Sermon from 07-24-2022

Resist the Lies, Stand in the Truth (John 8:30-44)

John 8:30-33

Exodus 1:11

John 8:34-44

The Father should be the primary shaping/forming influence in our lives.

John 8:44

There is a real devil (diabolos- to slander or accuse).

The devil intends to end life.

John 10:10

"[The devil's] motto: 'Tear it all down.' Wherever he finds life, he tries to stamp it out. Beauty? Deface it. Love? Corrupt it. Unity? Fragment it into a million pieces. Human flourishing? Push it to anarchy or tyranny; either will do. His anti-life, pro-death, pro-chaos agenda is an insatiable fire."  –John Mark Comer

The devil is the ruler of this world.

John 14:30

The devil is the father of lies.

John 8:44

1 Peter 5:8-9a

Luke 4:3-12

How do you stand up to the lies of the devil?

The truth of Scripture is our greatest weapon against the lies that seek to destroy our lives.

Sermon from 07-17-2022.  Today we are joined by Rev. Randy Jasper.  

Leading by Example

1 Peter 5:1-11

Jeremiah 3:15 I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill.

Ezekiel 34:1-9

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? 3 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. 5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered. 6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.

7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. 8 As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—because my flock, lacking a shepherd, has become prey and food for every wild animal, and because my shepherds do not search for my flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord!

How do we turn a "Did Not Finish" into a "Did Not Fail?"

1 Peter 5:1-11

I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory about to be revealed: 2 Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; 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. 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

but gives grace to the humble.

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.

10 The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while. 11 To him be dominion forever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

20 Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ezekiel 34:4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.

The Will of God

1 Peter 4:1-19

1 Peter 3:17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Peter has urged us to live by God's will, but what does it mean to live by God's will?

1 Peter 4:1-11

Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin— 2 in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will. 3 For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you don’t join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander you. 5 They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God’s standards.

7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer. 8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

What does it mean to live by God's will?

What is it to live by the will of God?

The fundamental sign of the Spirit in Acts is people being asked to do what they don't want to do.

Acts 10:11-16

11 He saw heaven opened and an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the earth. 12 In it were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, and the birds of the sky. 13 A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

14 “No, Lord!” Peter said. “For I have never eaten anything impure and ritually unclean.”

15 Again, a second time, the voice said to him, “What God has made clean, do not call impure.” 16 This happened three times, and suddenly the object was taken up into heaven.

Acts 10:45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

This morning Pastor James Dolinger brings us the message from 1 Peter 3:8-22.

1 Peter 1:22-25

22 Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly, 23 because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For

All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like a flower of the grass.

The grass withers, and the flower falls,

25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.

And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.

1 Peter 2:1-10

1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a chosen and honored cornerstone,

and the one who believes in him

will never be put to shame.

7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,

The stone that the builders rejected—

this one has become the cornerstone,

8 and A stone to stumble over,

and a rock to trip over.

They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

All malice

All deceit

Hypocrisy

Envy

Slander of every kind

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Malice- any kind of evil or wickedness

1 Peter 2:16 Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

Malice- any kind of evil or wickedness

Malice- the desire to cause pain for the satisfaction of doing harm, draws us to the mean-spirited nature toward others

Deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander are relationship destroying words.

Deceit- trickery or falseness

Hypocrisy- actions that do not match one's words with their actions

Envy- jealousy, a longing for something that God has not given

Slander- moves from hostile attitudes to hostile actions

James 4:11-12

11 Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation

Of all the evil Peter could have chosen, he chose malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

Luke 6:45 A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

sermon from 06-05-2022

Speaking a True Word

Acts 2:1-21

http://bible.com/events/48902387

Psalm 85:1-7

Shavuot- The Festival of Weeks

Exodus 19:16-20

"This is the foundation of the Jewish way of being."

Acts 2:1

Acts 2:2-21

"This is the foundation of the Jewish way of being."

What does it mean for Pentecost to be the foundation of the Christian way of being?

Acts 1:6

Acts 2:4

This is the power of God. The power of God is not found in the desire to have power over people.

The power of God is found in the desire for people.

Pentecost is the birth of the church. We see what God is about and what the presence of the Spirit means.

The fundamental sign of the Spirit in Acts is people being asked to do what they don't want to do.

Go to the people and places the Spirit is telling them to go. Go here! Go there!

At Pentecost, God has created a new way of being. A life animated by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"The church is always at its most daring and risking and dangerous and free when it sings a new song. Because then it sings that the power of the gospel will not let the world finally stay as it is."

–Walter Brueggemann

Psalm 40:1-8

Philippians 1:27-30

"Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News (gospel, εύαγγέλιον) about Christ."

Philippians 2:1-11

Philippians 2:6 NRSV

6 who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

What would exploiting equality with God look like?

Philippians 2:7 NRSV

Philippians 2:8 NRSV

What is Christ willing to do to convey the love of God to humanity?

Philippians 2:9-11

Philippians 2:9-11 NRSV

Philippians 2:12-13

12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Philippians 2:12-13 NRSV

12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This is our call to action. "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling..."

Know for whom you stand. Take this seriously. Here are all the facts, now you have to do the next part.

Verse 5- You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Paul gives us the Christ hymn, and then says, "Go work it out."

Salvation- God is the force that makes for salvation.

Salvation- How do you ensure that your soul is going to end up in heaven? This can send us down a dangerous path in this passage.

We are in Christ. What does it mean to be fully in Christ?

I think Paul here is equating being fully in Christ as being salvation. If you are fully in Christ in this world or in the age to come- that is salvation.

What does it mean to be fully in Christ? This passage is also communal. What does it mean for you, the church in Gardendale, to be fully in Christ?

How do I live fully in Christ and fully in a Christian community? Paul just gave us the answer.

You don't have to do this by yourself, the Spirit is with you, but you have to do the work.

Sermon from 05-22-2022

Neighbor Love (Ephesians 1:15-23)

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

As a Christ-follower, we are people in whom Christ dwells. This is our fundamental identity. It is not up for debate.

I am first and foremost a Christ-follower. Christ dwells in me.

• My identity in Christ shapes my behavior.

• We must remember that our first task is not to forgive, but to learn to be forgiven.

• We look to Christ We do what He did because we are learning to be with Him in order to be like Him.

My security does not come from this world, but from the truth of the Kingdom of God.

If we are people in whom Christ dwells, what does it mean for how we live in our communities?

What would love have me do today?

sermon from 05-15-2022

Sermon Notes:

"They weren't in the real wilderness...In the real wilderness, there has to be something that will kill you."

It is the dangerous wilderness that moves faith into deeper transformation.

Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I must be reminded of my true identity.

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Proverbs 3:1-12

The 11th Commandment: "Thou shall not forget."

Proverbs 3:1 My child, never forget the things I have taught you.

• Store my commands in your heart.

• Never forget.

• Cling to loyalty and kindness.

• Trust in the Lord with all of your heart.