Weekly Sermons: Elyria Community Church of the Nazarene

Things that seem impossible to us are simple for God. Recognizing His

sovereignty and obeying His commands makes all the difference. In this

sermon we get a glimpse of how trusting God involves recognizing He is the

one who sees everything and orders the universe according to His will.

It is a common problem for Christians to forget that their identity is in Christ, not in the things of this world, not even in their personalities or demographic associations. In this sermon, our pastor takes us through several key passages of Scripture which outline who God says we are. This sermon teaches vital truth for any Christian.

Life’s biggest opportunities aren’t always obvious…Personally and corporately as a church we will experience potentially great possibilities that bring obstacles, closed doors… Mark 2 provides an example of how pressing through to get to Jesus makes all the difference. Don’t stop. Keep trusting Him.

The command to seek God first is not merely a dutiful obligation. Rather it

is the joyful pursuit of faithful believers who know that true life and Joy

is in Christ alone (John 14:6, Psalm 16:11). This week, Pastor Mike

admonishes us to put God first not merely for the secondary benefits that

come with doing so (there are many), but for the joy that is inherent in

serving the King of Kings.

Missions

This week, Pastor Mike takes us through Hebrews 11 in which we learn about what faith is. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Scriptures5/2/21

Our father who is in heaven, hallowed by your name. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Gives us our daily bread, and forgive us our…

Matthew 6:12

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Luke 11:4

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

Matthew 6:14-16

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

James 4:17

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.

Romans 6:1-2

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

Pastor Mike teaches on what it means to be holy as Christ is holy, how to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

God’s Provision

1 Kings 17:8-24

Sermon Tease – Is this a scripture in the Bible? What goes around, comes around. Yes (sort of)

“Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.”- Corrie Ten

Boom

1 Kings 17:8-9

Then the word of the Lord came to him:

“Go at once to Zarephath and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you

with food.”

1 Kings 17:10-11 (2 Slides)

(#1) Even though the plan seemed flawed, he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town

gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a

little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”

(#2) As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

1 Kings 17:12

“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of

flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for

myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

1 Kings 17:13-14 (2 Slides)

(#1) “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for

me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.

(#2) For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the

jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord send rain.’”

1 Kings 17:15-16 (2 Slides)

(#1) She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for

the woman and her family.

(#2) For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the

word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

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.”

1 Kings 17:17-18 (2 Slides)

(#1) Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse

and worse, and finally stopped breathing.

(#2) She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me

of my sin and kill my son?”

1 Kings 17:19-21 (3 Slides)

(#1) Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper

room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.

(#2) Then he cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this

widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?”

Pause – project next slide after it starts to be read.

(#3) Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my

God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

1 Kings 17:22-23 (2 Slides)

The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived.

Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to

his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

1 Kings 17:24

Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the

Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,

Praise him all creatures here below,

Praise him above all ye heavenly host,

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost – Amen.

Elyria Church of the Nazarene

Sunday, April 11, 2021

“A Holy Encounter”

Encounter- “to meet someone unexpectantly”

“One encounter with Jesus Christ is enough to change you, instantly, forever.”

Acts 12:5-17

1. The Church’s Prayer

2. The Peril and Peace of Peter

3. God’s Presence and Power Manifested

4. Confirmation of God’s Plan

5. Prepare to be Astonished

6. Praise and Propagate God’s Works

Habakkuk 3:2

“When God spoke to Moses and others in the Old testament, those events were encounters with God. An encounter with Jesus was an encounter with God for the disciples. In the same way an encounter with the Holy Spirit is an encounter with God for you.” Henry Blackaby