Today the Franklin’s hosted, Simeon read the story, and Justin preached.
The story–
Jesus heads to Jerusalem for the Passover and drives all of the money changers out of the temple.
The sermon–
We started by reading Ephesians 1:1-14
God will bring everything into unity and harmony.
There is a lot of upset these days. God will fix it all.
Then we read Matthew 5. You should apply this passage to yourself. Next Justin read a few parts from a George MacDonald essay.
Today the Wolfe’s hosted, Justin read the story, and Simeon preached the sermon.
The story–
We read the story where David went to the war camp to give food to his brothers. In the end, David kills the giant Goliath and becomes friends with the king’s son, Jonathan!
The sermon–
“Jesus Creed” by Scot McKnight
abide- stay, dwell; bearing patiently; remain; wait; to live; to continue the memory without fading
We read Psalm 91, John 8, 12, and 14, and 1 and 2 John which all talk about abiding.
So ‘abide in Christ’. What does that mean?
We read John 15 and John 15:5 really sums it all up.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Loving Jesus involves making Jesus our Friend and Master.
We then read Luke 10:38-42
We should study and read the Scriptures and have fellowship with other believers.
In today’s service, the Franklin’s hosted, Simeon read the story, and Justin preached the sermon.
The story–
We read a story about Jesus, Mary, and His disciples. The wedding they attended ran out of wine to serve the guests and Jesus helps out by turning water into wine–His first miracle.
The sermon–
It is Veteran’s Day today. The topic is non-resistance.
What do we mean when we say Christian non-violence?
Specifically think about not resisting with force. This flies in the face of heroism. People do great things while at the same time doing great damage.
Take our president for example. You punch me, [the president] I punch harder!
We read Romans 12.
Romans 12:14 – Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
When we want to fight back, God will provide for us, He will help us! When we refuse to take the matter into our own hands, we show a confidence that God will make it right.
Confidence vs. Cowardice
Some people think that if you face a burglar without a gun, you are a coward. That is not true. That is confidence that God will help you.
We have confidence in Christ. He went through the same things.
Just because we practice non-violence does not mean that there are not bad people. Just because we want to be peaceful does not mean that war will disappear.
Some people think: “This is impractical. If there isn’t a strong arm, what is life?”
Then we read Romans 13.
Which kingdom is most important?
How is practicing non-violence not merely an expression of cowardice or convenience?
It’s more about taking someone’s life. We are not going to do that. When you call the police, is that just handing the violence over to someone else?
This is part of expressing our lives as Christians. Do you have confidence that God will make it right?
We read 1 Corinthians 9 and closed with the Lord’s Prayer.
After an absence of some of our members, we are back again! This morning, the Wolfes hosted, Justin read the story, and Simeon preached.
The story–
Saul and Jonathan go to attack the Philistines. Saul is ready to give up when he found out it was his army of 600 vs. thousands. Jonathan and his armor bearer then go to fight the Philistines by themselves because God gave them a sign. God helped them by sending an earthquake. The two-man army won!
The sermon–
“Jesus Creed” by Scot McKnight.
We’re talking about believing this morning. What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
We read the following Scripture passages.
There are many different angles on belief.
To continue to pursue our belief with Jesus, we must be committed to following Him.