Over
July 17, 2022 | Behave Over Belief
July 17, 2022 • Pastor Ken Cline
Is Jesus more than Savior to you? Is he Lord? As such, He gives instructions and grows us up into our destiny. We must be willing to do what He says. Much of the sermon today comes from The Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. This portion of scripture at the beginning of Matthew 5 is also called the “Beatitudes.| In Matt. 7:24-25, those who DO the word of Jesus will not fall. When one puts Jesus’ words into action, He is not just Savior but Lord. Sometimes the words of Jesus make us cringe and are uncomfortable. In Romans 8:29, we see that God has “conformed [us] to the image” of Jesus, and He is continuing to do so. This can be a painful process. He is shaving off old stuff. However, Ps. 34:8 says that the Lord is good. Sometimes He is an acquired “taste.” What happens when Jesus is not Lord? Our “house” crashes, according to Matt. 7:26-27. This is the law of sowing and reaping. To clarify, we are not accepted by God according to our good behavior, but our beliefs in Christ will affect our behavior. INFORMATION—--------APPLICATION—---------TRANSFORMATION The three words above show the process that must take place in every believer’s life. If we say “no” to Jesus, there’s no staying, we slide backward. We must take one step at a time of obedience. Ask, “When did I stop obeying Jesus?” We must not compromise with sin but put our beliefs into action. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matt. 7:28, why were the people astonished? Because His teaching was with authority as Lord. Ultimately, our beliefs cannot be separated from our behavior. Our behavior must be like Jesus. When we look at the Beatitudes in Matt. 5:7-9, we must ask ourselves if we are different or like the world. Are we showing mercy, purity of heart, and peacemaking? Matt. 5:14-16: We are the light of the world. It’s what a blessed life looks like. This can apply to many areas in our life. Going into another election season in the US, we can disagree but love. We must let go of anger, forgive, get things right with others, and love our enemies. (Matt. 5:21-22) Jesus showed the kind of love we are to show others when he washed the disciples’ feet (Jn. 13:34). When our behavior is over our belief, all people will know that we are Christians if we have love. This world needs love to show them Jesus. Is Jesus Lord? (Matt. 6:24) If so, how do we deal with behavioral issues? First,have Jesus and His words in front of our eyes. Jesus must be our focus! Then apply Col 3:12-15 which says to “clothe” ourselves with Him. Remember what He has done for us; then we will have compassion for others. We are being “read” by the world. Are they reading Jesus? D.L. Moody said, “Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.” Who is reading you? Are they reading Jesus?
July 24, 2022 | King Over Country
July 24, 2022 • Pastor Ken Cline
It can be easy to slip into a way of life that inserts idols over Jesus. In this third part to the Over series, Pastor Ken reminds us that Jesus is to take priority over everything, including our families and our country. If we are too busy to serve Jesus because of family obligations, this is a sign that family has become the source of our worship rather than Jesus. Jesus teaches in Luke 14:26-33 that your love for Jesus should be so great that your love for anything else, including your family, should look like hate. Does this mean that hating your family is a requirement for serving God? No! Jesus was trying to get us to understand that if we put Him first in our lives, everything else will be better too. Our relationships, work, and even our country would be better if we worshipped and served Jesus as our highest priority and aligned everything else under Him in their respective places. When Christians serve Jesus as their King, their worries will sort themselves out. We will be able to love everyone, regardless of their political leanings, because we value them as children of God made in the image of God. Jesus is concerned about the whole world coming to know Him and being part of His kingdom, not just America. To truly keep Jesus in His rightful place as King of our lives, we must put familial and political concerns below spiritual and Kingdom concerns. We must set aside every weight that might keep us from the mission of God and do the work He has called us to do in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 12:1-2, Acts 1:6) By submitting to the Kingship of Jesus, we show our families and our neighbors what it means to be part of the family and kingdom of God.
July 31, 2022 | New Over Old
July 31, 2022 • Pastor Ken Cline
Old Testament covers several thousand years of history; New Testament about 100 years. Testament means covenant /agreement - a binding treaty between 2 parties (God & his people) OLD TESTAMENT: 3 main covenants (Behavior changes from the outside, in) 1. Covenant with Noah (Gen. 9:8-13) God plans to judge an evil world. He tells Noah to build an ark and then destroys the world by flood. The covenant was his promise to never again destroy the whole earth by flood. 2. Covenant with Abraham (Gen.12:13) God sends Abraham to an unknown place that God shows him and says he will make a great nation from him. Through Abraham God will bless the earth (Jesus comes from this line). 3. Covenant with Moses :10 Commandments (Ex. 19-20) + many more laws (approx. 613) These laws included moral laws, ceremonial laws (sacrifices & festivals), and civil laws (like a constitution to form their nation). The OT covenants were conditional: If you do __, I will do __. No one could perfectly obey. Why have laws you can’t obey? 1) The people needed to know how to live (just as we have traffic laws we don’t always obey - they are standards for the community) 2) The law reveals how we don’t measure up to God and why we need him. It points forward to the NT covenant. (Gal. 3:24-25) NEW TESTAMENT: 1 covenant (Change comes from the inside, out) Jesus is the sacrifice once for all. The Holy Spirit dwells inside believers (Jer. 31:33-34) Part of the OT covenant stays, but most does not (Heb. 8:13) The NT covenant is superior. It is for every nation, Jesus did all the work. God shows his love and mercy by placing his Spirit inside us to help us change.