July 26, 2009 PMDavid DawsonAlthough the gospel message never changes, not every person can hear it in the same way. In Acts 17, we see that Paul adjusts his presentation depending on his context. In the Synagogues of Thessalonica and Berea, he reasons from the scriptures, but in the marketplace of Athens, he takes a different approach. Like Athens in Paul's day, our culture is increasingly ignorant of the scriptures, so we need to follow Paul's example and find ways to relate the gospel truth to different kinds of people.Audio
July 26, 2009 AMDave MarttunenIt is not hard to give honour when we already respect, value, or esteem the person that we are required to honour. The challenge comes for us when we are required to give honour to someone at our own cost. When it is no longer convenient, or easy, or cheap, then giving honour is a litmus test. To give someone genuine honour with heart, mind and strength, requires the presence of other behaviours, attitudes and beliefs. Today, we will discover how easy and challenging it is to give God the honour that he deserves.Audio
July 19 2009 PMDavid Dawson
As the mission of the early church shifted towards the Gentile world, the church faced a critical junction. There was a theological disagreement within the church as to the importance of obeying the law of Moses. The church met in Jerusalem to make a critical decision. Was salvation by faith alone, or were gentiles required to follow the Jewish laws? The decision that this counsel made shaped the very destiny of the church and clarified God's definition of salvation.Audio
July 19, 2009 AMDave MarttunenThe real saying goes like this: “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”. What it means is that the true value of something can only be known when it’s put to use. Looking good and sounding good are not the same as good-ness to the core. Paul says much the same thing to us in Romans 2. It’s the inside change that delivers the outside fruit. Good roots produce good fruits, and Jesus summarized it this way: a tree is known by its fruits. All of us have life experience that proves it to be true. This morning as Pastor Dave Marttunen continues his series title Rooted, a ten part series in Romans, he will focus on the “inside out change” that develops in the follower of Jesus.Audio
July 12, 2009David DawsonIn the story of Peter and Cornelius, we see that God miraculously intervened in order to ensure that the gospel
did not become limited by culture and race. While the good news of Christ could have been constrained by the
original Jewish audience, God made it clear that forgiveness and the gift of the Holy Spirit is available to the
Gentiles. May we continue to ensure that prejudices never limit God's grace.Audio
July 12, 2009 AMDavid DawsonNobody likes to think of themselves as weak. We like to hide our failures and difficulties and come across as if we have things under control. The danger of this spiritually is that when we nurture a sense of self reliance, we in effect crowd out God's power and glory. While God does give us a Spirit of power and strengthens us for his service, he wants us to serve him in humility and dependence. When we become comfortable with our limitations and turn to God for strength, we show others that our spiritual "success" is not based on our ability but on God's power.Audio / Notes
July 5, 2009 PMDavid DawsonAs we look to Acts chapter 9 and the conversion of Saul, we see similar patterns in our own lives. While Saul's experience was certainly more dramatic that ours, the same basic pattern holds. Our hostile hearts are humbled as we meet Christ, we are transformed and called into service.Audio
July 5, 2009 AMDave MarttunenPaul’s first paragraphs, after his introduction, explain the Christian worldview. As the apostle, sent by Christ to build Churches outside the Jewish community, Paul teaches us that God is just and humanity is predisposed towards self corruption. The worship of idols as Paul describes it, is more than freedom of religion; to the Christian worldview it is a lowering of God’s identity (his nature and attributes) because idolatry mixes human values into God’s character and behavior. Idolatry lessens God’s own self revelation. The Christian worldview is based on God’s justice, which if accepted as the valid nature of the uncreated God, then requires God’s judgment. As we share our faith and hope in Christ, it is essential that we learn how to speak to our culture. Many in our community (neighbors, friends, colleagues and extended family) believe that freedom means we can choose to worship whatever we want without consequence. But Christians believe while we were designed for worship, whatever we worship masters us. Today we will learn that God’s word speaks to the current beliefs of our day, despite the fact that they think they are both above and beyond the Christian worldview.Audio
June 28, 2009 PMDave MarttunenTonight, Pastor Marttunen will teach us from the life of Jonathan who initiated a decisive battle in Israel's fight for freedom and self government. The principles of Jonathan‟s leadership give us hope for today‟s emerging leaders.Audio
