Word Keeper

This is the fourth installment of the “Because God Saved, This Is How I Will Live” series.

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The Audio

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Let’s have a look at our Compass Rose with this sermon added to it.

a                                    God

Other People                                     Church

a                                    Evil

The statement from this sermon is: I Will Seek to Overcome Evil with Good.

Romans 12:9, 14, 17-21

1. Hate what is evil and cling to what is good (v. 9). … Genuine love is discerning.We are to hate sin. Don’t hate the person, the sinner; hate the evil, the sin. Loving people don’t have to love everything. … Maybe you’re not involved in a sin (like pornography or gossip), but you think you would enjoy it. That’s a start, but you need to get to where you hate that sin. … Fill your life with what is good. Change your focus to  what is good. Have a marriage-like commitment to what is good.
2. Do not repay anyone evil for evil (v. 17). … The Christian is to resist retaliation and not lower themselves to evil. … Do not take revenge even though it is our natural inclinaion. … Vengance belongs to God (v. 19). Maybe we crowd out God’s wrath when we take revenge.
3. Do not be overcome by evil. Overcome evil with good (v. 21). … Greek word “overcome” is where Nike gets their name. Don’t be niked by evil. Nike evil with good. … How?
4. • With your prayer and words (v. 14). … Norma McCorvey was Roe in Roe vs. Wade. She fought to legalize abortion and won in the supreme court case of Roe vs. Wade. She then started working at an abortion clinic and a pro-life clinic moved in next door. In one of McCorvey’s many confrontations with the worker’s from pro-life clinic, she spit in Anne Hollacher. Hollacher’s response was simplyto smile. When McCorvey asked how Hollacher cold look at that way, Hollacher replied, “Jesus loves you and so do I. And I forgive  You.” This response infuriated McCorvey and had it not been for sudden severe chest pains, several workers would have had to pull her off of Hollacher. … However, later in her life, she changed. She came to the conclusion that she had been wrong all those years that she spent fighting to legalize abortion. The primary reason for this change was love from other people. One person who especially touched her heart was a young girl who was very straightforward about her Christian beliefs. The young girl prayed for McCorvey every morning and asked her to come church more than a few times. McCorvey finally went to church at her young friend’s request. At that service, the pastor ended his sermon by asking, “is anyone here tired of living a sinner’s life?” McCorvey felt compelled to raise her hand, so she cautiously raised her hand and spoke with the pastor afterwards. Now McCorvey is a Christian who is 100% pro-life. … You can read McCorvey’s testimony on her website called Roe No More. McCorvey also has a book called “Won By Love”
   • With your actions (v. 20). If you want to get back at your enemy, get back with kindness. Do something good for someone who hurt you. This can affect them more than any harsh word or action. … The story of Elizabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint is amazing. If you haven’t already heard it, I encourage you to either listen to it from the audio of this sermon or read it. Even if you know the story, I encourage you to do same.

Jason Because Jesus Saved Me, This Is How I Will Live, religion, Series, Sunday Sermon

Here are my notes for the third sermon in the series “Because Jesus Saved Me, This Is How I Will Live”

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I couldn’t find the audio for this sermon, so my notes are a little bare. If I ever find it, I’ll upload it and add some meat to the notes.

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We’ve been using the illustration of compass rose in this series…….

Here’s what we have so far.

-                                   N – God

W – Other People                                 E – Church

In this sermon we’ll looking West, to Other People. Our statement is: I will seek to Genuinely Love other People

Romans 12:9-18

Six diagnostic questions … The questions are self-explanatory and the verses tell us plainly what to do if we can’t answer the question in a positive manner.

1. Am I devoted to the people on my team (v. 10a)? … Applies to both family and church.

2. Am I giving honor to other people (v.10b)?

3. Am I sharing with people in need (v. 13)? … Love of strangers.

4. Do I identify with the experiences of other people (v. 15)?

5. Do I think I am superior to some people (v. 16)? … Genuine love doesn’t look down on others.

6. Am i a source of conflict in any of my relationships (v. 18)?

This is hard. Why do it? Because Jesus did all of this for us.

Jason Because Jesus Saved Me, This Is How I Will Live, religion, Series, Sunday Sermon

Here is the second installment of the “Because Jesus Saved Me, This Is How I Will Live” series.

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The Audio

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Romans 12: 3-8

Are you connected to the body of Christ (vv. 3-5)? … Don’t think to highly of yourself. People who think they can function without being attached to the body of Christ, think too highly of themselves.

Connection occurs in two ways:

1. Membership. … Be a member. At our church, anyone can come to our Sunday School, no matter what religion they are. But if you’re a Christian, you need to be a member of the church. A body part that is not connected to a body is abnormal and less effective.

2. Involvement. … Be firmly connected. People like for their hair to be firmly connected to their head so it doesn’t fall out, but sometimes hair is loosely connected and does fall out. As Christians we should be firmly connected to a church so that we are less likely fall away from God.

Are you functioning as a part of the body by usiusing your spiritual gifts (vv. 6 -8)? … Greek word for “grace” is “charis” which is the word we get “charity” from. The Greek word for “gift” is “charisma” which is the same as our english word “charisma”. “gifts” is “charismatic”. … God gave us gifts so that we could express our gratitude toward him for our Salvation.

Seven gifts are listed in this passage:

1. Prophesying … Prophesying usually means the person is proclaiming God’s Truth. Sometimes that means telling the future, but normally it means preaching.

2. Serving … Deacons serve the church, but not everyone with the gift of service will be a deacon; there are other ways to serve.

3. Teaching … Teaching is pretty self-explanatory. Sunday School teachers are a good example though.

4. Encouraging … Some people are good at providing encouragement/comfort/counsel.

5. Contributing … People with this gift give to the needs of others.

6. Leadership … Some people are natural leaders.

7. Showing Mercy … People who have the gift of mercy are empathetic and caring.

There are other spiritual gifts, but these are the seven most needed by the church. Most people have at least one of these seven spiritual gifts, but some people may have spiritual gifts not on this list. We all need to be using our spiritual gifts. …. Sometimes we’ll have to serve in different situations that don’t nccnecessarily require our spiritual gifts.

Jason Because Jesus Saved Me, This Is How I Will Live, religion, Series, Sunday Sermon

Starting a series of sermons about how to live now that we are saved by Jesus. In this series, we will use a compass rose as a sort of guide.

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The Audio

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Romans 12:1-2

In this sermon, we look Godoward (North) to God.

Romans 1-11 explains what God has don for us in detail, and then chapter 12 of Romans starts out with “therefore” implying that because God did all this for us, we should also do something for Him.

How am I to act and respond to God because Jesus saved me? Offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice (v. 1). … The verse uses the same words as Old Testament sacrificial customs. In the Old Testament, though, the person offering the sacrifice would lay his hands on the animal’s head, signifying that animal represents himself. Then, in a burnt offering, the animal would be consumed by a fire. The sacrificed animals were supposed to be taken from the very best of the flock. … God wants and deserves more than a dead animal sacrifice. He wants us to be living sacrifices. He wants you to be a living sacrifice to Him. God deserves the best of your life; He wants you to try and live a life to the best of your abilities; He wants you live a life worthy of being called a spiritual act of worship. … Going to church and singing and listening to the sermon are your physical acts of worship, but your spiritual act of worship requires that you view everyday as a worship service and that you give you life to Him. … We should try to live in such a a way that our lives are “holy and pleasing to God.” That means we shouldn’t do anything that would disgrace God; we should treat our bodies with respect. Keep harmful substances out of your body. Try to keep your thoughts pure. Don’t let your eyes see something they shouldn’t or your mouth speak disrespectfully. …. The word “spiritual” in this verse can also be translated “reasonable” or “logical.” The Greek word used here is where we get our word “logical” from.  Isn’t it only reasonable or logical that if someone died and saved me from Hell, I should live for Him?

let’s try to think of it in more concrete terms. … In our sanctuary, we have a Lord’s Supper table that is also referred to as an alter. It’s where our offerings are set after they are taken up. It’s a symbolic way of saying that our money belongs to God. But God wants more than our money. He wants you! (At this point, our pastor laid down on the alter.) God wants you to do everything for Him. He wants your desk, your kitchen counter, wherever you are, to be an alter to Him so that whatever you do there is an offering to God. Even your couch could be an alter.

To do what is asked in verse 1, there will have to be changes in order for our lives to be holy and acceptable. The second verse tells us what these changes are. … First, we must stop conforming to the world. Don’t be molded like play-doh by the pressure of the world around you. Resisting that pressure is hard to do, but it is doable. Nobody likes to stick out like a sore thumb. Be willing to be different in the things that really matter. … It’s ok to dress like everyone else as long as it is pleasing to God. It’s ok to have fun as long as it doesn’t disgrace God. … The important things are how you think, the way you act, the way you talk to people, how you treat people who are different.  The way to do this is to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In order to resist the outer pressure of conformity, there must be an equal or greater pressure on the inside you. So the way to having a life and a body holy and pleasing to God is by the renewing of the mind. The mind affects the quality of the living sacrifice of your body. There must be a transformation, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. … Your mind is the key to living a holy and pleasing life. It’s why we read our Bibles or devotionals; it’s why many churches have libraries or even bookstores. … But it’s not only keeping out bad thoughts; it’s also about renewing all those good thoughts in your mind. It’s a continuous process because the pressure from the world will never stop. … The result of this is that you will be able to know the Good and perfect will of God.

Jason Because Jesus Saved Me, This Is How I Will Live, religion, Series, Sunday Sermon

This is the fourth sermon about what it means to live a life of Faith.

In this sermon we learn about how Noah’s fit helped him prepare for the tragedy that was about to befall mankind.

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The Audio

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Hebrews 11:7; Genesis 6:12-7:1

Hebrews 11:7 can be broken down into 4 parts. …

1. When you live by Faith, you heed God’s warning about coming judgement. … God warned Noah of the great flood coming and Noah responded with holy fear (Genesis 6:12-17). … This still is the correct response when God warns us. Let’s look at  New Testament passage that relates to Noah’s situation and also warns of a future judgement. 2 Peter 3:5-7 says that by God’s word, the world was created with water (creation), by God’s word the world was destroyed by water (the great flood), and by God’s word there will be judgement by fire (the final judgement). … The final judgement is yet to come. Are you ready for it? Have you suited up in the fireproof gear Jesus has offered you? And are your friends and family ready? … Perhaps you don’t think the day of judgement is coming. It doesn’t seem to be coming. The great flood didn’t seem to be coming either. In Luke 17:26-27 Jesus said that there is coming the day of judgement and it won’t be obvious that it’s coming. Don’t let the normalcy of life keep you from preparing for the day of judgement.
2. When you live by Faith, you take action to save your family. … Noah built the ark to save his family. By building the ark, Noah saved his family (Genesis 6:18-7:1). Now, Noah’s family still had to exercise personal Faith by getting on the ark, but Noah had to take action and build the ark before they could get on it.
3. When you live by Faith, you refuse to be swayed by popular opinion. … By Faith, Noah condemned the world. He judged against the world. … In order to say “yes” to some things, you have to say “no” to other things. This was one of those times for Noah. He had to choose between what God was telling him and what his friends were telling him. Like a radio when you choose between the voices on the radio, you have to choose between God’s voice and the other voices trying to tell you what to do in life.
4. When you live by Faith, you receive a right relationship with God. … The people commended in Hebrews 11 are not saved because they did good works; they are saved by their Faith in God. They are commended in Hebrews 11 because of their great Faith in God. … One of the first things Noah did after the flood is get drunk and exposed. … We’re all bad. But the point is that if you realize this and have Faith that God can save you, you become an heir to God. … Jesus is the heir of everything. When you put your Faith in God, you become a joint-heir with Jesus.

Jason religion, Series, Sunday Sermon, What Does it Mean to Live by Faith?

Finally, here’s the third sermon in the series on Faith….

This sermon is about Enoch and walking with God.

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The audio

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Hebrews 11:5-6; Genesis 5:21-24

In the verses from Hebrews and Genesis, we learn that Enoch never died. He was taken away by God. We also learn that Enoch walked with God. … The only other person we know of who did not die is Elijah, who was taken up in a whirlwind. Enoch and Elijah are a preview of the final generation. The final generation will not die, but will be taken away when Jesus comes back.

God is pleased when you walk with Him (Hebrews 11:5).

What dos it mean to walk with God?

1. Friendship – Talk with God. Pray. Listen to God. Laugh with God. Enjoy God’s presence!
2. Holiness - Be aware of His presence. Be obedient to God. Don’t do stuff you wouldn’t do if God was in the room.
3. Consistency – There is continuity in your relationship with God and it perseveres.

Enoch did not always walk with God. There was a starting point. He lived 65 years and had a kid. After that, Enoch walked with God for 300 years. There was a stating point. … People change and grow through life.

How do I start walking with God?

The key to pleasing God is Faith (Hebrews 11:6).

1. Believe that God exists (a life oriented to the unseen). … Enoch probably couldn’t see God. (Adam probably did see God before the fall of men. And in Heaven, we’ll probably see God.) In this age, we must walk by Faith (II Corinthians 5:7).
2. Believe that God rewards those who seek him (a life oriented to the future).

Jason religion, Series, Sunday Sermon, What Does it Mean to Live by Faith?

Here’s the second of this series on Faith. This sermon is about how your Faith shows up in your worship, as in the story of Abel.

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You’re Still Lord- Indeed He is!

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The Audio

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Hebrews 11:4; Genesis 4:1-10

The first two words each week are “By Faith”. After those two words, there is a name. And after the name, there is a verb. Because Faith is not passive. Faith acts. People with Faith do stuff for God.

So, this week, it starts out, “by Faith Abel offered.” … Faith expresses itself in worship, in your offering, in what you bring to God. … So, let’s look at the story that Hebrews 11:4 is referring to. It’s in Genesis chapter verses 1-10.

Cain and Abel were brothers. Cain, the older of the two, was a farmer, and Abel was Shepard. Abel offered the best of the first born of his flock to God, but Cain did not bring the first fruits of his produce, and thus, God looked on Abel and his offering with favor, but not Cain and his offering. … Cain got upset and killed his brother because Abel did right thing and Cain did not, which is really screwed up if you ask me.

There are two components to worship (Genesis 4:1-7):

1. The offering …
   Faith shows up when we offer God our first and our best. This shows that God comes first in our lives.
2. The worshiper …
   Faith shows up in our attitude in worship. … Worship is an issue of the heart. If we don’t really mean our worship, then it’s pointless (Amos 5:21-27). … “Me” is secondary to God. We shouldn’t worship God just for our own sake, but we should worship because God is worthy of it.

The life of Faith does not guarantee prosperity/success in life (Genesis 4:8). … So, Abel lived a life of Faith, but did not prosper. He did not become rich. He was the victim of the first ever murder! … There will be different results from person to person in this world as we try to live a life of Faith. Some will prosper and others will suffer, but God will use them all for good and His glory.

The life of Faith continues to have impact even after death (Genesis 4:9-10). … Sometimes there seems to be no justice on Earth, but in the end, justice will be had. God doesn’t forget.

Jason religion, Series, Sunday Sermon, What Does it Mean to Live by Faith?

Here’s the first of a series on Faith. We’ll be going threw Hebrews 11, the Faith Chapter.

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One Touch – This is a beautiful song by Nicole C. Mullen

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The Audio

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Hebrews 11:1-3

Hebrews was written to Jews who were  struggling with moving towards Jesus  … The book of Hebrews is written to show Jews how much better Jesus is than to Old Testament, how Jesus fulfills the prophecies and is the Messiah. Hebrews 10:39 sums up the problem these Jews were having. They were doing the Hokey Pokey of Faith. They were hesitant of fully following Jesus. Paul was calling for these Jews to go all in with their Faith in Jesus.

The verse we’ll look at today are sort of an introduction to what it means to live by Faith.

The life of Faith is certain about two things and if you are going to live by Faith, the Bible calls you to live with certitude about these two things.

1. The life of Faith is being confident about the future … v. 1 – Faith is the foundation of hope, the deed to hope. You can own hope in your life of Faith. We have a certain hope about the future because we have Faith in God. We don’t know what will happen this year or next, but we know God is in control. … A life of Faith will help you not to worry as much, because you have a certain hope. A life of Faith will help you not be afraid, because often when we are afraid, it’s a fear of the unknown, but now we hope for the future. … If you’re certain of the future and that God will take care of you, then you believe in Heaven too, right? If you believe on Heaven, you’re also going to want make sure you go to Heaven. And you not only want make sure you go to Heaven, but that everyone you care about also goes to Heaven. … Faith is oriented to the future.
   …
2. The life of Faith is being convinced of the reality of the unseen world. … v. 1 –  God is real. Angels are real. Demons are real. The devil is real. … If you’re sure that the unseen spiritual world is real, not all of your investments would be in material things; you’d pray more, make sure your connected to the spiritual world; it would change the way you operate.

v. 2 – “the ancients” are the Old Testament characters that we are are going to be looking at through this series. They were commended for their Faith. A lot of people think people of the Old Testament were saved by law, but they were actually saved by Faith. People have always been saved by Faith.

v. 3 – This is where our survey of the Old Testament begins. Each section we’re going to look at begins with the phrase, “by Faith.” … The first part in a life of Faith is believing that God made everything that exists. The doctrine of Creation is foundational to a life of Faith. It’s very important because the story of redemption stands on the foundation of the story of creation. It’s the foundation of redemption and salvation. If God didn’t create everything that exists, how can he redeem everything that exists? This is why the doctrine of creation is under attack today, because if the doctrine of creation is gone, it undermines the possibility of redemption. … So, what we believe is that God spoke the world into existence. It wasn’t just space dust or something that was spinning so fast it went “bang” and somehow expanded. … Nobody can prove or disprove this belief, but either way, it is a matter of Faith to believe in Creation or Evolution. … Faith and reason are not at odds. Faith and reason go together. “By Faith we understand …” Faith is not just checking your brain at the door and believing whatever the pastor tells you or some scholar’s interpretation of the Bible. Mark Twain said, “Faith is believing what you know ain’t so,” but that’s not Biblical Faith. The idea of Faith is that you examine the evidence and then decide for yourself. We believe there is evidence for Creation and for Evolution, but eventually you have to make a choice. … Sir Isaac Newton was a devoted Christian and he had a model of the solar system. Here’s the story that goes with it. … Now scientists are able to look at individual cells so closely that they have found what they call “irreducible complexity.” Evolutionists used to believe that complex beings, such as humans, evolved from less complex, single-celled organisms. But now they are finding that even the smallest cells are complex “machines” with different systems inside them. Without one of the pieces in the machine that is a cell, it wouldn’t work! … The Bible never talks about a blind leap of Faith. The Bible talks about a step of Faith though. There is evidence to be examined. Faith is taking step onto the bridge that connects this world to that unseen. The bridge may look rough and worn, but that’s because of all the people that have crossed it before us.

Jason religion, Series, Sunday Sermon, What Does it Mean to Live by Faith?

This is the final sermon in a 4 part series about Christmas and reconciliation.

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All is Well

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The Audio

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Romans 5:9-11

In the final clip, we see (or rather hear) the ending.

So far, we’ve seen Kevin be left behind, alienated from his family, his mom try to get back to him, and the story of Mr. Marley. … In this clip, Kevin wakes up on Christmas morning expecting his mom to be home, but is soon disappointed and then his mom walks in and they have good mother-son moment. After that, the rest of the family walks in and Kevin looks out the window to see Mr. Marley’s son’s family visiting Mr. Marley for Christmas. … Then Buzz, Kevin’s brother, finds what Kevin did to his room.

Has reconciliation come to this family? Yes and no. … They are all back together, but there will still be conflict, such as the tension between Kevin and Buzz.

Has reconciliation come to our world? Yes and no. … We can know God now! Jesus has provided a way for us to be reconciled with God. The Gospel gives power for reconciliation between families, between family members, and between friends as well as between us and God. … But it isn’t complete. There’s still war in the world and there is not total harmony in the world yet……

Theologians say that there are two phrases that describe the Christian Gospel:
1. already
2. not yet
…
We live between the already and the not yet. … There is a present dimension of the Gospel that we can take joy in and find peace in because Jesus has already come to Earth. … There is also a future orientation of the Gospel. Jesus is not done. The reconciliation is not yet complete. There’s still tension and the world is still out of harmony.

v. 9 – We can already know God. We can know God now! But there’s also still more to come! Our salvation and reconciliation is not yet complete.

v. 10 – Paul says the same thing in this verse … We can already know and experience God now! But we still have to be saved on the day of judgment.

v. 11 – We can have joy right now because of what Jesus has already done.

Maybe you have been depressed by the real world after the holidays or have had a bad couple of months or years. The way to have joy is to hold onto then already and the not yet. … There is joy in what happened when Jesus came to Earth once before, and there is hope what has not yet happened because we know He will come back and complete our salvation and reconciliation.

Isaiah 11:1-10

v. 1-3 – Prophecy of the Messiah that has already happened … Jesse is the father of David. Jesus is a descendant of David. All of this has already happened!

v. 4-10 – Prophecy of the Messiah that has not yet happened … Judgment day has not yet come. Wolves do not live with lambs. Leopards do not lie down with goats. A child does not lead a calf and a lion to eat together. Cows and bears do not get along well. Lions do not eat straw like the ox. Babies and young children do not play with snakes, much less poisonous snakes. … The serpent in the garden of Eden had the spirit of the devil in it and led Adam and Eve astray. But one day little kids will be able to play with snakes without risk of harm. … Jesus was before Jesse and after Jesse. Jesus is the root and the shoot! … All of this is already in progress. It started on that first Christmas, but it is not yet complete. One day, all of these tensions will be gone.

Jason Holidays, No Longer Home Alone, religion, Series, Sunday Sermon

Here’s part 3 of the Christmas series

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Mary Did You Know – One of the best Christmas songs of all time.

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The Audio

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Ephesians 2:11-18

We’ve been going through clips from the movie Home Alone (without the video on here sadly). The clip for this sermon is about Mr. Marley.

In the movie, there are all these rumors about Mr. Marley being a pretty bad man. Then, on this Christmas Eve, Kevin runs into the local church and finds Mr. Marley there watching his granddaughter sing. Mr. Marley tells Kevin about himself, explaining why he lives alone and never has family over or goes to visit family, and why he sits there every Christmas Eve. His wife had died long ago and he had a falling out with his son. For many years, he didn’t talk to his son and the only time he could see his granddaughter was Christmas Eve night as she sang in the church. The truly sad thing is that he never tried to reconnect with his son. … Kevin gives Mr. Marley some advice. Kevin tells him to call his son, but Mr. Marley is afraid of rejection. So, Kevin explains that maybe Mr. Marley’s son feels the same way. Maybe they both want to be reconciled but are afraid the other will reject him. Kevin tells Mr. Marley that he’ll never know unless he tries. … On Christmas morning, Mr. Marley’s son and his family go to Mr. Marley’s house with big smiles on their faces and the granddaughter runs into the arms of her grandfather.

The point of the story? Reconciliation isn’t only for the vertical relationship between you and God, but also for all those horizontal relationships between you and your family; you and your friends.

v. 11-12 – Before Christ died on the cross, Gentiles were separated from God, “without hope and without God in the world.” Jews thought they were better than the Gentiles. But also throughout history, Gentiles have looked down on the Jews. There has been name-calling going both ways. … This is just an example of alienation in human relationships that represents all the different problems we have in our relationships.

v. 13 – Now, through the blood of Christ, Gentiles can be close to God and can have hope! … At Christmas we celebrate Jesus coming to Earth in a human body so that He could die for our sins and set us free. He had to have a physical body to die.

v. 14 – Jesus is our piece. He came to reconcile everyone and destroy barriers and the wall of hostility. … In Jerusalem, the temple had several courts around it, the first of which was the court of Gentiles. Anyone could enter this court. But the Gentiles could go no further. There were steps and a large wall separating this outermost court from the rest, along with signs that said Gentiles might be stricken dead by God if they went any further. The wall was literal.

v. 15 – But there were also walls of superiority. … The Jews had all these laws, commandments, to follow that could keep them right with God, but Gentiles had nothing. When Jesus came and died on the cross, He abolished that wall of spiritual rituals, thus putting Jews and Gentiles on even ground.

v. 16-18 –  Both, Jews and Gentiles, are reconciled to God the same way now. The wall of superiority is gone.

How does this apply to us?

In all our conflicts between one another there is always (or at least almost always) a sense of superiority over the other person. … Jesus has leveled the playing field by reconciling us to one another. We can all access God the same way. We have no grounds for superiority over one another. … We all make mistakes, often the same mistakes even. We have more in common with each other than we have differences. And there is a common solution for all our problems, Jesus Christ.

Jason Holidays, No Longer Home Alone, religion, Series, Sunday Sermon