To all who have been impacted by yesterday’s storms, we offer our love and committed support to you. May the God of all comfort draw near to each of you in this time.
Rob
Today's Service.
Today, we opened up our series on Philippians. Below, here is the passage we covered:
“Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus:
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Sermon file will be available for 30 days. To keep, download file.
Our New Series: "Just One Thing" - A Study of Philippians.
Highland Tribe,
This Sunday, we will break open our new series entitled: “Just One Thing” - a Study of Philippians. This statement - ‘Just one thing…’ - is an anchor to this letter, which Paul states toward the end of chapter one. It reads: “Just one thing: Live your life worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27, HCSB). Paul then uses the rest of the letter to explain to us how to live in a manner worthy of Christ. Join us as we seek to do this one thing.
I also want to share with you this video that will prove helpful as we start this series. It is produced by:The Bible Project. Give it a glance.
Highland, I love you. Cannot wait to be with you Sunday.
Rob
Today's Service.
“YET there will be a portion (remnant) in it,
and it will again be subject to burning,
like an oak whose stump remains when it is felled.
The holy seed is its stump.”
Here is our Communal Prayer from today’s service. Click on the link to listen. To keep, download this file. It will only be available for 30 days.
Today’s Sermon was based on this passage:
“Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith” (Galatians 6:7-10, HCSB).
To keep, download this file. It will only be available for 30 days.
Thanks, Awaken Commmunity Church!
Beginning of Something Good!
Service Tomorrow!
Tomorrow we hold our Children’s Dedication Service! We will also pray and open God’s Word together.
Then, we will enjoy a meal. I look forward to seeing you all. I love you. So thankful to be part of the Highland Tribe.
Rob
Today's Service.
Due to technical difficulties, the sermon was not recorded. We are so sorry for any inconvenience. However, Communal Prayer did record. So, here it is:
Going with "Good" One More Time.
Highland family, we continue on with firming up our grip on “good.” This sermon offers more of a road forward, as to our roles as those who profess Christ as Lord. Below, you will find our central passage:
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).
I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. I am so thankful for to be part of the Highland Tribe!
I love you,
Rob
In-a-Word: God Defines Good.
*This blog is a continuation of the prior blog.
Good hearts are repentant hearts.
“For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God” (John 3:20-21).
A good and honest heart admits its bad condition. By repenting, God’s Holy Spirit dwells within our hearts, producing God’s works in us. Therefore, God gets all glory for any “good” that comes from our lives.
For us to define “good” is bad.
If we do not understand that our Lord invades our wicked hearts and produces good within us, then we get to define good - and that is bad! Mankind defining good is bad because we use our own judgment, moral code and opinions to inform our definition. This results in us earning our own moral status, even salvation. It then leads us to condemning those who fail to meet our version of good. Ultimately, to define good is bad because this is the birthplace of religion.
God defines good.
“Just then someone came up and asked Him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” He said to him. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he asked Him. Jesus answered:
Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
“I have kept all these,” the young man told Him. “What do I still lack?”
“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions” (Matthew 19:16-22).
Behind this young man’s request for knowing more about being good, he is asking:
‘Jesus, sign off and confirm my definition of good.’'
‘Jesus, acknowledge the good I have performed.’
For the young man, his possessions served as his personal reward for his goodness. Perhaps he saw the poor as undeserving of his resources, which means he saw himself as deserving - my personal observation. Either way, in response to the young man’s request, Jesus makes it crystal clear that there is only One who has a firm grip on the meaning of “good.”
Good defines bad.
“Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?” 6 They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him.
Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.”
8 Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, He said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, Lord,”she answered.
“Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”
14 “Even if I testify about Myself,” Jesus replied, “My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. 15 You judge by human standards.I judge no one. 16 And if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone, but I and the Father who sent Me judge together” (John 8:3-16).
To use this woman, who is a sinner, as a pawn to prove their own self-righteousness simply manifests their own guilt. For us to define good is bad because sin-stained hearts always look to define others as bad, so that we can define ourselves as good. Jesus makes it clear that to weaponize the law against the guilty calls down condemnation on the one who is passing judgment. He goes on to say that his judgments are right and true because His judgments are in alignment with the only One who is good, the Lord, who ‘judges justly.’