In this Bible Study from Pastor Steve at Calvary Fellowship on Sunday Morning, we returned to the verse by verse study of the Gospel of John. This week we looked at the story of Raising Lazarus from the dead. So often we get caught up in the miracle that we miss the purpose of the miracle. Pastor Steve reminded us that it is not enough to just believe in the miracles and person of Christ but we need to act on that belief with our will. All believed including the demons but only a few acted upon it and gave all glory to God. The question of the day was not 'do you believe?' but 'will you believe?'

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This Sunday morning visiting speaker Doug Sprunt shared a word of hope from John 15:1-11.

Jesus begins this passage with the two words “I am”. When we consider this truth and the 6 other “I am” statements of Jesus in John’s gospel, it is clear Christ is our sufficiency. Jesus then refers to himself as “the Vine” and his Father is the Vinedresser. Our place is to abide totally in the Vine. And let God prune whatever may need pruning in our lives. No matter what- He knows exactly what He is doing. Trust. Rest. And abide. Much fruit will follow and our Father will be glorified through us.

In Phillipians 3:12-14, Paul shares his Passionate Desire "to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me”. In the process, he gives us 5 Principles for Moving Forward in Life and our Walk With Jesus. 1. SOUND PERSPECTIVE - Have a realistic view of ourselves "Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect", 1. SINGULAR-FOCUS - “one thing I do”, 3. SHORT MEMORY - “forgetting what is behind”, 4. STRONG PURSUIT - “I make every effort to take hold of it”, 5. STRONG MOTIVE - “I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” What about us? Jesus says “Follow Me!” How passionately are we following Him?

KEYS TO JOY

In Philippians 3:1-3, Paul exhorts believers to “rejoice in the Lord”. Joy is meant to be a fundamental part of believers’ lives - not a ‘bubbly emotion’, but ‘contented gratitude’ flowing from a settled confidence in Jesus. What a blessed state that is.

Paul follows up by warning believers to watch out for that which can rob us of our joy - legalism and those who promote it. Legalism is the opposite of the Gospel because it encourages us to trust in our religious performance rather than the finished work of Jesus. Joy is found by trusting in Jesus, not ourselves.

Finally, Paul singles out 3 Traits of Joyful Believers: Worshiping by the Spirit, Glorying in Christ Jesus, and Putting No Confidence in the Flesh.

WORSHIP BY THE SPIRIT

The power and presence of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives is what makes all the difference. It’s what makes it about a relationship with Jesus and not just a religious commitment. It begins with being born-again by the Spirit. Becoming spiritually alive, a new creation, enabled to know the Lord personally, and having our eyes opened to the Word - all of this is by the Spirit. Trying to live the Christian walk apart from the Spirit is joyless. Learning to be filled by the Spirit and led by the Spirit so we can walk by the Spirit brings joy. This is all part of worshiping by the Spirit.

GLORY IN JESUS

Glorying in Jesus is simply being Jesus-Centered and Jesus-Focused in everything. Though it’s simple, it takes commitment, trust, and a determination to reject the joy-stealers of legalism and condemnation. Draw near to Jesus, keep pursuing Him, continue growing in your understanding of Who He is and you’ll find your heart glorying (boasting) in Him throughout the week.

PUT NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH

Satan does not want you to have joy. If he can get you to put confidence in yourself - your abilities, your experience, your ‘wisdom’, your …, you’ll be robbed of joy. But if we learn to trust Jesus and the fact that His power is perfected in our weakness, then we experience great freedom. When I learn to put my trust in Jesus, and not my flesh, I am released from the idea that the Lord can only use me, or work through me, if I’m feeling spiritually strong or mature - or if I think I’ve been especially good lately. Putting no confidence in the flesh frees me to live for Him and serve Him through simple, dependent faith (trust). It’s no longer a matter of my ability, but His ability working in my availability. Such freedom. Such joy! Are you available?

Martin Luther King Jr said that Sunday morning was the most segregated hour of the week in America... it still is for the most part.

But another type of segregation has existed in the church for a long time—it even plagued Jesus and led to His arrest and death. When self-righteous religiosity shuts out those who are considered to be in the margins of society.

The Jesus Movement of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s was noted for hippies who responded to the gospel and started coming to the church. This was true at the beginning of Calvary Chapel. We were not part of the established churches. It was a time of revival and change.

But the Jesus Movement was greater than the hippies. It saw religious people learn to embrace the irreligious and unchurched with the love and grace of God. This needs to happen again, especially since we, the Calvary Chapel Movement of churches, have become the establishment!

In Luke 7:36-50, we read the story of a sinful woman who invades the inner circle of religious elites, the Pharisees, who were gathered at Simon the Pharisee’s house. Why? Because Jesus was there! The woman came to honor Jesus. She trusted Him. She saw God’s grace and love in Him. So she came to honor Him and show her respect and love for Him.

Some questions we need to ask ourselves as believers are—

Are we more like Simon the Pharisee or Jesus towards those considered marginalized by society?

Do we trust in our own self-righteousness or God’s grace? Do we realize we all have self-righteous blind spots?

This parable reminds us of the heart of God and mission of Jesus to rescue and redeem humanity. And the power of God’s mercy and love is always greater than judgment and self-righteousness.

In this Bible Study from Calvary Fellowship in Ottawa on Sunday morning, Pastor Andy Falleur read John 10, where Jesus is once again, trying to help the Jews “see” that He is not only the Messiah, but God come in the flesh. He uses the provocative illustration of how He’s the good shepherd, and also the gate for the sheep. He once again, asserts clearly his divinity, and they pick up stones to stone him for blasphemy. There’s all sorts of wonderful truths in that passage, and we ended by being encouraged by the reality of what it means that He’s our shepherd.

In this Sunday morning Bible Study at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, guest teacher Gary Van Donkersgoed has a topical study on "The Rewards Offered To Followers Of Jesus". The study follows the word "Crown" in the New Testament, which is consistently applied as something promised to Christians. This is not something tied to salvation or faith in general but highlights some specific things that the New Testament authors seem to be aware of. Paul, Peter, James and John all mention Crowns with a focus on things very dear to God's Heart. They relate to actions, attitudes, responses, that seem to be very characteristic of Jesus's life and of the life that honours God.

The four rewards (or crowns) are not for bragging rights, but showcase important things to daily bear in mind. They include 1. A reward for good control of our body (it was bought with a price, so it is not my own to only make my own choices). 2. For sharing the good news with others, and helping their faith to grow 3. For humble Church leadership that is exemplary to their local Church and 4. For persevering through deep and real-life trials, remembering that Jesus is coming back and you can hardly wait

In this Bible Study from a Sunday morning at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, Pastor Andy Falleur reads from John 8:12-59, where Jesus is in a heated discussion with the Pharisees and Jews in Jerusalem about his origins.

It’s a conversation that Jesus wants to have, and they are asking questions that he wants them to ask. He’s trying to get them to think and to consider not only who He is, but also trying to shake them from their self-delusion.

We can often end up in the same place. Sometimes, we are so familiar with our religion and way of life and we haven’t truly encountered the magnitude of Jesus’s words and mission. He is the light of the world.

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John 8:1-11 - "I See You"

In this Bible Study at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa on Sunday morning, Pastor Steve Weir read to us from John 7:53-8:11. He began with talking about textual criticism, breaking it down into three simple steps: location (where were the scriptural fragments found?), timing (what is the date of the fragments found), and numbers (the more that say the same thing the better). In fifteen minutes he summarized why John 7:53-8:11 should be in the Bible, and why the Bible can be trusted as the authoritative Word of God. He then went on to walk step by step through the text, drawing out the value Jesus placed on women, and His complete knowledge of the Law. The Bible study was loaded, but it was a great reminder that Jesus sees us, and extends grace to us no matter who we are, or what our situation may be.

Speaker – Steve Weir

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In this Bible Study on Sunday morning at Calvary Fellowship of Ottawa, Pastor Andy Falleur reads from John 7. This is an interesting passage as it shows how Jesus planned the timing and the method of going public to the Jewish people during the Festival of Shelters. Here we see an example of the intersection between Gods’ sovereignty and human agency, along with the character and manner of God as expressed in Jesus.