2011-10-23: Games People Play – Trivial Pursuit
Sermon: Games People Play – Trivial Pursuit
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 8:36-37
Duration: 31:05
Size: 14.2 MB
Games People Play
Trivial Pursuit
Mark 8:36-37
You see its one thing to be educated, to have knowledge, it is quite another to have wisdom.
He is the architect of our life, he wrote the owners manual, he is the creator of our existence and it stands to reason that he knows best what I should be trying to accomplish in my life.
Four items we know to be in the will of God.
1 – It is God’s will that we live PURE & HOLY lives.
Holiness is the term used for our actions and thoughts, the things we do and think and say and read and participate in and we are encouraged that it is God’s will that we grow in holiness.
There is a literal war going on, and every one of us is right in the middle.
And it’s something that many, unfortunately don’t realize until a great deal of damage has been done.
A pure and holy lifestyle in which we set our lives apart for service to God.
2 – It is God’s will that we stay active in serving Him.
I wish that could be said about a lot of us in regards to our service to God, but the reality is that many never get started because of laziness or idleness.
Ephesians 5:14
I Corinthians 4:2
Service doesn’t make you a Christian, but you can’t be a Christian and not serve.
3 – It is God’s will that we love one another.
And this, of all the instructions we will look at, is really at the heart of God’s will for our lives.
If we want to keep from living trivial lives then we need to learn to love like Jesus loved.
It is God’s will that you love your brother.
4 – It is God’s will that we give thanks in all circumstances.
This isn’t easy, obviously because not everything goes the way we want it to in life or even in service to God.
We need to understand that thanksgiving overflows from other factors in our life.
Which one will you work on?
Do you need to be more holy & pure in your lifestyle?
Do you need to be more active in serving him?
Do you need to be more loving to those around you?
Do you need to be more consistent in thanksgiving?
Next Week
Aggravation
2011-10-16: Games People Play – Solitaire
Sermon: Games People Play – Solitaire
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Matthew 3:14
Duration: 27:17
Size: 12.4 MB
Games People Play
Solitaire
Matthew 3:14
If you get right down to it solitaire is a great game to play, but it’s a terrible way to live.
Do you have friends that are committed to helping you along in life?
The question for you today is will you share your life with others? Or will you choose to play it safe, to shut people out?
God himself longs to embrace you. He does this on this side of heaven through other people.
It means it’s better to eat Twinkies with friends then exercise alone!
Let’s help each other out, let’s help each other be followers of Christ and hold on to our faith.
When you serve with others you get to know them.
But you will never fully experience the kind of relationships I’ve talked about this morning until you fully embrace another relationship.
You see once we come to an understanding that we all need Christ, we understand that on this side of heaven we are all broken vessels, we are imperfect people and we all need Christ.
You must first come to terms with your relationship with Jesus Christ.
If I looked at your life and tried to find some kind of evidence that you were a Christ follower, would I find any?
The story of Jesus is a love story, the relentless pursuit of the creator of the world.
I John 3:16 - This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves.
Next Week
Trivial Pursuit
2011-10-09: iTruths For an iPod Generation – iLive
Sermon: iTruths For an iPod Generation – iLive
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Romans 6:3-23
Duration: 25:47
Size: 11.8 MB
iTruths For an iPod Generation
iLive
Romans 6:3-23
Without that battery there is no life, no power… no music.
People don’t react well to death… even if it’s the death of their iPod.
Jesus came to free us from that fear of death.
Hebrews 2:15
John 11:25
John 14:19
John 14:6
I Corinthians 15:54-57
Jesus came to give us life, and life more abundantly than any other power can give.
You see: when we were baptized into Christ something changed within us.
Don’t try hooking up the battery of sinful past along with the new one God just gave you when you became a Christian.
That’s why you and I became a Christian to begin with. We wanted something better than what we had.
But even that new heart – that new battery – that new lifestyle is still going to be inferior to the one God can give us.
If all you have beating in your life is a really good mortal heart it could never last long enough in the courts of heaven.
When God gave you a new heart – He gave you a power source that will allow you to live forever.
2011-10-02: iTruths For an iPod Generation – iServe
Sermon: iTruths For an iPod Generation – iServe
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 22:24-27
Duration: 23:50
Size: 10.9 MB
iTruths For an iPod Generation
iServe
Luke 22:24-27
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
Music has a way of changing our lives.
Our Text this morning tells us about 12 men who aren’t into sharing.
In other words – if you want to be great in the Kingdom of God you’ve got be a servant.
This all took place at the Last Supper… the template for our observance of Communion time.
John 13:8
John 13:14
Acts 20:7
You can take communion all by yourself but Jesus designed communion to be a time when we would “come together” and eat this meal along with other Christian brothers and sisters.
Servanthood lies at the heart of who we are as Christians. And communion reinforces this for us.
I Corinthians 11:17
I Corinthians 11:20-30
It’s a time when we’re reminded that Jesus gave us a powerful example of servanthood.
And when we finally get communion right… it’s a time when we learn to love each other so much that we really want to be servants of one another.
Next Week
iLive
Romans 6:3-23
2011-09-25: iTruths For an iPod Generation – iGive
Sermon: iTruths For an iPod Generation – iGive
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Acts 4:15-37
Duration: 25:15
Size: 11.5 MB
iTruths For an iPod Generation
iGive
Acts 4:15-37
If you want something badly enough… you’ll find a way to get it.
They’re questioned, threatened, and commanded not to preach about Jesus anymore.
Now all these people were part of an exciting body of believers… and nobody wanted to go home.
Communism and Socialism are man-made attempts to remedy the abuses of capitalism.
They held all things in common because they wanted to.
They sinned because they lied about their donation in order to manipulate the church into giving them the praise everyone else got.
In other words: you can do what you like… but we’re going to put God first.
Leviticus 19:10
Proverbs 14:31
Proverbs 19:17
In fasting, His people can set aside the money they would have spent on food and give that to the poor.
I noticed in this passage that the early church gave themselves to prayer.
I think their prayerfulness led to their giving hearts.
They gave to the church to help the poor because they wanted to take care of the poor among them so badly… they found a way to get it done.
Next Week
iServe
Luke 2:24-27
