March 1, 2020

Clearwater Community Church - FL

March 1, 2020

Series: Glory + Grace :: Transforming Faith

March 1, 2020 • Pastor Phil Burggraff • John 4:43–54

Theme: Transforming Faith
Passage: John 4:43–54

Contrasting Faiths seen in this story:

1. Faulty Faith:
a. A welcoming faith based on the works Jesus can do, not on who he truly is (45).
b. A desperate faith based on what Jesus can do for me in my present need or crisis (46–49).

2. Saving Faith-based simply on the word from the Word (50–53):
a. Believing the Word
b. Following the instructions by the Word
c. Experiencing Life from the Word
d. Further believing that bears fruit of belief in the Word

Main Idea: Those being transformed believe Jesus simply for who he is and follow what he commands with the result that they experience the life that he offers.

Application Questions:
• In what ways does a faulty faith that welcomes Jesus for what he can do manifest itself in our church-going culture today?
• How have you had at times a faulty faith that seeks Jesus for how he can meet a present need? What did this look like in what you did for God or how you responded to God?
• What are we to make of the two experiences of “believing” by the royal official (v. 50 and 53)? How might these affect our view of faith or help us define better what faith is in the life of a believer?

March 8, 2020

March 8, 2020 • Pastor Phil Burggraff • John 5:1–18

Theme: Transformed View of God’s Work Passage: John 5:1–18 We need our view of God’s power transformed … (vv. 1–7) …from religious superstition …from our ability to make things happen …to Jesus Christ as the center of God’s work (8–9) Warning: We can miss the work God is doing by 1. Succumbing to outside pressure (10–15) 2. Trusting in traditional, idiosyncratic religious practice (16–18) Main Idea: Those transformed by glory and grace demonstrate that God’s work centers on Jesus Christ by trusting and submitting to him. Application Questions: • In what ways can we as Christians be susceptible to religious superstition? How have you wrestled with these in your own life? • Do you struggle with a trust in yourself to make things happen, even spiritually? How so? • From this scene, how does one allow Jesus to be the center of God’s work in their own life? • Why do you and I still struggle with succumbing to outside pressure in contrast to following the commands that Jesus calls us to? • How do we still miss the work of God by trusting in traditional religious practices? What can we as individual believers and the church as a whole do to recognize and confront these tendencies?

February 23, 2020

February 23, 2020 • Pastor Phil Burggraff • John 4:1–42

Theme: Transformed Water, Worship, and Mission Passage: John 4:1–42 Notice what his encounter with a Samaritan woman teaches us about Jesus: 1. Jesus provides water that eternally satisfies (7–14). 2. Jesus sees and knows our predicament (15–18). 3. Jesus represents the place in which true worship occurs (19–26). 4. Jesus calls his followers to see the mission field God has prepared for them (27–38). 5. Jesus truly is the Savior of the world (39–42). Sermonic Theme: Those transformed by glory and grace focus their worship on God’s work through his Son by carrying out his mission of pointing any and all people to Jesus. Application Questions: • What stood out to you about Jesus from this story? How can you apply what you see of Jesus into your own life? • What does Jesus’s statement about worship in vv. 19–24 teach us worship isn’t and is? How might this affect your own worship or involvement in corporate worship? • Like the disciples (vv. 27–34), how are you blind at times to what is spiritually going on? In what ways does this passage convict you about your involvement in God’s mission? • From this passage, what encourages you to carry out the mission of pointing people to Jesus?

February 16, 2020

February 16, 2020 • Pastor Phil Burggraff • John 3:22–36

Passage: John 3:22–36 Theme: Increasing and Decreasing From the example and teaching of John concerning his relationship to Jesus, we must understand the following: 1. A transformed witness recognizes all ministry culminates in Jesus (22–29). a. We receive our commission from him. b. We are sent to point to him. c. Our joy is found in him. 2. A transformed witness increasingly emphasizes Christ over self (30¬). Reasons why (31–35): a. He is above all. b. He has directly seen and heard from the Father. c. He speaks the very words of God. d. He possesses authority over everything. Sermonic Theme: Rather than adding God to our lives, God’s transforming work through glory and grace places us into the eternal life of his Son Jesus. Do you truly want the life Jesus has offered you (36)? Application Questions: • In what ways do we make ministry and following Jesus about ourselves? How have you personally struggled with this? • John’s response in vv. 27–30 demonstrates incredible humility. Are we able to cultivate humility in our lives? What are some practical steps we can take in order to do so? • What do we learn about the Trinity and how they function in this unfolding plan of God from this passage of scripture (vv. 32–35)? How does this impact your life? • What truths can we take away about life from v. 36? How should this impact the way that we live (from this verse and the passage in its entirety)?