Sunday, June 28, 2009

Notes from today’s sermon 06/28/09 Eric Gordon

My life is not just a journey it is an adventure.



Luke 8:4-15 KJV

“And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”

v.8-He cried not cried out.

I. God’s love is impartial
Who are we to judge how someone will respond to the gospel? Even if I do not think they will respond my responsibility is to sow the seed.

II. God’s word is the seed
It was never the seed’s fault when it didn’t grow but that which was around it. If the seed (word of God) is not growing in your life, you need to check your soil. We live in a day of divided focus. What are you sowing? If there is no word growing in your life are you sowing word? Or world? You teach what you know and you reproduce what you are.

III. Our life is the soil
The Pharisees only had relationships with each other. The only way to combat religion is through relationships. If the soil isn’t prepared then something will grow, but there isn’t a big demand for weeds in the kingdom of God. What are you doing to till up your soil?

Psalm 37:4 KJV
“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

Delight means pliable, bendable, soft.

IV. God’s grace is what makes it grow
God’s grace is the only thing that makes the seed of His word grow.

1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV
“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

Our expectation should be in God not people.

V. The harvest is up to you

Matthew 9:37-38 KJV
“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

Don’t leave the harvest out there too long!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sermon notes 06/21/09 Father's Day

















Matthew 3:16-17 KJV

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

1. This is my son
The Father acknowledged Jesus as His Son, but more important than that is that He
accepted Him. You can acknowledge a child without accepting them. Acceptance connects you to provision

2. Beloved
Beloved means affection, which connects you to protection.

3. In whom I am well pleased
means approval, which connects you to participation.

If you are not approving of something your kid is doing speak about that which you do approve of.

2 Corinthians 6:18 KJV
"And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

This means that all of that applies to us, too!


Monday, June 15, 2009

Inspirational 06/15/09 The Bargain

The Bargain
Author: Unknown

During one of the many Reformation battles, a young soldier found himself and his army being soundly defeated by the enemy. He and his comrades hastily retreated from the battlefield in defeat, running away in fear of their very lives.

The enemy gave chase. The young man ran hard and fast, full of fear and desperation, and soon found himself cut off from his comrades. The soldier eventually came upon a rocky ledge containing a cave.

Knowing the enemy was close behind, and that he was exhausted from the chase, he chose to hide there. After he crawled in, he fell to his face in the darkness, desperately crying to God to save him and protect him from his enemies. He made a bargain with God. He promised that if God saved him, he would serve Him for the remainder of his days.

When he looked up from his despairing plea for help, he saw a spider beginning to weave its web at the entrance to the cave. As he watched the delicate threads being slowly drawn across the mouth of the cave, the young soldier pondered its irony. He thought,

"I asked God for protection and deliverance, and He sent me a spider instead. How can a spider save me?"

His heart was hardened, knowing the enemy would soon discover his hiding place and kill him. Soon he did hear the sound of his enemies, who were now scouring the area looking for those in hiding.

One soldier with a gun slowly walked up to the cave's entrance. As the young man crouched in the darkness, hoping to surprise the enemy in a last-minute desperate attempt to save his own life, he felt his heart pounding wildly out of control.

As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the cave, he came upon the spider's web, which by now was completely strung across the opening. He backed away and called out to a comrade, "There can't be anyone in here. They would have had to break this spider's web to enter the cave. Let's move on."

Years later, this young man, who made good his promise by becoming a preacher and evangelist, wrote about that ordeal.

What he observed has stood by me in times of trouble, especially during those times when everything seemed impossible:

"Where God is, a spider's web is as a stone wall. Where God is not, a stone wall is as a spider's web."

"For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things." - Luke 12:30

"want al hierdie dinge soek die nasies van die wêreld, en julle Vader weet dat julle hierdie dinge nodig het." - Luke 12:30

****************************************************
Sherry’s Inspirational list

In His Service,
Sherry and Jim Heard

To subscribe please send an email to:
Sherrys_Inspirational-subscribe@googlegroups.com


MISSION STATEMENT: Our mission is to be the channel, not the source, through which we pray God’s blessings may flow to others. Our ministry is not to provide counseling, advice, or doctrinal interpretation. For this we refer you to local spiritual leaders who may know and deal with your needs more personally. It is our prayer that God may truly bless your day through the inspiration we seek to channel your way. In Him, Sherry and Jim Heard

When forwarding / copying, please include the entire message.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

06/14/09 Mike Holt - Don’t Touch That Dial

06/14/09 Mike Holt - Don’t Touch That Dial

Exodus 32:1-6

Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Exo 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

Exo 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

Exo 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Exo 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD.

Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.


Heb 4:7 “Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” KJV

“Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.'” NIV

Prayerlessness is the sin of the church today.

How we harden our hearts:

1. Whenever spiritual delay turns into denial instead of delight.
  • Crock pot-you might be in a season of delay because God is cooking up something better for you. So you can say my God did this for me!
  • Don’t put a period where God puts a comma.
2. Hard time seem to be too hard for God
  • Hope is not circumstances, it is based on Jesus inside of you.
3. Change becomes our biggest challenge
  • Even if the known makes you miserable, it is still more comfortable than the unknown.
  • You have to fly through the turbulence to get to the smooth air.
  • People would rather win change than walk it in their life.
  • It is mine you can’t have it; I have had it so long! If you only knew what God has waiting
  • to replace what you are holding on to! The gap between letting go and receiving is what
  • scares us.
4. Activity replaces intimacy with God
  • I have learned how to play church.
  • Learned how to be a professional Christian
  • We miss out on laying our heads on Christ’s chest and falling in love all over again
  • because we are too busy.
  • Busy, busy, busy – so busy that I forget about Him
  • When was the last time I just turned it all off and just sat with Him?
5. Pressure takes the place of praise
  • Do not take my own heart for granted
  • Just because we have gifts does not mean our heart is softened to God
  • Ingratitude is the birthplace of idolatry in your life
  • In the midst of ________ I will keep my heart soft.
Word from God today at the altar:
“I gotcha”

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Inspirational 06/10/09 Lonely Ember














Lonely Ember
Author: Unknown

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination. As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail." Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.

Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." -Hebrews 10:25

"en laat ons ons onderlinge byeenkoms nie versuim soos sommige die gewoonte het nie, maar laat ons mekaar vermaan, en dit des te meer namate julle die dag sien nader kom.
" -Hebrews 10:25
****************************************************
Sherry’s Inspirational list

In His Service,
Sherry and Jim Heard

To subscribe please send an email to:
Sherrys_Inspirational-subscribe@googlegroups.com


MISSION STATEMENT: Our mission is to be the channel, not the source, through which we pray God’s blessings may flow to others. Our ministry is not to provide counseling, advice, or doctrinal interpretation. For this we refer you to local spiritual leaders who may know and deal with your needs more personally. It is our prayer that God may truly bless your day through the inspiration we seek to channel your way. In Him, Sherry and Jim Heard

When forwarding / copying, please include the entire message.

Monday, June 8, 2009

I Am A Christian



I Am A Christian


I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.


My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.


I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.


I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me--my banner will be clear!!!


Written by a young African pastor: It was tacked on the wall of his house, and found after he died as a martyr for the Gospel!


“And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.” –Acts 22:20

“en toe die bloed van Stéfanus, u getuie, vergiet is, het ek ook self daarby gestaan en sy vermoording goedgekeur en die klere opgepas van die wat hom doodgemaak het.” - Act 22:20
****************************************************

Sherry’s Inspirational list

In His Service, <>< Sherry and Jim Heard

To subscribe please send an email to:

Sherrys_Inspirational-subscribe@googlegroups.com


MISSION STATEMENT: Our mission is to be the channel, not the source, through which we pray God’s blessings may flow to others. Our ministry is not to provide counseling, advice, or doctrinal interpretation. For this we refer you to local spiritual leaders who may know and deal with your needs more personally. It is our prayer that God may truly bless your day through the inspiration we seek to channel your way. In Him, Sherry and Jim Heard


When forwarding / copying, please include the entire message.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Sowing a seed of a surrendered will is powerful.

Just a few bullet point notes about this morning's sermon from Pastor David Clark:

  • Jesus prepared a place for us and is preparing us for that place
  • Psa 62:11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
  • Patience is waiting for the seed to grow.
  • Rom 6:12-13 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
  • Rom 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
  • Rom 6:22-23 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
  • Sowing a seed of a surrendered will is powerful.
  • To have the power of God to work in our lives we must have our will surrendered to Him.
  • God can only use us if we are available.
  • When we submit our will to Him then everything becomes all light and alright.
  • Yield yourself up to God - Here I am.

  • A surrendered will brings:
  1. Knowledge of truth 1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
  2. Power in prayer 1 John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. & James 5:16-17 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. (righteousness=yielded)
  3. Fullness of the joy of the Lord
  4. Christ to us - Presence of Christ Rev 1:10-17 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: & Jas 4:7-10 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
  5. Holy Spirit upon us Acts 2 & Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

This is my first blog post. Not sure how much of this I will do, but I thought it time to set it up and see.