Date: 3/12/2017
Title: Honorably Living Part I
Speaker: Pastor George Gracie
Scripture: Proverbs 3:9-10
The Bible makes it clear that we own nothing. We are merely stewards of what God has given us. This includes out time and talents. Honorable living includes spending out time and talents in a way that glorifies God.
Date: 3/5/2017
Title: A Disciple’s Reward
Speaker: Pastor Darryl J. Stalter
Scripture: Matthew 10:40-42
Salvation cost nothing, but true discipleship costs us everything. Making a stand for Christ will cost us everything: peace with the world, relationships with people we may love, comfort, and the treasures of this world. The question for us that remains is it worth it? in Matthew 10 Jesus answers with a resounding “Yes!”
Date: 2/25/2017
Title: The Price of Discipleship
Speaker: Pastor Darryl J. Stalter
Scripture: Matthew 10:34-39
Salvation costs us nothing, but discipleship costs us everything. Salvation does not cost us anything as it is predicated on faith alone; however, being his disciple and living for Him is costly. This is something that Jesus reminded his Apostles in Matthew 10, and also reminds us. The question remains, are we willing to pay the price?
Date: 2/19/2017
Title: Faith in the Face of Persecution
Speaker: Pastor Darryl J. Stalter
Scripture: Matthew 10:26-33
Jesus promises that as we live and minster for Him we would face persecution. The question is how are we to respond in the face of persecution. In Matthew 10 Jesus exhorts us not to respond in fear, but in faith.
Date: 2/12/2017
Title: The Opportunities of Persecution
Speaker: Pastor Darryl J. Stalter
Scripture: Matthew 10:16-25
Whether intentionally or unintentionally we can misrepresent or misunderstand the effects of the gospel on our life in this world. We tell people that once they come to Christ that He will make everything in this life easier or comfortable. We paint a picture that once you come to Christ, you will frolic through meadows, like the opening of “Little House on the Prairie” until Jesus comes. Liking the sound of this, people “come to Christ.” But, when trouble, suffering, hard times, and persecution come, they fall away from the faith. Why? Because they feel as though they were part of some cosmic bait and switch. Yet, what are they actually falling away from? Is it Christ, or is it the false impression of the Christian life we have portrayed in our gospel message? You see, they wanted the benefits of being a Christian, without paying the price.
In Matthew chapter 10, as Jesus is sending His Apostles out into the world for ministry, he warns them that they would face stark persecution in response, but with that would come tremendous opportunities for the Kingdom of God. Likewise, for us, although salvation is free, serving the kingdom of God for which we now live comes with a price of persecution. Yet, God gives us Kingdom opportunities in the midst of that persecution.
Date: 2/5/2017
Title: God’s Mission Briefing
Speaker: Pastor Darryl J. Stalter
Scripture: Matthew 10:5-15
When it comes to serving God we often feel as though we have been given a mission without a briefing. We believe that God has called us to go into all the world and preach the gospel, but we think it is up to ourselves to come up with the strategy, the objectives, the equipment, and the overall plan. So, we either start grasping for straws at what to do or, worse yet, we stay in the relative safety of our churches and do not go. Yet, God has left us with instructions. In Matthew 10 Jesus instructs his Apostles on what they are to do as they were sent. Although these are specific instructions given to them and their call to ministry, this passage provides us with biblical principles that apply to God’s sending of us.
Date: 1/29/2017
Title: Being Used By God
Speaker: Pastor Darryl J. Stalter
Scripture: Matthew 1-4
Many of us want to be used by God for building His kingdom, but often feel unqualified for the task. We look at the Apostles and perceive them as super saints, uniquely qualified in themselves to serve Christ. We elevate them and lift them onto pedestals so high that they cease to be people, but myths of legend. Doing so, we forget their beginnings. They too struggled with insignificant beginnings and mundane occupations. The often lacked spiritual understanding, humility, faith, commitment, an power. They were not the first stringers of the religious elite, but rather those who would not have even been considered by them as part of the team. It is these twelve ordinary men that Jesus chose do do the extraordinary. Like them, God can and does use us for the building of His kingdom, not because of any innate ability on our part. Rather, He works through us because of who Jesus is, what he has done for us, and our relationship to him.
Date: 1/22/2017
Title: A Passion for Lost Souls
Speaker: Pastor George Gracie
Scripture: Matthew 9:35-38
What do you see and how do you feel when you look around at the people around you? For Jesus the answer was simple: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Jesus saw people who were lost and in need of compassion. He saw a field ripe for a spiritual harvest, but few who would labor for it. In Matthew 9 Jesus calls his people to not only pray for more laborers, but to be willing to be those who would labor in compassion to bring people to the Shepherd they so desperately need.
Date: 1/15/2017
Title: Jesus Brings Our Salvation
Speaker: Pastor George Gracie
Scripture: Matthew 9:27-34
In this passage two blind men cry out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” As they come to Jesus in faith He responds by miraculously restoring their sight. Although we cannot merely spiritualize away this tremendous and marvelous miracle, this passage is a beautiful picture of what happens in salvation. We are born spiritually blind and cannot see God, but when we cry out to Jesus in faith, “Have mercy on us,” he brings us salvation and restores our sight.
Date: 1/8/2017
Title: How is Your Faith?
Speaker: Pastor George Gracie
Scripture: Matthew 9:18-26
We all face moments of desperation in our lives that can challenge our faith. Such was the case of two individuals in Matthew chapter nine who faced immense personal pain, loss, and sickness. Yet, despite the striking differences between the two, they both reached out to Jesus in the time of need and Jesus met them there. So too does He meet us in our pain, often using these moments as a means of building our faith and declaring his glory.