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Sermons preached at the Hinckley Evangelical Free Church (Hinckley, MN)
Episodes
Sunday Sep 17, 2017
Sunday Sep 17, 2017
Loving Well: Words of Affirmation
Various Texts
Words of Affirmation
- Words are powerful tools
- They can build up or tear down
- As an act of love, words are to be used to encourage, strengthen, and nurture
- Words are both what is spoken and what is written
God as the Lover
- The Bible is primarily a love letter to us from God (Songs 2:4)
- What does He say about us?
- We are made in His image, and therefore of great value (Gen 1:26, 31)
- He is with us and for us (Deut 31:8; Rom 8:31)
Our Response of Love (John 10:27-29)
- We need to listen to His instructions, which are for our good (Isa 48:17-18)
- Our praise is a response to God’s love (Ps 63:3; 106:1; 117:2)
Loving Words to Each Other
- Encouragement rather than criticism (1 Thess. 5:11, 14; James 5:9)
- 20 good words are canceled out by 1 bad one!
- Concern rather than gossip (1 Cor 12:25-26; Pro 16:28)
- Correction rather than flattery (Pro. 25:12; Pro 27:6; Pro 28:23)
- Not just the words, but also the tone (Pro. 15:1; 25:11)
Words of Love to Our Community
- Sharing the Gospel is sharing God’s love
- Everything that applies to how we speak to other Christians should apply to how we show love to our neighbors
- Except we cannot expect non-believers to live by biblical truth
- We must model that before we can proclaim it
- Being known for what we are for more than what we are against
- 20 good words are canceled out by 1 bad one!
- Except we cannot expect non-believers to live by biblical truth
So What?
- Are we loving with our words?
- Speaking God’s truth
- Building others up
Meditation Verse: Ephesians 4:15
Monday Sep 11, 2017
Monday Sep 11, 2017
Loving Well: Love as Central
Various Texts
The Centrality of Love
- At the heart of the Gospel message is love (John 3:16)
- Which is true because love is one of the fundamental characteristics of God Himself (1 John 4:8, 16)
- As followers of Christ, we are called to be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1)
- And thus, should be known for our love as well (John 13:34-35)
- However, how do we love like Jesus?
What is Love?
- Biblically, love is NOT an emotion
- God never commands us to feel a certain way
- Love is NOT condoning the sinful actions of another (Rom. 12:9; Jude 1:21-23)
- Love is a choice
- To treat others as we would like to be treated (Luke 6:31)
- To put the needs of others before our own desires (1 Cor. 13:4-8a)
- Love is telling each other the truth (Eph. 4:15)
How Do We Love Well?
- We must understand that our concept of love must be informed by God’s character and truth (1 John 4:19; 2 Cor. 5:14)
- We must learn to love in a way that meets people as they are
- This is how God treats us
- Because God knows us fully (1 Cor. 13:12)
- Deeper knowledge à deeper love
- Including loving ourselves as an extension of knowing God’s great love for us (Mark 12:31)
- We are to love others in ways that fit who they are
- ) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6)
- Literally, “Train up a child in his way”: a way that fits that child
- Which means loving in a way that the receiver can understand
- It is about speaking their language
- ) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6)
- This is how God treats us
Love Languages
- There are 5 love languages that are generally recognized
- “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman
- Words of Affirmation
- Quality Time
- Gifts
- Acts of Service
- Physical Touch
- 6th language?
- We all give and receive love in each of these ways
- However, some forms are more effective for certain individuals than others
- The key is to know the languages that best speak to you and to others to love well
- A word on “dialects”
So What?
- We will spend the next 6 weeks looking at each of these languages so that we might understand:
- How God shows love to us in each way
- How we can love one another in each way
- And how we can love our community in each way
- Are we ready to learn how to love well?
Meditation Verse: John 13:34-35
Monday Sep 04, 2017
Monday Sep 04, 2017
Nehemiah: Rebuilding A Community
The Big “So What?”
Nehemiah Recap
Prayerful & Thankful
- Throughout Nehemiah there is a focus on prayer
- Direction (1:4, 11)
- Wisdom (2:4; 5:7)
- Protection (4:9)
- Remembrance (5:19; 6:14; 13:14, 22b, 29, 31b)
- Praise (9:5b; 11:17; 12:8, 24, 27, 31, 38, 40, 46)
Centered in the Word
- The Israelites under Nehemiah were continually returning to God’s word for instruction (8:1-3, 7-9, 13-14, 18; 9:3; 10:28, 34, 36; 12:44; 13:3)
- Their response was immediate obedience (5:12; 9:38; 13:3)
- Even sacrificially (5:14-18; 10:32)
- Thus their work and lives were constantly being informed by God’s truth
- Not mere human opinion
Need Driven
- Nehemiah and the people saw needs and desired to be a part of meeting them
- God gave one person a vision that was cast and shared with the faith community
- The end result was to turn the whole community to God in worship (12:43)
Partnered with the Community
- Everyone got involved
- Not divided by background, age, or geography (3:22; 12:28)
- Did not differentiate between secular & sacred
- The wall was as integral as the Temple
- Awareness of temptation to compromise
- Not conformity
- Sabbath-keeping, intermarriage, etc.
- Set apart, but not live apart
- Not conformity
The Big ‘So What?’
- Questions this raises for us
- Are we being prayerful?
- Both individually and corporately
- How can we make pray and thanksgiving more central to who we are as a church?
- Are we staying centered in the Word?
- Are we testing everything against Scripture?
- Are we going deeper together?
- Are we looking to meet needs in our community?
- It shows Christ-like love, and thus fulfills the Great Commandment (Luke 10:27)
- It gives us the right to be heard by our neighbors
- Thus helping us fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20)
- “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” –Teddy Roosevelt
- Are we partnering with our community?
- Collaborating where we can
- While not compromising who we are called to be
Meditation Verse: Matthew 5:16