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Questions - Week 13: Is Marriage Outdated?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_outlineThe Gospel of John Week 2
Scripture: John 1:1-18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 33;6, Psalm 107:20, Isaiah 55:11, Exodus 40:34, Exodus 33:18.
An Overview of the Gospel of John
⁃ Prologue 1:1-18
⁃ Jesus’ ministry 1:19 - 11:57
⁃ Passion of Christ and resurrection 12:1 - 21:25
Important terms in the Gospel of John (# = number of times it is used in the Gospel of John:
⁃ Life: 36
⁃ Light: 23
⁃ Witness: 47
⁃ Believe: 98
⁃ World: 78
⁃ Truth: 56
⁃ Glory: 42
⁃ Father: 136
Several of these key words above appear in the prologue.
Prologue (1:1-18)
The prologue begins John 1:1 “In the beginning” which is just how Genesis 1:1 starts “In the beginning.” In Genesis those words introduce creation. In John those words introduce the new creation - God is doing a new things. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Everything that the Father said through the prophets from the beginning, and what was spoken since the beginning is coming to its fullness and fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah.
John 1:1 - “In the beginning was the word.” The following verses help us understand more about The Word. We read in Psalm 33:6 that “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” God’s WORD is living and active! Psalm 107:20 tells us that the Word rescues from the grave, just as Jesus rescues us from the grave. - “He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” And then in Isaiah 55:11 we read “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” God’s word accomplishes His plans and purposes. Just as Jesus accomplishes the fulfillment of God’s promises and plans and purposes.
Everything was created by the Word of Jesus Christ. The Word holds everything together. And Jesus - The Word - was there at the beginning!
John 1:1-3 tells us that the Living God loved us so much that he was willing in a way beyond our ability to understand, willing to become one of us, a real human being but also truly and fully God. He gave Himself up for us all and that’s the way this gospel begins and that’s powerful!
John 1:4-5 reminds us of Genesis 1 where we read that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. And He said let there be light. And in John we read, “In Him was life and that life was the Light of the World!”
Those who receive Jesus as Messiah become the children of God - adopted by the Creator of the Universe!
Right from the opening of this powerful and amazing book we see who Jesus is - He is the Living God. - He is the Messiah - He is The Word - He is the fulfillment of every promise of God.
John 1:6-14 - Pastor talks about John the Baptist who bares witness to Jesus the Messiah as the Light and shares pictures of the Jordan River at the town of Bethany - the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism.
The Gospel of John is uniquely crafted by the Spirit of God to bear witness to Jesus and to lead people to faith. It’s an easy read but filled with depth!
John shares that Jesus wasn’t who was expected and that the people didn’t recognize Him as the Messiah. Jesus came in flesh to dwell (tabernacle) among us as God did with Moses - Exodus 40:34. Side note Jesus is referred to as Emmanuel in the Old Testament and that means God with us! And He is!
John 1:15-18 Law came through Moses - Grace and truth come through Jesus Christ and Jesus is the fulfillment of everything God promised in the Torah.
Jesus is not simply a great teacher or merely a worker of miracles, He is the One who is the Only begotten God.
In the prologue we see who Jesus is and starting next week we will see what this means and how this works! Join us!
Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com
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⁃ The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels.
⁃ The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible. Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.
Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!