LHIM Everything

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Vince Finnegan”]

To God be the glory – Romans 16:27; Galatians 1:5; Ephesians 3:21; Philippians 4:20; 1 Timothy 1:17; 2 Timothy 4:18; Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 4:11; 5:11

God is not who we want Him to be; rather, He is who He says He is regardless of our understanding, acceptance, or approval.

Genesis 1:1   The word “God” occurs 32 times in Genesis chapter one and thus draws attention to the most important reality of our lives – GOD IS!

Exodus 3:13-14   “I am” derived from the Hebrew verb “hayah” meaning “to be” and is wisely translated “I am,” for the word denotes past, present, and future. When God said to Moses “I am who I am,” in essence He was saying I am the existing one, the eternal one, and the present one.

Our God’s name is Yahweh ─ Exodus 6:6-8; 8:28; 10:8,16,17; 20:2, 5, 7,10,12

Yahweh is The Creator ─ Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:11; 31:17; Revelation 4:11

Yahweh is the Most High God ─ Genesis 14:18-20; Deuteronomy 10:17, 18

Yahweh knows the future ─ Genesis 15:13-14

Yahweh is Just ─ Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Genesis 18:25

Yahweh is everywhere present ─ Deuteronomy 20:1-4; 31:6-8

Yahweh is Holy ─ Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8

Yahweh is a covenant keeper ─ Genesis 17:1-8

Seek God, and you will find Him.  Deuteronomy 4:29; Exodus 33:18-19;

Yahweh is compassionate, gracious, abounding in lovingkindness and truth, and  forgiving ─ Exodus 34:6-7

Yahweh is faithful ─ Deuteronomy 7:9

He is also our provider, healer, director, protector.

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Susy DiCecco”]

Ephesians 4:1

NIV: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

CEV: As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own.

God called you to be His own! What should our response be? To live a life worthy of that calling.

Ephesians 4:1 (Amplified):   So I, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called [that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation.

Paul: Acts 28:31   “He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!”

Peter & John: Acts 4:20   “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Esther chapter 4:1-17

And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?

John 13:12-15 Love and serve like Jesus!

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Jerry Wierwille”]

Philippians 3:10 — Paul desired to experience the “power of his [Jesus’] resurrection.” While certainly he looked forward to being raised to an immortal life at Christ’s return, there is a dimension of “resurrection power” that Paul anticipated and desired to experience currently in his mortal life.

Some Benefits of Christ’s Resurrection

Christ Fills All Things

Ephesians 4:7-16—Christ ascended into heaven and gave gifts to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Some people have these gifts; some have others.

Rom 12:3-8; 1 Pet 4:10-11 There are many grace-gifts, and we each have received a gift by God’s grace. We must recognize that our function in the body is dependent upon the gift we have received.

The purpose of Christ’s gifts is for the building up of the body of Christ until we attain the full stature of Christ at his return. Because of the gifts Christ has given, we are not deceived and tricked or pushed around by false ideas and teachings. Rather, we are to speak the truth in love with every part of Christ’s body doing their work (i.e. their function) that they were empowered to do so that the body grows and builds itself up in love.

Let’s live a resurrection life until we see the Lord return and receive our complete redemption!

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Sean Finnegan”]

Death is our biggest problem. Many of us actively avoid behaviors that will shorten our lives while cultivating habits that are good for us. Others put their hope in scientific breakthroughs to lengthen their lives. Most religions hold out an afterlife to those who do more good deeds than bad ones. But, what does Jesus say?

Matthew 13:3-9; 18-23; Luke 8:12; Mark 4:20; Luke 8:15   Jesus taught about salvation in his parable about the seed and the sower. The good soil, he explained, represents those who hear the message, understand it, accept it, hold it fast, and bear fruit. Thus, the way out of death is not only doing what is right, but also believing the gospel message. The gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead (proving him to be the Messiah), and will return to establish God’s Kingdom on earth.

1 Peter 1:3-5   Believing the good news (gospel) results in being born again to a living hope. We can have confidence in this hope because God raised Jesus from the dead. Resurrection changes everything.

John 19:40-20:18   Jesus died, but Jesus rose again. His moldered remains are not resting in a cool grave somewhere outside of Jerusalem. He is alive. Because he lives, we know that death itself need not be final. Because he lives, we believe we too can live again when he comes to resurrect his followers. Because he lives, we look at our world differently today and seek ways to bring resurrection life into our places of work, homes, and communities.

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Vince Finnegan”]

Hebrews 4:14-15   We will look at some of the many events that led up to the death and resurrection of our Lord and acknowledge how he felt.

John 11:33-35   Jesus wept as he was conscious of the suffering hearts of those near him.

John 12:1-11   Such love and kindness certainly ministered to him as he knew his time was near. Judas’ judgment would have the opposite effect.

John 12:20-33   My soul has become troubled due to the coming doom.

Luke 19:30-40   Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem

Luke 19:41-48   Sorrow for the future of God’s beloved city

Luke 22:40-45   Agony (anticipation of chemotherapy or surgery or death)

Hebrews 5:7   Loud crying and tears

Luke 22:48   Betray the Son of man with a kiss

Luke 22:54-62   Their eyes met.

Matthew 22:22-25   “His blood shall be on us and on our children!”

Mark 15:34   Why has thou forsaken me?

Hebrews 12:2   Despising the shame

Hebrews 2:17; 4:14-16   He feels you.

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Sean Finnegan”]

Genesis 2:21–25   As Bible-believing Christians, we ground our understanding of sexuality in creation. Before the Fall, God gave Adam and Eve marriage as a beautiful gift. This is the standard or pattern for all of us who seek marriage. The three components are to leave parents, cling to your spouse (2 Sam 23:10; Ps 137:6), and become one flesh (1 Cor 6:16).

Malachi 2:14-15; Matthew 19:4-6   Marriage is a covenant relationship and not a consumer relationship, which has profound effects on how we view physical intimacy. Like a nuclear reaction, sex is powerful, but also damaging if taken outside its proper boundaries.

When we step outside the confines of loving sex within biblical marriage, we end up in a myriad of situations including cohabitation, testing positive for sexually transmitted diseases, prostitution, pornography, adultery, sexual harassment, sexual assault, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, single parenting, and homosexual activity. Some of these also can occur within marriage, but most of them are eliminated by sticking to God’s design for sex within the marriage covenant.

1 Corinthians 7:3-5   Within marriage, spouses should not deprive each other, nor should they engage in abuse or coercive sex, but instead recognize the mutuality God intended for healthy intimacy.

1 Corinthians 7:6-9, 32-34, 39-40   Sex isn’t everything. Singleness is awesome too as Jesus and

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Jerry Wierwille”]

Galatians 5:13-18

For you, brothers and sisters, were called to freedom; only do not use the freedom for an opportunity to indulge the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, in the command, Love your neighbor as yourself. 15But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

16Now I say, walk by the spirit and you will absolutely not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh sets its desire against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, with the result that you are not doing what you want. 18But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.

“Freedom” means freedom from the powers of the old age—the power of sin, the cosmic forces of evil, and the law. “Christian freedom in the Spirit means voluntarily offering oneself in service to one’s fellow Christians, in opposition to living in line with the self-centered and self-serving orientation of the flesh.” (DeSilva, NICNT)

“Flesh” refers to the power that is in us from our life connected to Adam and his fall. It presses us to satisfy our desires and inclinations in ways that are totally devoid of God. “It is the sum total of the impulses, urges, and desires that lead human beings away from virtue toward self-promotion and self-gratification, often at the expense of the interests and well-being of others, of the harmony of community, or of the accomplishing of the purposes of God in our lives, communities, and world.” (Desilva, NICNT)

Romans 8:1-8

John 15:4-5

Galatians 5:24-26

Be encouraged if you feel the battle raging inside you. The sign of the spirit at work in your life is not that you are free from bad desires but that you experience the war that is going on inside you.

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Vince Finnegan”]

Romans 11:33-36   Today, we understand in part.

Genesis 18:25; Psalm 58:11; Psalm 89:13-14; Psalm 97:1-2; Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Deuteronomy 10:17-18; 2 Chronicles 19:17   God is righteous and has the just plan to redeem humanity.

Genesis 3:14 and 4:4   From the beginning, God’s righteous plan was that innocent blood must be sacrificed for the sins of the guilty to be remitted.

Hebrew 11:17-19   Abraham, the father of faith, offered sacrifices including his son.

Exodus 12:27-31   The innocent blood of the lamb protected Israel from the angel of death and freed them from their bondage.

Leviticus reveals the sacrifices necessary for the temporary release of sins.

Hebrews 9:1ff   Examples, shadows, types, and patterns are words that reveal the righteous plan of God with Jesus on the cross.

Romans 3:9-18; Ephesians 2:1-3   We were dead in trespasses and sins, hopeless and helpless.

Romans 3:21-26   We are redeemed, reconciled, justified, made righteous with the blood of Jesus by the God

Romans 5:1, 6-21   Adam’s influence on humanity was also a type for Jesus’ influence on those who believe.

Romans 8:28-39   This is now our reality because Jesus died for our sins.

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Sean Finnegan”]

Genesis 2:8-9   God’s original habitat for humanity was a luscious garden full of delightful food. There were two special trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:15-17   God made clear to the man that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would result in death.

Genesis 3:1-24   The serpent’s cunning temptations turned God’s words against Him, making Him seem like He was holding Eve back from being like a god who knew good and evil. In the end, the question was one of trust. Did Eve and Adam trust God or the snake? Our first parents chose rebellion and independence over obedience and submission. This one action resulted in devastating consequences. God cursed the serpent, the woman, the ground, and the man. The whole world (and humanity in particular) is now fallen.

Romans 5:12-21   This brief section provides masterful insight into how original sin affected subsequent humanity. Death is the consequence of sin that we all suffer due to our original parent’s rebellion. Beyond this, the one man’s disobedience resulted in many being made sinners.

Ephesians 2:1-3   So fallen is humanity that Scripture calls us dead. We are by nature the children of wrath who follow the world’s course and the prince of the power of the air. We are all in desperate need of saving.

Romans 8:19-22   Beyond humanity, our whole world was subjected to futility and is in bondage to corruption. When at last God resurrects His children, He will likewise heal the world, bringing about a reversal to death and corruption once and for all.

By [wbt_preacher_link preacher=”Brian Kelly”]

Psalm 27:14; Psalm 37:7-9   “the Lord” = “YHWH”

1 Thessalonians 1:9b-10a

Revelation 21:1–4 …”Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,…”

Historical Background of Isaiah

Prophet to Judah 740-685 BC

David becomes king 1011 BC

Kingdoms divide 931 BC

Israel defeated and dispersed 722 BC

Judah carried away starting 605 BC

Judah returns starting 538 BC

Isaiah 40:1-31

8   Contrasts frailty of humanity with the enduring nature of the Word of God

13   “Spirit” implies the mind, thoughts, and influence of God.

14   1 Corinthians 1:25   God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

20   Our greatest idol today is self.

23   Compared to God and the Lord Jesus Christ who is called the Lord of Lords and King of Kings; the nations and rulers are nothing.

28   2 Peter 3:8 …with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

God can give us the strength and vitality to endure, remain faithful, and remain loyal.

Let us turn from idols, serve the living and true God, and wait.