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The Peoples Church Sermons.
104 Episodes
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The Heart of Worship 1 of 6: What should you do if you find that your worship is not like Abel’s in some area or is more like Cain’s in certain ways? Do you want to stay that way, or do you want to change by responding to God? How do we bring about change in these areas of our lives? "When God doesn’t bestow His favor – Cain’s reaction isn’t one of conforming to God’s desires – but actually a temper tantrum and a pity party! Cain’s offering to God simply revealed what was in his heart from the start. He doesn’t want to conform his life to God – he wants God to conform his life to him!"
When our worship isn’t rooted in God – other forces move in as we begin to worship false gods – and we try to soothe ourselves, by making counterfeit gods that in some ways can provide respite. But (they) cannot provide resolution to what’s happening deep inside." If we don’t worship God, we will worship other things. But this worship will create restlessness.
How does Noah’s life exemplify this quote from Brett’s sermon: "It’s better to be a friend of God and rejected by the world – than be a friend of the world and rejected by God. Even if it seems like the whole world is walking one way – it doesn’t mean you should follow!"
Following the formation of a formal altar with the establishment of the Tabernacle and Temple, the altar becomes a place of: worship, encounter, communion as well as atonement (through offerings for sin), and renewed commitment (as practiced by Joshua). …But then it became a place of compromise.
Eventually the situation became, in the time of the Kings, to be like this: (1 Kings 18:30) Then Elijah said to all the people,
Jesus brings us into a new kingdom – a new nation – a new family – and a new identity! He grafts us into the activity of God and makes us into a new creation that brings blessing to the nations! And that new family we become a part of is composed of all people who worship Him!" Is Jesus asking you to Let Go of something? How can you go about doing that? How does someone turn their eyes from the thing in their life/mind and give it over to God?
This story is one of the most difficult in the whole Bible for some people to reconcile with their understanding of God and how he interacts with people. But it is here that we get some of our first glimpses into how God wants us to define a heart of worship. "What God was teaching us in this passage – is that He was going to provide a substitute sacrifice – that wouldn’t just take the place of Isaac – but ONE that would be a substitute for all of humanity!... Just as God didn’t require Abraham to make the sacrifice – He doesn’t require us to make the sacrifice – He is the ONE who provides for our salvation!"
“You see – fear sets in when we lose sight of the Shepherd – but when we can see Him clearly – we can sit at the table in the presence of our enemies – and overcome our fear – because we know that He is with us!” Are there situations in your life where you feel ‘in a valley’ or in the presence of an enemy? Is there fear or anxiety or worry as an undercurrent in your life, or that pops up in your life?
The prophetic promise is given at a time
when the faith of God’s people is failing and on the fringes! When the light is dim – and the hope of a future is fragile! When disobedience and darkness is at an all-time high!
That’s when God drives a stake in the ground and establishes His prophetic promises!
Not when things are good, and righteousness is thriving among the people – but when things are horrible, and the world is in chaos!
It is during calamity that God promises to come to them and deliver them!... During the worst of times – God secures His promise to a people who deserve destruction!
Sometimes the thing getting in the way of us knowing Jesus isn’t a lack of truth – but rather the lies about God that we are holding onto!" Could there be areas of your life where you have heard the truth – been taught God’s truth, but you are choosing to be deaf to it? You might be not listening, causing the LIFE which Jesus has to offer to be compromised?
Amos 1 of 8: Today – we will look at what happened prior to the book of Amos – and see how it set the table for what was happening in his time.
And then we will look at the Church prior to the period of Colonization – and see how it set the table for what was happening during that period of Church history. Because the first thing we learn from our introduction to Amos –
Sin will keep you from this book – and this book will keep you from Sin!
True worship of God should always lead to justice, righteousness, and loving our neighbour!
Their behaviour is demonstrating that they are no longer worshipping God!"" Amos starts with Scripture! He takes them back to God’s word! You see, true worship of God is always rooted in Scripture! And true worship of God should always lead to justice, righteousness, and loving our neighbour!
Brett reminds us that the Bible calls us to examine our ideas: Do you know the Bible well enough to understand what strongholds have gripped your mind? How do you view God’s word?
Some of us treat it like a blunted object – but the word of God is a sharp double-edged sword.
If you are interacting with it properly – it can cut to the core of your life!!!
But some of you are approaching it in a flawed way and therefore getting nothing out of it!
We are bombarded with the idea and the pursuit of happiness through media, advertising, novels, self-help books and podcasts, ideologies and philosophies thrust upon us by social media… Brett calls it “the gospel of Happiness.” Why does the world hold up ‘happiness’ as the ultimate state to attain? Where do you hear it most? Are you aware that you are hearing it? How have you experienced ‘happiness’ in your life?
The Word “lament” is becoming more popular and allows us to explore a way to unload and upload the heaviness and concerns of our heart to God. Amos’ name actually means Burden-bearer! "The danger is – that we are constantly redefining good and evil in order to justify why it’s okay to harm others. What makes us able to do this to other human beings? One of the products of the Fall – was the tendency to ‘other’ people who are different than us."
The pairing of justice and righteousness (Mishpat & Tsedekah) happens repeatedly in Amos. "Biblical Justice is rooted in [God’s] righteousness! It’s not just a pursuit of justice that is untethered! But rather one that is anchored in His righteous moral character! Martin Luther King Jr. pursued justice in a way that reflected the righteousness of God! And when God’s righteousness confronts injustice – it reflects and reveals just how utterly unjust the oppressor is!" The pairing of justice and righteousness (Mishpat & Tsedekah) happens repeatedly in Amos.
On Easter Sunday, we gathered together to celebrate Jesus, the resurrected King! Pastor Brett shared with us that,
""On Good Friday they put on Him a crown of thorns!
But on Easter Sunday He rose triumphant wearing a crown of gold!!
On Friday they mocked Him in a purple robe!
On Sunday He is wrapped in gold!
On Friday – the soldiers ridiculed Him, spit on Him and beat Him!
On Sunday – they trembled and fell dead before Him!
On Friday – they gave Him the title King of the Jews!
On Sunday He demonstrated that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
He is the King over death and disease!
The King over sin and the grave!
The King before which every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord of all!
Brett points out that God’s laws given through Moses – and specifically Leviticus – gives repeated warning to His people if they turn from Him and begin to misrepresent Him with sin. There will be consequence. "When we are not experiencing injustice firsthand – we can become anesthetized to its impact.
When “I’m” not going through something – I can become complacent to it – and overlook it – because the status quo is working in my favor. …That’s just ‘human nature’!
But let’s remember – ‘human nature’ is also ‘sinful nature’! It’s not the spirit of Christ!
The final prophecy in Amos provides us with one of the most important lessons necessary for cross-cultural ministry and global mission work. It calls us to careful consideration of what is Gospel – and what is cultural. It calls us to discern God’s activity among cultural groups – and the missional discernment of how the Spirit is reflecting the image and likeness of God through someone’s cultural heritage. Where does the Gospel affirm the culture – and where does the Gospels challenge the culture.
The disciples went from arguing about power, popularity, and position, to having Jesus teach them about humbly serving, to watching the suffering and death of Jesus. As a result, Brett said, "they changed – they learned – they were different after that day! They repented… They learned that lesson – through failure! Their confidence that was misplaced – their desire for greatness that was focused on the wrong areas – changed that day!" Is there a change needed in your life regarding serving others for God’s sake – as a form of worship to Him?
Peter uses two illustrations in his sermon to emphasize his point. One was the mannequin, and the other was basketball. From these we explored the idea of a Body being made up of many essential but different parts and the idea of actively contributing to a team effort. What can we do to contribute as participating members of the Body?
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