February 27, 2011 AM
The Journey #11
Dave Marttunen
Audio / Questions / LeadersI deeply love the Bible. I refer to it most often, with its simple phrase of self-description—the Word of God. And I must confess that I am deeply disturbed by its content. I know that I am not alone in that response. Critics and believers alike are united in their descriptions of the Old Testament, in particular, as acutely distressing. This morning in our study of the Scripture, we will tackle one of the Old Testament accounts that will lead us into the wider consideration of a challenging topic—God’s wrath. The Old Testament and the New Testament are united in their description of God, although we might like to put the troubling bits and doctrines in the Old and imagine that the ones we prefer and like belong to the New. This is not possible. God’s wrath is declared, described and demonstrated in both. Today, as we continue our journey in Exodus, we will learn that God’s wrath is his just anger against all that stands in opposition to his glory.
February 20, 2011 PM
Portraits of Jesus #1
David Dawson
Audio We have no actual pictures of Jesus. The gospels don‟t give us even a hint of a description of his physical appearance. What the gospels do give us is a rich description of his character and powerful expressions of his core identity. The gospel of John in particular is full of meaningful descriptions of Jesus, many of which come from the words of Christ himself. This new series will reflect on the descriptions of Christ in the Gospel of John. In this first message, we consider Christ‟s divine origins as one not of this world.
February 20, 2011 AM
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersIn baptism and child dedication, there is much in common. In both cases we are witnessing the work of God in
life. In baptism we witness the commitment of self to God completely; we are by our own choice buried (put to death and lowered into a grave). In dedication, we witness and join parents in their commitment of themselves to God for the sake of their child. In both cases we see the willing abandonment of self to God. We witness in their declaration that without God in them not one of them can hope to live out an active and declared commitment. This is true for all of us. However, for most of us, our world is a collision over greatness, power and control. This introduces us to a moment when the disciples are disputing between themselves over this issue; in God‟s coming kingdom, who will be the greatest? Christ‟s answer to them helps us think through the radical difference between God‟s plan and ours. In Jesus‟ answer we will discover that his rule in our lives is not based on our self-empowerment but our willing self-abasement. Today, we will explore in more depth, what it means in attitude and practice to choose to be and stay a child of God.
February 13, 2011 PM
Mike Millard
AudioIn those moments of honest self-reflection, most of us will acknowledge our tendency to be self-sufficient and self-satisfying. That’s because our nature has been infected with pride, and the object of pride is self. Since our
bent toward self hinders our relationship with God, He offers us an antidote – humility. But humility is elusive: the moment we claim to have it, we’ve lost it! Furthermore, the kind of humility God presents as the antidote to pride differs from the world’s idea of humility. Tonight, Pastor Mike Millard looks at some of the aspects of biblical humility necessary to be in a close relationship with God.
February 13, 2011 AM
Delieverd from Fear #5
David Dawson
Audio / Questions / LeadersAs I have explored the topic of fear, I realize that God does not want to deliver us from all fear. Sometimes God deliberately puts us in a fearful situation. He may deliver us through that fear, but he does not remove the fear itself. The point of fear is often an opportunity to grow. We can meet Christ in the fearful unknown as Peter did when he stepped out of the boat.
February 6, 2011 PM
Delivered from Fear #4
David Dawson
AudioAlthough our culture tends to ignore the possibility of spiritual forces of evil, we have a strange fascination with horror and the paranormal. As Christians, we must walk a fine line between underestimating and overestimating the power of evil. The Bible makes it clear that we must recognize our enemy, but never fear him, because greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world.
February 6, 2011 AM
The Journey #10
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersToday, we arrive with Moses and Israel at a place where God clearly forms the nation for himself. The question and answer that we hear in the story is this: what does a devoted follower of Jesus Christ look like, act like, and behave like? The answer is stunningly clear, yet anything but simple or easy. We will learn in the commands of God that it‟s all of me for all of him all the time.
