Growing Gracefully: In Joy
Awake Us Now
Unlike happiness, joy is not an emotion, dependent on particular circumstances. Joy is anchored in God, and through Jesus it is triumphant even over the sufferings of this world! Growing Gracefully In Joy - We are living in a time of chaos and uncertainty, a time of unbridled anger on all ends of the spectrum and if ever there was at time that the people of God needed to remember and reflect the joy of the Lord, THIS IS THE TIME! This is a great time to be growing in joy as we rely on the Holy Spirit to empower and strengthen us every day and in every circumstance and situation. The Bible is...
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Questions - Week 19: Are the Gospels Believable?
Awake Us Now
Today’s question is one that Pastor has heard most often from young people. The questioning of the Gospels seems to center around miracles, especially the resurrection. Atheistic Materialism Worldview ⁃ No God - universe is by chance ⁃ Matter only - Life came from non-life ⁃ No Miracles - Life is meaningless Bible’s Worldview ⁃ There is a Creator ⁃ He created life ⁃ Life has a purpose These two worldviews...
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Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 12
Awake Us Now
Our story picks up with Joash (the hidden royal) being brought forth at the age of seven and hailed as the king of Judah followed by the death of Athaliah. Peace reigns in Judah as we see over 100 years of four fairly “good” kings reigning in Judah from 835-731 B.C. These kings started well but didn’t always finish well: Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah and Jotham. King Joash ⁃ Takes the kingship at age 7 ⁃ Jehoiada, the High Priest, is Joash’s mentor, advisor and instructor ⁃ Spiritual reformation was taking...
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Growing Gracefully: Renewed Minds
Awake Us Now
True faith is not simply a matter of knowing certain truths. It is a matter of knowing Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and allowing the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out!
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Growing Gracefully: In His Word
Awake Us Now
The Bible is more than just a fascinating book! It was written by an author who loved us enough to die for us, and it is a book that leads us to the One we worship.
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Growing Gracefully: In Prayer
Awake Us Now
Prayer is not about rules and obligations! It is how God invites us to talk with Him in order to build a personal relationship. Discipleship, then, is about living that relationship in our daily lives.
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Dig Deeper - Week 7: Strong Man Bound
Awake Us Now
The past Sunday Pastor taught on “What’s the Answer - what is the unforgivable sin?” using Matthew 12:24-32. Today, Pastor digs deeper and takes a look at Mark 3:22-29 - which also talks about the “unforgivable sin.” In Mark 3:22-26 we read that the teachers of the law say that Jesus is possessed by the devil, doing healings in the devil’s power and doing what the devil wants. But Jesus responds by sharing parables and asking how can Satan drive out Satan? A house divided cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand. Jesus explains how...
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Growing Gracefully: The Great Commission
Awake Us Now
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus states that He has been given "all authority on Heaven and on Earth," and with that authority gives us our marching orders - make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy spirit, and teach them to obey everything He has commanded. But this isn’t just about His command, this is about God’s faithfulness and His desire for us to experience that faithfulness. Let’s begin by contrasting genuine faith with mere religion: ⁃ Relationship vs. Religion ⁃ Knowledge of...
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The Living One - Week 32: Personal Testimony
Awake Us Now
Scripture: Revelation 12:11, Romans 9:10, Acts 21-26. Pastor opens and closes today’s teaching with Revelation 12:11 and everything in-between these bookends focuses on the goodness of God through Jesus and the power and impact of our testimonies. Here’s Revelation 12:11, “They triumphed over him (the enemy) by the blood of the Lamb (Christ Jesus) and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Testimony - What’s your testimony? The Bible teaches if we confess Jesus is Lord with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God raised...
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Questions - Week 18: What is the Unforgiveable Sin?
Awake Us Now
Today’s question is one that Pastor says has been the question asked with the most fear. Other ways this question is asked: ⁃ What is the unforgivable sin? ⁃ What is the sin against the Holy Spirit? ⁃ How can I be sure I haven’t done this? ⁃ If I have done this is there any hope? ⁃ How do I avoid the unforgivable sin? Matthew 12:31-32 Jesus says, “And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the...
info_outlineThe Gospel of John Week 11
Scripture: John 7:22-59.
Pastor opens by sharing details of the Feast of Tabernacles and the scriptures of the Living Water that were read during this 8 day festival. Festival readings included: Ezekiel 47:1-12, Zechariah 14:8 and Jeremiah 17:13b.
As our story opens, it is the Feast of Tabernacles and these scriptures would have been read. Pastor goes on to share that there has been much learned over the last 100 years and especially in the last 15 or so that helps to bring this text and the story alive. As we look at what we know about the time of Jesus and what we are discovering, they are changing our understanding of the Bible, bringing a new sense of significance and even urgency as what we are discovering is a testimony that says, “This is real!”
Some recent archeological work has found what is believed to be the City of David - but not at all where it was thought to be, and the discovery of the Hezekiah Tunnel, and more recently the Pool of Siloam show us a different location than originally thought for the Pool and also that it was a very large pool, not a small one. Also that it was filled with fresh water by the Han Spring flowing through the Hezekiah Tunnel into the Pool. The Pool of Siloam was the only fresh - or living water in the city of Jerusalem.
Pastor shares the events of Tabernacles and the pouring out of water into the Temple by the priests carrying it from the Pool of Siloam for the first 7 days of the festival. On the 7th Day they carried and poured water 7 times in the Temple.
So as our story continues, it’s either Day 7 (7 times the priests poured water in the Temple) or it’s Day 8 (the day of rejoicing, and celebration) when we read verse 37-38, “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
He is essentially telling them that what you’ve been doing for the last week with the pouring of water, point to Me and it’s what the prophets said would happen when Messiah comes, that living water would pour out of the Temple. And then it goes on in verse 39, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.and that the Living Water is the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is saying that He is the fulfillment of what the prophets have declared and that everyone who believes on Him will receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus is calling us to a new day - the fulfillment of what the prophets have said - Messiah- is here! And He, the Messiah, gives the Holy Spirit. Jesus is claiming to be God.
At this some called Him prophet, others called Him Messiah and others were in disbelief and angry. The crowd became divided with many wanting to seize Jesus. The temple guard go and report back to the chief priests.
The chief priests were Sadducees and they united with the Pharisees, a group that they did not get along with but they did unite together over their desire to do away with Jesus. The very ones who should have embraced Jesus as the Messiah, instead say, “Let’s kill Him.”
Pastor concludes by saying in 6 months from this event of Tabernacles, the Passover will be celebrated and we will see Jesus dead, and raised during another important festival and how this festival too, finds its fulfillment in Jesus.
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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!