Commonway Church

Part two of our series "The Last Arrow"

Today’s key idea:

Moving forward in my future with Christ means letting go of my past.

Key Scripture: 1 Kings 19:19-21

Application:

What part of your past do you need to lay down to move ahead with God’s future plans for you?

In the first of Commonway's series "The Last Arrow," Pastor Steve Gill set the stage for what we will be talking about over the next several weeks. We are challenged by the story of Israel's King Jehoash from 2 Kings 13. King Jehoash was described as hesitant, half-hearted, and not "hungry" enough. When the Prophet Elisha instructed him to strike his arrows, he only did so three times. We are challenged to think about if we are the type of people who will strike our arrows a few times and then quit, or will we keep striking and striking until no arrows are left?

The key idea for this message is that God has given us victory in Christ and calls us to walk with a faith that never quits. The application of this message is for each of us to think "What is one thing in life that have quit consistently? And what is my first step to re-engage where I quit?

In the fourth and final installment of our series "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" Pastor Steve Gill teaches from Luke 2:8-18. The Angel of the Lord, and then a host of angels, visit the shepherds to share the good news: that Jesus had come. He had come as Savior, Messiah, and Christ (Lord). For us those shepherds then, and for us now, the Good News of Jesus is to be internalized and externalized. The application of this sermon is: If the good news of Jesus is meant to be internalized, then what Good News do you most need to hear right now? And, if the good news of Jesus is meant to be externalized, then what Good News do you most need to share right now?

In the third installment of our series "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," Pastor Lisa Ashton teaches from Matthew 1 & 2 and the three (or four) times Joseph is visited by angels in his dreams. The story of Joseph is one of messengers meeting him in times of desperation. Our invitation is to look for the messengers bringing light in our world, to be messengers of light, and to pray "Help. Help, Jesus" when we don't know what else to do.

In part two of a four-part series called "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," Pastor Steve Gill looked at the story of the angel visiting Mary from Luke 1:26-38. The key idea of this message is that The Gospel of Jesus is good news, not good advice. This good news is a massive Theological claim; and a massive Kingdom claim. The application for todays message is these two questions:

1. As a Jesus follower, does this good news have an impact on my theology?

2. As a Jesus follower, does this good news have an impact on my lifestyle?

In part one of a four-part series called "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," Pastor Steve Gill unpacked the story of Zechariah from Luke 1:11-25. The key idea is that God is a God of the unexpected. We, like Zechariah, tend to put God into boxes and think we know how he's going to move. But, God has moved and continues to move in unexpected ways that defy our understanding and expectations. We were challenged to think on this question: Where in your life do you need to believe God for the unexpected?

In the fourth and final message in our series "The Satisfied Soul," Pastor Tyler Crandall taught us about gratitude. We saw the differences between thankfulness and gratitude, mainly that thankfulness more or less shows up where you'd expect, but gratitude is sometimes harder. Gratitude is an attitude of appreciation in any circumstances. Gratitude is often a gritty, hard-fought thanksgiving.

Today's sermon features several songs. A "Thanksgiving Medley" of the following four songs:

1. "He Has Made Me Glad" CCLI Song # 1493

© 1976 Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing

2. "Fountain" CCLI Song # 7130856 Chris Renzema © Renzema Songs

3. "Saved my Soul" CCLI Song # 7073333

© 2016 CityAlight Music | Integrity's Praise! Music

4. "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High"

The sermon ends with "Hard Fought Hallelujah" CCLI Song # 7245804 © Brandon Lake Music | Music by Elevation Worship Publishing

In part three of our series "The Satisfied Soul," Pastor Steve Gill taught on identity. We are constantly confronted with our culture's view that our identity is found by looking inward and outward. But the counter-cultural view of the Church is that our identity is found by looking upward. We learned from Colossians 3 to get rid of old practices and put on our new identity. A satisfied soul is on whose identity is rooted in the Savior, rather than in self.

In part two of our series "The Satisfied Soul" Pastor Steve Gill spoke on the truth that God is a provider. We looked at Philippians 4:10-13, in which Paul tells us he'd learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Steve encouraged us to think about these two questions: Do I know that God is my provider? Do I trust that God is my provider?

On Sunday, November 3, Pastor Steve Gill launched a new series called "The Satisfied Soul." In this message today we looked at Philippians 4:4-5 and Steve spoke about Joy. We learned that true joy is rooted in a Someone (Jesus) rather than a something; and that being joyful is positional rather than circumstantial.