Sept 25, 2011 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #3
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersHuman beings flee suffering. We move to safer neighbourhoods. We choose milder climates. We buy air conditioners. We take Aspirin. We come out of the rain. We avoid dark streets at night. We purify our water. So what is a Theology of Suffering, and why do we need one? The answer is simple. If you do not have it, you quit too soon, leave to early, check out when God says stay put. A city is not won by ease. Today, Pastor Marttunen is teaching the third part in our series on Revelation. We hear God speak to a Church built in the city that calls itself “the flower of Asia”. A city determined to extinguish the only light that can lead it to heaven. Today, we will learn that God‟s call to suffering is a call built on a clear view of Jesus Christ that willingly waits for the fruit God alone can make grow.
Sept 18, 2011 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #2
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersIf you were writing a letter to someone you loved deeply, who stopped returning the love they had always given freely, how would you start and conclude? Revelation 2:1-7 is the first of seven letters to a strong, healthy and vibrant Church. But something is missing in the heart of the Church and Jesus doesn't waste any time diagnosing the problem and outlining for them the solution. Heart ache is the hardest to heal because at the heart level we are the most vulnerable and able to be the most deeply wounded at that level. It is also the level at which we inflict the most hurt. "My heart isn't in it", "I've lost heart", "I am disheartened", "my heart is broken", "my achey-breaky heart", all tell us the same thing—that we know what it means to lose our first love.Today, Pastor Marttunen leads our study in Revelation titled “Discipleship on the Edge”, part two; "Love Lost".
Sept 11, 2011 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #1
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersYour mental picture of someone determines how you respond, act, behave, and relate to them. Picture our Queen in your mind, and then imagine a conversation with her, and your discover that your language changes, your conversation topics are not the same as those you have with your close friend or even your neighbour. Your mental picture of someone determines how you relate to them. This is also true with Jesus Christ. If we view him as a simple type of person who walked dusty roads, and hung out with his friends, your relationship will be different than if you see him on a throne, crowned and being worshiped by the universe. Today Pastor Marttunen engages us with a teaching on the person of Jesus in Revelation Chapter 1. In “Seeing the Risen Christ”, he shows us that we see how Christ determines how we follow him. An inadequate picture of Christ results in adequate worship and inadequate obedience.
Sept 4, 2011 PM
David Dawson
Audio Every journey needs a destination. For the pilgrims of the Old Testament, it was the city of Jerusalem. For us today to appreciate a psalm like this, we need to understand the spiritual significance of Jerusalem. We, too, are journeying to the Jerusalem of God.
Sept 4, 2011 AM
Rooted in Romans #24
Dave Marttunen
Audio / Questions / LeadersThis morning we conclude our third installment in our summer series Rooted in Romans, with part 24 “The Peril of a Promise.” Our reluctance to make promises is founded on two rails. The first rests on the giving or making end. This rail of reluctance rests on our inability to see the future; circumstances make keeping our promises difficult, so we frequently determine not to make promises which we cannot keep. That is a good thing. The second rail of our reluctance to make promises rests on the receiving end. Our promises are often interpreted by those who receive them as entitlement. Parents know this rail all too well! They hear the cry…“but you promised”, all too often. Believers can make the same cry against God. When we cite God’s promises we mean “WE ARE ENTITLED!!!” In chapter 11 of Romans, Paul takes us into the orchard to explain how God’s promises are made and kept in God’s plan to bring and work grace into an obstinate world.
Aug 28, 2011 PM
David Dawson
Audio Psalm 121 is a song about God’s protection. As one of the songs of ascent, this song was sung by pilgrims journeying to the temple. We too are on a pilgrimage in life, moving closer to God, moving through dangerous terrain. What kind of protection can we expect from God as we journey with him?
