Archive for the ‘Song’ Category
Our Father’s Hope For All: In The Forgiveness Of Sin! pt.6
Part 6A:
Part 6B:
Full Message:
Main Bible Verses: Luke 24 Luke 7: 36-50
Introduction:
“Our Father’s hope for all: In The Forgiveness Of Sin” has primarily to do with relationship and how relationships work. It is not some static fact apart from actual relationship. When we say Resurrection, we mean God’s forgiveness resulted not only in the sending away of sin but RELATIONSHIP with JESUS in a RENEWED HUMAN NATURE by the Spirit. This message focuses in on the forgiveness/reconciliation that is ours because of Jesus, The Resurrection.
Theological Theme:
The Gift God gives us is The Gift of Himself. God doesn’t have anything else to give humanity but Himself, so the gift you have been given in The Gospel is God -The Father, Son and Spirit and relationship with Him. This is why Jesus personalized Resurrection saying that HE IS THE RESURRECTION – John 11:25.
Christ Connection:
The primary thing Jesus has been proclaiming is HIMSELF and Who HE IS. Because He is God the Son, the only begotten of The Father, then when He is with us, in our humanity, He is God with us, God for us, for our humanity!
What The Resurrection is proclaiming:
- Jesus is God The Father for us (since He is One with the Father).
- Jesus is The Holy Spirit in us (since the Spirit is One with He and the Father).
- Jesus is God, having done something to our human nature. Jesus is literally inside our human nature and so God is intimate with us by the Holy Spirit in our human nature.
- Jesus is God, transforming our human nature up close and personal – personalizing and humanizing us.
When we say JESUS, we are saying that in Him and because of His union with us as His creation, there is now a reconciled relationship that God has with all with creation. For Jesus to become human and to touch and heal humanity means that what God created but had fallen into sin has now been made right again, in Him, so that we can have hope now and fulfillment at Jesus’ Final Appearing! We receive in Christ the complete forgiveness of sin and at the same time the complete healing of the proper relationship between God and man, and all creation.
“The Gospel is as inclusive as Jesus’ Humanity” – Bobby Grow
Missional Application:
What sin is:
Because God is a relationship and has called us into His relationship, sin means our not believing in Him, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Sin is our not trusting, or relating with Him. Sin is turning to something else other than The Father, Son and Spirit for your identity, for guidance in your life, for strength in your trials, etc. Sin is also the horrible motive of seeking to put God to death. Sin according to the scriptures is lawlessness meaning that it corrupts every part of our humanity in word and deed, and everything in between..
However, the one unchanging Truth of the universe is God and His love revealed in Jesus Christ. God is interested in us and in a restored relationship no matter that we have sinned and despite that we have done everything to mess up our relationship with Him. In His fantastic mercy and grace He has placed into the universe, and into His creation in Jesus Christ, THE FULLNESS OF THE FATHER SON AND SPIRIT IN FLESH! So Law in The New Testament is actually the Love of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit Revealed in the human nature of the Son. Since everyone has sinned, and Christ has undone our sin, every human has been forgiven of their sin and reconciled to God in Jesus Christ and, therefore, are each and all called to put their trust in Jesus and receive this forgiveness and reconciliation freely given to us!
Conclusion:
In The Resurrection Season, God The Father proclaims to you through His Son and in the Holy Spirit the forgiveness of all of your sins. Luke 24: 1-8
God wants all to participate in what Christ has done for us and to receive what is already theirs in Christ – THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN. The reason your sins are forgiven in Christ is because Jesus is “THE ONE FOR THE MANY”. Knowing Christ in His Resurrection means knowing the forgiveness of ALL your sins. Hear and receive this hope and proclamation of THE COMPLETE forgiveness of your sins because of Jesus, THE Resurrection, and because of Jesus’ Resurrection, bodily, from the dead!
“….Despite man’s sin, God is with him, the One who was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world, drawing man unto Himself in merciful judgment. Man’s evil past is not merely crossed out because of its irrelevancy. Rather, it is in the good care of God. Despite man’s life in the flesh, corrupt and ephemeral, God is with him. The victor in Christ is here and now present through His Spirit, man’s strength, companion, and comfort. Despite man’s death God is with him, meeting him as redeemer and perfecter at the threshold of the future to show him the totality of existence in the true light in which the eyes of God beheld it from the beginning and will behold it evermore. In what He is for man and does for man, God ushers in the history leading to the ultimate salvation of man.” ― Karl Barth, The Humanity of God
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Marriage: Profound Mystery About Christ And The Church! pt.2

Part 2A:
Part 2B:
Full Message:
Main Bible Verses: John 14:6 I Corinthians6: 17 Ephesians 5
This Message Series:
Living Into This Challenging Christian Life With Jesus! #13
Introduction:
Our context is always Jesus Christ. We find new life in Jesus Christ.
“Jesus is the gospel. He is our salvation. We receive all the benefits of who he is as we trust in him and cast aside (repent of) all rival objects of trust. We then enjoy union and communion with Jesus as our Lord and God. Our lives are united to him and we share in his life, participating with him in all he is doing and will do in our relationship of trust (faith)”
“Grasping the truth of our relationship to Christ calls for the renewing of our minds so that we begin to think differently about what makes us who we are. In the end, we even have to approach reading Scripture differently. The challenge becomes not so much taking the Bible literally, but taking it realistically. When Paul declares that we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2: 6), we have warrant, despite our Aristotelian philosophical training, to grasp this realistically. The good news is that we as Christians are united to Christ in such a way that all that is ours is his and all that is his is ours. Paul refers to this reality when he states, “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).” —Gary Deddo
Theologial Theme:
The great epiphany/revelation of God —[Father, Son and Holy Spirit] comes only when we see Jesus Christ because when Jesus came, He unveiled what life/God is really like. It is the only way that God has shown up in flesh.
Jesus Christ is the radical unveiling of God to us (John 14:6). I (GOD) am THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE but Jesus Christ is also the unveiling/revelation of man, of what it really means to be a human being shown only to you by God to know and receive. Jesus Christ is the way of a human being, the truth of a human being and the life of a human being. He is NOT the way of any one race over another. Jesus is the revelation of what it means to be a human being –who you are in Christ – and that is what’s PRIMARY about your identity. Race, color, gender etc. are secondary. Which means EACH contributes and can’t be denied and each should be brought up to the level of Jesus Christ to avoid the imbalances of thinking, because Jesus is to dominate. It is never about subordination.
Three crucial things about understanding who
God-[Father-Son-Holy Spirit] is:
- God is ONE – The Father, Son and Spirit have the same heart, mind, and characteristics. He is One in Being. He is UNITY in Trinity.
- God is THREE PERSONS – God is a relationship. God is not alone. He is Three Persons. He is TRINITY in Unity.
- God (The Father, Son and Spirit) are EQUAL – The Son and The Holy Spirit have always been ONE with The Father. There is no subordination in The Trinity, where One is lesser then the Other. Each Person is Fully God in Himself, and All are the One God.
Christ Connection:
“When we don’t see people as they are in Jesus Christ, we de-humanize them. You cannot put anyone (not even self) into a category other than a category where YOUR IDENTITY IS FIRMLY UPHELD AS A HUMAN BEING IN JESUS CHRIST. We are all unique people in Jesus Christ. It doesn’t erase the distinctions/ differences, rather it magnifies them. Jesus Christ came as a unique Man but He came as a Male not to represent males but to represent a distinction in creation. Therefore ALL DISTINCTIONS MATTER! – White, black, male, female, child, adult and every person in Jesus Christ is lifted up to a new life in Him, and called to this new life in Him, so that we no longer have the barriers that have plagued us in our sin.” – Pastor Timothy Brassell
There is a mysterious union that ALL human beings have with Jesus Christ because He took on the human nature of every person, male, female, black, white, etc. and in HIM – All have been forgiven, all have been justified in Jesus Christ – Romans 3: 22-24. Our adoption takes place by The Spirit, in Whom we actually share in The Son’s relationship with The Father when personally believe and receive Him (Ephesians 1). We read in Ephesians 2 that He put to death the hostility that was in and against man, by dying himself.
There is an attack upon the church and it must be fought and for this reason in Ephesians 6 we read “Take up the full armor of God”
Missional Application:
If you belong to God, you are called to Christian marriage in Jesus Christ by The Holy Spirit.
God has embodied Himself in humanity and He is the only one that can live like a human being so, what we are REALLY seeing in scripture is how JESUS CHRIST lives as a human being. Ephesians 4: 1-2 ”Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” We mistakenly think God starts things and we finish but it is Christ’s doing, and our participating with Christ in His doing, by the Holy Spirit.
Be imitators of God. Ephesians 5 “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
The question is: Are you participating with Jesus Christ in HIS SUBMISSION to the other? Ephesians 4:9-17
“What marriage talks about is Jesus Christ giving HIMSELF for the other in and through YOU, and NOT you giving yourself for your spouse. Christ is the wisdom of God. Since there is NO subordination in The Trinity, submission in the scriptures is a Godly term, (the way Jesus lives before The Father) not first and foremost a human term. Therefore submission has to do with freedom, NOT force. Jesus submits to the Father freely out of godliness and love for His Father and His Father submits freely to the Son out of love for His Son.” —Pastor Timothy Brassell
Submission is NOT subordination of one human being over another. Submission in the scriptures is JESUS’ submission to His Father through His fellow human beings. Therefore, to understand submission, you are going to have to be in a relationship with God The Father, through Jesus and in the Holy Spirit; and if you want to grow in your marriage you will need to draw close to God—[Father-Son-Holy Spirit] so that HE MIGHT LIVE IN AND THROUGH YOU as HE is seeking to do.
“Everything we receive from God we pass on to others to contribute to God’s universe-wide purposes. This is especially true in our relationships. We receive forgiveness of sins—renewing grace to start again with hope. We receive God’s generosity, providing us all the fruit of the Spirit. We receive comfort, love, transforming power, purpose and direction in life to be a sign and witness to the grace and goodness of God. We become witnesses to the truth and holy loving character of God. All these things point to eternal life—life with God as his beloved children in holy, loving unity.” —Gary Deddo
Conclusion:
This Gospel Message explains what it means to live out and walk out this justification, this forgiveness and this adoption that is ours in Jesus Christ through The Holy Spirit, and so it is also crucial for single people for these reasons:
- It is a message about Christ. All male and female relations and not just marriage relations are in the image of God.
- Even though human marriage will end in the Kingdom, singles and all who are united to Christ will have marital union with Jesus Christ. This message teaches that marriages are pointing away from self and pointing to something that is ultimately going to happen with all of us in Christ. We are going to be one with Christ.
- God is clear about when and where sex should take place, so whatever it means to be truly human in male and female relationships, it doesn’t mean crossing boundaries that are warned by God NOT to cross. (1Cor 4:14) This is what God’s love is doing. It is warning you, but only so that you can know and share in the blessing of how you are made.
- Whenever we are talking about Christ, it is important to realize that we are all called to grow up in the qualities of Christ. (Luke 2:52) You should be growing as a wise person, growing in stature, and in favor with God and man.
“He is Lord and Savior over every aspect of human life and has a purpose for every dimension of our existence. It is all to be a channel of his blessing to us and through us to others. All of it, every relationship, is meant to lead to life and life abundantly. Even our eating and drinking is to reflect the glory of our life-giving God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Every relationship is to be a fruitful gift exchange that contributes to a fullness of life and a fullness of love.” —Gary Deddo
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Toward Faithfulness In The Gospel!

Audio – Part A:
Audio – Part B:
Full Message:
Scripture: Galatians 2:11-21 Romans 6: 4 Isaiah 55 Matthew 18
Introduction:
Are you living life well in Christ so that people know who Christ is by how you are living?
As a part of his ministry to the church, the apostle Paul wrote letters to churches to teach, encourage, and rebuke. In a rebuke to the Galatian churches, he shared how he confronted the apostle Peter for being two-faced, or hypocritical. Peter acted one way with one group of Christians and another way with a different group. Peter’s hypocrisy wasn’t a small problem though. When he chose to separate himself from Gentile believers, he implicitly denied the truth of the gospel by his actions. This was why Paul had to step in and challenge Peter to reflect the truth of the gospel to others through his actions. Paul’s challenge reminds us that our salvation rests in our faith in Christ alone. Christ’s death in our place, followed by His resurrection, is the basis of our salvation, not our own works.
Theological Theme:
It matters how we live this life in Christ because it matters to God —[Father, Son and Holy Spirit]. We have been called to a new life, we have been called to live a faithful life in the gospel because it is the only way to live out this challenging life. When we’re not immersed in the gospel, other things can become our truth therefore when the truth of the gospel is at stake, we must take a strong stand.
1) Faithful living in the gospel requires us to speak the truth in love to one another in line with the gospel!
Christ Connection:
When Peter chose to separate himself from Gentile believers, he implicitly denied the truth of the gospel by his actions. Paul’s challenge reminds us that Christ alone is the source of our salvation and faith is the sign of it. Christ’s death in our place is the basis of our salvation, not our own works.
2) Faithful living in the gospel means we’re justified by faith in Christ and not by any actions of our own!
“The gospel is the good news, that the privilege of getting right with God (what Justification means) was purchased when Christ died for our sins and rose again and that the only way to enjoy this privilege is to live by faith IN The Son of God who loves us and gave himself for us.” —Pastor Richard Andrews
“The gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God’s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope—at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin.” –Timothy Keller
Missional Application:
Worries about our image and people-pleasing can create conflict when we have to choose between pleasing ourselves or someone else instead of pleasing God. Relationships matter. Scripture teaches that. But when the truth of the gospel is at stake, we must take a strong stand.
God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to stand our ground and refuse to compromise when the truth of the gospel is at stake.
“Self-image, the concept we have of ourselves, must begin not by looking in the mirror but by looking into the face of God.” –Sam Storms
Conclusion:
3) Faithful living in the gospel is only possible when we are in Christ!
Peter’s hypocrisy in withdrawing from eating with Gentile believers in Antioch probably didn’t seem to be that big of a problem, but Paul saw it for what it really was—a threat to the gospel proclaimed and lived. For this reason, Paul was quick to confront Peter and remind him of the gospel—the gospel that has brought all who trust in Christ into one family of faith.
When we reflect on Paul’s rebuke of Peter, we need to see ourselves in the shoes of each one. Has God placed us as a “Paul” to help correct and guide someone else to live out and declare the gospel faithfully? Are we willing to take a bold and firm stand for truth because of our love for God and that person? Will we act on that?
But at the same time, we need to look deeply within ourselves and see if we are living like Peter in any way. Are we asking the Holy Spirit to give us sight to see our blind spots, any prejudices or wrong views of others and any ways we are not declaring and living the gospel faithfully? Do we have people in our lives who will confront us in grace and truth when we succumb to hypocrisy, and are we listening to them?
May we be faithful Pauls and humble Peters as we strive to live holy lives in faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
God’s Grace Expressed Through Jesus’ Love!

Part A: Pastor Tony Marra:
Part B: Pastor Dave Stonesifer
Part C: Pastor Ann Vinson
Part D: Pastor Timothy Brassell
Part E: Full Message: NLF Pastoral Team
Bible Verses: Mark 1: 14-16 Ephesians 1 2 Cor 12: 19 Numbers 6: 24 – 26
Introduction:
“God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualized his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself. Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.” —(T. F. Torrance, “The Mediation of Christ,” 94)
Theological Theme:
“The gospel announces that salvation is available by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and not through additional obligations and works.”
The gospel is the Good News of God, that we are included in the life and love of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit by grace. It is nothing we have earned or deserve but rather something given as a free gift to us. We have to remember that Jesus is THE Savior of the world. The struggle in believing this good news is that it sounds really good but it is not easy to receive and can only be received by the grace of God; That means GOD working in us to WILL and to DO and to BELIEVE that it is actually the truth of our lives in Jesus, in our place and on our behalf!
“Grace is the hardest thing for us to be reconciled to, because it implies the renouncing of our pretensions, our power, our pomp and circumstance. It is opposite of everything our ‘religious’ sentiments are looking for.” —Jacques Ellul
Christ Connection:
Salvation is a Revelation, something God has to lead us to. Since Jesus Christ is the center-point of God, then Salvation is actually the Person Jesus Christ. But this is something only God can reveal, and through Jesus Christ. That means from beginning to end, Jesus Christ is the only one who pulls off what God wanted done with us.
The primary message of the gospel is NOT that you need to receive the gospel, but rather the gospel HAS RECEIVED YOU! The Father HAS RECEIVED YOU in Jesus Christ, by The Holy Spirit; but the good news always proclaims REPENT! When we say Jesus Christ lives IN US, we mean Jesus lives inside our human nature hence He made “human nature” capable of being able to receive that He did good for us. However the Father-Son-and-Spirit-God is NOT a substance but a relationship. God IN us means us having an INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with God, Father, Son and Spirit!
Because Jesus is our Salvation, Salvation is a proclamation not just in Word but also in Deed.
“God came in Christ, in our place and on our behalf, to actually undo what we had done (Eph. 1:10). In that undoing, a real relationship (via the hypostatic union) between God and mankind was forged in the Son of God’s own person.”—Clarifying Our Theological Vision, by Gary Deddo
Missional Application:
Salvation is a Proclamation and that proclamation is— Repent and receive Jesus as your Salvation! Salvation as a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ. It is relying on Jesus Christ. It is praying to God The Father through Jesus Christ in The Holy Spirit, and this is what we witness to others about that they may share in this relationship with us! All of humanity is encouraged to turn from what they were thinking and doing by turning to Jesus Christ! The Father calls His humanity to turn from turning away from Jesus and begin to relate with and trust Jesus in union with the Holy Spirit! God-Father-Son-and-Spirit loves and includes all of mankind in relationship with Himself through Jesus, the Son of God made human..
“Grace is to be understood as the impartation not just of something from God but of God Himself. In Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit God freely gives to us in such a way that the Gift and the Giver are one and the same in the wholeness and indivisibility of His grace…”—(Thomas F. Torrance, Reality and Evangelical Theology. Westminster Press. 1981. pgs 14,15).
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The Messenger – Converted and Called!
Audio – Part A: 25 min
Audio – Part B: 24 min
Audio – Full message:
Bible Verses: Acts 9: 1-25
Introduction:
“The most meaningful changes in life are the ones that move us closer to fulfilling our God-given purpose—starting with being converted as new followers of Christ. We don’t change and grow to be better people with better lives with the goal of feeling better about who we are. We grow to become faithful Christ-followers sent by the God who sends.
Saul, later known as Paul, collided with God on the road to Damascus. More precisely, it was “the God who sends” who collided with Paul, and this Pharisee’s life was never the same. Paul’s story reminds us how God can transform even the hardest of hearts and what it looks like to become a converted, called messenger of the God who sends us on mission with His Son.”
Theological Theme:
Conversion to Christ comes with a calling to ministry with God [Father, Son and Holy Spirit]
Christ Connection:
The conversion and calling of Saul, later Paul, is a demonstration of God’s power to save. Through an encounter with the crucified and risen Jesus, this once-hardened persecutor of God’s people began his journey to becoming the greatest missionary the world has ever known. Only the gospel can transform a public opponent of Christ into a fervent witness to His salvation.
Missional Application:
God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to pray with full confidence that God can transform even the hardest heart.
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