Messages

SERMON OUTLINES

August 22, 2010

Let Nothing of You or Your World Be Considered Outside of Jesus!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-28.

  • Holism (from holos, a Greek word meaning all, whole, entire, total) is the idea that all the properties of a given system (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.
  • The general principle of holism was concisely summarized by Aristotle in the Metaphysics: "The whole is more than the sum of its parts" (1045a10).
  • Reductionism is sometimes seen as the opposite of holism. Reductionism in science says that a complex system can be explained by reduction to its fundamental parts. For example, the processes of biology are reducible to chemistry and the laws of chemistry are explained by physics.
  • Our holism as the Bride means that all of every one of us is ready to be with Jesus.
  • Our holism as the Body means that all of us are our brothers' keepers.

    August 15, 2010

    Making the Church Healthy: Life as a Worship Service

    1 Thessalonians 5:16-22.

  • Rejoice all the time.
  • Pray incessantly.
  • Give thanks in every circumstance.
  • Don't put out the Spirit.

    July 25, 2010

    A Healthy Church

    1 Thessalonians 5:12-14.

    1. Makes oversight easy
      1. Description of Elders
      2. Delight of the Body
    2. Ministers with sensitivity
      1. Duties of the Body
      2. Devotion to good

    July 18, 2010

    Light of the World

    John 8:12-20.

    If we stay close to Jesus, the Light, we will be:

  • Never in the darkness about who God is.
  • Never in the darkness about what it means to be human.
  • Never in the darkness about the human condition.
  • Never in the darkness about the will of God.

    July 11, 2010

    People of the Light

    1 Thessalonians 5:4-8.

  • Darkness comes before light.
  • Deliverance from darkness is a God-generated act.
  • Diligence is the defense system of readiness.
  • The Day will reveal all things.

    July 4, 2010

    The Good Appointment

    1 Thessalonians 5:9-10.

    1. The death of Jesus on our behalf is so that we will not face God's wrath.
    2. The death of Jesus is so that He will mediate for us.
    3. The death of Jesus is so that we will be intimate with Him.

    June 20, 2010

    Calvary's Future

    1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

    1. Truly believing in Jesus is a whole life commitment.
    2. A positive tomorrow belongs only to those who have identified with Jesus.
    3. Living in intimate relationship with Jesus is the quintessence of our existence.

    May 30, 2010

    Your Pile of Stones

    Joshua 4.

    What stones?

    1. The Ordinances: Baptism and Communion.
    2. The Scriptures.
    3. The Church: Every Believer.
    4. The God Sightings.


    May 16, 2010

    Living to Please God

    1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

    The Christian life is living life to please God: Verses 1-2.

    One way we do this is through pure sexuality.

    1. The Instruction: Verses 3-6a.
    2. Abstain from fornication.
    3. Live in self control.
    4. Don't take another's sexuality.
    5. There is a day of reckoning: Verse 6b.
    6. God's calling is to better things: Verse 7.
    7. True belief demands holiness: Verse 8.
    8. God's "always giving" is our enablement.


    April 11, 2010

    God's Word and Work

    1 Thessalonians 2:13-16.

    God's Word rooted in us assures us of settledness with Him.

  • The Stabilizing Word: Verse 13.
  • The Storm of Persecution: Verse 14.
  • The Shame and Sorrow of Unbelief: Verses 15-16.

    April 4, 2010

    True Faith

    1 Corinthians 15:1-11.

    Reasonable Faith.
    Recognized Faith.
    Received Faith.


    March 14-21, 2010

    The Messenger

    1 Thessalonians 2:1-12.

    Commissioned Servant (verses 2-6)
    Sensitive Mother (verses 7-9)
    Leading Father (verses 10-12)


    March 7, 2010

    It's a Healthy Baby!

    1 Thessalonians 1.

    Works of Faith (verses 4-6)
    Elect.
    Sweat of Love (verses 7-9)
    Exemplary.
    Enthusiastic.
    Endurance of Hope (verse 10)
    Expectant.


    February 28, 2010

    It's a Healthy Baby!

    1 Thessalonians 1.

    Works of Faith (verses 4-6)
    Elect.


    (to be continued)

    February 21, 2010

    Loving Deeply

    1 Peter 4:8.

    Vision Statement: What We Aspire To: We aspire to build a loving community of people who are like Christ in worship, edification and mission.

    2010 Theme Verse - 1 Peter 4:8: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

    John 13:1,3-5 (New International Version): 1. It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 3. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4. so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

    What keeps us from loving deeply?

    1. Our own shame.
      Psalm 25:7: Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways, according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.
    2. Our own uncertainty.
      Song of Songs 5:6: I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer.
    3. Our own fear.
      "You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. ... But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the seed to take root and grow into a striong plant. Every time you experience the pain ... you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds." - Henri Nouwen
    4. Our own selfishness.
      1 Corinthians 6:19-20: You are not your own; you were bought at a price.

      "What is an unspeakable gift of God for the lonely individual is easily disregarded and trodden under foot by those who have the gift every day. It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer.


    February 14, 2010

    How It Began

    Psalm 45.

  • The Great Pursuer and the Great Pursuit.
  • The Glorious Bride.
  • The Growing Progeny.

    February 7, 2010

    It Takes a Cross!

    Matthew 18:21-35.

  • God is the King from Whom all resources come.
  • Christ-followers are the community of servants.
  • Right relationship with the King and thus the fellow servants is always the concern.
  • Sin is the debt.
  • Repentance is the condition of reconciliation.
  • Forgiveness is the restorative power.
  • The character of the King is the character of the Kingdom, and thus His servants.

    January 31, 2010

    Calvary Church: The Forgiving Forgiven

    Matthew 18:21-35.

  • Repeating Wrongs.
  • Reckoning Justice.
  • Remitting Sins.
  • Regenerate Heart.

    January 24, 2010

    Exercising Incredible Power

    Matthew 18:18-20.

  • The Power of the Church is in its union with heaven.
  • The Power of the Church is in its unity with one another.
  • The Power of the Church is in its indwelling Christ.

    January 17, 2010

    Exercising Incredible Power

    Matthew 18:18-20.

  • The Power of the Church is in its union with heaven.

    (To be continued.)

    January 10, 2010

    Peace in Jerusalem

    Matthew 18:15-17.

    The Church's Terms of Engagement

  • Our Motive
  • Our Mandate
  • Our Method

    January 3, 2010

    Going After You

    Matthew 18:10-14.

  • The Father's Desire.
  • The Father's Design.
  • The Father's Delight.

    December 20, 2009

    You've Just Got To!

    Luke 2.

    Revelation results in adulation.
    Eyes that see and ears that hear unleash mouths that praise.

    This is Christmas.
    This is worthy.
    This is desirable.
    This is God's culminating purpose.

    December 13, 2009

    How to Live Effectively

    Luke 1:67-80.

  • Know His Pre-Eminence.
  • Know Your Place.
  • Know the Power.

    December 6, 2009

    How Can This Be?

    Luke 1:26-38.

    Call Him the Son of God

  • God has come to fulfill His Word.
  • God has come to save His people.
  • God has come to rule our lives.

    November 29, 2009

    The Promised Grace in Tragedy

    Genesis 3:15.

  • Continued through the Seed.
  • Struggle between the Seed.
  • Victory through the Seed.

    November 22, 2009

    The Case for Right

    Matthew 18:5-9.

  • The Reception with the Blessing - verse 5.
  • The Responsibility with the Caution - verses 6-7.
  • The Remedy with the Cost - verses 8-9.
  • The Recompense with the Reason - verses 8-9.

    November 8, 2009

    He Sent, They Went

    Luke 19:28-44.

    Observations:

  • He sent, they went: Even though what Jesus asked His disciples to do didn't make sense, they obeyed - verses 28-36.
  • What makes Christ weep: When we do not see and hear Him in our lives - verses 41-44.

    Reminder from Luke 18:29-30: Jesus guarantees any risk we take for Him.

    Application:

  • When God visits us, we need to be quiet and slow enough to hear Him.
  • Stand up and acknowledge to God that we may not know what He is doing, but make a commitment to Him.
  • Find good friends to stand around you.

    The important thing is our relationship with Jesus Christ and what we do with His call on our lives.

    November 1, 2009

    Receiving Jesus: A Different Perspective

    Matthew 18:5-9.

    In God's world, how we treat one another matters.

    The word for verses 1-4: Imitation.

    The word for the next few verses: Impression.

  • The Reception with the Blessing - verse 5.
  • The Responsibility with the Caution - verses 6-7.

    To be continued.

    October 25, 2009

    Home Plate

    Matthew 18:1-4.

  • The Question - verse 1.
  • The Example - verse 2.
  • The Starting Point - verse 3.
  • The Answer - verse 4.