Christ PCA Temecula

The Battle of the Valley of Siddim has been won and the king seizes the people and the goods, including Abram’s nephew Lot and his family. This causes Abram to gather his men to rescue Lot and and run off the conquerors. Abram is blessed by the high priest Melchizedek, and takes nothing from the King of Sodom for the rescue other than food which had been eaten.

In this week’s sermon, Forks in the Road, we see the beginnings of strife between Abram’s and Lot’s herdsmen. To prevent strife between them, Abram tells Lot to separate and gives him first choice of land. Lot chooses the well-watered Jordan Valley and settled in the area of Sodom; Abram settles in Canaan. Then the Lord reiterates his promise to Abram, who moves his tent and makes another altar to the Lord.

This Sunday, we’ll look at Genesis 12:10-13:4 where Abram essentially makes a mess of things. Famine in the land drove Abram and Sarai to Egypt where her beauty captures the eye of Pharaoh, who takes her for his wife. Determined to lie that Sarai is his sister to preserve his own life, Abram fails to trust in God’s promises. When plagues befall the people, Pharaoh rebukes Abram for his lie and sends him and Sarai away where later, Abram calls upon the Lord.

This week, we begin a new series in the Life of Abraham. God called the man Abram to be a great nation, to leave behind everything and to go where he called him to go. We will look at God’s promises to Abraham and Abrahams’s responses to God’s call.

This week we will conclude the two-part series as we look at Acts 6:1-7 and consider the roles and responsibilities of leaders in the church. We will also consider what is the mission of the church and why prayer is preaching are so critical to the mission.

This week we begin a two-part series on Biblical leadership called Workers for Your Joy. In the first sermon, we will look at 1 Peter 5 as we consider the qualifications of leaders in the church and what their responsibilities are in relation to the church and to the Chief Shepherd.

As we wrap up the series in Philippians, the Apostle Paul encourages the Philippine church to be content. He also points out that he had to “learn” to be content no matter his circumstances and that is through the Lord who strengthens. He closes with the reminder that God indeed will supply for their every need “according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ.”

These five verses in Philippians are popular memory verses for several reasons. First, Paul reminds the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always, and then he repeats himself. Then he addresses how to deal with anxiety and letting the peace of God guard their hearts and minds instead of worry. Finally, he concludes with the reminder of where their thoughts should be and how with the practice of these things, God’s peace will reign.

As we look at Philippians chapter four, we will see how conflicts can cause division and why Paul encourages the Philippians to stand firm. We will look to see how conflicts in our own lives and churches can have a negative impact on how we labor for the gospel and help to build the next generation of believers.

In John 3:1-15 Jesus engages Nicodemus, a Pharisee and esteemed representative of the Jewish people. In this conversation, Jesus clearly communicates what is necessary for one to see and enter the kingdom of God: namely, a spiritual birth. Confused by Jesus’s answers, Nicodemus illustrates Jesus’s point. Jesus concludes this passage revealing his mission in life: to be lifted up so that all who believe in Him may be saved.