Big Questions - My Witnesses... To the Ends of the Earth
Awake Us Now
It is easy to get distracted by other things — some of them perhaps important things — but Jesus makes it clear to His followers that our primary task is make disciples. To that end, we are to be His witnesses, "even to the ends of the earth."
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Dig Deeper - Week 2: The "Submission" Passage
Awake Us Now
Today’s class is a study of Ephesians 5:21-33. A group of verses that are controversial, often attacked and many times misunderstood. Ephesians 5:21-22 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, [submit] yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.” In the original Greek text the second [submit] word is not there. There is not a verb in this sentence and so in traditional Greek practice, you take the verb from the previous sentence and insert it into the next sentence. Please note that this is really important - because what this is saying is,...
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Big Questions - Obey... Everything I Have Commanded
Awake Us Now
Obedience is not optional - it is command from Jesus Himself. But we are not saved because we obey; rather, we obey the Lord because He has saved us!
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Big Questions - All Authority... in Heaven and on Earth
Awake Us Now
God has chosen you and me not simply to be religious, but to be disciples. We are to follow Jesus faithfully, grow in the knowledge and love of Him, and share with others the powerful things He has done so that they become disciples too!
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Questions - Week 13: Is Marriage Outdated?
Awake Us Now
In this message we will look at what the Scriptures have to say about marriage, analyze concerns and questions raised in our day, overview the cultural changes that have led to many questioning the value and benefit of marriage, and do so from a Christian worldview. We will also take a look at some secular contemporary research and what it indicates. Common Reactions: 1. The culture has changed: - Married Couples comprised: 1950 — 78% of all US households 2020 — 47%...
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Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 4
Awake Us Now
Our study opens with a look at Civil War between Rehoboam and Judah vs. Jeroboam and Israel (931-910 BC). 1 Kings 12:1 We read that Rehoboam went to Shechem, “for all Israel had gone there to make him king.” Shechem was an historic site for the nation from about 500 years early when Levitical priests recited the blessings and the curses from Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Shechem is the city near these two mountains. In verses 3 and 4 we read that Jeroboam challenges Rehoboam. Reheboam goes to 2 advisory boards. One was the elders that had served under his father, Solomon. They...
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Big Questions - Lord and God! Jesus' Amazing Claims
Awake Us Now
Lord and God? A great moral teacher? A very good man? What claims did Jesus actually make about His identity?
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Big Questions - Stop Doubting and... Believe!
Awake Us Now
Faith is essential ... but in what do place our faith? The scriptures make it clear that we are to place our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Savior of all the nations, and the Hope of all the earth!
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Big Questions - Receive... the Holy Spirit!
Awake Us Now
When Jesus says to His disciples, "Receive the Holy Spirit," it is not a "one-and-done" activity. He desires us all to live continually in the Spirit!
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Dig Deeper - Week 1: In the Beginning
Awake Us Now
Genesis 1:1 - “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Let’s look at the words “God” and “created.” in this verse in Hebrew the word used for God is a plural noun and created is a singular verb. What day did God create the world? It says God created everything in 6 days and He rested on the 7th day, the Sabbath, and that is Saturday. Which means the first day of creation was on Sunday. What was the day of the week that God began a new creation? That was on the day Jesus arose from the grave. The Bible tells us this was on the first day of the week, on a...
info_outlineIn the parable of the sower, Jesus compares the Word of God to seed falling on four different kinds of soil - hardened, shallow, thorny, and productive. Which soil does God's Word find in you?
Pastor shows us a picture of a wheat field in Israel that is actually a battlefield, in the Valley of Elah, where David battled Goliath. It’s an amazing battle in which God won the victory. The picture of this field reminds us that as Jesus tells the story of The Sower, He is speaking about warfare, spiritual warfare. God desires to bring every man, woman and child into His loving presence, but there is a battle raging over the human heart and in the human soul and it is a life or death matter.
Seed has power and that’s how it is with God’s Word. His word that does not change is a powerful word. It is a life-changing word. God’s word is a Living Word, and a word for us today.
Seed= God’s Word
Four kinds of Soil. Which soil are you?
1. Pathway soil - hardened - where God’s Word (seed) cannot grow. God pleads, “break up the hard ground” Jeremiah 4:3
2. Rocky soil - shallow - where the God’s word - the Seed - sprouts and starts to grow but the roots cannot go down deep - shallow faith without deep roots cannot continue to mature. God desires we have deep roots and are firmly planted.
3. Thorny soil - divided - thorny soil is a picture of those who have divided loyalties in their lives. They know the Lord, but are also into this or that, or are enamored with things or stuck in worries about riches, paying the bills, the worries about health, the worries about how is it all going to turn out in the end, etc. These things can so quickly divert your attention from God and His Word and from the only thing that endures, and that is the living God. So He is telling us to weed out all of the thorn bushes in our lives, to make sure that those things are not choking out our faith, or driving us away from Him.
4. Good soil - produces fruit - God’s desire is that we allow His Word to penetrate and permeate our lives, that we are people of prayer, people who practice our faith, that we be faithful, trustworthy, dedicated disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we produce much fruit. That means that our lives show more and more the power of God at work in us. It means that others can see in us, living examples of what it means to walk by faith in every situation, in the good days and in the difficult times as well. Jesus is calling us to be good soil.
When Jesus told this story, The Parable of the Sower, He wasn’t simply telling a story that people could recount generation after generation. He was speaking profound divine truth. God’s Word has power. It’s transforming. In His word we have the death and resurrection of Jesus, Who gives life to all who repent and believe. His promise is that He will bring forth incredible fruit in our lives as we walk by faith, as we cling to His Word, as we trust Him in every circumstance, as we show His love to others, as we call on God in prayer, and experience daily the joy of His presence and the power His Holy Spirit.
I Peter 1:23, “You have been born again.” You been reborn. You have a new birth. How? Not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God.” It is a powerful Word. Seed does amazing things. It imparts life and God’s Word is life. Jesus Christ, the living Word of God is life. In Him there is life and hope and joy and peace.
Scripture sources: - Luke 8:4-9; 11-15; Jeremiah 4:3; 1 Peter 1:23; John 8:31-32
The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.
This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.