THE LORD'S DAY: LIVING IN JESUS' GRACE (Sunday's Focus)
Interacting with God: Isaiah 6 (November 13, 2022)
What does it actually look like to interact with God? Is there a pattern given in Scripture for what real encounters with the living God looks like? Isaiah's commissioning story in Isaiah 6 gives us a clear understanding of how the glorious Creator interacts with his creatures. See also 2 Chronicles 26. This is the pilot message for our new sermon series. We are looking at why the different parts of a Sunday morning are important and how the historical Church has understand: prayer, scripture reading, tithes and offerings, music, sermon, the Lord's Supper, etc. How can we, like the faithful Church in history craft our entire Sunday morning to focus upon Jesus' grace and his gospel? How can we come as broken sinners and leave as emboldened servants being sent out?
Public Reading of Scripture (Nov 20, 2022)
Why do we read the Bible on Sunday mornings? It just seems like something we should do; kinda just goes with the territory. Is it just a tradition? Is there something powerful and significant behind it? Why have God's people been called "the people of the book" for millennia? Deuteronomy 27, Joshua 1, 2 Chronicles 34, Nehemiah 8, Luke 4
Corporate Prayer (Nov 27, 2022)
What does it mean to pray in Jesus' name? Why do we do it? Is it just a formality or a magic word? Why do we pray corporately on Sunday mornings? If you do not feel that your prayers are good enough, that you might not be heard by God, you need to hear the Bible's perspective on praying in Jesus' name. Hebrews 4:14-5:10, Luke 22:39-46.
Offering Our First Fruits (Dec 4, 2022)
Why do we give money on Sunday mornings? Why do we give to Christian organizations? Is giving really an offering of love toward God or is it simply the reality of living in a material world? Does money make the world go around or does God view it differently? What if giving to God is grace he gives to us? 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, Luke 19:1-9, Mark 12:41-44
Worship Through Music (Dec 11, 2022)
Why do we sing on Sunday mornings? How important is music to the Christian faith? We are using Psalm 23 as a template for Christian Worship. David says "me, my, I" 17 times but only "you and he" (speaking of God) 7 times. Does this mean that we need to focus more on ourselves or on God? What type of worship pleases God? What type of worship grows us? Exodus 14:23-15:21, Exodus 32:11-14, Numbers 14:13-19.
Preaching the Word (Dec 18, 2022)
Why do churches have preaching? Why has this been a prominent part of Sunday mornings since the beginning of the Church? Why does Paul make such a big deal of it in 2 Timothy 4? There are two roads available to every human being. Preaching directly relates to which path we often find ourselves on. 2 Timothy 3:1- 4:5, John 3:19-21, John 15:18-23.
The Lord's Supper: Deleting Idols, Participating in Jesus (Jan 8, 2023)
Symbols are simple concrete words, pictures, or ideas which powerfully represent deeper more significant realities. When we eat a little piece of bread an drink a little bit of wine on Sunday morning, what is it representing? Why is it so important that Jesus commands us to do it in remembrance of him? What if an idol is standing in the way of the life God has for me? Would I even be able to identify and dethrone this imposter? How can Communion help here? 1 Cor 10:14-22.
The Son and the Solar Panels (Jan 15, 2023)
As we finish this series we need to ask the question, Is Sunday morning accomplishing its intended purpose? Does Sunday morning re-calibrate and recharge us the way its meant to? Jesus has 7 "I am" statements in John. They boldly declare, "I am the answer to the most important questions and dilemmas of your existence." They are proclaiming, "I am the most important truth you have ever met. Without me you are destined to despair, deception and death. I am everything!" Can Sunday morning showcase and produce these results? John 1:14-18
Repentance: The Key to Consistent Growth (Jan 22, 2023)
A how to message on how to grow through the Bible. We often don't take the steps from our head to our heart to our hands to our habits with the Bible. What good is it to hear revolutionary ideas but never act on them? Faith comes from hearing about the alternative reality of God's kingdom. When we believe it deep enough that we bring it all the way into our lives, when we are so loyal to an idea that we transform our world to conform to its reality. . . that is where true growth happens in the Christian walk. Steve walks through the story in Matthew 9:9-13 and explains the questions he asked the Holy Spirit as he moved from head to heart to hands with the truth Jesus presents. The 12 questions are available at: abchapel@shaw.ca.
Godly Sorrow Leads to Repentance- 2 Cor 7:8-11(Jan 29, 2023)
How Do People Grow? We are looking more deeply at repentance. Godly sorrow is what the Holy Spirit does in the heart to fight and break down our resistance to following through in faith. We believe that God is right but we don't want to give up control. Godly sorrow is a grace King Jesus gives us through his Spirit to help us mourn and grieve. It breaks down the clutch of sin in our heads and our hearts which holds us deceived and dysfunctional. The pain that comes in godly sorrow leads to powerful healing and growth.
The Only Heart God Hears-Luke 18:9-14(Feb 5, 2023)
What does God think about me? What do we expect from God when we pray? What should we expect from God relationally? Jesus clearly lays it out for us in his Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. God will only respond to us favourably to us if we respond appropriately to him. If we don't think we need his help, he is not interested in providing any! God will not despise a broken and contrite spirit, but he hates the pride of self-sufficiency. Luke 18:9-14.