This I Believe

God's Global Plan

November 19, 2023 • Gregg Parris • 2 Corinthians 8:1–7, 2 Corinthians 8:10–11, 2 Corinthians 8:20–21

II Corinthians 8:1-7 A “faith promise” offering is simply FAITH in God to provide an amount of money followed by a PROMISE to give it. Paul called this the “grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7). Grace is always a provision of something we don’t have. A “faith promise” offering is a commitment to give what we will trust God to provide. I. An offering supplied by God’s grace. “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches… They gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability… See that you also excel in the grace of giving.” II Corinthians 8:1-7 The grace of new opportunity The grace of discipline The grace of the unusual II. An offering to be completed within a year. “Last year you were the first not only to give, but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by our completion of it.” II Corinthians 8:10-11 III. An offering to be carefully administered. “We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men.” Paul understood the need for financial accountability and strategic investment! II Corinthians 8:20-21

Healing, Signs & Wonders

November 12, 2023 • Gregg Parris • Acts 3:1–10, Mark 1:15, Matthew 4:23

Acts 3:1-10 I. HEALING IN THE BIBLE In the Old Testament. The Ministry of Jesus. The teaching of Jesus “The time has come,” he said. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15 All who believe will be totally healed on that day! The Kingdom of God is both “now” and “not yet" The ministry of Jesus “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Matthew 4:23 The commission of Jesus II. HEALING IN CHURCH HISTORY III. HEALING TODAY

Make New Disciples

November 5, 2023 • Gregg Parris • Matthew 28:16–20, 1 Peter 3:1–2

Matthew 28:16-20 1. The Command of Jesus (Great Commission) 2. Needs of Others. 3. The Gospel is Good News. I. PRESENCE “…if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” I Peter 3:1-2 II. PERSUASION (not pressure) III. PROCLAMATION Invitational Relational Telling our own story IV. POWER V. PRAYER

Gathering with Other Disciples

October 29, 2023 • Jeff Hughes • Ecclesiastes 4:7–12

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 A life without connection brings: a. Isolation “Rising from the debris of our lost values is the new value on the individual. The ‘me’ generation has given way to a ‘me’ world. The question is, how will the church, the ultimate ‘WE’ organization, adjust?” – Church Consultant, Lyle Schaller in The Connecting Church by Randy Frazee Loneliness is a warning light on the dashboard of your life that confirms that you are running low on the primary fuel you need: connection. b. Exhaustion c. Frustration Godly and meaningful connection brings: a. Production b. Provision c. Protection An unconnected life brings isolation, exhaustion, and frustration but when you enter into a life of Godly and meaningful connection, you’ll see that it brings production, provision, and protection! Next Steps to Help Live a Connected Life: 1. Surrender to Jesus 2. Join a small group 3. Connect with others through serving 4. Get baptized 5. Attend the “DISCOVER” class

The Sexual Revolution

October 22, 2023 • Gregg Parris • Romans 1:26–27, 1 Corinthians 14:8, Matthew 19:1–9, Jude 3, Romans 1:24–25

Matthew 19:1-9 The culture does not need from the Church anger and judgment nor accommodation and compromise. The Church’s best posture is to joyfully teach and model God’s original design and intent while loving, accepting and forgiving ourselves and one another when we fall short. I. Isn’t this much ado about nothing? II. Why is the Church so focused on these issues? III. Can’t we agree to disagree? Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 3 God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Romans 1:24-25 Consequently, their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. Romans 1:26-27 If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? I Corinthians 14:8 IV. Why are some Christians so angry and bigoted? The goal of our instruction is love, from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith. I Timothy 1:5 1. Extravagant love for all people. 2. Inside the Church we must be clear about Christian identity. How do we become more distinctive? We do it by quietly building good marriages, families, churches and friendships. We don’t need better words, we need better demonstrations of God’s best design!

Love and Forgiveness

October 15, 2023 • Gregg Parris • Acts 6:5, Acts 7:54–60

Acts 6:5; 7:54-60 I. Commanded to forgive More people will be emotionally, relationally, spiritually and physically healed by the power of forgiveness than by any other power. II. Unforgiveness is destructive Unforgiveness makes you weak because it makes you subject to the weakness of another. The great paradox of Christian forgiveness is that as long as I stay in a forgiving mode, I am stronger than those who are pursuing me to hurt me. III. The grace to forgive 1. Forgiveness is a matter of choice not emotion. 2. God will do through us what we cannot do ourselves. 3. Understand that forgiveness is a process 4. Remember, the power of God to forgive is in you through the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

Spending Time With God

October 8, 2023 • Exodus 33

Exodus 33:1-23 1. What do you Desire? a. Why wouldn’t I want to desire God? i. A relationship with God is disruptive, it will cost you something. ii. Are you willing to be inconvenienced by Jesus? b. What you do – determines what you want. c. Moses had to work this out. d. Moses was still receiving the blessing of God without the presence of God. 2. God is accessible to anyone. a. God wants to be seen by you. b. Make it generational. 3. How do we do this practically? i. Loneliness is the inability to spend time with God. ii. Muddy water will only become clear when you give it time to settle. a. Word iii. Memorize the word of God. iv. Psalm 119:11 v. Spending just 5 minutes a day will change everything. b. Worship i. Worship is placing God where He rightly deserves. ii. Humble yourself. iii. Get together with other believers, fellowship. c. Prayer i. Pray as you can, not as you can’t. 4. Ask God one of these questions. a. God, what are You like? b. God, what do You want to say to me? c. God, what do I desire? d. God, what do You want me to do? e. God, who do You say that I am?

Being a Disciple

October 1, 2023 • Psalm 1:1–3

Psalm 1:1-3 Introduction to the Bible: *The most popular/preeminent book 7 billion total, 44 million copies per year *The most powerful/influential book The Bible is preeminent in influence. Why? Because it has the power to change lives! *The most precious book (Matthew 4:4) I. A manual for life — God has spoken Christianity is a revealed faith. We cannot find out about God unless God reveals Himself. God has revealed Himself in a person, Jesus Christ. He is God’s ultimate revelation (Hebrews 1:1-2; II Timothy 3:16-17). If it is God’s Word, then it must be our supreme authority for what we believe and how we live. It’s a manual for life. II. A love letter from God – God speaks It is also a love letter from God to you. John 5:39-40 The Bible is only so wonderful and exciting because it is about Jesus. It helps us come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. *To those who are not Christians First, He brings faith to those who are not yet Christians. Romans 10:17. *To those who are Christians Become like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18); Joy and peace in the midst of a storm (Psalm 23:5); Guidance (Psalm 119:105); Health/healing (Proverbs 4:20-22); Defense against spiritual attack (Matthew 4:1-11); Power (Hebrews 4:12); Cleansing (John 15:3) III. How do we hear God speak through the bible? 1. Time, Place, Method Ask God to speak Read & study the Bible (What does it say and mean? How does it apply?) Respond in prayer Put it into practice Matthew 7:24

God the Good Dad

September 24, 2023 • Gregg Parris • 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 5:1–13

I John 5: 1-5, 11-13 “When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun.” II Corinthians 5:17 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” I John 5:13 I. The natural order 1. Cosmological argument 2. Evidential Evidence. 3. Moral Argument. II. The Word of God III. The Work of Jesus IV. The Witness of the Spirit

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

September 17, 2023 • Gregg Parris • Acts 2:1–21

Acts 2:1-21 I. Love II. Power God wants to unleash on the world a passionate, focused, disciplined, humble, Spirit-filled church... Authentic in our expression of the love of God, purity of God and power of God. III. Purity The unresolved gap between our confession as a Spirit-filled Christian and the conflicted internal condition of our own lives is the crevice into which the post-modern, emergent culture has fallen. The great witness of the Holy Spirit is, above all else, a changed heart and a changed life.

Baptism in Water

September 10, 2023 • Gregg Parris • Matthew 28:19–20, Acts 2:38, Luke 12:50, Romans 6:3–4, Colossians 2:12

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19 (ESV) Peter replied, ‘Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gif of the Holy Spirit.’ Acts 2:38 (NLT) I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Luke 12:50 (ESV) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:3-4 (NIV) For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Colossians 2:12 (NLT) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! II Corinthians 5:17 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16 (ESV) What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? James 2:14 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him… II Chronicles 16:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “you are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:9-11

New Beginnings

September 3, 2023 • Glenn Greiner • John 6:44, Romans 2:4, 2 Corinthians 7:10–11, 2 Corinthians 5:14–21, 1 Timothy 2:4

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 1. You have a new kind of love. God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:4 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 2. You are a new creation. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 Or do you have no regard for the wealth of His kindness and tolerance and patience [in withholding His wrath]? Are you [actually] unaware or ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness leads you to repentance [that is, to change your inner self, your old way of thinking—seek His purpose for your life]? Romans 2:4 Amplified Bible Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 3. You have a new purpose. When your life belongs to Jesus you no longer exist for yourself. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 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. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 4. You have a new hope. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:22-23 The Apostles Creed

In the Beginning

August 27, 2023 • Gregg Parris • Romans 6:23, John 3:16–21, Romans 3:23, Mark 7:20–23, John 8:34

John 3:16-21 I. THE PROBLEM All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 The pollution of sin: What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ Mark 7:20-23 The power of sin: Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. John 8:34 The penalty for sin: For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23 The partition of sin: Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2 II. THE SOLUTION The “self-substitution” of God: He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree…by His wounds you have been healed. I Peter 2:24 The agony of the Cross: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6 I choose God’s love. We have come to know and believe the love He has for us. I John 4:16 I pray that you might have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18-19 III. THE RESULT

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Learning to Live as Disciples of Jesus