2/27/2011


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At War with Ourselves part 7 of the "8 simple things" series

Dr. Scott E. Koenigsaecker
Galatians 5:16-23 ~ February 27, 2011


2/20/2011


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BENEFITS OF STARTING AT THE BOTTOM part 6 of the "8 simple things" series

Dr. Scott E. Koenigsaecker
Mark 9:33-35 & John 13:1-5; 12-15 ~ February 20, 2011

INTRODUCTION
 
A. What are we really after in life?
·       Do we want our life to count?

B. Jesus says if we want to make a difference, and have an impact, we are going to have to serve.
"’What were you discussing?’…They didn't answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest…'Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.'"                                                                         Mark 9:33-35

C. Service to others was the way that Jesus lived…and died.
"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many."                               Mark 10:45

D. Jesus wants His service to others to be a model.
"Then He began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel He had around Him...'I have given you an example to follow.  Do as I have done to you.'"                                                John 13:5 &15

I. THE TWO BIG QUESTIONS THAT MUST BE ANSWERED.

A. Am I choosing obedience over convenience?
“Jesus said, 'If you love Me, obey My commandments."     John 14:15

"He [Jesus] replied, 'But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.'"                           Luke 11:28

·       "As Christians we want the benefits but we don't want to pay the cost for those benefits."                    Author & Pastor Rev. Doug Fields
·       The cost of all the benefits we receive in Christ is obedience.
"If any of you want to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang on to your [convenient] life, you will lose it.  But if you give up your [convenient] life for my sake, you will save it."
Matthew 16:24-25
·       A great example:
"Jesus called out to them, 'Come, be My disciples’...They immediately followed Him, leaving the boat and their father behind."                                                             Matthew 4:19 & 22

·       Service doesn't come easy to us because of our pride.
 "Pride ends in humiliation…"                              Proverbs 29:23

B. Am I really looking for opportunities to serve?
·       Opportunities both large and small
"God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God's many kinds of blessings."                                                           1 Peter 4:10

"And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of My followers, you will surely be rewarded."                         Matthew 10:42
    
·       Service is difficult because we are selfish.
"Don't be selfish."                                                        Philippians 2:3

·       We have to train ourselves to be willing and observant.
"…train yourself to be godly….for godliness…promises benefits in this life and in the life to come."                                        I Timothy 4:8

CONCLUSION:



2/13/2011


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IM-ING WITH GOD part 5 of the "8 simple things" series

Dr. Scott E. Koenigsaecker
Matthew 6:5-8 ~ February 13, 2011

INTRODUCTION

A. Prayer is an ongoing conversation with someone we love.

B. "Effective prayer will have a Christian deliberately seeking the mind of God on a particular matter that's on his or her heart."
                                                            Author and Pastor Dr. Charles Swindoll

I. WHAT PRAYER IS NOT.

A. "When you pray you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men."                                                 Matthew 6:5

B. Prayer is not bargaining or pleading with God.

C. Prayer is not a get rich quick scheme.

D. Prayer is not presenting a wish list as though God were a genie.

E. Prayer is not a substitute for responsible action.

F. Prayer is not a shallow formula.

II. THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER

A. "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people.  Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf and give thanks for them.  Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity."                Timothy 2:1-2
·       Prayer is a priority, a spiritual response to the events, circumstances and relationships of life.
·       "All the believers devoted themselves to…prayer."          Acts 2:42
·       …pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done."                                                   Philippians 4:6
·       "Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion."
                                                                                          Ephesians 6:18

B. Prayer should not be crowed out by a busy schedule.

III. THE PROMISES OF PRAYER.

A. God promises that He will hear and answer regardless of the time.
"And how bold and free we then become in His presence, freely asking according to His will, sure that He's listening.  And if we're confident that He's listening, we know that what we've asked for is as good as ours."                                      I John 5:14-15 (The Message)

B. God promises His presence regardless of the outcome.
"Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time He said, 'My grace is all you need.  My power works best in weakness.'                                                                   2 Corinthians 12:8-9

C. God promises inner peace regardless of the chaos and complication of life.
 "Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand."                                                          Philippians 4:7

CONCLUSION


2/06/2011


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THE RESPONSE OF THE RESCUED

By Joel Rosenauer, Director of Music, Worship & Arts
Colossians 1:13-18 (NIV) ~ February 6, 2011

Introduction

God isn’t interested in your spiritual life only.  He’s interested in your whole life!

I.  WE ALL NEED TO BE RESCUED.

  1. We need to be rescued from difficult life situations.

  1. We need to be rescued from darkness to light, and have our sins forgiven.
“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”                              Colossians 1:13-14

II.  JESUS IS OUR RESCUER.

  1. It will be easier to trust Jesus if we know who He is.

  1. It is important to know the Jesus of the Bible because there are many ‘false’ versions of Jesus available.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”      Colossians 1:15-17

III.  WE ARE RESCUED TO WORSHIP.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”                                                       Romans 12:1

  1. We are to offer our very lives to God; everything we think, everything we do, everything we are.

  1. As we worship, we become part of the rescue mission!

Conclusion