Sermons About Growth
The Church (Part 4)
Adam presents the need to examine spiritual maturity closely. The church must be able to speak the truth in love and build itself up if it is ever to mature as a body.
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How Does Your Garden Grow?
How critical is it that we weed out all the evil in the world around us? So much of the political agenda of the evangelical church seems to be the opposition of evil. This is not all bad, but should it be our main agenda? Jesus seems to calm his disciples' fears about all the evil in the world by simply acknowledging that the weeds grow alongside the wheat. The prudent farmer doesn't worry about ripping out the weeds - but about growing healthy wheat. On the harvest day, the good and bad will be separated. In the meanwhile, our focus is to be on growing the good! Key Passage: Matthew 13:24-30, 47-50
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Living a Fruitful Life Cultivated by the Living Christ
Starting at verse nine in Colossians 1 we come to a continuation of Paul’s prayer for the Colossian church. It is here that Paul unpacks some remarkable expressions that give us an understanding of the nature of God. In the closing statement he prays “so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him." To please Him... That statement would rattle a lot of people’s understanding on the nature of God who is Often seen as consumed with wrath -- continually venting His displeasure with us. If you were to ask people, “Do you feel it is possible to truly please God?†most likely you would be met with some hesitation. But what do we see here? “To please Him†is one of the first expressions that Paul presents that reveals the nature of God. This is critical. If you do not believe that it is possible to live a life upon which God would look and take pleasure in and declare that He is pleased, how likely is it that you will pursue such a life? Your life would be reduced to nothing more than an exercise in futility.
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Roots
350 degrees, 4 turns, 16 minutes = medium well steak hot off the barbeque. Give me a nice hunk of beef or chiicken, a good barbeque, the right spices and I am laughing. I know how to barbeque. I know what to expect when the conditions are right and I know the quality of food that is produced - delicious. For fear that I am setting myself up for failure the next time you are over for a bite to eat, work with me on this illustration. Rick Warren in his book "Purpose Driven Life" says "God is not just the starting point of your life; He is the source of it. To discover your purpose in life you must turn to God's word, not the world's wisdom. You must build your life on eternal truths, not pop psychology, success-motivation or inspirational stories." To me, that statement describes perfectly, Transformissional Living. Being established on a foundation that gives you the confidence to live the life God has called you to. Authentic, passionate and fun. It should be a life that comes as naturally as what you know you can do well, like cooking steaks. Key Passage: Colossians 1:9b-10
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Christ & Your Life
When it comes to your life there are a lot of things that are important, but what's most essential? In this passage of scripture Jesus is with his disciples on the way to the garden of Gethsemane to pray, and then be arrested and taken to the cross. It is in this setting that we might expect Jesus to stress what is most important. So what does he do? He talks about their relationship to him. He used the image of a vine and its branches in order to illustrate what's most essential for his disciples and for us. In John 15:5 He said: I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
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Real Life & Real Change in the Real World
What does Jesus mean here when he talks about fruit and fruitfulness in life? When the Bible talks about fruit it is talking about deep positive changes in your life. In some places it also suggests the idea of a deep and positive influence on others for Christ. The best way to see this is to look at another passage, Galatians 5:22-23, which says; But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. In the vine and the branches Jesus gives us an image to tell us how those kinds of changes can come about in our lives.
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Beyond ABC's
In this series, we've talked about the "glory" for which we were created. We get a glimpse of it in the opening pages of Genesis and in the final Revelation of John. We were created to rule and to reign along side Jesus! But the path to greatness in the kingdom of God is a path of servant hood and perseverance. It's a path that many miss. As we dive into the most controversial text in Hebrews, I believe it is this inheritance of ruling with Christ that we are in danger of missing. Are you ready to reign? Key Passage: Hebrews 5:11 - 6:12
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