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

Our pastor taught on Ephesians 4:32 and forgiving one another. He emphasized that we need Christ's power to forgive and that harboring unforgiveness is a sin. It takes a miracle to forgive, but that's exactly what God gave us in the example of Christ!
 
Pastor Phil Vance
Heaven's Draw

1. Highlights

-It is not just what you say but what you do that really matters.

-It is not what you Do but What you do that really matters.
- God wants both authentic knowledge and authorized actions.

-The wrong question is, "Are you for us or against us?" The
right thing to say is, "We are here for you." We want God to bless our
endeavors instead of asking God how how can I be of service to Him?

-Obedience always costs something, but it always gains something.

2. Discussion Questions

-What promised land, victories, promises and provisions has
the Lord promised to you that you have not taken yet?

- Discuss the difference between authorized and
unauthorized actions when it comes to our relationship with God.

- What is God calling you to do that you are not
comfortable with? What do you believe the potential outcome of that
obedience could be?

3. Key Scriptures and Quotes

-“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your
name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never
knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)

-“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have
been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many
things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:21 NIV)

-Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night
in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and
praise the Lord. (Psalm 134:1, 2 NIV)

-If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his
commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above
all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and
accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: (Deuteronomy 28:1, 2 NIV)

-“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—
(John 14:15, 16 NIV)

-Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing
in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him
and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied,
“but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then
Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What
message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord
’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are
standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15 NIV)
 
Went to our kind of a standby church that offers a Saturday evening service since the church we regularly attend is doing things a little differently during the mass exodus known as Spring Break. Worked out alright because we got a super good Palm Sunday sermon out of it.

Learned some historical stuff that I didn't actually recall hearing before, connecting Palm Sunday with the Maccabean Revolt, which made me go "Oh" at both the crowds' actions and the way it may have been perceived by the Romans.

But, more importantly, the guest preacher tied the disappointment of the crowd when Jesus didn't come as a military leader to overthrow Rome to the question, "When was the last time you were disappointed by Jesus?" I don't think I've ever heard a pastor ask such an honest question. He talked about how we really do get disappointed when God does things differently from how we expect, and how that's okay but God still has plans in play even when we don't see how they're supposed to work out.

Honestly one of the best-developed and delivered sermons I've heard, doing justice to both the historical and theological realities of Jesus' life and deeds AND making it personal to us today on a level beyond (though also including) being a result of a past action.
 
Red Five was wanting attention during church, so focus wasn't as strong as it can be. That said, the pastor is setting up for a series on loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. He talked a little about contemporary idolatry and the forms it takes.
 
Genesis 22:1-14 King James Version (KJV)
22 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

Although the idea of Abraham's faith and obedience was spoken of, the real focus was on how this was a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice.
 
One of our pastors taught on the spiritual gift of exhortation from Romans 12 and 1 Thessalonians 5.

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
1 Thessalonians 5:14, ESV

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Romans 12:4-8, ESV
 
What we learned at church yesterday wasn't from the sermon but the congregation. We got to go to the church we were involved in when we lived in Portland. There were numerous tearful reunions. It was an awesome thing to see and experience church as the family of Christ.
 
One of our pastors taught on the spiritual gift of leadership yesterday morning. We were at home because my wife wasn't feeling well and the pain medication (that I took for the first time in months and won't be taking again) knocked me for a loop. The sermon, as in others in the series, defined the spiritual gift, provided signs that someone may or may not have that gift, and discussed potential pitfalls of said gift. Good stuff!
 
Today's sermon (and last week's, too) focused on the spread of the Gospel in the early church as shown in Acts. Today was focused--at least the part I heard--on the connection of persecution to comfort to complacency.

Then Red Five needed to squirm and play, had a one, needed food but didn't finish before a two.

So yeah, I missed a bit amidst things. haha
 
Today's sermon was the latest in a series on perspective. The pastor highlighted that "Judas kissed, Peter wept," emphasizing the contrast between Judas' betrayal and Peter's. The difference gave me comfort as I grew up in a church culture that tended heavily toward Prosperity Gospel and triumphalism and often felt like sadness or suffering was some sort of signal that I just wasn't "as spiritual" as others who seemed to have it together (though some of those "others" who seemed to have it all sorted out are no longer with the church; one was in jail last I heard, but that's a cautionary tale for another time). Our pastor also said that the time between sin and repentance is a sign of where we stand in regards to our Christian walk.

Again, good stuff. :)
 
I think we have finally found a church after moving to Houston in Feb/April.

They are currently working their way through John. This week was the latter part of John 10: discussing how Jesus doesn't lose the sheep the Father has given to Him, His claims of Deity, the Pharisee's desire to kill Him, and a bit of historical context thrown in to help our understanding. Also touched on how the sheep follow and hear Him. The one portion of the sermon that stood out to me (although it was all very good) was when the pastor touched on sin in our lives. He said even though we follow Him we will still sin (referencing 1 John 1:8-10) but we will feel terrible/guilty while doing so. We don't sin on purpose to have grace abound (since that would not be following Him), but when we do sin (since we will) thank God His grace is there.
 
Still moving onward through Genesis. Did tower of Babel this week.
 
Our pastor taught on the miracle of the fish and loaves (John 6:4-11,32-35). He taught how Jesus set up the scene in a way that left the disciples no alternative but to believe that He was the one that made the miracle happen. No one else could take credit. He also spoke on how the disciples and the little boy responded to Jesus' questions teach us how we should respond to Christ: recognizing our total dependence on Him and offering what He have in humble service to Him.
 
We were at home this past Sunday morning with kiddos feeling a little under the weather, but we tuned in to the livestream and listened to the message.

Our pastor taught on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:25, 33-44). He focused on man's faulty assumptions and Christ's ultimate power over death. He noted that Jesus prayed publicly to God before performing the miracle to ensure that God would receive the credit. As always, good stuff.
 
Got a little bit spiritual kicked in the hindquarters this weekend. Great sermon to close out this series "Your Soul On Tech." Technically, it fit the thematic interest of our society being addicted to reactions and outrage, demonstrated most clearly in social media outbursts, but it applies much more broadly as the pastor focused on exercising self-restraint (or, gasp, the spiritual fruit of self-discipline).

Great stuff. Made sure to listen to it in such a way that wasn't just "Yeah. That's what I'm saying," but also hearing the "Oh. Yeah. I do that, too."

Here's a link!

https://subsplash.com/truehopechurch/media/mi/+qkvzn24?autoplay=true
 
Yesterday, our pastor taught on God's purpose for humanity.

The sermon opened with a thought-provoking video about how Christians sometimes evaluate churches like they would evaluate a cruise ship ("Am I comfortable?" "Do I like the captain and his crew?" "Is there fun stuff for my kids to do?" and so on) when a battleship would be a better comparison ("Does my captain submit to a higher authority?" "Are we united by a noble purpose?" etc.).

I was once again reminded of the first question and answer in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: "What is the chief end of man?" "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

The pastor then expounded on how we glorify God. One of the ways we do so is by making disciples--to multiply spiritually. He also taught that the mission of the church is to equip believers to do exactly that.

'Twas an excellent and challenging sermon.
 
Our church services were canceled due to weather yesterday. :|
 
This weekend was kind of our state of the union service at church. There's a lot of "this is what last year looked like, and what we hoped this year will look like; also, this is how we see things coming together for the building we bought last year and finally get to call our own this year."

But the pastor started off with a mini-sermon from Psalm 106:1 to frame the conversation.
Psalm 106:1 - English Standard Version (ESV)
Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

And I was touched by one of his big takeaways: God's goodness is not dependent upon our circumstances.

Good for my inner-narcissist to hear, the part of me that believes God is good but wonders how this thing or that thing reflects His goodness.
 
Our pastor spoke on reaching across cultures to glorify God and make disciples. He used Paul's visit to the Areopagus/Mars Hill as an example of how to effectively preach the Gospel to other cultures. Paul observed and respected the culture to which he was preaching but did not compromise the message.
 
I like that. (And I like that a lot more than the passage being used as a prooftext for the apparently all-powerful abilities of apologetics. Also, check out that alliteration. Apologetics matters, but "the right arguments win over everyone!" is not what that passage teaches. This take as you presented it, though; I like it a lot.)
 
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