Tag Archives: Bible study

Morning Direction from Scripture 5-27-19

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Restore us, God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it,
    and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
    its shoots as far as the River.

Psalm 80:7-11

Why does God have to transplant us sometimes?

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Morning Direction From Scripture 5-24-19

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Restore us, O God;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

4 How long, Lord God Almighty,
    will your anger smolder
    against the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears;
    you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6 You have made us an object of derision[b] to our neighbors,
    and our enemies mock us.

Psalm 80:3-6

What does the bread of tears look like?

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Evening Meditation 5-23-19

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Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
    shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
    come and save us. Psalm 80:1,2

What does David mean hear when he asks God to awaken His might?

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Sermon Quotes: You Are Not Forgotten

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Our Next Gen Pastor ( whose name just happens to be Pastor Jen) preached the Mother’s Day Message today.

Image may contain: 1 person, standing and on stage

Here are some powerful quotes from the sermon entitled “Forgotten”

Not everyone gets to see the miracle. Lack of faith can cut us out of the room where the

miracle happens.- Jen Lewiston

When we refuse to read the Bible we make a God of our own creation.- Jen Lewiston

If we  serving Jesus, we will walk in freedom.- Jen Lewiston

We are Jesus’ inheritance. He will never let us go.- Jen Lewiston

Stop Panicking. God will not fail you!- Jen Lewiston

Morning Direction from Scripture 5-10-19

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
    may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
    for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior,
    for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
    for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”

Before our eyes, make known among the nations
    that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
    with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
    the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
    we will proclaim your praise. Psalm 79:8-13

What does it mean to you to leave vengence in the hands of God?

Morning Direction From Scripture 4-26-19

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
    may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
    for we are in desperate need.
9 Help us, God our Savior,
    for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
    for your name’s sake.
10 Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”

Before our eyes, make known among the nations
    that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
    with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
    the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
    we will proclaim your praise. Psalm 79:8-13

What does deliverance look like to you today? What do you need deliverance from right now?

Do My White Socks Offend You Pt. 6

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Do My White Socks

Today is the last segment of this sermon series from Palm Sunday. It has been a long time in coming but we are at last at the finish. I hope it has spoke to you.

If you would like to hear the sermon in its entirety you can find it HERE AT NOTES FROM THE VICARAGE.

Here is out final segment:

We are called to draw our lines in the sand with meekness and love and one more thing. Jesus drew His line in the sand at the triumphal entry with worship. Let’s look back at the Scripture:

“The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

‘Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!’

‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’[c]

‘Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!’.” Ma. 21

Now please understand me Jesus line was not about music. It was not about any song. Worship is not music. It is the act of putting God first and obeying what He tells you to do. It is about suspending your wants and desires because you know what God wants, what God  desires and you are going to do that instead.

 Can I just say you can come to church every Sunday and sing songs with us and still never worship God. Your song does not become worship until it is directed from a heart that is focused solely on loving God and obeying His will for your life.

Jesus worshiped the Father when he rode into Jerusalem that day. Do you know why what he did was worship? It was worship because in the chapter right before Jesus Triumphal entry Matthew records another event.

 “Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!’.” Matthew 20:17-19

We know from His prayer in Gethsemane that Jesus did not want to die, but he had suspended his wants and desires in order to worship His Father.

Your line in the sand is going to require that you suspend your wants and desires in order to fulfill God’s purposes. You are going to have to go against your own flesh in this because your flesh does not want to honor God. It will raise up any reason it can find to keep you from doing honoring your Lord.

We are all coming to our line in the sand moments. Do my white socks offend you? Well hold on because my white socks are nothing in comparison to the choices I…we are about to make for the kingdom of God. The lines in the sand are good things. It is only beyond these lines in the sand that the miracles our lives were always meant to be are found…but there is a cost. In order to draw our lines in the sand we have to say good bye to the status quo and we have to follow  the advice of our lead Pastor’s wife, Pastor Jen, to be “All In”. God has called each and everyone of us to this place we are in for this season of our life and the life of our community. God is asking, “What will you do with this moment?”.

 

Do My White Socks Offend You Pt. 5

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

Do My White Socks

It is time for another installment of “Do My White Socks Offend You”. This is a sermon I recently preached.

If you want to view the service in its entirety you can check it out HERE.

Here is today’s installment.

When we draw our lines in the sand we have now learned we have to do it meekly but more than that we also need to draw those lines in the sand with a loving spirit. Jesus entered Jerusalem and drew His line in the sand declaring himself king of the world with love as his governing motive. He did not come to Jerusalem thinking of himself he came thinking primarily of others. How do we know this?

John chapter 13 gives us a glimpse into his heart when John writes,

“Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.”

You see while Jesus’ disciples and followers looked at his triumphal entry as his declaration of power over Rome and the Sanhedrin, Jesus understood that the week he was about to face was not about his power but about his sacrifice. He didn’t ride into Jerusalem thinking about becoming king of the world. He came into Jerusalem with the mindset of loving the world and sacrificing Himself for it. His kingship meant little to Him at that moment. What mattered was His relationship to the people of the world He was about to die for. 

You need to understand that your line in the sand must be drawn with love. If it is going to matter for eternity your line in the sand must not be about what is good for you. It must be about what is good for the people you are sent to: the people of your family, your neighborhood, your workplace, your community.

Your line in the sand if it is drawn with love erases the question “What’s in it for me?”

It causes you to ask this question instead “What will help them?”

When that becomes the real question of your life then no price is too high to pay in money, work or reputation. Nothing matters except loving others as Jesus did!