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Questions - Week 13: Is Marriage Outdated?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
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...
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Big Questions - All Nations: How Close Are We?
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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?
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Big Questions - Israel Reborn: How Significant is it?
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The nation of Israel was reborn suddenly in 1948, and the Jewish people have returned to the Promised Land in great numbers after 1900 years of exile. What does show about God's faithfulness and promises? What does it mean to believers in the Messiah?
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Questions - Week 12: Does God Exist?
Awake Us Now
Does God exist? The Bible has described this as a reality for thousands of years. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” ⁃ There was a beginning ⁃ There is a God ⁃ God created everything This is looked at as a religious belief, but it is increasingly a scientific fact as the scientific world sees that the creation had a beginning. ⁃ Natural knowledge of God ⁃ Nature - Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of...
info_outlineLuke 13:10-17; “Real Meets Ritual”
Jesus is the Real Deal! He is the Messiah. He really desires that we know Him more and more and spend eternity with Him. So what does the Real Jesus have to say to us today?
Today’s story in Luke tells how Jesus was in a synagogue teaching and there was a woman in attendance that had been crippled by a spirit for 18 years and was bent over and could not straighten up. (Note not possessed by a spirit but crippled by a spirit.) Luke recognizes that there is a spiritual dimension to our world. This was not just a physical illness.
Jesus does something surprising. He calls the woman to come up to Him. He understands her plight, says, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” The Word of Jesus is a word of power! When He speaks, even the demonic spirits listen!
He laid His hands on her. Don’t you wonder what that was like to experience the loving hands of Jesus on her? Then she immediately straightened up and praised God because she was healed but also because she understood the Living God, come to earth, spoke a word of power that defeated the 18 years demonic hold.
How does this story call us today to re-evaluate our worldview and what is real?
Challenge #1
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Will we accept a Biblical or Western worldview?
Today the Western worldview dominates even within Christian circles. The Bible tells us there is an ongoing spiritual war. There are demons, though not responsible for every difficulty or trial, we are to be discerning, to seek God first, trusting that he is real and can be relied upon.
We are called to adopt a Biblical worldview and allow the scriptures to guide and direct our thinking, to allow God’s Word to speak into our lives.
Our God is real and desires to move in real ways in our lives. He is challenging us in the Western world to set aside a ritual understanding of the Christian faith and to adopt a Biblical worldview, to take him seriously.
Continuing with today’s story - after seeing the miraculous healing (done by Jesus on the Sabbath) the synagogue leaders are angry - Basically, after seeing divine power manifested before them, the leaders’ reaction is that this is not what we do
in our worship time! The leaders say there are 6 other days in the week for healing, so he told the people to come then, we are not to work (heal) on the Sabbath. Thereby accusing Jesus of sinning by doing the healing on the Sabbath.
However, Jesus does not let this stand and He says, “You hypocrites! Don’t you each on the Sabbath untie (unbind) your ox and donkey from the stall and walk them to water.” (This was considered work on the Sabbath). Jesus continues, “Then shouldn’t this woman bound 18 years be set free on the Sabbath?” Meaning, they will loosen the bonds on their animals on the Sabbath but then turn around and say it’s wrong to loosen the bonds of this woman on the Sabbath.
It’s not about the rituals, it’s about encountering the Living God, the Real God who:
Transforms
Heals
Forgives
Is gracious and merciful
And who calls His children to Real Life
Challenge #2
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Will we receive and believe the Real Jesus or will we simply go along with the church culture?
Church culture today says come to church and then go back to life as usual. It says accept yourself the way you are and don’t judge anything or anyone. It says it doesn’t matter what you do - just be happy. Basically it says, give God lip service and then go back to your life.
This is not what God calls us to - His message is a message of truth and it is life changing! When we receive Him as Savior our lives are forever changed. We too are delivered like the woman bound by the demonic spirit we are delivered from demonic spirits, demonic teachings and demonic beliefs.
Jesus is asking us to move beyond a mere church culture and recognize Him for who he is, our Savior, Healer, Deliverer, our Lord, the One who frees us from the bonds of sin, death and the devil and gives instead Life and Hope!
Today our culture calls truth evil and lies good. Jesus is asking us to turn our back on that kind of culture and instead to hear His voice calling us to Himself.
He calls us from ritual to relationship!
He does the miraculous:
Redeems
Restores
Renews
And He offers Real Life!
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St. Luke’s Account is part three of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. The Gospel of Luke takes a look at the life of Jesus, beginning with the well-known Christmas stories. Luke, a non-Jew, offers a unique perspective into the story of Jesus’ life.
This study is great for large group, small group or home group Bible study.