SEPTEMBER SERMONS
SEPTEMBER 4, 2011
“WHAT
IS YOUR DREAM?”
SCRIPTURE
READING:
PHILIPPIANS 3:7-14
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
Philippians
3:10 (NIV)
I want to know
Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming
like him in his death,
INTRO:
Martin Luther Kings Jr. had a dream.
Our dream is
what gives our lives purpose and direction.
Without a
dream we are domed to live in a world without
purpose or meaning.
There is a
vast difference between wishful thinking and a
dream.
Wishful
thinking will sit and wait for it to come to them, a
dream will put forth effort and commitment to
fulfill the dream.
We often have
a dream for the things of this world.
Number 1 on the door
-
Home
-
Marriage & Family
-
Career
-
Financial security
-
Retirement
NOTE:
All these a good but
what about your spiritual dreams?
Every true
Believer should have a spiritual dream.
What is your
spiritual dream?
I. PAUL’S SPIRITUAL
DREAM.
Philippians 3:9-10 (NIV)
and be found in him,
not having a righteousness of my own that comes from
the law, but that which is through faith in
Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is
by faith.
I want to know
Christ and the power of his resurrection and the
fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming
like him in his death,
NOTE:
Paul’s dream was to be clothed in the righteousness
of Christ (Christ’s Holiness).
There were three
aspects of Paul’s dream:
-
He wanted to know Christ and the power of His
resurrection.
What does it mean to
KNOW CHRIST?
-
Do you know Christ’s attributes
-
Do you know Christ’s thoughts (Word)
-
Do you know Christ’s will
This knowledge
can only come through a close, personal relationship
with Christ.
What does it
mean to know the power of Christ’s resurrection?
Romans 8:11 (NIV)
And if the Spirit of
him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you,
he who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your
mortal bodies
through his Spirit, who lives in you.
It is only the power of the Holy Spirit that enables
us to live a victorious Christian life.
-
He wanted to share Christ suffering.
NOTE:
What does it mean to
share Christ suffering?
Hebrews 5:8 (NIV)
Although he was a son, he learned obedience from
what he suffered
Obedience brought
about Christ’s suffering on the cross.
When we are
obedient to God we will often experience suffering
by the cross we are to carry.
Matthew
10:38 (KJV)
And he that taketh
not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy
of me.
Suffering for
Christ involves the giving up of our own desires and
yielding to His.
Mark
8:34 (NLT)
Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come
over and listen. "If any of you wants to be my
follower," he told them, "you must put aside your
selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow
me.
-
He wanted to be like Christ in His death.
NOTE:
What does it mean to
be like Christ in His death?
Romans 6:3-7 (NLT)
Or have you forgotten
that when we became Christians and were baptized to
become one with Christ Jesus, we died with him?
For we died
and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious
power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Since we have
been united with him in his death, we will also be
raised as he was.
Our old sinful
selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might
lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves
to sin.
For when we died with Christ we were set free from
the power of sin.
Paul wanted to live a
life free from the power of sin.
Romans 6:11-14 (NLT)
So you
should consider yourselves dead to sin and able to
live for the glory of God through Christ Jesus.
Do not let sin
control the way you live; do not give in to its
lustful desires.
Do
not let any part of your body become a tool of
wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give
yourselves completely to God since you have
been given new
life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what
is right for the glory of God.
Sin is no
longer your master, for you are no longer subject to
the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are
free by God's grace.
NOTE:
Is your dream to live
a holy life, to be like Jesus?
We cannot do
this alone we must submit our lives to Christ and
allow Him to direct our steps and give us the
strength, through the Holy Spirit to become like
Jesus.
CONCLUSION:
The Story of Rick Hoyt completing the Ironman
Triathlon.
(Our Daily
Bread Aug. 30, 2011)
SEPTEMBER 11, 2011
“THE
RESPONSIBILITIES CHILDREN BRING”
SCRIPTURE
READING:
PSALM
127:1-5
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
Proverbs
22:6 (NLT)
Teach your children to choose the right path, and
when they are older, they will remain upon it.
INTRO:
Today we are
celebrating the birth and life of
Riley Sophia
Nederlander.
It is a time
for rejoicing and celebration, yet it is also a time
for serious reflection.
God’s Word
tells us that children have been given to us by God.
Psalm 127:3 (NLT)
Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward
from him.
Each child is
a gift from God.
There are two
things that lend to the value of the gift we receive
and how we treat that gift:
1.
The gift itself.
2.
The person who gives the gift to us.
How we treat
our children is a reflection on how much we value
them, and how must we love and respect the One Who
gave them to us.
Jesus placed a
high value on children.
Mark 10:13-16 (NLT)
One day some parents
brought their children to Jesus so he could touch
them and bless them, but the disciples told them not
to bother him.
But when Jesus
saw what was happening, he was very displeased with
his disciples. He said to them, "Let the children
come to me. Don't stop them! For the
Kingdom
of
God
belongs to such as these.
I assure you,
anyone who doesn't have their kind of faith will
never get into the Kingdom
of
God."
Then he took
the children into his arms and placed his hands on
their heads and blessed them.
NOTE:
Because God has
placed such a high value on children we need to stop
and consider the responsibilities that come with
raising children.
These
responsibilities are not only to the parents but
they are also to the Church.
If we see out
children as a gift from God these responsibilities
will not be difficult.
1 John 5:3 (KJV)
For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
2.
WE ARE TO LOVE
THE CHILDREN GOD HAS GIVEN TO US
The guideline for the
kind of love we are to have is found in the 13th
chapter of
1 Corinthians.
If we are to
love our neighbors as ourselves, surely we are to
love our children as ourselves.
Our love for
our children is to be like God’s love for us,
sacrificial.
We put the
needs of our children before our wants.
II.
WE ARE TO
TRAIN THE CHILDREN GOD HAS GIVEN TO US
Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when
he is old, he will not depart from it.
A.
WE ARE TO
TRAIN THEM IN THE WORD OF GOD.
Deuteronomy 4:9 (KJV)
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul
diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine
eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart
all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons,
and thy sons' sons;
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (KJV)
And these words, which I command thee this day,
shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them
diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them
when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou
walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and
when thou risest up.
The Word of God is like a seed that is planted in
the hearts of the children, in time it will produce
its results.
Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my
mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
·
The responsibility of
the Church (Sunday School).
Deuteronomy 31:12-13 (KJV)
Gather the people together, men, and women, and
children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates,
that they may hear, and that they may learn, and
fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the
words of this law: and that their children, which
have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to
fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the
land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
·
Children are never too young to learn
Luke 18:15-17 (KJV)
And they brought unto
him also infants, that he would touch them: but when
his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
But Jesus
called them unto him, and said, Suffer little
children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for
of such is the kingdom
of
God.
Verily I say
unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the
kingdom
of
God
as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Isaiah
28:9 (KJV)
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he
make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned
from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
John 21:15 (KJV)
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?
He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I
love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
B.
WE ARE TO
TRAIN THEM BY OUR EXAMPLE
NOTE:
Our actions speak
much louder than our words.
Solomon spoke
great words but was a poor example.
John 13:15 (KJV)
For I have given
you an example, that ye should do as I have done to
you.
2 Timothy 1:5 (KJV)
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that
is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother
Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that
in thee also.
1 Timothy 4:12 (KJV)
Let no man despise
thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers,
in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in
faith, in purity.
CONCLUSION:
As God blesses us
with children let us accept them as a gift from God
and seek to love and teach them of God grace.
