Previous Sermon Series "Fortify" - Friendship Community Church

With His Peace

August 30, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

You've probably heard the old song that is most-often sung at Christmastime that says, "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me". It's a nice thought and something we could certainly use right about now in our world, but I have to ask, how is that working out? The world, and even many believers, are being crippled with fear and angst as seemingly every single new day brings something scarier than the one before it. While those who know Jesus Christ and trust in God's sovereignty should be moving away from fear and toward faith, many are finding that the exact opposite is happening. How can we have peace as we see what is going on? Why are so many people angry at each other and unwilling to get along, love one another, and overcome the chaos? My friends, I submit to you that the answer to these questions is that we have been searching for peace within OURSELVES, but that's not where it's found. This week at Friendship, we'll finish out the FORTIFY series by discussing what it means to be fortified with God's peace. We'll talk about the story of Gideon, who came to realize that "The Lord is Peace" (Jehovah Shalom). Peace is not something that happens accidentally in our lives; we must submit to the Lord and clothe ourselves with HIS character. This is our only true hope as we battle the fear and anxiety associated with our present world.

With His Holiness

August 23, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

You may have heard of this old thought-provoking question: If being a Christian were illegal and you were arrested and charged, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Pondering your answer to this question forces you to practice one of the most basic disciplines of the Christian walk, yet one we often neglect - self-examination. Being a Christ-follower is about more than what we say we believe in our hearts, because our faith is shown through action and behavior. While perfection is not required, there must be some outward evidence of our internal condition, some fruit that sprouts from the seeds of faith planted within us. In the Bible, we are commanded to be "holy" just as God is holy. That sounds very intimidating and impossible to us, but that's primarily because of our misunderstanding of the word. God is HOLY in that He is "set apart", different from His creation. His thoughts and ways are higher. This week at Friendship, we'll talk about being fortified with God's holiness, which in turn helps us to live the "set apart" lives to which He has called us, to be in the world and engage with unbelievers while exhibiting evidence that clearly distinguishes us from them and their worldly behaviors. We ought to reflect God's "set apartness" in our earthly lives until we are made permanently holy in heaven.

With His Trustworthiness

August 16, 2020 • Ben Sorbello

"Trust Me". How often in our human existence have we heard that phrase? How do we know WHO to TRUST? Life is full of daily decisions we have to make, and in order to try and make the best ones, we need information and facts. Where do we go for them? Who is our source? Do we turn to the media? Our parents? The nightly news? Our friends? Our pastors or priest? The government? The teachers and professors? Books? The Internet? Google? Doctors or lawyers? As Christians, how many times have we put our trust in any of the above when the TRUTH is there is only one true and trustworthy source - the God of the universe? How do we trust God and not the world? This is what we will be exploring this weekend as a church family, so I challenge you to trust me and come out and be a part of this exploration!

With His Justice

August 9, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

As I've mentioned in sermons before, my parents joked with me growing up that I should be an attorney because of how much I like to argue. Looking back on my formative years, it was never that I "liked arguing", I just hated it less than I hated things being wrong! Even today, I feel a strong urge to right a lot of wrongs and set things in order. Many of you can relate. As I grew in discipleship and reflected on my internal wiring, someone pointed out that I have a heart for JUSTICE. The question is, whose justice is it? Most of us are against injustice and we prefer to see things happen as they "should", but according to what standard? As we try to become more like Jesus and think more like the God who created us in His image, we must rid ourselves of any self-motivated attempts at worldly justice and seek God's heart, for there is no true justice apart from Him. This week at Friendship, we'll discuss how we can be fortified with His justice. We'll certainly discover how He defines it compared to how the secular world does, and then we'll learn what He wants us to DO to work toward justice. This is a very relevant message for all that we see happening today and we hope you'll join us as we seek Him for clarity!

With His Mercy

August 2, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

If you have ever driven past a hidden officer who became visible to you at the last minute, I guarantee that you looked down at your speedometer to see how fast you were going. If you then looked in your rear-view mirror while driving and seen those flashing red and blue lights coming behind you, I can guarantee that you hoped they were coming for someone else and not you. If you then discovered that they were indeed pulling you over, I can guarantee that another thought crossed your mind: "Please God, let this be just a warning". We don't want the warning because we want to be warned; most of the time, we probably couldn't care less about it. We want the warning because we don't want the alternative! At every step of that process, we are hoping, even praying, for mercy. When it comes to sin, all of us are guilty. The evidence against us is clear and convincing and our only hope of avoiding the consequences is to be granted mercy by the Supreme Judge. Fortunately, mercy is something the Bible says God is "rich in". This week at Friendship, we'll talk about becoming fortified with God's mercy, which means not getting the punishment we all deserve. God not only grants mercy, but also grants grace, which is receiving gifts we don't deserve. They are two sides of the same coin, the currency of God's riches. No matter who you are, where you're from, or what you've done, God's mercy is available to you through Jesus Christ.

With His Love

July 26, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

When I was a child, without a doubt the best voice on the radio was that of Whitney Houston. I can still hear her belting out some of those classics in my head right now. One song in particular declared that she had found "the greatest love of all". She went on to say that "learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all". That song became a number one hit in the United States, Australia, and Canada in 1986. While I loved Whitney's voice and her music, this means that people all over the world were taking in an absolute LIE. Jesus tells us the greatest love of all is to lay down one's life for one's friends. Then, he SHOWED it to us through action. It's impossible to truly love yourself, or anyone else really, until you can understand what God did for you BECAUSE of His love. This week at Friendship, we'll explore what it means to be FORTIFIED with His love. When we are afraid, when we feel unloved, when we feel abused, when we feel rejected, these are all opportunities to get to know God's great love for YOU!

With His Strength

July 19, 2020 • Ben Sorbello

Do you have a Giant in your Life? Are you in a valley about to do battle? Are you strong enough to handle it? As we move through life we are put in situations where we can be faced with challenges and choices. Sometimes these can appear to be Giants. You have a loved one question their faith or existence of Jesus. How do we handle this? What if we feel inadequate ? Where does our strength come from? Does it come from the food that we eat or the people we know? If you are not sure if you are strong enough then we have a sermon for you! This weekend we will be sharing God's Strength so please bring friends and family so that we can go deeper into the Word as a family.

With His Faithfulness

July 12, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

Growing up in a family of Marines, I've often heard the phrase "Semper Fi". It is a shortened version of the United States Marine Corps motto "semper fidelis", which is Latin for "always faithful". But, has any Marine, or any human being at all, ever lived it 100%? Think about your own life. Have you ever broken a promise? Had one made to you that was broken? Did you ever start something you really thought you'd enjoy and want to be committed to, only to abandon it at the first sign of difficulty? Or maybe you've partnered with someone to complete a specific task only to find out your partner bailed on you when the going got tough. If you can identify with any of these scenarios, then you know that no human being is "always faithful". It's one reason why we should be thankful that our God has a perfect track record. This week at Friendship, we will talk about being fortified with God's faithfulness, which really means he is RELIABLE. If you've been frustrated by unreliable family members, friends, employees, employers, leaders, news media, vehicles, financial advice, or even weather reports (those drive me crazy!), we encourage you to hear this message on the One who has never failed us and won't start now.

With His Independence

July 5, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

Just a short 244 years ago, our founding fathers declared our independence from the tyranny of Great Britain. The closest most of us can get to anything like that is when we declare independence from our parents, which legally happens at age 18 even though most teenagers think they can do it at about 13. As adults, we declare independence from banks anytime we pay off a loan, and that's a tremendous feeling. The reason human beings have to earn and declare independence from whatever binds us is that at some point, whether by chance or by choice, we are dependent. That is not the case with God. Our God created us and everything around us and it is illogical to think that a Creator would need approval or advice from that which He created. This week at Friendship, we'll continue the FORTIFY series by discussing what it means that God is independent and how it impacts our lives and choices. God cannot be controlled or willed by us, and that's great news! If you've been struggling with being obedient and walking in the freedom that God provides, this is a message for you.

With His Patience

June 28, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

They say "patience is a virtue", but I think most of us are probably wondering why it seemed to skip over us at birth. Not much is required to set us off these days. Aren't you thankful that God hasn't dealt with you the way you deal with people who test your patience? It really is astounding to think about how gracious and slow to anger the Lord is with us. We may live in rebellion for years, yet God is still waiting for us to turn to Him. If you're reading this right now, you know that God has been patient with you because you are not destroyed. Psalm 103 reminds us that God "does not treat us as our sins deserve". What a powerful statement! We all know that one day we will stand before the Judge of all judges and even though our deeds will pronounce us "guilty", God will pronounce us free because the due penalty has already been paid by the blood of Jesus. But patience takes it a step further. God is patient with even those still rejecting that blood of Jesus; He warns us of disaster and waits for us to repent, because He does not want us to be destroyed. This week at Friendship, we'll talk about how we can FORTIFY ourselves with God's patience, knowing we can turn to Him even after we have rebelled for a long time. We should remember, however, that His patience is NOT forever, and we must not take it for granted. If you have been going astray and feeling distant from God, this is the week to turn back around, and we hope you'll come out for this very important message.

With his Goodness

June 21, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

In the immortal words of the late Pastor John Harman, "God is good all the time, and all the time God is good". It's a great saying, but how many of us actually believe it and live by it? When goodness gets judged by worldly standards, which include our tendency to support whatever benefits us individually even if it's detrimental to others, we lose sight of the truth. Lately, a lot of people inside and outside the true body of believers have been forgetting what goodness really is - a recognized fruit of the Spirit that comes from Him. That means that we cannot be good, or even understand goodness, apart from our relationship with Jesus. That may be an unpopular view for the crowds who say that we can all be good to one another without religion, but the New Testament repeatedly declares that no one does good and no one is good except for God. This week at Friendship, we'll continue in the FORTIFY series by talking about how to fortify ourselves with God's GOODNESS in the midst of the evil we see all around us. If God is truly good all the time, then that means we can find refuge in our knowledge of His goodness no matter what circumstances the devil throws at us. We'd love to see you all in-person at church this weekend as we worship our good, good Father.

With His Righteousness

June 14, 2020 • Ben Sorbello

As we wake up to this ever changing world we are living in, two questions we may ask ourselves could be: Where is Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be done as it is in Heaven? Where is God’s Righteousness? With more and more of the world trying to push God out of it, we have to assume that they do not care about making this world into a place or kingdom similar to Heaven. I was once told in a sales seminar that you can never win an argument when the person’s ears are closed. What that means is that even if you have the truth, if their anger or hatred is so great they will not allow themselves to hear anything except more anger or hatred, they will not want to listen to what you have to say. Our battle has to be with the human heart and that battle is fought usually hand to hand, one-on-one, starting with our immediate family and working our way out to the world. When the world tries to tell us what is right and what is wrong, it can leave some of us confused and looking for answers. Why aren’t people acting right? Or we say ,”That is not right!” We then have to ask ourselves, what is right? Who is the arbiter of what is right and what is wrong? Is it our parents or grandparents, our teachers or professors, our priests or pastors, our husband or wife, our friends, our politicians or doctors? If you profess to follow Jesus Christ, then the answer should be fairly obvious! We are going to explore God’s Righteousness this weekend and I invite you to come out and see how we can know what is right and what is wrong!

With His Truth

June 7, 2020 • Pastor Logan Ames

If you've ever done a treasure hunt, a scavenger hunt, or even something like an escape room, you know that they require a bunch of people working together, using their intellect, and searching for clues to get them to the answer. These activities are attractive to those who enjoy looking beyond the obvious, those who want to be able to seek and find what others cannot. Some have treated the Bible - and the truth about God in general - this way, wanting to find what others have not or cannot. This has often led to confusion, sharp disagreement, and even offense. But the truth about God is not something that's difficult to find. It is obvious, clear, and in plain sight, especially as we look at the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ! This week at Friendship, we begin our new series called "FORTIFY" in which we'll be looking at the various attributes of God's character, and we'll start it off by discussing how to fortify ourselves with His TRUTH. In a time of much confusion, anger, and division that threatens to overwhelm us and sweep us away, we can find refuge in the Truth of God. If you've been feeling fearful as you watch the news and hear the stories, this is a message for you!