Archives: Messages

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say,
‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it,
or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent
said to the woman.
“For God knows that when you eat from it
your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they
were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together
and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:1-7 New International Version (NIV)

S- Self Centered
I- Idols
N- Not Believing

He [Jesus] went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.
He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them,
“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4:16-21 (NIV)

“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin,
a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

Acts 13:38-39 (NIV)

“I knew you before I formed
you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my
prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:5 New International Version (NIV)

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back
from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Jeremiah 29:10-14 (NIV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

“You shall have no
other gods before me.”

Exodus 20:3 (NIV)

“The most important one,” answered Jesus,
“is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God,
the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind and with all your strength.’”

Mark 12:29-30 (NIV)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you
as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun
to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous
and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your
own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly
Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:43-48 NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

Is there more to this life than living and dying?
More than just trying to make it through the day? More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see, more than this life alone can be?
Is there? Is there more?

– -Steven Curtis Chapman, “More to this Life”

“All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our
God endures forever.”

Isaiah 40:6-8 (NIV)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

The world is too much with us;
late and soon,
Getting and spending,
we lay waste our powers;—

“The World is Too Much With Us”
William Wordsworth

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven,
where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still
part of this world.  But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander,
and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other,
for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature,
and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free.
Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Colossians 3:1-11
New Living Translation (NLT)

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule
in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.
And always be thankful.

Colossians 3:12-15 (NLT)

PERFECTION- Freedom from fault or defect.
Flawlessness.
An unsurpassable degree
of accuracy or excellence.

…, for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God,….

Romans 3:23 (NIV) New International Version

God saw all that he had made,
and it was very good.
And there was evening,
and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31 (NIV)

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh,
a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power
is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about
my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest
on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake,
I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships,
in persecutions, in difficulties.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:7b-10 (NIV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you,
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV)

G.R.A.C.E
God’s Rich’s at Christ’s Expense

Prevenient Grace- Grace that comes before

Justifying Grace- when we say ‘yes’ to God’s grace

Sanctifying Grace – where we live out this relationship with Jesus

“Be perfect, therefore,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Matthew 5:48 (NIV)

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51:1-12 (NIV) New International Version

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 34:17-22  (NIV)

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

_____

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 40:28-31;41:10 (NIV)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

John 15:1-4 (NIV)

Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 21:1-5 (NIV)

Truth Be Told music video: https://youtu.be/i9PObaVi1Yk