White Horse Church Sermon Audio: Recent Episodes
Adam Witanowski
We are a church that exists to love the city for the glory of God as a church in the city all week long. We see ourselves as family of missionary, servant, disciples, pioneering the story of Jesus in the city. Our sermons, our church and our lives are all about Jesus. If you ever wanted to know about church, Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit or the bible, we have you covered. We have a bunch of fun living lives as missionaries in the great city of Sydney. We would love you to join us, check us out, and find a home here with your family. You are welcome here, so come as you are. There are no perfect people here so you will fit right in. Welcome to White Horse Church. Welcome home.
In Jesus we are strong enough. Strong enough to go where he calls us. Strong enough to go when he calls us. Regardless of whether we feel ready or not. Jesus is with us.
Too often we come to God with a loaded die, tell him what we want and ask him to bless our decisions. But what if we are settling in a paradise in the shadow of the promise? What if that paradise is a place known as hell masquerading as beauty, like sin and destruction so often does? What if the promise looks like a desert? It's probably time to get some water and charge the hill and take hold of all of the life that God has won for you through Jesus!
To live our lives with an eternal perspective, focussed on Jesus. Our hope should be renewed, we should be moved to Joy aaaaaand we should be more urgent in mission, because well, frankly, Jesus is coming back. So, you know.
We’ve seen Joshua engaging in a battle over the throne of canaan, and there is a battle over the throne of my soul and your soul. We are all too aware that our soul is designed to be lead. To be driven, our souls are ruled by whatever king we elect to reign. And there is a battle over the throne of your soul. Satan will continue to introduce you to kings, whose words are like honey and promises too good to refuse. ‘Just tell Jesus to get off the throne for a moment, telling that person what you really think of them will make you feel justified, or how about you binge just one more episode of friends.. .How about you try this, just a little bit…’ There is a battle raging over the throne of our souls. So many temptations, so many directions we’re being pulled in. We feel the tension, we love Jesus, but sometimes the promises of another king, another temptation another idol to worship feel better to us in the moment. The problem is, we think that Jesus is going to share the throne with another.
Jesus knows the tendencies of our flesh to grow numb to spiritual things over time, but becausehe deeply desires for you to be present with him and to have the gospel at the focal point ofyour attention he gave us physical touchpoints of spiritual realities. Tangible moments thatinvolve us in the story of the gospel, to ratify our beliefs in reality. So that we might feel, touch,taste and see the gospel. Jesus gave us Baptism and Communion. To outward rituals that symbolise profound gospel transformation and narrative.The purpose of communion, as we see in our passage from 1 Corinthians 11, is to ‘proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes’. It also serves to remind us, tangibly, that Jesus has given hislife for us, that his body was broken and his blood shed, that you might one day see him face to face welcoming you home. What a profound and beautiful image! If only we could focus on thatall the time!
Even if you go to church, it doesn’t mean that you are being exposed (or exposing others) to the gospel explicitly. Sure, most people talk about Jesus, and about being good and avoiding bad, but the gospel message simply isn’t there—at least not in its specificity and its fullness.
Inspired by the needs of both the overchurched and the unchurched, and bolstered by the common neglect of the explicit gospel within Christianity, we would like to invite you to this series, a punchy treatise to remind us what is of first and utmost importance—the gospel.
Here is a call to true Christianity, to know the gospel explicitly, and to unite the church on the amazing grounds of the good news of Jesus!
This week. How do we make a connection between what Christ has done and how we believe. Its not enought to simply know that Jesus wes Crucified we must be able to make the connection between that act and the idea that God loves us, between that act and God saves us. How is the good news, good news and not simply a good story? Thats the question that we answer this week.
Even if you go to church, it doesn’t mean that you are being exposed (or exposing others) to the gospel explicitly. Sure, most people talk about Jesus, and about being good and avoiding bad, but the gospel message simply isn’t there—at least not in its specificity and its fullness.
Inspired by the needs of both the overchurched and the unchurched, and bolstered by the common neglect of the explicit gospel within Christianity, we would like to invite you to this series, a punchy treatise to remind us what is of first and utmost importance—the gospel.
Here is a call to true Christianity, to know the gospel explicitly, and to unite the church on the amazing grounds of the good news of Jesus!
Our problem is that we forget the gravity of our sin, so our sin seems not so dark, which makes the beauty of the gospel not so great. This means that we forget that our sin is terrible, his sacrifice incredible and that our forgiveness is absolute. It's not until we see that our sin is great that we will know that the gospel is great and then we will not just know that we are forgiven, but we will feel forgiven. Easter should be the biggest day in the Christian calendar but instead, instead, it plays second fiddle to Christmas. We should be dancing, high fiving and celebrating the heck out of Easter like it was NYE 99'.
Just before this scene, the city of Gibeon had heard how Israel had destroyed Jericho and Ai by God’s power and they freaked out, knowing they were next. So they sent two guys to pretend to be from some far away poor small city and swindle Joshua into making a peace treaty with them. Joshua agreed that they would not attack them, only to later find out that they were from the great city of Gibeon, which was the city they were about to destroy, a huge, powerful city with a great army. So the Gibeonites were now under the care and protection of Israel. Now one of the kings Adoni-Zedek from a nearby city, jerusalem heard about this and freaked out. Because Gibeon was a great city, So Adoni decided to destroy the Gibeonites, so he made a coalition with 4 other kings in the land to destroy Gibeon. Gibeon was in a horrible situation, they weren't about to be attacked by just one neighboring army, but 5! They absolutely didn't stand a chance, so they reached out to Israel for help. Joshua inquires of God and gets a promise that God would win the fight for them and that they shouldn't fear. Joshua and the rest of Israel’s army then go to war against the coalition and win hands down, but not before they run into a problem. The sun is going down. If the sun goes down, they will lose the enemy and consequently the war. So Joshua prays, in audacious faith, an audacious prayer. He pray’s ‘sun stand still’ and it does. God answered the prayer immediately. This teaches us two things: 1: God can do anything 2: Prayer makes a difference see vv14
We are pragmatic people but God wants us to be prayerful people. The problem with our pragmatism is that we aren’t in a pragmatic war but a spiritual one. We need to recognise that we are in a spiritual war, and fight it with spiritual weapons. The first step is realising that we are the Gibeonites, that we like them have to throw ourselves not on our own strength but at the mercy of God. The gospel isn’t just what saved us, it is saving us and will save us. Will we be prayerful as our proactive posture, to fight a war we are in, fighting for the gospel, the name of Jesus and those that don’t yet know him? Where we want to get people to is that we must pray more than we act. Those decisions made swiftly by individuals or in committee with the whole church are meaningless without Christ in the center. And that we aren’t at the centre of a war of ideas but a spiritual war.
When we look at our sin we either realise that we are hopeless or we look at our sin and think "I can totally fix this". When God shows us our sin in the law, straight away he shows us not only that we are sinful but also how we can be made clean. Which mountain will we choose to stand on? You can't stand on both. You will either be on Ebal or Gerizim. It turns out the doorway of hope is a flipping great mountain of hope.
Everyone has a “promised land” that they are dreaming about, striving for, working towards, delaying other things in order to be able to attain. We want this in an uncommon way, far more than we want other things and we are willing to change the way we act, plan and live in order to achieve it. The problem for most of us the “promised land” is a false promise, more akin to a “Neverland” than a “Promised land”. Inevitably this ideal that we dream of, which is, we believe, not far off in our future (house, car, spouse, better job, more money, etc.) will let us down… and if it doesn’t and our idols become our joy then our problem is far worse. In any case, we are fully aware that there is a wall between us and that promised land, a wall separating us from walking in joy. Our big problem is that we have bought into a neverland rather than a true promised land and the very thing we are longing for may be the wall that is separating us from what Jesus has already accomplished by tearing the separation between us and God apart on the cross.
There has been a Uge(insert Trump voice) amount of momentum building up to this point in Israel’s history. They've been walking through seas and rivers, God I feeding them with food that is literally falling from the sky, they are killing it! God is fighting for them, other nations are freaking out, things are LIT! Theyarejustaboutto wagewaronJericho and all of a sudden, like getting your front tire caught in a tram track(if you're confused, I guess you missed the sermon on Sunday...bummer), the momentum comes to a painful and jolting halt. God says whoa whoa whoa. You can't enter the promised land, you aren't circumcised. Wait, what? That’s a weird change of pace. God then proceeds to prepare Israel for war in a way that doesn't seem to make much sense. He tells them to get circumcised and then have a party. In order to proceed, God will ask us to prepare in ways that don't make sense. The way we prepare is the way we proceed. God wantedIsrael to mark themselves as his people (circumcision) and then celebrate the Passover because He was going to fight this fight. I guess they should've been making weapons, catapults and battering rams, not this weird stuff. The way we live our lives should only make sense if heaven is real and Jesus is fighting for us!Regardless, Joshua gets anxious, leaves the party to scopeoutJericho to try and formulate a plan. He runs into Jesus, who is holding a sword. Suddenly all the weird preparation makes sense. Jesus is the captain, the king. Thisishisfight, notJoshua’s.Suddenly the weird preparations make sense, and they can proceed with confidence. In order to see a supernatural provision, God will ask you to have a supernatural preparation. Live your life like Jesus is going to crash the party. Ifyouprepareinyourown strength, you will proceed in your own strength. If youprepareinGod’sstrength, it may seem weird and unproductive, but you will proceed in God’s strength.
Everybody wants to leave a legacy, everyone wants to do something that gets remembered generation after generation. We want to make sure we leave the only legacy that matters a damn for eternity, the legacy of Jesus name.
This is the moment when the tension built up all through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, numbers and deuteronomy. They've been waiting sooo long to enter the land that God had promised them, the land flowing with milk and honey, a land of their own possession, the place where they would build the temple, and finally have rest. They get all the way to edge of the promised land, the precipice of everything they've been hoping for and promised and they run into a huge, impassable river! Joshua sees this not as an obstacle, but an opportunity to see God display his power and grace to his people. God then makes the opportunity obvious as he tells Joshua he is going to work through him as he worked through Moses by splitting the river in half. Joshua acts not out of his own strength, but in faith steps out and follows God into the river. God miraculously splits the river as he did for Moses, and God leads his people into the promised land.
The goal of this cadre is to get people to believe both sides of the gospel. We find it relatively (it's a relative term) easy to believe that God has saved us from our past sin, has washed us clean, and enabled us to go to heaven. But we tend to have trust issues with him. We find it difficult to actually believe John 14:12. The goal is that we might unpack why we don't believe this, and then gospel ourselves into believing it more than we currently do. Sounds exciting right!
What would the church looked like if we pursued the good of every church in our city as much as we pursued the good of our own, denomination and network aside? What if we fought for the gospel and for people meeting Jesus more than we fought for our churches own brand? What might happen if we loved our neighbouring church as much as we loved our own? What if we just worked together more? We thought we would find out. For the next 4 weeks we will be mobilising our whole church, budget, marketing channels, effort, prayers and time for the benefit of 4 churches in our city, 1 per week, blessing them in anyway we can. Our social media will look a little different as we do a ’tap takeover', our venue will be empty as we go on a church road trip every Sunday, our prayer meetings full of prayers for our brothers and sisters in other communities and our app filled with their sermon podcast and events. This isn’t a gimmick to try and get people to join White Horse, like some kind of trojan horse. This is a true and prayerful effort to try and build trust, unity and camaraderie, between churches we love in the city we love. We hope our efforts will bring unbelievers to these 4 churches, grow these 4 churches and bless these 4 churches. We will also try and produce a podcast of the whole experience, interviewing pastors, church members, global thought leaders, and authors about the experience, what we are learning and discuss how a church more unified around Jesus and his agenda as opposed to our own is essential to a revolution shaped revival in our city. At the end of the four weeks we will host, in partnership with other communities, bands and pastors a prayer night. We will sing some songs, pray some prayers and build some bridges all in Jesus great name. We hope you will join us. Follow us on social media, our new website as it launches in this period, and our podcast which will be tracking the whole process. This is going to be great! We can’t wait to love and bless the other great churches in this city who are hoping to make disciples from scratch. Lets be a church where words and nice rhetoric go to die, replaced with gospel seeded action and prayers. For His name, lets do whatever it takes together, in Sydney as it is in Heaven.
What would the church looked like if we pursued the good of every church in our city as much as we pursued the good of our own, denomination and network aside? What if we fought for the gospel and for people meeting Jesus more than we fought for our churches own brand? What might happen if we loved our neighbouring church as much as we loved our own? What if we just worked together more? We thought we would find out. For the next 4 weeks we will be mobilising our whole church, budget, marketing channels, effort, prayers and time for the benefit of 4 churches in our city, 1 per week, blessing them in anyway we can. Our social media will look a little different as we do a ’tap takeover', our venue will be empty as we go on a church road trip every Sunday, our prayer meetings full of prayers for our brothers and sisters in other communities and our app filled with their sermon podcast and events. This isn’t a gimmick to try and get people to join White Horse, like some kind of trojan horse. This is a true and prayerful effort to try and build trust, unity and camaraderie, between churches we love in the city we love. We hope our efforts will bring unbelievers to these 4 churches, grow these 4 churches and bless these 4 churches. We will also try and produce a podcast of the whole experience, interviewing pastors, church members, global thought leaders, and authors about the experience, what we are learning and discuss how a church more unified around Jesus and his agenda as opposed to our own is essential to a revolution shaped revival in our city. At the end of the four weeks we will host, in partnership with other communities, bands and pastors a prayer night. We will sing some songs, pray some prayers and build some bridges all in Jesus great name. We hope you will join us. Follow us on social media, our new website as it launches in this period, and our podcast which will be tracking the whole process. This is going to be great! We can’t wait to love and bless the other great churches in this city who are hoping to make disciples from scratch. Lets be a church where words and nice rhetoric go to die, replaced with gospel seeded action and prayers. For His name, lets do whatever it takes together, in Sydney as it is in Heaven.
What would the church looked like if we pursued the good of every church in our city as much as we pursued the good of our own, denomination and network aside? What if we fought for the gospel and for people meeting Jesus more than we fought for our churches own brand? What might happen if we loved our neighbouring church as much as we loved our own? What if we just worked together more? We thought we would find out. For the next 4 weeks we will be mobilising our whole church, budget, marketing channels, effort, prayers and time for the benefit of 4 churches in our city, 1 per week, blessing them in anyway we can. Our social media will look a little different as we do a ’tap takeover', our venue will be empty as we go on a church road trip every Sunday, our prayer meetings full of prayers for our brothers and sisters in other communities and our app filled with their sermon podcast and events. This isn’t a gimmick to try and get people to join White Horse, like some kind of trojan horse. This is a true and prayerful effort to try and build trust, unity and camaraderie, between churches we love in the city we love. We hope our efforts will bring unbelievers to these 4 churches, grow these 4 churches and bless these 4 churches. We will also try and produce a podcast of the whole experience, interviewing pastors, church members, global thought leaders, and authors about the experience, what we are learning and discuss how a church more unified around Jesus and his agenda as opposed to our own is essential to a revolution shaped revival in our city. At the end of the four weeks we will host, in partnership with other communities, bands and pastors a prayer night. We will sing some songs, pray some prayers and build some bridges all in Jesus great name. We hope you will join us. Follow us on social media, our new website as it launches in this period, and our podcast which will be tracking the whole process. This is going to be great! We can’t wait to love and bless the other great churches in this city who are hoping to make disciples from scratch. Lets be a church where words and nice rhetoric go to die, replaced with gospel seeded action and prayers. For His name, lets do whatever it takes together, in Sydney as it is in Heaven.
What would the church looked like if we pursued the good of every church in our city as much as we pursued the good of our own, denomination and network aside? What if we fought for the gospel and for people meeting Jesus more than we fought for our churches own brand? What might happen if we loved our neighbouring church as much as we loved our own? What if we just worked together more? We thought we would find out. For the next 4 weeks we will be mobilising our whole church, budget, marketing channels, effort, prayers and time for the benefit of 4 churches in our city, 1 per week, blessing them in anyway we can. Our social media will look a little different as we do a ’tap takeover', our venue will be empty as we go on a church road trip every Sunday, our prayer meetings full of prayers for our brothers and sisters in other communities and our app filled with their sermon podcast and events. This isn’t a gimmick to try and get people to join White Horse, like some kind of trojan horse. This is a true and prayerful effort to try and build trust, unity and camaraderie, between churches we love in the city we love. We hope our efforts will bring unbelievers to these 4 churches, grow these 4 churches and bless these 4 churches. We will also try and produce a podcast of the whole experience, interviewing pastors, church members, global thought leaders, and authors about the experience, what we are learning and discuss how a church more unified around Jesus and his agenda as opposed to our own is essential to a revolution shaped revival in our city. At the end of the four weeks we will host, in partnership with other communities, bands and pastors a prayer night. We will sing some songs, pray some prayers and build some bridges all in Jesus great name. We hope you will join us. Follow us on social media, our new website as it launches in this period, and our podcast which will be tracking the whole process. This is going to be great! We can’t wait to love and bless the other great churches in this city who are hoping to make disciples from scratch. Lets be a church where words and nice rhetoric go to die, replaced with gospel seeded action and prayers. For His name, lets do whatever it takes together, in Sydney as it is in Heaven.
Over and over again Jesus teaches about the kingdom of God, saying "The kingdom of God is like...", in which he describes a Kingdom so tangible you could reach out and touch it. A kingdom so present and so visible that it is simply a reflection of Himself. In this series we will explore the church, the middle point of history, sandwiched between Jesus crucified and Jesus the king. The church, a snapshot of what the answer to our prayers "your kingdom come, your will be one on earth as it is in heaven". Jesus, God made tangible, to bring his kingdom, a kingdom so tangible you can touch it.
Over and over again Jesus teaches about the kingdom of God, saying "The kingdom of God is like...", in which he describes a Kingdom so tangible you could reach out and touch it. A kingdom so present and so visible that it is simply a reflection of Himself. In this series we will explore the church, the middle point of history, sandwiched between Jesus crucified and Jesus the king. The church, a snapshot of what the answer to our prayers "your kingdom come, your will be one on earth as it is in heaven". Jesus, God made tangible, to bring his kingdom, a kingdom so tangible you can touch it.
Over and over again Jesus teaches about the kingdom of God, saying "The kingdom of God is like...", in which he describes a Kingdom so tangible you could reach out and touch it. A kingdom so present and so visible that it is simply a reflection of Himself. In this series we will explore the church, the middle point of history, sandwiched between Jesus crucified and Jesus the king. The church, a snapshot of what the answer to our prayers "your kingdom come, your will be one on earth as it is in heaven". Jesus, God made tangible, to bring his kingdom, a kingdom so tangible you can touch it.
Over and over again Jesus teaches about the kingdom of God, saying "The kingdom of God is like...", in which he describes a Kingdom so tangible you could reach out and touch it. A kingdom so present and so visible that it is simply a reflection of Himself. In this series we will explore the church, the middle point of history, sandwiched between Jesus crucified and Jesus the king. The church, a snapshot of what the answer to our prayers "your kingdom come, your will be one on earth as it is in heaven". Jesus, God made tangible, to bring his kingdom, a kingdom so tangible you can touch it.
All year we are engaging with one idea, "What the church could be"... That will be the meta thread connecting all of this years series and messages together, and from time to time we will dip our toes in and engage with the idea directly... what the church could be if we prayed like Jesus, loved like Jesus, worshipped like Jesus, served like Jesus etc. We hope you enjoy this series and that you will come and join us on mission in Sydney.
All year we are looking at what the bible says the church could be, from Jesus saying "the kingdom of God is like...", through to the Seven churches in Revelation. In the little John's, Jesus's BFF lays out what a complete joy would look like, how we would come about it, and how the church might be radically transformed if we were to be gripped it. Spoiler alert, it's all about Jesus. Our prayer, as we read 1, 2, 3 John, is that we would be like John, and that we would find complete Joy and find it in Jesus. That we would be known for the love we have for Jesus, and the love we have for each other. More than we are known for anything, ANYTHING else… that we would be known for the way we love Jesus and the way we love one another, where the ‘one another’ includes all our brothers and sisters in all the churches and all those who are chosen by Jesus. Our prayer is that you will find life in His name and your Joy in his life for you. We believe you will find that to be an incredibly effective witness, and an incredibly satisfying life. Lets have our hearts swell with joy, our eyes be full of hope, our lives marked by love and our hands blistered with worship. Welcome to Joy: A Series in the little Johns.
Special Guest Preacher Pete Nelson from Calvary Chapel Southern California joins us to share a message on the Kingdom of God. Pete preaches the gospel powerfully to see people needing Jesus, hear the gospel, love Jesus, repent of sin and be saved by the incredible work of Christ. Make sure you give it a listen.
All year we are looking at what the bible says the church could be, from Jesus saying "the kingdom of God is like...", through to the Seven churches in Revelation. In the little John's, Jesus's BFF lays out what a complete joy would look like, how we would come about it, and how the church might be radically transformed if we were to be gripped it. Spoiler alert, it's all about Jesus. Our prayer, as we read 1, 2, 3 John, is that we would be like John, and that we would find complete Joy and find it in Jesus. That we would be known for the love we have for Jesus, and the love we have for each other. More than we are known for anything, ANYTHING else… that we would be known for the way we love Jesus and the way we love one another, where the ‘one another’ includes all our brothers and sisters in all the churches and all those who are chosen by Jesus. Our prayer is that you will find life in His name and your Joy in his life for you. We believe you will find that to be an incredibly effective witness, and an incredibly satisfying life. Lets have our hearts swell with joy, our eyes be full of hope, our lives marked by love and our hands blistered with worship. Welcome to Joy: A Series in the little Johns.
All year we are looking at what the bible says the church could be, from Jesus saying "the kingdom of God is like...", through to the Seven churches in Revelation. In the little John's, Jesus's BFF lays out what a complete joy would look like, how we would come about it, and how the church might be radically transformed if we were to be gripped it. Spoiler alert, it's all about Jesus. Our prayer, as we read 1, 2, 3 John, is that we would be like John, and that we would find complete Joy and find it in Jesus. That we would be known for the love we have for Jesus, and the love we have for each other. More than we are known for anything, ANYTHING else… that we would be known for the way we love Jesus and the way we love one another, where the ‘one another’ includes all our brothers and sisters in all the churches and all those who are chosen by Jesus. Our prayer is that you will find life in His name and your Joy in his life for you. We believe you will find that to be an incredibly effective witness, and an incredibly satisfying life. Lets have our hearts swell with joy, our eyes be full of hope, our lives marked by love and our hands blistered with worship. Welcome to Joy: A Series in the little Johns.
All year we are looking at what the bible says the church could be, from Jesus saying "the kingdom of God is like...", through to the Seven churches in Revelation. In the little John's, Jesus's BFF lays out what a complete joy would look like, how we would come about it, and how the church might be radically transformed if we were to be gripped it. Spoiler alert, it's all about Jesus. Our prayer, as we read 1, 2, 3 John, is that we would be like John, and that we would find complete Joy and find it in Jesus. That we would be known for the love we have for Jesus, and the love we have for each other. More than we are known for anything, ANYTHING else… that we would be known for the way we love Jesus and the way we love one another, where the ‘one another’ includes all our brothers and sisters in all the churches and all those who are chosen by Jesus. Our prayer is that you will find life in His name and your Joy in his life for you. We believe you will find that to be an incredibly effective witness, and an incredibly satisfying life. Lets have our hearts swell with joy, our eyes be full of hope, our lives marked by love and our hands blistered with worship. Welcome to Joy: A Series in the little Johns.
On Easter we celebrate the risen saviour who conquered Satan, sin, and death. We celebrate new life in him. We celebrate the hope of heaven with gospel preaching, live music, and easter eggs—all because Jesus Saves! Invite your plus one.
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31 Jesus is worth celebrating.
We are so excited to have Pete Nelson with us this Easter. Pete pastored a church of 20,000 people in New Mexico, lead mission in Iraq, and oversaw one of the largest mission organisations in the USA. Pete is an exceptional teacher and evangelist. Welcome to Easter. Welcome home.
All year we are looking at what the bible says the church could be, from Jesus saying "the kingdom of God is like...", through to the Seven churches in Revelation. In the little John's, Jesus's BFF lays out what a complete joy would look like, how we would come about it, and how the church might be radically transformed if we were to be gripped it. Spoiler alert, it's all about Jesus. Our prayer, as we read 1, 2, 3 John, is that we would be like John, and that we would find complete Joy and find it in Jesus. That we would be known for the love we have for Jesus, and the love we have for each other. More than we are known for anything, ANYTHING else… that we would be known for the way we love Jesus and the way we love one another, where the ‘one another’ includes all our brothers and sisters in all the churches and all those who are chosen by Jesus. Our prayer is that you will find life in His name and your Joy in his life for you. We believe you will find that to be an incredibly effective witness, and an incredibly satisfying life. Lets have our hearts swell with joy, our eyes be full of hope, our lives marked by love and our hands blistered with worship. Welcome to Joy: A Series in the little Johns.
All year we are looking at what the bible says the church could be, from Jesus saying "the kingdom of God is like...", through to the Seven churches in Revelation. In the little John's, Jesus's BFF lays out what a complete joy would look like, how we would come about it, and how the church might be radically transformed if we were to be gripped it. Spoiler alert, it's all about Jesus. Our prayer, as we read 1, 2, 3 John, is that we would be like John, and that we would find complete Joy and find it in Jesus. That we would be known for the love we have for Jesus, and the love we have for each other. More than we are known for anything, ANYTHING else… that we would be known for the way we love Jesus and the way we love one another, where the ‘one another’ includes all our brothers and sisters in all the churches and all those who are chosen by Jesus. Our prayer is that you will find life in His name and your Joy in his life for you. We believe you will find that to be an incredibly effective witness, and an incredibly satisfying life. Lets have our hearts swell with joy, our eyes be full of hope, our lives marked by love and our hands blistered with worship. Welcome to Joy: A Series in the little Johns.
All year we are looking at what the bible says the church could be, from Jesus saying "the kingdom of God is like...", through to the Seven churches in Revelation. In the little John's, Jesus's BFF lays out what a complete joy would look like, how we would come about it, and how the church might be radically transformed if we were to be gripped it. Spoiler alert, it's all about Jesus. Our prayer, as we read 1, 2, 3 John, is that we would be like John, and that we would find complete Joy and find it in Jesus. That we would be known for the love we have for Jesus, and the love we have for each other. More than we are known for anything, ANYTHING else… that we would be known for the way we love Jesus and the way we love one another, where the ‘one another’ includes all our brothers and sisters in all the churches and all those who are chosen by Jesus. Our prayer is that you will find life in His name and your Joy in his life for you. We believe you will find that to be an incredibly effective witness, and an incredibly satisfying life. Lets have our hearts swell with joy, our eyes be full of hope, our lives marked by love and our hands blistered with worship. Welcome to Joy: A Series in the little Johns.
All year we are looking at what the bible says the church could be, from Jesus saying "the kingdom of God is like...", through to the Seven churches in Revelation. In the little John's, Jesus's BFF lays out what a complete joy would look like, how we would come about it, and how the church might be radically transformed if we were to be gripped it. Spoiler alert, it's all about Jesus. Our prayer, as we read 1, 2, 3 John, is that we would be like John, and that we would find complete Joy and find it in Jesus. That we would be known for the love we have for Jesus, and the love we have for each other. More than we are known for anything, ANYTHING else… that we would be known for the way we love Jesus and the way we love one another, where the ‘one another’ includes all our brothers and sisters in all the churches and all those who are chosen by Jesus. Our prayer is that you will find life in His name and your Joy in his life for you. We believe you will find that to be an incredibly effective witness, and an incredibly satisfying life. Lets have our hearts swell with joy, our eyes be full of hope, our lives marked by love and our hands blistered with worship. Welcome to Joy: A Series in the little Johns.
There's a distinction between truth and belief. We can know something intellectually but it doesn't necessary affect our life - it doesn't necessarily become a belief of ours.
Where do we believe? How do we believe?
What is sin?
Why don't we live the way that God commands us to live?
In this message Pastor Adam looks at the second of four lies in this series: God is not glorious, so I need to fear others and seek approval.
There's a distinction between truth and belief. We can know something intellectually but it doesn't necessary affect our life - it doesn't necessarily become a belief of ours.
Where do we believe? How do we believe?
What is sin?
Why don't we live the way that God commands us to live?
In this message Pastor Adam looks at the second of four lies in this series: God is not good, so I need to look elsewhere for what satisfies.
There's a distinction between truth and belief. We can know something intellectually but it doesn't necessary affect our life - it doesn't necessarily become a belief of ours.
Where do we believe? How do we believe?
What is sin?
Why don't we live the way that God commands us to live?
In this message Pastor Adam looks at the first of four lies in this series: God is not great, so you have to be.
Haggai talks about how the Israelites have ignored the temple of God and let it fall to ruins. At the same time they've spent a lot of time and energy getting three car garages and white picket fences in the front yard of their houses in the suburbs. They had forgotten God... again. I'm sure it didn't seem like a big deal at first. Maybe they skipped worship so they could stay home and finish assembling the the swingset in the backyard for the kids. After all, God loves children, right? Next thing you know, their lawns are more well kept than their hearts.... but honestly, who has time to pray when there is so much fun to be had?
I forget almost everything. Ask my wife, she'll confirm it. I'll know that I need to get three things at the grocery store when I leave the house and by the time I'm there, I'll have forgotten two of them, although I never forget that I want a steak. According to Haggai, the Israelites can easily remember their wants but have forgotten that they are children of Yahweh.
Haggai talks about how the Israelites have ignored the temple of God and let it fall to ruins. At the same time they've spent a lot of time and energy getting three car garages and white picket fences in the front yard of their houses in the suburbs. They had forgotten God... again. I'm sure it didn't seem like a big deal at first. Maybe they skipped worship so they could stay home and finish assembling the the swingset in the backyard for the kids. After all, God loves children, right? Next thing you know, their lawns are more well kept than their hearts.... but honestly, who has time to pray when there is so much fun to be had?
For me, it's easiest to remember God when the Job hits the fan and easiest to forget him when I'm livin' large like King Solomon (minus the concubines). He's there when I need him. Just like a mechanic or a doctor. Every once in a while I need a service, so I call him up and make an appointment, get what I need and I'm on my way. Apparently, God doesn't just want to be a service provider, but rather wants a loving relationship. Unfortunately, I easily forget that... but I always remember my steak.