four aspects of God’s character by reminding us that God’s wings are big and powerful.
Refuge
God Is | Week 1
August 5, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Psalm 46:1-3 NIV
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
Psalm 46:4-5 NIV
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
The city is safe not because of walls, weapons or strategies, but because of GOD’S PRESENCE.
Psalm 46:6-9 NIV
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
Life is FRAGILE, but in the end, God is FAITHFUL.
Psalm 46:10-11 NIV
He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Jesus had firm words for His Jewish listeners as he closed the Sermon on the Mount. And those words are as tough for us today. He challenges us to ensure that we are not only expressing our faith in Christ, but exhibiting it on a daily basis. Bill Clark concludes our 10-week summer study on the Sermon on the Mount.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
Sermon on the Mount | Week 10
July 29, 2018 | Bill Clark
Matthew 7:13-23 (NIV)
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:14 (NIV)
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7:21 (NIV)
Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven.
What kind of fruit are we growing?
Jesus does not list out a litany of requirements for the way we must approach God. He simply says we must ask, seek and knock and it will be given. Adam Barnett reminds us of this truth as we continue our summer study of the Sermon on the Mount.
Ask, Seek, Knock
Sermon on the Mount | Week 9
July 22, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
NOT Matthew 7:7-8
Ask every hour, starting at 4:00am until midnight, and in at least seven different languages, and it will be given to you; seek in the dark, without a flashlight, in a pit of rattlesnakes, and you will find; knock in perfect rhythm, 24 times per minute, and with only three knuckles at a time, and the door will be opened to you.
Barnett's Halloween
Andre at Halloween
Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV)
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
God is FAITHFUL and TRUSTWORTHY
Matthew 7:12 (NIV)
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Golden Rule of Arguments
Golden Rule of Work
Golden Rules of Marriage
Jesus calls upon us to curb our enthusiasm for finding fault in others. Intead we are called to look inward and repent where we fall short. Denise McKinney takes a look at Matthew 7:1-6 and reminds us of Jesus' powerful, culture shifting command.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Sermon on the Mount | Week 8
July 15, 2018 | Denise McKinney
Matthew 7:1-6 (NIV)
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
It’s really not our job.
Matthew 7:1 (NIV)
Do not judge…
Judging = Judging
Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV)
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Matthew 7:1-2 (MSG)
Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.
It gets in the way of real change.
Matthew 7:3-4 (NIV)
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Matthew 7:5 (NIV)
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
This teaching is, rather, ethical instruction about the will of God to counter the human tendency to ignore one’s own faults while needling others about theirs.
~ Klyne Snodgrass
(Jesus and the Restoration of Israel)
They might not be in a place to hear you, even if you are right.
Matthew 7:6 (NIV)
Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
The whole of the Sermon [Matt 5-7] is framed within Jesus’s announcement that what his fellow Jews had longed for over many generations was now at last coming to pass — but that new kingdom didn’t look like they had thought it would. Indeed, in some ways it went in exactly the other direction. No violence, no hatred of enemies, no anxious protection of land and property against the pagan hordes. In short, no frantic intensification of the ancestral codes of life.Rather, a glad and unworried trust in the creator God, whose kingdom is now at last starting to arrive, leading to a glad and generous heart toward other people, even those who are technically “enemies." Faith, hope, and love: here they are again. They are the language of life, the sign in the present of green shoots growing through the concrete of this sad old world, the indication that the creator God is on the move, and that Jesus’s hearers and followers can be part of what he’s now doing.
~ N.T. Wright
(Jesus and the Victory of God)
Worry is a natural part of life, but not the full life that Christ wants us to have. Worry can enslave us and make us forget that the God of the Universe and Creator of all things is our provider and strength. Adam Barnett continues our summer study of the Sermon on the Mount by reminding us of Jesus’ admonition against the worries of this world.
We Ain’t Got Time to Worry
Sermon on the Mount | Week 7
July 8, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Matthew 6:25 (NIV)
Therefore I tell you…
Matthew 6:25-26 (NIV)
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:27-32 (NIV)
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
I defeat enslavement to worry by preaching God’s faithfulness to myself and to others.
Worry is wasting today’s time to clutter up tomorrow’s opportunities with yesterday’s troubles.
Matthew 6:27 (NIV)
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV)
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
- Worry is irreverent.
- Worry is irrelevant.
- Worry is irresponsible.
- Worry is ignorant.
We ain’t got time to worry! We are too busy worshipping a faithful God!
Jesus commands us during the Sermon on the Mount to not put our faith and motivation in what we can acquire and retain on earth, but to instead place our hope and heart in heaven. Bill Clark challenges us to spend some time thinking through Matthew 6:19-24 and how it changes where we put our treasure.
Treasures in Heaven
Sermon on the Mount | Week 6
July 2, 2018 | Bill Clark
Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV)
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Giving to the needy, praying and fasting are essential practices in the Christian faith. So much so that Jesus talked about them as a given that we would do them; saying "When" not "If" we do them. And the way we do them matters to God. Adam continues our series by going through how Christ looks at our motives for these spiritual practices.
Give, Pray, Fast
Sermon on the Mount | Week 5
June 24, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Refugee in Egypt
Burmese Refugees at Redeemer
Matthew 6:1 (NIV)
Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
RIGHT THINGS can be done with WRONG MOTIVES.
Righteousness that is SELF-SERVING or SELF-PROMOTING is competition with God for glory.
Matthew 6:2-4 (NIV)
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:5-8 (NIV)
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
If you pray in PUBLIC but never in PRIVATE, you’re missing the PURPOSE of prayer.
Matthew 6:9 (NIV)
This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Matthew 6:10 (NIV)
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:11 (NIV)
Give us today our daily bread.
Matthew 6:12 (NIV)
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:13 (NIV)
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Six Values of Fasting
- The sacrifice of physical to activate the spiritual.
- The value of self-discipline.
- The release from slavery to habit.
- The increase of the ability to do without things.
- The positive value for holistic health.
- The enhancement of our gratitude.
CHECK your MOTIVES, and eagerly ANTICIPATE the reward that is to come.
Jesus shared a great deal during the Sermon on the Mount and much of what he shared was incredibly counter-cultural and even radical. High on that list is his command to love our enemies. Bill Clark shares the ramifications of this command to love and pray for those who would do us harm.
Loving Your Enemies
Sermon on the Mount | Week 4
June 17, 2018 | Bill Clark
Matthew 5:38-42 (NIV)
You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Law of LOVE
Matthew 5:39 (NIV)
If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also
Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Frenemies
a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry
2 Timothy 4:14 (NIV)
Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.
Matthew 5:48 (NIV)
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect
Doing well on a test has a little to do with knowing the information, but a lot do to with knowing the test; knowing what the teacher expects of you. When Jesus came, many thought the old laws would no longer apply, but Jesus says not only to follow the law…but take it a step further. He was letting the people know what was expected of them. Wopsle shares with us How the Teacher Grades in week 3 of our summer series exploring the Sermon on the Mount.
How the Teacher Grades
Sermon on the Mount | Week 3
June 10, 2018 | Wopsle
Matthew 5:17-20 (NIV)
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
BAD NEWS
any news that drastically and negatively alters the patient's view of his or her future.
Matthew 5:21-22 (NIV)
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:48 (NIV)
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Perfect τέλειος (Teleios)
adj. Having reached its end; complete
Philippians 3:12 (NLT)
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands us to be the salt and light in the world! We are his representatives to a bland and dark world and are commanded to live in a way that glorifies God and points to Him. Denise McKinney continues our summer series by exploring these two elements.
Salt & Light
Sermon on the Mount | Week 2
June 3, 2018 | Denise McKinney
- Matthew 5:1-12 | What Jesus gives us
- Matthew 5:13-16 | What Jesus asks of us
- Matthew 5:17-20 | What Jesus does for us
Covenant: I will bless you and you will bless others. I will make you a great nation
Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13 (MSG)
Let me tell you why you are here…
Be SALT
Be LIGHT
Matthew 5:15 (MSG)
God is not a secret to be kept.
Be a CITY
Matthew 5:16 (MSG)
By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God…
Missio Dei
God is a missionary and to follow Christ is to be called into His mission.
Jesus seems recklessly confident of our potentialities: he calls us the salt of the earth, the light of the world, [and a city on a hill] without whose witness the world will be a different place. sacredspace.ie
In its 5th chapter, the Gospel of Matthew records a lengthy, vital and applicable sermon that Jesus delivered on the Mount of Olives. The Sermon on the Mount contains so great a wealth of instruction that we are dedicating the next 10 weeks to explore this together. Pastor Adam Barnett kicked off our summer series by discussing the sermon as a whole and walking through the opening verses which comprise The Beatitudes.
The Beatitudes
Sermon on the Mount | Week 1
May 27, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Matthew 5:1-2 (NIV)
Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.
Matthew 5:3 (NIV)
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:4 (NIV)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:5 (NIV)
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:6 (NIV)
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:7 (NIV)
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Matthew 5:8 (NIV)
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:10-12 (NIV)
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Themes in the Sermon on the Mount
- Righteousness
- Hypocrisy
- The Human Heart
- The Father in Heaven
- The Kingdom of God
- Our Reward and Treasure
Paul begins the second chapter of his letter to the church at Ephesus by painting a picture of our absolute brokenness, but then reminds us that God loved us first. Special Guest Daniel Roach joins us to wrap up our series on the presence of God with the powerful truth at the heart of the Gospel!
But God Loves First
But God | Week 4
May 20, 2018 | Daniel Roach
Ephesians 2:3-5 (NLT)
All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
We are BROKEN
Ephesians 2:1-3 (NLT)
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
Luke 16:15 (ESV)
“And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”
We are broken but God loves first.
Ephesians 2:4 (NLT)
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life
Romans 5:8 (NLT)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Revelation 2:1-7 (NLT)
Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: "I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God."
Consequences of Grace
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Identity: With Christ/In Christ
Identity: Who you are
Participation: What you do
On Cheap Grace:
“It is baptism without the discipline of the community; it is the Lord’s Supper without the confession of sin; it is absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living incarnate Jesus Christ.”
~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Identity: Who you are
Participation: What you do
Consequences of Grace is Works
What will you change?
Ephesians 4:1 (NLT)
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
Ephesians 5:1 (NLT)
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
Ephesians 5:8 (NLT)
For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
Ephesians 5:15 (NLT)
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
What will you change?
What will you risk?
“I have mostly white students at the seminary, and it is very easy for them to fantasize that they would be standing with King if given the opportunity. They idolize Dr. King without realizing the risk and suffering that was involved for the whites back then who dared cross the color line. People have fooled themselves into believing they can follow Christ and risk nothing. Have we fooled ourselves into thinking that true Christian spirituality can be developed without the risk of losing job security, personal safety or social status?”
~ Randy Woodley | Keetoowah Cherokee Pastor & Professor at George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon
Next Steps
The rest of the letter to the Ephesians provides insight to how believers are to live in light of the consequences of grace. Choose a next step and discuss with a friend:
Read Ephesians Twice This Week
-
What do you need to re-learn about God, grace, and Jesus’ work on the cross?
-
What needs to change in your life in order to align with these truths?
Read Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail
-
How does faith and action overlap?
-
What must you risk in order to follow Jesus?
Read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together
- Learn more about his life and his call towards community
Ephesians 1:18-19 (NLT)
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.
Whenever we are walking through situations that are difficult or we can’t see a way out, it’s often easy to forget that God is Powerful! Bill Clark continues our series on the presence of God by exploring the idea that we are weak, but God is powerful!
God is Powerful
But God | Week 3
May 13, 2018 | Bill Clark
Acts 10:34-40 [NIV]
Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached — how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
Acts 10:39,40 [NIV]
They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day…
On a day that’s going well, we don’t think about God’s power because we don’t feel we need it.
We sometimes think that kind of thinking is for another kind of Christian.
We’re not looking for it.
Every one of us has been tempted into sin in our lives. We face it every single day. But God can deliver us from that temptation, we only have to surrender to His work. Adam Barnett continues our look at how the presence of God changes everything by looking at how God delivers us from temptation.
I Am Tempted…But God Delivers Me
But God... | Week 2
May 6, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Transformation happens when we stop saying, “But I…” and we start saying, “But God.”
1 Corinthians 10:6 [NIV]
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
“The only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history.” — Fredrick Hegel
1 Corinthians 10:12 [NIV]
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
1 Corinthians 10:13 [NIV]
No temptation has overtaken you that is unusual for human beings. But God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Instead, along with the temptation he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to endure it.
I am tempted, but God delivers me.
1 | God is not surprised by temptation.
2 | God allows us to be tempted.
James 1:13-15 [NIV]
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Evil Desire → Temptation → Sin→ Habitual Sin → Death
3 | God helps us overcome temptation.
Romans 7:18-24 [NIV]
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
Romans 7:25 [NIV]
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
God listens when we call, when we are in distress and when we struggle. We just need to be patient and ready to hear back! Denise McKinney kicks off our series, But God, on how the presence of God can change everything!
Listens
But God... | Week 1
April 29, 2018 | Denise McKinney
Genesis 19:27-29 [NLT]
Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.
God listens to our prayers and petitions for others…
... and can intervene at a crucial moment.
Psalm 66:13-20 [NLT]
Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you— yes, the sacred vows that I made when I was in deep trouble. That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma, and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me. For I cried out to him for help, praising him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
God listens when we confess our mess…
…and is ready and willing to restore us.
SpaceX: How NOT to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster
God listens to our grumbling and whining…
…and can make it a teachable moment.
Numbers 12:1-4 [NLT]
While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?” But the Lord heard them. (Now Moses was very humble—more humble than any other person on earth.) So immediately the Lord called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, “Go out to the Tabernacle,[a] all three of you!” So the three of them went to the Tabernacle.
God listens to our worship…
…it matters to him and for us.
Genesis 21:15-21 [NLT]
When the water was gone, she put the boy in the shade of a bush. Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears. But God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants.” Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness. He became a skillful archer, and he settled in the wilderness of Paran. His mother arranged for him to marry a woman from the land of Egypt.
God hears us in our deepest despair…
…and guides us through the wilderness.
Special Guest Cecilia Williams joins us for a powerful message about finding your mission field right where you are! Cecilia is the Executive Minister of Love Mercy Do Justice, the mission priority of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
The Mission Where You Are
April 22, 2018 | Cecilia Williams
Luke 10:1-2 (NIV)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
GO!
(literal meaning – “as you are going…”)
The way in which you go matters...
A Chinese Proverb:
Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they know
Build on what they have
But of the best leaders
When the task is done
The people will remark
‘We have done it ourselves’
Rejoice in the right stuff!!
Make the circle bigger!
The arrival of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost brought with it the launching of the Jesus movement and the creation of the Church! Adam Barnett concludes our 50 Days series by exploring the implications of Pentecost.
Pentecost
50 Days | Week 2
April 15, 2018 | Adam Barnett
- Rejoice in the Resurrection
- Remember our Baptism
- Return to Habits of Spiritual Formation
- Reflect on the Birth of the Church
- Receive Gifts of the Spirit
Maundy Thursday
Last Supper with Jesus and the Apostles [Mark 14:1]
Good Friday
Passover and Jesus’ Crucifixion [John 28:28]
Easter Sunday
Resurrection! [Luke 24:7]
40-Day Period
Multiple appearances and preaching [Acts 1:3]
Ascension
Mount of Olives, Jesus carried up into heaven. [Luke 24:51]
Pentecost
Descent of the Holy Spirit [Acts 2:1-4]
Acts 1:3-5 (NIV)
After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
Acts 1:9 (NIV)
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
PRAISE
John 4:24 (NIV)
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
POWER
Romans 8:2 (NIV)
And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of the sin that leads to death
PROCLAMATION
Acts 2:12-18 (NIV)
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice & addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
PENTECOST
When the story of Jesus became the story of the Jesus movement!
PURPOSE
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NIV)
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
The Resurrection was a huge event…but it was not the end of the story of Easter! Pastor Adam Barnett kicks off our 2-week study on the 50 Days following Easter with a great word about the continual presence and work of Jesus.
Ascension
50 Days | Week 1
April 8, 2018 | Adam Barnett
- Rejoice in the Resurrection
- Remember our Baptism
- Return to Habits of Spiritual Formation
- Reflect on the Birth of the Church
- Receive Gifts of the Spirit
Maundy Thursday
Last Supper with Jesus and the Apostles [Mark 14:1]
Good Friday
Passover and Jesus’ Crucifixion [John 28:28]
Easter Sunday
Resurrection! [Luke 24:7]
40-Day Period
Multiple appearances and preaching [Acts 1:3]
Ascension
Mount of Olives, Jesus carried up into heaven. [Luke 24:51]
Pentecost
Descent of the Holy Spirit [Acts 2:1-4]
Luke 24:36-43 (NIV)
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
John 21:25 (NIV)
Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
Luke 24:50-53 (NIV)
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
Jesus continues to minister!
Acts 1:1-2 (NIV)
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven…”
Jesus’ ascension is His return to His Father!
John 14:2-4 (NIV)
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.
Jesus is our Mediator and High Priest!
1 Timothy 2:5 (NIV)
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.
Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to His people!
Jesus invites us to remember!
In Luke 24, we see two disciples walking from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus and this is the scene for one of the first appearances of the resurrected Christ! Bill Clark takes a look through the eyes of Cleopas and his experiences with Christ to tell the simple truth of the gospel.
The Road to Emmaus
RISEN | Easter 2018
April 1, 2018 | Bill Clark
Luke 24:13-35 (NLT)
That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”
“What things?” Jesus asked.
“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.
“Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”
Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.”
Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.
Bill Clark concludes our Resolve series by examining the deep meaning behind Christ’s journey to the cross and the love and resolve with which He approached that journey’s conclusion.
Palm Sunday
Resolve | Week 3
March 25, 2018 | Bill Clark
Luke 9:51 (NIV)
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Mark 11:1 (NIV)
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives…
Ezekiel 10:18 (NIV)
Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the Temple.
Ezekiel 43:1-2 (NIV)
Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the East. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.
Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Luke 22:64 (NIV)
Prophesy! Who hit you!
On the eve of facing the cross, Jesus took special time to kneel and wash the feet of his disciples. He did this to set a powerful example for how we are to seek to serve those around us, all those around us. Joe Scruggs continues our Resolve series by encouraging us to follow this example.
An Example to Follow
Resolve | Week 2
March 18, 2018 | Joe Scruggs
Luke 9:22 (NIV)
The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Luke 9:51 (NIV)
Jesus set out resolutely toward Jerusalem.
John 13:1-3 (NLT)
Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God.
John 13:4-5 (NLT)
So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
John 13:6-11 (NLT)
When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Show the Nature of God.
John 13:12-15 (NLT)
After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. I have given you an example to follow.
Types of Jobs We Might Face
Might Involve True Humility
Might Involve Obscurity
We don’t get to choose the people that need to be served.
It might simply be a hassle, an interruption.
Where do we start?
Acts 1:8 (NLT)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
Serving often calls for much Wisdom and Discernment
Philippians 1:9-11 (PHILLIPS)
My prayer for you is that you may have still more love—a love that is full of knowledge and wise insight. I want you to be able always to recognize the highest and the best, and to live sincere and blameless lives until the day of Jesus Christ. I want to see your lives full of true goodness, produced by the power that Jesus Christ gives you to the praise and glory of God.
John 13:17 (NLT)
Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them
Jesus set his face with resolve to the path before Him, a path that led to the cross. Wopsle begins our Resolve series by reminding us that we must follow Jesus' example and set our face to the path God has called us to walk.
Set Your Face
Resolve | Week 1
March 11, 2018 | Michael Wopsle
Resolve
v. settle or find a solution to.
n. firm determination to do something.
Luke 9:51 (NIV)
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Luke 9:52-56 (NIV)
And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.
Luke 9:57-61 (NIV)
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
Luke 9:62 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
Whenever you identify your goals:
- “Set your face” to it with resolve.
- Identify any obstacles and take steps to avoid them.
- Don’t look back.
Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 are the summary to his theology of giving. In his mind, giving is simply another aspect of grace. God provides for the needs of His people and blesses those who bless others. Biblical giving is grace-based in that it is to be done with a cheerful spirit. How much should we give? Bill Clark concludes our Unfinished series by reminding us that perhaps the answer is really another question - "How happy do we want to be?
Cheerful Giving
Unfinished | Week 5
March 4, 2018 | Bill Clark
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (NIV)
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Sow Sparingly → Reap Sparingly
Sow Generously → Reap Generously
God loves a CHEERFUL GIVER
Giving creates THANKSGIVING
How people view money is an effective barometer of their spirituality. Money is neither good nor bad in itself; corrupt people can put it to evil uses, while good people can put it to righteous uses. Though it is morally neutral, what people do with their money reflects their internal morality. Adam Barnett continues our series by reminding us that one of the greatest reflections of our trust in God is seen in our generosity to others.
Giving Your All to Others in Need
Unfinished | Week 4
February 25, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Luke 12:22-24 (NIV)
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
Luke 12:25-30 (NIV)
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
My worry about my resources is offensive to Jesus.
Luke 12:31-32 (NIV)
Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luke 12:33 (NIV)
Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
When we are distracted by anxiety over our own needs, we certainly won’t be aware of the needs of others!
1 Timothy 6:18-19 (NIV)
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Luke 12:34 (NIV)
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Am I focused on what I have or what I don’t have?
Am I focused on this life or the next?
Am I focused on my wants or other’s needs?
You are a generous person.
We GET to give!
In matters of generosity, most of us have seldom, if ever, given out of poverty. In other words, we have seldom known what it means to give away all we have, trusting that God will supply our future needs. Bill Clark explores the story in Mark 12:41-44 where Christ points out a model of a generous heart.
A Model of a Generous Heart
Unfinished | Week 3
February 18, 2018 | Bill Clark
Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on."
Mark 12:44 (MSG)
All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford - she gave her all.
Obedience! This is the ultimate picture that is painted in Luke 9:23-25. If this passage makes you uncomfortable, here is something to keep in mind: God is good. His ways are good. Following Him is good. It is always in our best interest to live the Christian life and follow God. Generosity is one of the truest ways we deny ourselves in the adventure of following Jesus. Adam Barnett continues our look at our Unfinished selves by reminding us of the source of our generosity.
The Source of Generosity
Unfinished | Week 2
February 11, 2018 | Adam Barnett
DON’T IGNORE LIFE-SAVING INSTRUCTIONS!
Luke 9:18-20 (NIV)
Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
Who do YOU say that Jesus is?
Luke 9:21-22 (NIV)
Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
Once we understand who Jesus is, we are confronted by the outcomes of a life of discipleship.
Luke 9:23-25 (NIV)
Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very soul?
As a disciple of Jesus, we deliberately choose what could be avoided. We look to sacrifice.
Luke 9:24-25 (NIV)
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very soul?
Our GENEROSITY is one of the truest ways we can deny ourselves in the adventure of following Jesus.
God’s perfect plans are carried out by imperfect people. We are never "complete" in this life as God continually works in us to refine and sanctify us. This also means that God is always present with us and has promised to finish what He has started. Bill Clark opens up our discussion of what it means to be Unfinished.
The Unfinished Work of God
Unfinished | Week 1
February 4, 2018 | Bill Clark
Philippians 1:3-8 (NIV)
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
INAUGURATE
God has promised to bring to completion His work in your life.
God never gives up on us.
Bill Clark shares the vision for what God is going to do in the next chapter in the life of Redeemer! To follow up and for more information, visit the Unfinished initiative website
We’ve spent the last few weeks discussing how God seeks to renovate our lives and what that process entails. Denise McKinney wraps up our series by reminding us that in order for that process to continue and be successful, we must go with God on our way.
God Goes With Us
Renovate | Week 5
January 28, 2018 | Denise McKinney
Exodus 19:17-19 (NRSV)
Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended upon it in fire; the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, while the whole mountain shook violently. As the blast of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses would speak and God would answer him in thunder.
Exodus 33:1-3 (NIV)
…Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.
Exodus 33:11 (NIV)
The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.
God responds by saying:
"My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
Exodus 33:15-16 (NIV)
If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?
If you don’t go with us, if you don’t lead the way, there is no reason to go.
If you don't go with us, if you don't lead the way, we won't look any different than anyone else.
TECHNOLOGY
- Be intentional with technology, and intentionally without it.
COMMUNITY
- Schools of Love
- Hospitality
IMMEASURABLY MORE
- "…show me your glory." (v.18)
- Ephesians 3:20
Where is God's immeasurably more for you leading?
The Thought Just Occurred to Me
Renovate | Week 4
January 21, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Thoughts
- When you clean out a vacuum cleaner, you become a vacuum cleaner.
- What if rocks are actually soft and squishy, but when you go to touch them they get scared and tense up?
- Are oranges named oranges because oranges are orange, or is orange called orange because oranges are orange
- The face of a child can say it all. Especially the mouth part of the face.
- Boxing is a lot like a ballet, except there’s no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.
- And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your thoughts.
Philippians 4:6-8 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything.
Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
In order for God to fully renovate our hearts, we must surrender to how He wants us to view all those around us. The way we handle relationships with spouses, children, family, friends and even complete strangers is evidence of where our hearts are in that renovation process. Adam Barnett continues our Renovate series by challenging us to take a look at our relationships.
542,000 Relationships
Renovate | Week 3
January 14, 2018 | Adam Barnett
Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions
- Do nothing out of selfish ambition.
- Value others above myself.
- Put others first.
- Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
- Be a servant.
Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions
- Lose weight.
- Exercise.
- Eat healthier.
- Stop smoking.
- Floss regularly.
Relationship:
The way in which two or more concepts, objects or people are connected; the state of being connected.
Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
“Without exception, I found that every person who was sincerely happy — radiantly alive — was living for the purpose and cause of others.”
— Abraham Maslow
Philippians 2:4 (NIV)
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
The sacrificial lifestyle we are called to live is not reactive — it is proactive. We look to sacrifice.
Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
“Be kind, because everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”
— Philo Alexander
DE-SELF-IFY
(This is not a word)
God seeks to renovate our hearts and He chose to do this in a very unique way. He came to Earth to set up camp among us and resides within our very hearts when we open the door to let Him in. Bill Clark continues our series, Renovate, by describing the work of the Great Renovator.
The Great Renovator
Renovate | Week 2
January 7, 2018 | Bill Clark
John 1:1-5, 10-14 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it….He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word…
John 1:3 (NIV)
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
John 1:14 (NIV)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
The Word pitched his tent among us.
You are my beloved child.
Your sins are forgiven.
I have camped out among you, I am still here by my Spirit, I’m ready to take residence in your life.
God's work in us is a daily operation. And it causes us to constantly look all around and within us to answer the question, What matters most? Denise McKinney shares with us as we begin our new series, Renovate.
What Matters Most
Renovate | Week 1
December 31, 2017 | Denise McKinney
Philippians 1:3-8 (NRSV)
I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
The beauty of God renovating our lives is that it’s not a ONE AND DONE event.
What matters most.
What matters most?
Look Up
Look Inside
Look Around
Philippians 1:9-11 (ICB)
This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love; that you will see the difference between good and bad and choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ; that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.
Remember, God is the one who BEGINS & BRINGS.
Happiness and joy are two very different things. During our Sunday evening service on Christmas Eve, Bill Clark encourages us to seek Joy rather than simply happiness.
True Joy
Advent | Week 4
Christmas Eve | Bill Clark
Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The joy of the birth of Christ is easy to lose amidst the crazy and emotional times that can accompany the holiday season. During our Saturday Night Christmas Eve service, Adam Barnett reminds us that that good news is the Christ brings JOY!
Unending Celebration
Advent | Week 4
Christmas Eve | Adam Barnett
Luke 2:8-12 (NIV)
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
“Great joy.”
The good news is that there is Good News… allowing us to live a life occupied with joy, under any circumstance.
WHERE CHRIST IS PRESENT, JOY IS PRESENT.
Luke 1:46-47 (NIV)
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
Disruption changes things. It makes it impossible to continue in the normal way. During our Sunday morning service on Christmas Eve, Joe Scruggs shared a message about the disruptive event of Christ’s birth.
Disruptive Event
Advent | Week 4
Christmas Eve | Joe Scruggs
DISRUPTIVE:
To cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way
Luke 2:26-38 (NIV)
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Matthew 1:20-21 (NIV)
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 2:13-14 (NIV)
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
Luke 2:34-35 (NIV)
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Luke 12:51-53 (NIV)
Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Has He DISRUPTED our lives?
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (NIV)
As death entered the world through a man, so has rising from the dead come to us through a man! As members of a sinful race all men die; as members of Christ all men shall be raised to life.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NIV)
Death is swallowed up in victory. Where now, O death is your victory: where is your stinging power? It is sin which gives death its sting, and it is the law which gives sin its power. All thanks to God, then, who gives us the victory over these things through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christmas is a big deal…it changes EVERYTHING!
There is a distinct difference between optimism and hope. Bill Clark continues our Advent series by sharing a brief message about the true source of Hope at Christmas!
Christmas Hope
Advent | Week 3
December 17, 2017 | Bill Clark
The glory of God is a human being fully alive.
Revelation 21:3-4.,6-7 (MSG)
I heard a voice thunder from the Throne. Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They’re his people, he’s their God. He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good – tears gone, crying gone, pain gone – all the first order of things – gone…From Water-of-Life Well I give freely to the thirsty. I’ll be God to them, they’ll be sons and daughters to me.
Christ's birth is significant because death and resurrection were assured by the gift and grace of God. This example of Love that reverberates across the globe is vital to remember through this season. Adam Barnett continues our Advent series with the powerful idea that Jesus was born to die.
Born to Die
Advent | Week 2
December 10, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Jesus Came to Earth
Matthew 1:18-23 (NIV)
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
“The Son of God became a man so that men might become sons of God.”
— C.S. Lewis
Ezekiel 36:25-28 (NIV)
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the ENTIRE WORLD!
John 10:17-18 (NIV)
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.
John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
MacGyver Photo 1
MacGyver Photo 2
John 3:16 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
As we approach this season of anticipation and awaiting the arrival of Christ, we are called to find peace in this season. Peace with those around us and being at peace with God in our minds and prayers. Pastor Bill Clark shares with us what the Bible tells us about peace and how that can have an impact on our daily interactions.
On Peace
Advent 2017 | Week 1
December 3, 2017 | Bill Clark
John 14:27 (NIV)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Peace is safety for ourselves and those we love. Peace, for us, is uninterrupted security, to be protected from outside threats.
~ Doug Stevens
The rock solid certainty that we are GREATLY VALUED and DEEPLY LOVED.
Isaiah 9:2,6-7 (NIV)
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his peaceful reign there will be no end. He will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord almighty will accomplish this.
Luke 2:10-11,14 (NIV)
Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord…Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
John 20:19 (NIV)
Peace be with you.
Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Like Jesus, empty yourself of the desire to WIN THE ARGUMENT.
As you confront the brokenness of another person, be prepared to admit YOUR OWN BROKENNESS.
Invest yourself in the lives of HURTING PEOPLE.
Pray for Christ to be a PART OF THE CONVERSATION.
God created an incredibly large universe with infinite complexity. It’s often very easy for us to forget how big the universe is and how small we are in comparison. Michael Wopsle takes us on a journey to discover the wonder that is the expansive universe around us and how it all points back to the amazing God we serve.
Universal Perspective
Shift | Week 5
November 26, 2017 | Michael Wopsle
Psalm 50:9-12 (NIV)
I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
The site and sound illustration was recreated and adapted from a sermon by Louie Giglio.
View his illustration here.
Psalm 148:3 (NIV)
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
Psalm 148:3,7 (NIV)
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
Psalm 148:3,5-13 (NIV)
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, kings of the earth and all people, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above the earth and the heavens.
Marriage is the proving ground of whether we have cast side our old self. Paul lays out what this looks like in his letter to the Colossians. Bill Clark continues our Shift series by looking at God’s perspective on marriage.
Christian Marriage
Shift | Week 4
November 19, 2017 | Bill Clark
Marriage is the PROVING GROUND of whether we have cast side our OLD SELF.
Colossians 3:1-14 (NIV)
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
MYTH 1
How you get married, where you get married, who performs the ceremony, and how grand your reception is will determine the success of your marriage.
MYTH 2
Your marriage will thrive if you have strong marriages in your family tree.
MYTH 3
We will have a good marriage if we continue to stare into each other’s eyes in a deeply romantic, loving way all the time, every day, and more than other people.
Colossians 3:1 (NIV)
You have been raised with Christ.
Colossians 3:3 (NIV)
Your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:4 (NIV)
You also will appear with Christ in glory.
Colossians 3:1 (NIV)
Set your hearts on things above.
You Are What You Love - James Smith
“…a kingdom, a little church, and therefore a sacrament of and a way to the Kingdom. Marriage is a mission, and together it bears witness.”
MYTH 4
There is such a thing as a perfect marriage.
We are called to view children as God sees them, as the future of His kingdom and the legacy by which those who have come before are judged. Children need shaping, direction and most of all release. And not just from their parents. All are called to be an influence and a contributor to that legacy. Adam Barnett shares from Psalm 127 as we continue our Shift series.
Long Lasting Legacy
Shift | Week 3
November 12th, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Psalm 127:3-5 (NIV)
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.
Psalm 127:3 (NIV)
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.
Having a child isn’t the end to the good things of life. It is an and to the good things of life!
Psalm 127:4 (NIV)
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
Your greatest contribution to the Kingdom of God may not be something you do, but someone you raise. — Andy Stanley
Psalm 127:5 (NIV)
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.
Arrows must be SHAPED.
Biblical Training + Moral Correction + Firm Discipline + Loving Affirmation = Shaping your Children
Arrows must be DIRECTED.
Arrows must be RELEASED.
We are not called to live our faith lives in a bubble, but to look outside ourselves and see the injustice in the world the way God does. Adam Barnett continues our SHIFT series with a look at social injustice and how we are commanded to respond.
Social Injustice
Shift | Week 2
November 5, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Social Injustice:
Unfair practices (seen and unseen) within a society that promote inequality and hinder social advancement.
Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Micah 6:8 (NIV)
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
To act justly...
And to love mercy...
And to walk humbly with your God.
Isaiah 58:6-7; 9-10 (NIV)
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice & untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free & break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
Devotion that does not produce a passion for social justice and practical mercy is useless.
The authenticity of our worship on Sunday is evident in our compassion, mercy & justice on Monday.
Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Gaining a Godly perspective on love is essential. It allows us to effectively love God, love ourselves and especially love those who we perceive to be unlovable. Pastor Bill Clark starts our new series encouraging us to shift our perspective away from our own and to that of God.
Loving Others
SHIFT | Week 1
October 29, 2017 | Bill Clark
1 John 4:7-12 (NIV)
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:17b-21 (NIV)
In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
A fierce determination to engage others with an attitude of grace and forgiveness.
If we’re going to be emotionally, spiritually healthy people, we have to love other people.
In God’s way of thinking there is a shift unique to the Christian message.
What we need to be are people who can disagree well.
Jerry McCoy, Physics Professor at the University of Tulsa, joins us for a special message exploring the intersection of Science & Faith.
There are big supernatural topics in the Christian faith, and when we can't understand or see them, it's difficult to know how to handle it. Bill Clark concludes our Angels series by encouraging us to look for God's unseen but comforting presence.
God’s Comforting Presence
Angels | Week 2
October 15, 2017 | Bill Clark
The Hum of Angels
What do we do with the supernatural dimensions of the Christian Faith?
The presence of God, Father, Son and Spirit, is experienced every minute around the world - though God is unseen.
BIG EVENT Angels
Whatever else angels do — they point the way to Jesus.
Luke 24:1-6 (NIV)
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!…
Acts 1:10-11 (NIV)
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
When Christ returns, He will rule as God’s Son over all creation.
Revelation 5:13 (NIV)
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
Angels are talked about all throughout the Bible and are a vital part of the Christian and Jewish stories. So why don’t we talk about them anymore? And why are they so important? Denise McKinney explores these questions in the first week of our two-week series on Angels.
Unseen Messengers
Angels | Week 1
October 8, 2017 | Denise McKinney
Why talk about angels?
- They are actually a big part of the Jewish-Christian story.
- We don’t talk about angels like we used to.
- Lots of people believe still believe in angels today.
What do we know about angels?
- They are also created beings, but different than us.
- They can appear in different forms
Why does it matter?
2 Kings 6:8-17 (NIV)
Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him. The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Why does it matter?
- They are active and working for our good in the world.
- They point us to God.
- They confirm God’s presence.
- They are spiritual and tangible reminders of God’s love
So what should we do with this understanding?
Worship is an incredibly powerful thing, but also something that we should not take for granted. We are to enter God’s courts with gladness and express that gladness to Him. And it’s possible for us to even enter in because Jesus stands in the gap for us as our Good Shepherd. Adam Barnett concludes our Psalms series by examining worship and Psalm 100.
The Good Shepherd
Psalms | Week 5
October 1, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Have you truly ever comprehended the awesome act of worship?
Psalm 100:1-2 (NIV)
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
We sing songs at church NOT TO CREATE our gladness, but to EXPRESS IT.
Psalm 100:3 (NIV)
Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100:4 (NIV)
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and bless his name.
Psalm 100:5 (NIV)
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
John 10:14-15 (NIV)
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
God is calling, repeatedly, consistently and He’s calling you by name. Bill takes us through Psalm 95 to remind us that the God of the universe is calling out to us.
Persistent God
Psalms | Week 4
September 24, 2017 | Bill Clark
Psalm 95:1-11 (NIV)
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”
Psalm 95:6-7 (NIV)
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.
God knows your name.
Psalm 95:7-10 (NIV)
Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’
The people Worshipped & Remembered
What do you remember this morning that can cause you to thank God?
Paul writes in Romans that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This means everyone. Adam discusses how King David handled sin in his own life and what we can learn from his prayer in Psalm 51.
Treason Against God
Psalms | Week 3
September 17, 2017 | Adam Barnett
We can’t fully comprehend the magnitude of God’s grace until we acknowledge the offensiveness of our sin.
Psalm 51:1-4 (NIV)
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
God’s faithfulness is NOT CONDITIONAL upon human faithfulness.
Psalm 51:5-9 (NIV)
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Repentance (to be aware of and disgusted by sin)
Confession (to express remorse and ask for help)
Restoration (to receive transforming grace)
Declaration (to witness about God’s grace)
Comfort
Complacency
Comparison
Fatigue
Isolation
The Psalms are full of bold prayers and we are called to continue to pray boldly. Not because God is subservient to our requests, obligated to answer in the way we want. But because we are called pray with bold faith.
The Answer
Psalms | Week 2
September 10, 2017 | Bill Clark
Psalm 20:1-5 (NIV)
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests.
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…
Psalm 20:1 (NIV)
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress…
Psalm 20:1-2,4 (NIV)
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion…May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
When you get to the place where only God can be the only answer, you are right where you need to be.
God of Jacob
Psalm 20:6-8 (NIV)
Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
Psalm 20:7 (NIV)
…we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Psalm 20:9 (NIV)
Lord, give victory to the king! Answer us when we call!
Psalm 139 takes us through a journey of understand how God has called us to respond to His presence in our lives. Denise McKinney walks through this with us as we start our series studying the Psalms.
Made for What
Psalms | Week 1
September 3, 2017 | Denise McKinney
What are they?
- originally poems set to music
- truthful outpourings of the human experience
What do they do?
- help us pray and worship
- invite us to expand our perspective
“truthful, the sincere outpourings… And when we worship the creator God with our whole, truthful self…” it renews and remakes us. ~ N.T. Wright
Psalm 139:1-12 (NIV)
You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
OUR IDENTITY
An identity grounded in God would mean that when we think of who we are, the first thing that would come to mind is our status as someone who is deeply loved by God. ~ David Benner, The Gift of Being Yourself
HIS PRESENCE
I am convinced that God loves each and every one of us with depth, persistence and intensity beyond imagination. ~David Benner, The Gift of Being Yourself
Psalm 139:13-22 (NIV)
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you. If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
OUR PURPOSE
Vocation is knowing you are fearfully and wonderfully made for something bigger than yourself.
…the place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. ~ Frederick Buechner
Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
HIS POWER
Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
How do I get there?
- By saying yes to what is right in front of you.
- Give him your little, and he will make it much
We are at war. But too often most of our casualties are from friendly fire. We are called to be the church together, but we forget that our enemy is the kingdom of darkness, not those brothers and sisters in Christ who might have differing opinions or views. We are most responsible with the Gospel when we are united as a body. Adam Barnett concludes our series by laying out how we cultivate unity with our words, grace and love.
Wage War!
Ekklesia | Week 4
August 27, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Ephesians 6:10-17 (NIV)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We are most responsible with the gospel when we are UNIFIED as a BODY.
Cultivate Unity with Words
Proverbs 16:24 (NIV)
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Proverbs 12:18 (NIV)
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts…
Cultivate Unity with Grace
Galatians 6:1-2 (NIV)
Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Cultivate Unity with Love
John 13:34-35 (NIV)
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
The reality that God uses fragile and flawed humans to contain His gospel and immense power is mind-blowing. Pastor Bill Clark explores Paul’s words to the church at Corinth talking about how we as believers are simple jars of clay that God uses to show His power.
Jars of Clay
Ekklesia | Week 3
August 20, 2017 | Bill Clark
2 Corinthians 4:1-7 (NIV)
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Jars of Clay
Flawed & Fragile
We are fragile, broken vessels who contain within us the very presence of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are called out by God to be His Church. In that is our responsibility to be the Church to those around us. Adam continues our series by exploring what that responsibility looks like.
Stay on the Altar
Ekklesia | Week 2
August 13, 2017 | Adam Barnett
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:1 (NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
“I know not your gods. Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, is my God. Beat, tear or burn me, and if my words offend you, cut out my tongue; every part of my body is ready when God calls for it as a sacrifice.”
— Theodore Heraclea
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world…
We can be an OFFERING, or we can be ORDINARY.
Are we called to make a POINT or make a DIFFERENCE?
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
The Church we’ve known from the past is dying, but the Church itself will never die. As time progresses, what should the Church look like in today’s contemporary culture, in light of secularism and technology? We kick off our series, Ekklesia, today with a great word from our senior pastor, Bill Clark.
Worship, Grow & Serve
Ekklesia | Week 1
August 6, 2017 | Bill Clark
The church many of us grew up in has changed.
Acts 1:6-8 (NIV)
So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 2:42 (NIV)
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Worship Together
- He is the audience of one.
- Just prompters
- You aren’t spectators, you are the actors
Acts 2:46-47 (NIV)
They continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
To Grow
The goal of growth is real life change.
We Serve
Worship, Grow, Serve
Wopsle concludes our look at the parables of Christ by exploring the idea of growth and how the smallest things we encounter can have the biggest influence.
Cupcakes & Dinner Rolls
Storyteller | Week 10
July 30, 2017 | Wopsle
Matthew 13:31-33 (NIV)
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
1 Corinthians 1:27 (NIV)
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
1 Corinthians 1:27 (The Message)
Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”?
Grace is given freely to all! If it were dependent upon performance or achievement, then it would be earned rather than grace. Pastor Adam explores the parable of the pharisee and the tax collector to illustrate how Christ taught on this principle.
Pharisee & Tax Collector
Storyteller | Week 9
July 23, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Luke 18:9-10 (NIV)
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Luke 18:11-12 (NIV)
The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
Luke 18:13 (NIV)
But the tax collector… stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
Luke 18:14 (NIV)
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
The Kingdom of God is where grace reigns — not achievement.
We must recognize our depravity, and depend on the mercy of God to enter His Kingdom.
God’s love is not earned. It is freely given to those who are conscious of their need of it and yet their unworthiness of it.
Jesus taught about our response to His words by comparing two types of builders, one who builds his house on the rock and the other the sand. Pastor Adam Barnett explores this parable and encourages us to remember what is required for planting our foundation on the rock.
Two Builders
Storyteller | Week 8
July 16, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Matthew 5:1-2 (NIV)
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…
Matthew 7:24 (NIV)
Therefore everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.
Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)
Therefore everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
If you hear the gospel and profess faith in Christ, you will express your faith through obedience and action
We are all found equal in our need for grace. Joe Scruggs explores the parable of the workers in the field to illustrate how we are called to be grace-based people.
Grace Based Life
Storyteller | Week 7
July 9, 2017 | Joe Scruggs
Matthew 20:1-16 (NIV)
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.
He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
But it’s based on what we do.
It’s built on His generosity & grace.
Titus 3:4-5 (NIV)
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
What difference has grace made in our lives?
What does a grace based person look like?
This week Wopsle discusses the parables of the treasure and the pearl to discover not only how we should value the Kingdom of God, but how the Kingdom of God values us.
A Measure of Value
Storyteller | Week 6
July 2, 2017 | Michael Wopsle
Matthew 13:44-46 (NIV)
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The Kingdom of God understands value.
Matthew 13:45-46 (NIV)
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Ephesians 5:25 (ESV)
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Titus 3:5 (ESV)
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
“Use the means as vigorously as if you were to be saved by your own efforts, and yet trust as entirely to the grace of God as if you made use of no means whatsoever” - Archibald Alexander
“We slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.” - D.A. Carson
Pastor Bill Clark explores the parable of the Rich Fool and how Jesus used this example to put a call on us to not seek to accumulate more stuff, but instead think first of the Kingdom purpose for our life and possessions.
The Rich Fool
Storyteller | Week 5
June 25, 2017 | Bill Clark
Luke 12:13-21 (NIV)
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Three Types of People
- Wise
- Fools
- Evil
Thou Shalt Not Covet
Rather than release it, redeem it.
Jesus demonstrated God’s desire to reach out to those far from Him by sharing a series of parables about the Lost. Adam challenges us to read the parable of the Lost Son and seek to see what we’ve been called to do in response.
Seeking the Lost
Storyteller | Week 4
June 18, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Luke 15:1-2 (NIV)
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.
Luke 15:3-7 (NIV)
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:8-10 (NIV)
Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:11-12 (NIV)
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
Luke 15:13-16 (NIV)
Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
Luke 15:17-19 (NIV)
When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
Luke 15:20-23 (NIV)
So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Luke 15:25-30 (NIV)
Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
Luke 15:31-32 (NIV)
‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”
Which son is the Prodigal Son?
The Younger Son
The Older Son
The Father
Jesus counts in ones.
JESUS COUNTS IN ONES.
What does it look like to fulfill the call to love our neighbors? Denise breaks down how Jesus used the parable of the Good Samaritan to explain how we are called to live out what Christ has commanded.
The Good Samaritan
Storyteller | Week 3
June 11, 2017 | Denise McKinney
Luke 10:25-37 (The Message)
“Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?” Jesus answered by telling a story: "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’ What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?” “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.””
This man lost almost everything - his clothes, his belongings and even his life.
The Priest and the Levite
The Samaritan
2 Denarii:
1 denarius = a full day's wage for a laborer
Today that might look like: $15/hr x 8 = $120 x 2 = $240
What’s in it for me?
Inconvenience
Insulation
Irritation
The most effective distortion of God's love for us is my concern for me.
We share food with friends and family,
we offer hospitality to strangers.
When Jesus taught on the parable of the unmerciful servant, he was reminding us that the grace we have been given is free, but it also comes with a responsibility to have forgiveness for others. Bill Clark breaks down this parable and the idea of how grace should impact our lives.
Response to Grace
Storyteller | Week 2
June 4, 2017 | Bill Clark
He is a forgiving God who actually recreates our pasts by forgiving them.
Matthew 18:21-35 (NIV)
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Bottom Line:
We all owe God more than we could ever repay.
Grace brings Responsibility.
Whom do you need to set free? Someone else or yourself?
Throughout the summer we will be exploring the stories that Jesus told to teach and inspire. Join us for the next 9 weeks as we learn from these stories together! Adam Barnett kicks off our series with an introduction to the topic of parables.
Parables 101
Storyteller | Week 1
May 28, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Discipleship Discussion Questions:
What is something you noticed for the first time?
What questions did you have?
Was there anything that bothered you?
What did you learn about loving God?
What did you learn about loving others?
“The parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.”
— Klyne Snodgrass
Jesus used Parables primarily to explain:
The Kingdom of God
The Character of God
Expectations of God
Matthew 13:1-9 (NIV)
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13:10 (NIV)
The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
Matthew 13:11-13 (NIV)
He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
Matthew 13:18-23 (NIV)
Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Good Soil:
- Hear God’s Word
- Believe it is True
- Make Necessary Changes
- Engage in Discipleship
- Bear Fruit
Peace can be found, peace can be felt. Both internally and externally. Rest in that peace and then give it away to others. Denise McKinney concludes our study on dwelling with Christ by encouraging us to live into the peace of Christ.
Shalom
Dwell | Week 5
May 21, 2017 | Denise McKinney
Shalom:
wholeness, completeness, soundness, & welfare
to make things right, or restore
eirene:
eiréneuó: to bring to peace, to be at peace
eirénopoieó - I make peace, reconcile
Shalom is …the webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight…Shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be…the full flourishing of human life in all aspects, as God intended it to be.
-Cornelius Plantinga
Ezekiel 34:11-16a (NLT)
For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD. I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak.
Colossians 1:19-20 (NLT)
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Colossians 1:19-20 (MSG)
So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.
Peace is not the absence of struggle or pain, but the unmistakable and strong presence of God in it.
Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Peace isn’t the absence of conflict or differences, or even war, but the intentional movement toward reconciling and restoring people to God and to each other.
Ephesians 2:14-17 (NIV)
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
I myself will search
I will be like a shepherd
I will find and rescue
I will bring them back home
I will feed them
I will give them good pastureland
I myself will tend
I will search for my lost ones
I will bandage the injured
I will strengthen the weak
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Audrey Assad
In today’s busy life, it’s important to remember that although the specifics of the biblical sabbath don’t apply to us today, the principle of taking rest is just as vital. Bill Clark continues our Dwell series by exploring the Sabbath.
Take the Sabbath
Dwell | Week 4
May 14, 2017 | Bill Clark
Exodus 20:8-10a (NIV)
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall do no work...
Isaiah 58:13-14 (NIV)
If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight...then you will find joy in the Lord.
Mark 2:23-28 (NIV)
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Divert Daily
Withdraw Weekly
Abandon Annually
What would it look like if we took seriously the call to create disciples? And rather than just memorizing scripture, we followed it in our daily lives. Adam Barnett puts the call on us to remember to do what we read.
Discipleship
Dwell | Week 3
May 7th, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Disciple:
a disciplined learner and relentlessly committed follower of a teacher.
John 8:31 (NIV)
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples…”
Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Solitude is a place where you yield to God's ability to care for you. Bill calls us to take the guilt we can feel over our human-ness and let God minister to us in solitude.
Creating Space for God
Dwell | Week 2
April 30, 2017 | Bill Clark
We all need to create space for God.
Solitude is not the same as loneliness.
Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Be still and know that I am God.
Mark 6:30-32 (NIV)
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
We feel worthwhile only when we are achieving and doing.
Community, Solitude, and Ministry
Exodus 14:13-14 (NIV)
Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.
We can be so quick to complicate our lives. We get caught up in all that we are responsible for and we miss the simple truth that Christ calls us to Him to find rest and peace. Adam Barnett launches our Dwell series by encouraging us to keep it simple.
Simple Spirituality
Dwell | Week 1
April 23, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commands.”
The Enemy’s Strategy is to complicate your life to prevent you from loving God or others.
KISS
Keep It Simple Stupid | Keep It Simple Spirituality
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:30 (NIV)
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
The power of the resurrection of Jesus is living and active in all who call Him Lord, even 2,000 years later! Bill Clark unpacks this amazing fact and how it can truly impact our lives today.
Easter 2017
April 16, 2017
Bill Clark
Why did the faith of Jesus of Nazareth last and what difference does it make?
John 20:1-18 (NIV)
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bend over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the heart and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken by Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father, to my god and your god.’”
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have the seen the Lord!” And she told them that he said these things to her.
Jesus appeared to over 500 people after the resurrection.
God has wired into us a sense, a longing for that which is eternal.
This day is either true or it’s not. There is no third option.
The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was just the beginning on Jesus’ final week. Adam Barnett explores this powerful week in Christ’s life that lead up to His crucifixion.
Palm Sunday
April 9, 2017
Adam Barnett
Luke 19:37-40 (NIV)
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” (You’re not the king!) “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Jesus didn't come to engage in a temporary, physical battle. Jesus came to win an eternal, spiritual war.
John 13:34-35 (NIV)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Disciples’ Group Text
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John 13:1-3 (NIV)
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
John 13:4-5 (NIV)
so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Philippians 2:6-8 (NIV)
Being in very nature God, Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross.
John 13:6-11 (NIV)
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
John 13:12-17 (NIV)
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus Washing Feet
The Cross
Where the best of God redeems the worst of man.
Bill Clark wraps up our Vulnerable series by discussing the hard times of suffering we walk through and how Christ experienced suffering head on.
Suffering
Vulnerable | Week 5
April 2, 2017 | Bill Clark
Luke 9:51 (NIV)
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Philippians 2:7-8 (NIV)
...making himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Matthew 27:46 (NIV)
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Tim Keller
No matter what precautions we take, no matter how well we have put together a good life, no matter how hard we have worked to be healthy, wealthy, comfortable with friends and family, and successful with our career — something will inevitably ruin it.
Matthew 5:4 (NIV)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.
C.S. Lewis
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
In order to be vulnerable, we have to understand where our security comes from. Adam Barnett continues our series by reminding us that our security cannot be found in money.
Financial Vulnerability
Vulnerable | Week 4
March 26, 2017 | Adam Barnett
The human soul was not created to find contentment in the accumulation of stuff.
1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV)
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:7-8 (NIV)
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
1 Timothy 6:9 (NIV)
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
Materialism is a downward spiral, resulting in temporary satisfaction and permanent addiction.
1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
2 Corinthians 9:11 (NLT)
Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.
- Waste less on yourself, and sow more in to others.
- Survey what you have and put it to good use.
RELEASE it or REDEEM it. 3. Conduct a self-evaluation to determine where you find contentment.
Philippians 4:12 (NIV)
I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content.
Anger can be a powerful emotion that can easily bring on shame and guilt. Denise McKinney continues our Vulnerable series by reminding us that it is not anger that is sinful, but how we navigate it and treat others in that anger.
Anger
Vulnerable | Week 3
March 19, 2017 | Denise McKinney
God is big enough to handle whatever emotion we feel.
Emotions aren't bad, they are a part of being human
It’s not actually anger that trips us up, it’s how we navigate it.
Matthew 5:21-26 (NIV)
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, “Raca,” is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
God is as serious about our anger issues as he is about violence against one another.
When our anger tells someone they are worthless, we are in trouble.
Practicing vulnerability in our anger means being willing to go make things right….sooner than later.
There is a relational cost to allowing our anger to fester.
So when was it ok for Jesus to get angry?
“Anyone can become angry—that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not easy." ~Aristotle
Sometimes anger masks the real emotion we are feeling.
We are not called to a pain-free life. Bill Clark continues our Vulnerable discussion by asking the question “Is your spirituality actually working for you?” and helping us to reframe our understanding of the principle behind it.
Works In Progress
Vulnerable | Week 1
March 12, 2017 | Bill Clark
Is your spirituality actually working for you?
Do you have less fear than you used to?
Do you love your neighbor (Other People)?
Do you have a greater trust of God now than in the past?
All of us have “issues”.
Ephesians 4:1-4 (NLT)
...lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
Integrity—
integrity means wholeness
Trust in Christ invites vulnerability without fear, shame or fragility. The church is called to be a safe place for people to be vulnerable and for the church to be vulnerable, it has to be made up of safe people. Joe Scruggs kicks off our new series with a call to be safe people.
Safe
Vulnerable | Week 1
March 5, 2017 | Joe Scruggs
We are all going to have struggles with what the Bible calls sin at one time or another in our lives.
At all times, but especially during those times, we will need support and encouragement from one another.
Vulnerable —
Acknowledging or revealing a behavior or thought or situation which opens up the possibility of physical, emotional, mental or spiritual wounding of some type.
Big Question:
Is the Christian community a place where it is safe to risk being vulnerable?
Romans 15:1-2 (MSG)
Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step up and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?”
Matthew 7:1-5 (MSG)
Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
James 5:16 (PHILLIPS)
You should get into the habit of admitting your sins to each other, and praying for each other, so that if sickness comes to you, you may be healed.
Hebrews 10:24-25 (PHILLIPS)
and let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds. And let us not hold aloof from our church meetings, as some do. Let us do all we can to help one another’s faith...
Big Question:
What makes a church a safe place?
Big Question:
How do we do this?
Mark 8:22-25 (NIV)
They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.
Jesus said, “I Am the True Vine.” and with that simple statement, He opposed culture, brought Jewish past into present and established himself has the one true source of life. We are called to abide in Christ because all other sources of life are false. Adam concludes our weekend series, I Am with a call to pursue Christ!
I Am the Vine
I Am | Week 4
February 26, 2017 | Adam Barnett
John 15:1-8 (NIV)
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:2a (NIV)
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit…
John 15:2b (NIV)
While every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
John 15:4 (NIV)
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
John 15:5b (NIV)
...apart from me you can do nothing.
We are completely incapable of pleasing God until we are utterly & humbly dependent on Jesus Christ.
John 15:7a (NIV)
If you remain in me and my words remain in you…
John 15:8 (NIV)
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Christ talks about being the Door of the sheep and their entry into a pasture of peace. In this pasture, we are in the hands of our Lord and He has come to give us life to the full. Bill Clark explores this critical I Am statement and how we are called to be His sheep!
I Am the Door
I Am | Week 3
February 19, 2017 | Bill Clark
John 10:1-10 (NIV)
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Deuteronomy 28:6 (NIV)
You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
He is the visible representation of the invisible God.
Ephesians 2:18 (NIV)
For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
John 10:10 (NIV)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
“There is nothing like suspense and anxiety of barricading a human’s mind against the Enemy. He wants me to be concerned with what they do; our business is the keep them thinking about what will happen to them.” ~C.S. Lewis | The Screwtape Letters
This Shepherd doesn’t sleep.
He wants you to experience life to the full.
Adam continues our study of the I Am statements of Christ by unpacking what it truly means to know that Christ is the Light of the World and what our lives should look like as a result of this truth.
I Am the Light of the World
I Am | Week 2
February 12, 2017 | Adam Barnett
John 8:12 (NIV)
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Genesis 1:1-4 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
1 John 1:5 (AMP)
This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]
John 8:12 (NIV)
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 10:10 (NIV)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and life abundantly.
This week Bill kicks off our new series exploring the several I Am statements made by Christ in the Gospel of John.
I Am the Bread of Life
I Am | Week 1
February 5, 2017 | Bill Clark
John 6:26-27 (NIV)
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you...
John 6:28 (NIV)
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
John 6:29 (NIV)
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
This is beyond us.
God is here - you don’t have to beg him to be present.
John 6:30-35 (NIV)
So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’.” “Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Our lives to be filled with the presence of God.
Am I actively pursuing a stronger relationship with God?
Am I listening to God speak to me about whom I am to serve in Christ’s name?
Am I willing to trade religious activities for a more whole-hearted trust in Christ?
Life today is hectic and busy, and sometimes practically loving God takes a lower priority place on our calendar. Pastor Adam concludes our Love(d) series by encouraging us to make worship and loving on our immense God the highest priority in our lives.
Loving God
Love(d) | Week 4
January 29 2017 | Adam Barnett
Satan loves overly busy Christians.
Matthew 10:30 (NIV)
Every hair on your head has been counted.
God is here.
Psalm 84:1 (NIV)
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!
Psalm 84:2 (NIV)
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Psalm 84:3 (NIV)
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Psalm 84:4 (NIV)
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah.
Worship isn’t just something you do, but also who you are. You are a worshipper.
Psalm 84:10 (NIV)
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
We are commanded to love our neighbor. But what does that mean? What does loving our neighbor look like and who is our neighbor? Bill continues our Love(d) series with a great message about how we are to love those around us. All of those around us.
Love Your Neighbor
Love(d) | Week 3
January 22, 2017 | Bill Clark
To love is itself a gift from God.
Our neighbor can be anyone who has fallen into life’s ditch.
Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Love isn’t love if it doesn’t include loving our neighbors.
No human being ISN’T our neighbor.
Pity never helped anyone.
If I were that person, what help would I wish for?
Go where your heart and your head meet.
Christ lays out for us what we are truly called to do, what informs and empowers us to do everything else he asks of us. It is simply to love God with all that we are..all.
All of You
Love(d) | Week 2
January 15, 2017 | Adam Barnett
Mark 12:28 (NIV)
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Mark 12:29 (NIV)
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Mark 12:30-31 (NIV)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Obeying this command is not to be an act we perform, but a description of who we are.
You can't fully love until you understand how loved you are. Bill begins our series by unpacking the powerful truth that each of us are loved by God, and His love is unlimited and unconditional.
You are Loved
Love(d) | Week 1
January 8, 2017 | Bill Clark
1 John 4:16 (NIV)
God is love.
Jesus could not not love.
Luke 8:28 (NIV)
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “what do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!”
Luke 8:40-56 (NIV)
Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.” They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
Luke 8:48 (NIV)
“Daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Luke 8:52 (NIV)
“Stop wailing, she is not dead, but asleep.”
He’s not indifferent about you. You are deeply loved.
Sorry - you’ve got the wrong God.
You are loved.
A light has dawned and it is up to us follow it out of the darkness and into the future God has for us.
A Light to Follow
Stand Alone
January 1, 2017 | Bill Clark
Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Matthew 4:12-17 (NIV)
When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Psalm 27:1,5 (NIV)
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
Are parts of you living in the shadows of dark places?
Joy is Born. Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let the celebration begin! What does the birth of Jesus mean for us today?
Joy is Born
Born | Week 5
December 24, 2016 | Bill Clark
Joy is Born. Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let the celebration begin! What does the birth of Jesus mean for us today?
Joy is Born
Born | Week 5
December 24, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Luke 2:8-11 (NIV)
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Salvation is Born. When Jesus is born, God wants to send an announcement. He chooses extremely unlikely candidates: shepherds. Jesus is the embodiment of salvation on earth and the arrival of grace. This baby, whose life is full of drama early on, has arrived to change the world.
Salvation is Born
Born | Week 4
December 18, 2016 | Bill Clark
God is at work in you.
God does His best work in silence.
Salvation Project
Greetings, you who are highly favored!
Luke 1:28-33 (NIV)
The Lord is with you...Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of this father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.
God made a decision that it was time.
God wouldn’t just be with us, God would be one of us.
Love does amazing things.
Luke 2:10-12 (NIV)
Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!
Galatians 4:4 (NIV)
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.
God wants to change the world we’re living in and turn it upside down.
The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth is one of great longing and waiting patiently for the promises of God to come to fruition. It's also one that illustrates how important it is to place our hope in God. Paul Phipps continues our Born series by walking through how hope was born.
Hope is Born
Born | Week 3
December 11, 2016 | Paul Phipps
Luke 1:5-7 (NLT)
5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
Luke 1:8-10 (NLT)
8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
Luke 1:11-13 (NLT)
11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.
Luke 1:18 (NLT)
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
Psalm 37:34 (NLT)
Put your hope in the lord. Travel steadily along his path.He will honor you by giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.
Through the story of Abraham, Adam Barnett illustrates how trust in God was established and how we still continue to fight against letting go of control.
Trust is Born
Born | Week 2
December 4, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Matthew 1:1 (NIV)
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham…
My desire for control, despite my faith in God, is arrogance…and inevitably leads to impatience and fear.
Genesis 22:1-4 (NIV)
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” "Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
Genesis 22:5-8 (NIV)
5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
Genesis 22:9-10 (NIV)
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
Genesis 22:5 (NIV)
We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
Hebrews 11:17-19 (NIV)
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
Genesis 22:11-18 (NIV)
11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time. 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the equities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Creation is Born. God spoke, and it was. From the beginning of time, God had a plan. Life was born, and life was in God’s image. However, from the Garden we immediately see the need for Christ. The Garden is a foreshadowing of Jesus.
Creation is Born
Born | Week 1
November 27, 2016 | Joe Scruggs
Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface.
God Initiated Creation
Planful Process
It was very good.
Genesis 1:31
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning and it was the sixth day.
Genesis 3:1-7 (NLT)
1 Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. “Really?”, he asked the woman. “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?” 2 ”Of course we may eat it,” the woman told him. 3 ”It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die.” 4 ”You won’t die!” the serpent hissed. 5 ”God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he at it, too. 7 At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.
A choice was made and we repeat the same choice every day.
Much of our activity is nothing more than a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life.
Romans 8:22 (NIV)
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Romans 5:12 (MSG)
You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone,
Hope and deliverance are possible.
Trust is very hard to earn and very easy to lose. But we serve a God in whom we can place our unreserved trust. Bill Clark concludes our series, In God We Trust, with an exploration of this very important part of faith.
Trust In Him
In God We Trust | Week 4
November 20, 2016 | Bill Clark
We learn to trust God when life hands us challenges that take us beyond the limits of our faith.
The way to trusting God is to learn from the times you didn’t trust God.
Genesis 15:1-21 (NIV)
1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Think of faith as a muscle.
God put Abraham and Sarah into the gymnasium of life’s hard moments.
Proverbs 24:16 (NIV)
The righteous person falls seven times, and rises again.
You can trust God.
Make time to sit with God in a quiet place on a regular basis.
Get out of yourself and your problems by shifting your attention to someone more needy than you.
Sow a gift of some kind into God’s work or into a person in need.
Reaping and sowing are common themes and ideas throughout the Bible. Adam Barnett takes a look at these with a fresh eye as we continue our series, In God We Trust.
The Blessings of God
In God We Trust | Week 3
November 13, 2016 | Adam Barnett
We have a tendency to worship our BLESSINGS rather than the BLESSER.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (NIV)
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
We can decide what to sow, but we can’t define what we reap.
2 Corinthians 9:9-10 (NIV)
9 As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV)
11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Questions to Ponder:
- ``` Am I sowing cheerfully into the ministry of the Church and the lives of others?
2.
Are my motives and intentions pure?
3.
Am I grateful for how God has blessed and equipped me for good works?
```
It’s very easy to get our life out of order. Sometimes we need to take a step back and assess what we’re making a priority in our lives. As we continue, In God We Trust, Bill walks us through this idea through the lens of Genesis 13 and the story of Abram and Lot.
Prioritizing Life
In God We Trust | Week 2
November 6, 2016 | Bill Clark
Are you prioritizing the big rocks in your life?
Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well.
Genesis 13:1-18 (NIV)
1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. 3 From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier 4 and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord. 5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarreling arose between Abram’s herders and Lot’s. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. 8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” 10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. 14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” 18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Lot’s decision came down to his self-interest, his comfort, and his desire for more material wealth.
God was his first priority.
Proverbs 11:24 (NLT)
Give freely and become more wealthy, become stingy and lose everything.
What or who do you put FIRST in your decision-making about the use of your resources?
What would need to change if God received the first and best of your resources?
Are you a blessing receiver or a blessing giver?
Jeremiah 29 paints a picture of how God asks His people to respond to living in uncertain times. Bill Clark opens our series, In God We Trust, with a look at this vital chapter of Jeremiah and how the Israelites had to endure a lot of pain prior to the promise of Jeremiah 29:11.
Time Out
In God We Trust | Week 1
October 30, 2016 | Bill Clark
In God We Trust
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
11 For I know the plans I have for you...to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:1 (NIV)
1 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
God’s people had done this to themselves.
Jeremiah 29:4-7 (NIV)
4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Jeremiah 29:10 (NIV)
10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
1 Peter 2:11-12 (NIV)
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
One of the most important ways we are to be the church to other is to offer them radical hospitality as did the members of the early church. Denise McKinney concludes our series on the early church by discussing this vital part of church life.
You’re Welcome
Irresistible Force | Week 5
October 23, 2016 | Denise McKinney
Acts 2:46-47 (NLT)
They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
It’s a sacred welcome.
It’s a personal welcome.
It’s a life-giving welcome.
It’s also a welcome that often takes us beyond the familiar and comfortable.
Their welcome and hospitality of others reflected what they truly believed about the Gospel—was it really good news for everyone?
Bridges International Fishing Trip
- 370 attended
- 220 students from 55 nations, 27 campuses, 50% believing students, 50% seekers.
- 50 Bridges Staff, children and Volunteers
- 40 Fishermen from Cross-waters outfitters ministry.
- 50 volunteers from Hill Country Fellowship Church in Burnet, TX.
- 100% certainty that God’s goodness was shared and experienced because someone said, “Come go fishing with us!”
Neil & Sharol Josephson, Directors of Family Life Canada, share from the Parable of the Sower and how it can apply to our relationships and marriages.
Together for Good
Neil & Sharol Josephson
October 16, 2016
Matthew 13:1-9 (NIV)
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13:18-23 (NIV)
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent God of the universe...and He wants to spend time with you one-on-one. How long has it been since you stopped and experienced the wonder and awe of God’s presence? Bill Clark shares from Acts how the early church had a sense of awe about the powerful presence of God.
The Awesome Presence
Irresistible Force | Week 4
October 10, 2016 | Bill Clark
Acts 2:43 (NIV)
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
Acts 3:1-10 (NIV)
1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
How long has it been since you allowed yourself to be amazed by something?
Over and over again the people who encountered Jesus had the same experience—they were astonished at what he could do and what he would say.
Adam Barnett shares from Acts 2:42 and about our call to be devoted to the Word of God.
Devoted
Irresistible Force | Week 3
October 2, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Devotion:
love, loyalty or enthusiasm for a person, activity or cause.
Acts 2:42 (NIV)
They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
John 6:53-58 (ESV)
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Our Devotion > Our Division
Amy Little of Beautiful Truth Ministries joined us for Taste & See 2016 to speak about how we are called to live our lives out of Psalm 34.
The body of Christ possesses enough, but not enough for us to keep what we don’t need. In God's economy, there is plenty. We just have to be obedient.
God’s Economy
Irresistible Force | Week 2
September 25, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Acts 2:44 (NIV)
All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Acts 2:45 (NIV)
They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.
God’s Economy:
The body of Christ possesses enough, but not enough for us to keep what we don’t need.
Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Jesus isn’t against you possessing things. But He is against things possessing you.
As the local Church, we are meant to be an Irresistible Force, not by our own strength, planning, or brilliance, but by the power of the Living God. The arrival of the Holy Spirit, Peter’s sermon, and 3,000 converts set the stage for how our church should operate today.
Three Things
Irresistible Force | Week 1
September 18, 2016 | Bill Clark
Acts 1:1,2 (NIV)
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven...
Acts 1:4,5 (NIV)
...for the gift my Father promised, which you heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:14 (NIV)
Peter stood up, raised his voice and addressed the crowd.
These men are not drunk!
Acts 2:17-18 (NIV)
In these last days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy...even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit and they will prophesy.
Acts 2:42 (NIV)
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
Christian worship is really about an audience of one.
Acts 2:44-47 (NIV)
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Worship, Grow & Serve
How frustrating can it be when we see people get rewards when we are certain they don't deserve them? Our flesh tells us that this is wrong, but that is exactly what God's grace does for each of us. Pastor Adam Barnett takes a look at the final minutes of ones man's life, and his eternity changing encounter with Jesus.
Dismas
Disqualified | Week 4
September 11, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Luke 23:32 (NIV)
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him [Jesus] to be executed.
Luke 23:33-38 (NIV)
33 When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals – one on his right the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Luke 23:39-41 (NIV)
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Mark 15:31-32 (NIV)
31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Luke 23:42 (NIV)
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Luke 23:43 (NIV)
43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Do you love me? A simple question asked of simple disciples. Jesus powerful words echo into our lives today. Denise McKinney shares from Jesus' interactions with Peter in our third week of Disqualified.
Loving the Other
Disqualified | Week 3
September 4, 2016 | Denise McKinney
Peter:
Impulsive, extroverted, emotional, risk taker, ADD, the “did I just say that out loud?” disciple
John:
Intentional, Introverted, Reserved, Takes Care, loyal & steady but hidden pride, the “disciple Jesus loved”
John 13:34-38 (NLT)
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” 36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.” 37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
John 18:10-11 (NLT)
10 Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus, the high priest’s slave. 11 But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?”
John 18:15-17, 25-27 (NLT)
15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. 16 Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. 17 The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.”
25 Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” 26 But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” 27 Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.
Often we respond to others as if it our job to disqualify them from being loved & used by God.
And by disqualifying others, we actually get in the way of God working through us for the sake of others.
Our love for each other points the world to the God who loves them.
John 21:17 (NLT)
17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep."
Do you love me?
There are four distinct scenes that play out when Jesus meets Levi, the tax collector, in Luke 5:27-32. And each one plays a vital role in our understanding of the magnitude of Jesus' calling of Levi to be his disciple. Adam Barnett walks us through this engaging encounter.
Levi
Disqualified | Week 2
August 28, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Luke 5
Red Bible: Page 1,599
God meets our rebellion with His RESCUE… our sin with His SALVATION… our guilt with His GRACE.
The overwhelming focus of the Bible is not the work of the redeemed, but the work of the Redeemer.
Luke 5:27-28 (NIV)
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Luke 5:29-30 (NIV)
29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Luke 5:31-32 (NIV)
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Each of has one or more things that we feel could disqualify us from being used by God. But Jesus has a different perspective. Rather than seeing our past, He sees our potential. Rather than judging us the way the world does, He loves us and wants to use us right where we are. Pastor Bill Clark kicks off our study of a few people that had life-changing encounters with Jesus.
Disqualified
Disqualified | Week 1
August 21, 2016 | Bill Clark
John 4:4-18 (NIV)
4 Now He had to go through Samaria. 5 So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as He as from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to Him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” 11 ”Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 ”I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.
Jesus had a different attitude toward disqualified people.
John 4:19-30,39 (NIV)
19 ”Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)“ is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am He.” 27 Just then His disciples returned and were surprised to find Him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 ”Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him. 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed him Him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
John 4:29 (NIV)
Come see a man who told me everything I ever did.
He counted her qualified.
Each of us is gifted to serve the kingdom of God and all we must to is step up and say yes! Serving the local church is essential in living into your calling as a follower of God.
Serving
Fully Alive | Week 2 | August 14, 2016 | Paul Phipps
Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NLT)
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. o13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:14-17 (NLT)
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
1 Corinthians 12:18-21 (NLT)
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
1 Corinthians 12:26 (NLT)
26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
We are created to live this life in community with others. Adam Barnett unpacks this idea by looking at the unique and powerful friendship of Jonathan and David.
Community
Fully Alive | Week 1 | August 7, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Warmth of relationships throughout life have the greatest positive impact on life satisfaction.
1 Samuel 18:1-4 (NIV)
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
Jonathan became one in spirit with David and loved him as himself.
Jonathan made a covenant with David.
Eros will have naked bodies. Friendship… naked personalities.
~ C. S. Lewis
Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David.
Jonathan gave David his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
The Gospel
God is for us, despite us.
Friendship
Because of the gospel, I am for you, despite you.
In the last chapter of Galatians, Paul sums up the entire letter with one message. You are a new creation in Christ, regardless of where you came from or what circumstances you found yourself in before. Adam Barnett wraps up our study on the book of Galatians by looking at the last seven verses of Paul's letter.
A New Creation
Galatians | Week 9 | July 31, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Galatians 6:11 (NIV)
11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
Galatians 6:12-15 (NIV)
12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
Salvation is an interior, supernatural transformation, in no way dependent on external, human effort.
Galatians 6:14 (NIV)
14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:15 (NIV)
15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
Paul takes a gentle turn in the last chapter of Galatians by laying the call to deal with each other within the church gently and to bear each others burdens.
Burden Bearing
Galatians | Week 8 | July 24, 2016 | Bill Clark
Galatians 6:1-10 (NIV)
1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load. 6 Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
To bear each other’s burdens by the gracious leading of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 6:1 (NIV)
If someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.
Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Help one another within the Church, for this is what Christ would want you to do.
Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
“…serve one another in love"
John 15:12 (NIV)
Love each other as I have loved you
Galatians 6:5 (NIV)
“…for each one should carry his own load."
Galatians 6:10 (NIV)
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to this who belong to the family of believers.
The fruits of the Spirit are simply that, fruits of our walk with the Spirit. If we focus on the walk, the fruits will come naturally.
Focus on the Walk
Galatians | Week 7 | July 17, 2016 | Paul Phipps
Galatians 5:13a (NIV)
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.
Galatians 5:13b (NIV)
But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh;
Galatians 5:13 (NIV)
But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV)
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:25 (NIV)
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
What is the first thing you think about when you hear the word, Freedom? Satan wants you to be held captive and suffer from God’s Freedom. Adam Barnett shares with us how Jesus trumps all of Satan’s efforts to hold us captive by standing firm in His righteousness.
Gospel Freedom
Galatians | Week 6 | July 10, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Freedom:
I. Liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another
II. The state of being released from something burdensome
III. Absence of subjection to foreign domination
Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Romans 5:18 (NIV)
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:2-6 (NIV)
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
“Even if you insist you’ve been converted or you say you feel Christ has changed your life… if you decide your salvation rests in any way on your performance, you deny salvation by faith alone in Christ alone.” — Tim Keller
Spirit Cry
Galatians | Week 5 | July 3, 2016 | Bill Clark
Galatians 4:1-7 (NIV)
1 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights as sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Galatians 3:8 (NIV)
8 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
The law provided supervision, rules and regulations.
Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV)
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights as sons.
Galatians 4:6 (NIV)
6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
The law has been put away.
Do you believe this?
Are you experiencing intimacy with God?
We are sons of God, baptized into Christ, and clothed with Christ. The cross is the one place where our human distinctions lose all significance. We are equal and one. Adam Barnett expands on this as we continue our study of Galatians.
Children of God
Galatians | Week 4 | June 26, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Galatians 3:26-27 (NIV)
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Transform:
To change in form, appearance, or structure
To change in condition, naature, or character
To change into another substance
Galatians 3:28 (NIV)
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
You are a child of God.
You are baptized into Christ.
You are clothed with Christ.
Paul Phipps continues our study of the book of Galatians by highlighting chapter 3 and it's call to recognize that our salvation is a free gift, not earned.
Unearned
Galatians | Week 3 | June 19, 2016 | Paul Phipps
Galatians 3:1-5 (NIV)
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
Galatians 3:6 (NIV)
6So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Galatians 3:10-14 (NIV)
10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them." " 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
We have been given a new identity in the Kingdom of God - a better identity. Mike King continues our study of the book of Galatians.
Primary Identity
Galatians | Week 2
June 12, 2016 | Mike King
Resident Aliens
Galatians 2:1-2 (NIV)
Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.
Galatians 2:6-9a (NIV)
As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel...For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the Jewish people, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Peter and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me.
Our Christian passport trumps our birth passport.
Galatians 2:11-12 (NIV)
When Peter came to Antioch, I (Paul) opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
Galatians 2:14-16 (NIV)
When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
How is it that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
1 Peter 2:11 (NIV)
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.
When Christ changed our core identities He also gave us the power to live out of those new identities.
Adam kicks off our new series on the book of Galatians by setting up the book and its author, the apostle Paul.
No Other Gospel
Galatians | Week 1
June 5, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Paul wrote Galatians to protest against corruption of the gospel of Christ.
Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV)
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Galatians 1:6-7 (AMP)
I am astonished and extremely irritated that you are so quickly shifting your allegiance and deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different [even contrary] gospel; which is really not another [gospel]; but there are [obviously] some [people masquerading as teachers] who are disturbing and confusing you [with a misleading, counterfeit teaching] and want to distort the gospel of Christ [twisting it into something which it absolutely is not].
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Galatians 1:11 (NIV)
I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:13-24 (NIV)
For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles – only James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they praised God because of me.
Paul wrote Galatians to share what he learned about the gospel through his own conversion.
The gospel is not only the way to enter the kingdom; it is the way to live as part of the kingdom.
Bill concludes our DNA series by discussing how intercessory prayer, or praying for others, is not only beneficial for those we pray for, but even more so for our own walk with Christ.
A People of Prayer
DNA | Week 5
May 29, 2016 | Bill Clark
The greatest joy, the greatest sense of the presence of God is found in praying for others.
Mark 2:1-12 (NIV)
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Who is your life is on the mat?
Somebody needs to carry them to Jesus.
Romans 8:34 (NIV)
…at the right hand of God interceding for us.
Our task is to pick up the mat. God does all that follows.
Mike explores the way Redeemer has served the city of Tulsa and shares how we are called in Jeremiah to do so.
Serve Our City
DNA | Week 4
May 22, 2016 | Mike King
John 20:21 (NIV)
As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.
Mark 10:45 (NIV)
did not come to be served, but to serve…
Serve Our City
Jeremiah 29:4-6 (NIV)
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.
Jeremiah 29:7-9 (NIV)
"Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord
Serve the City and Pray to the Lord
Insist on Comfort and Boredom is Inevitable
Bill Clark speaks to and over the next generation and discusses the idea of our limitless choices, and the guidelines we are to use to make those choices.
Choices
DNA | Week 3
May 15, 2016 | Bill Clark
The Tyranny of Choice
285 Varieties of Cookies
175 Salad Dressings
230 Types of Soup
40 Kinds of Toothpaste
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (NIV)
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Matthew 22:37-39
“Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself."
Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
…choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.
We are called to live together in a spiritual family. Adam breaks this down in the second week of our DNA series.
The Spiritual Family
DNA | Week 2
May 8, 2016 | Adam Barnett
“Hospitality is not so much a singular act of welcome, as it is a way, an orientation that attends to otherness, listening and learning, valuing and honoring. The hospitable one looks for God’s redemptive presence in the other, confident it is there, if one only has eyes to see and ears to hear.” — Amy Oden
“Family is usually considered to be the most important agent of socialization. As infants, we are completely dependent on others to survive. Our parents, or those who play the parent role, are responsible for teaching us to function and care for ourselves. They, along with the rest of our family, also teach us about close relationships, group life, and how to share resources. Additionally, they provide us with our first system of values, norms, and beliefs - a system that is usually a reflection of their own social status, religion, ethnic group, and more.” — Erin Long
Love and humility strip us of our pride and lead us to promote unity, spread joy & restore peace.
Philippians 2:1 (NIV)
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion…
Philippians 2:2 (NIV)
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit & purpose.
Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition/vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:4 (NIV)
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.
Philippians 2:5 (NIV)
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
Love and humility strip us of our pride and lead us to promote unity, spread joy & restore peace.
Mike King and Denise McKinney open up our discussion of Redeemer's DNA by talking about how we are called to live lives of radical hospitality.
Radical Hospitality
DNA | Week 1
May 1, 2016 | Mike King & Denise McKinney
Radical Hospitality
God’s hospitality welcomes.
God’s hospitality invites the stranger in and helps the one who is struggling.
Isaiah 61:1 (NLT)
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
God’s hospitality is shown through a shared meal.
Philippians 2:6-8 (NLT)
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
1 Thessalonians 2:5-8 (NIV)
You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
He was sharing the essence of his life with them.
1 Thessalonians 2:7b (NIV)
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you.
To Grow and Thrive
People don’t get left behind.
The run leaders take people under their wing.
1 Thessalonians 2:9-12a (NIV)
Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God...
Living Hospitality Experiment
They take good care of each other and they work tirelessly to make sure everyone finishes the race.
“Hospitality is not so much a singular act of welcome, as it is a way, an orientation that attends to otherness, listening and learning, valuing and honoring. The hospitable one looks for God’s redemptive presence in the other, confident it is there, if one only has eyes to see and ears to hear.”
- Amy Oden
- Who do we already run into in our regular routines that we could spend a little more time getting to know? What’s one question we could ask them that would help us express care to them?
- What can we do to listen to and learn about the people we meet so that God can show us his redemptive presence their lives?
- What kinds of things can we do to open up spaces on our legos so that we can help other people make life-giving connections?
- Where could we value and honor someone by imitating God’s example of welcome?
Hope is incredibly powerful and God gives us great reason to put our hope in Him. Bill concludes our Living series by talking about that hope encouraging us to Live Hopefully.
Living Hopefully
Living | Week 4
April 24, 2016 | Bill Clark
Romans 8:22-25 (NIV)
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
Hope is not the same thing as optimism.
Hope is forged in the furnace of Scripture and the promises of God’s Word.
“Our souls were made for hope like our hearts were made to love and our brains were made to think.”
- Lewis Smedes
God gave us the power to imagine the future, but He gave us no power to control it.
Jesus doesn’t answer all the hard questions, but instead He took all the pain and all the loss and He put it on Himself.
Ephesians 2:12-13 (NIV)
Remember that at that time you were separated from Christ…and foreigners to the Covenants of the promise, WITHOUT HOPE and WITHOUT GOD in the world. But NOW in Christ Jesus you who were far away have been brought NEAR through the blood of Christ.
We become hopeful people by choosing faith over fear.
We remember seasons of life when God helped us and believe He can do it again.
We look for signs of hope around us and join in.
We forgive ourselves for past mistakes and accept the promise of grace.
We remember that we have a future that has been secured by the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus—and when we remember He is coming again.
Finding joy amidst our trials can be difficult, but it is imperative. Adam Barnett talks about the call to live joyfully!
Living Joyfully
Living | Week 3
April 17, 2016 | Adam Barnett
James 1:2 (NIV)
Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
James 1:3 (NIV)
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
James 1:4 (NIV)
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4 (RTVT)
Consider it absolutely terrible, unfortunate and disastrous, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face any trial, because you know that the testing of your faith produces frustration, discomfort and pain. Don’t persevere… just give up… you’ll just remain immature, incomplete, lacking something
Mike King continues our Living study by encouraging us to live confidently in the promises God has made!
Living Confidently
Living | Week 2
April 10, 2016 | Mike King
If someone promises to do the impossible and pulls it off, you can bet they’ll come through on every promise they make.
Matthew 27:62-63 (NIV)
...the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’
He was making a promise that was absolutely impossible.
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 (NIV)
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NIV)
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15:5-8 (NIV)
and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also...
1 Corinthians 15:17-19 (NIV)
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
We can have confidence that all that Jesus promised would come true.
1 Corinthians 15:20 (NIV)
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,
1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
John 14:27 (NIV)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (NIV)
...do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Philippians 4:19 (NIV)
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
The Resurrection changed everything, including how we are called to live. Adam Barnett explores the calling on our lives to live victoriously!
Living Victoriously
Living | Week 1
April 3, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
For our struggle is not against flesh & blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world & against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:13 (NIV)
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:14-15 (NIV)
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:16 (NIV)
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Bill Clark speaks about Jesus' presence in our lives by exploring the story of Cleopas and his friend on the road to Emmaus.
There All Along
Easter 2016
March 27, 2016 | Bill Clark
Luke 24:13-35 (NIV)
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
What are you two talking about?
What things?
Their eyes were opened and they recognized the stranger was in fact Jesus.
He was alive again and with them all along.
There is a universal longing to bridge this world, the one we’re living in, to the other world — the world we cannot yet see. - C.S. Lewis
At Easter, we remember the power of His moral and spiritual beauty.
The Problem Behind the Problem
Reset | Week 6
March 20, 2016 | Mike King
There’s a problem behind your problem.
John 11:39 (KJV)
…he stinketh…
John 11:45-50 (NIV)
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
John 12:12-13 (NIV)
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”
John 12:17-19 (NIV)
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
They thought their deepest problem was the Romans.
Their deepest problem is that they were separated from God.
What’s really going on? Is there a problem behind the problem?
Are we part of the problem behind the problem?
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We are all more broken than we can ever know, but we are more loved that we can ever imagine.
Bill Clark continues our study on Reset with a word about how most of life is lived at the base of the mountain, rather than the mountaintop.
At the Base of the Mountain
Reset | Week 5
March 13, 2016 | Pastor Bill Clark
Matthew 17:1-13 (NIV)
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
“This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well-pleased."
Most of our life is lived at the base of the mountain.
“Life is Not an Accident” by Jay Williams
“Nobody did anything to me, I did it to myself and that was way more painful than anything.”
- Jay Williams
“Life is all about who you decide to surround yourself with. I started to look at my life as a company and about who’s on my board. And I had a teenage drug dealer on my board, I had people who were drinking and partying a lot. It wasn’t until I put people on my board who actually held me to higher standards that I started to heal and become closer to God.” - Jay Williams
Adam Barnett continues our series of Reset by discussing how are are to face temptation when it comes.
Temptation
Reset | Week 5
March 6, 2016 | Adam Barnett
Romans 3:23 (NIV)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:24 (NIV)
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
James 1:13 (NIV)
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone,
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
James 1:14 (NIV)
but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
James 1:15 (NIV)
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
The progression of temptation: Evil Desire → Temptation → Sin → Habitual Sin → Death
James 1:12 (NIV)
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
2 Corinthians 4: 17-18 (NIV)
For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
As we continue the Reset sermon series, Mike King shares with us on the call on our lives to care for the poor and fatherless.
Adam Barnett shares with us a message about fasting as we seek to reset our understanding of various spiritual disciplines.
We'll be taking the season of Lent as an opportunity to reframe our understanding of various disciplines in the Christian faith. To open this up, Bill Clark brings a good word about prayer.
Mike King continues our look at the weird practices of the church by talking about the season of Lent and what it really means to the church.
As we approach the season of Lent, Bill Clark kicks off a two week series on some of the practices of the church that can seem odd to new church goers. This week he discusses the topic of communion.
Paul Phipps concludes the Fight Club series by discussing the issue of human sexuality.
Adam Barnett shares a special message about engaging with others on the issue of racism.
Mike King continues to discuss Fight Club and addresses the sometimes touchy issue of how we are to deal with those of the Muslim faith and how we can engage them in healthy discussion.
Pastor Bill Clark kicks off our series Fight Club by establishing some ground rules for how we are to engage others in discussions.