August 6, 2023 • Pastor Andrew Farhat • Romans 5:6–11
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
Die to Self - Live for God - John 12:23-26
July 30, 2023 • Pastor Andrew Farhat • John 12:23–26
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
Gospel as Propitiation - 1 John 2:1-2
July 23, 2023 • AJ Vega
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
Gospel as New Life - John 3:1-8
July 16, 2023 • Pastor Andrew Farhat • John 3:1–8
What does it mean to be born again? Understanding the spiritual depth of this teaching leads us to marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like!
TRANSCRIPT
Good morning St John's. How are we good to see you guys thank you for
allowing me to go on a vacation. We went and saw my family in Seattle my parents and
my two sisters then also we had a friendship reunion of some men that I
went to Seminary school with in St Louis at the time it was just us and our wives
about 15 years ago or so in St Louis well we had a reunion with about with
all of us and each of us has about four or five children and we brought them all so it was complete chaos in Fair Play
Colorado's where we reunited so thank you for that and I'm grateful to be back
do you long for a world where there's no more suffering where there's no more death
do you long for a world where there's no more pain and there's no more crying and
tears do you long for a world where there is not Brokenness where there's not that
personal Brokenness and discouragement that can come from just circumstances or
relational conflict or whatever it is I think all of us would say Amen we long
for a world where there's perfect love we long for a world where there is
perfect peace we long for a world where there's Harmony between our creator and
each other so in this text that Christy just read
to us Jesus actually has something to say to us about that
let's dive back into it John chapter 3 verse 3. Nicodemus is a Pharisee he's coming to
Jesus and he's like we know you're you must be a man of God because you do miracles well uh Jesus has a propensity to go
deeper does he not so here he goes Jesus answered him
truly truly I say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God right out of the gate we see this phrase kingdom of God for Nicodemus of first
century Orthodox Jew he is thinking about the future the kingdom of God would come in the
future and there would be the resurrection of the body and life Everlasting Orthodox Jews still believe
that till this day so that's what he was thinking the question is what is Jesus thinking
here what is Jesus telling us in this passage of scripture and in his ministry
well check this out Matthew chapter 19 verses 19 or rather verses 28 and 29.
Jesus says these words check this out with me he says
truly I say to you in the New World this is a Greek word that means regeneration
something that was not there that has been brought to life
so he's talking about that new world that's coming at the end of time and it says when the son of man will sit
on his glorious Throne this is the visible and imminent second coming of Jesus where he will reign over all the
Earth and it will be completely made new the Apostle John right before he died
gets a vision of what this new world will look like it's in the Book of
Revelation there's a vivid description of it in chapter 21 of this new world
that you and I we all long for check it out it says this
God will wipe away every tear from their eyes and Death Shall be no more neither
shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have
passed away doesn't that sound beautiful I can't wait to be in this new world
this place where there's no more death no more suffering no more pain
but I want you to see something this morning remember that word regeneration
it's also used by Paul to talk about you in the present now check it out Titus
Chapter 3 Verse 5. this is what Paul says about us today
he says Jesus saved us not because of Works done by us in righteousness but
according to his own Mercy by the washing of regeneration there's that word that was used for New World in
Matthew 19 and renewal of the Holy Spirit
so when Jesus says
you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God he's answering the question
where this new birth comes from the answer is it comes from the future
it's a Divine Life that's coming from that new world
that new life that we all long for in the new creation it's coming from that
world from the future but it's coming to you now in the present in your life it's a Divine Life
that is implanted in you and it's the the Greek word is born again again is anathen in the Greek it
could also mean from above so here's what I would tell you today is New Life from above is better than life
derived from below down here this is a new life that you receive from
the Lord and it results in the gift of eternal life the Assurance of your salvation and I would tell you this it
has come now but it is also not yet fully realized so you get it partially now but it will
be fully achieved when you see Jesus face to face and his kingdom will have
no end I've heard so many testimonies over the years from people who have
received this new life this new birth then all of a sudden the light bulb
turns on and they're like okay now I can understand the scriptures now I can
understand what God's telling me before the Bible seemed distant and archaic but
now it's just like this light bulb turned on I've heard testimonies of people say now I have meaning and
purpose it's no longer me myself and I figuring out what's right and wrong and what I should do but rather it's God
giving me meaning and purpose and I'm flourishing I've seen people say I now
have a community that loves me I now have God's people who are praying for me I now have a community of believers who
would give up their life for me these are testimonies of people who have the
new birth occurring in them new eyes to see and a new mind to understand
so when Jesus says You must be born again it's from the future but it's invading your present in a powerful way
but what I want to do this morning is I want to go back over that depiction of
that new world because it's so gorgeous it's so beautiful I think our hearts
long for it as human beings and so let's look at it again Revelation 21 and this
is actually in verse 4. it says God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes and I'm going to highlight two words here Death Shall be no more neither shall there be mourning
nor cry I'm going to stop right there death and Mourning will not be a part of this new world
as you know sickness disease in this life results in physical death
and that is how we get there how many of you right now are
experiencing some sort of sickness or disease or maybe it's a loved one that
you have maybe it's your mom or your dad or it's somebody near to you
um I got a phone call I think it was Thursday
that my mom we just had this intense pain in her stomach
so they took her to the doctor and the doctor wasn't really sure thanks be to God my older sister
just keeps on going doesn't take I don't know for an answer so she just took her
to another doctor so and thanks be to God she did because
the second doctor that my mom went to they realized they needed to do a surgery
and they needed to do a surgery to remove a tumor from my mom's stomach
and so by the grace of God that tumor is gone and my mom's okay and she's doing
better now but with that said when Jesus says You must be born again
to enter the kingdom of God the New Testament shares this good news
that when you receive this new birth yeah physical death you know may happen unless Jesus returns
first but here's what can't touch you as a believer it's called the second death
the second death in The Book of Revelation is God's judgment towards those who reject him
when you receive this new birth you're saved from that and you have the gift of eternal life and I'm grateful to God
that my mom is a someone who's received that new life and so she has the gift of
eternal life and the second death can't touch her no matter what this life will
do to her and so the truth for today is this new life
from above is also New Life while here below for you and for me
and by God's grace my younger sister is a really strong believer
loves the Lord leaning her children to love the Lord and
by the grace of God now what's happened is this we become ambassadors to our mom of that
new life now we're not just talking to her and just as a distraction or a diversion but
we're opening up the scriptures to her we're speaking New Life to her we're getting that that peace and love from
the new world and it's coming to us in this life so that we can share it and be
ambassadors of that hope for our mom because she's also received the gift of eternal life and so I pray that you
would see that connection that I'm grateful that AJ read the mission statement this morning do you see the
connection St John's that you and and I we are ambassadors of this hope we are
ambassadors of this new life and so when you are born again it's from the future to the present and
you get to share that new life with those who are suffering all around you
and so let's go back over the passage and I want to highlight two other words
it says this and I'm going to start right here
it says neither shall there be Mourning nor crying nor pain anymore
no more crying no more pain and I take this to mean
no more pain of division on the Earth no more pain of disharmony on the Earth
no more pain and sorrow of War on the earth and Division
and so what I would tell you is this uh this week I experienced some conflict
by the grace of God God brought me together with those who the experience
was with but the good news is this they are born again
they are believers who have that new life implanted in them they are led by the holy spirit of God
and so instead of us just having like 60 Minutes of like boxing and revenge or
something like that and bitterness it turned out to be really quick shift
really quick turn towards forgiveness life peace there was an eagerness to
maintain the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace this happened why it happens because we
are born again from above we are able to share that good news with others and so my brothers
and sisters in Christ this morning you are born again you are a reception
you have received that peace from that new world that's coming and so you get to be an ambassador of
peace with those near to you those around you in the name and by the power of Jesus Christ
now I don't pretend to know everyone who's mad at you right now
um probably if you're a human being there's somebody mad at you right now right
um every situation is different every conflict is different
but I do believe that Romans chapter 12 verse 15 is a very powerful verse and it
can apply to your side of the street check out what it says
so much as is possible on your side of the street
this is my paraphrase live at peace with everyone
live at peace with everyone you are born again
you've received that new life from above you've received the gift of peace to be
an ambassador of peace in your relationships to the people around you and so I'm going to tell you this as
well now before we jump into verse 4 and 5 here
um and that's what it really is some of you maybe this teaching
could be distant to you like born again maybe that there's associations attached
to that you know what is that and so perhaps there's still a little disconnect for some of you
well I want you to know this there wasn't there was a disconnect for Nicodemus too
check out what he says he's like this how can a man be born when he is old
can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born maybe this is a representation of in
some way shape or form where you're at like what is what does this really mean but Jesus has these words to say
truly truly I say to you unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot
enter the kingdom of God and so what does Jesus mean when he says
water and he says the spirit Scholars are pretty much in Unity on the
spirit right we receive the gift of the spirit into our lives but then there's a
lot of debate about what does Jesus mean by water like what is the water about
but here's what I would ask you is what what usage does Jesus have with
water in the New Testament in our church
yeah it's okay to say it you got this Neil said it say it louder baptism
so the New Testament also ties in water in the spirit in regards to baptism as
well so this is Titus 3 verse 5. let's just look at it one more time it says he
saved us not because of Works done by us in righteousness but according to his own Mercy by the washing that's a
washing with water of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit and I also want you to know this
the church fathers for the first 400 years of the church were unanimous
on these understandings of these passages and then here it's very explicit Acts 2 38 this is Peter's first
sermon on the day of Pentecost where the church was born he responded to the crowds and he said
these words repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
Forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and then here it is for you who have
children living in your home look at what it says for the promise is for you and for your children and for all who
are far off everyone whom the Lord Our God calls to himself and so what I would
tell you is this when you received the gift of holy baptism into your life
Paul says your old self was buried but your new self Was Made Alive
he said you became dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ sounds a lot
like Born Again doesn't it and so check this out Paul also says
this you who are baptized you have Union with
the resurrected Jesus Christ the same Jesus that was raised from the
dead that we celebrate his victory every Easter you have physical and spiritual union
with Jesus who lives in you and so this is the same Jesus who is
raised from the dead by the glory of the father this is the same Jesus who is
raised from the dead and death no longer has dominion over him Jesus who is Made Alive to the father
you are connected to that risen Jesus Christ
so this is why at our church baptism is a huge deal
we spend a lot of time uh if there's a family that's like hey I want to get I want my baby or my child to receive this
gift we do a lot of emphasis on what this means this isn't just like hey I
want my child to get a blessing make sure they go to heaven this is much deeper than that this is death to sin of the old self and
you life by the power of the Risen Jesus to bring Resurrection unto life now
Big Time stuff if you're out there and
you have been baptized and you know the promises of the Lord I just pray that
you know the power of your new birth In this passage of scripture I pray that you would see the power of it for your
life but there may be some of you that might say this this morning
I've been baptized but all of this seems kind of
Divine and distant kind of just seems a little distant from me and from my mind right now
I can relate I was baptized as a baby but then subsequent to it I didn't get a
lot of teaching Jesus says Go Make Disciples by baptizing and teaching right
not just baptism only but baptizing in teaching
so in my life as I look back on it spiritually I believe I was starved to death
I didn't get the nourishment spiritually that I needed and so I believe I was starved to death
but this next story that I'm going to dive into with you became my story
and I pray that this story that I'm going to dive into would be your story and you would know that you would have
an appetite for the word of God again and you would be drawn to it look at what Jesus says in this story Luke
chapter 15 it's the parable of the lost son who wanders away
indulges in sinful living indulges in Rebellion but then God convicts him
and this is what he says I will arise and go to my father
and I will say to him father I have sinned against heaven and before you I
am no longer worthy to be called your son treat me as one of your hired servants
and he arose and came to his father but while he was still a long way off his father saw him and felt compassion
and ran and embraced him and kissed him and the son said to him
father I have sinned against heaven and before you I am no longer worthy to be called your
son but the father said to his servants bring quickly the best robe and put it
on him and put a ring on his hand and choose on his feet and bring the fat and calf and kill it
and let us eat and celebrate
the son realized that he was lost and he needed to come home
the son realized I need to come to the end of doing it my way and I'm going to surrender to my
father's way repentance is a return home
to the father it's going back to your father to get the new life
and did you see what the father says there wasn't like this long rebuke and
teaching moment but rather it was [Music]
put the best clothes on him let's give him the best food
and let's celebrate let's have a party for my son was dead
but he's alive again he was lost but now he's found
the father welcomes all With Arms Wide Open and he receives anyone who withdraw
near to him and believe and so
do you long for that new world where there's no more death
where there's no more Mourning there's no more suffering no more crying
where there's no more pain do you long for a world where there's no Brokenness in your family
and there's perfect peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
Jesus says these words you must be born again to enter the
kingdom of God and that new life that you received
gives you power from above while you are here below
to be an ambassador of his peace to others and to be an ambassador of his hope to
those who are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit
and now May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding may he guards your heart may he guard your mind
through faith in Jesus Christ amen
Gospel as Salvation - John 1:29, 19:31-36
July 9, 2023 • Elder Rick Keagy • John 19:31–36, John 1:29
The Gospel is good news because it saves us from death. Death is a problem that assaults every single human being no matter their status or their worth. The Gospel brings good news to us all!
Gospel as Citizenship - 1 Peter 2:4-12
July 2, 2023 • Pastor PJ Aarsvold • 1 Peter 2:4–12
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
Gospel as Redemption - 1 Timothy 2:1-6
June 25, 2023 • Pastor Andrew Farhat • 1 Timothy 2:1–6
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
Gospel as Healing - Luke 5:27-32
June 11, 2023 • AJ Vega • Luke 5:27–32
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
Gospel as Righteousness - Romans 3:21-31
June 4, 2023 • Pastor Andrew Farhat • Romans 3:21–31
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
Gospel as Adoption - Romans 8:14-17
May 28, 2023 • Matt Walton
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
Gospel as Power - Romans 1:16-17
May 21, 2023 • Pastor Andrew Farhat • Romans 1:16–17
At its core, the Gospel is simple, and yet, it is no small thing. The Gospel affects every aspect of our lives! In this series, we look at the Gospel from the various angles that are highlighted for us in scripture so we can better marvel at what Jesus has done for us and what our new life in Him looks like.
