Growing Gracefully: Persecution
Awake Us Now
Jesus makes it clear to His followers - if we follow Him, we WILL be persecuted, just as He was persecuted. When that happens, we are not to despair, but to rejoice - "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:10) Persecution is a confirmation that we truly are following the Living God!
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Questions - Week 22: What Did Jesus Tell Them?
Awake Us Now
Pastor gives us a look at the story, “On the Road to Emmaus,” found in Luke 24:13-27. We don’t know the actual location of Emmaus, nor do we know the names of those walking with Jesus in this story. The story takes place later in the day on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Those Jesus walks with do not recognize Him. They are trying to figure out everything that had happened with Jesus and thinking about what the women had said about Jesus being alive and about the disciples having gone to the tomb and found it empty. Then Jesus begins to explain the scriptures to them concerning...
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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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Growing Gracefully: Sing!
Awake Us Now
We see singing and songs throughout the Scriptures. Singing connects us with the heart, with one another, and with God!
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Growing Gracefully: Infilling
Awake Us Now
Everyone who is a true disciple of the Lord Jesus has the Holy Spirit. But does the Holy Spirit have us? It is one thing to know the Living God and to know Jesus as Savior, but it is another thing to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit on a regular, daily basis!
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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 ⁃...
info_outlineWe take a look at Matthew 6:13, a portion of The Lord’s Prayer. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
However, we read in James 1:13 “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;”
So are these two verses contracting each other? Or are we misunderstanding something. So let’s look at the original words used in this Scripture.
1. Peirazō - verb meaning to test/try or tempt - two very different meanings
2. Peirasmos - noun meaning testing/trail or temptation - again, two very different meanings
How can I know the difference?
Identity: who is doing the test or the tempt. The devil tempts us into going against God’s word and will. God tests us - will we follow Him and do His will?
Motive: who is doing the testing or tempting. The devil’s motive in tempting us is to destroy us. God tests us to strengthen, guide and uphold us.
When we are facing Peirazō (temptation or test) we can look at that experience in two ways.
1. The devil tempting us to go against what we believe, what Jesus desires, what the Scriptures teach and what the Holy Spirit reveals OR
2. That God is using a temptation to test us, to strengthen us, to cause us to rely on Him more and more, to look to Him and to call upon Him in the day of trouble.
Testing and temptation go together in the Bible - they are the same word, but the identity of who is Peirazō”ing” us is the key. Are we going to listen to the one who wants to destroy us - the devil - or will we listen to the One who has saved us and desires to help and save us.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
In God is strength, and even when we fall and fail we are assured of finding and receiving His forgiveness through our faith in Christ and will be given the power to start over again.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” - what we are praying is - “Lord, let us not fall into the devil’s temptations but deliver us from the evil one and help us find our strength in you. Deliver us from what is evil and from the evil one. Deliver us from the power of the devil and help us to hold onto Your strength and power so that when we face trials we can face them with confidence because our eyes are on You!”
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