[Weekly - Su/M] What did you learn/teach at church?

Time to revive this thread (even though I'm a day late in posting a reply)!

We had a guest speaker at church this week who taught from the Old Testament. Specifically, he took a passage from Joshua about Joshua and his army, aided and directed by God, made significant progress in securing the Promised Land. The speaker provided 5 points of application, the first of which was to identify the enemy. I...forget points 2-5, but I think I have some notes at home I can reference when I get home tonight or tomorrow.

What did you all learn or teach in church this past Sunday? Here's hoping your memory is better than mine...
 
We were also in Joshua. Wasn't the pastor, but an ordained pastor who has connections at our church. He definitely went the "preaching as a prophet and calling things as he sees them" route. He talked about God's calling, and calling us not always to easy or comfortable things.

Unfortunately, the overall morning did not go as well as I would have liked, so my memory is not exactly perfect on the sermon, either. Alas.
 
Don't Give Up! That's the main message I got today from our sermon based on:

Ephesian 6:13 said:
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Click to expand...

I will most likely forget something here, being human and all that, but I'll do my best!
Many take this as a defensive posture, which can be true, but it can also be taken as "Don't Give Up!" when pressing into a situation to resolve it. Standing does not always mean "not moving" but can also refer to "remaining true to a belief."
If I "Stand on the Word of God" I'm not actually placing my feet on a Bible, I'm "Remaining firm in the belief God's Word is Truth." If I am "standing with my brother" I'm not necessarily right next to him, I could very well be supporting him in some fashion, even if he's hundreds of miles away!
Satan's main goal is to get our minds off of Truth, thereby "moving us." If we are to "Stand", we must not be moved!
Don't Give Up!
Peace!
:cool:
 
This was my and my wife's week to serve in the children's ministry (all parents have to serve one Sunday morning every quarter), so we missed our church's missions-focused event.

I just checked and there's no recording of the service, either. :/
 
Our pastor connected the Lord's Prayer's section on "give us this day our daily bread" with the provisional manna of Exodus. It was about trusting God to take care of what He says He will take care of.
 
we continued talking about homosexuality:

have a video this time:
http://livingfaithfellowship.com/media/2016/03/06/faq-about-homosexuality/

Highlights:

1. Experience becomes our God when we let our lives be governed by our heart instead of the word of God.
- the heart critiques the scripture rather than scripture critiquing the heart.

2. All of us have natural propensities toward certain sins. We were all born with a sin nature.
-Natural inclinations do not make sin less sinful, it means I need Jesus more.

3. Just because God loves you, does not mean that He affirms everything you do and desire.
- God is love, which means whatever He commands is truly most loving. Regardless of what you feel or how hard it is.

Quotes:

Rick Warren: "Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone's lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You dont have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
 
Our teacher yesterday taught out of 1 Corinthians 7. Yep. Sunday morning was a talk about sex. I don't think I've ever sat in a church service where they played the first 5-10 seconds of "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye to lighten the mood. Had to chuckle, though. :)

In all seriousness, it was a really good sermon and focused on the text and its context.
 
Although I've been quite distracted with certain "reality issues" and missed services both Last Wednesday, Sunday and again tonight, Our Wonderful and Everlasting Father still offers lessons to me in my daily living.
The largest lesson I've received through these latest days of distraction and survival always seems to be:
Psalm 121:1 said:
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
Click to expand...
Once my eyes, both literally and metaphorically, have gazed up there, I notice the cattle:
Psalm 50:10 said:
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
Click to expand...
He always, and I mean ALWAYS, takes care of His Own, cattle or otherwise:
psalm 37:25 said:
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Click to expand...
And it is at that moment I realize I'm not starving. My wife eats well, too.
Bills always get paid, even if it does take a while to sort out. (Like my recent electrical power-outage I just recovered from.)
And my ability to walk and walk and walk, even though I've got back pains and balance and strength issues.
And the fact I can even ride a bus for FREE because of a program I'm in.
And the fact I've been married now for 31 years.
And the fact I'm no longer living on the streets like I did years ago.
All this boils down to is one BIG lesson we all must learn in order to "count it all joy":
Psalm 46:10 said:
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Click to expand...

Once we put God first in EVERYTHING we do, NOTHING can stand in our way. I can say this because ANY weapon formed against me or any of us, even that of depression or anxiety or fear or whatever, are useless because of Him.
Peace!
:cool:
 
Our lead pastor taught from John 20:1-8 on Easter Sunday. One thing that struck me was his statement that the scene at the empty tomb left Christ's followers perplexed: If grave robbers or the enemies of Christ had stolen his body, they wouldn't have left the empty tomb in order ("The wrapping that had been on His head was not lying with the linen cloths but was folded up in a separate place by itself") and Christ's friends would not have stolen the body. It was interesting to try to see the scene from Christ's followers' perspective and helped me consider the first Easter from a new (to me) angle.
 
My wife and I worked in the children's classrooms yesterday, so we didn't get to hear the sermon. I'm planning on checking our church's site later this week to listen to the sermon. We've been working through 1 Corinthians and I'm eager to hear what comes (came?) next in the series.
 
Our teaching pastor taught on 1 Corinthians 9. The believers at the church in Corinth had written to Paul and asked him to settle a dispute. Instead of delivering a simple, "This party is right, that party is wrong" verdict, Paul attempts to elevate the discussion to spiritual matters, prompting his readers to ask how they can most effectively serve God and others. Paul emphasized how he willingly limited his own freedoms to make himself more effective in the service of God and the Gospel.

It was a very challenging sermon and it cut to heart. I know I've spent a fair amount of time defending Christians playing video games over the last 15-16 years, often citing passages from 1 Corinthians, but I confess I didn't always have the advancement of the Gospel as my leading motivation. What does it matter if I prove my point and "win" an argument if it turns a person away from Christ?
 
Visited my boss's church, where he leads worship every other week. It was a great experience, especially to see how they utilized technology very well while simultaneously making it clear that tech is used to assist us in worship, not to become the object of our worship. Much excellence.

The pastor preached on Romans 12 and 1 Peter 3. He was addressing the question of "can you demonstrate your faith with compassion AND conviction?" It was well-presented and exceptionally well-contextualized to the social environment I've experienced here.
 
This last Sunday we were listening to a message about the tri part restoration of Peter in the 3rd visit of Christ to the disciples. The "Do you love me?" passage. Stressing not the individual meanings of the word love, but the 3 different commands they came with, and the fact that sometimes God breaks us down, in order to build us up into something better and more useful. Always done in love.
 
Our pastor taught from 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 this past Sunday. He emphasized the importance of having a sober estimate of ourselves and our dependence on Christ for remaining faithful to Him to the end. Good stuff.
 
We visited a friend's church this weekend where the instruction took a turn from its usual expository format to deal topically with the issue of "faithfulness in the mundane while letting God direct the highlight reels." It was good, and it was very helpful for my wife and I as we get stuck in waiting games.
 
Eschatology ftw!

It was good because I hadnt heard my pastor on this subject matter yet. Working through lovingly telling people they are going to hell and why we do actually care. used a little too much mark cahill but was solid overall
 
I have, with great sadness, missed a lot of church. Stupid reality, but at least God controls the real reality!
I do, however, have Moody Radio always on and I'm starting to find a deeper devotion to the ministry God has placed within my hands to shape and grow.
If I've learned anything since my last post it's that I can indeed do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
 
Yesterday's sermon at our church focused on Ephesians 1:17-21:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Click to expand...

The pastor emphasized the importance of our understanding our position as redeemed sons and daughters of God.
 
Similar to Tek7's, our pastor focused on the idea of adoption.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15 NIV

and how adoption is an intentional, long process and costs the father a lot upfront.
 
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