Point of Grace Online Worship - October 13, 2024

Point of Grace – 10.13.24 Sermon Notes

Jesus dreams His church to be

“A Safe Place to Belong”

and

“A Grace Place to Become”

Four Priorities for Being Such a Church

Colossians 3:15-17 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The Peace of Christ….

The Message of Christ …

The Name of Christ …

… and be Thankful

Priority 1            The Peace of Christ

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:12-14 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

All true forgiveness is rooted in the sacrificial death of Jesus where the debt for all sin was paid for. God offers forgiveness to all because He paid the debt.

When I forgive, I relinquish the right to make you pay because Jesus already paid.

 “Being judge, jury and prosecuting attorney is too big a job for us – it will destroy us. Forgiveness trust’s God with that job. Forgiveness makes reconciliation possible. Forgiveness given sets us free … forgiveness received brings us together.”

If it’s worth an “I’m sorry” …… it’s worth an “I forgive you”

Let the PEACE of Christ RULE in your hearts …

Priority 2            The Message of Christ

16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

The Parable of the Offset Smoker

Priority 3            The Name of Christ

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus “… in the name of the Lord Jesus” living is filled with His Presence and under His Authority

Priority 4            Thankfulness

… And be thankful. … with gratitude in your hearts. … giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Point of Grace Online Worship - October 6, 2024

Point of Grace – 10.6.24 Sermon Notes

Jesus dreams His church to be

“A Safe Place to Belong”

and

“A Grace Place to Become”

Jesus and Becoming

John 8:3-11 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

“God loves you too much to leave you the way you are!”

John 20 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 4:15-16 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Grace + Truth x Time = Transformation

“We each need a “grace place” to become

And together we can be a “gracious place of becoming”

Colossians 3 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We each need a safe place to belong and a grace place to become…

And together

We get to provide that safe place of belonging and grace place of becoming for someone else.

Point of Grace Online Worship

Point of Grace – 9.29.24 Sermon Notes

Jesus dreams His church to be

“A Safe Place to Belong”

Does humanity need this?

“Our sense of meaning comes from loving connections with God and others. We are born to connect, and we need to belong. We receive love that ultimately stems from the beautiful love among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which has existed for all eternity. We then give that love out of gratitude for the love we have received, this becomes a virtuous circle. But sometimes we get stuck. There are forces at work in our culture and in our hearts and habits that disconnect us from ourselves and others….. But in our most honest moments we know this is what we need: to know and be known, to love and be loved.

“The Connected Life” by Todd W. Hall

Jesus and Belonging

John 8:3-11 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Matthew 9:9-13 9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus’ revolutionary message was that all people “Belonged” to Him …. He paid for us to be with Him even with all our baggage … guilts, gunk and grief … which so often isolate us. The community He inspired (the church) has the same message “belonging is possible in the Body of Christ”.

The Jesus Community – A Safe Place to Belong

Ephesians 2 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ…… 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The presence and love of Christ released in His church gathered in His name under His reign makes “a safe place of belonging” possible.

1 John 4 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

We each need a safe place to belong and together we get to be that place of belonging for others.

Point of Grace Online Worship - February 19, 2023

Point of Grace Worship 2.19.23 Sermon Notes – “TOGETHER – You can count on me! Can I count on You?”

“TOGETHER – You can count on me! Can I count on You?”

TOGETHER is designed by God for:

• His PRESENCE! And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Eph.2:22

• Our TRANSFORMATION! “Speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” Eph. 4:15

• His MISSION!

Matthew 16 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Jesus’s TOGETHER (church) is an invasion forces built and authorized by Him to be His agents of redemption, salvation and new life in the world – His mission in His name empowered by His Spirit using His Gospel!

Our MISSION TOGETHER as His church is vitally important and we each have a role to play!

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

In 2023 each of us and all of us will pour intentionality, creativity, sacrifice and participation into TOGETHER at Point of Grace. We can each make a difference and we can all make a difference TOGETHER.

It may look like increased opportunities to “get to know” one another opportunities where newcomers can meet and be met. Or carefree gatherings and events where families can mingle and friendships can form.

It may look like parents TOGETHER praying over children starting kindergarten or for highschoolers on mission trips. Or like senior adults listening well to younger generations so spirit inspired mentoring has a chance to happen.

It may look like an increased commitment by every PoG’er to participate in a Grow Group, serve on a ministry team and “be counted on” for Spirit-led, God honoring financial giving.

It may look like Grow Group members praying for each other’s 3x5 lists and every PoG’er doing the Daily Pause as a common TOGETHER experience while each of us discovering spirit-filled friendships we never thought possible.

It may look like each of us delving into our God given callings and Spirit given gifts so “we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4

Point of Grace Online Worship - February 12, 2023

Point of Grace Worship 2.12.23 Sermon Notes – “TOGETHER – You can count on me! Can I count on You?”

“TOGETHER – You can count on me! Can I count on You?”

PoG-tionary

UP

OUT

TOGETHER

AGAINST

How is my ……?

TOGETHER is designed by God for us to mature! (grow, change, be transformed)

Do I need to change?

Ephesians 4 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

God designed the church (TOGETHER) to be the context for us to mature! God loves us too much to leave us the way we are!

GRACE + TRUTH

TIME = TRANSFORMATION

Where is there going to be abundant GRACE mixed together with consistent TRUTH and enough time for my (our) TRANSFORMATION, “grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ”?

TOGETHER

What are the temptations when God is leading us to change, to grow?

Remember God’s vision: until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Point of Grace Online Worship - February 5, 2023

Point of Grace Worship        2.5.23     Sermon Notes – “TOGETHER – You can count on me!  Can I count on You?”

 “TOGETHER – You can count on me!  Can I count on You?”

 PoG-tionary

UP

OUT

TOGETHER 

AGAINST

How is my ……?

Ephesians 2 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.  

God is Rebuilding TOGETHER at Point of Grace and we get to be a part of it!

Jesus built TOGETHER means “nobodies get to be somebodies who are never alone”

“you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household …  And in him you too are being built together “

Jesus built TOGETHER means “Jesus is the foundation and sets the direction”

“built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”

 Jesus built TOGETHER means “we get to be a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit”

“In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”   

Can you imagine what it might look like if a group of Jesus followers

invested their lives into God’s dream for TOGETHER?

Point of Grace Online Worship - November 13, 2022

Point of Grace Worship 11.13.22 Sermon Notes – “B.L.E.S.S. – Story!”

B.L.E.S.S – 5 everyday practices to love our neighbors and change the world

B-egin with Prayer

L-isten

E-at

S-erve

S-tory to Share

Why do the B.L.E.S.S strategy?

We are growing from

Hoping people find Jesus

To

Helping people find Jesus

It is amazing to see how our faith stories,

humbly told,

help others hope in Jesus!

1 Peter 3 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

John 9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him. ”But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

The man shares his “What difference has Jesus made?” story in a simple 3part paradigm:

Life Before ... Encounter Jesus … Life After

Life Then ... Encounter Jesus … Life Now

Life Without … Encounter Jesus … Life With

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. 17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” 20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

It is amazing to see how our stories,

humbly told,

help others hope in Jesus!

What is my “What difference has Jesus made?” Cardboard Testimony?

Jesus, please give me opportunities to share my “What difference has Jesus made?” story to help others hope in You! Amen

Imagine if we ….

PoG Vision “Pause to BLESS” 2022

Every PoG’er is equipped to B.L.E.S.S. by Fall 2022 and able to confidently and enthusiastically respond, at any time, to two questions: “Whose on my 3x5 list?” (3 people far from Jesus I am praying for 5 times a week.) “How am I practically getting to B.L.E.S.S. them?”

Point of Grace Online Worship - November 6, 2022

Point of Grace Worship 11.6.22 Sermon Notes – “B.L.E.S.S. – Serve!”

B.L.E.S.S – 5 everyday practices to love our neighbors and change the world

B-egin with Prayer

L-isten

E-at

S-erve

S-tory to Share

Serving in Jesus name is key to the “radical hospitality” which speaks volumes to our skeptical world.

Serving in Jesus name is so effective because He reframes our view of “People – Price – Power”!

Luke 10 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Jesus was leading the man to see “People” and himself in a new way … with kingdom eyes!

What was the “Price” for the “radical hospitality” of the Kingdom of God as Jesus saw it?

What “Power” was Jesus leading the man to rely on?

Matthew 20 20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” 22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

How is Jesus reframing our view of

People?

Price?

Power?

Imagine if we ….

PoG Vision “Pause to BLESS” 2022

Every PoG’er is equipped to B.L.E.S.S. by Fall 2022 and able to confidently and enthusiastically respond, at any time, to two questions: “Whose on my 3x5 list?” (3 people far from Jesus I am praying for 5 times a week.) “How am I practically getting to B.L.E.S.S. them?”