Fellowshipmtz

Gospel Warfare (Part 2)

APOLOGIES: The first 5 minutes (or so) were not recorded.
Warren Wiersbe writes, "You cannot fight spiritual battles with carnal (worldly) weapons."  If that is true (and I think it is), then why do we so often TRY to fight spiritual battles with carnal weapons?  For one reason it is because we don't SEE spiritual forces, but we DO see the persons who are against us, our antagonists/adversaries; those persons who are angry, brazen, hurtful, insulting, authoritarian, manipulative, controlling, combative, self-centered.  Accordingly, it is easiest to respond in kind -- it *feels* good, satisfying (at the time).

Gospel Warfare (Part 1)

Paul responds to the accusations leveled against him because they are not merely "personal attacks" -- rather, they are an attack on the essential fabric and foundation of:

• Christ's Church - its structure and makeup of the Church
• Christ's Authority - the scope & nature of Christ's authority
• Christ's Gospel - the wholeness of the Gospel, the Message

The Good Results of Grace Giving & an Intro to Chapters 10-13

CHAPTER 9:8-15

There are many good results of Grace Giving -- in these verses we will see effects...
- in what GOD does next
- in/for the GIVERS
- in/for the RECEIVERS
- and in what God receives

CHAPTERS 10-13

In chapters 1-9 Paul's relationship with the church seems largely restored. Paul writes looking back on what had been a problem, but it ceased to be a problem because the Corinthians' evidenced godly sorrow & repentance (see esp. chapter 7).
In chapter 10 the tone changes without warning or explanation: Is Paul now confronting only a small minority within the larger body?  Is he attempting to strengthen the commitment and resolve of the church overall?

Prodigal God, Prodigal Church

For all my fifty-nine years I believed chapters 8 and 9 of Second Corinthians were about giving -- specifically, taking up a collection for the destitute believers in Jerusalem.  Certainly, there IS that -- but that is only the presenting concern.  In fact, the chapters teach a much more important and underlying truth applicable to Christian life and doctrine.

Romans 3: Inherent Sinfulness & Confession (Baptismal Service)

Why does the Bible exist?  What difference does it make?  At the risk over oversimplification, the Bible exists to correct two primary and very gross errors -- the inflated view we have about ourselves and the overly accommodating view we have of GOD.  In this message you will learn what theologians mean by the term "total depravity" and how our mouths are a demonstration of our sinfulness.  At the same time, the call of the gospel is to confess (with our mouths!) Jesus as Lord & Savior!

Grace Expectations! (Part 2) - 2 Corinthians 9:1-7

Today's message develops the pattern found in Scripture that God's grace is not received in vain.  Grace changes things!  People who have experienced grace, who have received from God, are people who extend grace, kindness, forgiveness.

Traits of Worthy of Ministries - 2 Corinthians 8:16-24

William Dyrness has observed that in many respects American identity is established in material terms.  We define ourselves by our relation to our material environment, perhaps more than our relation to other people (or even to God).

...The point Dyrness makes is that this cultural backdrop has permeated our preaching of the gospel.  In his words:

Communicating the gospel in America will invariably reflect these emphases.  On the one hand, it will tend to affirm the quest for achievement.  It might emphasize that God loves us and seeks to help us realize our potential or our gifts (He "has a wonderful plan for our life").  On the other hand, it will encourage a practical no-nonsense kind of faith, a "faith that works"… it will in general affirm the goodness and value of the person and the created order.  As a rule, Christians in America will feel the need of affirmation rather than of deliverance.

The question must be raised whether this adaptation to our culture is not a syncretism that compromises the gospel itself.  Is God the great "supporter of my goals," the assistant assigned to help me realize my potential?  ...Sloppy thinking about this crucial area of our lives as Christians will open the door for an invasion of American self-serving materialism and self-congratulating moralism. – NIV Application Commentary

 

Grace Expectations!

2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5

Today's message highlights how we should understand BOASTING.  Paul's boasting of the Corinthians (9:1-5) is inseparably tied to his confidence in GOD's GRACE performing its necessary work among them.

Grace Impulses (Part 3)

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Paul is talking about sanctifying grace.  Sanctifying grace is the result of saving grace — it’s what what makes a Christian different.

We have identified two “GRACE IMPULSES”:

IMPULSE #1  --  Moves believers to overflow in spite of hard/severe circumstances (vv 1-2).

IMPULSE #2  --  Moves believers to excel, even sacrificially (vv 7-9).

Jonah! (Shaun Lewis, Director of Civil Servant Ministries)

Shaun Lewis, Director of Civil Servant Servant Ministries, fill is this week whil Cliff is on vacation.