http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Like-a-Good-Neighbor.mp3

A young woman was brutally attacked as she returned to her apartment late one night. She screamed and shrieked as she fought for her life, yelling until she was hoarse—for thirty minutes—as she was beaten and abused. Thirty-eight people watched the half-hour episode in rapt fascination from their windows. Not one so much as walked over to the telephone and called the police. She died that night as thirty-eight witnesses stared in silence. Another’s experience was similar.

Riding on a subway, a seventeen-year-old youth was quietly minding his own business when he was stabbed repeatedly in the stomach by attackers. Eleven riders watched the stabbing, but none came to assist the young man. Even after the thugs had fled and the train had pulled out of the station and he lay there in a pool of his own blood, not one of the eleven came to his side.

Less dramatic, but equally shocking, was the ordeal of a lady in New York City. While shopping on Fifth Avenue in busy Manhattan, this lady tripped and broke her leg. Dazed, anguished, and in shock, she called out for help. Not for two minutes. Not for twenty minutes. But for forty minutes, as shoppers and business executives, students and merchants walked around her and stepped over her, completely ignoring her cries. After literally hundreds had passed by, a cab driver finally pulled over, hauled her into his taxi, and took her to a local hospital.

Stories like these sound horrifying don’t they? However, how many times have you noticed someone in need and walked or drove right past them? Now I’m not advocating for giving money to people holding signs on the street. In fact I believe this to be counterproductive to helping people. Helping those in need means giving of yourself. Mother Teresa said, “Love is not patronizing and charity isn’t about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same — with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead.”

One of the biggest overshadowing components of the Bible is love. Scripture that speak about love can be clustered in three areas: God’s love for us, our love for God, and His love in us for others. It is this third area we’ll be examining.

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/The-Hike-to-Emmaus.mp3

Former heavy-weight boxer James (Quick) Tillis is a cowboy from Oklahoma who went to Chicago to fight in the early 1980s. When he arrived in the Windy City he stepped off the bus with two cardboard suitcases under by arms in downtown Chicago and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. He put his suitcases down, and looked up at the Tower and said to himself, ‘I’m going to conquer Chicago.’ “When he looked down, the suitcases were gone.”

Life has a tendency of going in the wrong direction sometimes, doesn’t it? And when we allow ourselves to become anxious or discouraged it’s easy to lose sight of Jesus. The early disciples experienced discouragement when after three years of walking with Jesus and basking in his presence it all came to an abrupt end with his crucifixion. Even though Jesus warned them, even though scripture foretold it, they still missed the mark and when things didn’t turn out the way they wanted or expected, it turned their lives upside down.

We have before us this morning one of the most vivid and insightful accounts of Christ’s appearances after His resurrection. Luke is the only one of the four gospel writers to include this story. It is a story that reveals to us not only something about who we are, but how Jesus opens our eyes to see Him for who He is and about how we can come to know Him.

The trail to Emmaus is both a literal and a spiritual hike. On one hand it recounts the story of two disciples who, after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, walk seven miles from Jerusalem to their village of Emmaus. On the other hand, it outlines for us the hike we all take from not recognizing Jesus, to understanding what the Scripture says about Him, to recognizing Him for who He is, and finally to our passionate witness of what we have experienced.

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35

13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. 17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

19 And He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/9-23-2018-God-Answers-Prayer.mp3

11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/9-16-2018-Come-Grow-with-US.mp3

Our church mission is: To grow a strong, united church family, to help the hurting and hopeless, to teach people about Jesus and help them grow in their faith and to impact our community for Christ by reaching out in love. However, there can’t be healthy church growth unless first there is personal spiritual growth among our people.

Growth can be difficult to measure in ourselves given the closer we get to God the more we become aware of our own shortcomings. Oftentimes we want to see growth in ourselves quickly and become frustrated when our lives don’t develop at a pace we believe is acceptable.

On measuring growth Andy Stanley said, “Spiritual maturity is measured in terms of persevering faith, not perfect behavior.”

God wants us to grow … and yet growth is not always obvious. The Chinese bamboo tree does absolutely nothing—or so it seems—for the first four years. Then suddenly, sometime during the fifth year, it shoots up ninety feet in sixty days. Would you say that bamboo tree grew in six weeks, or five years? Our spiritual lives are similar to the Chinese bamboo tree. Sometimes we try and try and try again … and nothing seems to happen. But if you do the right things long enough, you’ll receive the rewards of your efforts.

2 Corinthians 9:10 says “ Now God who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supplies and multiplies the see

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/9-9-2018-We-are-the-body-of-Christ-BeBold.mp3

When we think about being a bold church or a bold Christian we often think about those churches in countries that persecute people for taking a stand as a Christian. Often we don’t see the United States as ‘that place’ because of the liberties we enjoy. However, at times in our country when our liberties as Christians was being challenged and tested not many Christians took a bold stand; maybe because we were unclear of the line between right and wrong. For instance, the word tolerance has become our enemies weapon to throw us off, to confuse us and to set us back and make us double guess what’s right and what’s wrong.

Here in the United States we live in a free country and we believe in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for every person. Unfortunately more and more people are coming to the conclusion that we should submit to the will of the many over the will of the few; or, maybe just the will of the loudest. When prayer in school was challenged most sat the fight out. Certainly as Americans we shouldn’t subject our beliefs on others, right?

Should we be imposing our beliefs and ideas on others? ABSOLUTELY! Why? Because people are dying and going to hell. It’s absolutely critical that we use every means and take every opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you saw a person drowning in the river wouldn’t you do everything you could to help save their life?  It’s as if we have forgotten the urgency and serious nature of our calling.

Today we the church, continue to regress and take a back seat to the advances of our enemy. If I can’t preach whenever I want, If I can’t talk about Jesus whenever or wherever I want and if I can’t pray whenever or however I want then I’m giving up too much for my freedoms and faith. We have allowed ourselves to submit on the grounds of TOLERANCE and it needs to end.

Boldness doesn’t mean you’re rude, obnoxious, loud, or disrespectful. Being bold is standing firm on what you believe and not being easily moved.

All throughout the book of Daniel we see Daniel and his friends taking a bold stand for God and their faith, completely unwilling to waiver. Let’s examine Daniel chapter 6 and see how once again Daniel provides an example for being a bold church

Scripture: Daniel 6:10-22

10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”

The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.”

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/9-02-2018-Church-Unity.mp3

Have you ever been on a rafting trip or canoeing with someone who just couldn’t seem to get the paddling down or get in sync with the others? The boat doesn’t do well does it? In fact I’ve asked someone to stop paddling altogether and just paddled myself in order to get the boat under control. However, when everyone is paddling in sync as they do in the sport of rowing, the boat glides across the water and appears to do so effortlessly. Wouldn’t it be great if the church functioned like a well conditioned rowing team? Our work would seem effortless, and yet the church would continually accelerate in its goal to complete the great commission.

Throughout the book of Ephesians Paul focuses on the incredible potential of the church. It’s like he knows this secret that they don’t even know about themselves and he desperately wants to enlighten them. In Ephesians 1:19-23 Paul declares that God has made available to the church the power that raised Jesus from the dead, so the church, His earthly body, would express His fullness.

God has given us, His church a pretty toll order to fill, to make disciples and to work as one as the Body of Christ here on earth. As we’ll learn today there are two main ingredients Paul speaks of to reach this goal, gifts that God has provided the church and the church working as one, united together in love.

Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,

9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also 

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Be-the-Church.mp3

Sermon Series: Committed to Church

Introduction

There have been times throughout my life that I worked for corporations that required me to do a self evaluation. They usually asked questions about my performance, how I work in a team, am I an effective team member and so on. Honest self evaluations can be tough given no one is perfect and they challenge us to take a look at our shortcomings. Scripture teaches us we should do self evaluations as well. Remember it wasn’t until the Prodigal Son did a self evaluation that he discovered his shortcoming and the direction he needed to take. Lamentations 3:40 tells us to examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the LORD.

How would you answer these questions on the Disciple of Christ Self Evaluation? 

(Involved in ministry, outreach, participate in church functions, attend regularly)

(Pray for the church, its leaders, Pastor and those who attend daily)

3.  Do I support Church financially?  Yes    No

(Tithe regularly so the church can count on whatever amount you give)

4. Do I fellowship with other Christians regularly?  Yes   No

5. Do I consider myself one who seeks to make disciples? Yes No

If you believe the answers to those questions should have all been yes, what are you going to do about it?

It’s important to take an honest evaluation of our commitment to Christ to see where we need to grow. As we’ll see in our text there will come a day that our commitment will be evaluated by God.

 1 Corinthians 3:5-15 

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The church of Corinth was having some issues. These issues were the reason for the letters to the church. This was a strong church however there was division among the members. Specifically they were creating loyalties for specific leaders. Some were loyal to Paul, others to Ap

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/7-Habits-of-a-highly-effective-christian.mp3

Does it seem to you that there are some people who just seem to be better at this Christian life than others? Maybe you believe it’s because some people are called into ministry and some aren’t. The truth is that God wants to use each of us to further His kingdom and he has given each of us the tools in which to do so. Maybe it’s because you believe the expectation is too high for you and you can’t be perfect. Your right, you can’t and if you believe this you have misunderstood God’s expectation of you.

The Bible is full of promises from God. Some of those promises are absolute, meaning no matter what, we get the benefit of the promise or we are partakers in the promise. Other promises are conditional. For instance, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. Salvation is a promise that is conditional on our belief in Jesus. Most of us are aware of the conditional promises but we seem to overlook the conditions that will help us receive the promise.

Before we can truly become highly effective Christians we need to understand our own paradigms and how to make a paradigm shift. Paradigm was originally a scientific term but today has come to be known as a model, theory, perception, assumption or frame of reference. In a more general term, it’s the way we see the world. Not in terms of our visual sight but in terms of understanding and interpreting.

A simple way to understand paradigms is to see them as maps. The map itself isn’t the territory it’s just an explanation of certain aspects of the territory. It’s a theory, explanation or model of something else.

Let’s say you needed to go somewhere in Roanoke and you’ve never been before nor know how to get there. You’re excited about the trip and are fully committed to the journey. A street map would be very beneficial and one has been given to you, however it’s the wrong map. Through a printing error the map labeled Roanoke is actually a map of Richmond. Can you imagine your frustration and ineffectiveness of trying to reach your destination?

You might work on your behavior, you could try harder, be more diligent, double your speed, but your efforts would only succeed at getting you to the wrong place faster.

The fundamental problem has nothing to do with your attitude, behavior or desire; it has everything to do with having the wrong map. Furthermore we assume the map we have is accurate and rarely question our map.

This is true of certain aspects of our Christian life. We carry with us the wrong map. You can’t be an effective disciple of Jesus until you have the correct map.

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Fear-Not.mp3

When I was young I lived in Florida and during the summers me and my friends would swim in the canals in our neighborhood.I recall jumping from a bridge into the water below over and over and having a good time. However, somewhere in my life I developed a fear of heights and today I couldn’t consider even standing on the side of a bridge looking over without the railing between me and the water.

Sometimes fears are irrational and others are very rational. Fear can be a good thing and bad, even crippling. Scripture repeats the phrase time and again to “fear not”, offering the alternative to trust God instead.

Numbers 13:26-33

 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly [a]flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”

30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Doubt. They said, “We are not able” (13:31). Doubt caused them to question their resources to take the land, as well as their God who was leading them.

Low self esteem – 13:33 “We are in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (13:33). They saw themselves as teeny, tiny, little grasshoppers about to be squashed by the big, bad giants.

A Critical spirit. When people become negative and inactive, they turn to criticizing others who want to move forward. The whole congregation was influenced by these terrible ten to murmur and complain against God’s leaders, Moses and Aaron (14:1-2).

Unbelief. All of these negative traits can be summed up in one word – unbelief. The writer of Hebrews 3:18-19 says that unbelief kept them from entering Canaan.

http://mycommunitychurch.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Standing-Firm-in-the-storm.mp3

To End All Wars is the true story of a group of Allied prisoners in a Japanese labor camp during World War II. In one scene the prisoners discuss what they will do when the war is over. One soldier will get married, another plans to be a teacher. But when they ask the Colonel what he will do, he simply says, “Start preparing for the next war.”

As Christians we are always fighting the battle against sin in our lives, there is always a new storm on the horizon. When one storm ends another comes along to take its place. Storms take the form of health storms, relationship storms, and financial storms.

Sometimes these storms seem to beat us down so bad we feel like we can’t take anymore. Mother Teresa said, I knew God would not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that he didn’t trust me so much.

God’s people, regardless of their circumstances, have always been called to be holy. What we do in times of troubles always depends on whether we see the difficulties over God or God over our difficulties.

No matter the storm or the circumstances God’s call is for us to be holy, trust in Him and stand firm.

God expected the people of Israel to be His set-apart nation (Jer. 29:5-14). Their disobedience brought about a terrible storm but God still had an expectation for them to be holy.

Daniel and his companions are great reminders of how we can remain holy, even in times of storms, distress, pain, and suffering. Let’s see how we can learn from their example as we examine Daniel 1:1-17.

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of a]">[a]the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and b]">[