The Big Reveal! Epiphany 2018

SERMON NOTES:  

Why Epiphany???

Scene 1 - Luke 2:21-38  28 Simeon praised God, saying:   30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:32 a light for revelation to the Gentile”

Scene 2 - Matthew 2:1-23  11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. 

Scene 3 – Luke 2:41-52 49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Scene 4 – Mark 1:1-8 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins….all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.  Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7 And this was his message:
               “After me comes the one more powerful than I,…  8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Big Reveal – Mark 1:9-11 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open  and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” 

In the Baptism of Jesus, God is making an unequivocal declaration (to me)…

This Jesus, the ONE who gets in the sinner’s line with me,

             the ONE who hears “Beloved Son with You I am well pleased “, is

             the ONE for me to trust, follow and consecrate myself to!

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Luke 2:21-38
Tuesday:  Matthew 2:1-23
Wednesday:  Luke 2:41-52
Thursday:  Mark 1:1-8
Friday:  Mark 1:9-11
Saturday:  Matthew 3:1-17

Starting Again! New Year's Eve 2017

SERMON NOTES:  

A New Year means __________________________!       It’s good the New Year starts during the Christmas season! 

However, we are not starting over we are starting again! 
God has designed life to move in only one direction – FORWARD!  Life with Jesus is progression not repetition!
 

Galatians 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; … 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

So what has Jesus shown you in 2017?

Remember: He is not starting over with us … He is making progress!
 

Ephesians 3 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power,  to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Jesus is powerful to redeem every part of our story!  Nothing wasted! 
                We ask Him into every nook and cranny and receive the wholeness He has for us!

Jesus is powerful to love, lead and transform us in 2018!
               We consecrate ourselves and our new year to Jesus and Jesus alone!           

 
DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Galatians 4:4-9
Tuesday:  Luke 2:21-35
Wednesday:  Luke 2:36-40
Thursday:  Philippians 3:7-14
Friday:  Ephesians 3:14-21
Saturday:  Psalm 111

Freedom Comes, Christmas Eve 2017

Waiting Well! Advent 4

SERMON NOTES:  

Waiting Well Lesson 1:    Fill waiting on God with LONGING for God!  (Isaiah 64)
Waiting Well Lesson 2:   Receive Yahweh’s comfort as you hope IN Him!   (Isaiah 40)
Waiting Well Lesson 3:   Focus on the WHO … who brings the WHAT!   (Isaiah 61)
 

Luke 1 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid … you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

2 Samuel 7 8 “Now then, tell my servant David,…“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:  …16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

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

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.7 Of the greatness of his government and peace  there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
 

Waiting Well Lesson 4:  Live with one KING!   KING JESUS!
 

My one KING is GOOD and MIGHTY and WINS!   

In HIM I am LOVED and FEAR-LESS and FREE to live!  

 
DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Luke 2:1-20
Tuesday:  Isaiah 9:1-7
Wednesday:  Matthew 1:18-25
Thursday:  Matthew 2:1-12
Friday:  Matthew 2:13-23
Saturday:  John 1:1-18

Waiting Well! Advent 3

SERMON NOTES:  

Waiting Well Lesson 1:    Fill waiting on God with LONGING for God!  (Isaiah 64)

Waiting Well Lesson 2:   Receive Yahweh’s comfort as you hope IN Him!   (Isaiah 40)

Isaiah 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,  and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—  to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;  that they may be called oaks of righteousness,  the planting of the Lord, for the display of His splendor. 
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;  my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

Waiting Well Lesson 3:           Focus on the WHO … who brings the WHAT!

The WHO of Isaiah 61 is Jesus!

The WHAT of Isaiah 61 is ______________!

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Isaiah 61:1-3
Tuesday:  Isaiah 61:8-11
Wednesday:  Luke 4:16-20
Thursday:  John 8:31-38
Friday:  John 6:25-35
Saturday:  Isaiah 53

Waiting Well! Advent 2

SERMON NOTES:  

Waiting Well Lesson 1:         Fill waiting on God with LONGING for God!

Isaiah 40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed,  that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

28 Do you not know?  Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,  the Creator of the ends of the earth He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;  31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Waiting Well Lesson 2:   Receive Yahweh’s Comfort as you hope in Him!

                There is a difference between being comforted and being comfortable!
                Hoping in Yahweh is comforting because we lose control of timing and strategy but get a better result!

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Isaiah 40:1-5
Tuesday:  Isaiah 40:6-11
Wednesday:  2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Thursday:  Isaiah 40:18-26
Friday:  Isaiah 40:27-31
Saturday:  Psalm 62:1-8

Waiting Well! Advent 1

SERMON NOTES:  

Isaiah 64 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies  and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.     5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.  But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
  we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins.                             8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;  do not remember our sins forever.
  Oh, look on us, we pray,  for we are all your people.

Waiting Well Lesson #1:         Fill waiting on God with LONGING for God!

Passionate longing for God coupled with authentic repentance of sin results in relentless dependence on His Graciousness!

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Isaiah 63:7-10
Tuesday:  Isaiah 65:1-5
Wednesday:  Isaiah 64:1-5
Thursday:  Isaiah 6:17-25
Friday:  Isaiah 64:6-12
Saturday:  Psalm 51

Joining Jesus On His Mission! How Do I Do This?

SERMON NOTES:  

“It’s the little things, done repeatedly, that often matter most!” 

The five simple practices which ready us to Join Jesus on His mission every day are:

1)   Seeking the Kingdom             Matt. 6:33                             “How have I seen God at work in my world this week?”                                                                                   

2)   Listening to Jesus                   Matt.7:24                              “What has Jesus been teaching me in His Word lately?”

3)   Talking with People                 John 4:7-27                           “What kind of conversations have I been having?”

4)   Doing Good                                Matt. 5:16                             “What good can I do around here?”

5)   Ministering through Prayer         Col. 4:2-4                               “What opportunities for prayer am I seeing?”

 Ezekiel 379 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Prayer is a vital not only for our union with Jesus (UP) but also our mission with Jesus (OUT)!

Let’s keep asking:    Jesus, what are you up to?     How would You have me join You?

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Matthew 9:35-38
Tuesday:  Matthew 7:24-29
Wednesday:  Colossians 4:2-6
Thursday:  Matthew 6:9-13
Friday:  Ezekiel 37:9-14
Saturday:  Psalm 1