Sermon: What is the Church? The Manifest Presence

What is the church? The body, a family, a people, the bride. Mt 16:18
The church is important.
Eph 2:17-22 Jesus preached peace to Jews (you can be religious and still not be saved) and Gentiles. Through Jesus, we have access to God by his Spirit. Eph 2:1.
We are family in God's household, the church, built on the foundation of Jesus. Jesus is doing a transforming work in our lives. All of us are joined together to be God's church, and he is building each of us to become a dwelling place for his Spirit.
★Did I come today longing for God's presence? Do I have an expectation that God will be here working through his Spirit? Don't settle for anything less than the manifest presence of God, God working in and through us.

Sermon: I Am Second ... John Carruthers

John 3:30 He must increase, and I must decrease.
John 1:6-9, Luke 1:16-17 John was a forerunner to the Christ. His purpose was to preach the coming of Christ. John 3:28
- to be second, you have to submit and give control to who is first. John 3:27-30, John was full of joy and content to give all over to Christ.
- to be second, you must remain second. 1 Cor 3:7
- because I am second, I am forgiven.  Rom 3:23-25, Jn 3:16.
- because I am second, I belong to the Lord. Rom 14:8
- because I am second, I am an example. Gal 2:20
★ in my life, what is God trying to use me for?
Iamsecond.com
Mt 11:28-30

Sermon: Elijah

1 Ki. 18 Elijah and the prophets of Baal.
Elijah is calling out the people of God, not the prophets of Baal. But the people were silent. He does this so that the people's hearts will be drawn back to God.
We have settled for so many gods, and waver between them and the real God.
- obedience is a huge part of being involved in God stuff. I want my life to matter. Elijah obeyed God for a looong time before this event happened. When God speaks, we should obey. 1 Ki 17:1-5, 8-10; 18:1-2 God most often speaks to us through his word.
- prayer is a huge part of being involved in God stuff. Need to be in prayer constantly. Ja 5:13-18
- there is no power in dancing.  It's not about the outward experience, it's about the heart being in tune with the one true God. Don't just follow customs, be truly linked with God in spirit.
- No wavering!!! Choose God alone, not idols. Duet 30:15-18 Don't worship ourselves, materialism, comfort, sports, tv, family, etc. Worship God alone!
- God is the hero of this story 1 Ki 8:39
★if I want to experience the supernatural fire called down from heaven, I need to be prepared by obeying, praying, being in God's word, being one with him in spirit.

Sermon: Sampson

Judges 13-16
Sampson was set apart from birth, and should never cut his hair. He fell in love with a Philistine woman. He had great strength from God, but was tricked by Delilah, and ended up captured and in prison. He died by crumbling the philistine temple and killing many philistine people.
- it is easy to get off track. Judges 13:1-5 Sampson was set apart for God from the beginning. Num 6:1-5 Along the way Sampson lost his vision. Pray to follow God's vision and obey. Judges 14:9 should not have touched a dead animal. He hid this sin, and got off track.
- stay away from bad boys and bad girls.
- if you have been crushed, you must get past it. Judges 15:1-3 Sampson was out for revenge instead of following God. We need to get over being hurt and move on with God. ★ You cannot make good decisions if you're still crushed from past hurts.
- when the world closes in on you, you need to worship and pray. Don't break down. Run back to God's arms, He's waiting for you.
- it is never ever too late to turn back to God. Judges 16:28 God heard his prayer. Sampson is in Heb chapter 11 as a man of faith.
- like Jesus, Sampson gave his life to save his people.
★ I've been crushed and need to get past it. Run to God, pray, worship. Get out of the pit, Christy!

Sermon: Joseph by Cameron Cathcart

Isa 55:8-9 we look at life from our human perspective, instead of from God's perspective.
We will have trouble in this life, and its easy to get angry with God.  We need to trust him, especially in troubled times.
Gen 39:1-2 The Lord was with Joseph.
Gen 39:20-21,
You will have tribulation, but take heart because he has overcome the world.
God is sovereign

Sermon: David and Goliath

1 Sam 17
-as always, God is the hero of the story. v46-47  David is a foreshadowing of Jesus coming in the new testament
-Goliath was not the opposition, fear and pride were. David knew it wasn't about himself, but about God. Giants in our lives are opportunities for people to see how awesome God is.
-God is watching and is preparing you for the battles ahead. v34-36. Ps 19:1-6 God knows what is coming in our lives, and is always preparing us to do his work and bring glory to God. God chooses nobodys to become somebodys to bring glory to God.
-Take the first step. v40. Don't hang back in fear, press forward in God's strength and power. But you'd better know God, and have faith in him. "Faith is belief plus unbelief, but acting on the belief part"

Sermon: The blazing furnace

Dan 3 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
-They would not bow. Dan 3:12,15-16
We have compromised long before we get to the point of the threat of life and death. "It's no big deal. Everybody's doing it." "I'll do it in secret." Dan 1:8-9, 17-19; 6:19-20 They had been serving their God day by day, continually making sacrifices for Him, keeping their eyes on Him. If I'm failing I'm the small things, I will fail in the big things.
-They would not bend. Dan 3:16-18
They knew that God could save them. They had heard the stories of old, of miracles, of God's great power. They trusted God completely. Do I have an unbending Faith in God? They didn't know if God would save them, but they still stayed strong. Even if He didn't save them, He's still God.
Even though things in my life haven't gone the way I want, God is still God, the one true God, and I need to trust Him and love Him completely. They didn't make their obedience contingent upon God doing what they wanted.
-They would not burn. Dan 3:25-27 They reached out to God and praised Him. Just as miraculous as the fourth man in the fire is Jesus showing up to live a perfect life and die for us, so that we may have life eternal with our wonderful God.