The Life of a Disciple, Part 5 – The With God Life

Text: Leviticus 26:12, 13

Synopsis: It is not enough to just be delivered from Egypt (That’s the Gospel of Salvation only). God’s grand plan is to dwell with, in, and among His people. Our response is typically to run away and hide when God approaches us. His invitation is clear, “I have made a way for you to draw near to me, draw near then.”

Apologies for the audio shifts in this recording.  You will need to adjust your volume as the speaker wanders away from the microphone placement.  We had issues with out primary recording equipment this Sunday because of the time change and scheduled recordings.  This recording is from a phone that was sitting on the pulpit.  Also, it only contains the sermon portion this week.  - P.D.

The Life of a Disciple, Part 4 – True Believers

Text: Isaiah 55, Mark 10:46...

Synopsis: The promise (Word of God) is that we are invited into all that God has for us. We are invited to journey into that. It is not reserved for us on the other side of Jordan. It is accessible now.

This is the recording of me trying to get the congregation to groove a little bit.  Mild success :)  

I got a lot more head shakes than I did sways.  But we did have fun getting out of our comfort zone.

The Life of a Disciple, Part 3 – Repent!

Text: Mark 1:14, 15

Synopsis: A down and dirty discussion about what real repentance is and is not. We tend to rest in mere acknowledgement of sin and then justify our weakness by saying that we are only human. This is a cop out. We are called to holiness. We will also be messing with the order of worship this day as we are going to prepare the ashes for Ash Wednesday by inviting folks to go outside and place their dried piece of palm into the fire pan. This will be under the portico outside fellowship hall. To take the yoke of Christ upon us is an excellent picture of repentance also. We tend to think that it is about giving up and not having a will of our own. This is not the case. We are asked to make His will our own. We are asked to align our will with His. To do this, we must walk away from sin toward the place of yoking. Once in the yoke, their will be a battle of wills for sure. But good luck trying to overpower the older and more mature ox. Jesus will win the battle of the wills. He will drag you away from temptation.

The Life of a Disciple, Part 2 – Wars & Rumors of Wars

Text: Mark 13:7,8

Synopsis: As the Lord enters the human heart, war ensues. Paul teaches us a great deal about the war that takes place within. We can take this as a sign that Jesus is taking territory in us, that the end is nearer now…but it is not the end.

This episode features our traditional worship service at 10:30 am.

The Life of a Disciple, Part 1 – Lordship Salvation

Text: Matthew 24:3-14

Synopsis: A critical side by side analysis of the Gospel of Salvation and the Gospel of the Kingdom. (Hint, the Gospel of the Kingdom actually includes the Gospel of Salvation). The text is an eschatological Scripture that I will apply to the coming of the Lord into our own heart. While it is actually about the last days, the principles apply to every time Jesus advents in humanity. Jesus does not fit into our livers comfortably without required change. He displaces a great deal and upsets the fruit basket. This message is basically a synopsis of the rest of the series that will break down the individual components of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

This episode features the children's message from our contemporary service and then it cuts to the traditional service for the rest of the episode.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Synopsis: This familiar parable is about the kinds of hearts that hear the gospel and how they receive it. The qualitative difference is in how they receive it. We will discuss the primary difference in their receptions is not in the make up of the soil or in its nutrients, but in how well the soil has been cultivated. It is how yielded the soil is to the plow that determines its fruitfulness.

Full Disclosure - much of the heart of the second part of this message came from Bill Johnson's sermon  on Matthew 13 from Bethel Church in Redding, California called "Understanding the Key".  It is available at Bethel.tv/en/podcast.

Sunday, January 26

Message Title: The Agape Love of God

Text: 1 John 4:16, 17 (ESV)

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

Synopsis: C.S. Lewis wrote a book called, "The Four Loves". In that work, he revealed some powerful truths that previously had been reserved only for advanced scholars. He tackled the Greek words that have been translated into the word, love, in our modern translations of the Bible. The meanings of these words not only provide a deeper understanding of love for us, but also challenges us as believers to reassess our walks and the love that we carry for God and one another. He stated that he wrote so many theological books because, "until the ordained clergy started communicating the gospel in the vernacular of the people, someone would have to do it for them." In this message, I will lean heavily of Lewis's work as we seek a deeper understanding of God's Agape Love.

Jan 19, 2020 (8:15 Service)

Synopsis- Unpacking the final gift of worship from Exodus, connecting it to Christ and our devotion to Him. Myrrh was the primary ingredient in the holy anointing oil and was only for those set apart. Myrrh is a demarcation point for us. Our lives are spent only for Jesus and we become the myrrh. We die to self and by the death to our own will and taking up of His will, we are anointing Him with Myrrh.

Of Special Note, a French Horn Offertory.

Jan 12, 2020

Synopsis- It's easy for us to revel in God's grace so much that we cheapen it by squandering it on weak holiness. We are called to live lives of righteousness for Him. But the gold we are to bring Him, it comes from Him.