Archive for the ‘Humor’ Category
Marriage: Profound Mystery About Christ And The Church! pt.1

Part 1A:
Part 1B:
Full message:
Scripture: John 14:6 1 Cor 6:17 Ephesians 5:31-32
This Message Series:
Living Into This Challenging Christian Life With Jesus! #12
Introduction:
“Paul’s governing insight was that all relationships between persons or groups of persons are to be informed, moved and regulated and so disciplined by God’s agapē love, provided as a gift of grace to his people. This love purifies and cleanses and repurposes the natural loves: family love, marital love and friendships. That love is first demonstrated in the relationship between the Triune Persons, seen concretely in Jesus in his relationship with the Father. Secondly, it is seen in Jesus’ words and deeds towards all he came in contact with. That love culminated in Jesus giving his life for us in his crucifixion and resurrection, ascension and promised return. So, every word and act of the members of his body in relationship to each other are to be moved and measured by conformity to and even sharing in God’s kind of love……it is only as we share in and live out of our relationship to Christ and his love that we are able to relate to one another in ways that bring about a fruitful unity and diversity in loving relationship, fellowship and communion.” —Gary Deddo
Theological Theme:
“Christian marriage is grounded in God‘s [Father, Son and Holy Spirit] own creative activity. The basic unit of creation is not the individual human being, male or female, but Man and Woman as one Man, one flesh. ln marriage God completes His creative act. in making man and woman one flesh and through them creating new life. When a man and woman marry they partake of God‘s creative completion of their being. and so in marriage man and woman do not have to do only with one another, but have to do with their Creator. “—T. F. Torrance
Christ connection:
“Jesus Christ is the one Word of God in, by and for whom humanity is constituted. He alone reveals God’s will for human life and flourishing. Consequently, marriage ought primarily to be understood christologically. The Church therefore rejects as false all efforts to ground its doctrine and ethics in sources apart from and besides this one Word of God. Such efforts threaten to turn an institution or relationship into an idol, an anti-Christ.” —Jason Goroncy
When it comes to identity, you are not the sinful acts you perform. Your identity is firmly grounded in Christ. In Christ, you are a true person and human being. That is who you REALLY are. The attacks we experience in our day are not just on us and our family, on nature, on creation, on the universe or on the church. It is an attack on Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth. When we have received the Spirit of God, we’re in union with Jesus Christ and have been sealed with the Holy Spirit so, by nature of that union, that attack is coming at us too.
Therefore, when we talk about ANY challenge of life, Jesus is the answer and because HE is also the LIGHT, and the WAY, we MUST talk about ALL subjects, more specifically, Marriage, Singleness and Sexuality only in the light of HIM.
Missional Application:
As Christians we worship the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. We then witness to him that all may turn to Him, receive his Spirit and live in union and communion with Him. We seek in His power to glorify Him in every part of our nature and in every relationship!
“This ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit is essential for our participation in relationship with God on the basis of Christ’s ministry. The Spirit is the one who, in the proclamation and our hearing of the Word, gives us freedom to respond, who delivers to us the desire and willingness to repent, believe and trust Christ, and thus to receive the forgiveness God has, in Christ, already extended to us, and to receive the power to become and live as the adopted children of God that believers are….
Most particularly, life in the Spirit of Christ looks like a joyful, free “obedience of faith” in God through Christ that works itself out in following the many commands, imperatives and exhortations and correctives addressed to the church found throughout the New Testament. It involves a deliberate and purposeful participation in ministry as worship and witness that follows the patterns and priorities set out in the New Testament as enabled and gifted by the Holy Spirit. We can summarize all this under the heading of the Great Commandments of love for God (with all we are and have) and love for our neighbors (as God’s representatives)” —Gary Deddo
Conclusion:
1) Christian Marriage has to do with both people worshipping The Lord in a covenant.
2) A marriage is not just about the marriage itself- “the happening”.
“In the Bible, marriage is placed within the structure of the Covenant between God and man in which God revealed the inner basis and purpose of the creation. Marriage involves people in a way of life that is rooted beyond itself in the eternal Will and Truth of God and because in the sexual union of man and woman in marriage they are concerned with God‘s act, sexual acts outside that union are a sin against the Lord. Those who indulge in them are playing with God, and prostituting to their own selfish ends God’s creative act which constitutes the basic unity of man.” – T.F. Torrance
Psalm 51: 4 “Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.”
Sin is sin against The Lord who created it the way HE wanted it to run, as a mirror image of HIM. If you indulge in something against the way of The Lord you are adhering to your own selfish ends and going against God’s creative acts which constitute the basic unity of man.
The way God designed creation it is what brings people together and holds us together and makes us whole. To do anything contrary to that is to destroy one another and to destroy the unity which we are seeking to have in Christ.
Photo Compliments: Faithlife Sermons
Contending For The Faith Delivered To The Saints! – Part 12
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fCnlbFY-m0
Audio: Part 12a: 32 min
Audio: Part 12b: 30 min
Audio: Full Message:
This Specific Message Concludes the Series of 12 messages addressing today’s big questions regarding relationships, race, marriage, love, gender/sexual identity, politics, and worship and witness as it relates to the Christian God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Photo Compliments: http://www.lifeassuranceministries.org/proclamation/2010/4/Resources/octnovdec2010fea.jpeg
Contending For The Faith Delivered To The Saints! – Part 8
Part 8a: 32min
Part 8b: 26min
Full Message:
Main Passages: Jude 1 John 4 Gen 1-2
This message of God’s Good News urges believers to contend FOR the faith once delivered to the Church, in participation with Jesus Christ!, and AGAINST the ungodly cultural pressures and influences of our current times!
This is a Gospel message to a specific congregation of our times facing issues similar to congregations in other times as seen in the scriptures, particularly the Books of Jude and John. In this series, we make Christ-centered comparisons with the congregation in Jude and the Samaritan woman of Jesus’ time in John 4 to our particular congregation. You may see that the Church in general (especially if in the United States!), faces these same issues and also be helped by WHO and HOW He is proclaimed!
In the light of Jesus and the God revealed in Him (and over the course of 12 messages), we address today’s big questions regarding relationships, race, marriage, love, gender/sexual identity, politics, and worship and witness as it relates to the Christian God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Photo Compliments: http://www.tclministries.org/nt-scripture-gallery/
The Wicked Tenants!
Part 1a: 19min
Part 1b: 21min
Full Message:
Main Passage: Matthew 21:33-46
“One of Jesus’ most famous parables about judgment was the parable of the wicked tenants. In this story we see the privilege and responsibility that comes with God’s calling on our lives. We also see the grace of God in His warnings to sinners and the judgment of God in His retribution toward those who reject His Son. This parable’s stark imagery reminds us that we are called to bear the fruit of repentance and mission and thus fulfill our purpose as God’s people.” -The Gospel Project
Theological Theme:
Judgment comes on those who reject the commands, warnings, and Christ, The Son of God- [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit].
Christ Connection:
Jesus’ parable of the wicked tenants is one of the clearest denunciations of the religious leaders in His day. The story implies that God is the vineyard owner, Jesus is the owner’s son, and the religious leaders are the ones who have rejected God’s Word. Applying Psalm 118 to Himself, Jesus saw Himself as the cornerstone—the person in whom God’s judgment and salvation come together.
Missional Application:
God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to bear the fruit of repentance and mission, fulfilling our purpose as His people.
“Jesus teaches that seemingly endless patience of God is extended toward those who oppose him. But when this patience ends at the rejection of his Son, God’s swift retribution is sure to follow.” –Simon J. Kistemaker
“The portrait of a mild Jesus who spoke only of grace and never of judgment is a figment of the imagination. We serve a Savior whose scandalous grace was matched with the ferocious roar of judgment. In this parable, we see a glimpse of God’s patience but also His swift retribution. Let this story from Jesus shock your senses and lead you to see yourself as a steward of His blessings” -The Gospel Project
Photo Compliments:
The Father Loves And Likes You Fest 2017!
Thursday, October 12th Good News Event
Opening Good News Message: GCI National Intern Development Coordinator Anthony Mullins
“Contentment And The Big Ask!”
Part1a: 25min
Part 1b: 28min
Full Message: 53min
Friday, October 13th Good News Events
Introduction to Break-Out Sessions and Prayer – 5 min
Pastor Timothy Brassell – Lead Pastor GCI Baltimore MD.
- Session 1) Anthony Mullins – GCI National Intern Development Coordinator
“Life Together: The Overflow Of Community!” – 50min
- Session 2) Timothy Brassell – Lead Pastor GCI Baltimore, MD.
“Discerning The Signs Of Our Current GCI Times!” – 65min
- Session 3) Bill Winn – Lead Pastor GCI Richmond, VA.
“Participating In Jesus’ Generosity!” – 38min
Evening Good News Messages
- 1) Ann Vinson – Pastor GCI Baltimore MD.
“Are You Overflowing With The Holy Spirit?”
John 7: 37- 39 – 39min
- 2) Richard Andrews – Pastor GCI Baltimore MD.
“It’s Good News: Jesus Is Life!” John 6- 63 – 32min
Saturday, October 14th Good News Messages
- 1) Calvin Simon – Lead Pastor GCI Norfolk, VA.
“Jesus Is All We Need Despite Our Feelings!” Matthew 11: 27-30 NIV – 28min
- 2) Bill Winn: Lead Pastor GCI Richmond, VA.
“Can You Here Me?” – 30min
Sunday, October 15th Concluding Good News Message
Timothy Brassell: Lead Pastor GCI Baltimore, MD.
“Return to Jesus – Your Pastor and Guardian!”
Part 1a: 36min
Part 1b: 44min
Full Message: 80min
God’s Word To Us Going Forward – 34sec
“https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/gods-word-to-us-t-brassell.mp3”
“It was clear to us what God’s WORD was to us and that is – I’ve redeemed you! and I am going to redeem you! It’s OK…and You don’t have to be afraid to be vulnerable because I have redeemed that and I am with you now to see things restored and reconciled…..and there are ways for us to begin to participate as he shares the Spirit with us so really we have nothing but a reason to say THANK YOU to God, and in the Psalms it says – ‘Clap your Hands'” – TJBrassell
The King Who Befriends
Main Passages:
1 Samuel 18:1-3
1 Samuel 19:1-7
1 Samuel 23:15-18
Part 1a: 19min
Part 1b: 22 min
Full Message: 41 min
“One of the greatest examples of friendship in the Bible is in the relationship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan shows us what it means to be a true friend by being utterly committed to David’s well-being, by risking his own welfare for the sake of David, and by strengthening him in his faith. The example of Jonathan points forward to the truest and best friend of all—Jesus Christ Himself, who redefines friendship and transforms us into the kind of people who can be true friends to our brothers and sisters in Christ.” – the Gospel Project
Theological Theme:
God – Father, Son and Spirit’s people need godly friendships.
Christ Connection
The story of David and Jonathan gives us an example of true friendship and offers us a picture of God’s covenantal love for people. Because of Jesus’ commitment to us, His sacrificial love, and His strengthening grace, we are called the “friends of God.”
Missional Application
God calls us to befriend others in the way He has befriended us: by committing to one another, sacrificing for one another, and strengthening one another through the power of the cross – by participating, literally, with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
““I have called you friends.”John 15:15 – It is a friendship based on the new life created in us which has no affinity with our old life but only with the life of God. It is unutterably humble, unsulliedly pure, and absolutely devoted to God.” – WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS – My Utmost For His Highest
“[Spiritual friendship] is eagerly helping one another know, serve, love, and resemble God in deeper and deeper ways.” – Timothy J. Keller