Why Prayer?

Why Prayer?, "Renewed By Prayer" Series Part 1, Acts 1:4-8; 14, Acts 4:31

“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me;  5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."  6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"  7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.  8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth... 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers."

- Acts 1:4-8,14

 

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

- Acts 4:31  

Renewal For The City

Renewal For The City, Jeremiah 29:4-14, Zack Park

Jeremiah 29:4-14

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

- Jeremiah 29:4-14

Wholehearted

Wholehearted, Joshua 14:6-14

TEXT:

“6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me.  7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart.  8 But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God.  9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.'  10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.  11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.  12 So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said."  13 Then Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.  14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel.”

- Joshua 14:6-14

The Gifts Of The Spirit #2

The Gifts Of The Spirit #2, "You Are Not Alone" Series Part 8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-12

1 Corinthians 12:1-12

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

The Gifts Of The Spirit

The Gifts Of The Spirit, "You Are Not Alone" Series Part 7, Ephesians 4:4-16

TEXT:

“4 There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-  5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,  6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.  8 Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."  9 ( In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?  10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)  11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,  16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

- Ephesians 4:4-16

Did It Happen? Does It Matter?

Easter Service 2018, Matthew 28:1-10

TEXT:

"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.  2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.  3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.  4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.  5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.  7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you."  8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.  10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

- Matthew 28:1-10  

Following The Crucified Lord

Good Friday Service 2018, Luke 14:16-27, 33

TEXT: 

"But he said to him, "A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.  17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'  18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.'  19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.'  20 And another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.'  21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.'  22 And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.'  23 And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.  24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.'"  25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them,  26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.  27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.... 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. "

- Luke 14:16-27, 33