Pastor Jay //

December 16th* Sermon - Anticipating the Infallible Gift (Hebrews 6:4)

1. What would be the “perfect” gift for you this Christmas?

2. What is something in your house that you consider to be perfect? How about something in the world?

3. Name one thing in your life that is perfect. Name something that is not perfect.

4. What do you think heaven will be like? (See if you can describe it in a sentence.)

5. If heaven is a perfect place and you are not perfect, how do you plan to be accepted in heaven? (Read Romans 3:23; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:23)

6. Once someone has become a Christian how does (should) their life change?

7. If you have accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation, how has your life changed? (share a 1 minute story or example)

*this sermon was originally scheduled for December 9th but was postponed due to the ice storm.

December 2, 2007 podcast

You can listen to or download the message in MP3 format (here).

You can get the discussion questions that go along with this message from this post.

If you are new to podcasting, you might want to give it a try. You can download the message manually and listen to it on your computer, or you can download a podcast reader (like iTunes or Juice) that will automatically look for new podcasts from this and other blogs that you choose and get them ready to put onto your MP3 player. Once you get these podcasts on your computer, you can copy the icon on the left to make it your cover art just like an album cover in programs like Windows Media Player.

December 2nd Sermon - Anticipating the Invaluable Gift (Revelation 22:17)

1.       What time of year do you start thinking of Christmas? (Is it ever too early?)

2.       How much should a person spend on a Christmas gift?

3.       What is the best kind of gift? (explain each choice)

a.        socks and underwear

b.      something expensive (jewelry, iPod, or car)

c.       something handmade

d.      other__________

4.       What would you consider to be a priceless gift?

5.       How much should salvation (eternal life) cost us? How much should it cost God?

Use these questions before or after the sermon with your family or friends to help them think about this incredible Gift from God.

For the next few weeks we are going to be studying about finances. November seems like a great time to talk about money. Often money is like an elephant in the room that no one wants to recognize. The Bible has much to say about how to succeed in the the area of finances. The title of this Sunday’s message is “Give yourself a raise!” from Matthew 6:25-34.

I want to hear from you. What do you do to save money in your family? What are some practical ways that you handle finances. Comments please…

In 1993, before the NCAA II Cross-Country championship in Riverside, CA, 128 runners had reviewed the course and were now running the 6.2 miles of the race. At about the three mile mark, the lead runner made a wrong turn and Mike Delcavo of Western State College in Gunnison, CO noticed the mistake. He called to the other runners and was only able to convince 5 of them to join him on the correct route. The correct route was 3/4 of a mile longer than the route that the majority of the runners took and by the time the routes merged, the six runners were in last place. Delcavo, was the first of the six to cross the finish line, but was 6 minutes behind the other group. After the race, the officials declared the abbreviated route to be official route and Delcavo was given 103rd place even though he was the first to finish the original course. 1

Sometimes, living courageously means doing the right thing even though you may receive little recognition. Paul admonishes the church at Ephesus to “no longer live as the Gentiles do.” We are to follow a path that often has little reward in this life. But we follow this path because it is right, not because it is popular.

Join us as we explore the last half of Ephesians 4 during the month of September.

• “Courageous Thinking” (Ephesians 4:17-24)
• “Courageous Living” (Ephesians 4:25-30)
• “Courageous Forgiveness (Ephesians 4:31-32)

(Pictured is my friend Brian Evans in the Chicago Marathon this year.)

One of my assignments for last week’s class is to develop a preaching plan. (I have done this off and on for several years). So, I thought I would toss it out there and see what you thought. We will finish the Essential 100 soon. So, I’m on the hunt.

1. If I were to preach through an entire book of the Bible on Sunday morning, what should it be and how long should it take? (I’m thinking Leviticus
2. I want to do a September emphasis and include a Friend Day on Sept 9, what would be a topic that would reach a large audience and keep them coming for say 4 weeks in a row? (Something on Community, Worship, Prayer, Relationships, etc.)
3. What is a topic that you think is not usually covered in our worship services? (Missions? Just kidding!)

Be kind - I’m fragile!

Co-author of Annointed Expository Preaching, David Olford will be at First Baptist Church in Cameron, MO for a two day minister’s and wife’s conference March 30-31, 2007. We would love to see you here.

I promised the church this morning that I would listen to my friend’s sermon and then let them know what the last -good thing- in hell was. Here it is - it is

good prayers

(and) good intentions - Toby did not have good relatives in his list. I admit, I think I like his list better, but that just proves that preaching gets better with age.

To bring the rest of you in on the story… I preached a sermon entitled 6 Good Things in Hell from Luke 16:19-31. I got the idea from a friend at school that works for the North American Mission Board. However, he had seven things in his list. I told the church that I would listen to his sermon from when he preached at Champion Forest in Houston in May (listen here) and see what the last good thing was. We didn’t exactly have the same list, but I got pretty close. It was a good passage and hopefully a challenging sermon.

Have a great day.

Pastor Jay

 

Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code, has done what many authors have dreamed of doing: creating a story that captures the attention of millions. The problem is that his fictional story is centered on questions about the truth of Jesus Christ. This best-selling novel presents Jesus as a common person married to Mary Magdalene and father of a child. Brown retells the life of Jesus in a way that attempts to deconstruct all of church history and Christian doctrine. Biblical scholars are contending that although Brown claims that his book is completely based upon true history and honest research, there is only about 4% fact and 96% fiction.
So, why should we take the time to deal with these issues, you ask? Because it provides a great opportunity to find out why we believe what we believe and what evidence there is to substantiate our beliefs. In the month of May, we will examine the following topics that have been raised by the fictional book and upcoming movie:

The purpose of discussing these topics is not to draw more attention to the book. However, the attention is already there, and the church must address the charges that have been laid against it. Unfortunately, because many do not know church history, we are ill-equipped to answer the questions of our friends regarding these issues. Now is the time to prepare ourselves to have a good answer to the questions that will arise. There is no “Big Secret.” Jesus has been revealed for all of humanity to examine. Christians need not be afraid of “The Truth.”
 

 

 

During the Month of May, I will be discussing the claims of The DaVinci Code (DVC) book. Of course the book is classified as fiction. However, many are believing the conspiracy theories that have been set forth. As I conduct my research, I invite you to explore the claims. Here are some links to helpful material that will shed light on the truth:

• http://www.rbcdavincicode.org/ 
• Josh McDowell’s research notes (164 pgs.)
• Erwin Lutzer’s DaVinci Didn’t Convince Me

If you have any suggested sites or comments please make a comment below and include the links.

Jay