Growing Gracefully: Awake
Awake Us Now
God charges His disciples to "be awake" in all times and all situations. We are especially charged to be awake to God's Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), the reality of spiritual warfare, and the signs of the times.
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Growing Gracefully: Prepared
Awake Us Now
Almost two thousand years ago, John the Baptist called people to repent and prepare for the coming Lord. Today, we are still called to have repentant hearts that receive and extend the forgiveness of the Living God, and to prepare fruit for Him in our lives!
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Growing Gracefully: Holiness
Awake Us Now
Holiness is a gift, offered to us in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But once God has made us holy, we are then called to pursue holiness in our lives!
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Questions - Week 21: Why Do You Believe He Is Risen?
Awake Us Now
Happy Resurrection Sunday - Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Today’s question is “Why do you believe He is risen?” Pastor starts today’s class with a personal testimony in which the Bible changed the direction of his life at the age of 15. Christianity stands or falls on the resurrection of Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” Pastor shares the Evidence Trail of Jesus’ Resurrection on the bases of writings from believers, unbelievers, recorded data, and old and new studies. The Evidence Trail...
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Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 14
Awake Us Now
Last week we ended our study time looking at a great king of Judah, Hezekiah. Today we start with one of the worst kings of Judah, Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son. Manasseh reigned from 697-642 B.C. His story is found in 2 Kings 21:1-18 and 2 Chronicles 33:1-20. Manasseh reigned 55 years. He reigned longer than any other king and did more damage than any other king. He did evil in God’s eyes. It is a disgusting and tragic story. He destroys everything good his father had done. King Manasseh ⁃ Apostasy and Idolatry - 2 Chronicles 33:33 ⁃...
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Growing Gracefully: Obedience
Awake Us Now
Growing gracefully in obedience is a response to the salvation God has worked in our lives through Christ Jesus. We are called to walk in obedience as a response to our faith in Jesus. Obedience is not necessary for salvation, but obedience is necessary! Join us as we explore Growing Gracefully in our relationship with Jesus Christ through obedience to Him and His Word. Obedience does not save, but neither is it optional. God desires not simply outward actions, but inner obedience to His Word. Pastor focuses on two important Biblical truths: 1. Obedience does not save - Jesus saves --Grace of...
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Growing Gracefully: Training
Awake Us Now
Despite the most rigorous physical exercise and training regimen, our bodies will age and, eventually, die. But there is a training - training in godliness - that lasts into eternity. The spiritual diet we eat, the spiritual exercise we do and the spiritual training we choose affects our ability to grow graceful as Jesus’ disciples. Training ourselves for godliness has benefits for today, tomorrow and for eternity. Spiritual training is timeless. Train to be godly - Christianity is not a spectator sport. We can’t be a couch potato. We must be in training to be godly. This is training with...
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Growing Gracefully: Contentment
Awake Us Now
Even in the most difficult of times, believers such as the apostle Paul have known contentment, an inner peace, a certainty that God is in control. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we know that, through faith in Him, we will live forever. That certainty brings true contentment!
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Dig Deeper - Week 9: Were Lambs Crucified?
Awake Us Now
Luke 22:7-8 ‘Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”” What we know about the Passover during the time of Jesus, is that the Passover meal had to be celebrated in Jerusalem itself. The lambs were killed at the Temple and the priests worked hours and hours to slaughter all the lambs needed for the meals - as many as a quarter million lambs were killed. The people came to the temple to pick up their lambs. This is where Jesus was sending...
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Growing Gracefully: Humility
Awake Us Now
The humility modeled for us by Jesus is not only refreshing, it is life-changing and God-pleasing! Pride, on the other hand, makes us nauseating not only to others, but to God as well.
info_outlineQuestions about the Trinity are often asked this way:
• Is the word “Trinity” in the Bible?
• Do Christians worship three Gods?
• Was “Trinity” invented by the Church?
• Isn’t the notion of “Trinity” irrational?
• Don’t you think this is a minor issue?
Pastor digs into the question of the Trinity by starting at the beginning, in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In Hebrew the word for God that is used in this verse is Elohim. Elohim is a plural noun. God is being described in plural terms!
Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” In Hebrew the Spirit of God is “Ruah Elohim”. This is describing God as the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1:3 “And God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” The word that stands out here is “said”.
Observation: Genesis 1
1. Plural noun for God the Creator
2. Spirit of God involved in Creation
3. God’s Word brings forth the Creation
This three-fold pattern continues throughout the Hebrew Scriptures:
1. Father - Deuteronomy 32:6 “Is He not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?”
2. Spirit - Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God has made me, the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
3. Word - Psalm 33:6 “By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.”
But the Old Testament also says there is but ONE God. Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel; The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
And yet one God is describe in a multiplicity of terms. One God and three very distinct Persons. This pattern continues in the New Testament:
1. Father - 1 Peter 1:2 “…chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.”
2. Spirit - Acts 5:3-4 “…you have lied to the Holy Spirit…you have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
3. Word - John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
In John 1:14 we read more about the Word, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
THE WORD is none other than Jesus, Himself.
The Bible sets forth clearly that the One God has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus says in Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”
The word that stands out in this verse is the word NAME - singular - yet THREE are named.
2 Corinthians 13:14 “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
This is clear Biblical teaching that the One true God has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is complex!!! His ways are higher than ours!
God who created us….
• Planned to Save us (God knew we would wander away from Him, but His plan from the beginning was save us)
• Came to Save us (we cannot save ourselves, we need a divine rescue. Our Divine Rescuer is Jesus who came to earth taking on human flesh and enduring the cross)
• Dwells in us to Save us (the God who created us dwells in us, brings us to faith, changes hearts, gives power and testifies to Jesus the Savior)
God works as a unity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - each unique and distinct but also uniquely ONE.
Is the word “Trinity” in the Bible? The word is not but “the Trinity” is found: Father, Son and Holy Spirit in both Old and New Testaments.
Do Christians worship three Gods? No, there is but ONE God, but has revealed Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We do not need to comprehend this to know God’s power and presence and truth.
Was “Trinity” invented by the Church? The term is invented but The TRUTH of THE TRINITY has been there since the beginning.
Isn’t the notion of “Trinity” irrational? This is a profound mystery, but not irrational. Pastor shares a lesson from Dr. Walter Martin and the Triple Point of Water where water is solid, gas and liquid all at one time. Three yet one. Is it irrational that the God of the universe can “three yet one.”
Don’t you think this is a minor issue? No because when we start ignoring what God says about Himself and what the Bible teaches we go into false teaching and false testimony. This is where false religions come in. We’re living in a culture that has walked from God and it is disastrous. This is NOT a minor issue - God is above ALL things and He is worthy of our worship and praise.
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