Armor of God #5 - Fit Feet
Awake Us Now
The "readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" gives us a solid platform on which to stand firm in resisting the devil's attacks. Pastor's shares about an archeological discovery of "Caligae,' the shoes worn by Roman soldiers in the day that the text of Ephesians was written by Paul. Some amazing analogies bring light to today's verse, 'and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." Ephesians
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The Sermon on the Mount (20) - His Holy Name
Awake Us Now
God's name is already holy. May it also be holy among us, reverenced, honored, and lived out in daily life as we live in the goodness of God in Christ!
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The Sermon on the Mount (19) - Prayer to the Father
Awake Us Now
When Jesus prayed, He called God "Abba," the name a Hebrew child would use when speaking to a loving and trustworthy father. He invites us to approach God with the same confidence, praying directly to the Father, through the Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit!
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The Sermon on the Mount (18) - Spiritual Showmanship
Awake Us Now
Jesus warns against "people-pleasing" - the rewards there fade quickly. It is not having your name written on a plaque that matters; it is having your name written in God's Book of Life that brings everlasting joy!
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Dig Deeper - Acts Chapter 15: Sharp Disagreement
Awake Us Now
Acts 15:36-41. Paul and Barnabas, after having been partners for a lengthy time, have a sharp disagreement over staffing with Barnabas wanting to take John Mark with them and Paul not wanting to. They have such a strong disagreement they part company. Colossians 4:10 we see the relationship of Barnabas and John Mark, that John Mark is the cousin of Barnabas. Barnabas heads out one direction and Paul another. Barnabas takes John Mark with him and sails for Cyprus. Paul takes Silas with him and heads to Syria and Cilicia. Take note of what has happened and has not...
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The Sermon on the Mount (17) - Love Your Enemies
Awake Us Now
Can we really love those who hate and oppress us? Yes, but only if our human will is governed by the Spirit of God.
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The Sermon on the Mount (16) - What About "My Rights"?
Awake Us Now
"Turn the other cheek," "Go the extra mile" -- these are words intended not for the public at large, but for followers of Jesus. They are words that are life-giving, and that impart life to others as well!
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GOD ACTS! (Chapter 15) - He Purified Their Hearts by Faith
Awake Us Now
Acts 15: This chapter deals with Entrance Requirements for entering the Kingdom of God. Acts 15:1 tells us what some people are saying in order to be saved: you had to be circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses. THEN and NOW: Proclaim God’s Goodness - As we continue on with the next verses we read that Paul and Barnabas dispute what these people are saying. So they head to Jerusalem to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. As they travel to Jerusalem they shared how the Gentiles had been converted to faith and this news made all the...
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Armor of God #6 - Shield of Faith
Awake Us Now
God says: "Fear not"; the devil whispers: "Fear everything." Rather than try to face the "fiery darts" of the enemy in our own power, we should raise the shield of faith God has given us! Ephesians
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The Sermon on the Mount (15) - Tell the Truth!
Awake Us Now
Jesus always told the truth; in fact, He said He was The Truth. His command to tell the truth is an attack on hypocrisy, and a defense of honesty!
info_outlineActs 14 is a lesson in church planting. It is a lesson on how God’s people are called to call others into a relationship with Jesus, and to build congregations in homes, in unusual places, underground in some parts of the world, wherever the Spirit of God is moving.
God gives to His people strength, guidance, direction and power to carry out the mission Jesus has given us in making disciples of the nations.
The story pics up in Acts 14:1 in Iconium and there Paul and Barnabas teach both Jews and Greeks the Good News of Jesus and many came to faith. But a group of Jews who refused to believe in Jesus stirred up opposition. Paul and Barnabas however, were not intimidated and continued to preach and perform signs and wonders. Then there began a plot to stone them, so they fled and head to Lystra where they see a man that was lame.
As Paul spoke the Good News of Christ, he saw the man had the faith to be healed and Paul tells the man to “stand up and walk.” Following this miracle the crowds, in their own language, spoke of Paul and Barnabas being gods; Zeus and Hermes. As Paul and Barnabas figure out what is being said and see people wanting to offer sacrifices to them, they tear their clothes and tell them they are human just like them and refuse to receive anything from the crowd. They tell them they are bringing them the Good News of a Living God.
As the story continues Paul is being stoned, the angry leaders of the church and others, left him outside the town as dead, but the disciples gather around Paul and then he gets up and heads to Derbe where he and Barnabas again won a large number of disciples for Christ. (See 2 Timothy 3:10-11)
But then, Paul and Barnabas return to those cities where they had been persecuted and they encourage the disciples to remain true to the faith. They tell them that as believers we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.
Salvation is free but living the christian life is hard.
THEN + NOW - Spreading the Kingdom - church planting
When we are around people who have a confused notion of what is real and what is true we are to do as Paul did:
- Bring them the Good News of Jesus - tell them Jesus’ story.
- One God - tell them there is One god, not many like they had
- Creator - that the One God is Creator of all
- Good - That God is good
- Strengthen one another - We are to be grounded in the Word of God, the word of truth, and to take the narrow road. The word gives direction and understanding, and exposes what is false, evil and deadly.
- Encourage believers - we are to encourage believers going through tragedy and loss, reminding them of God’s promises, building them up in confidence and hope in Christ.
- Commissioning - As believers we are commissioned. Our purpose is to reach the world for Christ. We are called to being committed to carrying out the commission of Jesus. We are not called to be comfortable, we are called to be comforters. We are not called to be contented with the status quo, we are called to be committed to carrying out the commission of Jesus. This is needed in every age, every generation and in every land.
Pastor shares a personal family story…
Pastor concludes with:
- How dangerous it is to embrace religion without embracing Christ.
- It’s a danger to be comfortable with the status quo rather than to have hearts that grieve for those who don’t yet know the Lord.
- How dangerous it is to simply want to maintain what we have rather than follow what Jesus has commanded us to do to winning the world to faith in Him.
We are to answer the Lord’s call, “Send me! Send me!”
This week’s READING ASSIGNMENT:
Acts chapter 14-15.
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