PART 4: PUTTING AWAY CHILDISH THINGS

CAN YOU HANDLE BEING BLESSED?

1 Corinthians 10:1-12

           How many times have we said, “Oh Lord, if you get me out of this situation, I promise to serve You.” Once God delivers you from your situation, you respond, “Thank you Lord! As soon as I finish college, I’m going to serve You.” Or “Lord, as soon as I finish these wedding plans, get my marriage settled, and maybe have a few kids, then I will be ready to serve You.” We get what we want from God and forget all about what it took to get to where we are in life. 

          The children of Israel continued to complain even after seeing the miracles of God, the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21), manna to eat (Exodus16:15), and water from a rock. (Exodus 17:6) God delivered them and each time they did not realize the blessings of being God’s people. They just wanted a comfortable life. They didn’t want God on His terms. Nor did they want to love Him from their hearts and become totally devoted to Him according to His word. Unfortunately, they chose not to follow God fully. (Numbers 32:11)

Remember who Brought You Out: No one knows what you have had to go through to get to where you are today. We must remember that Jesus brought us out of our situations. When we didn't have a job, God was the one that provided for us. When we didn’t know where our next meal was coming from, God had mercy on us and opened His hand toward our needs. God is the source of all natural and spiritual blessings that come down from heaven.  We must never forget how faithful He has been and will be to us.

Refuse to be controlled:  The adversary wants us to believe that nothing we have is good enough. Our homes that we were blessed to get has become too small, now we need a bigger house. We need the latest technology, even though our pockets are telling us we can’t afford it. When you are satisfied in Jesus Christ you are content. We should keep our eyes fixed on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to get through our daily battles of dissatisfaction. Jesus has blessed us with the privilege to be a fellow heir with Jesus as God’s son. (Rom. 8:17) We will find contentment with the help of the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts.

Really Believe You are not Exempt: God wants us to learn from the children of Israel. They are our example of a people chosen by God to know Him and to be a witness to the world of His mercy, compassion, grace, and holiness.  When the LORD had called them to live a life that represented Him, they didn’t enter fully into their blessing because they wanted to follow God without truly trusting in Him. Their hard times in life caused them to doubt the God who delivered them from Pharaoh.  A world empire that no one could conquer, but God conquered Egypt through Moses.

      We must choose to shake loose the chains of unbelief concerning the direction God wants to take us to have a fulfilled life in Jesus Christ. If we don’t take heed, we will fall short of truly seeing God’s glory lead us. We want to hear from you. As Pastor Hamilton continues his sermon series, what are your thoughts? Can you handle being blessed?

Part 3: PUTTING AWAY CHILDISH THINGS

“Keep Your Cookies in the Cookie Jar”

1 Corinthians 6: 15 – 20

   As parents we will have the opportunity to talk with our teenage children about the importance of remaining celibate until marriage. If you have already had the talk, what was your approach? How did it go? Did they receive the information well or did it go in one ear and out the other? In verse 15 Paul let the church of Corinth know that their bodies are members of Christ.

Get away from folk that make you fall:

    Remember the movie “Forest Gump”? Those famous words “Run Forest Run”, which is what we should do. As members of Christ we should run away from folks that make us fall.  We must realize that once we accept Christ into our lives our bodies belong to the Lord. Any sexual sin we do against our body is a sin against God’s body, which He paid for with His blood. 

Grasp how special you really are:

     We are blessed and highly favored by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We give Him all the honor and glory and we thank Him for His grace. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,(v7) casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5: 6 &7) We are special to the Lord, because His love for us moved Him to give His life for us. Now that we know we are special we should give God our all.

Give you body back to God:

    In 1 Corinthians 6:19 “ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.” God would be pleased if we wait for Him to bless us with a husband or wife. “But I want you to be without care He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord – how he may please the Lord.” (1 Cor. 7:32) This scripture lets us know that those who are unmarried will have the ability to serve the Lord exclusively for His work. In God’s time, He will bless us with a spouse. “If it is His will.”

    

    We want to hear from you. What are your thoughts on the message “Keeping Your Cookies in the Cookie Jar” How can you encourage someone from making a mistake that can potentially keep them from walking in God’s plan for their life and know their purpose?  

Part 2: PUTTING AWAY CHILDISH THINGS

CAN YOU PASS INSPECTION?

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

When you think of an inspection, what is the first thing that comes to mind? We can relate to an inspection on a car or even a house. The type of inspection that really matter is our inspection before The Lord. 

As Pastor Hamilton mentioned in his sermon: "We are in the construction business.”  As we build our relationships, we must be careful to build them on the right foundation, which is Jesus Christ. "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together" (Col 1:17) If we do not build our marriages, our friendships, raise our children on the foundation of Jesus Christ, we are sure to fail. That which is not built on Jesus Christ will not last.

Can you pass the inspections of your Christianity? Highlights from Pastor Hamilton sermon:

When God pulls you into the Shop of His Sovereignty will you pass?

Will God be able to:

·     Pump the brakes of your behavior

·     Kick the tires of your trust

      Check the air of your attitude

·     Check the admission of your efforts.                    

                        WILL YOU PASS?

What are your thoughts? We want to hear from you. Which point can you most identify with? What are you doing daily to help you prepare for the day of your inspection?

·    Seat Christ Above Everyone and Everything

·    Seriously Serve the Savior

  Stay Ready for that Day

Part 1: Putting Away Childish Things

 "Let’s Straighten it Out"

1 Corinthians 1: 10-17

“We are Family” the name of a famous song in 1979 by Sister Sledge, had everyone toe tapping and finger snapping. Although the song was upbeat and had every intention of being a positive family song, we all know that families disagree all the time. The good news is, families come together to handle crisis when times get tough. Each family is uniquely designed. What works for one family will not necessarily work for another family. God the Father has a family. The moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we become children of God. Moreover, in the body of Christ we know that in Roman 12:4, “Just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, v5. So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Because of our trust and belief in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we must:

·         REMEMBER WE ARE FAMILY

As children we are taught how to share, on our own we are selfish and try to grab everything we see and say, “Mine, mine!” Paul addressed the people in Corinth because they lost sight of their purpose. They became selfish and began to separate themselves from one another; I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, and I am of Christ.  1 Corinthians 1:17 “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” For this to happen we must:

·         REMOVE SELF FROM CALLING THE SHOTS

The love of Christ makes you shout for joy, because this is the love the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gives us every moment of each day and night. We, God’s children, have the capacity in us to love our brother by the Holy Spirit. John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” Therefore, we must:

·         RECOMMIT TO CHRIST COMING FIRST

During this sermon series we want to know your thoughts and feelings. You can easily share your thoughts and feeling by clicking on the blog and posting your comments. You can post anonymously or add your name, whichever makes you feel comfortable. How has this message impacted you? See you at the FCBC Round Table!!!

Let's do something new

Isaiah 43:18-21

The new year is here! Every year we get excited because of the newness of the Year. New beginnings! We pledge to make this the best year ever. We start our new gym membership because we want a new look to go with the new year. We start eating better.  We pledge to cook at home and not eat fast food. We stop trash talking. We become mindful of the language we use before speaking.

Then the gym starts to interfere with other things we would rather do.
Our eating habits start to slip when we see that double chocolate cake. Fast food is quick and convenient.
We start trash talking when the first person disagrees with us.

St John Chrysostom quoted
"When we once begin to form good resolutions, God gives us every opportunity of carrying them out."
DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?

Pastor Hamilton started this New Year with a message titled "Let's Do Something New."
In Isaiah 43:18, The deliverance of the nation in the past will not compare to the future deliverance God will give His people.
 God want to show His people that no other god can compare to Him.  God will get the praise that is due to Him by His chosen people.
Now that you know that you are chosen, How are you giving God a New praise?
What is new in your life since you got saved? Are you still doing the same thing?
It is hard for us to move on from our past because we like hanging on to stuff. We need to let go of stuff and allow God to work things out for us.

Pastor's Points:
Turn the page on your past
Tear down your blessing blockers
Thank God for his grace

Which point has touched your heart to 
DO SOMETHING NEW.
We want to hear from you!!!

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?

John 1:9-13

Have you ever been to a birthday party and you were amazed with all the work put into the preparations? As you enjoy the party, you get caught up in the decorations, the food, and the music. Then you notice one major detail. Where is the guest of honor?

Pastor Hamilton made a valid point as he spoke about the woman of a Home Owners Association, who had to pick a home with the best Christmas decorations. No one won because it was suppose to be about Jesus. There was no room for Jesus on their lawns because they where fixated on the décor. Perhaps, their focus was more on how to outshine their neighbor than to display Jesus.   

How about you, have you forgotten about Jesus? During this time of year, we can get caught up in making sure we have the best Christmas tree, decoration, and purchasing gifts for family and friends. What will you do with Jesus?

God wants to set us free. He sent a “True Light”, Jesus, to save us. “Then Jesus again spoke to them saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12) It is good to know that we will not be in Spiritual darkness as long as we have Jesus.

Whatever we are going through, we can trust that God will handle it. We can’t allow our hurts to destroy us. Jesus didn’t allow rejection to ruin him because he was here for a much greater cause, to seek and to save the lost. (Matthew 18:11)

As a believer in Christ, how can you encourage others to fully trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

PASTOR’S POINTS:

·         We need to let Him be our God.

·         Lean on Him When you hurt

·         Lift Him up in Praise

Which point can you most relate to?