by admin | Aug 5, 2020 | Picture This, Sermon Audio and Notes
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
Matthew 21 : 28 -32
This week we hear from Zack Brady as he shares a fresh perspective on the continuation of the Parables of Jesus, we learn specifically from the Parable of the two sons that Jesus values inner emotion and raw reaction.
There are a lot times we are fond of saying yes to wanting to do things or respond to the will of God but we do not do it at all in the end ,Jesus calls us to be honest with our reactions, how we feel and we respond.
This parable teaches us that God doesn’t want someone like the second son, who claims to be someone that they are not. The first son does not lie and ends up helping in the end, unlike his brother who creates a false image of himself as someone who helps, but in the end he is only letting his father down, which is exactly what God tells us not to do. It’s good to be raw or honest, the Father wants to meet you on your worst day.
- Which attitude more characterizes your right now?
Catch up on earlier Picture This sermons: Week 1, Week 2
by admin | Jul 27, 2020 | Picture This, Sermon Audio and Notes
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “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!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “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!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25 : 14 -30
As we are continuing with our new sermon series based on the parables of Jesus, this week we hear from Pastor Humphreys from our sister church Flood Lilongwe. He sheds more light on how Jesus teaches us how Considerate, Generous and rewarding He is. Also how demanding He is from his servants.
Usually the first question becomes, what are the bags of gold? What is it that Our master has entrusted to us as we are navigating how to live/behave in the in-between time after our master/Jesus has gone away and before he returns? Is it money, talents, time, truth, resources, responsibilities, etc.
Whatever great deal of responsibility Jesus has entrusted to us, Our Master has done so according to our abilities. Also he is very considerate to walk with us in our faithfulness and He will generously, joyfully reward our stewardship and faithfulness.
- Identify an area in your life where you need to be considerate this week.
- Recognize how the Lord has been generous to you this week.
- Recognize how the Lord has joyfully been rewarding you in your walk of Faith.
Catch up on earlier Picture This sermons: Week 1
by admin | Jul 21, 2020 | Picture This, Sermon Audio and Notes
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13: 1-9
This week we are kicking off a new sermon series based on the Parables of Jesus. We are in some unprecedented times, and I think we can all agree we need some hope in our world. So, we are going to be taking a journey through the Parables of Jesus and taking a look at how they provide a window into God’s Kingdom here on earth. While we might not be fully living in the Kingdom yet, Jesus provides us a glimpse of hope with each story that he tells.
For our first Parable, we hear from Andee with a fresh take on the Parable of the Sower. Usually, we hear this passage taught with specific reference to the soils and how each soil represents the different hearts that he Gospel lands on. However, Andee provides a new perspective by focusing on the Sower instead of the soil and how when we shift our focus to the person sowing the seeds in abundance we get a picture of how generous and gracious our God is. What an amazing gift to serve a God who freely gives.
- Listen to the thorns in your life.
- Receive God’s grace and recognize those unknown limits – He is FOR US
- Prepare for change and persevere in it with patience
by admin | Jun 21, 2020 | Sermon Audio and Notes, Teach Us To Pray
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:5-13
This week we learn that when we pray, “give us today our daily bread” we are assuming our dependence on God and recognizing that we can do nothing outside of Him. We are inherently needy creatures that rely on a source of energy that is outside of ourselves in order to survive. And even though we cannot meet our needs on our own, we still tend to be greedy and even become ungrateful when God does not meet the needs that we think are our top priorities.
God provides all that we need, but sometimes what we think we need, God knows will derail us. The needs we bring to God reveal what is most important to us, and while God loves to provide for us, He is not in the business of sponsoring our idols. We need to switch our mindsets to understand that Jesus is our daily bread and because of that he is our provider, our portion, and we have plenty. We should not worry about tomorrow, because our God is able to supply our needs today.
- What needs are keeping you up at night that God is able to give you?
- Who can be changed because of your surplus?
- Give…
Catch up on earlier Teach Us to Pray sermons: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5
by admin | Jun 15, 2020 | Sermon Audio and Notes, Teach Us To Pray
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:5-13
This week we are learning to pray, “your will be done.” Emma teaches us that actually, this is not just about praying, but it is more about the posture of our hearts and about the way we live our lives. Two things happen when we start to pray “your will be done.” First, we must surrender our own wills and wants to the Father knowing that He knows us deeply and intimately. And then, when we have surrendered what we want, we are able to trust the outcome to the God of the universe.
When we are able to surrender our wills and place them in the loving hands of the Father, we are acknowledging that He is better equipped to handle our desires. As humans, we are small, singular, self-centered, and survival-oriented. Our basic instinct is to make sure we are taken care of at all times. This limits our capacity to see things the way that God sees them. God is big, connected to everything, cares about all of creation, and is sacrificial and oriented towards flourishing. This makes Him much more capable of handling our cares and concerns because He is able to see the bigger picture.
- Ask: Where are my survival mechanisms working away without me being aware of them? What is one area of my life where I very clearly know what it is that I want to have happen, where I know exactly what MY will is?
- Surrender: Ask the Spirit of God to help you truly surrender your will and grow your desire for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
- Trust: Ask the Spirit of God to help you, comfort you, and assure you as you hold onto “God’s will be done” even when, as when our Christ was murdered on that cross, the outworking of God’s will sure look like the enemy is winning.
Catch up on earlier Teach Us to Pray sermons: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4
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