November 1, 2009 | Ephesians 4:29-32 |
Pastor Gary continues his series, “The Nine Marks of Authentic Christians,” taken from the fruit of the Spirit passage found in Galatians.
This message is on kindness and is taken from Ephesians.
Sermons
9 Marks of Authentic Christians
This series looks at the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5.
The Mark of Patience
October 25, 2009 | Ephesians 4:1-22 |
Pastor Gary continues his series from the fruit of the Spirit.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he challenged them to live according to what they had received. He told them to “put off the old self” and to “put on the new self.” One of the marks of the new self that he told them to bear was the mark of patience. As Christ followers and as those who have received the gift of the Holy Spirit we can yield our lives to the Spirit’s calling and exhibit the mark of patience.
The Mark of Joy
October 11, 2009 | Philippians 4:1-9 |
What is the difference between happiness and joy? How can we pursue the mark of joy? Joy flows from God and we must tap into his river of Joy that is resistant to circumstances, and not dependent on them.
The Mark of Love
October 4, 2009 | 1 Corinthians 13 |
How can we display God’s kind of love: unconditional, from God, flowing through us to others?
Bearing the Marks
September 27, 2009 | Galatians 5:19-25 |
Are we marked by our Father? How can others tell that we are authentic Christians? In this intro to a sermon series on the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5, Pastor Gary helps us see how we can live authentically, walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh, to display the marks of Christ in our life.
Back 2 Basics
Fulfillment
September 20, 2009 | 1 John 4:11-18 |
Pastor Gary concluded the series Back 2 Basics by helping us see how we can know and rely on God’s Spirit to give us the power to live a fulfilled life.
Acceptance
September 13, 2009 | 1 John 1:3 - 2:2 |
Acceptance. Whether you’re a teenager in Jr. High or moving into a new neighborhood, you want acceptance.
Do you ever feel distant from God? Does the shame and guilt of sin ever make you feel this distance? As if God doesn’t accept you any longer? What do we do as Christians when we sin?
In the apostle John’s first letter, he told his hearers that they could know and experience God’s love and acceptance as those who were in the “fellowship” of the Father and Son and with one another. We can know and experience the love and acceptance of God in our lives. The text gives three ways.
Confidence
September 6, 2009 | 1 John 5:11-15 |
Do you have proof that you are a citizen of heaven? Do you have confidence that you are a citizen of God’s Kingdom? Many struggle with doubts in this area.
In the apostle John’s first letter, he told his hearers that they could have “confidence” that they were members of God’s eternal Kingdom by receiving and believing in His Son, Jesus. We can know this confidence that comes from receiving and believing in Christ as our Savior. The text gives four steps to having confidence and assurance of your salvation.
One Thing: Revisited
We look again at our "One Thing" as a church, and how we can make 3 simple commitments to put "First Things First"
One Focus
August 23, 2009 | Matthew 20:25-28 |
How do we get our focus back and sustain it? One way is by becoming an active contributor to God’s Kingdom. We follow King Jesus and pour out our lives like Him. Jesus was a giver. He was committed to making a complete contribution of all that he had and all that he was. We can make becoming like Him our “One Thing.”
In the book of Matthew, the mother of James and John asked Jesus for seats of authority for her sons on either side of Jesus. Jesus told her and all the disciples that following Him was not a call to be great in the way the world sees things. He said that the greatness they were called to was called servanthood. He told them to follow His example of service by being willing to contribute all that they had in serving God.
One Family
August 16, 2009 | Romans 12:4-5 |
Many of you have made a commitment to Christ. You’ve surrendered your life to Him as Savior and Lord. But you’ve lost focus. You started out focused on Christ, but He is no longer the organizing principle of your life. He isn’t the focus.
Perhaps we’ve made following Christ too complicated. We’ve forgotten that following Christ means we have to hang out with the other disciples.
Can you hear Peter saying? “Sure Jesus, I’ll follow you, but do I have to hang out with Judas over there?”
No, following Christ, we become one of His disciples together. Connecting together as we follow Christ has a sharpening effect. It sharpens our focus on Christ.
As Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
In the book of Romans the apostle Paul told the Roman Christians that even though they had followed Christ by an individual decision they must recognize that in following Him they had become one body, connected to other believers. When we follow Christ we make must make an individual decision to follow, but that leads to a corporate identity. We become the body of Christ connected to every other believer.