No Room in the Inn!

                                            3^rd Sunday of Advent!

Introduction:

A.   Have you ever stopped in a town to stay overnight only to find that you couldn't get a room because of some  convention or a ball game?

 

B.   This kind-of happened to Christ one time!

 

C.   Does in still happen to Christ today?

 

D.   Let's look this morning at the time it happened to Him and ask ourselves whether or not it can still happen  today.

                            Prayer

                          Luke 2:1-7

 

I.   This is the time it happened to Christ!

 

A.   Joseph and Mary had gone to Bethlehem to be taxed.

 

B.   As ordered by Caesar Augustus everyone was to return to their hometown to be taxed, so Bethlehem was very  crowded!

 

C.   There wasn't any room in the Inn because there were  already other people there that had come for the taxing!

 

D.   So Jesus came into this world in a stable.  He was

          given second best because all the best places were

taken!

 

II.  Can or does this still happen to Christ today?  Is Christ ever turned away because there is no room?

 

A.   You wouldn't think so would you?  You would think that if Jesus came today (since we know who he is) He would be given the best place possible!

 

B.   But Christ "is" here today in the form of His spirit.

 

C.   And Yes, I believe this still happens to Him today!

 

D.   Today the Inn may not be crowded with people, but it

is still crowded where Christ can't get in!

E.   The "Inn" I'm talking about is people's hearts!

Christ is here, and Christ will only take the place we

give Him! Christ isn't pushy! Like the famous painting

with Christ standing at the door knocking and no door

knob on the outside of the door, we have to let him

in.

 

III. Let's look at some things the heart can be crowded with and not leave any room for Christ!

 

A.   The heart can be crowded with making money!

1.   Making money isn't wrong; we all need some to  live!  Right?

2.   But making money is exciting, and it can be fun to plan ways to make money.  We can get so absorbed in it that we stay up at night to plan our next move! This isn't necessarily wrong, but it does illustrate how absorbed we can get with it and whether it is wrong or not is determined by how making money ranks in comparison to Jesus!

3.   Because it is exciting, we can become so possessed with making money we don't leave any room for Christ!

4.   I'm not saying you shouldn't ever stay up to make financial plans, but do we ever stay up for Christ?

Does Christ get more room in our hearts?

1.      When is the last time you stayed awake thinking about Christ or the Church?

4.   Also, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." I Tim. 6:10a NRSV

a.   We can get so absorbed in money that we start justifying sin!  It's alright to cheat a  little here!  It's alright to misrepresent  here a little to sell something!

b.   The next thing we know how much money we will  make is our guideline as to whether or not something is wrong instead of the teachings of Christ!  After all, I give Christ His part!

c.   But do we?  Or has Christ been shut out of our hearts altogether?

 

B.   The heart can become crowded with pleasure!

1.   It's not wrong for Christians to have fun; we should!

2.   But we can become so possessed with an activity (ex. sports, fishing, hunting, watching T.V., playing the computer) that we don't leave room for Jesus!

3.   A good indication we are in this shape is when these activities become more important to us than people & God!

4.   Another indicator would be a comparison between time spent in these activities and time spent:

a.   Reading and Studying the Bible.

b.   Attending "all" the services of the church

c.   Helping people.

d.   With our family.

5.   After we've given our heart to Christ, pleasure

              will still be enjoyable to us, but it will come in

second to caring and helping people and our

relationship with Christ!

6.   Pleasure may even become a tool by which we

              can minister!

ex.  Christians plan sporting activities,

fellowship dinners, camp trips, and many times those outside the church are brought into the church through these activities who normally wouldn't have ever been reached through the regular church services.

 

IV.  What happens when a heart is too crowded for Christ?

A.   Christ will not come in!

Matt 6:24 NRSV "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

B.   Christ is not pushy!

Rev 3:20 NRSV  “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”

 

C.   Christ will not stay where He is not wanted!

1.   II Peter 2:20-22    The scriptures are plain that people can willfully turn against God after they have accepted Christ!

2.   I hasten to say!!

Romans 8:38&39

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor  powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Nothing can make us turn from God; God is able to  keep us!  Nothing can separate us from that Love!

3.   But God doesn't take away our choice; if we

willfully turn our backs on God, we are "lost!"

4.   "the latter end is worse with them than the

beginning"  II Peter 2 v.20b

a.   Some interpret this to mean that once we  turn from God we can't turn back!

b.   I don't know about that.  I have a little  trouble with that!

c.   The point being, Christ will not stay where

Christ is not wanted!  We have to make room for

Christ!  We have to open our hearts and keep our

hearts open to Christ’s leading in our lives!

Conclusion:

 

A.   Is the spirit speaking to your heart this morning?

 

B.   The Inns were so crowded with people at the time of  Christ's birth that he had to go somewhere else to be  born!

 

C.   Is there room for Christ to be born in your heart this morning or are you letting something crowd him out?

 

D.   Christian, are you yielding the proper place to Christ in your heart?

 

E.   As we encounter Christ at the table this morning, do you need to make a commitment to Christ? What better way to prepare for the coming of the Christ into the world?

 

                      Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

Preparing for His Coming!

                                                 2^nd Sunday of Advent!

  

Focus Statement:    This scripture is Zechariah's prophecy of what John the Baptist would be and do in preparing the way for the Lord; he will give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of sin.

 

Function Statement: The congregation will prepare for the second coming of the Lord by realizing that we can't do it ourselves and therefore by making a total surrender to God, through God all things are possible.

 

 

Introduction, scripture, and prayer

 

     This is the second Sunday of Advent:  watch this clip:

 

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DHbUkmEEnc

 

Prayer

Luke 1:68-79

 

1st Movement

On January 16th, 1991, the United States and other allied countries began an air attack on Iraq that was called Desert Storm.  Iraq, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein, had attacked and taken control of a little neighboring country called Kuwait.  Kuwait was a very oil-rich country, and Saddam wanted to control their oil.  Oil was probably part if not the main reason that the allied forces got involved; they didn't want Saddam to control that much of the world's oil supply.  But another factor that was involved was the way he had raped and plundered the people of Kuwait.  This was the one that was played up by our leaders and the media to get the support of the American people; yet, this wasn't even mentioned in the historical account to which I looked for a refresher on this event in history.  But this is what for many people justified such actions.  As a new pastor two years into my first full time ministry, I fully supported what we were doing and talked about it to my congregation.  I’ve learned since then, to be more careful about this.  I’ve learned to ask my congregation to pray for our leaders, no matter who they are or what political persuasion.  I’ve learned to not always believe the media reports and to try to get my news from an assortment of media providers to try to get as unbiased report as possible.  I’ve learned to be careful about jumping on a political band wagon!  Back to Dessert Storm, To think of going in for money would be wrong to many, but to go in like some modern day messiah and right the wrongs that had been done to these people seemed heroic and justified.  The Air Attacks were a huge success, and when ground troops were finally sent in, Iraqi soldiers surrendered by the groves, and the Kuwaiti people were given back their land.

 

 2nd movement

When I tried to put myself into the situation of our scripture, the story I have just shared came to mind.  The Jewish people had been conquered and taken into foreign lands many years before and had since returned to their homeland, but now, they were under domination and oppression by the Romans.  They were looking for a Messiah:  one who would right the wrongs that had been done to them, one who would take them out of oppression, one who would return them to the good old days when they were a United Kingdom.  They would have seen the emperors who were currently in power with about as much animosity as the Kuwaiti people had against Saddam Hussein.  Abraham had been promised by God that he would be the father of a mighty nation, and they were ready for that promise to be fulfilled.  After a long time of waiting, Zechariah was prophesying that the time had come, and John was the one to prepare the way for this Messiah.  John preached that the way to prepare for the coming of the Messiah was to repent and be forgiven of sins through Baptism.  To a great extent, John's message and that of Jesus was the same:  forgiveness.  John would preach it; Jesus would bring it into being in his Kingdom. (Mercer Dict. of the Bible, p. 97)

 

3rd Movement

Again today, the call goes out for us to prepare for the coming of the Lord, or the Messiah.  We aren=t under oppression like the Kuwaiti people or the people of Judah at the time of Christ, so it is hard for us to get into the mind set of longing and looking for the Messiah.  This time the Messiah will still come to right the wrongs, to overcome oppression once and for all, and to overcome sin once and for all.  Are we on the side of right?  Or as the Messiah overcomes sin, will we be overcome?  This time, we are called to prepare for Christ=s second coming,  that is the coming I am speaking of.  How can we do that?  The message is still that we must repent and be forgiven!  The forgiveness is taken care of by God, and the repentance is our part.  I am more and more convinced that what we often understand as being repentance is a made up mind on our part to turn and do good, which when you think about it is a type of works salvation.  What we really need to do is to come to the realization that "we can't do it!"  We have a habit that we have tried to get a handle on for years, but we keep messing up!  Maybe it's a bad temper.  Maybe it's something else.  We think if we can just find the right thing to do we can lick this thing, but we still haven't found it.  Maybe our trouble is in the turning and doing good.  We fully intend to really get active in church; we want to be regular in our attendance; we want to read our Bible regularly; we want to take a job in the church and be faithful doing it.  But we keep messing up; we think we need to make one more attempt to turn our lives around and do good!  What we really need to do is realize that we can't do it!  Remember from the video, the call to let Jesus in was to the church!  As Christians, do we need to turn and face God, giving God our full devotion?   As long as we try to run our lives ourselves, we are going to continue messing up.  We need to unconditionally surrender our lives to a God who can do it!  Repentance is not a made up mind but a Aturning to face God!@  Then and only then will we be able through the Lord to stop doing those things that we know we shouldn't do; then and only then will we be able to do the things we know we should do, and then and only then will we really be ready for the second coming of the Lord.  Then and only then will we really be ready to celebrate Christmas!  Thanks be to God!  Do you need to make that surrender this morning?  As we encounter Christ at the table today, we believe you can repent and turn and face God.  Won’t you do that this morning?  If you turn to face God for the first time, let me know so I can help you with your new journey with God.

 

Service of Communion

Don't Get Caught in a Trap!

                           1^st Sunday of Advent!

 (1)  Focus statement:

 This sermon focuses on Jesus' warning to be on guard so we will be ready and so that day won't catch us unexpectedly, like a trap, when he comes in the clouds with power and great glory.

 

(2)  Function statement:

This sermon will challenge the congregation to prepare for Christ's second coming by committing to a more consistent prayer life and Bible study.

 

Introduction:

What is Advent?  Watch this clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8_lah83UY0&index=2&list=PLpeHYvMPWtf0GRTSYWD9-MUcZjoXVYS3-

 

     Advent is a time of waiting, hope, and expectation for the celebration of his first coming, Christmas, and for His coming again.  The colors are purple or blue (the video said blue but purple is also appropriate).  Purple reminds us of the getting ready nature of Advent.  During Advent this year, the first two Sundays will be about getting ready for His second coming, the third Sunday we will look at the theme of no room in the inn and think of the implications of that as get ready to celebrate Christ’s birth, and the fourth Sunday we will devote to how to Celebrate Christmas since that will be the day before Christmas, so with that in mind, let us pray.

 

Prayer

Luke 21:25-36

1st Movement

When I was young, we didn't go fishing very much because we lived in St. Louis and only went when we were on vacation.  We were not very professional at it.  We didn't use lures and things like that.  We were always getting our strings hung up in tree limbs and all; we being my brother, my sister, and myself.  Yes, sometimes the tree limbs were still hanging from the trees.  My dad had grown up doing some fishing and pretty well knew what he was doing, so he spent most of his time trying to salvage sinkers and floats from the trees, getting our fishing poles ready, and every once in a while taking a fish off of our lines while my mom, my brother and sister, and myself fished.  I have fond memories of these family outings even though we didn't always know what we were doing. 

 

We usually used worms or minnows for bait.  We were instructed to thread the hook up through the worm so that the hook could not be seen.  I can remember trying different things to make the bait appealing so that the fish would bite.  Sometimes the fish would very cautiously nibble on the bait and you could see the float bob up and down very little.  You would wait for the fish to finally go for it, but after some time, you would take the line up to find the worm either stripped completely off of the hook or everything gone down to the part of the worm that contained the hook.  The fish or sometimes a turtle had gotten away with a free meal.  Other times, you put the line in the water and all of a sudden your float goes under.  You jerk the line and reel the fish in.  This one did not get away; it fell for the patiently set trap.  The fish thought this was just another worm floating by and was caught unexpectedly by a hook in the mouth.

 

2nd Movement

Jesus cautions us to "Be on guard" so we aren't caught "unexpectedly, like a trap."  He has just been asked by his disciples in the earlier part of this chapter, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?"  What we have here is part of his answer to their question.  By the time of Luke’s writing, the signs that he gives them have all taken place except His coming in the clouds!  That is the point!  It could be anytime!  He uses the fig tree as an example; when we see the trees sprout leaves we know summer is near.  The signs of his coming are here, so his coming is near!  Like the fish that is caught unexpectedly by a hook in a would-be meal floating by, we do not want to be caught unexpectedly by Christ's second coming.  We need to be ready.

 

3rd Movement

To be ready for his coming, we need to first receive what Christ has already done for us to make us right with God.  Accept Christ!  You can do that at the end of this service as we encounter Christ at the table or talk to me afterward, but make your commitment to Christ; that is the first thing we can do to be ready!  Also, as we're entering into this season of Advent, for all of us, let's try to establish some habits that will help us be prepared for Christ's second coming.  There are a couple things that we can do to help us do that.  We can set aside a time each day for Bible reading.  It is in the Bible that we can see God's revelation of himself in Christ.  We can know who God is!  We can learn the love of God.  We can see how God would have us to live out that love in our lives.  We can begin to grasp the “Hope” that we really do have in Christ to make a difference in our world.  I would suggest reading one of the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.  If you read a chapter a day, you could probably complete one of these during Advent.  Secondly, we can get serious about and establish a better prayer life.  We can be sure to set aside time to pray each day, really pray.  When we pray, it should be a two way conversation.  Many times we just tell God what we want and say Amen.  Let's not forget to give God time to speak to our hearts. To help you to remember to do these things, you could make a home Advent Candle; take a long candle and mark it for every day between now and Christmas (either with a marker or notch it with a knife).  Each day, when you do these read and pray, burn the candle down to the next line.  You could do this as a family for family devotions or individually.  When we do these things, we won't be caught unexpected by Christ's second coming because we will be prepared.  Thanks be to God!  Amen!

Thy Kingdom Come?

                                         Christ the King Sunday!

 

Focus Statement:    In this scripture, Jesus says his Kingdom is not of this world, but He affirms Pilot's belief that he is a King by saying for this he came into the world, to testify to the truth, and by saying those who belong to the truth listen to His voice.

 

Function Statement: Because of this sermon, the

                   congregation will understand that they are a part of Christ's Kingdom today and will commit to walk more faithfully in the truth.

 

                            Prayer

                         John 18:33-37

Movement 1: 

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.  What are we praying for here?  Are we praying for the end of the world?  For the end of time?  Many think so!  Many look at how the world is and pray this prayer looking for relief from this evil world.  "The Left Behind" series and much of the "popular" literature written about The Revelation of John today make us think of the Kingdom of Christ in purely futuristic terms, thus, making us long for that future time win Christ will make all things right.  Here is a trailer from one of the “Left Behind”  movies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrXe8YDbzYs

But is this the way it is meant to be understood and prayed at all?  “Thy Kingdom come. They will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Movement 2:

 

     Our scripture today is John's account of Jesus' answer to Pilot's question, "Are you the King of the Jews?"  The synoptic gospels all agree that Jesus answered in a rather short way, "You say so," but John's answer to this question is much longer.  Traditionally, many have thought that the Gospel of John and The Revelation of John were both written by the Apostle John.  This is not always agreed upon today.  Nonetheless, I think their understandings of the Kingdom of God and Christ are very much similar.  Wes Howard-Brook and Anthony Gwyther, in their book, Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now say, John's look behind the veil gave him a sense that reality was bifurcated.  The word 'bifurcate' means to divide into two branches.  Apocalyptic discourse (which Revelation is) does this by arguing that there is not only the world constructed by those with social power but also another world hidden by empire's illusions.  The world defined by those with power represents one branch.  This is the one most people consider 'reality' and which attempts to define our very being.  The world where God lives and reigns is the other branch.  According to the apocalyptic worldview, this latter world is the 'real' one, while the other is a parody or counterfeit version of this reality.¹1  To Howard-Brook and Gwyther, John's Revelation shows people living in a world ruled by empire, in which Christ was crucified, Christians are being persecuted, the poor are being taken advantage of, people are stepping on others to get ahead, and success is measured by how much money you have, that there is another realm in which we can live (the Kingdom of God) where Christ (the lamb who was slain) is victorious and reigning, where Christians are worshiping God. For John, it was happening now, not sometime in the future! In this second Kingdom (God’s Kingdom), it is more important to be fair and just than to get ahead, it is more important to live right and die than to succumb to the temptations of this world, and in this Kingdom, your success is measured by your faithfulness to God.  In this second Kingdom, we can rejoice!  That is why we can worship Christ as King!

In John's gospel, Jesus answers, "My Kingdom is not of this world."  He is not the King of this world where evil seems to be winning, where people are trampled on to get ahead, and where those without power are oppressed!  He is not the King of that first branch that Howard-Brook and Gwyther talk about.  If He were, His followers would fight to keep him from being arrested!  So Pilot says, "So you are a King?"  Here Jesus answers with the same answer as the other gospels, "You say that I am," but He doesn't stop with that answer.  He goes on to say, "For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth."  For what was he born?  To be the King of this second branch of existence or realm of life?  To testify to the truth?  John's understanding of truth was like the Old Testament understanding of truth where truth was moral and relational, not intellectual; to be true was to be constant, to be permanent, to be faithful, to be reliable, and to judge truly.2  For Jesus to testify to the truth was to testify to a Kingdom in which people could live in relation to God and each other, where morality is a virtue, where it is important to be faithful and reliable, and where people are just.  Jesus goes on to say, "Everyone who belongs to the truth [kingdom] listens to my voice."  Christ is the leader in this Kingdom!  Christ reigns!  Christ is King!

Movement 3:

John shows us a Kingdom in which Christ reigns.  We don't have to sit around and wait for the end to come to live in the Kingdom and for things to be better.  For us to sit around and wait, for us to give up and long for the end is to succumb to this world.  Christ has made a way for us to live in the Kingdom today!  We can make a difference today!  We can make things better!  If we live justly, if we stand for right even when it hurts, the world will be a better place.  That is what John’s gospel and the book of Revelation is about!  This isn't to say we won't suffer; the ones to whom John wrote suffered.  It is to say that in the bigger picture, in the Kingdom that counts, we are on the winning side!  John presents us with a challenge.  Will we choose to live in the Kingdom where Christ reigns, or will we live in the Kingdoms of this world?  Will we walk in Christ's truth?  The choice is up to us.  As we encounter Christ at the table this morning, let's commit to living faithfully in the Kingdom where Christ reigns!  Thy Kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven, and help me Lord to live faithfully in it!    Thanks be to God!  Amen!

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

---

1
       ¹¹.Wes Howard-Brook and Anthony Gwyther, Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1999) 121.

2
       ².Paul J. Achtemeier, ed., HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (SanFrancisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996) 1179.

Praise, A Natural Response!

                                            Thanksgiving Sunday!

                         Psalm 150:1-6

Intro:

     A.   Next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day.  Some will ask, what do I have to be thankful for?  Many will stop,  count their blessings, and express their thanks to God!

 

     B.   This is something that should take place all year round! People with a grateful heart will naturally express thanks!

 

     C.   Praise in worship is one form of thanks expressed to God and many times people have trouble expressing praise!

 

Trans.

I would like to look at "Praise" today and see

     if we can come to a better understanding of how we can come to the place of Praising God!

 

                            Prayer

 

I.   The Psalmist is very clear that we should praise the Lord!

 

A.   Praise God in his sanctuary!

 

B.   Praise God for what God has done!

 

C.   Praise God with music!

 

D.   "Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

 

E.   But many times, Praise is seen as some mysterious

     thing that we do not know if we want to do are not!

 

II.  First, let's look at some common misconceptions about

praise.

 

A.   The Worship & Praise in a worship service is controlled largely by the worship leader.

1.   In other words, the leader should be able to cause us to worship and praise the Lord by the  way he or she conducts the service.

2.   The leader can possibly cause us to have an interesting service or maybe even raise the enthusiasm a little, but he or she can't cause us to praise the Lord!

3.   The leader might say, "Do I hear an Amen?"  We might respond by saying, "Amen."  That doesn't mean that we mean it!

4.   The leader might get everyone to raise their hands as a praise gesture, but that doesn't mean it is heartfelt!

5.   Worship & Praise comes from the heart, and the Worship leader can't create that in our hearts that causes us to Praise the Lord!

 

B.   The pastor, singers, & worship leader are conducting worship; we are just spectators.

1.   We should all be worshiping; we are all the actors.  The pastor is on the same level as the congregation, when it comes to praise in worship!

2.   God should be the spectator; we are all  worshiping for and to God.

3.   Although, God does become active also in the movement of the Holy Spirit!

 

C.   Praise and worship comes when individuals make a decision that today I am going to Praise the Lord!

1.   While this is a part of it, we do need to make an  effort to prepare ourselves for worship and to be  active in worship.

2.   This isn't the key either; we may decide that we think our worship services are lacking, so we are going to worship today.

a.   So, we decide that we are going to testify today, but we really do not feel the testimony or the victory!

b.   We may decide that our services need more outward expression (saying amen, lifting hands), so we decide to do this, but it isn't heartfelt, and we haven't praised the Lord!

 

III. Then how do we come to the place of Praising the Lord?

 

A.   We have to work on the heart.

1.   Praise is a form of Thankfulness; we may say  Thank You to someone because it is the thing to  do, but if we don't feel gratitude in our hearts  then we aren't Thankful!

2.   We can go through the motions of praise, but if  we don't feel it in our hearts, we haven't worshiped!

 

B.   How do we work on the heart?  If we have trouble worshiping and feeling praise, what do we need to do?  Start with the basics:

1.   Are we in tune with God the rest of the week?

APray without ceasing.@ (I Thess. 5:17)  If we aren't, how can we expect to be in tune on Sunday?

a.   Do we pray?  without ceasing? (prayerful attitude) 

b.   Do we consult God with everyday decisions?

c.   Do we lean on God through the week?

d.   Do we realize the good things God does and Thank God for them regularly?

2.   Do we desire to know more about God?

a.   Do we study and read the Bible regularly?  In it we see reasons to Praise the Lord!

b.   Do we take opportunities to learn from other Christians and be encouraged by other Christians by attending church services?

3.   Do we desire to serve the Lord through the week?

a.   Do we want to be used to tell others about Christ?  Do we take opportunities?

b.   Do we want to show God's love by caring and doing for other people?  Do we take opportunities?

 

IV.  We have too long put too much emphasis on our Sunday   Morning service as a gauge of how our church is doing!

 

A.   Someone asks how our church is doing; they are wanting

to know how many we are running on Sunday morning.

 

B.   They ask us how spiritual our church is; they are

wanting to know if we have any amens, crying, hand

raising, and things like that.

 

C.   But the real gauge of how our church is doing is what

are we doing after encountering Christ Sunday morning?

1.   Are we concerned about growth enough that we are taking part in our own daily Bible Study?

2.   Do we stay in close communication with God through prayer?

3.   Are we busy doing for the Lord through the week?

Helping others?  Involved in some personal ministry?

          4.   Are we supporting the ministries of the church

              through our tithes and offerings?

 

D.   When we aren't doing these things, we can't praise the Lord!

1.   We can't praise God for what God is doing in our lives when we aren't letting God do anything in our lives!

2.   We are too overcome with guilt and defeat!

 

E.   But when we do these things, Praise is a natural response.

1.   Our hearts are full!

2.   We are so excited about how we've seen God move in our lives!

3.   People will naturally express this praise in different ways.

a.   Some may cry!

b.   Some may want to say amen!

c.   Some may want to testify!

d.   Some will sing a little louder!

e.   All will want to participate in worship!

 

F.   But it will all be the natural response of hearts in tune with God, hearts that can see God making a difference in their lives!

 

Conclusion:

 

A.   Are we one of those "hearts in tune" this morning?

 

B.   Or do we find ourselves asking, what do I have to be thankful for?  Thanksgiving has become a drudgery!  Praise has become something we try to work ourselves  up to!  It doesn=t have to be that way!

 

     C.   As we encounter Christ at the table this morning,

          renew your relationship, work on that relationship all

          week, so that you can really celebrate Thanksgiving

          and so you can overflow in praise to God on Sunday?

                                                      Amen!

 

Prayer of Confession

Service of Communion

A Good Soldier of Christ

 

Veteran’s Day Sunday

Introduction:  Watch clip:

 

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4vpOcgn4Gk

 

A.   Yesterday was Veteran’s Day, a day that we as Americans have set aside to honor those who have served or are serving our country.

 

     B.   It is appropriate that we should set aside to remember

          those who have given so much so that we can enjoy the

          freedoms and privileges of living in this great land

of The United States of America.

 

     C.   But let's not forget who has made us great!  All that

          America is is because of the grace of God!!

          "God shed his grace on thee . . . ."

 

     D.   And there are other people who have given so much so

we may know God through Christ.

 

     Trans:

          One of these is Paul!  He was most definitely A Good

          Soldier of Christ! That is what I want to talk to you

          about today: “A Good Soldier of Christ.”

 

                            Prayer

                        II Timothy 2:1-7

 

I.   A Good Soldier of Christ is strong!

     A.   The strength is found in the grace that is in Jesus

          Christ. v.1

              I can do all things through Christ which

              strengtheneth me!  Phil. 4:13

 

     B.   Paul had found the strength he needed to endure prison

          etc. in Christ and he is telling Timothy to rely on

          Christ.

          1.   Strength during sickness!

          2.   Strength during difficult times!

3.   “Share in suffering like a good soldier of

Christ.” Vs.3

 

a.   A Christian shouldn’t always demand their rights; sometimes we should be willing to suffer for Christ!

b.   On the other hand, a Christian should always be an advocate for the rights of those who are being overlooked or abused by society!

c.   It really affects how Christians are viewed!  Are they viewed as people who are always fusing that they aren't getting what's coming to them, or are they viewed as people who are always advocating for others?

 

II.  A Good Soldier of Christ teaches others what he/she has

     learned in Christ!  v.2

 

A.   This is how God’s Kingdom is grown.  It is God's method and it has been called, "the ministry of multiplication."

 

     B.   The key is to be able to teach others well enough that

          they can in turn teach others!

 

     C.   That's why teaching is so important!  That is part of

          what preaching does!

 

III. A Good Soldier has endurance!  v.3

          But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall

          be saved.  Matt. 24:13

 

     A.   He that endures doesn't let himself be entangled in

The affairs of this life to the point that he leaves

Out Christ!  v.4

          1.   Money is good, but it shouldn’t become our god!

          2.   Pleasure is good, but it shouldn’t become our

god!

 

     B.   He that endures plays by the rules. v.5

1.   Discipline – be consistent in our service and worship of God!

          2.   Self-Control

              a.   moderation is key

              b.   keep our vows to God and each other.

3.   Tolerance – allow others to experience the same grace that we all need!

4.   Love – love God and love others as ourselves! The two greatest commandments we talked about last week!

 

     C.   He that endures is a hard worker. v.6 (The husbandman

          or farmer represents a hard worker.)

 

Conclusion:

     A.   As Paul neared the end of his life he could look back

          and see that:

          1.   He had endured!

          2.   He had played by the rules!

          3.   He had worked hard!

          4.   He had taught others so God's message wouldn't

              stop with him!

 

     B.   His advice to Timothy was to do the same, and it's his

          advice to us too!

 

     C.   Are we heeding that advice?

 

     D.   Do we need the strength found in Christ?  Are we good

soldiers of Christ?

 

     E.   If we find ourselves lacking in any of Paul’s advice

to Timothy, we can ask Christ to help us as we

encounter Christ at the table this morning.

 

                      Prayer of Confession

 

Service of Communion