:sermons:

Colossians 1

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

1. Know God’s will. There are 2 aspects to His will: His universal will and His personal will. That personal will includes wisdom and understanding.

2. Do God’s will. This just means walking the talk.

3. Use the right resources. Operate in God’s power, not your own.

4. Have the right attitude–one of joy and thanksgiving.

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How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

How Deep The Father’s Love For Us lyrics by Stuart Townend

Today’s text:

Colossians 1:3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

The focus of the book of Colossians is the pre-eminence of Christ, and Paul was thankful that the church at Colosse was doing well.

What is the Gospel?
1) It is indeed Good News, Eternal News.
2) It is the message of Jesus Christ that we receive through faith.
3) It is a message of life-changing truth, enabling us to love the saints with agape’ love.
4) It is a message of hope; hope that is as certain as if it were already received.
5) It is a message that is universally effective, bringing forth fruit.

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Philippians 3:12-16

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let
us be of the same mind.

1)Remember you are not “there” yet. Life is a journey.
2)There needs to be effort on out part to move forward toward the things God has in store for us and to follow Him closely.
3)Forget about the past: that is, leave the past in the past. Quit looking back.
4)Anticipate the future and keep your eye on the goal.
5)Count on God to reveal to you what you need to know, when you need to know it.

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The sermon this week was on Thankfulness, which you probably did not realize, having just seen the title and all. We did alot of page turning this week, but I’ll avoid having you do that, by lifting the scriptures from Crosswalk.com. BTW, if you have not checked them out, do, because they are indispensable for things like this.

1) Thankfulness was exemplified by Jesus. The first, and main passage came from John chapter 6, with particular emphasis on verse 11. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

2)Thankfulness is expected of Christians. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

3)Thankfulness is enabled by the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5: 15-20 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

4) Thankfulness is expressed in worship. Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

5)Thankfulness is explained by faith. Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

There ya go. Three days late, and still right on time. Just as God’s word always is 🙂

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Today’s scripture was Habbakuk 2:2-3a

Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak

1) A vision is absolutely necessary. Without a vision the people perish.
2)The vision must come from God.
3)The vision must be communicable. We have to be able to explain it to others so they can understand it.
4)The vision is always looking to the future.

Then Chris shared the vision he has for Grace Point.

reaching the unchurched
developing disciples
encouraging personal ministry

There was more, but I was in the back row with a child on my lap, and had a harder time hearing than last Sunday. Good news: The back row was farther back than it’s been before, and we can adjust the sound.

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I think I’d like to do this as a theme. Do you like themes? I do 🙂 Of course, you know I am not a preacher, so it won’t be my sermons, but rather notes from the message I heard at church 🙂 I’ve been meaning to tell ya’ll more about my church since I got home last Sunday, but the week went by and I never said a word 🙁

I joined Grace Point Community Church last Sunday morning. What a thrilling time we are in! We currently meet in the gymnasium at the primary school, and last week was the first official meeting, though we’ve been meeting for some time. I was actually late finding out that the church had started.

I am so excited to be back in church again! I mean, I wake up excited to jump up and get there!! Quite a change from my demeanor over the past several months (read year). This week, I started getting excited Friday night! Last night, I forgot to turn on my alarm clock. I was asleep already when I got into bed. Dh woke me up at 9, and told me what time it was. I hurriedly pumped and we got on out of here. He told me that he’d been waiting for my alarm to go off.

Okay. Done here. I’ll post the notes later today.

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:sermons:
I know I haven’t posted a Sunday Sermon recap in a long time, but I think it’s time to get back into that habit, and also, yesterday’s sermon was just so powerful that I can’t not share. You know, there comes a point in your Walk that you have heard the Easter Story preached so many times that you settle in on Resurrection Story expecting to hear the same thing you’ve heard before. But yesterday, Pastor didn’t just preach the gospel, though the gospel was certainly included. Instead, he looked out at us, and he talked about the things that had happened on Friday. He talked about the journey Jesus had made through the streets of Jerusalem, and the things that were done to Him, and how his enemies, and even some of his followers, certainly thought it was over. And he reminded us of the things Jesus had said on the cross, and then he said………..

Why are you living on Friday?

It wasn’t finished, and it wasn’t over, and it is still not over, because the Power of the Resurrection is the same power we can live in today! There is no need to live defeated. That was Friday! Come out of Friday, because it is in the past. It’s over, and now it’s Sunday all the time! Resurrection Sunday!

It was an incredible service for me, and I realized how often I have fallen in to that trap of defeated living. But when God says nothing is impossible, that is exactly what He means. NOTHING! Not one thing! And that means yes, you can. Whatever He has called you to do, whatever dream He has given you, it is attainable in His strength. On Sunday, if only you are willing to live in Sunday instead of Friday.