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
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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Questions - Week 13: Is Marriage Outdated?
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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
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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
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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!
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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...
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Big Questions - All Nations: How Close Are We?
Awake Us Now
From Genesis to Revelation, God's plan remains the same - to reach all nations and bring people back to Him. How close are we to seeing that happen? Why is belief in Jesus growing at such an astounding pace in much of the world, but not in Europe and North America?
info_outlineThis teaching is from Matthew 19:13-30 and Matthew 20:1-16.
This teaching starts with a focus on children. The disciples didn’t like that people were bringing little children to Jesus, these children were babies, infants, toddlers, and the disciples were thinking Jesus is trying to talk to the adults and they’re bringing kids to him, taking time away from Jesus speaking, that they were noisy and disruptive and that it just wasn’t appropriate.
But Jesus says, “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” What’s Jesus saying? He’s saying kids matter to Him, They are part of His kingdom!
The question is how does a child believe? But then, how does an adult believe? The answer is in 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul says that no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. It’s only when the Holy Spirit moves in a person’s life (adult or child) that they can believe.
Many times we act like the disciples, looking at things from a human standpoint and personal prejudice instead of the vantage point of heaven. Jesus is saying kids matter and after correcting the disciples He blesses the kids.
Then the text moves into the topic of wealth and Jesus answers the question of a man asking Him how to be saved. Meaning the man is asking what he can do, this man has it wrong - we are saved by grace, not works. But Jesus patiently continues with the man and He mentions to keep the commandments to which the man replies that he’s done that. Jesus sees into the man’s heart and understands that he is proud of his accomplishments, wealth and focused on earning eternal life.
This is when Jesus invites the man to be one of his disciples and to sell his possessions and give to the poor. But as Jesus knew he would, the man goes away sad because the reality was his wealth was his god.
Jesus continues that it’s hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. But what is Jesus really saying? He’s using hyperbole. So the question then is: if you have to go through the eye of a needle to be saved, who then can be saved? Jesus replies that with man that’s impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Meaning that it’s not by wealth or what we’ve accumulated, or earned or done or accomplished that we are saved, we are saved by grace alone and THAT is only possible with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is showing us that God is over all and He is to be our treasure and number one priority in our lives. He’s to be the heart of our lives. Jesus says what matters most is our relationship with Him.
We don’t buy our way into eternal life, but we are called to use the gifts God has given us to His glory and for His good. So we to make sure that God is heart and center in our lives.
Pastor continues with chapter 20 where Jesus tells the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. The owner hired workers at sunrise, then 3 hours later hired more workers and then even more workers at noon, 3pm and 5pm. When evening came the owner paid ALL workers with a denarius (a day’s wage). And those that worked the least amount of hours got the same pay as those that worked the most hours. Those that worked the most hours complained to the owner and his response was, “Are you envious because I’m generous?”
So we ask: is this just? Here’s a quote that helps us understand what Jesus is teaching: “We are fools if we appeal to God for justice rather than grace!”
If God were completely just we would all be in hell, but He is merciful and Jesus is trying to bring home that truth.
Only the grace of God saves.
Only the mercy of Christ offers life.
Only the blood of Jesus covers our sin.
Only a relationship with God through faith in Jesus delivers us.
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