"In the Beginning . . . . God"

 Genesis 1:1

Some foundational truths of our faith & guidance for the New Year-2014

What the Bible teaches us about creation:

1. There was a Beginning

2. God is Eternal

3. God brings meaning out of Chaos

4. God is the Source of Creation

APPLICATIONS:

1. If God is at the Head of the Universe, He should be at the Head of Our lives. If God did indeed create the world, it means He is our superior. He is owed our devotion and respect. If He is the Designer, then He knows how things work the best and so His instructions are far superior to the opinions of men. This means we should use Him as our reference point. He is the one we should measure our lives by.

Many of us go into the New Year with goals for lots of things weight loss, exercise, finances, overcoming various vices ,business…But . . . what goals do we have for strengthening our spiritual life? How deliberate are we in building our spiritual life? You can work as hard as you want... and be as diligent as you want... but if you "don't sharpen your ax" you will drift away from God. It is surprising how many good and innocent things can impede our spiritual growth. It could be our love for reading, or gardening, the Internet, sports, our jobs and even our family.

In the beginning . . . . .God!  Put God first this year.

Mary’s Christmas: Mary, Mission & Miracle

Luke 1:26-38  

The Christmas Season is one of the most joyous times of the year.

However, it can also be one of the most stressful times of the year.

Mary’s  Background of the story:

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,

There’s a perfect timing, instruments & place for all of us.

The Most Important Decision of your life

Luke 12:49-59  

⁴⁹ “I have come to set the world on fire,

                   and I wish it were already burning!

 The reference to fire suggest judgment. Jesus’ coming is like a fire. You can ignore it and you will perish or You can get on the right side of it and it will purify the dross out of your life. You have to deal with it or it will consume you!

⁵⁰ I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me,

                   and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished.

Contentment

Phil.4:10-13                      

      

What is contentment?

Contentment is the belief that I have everything I need at this present moment.

It is also the confidence & certainty that when I need anything else, God will give it to me.

I almost certainly don’t have everything I want. And I probably don’t have everything I think I need. This part of the definition means that God has so ordered the universe that no matter where you are right now you have everything you truly need to be content. 

That’s an awesome statement—and I know it’s one thing to say that on Sunday morning, it’s something else to believe that when your husband or wife or child walks out on you or the doctor says, “I’m sorry. There’s nothing else we can do.”

How do we know this is true? We know it because God has said it is true. 

The Cry for Unity

 Ephesians 4:1-6

The Apostle Paul is answering in Ephesians 4 about the fundamental nature and purpose of the church, and its relationships to the world in which it must live. You will recognize these as pertinent questions of the present hour as well.

We are being told today that the church is irrelevant -a useless appendage to a society which has long outgrown the need for the church.

There are others who say that the church is very much needed in this hour, but it must change its approach if it is going to be meaningful in our generation.

The church does not have the right to chart its own course. Its goal has already been set;
its purpose has been determined by its Lord. Paul puts it this way,

Be Faithful Stewards

(Luke 12:35-48)

Perspective is crucial. A couple who saves prudently now for their children's future education or for their own retirement lives prospectively. That kind of perspective is harder, because it requires faith and counts on events that have not yet occurred. It is very different from living strictly according to present needs and gratification.

Believers know that Jesus is returning and that all will give an account for their stewardship. Jesus gives a series of three images to underline the importance of living prospectively.

1. The parable of being prepared (vv. 35-38),
2. The parable of waiting for the Son of Man (vv. 39-40)
3. The parable of the kinds of stewards (vv. 41-48)

Priesthood

Intro:

In the book of Old Testament, Leviticus, we are learning the great truth which time and again in the course of history seems to be lost and then recovered again

 -- this marvelous truth of the priesthood of every believer in Jesus Christ.

In Lev. Chapter 9,  we saw the results of priesthood.

 When everything was done "as the LORD commanded" the result was a manifestation of the presence of God, a remarkable shining forth of the glory of the Lord.

We concluded with a great scene of triumph.

The Shekinah glory, a radiant cloud of light, suddenly appeared in the midst of the people of Israel and consumed the rest of the sacrifice in a flash of flame. The people, awed and amazed, shouted and fell on their faces, crying out in triumph.

But the amazing thing is that we now move immediately from that scene of triumph into a scene of tragedy. On the very day that this tremendous breakthrough occurred in the camp of Israel,
tragedy strikes and a sudden and shocking manifestation of judgment occurs.

Does Jesus Live in Folsom?

Galatians 5:19-26

What if Jesus came to Folsom, Sacramento? What would he do? What would he say?

Today’s young people by the millions have asked the question through those cloth bracelets with four capital letters: WWJD. What would Jesus do? “Jesus Walks on This Place. Will you meet him this week?” Does he still walk the earth today? Do we think it impossible that Jesus would come to S?

Our passage is a backdoor to the question I am asking.

In Galatians 5:19-26 we are invited to consider two different ways of life. One is called the “acts of the sinful nature” or the “works of the flesh.” It describes what life looks like without God. Or to say it another way, what happens when you decide to go your own way all the time.

The Priestly Blessing

Numbers 6:22-27

22 Then the Lord said to Moses,

23 “Tell Aaron to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

24 ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you.

25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.

26 May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’

27 Whenever Aaron bless the people of Israel  in my name, I myself will bless them.”

The context: Before this blessing is given, the children of Israel are assembled, getting ready to leave on a dangerous journey across the desert.  

What will the people of God doubt in the wilderness?

Many of them were going to die in the wilderness.

assaulted by enemies. face thirst and starvation.

 to face division and dissension.

What are you going to be doing in ETERNITY?

Luke 12:13-21     

What will you be doing 100 years from now ?

             

Everyone of us is going to being doing one of two things 100 years from now.       

Serving the Lord Jesus in all of eternal glory – or

                 Suffering in the tormenting flames of hell.

        For that reason alone – the question I ask is a serious question.

We would rather leave it light & uncertain because that keeps us from the responsibility of having to change & get serious about the here & now.

 But Jesus would say the opposite: We must think about and be concerned with and focus on ETERNITY.

13 someone called, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?”

Jesus has a way of getting to the root of problems/the heart of the matter.