Big Questions - Power... When the Holy Spirit Comes
Awake Us Now
Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit to believers, is all about the power of God -- the power to live a new life, the power to give glory to the Living God, the power of faith that transforms us and that beckons to others to come to God as well!
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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Questions - Week 13: Is Marriage Outdated?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!
info_outlineUp To Jerusalem - Teaching 14
Scripture: John 17:1 - 18:12, Hebrews 7:23-24, Philippians 2:6-11, Matthew 26:36-44, Luke 22:42-46.
Today’s study focuses mainly on Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, a prayer following His meal with the disciples and the night of His betrayal.
Pastor talks in depth about the prayer
⁃ Focusing in on what Jesus says about God’s name
⁃ God’s name is His character
⁃ God’s name is called the tetragrammaton - it is 4 letters but we are not sure of the pronunciation.
⁃ What we do know is that at its root is “To Be”
⁃ The One who always IS
⁃ At Mt. Sinai God told Moses “I Am who I Am, if anyone asks who sent you, tell them I AM has sent you.
⁃ God is always with us
⁃ He does not change - the same yesterday, today and tomorrow - forever!
⁃ He is all powerful
⁃ All merciful
⁃ All loving
⁃ He is gracious
⁃ Jesus reveals the Father’s character and shows us the Father’s love
⁃ He is One with the Father
If you want to know what God looks like — Look at Jesus!
Something to think about: what must this have felt like for the disciples to hear Jesus praying this prayer to the Father?
⁃ When we walk with God we walk out of step with the world
⁃ God’s word is the Truth - it is a Living Word - Jesus is Truth and speaks only Truth
⁃ Sanctification
⁃ Believers are to be one with Christ and one with the Father and one with each other. One in Body - one mind - the mind of Chris - focused on spreading the Good new in Christ
⁃ God is One
⁃ Suffering for faith
⁃ Experiencing the glory of God
⁃ Submission to God
⁃ Everything Jesus does is for the purpose of saving the world
⁃ He lives to intercede for us
Following the prayer, Jesus and His disciples head to the Mt of Olives and into the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus takes 3 of the 11 as He moves further into the garden. He tells them to stay awake and pray as He goes deeper into the garden. He is dealing with unimaginable anguish grief, and anxiety as He prays again to the Father expressing that His sole is overwhelmed to the point of death and prayer for “this cup” to be removed but only if it is the Father’s will. Jesus is willing to do what the Father desires, and yet He shares His heart with His Father. Jesus is in so much anguish and agony He is to the point of sweating blood and yet He pushes through in endurance to follow the Father’s plan.
A total of 3 times He prays and then returns to find the disciples asleep instead of staying awake and praying and trying to understand this is Jesus’ greatest hour of need. The solitude and loneliness Jesus experiences must have been painful. He friends will abandon Him, His Father will abandon Him. It is Christ ALONE and He faces it all with the words of His prayer, “Your will be done.” And this is the true picture of Love.
Today’s study ends with a reading of the betrayal of Jesus and will pick up with this portion of the story next week. Please join us!
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Up to Jerusalem is a study of the final weeks of Jesus' ministry concluding with His resurrection and ascension, using the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John together with material from ancient sources and recent discoveries. Up to Jerusalem is part five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Up To Jerusalem is the story of the plan of God to redeem the world, and the story of a Savior willing to obey the Father’s plan. As we study Jesus’ final days, we will be impacted as we discover the Love of God for each one of us.
This study is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time.