Pastor James brings us our message for the morning.  

Rescue at Sea- Exodus 14:5-7, 10-14, 21-29

Exodus 1:6-7

6 Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation eventually died. 7 But the Israelites were fruitful, increased rapidly, multiplied, and became extremely numerous so that the land was filled with them.

Exodus 2:23-25

23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the Israelites, and God knew.

Exodus 6:6-7

Exodus 13:20-22

Exodus 14:5-14

Exodus 15:11-13

11 Lord, who is like you among the gods?

Who is like you, glorious in holiness,

revered with praises, performing wonders?

12 You stretched out your right hand,

and the earth swallowed them.

13 With your faithful love,

you will lead the people

you have redeemed;

you will guide them to your holy dwelling

with your strength.

Exodus 14:10-12

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Has there been a moment in your life when you thought there was no way out?

One of the ways we exist in survival mode is to not allow hope for the future, "I just need to get through today."

There is a survival mode and there is a hope for the future mode.

Exodus 14:13-14

13 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

Presence in Darkness

Genesis 39:1-23

Genesis 37:3-11

How is God going to keep the three promises He made to Abraham?

Genesis 39:1-23

Genesis 39:23

The question is never, “How could God let this happen?” If the Lord was with him, then how?

The question needs to be re-framed, “This happened, where can God go from here?”

Where can God go from here?

Three Truths Concerning Suffering:

Call of Abraham

Genesis 12:1-9

Are you attentive to God's voice in your life?

Are you growing in your relationship with Him?

"Many times, what passes for normal is neither healthy or natural."

Genesis 12:1-9

1 The Lord said to Abram:

Go from your land,

your relatives,

and your father’s house

to the land that I will show you.

2 I will make you into a great nation,

I will bless you,

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,

and all the peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord. 9 Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.

Genesis 11:30 Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

The purpose of life was the continuation of your kinship group.

Kindred (Israel)

Tribe

Clan

House (three generations)

Genesis 12:1

1 The Lord said to Abram:

Go from your land,

your relatives,

and your father’s house

to the land that I will show you.

Genesis 12:2-3

2 I will make you into a great nation,

I will bless you,

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,

I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,

and all the peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.

God promises land, kindred (a great nation), and blessing to be a blessing.

Land- "Where do I belong?"

Kindred- "What is your life for?"

Blessing- "What does it mean to live out favor in ways that other people experience God's favor?"

Restoration of Relationship

Genesis 6:5-22; 8:6-12; 9:8-17

Guided by God's Promises

What is God's promise in this text?

Genesis 6:5-8

5 When the Lord saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, 6 the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved. 7 Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” 8 Noah, however, found favor with the Lord.Genesis 6:6

God doesn't just save Noah. He uses Noah as an agent for the renewal of creation.

Genesis 8:15-19

15 Then God spoke to Noah, 16 “Come out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. 17 Bring out all the living creatures that are with you—birds, livestock, those that crawl on the earth—and they will spread over the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” 18 So Noah, along with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, came out. 19 All the animals, all the creatures that crawl, and all the flying creatures—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ark by their families.

Genesis 9:1-17

In these verses, we see God commit Himself to finding a new way to heal creation.

storge- affectionate love, mother and child

philia- friendship love, two best friends

eros- sensual love

agape- love that wills the good of another

Galatians 5:22-25

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The fruit of the Spirit loses its true nature when they are separated.

Joy flows out of living in perfect love.

Jesus stands for love like no one else in history.

We love God.

Because Christ loved/loves us, we too can love with our entire being. We are to love others with the love shown to us by Christ.

We can experience God's love not just through the Trinity, but through each other.

"We are loved by God who is love and in turn, we love Him, and others through Him, who in turn love us through Him." –Dallas Willard

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

14 For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

Philippians 4:2-9

Joy is not dependent on outside circumstances. It relies on our hope and life in Christ.

John 15:11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

John 15:9-10

Five Practices that help build joy into our lives:

Connection

Acceptance

Reframing

Gratitude

Generosity

Acts 20:35 In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Sermon Notes and Scripture References are available below:

Leaning into Love

Romans 5:8

1 Peter 5:2-4

2 Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing[a] out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you;[b] not out of greed for money but eagerly; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

1 John 3:16-18

16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer[a] in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.

storge- affectionate love, mother and child

philia- friendship love, two best friends

eros- sensual love

agape- love that wills the good of another

Agape is not dependent on the qualities of the one loved.

Agape can love the unlovely.

Agape can even love an enemy.

Believing God is not present in all four forms of love leaves us with a pale understanding of love.

John 15:12-14

12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Our ability to love (storge, philia, eros, and agape) are all direct reflections of our Creator.

1 Corinthians 13:13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.

Romans 5:1-8

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace[a] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith[b] into this grace in which we stand, and we boast[c] in the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Sermon Notes and Scripture References are available below:

Embracing Hope

Matthew 8:1-13

1 Peter 5:6-7 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.

Mathew 8:8 “Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Knowledge- Past

Faith- Present

Hope- Future

Natural Hope- a desire for the future to go as we hoped

Supernatural hope is lived in the present as faith, but it is deeply rooted in the knowledge of the Triune God.

Acts 24:5-9 5 For we have found this man to be a plague, an agitator among all the Jews throughout the Roman world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 He even tried to desecrate the temple, and so we apprehended him. By examining him yourself you will be able to discern the truth about these charges we are bringing against him.” 9 The Jews also joined in the attack, alleging that these things were true.

Acts 24:14-16 14 But I admit this to you: I worship the God of my ancestors according to the Way, which they call a sect, believing everything that is in accordance with the law and written in the prophets. 15 I have a hope in God, which these men themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection, both of the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 I always strive to have a clear conscience toward God and men.

Supernatural hope is real hope. It is hope, not in humankind, but in God. It rests on the resurrection of Jesus and looks for the resurrection in the life to come.

• Hope is grounded in the work of God. He defeated our two great enemies- sin and death.

• He promised to be with us always– even until the end of time.

• Hope comes from living from above (Colossians 3).

• Hope comes from growing in grace and knowledge.

• Hope comes from hearing God and interacting with Him in daily life.

Sermon Notes and Scripture References are available below:

The Virtue of Surrender

1 Peter 5:5-9

1 Peter 5:5-9

5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because

God resists the proud

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

"All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another..."

" gives grace to the humble."

"Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God..."

Genesis 3:1-7

1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. 3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The story of the Fall is not just about sin entering the world. It is also about who's story do you going to trust.

The root of pride is the belief that 'my story' or 'my truth' is the correct story.

Pride is the loss of humility. It is the root of every sin and evil.

You are an empty vessel where God can dwell and manifest His power and goodness.

1 Peter 5:5

5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because

God resists the proud

The humble see all people as children of God.

The humble can praise God when others are praised and blessed.

The humble live out Ephesians 4:32.

Ephesians 4:32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

The humble seek, like Jesus, to be the servant, the helper, and the comforter of others, even the lowliest.

1 Peter 5:6-9

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

Humble yourselves.

Cast all your cares on Him.

Be sober-minded and alert.

Resist the devil.

Know that you are not alone in your sufferings.

Sermon from 08-07-2022

Sermon Notes and Scripture References are available below:

Listening to God's Voice

Genesis 28:16-17

1 Peter 5:6-7

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.

From the very beginning, we were created for relationship.

God has a pre-disposition to abundant communication.

We aare finite creatures, yet God chooses to draw near to us.

Drawing near to us shows a desire for relationship.

Relationship opens the possibility of us asking questions of our Maker.

Genesis 28:13-17

13 The Lord was standing there beside him, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land on which you are lying. 14 Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”

Genesis 32:19-20

19 He also told the second one, the third, and everyone who was walking behind the animals, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. 20 You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I want to appease Esau with the gift that is going ahead of me. After that, I can face him, and perhaps he will forgive me.”

Genesis 32:24-29

24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob’s hip socket as they wrestled and dislocated his hip. 26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 “What is your name?” the man asked.

“Jacob,” he replied.

28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” he said. “It will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”

29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”

But he answered, “Why do you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.

Genesis 32:30-32

30 Jacob then named the place Peniel, “For I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.” 31 The sun shone on him as he passed by Penuel—limping because of his hip. 32 That is why, still today, the Israelites don’t eat the thigh muscle that is at the hip socket: because he struck Jacob’s hip socket at the thigh muscle.

Genesis 33:10 But Jacob said, “No, please! If I have found favor with you, take this gift from me. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing God’s face, since you have accepted me.

God has a pre-disposition to abundant communication.