Christmas Eve Message
Awake Us Now
Merry Christmas!
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Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 15
Awake Us Now
This is the final week in our study of 400 years of Kings and Prophets from Solomon to Jeremiah. King Josiah • Young King seeks God • Spiritual cleansing of Jerusalem • Book of the Law discovered • Reform beyond Judah • Passover observance - King Josiah gives an order to all people to observe God's Passover. This had not been celebrated according to what was written, not even in the days of the judges, nor in the days of any of the kings of...
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The Christmas Story 2
Awake Us Now
Merry Christmas!
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The Christmas Story
Awake Us Now
Merry Christmas!
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Questions - Week 11: What About the Virgin Birth?
Awake Us Now
The message starts with Matthew 1:18 “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” Pastor explores today’s question: “What about the Virgin Birth?” by tackling these 5 questions: ⁃ Is the “Virgin Birth” really that important? ⁃ Why do only Matthew and Luke mention it? ⁃ Couldn’t this have been a later development? ⁃ ...
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Rescued by Truth: Week 51
Awake Us Now
Are we recognizing the “signs of the times,” which include things from past, present and future? Pastor Dodge explores three specific and important signs that are apparent, visible and happening today! They remind us that as believers, we need to recognize the “signs of the times” and to be awake (i.e. ready for Christ’s return)!
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Two Year Gospel Study Week 103
Awake Us Now
The Gospel of John Week 25 Scripture: John 19:25-20:19 Today’s study will take us from the depths of hell to the heights of heaven! We start at verse 25 of John chapter 19 and it starts with who is at the foot of the cross: His mother, His aunt, His cousin (John the author of this gospel) and another aunt who was the wife of His step-father’s brother - all family. The disciples have all run except John and this group of women. Family. Verse 28 we read, ”Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I...
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Christmas: The Great Good News!
Awake Us Now
Scripture: Luke 2: 1-20 The Christmas Story is familiar to most of us - a story we’ve heard over and over, year after year. When something becomes so familiar we can easily be deceived into treating it too casually without the awe and gratitude this story should cause in our hearts. Familiarity can cause us to forget this is a REAL story, with REAL people and our REAL Savior. So let’s look at this very familiar story in Luke 2:1-20 with new eyes and new ears and new hearts. May we experience and receive THE GREAT GOOD NEWS as the best gift ever given. As Pastor reads the...
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Advent - Week 3: The Great Revelation
Awake Us Now
Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25, Micah 6:8 Being in the Scripture is a great place to be because God DOES speak in His Word, both 2,000 years ago and today! Today’s text from the Bible is a powerful Word, a life-changing Word… Matthew tells the Christmas story from the vantage point of Joseph, who after finding out about Mary being pregnant decided to divorce her quietly, but… Joseph receives a visit by an angel in a dream and the angel tells him that he is not to divorce Mary, that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and that he is to name the child Jesus because He will save His...
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Advent - Week 1: The Great Awakening
Awake Us Now
First Sunday in Advent - The Great Awakening Scripture: Luke 1:5-25 and Malachi 4:5-6a The season of Advent is a time we prepare to celebrate that Jesus came, but it is also a time we eagerly anticipate that He will return! When asked about the Great Awakening, people most often mention the The Great Awakening of the 1700s, an awakening that fundamentally changed what would become the United States of America, and imparted America’s destiny and the make up of our country. But THE Great Awakening Pastor refers to today is the one that far out strips the awakening in the 1700s. This is...
info_outlineThe Gospel of John Week 24
Scripture: John 18:38 - 19:24.
As we begin our story today, Pilate is telling the crowd he finds no basis for a charge against Jesus. So he offered to free a prisoner asking if they wanted Barabbas or Jesus released. The crowd wants Barabbas release and then Pilate has Jesus flogged.
Pastor talks in graphic detail what a flogging was like, the equipment used and what Jesus experienced: excruciating pain, horrendous suffering, brutal torture, and cruel ridicule.
Again Pilate goes out to the crowds telling them he can find no basis for a charge. Pilate brings Jesus out in front of the crowd and the crowd shouts to crucify Him. The Jewish leaders insisted that Jesus had to die because he claimed to be the Son of God.
Pilate says to Jesus, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” And Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From that time on Pilate tried to set Jesus free. But the Jewish leaders kept shouting, that if Pilate let Jesus go that he would be opposing Caesar.
So then Pilate brought Jesus out and Pilate sat down on the judge’s seat and on this day, The Day of Preparation of the Passover, at noon, Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified.
The soldiers took Jesus. Carrying His own cross, Jesus was brought to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha) and Jesus was crucified with two others —one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
Pastor shares in graphic detail about the brutality and reality of crucifixion. And how this is what Jesus endured for us. Jesus goes to the cross willingly, a clear testimony that God loved this world so much that He was willing to endure this and that, in a way beyond our ability to fully comprehend, is the love of the Living God in such a way that He took on human flesh, and He endured this for us. It is a clear indication of just how much He cares for us and when we read this it drives us to our knees realizing, “Oh Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.” The the Son of God came to save us, because we could not save ourselves.
Pastor goes on to talk about archeological discoveries and the possible locations of Golgotha and Jesus’ tomb along with sharing many personal photos including a picture of the “Jerusalem Cross.”
We pick back up with the story with Pilate having a sign posted on Jesus’ cross that said in three languages, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” The religious leaders protested because they told Pilate it was what Jesus only “claimed.”
Pastor then shares a personal discovery that came to him as he was preparing for this study. It’s a fascinating piece about the name of the Living God, written by Pilate and placed over the head of the crucified Jesus. (No I won’t share any more than that!! You will have to take a listen to Pastor sharing what he discovered!)
In verse 23 of chapter 19 we read that the soldiers took Jesus clothes, dividing them into 4 pieces and then took his undergarment and cast lots for it. This is a fulfillment of the prophetic words from Psalm 22:18.
Pastor takes the time to explore more of Psalm 22 that has several verses fulfilled in the death and crucifixion of Jesus. We see that this is not a miscarriage of justice by evil human beings. Rather, this is a profound fulfillment of God’s prophetic word that was uttered by King David a thousand years before it took place. And this is not just simply a story. This is history. This is His - story.
This is my Savior’s story.
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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!