Sunday Morning Message from October 30th, 2005

"Getting God's Perspective"
Habakkuk 1:12-2:20
Click here to download the MP3 file. It's 18.7MB and 40 min. long.

Sunday Morning Message from October 23rd, 2005

Click here to download this week's message, which is 10.5 MB and 45 minutes long. Today's message is, "When life makes no sense..." from Habakkuk 1:1-11.

Sunday Morning Message from October 16th, 2005

Click here to download this week's message, which is 10.1 MB and 43 minutes long. Pastor Joe's message is number 7 in his 7 part series on prayer. He wraps up the teaching by focusing on Practical and Effective Prayer.
Matthew 12:22
Mark 3:20-30

Luke 11:14-23

Recap of 10/16/05:
1. We do not seek to “bind” Satan in prayer:
-our concern is not the power of Satan but the “schemes” of Satan (Ephesians 6:10-18)
-our concern should not be the strongholds of Satan but the “footholds” of Satan (Ephesians 4:26,27; 1 Corinthians 7:3,5)
2. A pattern for prayer: the acrostic A-C-T-S (or if you prefer C-A-T-S)
-Adoration, appreciating God for His character, attributes and actions
-Confession, naming specific sins, agreeing with God about them and acknowledging to God our true nature
-Thanksgiving, our response to God’s blessings (family, spouse, job, etc.) and His care over us (including hardships) – 1Thessalonians 5:16-18
-Supplication, prayer for our needs and the needs of others (including all authorities) – 1 Timothy 2:1,2; Ephesians 6:18,19
3. Fear and anxiety are reminders to pray. Philippians 4:6

Sunday Morning Message from October 9th, 2005

Click here to download the mp3 file. This week's is 9.3 MB and 40 minutes.

Recap of 10/9/05:
1. Prayer is not a substitute for action nor should it be an excuse for inaction. (Nehemiah 4:9)
2. We must learn to accept “later,” “no,” and silence as answers to prayer.
3. Prayer is not manipulating God into doing what I want, nor is it demanding of God something I want.
4. Prayer is an essential part of the abiding life of fruitfulness that Jesus talks about in John 15.
5. Since God knows all things, including our needs, why pray?
-biblical prayer is relationship oriented not results-oriented.
-God is our Father and wants us to come to Him with our needs, joys, weaknesses, hurts, etc.
-we don’t pray so that we can instruct God in our needs but so that we can have union with Him

Sunday Morning Message from October 2nd, 2005

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 8.2 MB and about 36 minutes long.
This week, Pastor Joe's message is the fifth installment in his series entitled "Prayer 101".
Recap of Luke 11:5-13
The “how-to” of prayer:
1. Luke 11:5-8 - We should be persistent in prayer because, if a human friend will respond out of his reluctance to our need, how much more will God respond Who is never inconvenienced, never bothered, never reluctant and does not need to be persuaded to meet our need.
2. Luke 11:9-10 – God waits for us to “keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking,” not because He is reluctant to hear and answer us, but because He desires fellowship with us. Fellowship with God is a primary aspect of prayer.
3. Luke 11:11-13 – Even as human father respond to their children’s requests with good, not harmful things, so God, our Heavenly Father, gives good things to those who seek Him. He will give us better things than we ask for, because His will is best.

Sorry for the absence!

I've been on vacation, and haven't been able to keep up with the blog for a few weeks. I've got the 11th, 18th and 25th up... so we should be up-to-date.

It appears that our church website is currently down, so I'll get to work on setting that straight.

Also, we started getting a lot of "spam comments" today, so I turned on the word verification feature. Please don't let that discourage you from leaving some feedback for us, or sharing what you think about a particular message.

Thanks for tuning in.

-Mat

Sunday Morning Message from September 25th, 2005

Prayer 101 (part 4)

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 10.5 MB and about 46 minutes long.
This week, Pastor Joe's message is the fourth installment in a series entitled "Prayer 101".

Recap of Matthew 6:12-15
The “how-to” of prayer:
1. After requests related to God’s interests (desire for His name, His kingdom and His will) we then bring requests related to our needs
-for personal, temporal needs (food, clothing, shelter)
-for spiritual needs (need for daily cleansing to maintain temporal fellowship with God)
-for deliverance both from temptation and in temptation.
2. Jesus emphasizes the need to be forgiving people. Dangers in not forgiving:
-it blocks us from receiving God’s forgiveness on a daily basis (blocks our fellowship with Him)
-it build resentment in us which will affect us emotionally or physically
-it may bring God’s discipline into our lives (1 Corinthians 11; Hebrews 12)
-it reflects the standards of the world not the standard of Jesus Christ

Sunday Morning Message from September 18th, 2005

Prayer 101 (part 3)

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 10.0 MB and about 44 minutes long.
This week, Pastor Joe's message is the third installment in a series entitled "Prayer 101".

Recap of Matthew 6:9-11
The “how-to” of prayer:
1. We come to God in prayer on the basis of our relationship with Him, He is our Father.
2. Though He is our Father, He is “in heaven,” i.e. transcendent and sovereign, with unlimited resources.
3. We begin with requests related to God’s interests: desire that He be honored, His kingdom be established and His will prevail.
4. We then bring requests related to our needs: the first request being for our personal, temporal needs.

[repaired] Sunday Morning Message from September 11th, 2005

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 5.5 MB and about 24 minutes long.
This week, Pastor Joe's message is the second installment in his series entitled "Prayer 101".

Recap of Matthew 6:5-8
The “how-not-to” of prayer:
1. Prayer out of an insincere attitude:
-to be noticed by others
-for public consumption
-for appearance sake (to appear pious)
2. Prayer with meaningless words:
-mindlessly repeating prescribed prayers
-repeating the same phrases over and over again
-believing the efficacy of prayer was in its length

Sunday Morning Message from September 4th, 2005

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 10.9 MB and about 46 minutes long.
This week, Pastor Joe's message is entitled "Prayer 101". The Scripture references are Luke 13:1-5 and Matthew 6:5-15.

Sunday Morning Message for August 28th, 2005

This week Pastor Marv continues his series on Nehemiah. This is a triumphant passage about the celebration before the Lord after the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah chapter 12.
Click here to download the message. It's 11.6 MB and about 49 minutes long

Sunday Morning Message from August 21st, 2005

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 10.4 MB and about 46 minutes long.
This week, Pastor Joe's message is entitled "The Essential Responsibility," based on Acts 28:16-31. This is the final sermon in Pastor Joe's series on Acts.

Recap of Acts 28:16-31
1. Paul worked within the limitations of his situation
-he was under house arrest in Rome for two years so his home became his pulpit
-he did not respond with bitterness, discouragement, or recriminations against God
-his teaching reached into the very household of Caesar (Philippians 1:12,13; 4:22)
-there is not limit to what we can accomplish if we will focus on the possibilities in our situations rather than the obstacles.
2. Paul once again emphasized that Christianity was the fulfillment of Judaism not in opposition to it. Jesus Christ was the Messiah who would return one day to reign over Israel and the nations.

Sunday Morning Message for August 14th, 2005

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 46 minutes long.
Pastor Joe's sermon this week is from Acts 28:7-15.
Recap of Acts 28:7-15
1. Healing in the New Testament had a:
-revelatory purpose - to reveal Jesus as the Messiah
-accrediting purpose - to authenticate Jesus' claim to be the Son of God
2. The apostles ministry of healing and miracles was to confirm and authenticate their ministries and to identify them with Jesus' ministry and message.
3. The ministry of encouragement is one of the most powerful ministries a believer can exercise.
4. How are we actively and practically encouraging one another in the Body of Christ?

Sunday Morning Message from July 31st, 2005

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 10.2MB.
Recap of Acts 28:1-6
1. Paul showed he had a servant heart in Acts 28 (and thus the mind of Christ).
2. Why serving is difficult:
-we want to be served
-to serve others elevates other's needs ahead of our own
-the low status of some service
-it interrupts our own pursuits
-feeling used by others
3. What ways can we serve others:
-hospitality
-doing good to others (Proverbs 3:27)
-sharing material goods (1 John 3:17-18)
-supporting the Lord's work (2 Corinthians 8:4; 9:1)
-being a peacemaker (Romans 14:9)
-by personal involvement in other's lives (1 Thessalonians 5:11-15)
-by looking after the needs of widows and orphans (James 1:27)

Sunday Morning Message from July 24th, 2005

Click here to download the mp3 file. It's 11.5 MB and about 49 minutes long.
This week, Pastor Joe's message is entitled "Storm Stories", based on Acts 27:21-44.