This past Sunday, we continued looking at God’s special creation, the church. We tried to answer 3 questions: What kind of activities is the church to be involved in? What is our motivation? What can we learn from God’s creative work in nature?

I hope it’s a blessing to you. Download the sermon by clicking here. (The sermon notes are under the player.)

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

What we do—and why we do it (Eph. 2:7)

God doesn’t do anything accidentally! He has a purpose, a reason, for everything He does. As God’s people, we should live our lives with purpose. The things we do as a church should be done for a reason.

Today, we’re going to look again at three things: what we do as a church, why we do those things, and how we can do them in ways that please the God who loves us so much.

1. What we do
6 main activities of church: Evangelism—worship—teaching /discipleship—prayer—service—fellowship (Acts 2:40, 42-47)
**Following Jesus changed everything: what they valued, how they treated others, how they spent time & money
2 Cor. 3:18 Phil. 3:12

**Our goal as church: Help as many people as possible become mature, growing followers of Jesus Christ.
**completely committed Christians/fully-formed followers (it’s the goal of Jesus also)
Eph. 5:25-27

Everything in Acts 2 got them closer to that goal
**worship: remembering God’s greatness
**teaching/discipleship: learning to apply God’s word to life **prayer: acknowledging our dependence on God
**service: showing God’s love & care for mankind
**fellowship: encouraging, bearing each other’s burdens
**evangelism: sharing the good news of salvation

Everything we do needs to get people closer to the goal of being completely committed to Christ

2. Why we do it
The original intent of creation was to show how great God is
Ps. 19:1 Ps. 50:6 Ps. 89:5 Rom. 1:20

Church should do the same—show how great God is

How does God reveal Himself in His creation?
1. Clearly: we should make God’s message understandable to everyone (Eph. 3:8-9 Mt. 5:16)
**The 1 Cor. 14:24-25 principle: what goes on when we get together should be understandable to everyone there
2. With variety/creativity
**look at the variety in creation—God is a God of creativity
**we need to be creative as well & use different ways to reach & teach people
3. No wasted parts
**our bodies are made perfectly with nothing wasted
**The church has no unnecessary people—all have a purpose

Application thoughts
1. Creation happened through God’s power. So will anything we do for Him.
2. God doesn’t need us. It’s a privilege to be used by God in His work.
3. God sacrificed to save us—Christian life means sacrifice. But the reward of following Christ wherever He leads us is worth it.

Let’s commit ourselves to 3 things: 1. helping each other grow, 2. making sure that everyone understands God’s message, 3. relying on God’s wisdom to lead us where He wants us to be.

**We are here for a purpose: Let’s move forward together toward the goal that He has called us to.

This video isn’t from our service last Sunday. But this is a nice rendition of a Christmas song we sang last Sunday: Good Christian Men, Rejoice. I love this song’s words, especially, “Now you need not fear the grave–Jesus Christ was born to save!”

What a great reminder of the reason we celebrate Christmas! Enjoy:

Here’s the sermon from this past Sunday: “3 Things All Christians Can Give Thanks For.” It’s based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. I hope it’s a blessing to you. The sermon notes are below.

Download the sermon by clicking here.

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

Give Thanks In Everything (1 Thes. 5:16-18)

We live in a society that has forgotten how to be thankful. Too often, people are motivated by greed, and the desire to get ahead. We don’t take time to be thankful for the things we have.

For Christians, being thankful isn’t an option. God commands us to be thankful in all circumstances. Can we really be thankful when everything around you is going wrong?

We can! Today, I want us to think about the things every follower of Jesus can be thankful for—no matter what’s happening in our lives.

Warning: The dangers of NOT giving thanks
Rom. 1:21
**It can lead to all kinds of sin (see Rom. 1:21-31)
**We put our own reasoning, thoughts, desires ahead of God
Judges 17:6
**That kind of thinking leads us away from God

3 Reasons to be Thankful–No Matter What!
1. God is in complete control
Isaiah 40:1, 25-27
** nothing (family/health/job/church/etc.) in our lives is out of control…from God’s perspective!
** No child of God is out of His reach or beyond His help
Ps. 139:7-12

2. Our troubles are temporary. God & His gifts are not.
Is. 40:8 2 Cor. 4:17-18
** we need to look/pay attention to eternal things
**we live in “Right Now” society
Mt. 6:19-21
** only God’s gifts have eternal value & can’t be taken away
3. We’ve been given the greatest gift of all.
1 Peter 1:3-4
**God brought us out of sin & death, & gave us new life because of Jesus
Rom. 5:6-8 Eph. 2:4-5
** God adopts us into His family
Eph. 2:19 1 Peter 2:10
** Can’t be taken away.
Rom. 11:29

Application
Every follower of Jesus wants to know God’s will. Here it is: “give thanks in all circumstances”

**When we give thanks, we are acknowledging that God gives us everything we have.
**If you have a loving family, good health, solid job, stable finances, remember those are God’s gift. (And remember that not everyone has those things!)
**God is in complete control, even when we feel like life is spiraling out of control. You can trust Him to make something good out of the worst things we go through!
**We have an eternal reward that can never be taken from us—no matter what happens here on earth. Keep your focus on things that last!
**God’s great gift of salvation is ours forever. We didn’t do anything to earn it. God gave it to us & it can never be taken away.

This Thanksgiving, take time to give thanks to God for His blessings. Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). Let’s remember how good He is to us!

Here’s the sermon from Sunday. It’s entitled, “Who Is The Church?” The sermon notes are below the player. I hope it’s a blessing to you…

Download the sermon by clicking here.

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

Sermon Notes

A Day of Good News, Part 1 (2 Kings 7:9)

We as Christians have an incredible treasure. The question is, will we keep that treasure to ourselves? Or, will we share the good news of God’s salvation so our family, friends, and neighbors can share in what we already have?

God didn’t just save us so we can be happy & comfortable until we get to heaven. He saved us for a purpose. We’re going to look at who & what the church is, and how we can do the work God calls us to do.

Who is the church?
• People God has saved because of what Jesus did
Acts 2:39-40 John 1:12-13
• Christians are meant to live their lives together
• Church is not: buildings, programs, membership rolls
• Church is: all God’s people—New Testament calls them saints
Rom. 1:7 2 Cor. 1:1 Eph. 1:1 Phil. 1:1
• “Saints”: people called out by God
• Called from death to life, from blessing to curse, from isolation to fellowship
• We are called for reason: to do God’s will & glorify Him
2 Tim. 1:9 2 Peter 2:9

Everything we do & say as God’s people should reflect what God did by saving us. Our lives should be a blessing in everything we do, & draw others closer to Him.

The audio on this is still a little rough, especially in the beginning. (We’re working on fixing it!) But if you can get past the first few minutes, I think you’ll be blessed. The sermon notes are below the player.

You can download the sermon by clicking here.

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

Sermon Notes

“God’s Free Gift of Salvation” (2 Timothy 1:12)

In Acts 16, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?” That was an important question then, and it’s still an important question. People have many opinions about what they need to do to have a relationship with God.

If we are going to become a church that God uses to reach this community, we need to be clear about what the gospel really is. What does the Bible say about it?

1. This is a personal faith
• “I” is mentioned 6 times in this verse
• Your faith has to be your faith
**can’t use faith of your mom, grandmother, country, church
**no matter how great those people/institutions are
2 Tim. 1:5

2. 3 parts of saving faith
• We can fool ourselves easily, so we need to examine our own faith
Jer. 17:9 2 Cor.13:5
• 1st part: Knowledge
**knowledge is just the beginning
Heb. 11:6
• 2nd part: Belief
**Belief comes when you see the truth of the gospel
**The ability to understand gospel truth is a gift from God
John 3:3
• 3rd part: Conviction
** This is confidence/faith/trust/dependence that Christ alone saves
Phil. 3:8-9
3. Faith has one object: Jesus Christ
• We are saved through a person
John 14:6 Acts 4:12
• Saving faith doesn’t come from knowing facts about things
Phil. 3:5, 7-8
• Saving faith doesn’t come from a special experience

4. We can be confident in His ability to save & keep us
• Our assurance isn’t in what we can do—it’s in Jesus
John 6:39-40
• Jesus never loses anyone who comes to Him in faith
John 10:28-29

This is the gospel:
**We’ve all broken God’s law and deserve punishment
**Jesus is God’s son, sent to live perfectly obedient life
**He died to take the punishment for my sins
**He rose from the dead to show His power over sin & death
**Our job: turn away from sins & embrace forgiveness God offers
**God promises forgiveness, blessings & the Holy Spirit

Application
If you haven’t turned from your sins and trusted God to forgive you because of what Jesus did, today is the day!

If you are one of God’s children, who are you talking to about Jesus? They need to hear it as much as we did!

Our monthly get-together is this coming Friday at 6 p.m.  We will be having a chili bar, so bring something you think will taste good with chili.

As usual, the food will be good, and the time we spend together will be better.  Our kids will wear themselves out playing.  The adults will get a chance to catch up, and see what God is doing each other’s lives.

These have been a lot of fun.  We hope you’ll be able to be here this Friday, November 6 at 6  p.m.  You will be blessed!

I’m posting the sermon from this past Sunday, but I’ve got to warn you–the audio is not good.  We’re using some new equipment, and we need to make some adjustments.  I think the audio is good enough.  (It will be better next week.)  The sermon outline is below the audio.

Download the sermon by clicking here.

Or, listen to it online by clicking the Play arrow below:

“Finding Peace and Contentment in Christ” (Philippians 4:10-20)

It’s human nature to never be satisfied. We want more than we have. Or, we want different things (and people) than we have. We think that we’ll find peace & happiness if we just get a little more.

That’s not true! God says that true peace comes does not come from getting more stuff. In Philippians 4:10-20, Paul tells us how we can find true contentment, and some of the marks of a content person.

Foundation of contentment: valuing Jesus above everything else

Contentment does not mean:
• We ignore needs, or pretend they don’t exist
 Phil. 4:12 Matt. 6:8
• We do nothing
 Phil. 3:14-15 1 Cor. 15:10

Contentment does mean:
• We live out the reality of these verses:
 Phil. 4:11-13 Matt. 6:33-34 2 Cor. 12:9-10

Whatever your heart clings to & confides in, that is really your God.

3 Characteristics of content people from this passage

1. Gratitude
• Paul was grateful for their financial support
 Phil. 1:3-5 Phil. 4:15-16
• Paul knew that God was the responsible for meeting his needs
 Phil. 4:20 (Notice that it’s God who supplies the needs.)

2. Giving: when you are trusting God to meet all your needs, it frees you to be generous to others.
• Opposite of the world’s attitude
 James 4:1-2 (It happens in the church also!)
• Early church gave in order to meet needs & spread Gospel
 2 Cor. 11:9 1 Cor. 16:1-2 2 Cor. 9:7 Phil. 1:5
• They could give because they trusted God’s ability to provide for them

3. Trust: God is ready, willing, and able to meet all our needs.
• Do I believe this?
 Phil. 4:20
• Our trust is based on 2 facts:
 God is powerful enough to care for us. (Is. 40:15)
 God loves His children perfectly & wants to care for us
(Matt. 11:27 James 1:17)
 The perfect picture of this is Psalm 62:11-12

Application

What do you place your trust in?
**Money **Good works
**Family **Friends
**Church membership/attendance

All these things will let you down—only Christ:
**is worthy of your trust
**can save and keep you
**provides all your needs (from His infinite riches)

Turn away from all those things that can never give you peace & contentment—turn to the Jesus! He only can save and satisfy.

One of the main things I would like to see is that the First Baptist Church of Bell Gardens becomes a church that realizes we are dependent on God for everything.  We really can’t do anything apart from the work of God in us and around us.

A big part of prayer is acknowledging that God is in control and we are not.  We bow before God’s throne and admit our own powerlessness.  And it’s in our powerlessness that God is most powerful.

With that thought in mind, I found this article by John Piper.  It’s called “What the New Testament Church Prayed For.”  It’s a list of the things that Jesus said we should pray for, and the things the early church prayed for.  It really challenged me to expand my own prayer list, and to trust God even more.

You can rad the article by clicking here.

You are all invited to our annual Harvest Festival, this Friday (October 30). It goes from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. We’ll have food, games, prizes, giveaways, and all sorts of fun.

Our school, Faith Christian Academy, puts on this festival every year. This year, the whole community is invited.

It’s in the front parking lot of the church property, so you can’t miss it. Come be a part of it!

Here’s the sermon from this past Sunday. It’s called “Joy-Filled Living in Troubled Times,” based on Philippians 4:4-9. Below the recording is the outline for the sermon. I hope it’s a blessing to you.

Download the sermons by clicking here.

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

Sermon outline:

“Joy-Filled Living in Troubled Times”
Philippians 4:4-9

We live in a world of trouble. But God wants us to live joyfully, even in the middle of our problems. In this passage from Philippians, He shows us 5 reasons we can rejoice, anytime!

1) 1st reason for rejoicing: Jesus is coming soon! Phil. 4:5

Return of Jesus is a fact that will happen: Acts 1:11

It has practical implications for our lives today (see also James 5:8-9)
• we can be patient, when others treat us wrong.

2nd coming should encourage us & give us joy (not fear/dread)
• 1 Thes. 4:18 2 Tim. 4:8

We can rejoice: Christ is coming for His people: “Then we will see Him face to face.” 1 Cor. 13:12 (See also 1 Thes. 4:17)

2) 2nd reason: God hears & answers prayer! Phil. 4:6-7

“Worry & prayer are as opposite as fire & water.”

In prayer, we turn over control to the One who truly is in control.
• 1 Peter 5:7 1 Thes. 5:16-18

God wants us to come to Him
• Lk. 12:32 Mt. 11:28-29 Mt. 7:9-11

We can rejoice: God fights the battles in our lives! 1 Sam. 17:47

3) 3rd reason: God gives us ability to enjoy blessings! Phil. 4:8

Only followers of Jesus can appreciate the blessings of life (& the source of those blessings). Psalm 19:1

We see His goodness in everything, knowing how much He loves us. And we can rejoice in it!

4) 4th reason: God gives us examples of faithfulness! Phil 4:9

This is consistent theme for Paul
• If you want to grow to be more like Christ, find people who follow Him in speech & lifestyle (This is true for individuals & churches)
• Prov. 13:20 Phil. 3:17 1 Thes. 1:7

We can rejoice because we see God working in the lives of others, & know the same God is at work in us!

5) 5th reason to rejoice: God gives us Himself Phil. 4:9

This is the best promise of all Jer. 21:33 Eph. 2:14, 19

We were once enemies of God because of our sin. Now we are His children.

We can rejoice because he promises us something better than anything we can ask for. He gives us Himself & His peace.

Our joy is based on fact that God is big enough, loving enough, powerful enough to handle every situation.

Application
Questions: are there places in your life where:
• You are trying to handle problems with your strength?
• You won’t let go of wrongs people have done to you?
• You are holding on to burden He wants to take for you?
• You need to find godly people to befriend & model?

Instead, of handling these yourself will you trust Him to be your reason for rejoicing today?