Renew EPC: Sermons

FOLLOWERS OF JESUS MUST WAKE UP FROM SPIRITUAL DISTRACTION, PUT ON CHRIST, AND STAY FOCUSED ON WHAT IS ETERNALLY IMPORTANT. Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. What does “spiritual sleep” look like in our modern world? What causes people to drift into it? 2. Paul says, “You know the time.” What’s the difference between chronos (clock time) and kairos (God’s moment)? How does that truth change how you view your days? 3. When Paul says to “put on the armor of light,” what might that look like in your daily life this week? 4. What “old garments” (habits, attitudes, or patterns) are hardest for you to take off? What first step could help you “cast them off”? 5. Which of the Spirit’s works—convicting, empowering, reminding, or assuring—do you most need right now? 6. Paul warns against “making provision for the flesh.” What are practical ways to remove opportunities for sin and protect spiritual focus? 7. How can you stay alert and intentional in your walk with Christ—so that you live as a “child of the day” rather than one “asleep in the night”?

Baptism is more than just about the beginning, but an ongoing grace to disciples throughout their life. Outline: How baptism grounds us in our identity as Christians: 1.Baptism grounds us in Christ’s forgiveness. 2.Baptism grounds us in the assurance of faith alone 3.Baptism grounds us in God’s family Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. What are some ways our modern world offers us alternative identities to the one given us in the gospel? How do they make themselves appealing or persuasive? 2. When Simba goes to the wilderness he drops his identity as a kingly lion for a care-free scavenger. Where have you struggled between what the world says you should be and what God, in his gospel, says you are (consider: parenting, relationships, success, social status, education, beauty etc.) What were some of the effects this struggle had on your sense of identity? 3. Baptism serves to remind us of our identity in Christ, namely that we are forgiven, saved by faith alone, and members of God’s family. Which of these three identity markers speaks to you most reassuringly today and why? 4. How can remembering you have been cleaned by the blood of Christ give you strength to fight temptation to sin? 5. What is a way you can use your baptism to battle doubts that arise in your faith? 6. Read Hebrews 10:25. How have you personally experienced the family of God encouraging your faith?

The gospel is the power to deliver the world from darkness. Outline: 1. The gospel brings all people dignity 2. The gospel gathers all people together 3. The gospel offers all people hope Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Tom Holland’s book Dominion retells the world changing power of Christianity through the centuries. How is knowing this story good for your faith and your witness? 2. Do you have a story of the gospel bringing light into the darkness? How is your testimony a story of the light of Christ destroying darkness? 3. Our society has replaced inherent dignity in the image of God with personhood theory. Pearcy defines this: “To be biologically human is a scientific fact. But to be a person is an ethical concept, defined by what we value.” Why is this a dangerous method for establishing the dignity of a human being? 4. What is an example of dehumanization you see in our world today? What would it look like to apply the truth of Colossians 3:11 to this darkness? 5. Read Galatians 2:11-14. How was Peter’s conduct “not in step with the truth of the gospel?” Why is the gospel able to unite people that the world divides? 6. The Great Commission requires us to cross lines of division between us and others. Share an example of where the gospel has pushed you through a dividing line. 7. Read 1 Peter 2:9 – How can you take the light of Christ into the darkness around you? Who can you proclaim the excellencies of Christ too?

To make disciples we must heed the command to "go." Outline: What does 'Go' require? 1. Go requires obedience 2. Go requires intentionality 3. Go requires evangelism Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. What are some ways the church can be “securing the beachhead” instead of advancing the gospel? What are some ways we can be doing this in our own lives? 2. Why is it so important to see the gospel indicatives (what has been done) being the ground of gospel imperatives (what we are commanded to do)? What is some potential bad fruit of getting this reversed? 3. Read Acts 17:26-27: What are some places you have been sovereignly placed that you can bring the gospel to? 4. Which part of the acronym PLACES do you feel strongest in? Share an example from your life. 5. Which part of PLACES most needs development for you? What might be a next step toward strengthening this area of intentionality? 6. Imagine someone shares with you they are feeling a lot of anxiety trying to be a good parent or a good student or making a team. How might you connect to this person and how might you introduce them to the three circles? 7. To the person in the previous question, how might you describe their situation as belonging to the brokenness of the world but also as a pointer to the gospel as the answer? 

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? Outline: Four marks of a disciple of Jesus. 1. A disciple is one who knows Jesus 2. A disciple is one who knows themselves through Jesus 3. A disciple is one who lives for Jesus 4. A disciple is one who makes disciples of Jesus Questions for Personal Reflection 1. If you could ask one question of Jesus to know him better today, what would you ask? 2. Imagine you were having a conversation with someone who thinks you can be a believer in Jesus without being a disciple. How would you show this person that to be a believer is to be a disciple? 3. Share an example of how your identity as a Christian works itself out in (pick one) your employment, marriage, parenting, relationships, schoolwork, activities/sports, etc. How might you make your Christian identity more controlling in one or more of these areas of your life? 4. Read Galatians 5:1: Think of something you are prone to follow/pursue (examples: dreams, success, approval, security, an ideology, a political party, a reputation, an interest/hobby etc.) in what ways have you noticed this pursuit increasing its control over you? How could the reality that Christ is your Lord set you free from this control? 5. As you consider the Christian vocation to be a disciple maker, where do you sense God is giving you an opportunity to participate in the work of making disciples?

Because Christ has all authority we have all assurance that our life is secure and His mission will not fail. Outline: How Christ’s authority gives us a firm foundation in our world: 1.Christ’s authority is our allegiance. 2. Christ authority is our authorization 3.Christ’s authority is our assurance Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. How has the world felt out of control and dangerous to you? How has your heart been reacting to these feelings of uncertainty and turmoil? 2. Read Matthew 10:32-33. Do you think ‘acknowledge’ and ‘deny’ only refer to words or are actions also included? What are some ways we can acknowledge Christ in our workplace, school, or in the public sphere? 3. We can use our feelings, reason, experience to replace Christ’s authority with what is right in our own eyes. Where have you seen Christ’s authority usurped by feelings, reason, or experience? Can you think of an instance where you have done this yourself? 4. “We must earn the right to be heard” is a popular sentiment when it comes to evangelism. Do you agree with it? Are there any dangers of this statement undermining Christ’s authority in our lives? 5. Have you experienced spaces that try to deny your right to share Jesus? How do you continue being a witness in these spaces? Are there ways you could increase your witness? 6. How does Jesus’ authority give you assurance in your salvation? 7. How does Jesus victory over sin, death, and the devil give you real world strength to face resistance and/or rejection for your faith? What can you do to give this truth more controlling influence in your daily life? 8. Pray for one another to find their firm foundation in Christ’s ultimate and unrestricted authority over our lives and the world we live in.

Your victory is in Christ and Christ’s victory is guaranteed. Outline: Three promises to make us confident in the victory of God’s Kingdom: God’s kingdom has been decreed (vv. 20-21) God’s kingdom will succeed (v. 22) God’s kingdom is guaranteed (v. 23) Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. The image of a candle in the wind was used to describe the experience of being in a weak moment as followers of God either with respect to culture or with respect to individual struggles. In what ways can you relate to this imagery in your faith? 2. Andrew Murray stated: “Just as the farmer cannot gather the fruit until it is ripe, God knows when we are spiritually ready to reap the blessing for our greatest profit and His glory.” Do you have an experience where God’s answer to you seemed delayed, but when it came, its delay made good sense to you? How can such knowledge help you wait for the coming of the Kingdom? 3. Though the final shaking is still future, we have seen many kingdoms rise and fall, while the church remains. How might you use this historical reality to offer confidence to a believer who is having doubts that God’s kingdom is really coming? 4. Read Hebrews 12:26-28. What are some ways we can self-examine our lives for areas that will crumble when God shakes the world? How can we grow our assurance that we are firmly planted upon the gospel? 5. Read Haggai 2:23 and Matthew 1:12. How could you use these verses to show an unbeliever that God’s word is true and reliable? 6. The message of Zerubbabel is that God’s mercy can take us from whatever mess we fall into and place us securely in His Kingdom. Where is this specifically good news for you this week?

Burn your boats and set your path fully toward the life God blesses. Outline: What life does God bless? 1. God blesses the life that seeks His presence (vv. 10-14) 2. God blesses the life that fears His discipline (vv. 15-17) 3. God blesses the life that serves His mission (vv. 18-19) Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Imagine you were a soldier in the army whose general just burned all the boats, how would that affect the way you saw the battle in front of you? 2. Read Isaiah 29:13. How were the people in Haggai’s day worshipping but without their hearts near God? What are some ways we do the same? 3. How have you dealt with the “consumer” spirit in your worship? 4. Read Psalm 84:1-5 slowly. Share a word or phrase that catches your ear? How does this passage illustrate worship as relational? 5. Where has secularism complicated your obedience to Jesus? (consider the areas of money, employment, relationships, parenting, politics, entertainment, and others.). 6. Read Proverbs 28:14. How does fearing the LORD bless us? How might this verse apply to your answer to the previous question? 7. Where are you taking the boats of retreat instead of obeying the command to make disciples? How can you burn those boats?

How can we know our faithfulness isn’t futile? Outline: Obedience is never futile because... 1. God works through it (vv. 4-5) 2. God never fails (vv. 6-8) 3. God uses it to great ends (v. 9) Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. The Pastor shared the impact of his grandma’s faithfulness through her days of small things. Who is someone whose routine obedience has impacted you significantly? 2. Where are you feeling in the “days of small things?” What is hardest for you about them? 3. Read Matthew 10:42 – How is God’s perspective different toward our uneventful obedience? How can you use this verse to encourage you specifically in your days of small things? 4. Why is knowing God’s sovereignty so important for giving us confidence and resolve in our day-to-day obedience? 5. Haggai teaches that God is sovereign because He is the one who (1) acts when He wants and (2) does all He wants. In the days of small things which do you struggle trusting more: God’s timing or God’s doing? What can you do to grow in faith in this area? 6. Read Ephesians 2:17-22. How might this passage suggest the greater fulfillment of God’s promise in Haggai 2:9? How can this truth motivate us in the daily task of making disciples?

Trust in Christ and do the next thing. Outline: Four encouragements God gives us in the J-curve valley of obedience 1. God recognizes our struggles (vv. 1-3) 2. God reinforces us with His steadfastness (v. 5) 3. God refocuses our gaze upon His future (v. 6-9). 4. God returns us to the work (v. 4) Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Share a story of something new/a big change you attempted. How did you get through the ‘valley of death’? 2. Which of the four encouragements God gives amidst hard obedience was most helpful to you today? Share why? 3. Read Matthew 12:20 – where have you experienced being a broken reed or a smoldering wick in your faith? How did God care for you in that time? 4. Andrew Murray states “What our faith needs is—more of God.” What are some ways we can develop a greater God-consciousness in our lives? How are you pursuing greater dependence on God? 5. Recall the story of the three brick layers: the first saw his work as laying bricks, the second as building a wall, the third as building a cathedral. What are some verses we can meditate upon to develop a cathedral-builder mindset in our daily obedience? 6. As you think about an area of hard obedience in your life – what is the next thing you need to do? 7. What is the next thing you need to do in obedience to the command “go and make disciples”? 8. Pray to receive God’s encouragement in your obedience and to be strengthened and resolved to do the next thing.

Is the Giver is more important to me than the gifts? Outline: Jesus' story shows us 3 major lessons about money: 1) The things of this world - like money - do not last. 2) The things of this world - like money - cannot go with us. 3) The things of this world - like money - distract us from what really matters. Personal Reflection Questions: 1. What are somethings that you don't mind your kids, relatives, or close friends OVER-hearing you talk to someone else about (or perhaps watching the way you live from up close)? Are there topics or aspects of life for which this would be effective? 2. Picture taking your family or a group of friends on a field trip to the dump. What might you see there that you once put your hopes and joy into but is now totally worthless? 3. Re-read Matthew 6:19-20. Where are you currently laying up treasure in your life that moths can eat, rust can destroy, or thieves can steal? 4. Take a little time to dream. In a perfect world, how could you be investing more fully in the Kingdom of God? What are some real-life tangible ways you would like to do this more? 5. How does the truth of the Gospel free us to be rich toward God and accomplish the things you dreamed of doing in Question 4? 6. Pray that God would help everyone at your table(and at Renew) to be able to see the error in the rich fool's way of thinking. Pray that we would all set our sights on Christ and consequently "be rich toward God" as a result.

Are we clinging to comforts or to Christ? Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Share a time when a commercial/advertisement really made you want something? What was it and what did it do to make you want it? 2. Compare how the world defines success from how God defines success? Why do you think there is so much difference between the two? 3. What are some self-reflection/examination questions that could help you discern a foothold of worldliness/materialism in your life? 4. How do you use your finances and resources? What ways might you be prioritizing comfort or luxury over generosity and obedience to God? 5. The parable teaches there are eternal consequences to our choices. What can we do to be better conscious of these consequences in the decisions we make? 6. In the parable, the Rich Man’s family had “Moses and the Prophets” but ignored them. In what ways can we ignore the Word when it comes to our own lifestyle and comforts? 7. If you recognize a need to change in any of these areas, what steps can you take this week to align your heart more closely with Jesus and His commands?  

How can we avoid becoming big fat Bible babies? Outline: Three ways God blesses us in our obedience 1. He establishes us as His people (v 12) 2. He encourages us with His presence (v 13) 3. He empowers us with His strength (vv 14-15) Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Why do you think it is so common in the church to separate hearing the Word from doing it? What are some examples you have seen? 2. Haggai 1:12 equates the voice of God with the written word of God. What are some ways people today try and separate these? What can we do to better receive the words of the Bible as the voice of God when we read it and listen to it? 3. Read Deuteronomy 10:12. How does this verse relate fearing the Lord and loving the Lord? How might you explain the compatibility of love of God and fear of God to someone who sees them as opposites? 4. How can we strengthen our awareness of the presence of the Lord in times of hard obedience and uncertainty? Do you have an experience of the Lord giving you encouragement in a time you wanted to quit/retreat? 5. Consider the image “The Christ-centered Life”: Discuss ways you have put Christ off the throne of our heart in the past. How did this affect your sense of God’s presence and power in your life? What does it look like to put Christ as Lord of your life?

How do we know if our opposition is from spiritual warfare or spiritual discipline? Outline: I. Spiritual warfare opposes our faithfulness (Ezra 4:4-5, 24) “the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build” II. Spiritual discipline opposes our unfaithfulness (Hag 1:9-11) “I have called for a drought” Personal Reflection Questions: 1. Have you ever been in a rock and a hard place situation? Share. 2. Read 2 Timothy 3:12. Why do you think persecution is a certainty for all genuine Christ followers? What are some ways Christians are being persecuted in our context today? If willing, share a personal experience. 3. Read Ephesians 6:12. What word/phrase most captures your attention? How do you keep yourself aware of this unseen reality? 4. “Spiritual warfare means there is no easy button in Christian growth or in advancing the Kingdom, we should expect strong opposition.” How have you experienced this truth? How can remembering this truth combat our discouragement? 5. When you hear the word “discipline,” do you default to positive or negative associations? What helps you to understand that spiritual discipline is good? 6. Of the three steps to discern spiritual discipline in our life, (1) Considering a spiritual cause, (2) Asking God for understanding, and (3) Searching the Word, which are you most prone to neglect and why? 7. How have you seen your faith becoming stronger over time? What has been the greatest contributor to your growth?

We can be a people that lives with complacency or lives with Christ, but not both. Two measures God lovingly takes to restore our devotion to Him: 1. He drains satisfaction from our self-pursuits (v. 5-6) “You never have enough” 2. He promises us the goodness of His presence (v. 7-8) "That I may be glorified." Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Why do you think becoming complacent is so easy and tempting? 2. Read Revelation 3:17 – How do you think a church can get so wrong about its spiritual reality? 3. What has been on your front burner this week? What affect has it had on your spiritual focus? 4. How can you notice God more in your day to day and how can you communicate God’s presence in your life to others? 5. Read Philippians 4:11-13: What are some ways we can we fight against the “never enough” mantra of the world with the truth we have Christ? 6. Imagine you are in a conversation with a person who is complaining of not having enough/not being satisfied with life, what might you say to point this person toward the gospel? 7. The poem “Only One Life” by C.T. Studd says: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Based on this statement, what work from your previous week will last? How can we use this truth to prioritize our devotion to Christ in the week ahead?

God renews His people by calling them to pursue Him first. 3 evidences that God is ready to renew: 1. He sustains his preserving grace 2. He supplies his providential care 3. He sends his prosecuting word Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Where have you experienced the Waiting Place? Why do you think the Waiting Place is so easy to fall into? 2. Read Lamentations 3:22-23. What are some mercies of God you have experienced recently? What are some ways we can develop an eye for them in our lives? 3. Read Revelation 2:1-5. (a) What was good about this church? (b) How did this church end up in the Waiting Place? (c) What does Jesus say will happen to his preserving grace if they do not repent? (d) What do you think repentance looks like for this church? 4. Where do you see God’s providential care in your life? How has this care created opportunities for you to serve Him and witness to Him? 5. Where is a place in your past you used the excuse “it’s not time”? What did it cost you? 6. Read Hebrews 4:12: What is the danger of only seeking God’s Word for comfort and encouragement? What can we do to make our hearts more pierceable to God’s prosecuting Word?

Being filled with the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean I have more of the Spirit, but rather that the Spirit has more of me Discussion/Personal Reflection Questions: 1. What was a piece of advice you would like to give your younger self? 2. Share something from the sermon that spoke to you and why. 3. If you are willing, share an experience where you have felt filled by and controlled by the Holy Spirit. 4. Why would it be dangerous to argue, as some people do, that we do not have all of the Holy Spirit until we are filled? 5. Paul doesn’t say “fill yourself,” but rather “be filled!” How can you go about increasing your “fillability?” What are some way you can make yourself more available to the Holy Spirit daily? 6. Which of the images used in the sermon is most helpful for you to understand the CONTROL of the Spirit in your life (wind filling the sail, salt permeating meat, hand filling a glove to play piano), and why? 7. Robert Munger writes, “You will never experience the life Christ died to win for you as long as you keep doors locked to him in the rooms of your life.” Pray for each other to open all our doors and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

What does true forgiveness look like? Outline: Forgiveness is costly Forgiveness is difficult Forgiveness is revealing Forgiveness is transforming. Questions for Personal Reflection: 1. Does forgiveness come easily or difficult for you? Would you be able to forgive as quickly and completely as the Amish community did? Why or why not? 2. Can you think of a situation where you are continuing to harbor resentment or holding a grudge against someone else? What do you think continues to hold you back from being able to forgive? 3. Can you think of a situation where you were able to forgive another person? What seemed to help you get to that point? 4. The Christian idea of forgiveness is a costly one for the forgiver. What costs come to mind when you think of forgiveness? 5. Re-read Matthew 6:14-15. How do these verses strike you? What is either comforting or unsettling about them? 6. Can you think of a time that you were forgiven by someone else for something you had done (or left undone)? What effect did that have on you? 7. Pray that your group would experience the loving mercy and forgiveness of Jesus anew and in a way that will make you all more loving and forgiving yourselves!

How does the gospel transform us into evangelists? 1. The gospel becomes our purpose (vv. 12-20) “I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness” 2. The gospel becomes our passion (vv. 21-27) “For this reason the Jews seized me . . . and tried to kill me” 3. The gospel becomes our priority (vv. 28-29) “Whether short or long, I would to God that . . . all who hear me might become as I am” Personal Reflection Questions: 1. How have you experienced being a Christian as an adventure? 2. What are some of the obstacles (internally or externally) you face with sharing the gospel in the world today? 3. Paul explains the gospel through his testimony. He was a persecutor, but God made him a preacher of Jesus. What is something you can testify that the gospel has changed about you? 4. Read Philippians 1:29 and Romans 8:17. Why do you think Paul mentions suffering as part of the gospel life? How have you seen suffering make your faith and witness more powerful? 5. What are some of the reasons you give for “this isn’t a good time to witness.” Discuss how you can overcome these excuses. 6. Think of a person God has brought into your life that is not a believer. Close in prayer for God to give us opportunity and boldness to witness to that person this week.

Why is the way of confession better than the way of hiding our sin? Outline: The way of hiding vs. the way of confessing our sin… Four consequences to the way of hiding: Consequence 1: Deceit 2b in whose spirit is no deceit. Consequence 2: Discipline vv. 3-4 your hand was heavy on me Consequence 3: Dullness v. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule Consequence 4: Disaster v. 6b the rising of the mighty waters Four gifts to the way of confessing: Gift 1: Cleared (v.1-2a) Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven Gift 2: Cleansed (v. 5) And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Gift 3: Communion (v 7-8) I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Gift 4: Cheerfulness (v. 11) Rejoice in the LORD and be glad Personal Reflection Questions: 1. What are some of the ways hiding makes itself seem more appealing than confessing? 2. Read 2 Samuel 11:2-17. What does David do to hide his sin? What lessons does this story teach you about the way of hiding sin? 3. Look at the consequences of hiding. How does the way of hiding make confession harder as time goes by? What does this teach about the best time to confess? 4. The word used for forgive is “to lift or carry.” How does recognizing forgiveness requires someone else to bear the sin, reveal how costly a gift it is to forgive? 5. Read Luke 15:11-24. How do you see the father bearing the cost of his son’s sin? How does this story show the gifts of communion and cheerfulness that come with confession? 6. If you met someone burdened with guilt, how might you testify to them that the way of confession is much better than the way of hiding? 7. Pray for one another for God to reveal any way of hiding in us and give thanks that God forgives us and will forgive us.