PASTOR MESSAGE
Find the ANSWERS to the Sunday Outline here each week.
===============================================================================
ANSWERS TO THE SUNDAY OUTLINE
Sermon Notes JULY 25
"Right Here in River City"
Those who have come to Christ should be about the business
of peacemaking as agents of R(econciliation).
In order to understand how to do this, we must first grasp the implications:
1. We N(eed) Peace Peace comes through P(urity) and S(urrender).
2. We M(ake) Peace. In order to become peacemakers we must
first come to know the peace of C(hrist) in our own hearts.
3. We R(eflect) the Prince of Peace.
We inherit the image of our Heavenly Father.
This is part of the process of S(anctification)
Sermon Notes "Meekness, Not Weakness
"The meek shall inherit the earth.
What the world tosses on the scrap heap,
God chooses for His D(ivine) P(urposes)
Meekness is not a natural quality, but a S(upernatural) work.
Meekness is an essential quality for:
1. S(alvation) You cannot know Jesus without realizing
you own spiritual P(overty) and sinful N(ature)
2. R(ecieving) anything from God.
Without meekness, you cannot recieve God's W(ord)
3. Effective W(itnessing)
4. Effective M(inistry)
Meekness is not W(eakness)
*********************************
MAY 16
Sermon Notes "Mirror Mirror"
There are too many Christians who stop at merely h(earing) and r(eceiving) the Word.
God's Word is not given to us just to make us smart. It is given to us that we would o(bey) it.
We must be d(oers) of the Word and not merely h(earers) of the Word.
"Too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right but are not willing
to endure the i(nconvenience) of being right."
When we fail to obey the Word, there di disparity between
what we P(rofess) and that which we p(ossess).
We are to recieve the word with a child-like heart:
with s(implicity),
T(eachability);
T(rust):
F(orgiveness);
R(eceptiveness).
There's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to
T(rust) and O(bey).
********************************************
MAY 9
Sermon Notes "You've Got to be Kidding"
"Let the little children come unto me, and do not hinder them,
for the K(ingdom) of G(od) belongs to such as these."
In order to recieve the Kingdom, we must recieve it
with a C(hildlike) H(eart).
The qualities of a Childlike heart are:
S(implicity); T(eachability); T(rust);
F(orgiveness); R(esponsiveness)
Do you have these qualities?
Have you grown older and F(orgotten) God?
It is not too late to return to the One who created you.
Simply receive it as a L(ittle) C(hild).
*********************************************
"God and Natural Disasters"
At times of natural calamities, thoughtful people just like you and me ask W(hy)?
How could a good God allow such t(ragedy)?
The reality is that God operates on a n(eed T(o) k(now) basis. In some mystical way,
God makes things that would destroy us into a G(ood) thing, to bring about his own purposes.
P(ain) is a reminder that we need God. It is God's m(egaphone).
Pain and suffering prepare us for the g(lory) that lies ahead.
In responding to pain and suffering, the personal principles include:
1. A(ffirm) the nature and character of God.
2. God in Christ created and c(ontrols this world.
3. A(ccept) what you can and cannot know. All suffering has meaning.
4. God always does what is b(est).
5. Administer the l(ove), g(race), and c(ompassion) of Christ to the suffering.
***********************************
APRIL 25
Sermon Notes "The Formula for Unity"
The formula for unity is found 1 Corinthians 1: 10-17, and includes:
The P(lea): Paul exhorts the Corinthian Christians to be U(nited).
He call for No D(ivision) among them.
The P(rinciple):
Paul arguess for our unity on the principle that all believers are one in C(hrist).
Christ is not D(ivided)
The P(riority): The Priority is the proclamation of the G(ospel).
This priority demonstrates singleness of P(urpose)
The Book of Order says "The unity of the church is a gift from God and
finds expression in its faithfulness to the M(ission) to which Christ calls it.
May God give us a fresh filling of his Holy Spirit that we may exhibit
the T(rue) unity of the Spirit
***************************************************************
APRIL 18
Scripture Lessons:
Isaiah 46: 5-10
John 21: 1-14
Message: "The Other Side"
What does the resurrection really mean?
This is a story of the Other Side of E(aster).
Jesus asks the question, "Friends, do you have any Fish?"
Do we have anything to show for the way we have spent
our t(ime) and e(ffort)?
Jesus says, "Throw your net on the o(ther) s(ide) and see what happens.
Life on the other side of Easter is not just a dream, or some sort of metaphor,
but a real, concrete p(ossibility for all of us.
Are you getting nowhere? Listen to Jesus' advice, and be ready for
new o(pportunities, r(esurrection) experiences, and E(aster) moments.
What does rising from the dead mean? We will find the answer as we leave
with the knowledge that Jesus is just a(head) of us.
***************************************
APRIL 18
Sermon Notes "The Other Side"
What does the resurrection really mean?
This is a story of the Other Side of E(aster).
Jesus asks the question, "Friends, do you have any Fish?"
Do we have anything to sho for the way we have spent our t(ime) and e(ffort)?
Jesus says, "Throw your net on the o(ther) s(ide) and see what happens.
Life on the other side of Easter is not just a dream, or some sort of metaphor,
but a real, concrete p(ossibility for all of us.
Are you getting nowhere? Listen to Jesus' advice, and be ready for
new o(pportunities, r(esurrection) experiences, and E(aster) moments.
What does rising from the dead mean? We will find the answer as we leave with the
knowledge that Jesus is just a(head) of us.
******************************************************
April 11
Sermon Notes "Now That I Can Dance"
Scripture Lessons:
John 21: 15-19
Deut. 6: 1-9
Not every love relationship takes the same path. Most take longer to develop into (Fulness).
So many of us have been settling for a relationship with Jesus as more of a "pal",
when he has been calling us to a level far more (Passionate)
Jesus didn't ask Peter, "Do you believe in me?", or "Do you work hard for me?",
He asked him "Do you really (Love) Me?
Taking our relationship with Jesus to a higher level involves daily (Face-to-face)
time with him. It also involves more (Honesty). It also means letting go of the (Steering Wheel)
and letting Jesus take control.
Do you want to take your relationship with Christ to a higher level?
The (Question) is asked. How will you respond?
We keep dragging the (Past) along with us into our (Present)
and even our (Future).
In Isaiah 43: 18-19, we are reminded to
"(Forget) the former things, do not dewll in the past.
See, I am doing a (New Thing)"
Focusing on things that can never be changed leads to
(Self-Pity),(Shame), (Bitterness), (Despair), and (Depression).
Make today the day you finally close those dark old chapters of your life.
Let this day be a day you claim a fresh new (Beginning) from the Lord.
Focus instead on the new things God is (Birthing)
right before your eyes.
You'll be much happier looking at what's ahead
of you than at what's already behind you.
=======================================
"All I Want for Christmas is Peace" answers:
Dec 20
Christmas will come, and along with it will come the (Good News)
that God is not dead.
There is a sharp contrast in this world between what is and what will be.
It takes (Advent Faith) to claim this vision of peace.
All too often, what is lacking is (Imagination).
We need a vision where swords are turned into (Plows)
and spears into (Pruning Hooks)
The advent message of peace on earth is a (Commission)
for the church to witness and to work in the name of the
One born Prince of peace.
Peacemaking requires a life of (Prayer).Peacemaking demands
ongoing resistence to the forces of (violence).
Peacemaking necessitates (Community)
Peacemaking requires living and working
among the (Poor and Broken)
==========================================================================
"Can You Still Hear the Bell"
Isaiah 60: 1-3 (in pew Bible Pg. 738, Lg. 1155)
Luke 2: 21-39 (Pg. 1015, Lg. 1591)
The miracle of Christmas is not Santa or elves or reindeer.
The miracle of Christmas is
found in the (Child)
A Biblical name we don't often hear at this
season is (Thomas)
The real Christmas story can be a lot to
(Digest) and (Believe)
The birth of Jesus was no ordinary birth.
Both Joseph and Mary had some sort of (Mystical Experience)
assuring them that this was no ordinary child.
The miracle of Christmas is found in what it
did for those who (Believed)
Can you still hear the bell? Do you still believe in the magic of Christmas?
Can you affirm enthusiastically (We Believe)?
