Hinckley EFC

The Gift Of "An Everlasting Relationship" John 1:14

The Gift of

“An everlasting relationship”

December 23, 2018

 

John 1:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Gift Of True Significance

The Gift of “True Significance”

December 16, 2018

 

No one desires to be insignificant - no one wants to feel like they don’t count, No one sets as their goal in life, to feel like they don’t matter.

BUT UNDERSTAND THIS: if we use the world’s standards, very few of us, will ever measure up, and even if we do, we won’t measure up for long.

 

The good news is this - God’s s___________ of significance are not the same as the worlds.

 

 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts..” Is 55:8,9)

 

What do Jesus’ parents teach us about significance?

 

It is NOT education, money, family, background, or even natural ability - that makes someone significant.

 

Joseph teaches us that one of the things that make us significant in God’s eyes is, having a heart of F________…

 

“your f_______ is far more precious to God than mere gold.”  1 Peter 1:7

 

Mary teaches us about significance.

 “I am the Lord’s s______________ and I am willing to accept whatever he wants.” Luke 1:26-38

 

“You know the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to become first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.” Mt 20:25-28

 

GOD says IF you want to be significant … be a s________.

 

What can the place of Jesus’ birth teach us about significance?

 

No p______, No P_______ - is insignificant as long as J_______ is there!

 

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is IN you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Cor 6:19).

 

Don’t miss this! Don’t minimize this! Almighty God, if you are a Christian lives in you. YOU are the d______________ place of God

 

the lesson about significance from the shepherds…

 

Seeing C__________ was more important to them than mere sheep.

 

Second these guys were passionate about s_________________ the good news.

The Gift of Indescribable Joy

The Gift of “Indescribable Joy”

December 09, 2018

 

I want to give you 6 things that will keep joy in your Christmas.

 

1. Give Your W___________ To God …W________ is one of the main reasons people lose their joy!

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its s_____________.”

Corrie Ten Boom

 

 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called c____________ of God! And that is what we are!” 1 Jn 3:1

 

2. Refuse To Focus On What You D______ H_______!

Solomon writes in Pr 14;30; “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones..”

 

Ecclesiastes 6:6-7 (TLB)

Philippians 4:12-13 (TLB)

Psalm 17:15 (TLB)

3. Include Time For R_______!

 

How do you make sure that include time for rest during this season of the year?

First you need to learn to say N______;..

 

SECOND, you need to STOP the constant push for m_______..-

 

4. Never Forget The Reason for Christmas, is that YOU needed a S__________…!

         

Christ came, that little baby was born to a virgin, and was laid in a manger for one reason, and one reason only, to d____ for your s___; and m______.

 

5. Hold Your T______________ Captive!

Paul writes in 2 Cor 10:5, “take captive every thought”

 

Phil 4:8; “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think of such things;”

 

6. Consider Your F_____________!

 

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

John 14:1-4 (ESV)

Romans 8:18 (ESV)

1 Corinthians 15:52-53 (ESV)

1 John 3:2 (ESV)

Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV)

The Gift Of Incredible Hope.

The Gift of “Incredible Hope”

December 01, 2018

 

I BELIEVE …

I believe in the sun

          Even when it is not shining;

I believe in love,

          Even when I feel it not;

I believe in God,

          Even when He is silent.

 

it’s important to remember that even though times and cultures may change, God’s character remains the same. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever…      He never c________…

 

In the angel’s message to Zechariah we find hope.

 

First, we can count on God when we face impossible personal situations!

Their “impossible problem” involved their f____________….

          Elizabeth felt d______________

          Many were sure it was because of s_______!

 

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents?”  and Jesus replied, “it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” John 9:2

 

(Have you ever considered that just possibly YOUR “impossible situation” just might also be “so that the works of God might be d____________ through you?)

 

Impossible situations often seem possible when we l_______ u___… so l_________ u____!

God specializes in hopeless cases!!!!

 

“The same God who brought a child to a hopeless elderly couple is still God today.

Think about those words…. “Your prayer has been heard”!  

And pay attention, it was while He was about the w_____ that had been assigned to him that God spoke… It was while he was about the Fathers business that he found the framework of hope…

 

My friend, today God is a_______________ at work causing the events of your life to work for g________….

 

Second, we can count on God to fix an “impossible” situation for mankind!

God uses p___________ to process His p_____!

 

God’s not d_____. He’s very much alive and very much c_______ about you. You are never forgotten.

 

God said to all who feel hopeless, “N__________ will I leave you. N________ will I forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5)

 

The message Zechariah heard from God is for us as well: “Don’t be afraid. I haven’t forgotten Y____! Your prayer has been heard.”

 

The first real gift of Christmas is the gift of  “Incredible HOPE!”

Becoming A People Of Service: I Peter 4:7-11

Becoming a people of Service!

I Peter 4:7-11

November 18, 2018

 

As a people of service; we glorify God as our worship overflows in p__________ expressions of faith and faithfulness s__________ others.

 

• Through Worship:
  • The d____________ of worldly values are exposed,
  • the world-inflicted w_________ are healed,
  • the eternal perspective of being seated with Christ in the "Heavenly places" is r_______.

 

• Worship is an essential means which r___________ us and s_____________ us for His purpose.
• Worship cleanses, restores, and equips us to serve in the Coming Kingdom...
  • We come not because we are worthy, but because He is worthy and declares us worthy in Christ.
  • When we feel the least worthy to come to God, we can best recognize the w_________ of Grace. 

 

• Our confession of sin frees us from i___________ which dilute our sense of n_____. It also awakens us to the hope which empowers obedience.

 

• In worship, we experience the reality of being made r______ with God by faith in Christ. Then, we are prepared to go forth in faith and obedience.

 

Four primary categories of service that will flow directly from our worship. 

• The first is the service of "w__________" or "t_________________".
• The second category of service is the service of love and compassion.
  • The first form of service that is mentioned is "f__________________",
  • "H_________" for the household of faith....
• The third category of service is the service of spiritual warfare.
  • This battle is waged on many fields; the field of p_______ ministry, resisting t__________, and confronting moral corruption and injustice in society.
• The fourth general category of worship inspired service is the service of stewardship in all of l____.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship. “Rom.12:1

 

• Present your bodies.... that is a thoroughly I_____________ concept..!
  • Our bodies represent our career, our relationships with family and friends, and our work in the community where we live... our responsibility to the state, and nation in which we live and the world that we touch in both t__________ and in m___________.
  • All of these are a__________ for our living sacrifice.... the presentation of our bodies in the s_________ of God!!!

Becoming A People Of Celebration. I Peter 2:9-12

Becoming a people of Celebration

I Peter 2:9-12

November 11, 2018

 

• Worship is God's remedy for spiritual a___________. Every worship service announces and celebrates what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.  The memory of Grace makes us more alive in Christ.

 

In Christ we share a unique identity... 

• Peter here reminds us that we are a C_____________... ....
• He saw n_______________ in us and chose us because of that!!!

 

Then, we are R________________!!!

• Our text tells us that Christians, that is us, are Royalty!  That is who you are if you are a child of God.... Royalty!!!  And it doesn't matter how royal you  look either.... You are a "royal priesthood."

 

• What does a Priest do??? 

 

• A priest is someone who goes directly to God and says, "It's me God".... He has permission to enter into the very p____________ of God.... 
• But that is not all that a priest did.... A priest takes other p____________ into the presence of God.  
• And here is a good point to insert the fact that we are not talking about the ordained, professional, paid, clergy here..... NO!!! All b______________ are priests.

 

• Now another of the words that Peter uses here to describe the believer is the word "H_________“
  • .... "Holy" means, simply, "s____ a_______"...
• . It is good to be Holy, but sometimes being holy feels more like being peculiar... different.  Sometimes it will not feel good, but we are set apart.  We are different ... We will always be different!!!!

We are citizens of a holy nation that does not have any g__________________ boundaries. 

 

• "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful d__________, which war on your soul." (vs 11) 

 

• we are "a People b_________________ to God".... He created us.... we are His..... And the starting place for worship is to recognize that God created us and we belong to Him.

 

What is OUR purpose??  Why are we who we are???

verse 9. "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light".

 

We exist to d___________ his praises.        

 

• In Christ we have a new f___________....  
• "Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.“ vs 10

Worship: Becoming A People of Praise. Rev. 7:9-17

Worship -Becoming a people of Praise

Rev. 7:9-17

November 04, 2018

 

When directed by faith in Jesus Christ the act of praise cuts us free from the ties of this world, lifting us heavenward.  Then praise becomes a source of spiritual r_______________ and r___________.

  

 "How can we direct our praise capacity toward God?”

 

First of all, there is Confession of Sin....

 

• When we confess our sins, we are h_____________ ourselves before God, we are acknowledging His h_______________, experiencing His faithfulness and righteousness in His forgiveness of those sins, and accepting any c_____________ that He may see fit to give, and in doing all of that we are in a unique position to praise Him!!!

 

• I John 1:9 is very familiar... " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
  • The word, "confess“ literally means "to e__________ the same thing", or to be in complete a____________....
  • Confession of sin is fully agreeing with God about both the responsibility for that sin and the awfulness of it.

 

• In fact, confession serves the dual purpose of being an act of worship itself, and it prepares the repentant sinner for worship.
• Hebrews 9:14 says cleansing purifies the c____________ "to serve the living God.”

 

• .... confession of sin glorifies God... it acknowledges that He is holy when He acts in j____________ against sin.

 

The second area that I would like to look at is what I call "Verbal praise"...... 

That is, we glorify God by praising Him with our m________.  In Psalm 50:23 God says, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:"..

• In the K.J.V the 107th repeatedly uses the expression, "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men".

 

• Worship through praise is to be the chief activity of e_________.
  • "since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your          minds on things above, not on earthly things."  (C____ 3:1-2)
  • "Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need. (H___________ 4:16, J.B. Phillips paraphrase).

 

• when we offer a real sacrifice of praise it will require trading in our p_______, our a___________, and most valued of all our human l_________.

 

• Hebrews 13:15 "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise the fruit of lips that confess his name.
  • We don't need to focus on in-depth descriptions of our problems.... we need to describe in more vivid and comprehensive terms The Lord who is the answer to all of our problems.

 

We are called to cultivate praise as a lifestyle. 

• First, the habit of praise renews our f__________!...
• Second, the lessons of praise shape our p_________...! 
• Thirdly, the power of praise energizes our c_______....!

Worship. The Pacesetter Of Life. Exodus 31:12-17

Worship: The pacesetter of life

Exodus 31:12-17

October 28, 2018

 

 “Man’s chief end (purpose) is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. (Westminster shorter Catechism)

 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind".....(Matt 22:37)

 

• In other words, in real Worship, we place God's w___ above everything else.

 

• "Worship" a p__________ experience within the context of a p________ event, in other words as God's people meet together.

 

1. Worship cultivates a sense of His p____________.
2. Without worship we lose a l_________ knowledge of God.... without worship, the sense of God's presence is only a memory.... a dim, distant memory!!!
3. When we take time to focus on his Word and to remember His work, our spirit awakens to the hope that is ours in the "s_______" of the Lord's Day.
4. Worship r_________ the guidance systems of our lives. Worship keeps us from the disorientation that comes from over-valuing the "stuff" and activities of life.

 

2. worship makes us available for the transforming power of God to r_______ our minds and s________ the life of Christ within us.

The instruction to worship is given in Exodus 31:13  "... so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.

• we can celebrate not only the creation of the world in six days, but the new c____________ of our new lives through the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first day of the week.
• In a culture that emphasizes performance, we find it very difficult to understand that the most significant means to our life-transformation comes from being a_________________ to God....
• Worship puts us in a place where we are open to God, and in an a___________ that makes us co-operative with Him as well.
• Worship changes u___.....
• When we, that is you and I, begin to experience this transforming power in worship, our l________, our c_______________ will never be the same.

 

3.The third promise that is inherent in keeping the Lord's day is one of  r________.

• It is the rest of satisfaction and contentment that comes from having the eternal p______________ on our temporal lives.
• Our lives are rooted in the created order and plan of God.....

 

how can we make worship the pace setter of our lives.... 

• commit yourself to developing a new u_____________ of worship....
• commit yourself to p__________ for weekly worship.
• commit yourself to "p___________" weekly worship in the days that follow.

On What is YOUR Life Built Matthew 7:24-27

On what is YOUR life built?

Matthew 7:24-27

October 21, 2018

 

Comparisons between the two different men...

 

What are the characteristics of a foolish man?? 

• First of all the thing that I notice here is that the foolish man is always in a h_________....
• Secondly, I think that this is the person who has the mentality that says ‘I don’t need any i______________, I can figure this out on my own’....
• The third characteristic of a foolish man is that he failed to think through the c_______________ of his actions....

 

The wise builder is just the opposite of the foolish one....

• He also wanted to have a house.... but He was not in such a hurry that he would forego basic d________ and c_________________ principles.
• You see, the wise builder takes the time to find out all of the i__________________ that he can...

 

So, the real difference here is the f_______________ or the lack thereof....!

 

The foundation material that these two men used:

Principle number one is that if the foundation is not good, the whole b____________ is not good.

 

there are only two options.... sand or rock....

 

• what are you building the house of your life upon????

 

The trials and testing’s of Faith.....

everything that we are relying upon, every preparation that we make, our whole view of life, is going to be subjected to t_______.......

it is something that  is u__________...  It is something that is going to happen to the wise as well as the foolish.....

 

n___________ in the Bible are we told that when we come to Jesus , when we become a Christian, that all of our problems are going to be over and the remainder of our life will be rosy....

 

The truth is that there are certain things in life which are unavoidable

• Whether we like it or not the world comes. The answer is not e______.... for there is none....

 

• ....It is clear that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,.... against spiritual wickedness in high places”.

 

In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us that the only way to stand is to put on the whole a_________ of God…

 

Nothing will avail but the pure foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Deciding Factor-Obedience Matthew 7:21-23

The deciding factor -- Obedience

Matthew 7:21-23

October 14, 2018

“Cheap Grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without Church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.  Cheap Grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

   “The cost of Discipleship” Deitrich Bonhoffer

 

The message here is designed to open our eyes again to the great danger of s_________________ and s______________________.

Our Lord is emphasizing once more that nothing a____________ in the presents of God but true righteousness, true holiness..... the ‘holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (H_____________ 12:14)

 

The general principle behind this teaching is that self-deception, with regard to the soul and its relationship to God, is generally due to our relying upon f______ __________ of Salvation.

 

• The first piece of false evidence that some people rest on is rather surprising..... it is none other than a correct b____________.

 

To be a Christian means that we rest our entire case.... our whole S_______________, our eternal destiny entirely upon the ___________________.  That is why the true believer says, “Lord, Lord”.

But the alarming aspect of all of this is that the Lord makes it clear that n______ everyone who says this will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

^“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!”
 J__________ 2:19

 

We are all in danger of becoming content with an i______________________ to the truth!!!

 

There is the danger of trusting your f________ instead of Christ, or trusting your b____________ without really becoming regenerate.

 

• The second area in which many people find a false spiritual confidence is in the area of w_________

.

“Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” vs. 22

 

“For by Grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God --- NOT of works lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8&9.....

 

The question we need to answer this morning is not “is Jesus God”? 

But” is He Your God”? 

          Not “is Jesus Lord”?...

                    But “is Jesus Lord of Your life”?

          Not” is Jesus the Savior”,

                    but “Is He YOUR Savior”.