To live is _____? What fills in your blank? For Paul is was Christ, and my prayer is that the same would be true for each one of us.
Showing posts with label series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label series. Show all posts
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Sunday, May 24, 2020
From Fear to Faith - Romans 1:16-17
Fear of evangelism governs our church culture. Let us trust in the power of the gospel and change the world.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Sunday, May 3, 2020
From Fear to Faith - Psalm 34
The second message in our series on fear takes us back to Gath and into the humble heart of Kind David. O' taste and see that the Lord is good.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Sermon Series: Prayer
Prayer Sermons Series kicking off Sunday September 9, 2018
What does the Bible say about prayer? The Bible says A LOT about prayer; combined there are over 1000 verses that reference prayer.
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible to be alive without breathing." - Martin Luther
Prayer is vital to the Christian life. We know that. Neglect to prayer is a major cause of stagnation in the Christian life. Over the next few months we will be studying what the Bible says about prayer and how we are to respond as Christians.
Friday, November 17, 2017
Church Governance Fall 2017 Quarter
First post:
This is a collection of supporting links, reading and resources
for our class in Church Governance. I
plan to add to this blog as we go; this course is a work in progress. Here is the course Abstract and Bibliography
for starters. I may post sessions in the
next term. Sorry, there is no
college-level credit for this class. . .
Abstract
Our conduct as a local church must be ordered, first and
foremost, by Scripture. It is important
therefore to ensure that the local church is structured in a way closely
conforming to the normal New Testament pattern ("Paul appointed elders in
all the churches," Acts 14:23). Beginning
with a survey of OT patterns of leadership and the NT teaching on church order,
we come to clear definitions of all of the words, offices, roles as specified
in the New Testament.
We will review the theology of The Church (Ecclesiology),
organizations outside the local church and clarify roles and how they are
described. For example, are our deacons really elders in the New Testament
sense, or are they deacons? And who are the trustees and other church officers in
the New Testament understanding of things? Are they the "deacons"? If
so, how do they fit into the governing structure of the church? How does all of this relate to the role of
the congregation in the operation of the local church?
The church should not be dependent on a few as the guardians
of the vision. We need to develop an ongoing leadership team where the
theological distinctives, the philosophy of ministry and the vision of the
future can be rooted more durably.
We need to clarify the role of women in relation to ministry.
Why are there deaconesses? How do they relate to Biblical deacons? Could it be
that terminology has isolated women from the very role (deacon) where they
should flourish? We need to provide more
thorough and consistent care for members with special needs and more consistent
discipline for delinquent members. That this is not done as well as it should
be is owing partly to a confusion of roles. Who is responsible, Biblically, for
this church-wide care of people and for following through on disciplinary
procedures?
Bibliography
Croft, B., & Reeder, H. L.
(2016). Biblical church revitalization: solutions for dying &
divided churches. Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus
Publications Ltd.
Davis, A. M. (2017). Revitalize:
biblical keys to helping your church come alive again. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Books.
Dever, M., & Alexander, P.
(2005). The deliberate church: building your ministry on the gospel.
Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Dodson, J. K. (2012). Gospel-centered
discipleship. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
Geisler, N. L. (2011). Systematic theology: in one volume.
Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House.
Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1987). Revival. Westchester, IL: Crossway
Books.
Mohler, R. A. (2015). A guide to church revitalization.
Louisville, KY: SBTS Press.
Rainer, T. S. (2014). Autopsy
of a deceased church: 12 ways to keep yours alive. Nashville, TN: B & H
Publishing Group.
Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual leadership: principles of
excellence for every believer. Chicago, Moody Press, 1994.
Swindoll, C. R., & Zuck, R. B. (2003). Understanding
Christian theology. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Thiessen, H. C. (2001). Lectures in systematic theology.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Web Resources
Working with Your Church Constitution. (2011,
April 29). Retrieved August 20, 2017, from https://www.garbc.org/commentary/working-with-your-church-constitution/
A New Path to Revitalization. (2017, March
7). Retrieved August 20, 2017, from http://rbchurchplanting.org/a-new-path-to-revitalization/
Rethinking the Governance Structure at
Bethlehem Baptist Church. (1987, August 13). Retrieved August 20, 2017, from http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/rethinking-the-governance-structure-at-bethlehem-baptist-church
Friday, June 16, 2017
Sermon Series: Galatians
Galatians - No Other Gospel
- 8/20 - Hagar or Sarah Who is Your Mother, Galatians 4:21-5:1
- 8/13 - A Perplexing Situation, Galatians 4:8-20
- 8/06 - Adopted Sons of God - Galatians 3:26-4:7
- 7/30 - The Gospel and Law - Galatians 3 (Joe Beyer)
- 7/23 - The Gospel and Faith - Galatians 3:1-14 (Drew Santos)
- 7/16 - Living the Gospel - Galatians 2:11-21
- 7/09 - Gospel Unity - Galatians 2:1-10
- 7/02 - A Gospel Changed Life - Galatians 1:10-24
- 6/25 - The Uniqueness of the Gospel - Galatians 1:1-9
Friday, November 11, 2016
Sermon Series: Genesis
Genesis
- 6/11 - Curses and Blessings: God is Sovereign Over Sin and Righteousness
- 6/04 - The Noahic Covenant of Grace, Gen 8:21-9:17
- 5/28 - Foundational Gospel Whispers, Gen 8:1-21
- 5/21 - Last Chance to Get on Board, Gen 7:1-24
- 5/14 - Grace Greater Than All Our Sin, Gen 6:1-22
- 5/07 - Two Lines Drawn: Seth (Part 2)
- 4/30 - Two Lines Drawn: Cain (Part 1)
- 4/23 - The Way of Cain: Will Sin Win?
- 3/19 - Paradise Lost - Salvation Through Judgement (Part 2)
- 3/12 - Paradise Lost - Salvation Through Judgement (Part 1)
- 2/26 - Paradise Lost - The Confrontation
- 2/19 - Paradise Lost - The Fall
- 2/05 - The Cultural Mandate
- 1/29 - Gospel Foundations - True Rest
- 1/22 - Gospel Foundations - Six Days (Part 2)
- 1/15 - Gospel Foundations - Six Days (Part 1)
- 12/04 - Gospel Foundation (Part 3)
- 11/27 - Gospel Foundation (Part 2)
- 11/06 - Gospel Foundation (Part 1)
- 10/30 - Genesis - Intro
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Sermon Series: The Parables of Jesus
OUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE PARABLES OF JESUS
- 7/3 - The Parable of the Four Soils
- 7/10 - The Parable of the Good Samaritan
- 7/17 - The Parable of the Good Samaritan Question 2
- 8/7 - The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
- 8/14 - Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Costly Pearl
- 8/21 - The Parable of Persistent Persevering Prayer
- 9/4 - How to Wait - Part 1 (Matthew 25)
- 9/18 - How to Wait - Part 2 (Matthew 25)
In the Parables of Jesus we get to see what it truly means to live as "citizens of the heavenly kingdom" (Philippians 3:20). All too often parables are seen as moralistic stories about how to live a more God-pleasing life and how to be nicer to the people in our lives. While there are principles we can gain from the parables that do indeed help us think about our actions towards God and towards other people, these themes are not the primary focus of the Parables that Jesus taught.
In the Parables of Jesus the main focus of Jesus's teaching is to show those that were truly serious about following Jesus, what the Kingdom of Heaven truly looks like. The point of the parables of Jesus was to show His students and His disciples the beauty of what a life looks like that is lived in response to the merciful work that would be accomplished in the future on the cross. In the days and teachings of Jesus there was a mystery as to who Jesus truly was and also as to what Jesus came to accomplish, and so he taught those that were serious about learning these things in parables, and He did so, so that they would be able to unpack and see the truths of the mystery.
Today, for believers, there is no more mystery. There is no more mystery because we have the full revelation of Jesus Christ. The amazing grace of God has revealed the whole mystery to us in the power of the resurrection of Jesus and in the teachings in the rest of the New Testament. Today we can truly see what it means to live as an already, not yet citizen of the heavenly kingdom. And again by the grace of God we can use these teachings to measure our lives by so that we can see if we truly understand the depths of the gospel and what Jesus has done on our behalf.
The parables are a beautiful picture for us as to what it truly looks like to be a sold out follower of Jesus, and so as we journey through some of these parables this summer, my hope and my prayer is that we would take the teachings of Jesus in these parable and we would faithfully and honestly look at our lives and ask ourselves if the desire of our hearts is to live as citizens of the heavenly kingdom as we see described in the parables of Jesus.
Remember the parables are not a list of things that are needed to be done to gain favor with God, but instead the parables are grace for us to look at our lives and to see if we do truly love Jesus. A heart that has been changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ will be a heart that desires to follow Jesus's teaching in the parables, not out of obligation, but instead out of gratitude for life, death, resurrection, and the imputation of Christ's righteousness in our lives. Together as we study the words of Jesus this summer, let's allow the gospel to change us from the inside out and let's allow our lives to be overcome by JOY.
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