Grace at Fort Clarke Podcast: Recent Episodes
Grace at Fort Clarke
God not only has a star for the wise men, He also has a star for you. He will lead you and guide you to Jesus. It may come in many different shapes. All you need to know is watch out and follow Him closely.
Pastor Steven and Annie Wang lead today’s devotional from from Matthew 2.
God showed the world that all are welcome, no matter our age, gender, or race, no matter what we have been, have believed, or have done in the past, Jesus came for all, and wants all of us to come to Him – He will accept us.
Today's devotional is led by girls from our Grace Student Ministries on fire for Jesus. Have you let His words and promises settle into your heart?
Worship is a heart issue. The secrets of our heart are known by God even if they are not articulated by us. Let’s do the opposite and let nothing be in competition with our sincere worship to God. We will search carefully for Him knowing He is to be found.
Jason, Hollie, and the whole Hills family lead us from Matthew 2:7-8
What is my response to Lord Jesus' birth? Am I wholeheartedly searching for Him and worshiping Him? What am I holding onto so strongly that the idea of Jesus ruling my life is unsettling or disturbing?
Varun and Sarah Vas lead from Matthew 2:3-6.
The shepherds left their visit glorifying and rejoicing about what they had just experienced. It was all true, the angel’s song was true!
In the midst of everything going on around her, Mary treasured and pondered all that she had heard in her heart. Imagine her expectation about her son’s life! She was already preparing to meet Him and see everything that Jesus would do.
Paul and Eleanor Waugh lead us from Luke 2:19–20.
How might you take on the role of the angels this Christmas? Who needs to hear this Good News?
The shepherds could have laughed the whole thing off as a kind of mass hallucination, but they believe that God has spoken to them, and they resolve to see for themselves what they have heard.
Heather, Violet, and Parker Krzykowski lead from Luke 2:15-18.
Have you experienced any and "suddenly" moments recently? Life is full of "and suddenly" moments. Moments in time that can forever change our perspective.
Will Smith leads us from Luke 2:13–14: "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'"
Imagine for a moment being one of the shepherds in Luke 2:8–12. You are going about your job, looking after the sheep, you like the solitary. However, the people in the nearby town don’t really respect you. Other shepherds haven’t helped. People think you are smelly, a likely thief, a bit odd and not deserving of much respect. Then in the stillness of the night, out of the blue, an amazing power surrounds you, God’s glory is in your midst. How would you feel? Would you be terrified like the shepherds or comforted? Carlos and Sarah Bernal lead us from Luke 2:8–12.
“She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” It is unbelievable to most of us that no one made room for this expectant mother, this kind of thing happens all the time. Refugees, immigrants, the poor… Does it matter – to the world, to us – if they are pregnant or not, sick or not, hungry or not, the same race or not? What if we started looking at people like if it they were Christ this Christmas season?
Curtis, Linda, and whole whole Nutter clan lead from Luke 2:6–7 today.
Is God calling me to do something difficult? How can I be faithful to the work He wants me to do? What is the one step I can take today to be obedient to God’s call?
Clayton Hunter leads us from Luke 2:1-5.
Imagine what blessings God has in store when you surrender and practice patience. Practicing patience does not mean waiting a lifetime; it means being still and patient enough to await God’s wisdom which always comes.
Our Nursery team—Meagan Helms, Sierra Millinor, Alex Young, Anna Adkins—lead from Luke 1:68-69.
God is calling us to give more intentionally and relationally. That means giving more of our time, our energy, our memories, our talents, our presence. It’s a both/and. Spend less money and give more of yourself to the ones you love. It sounds obvious, yet we seem to have drifted away from this liberating, straightforward truth: The Father gave his one and only Son. God’s answer for the world’s problems has never been material things. God did not give us more stuff – even good stuff like work, food, or health. He gave us himself. The most priceless and personal gift of all. When we give relationally during the Advent season, this is what we remember: it’s an opportunity to worship as we remind each other of the gift that was given for our sake.
QUESTIONS: • What was the most meaningful gift you’ve ever received? • In what areas of your life do you long to experience Immanuel? • When it comes to giving relationally, what most excites you? What will be the biggest challenge? • Which bin from the example in the sermon is too full in your life? How do we begin to declutter? • When is it most difficult to “give more”?
When is the right time to tell people about getting pregnant? Is there a right time to tell people about Jesus? Will you keep Him and what He has done in your life a secret this year? How can you begin to share this good news with others?
Linda and Jacob Atem lead from Luke 1:39–45.
"and you will call Him Emmanuel (God with us)"
Dan and Heidi Dias explore what was happening at the time these words were spoken in Isaiah 7:14, and invite to set your heart in that Truth during Advent.
We apologize for the delay in getting this devotional out. One of our families are in the hospital and couldn't do the devotional today. Please pray for God to intervene in that situation and bring miraculous recovery.
Waiting is hard. Amanda Hodges leads us today from Matthew 1:22-25.
"Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will call him, Emmanuel. (Emmanuel means “God with us.”) When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he didn’t have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. Joseph called him Jesus."
esus—like almost every family—had black sheep in His family.A rebel who can’t seem to toe the line, another is making news because of an embarrassing antic. They are the ones in the family picture that others step away from so they are not too closely affiliated.
Ray Merrill, Director of Facilities, leads today's devotional from Matthew 1:18–21.
Carlos and Lisy—pastors from our sister church in Caunao, Cuba—bring us a POWERFUL message from Luke 1:26-38. "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her."
In what ways can you intentionally slow down and spend time with the One who can meet you and powerfully intervene in whatever you are facing, just as He did for Abraham and Zechariah?
The Dietrich family lead us from Luke 1:18-25.
When we allow Christmas to revolve around possessions, barriers are raised between our true selves and God’s command to love him above all things. Our Advent becomes less about preparing for Jesus and more about the busy schedules and expectations we’re carrying. Our hearts feel dissatisfied and are searching for something that can’t be bought in a store. So, we spend less. Instead of mindlessly shopping and spending more than we can afford, we take the time to think about our purchases. We resist the empire of more and declare that Jesus is worthy of our praise. By conserving some of the resources we would spend on material gifts, we can use them to make a bigger impact by giving to someone in need or making memories with those we love. This is more than just an invitation to say no to overspending, this is an invitation to a new way of celebrating. This year we can start a new tradition of spending compassionately and responsibly.
QUESTIONS • The authors of Advent Conspiracy suggest that the fastest growing religion in the world is consumerism. In what ways do you get caught up in the distraction of “needing more”? • Consider all the holiday advertisements you’re exposed to. How can you become more aware and less susceptible to messages that say our lives are lacking something? • Read Matthew 6:19-24. What does it mean to store treasures in heaven? • How is spending during the Christmas season a reflection of our heart? • What are some ways you can use Advent Conspiracy as an opportunity to teach your family and friends about contentment?
Today the Empire of power, false peace, materialism, and consumerism seeks to capture our hearts and distract us from the daily presence of God, especially during this season of Advent. How are you praying for God to appear in your life this Christmas? Where are you longing to see a message of hope?
Bonnie T. Ogle leads up into this devotional from Luke 1:11–17:
“On the right side of the altar of incense an angel of the Lord appeared. This terrified Zechariah and he fell before him out of fear. The angel said, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid because your prayers have been heard! Your wife Elizabeth will have a son and you will call his name John. There will be a lot of joy, celebration, and many will be glad. Many of the sons of Israel will return to the Lord, his God. He will go before God in the spirit and power of Elijah and turn the fathers’ hearts to their children and the disobedient to an attitude of righteousness. He will prepare people for the Lord.”
What circumstance, relationship, career move, or worry do you need to surrender to His perfect timing? Trust His timing this season, pray with anticipation, God is never late!
Noelle Rodriguez and family lead us from Luke 1:1–5: In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
We know that this Righteous King is Jesus. Like God’s people in Babylon, our hope, our salvation, our justice, and our future are intricately tied to His story, and like God’s people in Babylon it’s hard to hold on to hope when things feel hopeless and culture pressures us. But the story isn’t over. God’s not done. Throughout your day come back to Jeremiah’s words. Let them challenge you to risk and redirect your hope. Today's devotional was brought to you by Chris and Cindy DeVane Eisenschenk
JEREMIAH 33:14-16
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’
"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 1:1-5
Pastor Rick Thompson leads us into the season of Advent as we reflect on Christmas and what it means to WORSHIP FULLY. Consider today how the light of Christ may shine into the darkness around you. Are there times in your life where you’ve accepted the darkness in which you may be called to carry the light of Christ? How might practicing the four tenets of Advent Conspiracy bring about light into our dark world?
Worship is not just something that happens at church. Worship is a state of your heart. Look at the Christmas narrative and see how the central characters expressed their worship in a variety of ways: Mary was moved to sing a song of gratitude to God. Joseph obeyed and followed God’s plan. The shepherds stopped their work to go find and worship the Christ-child. Magi confronted anything that stood in the way of worshiping the one true God. Elizabeth opened her home in an act of hospitality.
QUESTIONS • What do you want to experience this year during Advent? • What are some obstacles that might get in the way? • What does worship look like to you? • Notice what you’re spending your time and energy on this Advent. Is it drawing you closer to God or is it distracting you from something else? • What choices do you need to make to ensure that the Christmas season remains a time of focused worship?
When we hit rock bottom, we often want to just give up. The great prophet Elijah experienced one of the most magnificent displays of God’s power on earth, but then quickly he hit rock bottom as despair and depression overwhelmed him. Elijah wanted to die, but God met him in his darkness to restore him. We must not give up hope and faith that God is ever with us.
QUESTIONS 1. Describe a time when you received a bad report and fear or anxiety gripped your mind and heart. 2. Have you ever experienced despair or depression? How did it affect you physically, emotionally, and spiritually? 3. When battling fear, anxiety, or depression, how can you take care of yourself physically and emotionally? 4. Discuss this statement: “God had a journey of healing and restoration for Elijah that would require time. Healing can be instantaneous, but most often it is a journey, especially when it comes to emotional and spiritual healing.” 5. As followers of Jesus, how can we help those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts? 6. Have you ever encountered a season of life where you felt hopeless or like just giving up? 7. Describe a time when it seemed to you that a particular story of your life was over, but God rewrote it. 8. How does having a purpose in life help you overcome despair and hopelessness?
If you were locked up behind prison bars, you might think the date your sentence is up is the day you go free. But people on the outside can be just as imprisoned as those serving time. Just ask those who have been released—Are you free now? Truly free? Jesus sets captives free, and it has nothing to do with being incarcerated. Will Smith hit rock bottom when he was put away behind bars. Then Jesus set him free. Listen to how God wants to do the same for every person who turns to him.
QUESTIONS • What stood out to you most from today’s message? • What has been your ‘Rock Bottom’? What changed to find you no longer there? • How did Jesus set you free in your life? • In what ways do you sense he wants to set you free in other areas? • How can we pray for you?
Times are tough and everybody seems angry or depressed. Or plain worn-out. Even followers of Jesus still experience the pain, trouble, and distress of this world. But God meets us at our worst, inviting us to cast our anxieties and burdens on him. He gives us permission to pour our hearts out to him by learning to lament. In the story of David, we find the man after God’s own heart expressing his unfiltered emotions to God, and God meets him in his fear and weariness. He wants to do the same for you.
QUESTIONS 1. What is one thing that stood out to you from this week’s message? 2. Read John 16:33 and Matthew 6:34 again. Discuss this statement: “When we become followers of Jesus, we do not obtain an exemption from trials and suffering. Being children of God does not make us immune from experiencing the storms of life.” 3. How do you usually respond to pain, grief, anger, and hurt? Do you detach, fake it, or distract yourself? Explain what that looks like for you. 4. What are your thoughts about pouring out your heart and lamenting before God with all your raw, unedited emotions? 5. Have you ever lamented before God? If so, what was it like and what were you like afterward? 6. How can we pray for you?
Because we have received hospitality and welcome in Christ, hospitality has now become central to our identity as followers of Jesus. It is how Jesus introduced people to God, and it’s just as effective today when we do it. We are a hospitable people opening the door for people to find a relationship with God themselves.
QUESTIONS 1. What stands out or surprises you about this passage? 2. How did the two disciples think of themselves as hospitable? 3. How does Jesus turn upside down our ideas about who is receiving and who is one giving in this passage? 4. As the church becomes increasingly marginalized and known for negative stereotypes, how can a return to practicing biblical hospitality change the church’s reputation in our culture? 5. What are your plans to make your own house more open? 6. How can we pray for you?
In his last moments of life, Jesus Christ offered forgiveness to some undeserving folks—those who crucified him, along with a thief hanging next to him on the cross. He opened a door for people living far from God to come home and be reconciled with the Father with whom they had broken trust. How do those around you pick up on God’s lavish hospitality toward those who have gone their own way and are cut off from a relationship with God? Who might he have you extend forgiveness—and hospitality—toward today?
QUESTIONS 1. What is one thing that stood out to you from this week’s message? 2. Tell about a time since this series started when you’ve tried to be more hospitable. 3. Is hospitality a virtue you associate with God? Why is the work of Jesus Christ giving his life on the cross a demonstration of God’s hospitality? 4. When Christ-followers practice hospitality, they model the heart of God. How does this serve as the primary motivation for hospitality? 5. What does your current lifestyle communicate about God’s character? 6. Is there someone you need to extend hospitality to, in the form of forgiveness or acceptance? What do you plan to do? 7. How can we pray for you?
God wants us to show hospitality to others so we can bring the love of God into the reality of our day-to-day lives. Sure, we are to love our friends, but Jesus was ever reaching out to the strangers and the most vulnerable, and he calls us to do the same—the poor, widows, orphans, refugees and those living far from God. When we are hospitable to strangers, we may be welcoming angels. We are certainly welcoming Jesus (Matthew 25:35).
QUESTIONS 1. What is one thing that stood out to you from this week’s message? 2. What did the story of the Pastor Ken inviting Professor Rosaria into his home for a meal with his wife speak to you about the power of hospitality in leading to sharing the gospel? 3. Make a list of acquaintances. What is something you could do to meet their needs? What’s one small step you can take to be more hospitable? 4. What do you want to pray about after hearing this message of radically ordinary hospitality? 5. What can we do as a group to practice this command of hospitality? 6. How can we pray for you?
Who are the most hospitable people you know? How do their acts of kindness make people feel? If others find belonging and feel welcomed through acts of hospitality, then we are living out who we are made in God’s image. For hospitality is God’s thing. He wants you and me to invite others through opening our lives and our homes so they feel welcome to God’s Home.
QUESTIONS 1. Can you recount a time when you felt out of place or lost, and someone took time to welcome you and gain your footing? What did that feel like? How did it change you? 2. Who are the most hospitable people you know? What are the kinds of things they do to demonstrate this welcoming demeanor and caring spirit to others? 3. Have you ever looked at God as the ultimate host, showing hospitality to others in creation? 4. If you were to list 3 or more things you could do to demonstrate hospitality, what would be on your list? Who would be the recipients of your hospitality? 5. Commit to doing one thing on the list this week.
Pastor Rick Thompson and Ann Scroggie tag team to tell the story of Ruth and how it applies to us.
When God calls us to confront injustice or stand against a bully, we often protest, “Who am I? I don’t feel equipped? What if they listen?” Moses did the same when God called him to confront Pharaoh, and with each objection God answered with his own sufficiency. What is God calling you to do that you are giving excuses to him about? He will answer every concern and do amazing things through you for his glory.
QUESTIONS 1. Name a time you felt God impressed upon you something he wanted you to do, but you felt inadequate, ill-equipped or fearful. Did you go through with it? How did it play out? Did God show up and answer your concerns? 2. How prepared do you feel about telling somebody about God’s story? How about your own story, of what God has done in your life? How could you call somebody to include God’s story into their story and follow him? 3. How confident are you about who God is—the eternal, self-existent, self-sufficient God? Reflect upon who God is and see what that does for your confidence to speak on his behalf. 4. What is God impressing on you right now? What do you think he has in mind to do through you? Do you feel reluctant to heed his call, or are you ready to surrender and see what he might do through you?
The stories we read in the Bible of those who faced impossible challenges but overcame them by faith are written as examples for us today. Joseph was given dreams by God that promised he would be in a position of leadership, but then he got knocked down over and over. The temptation Joseph experienced was to give up, or to recognize God test those who dare to trust God’s promises. There are specific lessons we can learn from the life of Joseph as we face adversity and trials, and we can overcome by following his example.
Most churches do a great job of offering ministries which strengthen the faith of its people. Many carry out ministries of mercy which show care to the hurting. But how many pursue ministries that bring justice to unjust systems? Yet God has bound us together as members of the body of Christ in order to “destroy the works of the devil” in the world. When we stand against the evil that comes against people and against God, it takes more than one Christ-follower, even one church, to change the world. It takes the power of God’s Spirit working in an awakened Church working together to pursue peace and justice in the earth for the glory of God.
QUESTIONS • In what ways does our church provide ministries of mercy or compassion? Have you engaged in ministering to the needs of people through these ministries? How does it make you feel to bring help and hope to others? • In what ways does our church provide ministries of justice, confronting the evil systems that lead to people being harmed, exploited or enslaved? Have you ever engaged in something that does this? How does that make you feel to be part of a group of people or churches working together to overcome unjust systems or structures? • What injustices make you angry, make you want to see things change? Do you believe we will ever see change there? Why or why not? What would it take? • What is one area of injustice you feel God is angry about and wanting his people to work together to confront? How can you—or we, as a church—faithfully respond to what you believe God is calling us to do?
When you take out a loan, you can use the money however you like, just as long as you pay it back when it comes due. Not so with a stewardship. A steward is not at liberty to do with what was entrusted as he/she likes, but only as the owner wishes it to be used. And God is the Possessor of heaven and earth and all it contains. Including your life. All that you have is his, and he will ask you to give an account of your stewardship in the end. Of your soul, your body, your stuff. How are you using it all for the glory of God?
QUESTIONS 1. Have you ever managed someone else’s property? How was that different than owning property of your own? How far could you go in making decisions independently from the owner? 2. Have you ever employed somebody to manage your things? What were your expectations of this person? Did they meet your expectations satisfactorily? 3. Do you see yourself as God’s steward and not an owner of the things in your possession? If not, how would your life look differently if you managed everything for his glory and purposes instead of doing whatever you wanted to do? With your body? Your soul? Your home or car? Your time? Your things? Who in your life does a good job with this, being a good and faithful steward of God’s possessions instead of considering them their own? 4. What will you do as a result of today’s teaching?
We’ve all done it. Everybody does. Every day. We speak about somebody who is not present, whether we are complaining, cursing or casting them in a bad light. Though we are taught not to speak evil of any person, we do. But where are those who refuse to talk bad of others? At all? Jesus gives us plain instruction on how to deal with those who have hurt us, and as we follow his method, we will be cured of talking badly about anyone. Ever. Again.
QUESTIONS • Have you ever learned another person spoke about you behind your back? How did that feel? What did that do to your relationship?
• Do you speak negatively about others when they are not present? Why? What makes it feel justifiable to do so?
• How did this message make you feel? Does Jesus know what he’s talking about when it comes to dealing with the person who has hurt you?
• Have you ever followed these steps? How did it turn out?
• What will you do going forward instead of speaking evil of others? How can you honor God—and the person who hurt you—by the way you handle the offense? Does somebody come to mind you need to seek out, or ask forgiveness of, in this regard?
Too often we find ourselves stuck in our walk with Christ, failing to move beyond where we are, due to something we have all but forgotten is basic to the spiritual life. Self-denial. Saying no to our desires, when they compete with what God wants for us. We know dieting is difficult. So is gossiping. Though the world and even our own nature cannot be depended upon to help us in this discipline, God wants to develop people learning to live as Jesus did, putting petty (and ungodly) desires to death in order to live free for him.
QUESTIONS: • Do you feel you practice Self-denial pretty well? Consistently? What about Self-control? Where do you struggle in this area? • How does this message make you feel? Do you wonder whether this is truly the path God has for those who follow Jesus? Why or why not? • If you were able to incorporate Self-denial into your daily decisions, what do you believe the outcome could be for you? What do you think God is wanting to do in your life through denying yourself, taking up your cross daily and following him? • What do you plan to do after hearing this message today? What would help you to be able to do this?
The times we live in are extremely challenging. It’s easier to fire off a tweet calling out somebody or canceling them altogether than to come together to discuss crucial matters. Nations are rising up against their leaders. Coronavirus has changed everything for all of us. The future seems uncertain, at best, terrifying, at worst. But God knows all this. And he is forging a way forward with his people. For our good and his glory. Joshua reminded God’s people they had never been this way before but God would not abandon them. He is saying the same to us today.
QUESTIONS • How has the coronavirus pandemic affected your level of anxiety or uncertainty? On a scale of 1-10, how concerned are you about its impact in your life or the life of a loved one? • What is your reaction when people mention systemic racism, white privilege, or racial disparities? How are you managing these difficult conversations on sensitive subject matters? • How has God shown his faithfulness in past challenges you faced? Do you have confidence he will help you in your current or future challenges? • What do you sense God is doing in our world right now in light of all the violence, polarization, and increasing anxiety among people? Do you fear it is open-ended and can go any direction? Or do you feel God is working all things together for the good of his people called to his purposes for them? • Who in your life needs to hear a word of assurance God has from today’s message or scriptures?
America is founded upon the Judeo-Christian principle that no person should ever exist under the tyranny of another person, people or government. It’s a message that all people should be free. Likewise, God sent his son, Jesus, to set you and me free. Free from past failures, present strife, guilt and shame, even from fear—especially the fear of death. Do you know this freedom? You can. It is in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. And it is given freely.
QUESTIONS • What is it about being an American you value most? Would the world be a better place if every person enjoyed the things you appreciate that your country affords you? • What is it about being a Christ-follower you value most? • Have you been set free from something through God’s power in your life? Can you describe what happened? How do you feel being free from that? • What is it you believe God wants to set you free from currently? Is this something you believe he can—and wants—to do in your life? What do you believe he wants you to do to find that freedom? • Who needs to hear about the Liberator you know in Jesus? Will you tell them? This is one of the most rewarding experiences of all—to help another person find freedom (and life!) in Christ by the Spirit.
We all agree that repentance is necessary for a person to come to faith in Christ in order to be forgiven and saved. But how many of us believe we are done with repentance and faith once we are “in Christ”? Does God merely cover our sins with the work of Christ, counting us as righteous and good but not actually making us righteous and good? When we realize our sin nature has been knocked down but not knocked out, that it is still inside us even though we are saved, then we must exercise repentance and faith to receive the promises of God to deliver us from both the guilt and the power of sin. This is a second work God does in us by his Spirit.
QUESTIONS 1. Have you ever considered God has more than offering forgiveness for your sins, that he promises to deliver you from the power of your sins? Explain what you understand to be God’s intention for dealing with the sin that remains within you. 2. Do you struggle within yourself over the powerlessness to love God with your whole being and everybody else as yourself? Do you lament the guilt and presence of on-going sin in your life? Are you content having to manage these temptations instead of having them driven out from within you altogether? 3. Do you believe God not only is able but willing to remove the root of your sinfulness, or your sin nature? Do you believe it is not only possible but essential that he does so? Why or why not? 4. What would it look like for you to repent of the indwelling sin you have, and to turn to the Lord in faith that he, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can and will cleanse you from sin’s presence and power? 5. What do you think about this morning’s message? How do you feel? What do you want to do about it?
How many doors have you entered this week? Where did they take you? The bank lobby. A doctor’s waiting room. Your classroom. The office. Your car. Home. Some don’t feel welcome coming back home. Because of where they’ve been, what they’ve done. But Jesus stands at the door knocking, inviting, by his Spirit, all to come find forgiveness and cleansing so God can bring us into his home. Forever. Starting today.
QUESTIONS • Describe the feeling you get when you return home—whether your childhood home growing up, or your current home. Does it feel like your “center” where you can unwind, be yourself, and recharge your batteries? Or is it not such a positive experience for you? • How were you led to place your faith in Christ? Can you trace the work of the Spirit in drawing you to God? • Why did you respond? (To be saved from eternal punishment? To know more of Jesus? To find peace? What was your motivation?) • How does it feel to be “home” with God in your relationship with Christ? Describe the things that make you want to stay connected. • If you feel away from God as your Father, what is preventing you from responding to the Spirit’s tugs on your heart to come to Jesus by faith? Why not come home today, right now?
Jesus promised to send to us ‘the Counselor,’ ‘the Helper,’ once he went back to the Father. And when this ‘Spirit of Truth’ comes, he said he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. How does the Holy Spirit convict a human heart, drawing people home to their Father in heaven? How does he wake us from our spiritual slumber to recognize our need for God? And what do people do when they feel this conviction? The first order of coming back to God is responding to the grace of God, something John Wesley called ‘Prevenient’ grace, or the grace that goes before.
QUESTIONS • Can you recount the ways God convicted your heart to consider turning your life over to him? What were the circumstances, and how did it work for you? • Do you remember making the decision to surrender your life to Christ? What role did the Holy Spirit play in that? • Are there people you know that you are concerned might be spiritually ‘asleep,’ not living their lives for the glory of God and with love for everybody else, and unaware of a day of reckoning that is coming? How can you be available to God to communicate the gospel so they may come home? • What will you do this week to respond fully to the grace God is making available to you, at whatever place you find yourself in relation to our Father?
Grace Worship Dance Ministry perform to "A Mother Like You" by JJ Heller. During Mother's Day Sunday service on May 9, 2021.
Do you feel like a disappointment to God? That you have disqualified yourself from being somebody who counts, because of your failures and sins? This is how Peter felt after denying Jesus not once but 3 times! Yet Jesus does something to restore Peter and show him he was never disqualified, only unaware of his total need for the grace of God all along the way. Jesus is doing the same for each of us as he prepares us to receive his Spirit.
QUESTIONS • When have you felt like you’ve blown it with God? Have you ever done something to think He has had enough of you, that He was most likely ready to move on without you? • If you know the shame Peter felt before his Lord, where are you today in relation to those feelings or fears? What has God done to restore you to the fact of his love for you (and your love for him)? • Did you think Jesus was asking Peter if he loved him because Jesus was wondering? How has this message challenged you to see God’s love for you in a different light? What will you do with what He’s showing you? • Who needs to hear this message of Peter’s restoration to God’s purposes? How might you convey God’s love to them in their shame, pain or fear?
Do you know that God speaks your name? That Jesus calls out to you with words he has for you personally, specifically? How do you know the voice of the one calling you? This isn’t just something cool to realize—it’s life to hear the voice of God. And it is something he wants to waken you to practice.
QUESTIONS: • When you were little, were you able to hear your mom or dad calling your name, even though others were speaking? Are you able to pick out your child’s voice in a crowd? • Do you believe God knows your name and speaks to you? How has he spoken to you in the past? What have you heard him speak? • How do you test the voices to know you are hearing from God and not your own wishes, or the crowd’s voices? • What would it take to quiet yourself to hear his voice? How would this affect your prayer life? Your worship? Decisions you are making in life?
One of the things Jesus’ disciples did not understand was that God’s anointed Savior, or Messiah, would suffer. When he appeared to them after his resurrection, Jesus emphasized from Scripture this was God’s plan all along—to enter the pain of the world He came to save. It is the same plan for us as followers of a suffering Savior. You and I are most like God as we suffer alongside those who are hurting and broken. This is the path to glory.
All of us have experienced falling asleep and dreaming so vividly we believe it is really happening, only to wake and need some time to figure out where we are and what’s really going on. This is what happens when we encounter the resurrected Lord of life. Jesus wakes us from our slumber, making us fully alive, fully awake. And he draws us into the larger story he is carrying out in this world.
QUESTIONS • Can you remember having a dream that seemed so real that when you awoke it took a moment to collect yourself, know where you were and what was really going on—it was just a dream? Share how it made you feel knowing it was a dream all along. • How has your relationship with Jesus opened your eyes to realities you were previously unaware of? What has excited you about what he has revealed? Or, what are you most grateful for being in a relationship with the resurrected Lord of life? • Describe the peace Christ has brought to your life. • Have you ever experienced the joy of leading another person to faith in Christ? Did you share that God forgives their sins in Christ? How was it received? • Where have you seen the work of the Spirit in your life? How would you describe this to others?
There are lots of things the Resurrection of Jesus means, but there are two specific things why the Resurrection means the world to God. Once you understand the heart of God for his children, you will celebrate Easter Sunday even more!
God has a purpose for your life, and it has to do with becoming like Jesus. He will complete the job no matter what he’s working with. There is no need to fret or worry. But there are some things to do as followers of Jesus on the way to completing his purposes in your life. On Palm Sunday, the disciples of Jesus displayed these things, and God promises to do the same in you for his glory.
QUESTIONS • Do you believe God has a purpose for your life? What do you think this means? What do you think it doesn’t mean? Do you believe He will fulfill it in your lifetime? • Has God ever sent you to do something you found to be perplexing? How did it turn out for his glory? • Name a work God has done in you that you are very grateful for? How are you different because of his work in your life in this area? • How have you found it hard to keep silent about Jesus to others? Have you ever been ridiculed for your faith?
Who IS this God we pray to? How big is he? What happens when we take in all that God is, and pray accordingly? When we align ourselves with what the Lord’s Prayer is really saying about who God is, it changes everything in our world. We start and end in that place of worship before a holy God who has taken care of everything.
QUESTIONS
• Describe a time you spent meditating on the greatness of who God is? What was the effect of spending time dwelling on God’s goodness, grandeur, mercy, love or power? • What are 2-3 things you learned from our time focusing on the Lord’s Prayer? How are you incorporating these into your prayer life? • In what ways do you appreciate the gift of prayer Jesus has given us? • How has God answered your prayers? What has this done for your faith in him?
Why is life so full of trying times? Why so many temptations? How does God want us to face these trials, and what is the devil’s design in all this? Does he have as much power as we credit him? Jesus teaches us to pray that we will hold up under trials and that God would keep us safe from the evil one. He wants us to hold onto some important truths so we work through life’s battles and emerge stronger and better.
QUESTIONS
• Does it often feel to you that life is a battle and you are under constant attack? How do you typically respond to trials and temptations—fight or flight (or freeze up)? • How do you see the difference between temptations and trying circumstances? Which is this prayer petition getting at? • Can you remember a time God answered a prayer to help you get through a trying time? How did he work it out for you? • How much credit have you given the devil for your life’s circumstances? Do you agree he has no power but what we give him? Explain how you see it. • What from today’s message gives you hope you can overcome temptations in your life successfully? Do you believe this? How would it make a difference?
How can you forgive the person who lied to you—or lied about you? The person who took advantage of you leaving you humiliated? Jesus says as we pray to be forgiven, we will only find true freedom—and forgiveness from God ourselves—as we forgive those who have hurt us. This petition in the Lord’s Prayer has powerful effects as we put into practice. Both for our offender, and for ourselves.
QUESTIONS
• Who do you find it difficult to forgive? What are you afraid of should you choose to forgive this person? Why is it near impossible for you to forgive him/her? • How is God able to forgive people who have done bad things? Why is he willing to do so? Do you think it is easy for him to let people off the hook for what they’ve done? • If you were God, would you forgive the person who did something bad? The person who hurt you? What if the person God is willing to forgive is you? Would that make a difference in your willingness to forgive the one who hurt you? • Describe a time when you forgave somebody? What was the result for you? For them? Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? How will you go about doing so?
Do you have everything you need, or do you worry about having enough? Jesus teaches us to petition our Father in heaven for our basic needs—bread, food, sustenance—so he can provide everything we need. If he does this with basic necessities, how much more does he want us to pray for things that really last?
QUESTIONS • When did God provide something you really needed in answer to your prayers? • Has he been faithful to provide the things you need, or have you gone without when you asked? • What have you been praying for with the same degree of desperation? • Have you ever been the answer to somebody else’s prayers for food or basic necessities? • How might you become the answer by not only praying—but working—for the answers to your prayers? • If God provides our meals every day, what do you believe he wants you to pray for that brings eternal impact?
How many times have we stopped to think about what it actually means to extend an invitation to God for His will to be done in our lives? The covenant of Jesus is our model example of God’s perfect will from beginning to end. How can we be more like the angels who dedicate their entire world to worshipping and proclaiming the mighty name of our King? Let’s take a deeper look into our tendencies to suggestion box praying vs completely submitting to God’s will for us.
When the Kingdom of God broke into your world, what was it like? What actually is the Kingdom of God, and why did Jesus make it a central part of his message? In these divisive and emotionally charged polarizations, what does it look like to pray for and work toward the Kingdom of God coming into our midst
QUESTIONS FOR LIFE GROUPS • What comes to mind when you hear the phrase The Kingdom of God? • How would you define or describe the Kingdom as Jesus presented it to us? • What’s the difference for you in being an American and being a Christ-follower? How does your Christian faith inform your American citizenship? • When you pray the Lord’s Prayer, and you come to this petition—May your kingdom come—what are you praying for? From today’s message, how might that come into focus? • How can the Church work toward the coming of God’s Kingdom?
Matthew 6:9 • First of 6 Petitions • The Name of God is God Himself as revealed to us • Prayer for God to be made known to all (From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised)
What does God look like to you? There are many conceptions of who God is among the world’s people. But Jesus revealed a God who is personal and with a heart to include us all in his family. What if you prayed to that God, Our Father?
QUESTIONS
• What is the predominant picture you hold in your mind of God? The Force? Providence? Santa Claus in the sky? An unhappy cop or judge
• Describe your dad. How does that color your image of God as Father?
• Why do you believe Jesus started with this image of the One we pray to in the Lord’s Prayer? How important is it for us to come to God as to our Father?
• How will this affect your prayers?
What if Jesus himself instructed you personally how to pray, how to connect with the Father effectively, how to tap into all God has to offer? Actually he has, and it’s surprisingly not complicated. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, sheds light on Jesus’ instructions on praying The Lord’s Prayer. Before learning the prayer itself, Jesus helps us approach God with the right heart. Join Pastor Rick as together we learn to pray as Jesus taught us.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• How’s your prayer life? For most of us, we wince when we think about how anemic our prayers are, let alone our prayer life. How interested is Jesus in developing our prayer lives by giving us The Lord’s Prayer?
• Have you believed God hears prayers that are long and articulate more than short and elemental ones? Knowing this is not true, how might this change the way you pray?
• Do you have a private place where you meet the Lord in prayer, free from distractions? Where could you make such a place to meet regularly with God in prayer?
• When would be the best time to establish a regular prayer encounter each day? What are the obstacles you need to be aware of if you are to overcome them and make prayer a priority practice in your life?
• What is one area or thing you would like to see breakthrough in your life or the life of another person? Will you commit to not giving up in prayer until He blesses you with his answer?
The church is to live and lead by example in areas of racial diversity and reconciliation, because God has made the church a reconciling community. Why is it, then, the church is better known as a segregated community than a reconciled community? What are you learning as you listen to the experiences of people of color in our nation? And what must we do to pursue racial reconciliation to be the multi-cultural, multi-racial church made up of people from every nation and tribe and people and language?
QUESTIONS:
• Where have you experienced or witnessed racism personally? How did you feel about it (not just think about it)?
• What are the challenges you see in the church moving from being a segregated community to a reconciled community? What can our church do to pursue racial reconciliation better?
• What have you done to educate yourself about racism, implicit bias, and the effects it has had in the lives of people of color? What will you do going forward to carry out the church’s ministry of reconciliation?
The Christmas story teaches us the way of Christ is the way of peace—peace with God, peace with others. We choose to walk in the way of peace and we work for peace to those living in darkness. This virtue, recognized by many in the culture during the Christmas season, is the normal practice of Christ-followers every day of the year.
Is waiting something you enjoy or dread? Maybe you’ve been waiting for something for so long you wonder if it will ever get here. If God is all-good and all-powerful, why doesn’t he help us more quickly? In the nativity story of Simeon waiting to see the Lord’s salvation in baby Jesus, we learn that God’s timing is perfect…and purposeful. What does it mean to allow God to order our time this Christmas season?
QUESTIONS: • What is something you have a hard time waiting for? • Have you been waiting for something for so long it is hard to believe God will ever answer your prayer? What good things have come out of your patience in waiting? • Do you sometimes have a hard time trusting God to keep his promises, or to care about your prayers? • How has the story of Simeon or Anna impacted you when it comes to your time? Waiting?
What are your priorities during the Christmas season? Buying gifts, family pictures, asking for time off for vacation, getting the food ready—the list can go on and on. The question we must ask is if we are prioritizing the wrong things? In the story of Jesus’ Nativity, Joseph had some priorities that had to be re-prioritized once he learned God had other plans. What priorities might you need to adjust to tackle God-sized purposes?
QUESTIONS: • Are you a Lists person? If so, what’s on your Christmas season preparation list? • Can you tell about a time when your priorities and plans got disrupted by something more important, and you had to re-prioritize? • Name 3 priorities you have in common with God’s priorities. How are you fulfilling those in your life/with your time? • What might God be asking you to prioritize on your Christmas season preparation list that is on His List? In other words, what are 2 or 3 “God Priorities” you are being challenged to put into practice? (One of the Virtues?)
In the Christmas season people seem to be more open to be thinking of others. Yet Christ-followers are taught to do this every day of the year, even the least likely individuals. The story of the Nativity presents some characters who open our eyes to God’s care for others, even to those we least expect to be open to the things of God. For God is doing something in Jesus that is for the whole world!
Jesus’ message centers on loving God by obediently following his Spirit, so he can lead us to love others in a new way—that only passes life to life. God restores the Masterpiece in us through others, and he calls us to lovingly invest in restoring the Masterpiece in others so that one life at a time, he changes the world! Invest in the few, like Jesus did, and you will make a huge difference in the world for eternity.
In a generation devoid of much knowledge of God or the Bible it usually takes 6 months to 2 years for a person to find faith. And the process requires community and a “come as you are” environment. But what is the gospel—the good news? What is the kingdom Jesus announced? There is good news about God and Life, good news about Jesus, and good news about our part.
Everyone hurts; not everyone cares. But Jesus cares when you hurt. He suffers when you suffer. He became our wounded healer. The question is: Do I listen for people’s hurts and needs? Do I demonstrate God’s heart for hurting people? That’s how we become Jesus-with-skin-on to others.
God’s restoration plan is to first restore our Identity, rooted in our Creator, so we feel secure in our uniqueness and quit trying to be like everyone else. Part of God’s restoration work in you is to help you call out that Masterpiece in others. This means learning to create, learn and love in the image of God, the Imago Dei.
What you hold in your heart toward a person—the mental framework of how you picture them—is what people react to interpersonally. If muddy people are going to respond to the mercy and grace of God in Jesus, they must feel valued by his followers, you and me. If we want to become more like Jesus than the Pharisees, we must make ourselves available to God’s Spirit to see and value those in need more than we value our own agendas.
Do you see many people wanting to know about God because they see a glimpse in you of love, life and freedom? If not, maybe this disconnect is due to not having the heart Jesus had for other people. When we see ourselves, and others, through Jesus’ eyes, we are ready to participate with God in the greatest restoration project of all time—the reclamation of God’s Masterpiece, his image artistically incorporated in every human being we meet.
When we turn our gaze upward to the stars, and drink in the beauty of God’s vast Creation … Wow! We become AWESTRUCK in worship! To think that the Creator who spoke the universe into existence loves you and me personally … Wow! Link to video at the end of sermon: https://youtu.be/rRiIWL04po8?t=270