Gathering Recap - 02/09/2025 - Ephesians 4:1-6 - The Spirit and the Church

Call to worship:

1 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
    who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place
    and bless the Lord!

3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
    he who made heaven and earth!

Psalm 134:1-3

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

If unity is available in the Spirit, why does divisiveness seem to be so common?

How does God’s ability to keep and love us inform and shape our relating to one another?

Where is the Spirit promised and how do we enter into those places?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for the gift of salvation found in Your Son Jesus. We're grateful that your plan includes a Helper in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Would you graciously grant us that power promised, to filled and sent with your truth and love to the world around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Eph 4:1-6

“Not only (1) is their unity expressly stated as coming from the Spirit, but (2) four of the five graces listed in vv. 2–3 are among the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22–23; and (3) in the Trinitarian confession that follows, pride of place is given to the Spirit, precisely because the one body, which is Paul’s present concern, is the result of their common experience of the one Spirit, whose presence in their lives is also the predicate of their one hope.” - Gordon Fee

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn. 17:20&21)

“Put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25-32)

“We cannot expect the world to believe the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.”

- Francis Schaffer, The Mark of the Christian

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:”

(1 Cor. 1:2)

“This is highly instructive. This mess of a church whose meetings did more harm than good is still a real, legitimate church. It is a church of God…This church is composed of "those sanctified in Christ Jesus." A saint is not a special kind of Christian, someone who has been through some sort of spiritual finishing school. A saint is another word for a Christian. In Christ we are sanctified in the sense of already having been set apart by God to be his people and needing to learn—bit by bit, day by day—how to live out what that actually means. Paul goes on to say that these Corinthian believers have been "called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord." Their own individual status in Christ connects each of them not only to the rest of their own church but even more widely to all who name the name of Jesus as they do. There is something unavoidably corporate involved in calling on Christ. He is the common Lord they all share—“both theirs and ours.”

- Sam Allberry

“The church is wholly constituted of those saints that are his jewels, that are the spoils of his enemies, that were once his enemies' possession, but that he has redeemed out of their hands.”

- Jonathan Edwards

“The Spirit delivers Christ to us not just anywhere and in any way but where and how he has promised. Although he is free to work outside of his covenanted mercies, we are assured of his saving blessings and presence only where he has been promised to us. If we identify the Spirit only with the unexpected and irregular, we will miss most of the times and places where he actually meets us.” —Michael Horton

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. (Eph. 4:4-6)

Gathering Recap - 02/02/2025 - 1 Corinthians 12:1-14 - The Spirit and Gifts

Call to worship:

1 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
    my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 131:1-3

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What clarity does the scripture give us on the empowering of the Spirit? Why do we see such confusion?

How have you seen God gifting and empowering you to glorify Jesus?

Why are we called to be continually filled with the Spirit? What does that look like?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for the gift of salvation found in Your Son Jesus. We're grateful that your plan includes a Helper in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Would you graciously grant us that power promised, to filled and sent with your truth and love to the world around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

1 Cor 12:1-14 -

Ex 31:1-5

Joel 2:28-29,

Ezekiel 36:25-27

Christian faith has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them - Julian, appx 360ad

They look too much to man's efforts, and know not how the second blessing is nothing more nor less than a new vision of what Christ is willing to work in us, and the surrender of faith that yields all to Him - Andrew Murray

We are commanded to be full, and yet we are not the filler; the Spirit is. The answer to this predicament in the New Testament is that God has ordained to move into our lives with fullness through faith. The pathway that the Spirit cuts through the jungle of our anxieties into the clearing of joy is the pathway of faith. Luke says of Stephen in Acts 6:5, that he was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,” and he says of Barnabas in Acts 11:24 that he was “a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,” The two go together. If a person is filled with faith, he will be filled with the Spirit, the Spirit of joy and peace. - John Piper

Romans 12:3-10

Eph 4:30

Gathering Recap - 01/26/2025 - Romans 8:12-17 - The Spirit and Redemption

Call to worship:

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities.

Psalm 130:5-8

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How are the benefits of Christ applied to our lives?

The Spirit not only regenerates us, but re-orders our loves. How have your loves and desires been transformed? How about your relationships?

In what ways does the work of the Spirit show us the difference between religion and the gospel?

What does repentance and faith look like for your this week?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for the gift of salvation found in Your Son Jesus. We're grateful that your plan includes a Helper in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Would you graciously grant us that power promised, to filled and sent with your truth and love to the world around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Romans 8:12-17 - Jack

“How do we receive those benefits which the Father bestowed on his only-begotten Son—not for Christ's own private use, but that he might enrich poor and needy men?”

- John Calvin

“It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: (Jn. 16:7&8)

Regeneration: “mighty work of God by which unbelievers are given a new nature, being born again.... It is both (1) the removal of one's old self, and (2) the imparting of a new self that is responsive to God. Unlike conversion, which is the human response to the gospel, regeneration is completely a divine work, to which human beings contribute nothing.”

- Greg Allison

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

(John 3:2-8)

“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

(Titus 3:3-7)

“To love you as I should, I must worship God as Creator. When I have learnt to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now. In so far as I learn to love my earthly dearest at the expense of God and instead of God, I shall be moving towards the state in which I shall not love my earthly dearest at all. When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased.”

― C.S. Lewis, Letters of C. S. Lewis

“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

(Romans 8:9-11)

“Justification is the "mighty act of God by which he declares sinful people not guilty but righteous instead. He does so by imputing, or crediting, the perfect righteousness of Christ to them. Thus, while they are not actually righteous, God views them as being so because of Christ's righteousness." Thus, justification is a forensic act, a legal declaration, consisting of two elements. "The first aspect is the forgiveness of sins, resulting from Christ's substitutionary death (Rom. 3:25; 5:9). The second is imputation, resulting from Christ's obedience that makes people righteous (5:18-29). The New Testament ties justification to the Holy Spirit in one passage, in which an absolute contrast is made between "the unrighteous, [who] will not inherit God's kingdom" (1 Cor 6:9), and believers: "And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God' (6:11).” — Greg Allison

“14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14)

“The Spirit does not enter hearts that prepare him room or sweep the floor and dust before his arrival (an optimistic set of tasks to expect of the dead); rather, he enters, hovers, infuses life, gives faith, and begins immediately to renovate the mansion in which he once breathed merely the natural (i.e., biological) life but now breathes the breath of eschatological—new creation—life.” — Michael Horton

Gathering Recap - 01/19/2025 - Luke 4:14-30 - Christ and The Spirit

Call to worship:

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2     O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared..

Psalm 130:1-4

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What do you notice about the triune God in the baptism of Jesus?

Jesus deals with temptation and the devil directly. What do we learn about dependency and fighting temptation?

What tools and resources did Jesus have in connection with the Spirit that are available for us today?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for the gift of salvation found in Your Son Jesus. We're grateful that your plan includes a Helper in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Would you graciously grant us that power promised, to filled and sent with your truth and love to the world around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

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Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Luke 4:16-30 - Mike Reading

Aren't you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don't you often hope: 'Maybe this book, idea, course, trip, job, country or relationship fulfill my deepest desire.' But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy, but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burn-out. This is the way to spiritual death. - Henri Nouwen

Stones into Bread

The Fountain thirsts, the Bread is hungry here
The Light is dark, the Word without a voice.
When darkness speaks it seems so light and clear.
Now He must dare, with us, to make a choice.
In a distended belly’s cruel curve
He feels the famine of the ones who lose
He starves for those whom we have forced to starve
He chooses now for those who cannot choose.
He is the staff and sustenance of life
He lives for all from one Sustaining Word
His love still breaks and pierces like a knife
The stony ground of hearts that never shared,
God gives through Him what Satan never could;
The broken bread that is our only food.

The Kingdoms of this World

‘So here’s the deal and this is what you get:
The penthouse suite with world-commanding views,
The banker’s bonus and the private jet
Control and ownership of all the news
An ‘in’ to that exclusive one percent,
Who know the score, who really run the show
With interest on every penny lent
And sweeteners for cronies in the know.
A straight arrangement between me and you
No hell below or heaven high above
You just admit it, and give me my due
And wake up from this foolish dream of love…’
But Jesus laughed, ‘You are not what you seem.
Love is the waking life, you are the dream.’

On The Pinnacle

‘Temples and Spires are good for looking down from;
You stand above the world on holy heights,
Here on the pinnacle, above the maelstrom,
Among the few, the true, unearthly lights.
Here you can breathe the thin air of perfection
And feel your kinship with the lonely star,
Above the shadow and the pale reflection,
Here you can know for certain who you are.
The world is stalled below, but you could move it
If they could know you as you are up here,
Of course they’ll doubt, but here’s your chance to prove it
Angels will bear you up, so have no fear….’
‘I was not sent to look down from above
It’s fear that sets these tests and proofs, not Love.’

John 14:15-17

John 14:25-26

John 16:7-15

“You can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a far deeper acquaintance with his God and Savior than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct.” JI Packer

Gathering Recap - 01/12/2025 - Genesis 1:1-2 - The Spirit and Creation

Call to worship:

1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
    which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so the Lord surrounds his people,
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Psalm 125:1-2

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How has the Holy Spirit animated all of creation? How does this perspective shape a “well rounded life?”

In what ways is God calling you to live into a more responsible dominion?

How do we move from the artistry to the artist?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for the gift of salvation found in Your Son Jesus. We're grateful that your plan includes a Helper in the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. Would you graciously grant us that power promised, to filled and sent with your truth and love to the world around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Genesis 1:1-2 - Faith Reading

“The Spirit is not the architect, nor is the framework of the cosmos or of the new creation “in him” as is true of the Word in whom all things hold together (Col 1:17). But he is the builder, carrying with him the plans of the Father and the materials purchased by the Son as he builds the sanctuary according to all that he has received…When we begin with the Spirit’s work in creation, the canvas of his operations widens.”

- Michael Horton

These all look to you,
 to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up;  when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die
 and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
 and you renew the face of the ground.

- Psalm 104:27-30

“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” - Job 33:4

“The redemptive Spirit is cut off both from bodily life and from the life of nature. It makes people turn away from this world and hope for a better world beyond. They then seek and experience in the Spirit of Christ a power that is different from the divine energy of life which according to Old Testament ideas interpenetrates all the living. The theological textbooks talk about the Holy Spirit in connection with God, faith, the Christian life, the church and prayer, but seldom with the body and nature."

- Jurgen Moltmann

“There is something to the pagan love of nature, even its myths and rituals tied to the changing seasons. However, biblical faith grounds this instinct in a transcendent and triune God who is ever active even in the regularities of nature. What is striking in all of the Old Testament references to creation is the pure naturalness of nature. Nothing in creation is to be worshiped but rather is meant to lead us from the artistry to the Artist.”

- Michael Horton

Gathering Recap - 12/29/2024 - 2 Corinthians 4:7-17 - Don't Lose Heart

Call to worship:

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

Psalm 116:1-7

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How does Paul explain our human lives? What imagery and metaphors and why does it matter?

In difficulty, do you tend to exaggerate or shrink your circumstances? How can we “right size” our suffering?

In what ways does the truth of Jesus inform tough seasons of life?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for this advent season that reminds us of who You are and what You've done. We ask that by the power of Your Spirt, we'd be enabled to behold the beauty of your Son and apply His work to our lives. Please give us patience as we wait for His glorious return, and use us for the good of those around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

2 Cor 4:7-18

Just as wine cannot keep well in silver or gold vessels, but only in the lowliest of vessels—earthen ones—so words of Torah do not keep well in one who considers himself to be the same as silver or gold vessels, but only in one who considers himself the same as the lowliest of vessels—earthen ones. - Rabbinical Commentary on Torah

The Stoic philosopher—and still more the Cynic—prided himself on his indifference to physical and mental suffering, and would often give a recital of what he had been through in order to demonstrate the power of the philosophy to make one able to rise above such purely external and short-term vicissitudes. - David Garland

“Epictetus believed that difficulties (peristaseis) “show what men are.” What they endured exhibited their true grit and moral constancy. For Paul hardships do not disclose what humans are made of but what God’s power is like” - David Garland

“While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy. Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God himself walks with us in the fire.” - Tim Keller

Gathering Recap - 12/22/2024 - Philippians 4:10-23 - The Good Life

Call to worship:

1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
    studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
    in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
    to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
    he has commanded his covenant forever.
    Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all those who practice it have a good understanding.
    His praise endures forever!

Psalm 111:1-10

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What isn’t contentment? What is contentment? Where do we find it?

Do you wrestle with wanting to know the plot line?

If we learn Jesus over a lifetime, what lessons is He teaching you these days?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for this advent season that reminds us of who You are and what You've done. We ask that by the power of Your Spirt, we'd be enabled to behold the beauty of your Son and apply His work to our lives. Please give us patience as we wait for His glorious return, and use us for the good of those around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Phillipians 4:10-23 - Jack

Title: The Good Life

“For the Stoics, self-sufficiency meant becoming independent from all external circumstances and from material goods. As Seneca expressed it, “The happy man is content with his present lot, no matter what it is, and is reconciled to his circumstances” Through discipline and inner strength, individuals could master their own universe. The Stoics’ aim was to become serenely indifferent to anything fate tossed their way.”

- Dean Fleming

“We are often more frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.”

- Seneca

“Two elements must therefore be rooted out once for all, – the fear of future suffering, and the recollection of past suffering; since the latter no longer concerns me, and the former concerns me not yet.”

- Seneca

“The apostle does not seek detachment from life’s circumstances. Instead he has learned to see his hardships as a part of God’s great drama of salvation… Above all, 4:13 reveals that Paul’s contentment comes not from his own inner resources, but from God. Fee puts it well: “[Paul] uses the language—and outwardly assumes the stance—of Stoic ‘self-sufficiency,’ but radically transforms it into Christ-sufficiency. The net result is that Paul and Seneca, while appearing to be close, are a thousand leagues apart”

- Dean Fleming

“Our disciplines don’t address our deepest longings.”

- Ruth Chou Simons

“Christ in me, not me in a set of different circumstances”

- Elisabeth Elliot

Gathering Recap - 12/15/2024 - Philippians 4:8-9 - Thinking, Practice, Promise

Call to worship:

2 The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.

6 For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called[e]
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

When you evaluate your thinking, what does your mind tend to wander toward?

Why do you think we expect peace, often divorced from our practice?

How can we “act the miracle” a put the promises of God into the practices of our lives?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for this advent season that reminds us of who You are and what You've done. We ask that by the power of Your Spirt, we'd be enabled to behold the beauty of your Son and apply His work to our lives. Please give us patience as we wait for His glorious return, and use us for the good of those around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Philippians 4:8-9

“Who we are and what we do it is fundamentally a function of what we remember” - Joshua Foer

The next two words are more at home in the world of Hellenism than that of the Bible. This first term appears nowhere else in the NT. Nor does it show up on any list of ancient moral virtues. Its usage embraces both what is “lovely” (i.e., “beautiful”) as well as what is “lovable” or attractive to others. Christians are to reflect on what is beautiful and pleasing, both in creation and in the spiritual lives of God’s people - Dean Flemming

“Thought leads to action, and what we open our minds to quickly becomes our master” - T. Deasley

(Rom 12:1-2)

We must model our relationships on Christ, surround our circumstances by prayer, drill our minds in godly thinking, and subject our life to the Word of God. Do this, ‘and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus … and the God of peace will be with you’. If we ignore the calling we must be prepared to forgo the blessings. - Alec Motyer

Gathering Recap - 12/08/2024 - Philippians 4:4-7 - A Politics of Peace

Call to worship:

169 Let my cry come before you, O Lord;
    give me understanding according to your word!
170 Let my plea come before you;
    deliver me according to your word.
171 My lips will pour forth praise,
    for you teach me your statutes.
172 My tongue will sing of your word,
    for all your commandments are right.
173 Let your hand be ready to help me,
    for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, O Lord,
    and your law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live and praise you,
    and let your rules help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
    for I do not forget your commandments.

Psalm 119:169-176

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

Why does Paul repeat himself on the command to rejoice??

What does it look like to let our gentleness be known?

How does all of chapter 4 connect to the call to not be anxious?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for this advent season that reminds us of who You are and what You've done. We ask that by the power of Your Spirt, we'd be enabled to behold the beauty of your Son and apply His work to our lives. Please give us patience as we wait for His glorious return, and use us for the good of those around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Phillipians 4:4-7 - Kim (Chris F Preaching)

Perhaps ‘graciousness’ is the best English equivalent; and, in the context here, it is to be the spirit of willingness to yield under trial which will show itself in a refusal to retaliate when attacked. It may have seemed an impossible ideal to the Philippians, but the preceding verse is a reminder that such a quality ‘is the outshining of joy in the Lord’...

-Ralph P. Martin, Tyndale New TestamentMM

Phil. 1:27-28:

Only let your manner of life (politeuomai) be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents...

Phil. 3:20:

But our citizenship (politeuma) is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ...

1 Tim. 2:1-4:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 Tim. 3:3:

... not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive...

"The Philippians, living in a garrison town, would be familiar with the sight of the Roman sentry, maintaining his watch. Likewise, comments the apostle, God’s peace will garrison and protect your hearts and your minds."

Ralph Martin

Psalm 8:1-2:

"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger."

Just as babies cannot appeal or persuade by means of articulate speech or rhetorical eloquence, so God’s enemies are defended against by means of those who are totally dependent on God. Their only defense is to cry out to him in trusting prayers, petitions, and protests.

"The Lord only needs an army of praise-wielding infant warriors to “silence” these enemies! Even the kings and rulers of “the earth” (2:2, 10) will be silenced by children praising him whose majestic name fills “the earth”

-Bruce Waltke

Gathering Recap - 12/01/2024 - Philippians 4:1-3 - An Application and Intervention

Call to worship:

161 Rulers persecute me without cause,
    but my heart trembles at your word.
162 I rejoice in your promise
    like one who finds great spoil.
163 I hate and detest falsehood
    but I love your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
    for your righteous laws.
165 Great peace have those who love your law,
    and nothing can make them stumble.
166 I wait for your salvation, Lord,
    and I follow your commands.
167 I obey your statutes,
    for I love them greatly.
168 I obey your precepts and your statutes,
    for all my ways are known to you.

Psalm 119:161-168

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How can we apply theology to relationships?

When have you noticed that painful moments of your life produce fruit and joy?

How is love the ultimate sign of maturity and evidence of the gospel?

Where does the truth of Jesus need to be applied to the trenches of life?

Corporate Prayer:

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for this advent season that reminds us of who You are and what You've done. We ask that by the power of Your Spirt, we'd be enabled to behold the beauty of your Son and apply His work to our lives. Please give us patience as we wait for His glorious return, and use us for the good of those around us.

In the name of Jesus we pray,

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Phil 4:1-3 - Zyler

Slides Philippians 4

Slide 1

Big Idea:

Our understanding of beautiful theological truth must be accompanied by healthy personal relationships.

An application of powerful theology (v 1)

An intervention for healthy relationships (v 2-3)

Slide 2

JPEG of Selah Suite wall coming by email

Slide 3

For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

Slide 4

“The Greek word for crown … was commonly used to denote the festive garland, worn as a sign of gladness, or the wreath awarded to the victor of the athletic contest. If the metaphor is to be applied here, it means that the Philippian Christians would be regarded as his ‘reward,’ the seal of his apostleship … at the last day, the triumph of grace would be seen in the perseverance of the saints to the inexpressible joy of their spiritual mentors.”

Ralph P. Martin

Slide 5

Two pics of Gettysburg, side by side, coming by email

Slide 6

“Paul’s willingness to call out two women when he knew the letter would be read to the whole congregation demonstrates the fact that he cared more about the unity of the church than about the church having a superficial, “everything is going to be alright” sentimental warmth. Paul’s most joyful letter expresses his willingness to do the hard work of pursuing unity rather than just papering over problems…

Paul tells them to agree in the Lord. And he urges the church to help them. He doesn’t say, “Hey everyone else, stay out of it. It’s none of your business!” He expects the church to be involved in bringing about reconciliation. Why? Because of the gospel. The church is made up of the servants of the Lord. We are servants of Jesus Christ. We should be of the same mind because we love the same God. We believe in the same Jesus. We’re indwelled by the same Spirit.

Reconciliation isn’t easy, but pursuing it says something about the power of the gospel. So let’s be Christians who are so steeped in grace that we pursue unity in the church and with other people. Let’s be willing to roll up our sleeves and do the hard work of reconciliation or to get involved and help other people reconcile because we want people to see what it looks like when grace reigns supreme.”

Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition

Slide 7

“People know Jesus, not just by what we say, but how we live. The way we serve one another, love one another, bear with one another, rejoice with one another, weep with one another, everything we do with one another is either evidence for or against the reality of the Gospel. In the 3rd Century, Christian Theologian Tertullian recorded how the pagans surrounding the church in North Africa exclaimed, “See how these Christians Love one another!”

Love has been, and always will be, the sign of Christian maturity and evidence of the Gospel.

Andrew McClure

Slide 8

Big Idea:

Our understanding of beautiful theological truth must be accompanied by healthy personal relationships.

Gathering Recap - 11/24/2024 - Philippians 3:12-21 - Gospel Shaped Goals

Call to worship:

153 Look on my affliction and deliver me,
    for I do not forget your law.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me;
    give me life according to your promise!
155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
    for they do not seek your statutes.
156 Great is your mercy, O Lord;
    give me life according to your rules.
157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,
    but I do not swerve from your testimonies.
158 I look at the faithless with disgust,
    because they do not keep your commands.
159 Consider how I love your precepts!
    Give me life according to your steadfast love.
160 The sum of your word is truth,
    and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

Psalm 119:153-160

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

Do you take yourself too seriously? What tends to offend you?

How do you handle disagreement? What do you do when you’re wrong?

What can keep us from being overly inflated or deflated? What (hint who) is the ultimate prize to press toward?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Phil 3:12-21

Gospel Shaped Goals

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

(Matthew 16:24-26)

“Most of our society is constantly urging us to be aware of what we are, and what we have achieved, and what we have done, and so on. But maturity in Christian living has actually as its beginning an awareness of what I’m not. Christian maturity is not exemplified by high-sounding talk, but in a life of humble, steady consistency. It is a sign of immaturity to “think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought.” Maturity rejects exaggerated claims. Maturity is marked instead by a sane estimate of our spiritual progress.”

—Alistair Begg

For Paul, and for us, the prize that beckons us forward “is not something—it is Someone” (Welch 1988, 109). The full knowledge of Christ—this is the prize that awaits us at the end of the race.

Unlike many popular notions of the future today, Paul did not conceive of the goal of his journey as something literal and tangible, such as simply “getting to heaven” or “walking on streets of gold” or “wearing a crown.” Nor was his hope focused on the chance to be reunited with departed loved ones, as sincere as such longings may be. For Paul, living meant Christ (1:21). Knowing Christ and becoming like him was both his present passion and his supreme goal for the future.

The goal motivates the journey. If our purpose is merely “making it to heaven,” we might be tempted to rest on our past laurels and passively coast along until we finally receive our reward. Even worse, eternity might become “nothing more than a selfish pursuit born of a fear of death or hell” (Walton 2001, 469). But when the fullness of Christ is the prize ahead, then the journey is earmarked by a deepening desire for communion with God.” — Dean Fleming

“Let us choose … men who teach us by their lives, men who teach us what we ought to do and then prove it by their practice, who show us what we should avoid, and then are never caught doing that which they have ordered us to avoid. Choose as a guide one whom you will admire more when you see him act than when you hear him speak.” —Seneca

Gathering Recap - 11/17/2024 - Philippians 3:1-11 - Joy, Threats, Freedom

Call to worship:

145 With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord!
    I will keep your statutes.
146 I call to you; save me,
    that I may observe your testimonies.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
    I hope in your words.
148 My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,
    that I may meditate on your promise.
149 Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;
    O Lord, according to your justice give me life.
150 They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;
    they are far from your law.
151 But you are near, O Lord,
    and all your commandments are true.
152 Long have I known from your testimonies
    that you have founded them forever.

Psalm 119:145-152

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

Where is unshakeable joy found? Have you lived a season where joy rose in a counterintuitive way?

What threats do you notice in the world? How about in your own heart?

Where is true freedom found? What does freedom look like for you this week?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Phil 3:1-11

Acts 15:1

The key passage is Genesis 17, and the important point can be simply expressed. The covenant is God’s promise. He goes on oath in certain specific matters. Abram is the recipient of the promise which is first personal: Abram becomes Abraham (verse 5), a vivid promise of regeneration or a new nature, for with the new name there is created a new man. Secondly, the promise is national, a multitude of nations (verses 5b–6). Thirdly, it is spiritual, ‘to be God to you and to your descendants after you’ (verse 7). Fourthly, it is territorial, the ‘land of your sojournings’ (verse 8); and finally, by way of emphasizing the most important point, spiritual again, ‘and I will be their God’ (verse 8). Circumcision symbolizes the application of the covenant promises to those individuals whom God has chosen to receive them. This came to be seen as the essential heart of the covenant promise and the most quoted verse in the Bible: ‘You shall be my people, and I will be your God.’ Paul, the Philippians, the whole company of Christian believers down the years—we are the chosen people of God, individually born again, individually and collectively heirs of the Lord’s purposes of grace. It is as though Paul said: We may be sure that God has set his personal seal of choice and ownership upon us, for we are the circumcision- Alec Motyer

Eph 2:11-16,

Gal 3:26-29

“I consider them rubbish is too weak a translation for the shocking word Paul uses (skybala). Found only here in the New Testament, skybala could refer to refuse, stinking and decaying food, or even human excrement. It carries the idea of something that is only fit to be thrown out because it is so disgusting. As a result, filth or the coarse colloquial term “crap” better captures the detestable quality expressed in this term. Paul could hardly have stated his revulsion toward his former sources of pride and self-righteousness more emphatically - Dean Flemming

"Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously, radically insecure persons. We must first make real to them the grace of God accepting them daily, not because of their spirituality or their achievements in Christian service, but because God has accounted to them the perfect righteousness of Christ.” Richard Lovelace

Matthew 7:24-27

Gathering Recap - 11/10/2024 - Philippians 2:10-30 - Working Out Witness

Call to worship:

137 Righteous are you, O Lord,
    and right are your rules.
138 You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
    and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
    because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
    and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
    yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is righteous forever,
    and your law is true.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me out,
    but your commandments are my delight.
144 Your testimonies are righteous forever;
    give me understanding that I may live.

Psalm 119:137-144

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What is the significance of Timothy and Epaphroditus in the life of the Philippian church?

Who has played a significant role in your formation of faith?

If we’re called to share and show Jesus today, how is he leading you out toward witness and life?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Philippians 2:19-30

1 Cor 12:21-26

“The Christian community demonstrates the effectiveness of the gospel. We are the living proof that the gospel is not an empty word but a powerful word that takes men and women who are lovers of self and transforms them by grace through the Spirit into people who love God and others. We are the living proof that the death of Jesus was not just a vain expression of God’s love but an effective death that achieved the salvation of a people who now love one another sincerely from a pure heart” - Tim Chester

1 Peter 2:9-10

John20:21)

“The Swiss psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross once wrote,

"Beautiful people do not just happen." Do you know any of these beautiful people? People who shine with an inner luminescence, who radiate a kind of moral beauty? These kinds of people don't

"just happen" by accident; they are formed, or forged, often in the fire of suffering and pain, over a long period of time, into people of love.” - John Mark Comer

Almost anything in life that truly matters will require you to do small, mostly overlooked things, over a long period of time with him - Zach Eswine

Gathering Recap - 11/03/2024 - Philippians 2:12-18 - Working it Out

Call to worship:

129 Your testimonies are wonderful;
    therefore my soul keeps them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
    it imparts understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
    because I long for your commandments.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    as is your way with those who love your name.
133 Keep steady my steps according to your promise,
    and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
134 Redeem me from man's oppression,
    that I may keep your precepts.
135 Make your face shine upon your servant,
    and teach me your statutes.
136 My eyes shed streams of tears,
    because people do not keep your law.

Psalm 119:129-136

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What does it look like to “work out your salvation?” What are the personal implications? Public implications?

How can you stir up curiosity and delight in the person and work of Jesus?

How can we “give ourselves utterly to him” this week?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Philippians 2:12-18 - Kim

Working It Out

“The doctrine of justification concerns God’s gracious judicial verdict in advance of the day of judgment, pronouncing guilty sinners, who turn in self-despairing trust to Jesus Christ, forgiven, acquitted of all charges and declared morally upright in God’s sight.”

- Philip Eveson

Ephesians 2:8&9:

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

“While the language of sanctification in theological terminology has focused on the progressive aspect of growing holiness in the Christian life, the Bible uses the term sanctification to point towards the status as consecrated and holy that we have in Christ through our union with him.”

- Fred Zaspel

“Just as God assessed and then reacted to the worth of his Son’s life of obedience (verses 9–11), so the Christian must ponder the example of Christ and determine upon a worthy response (verses 12–18).”

- Alec Motyer

Romans 11:33:

 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

“If we are to follow Christ, we must continue to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must continue to receive God’s grace. We must continue to manifest the fruit of the Spirit. We must continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We must continue to come before God in prayer. We must continue not to reject the assembling of ourselves for worship, but we must continue to gather for worship, so that, in all of these things, we are doing just exactly what we are called to do…It means that when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, and it says, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,”that we actually do forgive our debtors. It means that when we are called to be witnesses, that we actually witness. It means that all of the benefits which have been made available to us are being utilized, and all of the responsibilities and challenges to which we are being called are being assumed.” —Alistair Begg

Numbers 11:11-15:

11 Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

“How can you come to grips with someone giving himself utterly for you, without you giving yourself utterly to him?”

— Timothy Keller

From Communion:
”Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” - G.K. Chesterton

Gathering Recap - 10/27/2024 - Philippians 2:1-11 - This is Yours

Call to worship:

121 I have done what is just and right;
    do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Give your servant a pledge of good;
    let not the insolent oppress me.
123 My eyes long for your salvation
    and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.
124 Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
    and teach me your statutes.
125 I am your servant; give me understanding,
    that I may know your testimonies!
126 It is time for the Lord to act,
    for your law has been broken.
127 Therefore I love your commandments
    above gold, above fine gold.
128 Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;
    I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:121-128

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How is the good news of Jesus connected to the good life of following Him?

What happens when we disconnect life/morals/ethics from what Jesus has accomplished?

What would it look like to apply the gospel to a current difficulty or roadblock in life? How does the good news apply?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Philippians 2:1-11

When salvation has taken place in the life of someone under the sovereign hand of God, they are set free from the penalty of sin and its power. In a body without the Spirit, sin is an unshakable king under whose dominion no man can flee. The entire body, with its members, affections, and mind all willfully submit themselves to sin’s rule. But when the Spirit of God takes back the body that He created for Himself, He sets it free from the pathetic master that once held it captive and releases it into the marvelous light of its Savior. It is then able to not only want God, but it is actually able to obey God. And isn’t that what freedom is supposed to be? The ability to not do as I please, but the power to do what is pleasing. Jackie Hill Perry

Romans 12:9-10 -

Gospel doctrine - gospel culture = Hypocrisy

Gospel culture - gospel doctrine = fragility

Gospel doctrine + gospel culture = power

Ray Ortlund

Romans 8:31-32,

2 Peter 1:3-4

“It follows, then, that we cannot start with a definition of God and try to fit Jesus into it. We must look first to Jesus himself, who reveals to us the identity of God. If we want to know what God is like … God is like Jesus" Dean Flemming

What greater mercy is there than this, which caused to descend from heaven the maker of heaven; which reclothed with an earthly body the one who formed the earth; which made equal to us the one who, from eternity, is the equal of the Father; which imposed “the form of a servant” on the Master of the world—such that the Bread itself was hungry, Fullness itself was thirsty, Power itself was made weak, Health itself was wounded, and Life itself was mortal? And that so that our hunger would be satisfied, so that our dryness would be watered, our weakness supported, our love ignited. What greater mercy than that which presents to us the Creator created; the Master made a slave; the Redeemer sold; the One who exalts, humbled; the One who raises the dead, killed? - Augustine

The present passage uniquely unfolds the cross as seen through the eyes of the Crucified, and allows us to enter into the mind of Christ. We tread, therefore, on very holy ground indeed. We do well to remember that this privilege is given to us not to satisfy our curiosity but to reform our lives - Alec Motyer

Gathering Recap - 10/20/2024 - Philippians 1:19-30 - Everything Jesus

Call to worship:

113 I hate the double-minded,
    but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield;
    I hope in your word.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers,
    that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
    and let me not be put to shame in my hope!
117 Hold me up, that I may be safe
    and have regard for your statutes continually!
118 You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,
    for their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,
    therefore I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles for fear of you,
    and I am afraid of your judgments.

Psalm 119:113-120

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How do you relate to the future? Control or anxiety?

In what ways does Paul apply the sovereignty of God to the future possibilities of life?

What does “walking worthy of Jesus” look like today?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Philippians 1:19-30

An important clue is that Paul’s words, "this will turn out for my salvation," are an exact quotation of Job 13:16 in the Greek Bible. Here Paul’s unmarked quotation evokes clear analogies between the apostle’s present situation and the former plight of Job. In Job 13, Job defends himself against the accusatory arrows of his pious “comforters.” The charge is that his suffering is the direct result of harboring some secret sin. In response, Job pleads his innocence, declaring that ultimately he will be vindicated by God (Job 13:16, 18). Similarly, Paul, in the face of afflictions and the attacks of rival preachers, looks forward to vindication before God in the end. - Dean Flemming

James 4:13-15

“If the biblical story is true, the kind of certainty proper to a human being will be one which rests on the fidelity of God, not upon the competence of the human knower. It will be a kind of certainty which is inseparable from gratitude and trust.” - Lesslie Newbigin

If you are a Christian, you are not a citizen of this world trying to get to heaven; you are a citizen of heaven making your way through this world. - Vance Havner

Gathering Recap - 10/13/2024 - Philippians 1:12-18 - The Sweet Sovereignty of God

Call to worship:

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
    and a light to my path.
106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
    to keep your righteous rules.
107 I am severely afflicted;
    give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
108 Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord,
    and teach me your rules.
109 I hold my life in my hand continually,
    but I do not forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me,
    but I do not stray from your precepts.
111 Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
    for they are the joy of my heart.
112 I incline my heart to perform your statutes
    forever, to the end.

Psalm 119:105-112

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

How did the trials of Paul lead to the furthering of the gospel?

What is the process to see the goodness of God in the midst of hardship?

How do we get to the place where we can face anything in life?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

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Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Philippians 1:12-18 - Kim

The Sweet Sovereignty of God

“Rather than detail the hardships he faced, Paul took a divine perspective.” — Richard Malick

“Paul has a definition of life that enables him to face anything. In this passage he is teaching that its not the circumstances of your life, its not whether things go well for you or go ill for you. It’s not the circumstances of your life but the way you define life that will determine whether you stand or fall in this world.”

— Timothy Keller

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Because Romans 8:28 exists, those who love God and are loved by him can have confidence that he is working through all of life’s circumstances to bring good out of bad, light out of darkness, joy out of sorrow. It’s not that God is especially agile, a kind of cosmic PR man adept at manipulating circumstances, but rather that he is the Planner, the Engineer, the Designer who has ordained the means just as much as the end. He ordains the calm and the storm, the darkness and the dawn, the famine and the feast. This being the case, no event is meaningless, no situation purposeless, no condition ultimately hopeless. God is working out his good will not despite dark days, difficult trials, and broken hearts, but through them. Such circumstances are the raw material he uses to form and shape his good plans, his perfect purposes.

God’s specialty is not bringing good from good, but good from bad and Romans 8:28 gently tells me that if I trust him through my tears, he will give me reason to laugh; if I trust him through my pain, he will teach me to praise; if I trust him through my grief, he will afterwards show me all the good that came with it and through it. He will show me the precious flowers in the dry desert, the beautiful blooms against the sharp thorns, the gentle petals beneath the vicious skies. For behind every black cloud is a yellow sun, behind every dark night a bright day, behind every frowning providence a smiling face—the smiling face of the God who works all things for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

—Tim Challies

“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”

— Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Gathering Recap - 10/06/2024 - Philippians 1:3-11 - Becoming Who We Are

Call to worship:

97 Oh how I love your law!
    It is my meditation all the day.
98 Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
    for it is ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
    for your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,[h]
    for I keep your precepts.
101 I hold back my feet from every evil way,
    in order to keep your word.
102 I do not turn aside from your rules,
    for you have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
    sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
    therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:97-104

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What does Paul show us about prayer?

How does the gospel shape community?

What are the metaphors and encouragements given toward growth?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

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Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Philippians 1:3-11 - Karen

Every other ethical system calls us to the costly effort of becoming what we are not. But in the full salvation already bequeathed to us in Christ, the new nature is already ours, waiting for expression, poised for growth, until its potential is triggered by our obedience to the word of God - Alec Motyer

“A striking feature of this verse is the way that Paul stacks up the words for all and always. The rhetorical impact is strengthened by Paul’s use of alliteration (each word begins with the letter p) and by a play on words with similar sounds (pasē … pantote … pasē … pantōn). This serves to spotlight “the all-inclusiveness of his prayer … None of the Philippians Christians for any reasons whatever was excluded from the apostles’ love and concern” - Dean Flemming

“I coined the word 'eucatastrophe': the sudden happy turn in a story which pierces you with a joy that brings tears which I argued it is the highest function of fairy-stories to produce.The Resurrection is the greatest 'eucatastrophe' possible in the greatest Fairy Story – and produces that essential emotion: Christian joy which produces tears because it is qualitatively so like sorrow, because it comes from those places where Joy and Sorrow are at one, reconciled.” JRR Tolkien

“Paul’s confidence is not in the Christianity of the Christians, but in the God-ness of God, who is supremely trustworthy, able, and committed to finish the work he has begun” Markus Bockmuel

“God is always good and I am always loved. Everything is eucharisteo.” Ann Voskamp

Acts 16:11-15

“We are not to reflect on the wickedness of men but to look to the image of God in them, an image which, covering and obliterating their faults, an image which, by its beauty and dignity, should allure us to love and embrace them.” - John Calvin

“We must understand that God does not "love" us without liking us - through gritted teeth - as "Christian" love is sometimes thought to do. Rather, out of the eternal freshness of his perpetually self-renewed being, the heavenly Father cherishes the earth and each human being upon it. The fondness, the endearment, the unstintingly affectionate regard of God toward all his creatures is the natural outflow of what he is to the core - which we vainly try to capture with our tired but indispensable old word “love” - Dallas Willard

“The word affection (splanchna) originally referred to the inner organs (heart, liver, lungs), which were seen as the seat of human emotions. In the Gospels, it expresses Jesus’ heartfelt compassion toward others. Here Paul says that he loves his dear friends in Philippi with the same affection that Christ has for them. At the same time, Christ loves the Philippians through Paul. This testifies to a “three-way bond” of love between Paul, the Philippians, and Christ” - Dean Flemming

What God desires from us, he graciously forms in us as we grow in our love for him. Ruth Chou Simmons

Gathering Recap - 09/29/2024 - Philippians 1:1-2 - A Bright Book

Call to worship:

89 Forever, O Lord, your word
    is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91 By your appointment they stand this day,
    for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my delight,
    I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
    for by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
    for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
    but I consider your testimonies.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
    but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

Psalm 119:89-96

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

What’s your experience with the book of Philippians?

Under what circumstances does the “brightness” of the book come?

How are you praying that Jesus would use this book in this next season of your life?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

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Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Philippians 1:1-2

“How is leadership to be exercised? What is the relationship between leaders and led? The one word with provides the answer: ‘… the saints’, writes Paul, ‘… with the bishops and deacons.’ The strong natural leader chooses the easy path of being out front, taking it for granted that all will follow; the low-profile leader ‘plays it cool’, submerges his own identity and takes the risk that the tail will soon wag the dog. The more demanding exercise, the sterner discipline and the more rewarding way are found in companionate leadership, the saints with the overseers and deacons.

This kind of leadership has many facets. It involves realizing that leader and led share the same Christian experience: both are sinners saved by the same precious blood, always and without distinction wholly dependent on the same patient mercy of God. It involves putting first whatever creates and maintains the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It means that leaders see themselves first as members of the body, and only then as ministers. In this way they face every situation from within the local body of Christ and not as people dropped in from outside (or even from above!). It involves patiently waiting for the Holy Spirit to grant unanimity to the church in making and executing plans. It involves open relationships in which the leaders do not scheme to get their own way or play off one against another, but act with transparent integrity. It involves willingness to be overruled, to jettison role-playing and status-seeking, to be ready to cast a single vote with everyone else. It involves putting the welfare of the body of Christ before all personal advantage, success or reputation and it involves co-equal sacrifice for the Lord and his gospel. It is the leadership of those who are content to stand among the saints as those who serve.”

- Alec Motyer

Philippians 2:5–11 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Gathering Recap - 09/22/2024 - Hebrews 13:20-25 - Landing the Plane

Call to worship:

81 My soul longs for your salvation;
    I hope in your word.
82 My eyes long for your promise;
    I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
    yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How long must your servant endure?[g]
    When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
    they do not live according to your law.
86 All your commandments are sure;
    they persecute me with falsehood; help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth,
    but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your steadfast love give me life,
    that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.

Psalm 119:81-88

Gathering Video

Questions for reflection:

As we’ve traveled through Hebrews, what have you seen about God? Yourself? Life today?

How does the author close the book?

What does it look like to discover His will today?

Corporate Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power and glory forever

Amen

If you are able to support the church financially, we invite you to give securely by clicking the button below:

Notes//Quotes//Slides:

Hebrews 13:20-25

“The author wants believers to live out God’s will in light of the work of Christ.” - George Guthrie

Here is the sea, great and wide,
 which teems with creatures innumerable,
 living things both small and great. There go the ships,
 and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. These all look to you,
 to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up;
 when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
 when you take away their breath, they die
 and return to their dust. (Ps. 104:25-29)

Food comes at proper seasons (verse 27) and is gathered (verse 28) yet through all it is God who is giving us food (verse 27). The great sea creatures “frolic” and leap in the air (verse 26) and the swallows perform Ariel acrobatics. While those activities may also have practical purposes, in some deeper sense, these creatures know the joy and freedom of doing what they were “formed" to do by God. We too, can know joy and fulfillment only as we live, according to God's design. At this point, nature has us beat. As Elizabeth Elliot has said, "a clam glorifies God better than we do, because the clam is being everything it was created to be, whereas we are not.”

Prayer: Lord, disobeying you is easy in the short run but hard in the long run because I'm violating my own nature. And so obedience to you can be excruciating to start, but it's wonderful in time, because I become my true self. Oh, help me to remember this when things get hard! Amen. —Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller, The Songs of Jesus