Simi Cov Messages

Mark 1:1

Psalm 40 invites us to delight in God. We do so because he is the best thing there is and because it reflects God’s own delight in us — such love that he gave his life for us. This kind of delight can even survive difficult times in our lives — “the pinch” of life.

What does the letter to Philemon have to teach us about how the gospel is meant to change how we view even difficult relationships?

Questions discussed in this episode: 1. HOW IS FASTING A PART OF OUR SPIRITUAL PRACTICE AND IN THE BIBLE? 0:01 2. WHY WOULD GOD HAVE PUT THE TREE OF GOOD AND EVIL IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN IF HE KNEW THAT IT MEANT THAT THE FIRST COUPLE WOULD SIN? 6:10 3. HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND PREDESTINATION? 15:18 4. DOES GOD PUT INTO POWER PRESIDENT, WHO HE WANTS OR DOES HE LEAVE IT UP TO US THEN WORK THROUGH THAT PERSON? 5. GOD IS OUR FATHER YET GOD IS SPIRIT – WHAT IS HE LIKE? 22:08 6. HOW DO I GET MORE INVOLVED IN CHURCH? ARE THERE MINISTRIES THAT NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS? WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR VOLUNTEERING? 25:36 7. WHAT WOULD A CHRISTIAN HAVE TO DO TO LOSE HIS/HER SALVATION? 27:06 8. WAS JOB HAPPY WITH HIS REPLACEMENT KIDS AND DID HE EVER UNDERSTAND WHY GOD KILLED HIS FIRST CHILDREN? 30:31 9. WHY WERE SAMARITANS STILL AROUND IN JESUS’ TIME? WEREN’T THEY DESTROYED WHEN THE NORTHERN KINGDOM WAS CONQUERED BY ASSYRIA? 37:02 10. HOW CAN WE BE HAPPY IN HEAVEN IF OUR KIDS OR GRANDKIDS DON’T MAKE IT? 39:13

QUESTIONS ADDRESSED IN THIS : 1. Why do we do this question series? 1:02 2. Why do we have church on Sundays? Why not Saturdays or other days? 6:35 3. If you are faithfully listening to the Spirit, how come other believers doing the same come to different conclusions? 10:14 4. I would like to know what the correct response is as a Christian parent if your child comes out as gay. Down the road, should you be welcoming to partners they may bring home? 20:48 5. I read somewhere that "For yours is the kingdom and the power..." etc. was added to the Lord's Prayer later. Is that true? How would that change how we read the Lord's Prayer? 29:30 6. If a person lives a good, kind, generous life, helps those in need, puts others first, etc. but doesn't believe in God, what happens? Heaven or hell? 33:42 RESOURCES: ASK NT WRIGHT ANYTHING (Premier Unbelievable). NT Wright is one of the top Christian thinkers of our day and responds to questions with nuance and thoughtfulness. He generally helps you to think about things you’d never considered before. | YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@askntwrightanything GIVE ME AN ANSWER (Stuart & Cliffe Knechtle). This YouTube channel highlights answering tough questions by real people in a clear but caring way. | YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@givemeananswer EMBRACE (Evangelical Covenant). This is a suite of human sexuality discipleship resources and learning experiences which are in harmony with the adopted position of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Embrace aims to equip churches to flourish in love for LGBTQ+ individuals & communities. | Website: https://covchurch.org/embrace/ A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON PARENTING A GAY CHILD (Center For Faith, Sexuality, and Gender). Includes a great download paper that discusses things like, “What to do when my child comes out?” and how to think through your child’s future relationships. | pdf download: https://www.centerforfaith.com/blog/a-christian-perspective-on-parenting-a-gay-child OTHER RESOURCES YOU DIDN’T ASK FOR BUT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT: BIOLOGOS.org Faith & Science. BioLogos explores God’s Word and God’s World to inspire authentic faith for today. Must we choose either one or the other in order to find answers to our deeply held questions? Biologos says no. | Website BIOLOGOS.org 2084: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY (Prof. John Lennox). Lennox is great at responding to tough questions in a winsome way and a good person to google on ethics and answering science questions. | YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJNPaqvm9a4

John 8:28

THE SERIES: Politics in general, and the American presidential election in particular, tends to be quite divisive. In this series we are going to consider three "I am NOT" statements by Jesus and have them shape our approach to the turmoil and fear we experience in the wake of the presidential election. We will look at these quotes by Jesus: “I am not alone” (John 8:16) - Identity “I am not of this world” (John 8:23) - Mission * “I am not seeking glory for myself” (John 8:50) - A pattern of humility Our prayer is that even in a time of division around us that we as a church will have even greater unity around our identity, mission, and humble attitudes. THE CHURCH Simi Covenant Church is located in Simi Valley, CA. Join us online from anywhere: simicovenant.org

Romans 8:31-39

Romans 8:26-30

Romans 8:1-4