Waiting Well! Advent 4

SERMON NOTES:  

Waiting Well Lesson 1:    Fill waiting on God with LONGING for God!  (Isaiah 64)
Waiting Well Lesson 2:   Receive Yahweh’s comfort as you hope IN Him!   (Isaiah 40)
Waiting Well Lesson 3:   Focus on the WHO … who brings the WHAT!   (Isaiah 61)
 

Luke 1 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid … you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

2 Samuel 7 8 “Now then, tell my servant David,…“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you:  …16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

Isaiah 7 14 The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 

Isaiah 9 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.7 Of the greatness of his government and peace  there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
 

Waiting Well Lesson 4:  Live with one KING!   KING JESUS!
 

My one KING is GOOD and MIGHTY and WINS!   

In HIM I am LOVED and FEAR-LESS and FREE to live!  

 
DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Luke 2:1-20
Tuesday:  Isaiah 9:1-7
Wednesday:  Matthew 1:18-25
Thursday:  Matthew 2:1-12
Friday:  Matthew 2:13-23
Saturday:  John 1:1-18

Waiting Well! Advent 3

SERMON NOTES:  

Waiting Well Lesson 1:    Fill waiting on God with LONGING for God!  (Isaiah 64)

Waiting Well Lesson 2:   Receive Yahweh’s comfort as you hope IN Him!   (Isaiah 40)

Isaiah 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,  and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—  to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;  that they may be called oaks of righteousness,  the planting of the Lord, for the display of His splendor. 
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;  my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

Waiting Well Lesson 3:           Focus on the WHO … who brings the WHAT!

The WHO of Isaiah 61 is Jesus!

The WHAT of Isaiah 61 is ______________!

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Isaiah 61:1-3
Tuesday:  Isaiah 61:8-11
Wednesday:  Luke 4:16-20
Thursday:  John 8:31-38
Friday:  John 6:25-35
Saturday:  Isaiah 53

Waiting Well! Advent 2

SERMON NOTES:  

Waiting Well Lesson 1:         Fill waiting on God with LONGING for God!

Isaiah 40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed,  that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.

3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

28 Do you not know?  Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,  the Creator of the ends of the earth He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;  31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Waiting Well Lesson 2:   Receive Yahweh’s Comfort as you hope in Him!

                There is a difference between being comforted and being comfortable!
                Hoping in Yahweh is comforting because we lose control of timing and strategy but get a better result!

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Isaiah 40:1-5
Tuesday:  Isaiah 40:6-11
Wednesday:  2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Thursday:  Isaiah 40:18-26
Friday:  Isaiah 40:27-31
Saturday:  Psalm 62:1-8

Waiting Well! Advent 1

SERMON NOTES:  

Isaiah 64 Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!
2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies  and cause the nations to quake before you!
3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.
4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.     5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.  But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved?
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
  we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins.                             8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord;  do not remember our sins forever.
  Oh, look on us, we pray,  for we are all your people.

Waiting Well Lesson #1:         Fill waiting on God with LONGING for God!

Passionate longing for God coupled with authentic repentance of sin results in relentless dependence on His Graciousness!

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Isaiah 63:7-10
Tuesday:  Isaiah 65:1-5
Wednesday:  Isaiah 64:1-5
Thursday:  Isaiah 6:17-25
Friday:  Isaiah 64:6-12
Saturday:  Psalm 51

Joining Jesus On His Mission! How Do I Do This?

SERMON NOTES:  

“It’s the little things, done repeatedly, that often matter most!” 

The five simple practices which ready us to Join Jesus on His mission every day are:

1)   Seeking the Kingdom             Matt. 6:33                             “How have I seen God at work in my world this week?”                                                                                   

2)   Listening to Jesus                   Matt.7:24                              “What has Jesus been teaching me in His Word lately?”

3)   Talking with People                 John 4:7-27                           “What kind of conversations have I been having?”

4)   Doing Good                                Matt. 5:16                             “What good can I do around here?”

5)   Ministering through Prayer         Col. 4:2-4                               “What opportunities for prayer am I seeing?”

 Ezekiel 379 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Prayer is a vital not only for our union with Jesus (UP) but also our mission with Jesus (OUT)!

Let’s keep asking:    Jesus, what are you up to?     How would You have me join You?

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Matthew 9:35-38
Tuesday:  Matthew 7:24-29
Wednesday:  Colossians 4:2-6
Thursday:  Matthew 6:9-13
Friday:  Ezekiel 37:9-14
Saturday:  Psalm 1

Joining Jesus On His Mission! What Do I Do?

SERMON NOTES:  

Joining Jesus helps us with the BIG question of life, “What am I here for?”

Ephesians 2:10 God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

What do I do so I am ready to Join Jesus on His mission every day?

1)            Seeking the Kingdom                  “How have I seen God at work in my world this week?”

2)            Listening to Jesus                       “What has Jesus been teaching me in His Word lately?”

3)            Talking with People                    “What kind of conversations have I been having?”

4)            Doing Good                                “What good can we do around here?”

5)            Ministering through Prayer        “What opportunities to pray for others am I seeing?”

Luke 17 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

 Let’s keep asking:    Jesus, what are you up to?     How would You have me join You?

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Luke 13:10-17
Tuesday:  Ephesians 2:8-10
Wednesday:  Luke 17:11-19
Thursday:  Psalm 118:1-14
Friday:  Luke 18:35-43
Saturday:  Psalm 118:19-29

Joining Jesus On His Mission! Living On Mission

SERMON NOTES:  

A New Mindset - 1 – I go with Jesus not for Jesus!
                            2 – I now live in a mission field which makes me a missionary!
                            3 -  I get to “be with and enjoy people!”

Renewed Passion – What do you do around here?

2 Corinthians 5 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Some New Practices

1)            Seeking the Kingdom
2)            Listening to Jesus
3)            Talking with People
4)            Doing Good
5)            Ministering through Prayer

Matthew 6   33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 

John 8   Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

We keep asking:    Jesus, what are you up to?     How would You have me join You?

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  2 Corinthians 5:11-17
Tuesday:  1 Corinthians 2:6-12
Wednesday:  2 Corinthians 5:18-21
Thursday:  2 Timothy 3:10-17
Friday:  1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Saturday:  Psalm 119:41-48

Joining Jesus On His Mission! Getting Ready

SERMON NOTES:  

Matthew 28 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus gets us ready to join Him in His mission everyday by giving us a new mindset about His mission and some new practices so we can actually do it.

Mindset #1 – We go with Jesus not for Jesus!

Mindset #2 – Our culture has changed, we now live in a mission field which makes me a missionary!

Mindset #3 - Jesus’ inefficiently effective strategy for mission: “Be with and enjoy people!”

Matthew 11 19 The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results.”
Luke 19 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

We keep asking:
                                Jesus, what are you up to?
                               How would You have me join You?

DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Monday:  Matthew 6:28-34
Tuesday:  Mark 10:13-16
Wednesday:  Matthew 13:44-46
Thursday:  Matthew 13:36-43
Friday:  Matthew 13:31-35
Saturday:  Psalm 66