Pastor Bret's Blog » Sermon Notes

Defining Worship:

Pastor Bret — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:09:59 +0000

I hope everyone takes the challenge to read through 1 Chronicles 13 – 16. You can take things to a whole new place in your life if you do. Below are the points we’ve been addressing out of those passage in our study of worship. Worship is so fundamental to our calling and identity as a church, learning and developing ourselves on a deeper level from the Bible can lead to greater fruit, greater connection with God and greater impact in the world.

Worship is:

(There are not definitions but principles surrounding it)

Deciding – not feeling

Celebrating – reverence can be expressed in shouts, dancing, instruments, enthusiasm.

Obeying – Reverence is truly expressed in doing things the way God says to do them

Responding – worship is a recognition and an acknowledgment that God has done something

Learning – It is critical to understand that the first part of the story has a mistake and the second half of the story is a correction.

Consecrating – in Christ we are the new Priesthood with the call to connect to God and help others connect to God

Organized, Skillful Playing and Singing – The priority and purpose of music — both instrumental and vocal is unmistakable and compelling.

Rejoicing –the closer one approaches the presence of God the more joy there is. Joy is ours because He lives.

Meeting – God calls crowds. We experience things in a crowd we don’t on our own or in small groups. We should dedicate ourselves to meeting together.

Loving – the Bible says a simple thing: if you claim to live God and hate your brother you are a LIAR! Very strong but tied to the principle that our relationships with people are inextricably tied our relationship with God. We can’t disconnect the two.

Who are you going to intentionally express love and care to this week?

Understanding Romans – Notes (Part 3)

Pastor Bret — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:18:36 +0000

We’ve concluded our crash course on Romans and I hope that you’ve found some value in going through this book that is so core to all the rest of the Bible. I can’t encourage people enough to decide to become lifetime students of Romans. It will help as much as anything you can do to to dig a very deep foundation for your faith.

True Biblical Community:

Is inspired by MERCY

Thrives on HUMILITY

Sober judgment – Interest in others

Gives others LIBERTY

Demands MATURITY

Is built INTENTIONALLY

No More Mullets: Romans Notes (Part 2)

Pastor Bret — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:17:05 +0000

Understanding Romans:

The essence of other religious systems is DO

The essence of Christianity is DONE

Doing never equals DESERVING

Doing is RESPONDING

We are NOT righteous

Righteousness comes FROM God

Righteousness is received by FAITH

We have a new identity

A new relationship to sin – we are no longer slaves to it

A new relationship to the Law – we have died to it

A new power to live – we have gone from a convict before a judge to a child in the household

No More Mullets: Romans Notes (Part 1)

Pastor Bret — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:58:50 +0000

I cannot stress enough how important and rewarding it is for all of us to become conversant with the content of Romans. My challenge is to have all of us read the entire book over the next three weeks. It’s not really THAT long. I would encourage anyone who can to take the time to read it all in one sitting. It takes less than an hour. Then, go back through it piece by piece each day. If you can’t take that kind of time then do what you can, however small. I have included my sermon notes because the sheer volume of material can be a little overwhelming. I can’t wait to see what God does through our study of this amazing book.

Romans
1:17 = Summary statement of whole book

UNDERSTANDING ROMANS
1) We are not righteous

Chapter 1 is an indictment on the human race
18 – 25, 28 – 32 who are THEY? = US

3 groups of UNRIGHTEOUS PEOPLE
1. the highway to hell types – Easy Rider – tattoo = sinner. 1:24-32
2. the think they’re on the highway to heaven because they are NOT the highway to hell types – 2:1
3. those who are truly ARE on a highway to hell but think they’re on a highway to heaven because they follow a lot of religious rituals 2:21. 3:10 – ALL – different categories of sinners together

GOD JUDGES – 2:6 – God will give to each person according to what he has done
God judges FAIRLY – v. 12 – Those who sin apart from the law.
Hell – everyone believes

God judges PURELY and completely– v. 16

Heb 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must Isaiah 64:6 “All of our righteous acts are like filthy rags” = lit. menstrual cloth

Give account.
If you’re smart – the idea of that ought to scare you to death

2) RIGHTEOUSNESS IS FROM GOD
BUT NOW
Remember the summary statement in 1:17
In the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed. A righteousness that is by faith from first to last, as it is written, the just will live by faith.

Romans 3:21 – 26 – the turning point
The form of the word translated justified has at its root the idea of righteousness
81 occurrences of the adjective form, 92 f the noun, 39 of the verb form, 5 of the adverb
Romans triangle

3 terms: Atonement (Propitiation), Redemption, and Justification
3 = So HOW is a man made righteous? From God BY

3) RIGHTEOUSNESS COMES THROUGH FAITH
Remember the summary statement FROM FIRST TO LAST
Works / faith = both ways of receiving things in life
THE CORE OF CHRISTIANITY = GIFT
4:4 – 8

4) WE HAVE A NEW IDENTITY – 5:1 – 2
Mullet is a halfway move – that was then, this is now. We NOW have.