Discovering Jesus with FirstNaz Zephyrhills

After spending quite some time with Jesus, he had now ascended. From his place in Heaven, seated at the Father's right hand, he would make a request--one that the Father was eager to give! Jesus would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to empower the believers for life and ministry. In the meantime, however, they waited. Somewhere in those 10 days of waiting, Peter stood up with a Bible lesson and something that looks a lot like gambling...

In the First Chapter of Acts, we have a brief account of the last days and moments Jesus spent on this earth. Before the very eyes of the Apostles, Jesus ascended into Heaven. He gave them instructions: WAIT. Then, once you're given the gift of the Holy Spirit, GO! There are 4 important reasons for the Ascension. Listen in and hear why!

The disciples of Jesus had to wait 50 days after his death and 10 days after his ascension before the promised Holy Spirit arrived.  50 days isn't too long...10 days sure isn't much...but when you are awaiting the BIGGEST thing you'll ever witness, even one day feels like a lot! So, what do we do while we wait for God to fulfill his promises? In other words, how well do we wait? Let's open up John 21 and Acts 1 to see how some of the Apostles waited and what happened when Jesus showed up. 

Jesus gave his disciples the Holy Spirit and then said that they could forgive and retain sins against people. WHAT???!!! THAT isn't our job, is it? So, join in and listen while we do the work of interpreting this passage and find out what God would have us to do with it. 

In this episode, Pastor Nick went a bit off-script...but if you know how he preaches, sometimes those are the best! Check out Part A here and stay tuned next week for the conclusion. You WON'T want to miss it!

Jesus had some very stern words for people who harmed the least of these among us. He was concerned for children and wanted to protect them. God loves our kids more than we ever could. (Note: Contains Scriptural interpretation opinions on Gender and Abortion issues)

Jesus returns as King of Heaven's kingdom on Earth. And he has a message to be shared. But the people he chooses to share it aren't always the ones we would assume. 

Moses had told of the day when God would bring another prophet to lead Israel. But when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and not a warhorse, he failed to meet up to the expectations of the people. 

Moses said God would raise up prophets from Israel. He reminded them that they had been scared to have God too close so he said he would speak through prophets.  But he knew the temptation to look into the future through dark arts and fortune tellers was going to be there. So he promised that he would speak through prophets and eventually through his own Son, living as one of us. 

After all the ups and downs, Israel was overthrown and carried into exile by Assyria.  Now, the kingdom of Judah was all that was left. King Hezekiah brought some reforms, but those quickly fell away. What's worse is that the Book of the Law—their Bible—was lost! Hezekiah's great-grandson Josiah became king at 8 years old. 16 years later he saw the futility in all the idol worship and he went on a reformer's rampage and cleansed the land of all idols and other evils and then they celebrated the Passover for the first time in forever.  Plus, we had The Krispy Rooster outside with amazing food! So that's a win!

We missed a week of recording when we had a guest preacher. (Solomon built a temple and invited God to dwell in it.) Ultimately, God chose for his Son to dwell among us as for a while. Now, rather than a temple built with human hands, the Holy Spirit dwells in our midst.  This week, we are looking at what happened when Solomon turned away from God and how it affected the kingdom when his son Rehoboam became king. 

In Psalm 3, we see a very sad story where David and his family and officials had to make a tactical decision to flee the royal city because his very own son was committing treason. However, this had been directly because of David's own sins in the past which had caught up to him. How did he react and where do we see ourselves in this story?

David was on the run from Saul. While he was out, he had a group of men with him. They ran a sort of protection racket to protect the local sheep ranchers. One in particular was a wicked-hearted man named Nabal. When David's men were insulted by Nabal, David was ready to slay every male in his household. The attack was only stopped by the quick and decisive actions of Nabal's wife, Abigail.

After Saul rejected God and found himself rejected as king, God sent Samuel the prophet to anoint a man after his own heart; Samuel went to the house of Jesse and found a couple great looking specimens. But they weren't the ones God had chosen. Instead, He had picked the young boy David who was out with the sheep. God looks at our hearts...

We continue the series called "Building the Kingdom". This week we see how the people of God had rejected him, but now the Chosen King (Saul) had rejected God. In turn, God rejects Saul as King and selects another...

We continue the series called "Building the Kingdom" where we look each week at the Israelite Kingdom as it unfolds and progresses. We see a picture of what the earthly kingdom was like and where the leaders may have gone right or wrong. Ultimately, we will see each week that where we get it wrong, Jesus got it right! He is building a Heavenly kingdom that stretches to this earth. His kingdom is eternal!

We begin a series called "Building the Kingdom" where we look each week at the Israelite Kingdom as it unfolds and progresses. Each week we will see a picture of what the earthly kingdom was like and where the leaders may have gone right or wrong. Ultimately, we will see each week that where we get it wrong, Jesus got it right! He is building a Heavenly kingdom that stretches to this earth. His kingdom is eternal!

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul wrote from a Roman jail cell. Among the many bits of wisdom he imparted, one thing he said was that he had he was forgetting the things in his past and looking forward to the things God had for him in the future through Jesus Christ. What do YOU have that you wish were erased from your past?

Jesus had all kinds of reasons to say "That's good enough"...But he didn't. He knew why he had come and he was determined to live out that purpose. His life on earth was destined to end up on the cross, and to be placed in a tomb. But he wasn't destined to stay there. Raised up on the third day and later ascended into Heaven, he will one day return. Check out our church website: https://www.zfnfamily.org/ Pastor Nick's Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/talkwithnick Nick's other podcast (with Joe Drake) https://www.facebook.com/connect.letstalkpodcast Give online to ZFN Church https://zfnfamily.churchcenter.com/giving

What is Apologetics and why does it matter? At the first section of his trial, Jesus was placed before the Sanhedrin and asked a question that has been asked multiple times: "Jesus, who are you really? Are you REALLY the Son of God?" Apologetics seeks to investigate and defend the faith of the Bible. The Sanhedrin asked the question to which many people want a clear answer. Did Jesus clearly answer this question? Listen and find out.

After the Passover Supper, but before his trial, Jesus went out to an olive orchard and spent time in prayer nearby an olive press. As the weight and cares of the world pressed him, his sweat ran out like drops of blood. How do you respond when pressed? Websites: https://visitgoconference.com/ https://oasispregnancycenter.org/ https://www.zfnfamily.org/ 

Jesus told some rapid-fire parables and furthered the message of the cursed fig tree: He expected to see fruit from Jerusalem and it's leaders but couldn't find any.  They had rejected John's preaching and baptism, and they were actively rejecting Jesus. Now, their time is up.  Links: visitgoconference.com zfnfamily.org

From the Encountering Jesus with Pastor Nick series: receiving new sight and so much more!

"Barnacles only grow on a harbor-bound vessel." You don't learn your gifts by sitting still. Start serving and explore what gifts God has given you and how other aspects of your life work together to make your unique SHAPE for service.

If you want to change a community, you must be a part of it. Missionaries do it. Pastors do it. Jesus did it. You can too!

We all have something that keeps our light from shining. There is something that keeps us from sharing the Gospel of Christ. What is it an how do we eliminate it?

Sermon audio from October 3, 2021. We look at Matthew 16 to encounter one of the shortest parables Jesus ever told... Disclaimer: In this message, reference is made to the issue of women being raped, specifically the victims of Bill Cosby. Listener discretion is advised.

Human trafficking is a problem around the world...and here locally. What does the ancient Biblical figure named Job have to do with it? We want to be: Aware of the problem, In Prayer for an end to it, and to Participate in the solution!