The kingdoms of this world will not be able to rage on and on no matter how desperate things may be! Their wickedness has its end! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 2
TITLE:  Two Kinds of Kingdoms
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Happy is the man that takes refuge in no other king but King Jesus!

POINTS:
1.   The kingdoms of this world rage
2.  The Sovereign King responds

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Found in this Royal-Psalm is the prophetic proclamation of a coming King that will rule God’s people on the throne of David - the PROMISED Messiah-King…this King is THE heavenly King.”

“Verses 1-3 describe the people and in particular the ‘kings’ of this world and the nature of their opposition to the Sovereign LORD. They are not passive in their disregard of God and His King. They are on the move against Him. They seek to advance against Him.”

“‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ THIS underlies all of their motives, intentions, and scheming. This is the age-old problem seated in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve took counsel together and set themselves against their Creator King – desiring to be Gods themselves - they become the first king and queen of the kingdoms of this world. The raging began there. The kings of this world desire to be set free from God’s rule, rebelling against any submission to His Sovereign kingdom!”

“The kings of this world rage! BUT, we may have forgotten what Verse 1 said: They rage, they plot BUT they do so ‘in vain!’ No matter how powerful they are humanly speaking… ALL of THEIR EFFORTS ARE IN VAIN!”

“How can it be that this is in vain? It seems like the people and nations can do whatever they want. The nations are raging and plotting against God constantly. The people are shaking off any kind of self-control and again only doing what seems right in their eyes. Wickedness and depravity all too often SEEM to be the rule and SEEM to go unanswered. This all looks like it’s winning the day.”

“Our sin dilemma:
- He defines our sexuality   - We want something different
- He defines our relationships - We say no and go after what we want
- He says love  -  We hate
- He commands purity and holiness  -  We run as fast as we can into depravity
- He rules us in grace - We become tyrants”

“The Sovereign King of Heaven SITS on this throne and no earthly king, and no worldly kingdom has the power to even concern Him enough to get him to stand!”

“This King Jesus has come first save the very ones who rage against Him. This King has shed His royal blood on a cursed man’s cross. God’s King, His only begotten Son, has given His body to be broken for this world.”

“Instead of God standing in fury and defending His beloved Son, His Holy and perfectly righteous Son bears the sins of sinners and receives upon Himself the full force of God’s wrath and fury. Jesus gets the full derision of God – the contemptuous scorn of His Father. Jesus, God’s King is God’s Son, but before He will rule as God’s righteous King, King Jesus becomes the Lamb of God who “will take away the sins of this world”... the sins of the people who once raged and plotted against Him!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Philippians 2:8-9

QUOTES:
C. H. Spurgeon - “They [Psalm 1 and 2] are, in fact, the preface to the whole Book of Psalms.”

 C.H. Spurgeon - “He has already done that which the enemy seeks to prevent. While they are proposing, he has disposed the matter. Jehovah's will is done, and man's will frets and raves in vain. God's Anointed is appointed, and shall not be disappointed.”

APPLICATION:
Be warned
Be wise
Serve the LORD with fear
Rejoice with trembling

Judgment and Wrath are coming! BUT NOW is the time of repentance to turn to the Lord, oh kingdoms of this world, turn and “Kiss the Son” – bow and pay homage to the King of kings and Lord of lords, King Jesus… the Lamb of God! NOW is the time of Salvation.

Today we begin a summer-long sermon series in the literary sanctuary of the Psalms. Our prayer is simple: Together, we learn to think and feel about life in a godless world with our wonderful God. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 1
TITLE:  Two Ways to Live
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. The Way of the World
2. The Way of the Word

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”When the cloud of despair hangs over us, we go to the Psalms to plead with honest questions, and God gives us honest answers. When doubts quench our hope, we go to the Psalms to meet the God of all unending hope. When loneliness presses in, we go to the Psalms to learn how much God truly loves us. We go to the Psalms because the primary psalmist, David, struggled just like us.”

“The longest book in the Bible begins by presenting Two Ways To Live. Two very different ways.”

“Happiness is at the top of everyone’s list. Everyone wants a life of blessing. Why? God hardwired us for it. He made us to be blessed and experience true happiness in Him. But in the Garden, humanity carved out its own way. A way without God. A way Psalm 1 calls wicked.”

“There is a powerful warning about influence here. Listening to the counsel of the wicked leads to thinking like the wicked, and before you know it, you are living like the wicked.”

“Of course, we understand delight. Delight is a heart response of joy, happiness, and excitement for something or someone that we see as beautiful and valuable.”

“The blessed man delights in divine wisdom. And that delight leads him to spend time with God’s Word. It says in 2, he meditates on it day and night. He reads it. He thinks about it. He treasures it. Like air to the lungs, God’s Word is life to his soul, so he keeps returning to it.”

“The tree represents the effect of allowing your life to be oriented around and rooted in the living waters of God’s Word. That effect is strength in the Lord, even though you feel physically weak. The effect is a walk with God that bears much fruit even when your business is fruitless. The effect is spiritual prosperity as you serve others, even though your bank account is on life support. The Word is active, alive, profitable and sufficient…”

“For the Christian, you don’t always feel like a tree planted by streams of water. Your delight in God’s Word is drifting. You want to be the tree, but you feel like the chaff. So I am going to give you the best counsel I can to prepare you for our series in the psalms: Never approach the Psalms alone. Always find Jesus in the psalm and don’t leave his side.”

“Here's an important question: How often do you evaluate your relationship with the world?  My point is not to disengage the world. Instead, as we engage the world, our lives should clearly reflect a conviction that the world’s godless wisdom, values, and approach to life are futile.”

“There is only one man who stands righteous in God’s judgment. One man who can stand over and against the godly. One man who is prosperous in all he does. One man who perfectly delights in God’s Word—the Living Word, Jesus Christ.”

“Amazing! Jesus died in our place on a tree, so we could say No to the ways of the world (die to sin) and Yes to God’s Word (live to righteousness), bringing eternal blessing to us and unmatchable glory to Christ. Amazing grace how can it be!.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
For further study: Psalm 73
1 Peter 2:24

QUOTES:
Athanasius - “With this book, it is as if it is our own words that we read; anyone who hears them is pierced to the heart, as though these words voiced for him his deepest thoughts.”

John Piper - “Nobody walks in the way of the wicked out of duty. Nobody stands in the way of sinners out of duty. Nobody sits in the seat of scoffers out of duty. We walk and stand and sit there because we want to. And we want to because we have been watching them so intently that what they do is now attractive. We have meditated on them (without calling it that). And we now delight in them. That is how worldliness happens.”

APPLICATION:
Make the Psalms your constant companion -

The Psalms can and should be part of the constant practice of the presence of God. Regularly read from beginning to end, they lead us again and again to consider aspects of life and of God’s will that we might not otherwise choose to remember or confront—let alone to embody in our living. Memorized in chunks the Psalms can provide ready response to the pressing realities of our days. When I have wakened in a panic in the darkness of the early morning hours—submerged in fear, self-pity, or self-doubt—the Psalms have often provided the assurance that my anxieties are known by God, who enlightens my dark places. So, I encourage you to make the Psalms your constant companion. 

Make the Psalms your constant companion. Visit the literary sanctuary often. Keep its words on your mind, in your heart, and on your lips, believing that with Jesus, every letter of the psalmist is for your life, that you may be blessed and happy in Jesus, in this life and the life to come. 

Our desire today is that we would appropriately understand sin, and in doing so, that our love for Jesus would explode with deeper affections. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: Luke 7:36-50
TITLE:  Forgiven Much
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: The deeper we understand what the Word says about our sins, the greater the depth of our love for Jesus.

POINTS:
1. Our sins are many
2. Jesus forgives them all
3. We love Jesus much

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Most Scholars – without much argument – agree that this woman was very likely a prostitute. Consider the awkwardness of this scene. A woman, a sinner, standing behind the reclining Jesus. Uncontrollable weeping and wetting his feet with her tears - like rainfall. Wiping his feet with her hair. She kissed his feet - the tense of this Greek verb would be that she ‘kissed and kissed and kissed and kissed...’ his feet.”

“The greatness of Jesus' forgiveness meets every last one of her sins! Not a single sin - and the list is long and known only by God - escaped His forgiveness!”

“Verses 47 and 48 use the verb “forgiven” (perfect tense) meaning a forgiving that began in the past, it continues in the present, and points to an eternal forgiving.”

“This is why she loves Jesus much - she sees that her sins are many and that He has forgiven every single one of them. She cannot contain herself!”

“The amazing thing about the grace of God is that it calls us out by His great love, forgives and saves us for THIS purpose: So that we love Him, exalt Him, honor Him!”

“Luther calls her tears ‘heart tears!’ She cannot contain that which floods her heart for Jesus. It does not matter who will see - no fear of man will stop her. Maybe even surprising to herself her forgiven soul propels her toward Jesus.”

“Our affections have been everywhere else, loving this and that, and in the end, really loving ourselves. THE worship center of this world and of our flesh is the need to love yourself. Sin has us convinced that this is the end-all of our existence.”

“What of the Pharisee? Simon has no awareness of the depth and magnitude of his sin - and he adds to those the unforgivable sin of rejecting Christ - vs 30 - rejecting the very purpose of God. He is likely even left out of the parable, not being counted as either of the two debtors who love even to some degree of response. Chapter 8, verse 10 Jesus reveals that the parables themselves expose and create the Pharisees’ spiritual blindness and deafness - what an indictment on their rejection of the Messiah! One commentator wrote, and I agree… ‘Simon seemingly would rather have had Jesus kick her to the side and demand that she leave!’”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 1:28-32
1 John 4:19
2 Timothy 1:1, 2

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
The gospel reaches out and saves this woman, and the result is a transformed life!

Q. Has your life been transformed by the forgiveness of Jesus?

Q. To what degree are you moved by the forgiveness of Jesus?

Q. Have we forgotten that our sins are many and yet that Christ can forgive and forgive them all!

Q. Why do I NOT FEEL this deeply?

In its simplest form, godliness is flying by God’s instruments (The Word, the Gospel, The Spirit) whether the skies are clear, you are facing the headwinds of our culture, or you are in the storm of circumstance. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: Romans 12:1-2
TITLE:  Godliness
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Godliness is an active life of faith built on the commands, promises, and wisdom of God’s Word, rooted in our identity in Christ, and confident in the power of the Holy Spirit.

POINTS:
1. The Reason for Our Godliness
2. The Reality of Our Godliness
3. The Path to Our Godliness

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”The glorious gospel moves from [Paul’s] head to his heart, and he explodes in worship. We can all just go home now, right? Wrong. Paul is not done. He spends the following four chapters showing us what the first eleven chapters mean for our lives.”

“Paul is saying, based on what God has done for you in Christ Jesus, NOW, live a certain way, as the rest of Romans exhorts—pursue godliness.”

“I do not pursue godliness to gain God’s favor. I do not pursue godliness because it’s morally appealing. I do not pursue godliness because it is religiously productive. I do what I do because Jesus did what he did!”

“This is true biblical godliness. Because of God’s mercy toward us in Christ, every day, we present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. Not in a temple or church building, but with our, Paul’s word in verse 1—bodies. The term body refers to the whole person—body and soul. The outer man and the inner man. Our thoughts, our affections, our actions.”

“Godliness is not dropping money in the offering box or good attendance at CG. True godliness goes beyond the external—it is total transformation. That’s what the gospel does—It makes us new creations to give God what He is worthy of—Full Submission.”

“That doesn’t mean we are withdrawn from the world. It means we are different from the world; that difference is the Holy Spirit empowering us for godliness. Paul is saying don’t be a spiritual chameleon!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Personal Bible Study: Ephesians 4:17-5:21 and Colossians 3:1-17
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Colossians 1:9-14
Hebrews 10:24-25

QUOTES:
John Stott - “We human beings seem to be imitative by nature. We need a model to copy, and ultimately there are only two. There is this world, which is passing away, and there is God’s will, which is good, pleasing, and perfect.”

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
How do we know if we are growing in godliness?
1. Do my thoughts about life begin with God’s thoughts about life? What does God’s Word say about this? Not what do my feelings, or the culture, or my politics, or past experiences, or conventional wisdom say about this matter, what does the Bible say?

2. Is the gospel increasingly my hope in life? Godliness is ultimately the work of the gospel in our lives; indeed, Christ is our godliness. So the more central Jesus is in our lives, the greater godliness we will experience. 

3. Am I growing in contentment? The world has many distractions, but true godliness is expressed in an uncommon contentment in the Lord, no matter your circumstance.

The gospel saves us into a life of service, first to God and then, as an expression of that service, to others. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: John 13:1-15
TITLE:  Servanthood
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Understanding that the Lord Jesus is a servant, captures our hearts and makes us joyful servants.

POINTS:
1. Jesus is our Lord who served
2. We are Jesus’ servants who joyfully serve

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Jesus, our faithful Master, defines service as true greatness… He ultimately demonstrated this greatness for us in laying down his life for us.”

“Jesus is the Eternal WORD - the divine LOGOS. He is the very Son of God, the Son of Man, the KING of kings, and the LORD of lords! Jesus is the LORD. And Jesus our Lord serves us!”

“…we cannot miss the cosmic profundity of verses 4-5. Just a couple of days before the Cross on which Jesus will hang willingly, suffering, and shedding His divine precious blood as the very Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world, He, OUR LORD takes the form of a slave and washes his doubting, of-weak-faith, confused, proud, and fearful disciples!”

“Jesus the kneeling-servant will become the suffering-servant of Isaiah 53 and serve to His death… for us.”

“Jesus’ question: “Do you understand what I have done for you?”

“In faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we now are beginning to understand, and this captures our hearts…so what does this lead and call us to do - The TEXT gives us the application!”

“His command is grounded in what He has already done! (The indicative always before the imperative!) This calling is more than simply following Jesus’ example. Moralism = Trying to serve like Jesus did on our own - if that was even possible. BUT, Joyful servanthood results from understanding who Jesus is (LORD) and what He has done for us (The Cross). Our motivation is one of obedience, but this call and action are fueled and motivated by The Gospel - by what He has done for us and what He has done for fellow believers.”

“Holding on to our Lord and Savior (who is THE Perfect Servant who has His grip on us!) with one hand, we serve others with the other hand, all the while handing them off to the Lord and their Savior.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 4:5
Mark 10:43-44
Mark 10:45
1 John 3:18
1 Peter 4:10
1 Corinthians 9:19
John 13:34-35

QUOTES:
Murray J. Harris- “Christian conversion may be described as an exchange of yokes. Slavery to sin, to evil powers, to evil desires, is replaced by slavery to Christ. Since life cannot be ‘yokeless’, conversion must involve an alteration of sovereignty, an exchange of masters, the assumption of a new yoke - that of service to Christ. Whereas the previous yoke was oppressive and chafing, the new yoke is pleasant and emancipating.”

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
Q. Why am I not serving?
Q. Is my lack of serving evidence of deep selfishness… self-focused Narcissism
Q. Who and where could I serve?

By the power of God toward us, we must strive to be generous in every way, knowing the Lord will enrich us in every way for it. Indeed, he already has! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 9:10-15
TITLE:  Generosity
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Mission generosity marks us because divine generosity has made us.

POINTS:
1. God Gives Generously To Us So We Can Be Generous Givers
2. Our Generosity To Others Magnifies Our Generous God

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”The gospel of Jesus Christ is an act of cosmic generosity. The cross is the pulpit of God’s love and the overflow of his grace and mercy to undeserving sinners. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The demonstration of divine generosity continues because, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)  As beneficiaries of such generosity, we now have every motivation and grace to be generous likewise with our time, money and talents on behalf of God’s people and for God’s mission.”

“Biblical generosity is not about the right season or the right reason. Generosity is always about the life-giving generosity of God in Jesus Christ. God is the ultimate generous giver! We can never lose sight of this…”

“It doesn’t matter how smart you are. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. It doesn’t matter how disciplined you are. It doesn’t matter how great your sacrifice is. It doesn’t matter what kind of advantages you had or didn’t have growing up. No matter how little or much you have—you have it because God supplies it.”

“…the point of verse 10 is that God gives us what we have so we can sow it back into His kingdom, where He uses it for His redemptive purposes.”

“Paul is not saying—God will bless you for all your generosity. You could translate 11a—You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way. God generously provides for you so you can generously pour into his kingdom.”

“Be it your time, talents, or money, don’t you dare underestimate grace-motivated generosity, especially toward your church. Resist rebuking someone for being “too generous” toward their church. Think twice, three times, no four times, about complaining when your pastors want to talk about being generous in every way. Why? Because Paul says, God’s glory is at stake! God uses your generosity to produce praises to the glory of his grace in Christ Jesus.” 

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
James 1:17
1 Corinthians 4:7

QUOTES:
C.S. Lewis - “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Paul Barnett - “When we opt out of giving, we deny ourselves the honor of promoting God’s glory.”

APPLICATION:
I’m so grateful this is true of our church in many ways. But from the most generous to the least, we all have room to grow. So allow me to help you direct your growth in generosity:

• Is there a ministry in the church that needs your talents? 

• Is there a brother or sister in your CG that needs your time?

• Is there an unsaved neighbor or co-worker that needs your time?

• Is there a giving opportunity that could use your money? Oh yeah, the April offering is next week!

We know about the birth of Jesus at Christmas. We know about his crucifixion on Good Friday. We know about Christ’s resurrection on Easter. But how much thought do we give to Christ’s ascension? It’s a worthwhile question because Jesus’ ministry didn’t stop at the resurrection. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

EASTER SERIES 2023
TEXT: Acts 1:9-11
TITLE: The Ascention
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Where Jesus is now matters to where you are today.

POINTS:
1. Jesus Ascended Into Heaven
2. Jesus Ascended To God’s Right Hand
3. Jesus’ Ascension Matters Right Now

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Jesus may no longer be with us in person, but he continues to work through his church, by His Spirit, for his Father’s glory. As a result, Christ’s ascension, which marks the end of his earthly ministry and the beginning of his heavenly ministry, has significant doctrinal importance for our faith and lives.”

“There’s much we don’t know about heaven. One thing Scripture does teach us is that heaven is an actual place. It is beyond our scope today, but I encourage you to read chapter 57 in Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology for a good study of heaven (and Randy Alcorn).”

“As it relates to the ascension, we can be sure of this—Jesus is in heaven. It’s important to remember that Jesus physically rose from the dead. He spent his final 40 days on earth, not as a spirit, but as a man. He ascended into heaven, not as a spirit, but as a man. He will return, not as a spirit, but as a man. That means he is a man right now in a physical place, and that place is heaven.”

“Like his miraculous birth, atoning death, and victorious resurrection, His ascension was according to the Scriptures.”

“The exaltation of Jesus is the result of and reward for his work of salvation. Jesus now sits at the right hand of God in full glory and honor, all authority and power in a way he did not before his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The angels now praise Jesus in the heavens as the infinitely worthy Lamb that was slain. He is the King of Glory! The Author and Perfecter of our faith! Our Propitiation! The Head over all things! The Chief Cornerstone! The Bridegroom!  The Victorious One!”

“…from the right hand of God, your ascended Savior is busy praying for you!” 

“Jesus knows the mind of God perfectly. He knows what you need perfectly. More than mere supplication, Christ’s prayers are a divine intervention.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
John 14:2-3
Acts 7:55-56
Revelation 4:1
Psalm 110:1
Ephesians 1:19-23
Philippians 2:9-10
Revelation 5:11-12
Hebrews 1:3
Hebrews 7:25
Romans 8:34

QUOTES:
R.C Sproul- “We know that when Jesus died on the cross, at the end of that experience, He cried out, “It is finished.” But that work on the cross did not end Christ’s redemptive work. He had other work to perform after the cross. He was raised for our justification. And when we talk about the work of Christ, we talk not only about His death, but we also talk about His resurrection. And when we speak of the work of Christ, it doesn’t end with the resurrection. We talk about His ascension into heaven where He is seated at the right hand of God, and there He works as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords”

R.C. Sproul - “One of the chief accents of the New Testament in terms of His present work for His people is His work of intercession. Every day in the presence of the Father, Christ intercedes for His people.”

APPLICATION:
Jesus’ ascension matters because it Gives Us a Glimpse Of Our Future  - Over and over in Scripture, Jesus promises we will return for us, and we will live in his presence eternally—it’s called heaven.

Jesus’ ascension matters because it Gives Us Confidence For The Present - On Easter, the question was—What will you do with the empty tomb? Today, the question is—Where is your confidence in life? 

• When you don’t know how to pray—Where’s your confidence?

• When you don’t understand what’s happening—Where’s your confidence? 

• When your faith is weak, and doubt is strong—Where’s your confidence?

• When sin is crouching at your door—Where’s your confidence?

• When Satan is tempting you to despair—Where’s your confidence?  

What are you doing with the empty tomb? You have to do something. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

EASTER SERIES 2023
TEXT: Mark 16:1-8
TITLE: The Resurrection
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Mark wrote his gospel to show us who Jesus is and force us to make a decision based on that reality. Christian faith is not blind. It is experiential but the experience is built on empirical, historical, undeniable evidence.”

“If the resurrection is true, how can you not believe in Jesus? If Jesus is alive, then doesn’t it take greater faith to be an atheist or an agnostic than it does to be a Christian? Jesus is an undisputed historical figure. His birth, his life, and his death are every bit a part of world history, as King Tut, Julius Caesar, and George Washington. What do we do with an empty tomb?”

“People try to explain it away:
Jesus’ enemies stole his body - There’s no evidence of this; frankly, it doesn’t make sense. Acts teaches us that Christianity exploded after Jesus’ resurrection. All it would have taken to crush the Church was to provide the body. They didn’t because they couldn’t.
Jesus’ disciples stole his body - This conspiracy theory of all conspiracy theories still exists today, BUT In the first century, you would never build a case for anything, let alone a resurrection from the dead with three women as your star witnesses. AND the authority, conviction, and personal sacrifice with which the disciples preached and pursued Jesus would have never lasted if they knew they were frauds.
Jesus never actually died - On numerous fronts, this explanation is so outrageous even Jesus' enemies didn’t push it.”

“There can only be one conclusion - God raised Jesus from the dead. The resurrection is what the OT Scriptures predicted centuries before would happen. It’s what Jesus repeatedly taught would happen. It’s what the authorities feared would happen. It’s what these three women and the disciples said happened. It’s what over 500 people in the following days personally witnessed happening.”

“These women are to be commended for their courageous expression of devotion to Jesus. But even in their devotion, their unbelief was revealed.”

“The resurrection reminds us Christianity is real. Our faith is not in vain. We are not to be pitied. Our lives are not a house of cards because Jesus is alive. That means my sins are COMPLETELY forgiven. The power of death is TRULY broken. The penalty of sin is FULLY paid. God’s love is ETERNALLY mine, and one day I WILL live in Christ’s glorious presence.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 28:11-15
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
2 Corinthians 5:21
Romans 10:8-13
1 Corinthians 15:54-48

QUOTES:
Thomas Arnold - The evidence for our Lord’s life and death and resurrection may be and often has been shown to be satisfactory. It is good according to the common rules for distinguishing good evidence from bad. Thousands and tens of thousands of persons have gone through it piece by piece as carefully as every judge summing up a most important cause. I have myself done it many times over, not to persuade others but to satisfy myself. I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence than the great sign which God hath given us, that Christ died and rose again from the dead.”

J.C. Ryle - We need not wonder that so much importance is attached to our Lord’s resurrection. It is the seal and headstone of the great work of redemption, which He came to do. It is the crowning proof that He has paid the debt which He undertook to pay on our behalf, won the battle which He fought to deliver us from hell, and is accepted as our Surety and our Substitute by our Father in heaven. Had He never come forth from the prison of the grave, how could we ever have been sure that our ransom had been fully paid? Had He never risen from His conflict with the last enemy, how could we have felt confident, that He has overcome death, and him that had the power of death, that is the devil? But thanks be unto God, we are not left in doubt. The Lord Jesus really “rose again for our justification.” True Christians are “begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” They may boldly say with Paul, “Who is he that condemns – it is Christ that died, yes rather that is risen again.”

APPLICATION:
What is the hardest thing going in your life right now?—If God can raise Jesus from the dead, he can handle your circumstance!

• The empty tomb ensures me He is there! He is Faithful! He is sufficient! 

• The empty tomb ensures God’s promises are Yes and Amen! 

• The empty tomb ensures His throne is approachable as the place of unfailing mercy and all-sufficient grace! 

• The empty tomb ensures my forgiveness and justification before God is full, final, and forever!

• The empty tomb ensures me there is a better life—the resurrection life with Jesus NOW and YET to come!

Mark 11 begins the most significant week in the history of the world. Life and death, joy and misery, hope and despair, heaven and hell lie in the balance of what happens over this next week. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

EASTER SERIES 2023
TEXT: Mark 11:1-11
TITLE: The Triumphal Entry
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. The Deliberate Details
2.The Royal Reception
3. The Unexpected Ending

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”The triumphal entry is an amazing public celebration of Jesus. The praises of the crowd were theologically spot on. The prophets of old pointed to this moment. Yet, they missed Jesus. By the end of our story, the crowds have disappeared and Jesus stands alone. They missed Jesus. The world has been missing Jesus ever since.”

“Whether we perceive it or not, we have much in common with them. Even as Christians, it’s easy to miss Jesus amid the allure of the world, the utter evil of society, or the tyranny of the ordinary, we are prone to miss Jesus as the point and purpose in life.”

“For those who don’t know Jesus, your eternity is at stake. For the Christian in the room, your joy in this life and God’s glory through your life is at stake.”

“Mark is not big on details in his gospel. His MO is to move quickly from one scene to another. Mark uses the word immediately 36 times. Thirty-two of those are in the first ten chapters. But in chapter 11, Mark begins to slow down. The first ten chapters cover three years. The last six chapters cover one week. …When Mark slows down, we need to listen up!”

“In 5 days, Jesus will be dead. But he does not ride into the city a victim.  Jesus will be betrayed as a victim. Jesus will not be arrested as a victim. Jesus will not be beaten within inches of his life as a victim. Jesus will not be murdered on the cross as a victim. His deliberate preparation reveals he is in total control of the situation, even his death on the cross.”

“Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That means he is in complete control of your life today. Whatever is happening in your life today—you are not a victim. To the contrary, you are under the personal care of your loving and sovereign Shepherd.”

“Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem captures the humility of our Savior. It also captures his greatness as the Promised One. The imagery screams—See Me! I am the fulfillment of OT messianic prophecies. SEE ME! I am your King. SEE ME! I am your Messiah.”

“On the cross, in darkness, silence, and loneliness, Jesus will do his kingly work, liberating God’s people, not from Rome, but from Satan, sin, and this world. Jesus will deliver God’s people on the cross, not with a sword, but with his blood. From the cross, Jesus will save sinners, not from oppression but from God’s wrath.”

“It seems the party is over. They celebrated Jesus. They were emotional and enthusiastic about Jesus. They had a mountain-top experience with Jesus. They made him king, but only for a day.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Zechariah 9:9
Psalm 118:25-26
Malachi 3:1

QUOTES:
James Edwards - “The whole scene comes to nothing. The crowd disperses as mysteriously as it assembled. Jesus is not confessed in pomp and circumstance but only at the cross.”

APPLICATION:
Just as promised, Jesus came to them. But they missed Jesus—Have you?

PERSON #1: You like church. It feels good to be here. You enjoy your Christian friends. They are good people. It’s a good life you see them living. But you don’t have what they have—Jesus in your heart. You have missed him. That means whatever you believe you have, you have nothing. Don’t miss Jesus—See him today by crying out in repentance and faith—Hosannah, Save me now! Your eternity depends on it.

PERSON #2: You love the Lord. And it shows…on Sundays. If you’re honest, Mon-Sat you are the king of your life. The picture of Jesus standing alone in the temple reminds you he alone must stand as the Lord of your life. Don’t miss Jesus—See him today by asking him to graciously reorder the priorities of your life.

PERSON #3: Like person #2, you genuinely love the Lord. You are grateful for His blessings in your life. But when life seems more like a curse than a blessing, when hardships appear, when suffering surfaces, your praises vanish like the crowds in Jerusalem. Don’t miss Jesus—He is worthy of your praises in good AND bad times. See Jesus today by bringing your burden TO him and finding your joy IN him so that at all times and in all things your heart can say—Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! He will not fail you!

The Cross takes cold hearts that are ungrateful and makes them new…creating gospel-grounded gratitude. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: Romans 8:31-39
TITLE: Gratitude
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: The Cross of Jesus creates gospel-grounded gratitude.

POINTS:
1. The Cross of Jesus is the PROOF of God’s undeserved favor
2. The Cross of Jesus is the MEANS of God’s gracious gift of “all things”

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”It is discovered here in these adjoined sections of text that the word of God has the power to cause our souls to burst forth with endless joy and THANKFULNESS to God.”

“God has revealed enough of Himself that every man and woman is held accountable. NO ONE has an excuse! It is only cosmic rejection and rebellion against God to stand back and refuse to acknowledge Him and THANK Him. Yet, in the Gospel, God, in His Sovereign Grace alone, has set His affection on us and makes this amazing declaration: “I am for you!” And this should shock us!”

“‘What shall we say to these things?’ should be followed by ‘God is against you, and everything and everyone will have their way with you’ BUT no… He is for us! Instead of crushing blow after blow in sorrow and abject grief, The Cross of Jesus rescues us by His sovereign grace!”

“To ‘the sufferings of this present time’, the apostle preaches The Cross. In verse 28 - all things work together for good…through The Cross! The “golden chain” of salvation in verse 30 cannot be broken because of The Cross!”

“While still holding up His Son, given for us, He promises the ‘gracious gifts’ of ‘all things’. These are given as the very things that we need and will need and are detailed in the following verses - 33-39.”

“Anything that you and I face is found in at least one of these 19 questions. What may come your way is not ultimately unique nor is it outside of the power of Jesus to save. NOTHING will separate us from the love of Christ except for rejection and hatred of Him.”

“Today, you may feel deep thankfulness again! That would be your heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit revealing the majesty of Jesus and reminding you of His great sacrifice at Calvary. But what about tomorrow? Will you still remember and honor and thank God? What will you do then? Do THIS again! Go again to His word of truth and search out the mercy of God revealed in the Cross of His Son and give Him thanks.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Our Dilemma: Romans 1:18-21
Isaiah 53:5
Psalm 107

QUOTES:
Martin Luther - “I feel as if Jesus had died only yesterday.”

APPLICATION:
- Are you able to again take in how wondrous The Cross of Jesus is? Like drawing the Message of the Cross in like a breath and exhaling thankfulness!

- What is it that you need? The Lord says, remember that I have given up my Son for you! This is a joyful, heart-satisfying, fear-calming, foundation-laying, gracious anchoring of our souls…and a gracious reminder that His affection and favor is FIXED on His children.

God’s perfect holiness. Our radical sinfulness. CHRIST’S MIGHTY SACRIFICE. Grace always abounding. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
TITLE: The Wisdom and Power of God: A Study in Leviticus
PREACHER: Guest Pastor, Lynn Baird
BIG IDEA: The violent and catastrophic consequences of sin against a holy God, requires a violent and catastrophic response… the cross!

POINTS:
1. The Holiness of God
2. The Pervasiveness of Sin
3. The Need for Sacrifice - The Cost of Sin

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Though I'm not going to be preaching on this passage [1 Corinthians 1:18-25] directly, the message here is important to what I want to say… The preaching of the cross causes religious people to stumble and worldly people to consider it foolishness.”

"This is going to be a different sort of expositional message. I'm not going to go through a particular passage of scripture but will be doing an overview of an entire book. The book of Leviticus.”

“From the beginning, God has used bloody, brutal sacrifices to cover or atone for sin. From the animal skins for Adam and Eve in the garden, to the lamb that replaced Isaac, to the sacrificial system under the law and priests. The ultimate culmination of this being Christ on the cross.”

“When we approach Leviticus, we want to ask two questions: Who is God? and What does that mean for us? One of the key ways to understand God is to see how he tells us to relate to him. This is what Leviticus is all about: how do you relate to a holy God?”

“So often we tend to think of holiness as purity or sinlessness, but the root of the word actually means to be separate. Completely other. Separate from them. In this case, God is so profoundly ‘other’ or ‘separate’ that God must communicate to the Israelites how he is to be approached. They cannot come near him, except in the way designed by God himself. If they don't they die.… His holy nature demands you only approach him in the way HE prescribes.”

“The underlying nature of sin is rebellion. Wanting to do things OUR way. The fact you are a sinner is a fact that is never going to change. But because of that, we better recognize who God is and how he wants to be approached.”

“The story of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus chapter 10 may seem harsh and unjust to us. Death for simply putting the wrong kind of incense or “fire” on the altar? … we should not be surprised by God's judgment for sin, we should be surprised that any of us are still alive and haven't been judged already!”

“Left to ourselves we would simply make up a god of our own choosing, that we could relate to, that we like.”

“God's holiness is to affect how we live in every day life - Leviticus 19:2”

“The effect of sin is radical; everything is tainted by sin. We are not as bad as we could be, perhaps, but every part of us is affected. …Sin is the slightest act of defiance against God’s cosmic authority.”

“Here's the reality, though; the goal is not to somehow become sinless in order to be in God's presence. That is impossible. The goal is to come to God in the way he prescribes. … the doctrine of sin is humbling, and humility is the only appropriate response to it.”

“In one day, God brought the sin of the world and his anger and wrath against sin and rebellion and poured it out completely, and totally on one human being: his Son. His Isaac. His Passover lamb.”

“The same God who's zeal against sin consumed Nadab and Abihu was the one who flamed in fury against his own Son when our sin was placed upon him. The same God who required countless sacrifices, done exactly as he said, to cover the sin of a constantly rebellious people is the same God who required the death of his son for our rebellion. This was the one and only time God punished an innocent man. If you are appalled by the cost of pride and sin in the Old Testament, you should be absolutely aghast at the price. God was willing to pay, the extent to which he was willing to go, to deal with sin once, and for all.”

“The cross was God's design for the offering of the perfect sacrifice that could take away sin. There was no other way of doing it.”

“… we aren't afraid to talk about sin or the cross. We enthusiastically embrace the reality of our sin, knowing that the grace of God in Christ abounds all the more in the face of our sin. This is what gives us the power to fight against sin!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
The Book of Leviticus
Hebrews 10:9
Isaiah 63:5
John 14:6
Romans 5:20
Hebrews 13:15

APPLICATION:

• Don't ever let your pride to keep you from doing it God's way!

• Don't ever be dragged down or overwhelmed by your sin or the cross. Be amazed by Grace!

• Don't ever try to minimize sin or its consequences. Be amazed by Grace!

Today you may lack joy. You may not feel very joyful. We all find ourselves there at times. Psalm 16 is your psalm because it gives us a pathway to true and lasting joy. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: Psalm 16
TITLE: Joy
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Pursuing the God of all joy produces a joyful Church in all circumstances

POINTS:
1. Know Your Lord
2. Delight In Your Church
3. Guard Your Heart
4. Focus On Jesus

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Do you believe it’s possible? And I’m not referring to heaven, I mean today. Do you believe its possible to possess joy that transcends even our most difficult circumstances? Psalm 16 compels us to answer with a resounding YES!”

“The truth is, Christians are joy seekers. Joy is a constant theme in the Bible.”
”God wants His church to be characterized by joy. Like a father or mother wants their child to be happy, God desires you to experience joy to the fullest.”

“By joy, we’re not talking about a strong personality trait or a superficial contingent happiness—’I’ll be happy if _______.’ Joy is an abiding and deep delight in God for the sheer beauty of who He is and the infinite worth of what he has done in Christ.”

“When troubles arise, our mind tends to immediately find human solutions. That always leads to anxiety and discouragement. But David fills his mind with the knowledge of his God. This is the beginning of true joy.”

“God is good! In feast or famine. In wealth or poverty. In peace or conflict. In health or sickness, in life or death. God holds my lot. He is in control. He is good. He is my portion, my cup, my inheritance. So whatever he providentially allows into my life, life is good because God is good.”

“Listen, this doesn’t mean we call what is bad, good. Bad is still bad. Cancer is bad. A miscarriage is bad. Losing a loved one is bad. Suffering is suffering, pain is pain, tears are tears. But, in the words of James 1:2, and this is one of the greatest fights in the Christian life—I can count it all as joy because I know who my God is!”

“You want more joy in your life, get to know your God better.”

“David turns his attention to God’s goodness expressed in His people. God, your people love you so I love them. Your people delight in you so I delight in them. This is not idolatry. The church can be an idol. Joy can be an idol, if it’s an end. We take joy in God’s people because God’s presence is with His people. So we love to be in the presence of your people because we long to be in presence of the Lord, where there is joy forevermore.”

“As often as we gather, gathering with your church should be an occasion of great delight and joy. Not because we’re so great but because our God is so great, and when we gather as a church, our great God is uniquely present and glorified. Is it a joy for you to gather with your church? If not, it’s a sign your heart has drifted. Go to God now!”

“The world can throw its best at you, it cannot touch the joy you have in Jesus.” 

“…we must, in the words of verse 8—set him before us. This is the ultimate key to our joy. We don’t set Jesus to the right, the left, or behind us. We set him before us. Right in front of us.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 30:5
Galatians 5:22
James 1:2
Philippians 4:4
1 Thessalonians 3:9
Jeremiah 2:12-13
1 Chronicles 17:11

QUOTES:
John MacArthur - “The more you know Him, the better you know Him, the more confident you become, the more secure your joy is… Joy is related to your knowledge of God: little knowledge, little joy; much knowledge, much joy. The more you know of God’s glorious truth, of God’s great covenants and promises, of God’s plans, of God’s faithfulness, of God’s power, the more joy you experience in life… Our joy is connected to the goodness of the Lord. And the more you understand His grace and mercy and goodness, the more stable your joy becomes, no matter what circumstances may come.”

Bob Kauflin - “God is particularly interested in our joy. He tells us, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (Psalm 32:11). When the church gathers, the sense of confident joy in God should be pronounced. When we fail to demonstrate delight and satisfaction in God, we’re not only dishonoring God, we’re disobeying Him. More than anyone else on earth, Christians have a reason to celebrate.”

Sam Storms - “Your choice isn’t whether to passionately seek pleasure. Trust me, you do. Your only option is where you’ll look or whom you’ll love or whose offer of pleasure you’ll accept.”

John Piper - “Is there anything fuller than full? No. Is anything longer than forever? No. This is no rocket science. This is just glory! Nobody anywhere in the world can offer you anything better than Psalm 16:11.  Because nothing is even conceivably better than verse 11. Nothing is fuller than full or longer than forever. “Fullness” means completely satisfying. And “forevermore” means those pleasures never stop.”

Sam Storms - “God created us so that the joy He has in Himself might be ours. God doesn’t simply think about Himself or talk to Himself. He enjoys Himself! He celebrates with infinite and eternal intensity the beauty of who He is as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we’ve been created to join the party!”

APPLICATION:
By grace through faith in Christ, you have joined the greatest party ever thrown. You belong to the God in whose presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. Shouldn’t that make us the happiest people on the planet? It should. And we pray it will more and more. 

As we set Jesus before us every day, may the God of all joy pour out His joy on us as a church, for our good, for our testimony, and for God’s glory today, tomorrow, and forevermore!

Our hope and prayer for this series are that God will grow these seven marks of grace in us as we identify them and learn to obediently pursue them with our hearts focused on Jesus. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shared Virtues
TEXT: Philippians 2:1-11
TITLE: Humility
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: The humiliation of Christ in the gospel creates humble hearts in His people

POINTS:
I. Our Manifestation of Humility
II. Our Motive and Model for Humility

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Why this series? It's simple—We desire to become more like Jesus. We exist for God's glory. God's glory is revealed as His church reflects His greatness in Jesus Christ. So, we desire to become more like Jesus. We are not trying to start a revolution; we just long for our lives to proclaim the praises of our Savior. It's that simple.”

“…we begin with the virtue that is the fountain of all other virtues—Humility.”

“What is humility? Humility is a selfless disposition of the heart created by an accurate view of God, self, and Christ. God is infinitely holy; I am utterly sinful. Therefore, the only way I can joyfully relate to God and generously receive from God is His undeserved saving grace toward me in Jesus Christ. The degree this reality shapes us is the degree we will be characterized by true humility as a church.”

“Humility is interesting. The key to becoming more humble is not focusing on being more humble; it's focusing on the humility and humiliation of Jesus.”

“The first step in growing in humility is understanding pride. By nature, we are proud, not humble. We're prone to conceit because our hearts naturally crave praise. Pride is in our DNA.”

“Pride has many faces. Some are obvious; others are not. But self is at the center of them all: 

• Feel unappreciated when you serve others and receive no recognition for your efforts—Pride!

• Self-deprecating speech actually meant to draw praises for something you are proud of—It's called humblebrag, its false humility, a.k.a. Pride!

• Loudest person when you enter the room, while you're in the room when you leave the room because you desire everyone's attention—Pride!

• Wallow in self-pity because life is hard, and you deserve better—Pride!

• Unwilling to get out of your comfort zone for the spiritual good of another—It's called fear of man, and it may be the most deceptive and destructive form of Pride!

• Characterized by telling others what you know rather than seeking others for input—Pride!

• Expectations to be served by others exceed your enthusiasm to serve others—Pride!

• Hyper-critical of self and others because little things that go wrong reflect poorly on you—Pride!”

“LOOKING is labor. Listen to the phrases connected with the original word for LOOKING: notice carefully; watch out for; fix one's attention. These are intentional activities.”

“Practically, LOOKING means:

• Pausing in the middle of your busy day to listen to someone who needs encouragement 

• Patiently praying for someone when you really what to punch them

• Inquiring instead of accusing when you share a concern or correction

• Judging someone charitably until you know the facts

• Listening to someone instead of interrupting them because you have something so great to say”

“True gospel humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less because you are looking to the interest of others more.”

“The gospel puts this claim on our lives. If this (in Christ), Then this (put on humility). Christ calls us to it. Commands us to it. And, is our sufficiency for it. That’s where Paul points us.”

“Instead of grasping his godness, Jesus willingly surrendered the honor, praise, and glory that was rightfully his and had been from eternity past in the perfect fellowship of the Trinity to become a Jewish boy from Nazareth who would be crucified as a criminal. That's what Paul means in verse 7 when he says Jesus emptied himself. Jesus didn't empty himself of divine attributes. He didn't become less God when he became fully man. Jesus never minimized or denied his deity. He just didn't grasp it.”

“Jesus did not simply take on a human disguise; he took on our human nature. The Creator and Sustainer of all things condescended into our fallen world, subjecting himself to our frailties as human beings in every way except one—he was without sin.”

“Jesus didn’t come high and lifted up in society. He could have—he is God! He came as a scorned slave. Look at verse 7. The word translated servant means slave. Think about that: 

• A slave was less significant than the least significant

• A slave had one interest—the interest of others 

• A slave was above no one and beneath everyone

Jesus humbled himself, assuming our nature, becoming a servant—translation: substitute sacrifice for us—and obediently died the most humiliating, shameful, excruciating, cursed death possible, (8) death on a cross—for you!”

“The cross is the opposite of selfish ambition and vain conceit. In true humility, God the Son counted you more significant than himself, making his entire life about your greatest interest—being made right with God.”

“That is true humility that led to the humility of Christ that compels and enables us to live humbly with one another.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
James 4:6
Isaiah 66:2
Hebrews 1:3
Hebrews 2:17
Romans 5

QUOTES:
Jerry Bridges - “Humility opens the way to all other godly character traits. It is the soil in which the other traits of the fruit of the Spirit grow.”

C.J. Mahaney - “The real issue is not if pride exists in your heart; its where pride exists and how pride is being expressed in your life.”

APPLICATION:
How can we cultivate true humility? 

Read book of quarter—contexts of application

Application specific to today’s text

1. Visit the cross often by reminding yourself who God is, who you were, and why Jesus matters

2. Pray the words of Phi 2:3-4 for yourself and our church

3. LOOK for ways to serve others

4. When you complete a task, something good happens to you, or encouraging words are spoken about you, take a moment to transfer all glory to God 

5. Eagerly encourage one another where you see humility and carefully correct one another where you see pride

6. Live today in light of tomorrow

What God began before us, He is still working out through us until He comes back for us! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 28:11-31
TITLE: To Be Continued
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
I. The Same Gospel
II. The Same Results
III. The Same Mission

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”…it’s understandable if the ending of Acts seems a bit unremarkable. The book that began with Jesus physically ascending into heaven ends with an aging Apostle living in a rental, making ends meet, and talking about Jesus to his visitor. …But I think that’s the point. The end of Acts reveals an unfinished task. Acts focuses on Peter and Paul, but the story is not about them. Acts is about the unstoppable gospel advancing in the power of the Spirit through the church's witness to the ends of the earth to the praise of God’s cosmic and eternal glory until His Son returns—and Jesus hasn’t come back yet!”

“The great promise in Acts 1:8 to take the gospel to the ends of the earth belongs to us. Our purpose and mission continue what the Lord began in the first century into our neighborhoods and schools, the workplace and hang-out spot, the classroom and field of competition.”

“How Hopeful is that! Too often we think we need a new perspective. A new message. A new approach. We don’t need something new, we need something true. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation then and it is still today. Whether for your friend’s salvation or your personal sanctification, a crucified and risen Savior is our foundation and hope!”

“Paul was a Jew. These are his people. His family. His friends. His tribe. The desire for their salvation ran deep in Paul’s heart. When they rejected Christ, Paul didn’t charge God. He didn’t interrogate God. He didn’t try to figure God out. Paul understood the pattern as part of God’s plan from texts like Isaiah 6, and took comfort in it. He trusted in the character of God. He let God be God by resting in God’s ways, even when he didn’t understand those ways. Nowhere is this more clear than Romans 9—Go read this week!”

“This final scene of Acts may not have much razzle dazzle, but it is glorious. Paul isn’t globe-trotting and planting churches. Luke doesn’t mention a great moving of God’s Spirit. But the Great Commission, the gospel mission is being fulfilled as Paul pays his bills and shares Christ. Our mission is the same!”

“As an extension of Acts, we worship God with our lives personally and corporately by learning to love Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. As an extension of Acts, we are devoted to fellowshipping and caring for one another, living lives of glad obedience to Christ who is our head. As an extension of Acts, we take the message of the transforming power of the gospel to the world around us. Some may reject us other will believe, but God is in control of it all and He gets the glory in it all!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Ephesians 3
1 John 2

QUOTES:
Derek Thomas -“Luke has finished his story, but the story has not finished! There is an unwritten “To be continued” in the progress of the gospel.”

APPLICATION:
- Have you stopped giving gospel-centered counsel to someone because they keep rejecting it? 

- Have you quit sharing a gospel-centered perspective on a situation because the person disagrees with it? 

- Have you stopped sharing the gospel with someone because no one has ever believed when you do? 

Allow the results in Acts to make you Hopeful in your life and ministry.

Church, we are not a memorial to greater days of old in Acts. The task is unfinished. We are the unwritten To Be Continued. God’s mission to display His manifold wisdom to the cosmos through the salvation of sinners and the building of His church is full steam ahead, and we are a living extension of that plan. 

“Today, we end Acts in the most appropriate way I can think of—Adoration.
- Adoration to God with our prayers for this church

- Adoration to god with our speech about this church

- Right now, adoration to God with our voices as the church” 

As we near the end of Acts, we see how the Lord not only brings us safely through our earthly storms but continues to sustain and equip us once they have passed - ALL for his glory and our joy! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 28:1-10
TITLE: Our Refuge After the Storm
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: God is not done revealing His grace, power, and purposes after the storm.

POINTS:
I. God is our refuge AFTER the storm
1. A refuge following the storm
2. An unusual kindness
3. Divine protection
II. God’s work He performs
1. He has Gospel work right where we are
2. He will provide all that we need for the task at hand

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”He has brought us “safely through” for a purpose! He has brought us “safely through” to Glorify His name, reveal His power and rule, and show that He is our gracious God. He is our powerful God, and He will advance His Gospel!”

“God’s providential shore that these cold and drenched sailors, passengers, soldiers, and prisoners crawl out of the sea onto is called REFUGE! They were terrified, worn out, starving, and confused as thrashed and paddled their way into the beach. For weeks they had fought the storm and each other. Day and night they were met with worsening conditions and desperation. They had lost everything but their lives! BUT THEY HAD SURVIVED! THEY HAD LIVED.”

“We preach and believe that God will be there for us when the Storms come and He will be our refuge in the midst of the storm BUT here find with Paul that God will be refuge AFTER the storm!”

“I love considering the amazing truth’s of God design in creation - Malta will be its name! - I will place the refuge right here!”

“…the islanders get it partly right - sin wreaks havoc. BUT, in this case, the overarching truth is God, not some pagan goddess, will get the His glory and not through His wrath but through His salvation and kindness, and protection.“

“Take heart Christian, God is not done taking care of you! IN the storm - TAKE HEART. AFTER the storm - TAKE HEART - ‘One More Thing’ will not destroy you!”

“NOW Remember our GOSPEL HOPE in these Gospel truths:

What we get What we deserve

Brought safely through Lost in the storm

Unusual kindness Justified Wrath 

A fire to warm A fire to consume us

Shook Viper into the fire We should be in eternal fire

No misfortune Loss of everything and soul”

“In the storm, Jesus is our refuge! AFTER the storm, Jesus still is our refuge!”

“For three months God kept healing and healing and healing and healing. His plan, His purposes continue over and over and over again to unfold and they will not stop in this life until we reach heaven’s shore.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 30:55
Romans 8:32
Psalm 62:7-8
Numbers 6:24-26

QUOTES:
F. F. Bruce - “The name of the island was originally given by the Phoenician sailors, in whose language ‘Melita’ meant ‘refuge’, and Paul would recognize how apt the name was.”

What if I told you a way that you could be free of anxiety in 2023, or at least have a strategy to successfully fight it? Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: Philippians 4:4-7
TITLE: Anxiety, Our Enemy & Prayer, Our Weapon
PREACHER: Guest Pastor, Trey Richardson
BIG IDEA: God is greater than any fear, trust Him and pray.

POINTS:
1. His perspective for us (vs. 4)
2. His nearness to us (vs. 5)
3. His invitation for us (vs. 6)
4. His promise to us (vs. 7)

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Anxiety is a menacing enemy that affects each one of us. The categories are different for each of us, but the problem is the same.  But how about the anxiety that seems to paralyze you?! Anxiety that leads to fear, that makes you feel that it is impossible to get through whatever ‘it’ is?”

“Our text today addresses anxiety at every level from - ‘will I get there on time in this traffic’ to anxiety that tends to be overpowering and at times even brings crippling fear. Paul addresses the Philippians about anxiety in a way that echoes down through the centuries with truth for us today.”

“Our issues are more 1st world issues [compared to the Philippians] but they are our real problems, they are of no less concern because they are the ones we live with every day, with the enemy of anxiety robbing our thought life of joy and peace.”

“Describing anxiety is not the issue, responding to it in a way that keeps it from overwhelming us, is the issue.  In reviewing our passage, we will be talking about anxiety.  But the greater focus will be on growing in our understanding of how God has provided all that we need to successfully fight anxiety, each and every day.  This fight begins with trusting a sovereign God, and trusting God always includes prayer.”

“Joy and rejoicing are mentioned seven times in Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  Each other reference to joy in this letter is tied to a specific reason for being joyful.  But, in our text today, this command to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ is not connected to any specific reason.  In fact, the addition of the adverb always indicates that the rejoicing that Paul is calling for, does not depend on specific circumstances, but they are called to rejoice in all circumstances.  …notice, it is a rejoicing ‘in the lord’, not in the situation.”

“Paul reminds the Philippians of who they are as Christians. He is helping them to see that their ability to rejoice in the Lord, is a reality for every Christian in every situation.  It comes from seeing life through ‘God’s perspective’ - a perspective that includes seeing Christ’s complete dominion over all things including the individual things in their lives. The resulting perspective is trusting that God is sovereignly in control even though it is not observable.  Knowing this about God, allows them to ‘rejoice… ‘in the Lord’… always’.”

“Do you find yourself rejoicing, or being glad, in the midst of life’s challenges? Typically, this is the opposite of what we feel when life presses in hard. …Paul uses some pretty inclusive language - always, and then he even repeats the command.  Paul gets their attention, and ours, when he adds that adverb - always!”

“Over time, these anxieties (worries, fears, things we fret about) can be destructive.  They can begin to erode our trust and confidence in God’s care for us, seen in His ability to protect us in life’s situations, especially the serious ones.  So, we just live with an acceptable level of anxiety, all the while it is driving us away from experiencing any ‘joy in the Lord’.”

“Paul then goes on in the second part of verse 5 to help us to see more clearly reasons why we can trust Him, in order to ‘rejoice in the Lord’ in the face of anxiety… He is near to us.”

“The Lord is at hand… or more literally, the Lord is near. This Is not a near like Ina Road is near to you, but how your lungs are near to you. This phrase is telling us that God is here, literally here with us, right now He is with every believer.  We have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).   His presence with us is not a concept, or a theory, it is a reality.  He is at hand.”

“God is here within every believer. This is something we often just don’t feel, especially in the midst of anxious moments and situations.  But this reality goes further.  Yes, he is with us, present with us, but not as a passive passenger through life, but a powerfully active presence with us. …He is powerfully working for us, on our behalf, against the enemy who is warring against us, bringing fear and anxiety.”

“It is good to plan to think through things, and to count the cost, just as Jesus says in Luke 14:28.  But none of this planning, thinking through, counting the cost, is to be defined as worrying, and being anxious.  We worry when we are afraid that God is no longer protecting us, that he is no longer on our side, and we feel we are really on our own.”

“…there is nothing that will ever affect any believer’s life that in some way falls into a category that is not included in God’s invitation for us to come to Him in prayer when we are anxious about something.  There is absolutely nothing that He cannot carry with us, nothing that we cannot depend on him through prayer, nothing that is beyond His care. Nothing!”

“How does God describe this peace and help us to experience it?  By giving us His great and precious promises to help us see His on-going part in our story.”

“Remember, God is not affected by anxieties. He offers to us His peace, the peace with which he lives. That means that regardless the trouble that comes our way, God is with us, at hand, bringing peace to our souls. This peace is beyond what we can understand, but it is not beyond what we can experience. It is the promise of God.”

QUOTES:
Jerry Bridges - “Accept the adversity and resist the anxiety.  We typically do the opposite.”

H.B. Charles - “The things you pray about are the things you trust God to handle.”

William Hendriksen - “By nature, man is totally unable to comprehend this wonderful peace as is a blind man to appreciate a glorious sunset.”  How do you help a blind man experience what he can’t see?  You describe it to him, and help him to experience it.”

H.B. Charles - “Let me give you a single formula to make sense of life’s problems.  If you have a big God you have only little problems.  But if you have a little God you have big problems.”

Fanny J. Crosby, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” Lyrics - What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. / Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear.  All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 8:23-27
1 Peter 5:7

Feeling alone in your struggle with anxiety? Matthew 28:20, Romans 8:26
Feeling helpless against your fear? 2 Corinthians 12:9
Feeling hopeless that it will ever change?  1 John 4:4, Romans 8:31
Feel that your temptation is too strong? 1 Corinthians 10:13
You fear what might happen next?  Psalm 31:15
You can’t see how things can work out? Romans 8:28
You don’t think God sees you and knows your struggle? Psalm 56:8

APPLICATION:
-If joy is deficient in your life, is that the result of dealing with constant anxiety? Anxiety unchecked will eventually eclipse your view of the sovereign and loving God, and your joy in the Lord will become a casualty, because a right view, or perspective of God, has been lost. On a scale of 1-10, where would you register your level of joy?

Have we just learned how to live with a certain level of anxiety, and put on a happy face?  Have we just considered that our lives are going to have to deal with a certain amount of anxiety?  We know how to deal with it and ‘put on a happy face’.

Remember - God is greater than any anxiety, trust in Him and pray!

• Follow the direction of scripture: When you feel anxiety pressing in, at any moment, anytime, anywhere, take your anxious thoughts and convert them to prayerful expressions (supplications), and add thanksgiving to your prayer.

• Spend more time praying about our situations than thinking about them. Remember, thinking and praying are different…pray more about it than you think about it, or talk about it.

What storm is brewing in your life today? God is God of your storm, and His promise to be with you and preserve you through it is Yes, and Amen in Jesus. So, as long as the storm lasts and as difficult as the storm becomes, you can trust him and testify to Him with true joy and peace. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 27
TITLE: Heavenly Anchors for Our Earthly Storms
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. God’s Promised Presence is an Anchor
2. God’s Saving Son is an Anchor
3. God’s Unchanging Character is an Anchor

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Like the storm in our text, people witnessed the events of the Bible, giving verbal and written testimony with amazing details and accuracy. One more reason we should have confidence in the veracity of the Bible.”

“Oh, how we need that confidence, especially in the storms of life. Acts 27 is meant to strengthen our faith and courage as we face storms of a very different kind. Sometimes they are a slow brew, like a relationship that keeps declining or an illness the doc can’t correctly diagnose. Other storms are sudden and fierce. One day you are healthy, you run routine labs, and the next day you're prepping for cancer. …In these moments, what keeps us anchored? What calms our troubled hearts when the storm rages all around us?” 

“…neither experience nor expertise anchored Paul’s confidence. His confidence amid the storm was anchored in the presence of God. The ship was sinking, but Paul knew the Lord was with him. God's most significant promise to His people is His constant presence. From the garden to Moses to the prophets, the mark and source of confidence for God’s people was His presence.”

“This was Jesus’ promise to his disciples in Matthew 28:20—I am with you always to the end of the age—and it is our promise today through the ever-present Holy Spirit. There is nothing you go through without God going through it with you. And while an angel might not appear to you at night, in the midst of the storm, God reassures you of His presence in many ways:

• Through His Word 

• Through encouraging fellowship

• Through the quiet voice of the Spirit (sermon or prayer)”

“Our problem is not that God takes His eyes off us; we take our eyes off God. He is there. Do you see Him?”

 “We believe in God’s promise of His presence. But it’s easy to feel all alone when the ship is sinking. If that is you today, hear and believe Hebrews 13:5—I will never leave you nor forsake you. Whatever your storm today, ask the Lord to awaken your faith to His merciful and faithful presence in the storm.”

“In the storm, Paul remembered he belonged to God. He doesn’t belong to the sea. He doesn’t belong to fate. He doesn’t even belong to himself. He belongs to God. This is more than a general statement of God as His Creator, so all things are His. It’s a gospel proclamation. Paul is identifying with Christ. He belongs to God because he is purchased with the blood of Jesus.”

“What a promise we have in Jesus! No matter how hard, hopeless, and horrific the storm may seem, our identity in Christ as the forgiven and accepted possession of God anchors our hearts in peace.”

“Ultimately, only one storm can sink you—God’s just judgment for your sin. But that storm was dealt with 2000 years ago on the cross where Jesus was swept away by it in our place. On the cross, he faced the hurricane of eternal justice for your sake. Now, by faith in Jesus, you belong to God, hidden, safe, and secure from the ultimate storm.”

“We never outgrow the gospel. We must preach it to ourselves daily if we are to continually live in the good of it. How true is this amid the storms of life?”

“While you and I don’t have the luxury of direct, special revelation like Paul, we do have the promise that God is sovereignly and providentially with us in Christ, and no storm can alter his good purposes for us. He always knows what we need when we need it, and He graciously provides it. Isn’t God merciful?!”

QUOTES:
C.S. Lewis - “He walks everywhere incognito. And the incognito is not always hard to penetrate. The real labor is to remember, to attend. In fact, to come awake. Still more, to remain awake.”

Kent Hughes - “We are often objective oriented, but God is process oriented. We just want to get to Rome, but God is even more interested in how we get there.”

J.C. Ryle - “By affliction, God shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world, makes us long for heaven. In the resurrection morning, we shall all say, “It is good for me that I was afflicted.”  We shall thank God for every storm.”

APPLICATION:
Two important implications of being properly anchored in the storm:
1. When we are appropriately anchored, we grow spiritually through the storm.
2. When we are appropriately anchored, we can help others through the storm.

We often put ministry on pause amid the storm. We are tempted to isolate as we wait for the storm to pass before we return to serving and telling others about Jesus. 

Paul doesn’t wait until he gets to Rome. No doubt he wishes the wind would cease and the sun would shine. But Paul doesn’t wait until then. God gives him the grace, as He will you, to continue trusting and testifying to Christ at a time when trusting and testifying to Christ is most intriguing to people—during the storm. 

How can he do that? The heavenly anchors of God’s presence, God’s Son, and God’s character.

Have you ever been told you were crazy on account of your faith? If you live for Jesus, someone at some time will call you crazy, but true sanity can’t be defined by the world! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 25-26
TITLE: Crazy for Jesus
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. A Futile Mob
2. A Confused Governor
3. An Embarrassed King
4. A Victorious Evangelist

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”If you live for Jesus, someone at some time will call you crazy. And my prayer for us today is that when that happens, we would take courage in the Lord to look beyond what others think of us and testify to the transforming power and glory of Jesus with our words and actions.”

“Let’s be honest, it’s easier said than done. The crazy label from your neighbor can be a powerful paralyzer. Paul’s example today is a reminder that in Christ we are victorious and we have nothing to fear so living Crazy for Christ is the sanest thing we can do.”

“…in verse 7 we learn that for all the serious charges the Jews brought against Paul, they couldn’t prove any of them. None of their accusations would stick. How frustrated must these Jewish leaders be—Once again, their plan is proven futile.”

“This Paul situation was driving Festus crazy. He is confused. He couldn’t offload the problem to Jerusalem. He knows if he sends Paul to Caesar, he has to explain what and why the situation demands the Emperor's attention. You can’t just send problems up the ladder. Festus’ political career and legacy is at stake here. Then he remembers King Agrippa is in town so he thinks—Oh, maybe this guy can make my problem go away.”

“Ever been in an intimidating moment? For instance, the only one in group who believes abortion is an abomination to the Lord or Jesus is the ONLY way to God? If Paul was standing next to you, I think he would say, Take courage, don’t worry about what they think of you, live for Jesus right now and speak. That’s exactly what Paul does as he stands in the shadows of powerful people.”

“Paul’s mission is to bring the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles. His call was to call sinners like himself to repent and believe in a crucified and risen Jesus and live for his glory instead of their own. By the way, that mission hasn’t changed, has it. We get sidetracked by competing causes and personal ambitions, but the Christian life is about living for Jesus and telling others about him.”

“When people call you crazy because you live for Jesus, let Paul’s words comfort you—It’s God’s plan!”

“So often, this is what keeps people from embracing Jesus—What will others think?”

“An embarrassed king. A confused governor. A futile mob. None of them can thwart God’s plan for Paul to take Rome to the gospel. In all the power and pomp of our text, guess who turns out victorious? Paul!”

“The pomp and power and philosophies of this world are a powerful temptation. They are also fleeting and hollow. The praise and acceptance and approval of men are like king Agrippa and all his pomp, passing fantasies that are here today and gone tomorrow. But Paul’s gospel prevails today. The gospel is victorious throughout the ages. It is preached. It is believed. It radically transforms lives. The gospel stops people in their tracks, turns them around, and produces a life lived for Christ’s glory. It did that to Paul and it continues to do that today—you are exhibit A. Why? Because the gospel is not a philosophy. It’s not a theory. It’s not a religious idea—it is the power of God unto salvation.”

“THE GOSPEL is the good news that Jesus has come to set the helpless and hopeless sinner free. It is the good news that reveals God’s undeserved mercy. It is the good news that unlocks the mysteries of God’s eternal plan. It is the good news that brings great joy to your life everyday. It is the good news that transforms your life as you live in the good of it. It is the good news that reminds you true life awaits you when this life is over.”

“If you are in Christ, you are the sane one. You are the victorious one. So take courage and be crazy for Christ by living in all humility, with deep gratitude, and for no one’s glory but God’s!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 1:16

APPLICATION:
I bet everyone here could think of one area right now where you need much grace to live crazy for Christ instead of something else. Whatever it is, identify it right now, and together, let’s give it to God in prayer!

Tucked away in this story, in this drama, in this narrative is The Greater Story, The Grander Drama, The Redemption Narrative! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 24:1-27
TITLE: Before The Greater King
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: We can stand before the kings of this world because we are ruled by The Greater King - Jesus!

POINTS:
1. Before a Lesser King
2. Before a Greater King

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”The reality in this sinful kingdom is that the truly guilty (unrighteous) often are not held accountable before the kings of this world. The innocent (righteous) are the ones that are often deemed the guilty ones!”

“Tucked away in this story, in this drama, in this narrative is The Greater Story, The Grander Drama, The Redemptive Narrative! Verse 14-16 begins to reveal how it is possible that we can stand before the kings of this world! It is because we stand in THE Greater King, Christ the Lord!”

“While his cross looms over his head, Paul has his eyes fixed on another Greater Cross! Knowing THIS, his soul is at peace and joy.”

“The tension in the court is high! What is this king going to do? And a smile breaks over Paul’s soul as he remembers again Golgotha! He will not worry what this king might do to him because his soul is anchored in what His King Jesus has already done for him!”

“Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, with God at his right hand, preaches the Gospel to this king and now we see Felix, the lesser king has been brought before the Greater King, and he didn’t even know it… yet!”

“We all stand before the Righteous King of the Universe and His moral claim on our lives cannot be cast aside, dismissed, or suppressed! We ARE able to stand before the kings of this world… BUT we must remember at all times that we are standing before the Holy One of Israel, The Son of God Himself, The Son of Man who is high and lifted up in Majesty.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Luke 12:11-12
Luke 21:12-18

APPLICATION:
Q. Has your heart become dulled and the eyes of your soul become dim? Are you knowingly caught in sin but unwilling to repent? Is the reason now revealed?

Q. Are you putting repentance off?
Hebrews 6:7 “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Don’t put it off any longer! God says in 2 Corinthians 6:2 - “...Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Q. If we are able to stand before even the lesser kings of this world because we can come before The Great King, then who is it that we are afraid of standing before?
Recommended Reading: “The Joy of Fearing God” - Jerry Bridges

Peace instead of anxiety. Patience in adversity. Gratitude instead of bitterness. Perseverance through trials. Humility in prosperity. Contentment in poverty. Hopeful in the unknown. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Hopeful: The Book of Acts
TEXT: Acts 23:12-35
TITLE: Living Hopeful In A Hard World
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. Man’s Plan to Kill Paul
2. God’s Plan to Protect Paul

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Peace instead of anxiety. Patience in adversity. Gratitude instead of bitterness. Perseverance through trials. Humility in prosperity. Contentment in poverty. Hopeful in the unknown. Where do these come from? Ultimately, they are the fruit of the Spirit’s work in us. But the Spirit works through our faith, so we experience these blessings as we trust that our heavenly Father is sovereignly ruling over our lives, in all things, at all times.”

“It's called providence. It’s mysterious and mind-blowing. But believing God is in control and at work in all things to accomplish His redemptive plan, even though we don’t fully understand how that works, is foundational to Living Hopeful In a Hard World.”

“Today’s text is a wonderful illustration of God’s providence that I pray will result in a greater trust in God, no matter your lot in life right now.”

“The Greek word translated oath is anathema. It means curse. These guys want Paul dead so badly that they put themselves under a curse that goes like this—Let God do to us and more if we eat or drink anything before Paul is dead.”

“You want an apologetic for Sunday mornings, CG, and any other opportunity to gather with God’s people—Satan. Is he invincible?—No. Is he formidable—Yes. And our hearts, like sheep, are prone to wander from the flock to the fence line, are vulnerable to his schemes. Satan would like nothing more than to isolate you from God’s people and wreak havoc in your relationship with God.”

“Do a bible study on the 35 one another’s in Scripture. Reorient your personal and family calendar to church life. Find a place to serve. Understand your hospitality as an opportunity for sanctification. As you socialize (hang out) with one another, move into fellowship (Christ-centered conversation) as often as possible. It is a primary means of God’s grace to protect and grow His people. That’s why it always has been and always will be a priority at this church.”

“Psalm 147:5 describes God as being beyond measure. That’s what we mean when we describe Him as an infinite God. In his being and greatness, God has no limitations. And that includes the resources to bring about His sovereign will in your life. We never know HOW God is at work and we never know WHO He may work through.”

“This one young man who has no prior place and no future place in Scripture is at the heart of God’s plan to deliver Paul from his enemies and make sure he continues toward Rome with the gospel.”

“I don’t know if you have caught this yet, there is no mention of God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit in our text. Zero. Yet, the Lord was in the midst of it all, causing the events of Paul’s ordeal to fulfill His plans. The Invisible Hand of God faithfully protecting Paul and furthering His divine will.”

“Over and over, God has faithfully directed Paul’s steps, protecting and positioning him. And now, from an obscure nephew to a mighty Roman army, God is orchestrating it all, accomplishing His plan.  Whatever you are facing today—Take courage. The Lord who stood by Paul and said “take courage” is the same Lord who stands by you today.”

“I don’t know what God’s providence looks like in your life today. It may be bitter, sweet, or a little of both. But I know this: Before the Lord stands by you, he stood for you on the cross. He stood in your place at Calvary so you could have a place in his kingdom. Christ took courage in the face of divine wrath so you could receive divine love by faith. There is no greater act of God’s providence than your salvation. He orchestrated it all. And now He stands with you.”

“God’s spoken word to Paul is His written word to us. We may not understand God’s providence. We may not see it in the moment. But we can live mindful of it so that we will be encouraged by it. How? Preaching it to ourselves through his word.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
James 1:22
Psalm 147:5

QUOTES:
Derek Thomas - “A firm faith in the providence of God is the solution for all earthly problems.”

John Flavel - “The providence of God is like a Hebrew word—it can only be read backward.”

APPLICATION:
Memorize three passages that preach providence:
1. Proverbs 16:9
2. Matthew 10:29-31
3. Romans 8:28-39

Muse over them. Memorize them. Meditate on them. BASK in them. Preach them to yourself as often as you can.