Christ Community Church - Leawood Campus - SUNDAY MESSAGES

The first-century Gospel writer John brilliantly weaves truth through a multi-layered story of Jesus healing a blind man. In the nearby literary shadows of this remarkable story lurks a provocative question, “Who’s Really Blind? Helen Keller once said, “The only thing worse than being born blind, is having sight, but no vision.” Embracing the Gospel is the only way to gain true sight. Just like the light of the world gives light to the man born blind in our story, so too can Jesus the true light of the world heal you of spiritual blindness and bring light to your life. Do you see him?Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4892647522.07.31

We all want to be on the front line of protecting freedom, but the fight for real freedom is not outside of us, but within. We must beware who offers us freedom and at what cost. Satan will use the common areas of our lives to deceive us from our sin. Sin permeates, stains, and spreads. It begins in one part of our life and moves into the deepest parts of us where our subconscious takes over and suddenly we are driven by fear, shame, success, and idols we have cultivated where Satan is at work in our identity. The greatest weapon against the Enemy’s lies is truth. Only truth has the power to set one free and truth is not elusive. Jesus also stands in front of us. He sees our hearts and offers us freedom from sin and the enemy’s captivity. The yoke of Christ gives us rest so that we can experience love and faithfulness over manipulation and destruction, turning us towards what is good.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4892008422.07.17

If the sun stopped shining, our earth would be a dark lifeless wasteland and without Jesus the light of the world, we are in spiritual darkness. Like the sun, Jesus is the source and sustenance of life itself. He is not only the redeemer, but also the Creator. Without light, we can not see what is true, good or beautiful. Without Jesus the light of the world, we live in darkness. He proclaims a bold truth, offers us a great invitation and gives us a hopeful promise. What is eclipsing the light in our lives? Are we living in the dark or walking in His light?Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4891615322.07.10

When it comes down to it, many of us are living desert lives, but what if we could have a lush, overflowing life? That is what Jesus offers us. The desert life gets stuck on how impressive Jesus looks from a human perspective. But Jesus knows that his Father’s timing is more important than human strategy. For an overflowing life, our faith has to be bigger than our ability to always know what Jesus is up to. A desert life wants Jesus to meet our every expectation without challenges, changes or disappointments. If we are not careful, we can admire Him without really believing in Him. It is so simple, yet so difficult for so many of us to receive the overflowing life by believing in Him. When we come to Jesus, thirsty and desperate, we become a river of living water that flows out to everyone around us. Bringing life to our world. We have God’s Spirit like a river of life. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4891390022.07.03

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/48909625Following Jesus is hard. Staying with Jesus, obeying him, loving him through thick and thin, listening to him, is really hard. Jesus says things and teaches things that are offensive to every culture, every era and basically every person. So we should not be surprised when Jesus makes us uncomfortable. In fact, if Jesus isn’t offending us, isn’t challenging us, we probably just are not listening very well. Jesus will offend you. That is honestly part of his strategy to help grow your understanding of the kind of kingdom he is bringing. The wonderful paradox of the Christian faith is that as we deny self we become our real selves. It’s important, to be sure, whether or not you can follow Jesus. Don’t just ask “can I afford to follow Jesus?” Ask also, “If not Jesus, then who?”22.06.26

Storms can be frightening. Storms and fear usually go hand in hand. This is not only true of weather-related storms, but also of life-related storms. We all face fearful storms and are living in a very fearful culture. Jesus is not only the creator of the omnipotent God of the universe, Jesus is the loving and attentive omnipresent God who is always there with us even in the midst of chaos. He is here with us and for us. Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus’ last recorded words are, I am with you, even to the end of time. Jesus' uninterrupted and attentive presence in our lives is why we should not be paralyzed by fear. As apprentices of Jesus even in the midst of our greatest fears, our fiercest storms, in the deepest valleys of pain, grief, and doubt, we are never, ever alone.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4890674222.06.19

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4890341222.06.12

Life is like smoke. It looks real and solid but when you try to grasp it, it slips through your fingers. And this observation leads Qohelet to the brink of despair at times, because there seems to be nothing that can be counted on in this life “under the sun.” Rather than try to grasp the smoke, the hevel, and watch it slip through your fingers, live life with an open hand. The simple pleasures of life - those are a gift from God. Enjoy them. The relationships you have are a gift from God. These are ways that God is providing for us - enjoy them while you have them. So for Qohelet, the whole duty of man is to enjoy your life such as it is, and to die. But actually there’s something more. The whole duty of man is not just to enjoy life and die. The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commandments.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4889982822.06.05

Jesus is not only the only Son of the Father, but His father has given him all authority under heaven and on earth. Literally, everything hangs on every word that comes from His mouth. If you want to honor God, you must honor the Son. Honoring the Son means taking his words, not just the words we like, but especially the words we don’t like, seriously. He is the Son of the Father, the Judge of all, the final word over every life, or he is nothing. We should honor him by crying out to him for eternal life that only the Son of the Father can give. He promises us, in his timing, just as he has been doing from the very beginning, that he will bring life to dead things, even dead things like you and me.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4886683822.04.03

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4889156522.05.22

Human beings, for most of human history, have a really unhealthy relationship to money. It’s one of those through lines of every age, culture, ethnicity, doesn’t matter: people love money. Qoheleth puts his finger right on the problem. Pleasure and work, and other good things that we can love too much, are like the carrot at the end of the stick that, when you finally get it, leaves you disappointed. It promises rest, but only leads to restlessness. The Bible shows us that we can’t rest from the love of money until we find the rest it promises elsewhere. Which is why Jesus is so adamant that he and he alone can give you rest. Our joy. Our security. Our happiness. He is our ultimate investment and retirement plan. It’s all him. He’s the only thing in life and death that cannot be taken away. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4888549922.05.15

One of the main ways we seek meaning is our work. We were created with work in mind. But when Adam and Eve rebelled against God, not only was human work toilsome, human work became idolatrous. Instead of work being a vital aspect of God-honoring worship, humans began to worship their work. And that continues today! The reason we feel so deeply the meaninglessness of our work at times is precisely because we were made for meaningful work. The reason we often feel the fruitlessness of our striving is because we were made to be fruitful. The reason we feel daily the pain of our toil acutely is because we have a deep God-given impulse to purposefully create, cultivate and contribute to human flourishing. Like so many mirages of meaning we may chase, our work, paid or not paid will eventually let us down.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4888546222.05.08

Pleasure also has no answer to pain. This is perhaps pleasure’s greatest weakness as a purpose to life. Qoheleth will point this out later, but life is so hard, even under the best of circumstances, and you can’t simply distract your way through that. No matter how much pleasure you can have, all it takes is one devastating diagnosis, or loss, or divorce, or death, to completely undo you. And you can’t throw pleasure at that pain, can you? It doesn’t work. The spell that pleasure casts is easily and immediately broken by pain. The human capacity for pleasure pales in comparison to God’s capacity for it. There is beauty, and delight, and music, and light, and colors, we can’t even experience. They only exist for God’s delight. Qoheleth’s lesson is not that he wanted too much, and it let him down. It’s that he wanted too little, when Eden was there all along. And God intends to make everything into Eden one day, and invite you in, if you are willing to follow him there. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4888253622.05.01

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/48878305The paradox of human knowledge is the more we know…there is so much more we do not know…like climbing a mountain, when you get to the top, you see other mountains you have never seen before. This is life under the sun. Gospel life under the sun is smoke, but there is life over the sun and it is found in the Son! The vivid contrast between a life lived without God and a life lived in the face of God. John 10:10 reads…I have come to give you life and abundantly, a life of purpose…of deep joy and satisfaction that only ultimately comes in a deepening intimacy with God. The meaning we long for is found in a relationship. Our creator and redeemer, before the face of God. 22.04.24

There is no meaningful way to follow Jesus, no matter how compelling his example and his teaching, if you think he is dead and buried like every other human person from the beginning of time. If he is not raised, then we have no hope. But in fact, Paul says, and he bet his entire life on this: Jesus has been raised. And if he has been raised, then we have eternal hope in him. The only thing more wonderful, in fact, than worshiping this risen Jesus today, will be seeing him when he comes again, to make all things right, and when he utterly destroys our last enemy. And if you can begin to wrap your mind and heart around that, not only as something you hope is real, but something you know is real, you will begin to understand the power of the phrase we started this whole day with. He is risen. He is risen indeed.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4887441622.04.17

John recounts Jesus’ words to religious leaders who are hell-bent on rejecting and condemning him -–despite the evidence. These religious leaders are so motivated to condemn Jesus, they have already decided the verdict in their hearts. If we are honest with ourselves, some of us have made our verdict already, picking and choosing the things we “like” about Jesus. And rejecting anything that gets in the way of our desires or our comforts. We may like what Jesus says about heaven and love. But sexuality? Or money? Or caring for the marginalized? Or loving our enemies. Nah, I’m good. Our heart motivations may be different from the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. But the outcome is the same. We too reject Jesus. So the question we have to wrestle with today is this. Whether you consider yourself a Christian or not, When it comes to Jesus–what will your verdict be?Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4887074922.04.10

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/48862957It is so easy for us to embrace a misguided religious faith founded in a religious consumer mentality. Christian faith is desirable to us as long as it is comfortable and helpful to us. When it helps us form friendships or our involvement in religious services provides a sense of connection or provides us with great business contacts, or helps our kids or teenagers make better choices and find better friends. Hear me carefully, making good friends and experiencing community are good things, often good things that are outworkings of authentic faith and authentic faith community. And asking our heavenly Father for the desires of our hearts and for things we need is often a very good thing, done with the right motives. But sometimes our fair-weather faith becomes fickle and proves shallow when life is hard, when we confront suffering, rejection, loneliness, or when prayers seem to go unanswered. How does our faith hold up then? Ask yourself, what is my true heart motive for my Christian faith?22.03.27

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4885927222.03.20

It is easy to miss, in our polarized world, that Jesus seems to have intentionally drawn together people from across ideologies and cultures of the world to be worshippers. Jesus is not after ideologies. He is after worship in spirit and truth. This is Jesus’ language for a new heart that only the Spirit can give, a new obedience to the truth that Jesus is Lord of all. Does Jesus have our worship? This is something, whether we have followed Jesus for a long time, or we are considering him for the first time, that we have to ask ourselves. Jesus’ offer of living water comes at a price: you have to worship him alone, even at the expense of the culture, politics, ideologies, that have shaped you.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4885568122.03.13

When Jesus is invited into every part of our daily lives. Jesus becomes more present to us in our Monday worlds of work, work, school, recreation. He becomes more present in our homes, in our friendships and family. When Jesus becomes more and more Holy Spirit fills and empowers us. He draws us to deeper intimacy with Jesus and He guides us, teaches us and reshapes our priorities and reorders our loves. Jesus becomes more in how we do our work, how we treat and speak to our boss or fellow employees. In how we love our neighbor. How we serve, follow and how we lead. In how we sacrificially serve our spouse or honor our parents. In how we speak about, how we love those who we may disagree with. Humility grows when Jesus becomes more and more in our lives.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4885174022.03.06

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/48847927From a posture of glorious holiness and a motive of unfathomable love, God the Father, sent Jesus his Son on a divine rescue mission to save us his fallen image-bearers from eternal separation from himself. When we slow down and pause to reflect on it, the intensity and beauty of God’s love, its breadth, and width, its sacrificial nature, the lengths God went to make possible our rescue is simply breathtaking, completely overwhelming to our minds and senses. God’s love unveiled by John is a saving love, a rescuing love, a love that takes the initiative. Saving faith in Jesus saves us from perishing, that is being eternally separated from God, Saving faith in Jesus saves us for eternal life.22.02.27

If I were to ask you what you think is the greatest obstacle to faith, what would you say? Perhaps what blinds us more than anything else to true gospel faith is religion. Churches can be full of religious people, moral people, upstanding citizens, who do not really know Jesus or have forgotten what life with Jesus is all about. For God so loved the world, that He gave His son, not just to people we view as “messed up”, but also for the religious, self-sufficient, successful, and obedient. He knew we would need a MIRACLE to save us from ourselves. His Son was lifted up for us to see Him there and offer us an eternal life with God. Through Him, we have been born again.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4884399222.02.20

Jesus came to make God accessible to everyone. Jesus died so that people could have access to God. Are there places in our lives or in our church, or the Church, where we’re putting up barriers that make it more difficult for people on the outside to encounter God? Church is meant to be a place to practice dying to self, for the sake of others, even if that means you don’t get the song that you want, or the sermon (or preacher) that you want, or as many donut holes as you want. How can we make it easier for people to encounter God, either within our walls or outside of them?Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4884042522.02.13

In John 2, by turning water into wine, Jesus draws his disciples to a greater faith. They learned about the kind of king Jesus is and the kind of kingdom he means to bring. It is easy to forget when the wine is flowing, that it can’t flow forever. What do we do when the wine runs out? When life’s circumstances let us down? John tells us in that moment to trust Jesus. When our wine runs out, we are often tempted to scramble and resort to all kinds of self-preservation that never works. But Jesus’ rescue plan never fails. Do whatever he tells you to do. Not because it stops the fun, but because it leads to real joy. Simple obedience to him, is not some esoteric, mystical thing. He is here and available to help us with real, everyday problems. He is not an insurance plan for your soul; He is a master of ceremonies who cares about every last detail of your life, who wants the best for you and knows how to get it. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4883671122.02.06

In our text this morning, in John 1, there are five men. Andrew, probably John himself, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael. All different with different motivations, questions and jobs. But all of them come and see Jesus for the first time. And it changes them forever. If you are here and you are a christian, or exploring what it means to be a Christian, you are a link in the chain, that goes way back to this story, right here. Somebody pointed you to Jesus. And whether it was years and years of conversation, or one blurted out, whatever it was, it beckoned you to come and see for yourself. And even if you aren’t sure if you are interested, keep coming, because Jesus is interested in you and he wants to build something on your life that you can hardly imagine. Put yourself in the story, maybe for the first time. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4883308122.1.30

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/48829523First-century Christians waiting for the Messiah were expecting a King, a strong leader, a warrior who could take on their oppressors from Rome. They wanted the Lion of Judah and a judge who was on their side. They were not prepared to see the Lamb. Israel’s minds and hearts were stubbornly set on only accepting someone who fit the picture in Her mind. No one was looking for a lamb and if we are honest, neither are we. We can be so quick to dismiss the Lamb if we forget His power. He is THE LAMB! He is so much more! He IS the strength and power of true light, and He IS the sovereign authority of God. If we are going to take Jesus seriously, worship him rightly, obey him fully; we need to see the Lamb.22.01.23

As humans, we have always had an interesting relationship with darkness. On one hand, we can be afraid of the dark, but we love it when we need it. To hide. To retreat. To sin or commit evil. John wants to reveal to us that Jesus is the Light. He is not a light, but the one true light, who gives life to humanity. Satan opposes Jesus and His light everywhere he can, but Jesus came into the world to drive out the darkness. John wants us to see that the light came into the darkness and everybody closed their eyes, and fumbled for the light switch. Because as much as we may hate the darkness, we need it to cover the reality of who we are. When we live in obedience to the light, we not only walk in the light ourselves, but we can shine the light for others. Shine the light.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4882572222.01.16

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4881575722.01.02

I believe we live in a time of great skepticism and growing mistrust and yet skepticism of truth claims and the challenge of discerning what is true and what is not- is not restricted to our modern time. Through John’s witness, we see that from the opening verses of the bible through the very end, the story of God we encounter is one who greatly loves this broken material world. Let’s remember that in the original creation, God declared the material world good! That includes the stuff of this world, our bodies of flesh and blood. And even after humankind rebelled against God with broken lives and a broken world being the tragic result, God refused to give up on his world and has chosen to redeem and restore it. In Jesus God came to rescue and redeem our world. The very act of Jesus assuming human flesh, the Word sanctified and hallowed our material bodies and our material world. Jesus is history's greatest miracle and Jesus is our greatest hope.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4882101822.01.09

Sermon notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4881569021.12.26

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4881210721.12.19

We are in a sermon series this Advent season on the names of God. How does the Bible talk about God? What names does He have, the Son given to us on Christmas, who has come to us and will come again? He is the Lord of hosts which is a reminder that we do not fight alone. He is an invisible general, fighting for us. He isn’t afraid of a human army, and swords and shields and chariots. He’s the lord of hosts! He doesn’t see our battles the way we do. He sees beyond the physical and material. Beyond the human solutions and strategies. And He asks His people to trust Him, that He can do it, even when it looks impossible. Someone fights for us. Do you know that? When you feel overwhelmed by your life. When it feels impossible. Like nobody can make this okay. Do you know God is fighting with you? Do you feel the difference that makes? Someone wins for us. There will be no end to justice and peace when God sends this king. And His victory. Is our victory. The Lord of Hosts becomes human. Jesus. Born in a manger. To defeat our real enemies. And His victory over sin and death is our victory. Somebody wins for us. SERMON NOTES: https://www.bible.com/events/4880151721.12.05

We all long to be seen, noticed, known, valued by others, not just around or tolerated, but really seen. This time of year lots of people are around, but many feel more invisible than ever. This morning, our story in Genesis is giving us a window into the life of one of the most invisible people ever, until God met her. This overlooked woman is actually the only person in the whole bible to give God a name. She calls him the God of seeing because she felt seen for the first time by Him. We are seen by Him as well. We know this because of Jesus, God’s answer to our deepest longings. We know because God came to another young girl named Mary. He promised her she would bear a son, a divine son, whom God Himself would name Jesus, who is more than a God who sees. But a God who suffers, dies, rises again. A God who saves.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4880836921.12.12

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4880149221.11.28

Our world is constantly changing around us. It seems as though it is changing faster now than ever. What never changes, and what always grounds us, no matter what, is not who we are, but whose we are. We do not belong to the chaos of our world when it rears its ugly head. We do not belong to an ideology. We do not belong to a human authority. We don’t even belong to ourselves. We belong to Jesus. And He is in control, and is always taking care of us. He sends us on a mission together to be a family, together, for ALL nations, to bring forgiveness and reconciliation to everyone, everywhere, all the time. He does not call us to do it alone, He is always with us. His church will triumph. His kingdom will come. His will we be done on earth as it is in heaven. His victory is sure. And we are in it. Praise God for it.SERMON NOTES: bible.com/events/4879773421.11.21

The bible tells us God designed the family and the local church to be the primary sustaining institutions for human flourishing. The bible also teaches that a flourishing faith is a belonging faith. That real faith not only believes, it also belongs! But what does a belonging faith look like? It was a great privilege for us to host Dr. Curt Thompson at Christ Community recently. As a devoted apprentice of Jesus and practicing psychiatrist, Curt brought great insight from theology and interpersonal neurobiology as it relates to God’s design for our flourishing. Curt highlighted how each one of us as image bearers of God need relationships and community where we are Seen, Soothed, Safe, and Secure. To be seen means we are seen as we really are. To be soothed is to experience empathy from others. To be safe is to be comfortable in our relationships with others. To be secure means others are trustworthy and won’t abandon us when things get hard. I think these four S’s are a good picture of what the New Testament writers like James describe as Agape love, the binding glue that holds a local church together and fuels a flourishing faith. As fellow Christians, we have a window of opportunity to be the church, the gracious and truth telling mouthpiece, the loving hands and feet of Jesus who laid down his life for others. 21.11.14

In today’s passage, James wants to warn us about the effect money can have on our faith. If we are not careful, wealth can corrupt us. It can convince us that we deserve more than we need. It will even try to convince us that our wants are actually needs. Our want for “stuff” is never done. We must not put our trust in material possessions which can lead to the hoarding of wealth, oppression of laborers, self-indulgence or the murder of the righteous. We must remember to leverage our wealth for love of God and love of others through the practice of generosity and practicing simplicity.SERMON NOTES: https://www.bible.com/events/4879017321.11.07

Planning can be wise and good, but who do we have in mind when we plan? If we long to have real faith, whole faith, lived out faith, we must remember who holds tomorrow. When we plan out our lives and love our plans too much, we become reliant on them. Our plans will inevitably let us down. Our plans, good or bad, successful or unsuccessful, are trials that are designed to bring us closer to who God wants us to be. The moment our plans fail is a moment to trust God and find joy in His plan for the day over our own. We need to remember to number our days, practice Sabbath rest, and pray through our plans. When we do this, our plans become an act of worship and faith in the only One who actually knows what He is doing.21.10.31

When is the last time you really sat down and thought, “what do I want?” Not like in a shallow way. But like, “what do I want in life? It’s a more important question than I often acknowledge. There is ancient wisdom about how important what we want is. How powerful it is, and how dangerous it can be. James chapter 4 is a warning. A warning about wanting the wrong things, and the consequences to our faith and our community together. Jesus linked our unity, our ability to handle conflict well among one another, to the world’s belief in who Jesus is. When we are at war among each other, no one will believe that Jesus is the Son of God. So if we want God above all others, we must humble ourselves and come back to God, our first love.21.10.24

Our words matter to God. Words can lift up or tear down. They can unite or divide. They can make us laugh or make us cry. Words stick with us and cannot be taken back. They leave a lasting imprint. Our tongues reveal our human sinfulness and brokenness. It is like a barometer for our inner world, our character, and our spiritual formation. At the root of any tongue problem is a heart problem. We must pursue a wise lipstyle by training our tongues, being attentive to our words, and being reflective in what we say. Are we using words that are edifying, necessary, and grace-filled? Our words matter and need to be guided by grace in a broken world.21.10.17

The more we internalize, trust, and believe in Jesus’ mercy for us, the more mercy, compassion, and service will be evident in us toward others. There’s a direct relationship between how loved we know we are, to how much mercy we show those around us. This is why Jesus ALWAYS points out that the one who loves Him best are always the ones who have received the most mercy. It’s also why the poor and oppressed are almost always examples of faith. If we feel better about ourselves when we consider the poor, the broken, the immigrant, the single mom, the addict, the unemployed, the unpopular, it is that moment when we must reconsider ourselves in light of grace, as rebels, and outcasts, as exiles, now brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ.21.10.10

What difference does faith make in the lives of Christians? What difference should it make? I think today’s sermon is the one many of my non-Christian friends would like to preach to Christians. They want to see a faith that makes a difference not only in the lives of the individual believer, but also in our communities and in the world. They want to see a faith that works. We need to ask ourselves hard questions like, “whose life around me is different because of my faith in Jesus? Is my faith working in such a way that it’s making a difference for other people? How has my faith matured since I first trusted in Jesus?” We also need to recognize that real faith is a process. Don’t let today’s doubt, today’s failure, keep you from pressing back into the grace of God, trusting that he is good and he has not given up on you.21.10.03

When we allow the trials and sufferings of our lives to refine our faith, we get closer to wholeness, to perfection, even in a very broken world. When Jesus talks about you and me, those of us in the faith, that we are to be “perfect” as His heavenly Father is perfect. He is saying, whatever you are right now, if you let me, if you follow me, I will make you as flawless, as whole, as perfect, as my Father in heaven. James reminds us that God is an artist, He’s the sculptor of our lives, and when we submit to Him, he can use the hardships of life to shape us into something beautiful. Perfect. God won’t allow you to be as you are, right now, not because He doesn’t love you, but because He does. In fact, when God made you, when He conceived of you, when He thought of you, He saw you whole. Perfect. Exactly as you were meant to be.21.09.26

SERMON NOTES: https://bible.com/events/48763151Jesus took all His power, and all His freedom, and all His wisdom, and love, and goodness, and patience and kindness, and He leveraged it, used it, not for Himself. But for you. If you are in Christ, that is what you believe. And the Spirit sets you free, not the law, not the flesh, but the Spirit, produces fruit in you, to be like Him in how we serve one another. His freedom was not for Him. Our freedom is not for us. Imagine what God can do with a church, with a believer, growing in the fruit of the Spirit, using her freedom for her neighbor? Her coworker? Her enemy? I don’t care how much brokenness and concrete is poured over that kind of person, we know who is winning that war. May it be so of us.21.09.19

SERMON NOTES: https://bible.com/events/48755397Hitting the wall of faith has been described a dark night of the soul...the rigorous terrain of biblical faith...the struggles, the doubt, the difficulty…doubt, discouragement, heartache, ...As a child of God...why? Why is my transformation so painfully slow? Being a Christian for a long time, yet still struggling in my faith.. Groaning that I am often so far from where I long to be. Why does it feel sometimes like in my Christian life I am taking 1 step forward and two steps back? An seemingly unanswered prayer…when you feel like you can’t go on...when you feel abandoned by God and hopeless, you can trust that the spirit is interceding for you in the Dark Night of Souls.21.09.12

SERMON NOTES: https://bible.com/events/48755397While all of us like different amounts of alone time, none of us want to BE TRULY ALONE, Abandoned. Left Behind. Alone. This is how the disciples, too, are tempted to feel in our text this morning. It’s near the end of the book of John, and Jesus knows the crucifixion is coming, and he knows his time on earth is ending. He’s preparing his followers for the fact that He is leaving them. All they hear, in this moment, is Jesus is leaving them, and He keeps insisting that they will be ok. Why? Because He says, I’m leaving you a Friend. This is Jesus’ word for the Holy Spirit. A divine friend, counselor, comforter, a truth-teller. The idea here is that the Spirit will tell you the truth, even when you don’t want to hear it, because it will make you more like Jesus. That’s a true friend. Someone who wants to make you more like Jesus, because that is actually where happiness is found. It’s found on the other side of the truth and the other side of increasing obedience, not on the comfortable side.21.09.05

SERMON NOTES: https://bible.com/events/48755397If you have come to follow Jesus, you have been gifted by the Spirit for the common good, to use to serve others. We are all stewarding a gift he has given to us. We are uniquely gifted for a diverse unity. Having a right view of our gifts brings both humility and confidence to use them not only in our Christian community, but also to bless the world in our scattered places. We are not left alone, we are empowered by the Spirit. Are we more interested in watching the world as a great show, or stepping into the cast where every person has a vital role to play. It is vital to the Christian faith to recognize we are one body with many parts and we have a unique part to play that no one else can fill.21.08.29

Ezekiel is one of the prophets of Israel. God has called him to speak to His people on His behalf, and the people of Judah are basically at their lowest point ever. The Israelite people are in a valley of dry, dead bones. But the Spirit is still working. And God is reminding us that there is still hope in Him in a valley of dry bones. In the midst of a valley of dry bones, God says, Ezekiel, these bones? They can live. But this time, God is not so much dealing with a physically dead body that needs life. He is dealing with a spiritually dead body. A sinful, disobedient, broken people, incapable of saving themselves. The answer is not to make bad people into good people. It’s to make dead people into living people. To take dead hearts of stone and make them living, Spirit-filled, hearts of flesh.https://bible.com/events/48749018

We are made in the image of this God. We are spiritual! And not just us, but our world. And if you take just one thing with you today I hope it’s this: Our world is bursting with Spirit. From the first page to the last. Our world is bursting with Spirit. Haunted with meaning, transcendence, wonder. Enchanted with that which we cannot see. And we are made to be like Him. And if you want to understand YOU. We have to understand HIM. The Spirit of God breathing life into us, made in the image of God. Such intimacy and tenderness. Yes, to serve God, but in partnership with Him, with joy and mutuality. There is intimacy and love and dignity in the Garden unlike any other creation story. And the same Spirit who breathed order out of chaos, who breathed life into dust, that same Spirit, when we give our lives to Jesus, the Son, gives NEW life to you and to me. He draws us closer to the Garden, deeper into the presence of God, every single day. That is the hope of the gospel, of our good news. And it can be yours, too.https://bible.com/events/48746290

https://bible.com/events/48742173