Tag: Val Watkins

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2012-05-27: Spiritual Disciplines – Submission

Sermon: Spiritual Disciplines – Submission
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Ephesians 5:15-21
Duration: 28:37
Size: 13.1 MB

Spiritual Disciplines
Submission
Ephesians 5:15-21

Christian Submission…
Out of all the spiritual disciplines, I think that submission is the most counter cultural.

The Submission that Paul is calling us to is a mutual submission – not one where there is one person in submission, and another in authority, but that we would submit to each other.

It is not the abdication of responsibility or authority so we get no where and no decisions get made because we are so worried about stepping on each others toes.

Submission is – a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden. “put others first.”

The most amazing picture I have of submitting from a place of strength is that of Jesus standing before Pilate.

Laying down one’s life is not just about dying it is about giving up what we hold dear because our friend is even more dear to us.

Our Submission to each other is an outworking of the Spirit’s filling of our lives.

Areas to Submit…
I ask for the grace to let myself be shaped by my loving Creator.

I believe that God gives us families to practice love on, because if we can love them, we can love anybody.

If you look around you, these are all the “one-another’s” that God calls you to love and serve, to lift up and honor above yourself.

The Spiritual Disciple of Submission is as about as counter-cultural as you can get – you may feel it within you as you bristle at the very word “submission”.

Christian Submission…

  • Christian Submission is not about being a Doormat.
  • Christian Submission is not about the lowest common denominator.
  • Christian Submission Flows Out of Strength, Not Weakness.
  • Christian submission is not about placating a bully.
  • Christian Submission must come in Relationship.
  • Christian Submission is about Sacrifice.
  • Christian Submission flows from the filling of the Spirit.
  • Christian Submission is about Honor.

Areas to Submit…

  • Submit to God.
  • Submit to God’s Word.
  • Submit to our Families.
  • Submit to your neighbors, coworkers, friend…
  • Submit to the Christian Community.
  • Submit to the Broken & Despised.
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2012-05-20: …Reach the World

Sermon: …Reach the World
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Matthew 28:18-20
Duration: 35:12
Size: 16.1 MB

…Reach the World
Matthew 28:18-20

Most of us are intimidated by the word EVANGELISM.

Mark 4:1-9 Parable of the Sower.

  • The Wayside Heart
  • The Stony Heart
  • The Thorny Heart
  • The Good Heart

However, we can not pick and choose where we sow seeds.

Carrying out the Great Commission by sowing and reaping is everyone’s concern.

Great Commission

First, in verse 18, we are being commanded by a Savior who has all power in heaven and on earth.

Because we share our stories, others find the hope that is found in Christ Jesus.

Secondly, in verse 19, the Great Commission reveals a Savior that is for all people.

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Salvation is for all people. No one has sinned too much. No one is too lost.

Thirdly, however, we can’t stop here. The second part of the verse reveals to us the need to teach.

Then, as the people around you are influenced by your faith, they will find their way into a community of believers somewhere.

But Jesus called us to make disciples. As Christians, we must have a genuine concern for souls.

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2012-05-06: Spiritual Disciplines – Solitude

Sermon: Spiritual Disciplines – Solitude
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 13:6-8
Duration: 25:45
Size: 11.7 MB

Spiritual Disciplines
Solitude
Luke 13:6-8

The gardener of our soul is the Holy Spirit, he digs around our roots and feeds us so that we might bear good fruit.

What is Solitude
Just as fasting is the abstinence from food for spiritual purposes, solitude is the withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes.

True solitude removes ourselves from company, but it also removes ourselves from other distractions as well.

Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfillment. Solitude is not first a place but a state of mind and heart.

We only have to look at Jesus’ life if we want to find the practice of Solitude in scripture.

The Benefits of Solitude
In the quiet of solitude, all pretensions can be striped away, all the things in life that are trying to mold us in their image are removed, all the requirements of the world disappear, and we can stand before God “just as I am”.

Remember that Dallas Willard said that the Discipline of Solitude is for strengthening.

You can see that Jesus sought out solitude before the big events in his life.

When we are tempted to live in a way that will please those around us, rather than live in integrity with who the Father has called us to be, the more time we spend in solitude with the Father, the less other’s judgments stick to us!

How to Practice Solitude
The important thing is to get alone and recognize God’s presence with you before you read or pray.

They say that you can be alone even when standing in a crowd.

The truth is, I believe that all Christians should take some kind of solitary retreat at times.

The Benefits of Solitude

  • Being Real
  • Getting Centered
  • Learn to Live in Integrity

How To Practice Solitude

  • Daily Solitude
  • Spontaneous Solitude
  • Retreats
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2012-04-29: Love God…Love People

Sermon: Love God…Love People
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 12:28-34
Duration: 24:58
Size: 11.4 MB

Love God…Love People
Mark 12:28-34

If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.

Jesus’ answer to this all-important question would reveal a great deal about his own heart–which, of course, is the heart of God.

Love God. Love people. That’s what matters most to God! These are the Greatest Commands. These are the big rocks!

I. Love God: Deuteronomy 6:4-5

The heart is the source of our feelings and emotions.

Perhaps, the best way to understand it is that your soul is both who and what you are.

Loving God with all your mind implies centering your education on him–learning and growing in our capacity to fathom his vastness and mystery.

Strength here has nothing to do with physique; it signifies your energy output–your work, your job, your play, whatever it is that you put effort into.

As we learn to love him more, he opens our hearts to greater love.

II. Love People: Leviticus 19:18

Loving your neighbor essentially means loving the people around you–all of them.

The five love languages:

  • Words of Affirmation
  • Quality Time
  • Acts of Service
  • Physical Touch
  • Gifts

When we serve, touch, and give gifts to other people, we are nonetheless doing it for God.

Ultimately, we love people the most when we share with them the same loving relationship with God that we have.

All of this sort of begs the question–how loving are you?

I Corinthians 13:4-8

And if it is our desire to grow in our capacity to love God and love people, then we must learn to love like Jesus…