Sunday Evening Sermon - 10/30/11

To Whom Then Will Ye Liken God?

 Isaiah 40:12-31

1. One's Lack of Faith
   1. God is speaking to His children (vs. 1)
   2. Sinful children lack faith 
      1. God is No longer believed in. He is forgotten (vs 21, 28)
      2. When we forget God we will seek another (vs. 18-20)
      3. God will not allow spiritual prosperity when there is no faith. (vs. 23-24)
2. One's Reminder of Faith
   1. God is speaking to His children (vs. 1)
   2. Sinful children need to be reminded of the reasons to have faith in Him 
      1. God is greater than all (vs. 12)
      2. God is more knowledgeable than all (vs. 13-14)
      3. God is holier than all (vs. 16-17)
      4. God is more powerful than all (vs. 23-24)
3. One's Reapplication of Faith 
   1. God is speaking to His children (vs. 1)
   2. Sinful children must reapply their faith in Jesus Christ 
      1. We must lift up our eyes (vs. 26) (Acts 7:55)
      2. God gives power and strength to those that look to Him (vs. 26 & 29)
      3. God gives power and strength to those that wait, expectantly, on the Lord (vs. 31)

Sunday Evening Service - 10/30/11 at 6:30pm

Please join us for worship tonight at 6:30pm. 

Adult Sunday School Lesson - 9:45am 10/30/11

Joy That Christ Is Preached

Philippians 1:12-18

1. Paul was a faithful preacher of the Gospel
   1. Paul was happy to preach Jesus
   2. Paul was happy that others preached Jesus even if their motivations were impure. Is this a difficult truth for us to accept?
   3. God will honour the truth of His word even if preached by one who is trying to cause trouble
   4. This does not give us a license to sin. People will and should examine our behaviour, attitudes, and believes in order to determine if we are a strong or weak witness (John 14:10-11)
2. What are we willing to give to Jesus through the local church without receiving credit of any kind?
3. Paul asked others to pray that he would be a faithful witness and in nothing be ashamed
4. How do you respond to the challenge to be a faithful and bold witness? (Philippians 1:19-21)
5. What does this phrase mean to you: "Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death"?
6. To what degree do you feel responsible that others may see your life and hear your words in a way that causes them to mature in Christ (Colossians 1:24, 28-29)
7. Paul held in high regard his colleagues that suffered for Jesus whilst remaining faithful to the Saviour. (Philippians 2:28-30) Whom do we hold in esteem?
8. How Important is integrity to one's Christian witness? Why?
9. What responsibility do we have for the way others think or feel about Jesus?

Adult Sunday School Lesson - 9:45am 10/30/11

Joy That Christ Is Preached

Philippians 1:12-18

Please join us as we discuss the following questions.


"How do you respond to the challenge to be a faithful and bold witness?"
Philippians 2:19-21


"Does our suffering benefit others?"
Philippians 2:17-18


"How important is integrity to a person's witness?"


"What responsibility do we have for the way others think or feel about Jesus Christ?"


I look forward to seeing everyone this Sunday.

A Man After God's Own Hart - Sunday Evening Sermon Outline

A Man After God's Own Hart

Psalm 42

1. The Hart's Desire (vs 1-3)
   
   1. David's desire was God, the living God. David did not want a false/imitation god who is no god at all.
   2. David's desire for the presence of God was intense. As intense as a thirsty hunted Hart.
   3. The hart (deer) used the water brooks to quench their thirst. They would also submerge themselves completely in order to throw off their scent and thus avoid capture.
      
      1. David's desire for God's presence was so intense he would forego physical nourishment day an night to obtain it (vs 3)
      2. Are we people after God's own hart?
      3. Would we give up food for God's presence?
      4. Do we pant after Him thirsting for the provision of Living Water, which is the lord Jesus Christ?
      5. Do we seek His protection whilst under attack?
2. The Hart's Detractors (vs 3, 5, 9-11)
   
   1. David's desire was met with detractors
      
      1. They were nonbelievers (vs 3)
      2. They were oppressive & cruel as they reproached (defamed) him (vs 9-10)
      3. His own soul was against him. He was depressed and cast down (vs 5 & 11)
   2. We must realise that our intense desire for God will be met with intense opposition.
3. The Hart's Decision (vs 4, 6-8)
   
   1. David decided to combat his internal and external opposition by remembering God (Ephesians 6:10-18)
      2.  He remembered God's loving kindness in the daytime from his personal experience.
   2.  He remembered the songs of praise and prayers in the night God had provided and heard (Acts 16:25)
   3. Will we decide as wisely as David and be a man after God's own heart as he was? 

Sunday Evening Sermon (6:30pm 10/23/11)

A Man After God's Own Hart

Psalm 42

Adult Sunday School Lesson - 9:45am 10/23/11

Praying As God's People

Matthew 6:5-15

1. The Right And Wrong Ways to Pray (Matthew 6:5-8)
1. Pray to be heard by god alone (Matthew 6:5-6)
1. Jesus warns against using prayer to display one's righteousness to men
2. Jesus warned against being a hypocrite (an actor under an assumed character) in prayer. Hypocrites prayed not because they were pious but because they wanted others to think them pious.
3. What results from a hypocrites prayer? They have their reward; the praise of men only. They receive nothing further from Jesus.
4. Jesus teaches us that we're to pray in secret (vs 6). He is not condemning all public prayer though. His point is that secret prayer is more likely to be sincere prayer and less likely to tempt us to spiritual pride.
5. Jesus will reward openly what he hears in secret. 
2. Pray straightforwardly (Matthew 6:7-8)
1. Jesus instructs us to avoid vain repetitions (stammering, babbling). Ironically, the model prayer is often used in this way (vs 7).
2. We have no reason to pray in this way because God already knows what we have need of. As a result, one may say, "why pray at all?" Our prayer is worship. When we pray we declare our utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ. When we pray we show that we recognise our need and are trusting Him to meet it.
3. Jesus is not condemning long persistent prayers (Luke 18:1). Nor is He discouraging all repetition (Matthew 26:39-44). He is stating clearly that God has no reason that we should "inform" Him of our need as if He is not aware.
2. The Model Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)
1. Reverence and submission (Matthew 6:9-10)
1. Jesus is not giving us a "prayer book" to repeat verbatim. He is merely including all the elements that God honours.
2. Our Father-Our prayer is the prayer of one who is spiritually the children of God through the atoning work of Jesus as our Saviour.
3. Which Art in Heaven-this sets God apart from all others.
4. Hallowed Be Thy Name-this refers to more than just His name. It includes the whole of His character.
5. We should pray for the coming of His kingdom in power and glory. His will not be done in a complete manner until He returns. We are to perform God's will whilst on earth as he gives us power to do so through prayer.
2. Petition for daily needs (Matthew 6:11)
1. Although God is holier and mightier than all He is extremely concerned for our daily needs 
2. Our prayer then should be that Jesus provide for our needs not our luxuries. 
3. Petition for deliverance from sin (Matthew 6:12-13)
1. A praying disciple duly recognises the holiness of God and the complete unworthiness of self. We must plead for His grace to remove this barrier to prayer.
2. We should be proactive and pray that God would not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil. We will never offer up this portion of the model prayer unless we realise we are weak and likely to fall given the right circumstances.
3. Unforgiveness Blocks Our Prayers (Matthew 6:14-15)
1. The importance of forgiveness 
2. How can we expect God to honour our requests for forgiveness if we harbour an unforgiving attitude in our hearts toward others?
3. God has given us a wonderful avenue of access to Him and He delights in our sincere prayers. We must approach Him with a pure, humble heart.

Sunday School

Please join us for Sunday School this Sunday, 23 October as our Adult Class learns how to "Pray As God's People". Our text will be taken from The Gospel of Matthew chapter 6 verses 5-15.

Our Mission

To present the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that people will have an opportunity to be saved. John Wesley said, "You have nothing to do but to save souls; therefore spend and be spent in this work." 


Please pray for us as we endeavour to perform the Great Commission.