Soaring Faith

Welcome to the Soaring Faith Podcast, a weekly 40-minute exploration of gospel-centered teachings presented by Eagleville Bible Church. Our mission is to embolden your faith journey through insightful sermons and profound biblical truths. Currently, our series, ”We Are the Church,” delves into the essence of our role as believers in Christ’s body. We invite you to step into a life of bold faith, firmly grounded in Christ’s love, as each episode uncovers transformative grace that nurtures your daily relationship with Jesus. Drawing from the vibrant ministry of Eagleville Bible Church, our podcast offers an avenue for spiritual growth and engagement. Tune in regularly as we celebrate the beauty of faith, the joy of generosity, and the power of a Christ-centered life, fostering a deeper connection with both faith and community.

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Episodes

The Common Thread

Thursday Feb 08, 2024

Thursday Feb 08, 2024

READ: Genesis 12:1
 
CHALLENGE: Walk by Faith, not by sight.
 
FAITH IS STRONGER THAN THE BROKEN BRANCHES OF THE FAMILY TREE
 
 
Faith is Stronger Than the Branch of Dysfunction
 
Genesis 11:27-30 - This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth..
 
Faith Works in the Root of Normal
 
 
     B. FAITH MOVES FORWARD WITHOUT ALL THE ANSWERS (vv1-4)
 
V1 - The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”[b]
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.
 
 
 
Faith Moves Us Past Our Comforts
 
Moves Us Past What’s Certain
 
 
2 Corinthians 5:7 - For we live by faith, not by sight.
 
    C. FAITH LIVES BY GOD’S PROMISES
 
Vv2-3 - “I will make you into a great nation,and I will bless you;I will make your name great,and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you,and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
 
 
Promises Are Based in God’s Plan
 
 
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans.
 
John 3:16 - For God so loved.
 
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
 
 
Promises Give Us Tremendous Confidence
 
   D. FAITH IS AN ACTION
 
VV5-6 - He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there..
 

Taking a Stand

Monday Feb 05, 2024

Monday Feb 05, 2024

READ: Genesis 6:5
 
 
CHALLENGE: Stand for What’s Right
 
 
This is a Bible. It’s not old fashioned or out of date. If anything, the Bible keeps us from devolving into the worst mess of humanity. If you want to talk what’s old fashion, it’s sin. Murder was in the beginning. As was immorality and violence and injustice. That’s what’s old fashion in the world.
 
A. YOU DON’T HAVE FOREVER TO GET IT TOGETHER
 
 
V3 - Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend withhumans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
 
 
1. God’s Spirit Strives with People
 
Job 34:14-15 - If it were his intentionand he withdrew his spiritand breath,15 all humanity would perish together.
 
John 16:8 - When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
 
Job 33:14-18 - For God does speak—now one way, now another—though no one perceives it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on peopleas they slumber in their beds,16 he may speak in their ears.
 
2. Enough is Enough – You Can Push God Too Far
 
2 Peter 3:8-9 - But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
 
B. KNOW THAT SIN IS AN ENDLESS and DANGEROUS SLIDE
 
V5 - The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
 
1. Sin is an Endless Hallway so Don’t Take the First Step
 
2. Sin Wants More and More of You
 
Romans 1:24-25 - Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
 
C. CHOOSE TO DO THE RIGHT THING
 
Vv8-9 - But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
 
· Noah Found Favor
 
Galatians 1:10 - Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
 
Don’t be afraid to be different. I’m not saying, weird.
 
· Righteous
 
To be righteous means that you have a standard that you live by. The standard here is set by God.
 
“The root basically connotes conformity to an ethical or moral standard. It originally referred to something that was straight. It refers to an ethical standard. A moral standard is found in the Old Testament. The standard ultimately resides in the nature and will of God”.
 
Righteousness is not something that just impacts you personally. Righteousness “tries to preserve the peace and prosperity of the community by fulfilling the commands of God in regard to others”.
 
If you look at the 10 Commandments, they lay out how to live in harmony within a community. I’m going to be at peace when I’m not lying to you, cheating on you, stealing from you, or destroying you. When I live in a way that protects your well-being that is righteousness.
 
Job 29:12-17 - because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist them.13 The one who was dying blessed me; justice was my robe and my turban.15 I was eyes to the blind.
 
What is righteousness? Rescuing the poor and helping widows and protecting people. In chapter 31 he says that he was not lurking at his neighbor’s door hoping to sleep with his wife.
 
When it says that Noah was righteous it means that he was moral. But his morality included love for those around him. Being faithful to your spouse is righteous. But so is packing lunches for the kids on Friday and Operation Christmas Child.
 
James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after.
 
· Noah Was Above Reproach
 
He’s blameless. He’s not perfect. But he was seeking to do the right thing before the Lord. There were not a bunch of handles for people to make accusations against him.
 
He was a man who knew where he stood. It’s so fascinating to me that you can be blameless in a society that is completely sold out to doing the wrong thing.
 
· Noah Walked with God
 
He walked with God. He had a relationship with the Lord. He was following God’s lead. You allow God to plant the good stuff in your life and that will make you strong. In a world that was spiritually bankrupt, Noah was rich in righteousness. Who is singled out and blessed? Noah. Who’s a hero? Noah! His life is extraordinary because he didn’t go with the flow.
 
1. Doing the Right Thing Counts
 
Who will make it through the worst epoch of world history? The one doing right. You do the right thing and it will be noticed! Trust me. You work hard. You be honest. And if nothing else, God sees it.
 
You have Joseph in the Bible getting hit on by Potiphar’s wife on a regular basis. She’s throwing herself at him. He said no and ultimately he ran away. He was not going to do it no matter what. He became a great leader.
 
Abraham was righteous – it counted! God blessed!!
 
2. Don’t Take Your Morals from the Crowd
 
You Don’t Take Your Morals from the Crowd. If you’re in a mob of people and they all want to go the wrong way, do you go with them? No.
 
The thing I heard a lot about when I was younger was how can you have any fun if you don’t party. I don’t need to be tipsy to have a good time. The thinking was, “Everyone has to do this”.
 
No, I don’t have to be like everyone else.
 
Romans 12:2 - Do not conform.
 
3. Remember that the Choice is Yours
 
What do you believe? What are your non-negotiables.
 
Job’s wife said, curse God and die, why are you holding onto your integrity. That’s a sad statement! Job had to know his course and no matter how big the storm or how much he suffered, he knew that he couldn’t and wouldn’t curse God.
 
You have to know where you stand. It takes a lot of commitment to do the right thing. But in the determination is the blessing.
 
No one can force you to do what you don’t want to do. You say no! No – I’m not doing it.
 
Know your beliefs and don’t compromise! Daniel resolved himself not to drink the wine or eat the kings food. He could not be talked out of his stand. He found great success.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were spared in the furnace.
My encouragement. If Noah could live right in his world, so can you!

Consequential

Monday Jan 29, 2024

Monday Jan 29, 2024

READ: Genesis 4:9
CHALLENGE: Get Back to God
A.HEAR GOD’S TELLING QUESTIONS
1. WHERE?
· Shows a Lack of Remorse
· Shows a Lack of Honesty
· Shows a Lack of Love
“Am I my brother’s keeper”? YES CAIN – actually you are! You’re the big brother and yes, big brothers protect the younger ones from harm. Not Cain. He’s bearing no responsibility for any of it.
2.WHAT Did You Do?
V10 - The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Revelation 6:9-10 - When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”
 
Psalm 32:3-5 - When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
 
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
 
B.REPURCUSSIONS OF UNREPENTANCE
 
Vv11-12 - Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
· Repercussion 1 – Resistance to Your Efforts
· Repurcussion #2 – Loss of Community
· Repurcussion #3 - Restlessness
C.THE RECKONING
Vv13-14 - Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
1.Rootless
2.Remembered
But even in James 2 – it’s Rahab the Prostitute. It’s great that we can be redeemed. But what do you want to be known for? Do you want to be known as a loving dad? Then be that. Do you want to be a servant? Be that! You want to be remembered as a grump or a nice person? Be that.
 
Genesis 4:15-17 - But the Lord said to him, “Not so[e]; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod,[f] east of Eden..
 
Cain would forever chase what he already had! So stay at home and do what God wants you to do.

Your Choices

Wednesday Jan 17, 2024

Wednesday Jan 17, 2024

READ: Genesis 4:5
 
 
CHALLENGE: Make Good Choices
 
Last week we talked about getting past mediocrity. We need to make sure that we are living for God and investing into that relationship. Cain is angry and downcast because God did not approve of him or his offering. God warns him that sin has desires for him and that he needs to get it under control.
 
 
(trans.) Perhaps you’re struggling with anger or feeling things are unfair. Maybe your thoughts get a bit gloomy. Let’s talk about it.
 
 
A. REVIEW YOUR THINKING
 
 
Vv5-6 - but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
 
 
God did not accept just anything that Cain brought to the table as he met with disapproval. Thus, God didn’t give him the favor that he thought he deserved and he’s ticked. It’s a vicious cycle. You don’t do what you’re supposed to. You get called out for it. Now you’re angrier and your behavior gets worse. He’s angry right now. Anger is common but sometimes we’re not thinking straight. As your thinking goes, so goes your attitude and your actions!
 
 
(trans.) What can we learn from Cain?
 
 
1. Calm Yourself Down
 
 
Cain’s offering was not viewed with favor, so Cain was VERY angry! He’s not a little bit upset, he’s super ticked! It’s impossible to know how they knew God approved of the one and not the other, but there was no doubt. Cain is super peeved, and his face is downcast.
 
 
· Don’t Fuel Your Anger
 
 
He’s angry and this is a word, “angry”, means to “burn” or to “be kindled”. Is this different from outbursts? Outbursts are when you instantly explode and then you’re fine! Everyone else is a smoldering briquette but you feel so much better! “What’s for dinner”?
 
 
This is not explosive anger, this is kindled anger. A fire built a piece at a time – a thought at a time. I imagine at some point in your life you’ve built a real fire. I start off with small pieces of broken twigs and sticks and some pieces of bark and I start my fire there. Then I add slightly larger pieces until I have a nice hot fire burning. Soon there is a bed of hot pulsating radiating coals!
 
 
That’s a good word picture for this anger. We can start out with little sticks of upset ,whether real or perceived, and then we add one stick upon another until we get that fire burning nice and hot! Kindled gives me the idea building it a piece at a time.
 
 
Ever kindle anger one thought at a time? “I can’t believe they did that”. “They said this”. “They didn’t do that”. “They don’t care”. “They never listen”. “They wanted to hurt me”. Or they somehow break your trust. The only thing I asked was for them to get a Snickers bar while they were out and they couldn’t even remember! “I’d remember because I do everything…. I literally do EVERY THING! I’m tired of doing everything!! No one helps me! They’re all sitting there in the living room laughing together while I’m slaving away”. I can hear that fire crackling right now.
 
 
I’ve asked them so many times to please refrain from …. Fill in the blank! Or, I’ve asked them for months to fix that dripping faucet. Their mother calls and they’re gone! For me it’s six months of waiting. For their mother it’s six seconds! Your thoughts are up in smoke! They never or they always – let’s light this fire! And all this chatter in our brain is dry and splintered sticks just perfect for igniting.
 
 
We pile up all of these little hurts and we build the blaze and if you’re not careful, the fire is not so little any longer - it’s a full blown blaze. I can just smell the smoke. Jesus warned against it in the sermon on the mount! He equated our anger and name calling with murder.
 
 
I can tell you one thing that does not help and that’s fueling the fire. Stop looking at their facebook page. Stop wondering about what they’re doing. Stop thinking about how unfair what they did was. Why fuel it? What good will it do? Entrust yourself to God because vengeance belongs to him.
 
 
One thing I know about fires is this, they cannot burn without fuel. If you’re not adding to it and continuing on with the gossip, it has nothing to burn on. But when you keep talking about it and bringing it up over and over again, keep ruminating on it, you’re keeping it going! It’s unhealthy.
 
 
And let’s remember – it’s Cain who’s on fire, not Abel. Cain is the one burning up inside and there is no good that will come of it.
 
 
James 1:19-20 - My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
 
 
Abel was doing what Abel was supposed to do. There’s not even a forgiveness issue here. The biggest thing wrong is Cain’s thoughts. It’s how he’s viewing his life and allowing himself to take offense.
 
 
· Don’t Allow Your Thinking to Sour
 
 
His face is downcast. The anger is impacting him to the point that it literally says that his face is fallen! His happiness and joy just fell off the map. Our thinking can sour on people like milk left out on the counter.
 
 
What makes you sour? Often, it’s because your expectations are unmet. You thought people would elevate you more highly than they did. You thought that people would help but they didn’t. You thought your spouse would be more attentive, but they’re not. You thought people would miss you when you weren’t around, they didn’t seem to.
 
 
Perhaps you think you should have been invited or included or looked up to. But you weren’t. They didn’t even care what you thought, and you thought they would. And because our expectations are unmet, we begin to get resentful and angry and other ugly things in our brain bets bigger.
 
 
And of course, Cain is not down on himself. He’s down on his brother. His brother is in the way of him getting the acceptance that he truly desires. So another leading culprit in anger is frustration from blocked goals. Cain perhaps had a blocked goal of acceptance by God. When our goals are blocked, we become angry.
 
 
The easiest way to think about it is this. We set the goal to be up in Austinburg in 10 minutes but a slow poke pulls out in front of us and now it’s going to take 11 minutes. I was behind someone who was going the speed of a pedal car. We may go ballistic over this. All we have to do is change the goal that we set.
 
 
We set goals for when projects need to be done. For how much of something we need to accomplish. For all kinds of things. Should that not happen we’re frustrated and then angry. What can we do? Change the goal, it was always arbitrary anyway.
 
 
· Ask Why You Are Angry
 
 
God asks Cain the perfect question. Why are you angry? Why are you downcast? I think of God’s question to Jonah. Do you have a good reason to be angry? The answer? No. You have no real right to be angry. Right now, if you’re angry at someone or at a situation or even at the church, do you have a right to be?
 
 
If you’re angry at God, why are you angry?
 
 
You get angry at your spouse. Do you have a good reason? Are you seeing it clearly? Often when you’re angry you’re not thinking straight. You’re reacting emotionally and it will get you in trouble.
 
 
If you’re angry at someone or something, ask yourself this – do you have a good reason to be? Do you have a right to be? Because sometimes you don’t have your facts right. You’re not seeing it accurately. You’ve made some misinterpretations and jumped to some conclusions.
 
 
Trans. So what’s the answer?
 
 
B. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY and DO RIGHT.
 
 
V7 - If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door;.
 
 
God talks to Cain about Cain. He said, you want acceptance and you need to do the right thing. Now that could be making the right sacrifice to some obedience in his life. There is obviously a darkness in Cain. And we have to deal with that.
 
 
1. Do Right
 
 
a. Right is a Choice
 
 
Look at the verse. If you do what is right – this is result. If you do not do what is right – this is result. You can do what is right or you can do what is wrong. No one else was deciding this but Cain. And no one was making him commit such a heinous crime against his own brother – it was all on him.
 
 
We all have choices in this life. God clearly lays out two options in this passage. Doing right or doing wrong. The word “right” comes from a word that means good and pleasant and here refers to “moral goodness”, the opposite of evil. Everyday you have choices. I don’t control what other people do but I do control what I do. My response is my responsibility – get a handle on that truth and it will go better for you!
 
 
I can make time to read my Bible or not. I can choose to work hard or to slack. When we work hard there are typically good benefits to that.
 
 
God is pointing out the truth to Cain – you can choose the right way! And these are steady steps in the right direction. Typically, any spot I’ve gone, I didn’t there right away. Last Saturday I went hiking with my son, Luke. We visited a few falls and to get there required many steps along the way. It wasn’t one step – it was many steps.
 
 
Cain would kill his brother. That horrible destination was at the end of a trail deliberately walked day after day. He chose to walk a path of bad choices and one step at a time until he found his way to a spiritual catastrophe.
 
 
I’m sure failures in marriage or faithfulness didn’t happen in one moment. There were many decisions to linger in places you shouldn’t have been. To allow thoughts. To communicate. To flirt. To not invest into your relationship. There are typically many choices made that get you to the cliff – to the brink of moral failure.
 
 
God encourages Cain to do the right thing. It’s a choice between right and wrong. Please acknowledge that there is right and there is wrong. Like there is sweet and there is bitter. Like there is hot and there is cold. Like there is light and there is dark. Like there is love and there is hate. There is right and there is wrong. They are opposite and both exist. Just like you can do something really good, you can do something really bad. Both choices are before us.
 
 
I enjoyed watching the Lord of the Rings because JR Tolkien had no problem clearly spelling out a good side and a bad side. Mordor was way different from the Shire! I love that in the Bible that right and wrong is spelled out in the Ten Commandments and places like Deuteronomy which means the second law. Moses was a great leader and before he died, he once again gave clarity on how to live. The Bible is full of clarity.
 
 
Hebrews 5:13-14 - Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
 
 
The word of God teaches us to discern right from wrong. What decision will you make in life? If you lack the wisdom to know what the right thing to do it then ask God and he’ll give you direction.
 
 
b. Choices Bring Consequences
 
 
Decisions are cause and effect. One path leads to this and another leads to something else. In Deuteronomy they stand on two mountains talking blessings and cursings. On Mount Ebal it is dry and arid and that was the side where curses were recited. The other mountain had more vegetation on it and springs and growth. That was blessing.
 
 
If you obey, there was blessing. If you disobeyed, there were curses that you brought consequences upon yourself. This is a missing piece in the thinking of America today. We don’t think there are consequences for bad behavior. We think that we can choose any option and every path will lead to the same happy place but that’s untrue.
 
 
On the other hand, good choices bring blessings to your life. I know that hard work pays off. We had some difficult projects last year including laying the floor for a stone patio which we had NEVER done before. On the days we didn’t want to shoot ourselves, we wanted to shoot each other. It was one of hardest projects I ever did! If I could wind back time, I’d still do it all over again as the beautiful end result is amazing. Good things happen when we’re willing to work at it.
 
 
Typically you reap in areas into which you invest. It’s up to us whether or not we are investing into our spiritual lives. Our marriages. Our important relationships.
 
 
In this case, Cain is looking for acceptance from God. God tells him, “Do the right thing and you’ll be accepted”. This is classic! This is a result of making the right decisions.
 
 
(1). Acceptance
 
 
What is acceptance? It comes from a word that means “to lift one’s head in restoration”. To lift one’s face is an indication of favor or acceptance. Doing what’s right precedes being accepted. I don’t think that we can do whatever we feel like doing and then demand that God accept us or that people accept us regardless. Especially when we’re not willing to be repentant. You want forgiveness and the acceptance back into the good graces of someone else? Then do the right thing.
 
 
There’s some thought as to how the world will deal with you if you do the right thing. I truly believe that honesty, hard work, faithfulness to your spouse, kindness, service are universally accepted. Doing the right thing brings a certain level of respect.
 
 
I don’t find acceptance from my wife if I’m not behaving. I find acceptance when I do what’s right. When I’m investing energy into our relationship. When we guys know all is well – our faces can be lifted up at home.
 
 
When you’re working with others you may know what triggers them. How about don’t do that? Don’t do things that are going to upset the apple cart and then be upset when no one wants you around the apples.
 
 
Don’t be upset that people don’t want you fishing with them if you’re always splashing around and throwing rocks in the water. Live in a way that brings acceptance to you. Assuming that’s the right thing.
 
 
1 Peter 3:7 - Husbands,.
 
 
Treat your wife right that your prayers not be hindered. Our behavior impacts our prayer life and our relationship with God. So there are consequences of bad behavior.
 
 
Do the right thing and you’ll be accepted. You’ll be favored. You might have offended a family member or friend. You know what you could do that would help out quite a bit? Change!
 
 
(2.) Dominated by Darkness
 
 
….But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.
 
 
Sin desires Cain. Sin was lying at the door just waiting to take opportunity in that anger. Sin is right there just waiting for the chance. It’s wanting to get at you. It’s like a ferocious lion just waiting for the chance to pounce on you. It’s a monster!
 
 
What does God identify as the problem? Sin. Doing the wrong thing. Sin desired him. Was hungry for him. I reckon it’s safe to say that sin wants to destroy people.
 
 
Ephesians 4:26 – “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
 
 
All evil needs is an open door! Sin is crouching. The devil is in that sin – you can bet on it. He uses it. Jesus called him the father of murderers. He’s involved in this somehow!
 
 
So, let’s take the analogy. Like a lion waiting at the door to pounce on you. You’re lamp chops. It’s salivating at the thought of getting to you. What are you going to do? Darkness wants to dominate you.
 
 
God said, you have to master it. You have to say no. You have to show it who’s boss. You have to exercise self-control. And I think that’s so important because it’s one of the fruits of the Spirit.
 
 
In Cain’s case, it’s anger that must be mastered. You need to control it. God told him that he needed to call the shots over evil. There are so many times we need to remind ourselves that we don’t need to do the wrong thing. We can do right.
 
 
Resist the devil and he will flee from you! Resist. Evil is so destructive. Addiction, drugs, pornography, anger.
 
 
He wanted to be accepted and to be accepted meant that he needed to make changes. Often we do need to make changes.
 
 
It’s a tug of war. It wants to master you but you must master it!
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[d] While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
 
Choices

Winning at Life

Thursday Jan 11, 2024

Thursday Jan 11, 2024

READ: Genesis 4:3
CHALLENGE: Get Beyond Mediocrity A.AVOID SPIRITUAL MEDIOCRITY
Vv3-5 - In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,.
1.LET’S START WITH NORMS
a.Common Denominator of Working b.Common Denominator of Worship c.Common Denominator of Self Romans 12:1 - Therefore, I urge you,.
2.SURPASSING MEDIOCRITY
a. Check Your Motives b. Do Things Sincerely from Your Heart 2 Chronicles 16:9a - For the eyes What is God looking for? He’s looking for hearts fully committed to Him. Hearts that will put Him and service first.
2 Samuel 7:3 - So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning.”
Isaiah 29:13 - The Lord says: and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
Let’s make sure our hearts are into what we’re doing.
THE HEART OF WORSHIP
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You're looking into my heart
I'm comin' back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus
c. Selflessly Obey d. Follow God’s Lead Not all behaviors are the same. We need to do what pleases God and not what pleases us.

Time for Change

Sunday Jan 07, 2024

Sunday Jan 07, 2024

READ: John 5:1-15
CHALLENGE: Quit Making Excuses!
Vv1-6a - Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there A.
God Sees You
Genesis 16:13 “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”’
B. Don’t Focus on The Problem
Vv6-7 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Psalms 55:22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
C. No More Excuses Vv.8-9 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
Matthew 5:29-30 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
D. Don’t Be a Naysayer.
Vv.10-11 and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
E. Live a Godly Life
Vv.12-15 So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Romans 10:9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The Gospel According to Matthew

Wednesday Nov 29, 2023

Wednesday Nov 29, 2023

We welcomed missionary Craig Hamer last Sunday! He is a missionary in Estonia, Europe. He preached a sermon on the Gospel according to Matthew.

Team Married

Wednesday Nov 15, 2023

Wednesday Nov 15, 2023

Pastor Bill McMinn Challenges to Do Life Together with your spouse.
READ: Genesis 2:15and following
CHALLENGE: Do Life Together
Let’s talk about the beginning of time when there was just one man on the planet – the time when Adam was alone and God said, that’s NOT good! God had created the world and God said that everything was good. It was really good. He made the entire planted birds to bumble bees! And man is in perfection in the Garden of Eden. No pollution. No problems. Yet, there is a problem, he’s alone!
Vv15-18 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Verse 18 is a foundational verse on marriage.
 
A.VALUE THE GOOD THINGS IN YOUR SPOUSE
 
1.Value Hard Work
2.Value Taking Responsibility
Vv19-23 - Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found.
3.Value Spirituality
1 Peter 3:7 - Husbands, and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
4.Value Companionship
Ecclesiastes 9:9 - Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.
 
B.SEE MARRIAGE AS A BLESSING FROM GOD
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribsand then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the ribhe had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said,and flesh of my flesh;she shall be called ‘woman,’for she was taken out of man.”
1.Marriage is God’s Idea
2.There Are No Substitutes for Your Spouse
· Friends Are Not a Substitute for Your Spouse
· Children Are Not a Substitute for Your Spouse
· Sports are not a substitute for your spouse.
· Success is not the substitute.
· Social media is not the substitute.
 
C.UNDERSTAND DIFFERENCES IN MARRIAGE AS A POSITIVE
1.Differences are Fine
2. Listening is Important
3. Valuing them is Important

Finding Peace

Thursday Nov 09, 2023

Thursday Nov 09, 2023

In this sermon starting in Ephesians 6:15 Pastor Bill McMinn challenges us to "Find Peace"
-Peace in Readiness
-Peace in Forgiveness
-Peace with God and Others

Thursday Nov 02, 2023

In this sermon starting in Ephesians 6:10 Pastor Bill McMinn challenges us to "Stand Your Ground" -Be Strong -Armor Up -Resist

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