WeAreIBC

Matthew 4:1-11 (NIV)

1. There is always a time of preparation before the plan.

2. The assuredness of temptation.

1 John 2:16 (ESV) For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world

Hebrews 4:15 (ESV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

3. Wield the word of God as a sword.

Ephesians 6:16 (ESV) In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

4. Getting on your knees is the only way to get on your feet.

1 Peter 5:5 (ESV) Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

This is a short guided prayer led by Lead Pastor Allen Bonnell to help you spend a few minutes thanking God for the blessings in your life.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

A Rewritten Story

Matthew 3:1-17

Repentance: think different →  feel different → do different

9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7:9-10)

Repentance first. Baptism second. Why? Because it’s right.

Only Christ can right our wrongs.

The Spirit, like wind, removes the chaff from your life.

The Spirit, like water, nourishes and brings fruit.

The Spirit, like a dove, communicates peace.

Matthew 2:13-23

1. Jesus is our deliverer.

2. The pain in the world will one day be comforted.

3. Jesus was cursed for us.

MagiQuest

Matthew 2:1-12

Numbers 24:17 “I see him, but not now;

    I behold him, but not near.

A star will come out of Jacob;

    a scepter will rise out of Israel.

Isaiah 60:1-6 ESV

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

    and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

    and his glory will be seen upon you.

3 And nations shall come to your light,

    and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 Lift up your eyes all around, and see;

    they all gather together, they come to you;

your sons shall come from afar,

    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.

5 Then you shall see and be radiant;

    your heart shall thrill and exult,

because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,

    the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,

    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;

    all those from Sheba shall come.

They shall bring gold and frankincense,

    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord.

Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

    though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me

    one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

    from ancient times.”

Seek Jesus.

Ask others for direction.

Worship Jesus.

Bring your best gift to Jesus.

Tell others about Jesus. 

The Son of Joseph

Matthew 1:18-25

1. The character of Joseph.

2. The charge to Joseph.

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

3. The courage of Joseph.

The Unfolding Plan of God

Matthew 1:1-11, 16-17

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given,

    and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

God uses imperfect people for his perfect purposes.

The legacy you leave is more important than the heritage you received. 

The genealogy of Jesus points to the fact that we all need a savior.

In Christ you are given a new start and a new purpose.

Freedom to be Generous 

Matthew 25:14-30 (ESV)

Greed begins where contentment ends. Debt accrues where Greed prevails.

James 4:1-4 What causes and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with , that you may spend what you get on your. 4 You , don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

Proverbs 21:26 All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.

Matthew 25:14-30ESV

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[a] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[b] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with

them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[c] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

6:33 But his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be as well.

Deuteronomy 8:18 “But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

God gives you ability to produce wealth to be generous.

Generosity reflects the heart of God.

Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have from my decrees and have not kept them., and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘ are we robbing you?’ “In . 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 the into the storehouse, that there may be food in . in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

We were 11th in the state in giving to missions.

Cooperative Program $135,000

You were 3rd in the state in baptisms.

Since 2008 we have seen over 1,100 people baptized.

65 in ministry or preparing for ministry.

Freedom From Debt

Matthew 6:25-34

Greed begins when contentment ends.

Proverbs 22:7 “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.

1. Seek God.

Psalm 24:1 Of David. A psalm. The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”

2. First His Kingdom.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

3. Save with the future in mind.

Proverbs 21:20NLT The wise have wealth and luxury,

but fools spend whatever they get.

Pr 30:25 Ants are creatures of little strength,

    yet they store up their food in the summer;

Proverbs 6:9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?

    When will you get up from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

    a little folding of the hands to rest—

11 and poverty will come on you like a thief

    and scarcity like an armed man.

4. Spend with a plan

Proverbs 21:5The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Colossians 2: 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[a] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

Greed - a selfish and excessive desire for more.

1. Greed is a heart issue.

“Greed is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things.” Thomas Aquinas

Proverbs 23:4-5 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;

    do not trust your own cleverness.

5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,

    for they will surely sprout wings

    and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

2. How Greed controls you.

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

3. Freedom from Greed.

AW Tozer in the Pursuit of God, “There is within the human heart a tough fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets `things' with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns `my' and `mine' look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. They express the real nature of the old Adamic man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do. They are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God's gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution.”