Sermons About Curse
Sin in the City
Sin destroys God's plan and purposes for the City. But Christ came to overturn the curse of sin into a blessing. He works in us to put our sin to death, and through us to stop the spread of sin in the church & City.
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In, But Not of, the City
Revival produces a renewed desire for obedience that flows out of faith and love. It produces a distinctive lifestyle in the city which does not follow the mold of the city. Jesus works thru this holy community to build the living temple & New Jerusalem.
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Love, Mercy, Justice Part 9 - a message on giving
One of the lessons that should be learned from the economic crisis of 2008 is that the line between those in financial need and those that are not is pretty blurry. As home after home are foreclosed on, it is time to be honest with ourselves. Just because a person can afford to live in $300,000 home, does not mean that they are either doing well financially or that they have made good financial decisions. In fact, the person living in a $500 a month apartment struggling to make ends meet might actually be better off financially than many in upscale suburban neighborhoods. The main difference is that the folks in the nice communities get to walk the fine line of financial ruin in nicer accommodations. Unfortunately, it is easy to dismiss folks who file for bankruptcy or are mired in credit card debt because the temptation is to think they are just getting what they deserved. The thought, "If they had made smart decisions with their money, they wouldn't be in this mess," is easy to think. There is a sense of justice in many people's thoughts and speech that says, "Well, that's what you get if you aren't smart with your money." Now, our temptation if we are no where close to losing our house and if we don't have any credit card debt (or if we are even some where in between) is to look down on folks who make poor financial decisions. And I would say if that is the case, we need to be very careful of falling into the sin of self-righteousness. Yes, we need to obey and be fiscally responsible, but God always judges us on the heart behind our obedience. So, even though we are doing fine financially, we need to ask the question, "What is the heart motive?" Are you financially conservative and responsible because you want to be generous towards God and His kingdom or is financial conservatism just the smartest way to live the lifestyle that you want to live and the added bonus is getting to feel spiritually AND financially superior?
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Galatians 3.10-14: Divine Curse and Blessing
How do you live your everyday life? Whose reliance are you leaning on through the activities or your day? What about when it comes to your job? What about your marriage? The answer reveals whether we live under the blessing of God or under the curse of God. Today we will look at what Paul says in the book of Galatians as he addresses the terror of that which brings divine curse and the comfort of that which brings one under divine blessing.
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The Purpose of God's Remnant - Love, Mercy, and Justice Part 5
When I was in college, I didn't have a standard meal plan where you could just go to the college cafeteria and eat. I just couldn't afford one, so I made it through 4 years in the dorm room by cooking all my meals in a toaster oven and a microwave. There was a particular semester, when classes were over, that I was flat out of money. I had $.27 in my bank account and the cupboard or the dorm fridge, if you will, was bare. Since I was an RA in the dorm, I had to stay a couple of days after the semester ended to wrap things up. I was extremely curious as to how I was going to eat. Well as one my residents was leaving, he wished me an enjoyable break and said he would see me next semester. A few minutes late he walked back and said, "Hey I've got 4-5 meals left on this meal card, do you want it?" A similar story happened when Amy and I were engaged. We had absolutely no money for a honeymoon just weeks before the wedding, and we did not know what we were going to do. I got a phone call one night as we were making last minute wedding plans. It was from an insurance adjuster. You see, I had been a passenger in a head on collision about 6 months prior, and the insurance adjuster wanted to know how I was feeling. After a brief conversation, he wanted to know if $700 was adequate for the suffering I had incurred in the wreck. I thought to myself, "$700 is adequate for a honeymoom at the beach." I imagine we all have had those situations where you had a bill and you just did not know how you were going to pay for it. And then, either a friend, or a spouse, or your mom and dad just happened to be setting some money aside in case something like this happened. A good friend of mine calls that J.I.T. – Just in time. Once again this week, I asked for the congregation's help, and they gave me some examples of similar experiences. We came up with some great stories. Let me give you a few examples. · We had one couple who told me about when they first got engaged. One partner brought in some bills and debt to the relationship. It just so happened that her fiancé happened to have the exact amount tucked away for a rainy day and was able to pay the bills. · Another one of our folks talked about being stuck with a huge car payment and all of a sudden getting a new job that exactly covered the payment. Well, the reason I tell these stories is because the idea of sticking aside a little money for a rainy day or saving some money just in case you have an emergency in similar to the idea in scripture called "a remnant" – a remnant is something that is saved for a later time with a specific purpose. We see two explanations of who or what a remnant is in scripture. · Romans 11:5 speaks of God saving a remnant of Jewish people. Through out the biblical days and in the present, the majority Jewish people do not believe in Jesus Christ, but God has promised to specifically choose a remnant of Jewish to believe by His grace and not their by their own doing. But that is not the only description of a remnant in scripture. · Acts 15:17 also describes any that would believe in Jesus from the Gentiles as a remnant. Essentially, if you believe in Jesus you are a remnant chosen out of the world to believe in Christ. This is very important to remember as we look at these next few verses in Micah because the application of the promises found there meant something specifically to the people that first heard it and also something very specific to us. So let’s look at those promises and seek to understand how they apply to them and to us.
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Why the Cross?
Why was Jesus on the cross? Is it because of God's great love, or is it because of our great need?
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Enjoy Your Life
The Teacher in Ecclesiastes calls his readers to enjoy life and God' s blessings in the face of suffering and the inevitability of death.
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Speak to the mountain
Summary: Our words are what we use to attack the enemy. When we say what God says to our enemies, it’s like shooting bullets at them. When we talk the problem, it’s like throwing cookies at them. Our words are the bullet, our mouth is the gun, but love is the firing pin. We have got to get God’s word in our mouth and fire at the enemy that’s standing in our way. We have to speak to the mountain. Don’t ask God to do anything about it, stop crying about it. Stop talking about how big it is, stop telling everyone you meet that will listen to you how big it is, and speak to it. Command it to go!
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We Are Loved
This is our final sermon in our series of messages from Malachi. This week, we tie up some loose ends with both Malachi AND the Old Testament.
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