Hey everybody!  It’s been a while, but I think we finally got the problem fixed with uploading the sermons.  This one is from April 11, 2010.  It’s part 2 of the “7 Biblical Truths You Won’t Hear In Church.”  This one is titled, “Dead People Can’t Help Themselves.”  The sermon notes are below the player.

To download the sermon, just right-click here and pick “Save Target As.”

To listen online, press the Play arrow below:

Sermon Notes:

Truth #2:  Dead People Can’t Help Themselves!  (1 John 4:19)

We don’t take sin—or its effects—seriously.  The result?  We don’t understand how much we needed to be saved.

Truth: God did for us what we were unable to do!  He gives His children life, makes us respond to Him, and adopts us into His family.  Our only response?  Praise Him!

False pictures of how we are saved

1.  God has vote—Satan has vote—you cast deciding vote.

2.  You’re sick with sin, and you can let God heal you.

3.  You’re drowning—you must grab God’s life preserver.

4.  God is a gentleman—He won’t force you to do anything.

What is our real condition without Christ?

**One word: dead

**spiritual death started with Adam & Eve (Gen. 2:17)

**not just physical death: our spirits died when they sinned

**all of us are born physically alive, but spiritually dead

What is spiritual death?  Separation from God  (Is. 59:2)

**God isn’t refusing to hear people who want to follow Him

**Truth: we don’t want to follow (Psalm 53:2-3)

If all this is true, who can be saved?  Mark 10:27

–We need a new birth!  (John 3:3-8)

3 important truths about the new birth

1.  We can’t even see God’s kingdom without it.

2.  First birth gives physical life. New birth gives eternal life!

3.  New birth is the work of God, a spiritual heart transplant. Ezekiel 36:26-27

–this is God’s work—we simply respond (order matters!)

Real picture of salvation is Lazarus (John 11:1-44)

**Lazarus had no say in the matter

**when Jesus called, Lazarus came to life (He had to live)

**Was Jesus unfair for not raising all the dead?  No!

–it’s God’s choice alone to save some for His own glory

Eph. 1:5                       Eph. 2:6-7

What does this mean for us?

1.  God alone saves—we only enjoy the benefits of His love

–this is reason to be thankful: we deserved punishment, and got grace/love/mercy/life.

2.  Because it is God’s work, we have no reason for pride.

Eph. 2:8-9

–if we take part in our own salvation, we will become proud.

3.  We do not save people—only God does.  But He uses His children to get the message out.

Take away thoughts

If you are a follower of Jesus, remember to do 2 things:

1.  Be thankful every day for God’s gift of life

2.  Join in God’s work of salvation

If you are not a Jesus-follower, you are not off the hook!  You need to:

1.  Turn away from the sins that keep you apart from God.

2.  Receive the forgiveness & life God offers you!  Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of everyone who comes to Him—including you.

**If God is calling you, TODAY is the day of salvation!  Don’t wait—begin your journey with Christ today.

We have had quite a time trying to get the sermons uploaded and posted onto the blog.  I think the problem is solved (at least I hope so).  Here’s the sermon from Easter Sunday.  It’s the first in a series based on the book, “7 Biblical Truths You Won’t Hear In Church” by David Rich.  I hope you’re blessed by hearing it.

You can download the sermon by right-clicking here.

Or, you can listen to the sermon online by clicking on the “Play” arrow:

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I just ran across this article by Thom Rainer about the qualities that are found in people who regularly share the gospel with people who don’t yet know Jesus. I think it’s worth reading. Read it here…

I know I said a couple of days ago that I would have last Sunday’s sermon uploaded here. Obviously, that hasn’t happened yet. I’m having a problem getting the audio onto the server we use to archive the sermon recordings. I’m sure there’s a huge team of technicians working on the problem right now (or at least I hope so). I’ll have it uploaded as soon as this wrinkle is ironed out…

Sorry it has taken so long to post here on the church blog. With everything that’s been going on, it has beed really hard to keep up. But we’re back!

The best news is that we are back in the sanctuary for worship services! Yesterday (Easter Sunday) was our first time in the sanctuary in about 2 months. One section of our renovation is completed. We’re going to take a short break and then decide how to tackle the next section.

I know that some people were taking pictures of yesterday’s service. I’ll try to hunt them down and post them. And, I’ll have the sermon audio available by tomorrow afternoon.

Have a great week everybody! God bless!

Sorry this took so long…but here is the sermon from January 10, 2010. It’s from the “Living 2010 Without Regret” series. This sermon is called, “Love Others.” The sermon notes are below.

Download the sermon by right-clicking here.

Or listen online by clicking on the “Play” arrow below:

2010 Without Regret: Loving Others
(Matt. 22:34-40)

When we live our life following God’s priorities, seeking after Him, we find what’s best (not just what’s good). That leads to a year (& a life) without regret.

First, we looked at how we can make God-honoring choices. Last week, we talked about the importance of pursuing a relationship with God, who deserves first place in our lives.

Today, we look at how we treat God’s greatest creation: people.

1. What does it mean to love others the way you love yourself?
Words of Jesus: Mt. 7:12 Lev. 19:18
**It sums up ethical teachings of law.
**if we followed this law, commandments that cover human interaction wouldn’t be necessary (expand)

2. Description of this kind of love :1 Cor. 13:4-7, Rom. 5:8
it’s the kind of love God has for us (sacrificial)

3. Who is our neighbor? Lk. 10:25-37
Those who show mercy/need mercy are neighbors
Includes friends/other believers & enemies/unbelievers
John 13:34-35 Gal. 6:10 Mt. 5:43-48
Definition of neighbor: anyone we have contact with who needs God’s love & mercy
**doesn’t this describe everybody?

4. What does it look like when we love others this way?
it means we will be forgiving. Eph. 4:32
it means we will be thankful for others & what they do for us. Rom. 1:8, Eph. 1:16, 1 Thes. 1:2
we will pray for others. 1 Sam. 12:23
we will encourage others. Heb. 10:24-25
**we can cripple people with careless, hurtful words.
James 3:8
**church should be one place people can go to hear encouraging, loving truth
we will help people in need. Acts 2:44-45
we will help other believers grow to be more like Jesus
Col. 1:28-29 Gal. 4:19
**Our goal as a church: “Help as many people as possible become completely committed followers of Jesus Christ.”
**worship together, learn together, pray together, live together
we will tell others about Jesus
2 Cor. 5:14, 20-21
**We can’t honestly say we love our community if we don’t tell them Jesus died to pay for their sins
**No outreach=we love ourselves, but don’t care about people around us
**We’re called to share Good News of salvation with everyone

What does this mean to me?
If we want to love like this, we will need to:
1. depend on God every minute 1 John 4:10-11
**love we have for others reflects God’s love for us.
2. completely change our thoughts and attitudes. Loving others the way God tells us to means laying our selfishness aside to serve others.
3. be willing to pay the price. Loving/serving people is messy & costly. Are we willing to go beyond what’s safe & comfortable to love people the way Jesus loves ?

Challenge: will we devote ourselves to loving & serving others in a me-first world? Will we commit to using everything God gives us to show His love to everyone we come into contact with?

When we make that commitment, & act on it, we are on our way to living without regret.

Quick reminder: our monthly Friday fellowship is coming up this week! Normally, it’s on the first Friday of the month. But since last Friday was New Year’s Day, we moved it to this Friday.

We start at 6 p.m. Bring a casserole to share with everybody. Or, bring something that will go well with casseroles. Or, just bring yourself. We always have plenty of food!

Remember: 6 p.m., church fellowship hall. See you there!

Here’s the sermon from Sunday.  It’s the second in a series about living without regret in 2010.  This week, we look at ways we can build our relationship with God in the year ahead.  Sermon notes follow.

Download the sermon by clicking here.

Or, listen online by clicking the “Play” arrow below:

A Regret-Free 2010: Put God First!
Mark 12:28-30

All of us want to live without regrets in the new year. How can we do it? For the next few weeks, we’ll look at the fact that the priorities in our lives should reflect what’s really important.

This week, we’ll discover that when we love God with everything we have, He helps us live a life without regrets.

1. What loving God with everything you have doesn’t mean
doesn’t mean you are weird
doesn’t mean you spend all day reading Bible & praying
doesn’t mean you are useless
doesn’t mean you just think about doing good (Acts 10:38)

2. What it does mean to love God with everything you have
Heart: what you value, what is important to you. Only God can take first place—everything else is an idol
(Ex. 20:3-4, Is. 45:9)
**How do we tell what place God has? Calendar & Checkbook
Soul: your life. Would you follow God if it cost you everything—health, family, freedom, life?
Mind: your thinking. 2 quick truths:
**Loving God with all your mind means you concentrate on different things (Phil. 4:8, Rom. 12:2)
**Changed thinking is key to a changed life.
Strength: your energy and influence. How do we spend our time? our money? our God-given talents?

3. What does it look like to love God with everything we have?
Remember: this is about developing a relationship, not following rules (Difference: we have to follow rules, we want to build a relationship)
**might involve same actions—motivation & attitude differ
Fact: Christians have desire to please God (Rom. 7:21-23)
Fact: loving God is not one-time decision: it’s a lifelong journey (2 Cor. 3:18)
Developing a relationship with God is like developing a relationship with any person (same principles apply)
You’ve got to get to know Him (Bible study)
**The Bible is God’s letter to us. It tells us about Him, what He’s done for us, & who we are. (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Heb. 4:12)
**The best Bible-reading plan? The one you use!
You’ve got to talk to Him (prayer) (1 Thes. 5:17, Phil. 4:6)
** In the Bible & history, people who prayed most did most **You can pray anywhere, anytime
**Use reminders (2 lists: requests & answers)
You’ve got to spend time with people He loves (church)
(Heb. 10:24-25)
**We have responsibility to encourage, motivate & teach each other
You’ve got to be committed to what He thinks is important (time, talent & treasure) (2 Cor. 8:7)
**We show devotion to God by how we use what He gives us

What does this mean to me? (Acts 2:42-45, John 14:23)
1. This is how the early church lived—this is how you were meant to live! A year without regrets happens when God is our first priority. He commands it, for our good & His glory.

2. When we commit to loving God with everything we have, we begin to see the world the way He sees it. We’ll view our families, our friends, our work, our possessions differently.

3. We’ll never love God perfectly in this life. But He promises us peace, wisdom, & fellowship—and forgiveness for the times we fail Him. He wants to bless His children!

4. When God is first in our lives, everything else falls into place! You will be better in every aspect of your life.

Big questions
What’s first in your life? (Family, money, etc.) We all put things in God’s place. Will you commit to building your relationship with Him first, and letting Him transform your life?

1/7 update: fixed the embedded player.

Here’s the audio for the December 27 sermon. It’s the first in a series about living regret-free in 2010. I pray it will be a blessing to you. The sermon notes follow.

To download the sermon, click here.

Or, listen online by clicking on the “Play” arrow below.

A Regret-Free 2010, Part 1 (Josh. 24:14-15)

“We choose the kind of life we are going to have” Wise words from an 8 year old. It’s also a realization of biblical truth: our choices either bring us closer to God’s design for us, or push us farther away from what He created us to be.

What does the Bible say about choices? God has a lot to say about them. When we make God-honoring choices, we can have a year without regrets.

1. We make choices daily that affect us for a lifetime
Lk. 9:23 Ps. 61:8
big decisions, as well as “small,” everyday decisions
1 Cor. 10:31 “whatever you do”
every choice is important
Eph. 5:3-5 Eph. 4:32
–not all choices are good v. evil. Some are good v. best.
Phil 1:9-10
Choosing the best: become Great Commandment-focused

2. God cares about our actions, attitudes & motivations
1 Samuel 16:7 1 Cor. 10:31
We can do the wrong things for the wrong reasons
Ex.: Favoritism (James 2:1-8)
We can do the right things for the wrong reasons
Ex.: prayer (Lk. 18:9-14, James 4:2-3
How do we know what’s right?
1. God uses Bible & Holy Spirit to teach us what pleases God
John. 14:26 2 Tim. 3:16
2. Once again, think Great Commandment
Our choices need to be guided by Holy Spirit and Bible & focused on obeying the Great Commandment
3. Remember that the desire to make right choices comes from God Himself
Phil. 2:13
By nature, we want to please ourselves. God puts the desire to please Him into the hearts of His children.
What does that mean to us? We are not in this alone.
Jesus is proof that God is on our side. (Rom. 5:8)
He is Immanuel: God with us
God is active, at work in our lives
Rom. 8:29 Phil. 1:6 Lk. 7:11
God gives us wisdom, direction, & the Holy Spirit so that we can make choices that please Him.

Application: What does this mean to me?
1. A year of no regrets happens one day, one hour at a time. The choices we make show God’s work in us, or they don’t.
2. God passionately cares about the choices we make. He gives us everything we need to live without regrets.
3. God is on our side, working to remake us to be like Jesus. We can trust that He’ll lead us to make choices that please Him.

James 1:5//If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Do you lack wisdom? Do you wonder what you should be doing in various life situations? God wants you to come to Him!

Will you:
Trust that His way is best, and ask Him to help you make decisions that please Him?

Hey, sorry for the delay in getting the sermons here on the site. The holidays were extra busy! Anyway, here’s the one from December 20. I hope it’s a blessing to you. The sermon notes follow.

Download the sermon by clicking here.

Or, you can listen online by clicking the “Play” arrow below.

What Christmas Reveals to Us about God”

The Christmas story—Mary giving birth to a baby boy who was really God in human flesh—is a favorite of almost everyone. (Even people who don’t follow Jesus!) It reminds us that Jesus was a human being, just as we are. He came to earth to die for my sins, so I could live.

Christmas also tells us some wonderful things about God. Today, let’s look at what the birth of the Son of God shows us about our heavenly Father.

1. God’s timing is perfect (Gal. 4:4-5)
**1st: God is in control of history: God made sure that Jesus would be born at the right time & in the right place.
fulfilled prophecy
spread of the gospel (Rom. 15:19, 24)
God used the mighty Roman empire to accomplish His will.

**2nd: Jesus came at the right time—we were powerless to do anything to save ourselves. (Rom. 5:6-8, Is. 9:2)
Jesus is the ultimate proof of God’s love (Eph. 2:4-5)

2. God cares about outsiders/people the world has forgotten.
The first 2 groups He told about Jesus’ birth were not “important,” “respectable” folks.
Shepherds (Lk. 2:8-10) People thought shepherds were dishonest & untrustworthy.
Wise Men (Mt. 2:1-2) Magi (Wise Men) were priests in an eastern religion. They studied stars for news of important events.
Ministry of Jesus reveals His love for people that society rejected: women/disabled/poor/Gentiles
When God saves us, He changes us from outsiders into His family (Eph. 2:19, 1 Peter 2:10)

3. God uses small things to change the world
Mistake of the Wise Men: they expected the King of the Jews to be born in a palace.
God doesn’t work the way we do! (Micah 5:2, Luke 2:7)
God takes small things & makes them great. (Examples: Gideon, Abraham, Moses, 12 disciples, 120 in upper room at Pentecost)
In Bible, God used little things (in the world’s eyes) to accomplish great things. He still does! (1 Cor. 1:26-29)

Application: What does this mean for me?
1. You can trust God to handle your “stuff.” It makes no sense to keep trying to do things your way—God is able, and willing, to work in the hardest places of your life.

2. There’s nothing too small/insignificant for God to save & use. In fact, He specializes in using people/families/churches that others have given up on.

3. God made the birth of Jesus known—to shepherds and Wise Men. They came to Jesus to see what God was doing. God is still at work—His work in us begins when we come to Jesus.

Questions
1. Are there areas in your life where you are trying to fix things yourself? This is the time to give up control of your life & turn to Jesus. He is the King—the only One who can lead us.

2. Are you willing to trust God to use you for His work? Mary was. Joseph was. Are you?

3. Are we ready/willing to proclaim Jesus as loudly and clearly as the angels did that night?