Come and see / John 1:43-50
John 1:43-50 / Jesus is beginning to gather disciples to follow him and learn from him. Philip of Bethsaida begins following Jesus and in his zeal goes to find his friend Nathanael to share that he had found the Messiah, but Nathanael is resistant. Like many of our friends and family, Nathanael holds a bias that becomes an impediment to the gospel. In this sermon we learn how to reach those who seem to be hindered in their view of Jesus.
Behold the Lamb / Jhn 1:29-42
John 1:29-42 / As we continue in our story, John the Baptist reveals Messiah and points his disciples to Jesus. As those disciples spend time with Jesus, it produces a desire to invite others to experience the goodness of Christ as well. This portion of the Gospel of John provides us with incredible insight into what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ and to understand ministry the way God intended.
Who art thou? / Jhn 1:14-28
John 1:14-28 / Do you know who you are and what you have been made for? Many Christians don’t. The purpose of our Christian faith is often clouded by our culture, pragmatism, elitism, politics, entertainment and other distractions that only serve to make us tepid and ineffectual. In this sermon, John the Baptist serves as an example of what it means to know what we’ve made for and unabashedly embrace our cause.
The Word, The Light, The Resistance / Jhn 1:1-13
John 1:1-13 / Of the four gospels, John most clearly magnifies that divine attributes of Jesus. The opening of this gospel declares Jesus as God, but more than that, it defines what that means in terms of humanities relationship to him. Join us as we begin this wonderful journey through the Gospel of John.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 6:18-24
Ephesians 6:18-24 /In our last sermon on Finding Our Identity, Paul closes his letter to Ephesus by calling them to prayer. In this study we look at the discipline of prayer and discuss it as a necessity of spiritual warfare. We also look at the value and importance of a ministry that delegates in order to meet the needs of the church.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 6:16-17
Ephesians 6:16-17 / Are we preparing for evil days, trials and difficulty by actively putting on the whole armor of God? In the last sermon we looked at the first three elements in the divine armor of God, this week we look at three more. Join us as we consider what it means to find our identity as a soldier engaged in a spiritual warfare.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 6:14-15
Ephesians 6:14-15 / Each of us face “evil days” in our lives, moments where we are frustrated with our circumstances, afraid and tempted to despair. As Christians, do we know how to remain resolved and emotionally strong in those seasons of life? Do we acknowledge the nature of our enemy’s warfare? Are we actively preparing by putting on the whole armor of God?
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 6:11-13
Ephesians 6:11-13 / We have an enemy who actively seeks our deception, distraction and destruction. He hates us with a passion and his influence and power is greater and more extensive than we can imagine. Do we know who he is? Do we know how to prepare ? Are we battle ready?
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 6:10
Ephesians 6:10 / We have learned so much from Ephesians about our identity, but as we reach the closing admonition we learn a hard truth - that we must be fearless in the face of difficulty. Hard ship is common to all people, but the way in which Christians endure life’s challenges should be unique. Today we consider, what does it mean to fight life’s battles in the courage of Christ?
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 6:5-9
Ephesians 6:5-9 / Work is hard and relationships at work can be even harder. From time to time, we all struggle with having the right heart attitude in our work place. In our passage today, we learn that God is concerned with whether or not we see our work the same way he does - as an opportunity to reflect our true identity.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 6:1-4
Ephesians 6:1-4 / Our parents have given us life and they have contributed so much to who we are as people; sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. But because we have a Heavenly Father who gives us a spiritual identity, we have the capacity to obey and honor our parents regardless of how wonderful or tenuous our relationship has been. In this sermon, we discuss what it looks like as adults to build relationships with our parents of love, honor and obedience. We also consider fatherhood, and how important it is to approach our children the way God the Father approaches us.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 5:31-33
Ephesians 5:31-33 / In the previous sermon we discussed the relationship between identity, values and marriage readiness. This week we will take more time to focus on the relationship between our idenity and how we understand singleness. We also provide a brief guide for dating that is intended to help us change our perspectives and make the prospect of dating less scary and more biblical.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 5:22-30
Ephesians 5:17-21 / Many young people desire marriage, but in terms of your values and identity, are you ready? Are you establishing an identity now that will prepare you for the partnership and unity of marriage? How does marriage picture our identity in Christ?
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 5:17-21
Ephesians 5:17-21 / As we continue in Ephesians 5 we discuss how your identity is shaped by simply hearing God tell you what is important to him. Our confidence and growth is rooted deeply in whether or not we learn to value what God tells us to value.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 5:15-16
Ephesians 5:15-16 / Paul has spent this entire chapter drawing contrasts between the old and new man, children of light versus those who live in disobedience. But in these verses he goes further, describing what it looks like to find the motivation to truly follow Christ and practically walk in the light.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 5:8-14
Ephesians 5:8-14 / Jesus Christ has made us “children of light”, meaning his gift of salvation has delivered us from the darkness of sin and hell and brought us into the light of forgiveness and the kingdom of God. But many of us are drawn back into the dark by old friends and old habits; too many of us struggle to live our Christian lives “in the light”. In this sermon we learn to live as children of light and how to overcome when the darkness of old sin comes creeping back.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 5:1-7
Ephesians 5:1-7 / Do you love God’s people? Do you love ministry? Do you love going to church to worship? Many Christians struggle to love the things that God loves. Why? Because they struggle to walk in his ways. In this sermon we discuss what it means to walk as dear children rather than children that are deceived by their emotions and the vain promises of the world.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 4:29-32
Ephesians 4:29-32 / Today we look at corrupt communication and how destructive it can be when the Spirit of God doesn’t have control over our words. In Ephesians 4, we learn that God has enabled us to put on the new man, and learn to speak words that edify rather than tear down. We also discover that despite our tendency to walk in sin, God has committed himself to us by the sealing of the Holy Spirit.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 4:27-28
Ephesians 4:27-28 /Knowing who we are also means knowing who we aren’t. In Ephesians 4, we are instructed to put away the old and childish ways of our past and to put on the new man, the character and behavior of a victorious child of God. In this sermon, we look at the role the devil plays in tempting our old man and then we consider what it means to embrace our identity as a laborer and provider.
Finding Our Identity / Ephesians 4:25-26
Ephesians 4:25-26 / For Christians, we have a past that is constantly trying to reassert itself within our new life; an old man that is threatening our new identity. This week we discuss the old man traits of lying and wrathful responses. We look at what scripture says about controlling our emotions and grounding our minds and speech in truth.