Pastor’s Blog

Sunday, June 27, 2010

In These Last Days: It Matters

How can I believe that my life matters?  The fact that we will give account of ourselves on a day of Judgment indicates that what we do with our lives does matter.  The problem is believing that our lives matter.

I can believe that my life matters if I believe that God knows me very well.

I can believe that my life matters if I believe that I can accomplish truly great things.

I can believe that my life matters if I believe that because of Jesus my name is written in the Book of Life.

1.)  Read Romans 14:10-12.  How does the reality of a Day of Final Judgement and giving account of ourselves to God indicate that what we do with our lives does matter?  Many persons would like to ignore or do away with the idea that God will judge all the people of the earth; but what would that mean to the importance of the decisions we make and how we choose to live our lives?  What is it about living in this world that makes it so hard, at times, to believe that our lives really do matter?

2.)  Read Revelation 2:1-4; 2:8-9; 2:12-13; 2:18-19; 3:1; 3:7-8; 3:14-15.  The obvious connection of all these verses is that Jesus is very aware of what’s going on in our lives.  Share about a time in your life when it was very important to you to know that Jesus was well aware of what was going on in your life.  As you read through these verses do you feel as if God is very aware of what’s going on in your life and in your heart right now?  Why, or why not?  Pastor Craig stated that God is not a computer who is programmed to pay attention to us, but rather He chooses to pay attention to us; and thus we know our lives matter to Him.  What does that thought mean to you?

3.)  Read John 15:4-6.  Does the promise of bearing much fruit (doing truly great things) seem realistic to you?  Why, or why not?  What does it mean to abide in Jesus?  What is, and is not, the fruit (the truly great things) Jesus speaks of?  If I don’t believe Jesus’ word that if I abide in Him I will bear much fruit, what will happen in my heart and soul?  Are you motivated to seek to abide in Jesus and seek to do truly great things by Jesus’ words in this passage?  Why, or why not?

4.)  Read Revelation 20:11-15.  Here is the key to believing that what I do with my life matters: if I believe that in the end I will be going to hell (or finally to the lake of fire spoken of here), then obviously what I do with my life doesn’t matter very much.  What are common misconceptions about who ends up in heaven and who ends up in hell?  What does the Bible actually say about that?  The fact that Jesus died on the cross and went to hell for me means that my life apparently matters a great deal.  Why is it so hard, at times, to hold on to that?

Sunday, June 20, 2010

In These Last Days:  Wickedness

How do you stay true to God, and the calling He has put on your life, when wickedness is multiplying all around you?

….you keep reading the Bible every single day.

….you get away from persons who are pulling you into their wickedness.

….you trust that Jesus will sustain you to the end.

1.)  Read Matthew 24:1-13.  Does it seem to you that wickedness has multiplied as history progresses, or does it seem that things are mostly the same as they always have been?  Why? What is it about the progress of time that produces an increase of wickedness?  Pastor Craig stated that just as the challenges of staying true to God have increased as history progresses, so it is true in our individual lives that the challenges of staying faithful increase rather than decrease as the years of life go by.  Do you agree with that?  Why, or why not?

2.) Read II Timothy 3:1-5, 10-17.  What does Paul list as the benefits of reading scripture?  Give examples of how you have seen those benefits in your life.  The power of family, friends, media, etc., to influence our hearts and minds is so great, what is it about reading the Bible day by day that gives us strength to be true to God and His calling on our lives?  In other words, how can there be so much power in reading the words on a page?  Why is it so difficult to keep a consistent discipline of scripture reading?

3.)  Read Ephesians 5:3-8, I Corinthians 15:33, Proverbs 22:24-25.  Have you had to get away from persons who were pulling you into their wickedness?  How did that work out?  Is it judgmental to say that bad company corrupts good morals?  Why, or why not?

4.)  Read I Corinthians 1:4-9.  How does trusting that Jesus will sustain you to the end give you strength to hold on to your faith?  What do see in this passage of scripture about how it is that Jesus sustains us?  How does the fear of failure become a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

In These Last Days:  Procrastination

A series of sermons examining what the Scriptures teach us about time, the future, and what lies beyond time.  What you believe about the “big picture” affects how you live your life day by day.

How can I make the most of the time God has given me?

…..by knowing that the seasons of life, life itself, and all of time come to an end suddenly and unexpectedly.

…..by knowing that those who work at the things of God will reap a great harvest.

…..by leaving the past behind, and pressing forward, confident in the grace of Jesus Christ.

1.)  Read Ephesians 5:15-16.  What does Paul mean, and not mean, by the phrase, “making the most of the time”?  In what ways has procrastination kept you from being the person God has called you to be?  Pastor Craig interpreted the words, “because the days are evil” as referring to the deceptiveness of time (seasons of life seem, falsely, to stretch out endlessly before us).  In what ways have you been “deceived” by time?

2.)  Read Matthew 24:36-51.  Jesus makes very plain that His coming on the clouds to gather God’s people will be sudden and unexpected.  Does knowing this affect whether you make the most of the time God has given you?  Why or why not?  Does knowing that all the seasons of life are subject to sudden and unexpected changes affect whether you make the most of the time God has given you?  Why or why not?  How can we, like the faithful and wise servant (vs. 45), keep the knowledge that our Master’s return will be sudden and unexpected (and that seasons of life end suddenly and unexpected) in our hearts and minds, though life seems to stretch on and on?

3.)  Read Matthew 9:35-38 and John 4:31-38.    What is the harvest that Jesus is speaking of?  Does it seem to you that there is a plentiful or meager harvest for those who work at the things of God?  Why?  What makes it difficult to believe Jesus’ words that there will be a plentiful harvest?  How does believing there will be a plentiful harvest inspire you to make the most of the time (give an example from your life)?

4.)  Read Philippians 3:12-14.  How do Paul’s words, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” speak to your heart?  How do the failures of the past paralyze us as we look to the challenges of the future?  How does the Cross set us free from that paralysis?  How has the grace of our Lord Jesus empowere you to make the most of the time?

Sunday, June 6, 2010

In These Last Days: Change

A series of sermons examining what the Scriptures teach us about time, the future, and what lies beyond time.  What you believe about the “big picture” affects how you live your life day by day.

How do you live your life when you know everything is going to change?

You put your trust in the One who will not change.

You work for the things that will last.

1.)  Read II Peter 3:1-12.  What emotional reactions do you have to this passage?  Why?  Peter clearly spells out the sudden, huge change coming to the whole creation; but the scoffers (verses 4-5) say that nothing ever changes and nothing ever will.  If the scoffers are right (though they’re not), how would that impact how you live your life?  If Peter is right (and he is), how does that affect how you live your life? Is it better to pretend to yourself that things won’t change, or is it better to live with the awareness that everything will change?  Why?

2.)  Read Matthew 24:1-8.  Jesus makes plain to His disciples that all of history will be full of change, trial, and difficulty.  What have been the most difficult changes you have had to face in life?  What made those changes so difficult?  Why are we so often frightened by change?  How does fear of change affect how we live our lives?  Share a change that happened in your life that you had feared, but in the end God worked a great good through that change.

3.)  Read Isaiah 44:6-8 and Psalm 46:1-3.  What does it mean to you to know that the Lord is the first and the last?  Pastor Craig spoke of living your life in a world where everything will change by putting your trust in the One who does not change.  In practical terms, what does that mean to you?   Why is it so easy to put trust in the changing things of this world, but so hard to put trust in the unchanging Lord?

4.)  Read Matthew 6:19-21.  What are the treasures in heaven Jesus speaks of?  How do you, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven”?  Pastor Craig spoke of working for the things that last.  In what ways are you working for the things that last?  What other people do for you is a blessing in this life, but what remains through every change is what you did for others.  How do you see that working in your life?