Ephesians 5

Sermon Series – “The Family of God” (Part

I. (1-2) “Resemble Him in Your Giving”

II. (3-20) “Resemble Him in Your Living”

III. (21-33) “Resemble Him in Being Willing”

I. (5a) “Accept the Challenge”
II. (5b) “Follow the Practicality”
III. (6a) “Use the Application”
IV. (6b) “Expect the Results”

One of the most difficult things to do as humans is to invest a measurable “trust” in someone other than ourselves. Our nature contradicts even the idea of being able trust anyone, much less someone that we have never met in person before. Yet as today’s text suggest, God is calling us (by faith) to totally hope, believe, expect, rely, and depend upon Him. The bonus to us is that He does this with an encouragement for us to “get to know Him better” or to “learn more about Him”, as He does throughout the entire Bible. A sort of “Taste and See” challenge.
Today, I would like to take a few moments and consider that “Learning to Trust” God is more than just a command, it is a way of life.

II Timothy 4:6-8

I. (6) “Thrill in the Departure”

II. (7) “Thrill in the Discipleship”

III. (8) “Thrill in the Deliverer”

People all over the world tonight will experience the greatest of all sporting events, Super Bowl XLV.  We know that there will be a victorious team that will emerge from the battle tonight in Arlington Texas. As the clock winds down tonight to the final, I am certain that the team that is in the lead will experience some of the same great “feelings” that Christians should enjoy in our time here on earth.

Today I want us to consider that how we live our lives today will have impact on our joy tomorrow just as any victorious Super Bowl team will be quick to tell you. That in many ways, events leading up to the victory is as important as the victory itself!

Romans 5:6-8

I. (6) “The Condition and Position Factor”

II. (7) “The Possibilities’ Factor”

III. (8) “The Precious Factor”

It is without much valid argument that we could say that the most cherished of all human feelings is the feeling of love. No other feeling that is known to mankind can take the place of the warmth and hope of being genuinely loved. Yet even for those of us who have experienced God’s love first hand through the new birth of the blood of Christ, it is for good reason, often hard to contemplate and even harder sometimes to believe.

In today’s sermon, I want to present to you three factors that makes God’s love for us an amazing kind of love. Factors that we cannot as humans comprehend because of their astonishment. This kind of love has it’s origins in God alone and is sustained by Him as well. I present these with hopes that within these factors, we can discover an even deeper meaning about His love toward us. Not that we will ever fully comprehend it, but that we will be able to dive deeper into it.

Joshua 1:1-9

I. (1-5) “The Challenge”

II. (6-8) “The Commandment”

III. (9) “The Certainties”

As we live out our lives, it would be nice if we could just make it through without ever having to face the challenge of hard or even dangerous times. Yet the reality is, if we live long enough, there will be times in which our comforts of the “easy life” may evaporate in an instant. How we respond to those times of challenge goes a long way in determining their outcome.

In today’s text, we find a man that was being brought forward by God to lead an entire nation into places that they had never been before. God gave Joshua a tough challenge, BUT God also gave Joshua what he needed to accomplish the task because Joshua was faithful to God’s Word.  You may be facing a tough challenge in your life as well. If so, let us together examine three precepts from the story today that should give us the understanding we need to make it through tough times.

Philippians 2:1-7

I. (1-2) “Evidence that Christ is Central”

II. (3-4) “Endorsement that Christ is Central”

III. (5-7) “Example for the Christ Centered Church”

In the times in which we are living, one does not have to put forth much effort to see the great need of churches to be “Christ Centered”. Alternatively, or put another way, “to be Christ focused”. We live in a world that is so “divided” by conflict, politics, personal agenda’s, and selfish ambition that hardly anyone can agree upon anything. For Christians, this has impact upon our ability to communicate the Gospel to a lost world. We Christian’s should strive daily to mold our lives into a life that has Jesus Christ as the central and most important choice in our lives. Yet how is that accomplished? In addition, what do we need to know to get there?

Today we are going to examine three things that are necessary to a church that wants to be Christ Centered. And with God’s help, apply theses truth’s to our lives so that we can become “more” Centered on Christ and fulfill our Great Commission given by our Lord!

II Corinthians 4:8-18

I. (8-9) “Realize the Reality”

II. (10-15) “Remember the Ransom”

III. (16-18) “Reaching for Result’s”

Many people take advantage of the “newness” of a “New Year” by setting out to accomplish positive things that need to be accomplished in their lives. Christians are challenged to do this very thing during the entire year. Yet as so many of the “resolutions” that most all people set out to achieve as the New Year rings in, we find that by the end of February or usually no latter than March, most of our “enthusiasm” has puttered out! I believe that there are two reason’s for this disappointment for Christians and non-Christians alike. One is that our heart is not in the right place, for things of lasting change is a matter of the heart! The second reason however, is that often when we venture into a resolution to bring about a positive change, we have a “wrong kind of thinking”.

Heart and thinking are both critical to success and this is no less important to the New Testament Church in our pursuit of the prosperity of the message of the gospel. Today we are going to consider that if we find ourselves coming up short in our spiritual resolutions, it just might be that we are not thinking like a New Testament Church. This by the way is important to the success of any local fellowship.

John 3:16

I. “Great Because of the ONE Who Loved”

II. “Great Because of WHOM He Loved”

III. “Great Because of the EXPRESSION of His Love”

IV. “Great Because of the POTENTIAL of His Love”

To many, the Christmas season is a time of year that is special and for good reason. It is the time of year that we are allowed to slow down and reflect upon the things that are important to us. Things such as family, friends, also sharing and being with others are things that we appreciate about Christmas. All these are indeed very special to this time of year! However, the greatness of the Christmas season has an even more profound significance to it than any of the already mentioned reasons. Today we as we celebrate the fourth week of Advent at Crossroads Baptist Church, we are going to survey what I consider to be the most special attribute of this time of year. It came in the form of a “Gift” some two-thousand years ago in a little town known as “The City of David”, Bethlehem. This Gift was God’s expression of His love toward us fallen creatures, and is without any doubt “The Greatness of Christmas”.

I. (1-5) “The Strength of Our Hope”
II. (6-9) “The Sureness of Our Hope”
III. (10-13) “The Simplicity of Our Hope”
IV. (14) “The Source of Our Hope”
Throughout our everyday lives one does not have to look far in order to find things that convey a message of “hopelessness”. Yet as we enter into the Sacred and Holy time that we call Christmas, let us remember and never forget that God has not forgotten us. This alone is sufficient evidence that hope is real and valid. For as long as the truth of God’s Word is sure, there is hope available for every aspect of our lives!
Today we are going to survey this hope in light of God’s promises through His Word. My desire is that we prayerfully gain an understanding that no matter how dark a situation may be, we can never truthfully and accurately say, “It’s hopeless”. That is as long as there is a God in Heaven that cares deeply for us!

I. (1-2) “Recognizes God through Gladness”
II. (3-4) “Realizes that God is the Giver”
III. (5) “Remembers that God is Gracious”
This week most of us will celebrate a special time of the year that we call “Thanksgiving”. It is a time of tradition, turkey, and travail (if we eat too much). However, the true meaning that our forefathers like the Pilgrims’ at Plymouth, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln had in mind is that it is a time to reflect upon our many God given blessings. It is a time of genuine gratitude to God for all that He has done.

In today’s sermon as we reflect upon thanksgiving in light of Psalm 100, let us consider that genuine gratitude is more an attitude than a simple emotion. Furthermore, that if we desire to express any kind of thankfulness toward God for all that He does, it must be of a “genuine” nature! For God only accepts “Genuine Gratitude” that is offered to Him.