Philippians 2:3-11
What is the Incarnation?
Why was the Incarnation necessary?
What does it mean to us?
It’s all about how deeply God loves you!

Things Jesus Wants You to Know

You Are Loved

Genesis 12:1-4
Abraham, the father of our faith and the Children of Israel was called in the Bible “the friend of God.”
He and his wife, Sarah, were both key figures in God’s plan for the world; but just like you and me, they weren’t perfect, they were human.  They didn’t always get things right, but God loved them and used them mightily in spite of their humanness.  He loves you, and wants to use you, too.

I'm Only Human

Abraham And Sarah

Matthew 5:21-26
	Our world is littered with broken relationships. We have them in our families between husbands and wives, parents and children. We face them between employers and employees, with neighbors, different ethnic and social groups, between nations.
	The Bible gives us specific steps that bring healing to our personal relationship with God, and also other people.

Steps to Healing in a Relationship

Steps To Healing In A Relationhip

John 14:15-17
In the movie “Princess Bride, every time Princess Buttercup tells Westley to do something, he says, “As you wish,” and then he does it. The grandfather telling the story to his grandson tells his grandson that every time Westley says, “As you wish,”what he is really saying is, “I love you.”  Notice that every time Westley says, “As you wish,”
The point is that it is easy to say, “I love you,” but it is action that gives credence to our words.
The greatest example of this is Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane when he said, “Nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done.”  In essence, the Lord is saying, “As you wish.”  He follows that with the action of going to the Cross. 
Every time we know what the Lord wants of us, our response should be, “As you wish,”
followed by obedience.  The combination of words and action are a strong statement to our Lord that you love Him.

As You Wish

Listen and Worship
Hebrews 12:25-29
As we wrap up our review of the Essentials of Christian Maturity, we close with the importance of listening to Him and worshiping Him.

Listen and Worship

Listen And Worship

Luke 4:16-21
Many see the transformed lives of Christians and assume that these outer trappings are what Christianity is, that Christianity is about being a good, honest, moral person.
Sadly, they have missed what caused to change in the Christian, which is personally receiving the forgiveness, cleansing and renewal of life that Jesus gives to those who have received what He paid for on Calvary.

Believe and Receive

Believe And Receive

Manipulating and controlling people – They’re all around us – In corporations, in politics, in the entertainment industry, in our schools, in our circles of friends, in our families, in our homes, and everywhere else.  People all around us are attempting to control our lives.  Some mean well, but still try to pull us from God’s will for our lives.  Others are predators who simply want to use us in some way.  Whether they mean well or ill, we must deal with them in a liberating scriptural way that keeps us on God’s path for our lives.

Extra Grace Required

Manipulators

Extra Grace Required - The Manipulators

Matthew 15: 1-9
"You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME."  (Matthew 15:7-8)
	These past few years could be officially labeled the Era of Hypocrisy Revealed.  
	As I have read one news account after another, the words of Numbers 32:33 have come to mind:  “You have sinned against the Lord, and be sure that your sin will find you out.”
	There have been casualties on both ends of the political spectrum from a congressman who ran and voted on a right-to-life ticket encouraging his mistress to get an abortion to a staunch women’s rights supporter being toppled from his place at the top of  the entertainment industry because of multiple reports of sexual assault.
	In between these two extreme cases, myriads of others have had hypocrisy in one form or another revealed.
	We are going to run across hypocrites, everywhere let’s face it.  We’ll find them in our government, in our schools, in our businesses, in our churches and in our families.  Also, if we are really honest, we must admit that we ourselves can be hypocrites;  so let’s see how we’re supposed to handle hypocrisy in others and in ourselves.

Hypocrites

Who is Jude?  I love his explanation of who he is.
     He gives us his Personal Identity.  He is Jude.
     He gives us his Spiritual Identity.  He is a bond-servant of Jesus Christ.
     He gives us his Social Identity.  He is the brother of James.
     I think the order he gives tells us a lot about him as well.
     Personal Identity, comes first, Spiritual Identity comes second, and Social Identity comes third.
     Although worldly people would have you believe otherwise, our social relationships are not nearly as important as our spiritual relationship.
     In eternal value, our relationships on earth are not nearly as important as our relationship to Jesus, and our social relationships can never be as wonderful as they could be if our relationship with Jesus is not what it should be.
     Jude identifies as a bond-servant of Christ.  This message is about what that means.

Jude

Who Are You?

Who Are You

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley held that The essentials of the faith are changeless.  He shared this quote from St. Augustine which sums this all up pretty well:
“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.”
     Our founder held that there is a core, essentials of the faith that all believers hold in common.  These essentials are pretty well outlined in the historic creeds, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.
     Jude was writing to the church to exhort them to stay on track with the essentials and not be led astray by false teachers and teachings within the church.

Earnestly Contend For The Faith

Jude 1:5-16
     Jude says that false teachers are the rebels we read about in Scripture. They’re going to be judged. And they’re dangerous to us.
     That’s why Jude writes:
“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)

False Teachers

Jude 1:17-23
     As you face all the things that are going on in the world today, make sure that your number one priority is to “keep yourselves in the love of God.” 
     According to Jude, this is how you keep ourselves in the love of God: 
     1.  building ourselves up in our most holy faith; 
     2.  praying in the Holy Spirit; 
     3.  waiting for Christ’s return.

Living in the Last Days

Living In The Last Days

Luke 4:16-21
In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus reads from the Book of Isaiah written 700 years before, and declares that this Messianic prophecy is fulfilled in Him.
To sum up the mission of His first advent, He has come to free us from our past, help us live in the present and look forward to the future.
He came to give us a Fresh Start.  What better time than the beginning of the year to make sure that we are embracing what He offers!

A Fresh Start

Fresh Start

The Question We Each Need To Ask Ourselves as this New Year Begins: “Am I Living A Life That Pleases God?  Am I Living A Live Of Faith?”

Faith

He Believed God

God’s call to Abraham was to leave where he was and go where he would lead him.  He had a wonderful plan for Abraham’s life.  Wonderful promises were given to Abraham if he would do this.

The Leap of Faith

The Leap Of Faith

Genesis 12:1-4
Just as God called Abraham, God calls you.  It’s up to you to leave the things He calls you from and head out to the the places He wants to show you.
As you answer His call, the promises of Abraham become yours.

The Blessings of Faith

The Blessings Of Faith

When we think of “the wilderness” we think of remote, desolate places filled with loneliness and the unknown.  In the Bible we see many go through times in the wilderness.
As we look at the Bible accounts of people in the wilderness, we see first of all, that although they thought they were all alone, they were in the very presence of God. Next we see that in the wilderness we can find an intimacy with God we can find nowhere else. Finally, we see that when the people came out of the wilderness they emerged with knowledge and power they could receive in no other way.
In our day there are many sorts of wildernesses people find themselves in: They may involve relationships, finances, spiritual dilemmas, health, or any other number of situations where you may think that you are all alone, or that maybe God has just forgotten you.
You’re not all alone.  God is with you. He hasn’t forgotten you.

The Wilderness

At this point in history, everything from social media and politics to cultural conflict has brought us to a time when we as Christians need to step back and consider our words, their power, how we have been using them and how we should be using them.
	 Think about it.  Everything you have said this week has either been life-giving or death-dealing, and there is nothing in between. The tongue has the power to kill, to destroy, to hurt, to maim and to assassinate, or to heal, help, inspire, encourage, influence, save and bring peace.

The Importance of Words

The Importance Of Words

Jonah 3:1-5, 10
Mark Twain said: "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."
Both of those days are important to God, too. He needs you to be you right now.
The answer to why you were born is something that a lot of people struggle with, and approach in a lot of different ways.
If you are one of those who has struggled with this, I hope this message will help you, because one of the things that is answered clearly in the story of Jonah is why you were born.

Why Were You Born?

Why Were You Born

Luke 9:23-27
What greater sacrifice could you give this Lent than your self-centeredness?
From what I read in the Bible, this is the greatest sacrificial gift you can give to the Lord.

The Way of the Cross

I have discovered you can never enter the Kingdom of God by questioning God’s motives, existence, etc. Even though I live in the Kingdom, I can never prove it to you. The only way is to approach God like a little child, trusting and believing what He has revealed of Himself in His Word and through His followers down through the ages.  As long as we stand back, arms folded, saying, “I want to believe.  Prove it to me and I’ll believe it,” as I did for many years, you will never make any headway.  However, if you will take the things He has revealed and start applying them as if they are true, He will prove Himself to you.
We begin our four-week study of childlike faith by examining the core conviction we must have if we are living out of a childlike faith, and that is that “God is for me.”

Like a Child

God Is for Me

God Is For Me

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10

     Jesus tells us in Mark 10:15, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a:.little child will never enter it. 
     The way that a little child would describe God’s omnipresence would be to personalize it and say, “God is with me.”
     Scripture makes it clear that God, although greater than we could ever imagine, is big enough to be with each one of us in a very personal way. 
     As we recognize His presence, talk to Him, and listen to Him we find forgiveness, peace, answers to our burning questions, comfort, purpose and hope.
     Are you enjoying His presence?  Did you know that you could?

God Is With Me

David was very confident, not only about his present circumstances, but also that in the future God would see him all the way home. He believed that valley times were appointed for His good. He learned things about God that could be learned no other way than being in the deep ravines of life. He stayed close, trusted in God's protection and guidance all the way. All because he could say, "The Lord is my shepherd."(Like a Child, God takes care of me.)

God Takes Care of Me

God Takes Care Of Me

God is 100% Loving
God is 100% Merciful
God is 100% Just
Only one place that all three of these characteristics can come together to bring us into a forgiven state with God, and be brought into His Kingdom, and that place is the Cross.
That’s why we sing, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

Like a Childe

God Forgives Me!

God Forgives Me

Mark 16:1-8
     Many have grown up in the Christian faith, and believe God can, but when it comes to them, personally, they don't believe God will! They believe God might do it for somebody else, but don't believe God will do it for them. 
     Maybe you've even heard about God doing really incredible things, but you just think God's going to do it "way over there;" “He’s never going to do it over here. That’s for others, not for me.”  
     A child has the faith to believe not only my God can but my God will do these things in my life..

My God Can Do Anything!

My God Can Do Anything

2 Chronicles 20:1-30
We worry a lot about the “What-ifs” don’t we?  When faced with a challenge or problem in life we can waste a lot of time on the ‘what-ifs.
On Easter morning the two Marys realized they had a problem:  “Who will roll away the stone for us? At the moment the question came up, they had 2 choices.  They could just get on to the tomb and see what could be done, or they could have gotten caught up in the “what-if” game:
What if the guards are mean to us?
What if they refuse to let us into the tomb/
What if there’s no one around?
Interestingly, when they got there there was no problem at all.  Jesus had already risen, an the stone was no problem at all.
We can waste a lot of time worrying about the “what-ifs.”  What should we as Christ-followers do instead?

What If?

What If

John 3:16-21
The Good News changes everything. The Good News takes all the bad news and filters it and changes it, so that all these words (condemnation, repentance, judgment, death) that were very, very bad news for us as sinners, all change because a Person, a Messenger, The Messenger came into this world, and brought the Good News!

Bad Words

Bad Words - Condemnation

Luke 24:44-49
Repentance is not a bad word.  The Greek word we translate “repentance” means to “change your mind.
The most important thing we must change our mind about is God.
Once we change our mind about Him, and realize that He loves us and is for us, and we need Him, we’ll quit running an hiding from Him, and He will begin to change our hearts.

Repentance

Bad Words - Repentance

John 15:1-7
Before you can abide in the Lord, draw life from Him and bear fruit, you have to be connected!

Check the Connection

Check The Connection

Hebrews 11:6
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Today we begin looking at the Apostles’ Creed by considering its first phrase,  “I believe in God The Father.”
The Bible declares God’s existence. It does not attempt to prove it. Certain things are so true that philosophers call them “properly basic.” They are so true that you can’t properly understand reality without them. From a biblical standpoint, the existence of God falls into that category.
Either you believe in God or you don’t. If you do, then you are in good company. According to the latest poll I could fine, 89% of those surveyed say they believe in God. Nine out of ten Americans say they believe in God.  Most Americans believe in God, even if they can’t agree on what kind of God they believe in. If that’s true, then it may seem unnecessary to devote a sermon to the first phrase of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God.”  This may seem like a kindergarten lesson, a truth we learned in Sunday School many years ago. But it’s always dangerous to take our faith for granted. Maybe we don’t know everything we think we know.

The Apostles' Creed

I Believe in God the Father

I Believe In God The Father

Joel D. McMahon is a pastor, teacher and counselor currently serving San Felipe United Methodist Church in historic San Felipe, Texas.

His24-7.com

Popular tracks