New Hope Christian Fellowship Sermons
Web Site: New Hope Christian Fellowship
Total Sermons: 47
Total Amens: 2
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To Be Made New
To Be Made New A whole new life. Isn’t that appealing? Doesn’t a new life sound great? You know, extreme makeover for a house? Extreme makeover for a person? New make up? New do? I don’t mean this in a bad sense. I don’t want to speak negatively about our present blessings. I want to be grateful. We have a lot for which to be thankful. And we are. But we also want something better. Isn’t that what America is all about? As parents, we hope to make sure our children and grand children have a better life. As good citizens, we try to preserve the future for others by ensuring their freedom, protection and prosperity. So – every once in a while – we vote for the other political party. We throw out the old bums so we can put in the new bums. All to make things better. To get better. To be better. On a personal level, that’s why we go on diets. Or go the gym. Or try to actually live on a budget. Make sacrifices now -- to make better things later. Paul knew about this. He knew all about. In today’s passage, he tells what it is all about. And why we should do it. Last week, it was how. Today, it’s why.
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The Christian Walk
So far, in this letter to the Ephesians, Paul has explained what God has done. The first three chapters are all about God’s actions. What they were. What they mean. Now in chapter four, Paul shifts gears. He has told the believers what God has done. Now he tells believers what they should do. There is unity to be maintained. There are attitudes to be expressed. There are seven unities to be kept. There are functions to be done. The goal is to build a healthy, growing church. If that’s what we want, then we must listen and learn. Our church will never grow – will never mature -- unless we learn these truths and act upon them. Do we really want this church to grow? Is that what you want? Do you want Christian maturity, not only for yourself but for all of us? Yes? Good. Because Paul is showing us the path. This is what you have to think and do. And this is why you have to think and do it.
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A Prayer For Understanding
What is a great prayer? Wouldn’t we all want to pray one like that? You know, like when you read a book about “The Greatest Prayers in the Bible?†A prayer that is in line with the will of God. And is for the glory of God. The kind of prayer that a living, loving God would joyfully answer. Ephesians 3:14-21 is a prayer like that. A great, great prayer. Now, before we read it, let’s remember that the first 13 verses of Chapter 3 were like a parenthesis, an interruption. Paul was talking about some things. He was actually starting to pray about them in verse one. He said, “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles…†I’m sure he was going to go right into his prayer. “I kneel before the Father.†Which is the start of verse 14. In order to understand why Paul is praying this prayer, we have to look back to Chapter 2. What was that all about? Well, we were all dead in our sins and God made us alive in Christ. God worked all this in us so that we could do good works for Him. We were once far away from God and His people, but God has brought us close in Christ. In fact, this is such the case that there are longer Jews and Gentiles, but only one group – Christians, the Body of Christ. Verse 21-22 of Chapter two sums it all up. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Because of all that, Paul prays. Because of all that God has done. Now, let’s listen to the prayer.
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Our Supernatural Calling
Would you die for someone? I mean, really. If someone were to break into your home and threaten to kill your spouse or children, would you be willing to die to protect them? I think so. I hope so. What if there was a little baby in a diaper, for some reason crawling out on Route 101, right in the middle of the road. Would you stop immediately, jump out of your car and run through traffic to save the baby? Wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t we all? I think so. I hope so. But do we all think that way when it comes to spiritual things? Would you be willing to put yourself in harm’s way for an unbelieving person? Someone who one day will not only die physically, but also die eternally? Would you be willing to do everything you could to save that person, even if it meant your death? Paul thought that. Paul did that. That was exactly why he was in prison, awaiting trial by Caesar. There he was. Considering his life. His actions. His decisions. Why had he given up so much for the Gospel? Why did he? Why should we?
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The Body of Christ
Last week, we studied Paul’s message in Ephesians 2. That we were all sinners. That we were saved through faith in Christ. And that we all now instructed to do the good works that God has planned in advance for us to do. Those three things. Now, we come to the word “therefore.†Verse 11 of Chapter two of Ephesians. And you’ll remember a cardinal rule in Bible study. Whenever you come to the word “therefore,†ask yourself the question, “What is it there for?†So. Remember the passage from last week. Now consider the passage for today. And it starts. Ephesians 2:11-22. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men) -- remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Therefore, because we were lost. Because we were saved. Because we must serve. Therefore, the passage tells us to remember who we were. Then, remember who we are. Then remember what it means. Ephesians 2:11-22 tells us why Jesus came into world. Not only to break down the barrier between man and God. But also to break down the barriers between man and man. Between group and group. To bring together -- for himself -- a people from every tribe and language and nation. To create a unity out of the great diversity of humanity. To make them into one people. Class, wealth, gender, heritage – all these can divide us in this world. But they shouldn’t any more. Jesus destroyed those barriers. He enables us to love each other. With His love. Remember when Paul started the letter to the Ephesians with one glorious sentence -- praising God for the blessings we have in Christ? He then prayed that, having those blessings, we also would know:
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We Are Lovingly Saved
This morning I want to try to remove some misunderstandings about Christianity. Especially today, there are all sorts of mistaken ideas. So Paul clears it all up in Ephesians two. Basically, he tells us that there are three things. Here they are. Number one. An appalling diagnosis about the human condition. Number two. An exceptional solution provided by God. And number three. A specific purpose for us.
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Prayer For Self Image
A Prayer for Your Self Image Please turn to the first chapter of Ephesians. Everyone laughed at Sarah Palin when she said Alaskans could see Russia. Actually see Russia from the state of Alaska. They laughed. But it was true. They can. Everyone was amazed when astronauts told us that – from space -- they could see Chicago, St. Louis and Denver at the same time. The interstate highway system. The lights of a hundred cities at night. People were amazed. But the astronauts could see it all. I’ve told you before about when Diane and I climbed Mount Pisgah in North Carolina. In the Appalachians. Near where our friends live, Tim and Cookie Feid. Mount Pisgah got its name from the Bible, Deuteronomy 3:27. The Lord ordered Moses to the top of Mount Pisgah and told him to look across the Jordan River in all directions, thus revealing the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel. From Mount Pisgah in North Carolina – on a clear day -- I think you can see four or five states at the same time. The Mountain is that high. The view is that long. To me, that calls to mind God's perspective -- a view that by comparison dwarfs anything we could imagine. In Zechariah 4:10, the Bible talks about the "the eyes of the LORD, which range throughout the earth." Can you imagine how liberating would it be to see all of life from God's perspective?
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The Promised Life
We’re going to start the New Year with a study of Ephesians. It’s an interesting, exciting book – full of assurance and promise. There’s something else that’s interesting. Unlike other letters he wrote, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians mentions no error or misconduct that needs to be addressed. His purpose in writing was to expand the horizons of believers. So they could understand the dimensions of God’s purpose. Understand the grace and power that God provides. And appreciate the high goals that God has set for the church. I think you’ll see right away that these are awesome topics. They are big themes that answer big questions. What kind of Christian do you want to be? Ephesians will tell you. What kind of church do we want to be? Again, Ephesians has the answers. It’s a worthy study. And the timing couldn’t be better for us, starting a new year and just establishing our identity. Paul established the church at Ephesus during one of his later missionary journeys. Make a note to read about it in Acts 19. Paul literally caused a riot. A citywide riot. There was an entire stadium filled with people screaming and chanting against him. It’s hard to believe that a church got started after all that. But it did. And it was a good one.
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The Future of Jesus
All through this sermon series on Jesus, we’ve been concentrating on His humility, His weakness, His poverty. The intellectual problem we face is obvious. Messiahs aren’t supposed to be poor. They are supposed to be powerful, proud and majestic. Of course, Jesus didn’t stay in the manger. He gave up His kingly glory to come to earth. We know that. But now He sits at the right hand of God, waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. When that happens. When the Lord Himself returns. We will see Jesus in a whole new light. We will see Him as King of the earth. That’s the future of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the King! Open your Bibles please to Isaiah 32:1-8. See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The mind of the rash will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear. No longer will the fool be called noble nor the scoundrel be highly respected. For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil: He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the Lord; the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water. The scoundrel’s methods are wicked, he makes up evil schemes to destroy the poor with lies, even when the plea of the needy is just. But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands. The King – what does it mean to have a king? What is it like? This is literally foreign to us here in America. After all, our nation was founded on distrust of royalty. Our declaration of independence was spoken against an English King and his government.
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The Awful and the Awesome
Fair warning. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. There is teaching. And then there is preaching. They are not the same. Teaching aims at the head. It is informational. Preaching aims at the heart. It is transformational. This morning, I will be preaching. They don’t call us preachers for nothing. If ever there was a passage that screams out for preaching, it is the one before us this morning. Matthew 2:13-23. Prepare to confront pure evil. And prepare to be inspired and reassured by the manner is which God deals with it. Matthew 2:13-23. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
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