Kingsway Christian Church sermons
Sermon Notes He said to them, “When you pray, say: “ ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ” - Luke 11:2-4 NIV When it’s possible: Let the Bible explain the Bible. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. - James 1:2-3 NIV Trials: something that breaks the pattern of peace, comfort, joy and happiness in someone’s life. The verb form of this word means ‘to put someone or something to the test,’ with the purpose of discovering that person’s nature or that thing’s quality. - From Got Questions.org When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. - James 1:13-15 NIV H.A.L.T. Hungry Angry Lonely Tired Temptation: comes from within but can be triggered by the Evil One. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” - Matthew 6:13 NIV The key here is to see God as your partner in this battle. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. - James 4:7-8 NIV ”If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:13 NIV “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.” - Luke 11:21-22NIV Jesus has already gone to battle with the Strongman holding you back, and He won! “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’” - Luke 11:24 NIV “When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.” - Luke 11:25 NIV “Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” - Luke 11:26 NIV Ridding yourself of a habit is not enough. Your life needs filled with one greater than your best! Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” - Acts 2:38-39 NIV
Sermon Notes Psalm 18:19b NIV He rescued me because He delighted in me. I Peter 4:8 NIV Above all else love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Luke 11:4a NIV Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Colossians 3:13 NIV Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive just as the Lord forgave you. Luke 17:3b–4 ESV If your brother sins, rebuke him and if he repents forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him. Colossians 3:19 NASB Husbands love your wives and do not be embittered against them. Proverbs 20:5 ESV The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. John 5:6b NIV “Do you want to get well?” Matthew 18:34-35 NIV In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how your my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” You can’t forgive from your heart until you get in touch with the pain in your heart. Psalm 139:23-24 NIV Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Proverbs 18:19a NIV A brother (child) wronged (offended) is more unyielding than a fortified city. Genesis 27:42b NLT “… Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.” Psalm 123:3-4 NIV Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we have endured no end … of ridicule from the arrogant of contempt from the proud. “When He tells us to love our enemies He gives, along with the command, the love itself.” - Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place I stood there – I whose sins had again and again been forgiven – and could not forgive. Betsie had died in that place. Could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking“? It could have been many seconds that he stood there-hand held out-but to me. It seemed like hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I ever had to do…I had to do it…I knew that…forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. “Jesus help me!” I prayed silently. As she reached out her hand to the former guard, Corrie says that something incredible took place. “The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. ‘I forgive you, brother!’ I cried. ‘With all my heart!” I had never known so love so intensely, as I did then, But even then, I realized it was not my love, it was the power of the Holy Spirt.” Colossians 2:13-15 NIV God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 1 John 3:14 NIV We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Ezekiel 36:26-27 NIV I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Sermon Notes Hebrews 11:6a NIV And without faith, it is impossible to please God. Sheep cannot rest if they are struggling with one of these four things: fear, hunger, friction, or predators. Luke 11:2-4 NIV "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation." Deuteronomy 8:3 NIV He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your father had known, to teach you man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. He wants us to learn dependence upon him. II Chronicles 16:12 NIV In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. Proverbs 30:8b-9 NIV "… give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." He wants us to be a family and to show our love for one another by being willing to sacrifice for each other. II Corinthians 9:6 NIV Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Acts 4:32 NIV All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. "If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century." – Martin Luther King Jr. Letter From Birmingham Jail
Sermon Notes Luke 11:1 (NIV) One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." Luke 11:2 (NIV) He said to them, "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Luke 11:3-4a (NIV) Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Luke 11:4b (NIV) "And lead us not into temptation." The early church prayed the "Our Father" three times a day (morning, noon, and night). Luke 11:2 (NIV) "When you pray, say: "'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. "Our Father. Familiar words, maybe so familiar that they are no longer real. Those words were not only real, but also revolutionary to the twelve disciples. Pagan philosophers such as Aristotle arrived at the existence of God via human reason and referred to Him in vague, impersonal terms: the uncaused cause, the immovable mover. The prophets of Israel revealed the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in a warmer, more compassionate manner. But only Jesus revealed to an astonished Jewish community that God is truly Father." - Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God Luke 11:2 (NIV) "When you pray, say: " 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Hallowed = (Ἁγιασθήτω/Hagiasthētō) = Holy Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) God's holiness means God does not see the world, our sins, and our problems the way we do. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. In this prayer, we see that God is both: 1) tough and tender. 2) intimate and infinite. 3) attentive and awesome. God desires both the intimacy of "Father" and the respect of "hallowed" Luke 11:5 (NIV) Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; - Luke 11:6 (NIV) a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.' Luke 11:7 (NIV) And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' Luke 11:8 (NIV) I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. As a good Father, God delights in meeting all your needs. Luke 11:9 (NIV) "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Luke 11:10 (NIV) For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:11-12 (NIV) "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? Luke 11:13 (NIV) If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" "If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who have lived in the course of human history, all their goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength, and love and united all those qualities in a single person, that person's love would only be a faint shadow of the furious love and mercy in the heart of God the Father addressed to you and me at this moment." - Brennan Manning, The Furious Longing of God
Sermon Notes Let's Celebrate 2023! Sunday attendance increased by 7% 60 total baptisms Starting Point increased by 96% Global engagement increased by 57% 110 people participated in Rooted The Rooted Experience is an 11-week small-group opportunity that inspires questions, conversations, and experiences designed to connect people to God, His Church, and their purpose. Kingsway people are finding it an excellent way to meet and connect with others. In 2024, we will: Continue to proclaim the name of Jesus Visit 3 countries on Trips: Northern Ireland, Peru, and Mexico Summer Experience CIY for HS Hanging Rock for MS SpringHill Day Camps for Kids Launch our new DCS space to bless those going through the most traumatic life experiences Launch our Partnership with Pathways Learning Academy Luke 10:38 NIV "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him." Luke 10:39 NIV She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. Luke 10:40 NIV But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" Luke 10:41 NIV "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, Be careful: it's easy to confuse spiritual activity for true connection. Luke 10:42 NIV "but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." One thing is needed: Jesus First! John 12:1-2 NIV Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. John 12:3 NIV Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. Jesus is worthy of our sacrifice and praise! John 12:4 NIV But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, John 12:5-6 NIV "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:7-8 NIV "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." Heavenly Father, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Nothing more, nothing less, & nothing else. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Sermon Notes Luke 10:25 NIV On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Luke 10:26 NIV "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" The "Law" = the Torah (the first 5 books). There are 613 laws in the Torah. Luke 10:27 NIV He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Luke 10:28 NIV "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." Luke 10:29 NIV But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Pay attention to your inner motives. Luke 10:30 NIV In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. Luke 10:33 NIV "But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. "he took pity on him." = he felt an aching in his gut (compassion) Luke 10:34 NIV "He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. To really live means to feel an ache in your gut for others that moves you into action. Luke 10:35 NIV "The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'" If you want to honor Jesus, then plan to be generous with your life and resources. Last year, 44 people were sent globally; 100 were sent locally! Will God evaluate me as generous with my life and resources? Luke 10:36 NIV "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" Luke 10:37a NIV The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." $500,000+ collected // $2,100,000 committed Luke 10:37b NIV Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Sermon Notes Luke 10:1 NIV After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. Luke 10:1 KJV After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. In Genesis 10: 70 nations listed in the Masoretic Text (Hebrew and Aramaic Old Testament) 72 nations listed in the LXX (Greek Old Testament) Deuteronomy 32:7-9 NIV Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he (the Most High) set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. For the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance. Acts 17:24-28 NIV "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they (you!) would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Luke 10:2 NIV He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Jesus wants you to see yourself as sent by Him into your everyday life. Luke 10:3-4 NIV "Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road." Luke 10:16 NIV "Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me." Luke 10:17 NIV The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." Luke 10:18 NIV He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." Luke 10:19-20 NIV "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." I saw satan fall like lightning. I saw darkness run for cover. But the miracle that I just can't get over, My name is registered in heaven. This is my testimony from death to life. Cause grace rewrote my story, I'll testify! By Jesus Christ, the Righteous, I'm justified. This is my testimony! - My Testimony, Song by Elevation Worship Acts 17:27 NIV God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Sermon Notes Luke 9:22-24 NIV And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." Luke 9:31 NIV They (Moses and Elijah) spoke about his departure (exodus), which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Luke 9:43-45 NIV And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men." But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it. Luke 9:51 NIV As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. Jesus' reason for existing is abundantly clear to Him: He came to bring glory to His Father by reconciling the world back to Him. Luke 19:10 NIV "For the Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and to save the lost." Bottom Line: Putting Jesus first means arranging my priorities to match God's priorities. Luke 9:57NIV As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Luke 9:58 NIV Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Follow Jesus no matter the cost. Luke 9:59 NIV He said to another man, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Luke 9:60 NIV Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." The 10 Commandments: 1. No other gods. 2. Do not make idols. 3. Honor the name of the Lord. 4. Keep the Sabbath holy. 5. Honor your father and your mother. Follow Jesus before your family and social commitments. Luke 9:61 NIV Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family." Luke 9:62 NIV Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Follow Jesus and don't look back. 1 Kings 19:19-21 NIV So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. "Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye," he said, "and then I will come with you." "Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?" So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. - Jesus, Matthew 6:10 "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Eugene Peterson calls this "A long obedience in the same direction."
Sermon Notes Has life ever felt "dark" and made you wonder if God was real or even interested in your story? "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you." – The Confessions of St. Augustine Romans 5:1-2a NIV Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. - Grace = unmerited favor Romans 5:1-2b NIV And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Biblical Hope = Confident expectation that God will do what He promised us he would do. Romans 5:3-4 NIV Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:5 NIV And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:6 NIV You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. What seemed to be hopeless was really just God working behind the scenes on His own time! Romans 5:8 NIV But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. "The greatest sources of our suffering are the lies we tell ourselves. After listening to a leader share his self doubts and fears, I sometimes surprise him with a rebuke. 'You're a big stinkin' liar! Stop lying to yourself! You're neither helpless nor hopeless. Christ is in you, and He is for you!'" - Alan Ahlgrim, Soul Strength: Rhythms for Thriving
Sermon Notes Three rules of being an elf: Treat every day like Christmas. There's room for everyone on the nice list. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. Love Each Other: We value and serve one another by showing love and care. We assume the best, trust each other, and work through conflict and disagreements quickly, with grace and truth. Today, we are getting our joy back. "Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world." – John Piper Galatians 5:16-17 NIV So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. Galatians 5:19-21 NIV The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:22-26 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." Joy gives you power. God's Joy gives you strength. Buddy suffered. We all suffer. Jesus suffered. Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 11:39-40 NIV These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 1. Treat every day like it's Easter. 2. There's room for everyone in the Book of Life. 2 Peter 3:8-9 NIV But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 3. The best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for our Lord to hear.
Sermon Notes Luke 9:22 NIV And he said, "The Son of Man (Jesus) must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Luke 9:23 NIV Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:27 NIV "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." Luke 9:28 NIV About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. Luke 9:29 NIV As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Prayer and breakthrough go hand-in-hand. Luke 9:30-31 NIV Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Moses is the great leader and prophet who brought the Law. Elijah was the great prophet who represented all other prophets. Those who die with faith in Jesus are very much alive right now. John 11:25 NIV Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;" Luke 9:32-33 NIV Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)" Prayer is often needed most when you are most weary. Luke 9:34 NIV While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Luke 9:35-36 NIV A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen. The breakthrough you are looking for comes from a constant connection to God in prayer. Mark 9:28-29 NIV After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" He replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
Sermon Notes When the storms of life hit hardest, the Church shines brightest! Luke 9:18-19 NIV Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." Luke 9:20 NIV "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "God's Messiah." Matthew 16:17-19 NIV Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Church (ekklesia) - the gathering of the called-out ones. "Gathering" implies movement and activity. Gates of Hades - the abode (house) of the dead. Every believer has been called out to plunder life from the grips of death! Luke 9:21-22 NIV Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Luke 9:23-24 NIV Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." Luke 9:25 NIV "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?" Luke 9:26 NIV "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." How can I deny myself and find true life? Our Mission is to become like Jesus by living out our Growth Path: Go - who do you know that needs the transforming love of Christ? Connect - imagine a group of people helping each other through life's ups and downs. Give - radical generosity is what shows the world we believe we are blessed to be a blessing. Serve - is the way we show the world we believe we are not here on accident. Mark 10:45 NIV "For even the Son of Man (Jesus) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Sermon Notes Luke 8:8 NIV "Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." Luke 8:18 NIV "Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them." Luke 8:8 NIV Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." Jesus believes my transformed life will produce more life. Luke 8:26 NIV They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. Luke 8:27 NIV When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. Demonic possession is where an evil spirit takes over the thoughts, actions, and decision-making of a human. It happens but is rare. Demonic oppression is where a person, even a Christian, is tormented or tempted by an evil spirit. James 4:1-2 NIV What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. James 4:7-8a NIV Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them." – C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters Luke 8:28 NIV When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" Luke 8:29 NIV For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. Jesus relentlessly pursues those who need him most. Luke 8:34 NIV When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, Be bold while sharing your story. Luke 8:35 NIV And the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Luke 8:36 NIV Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Luke 8:37 NIV Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. Luke 8:38-39 NIV The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. Romans 10:14-15 NIV How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Sermon Notes Luke 8:5a NIV "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed,…" 1) "some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up." – Luke 8:5b NIV 2) "Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture." – Luke 8:6 NIV 3) "Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants." – Luke 8:7 NIV 4) "Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." – Luke 8:8a NIV When (Jesus) said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." – Luke 8:8b NIV Luke 8:11-12 NIV "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved." Luke 8:13 NIV "Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away." Luke 8:14 NIV "The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature." Luke 8:15 NIV "But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop." "To retain or restrain" the word of God means to hold fast, keep secure, or even in the opposite sense, it can mean to "restrain" it and not let it escape from you. James 1:22 NIV Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. "… by persevering, produce a crop." hupomoné = a remaining under, a patient endurance (endure under…) James 1:12 NIV Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. What was the last thing the Lord told you to do? Have you done it? Luke 8:22 NIV One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. Mark 4:36a NIV "Leaving the crowd behind, they took (Jesus) along, just as he was, in the boat." Jesus is inviting the disciples into a bigger story than they had ever imagined possible. Luke 8:23 NIV As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. Luke 8:24 NIV The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. Luke 8:25 NIV "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." A crisis of faith occurs when you realize the storm you're with is bigger than the storm you're in. "If you live a long time, eventually your body will give out, and you'll die. And maybe it will happen sooner – through an earthquake, a fire, or some other disaster. Nature is violent and overwhelming – it's unmanageable power, and it's going to get you sooner or later. You may say, that's true, but if I go to Jesus, he's not under my control either. He lets things happen that I don't understand. He doesn't do things according to my plan, or in a way that makes sense to me. But if Jesus is God, then he's got to be great enough to have some reasons to let you go through things you can't understand. His power is unbounded, but so are his wisdom and his love" – Timothy Keller, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God Sometimes, the purpose of the storm is to prune your life for more effectiveness.
Sermon Notes Text "MARRIAGE" to 317.565.4911 Grow Always: We are always learning and growing. We don't have everything it takes, but He does. We humbly and intentionally ask for help and feedback so we can be better. Proverbs 9:8-9 NIV Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning. Every family has toxic moments. It's how we handle the toxicity that determines if we are healthy or not. Proverbs 18:1-2 NIV An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends, and against all sound judgment starts quarrels. Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Proverbs 27:15-16 NIV A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. Proverbs 27:17 NIV As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. "The rift isn't as important as the repair." - April Bordeau, Care to Change Proverbs 19:11 NIV A person's wisdom yields patience; it is to one's glory to overlook an offense. James 5:16 NIV Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. God gave us two ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately. James 1:19 NIV My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, James 1:20 NIV because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Step 1: Empathetically hear them to understand. You will know you've heard them when: a. They are done speaking (don't interrupt). b. You think you understand what they are saying. c. You think you understand why they are saying it. Step 2: Put yourself in their shoes, and affirm their thoughts, ideas, and/or feelings. a. Use "wow" before "how". Ex. Wow, I had no idea I was making you feel that way. Wow, that must be really hard for you… I'm so sorry) b. Reflect back to them what you heard them say. Ex. It sounds like you are really irritated when I…", or "it sounds like you are really missing having a connection with me." c. If you find you misunderstood, go back to step 1 and listen some more. Step 3: Seek resolution on how to move forward. a. How can I help you? b. What can I do differently next time? c. Is there anything I can do to make this right?
Sermon Notes Sex was created by God to be a bonding experience so powerful that two separate things could become one through this moment. Genesis 2:24 NIV That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. – God Mark 10:8-9 NIV "and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." – Jesus Ephesians 5:31 NIV "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." – Apostle Paul Sex is beautifully designed by God to foster oneness in marriage. 1 Corinthians 6:16 NIV Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." "Kathy and I were virgins when we married. Even in our day, that may have been the minority experience, but that meant that on our wedding night we were not in any position to try to impress or entice one another. All we were trying to do was to tenderly express with our bodies the oneness we had first begun feeling as friends and which had then had grown stronger and deeper as we fell in love. Frankly, that night I was clumsy and awkward and fell asleep anxious and discouraged. Sex was frustrating at first. It was the frustration of an artist who has in his head a picture or a story but lacks the skills to express it." – Timothy and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage In Song of Solomon: The wife speaks first, the wife speaks last, and the wife speaks most, EXCEPT when it comes to the moment when they make love. Song of Songs 4:1 NIV How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead. Song of Songs 4:2 NIV Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. Song of Songs 4:3 NIV Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. Song of Songs 4:4 NIV Your neck is like the tower of David, built with courses of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. Song of Songs 4:5 NIV Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. Song of Songs 4:6 NIV Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. Song of Songs 4:7 NIV You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. Song of Songs 4:9 NIV You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. Song of Songs 4:10 NIV How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice! Song of Songs 4:11 NIV Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. Song of Songs 4:12 NIV You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain. Song of Songs 4:13-14 NIV Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices. Song of Songs 4:15 NIV You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon. Song of Songs 4:16 NIV Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits. Both the groom and the bride are giving the other what they desire in this moment. "With sex, we were trying to be vulnerable to each other, to give each other the gift of bare-faced rejoicing in one another, and to know the pleasure of giving one another pleasure. And as the weeks went by, and then the years, we did it better and better. Yes, it means making love sometimes when one or even both of you are not "in the mood." But sex in a marriage, done to give joy rather than to impress, can change your mood on the spot. The best sex makes you want to weep tears of joy, not bask in the glow of a good performance." - Timothy and Kathy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage Song of Songs 5:1a NIV I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Song of Songs 5:1b NIV Eat, friends, and drink; drink your fill of love. Are you being a selfless lover to your spouse in your marriage? If not, why? Is there any area where you need to ask God to heal your heart, soul, mind, or body related to sex? Is there any change you sense God is telling you to make in your approach to sex? Ask Him for the courage to do that.
Sermon Notes "A fine wedding is pricey, but a fine marriage is priceless." – Dr. David Jeremiah, What the Bible Says About Love, Marriage, and Sex Song of Songs 3:6 NIV Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant? Song of Songs 3:7 NIV Look! It is Solomon's carriage, escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel, Carriage = "mittah" (מִטָּה) = a couch or a bed. Song of Songs 3:8 NIV All of them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, each with his sword at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night. The groom is going out of his way to make sure his soon-to-be bride feels safe. Genesis 2:18 NIV The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Helper Suitable = ezer kə·neḡ·dōw Genesis 2:19-20 NIV Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. Genesis 2:21-22 NIV So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. Genesis 2:23 NIV The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." Genesis 2:24 NIV That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Genesis 2:25 NIV Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 3:16 NIV To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." "Eve is deceived...and rather easily, as my friend Jan Meyers points out. In The Allure of Hope, Jan says, "Eve was convinced that God was withholding something from her." Not even the extravagance of Eden could convince her that God's heart is good. "When Eve was [deceived], the artistry of being a woman took a fateful dive into the barren places of control and loneliness." Now every daughter of Eve wants to "control her surroundings, her relationships, her God." No longer is she vulnerable; now she will be grasping. No longer does she want simply to share in the adventure; now she wants to control it. And as for her beauty, she either hides it in fear and anger, or she uses it to secure her place in the world. "In our fear that no one will speak on our behalf or protect us or fight for us, we start to recreate both ourselves and our role in the story. We manipulate our surroundings so we don't feel so defenseless." Fallen Eve either becomes rigid or clingy. Put simply, Eve is no longer simply inviting. She is either hiding in busyness or demanding that Adam come through for her; usually, an odd combination of both." - John and Stasi Eldredge, Captivating 1 Peter 3:7 NIV Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. Men, are you honoring your bride in your words and actions toward her, and also privately when she is not in the room? Song of Songs 3:9 NIV King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon. Carriage = “appiryon” (אַפִּרְיוֹן) a sedan, litter, palanquin Song of Songs 3:10 NIV Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior inlaid with love. Daughters of Jerusalem, Song of Songs 3:11 NIV come out, and look, you daughters of Zion. Look on King Solomon wearing a crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced.
Sermon Notes "Every Christian has the same primary calling or vocation: We are called to Jesus, by Jesus, and for Jesus. Our first call is to love him with our whole being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Biblical writers use many analogies to describe our relationship with God (shepherd/sheep, master/slave, parent/child), but marriage is perhaps the most comprehensive and "least inadequate." - Peter Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Leader Mark 2:18 NIV Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not." Mark 2:19-20 NIV Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast." Jesus is the groom; the church is His Bride. Revelation 21:2 NIV I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. "Throughout the history of the church, Christians have tended to elevate the importance of one over the other. For the first 1,500 years of the church, singleness was considered the preferred state and the best way to serve Christ. Singles sat at the front of the church. Marrieds were sent to the back. Things changed after the Reformation in 1517, when single people were sent to the back and marrieds moved to the front — at least among Protestants." - Peter Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Leader 1 Corinthians 7:32 NIV I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs—how he can please the Lord. 1 Corinthians 7:33-34 NIV But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. 1 Corinthians 7:35 NIV I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. "Scripture, however, refers to both statuses as weighty, meaningful vocations." - Peter Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Leader Ephesians 5:25-28 NIV Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Matthew 19:11-12 NIV Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it." Born that way Made this way by others Make a choice for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven Marriage is intended to be a math equation where: 1 whole person + 1 whole person = 1 New Person 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 NIV Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. "Vowed celibates. These are individuals who make lifelong vows to remain single and maintain lifelong sexual abstinence as a means of living out their commitment to Christ. They do this freely in response to a God-given gift of grace (Matthew 19:12). Today, we are perhaps most familiar with vowed celibates as nuns and priests in the Roman Catholic or Orthodox Church. These celibates vow to forgo earthly marriage in order to participate more fully in the heavenly reality that is eternal union with Christ." - Peter Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Leader “Dedicated celibates. These are singles who have not necessarily made a lifelong vow to remain single, but who choose to remain sexually abstinent for as long as they are single. Their commitment to celibacy is an expression of their commitment to Christ. Many desire to marry or are open to the possibility. They may have not yet met the right person or are postponing marriage to pursue a career or additional education. They may be single because of divorce or the death of a spouse." - Peter Scazzero, The Emotionally Healthy Leader 1 Corinthians 7:17, 24 NIV Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches… Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 NIV What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
Sermon Notes Song of Songs 2:8 NIV Listen! My beloved! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. We are 25 verses in, with at least 18 compliments and not one harsh word. Song of Songs 2:9 NIV My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. Song of Songs 2:10 NIV My beloved spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me." Song of Songs 2:11-12 NIV "See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land." Song of Songs 2:13 NIV "The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me." Song of Songs 2:14 NIV My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. How are your words and actions building up the one you love? Song of Songs 2:15 NIV Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. "It's the slow leaks, not the blow outs; the insidious pests we seldom even consider that cut away at the heart of a home until it crumbles and two people end up walking away." - Charles Swindoll, Strike the Original Match Dating is for the purpose of discovering the kind of person you want to spend the rest of your life with. "If you do not allow yourself to rush into falling for someone that you have not become friends with first, you will be more sure when you let yourself go to the next step. Certainly, you might find yourself having all sorts of feelings. Enjoy them. But do not believe them. Only believe your experience of getting to know a person and seeing if you can share at a deep level. See if you find that he or she is a person of the kind of character you would trust as a friend. And as important as all of that, see if that person is a person that you would like spending time with if there were no romance at all. That is the one true measure of a friend, a person with whom you like to spend time, having no regard to how you are spending it. "Hanging out" is fulfilling in and of itself. And that, long-term, requires character, and in the deepest of friendships, shared values as well. You would want your best friends to be honest, faithful, deep, spiritual, responsible, connecting, growing, loving, and the like. Make sure that those qualities are also present in the person you are falling in love with." - Dr. Henry Cloud, Boundaries in Dating Song of Songs 2:16-17 NIV My beloved is mine, and I am his; he browses among the lilies. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills. A relationship is ready to get to the serious stage when you have seen their worst days, and still feel totally safe with them emotionally, relationally, physically, and historically. "A person who truly loves you should be able to handle the full truth about you. I met a man who fell in love with, courted, and married a young woman who had once been the "pass around" girl in her college. She had been through twenty or more sexual affairs during her college days. By the time she met the man she later married, she had come to her senses, committed her life to the Lord, and was deeply embarrassed about her past. Nevertheless, she confessed her past to her husband. She wanted no secrets between them. What was his response? He wept openly for the pain and grief she had suffered. He rejoiced that she had come to Christ. His love for her increased because he saw the transformation in her life as both a miracle from God and an act of courage on her part. He became her protector, loving her in a way that gave her a genuine shield against the world." – Tommy Nelson, The Book of Romance Song of Songs 3:1-3 NIV All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him. I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him. The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. "Have you seen the one my heart loves?" "The image of this young lady walking the night streets by herself is one that emphasizes her solitude, her loneliness without Solomon. Marriage provides the security to deal with issues, and to do so as a team. The dream is helping her understand how much she needs that security." – Dr. David Jeremiah Song of Songs 3:4-5 NIV Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother's house, to the room of the one who conceived me. Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. When both people feel heard, safe, loved, built-up, pursued, and desired – physical intimacy is the natural outcome.
Sermon Notes How do you know if you found "the one"? One of the beauties of early relationships is the pursuit of the other person. Song of Songs 1:9 NIV I liken you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariot horses. Song of Songs 1:10 NIV Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. Song of Songs 1:11 NIV We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver. Song of Songs 1:12 NIV While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance. Song of Songs 1:13 NIV My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts. Song of Songs 1:14 NIV My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi. Song of Songs 1:15 NIV How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves. All of this intense pursuit and conversation back and forth creates the perfect scenario for explosive passion! Song of Songs 1:16 NIV How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant. Song of Songs 1:17 NIV The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs. Song of Songs 2:1 NIV I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Song of Songs 2:2 NIV Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the young women. Song of Songs 2:3 NIV Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. "The woman felt completely safe in Solomon's presence: "I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste" (Song 2: 3). She was entirely at ease with Solomon. She experienced no threatening or unsettling moments in his presence. The apostle Paul told us that a man should nourish and cherish his wife. (See Eph. 5: 29.) The woman experienced that in their premarital relationship. In his "shade," she was cherished. By his "fruit," she was nourished. And note: this must start before marriage. Never trust a future mate to do a turnaround after marriage." - Tommy Nelson, The Book of Romance: What Solomon Says About Love, Sex, and Intimacy What would happen in your relationship today if you were to use your words to make the other feel totally safe? Song of Songs 2:4 NIV Let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love. Song of Songs 2:5-6 NIV Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love. His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. Song of Songs 2:7 NIV Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires. The same God who created a passion for marriage also created the power for restraint until it's time. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. James 4:4b-5 NIV Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? James 4:6 NIV But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." James 4: 7-8 NIV Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:9-10 NIV Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Father in Heaven, I know you are here with me. I know you love me. I know you want what is best for me, and I believe that all your ways are good. I have not always resisted temptation when I knew I should. I have sinned against you, and I confess this to you. I ask you to forgive me, heal me, and take away my sin in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen
Sermon Notes Is it better to choose your spouse or trust your family? Song of Songs 1:1 NIV "Solomon's Song of Songs." Song of Songs 1:2 NIV Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth — for your love is more delightful than wine. – The Woman 2 Corinthians 13:12 NIV Greet one another with a holy kiss. Song of Songs 1:3 NIV Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you! "Choose to be attracted to a person who is living out faith in an active, vibrant way — a true follower and disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, not just an occasional churchgoer." — Tommy Nelson, The Book of Romance: What Solomon Says About Love, Sex, and Intimacy Are you known as a person of Godly character? "So often today, girls will say about a guy, "He's a real hunk." The question begs to be asked, "A hunk of what?" There is nothing wrong with being handsome and appealing, but the real issue is not whether a man is good-looking but whether a man is looking for what is good in God's eyes. Nothing is more discouraging for a woman than to be married to a man whom she discovers later she would not want as a waiter." — Tommy Nelson, The Book of Romance: What Solomon Says About Love, Sex, and Intimacy Genesis 24:12-14 NIV Then he prayed, "Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too'—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this, I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." When was the last time you prayed for your spouse and trusted God was working on it for you? Genesis 24:15-21 NIV Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder… The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar." "Drink, my Lord," she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. Look for a spouse whose words and actions line up. Be cautious when they don't. Song of Songs 1:5-6 NIV Dark am I, yet lovely, daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon. Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother's sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I had to neglect. Song of Songs 1:7 NIV Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends? Do NOT be willing to compromise on your convictions! Song of Songs 1:8 NIV If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds. Look for a spouse who supports and honors you like Jesus does His children. Psalm 78:52-53 NIV But he brought his people out like a flock; he led them like sheep through the wilderness. He guided them safely, so they were unafraid…
Sermon Notes What sets true followers of Jesus apart? 1 Peter 3:15 NIV But in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, Your story can help change someone's life. Revelation 12:10-11 NIV Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." Revelation 12:11 NIV "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." Your TESTIMONY helps defeat the enemy! A Testimony: Part 1: Who you were before God Part 2: Meeting Jesus and Giving your Life to Him Part 3: How the Spirit is making you more like Jesus. Everyone loves a good story. Are you a Christian with a story? Or are you just wearing a shirt that says 'Christian,' but you really haven't given your life to Jesus yet? Be REAL: 1. Relate (by listening) Acts 22:1-2a NIV "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Acts 22:2b-3 NIV Then Paul said: "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today." Be REAL: Relate (by listening) Encourage Acts 22:3b NIV "…..I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today." Be REAL: 1. Relate (by listening) 2. Encourage 3. Actually Share. 4. Leave it up to God. Acts 22:21-22 NIV "Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Rid the earth of him! He's not fit to live!" Revelation 12:11-12 NIV "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." "Salvation means, 'We win!'" – Carl Avery, Salvation Army Pastor We are victorious now, even if we don't see it.
Sermon Notes Luke 8:1 NIV After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, Luke 8:2-3 NIV ...and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. Jesus turned the concept of leadership on its head. Matthew 12:48-50 NIV He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." Jesus' promotion of women was radical for his day! "Praised be God that he has not created me a woman." (A common prayer for some Jewish men in the 1st century) "Rather should the word of the Torah be burned than entrusted to a woman." - Rabbi Eliezer, first-century teacher God used women to reveal key portions of the Bible: • The songs of Miriam (Exodus 15:21) & Deborah (Judges 5:2–31) • Hannah's prayer (1 Samuel 2:1–10) • Abigail's prophecy (1 Samuel 25:24–31) • The "inspired utterance" of King Lemuel's mother (Proverbs 31, see verse 1) • Elizabeth's blessing (Luke 1:25, 42–45) • Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1: 46–55) Jesus used women in key roles in the New Testament: • Mary (sister of Martha) was the first disciple to listen to and recognize that Jesus would be crucified soon (Luke 10:38-39, then John 12:1-11). • The first person Jesus appeared to after his resurrection was Mary Magdalene (John 20:1-18). • The first people to see and testify to Jesus' empty tomb were Mary and Martha (Mark 16:1-2, John 20:1-10). • Women such as Lydia (Acts 16), Phoebe (Romans 16:1), Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-3), and Priscilla (2 Timothy 4:19) served as key leaders in the early church. • Over half of the servants Paul greets at the end of his letter to Rome were women (Romans 16). Acts 2:17-18 NIV "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy." Prophecy is to communicate a word on behalf of the Lord. It can include both foretelling and forth-telling. Acts 21:8-9 NIV Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. We do, however, recognize a difference in the rule when it comes to specific roles. For instance: • In the Old Testament: The Priests & the 12 tribes of Israel • In The New Testament: the 12 Apostles and Elders 1 Timothy 3:1-7 NIV Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer (pastor, elder, overseer) desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. In today's church, we see these equivalents as the Lead Pastor and Elder roles in the church. Matthew 20:25-28 NIV Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus taught us that leadership is not about power and significance. It is about serving others, love, and care. We want to encourage and train women to do whatever God has gifted and called them to do.
Sermon Notes Luke 7:36-37 NIV When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. Luke 7:38 NIV As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. Luke 7:39 NIV When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner. "She is a sinner in the city — that is, a woman known in the city as a sinner. Undoubtedly, this characterization marks her as a prostitute by vocation, a whore by social status, contagious in her impurity, and probably one who fraternizes with Gentiles {non-Jews} for economic purposes." - Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke (p. 309). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Does God care who has sex? 1 Corinthians 6:15 NIV "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." God designed sex to be an expression of "oneness" between one husband and one wife for life. 1 Corinthians 6:17 NIV But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Because we are ONE with the LORD, we commit to this ONENESS with only our spouse. 1 Corinthians 6:18 NIV Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually sins against their own body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. Luke 7:40 NIV "Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. Luke 7:41-42 NIV "Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" Luke 7:43 NIV Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. Luke 7:44 NIV Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. Luke 7:45-47 NIV "You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little." Luke 7:48 NIV Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." However you got to where you are right now, Jesus wants to radically impact what happens next. Luke 7:49 NIV The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Luke 7:50 NIV Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Sermon Notes "Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven! Thus, let us drink beer!" ― Martin Luther Luke 7:31-32a NIV Jesus went on to say, "To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:" Luke 7:32b NIV "We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry." Luke 7:33-34 NIV "For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'" What does God's word say about alcohol? Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 NIV This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart. Ecclesiastes 10:19 NIV A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything. Alcohol can be a good gift from our good God and Father. Psalms 104:13-15 NIV He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts. Alcohol, for some people, can be a fun way to feast and celebrate momentous days. Deuteronomy 14:22-26 NIV Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. Alcohol may have some medicinal benefits. 1 Timothy 5:23 NIV Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. "The picture is becoming clearer: Even small amounts of alcohol can have health consequences. Research published in November revealed that between 2015 and 2019, excessive alcohol use resulted in roughly 140,000 deaths per year in the United States. About 40 percent of those deaths had acute causes, like car crashes, poisonings and homicides. But the majority were caused by chronic conditions attributed to alcohol, such as liver disease, cancer and heart disease." – NY Times, Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health "Risk starts to go up well below levels where people would think, 'Oh, that person has an alcohol problem'. Alcohol is harmful to the health starting at very low levels." - Dr. Tim Naimi, Director of the University of Victoria's Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. Whatever benefits may come from alcohol, strong warnings come also! Proverbs 23:29-30 NIV Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Proverbs 23:31-32 NIV Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Proverbs 23:33-34 NIV Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. Proverbs 23:35 NIV "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?" The Bible warns us of how dangerous and consuming alcohol can be in our lives. 1 Peter 5:8 NIV Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Ephesians 5:17-18 NIV Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit Therefore, no Christian should ever be drunk or have an ongoing problem of drunkenness. Galatians 5:19-21 NIV The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NIV Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Sermon Notes Have you ever asked God for something and ended up with something different than what you had in mind? Luke 7:18-19 NIV John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" Luke 7:20 NIV When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'" John's situation has him wondering what Jesus' ultimate plan is. Matthew 11:2-3 NIV When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" Luke 7:21 NIV At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. In seasons where you're struggling to see the hand of God in your life – look for it in the lives of others. Luke 7:22 NIV So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor." Isaiah 35:5-6 NIV Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Miracles on Earth point us to the power and faith we are to have in the Miracle Worker, Jesus. Acts 2:22-24 NIV "Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." Wonders don't erase wrestling. Luke 7:23 NIV "Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me." Stumble = skandalizó: to put a snare (in the way), hence to cause to stumble. Luke 7:24-25 NIV After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces." Luke 7:26-27 NIV "But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: " 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'" Luke 7:28 NIV "I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." Giving your life to Jesus is a sacrifice always worth making. "Faith is living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God's grace make you happy, joyful, and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures." – Martin Luther
Sermon Notes Luke 6:37 NIV "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Judge = krinó. It means to pronounce someone as good or evil (like in a court of law). Remember: "Context is king" Loving my enemies means: 1) Lending to them without expecting repayment (Luke 6:27) 2) Blessing them instead of cursing them (Luke 6:28) 3) Returning their curses with prayers (Luke 6:28) 4) Doing to them as you want them to do to you (Luke 6:31) 5) Being merciful to them, as God is merciful to you (Luke 6:36) 6) Not judging them (Luke 6:37) 7) Not condemning them (Luke 6:37) 8) Forgiving them (Luke 6:37) This kind of "love" is what sets the follower of Christ apart from those who do not follow Christ. Luke 6:36 NIV "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Jesus' assumption is that I already do these things for my loved ones. He is encouraging us to go ahead and do it for everyone. Luke 6:38 NIV "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:39-40 NIV He also told them this parable: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher." The goal is to be more like Jesus Christ. Luke 6:41 NIV "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Both planks and specs are from the same thing. Luke 6:42 NIV "How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." The alternative to judgment is assistance in love. Before you assist: first deal with your own stuff. "…first take the plank out of your eye". Luke 6:43-44 NIV "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers." Before you assist: Earn the right to be close. "…then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye". Luke 6:45 NIV "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Ask yourself: Is there any plank I need to deal with that I am ignoring? Is there anyone I need to show mercy to rather than condemnation and judgment? Is there anyone I need to seek forgiveness from for judging them in the past? Is there anyone with a "spec in their eye", that I am close to, that God is calling me to help them "clean out their eye"?
Sermon Notes To Become More Like Jesus Luke 6:27-28 NIV "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Luke 6:27-28 NIV "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." What does it mean to love my enemies? Agape – Unconditional Love Who are my enemies? Echthrous – One who opposes you / shows hostility. To become more like Jesus … love like Jesus. Luke 6:27-28 NIV "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Right Place / Right Time Comfortable Jesus To become more like Jesus … grace, not hate. Luke 6:27-28 NIV "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." To bless is to speak well of those who want to actively hurt us. To become more like Jesus … bless the mess. Luke 6:27-28 NIV "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Psalm 109:8, 11-12 NIV May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on them. To become more like Jesus … spend time with him. Luke 6:29-30 NIV "If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back." Luke 6:31 NIV "Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:32-35 NIV "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." Luke 6:36 NIV "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Mercy = Right to punish; showing compassion and forgiveness Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Titus 3:3-5 NIV At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Sermon Notes Jesus' Kingdom Is An Upside Down Kingdom Luke 6:17-19 NIV He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him because power was coming from him and healing them all. Luke 6:20-26 NIV Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you, when everyone speaks well of you, for that, is how their ancestors treated the false prophets." Luke 6:20 NIV "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." Luke 6:24 NIV "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort." Stewardship Over Self Luke 6:21a NIV "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied…." Luke 6:25a NIV Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry." Contentment Over Comfort Luke 6:21b NIV "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Luke 6:25b NIV Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep." Empathy Over Escape Luke 6:22-23, 26 NIV Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets… Woe to you, when everyone speaks well of you, for that, is how their ancestors treated the false prophets." Live in the Upside Down Kingdom "I believe Christians often perceive obedience to God as some test designed just to see if we're really committed to Him. But What if it's designed as God's way of giving us what's best for us?" - Craig Groeschel
Sermon Notes Luke 6:46 NIV Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Luke 6:49 NIV But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. When was the last time you heard from God and did what He said? Luke 5:33 NIV (The Pharisees and their sect) said to him, "John's disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking." Luke 5:34 NIV Jesus answered, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?" Luke 5:35 NIV "But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast." Fasting is where we deprive ourselves of something we need in order to chase something we need even more. Prayer is the ongoing conversation with God our Father where we both talk and listen for The Holy Spirit's leading in our lives. Luke 5:36 NIV He told them this parable: "No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old." Luke 5:37 NIV "And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined." Luke 5:38-39 NIV "No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, 'The old is better.'" Jesus is letting them know the final and official interpretation of God's law is here, and His name is Jesus. Luke 6:1 NIV One Sabbath, Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Luke 6:2 NIV Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" Luke 6:3-4 NIV Jesus answered them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." Luke 6:5 NIV Then Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Luke 6:6 NIV On another Sabbath, he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. Luke 6:7 NIV The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. Luke 6:8 NIV But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Get up and stand in front of everyone." So he got up and stood there. Luke 6:9 NIV Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?" Luke 6:10 NIV He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He did so, and his hand was completely restored. The original purpose of the Sabbath was to heal and restore the human body and mind. Luke 6:11 NIV But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus. "There must be a quiet place where all is in order, a place from which comes the energy that overcomes turbulence and is not intimidated by it." – Gordon MacDonald, Ordering Your Private World Which of your circles is overdeveloped, and which are underdeveloped? What is getting squeezed because of that? What is God calling you to do about it?
Sermon Notes Luke 6:46-49 NIV "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." Has there ever been a season in your life when you didn't have peace? Luke 5:27-28 NIV After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. Is there a group of people that you believe are your greatest enemy? Luke 5:29 NIV Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. Luke 5:30 NIV But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Matthew 23:25-26 NIV "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." Matthew 23:27-28 NIV "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." May we seek to have the heart of Jesus toward the lost and broken of this world. Luke 5:31-32 NIV Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Sermon Notes Luke 5:17 NIV One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. "For God is triune, and it is as triune that he is so good and desirable…" — Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith Luke 5:18 NIV Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. Luke 5:19 NIV When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Luke 5:20 NIV When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." "For a moment, imagine yourself as the paralyzed man. You would have felt (and if you had a bold personality you might have said), 'Uh, thanks—but isn't it obvious I have a more urgent need here?' And if you had said that, Jesus would have answered, 'No, you don't.'" — Timothy Keller, Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? Luke 5:21 NIV The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus is not just another prophet or a good man. He is claiming to be God. Luke 5:22-23 NIV Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?" Luke 5:24 NIV "But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home." Daniel 7:13-14 NIV "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." The title, Son of Man, shows Jesus' humanity, humility, and holiness. Matthew 26:64 NIV "You have said so," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:65 NIV Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy." Luke 5:25-26 NIV Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today." "It's likely that the man had been feeling, "If I could just walk again—then I'd be happy. I'd never complain. I'd be content." But Jesus, as it were, is saying: "Look around you at all these people—they can all walk. Are their hearts all filled with contentment? Are they all happy? If I only heal you, you will be overjoyed for a while, but then you will become like everyone else." No. What the man needed was forgiveness. Forgiveness gets down to the bottom of things—to the alienation we feel from God and from ourselves because of our wrongdoing. Jesus was saying: "I want to show you that the deepest need of your nature is for me. Only I can bestow perfect love, new identity, endless comfort, hope, and glory. And the doorway into all of that is to know forgiveness." It's time to open that door and walk through it."— Timothy Keller,Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? In Christ, your worst day can be completely forgiven.
Sermon Notes Mark 16:1 NIV When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Mark 16:2-3 NIV Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" Mark 16:4-5 NIV But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. Mark 16:6 NIV "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him." In the resurrection, Jesus trades the sting of death for the joy of new life. Romans 5:8-9 NIV But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! Romans 5:10 NIV For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! In the resurrection, Jesus guarantees that He will make all things new. Revelation 21:3 NIV And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." Revelation 21:4 NIV "'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:5 NIV He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:6 NIV He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life." Revelation 21:7 NIV "Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God, and they will be my children." When will He do all of this? 2 Corinthians 5:17-19a NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.
Sermon Notes Luke 5:12-16 NIV "While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Yet the news about him (Jesus) spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Luke 12a NIV "While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy." Your fate was in the hands of the law, not the priest. Leviticus 13:45-46 NIV "Anyone with such a defiling disease (Leprosy) must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp." Luke 5:12b NIV "When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.'" There was no hope of improving his situation on his own. He needed Jesus. Your posture with Jesus matters. Luke 5:13 NIV "Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him." Jesus touched him. Luke 5:14 NIV "Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.'" Coming clean is a process. Luke 5:15 NIV "Yet the news about him (Jesus) spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses." Luke 5:16 NIV "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." We are all the leper. "I am that man and dare I say it, you are that man"… "I believe Jesus is saying, "You think this external disease is bad? You have far worse on the inside. Your diabolical disease is eating you alive. It's called sin, and you're dying, and you need to be given new life." - Judah Smith, Life is ____. It's time to have a family meeting. Jesus represents Christians. Accountability comes at the foot of the cross, not on the terms we, as Christians create. John 3:17 NIV "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." We've been so focused on looking and acting right, that the world is losing sight of Jesus in us. If we aren't careful, God becomes a checkbox, not a lifestyle. Does the Jesus you portray to the world look like the Jesus in this text? Kingsway's Mission statement: To become more like Jesus. "Do for one what you wish you could do for many." – Andy Stanley "Here is the simple message Jesus has for us. If we fill our bucket with love, we can actually become love." - Bob Goff, Everybody Always "People don't need more information, they want examples. God wants to use people like us to show the world what we know about Jesus by having them see the way we love the people around us." - Bob Goff, Everybody Always Church, if you are willing, will you love well?
Sermon Notes Luke 5:1-2 NIV "One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee) the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets." Luke 5:3 NIV "He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat." Luke 5:4 NIV "When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.'" Will I trust that Jesus knows more than I do? Luke 5:5 NIV "Simon answered, 'Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.'" Five powerful words: "But because you say so…" Luke 5:6-7 NIV "When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink." Luke 5:8-10a NIV "When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!' For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners." Luke 5:10b-11 NIV "Then Jesus said to Simon, 'Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.' So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him." "I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth' home.' Before you know it, I am calling luxuries 'needs' and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don't think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached people drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mindset that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those who have forced me again and again toward a wartime mindset." - John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life Imagine waking up tomorrow to make sure you don't waste your life.
Sermon Notes Luke 4:31-32 NIV "Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority." Luke 4:33-34 NIV "In the synagogue, there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 'Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!'" What are demons? "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them." - CS Lewis Revelation 12:9 NIV "The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him." Luke 4:35 NIV "'Be quiet!' Jesus said sternly. 'Come out of him!' Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him." Jesus has authority over all created things because He is the creator. Colossians 1:16-17 NIV "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together." Luke 4:36-37 NIV "All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!" And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area." Luke 4:38-39 NIV "Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them." Jesus heals completely and with authority. Luke 4:40 NIV "At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them." Luke 4:41 NIV "Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, 'You are the Son of God!' But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah." Luke 4:42 NIV "At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him, and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them." Q: Why did Jesus silence the demons and leave the hurting? A: Because Jesus has profound clarity about why He is here and what He is supposed to do. John 14:30-31a NIV "I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me." Luke 4:43-44 NIV "But he said, 'I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also because that is why I was sent.' And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea." Do you have that same kind of clarity and commitment?
Sermon Notes Luke 4:14-15 NIV "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him." Luke 4:16a NIV "He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom." Luke 4:17 NIV "He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:" Luke 4:18-19 NIV "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:20-21 NIV "Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, 'Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'" Luke 4:22a NIV "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips." Luke 4:22b NIV "'Isn't this Joseph's son?' they asked." Luke 4:23 NIV "Jesus said to them, 'Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself!' And you will tell me, 'Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.''" Luke 4:24 NIV "'Truly I tell you,' he continued, 'no prophet is accepted in his hometown.'" There is a great danger in loving Jesus' gracious words but not loving Jesus Himself. "Dear Friend, I have your letter. I am afraid it is not possible for me to subscribe to the creed you have sent me. The subscriber is made to believe that the highest manifestation of the unseen reality was Jesus Christ. In spite of all my efforts, I have not been able to feel the truth of that statement. I have not been able to move beyond the belief that Jesus was one of the great teachers of mankind." - Mahatma Gandhi "Religion works. I know there's comfort there, a crash pad. It's something to explain the world and tell you there is something bigger than you, and it is going to be all right in the end… What's important to me is that I've defined my beliefs and lived according to them and not betrayed them. One of those is my belief in family. I still have faith in that." – Brad Pitt (on growing up Christian and abandoning his faith) Luke 4:25-26 NIV "I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon." Luke 4:27 NIV "And there were many Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed-only Naaman the Syrian." 1 Kings 17:7-9 NIV "Sometime later, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.'" 1 Kings 17:10-11 NIV "So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, 'Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?' As she was going to get it, he called, 'And bring me, please, a piece of bread.'" 1 Kings 17:12 NIV "'As surely as the Lord your God lives,' she replied, 'I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.'" 1 Kings 17:13-14 NIV "Elijah said to her, 'Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.''" 2 Kings 5:13-14 NIV "Naaman's servants went to him and said, 'My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, Wash and be cleansed!' So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." 2 Kings 5:15 NIV "Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, 'Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.'" Faith requires more than mere fascination. "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Sermon Notes Do you ever find it hard to do what you know you ought to do? Luke 4:1-2 NIV "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them, he was hungry." A fresh commitment to the Lord can be a trigger for great temptation. Luke 4:3 NIV "The devil said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.'" The temptation is to meet your own needs and not trust in God to meet them. Luke 4:4 NIV "Jesus answered, 'It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone.'" Deuteronomy 8:2-3 NIV "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." Luke 4:5-7 NIV "The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, 'I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.'" The temptation is to trade God's provision for selfish pleasure. Luke 4:8 NIV "Jesus answered, 'It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.''" (Quoting Deuteronomy 6:13) Luke 4:9-11 NIV "The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down from here. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'' Psalms 91:9-10 NIV "If you say, 'The Lord is my refuge,' and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent." Psalms 91:11-13 NIV "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. The temptation is to test God rather than trust God. Luke 4:12 NIV "Jesus answered, 'It is said: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.''" (Quoting Deuteronomy 6:16) Luke 4:13a NIV "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him … " James 4:7-8a NIV "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you." "Sometimes we find ourselves tiring of Jesus, imagining that we have seen all there is to see and used up all the pleasure there is to be had in Him. We get spiritually bored. But Jesus has satisfied the mind and heart of the infinite God for eternity. Our boredom is simple blindness. If the Father can be infinitely and eternally satisfied in Him. Then He must be overwhelmingly all-sufficient for us in every situation for all eternity. That's why the gospel is not lacking because Jesus is not lacking." - Dr. Michael Reeves, Delighting in God Luke 4:13 NIV "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him … until an opportune time." 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NIV "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." James 1:2-4 NIV "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:12 NIV "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."
Sermon Notes "HELLO, I am ____________." "Whatever word you write in that blank has significant power over your life because everything flows from what we would identify as core to our identity. We have a tendency to focus heavily on behavior and not say much about identity."- Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan Luke 3:16b NLT "...but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am - so much greater that I'm not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals." Matthew 3:13-15 NLT "Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. 'I am the one who needs to be baptized by you," he said, "so why are you coming to me?' But Jesus said, 'It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.' So John agreed to baptize him." Luke 3:21-22a NLT "One day, when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove." Luke 3:22b NLT "And a voice from heaven said, 'You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.'" Luke 3:22b NEV "And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my one dear Son; in you, I take great delight.'" Luke 3:22b MSG "And along with the Spirit, a voice: 'You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.'" "After church one weekend I was talking to a fairly successful business guy in his mid-forties. He told me he had been struggling lately with feelings of failure. We talked for a few minutes about where those feelings were coming from. I finally said to him, "It doesn't make a lot of sense. Anyone who looked at your life would say that you are a success." And without pausing to think he added, "Anyone, except for my dad." It turns out that early and often his dad had conveyed the message, you are a disappointment. You are never going to be good enough. You are never going to be successful. And all these years later that's still who he sees when he looks in the mirror. A CEO who feels like a failure." - Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan Philippians 3:7-9a NLT "I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him." When your identity is rooted in Jesus, it transforms YOU. Place your identity in Jesus, not your behavior! Repent. Give your life to Jesus. Be baptized. Begin to lead from a transformed heart and mind by making Jesus part of your EVERY DAY. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
Sermon Notes Is there any area of your life you know God wants you to turn away from? Luke 3:3 NIV "He (John the Baptizer) went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 3:4-6 NIV "John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River." Baptism - “βάπτισμα” (“baptisma). Definition: the result of dipping or sinking. Luke3:4 NIV "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: 'A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" Luke 3:5 NIV "'Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God's salvation.'" Repentance is the act of changing one's mind so completely that it results in a change of actions. Luke 3:7 NIV "John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?'" Matthew 3:7 NIV "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?'" Luke 3:8-9 NIV "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones, God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." This is directed at anyone who foolishly thinks they are saved because they are good enough without turning to Jesus for salvation. Luke 3:10 NIV "'What should we do then?' the crowd asked." Luke 3:12 NIV "John answered, 'Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.'" Generosity is A key marker of repentance. First Gifts Sunday | February 26, 2023 Bring whatever you can to get the work started! Luke 3:12-13 NIV "Even tax collectors came to be baptized. 'Teacher,' they asked, "what should we do?' 'Don't collect any more than you are required to,' he told them." There is hope even for the worst of us. Luke 3:14 NIV "Then some soldiers asked him, 'And what should we do?' He replied, 'Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.'" Doing good, fair, and honest work is important to God. Ephesians 5:8-10 NIV "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord." Ephesians 5:11 NIV "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
Sermon Notes 1 Chronicles 28:20 NIV "David also said to Solomon his son, 'Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.'" God is with you! Therefore, you do not need to fear your circumstances. God will never fail you nor forsake you. 1 Chronicles 28:21a NIV "The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work." God always gifts his people with the abilities needed to get the job done. 1 Chronicles 29:2-3 NIV "With all my resources, I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities. Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen." 2 Samuel 24:24 NIV "But the king (David) replied to Araunah, 'No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.'" 1 Chronicles 29:5 NIV "Now, who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?" "… just wanted to let you guys know we had our HS students do their commitment cards last night for Relentless Pursuit. …just wanted to celebrate that they have committed just over $____ to Relentless Pursuit over the next 3 years! It's been super cool to read through some of their commitments and see how excited they are for Relentless Pursuit and not just in finances but everything in general! God's doing some cool things in our hs students!" – Christian Crampton 1 Chronicles 29:6 NIV "Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave willingly." "celebrate that [our High School Students] have committed just over $6800 to RP over the next 3 years!" That total is over: $800,000! 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 NIV "David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, 'Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks and praise your glorious name.'" 1 Chronicles 29:16-18 NIV "Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you." John 12:32 NLT "And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself."
Sermon Notes When prayer is part of the process - there is always joy. Ephesians 1:17-19a NIV "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:19b-23 NIV "That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Acts 19:17-18 NIV "When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done." Acts 19:19-20 NIV "A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power." We always gravitate to our comfort zone. It's a great starting point, but God never stops at our comfort zone. Because pressure brings transformation! Our Mission: to become more like Jesus. Luke 19:10 NIV "For the Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and to save the lost." "Find some friends, change the world, and have fun doing it." - Billy Graham Acts 20:22-24 NIV "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace." Acts 20:35 NIV "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Through Relentless Pursuit, we will: - Invest in outreach to the ends of the earth (10% of the total) - Outreach partners - Church Plant Through Relentless Pursuit, we will: Reduce our debt (33% of the total) Through Relentless Pursuit, we will: Improve our building and property for maximum Kingdom impact (57%) Phase 1: 1. Launch Daycare Partnership (by 2024) 2. Launch Christian Counseling Center (by 2024) 3. Develop a Master Site Plan for the entire Campus 4. Invest in AVL in the worship center 5. Repair the Parking lot Phase 2: - Student Ministry - Others (as God leads) Click here to learn more! How do I be a part of Relentless Pursuit? "Not equal gift, equal sacrifice." "Give in proportion to what God gave you." Prayer Challenge: Heavenly Father, continue transforming Kingsway Christian Church into something beautiful. Make me brave to join you in what you are doing in this world and specifically in my church. Reveal to me (and my family) how much we should give to Relentless Pursuit so that this vision will come alive and impact many. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Sermon Notes Ephesians 3:21 NIV "…to [God] be glory in the church (ekklesia) and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Our Mission: to become more like Jesus. The Global church is made up of every believer of every people group, language, and nation to the ends of the Earth. "We are Christians only, not the only Christians." The Local church is made up of a group of believers who agree to gather together in a specific location to serve each other and build each other up as we continue to fulfill God's will to the ends of the Earth. Acts 1:8 NIV "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." - Acts 2:42 NIV "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread (the Lord's Supper/Communion) and to prayer." Acts 2:43-44 NIV "Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common." Acts 2:45-47a NIV "They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people." The early gathering of believers stood out for their generosity. Acts 2:47b NIV "...and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 4:36-37 NIV "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means 'son of encouragement'), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet." What would it be like to be such a generous giant that your nickname is son or daughter of encouragement? Here at Kingsway, we desire to leverage our gatherings to their utmost potential in bringing people to Christ, building them up in their faith, and sending them out to make a difference in their world. Through Relentless Pursuit, we will: Invest in outreach to the ends of the earth (10% of the total) Through Relentless Pursuit, we will: Reduce our debt (33% of the total) Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Through Relentless Pursuit, we will: Improve our building and property for maximum Kingdom impact (57%) Phase 1: 1. Research and gather data to assess community needs 2. Launch Daycare Partnership (hopefully by fall 2023) 3. Launch Christian Counseling Center (hopefully by December 2023) 4. Develop a Master Site Plan for the entire Campus www.relentless-pursuit.org to learn more! How do I be a part of Relentless Pursuit? 2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." 2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." Prayer Challenge Heavenly Father, continue transforming Kingsway Christian Church into something beautiful. Make me brave to join you in what you are doing in this world and specifically in my church. Reveal to me (and my family) how much we should give to Relentless Pursuit so that this vision will come alive and impact many. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Sermon Notes "Julius Caesar received an unprecedented four triumphs, city-wide parties that were the highest honor a military commander could receive." – National Geographic Luke 2:1-3 NIV "In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register." "He brought long-lasting peace and prosperity to the Roman world. He is considered one of the great administrative geniuses of history and carried out the enormous work of reorganizing the empire after decades of dictatorships and civil wars. He transformed the dying Roman Republic into an enduring, stable empire, beginning the period of tranquility known as the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace." – Encyclopedia Britannica "If Jesus is King, why does the Emperor look so sovereign?" – Shane Wood, Professor at Ozark Christian College No matter how things may look, God is still in control. Luke 2:4 NIV "So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David." Micah 5:2 NIV "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Psalm 45:6 NIV "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom." Luke 2: 5-7 NIV "He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them." Luke 2: 8-14 NIV And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'" Luke 2:14 NIV "Glory in the highest places to God, and upon earth peace in men of good will." "Glory: high renown or honor won by notable achievements and magnificence or great beauty." – Oxford Dictionary Luke 2:9 NIV "An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." Psalm 19:1-4 NIV "The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands; day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge." Luke 2:14 NIV "Glory in the highest places to God, and upon earth peace in men of good will." Luke 2:17-18 NIV "When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them." Christmas is about going. Who occupies your first thought each day and your last thought each night? "Worship, by definition, is all that you are. It's everything that you do; it's what you believe and what you pledge allegiance to. Who is it that you belong to?" – Shane Wood, Professor at Ozark Christian College Will you Make Room for Jesus, the newborn King?
Sermon Notes What does this text tell us about Jesus? Luke 2:22 NIV "When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, 'Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord'), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: 'a pair of doves or two young pigeons.'" Jesus came in poverty. 2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV "…though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor so that you, through his poverty, might become rich." Jesus came to keep the Law. Galatians 4:4-5 NIV "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship." Jesus came to fulfill a promise. Luke 2:25-32 NIV "Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praise God, saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel." Jesus came to bring peace. Jesus came to bring pain. Luke 2:33-35 NIV "The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul, too." Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." What does this text tell us about how to follow Jesus? 1. Wait patiently. Luke 2:36-40 NIV "There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him." 2. Serve Faithfully. 3. Pray Fervently.
Sermon Notes Luke 1:26-28 NIV "In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'" John 1:46 NIV "'Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?' Nathanael asked." Righteousness & Purity Luke 1: 30-33 NIV "But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.'" The power in his words gives hope. 2 Samuel 7:16 NIV "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever." Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever." For Mary, it wasn't doubt; it was questioning. Are you tuned into the Spirit's work around you & in your life? God often reveals himself to ordinary people in extraordinary ways. Mary's task was not simple, but her response was. Luke 1:38 NIV "'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May your word to me be fulfilled.' Then the angel left her." With God, there is always Hope. Mary had no idea what was coming. She said yes to the journey. God is not some cosmic janitor that we hope comes by and cleans up all the little messes we make.
Sermon Notes Luke 1:5-7 NIV "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." Righteousness is our spiritual aim. Sometimes life will disappoint, even when we remain faithful. Life may let us down, but God never will. Luke 1:8-9 NIV "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." Don't lose hope when life disappoints: God is still working. Luke 1:10 NIV "And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside." Faithfulness, coupled with focused prayer, leads us to the presence of God. In His presence, the doors are opened to experience our part in His story. Luke 1:11-13 NIV "Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John." God hears your prayers. Luke 1:18 NIV "Zechariah asked the angel, 'How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.'" Luke 1:19-20 NIV "The angel said to him, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.'" The presence of God makes the impossible possible. Am I faithfully serving? Do I spend daily time in focused prayer? Do I make daily time to be in the presence of God?
Sermon Notes The message of Genesis: God has transformed our evil into something good. Genesis 3:15, 21-23 NIV "(To the serpent) 'And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.' The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever.' So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken." Romans 5:18-19 NIV "Just as one trespass (Adam's sin) resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act (Jesus' obedience) resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous." God disciplines His children, but He also relentlessly pursues them in love. Genesis 15:17 NIV "When the sun had set, and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces." "This is what you can do to me if I don't keep my end of the deal." 2 Timothy 2:13 NIV "If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself." Galatians 3:7-9 NIV "Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: 'All nations will be blessed through you.' So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith." Galatians 3:15-16 NIV "Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ." God is somehow going to use this family to restore the world back to The Garden. Genesis 28:11-12 NIV "When (Jacob) reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." John 1:50-51 NIV "Jesus said, 'You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.' He then added, 'Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.'" Revelation 21:1-4 NIV "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." Revelation 21:1-4 NIV "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" God really loves us!
Sermon Notes Is there a way to get justice without getting revenge? Genesis 42:6-7 NIV "Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. 'Where do you come from?' he asked. 'From the land of Canaan,' they replied, 'to buy food.'" Genesis 42:8-9 NIV "Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, 'You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.'" This is a test moment, and Joseph has the choice to exact revenge or show mercy. Genesis 42:21-22 NIV "They said to one another, 'Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come on us.' Reuben replied, 'Didn't I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.'" Does this confession equal repentance? 2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." "The idea that sin is grievous to God also has profound practical implications for people who want to change their lives and habits. If you say, "I must stop doing this thing because it will get me into trouble," then you are not really sorry for the sin itself but for the consequences or results of the sin. You are not sorry primarily because it grieved God but because it grieved you or others. This means that as soon as your sinful habit stops causing trouble for you, you will stop causing trouble to it. But if you recognize and feel poignantly what your sin is doing to God, you will have a deeper and more permanent motivation to turn away from the sin itself." - Timothy Keller, Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? Can I show mercy, even if I'm not sure if it's Godly sorrow or worldly sorrow? Genesis 42:24 NIV "He turned away from them and began to weep but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes." Genesis 43:30 NIV "Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there." Genesis 45:1-2 NIV "Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, 'Have everyone leave my presence!' So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh's household heard about it." Joseph reveals God's heart for complete forgiveness. Luke 23:32-34 NIV "Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.' And they divided up his clothes by casting lots." Matthew 18:21-22 NIV "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'" Genesis 45:3 NIV "Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph! Is my father still living?' But his brothers were not able to answer him because they were terrified at his presence." Genesis 45:4 NIV "Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!" Genesis 45:5 NIV "And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you." Genesis 45:6 NIV "For two years now, there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years, there will be no plowing and reaping." Genesis 45:7 NIV "But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance." Genesis 45:8, 11 NIV "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, Lord of his entire household, and ruler of all Egypt. I will provide for you there because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise, you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute." Genesis 45:14-15 NIV "Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward, his brothers talked with him." Genesis 45:18 NIV "and bring your father and your families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can enjoy the fat of the land." "The Hebrew word used is nasah, one with the sense of sending sin away so that the forgiver no longer counts it against the perpetrator. While Joseph does not say, literally, "I forgive you," he nevertheless responds by rejecting vengeance, and pledges love to them—a crucial element in forgiveness." - Timothy Keller, Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? True forgiveness comes as a "pay-it-forward" experience. Matthew 18:32-35 NIV "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. 'This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.'" "Forgiveness gets down to the bottom of things—to the alienation we feel from God and from ourselves because of our wrongdoing. Jesus was saying: 'I want to show you that the deepest need of your nature is for me. Only I can bestow perfect love, new identity, endless comfort, hope, and glory. And the doorway into all of that is to know forgiveness. It's time to open that door and walk through it.'" - Timothy Keller, Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I?
How do I make sense of God when I'm suffering? 1. Jacob is tricked into marrying 2 sisters. He obviously loved and treated one of them (Rachel) better than the other (Leah). 2. Consequently, He treated the children of Rachel differently and better than the children of Leah. Genesis 37:3-4 NIV "Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he had been born to him in his old age, and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him." Genesis 37:5-9 NIV "Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, 'Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.' His brothers said to him, 'Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?' And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. 'Listen,' he said, 'I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.'" Genesis 37:10-11 NIV "When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, 'What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?' His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind." Jesus is most present in us when we are most pressed on all sides. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NIV "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." Joseph reveals 2 kinds of suffering: Suffering from the consequences of bad decisions Suffering for good on behalf of Christ. 2 Timothy 3:10-17 NIV "You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted... While evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of because you know those from whom you learned it and how from infancy, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." When you suffer well, you become like Jesus. 1 Peter 1:17-21 NIV "Since you call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him, you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." The key to suffering well is to hang on to your faith through hope.
Sermon Notes Have you ever messed up really bad and didn't know how to fix it? Genesis 31:3 NIV "Then the Lord said to Jacob, 'Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.'" Genesis 32:1-2 NIV "Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said, 'This is the camp of God!'" If God leads you to it, He will lead you through it. Genesis 32:3-5 NIV "Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. He instructed them: 'This is what you are to say to my Lord Esau: Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my Lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.'" "According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind... it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 1 Peter 5:6 NIV "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." Genesis 32:6 NIV "When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, 'We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.'" Humility is terrifying because it places you at the mercy of the offended party. Genesis 32:7-8 NIV "In great fear and distress, Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well. He thought, 'If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.'" Genesis 33:1-3 NIV "Jacob looked up, and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men, so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother." Genesis 33:4-5 NIV "But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. 'Who are these with you?' he asked. Jacob answered, 'They are the children God has graciously given your servant.'" Genesis 33:8 NIV "Esau asked, 'What's the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?' 'To find favor in your eyes, my Lord,' he said." Genesis 33:9 NIV "But Esau said, 'I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.'" Genesis 33:9-11 NIV "'No, please!' said Jacob. 'If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God now that you have received me favorably. Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me, and I have all I need.' And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it." There are two critical actions when you have wronged someone else - Repentance and Restitution. Repentance - the act of turning away from the offensive behavior Restitution - the act of making right what you made wrong Luke 19:8 NIV "But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.'" Genesis 33:16-17 NIV "So that day, Esau started on his way back to Seir. Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth." Repentance and restitution do not always equal restoration, but it builds the bridge for others to walk across. Romans 12:18, 21 NIV "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Is there someone you have wronged that God is calling you to go to, repent, and seek restoration?
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