Netcast Church Podcast

<p>People don't need to hear our explanations, our excuses or our rebuttals. They don't need to hear our voice, they need to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And his voice is only heard through us.</p>

<p>We are a people that doesn't do well without explanations. We want explanations, we need explanations and we thrive off of explanations. And not just any explanations, but we need "GOOD" explanations. The problem with Christianity; if we're honest, is that so much of it is unexplainable.</p>

<p>If every religion, society and generation has known a right way of living, then why has no society has been able to do it? Because we're slaves. We think we are free but we are only free to choose what we will allow to enslave us.</p>

<p>Jesus says that it is necessary for the world to have its eyes enlightened to who he is, in order to experience life the way it was intended to be experienced.</p>

<p>All throughout the evangelical community, people feel the need to deem themselves worthy of Christ. As if more knowledge of Jesus, or good deeds for Jesus, or good church attendance to worship Jesus makes someone more worthy than what is granted in the gospel. The truth is, the only thing that makes us worthy of Christ, is the realization that we are unworthy of Him. That's why it is called grace!!</p>

<p>For us to effectively fulfill all that Christ is calling us to fulfill, we first have to be empowered by God the Holy Spirit. To do anything apart from the Holy Spirit, is to do nothing at all. Therefore, in order to be a church empowered for ministry, we have got to be people that pursue God the Holy Spirit.</p>

<p>There is no evidence in scripture that God has empowered "YOU" to live the Christian life. Rather, God desires to live the Christian life through you as you yield to His Spirit that has made his home inside you.</p>

<p>The Spirit of God, gifts and empowers the Church of God, to continue the ministry of the Son of God, all for the Glory of God. Therefore Christians are empowered, equipped and expected to serve God through the power God provides in the Spirit.</p>

<p>If we are commanded in scripture to be filled with the Spirit; then "What does it mean to be full of the Holy Spirit and how does someone become full of the Holy Spirit?"</p>

<p>If the primary role of the Holy Spirit is to "Communicate" with you personally, outside of reading His inspired words, how can we hear from Him?</p>

<p>Many of us, when we look at our lives and churches we don't see much that is "Super" or "Natural". Much of our lives and churches are instead, "Mediocre and Planned." And worse of all, we tend to be pretty content with that. But this is not how life was meant to be lived.</p>

<p>How do we know the truth about who Jesus really was behind all of the opinions and claims that others have made about him?</p>

<p>As Jesus would gather large crowds, he would often raise the bar of commitment to really separate His true disciples from his in-sincere followers.</p>

<p>If life is like dew on the ground, here one moment and gone the next, than what do we do? How do we establish a legacy?</p>

<p>What Christ did in dying on the cross is the central element of the Christian faith. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, God tells us that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but that God uses that foolishness to shame the wise. If something so central to our faith is foolishness to those who are perishing, Should we seek to alleviate the foolishness or should we embrace it?</p>

<p>Jesus tells us in John 6:27 "not to labor for food that will perish, but rather to labor for food that will last for eternity." So, what does it look like to labor for non-perishable food by starving our flesh and feeding our Spirit?</p>

<p>The clearest way we are able to see whether or not Jesus is our everything, is by observing how we act when Jesus is our only-thing. When all else fails and all you have is Jesus; what is your response? Is He enough?</p>

<p>What does it look like for a local body of believers to live in genuine community with one another?</p>

<p>Every Christian should be partnered with a local church. To not do so is to go directly against what the scriptures call us to.</p>

<p>What does a Gospel-Centered Worshipful Community look like? What did "Community" look like in the scriptures? What should it look like today? Acts 2:42-47 paints us a picture of Community in the Early Church. In this passage we learn that the Faith Community we see established by Christ himself, had some distinctive characteristics. The Church, from its birth, has been: devoted to the scriptures (v.42), Spirit-powered (v.43), unselfish in nature (vv. 44-45), unified as a body (v.46), and attractive to those outside the community (v.47). We as a community of faith must have these characteristics as a foundation for all we do.</p>

<p>The world doesn't need another organization with a slick marketing plan. The world needs to encounter more followers of Jesus who are full of faith and expectant to see God move powerfully. Church plants won't change the world, but worshipping communities will. Hear more about the kind of worshippers who shake the foundations of their nation!</p>

<p>Both the leadership of a local church and the body of the local church, have the same responsibility to the local church. We are called to generously give our Time, Talent and Treasure in order to advance God's kingdom.</p>

<p>The responsibility of church leadership is to feed, lead and protect the flock while also exercising oversight of the local church. By doing this well, the local church can become an equipping center that sends out local missionaries.</p>

<p>Netcast Church exists to bring glory to Jesus by cultivating gospel-centered worshipful communities. So, what are gospel-centered worshipful communities and how do we cultivate them?</p>

<p>Everything that God does, he does for His glorious name. Therefore as believers, we exist to bring glory to God by exalting Jesus. But how?</p>

<p>For the second consecutive year, Pastor Andy Thompson has been Netcast Church's guest speaker on Mother's Day. Pastor Andy is the founding pastor of World Overcomers Christian Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC. He has been a mentor to Pastor Matt and WOCC has been a financial partner of Netcast Church before Netcast first worship service was held on January 23, 2011.</p>

<p>Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live." It is not intellectualism that brings someone to Christianity. Christianity is when people recognize that without Christ, we are dead. However, if we hear the voice of Jesus and respond to it; we shall live.</p>

<p>Let's not pretend that Jesus didn't make some outrageous claims about himself. In this text He clearly says that he is the ONLY way to the Father and if we don't honor Him than we cannot honor the Father. What should our response be to a claim like that?</p>

<p>Just like the poverty cycle or addiction cycle, there is a cycle of belief. Belief in the Gospel, leads to obedience to Jesus, which leads to a satisfied life, which leads to greater belief.</p>

<p>Many Christians live with a truncated view of the Gospel. We see the gospel as the "door," the way in, the entrance point into God's kingdom. However, the Gospel is so much more! It is not just the door, but also the path we are to walk every day of the Christian life. It is not just the means of our salvation, but the means of our transformation. It is not just deliverance from sin's penalty, but release from sin's power. The Gospel is what makes us right with God (justification) and it is also what frees us to delight in God (sanctification). The Gospel changes everything.</p>

<p>The church does a great job of answering the "What" (Don't do this; do this.) but has historically struggled with answering the "Why". In this sermon we explore not just that Jesus rose from the dead, but why he rose from the dead.</p>

<p>Just like the women at the well, Jesus pursues us. All of humanity is just like this woman; an outcast with feeling of shameful and unworthiness. However Jesus comes to seek and save that which is lost by giving Himself to us an by doing so, fully satisfying our deepest longings.</p>

<p>Most of us have asked the questioned or been asked it ourselves: "why should Christians obey God or do anything godly if they already know they've been forgiven through Christ's death on the cross for all their sins?" Titus 2:11-14 answers this question by showing that the gospel saves us and also compels us to grow in godly obedience to <a href="http://God...not" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">God...not</a> to earn His favor, but because we have His favor through Christ.</p>

<p>Since God created everything, he also knows how to bring us the most pleasure and joy. Believe it or not, God wants to maximize our pleasure, therefore he tells us to be obedient.</p>

<p>The Bible says that we must be born again to inherit the kingdom of God. But is simply saying that we are born again, enough to actually grant us new birth?</p>

<p>With all of our faults and all of our sin; is it possible to be truly known and truly loved at the same time?</p>

<p>All of us come into Christianity with pre-suppositional thoughts on certain things. The challenge is to allow the scriptures to define our views and not our pre-suppositional thoughts. So, who is this biblical Jesus, what is biblical worship and what is a biblical church?</p>

<p>We all want to see Jesus do the miraculous in our life? However, we neglect the most simple truth to seeing it. Listen for his voice, and do whatever he tells you to do. "Don't be just a hearer of the word, be a doer of the word."</p>

<p>Everyone wants to be great. No one woke up this morning with this deep desire to be lame. So, what does it mean to be great and what does greatness look like as a Christian living in the 21st century?</p>

<p>The Greek word (Zo-ay) which means "life", isn't talking about being alive, its talking about the fullest expression of joy and blessing a life can obtain on earth. How do we obtain this life?</p>

<p>Mission is always most effective when it is birthed out of proper motivation. Our mission for making disciples should not be done out of unhealthy compulsion but rather out of an overflow of worship heart transformed by the gospel.</p>

<p>Often times we don't have all the answers for the skeptics who ask us questions. However, we learn in this passage that sometimes answers aren't what people actually need. Sometimes they need to just Come and See.</p>

<p>If we are called to make disciples of all the nations, how do we go about doing that? In John 13, Jesus gives us an example to follow. He models to us the importance of servant hood in disciple making.</p>

<p>When God saves a person, He turns them into something. And that something is not something that we originally signed up for. Jesus says, "Follow me and I'll make you....Fishers of Men!"</p>

<p>A clear God ordained vision is so important to seek because it doesn't just define what you'll be doing in your future, but it also will define your direction today.</p>

<p>There's a sense in which we live between two worlds. Christ's incarnational mission- His taking on flesh, dwelling among us, dying for the forgiveness of our sins, and his resurrection to new life to secure the same for us- all that Christ did ushered in a new age. He established his Kingdom here on earth, but then let us know that more restoration would come. He made very clear that one day, He'll return to set everything right. Spiritually, it is finished- our debt has been paid and new life is ours through Christ. Physically, we live in a broken, sin-sick world. There is for now an "already/not yet" nature to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. How should we live in this world. How should we approach our attitude toward where God has us for now? Jeremiah 29 speaks directly to this issue. The Israelites had been taken captive and forced to leave their homes in Judea to live in Babylon. They were in exile. God gives his people specific directives in how to live while in exile. You may not like where you live, your job situation, etc... but it is no surprise to God that you're there. He's allowed you (or even led you) to be where you are for a reason. Rather than blaming the situation or even God, God wants us to transform the situation. God is so serious about us seeking the prosperity of the community we live in, He makes clear in verse 7 that our peace and prosperity is tied to that of our community.</p>

<p>Sabbath is more than not working one day a week. Sabbath is actually trusting Jesus with the provision of your future so that you will grow in faithfulness and worship.</p>

<p>Forgiveness is not forgetting. Forgiveness is remembering clearly how we have been offended and in light of Gods grace towards us in Christ, choosing to extend that same grace to others.</p>

<p>The Christian faith is one of risk. If a person is going to walk on water, they first need to get out of the boat. What does it look like for you to risk everything to walk on water?</p>