Category: 2020 Sermons

Sermon Audio: Preparing For Your Future
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Acts 21:1-15
Duration: 26:52
Size: 18.4 MB

Acts: Life In The Spirit
Preparing For Your Future
Acts 21:1-15

Our preparation for the future must be based on God’s loving presence and the good plan He has for our lives.

I. God Often Uses Fellow Believers to Prepare Us for the Future (Acts 21:1-4)
Well, the first wave probably came after the Day of Pentecost in the year of Christ’s death and resurrection.

What I want to point out from these verses is that any of us can hear from God–if we are willing to listen.

II. God Invented Prayer to Help Prepare Us for the Future (Acts 21:5)
Prayer is a gift that was God’s idea. We can call on Him from our hearts, and somehow, He hears us and responds to our cry.

III. God Raises Up Prophetic Voices to Prepare Us for the Future (Acts 21:6-12)
In spite of many wanna-be prophets and those wanting to draw attention to themselves, there are many prophets today who really do hear from the Lord.

God will sometimes speak to us about the future. He may speak to us through Scripture or during times of prayer, or he may even speak through someone else, as they use the gift of prophecy that He gives.

IV. God Wants His Will to Guide Us Toward our Future (Acts 21:13-15)
But if we live each day in the center of God’s will, then we will find ourselves in the center of His bigger plan for our lives.

Sermon Audio: How To Be A Healthy Church
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Acts 20:28-38
Duration: 22:02
Size: 15.1 MB

Acts: Life In The Spirit
How To Be A Healthy Church
Acts 20:28-38

If God’s people are growing in spiritual health, then His church will be a healthy church.

I. Watch Out! (Acts 20:28-31)
We are all accountable to each other and to God. So, we need to watch each others backs and help others see danger before it harms them.

II. Work Hard! (Acts 20:32-34)
No matter how hard we work and try to make things happen, at the end of the day, it is God’s grace that brings the results that we need.

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want” or lack.
He gives me everything I need.

It is biblical to support the work of the Lord in tithes and offerings. Certainly, as a good steward, you should be aware of how that money is used.

III. Be Generous (Acts 20:35-38)
Stinginess is completely out of step with God’s character. God so loved that He gave…. No strings attached.

Sermon Audio: Living With No Regrets
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Acts 20:13-27
Duration: 23:58
Size: 16.4 MB

Acts: Life In The Spirit
Living With No Regrets
Acts 20:13-27

You can have a life with no regrets as you faithfully serve Jesus from this day forward.

I. Right Living Leads to a Life with No Regrets (Acts 20:17-21)
We make choices every day. Some of these choices affect how close we will stay to the Lord and some of our decisions impact the spiritual lives of others.

If we make it our aim to honor God in all we do, and trust Him to help us, then we are on our way to living a life with no regrets.

II. Committed Living Helps Produce a Life with No Regrets (Acts 20:22-24)
Anything that brings you or someone else closer to God and to carrying out His purposes–those are the things that you will never regret.

III. A Clear Conscience Follows a Life with No Regrets (Acts 20:25-27)
Has He placed a burden on your heart or blessed you with a gift that He wants you to use for Him? Certainly, this goes along with right living and being committed to God and His purpose for your life.

The chapter that God wants to write in your life is one called No Regrets! Are you willing to make this declaration today?

1. 1. From this day forward, I will trust God to help me live right!
   2. From this day forward, I will commit myself to honoring God through love and obedience.
   3. From this day forward, I will seek to live with a clear conscience, knowing that Christ has forgiven me, and that I am doing all I can to follow Him.

Sermon Audio: Dynamics of Effective Discipleship
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Acts 20:1-12
Duration: 21:53
Size: 15.0 MB

Acts: Life In The Spirit
Dynamics of Effective Discipleship
Acts 20:1-12

As the disciples followed Jesus, they learned by watching Him, listening to Him, imitating Him, making mistakes, studying the Scriptures in light of His instruction, asking questions, and so on.

I. Effective Discipleship Is Marked by a Positive Team Approach (Acts 20:1-6)
Let’s focus for a moment on Paul’s model of discipleship. As was his custom, he got together with the disciples at Ephesus and encouraged them.

We also need to realize that we can be much more effective at being and making disciples if we will get together as a team and encourage one another.

II. Effective Discipleship Is Marked by a Sense of Spiritual Community (Acts 20:7)
They realized that they needed one another and they needed the ministry that would take place as they interacted together.

III. Effective Discipleship Calls for a Complete Trust in God (Acts 20:8-12)
He just ran down and embraced the young man, and with complete and total confidence in God, he offered reassurance to those around him that everything was okay.

The more you know Jesus, the more reason you will have to trust Him in every area of your life.