August 10, 2014 Sermon Notes

Posted on Aug 10 at 09:43am

Life Guards | Resist Temptation & Stay Satisfied

Exodus 20:15 and Exodus 20:17

You Shall Not Steal

We must consider that what every man possesses has not come to him by mere chance but by the distribution of the supreme Lord of all. And for this reason, we cannot by evil devices deprive anyone of his possessions without fraudulently setting aside God’s dispensation. – John Calvin

You Shall Not Covet

…to desire the wrong thing, in the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason. – Philip Ryken

Jeremiah 17:9

Role of The Word of God

Matthew 4, “It is Written…”

Romans 8:6; Romans 12:2

Role of Prayer

The mainspring of Jesus’ life was His communion with God, and in such communion He found strength and guidance to avoid submitting to temptation. – I. Howard Marshall

Role of Community

Character is shaped in the context of community. –Bill Hull

Role of The Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:16

Lordship of Christ

Romans 12:1

It is a wretched taste to be gratified with mediocrity when the excellent lies before us. -Isaac D’Israeli (1834)


August 3, 2014 Sermon Notes

Posted on Aug 03 at 09:55am

Life Guards | Avert Your Eyes

Exodus 20:14

Sexual sin is any sex other than between a man & woman who are married.

Sexual sin is the lust for satisfying myself at others expense.

The remedy is Jesus who satisfied my sin at His Own Expense.

The Weight of Adultery

Matthew 5:27-30

The Physical Act of Adultery is costly. Scripture is FULL of warnings

Proverbs 5:3-5

All sin is sin, not graded on a curve. It’s all Rebellion against God. However the ramifications of our sin are different. The pain to ourselves & others is not all equal.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20

The Heart must be addressed

The issue with lust is not primarily a sexual problem but a failure to find our greatest joy in the God who Wonderfully created us.

It is not enough to say Jesus forgave adulterers, prostitutes & other sinners… But that He seemed often to prefer their company, showing them true JOY they had never seen when they repented.

Resources

Online Services

Internet Filtering Service: covenanteyes.com

Resources for Sexual Sin: purelifeministries.org

Books

Every Man’s Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker

Every Woman’s Battle by Shannon Ethridge

Other Family Resource Articles

http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/family-talk/listen/the-seductive-lure-of-internet-porn-327835.html

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/divorce_and_infidelity/pornography_and_virtual_infidelity.aspx

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/sexuality/when_children_use_pornography/advice_for_parents_of_teenage_porn_addicts.aspx


July 27, 2014 Sermon Notes

Posted on Jul 27 at 09:18am

Life Guards | Uphold Life

Exodus 20:13 & Matthew 5:21-26

1. The root of upholding life: the image of God.

Genesis 9:6-7

God has put his stamp on every one of us the way a great artist signs his name to a work of art. Therefore, to damage a life is to deface one of God’s masterpieces. – Philip Ryken

2. The root of destroying others: our anger.

A. Anger on the inside is equated with murder on the outside.

Anger has to do with brooding, simmering anger that is nurtured and not allowed to die. It is seen in the holding of a grudge, in the smoldering bitterness that refuses to forgive; it cherishes resentment and does not warrant reconciliation. – John MacArthur, Commentary on Matthew

1 John 3:14-15

B. Anger on the inside produces destructive words.

C. Antidote to anger – reconciliation.

1) Brings genuine worship to light in the body of Christ.

True worship is not enhanced by better music, better prayers, better architecture, or even better preaching. True worship is enhanced by better relationships between those who come to worship. – John MacArthur

Conduct is more important than formal worship. – R. V. G. Tasker

2) Immediate — should take place right away lest it get covered and buried and begins to grow a life of its own.

3) Costly — risk reputation and rejection.

4) Aim: forgiveness and peace, new understanding, where there was division.

Colossians 3:12-15


July 20, 2014 Sermon Notes

Posted on Jul 20 at 10:18am

Life Guards | Give Honor

The first 4 commandments: our vertical relationship with God.

The last 6 commandments: our horizontal relationship with others.

Exodus 20:12

1. Honoring parents through broken and faithful generations.
2. Honoring parents through broken and unfaithful generations.

How do broken children honor broken parents?

1. Pray–to be forgiven AND to forgive them.

2. Speak truth and grace.

3. Walk down the road God opens–might not be the road you choose and you might not know where it goes.

4. Wait in grace.


July 13, 2014 Sermon Notes

Posted on Jul 13 at 11:37am

Life Guards | Embrace The Sabbath

Exodus 20:8-11

1. Stop working for a day in order to show your dependence upon God.

Reminder: God is in charge of my work.

Danger: work occupies my entire life and thus becomes my identity.

Genesis 2:1-3

Exodus 31:17

It can be costly – this is where obedience and faith meet.

2. Stop working for a day in order to create space for renewal.

Reminder: God is in charge of my calendar.

Abuse: no rest or no rhythm to be renewed.

Many of us are less busy than we think, but life feels overwhelming because our days and weeks and years have no rhythm… We have no routine, no order to our days… We’re not actually in danger of working too hard. We simply work at things in the wrong proportion. – Kevin DeYoung, Crazy Busy

3. Stop working for a day in order to set aside time to hear from God, to worship God, to love others.

Reminder: God desires to deepen my relationship with Him and to serve others regularly.

Abuse: legalism in worship or liberty in rest.

For the legalist, “we do not base our standing before God on what we do on Sunday.”– Philip Ryken

For the libertine, no desire to gather for worship and growth is an indication of a heart that is spiritually sick and in need of God’s grace.


July 6, 2014 Sermon Notes

Posted on Jul 06 at 09:00am

Life Guards | Free Your Speech

Exodus 20:7

1. Why is God’s name to be valued?

Exodus 3:13-15

My name is growing all the time, and I’ve lived a very long, long time; so my name is like a story. Real names tell you the story of the things they belong to…” – Treebeard in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

“YHWH is like an ample container into with the great truths revealed by Moses and through the exodus have been packed: the Holy One, the God of the covenant, the Redeemer, Deliverer, Judge, the caring God of daily providence, the God of reconciliation who brings his people to himself.” – J.A. Motyer, The Message of Exodus

To use the name in vain is to “lift it up to emptiness.”
2. How is God’s name misused?

A. Disrespectfully

Then: cursing God

Now: using the name of God in profane, thoughtless, trivial, and demeaning ways

B. Dishonestly.

1) For our own gain

Then: Magic and false prophets

Now: Attaching God’s name to our own designs and desires

“We become so certain that God is on our side that we refuse to listen to other believers or to submit to spiritual authority in the church… Sometimes we use God to endorse our political views, so that he becomes a sort of party mascot. Sometimes we use him to prop up our position so that other people will have to do what we say. Sometimes we fix his stamp of approval to our ministry or to our plans for the church. But whenever we confuse what we want with what God wants, we take his name in vain.” – Philip G. Ryken, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory

2) For our own reputation.

Then: Oaths.

Now: attaching God and religion to our names when our lives don’t match.

Jesus: Let your life be lived with such integrity that what you say can be believed without an oath.


June 29, 2014 Sermon Notes

Posted on Jun 29 at 11:35am

Life Guards | Love God Only, Identify Your Idols

Exodus 20:1-6

Misconceptions of the Ten Commandments & the Old Testament law
  1. Disconnected and buried in TIME.
  2. Disconnected to the PURPOSE.
  3. Disconnected to the LAWGIVER.

Biblical conceptions about the Ten Commandments: they guard our lives and guide us to the safe places where we can enjoy everything God has in store for us.

Exodus 20:1-2 | Purpose for the Ten Commandments.

Purpose of the Law: A response to the God who has redeemed us in order to reflect Him while enjoying Him and others.

Chapter 19:3-6, the setting for the giving of the Ten Commandments, gives us the basis for the commandments:

  1. We’re highly treasured – redeemed from slavery and bondage.
  2. We’re God’s representatives on earth to others.
  3. We’re God’s reflection of Himself to others.

1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV

Exodus 20:3 | Commandment #1: Love God only.
Exodus 20:4-6 | Commandment #2: Identify your idols.

Definition of idol:

What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give… An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship. – Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods

Jesus – sent to reveal who God is and rescue us to Him at the same time.

Matthew 11:28-30