STARTING STRONG

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2023, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , , | Sermon Series: Holidays

How do we sustain our commitment to looking up for our Redeemer in times like these?  We do it the same way Simeon did it.  He kept believing because he had a promise from the Holy Spirit, so he faithfully came to the temple believing that this could be the day.  Day after day, week after week, year after year passed, but still, Simeon came believing and expecting.  And then on this day, Luke said Simeon “came by the Spirit into the temple.”  We need to be sensitive to the Spirit because when the Spirit is prompting us to go, to worship, and to believe, we need to get up and go. After all, this could be the day we get our breakthrough!

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Watchnight/New Year’s Day Sermon: Your Divine Destiny

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, 2023, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , | Sermon Series: Holidays

Have you ever felt like God has more for you than you are currently experiencing, but there seems to be some kind of barrier keeping you from fully achieving your Divine destiny?  The Bible tells us that God has plans for our lives.  God told Israel, “For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11).  Likewise, David wrote in Psalm 37:27, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”  In the New Testament, Jesus invites us to follow Him because He has come so that we might have life and that more abundantly (Jn 10:10).

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ADVENT: OH, HOLY NIGHT!

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , , | Sermon Series: Holidays

Studying this, it occurred to me that even when things in our lives can feel like frustrating inconveniences, whether required by our place of employment or dictated by our own government, God has already factored these things into our preferred future.  Therefore, instead of complaining (like I too often do), it would be better to excitedly anticipate what God has in store for us next in our journey.

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ADVENT: DREAMS SHATTERED AND SAVED

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , | Sermon Series: Holidays

Matthew doesn’t tell us how or when Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant. Still, it must have been shocking news resulting in many sleepless nights as he wrestled with his love for Mary on one hand, and the letter of law on the other hand, which said he could make a public example of her and humiliate her for what appeared to be her unfaithfulness.  Verse 20 says that as Joseph was wrestling with his emotions and the decisions he had to make, he had a dream. 

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ADVENT: MARY AND THE PATH TO PURPOSE

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, Basic, Sermon, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Sermon Series: Holidays

Studying this passage, the first step I see in the path to purpose is “be prepared.”  The Prophet Isaiah said the Messiah would be born to a virgin (Is 7:14), and Mary had maintained her purity.  If she had compromised her purity for a moment of pleasure, she would have forfeited the honor that was to be hers.  Once we embrace the idea that we have a God-given purpose, we need to prepare.

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ADVENT: KEEP BURNING THE INCENSE

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, Free, Sermon | Tags: , , , , , , | Sermon Series: Holidays

What is the longest you’ve ever prayed for something before God answered your prayer?  When year after year goes by and it doesn’t seem like God is moving, at what point should we stop praying?  I’d say if our prayers are in agreement with the Word of God and we are pursuing the will of God, then we should never stop praying.  You may ask, “What if it takes years and it seems like time is running out on the possibility of an answer?”  So what?  Is anything too hard for God?  Is God limited by time or distance? 

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Thank God for Sunday

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, Basic, Sermon, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Sermon Series: Gospel of Mark

We call the Friday following Thanksgiving “Black Friday” because retailers open their doors with big sales intended to lure in Christmas shoppers.  These sales are a major source of annual income for retailers, and can be the difference between getting their finances in the black (meaning they made a profit for the year), or ending the year in the red (having a net loss).  However, the first black Friday was when Jesus died on the cross at noon and the sun refused to shine.  God’s gift was our gain, and because of the red that Jesus bled on that Friday, we can end our lives in the black, in the positive rather than the negative.  Jesus paid our debt with His own blood and ransomed us from sin.

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Forsaken for US

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , | Sermon Series: Gospel of Mark

When it comes to knowing one’s purpose, Jesus knew that He was born to die for the sins of the world and rise from the grave three days later.  He knew victory over death was ahead of Him and that He would be restored to His full glory at the right hand of His Heavenly Father.  But He also knew that the path to the empty tomb and His exaltation would lead Him through the shame and humiliation of the cross. 

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The King on a Cross

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , | Sermon Series: Gospel of Mark

Roman soldiers had no affection for the Jewish people, so being given permission to mock and crucify a Jewish man was an opportunity they relished and took a sick pleasure in executing.  As such, they intended to fully humiliate Jesus before nailing Him to the cross.  Part of the humiliation involved mocking Jesus as a king.  This is why they clothed Him in a purple robe or cloth, which was the color of royalty, and made a crown of twisted thorns, which was intended as a mock crown but also to inflect pain when they pressed it down upon His head.

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It’s Dark Now, But It Ain’t Over

By Admin | Date: | Categories: 2022, Basic, Sermon | Tags: , , , , | Sermon Series: Gospel of Mark

That was Friday … but Sunday’s coming.  Sometimes things go from bad to worse before they get better.  Sometimes innocent people suffer and life seems cruel and unfair, but hang on because the story isn’t over.  You may feel like things have gone from bad to worse, but God isn’t finished writing your story, and you’re just getting to the good part.

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