Tag: Sermon

Sermon: Spiritual Disciplines – Confession
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 15:17-20
Duration: 36:15
Size: 16.5 MB

Spiritual Disciplines
Confession
Luke 15:17-20

What God wants to hear is an honest answer to a simple question.

True confession is marked by honesty.

God can forgive any sin, but he will not forgive us until there is honest confession.

We have lost our moral bearings, we are spiritually adrift, and we are unaware of it.

The good news is that when we do confess our sin, we do not find rejection but acceptance from God.

True confession is marked by sorrow.

Real confession means that we regret what we have done.

Sin brings sorrow because it alienates us from God, from other people, and it leaves us broken within.

True confession is marked by change.

Once we become honest with ourselves, others and God, once we have repented with godly sorrow, a change takes place in our hearts.

It is a good thing to have someone to whom we can confess our sins.

When we are determined to seek the forgiveness of those we have wronged and make restitution, then we are on the path of a new obedience.

His heart is full of love and forgiveness.

Sermon: Spiritual Disciplines – Contemplative Prayer
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Psalm 27
Duration: 32:33
Size: 14.9 MB

Spiritual Disciplines
Contemplative Prayer
Psalm 27

Most of us realize that we cannot grow the fruit of the Spirit, or weed out the sins of our lives by sheer will power alone.

How do we develop a relationship with our maker?

PRAYER!

Often times our prayers are the same way, we are running around in our lives and we stop for a second and say, “Oh, God, I need you.”

We must pray not just to speak to God, but also, to hear from Him what we are to speak.

Real prayer is something we learn.

Begin With Scripture
Meditate on Scripture before you pray.

Listen Before You Speak
Spend time in silence before God, wait to see what he says.

As we learn to listen to each other, we can apply that skill to God in our prayers.

Imagination
God may not speak to you in words audible or inaudible. He may speak to you in pictures, images, feelings, sensations, dreams, and visions.

Speak
Prayer is about relationship, and although we should not make it one-sided by doing all the talking, we should also not make it one-sided by doing all the listening!

Having a spiritual friend or soul-friend is like having a training buddy.

Pray
We need to dig the well deeper, so that it won’t go dry during the hard times, and we need to develop our relationship with God so that we can enjoy the good times with Him.