Monthly Archive for January 2014
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR JAN. 26, 2014
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR JAN. 26, 2014
Cleaning: Week Jan. 26—Kerrs.
Nursery: Feb. 2—Nancy.
Follow us on Facebook or at teaguebiblechurch.org.
Our Webpage Stats
Look who is looking at us…..
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SUNDAY, JAN. 19, 2014:
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SUNDAY, JAN. 19, 2014:
Cleaning: Week Jan. 19—Chambers.
Nursery: Jan. 26—Sarah C.
Potluck Dinner: Jan. 26 @ 6pm. Business mtg. to follow. Sign-up sheet available.
Follow us on Facebook or at teaguebiblechurch.org
Podcast Sermon 01/19/2014
James 2:8-13
Question: Which came first; the chicken or the egg?
Question: Which came first, a law code to guide people’s lives or grace through faith?
Most would answer that God saved people in ancient times by having them obey His laws, and when they did not, a sacrificial system covered their sin. (Check Romans 4 to see more,,,)
Question: What if they went through the system but were not really trusting and loving God?
Answer: It did them no good! Isaiah 1
Habakkuk 2: 4 “ ,,, the righteous will live by faith”
Romans 9:30 -32
The actually way it happened was God has always shown grace to those who would have faith in what He said to do. The premiere example is Abraham. He was a man who was around years before Moses and the written law code for Israel. How did he get saved if no law was written?
God offered him something, he did not deserve, and He believed what God was promising.
Because of his acting on what he believed , by moving to another place, it was said, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6. He now had a “right standing” with God, not because he was perfect, or deserved it, but because he believed what God was offering him.
What is grace?
A loving acceptance of us, by God, based on what Christ did for us on the cross.
We enter into this grace by believing what God says about Jesus Christ. Grace is activated in our life by accepting His gift of eternal life through faith. It includes forgiveness of all sins, and the removal of the crushing guilt associated with those sins. We receive a new heart that “wants to” please God. We receive the Holy Spirit who now empowers us to live the Christian life we are called to live. It is because of what Christ has done for us that we are saved, and therefore we have assurance that we will be saved forever. This gift is eternal and it is irrevocable.
So the pattern is:
Grace through faith-
Then a temporary period of Law- ( II Corinthians 3: 1-18, Galatians 2:11-21, Titus 3:5-7, Hebrews 4:1-2, 10:1-23)
Then the fullness of grace through faith in Jesus Christ-
We must spend a bit of time revealing the meaning of Galatians 3 to explain this and clarify our verse for today. In this way, if you will bear with me, we see most clearly the meaning of the “law of liberty” of which James speaks.
Galatians 3: 16-29 Acts 15:7-8
James, a strict Jew all his life, has met Christ, received His grace, trusting what Christ has done for him over what he was able to do on his own, in his own performance of good deeds, (which was always doomed to failure.)
He is now a transformed man and continues to be transformed throughout his life, simply by believing in Jesus and receiving this free gift of grace. Of course he does good deeds now, all the time,but he does so not to get saved- on his own merit- but because he is already saved and has assurance of that salvation because of Christ’ work done for him. He knows the limits of the Law and now knows the “law of liberty’ in Jesus Christ! (ck. Romans 8:1-4)
Review of context: James 2:1-13 *********************
Focus today on James 2: 8-13
v. 8-9 Leviticus 19:18 and 19: 15
Royal law- the king of all laws (relating to human relationships)
A comprehensive law Matthew 22:36-40 Galatians 5: 13-16
It includes not evaluating a man’s character by appearances. II Corinthians 5:16a
v. 8 Many times the Jews, in practice, showed partiality by limiting “love thy neighbor”
to fellow Jews.
Ex. Good Samaritan Luke 10:29
v. 10-11 What James is dealing with are people who want to “pick and choose,”
buffet-style, from God’s standards of right living.
But to fail in one point of the Law is to fail it all, because it is a failure to love others.
It does not mean a man who steals is automatically guilty of a murder he did not commit.
The point he is making is that obeying one law ,does not cancel out the failure to obey another law.
Examining the word, “transgress” might help us understand. It means to break through a boundary one is forbidden to cross.
Ex. Police catch man who jumped over the fence, into your yard, on the north side.
He criminal wants to know why he gets no credit for not crossing over at the
east or west side? It does not matter! He is over the fence at some point,
and a crime has been committed.
v. 12 a better way – “law of liberty”
Remember how you are to be judged because you have believed the Gospel.
The moment you placed your trust in what Christ did for you on the cross, and believe God raised Him from the dead, you were saved for all eternity. Grace through faith. You were, and forever will be, free from being judged by the Law.
Romans 8: 1-4 The word “now” is emphatic by position in the sentence. (In Greek original)
You do not have to ‘wait and see” if you will some day be saved. ( check Romans 8:28-30 where we see the plan of God for every believer. Once you have accepted Christ, these things take place. It is such a sure thing to take place He can put “glorified” in the aorist (past) tense; even though you have not been “glorified” yet! WOW!
Romans 4: 25
A theologian said, “ And it is just man’s utter failure to obey that Law, in its entirety, that makes it necessary for his salvation to depend, not on his own righteousness, but upon another; Christ Jesus.”
Question: How do you know you have entered into the “law of liberty?”
You have a changed heart that shows mercy to all, as mercy has been shown to you!
Song: “He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay”
Ex. Matthew 18: 23-35
v. 13 “mercy triumphs over judgment”
Mercy is a feeling of compassion expressed in action; what Christ did for us.
He took the judgment we would have suffered and then set us
free from it consequences.
Ex. Florida Flight 90
Judgment for our sins fell on Christ. God’s perfect standard was not done away with or compromised. Christ fulfilled the standard and we are credited with His righteousness! Now by His mercy He provided grace to us, all based on His work. It is ours when we believe this, and accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
God’s mercy triumphs at Calvary over His rightful judgment of our sins.
Ex. The brush fire and the dead hen with live chicks
Ex. Matthew 23: 37
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SUNDAY JAN. 12, 2014
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SUNDAY JAN. 12, 2014
Cleaning: Week Jan. 12—Twittys.
Nursery: Jan. 19—Linda C.
Potluck Dinner: Jan. 26 @ 6pm. Business mtg. to follow. Sign-up sheet available.
Follow us on Facebook or at teaguebiblechurch.org.
Podcast – Sermon 01/12/2014
Teague Bible Church Jimmy Petty 2014
TIME MANAGEMENT continued ….
The purpose of time management is not so that we can cram more into our schedule, but to defrag and rearrange our life to take away the wrong kind of stress and give back quality. Oddly enough, you end up with more free time than you had before. Would you be interested in that?
1. PLANNING is crucial to not wasting time or being
distracted by worthless activity.
JESUS’ EXAMPLE John 7:6, 9:1-5, 17:4
John 7:6 “,,, My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.”
9: 4 “ we must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day;
night is coming when no one can work.”
17: 4 “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work which
You have given Me to do.”
Jesus was focused, but not rushed;
He was on aware of the passing of time and used that little bit of time
to stay on mission as you should be on your mission.
2. It is important to extract the PRECIOUS from the WORTHLESS.
A. Set PRIORITIES. Find the precious
( written before Lord Of The Rings- funny!)
Ex. “The Lies We Believe” Dr. Chris Thurman –
“Lie number 6. YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL” (youth group believed this!)
Ex. Cosby show – Wonderful family both working 60 hours weeks, doctor and lawyer;
can’t happen, something would have to give and that is
usually “relationships”; things and activities win out.
Ex. Man at Christian college- Lawyer, teacher at college, traveled all the time. Admired for his busy life. Paid for it
with his family!
POINT? There will not be enough time to “do it all.”
Life was not meant to be a string of meaningless activities.
Ex. Mountain climbing/ Further up you go; the less things you carry.
You must “lighten the load” to survive
B. Learn to say “no” to worthless things
Ex. Your “toxic” relative or friend wants to burn up an hour of time on the phone,
griping, with no intention of changing anything.
3. As disciples of Jesus it is essential to THINK about how
we allocate our time.
“ Money comes and goes; time only comes by once.”
(We want to come to the end of 2014 and say, “That was a year well spent!”)
4. IMPORTANT is not equal to = URGENT.
The * urgent things tend to absorb our time so there is none left for the important! If you have no concept of “most important” vs. the “less important,” the urgent will manipulate your life. It may “seem” urgent, but what is really important?
{* Urgent things = Those things we feel like have to be done at that moment,
not because they are truly urgent, but because we get stirred up emotionally
about it at the moment. Later, on reflection, we see we missed a great
opportunity if only we had established a set of priorities before the
emotion took over.}
Ex. Mary and Martha Luke 10:38-42
Ex. Acts 24: 24-25
“ But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla,
his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in
Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the
judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the
present, and when I find time I will summon you.”
5. (Self- analysis question) – Am I ‘spending time’ or
INVESTING TIME in what will pay off
in the long run?
Must be ‘people over things’ as a starting point.
(What else pays off in the long run?)
* You must see “helping others,” as not interruptions, but divine appointments
* Bible study
* Build relationships, to show the love of Christ, and earn the right to witness.
* Fellowship
* PRAYER- (in detail later, no.9)
6. Every day is a GIFT from God. Be Thankful!
( You will see things others are blind to see. It is like being lifted up high on a mountain as seeing clearly the lay of the land below. Thankfulness is vision!)
Phil. 4:6-8 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
WITH THANKSGIVING, let your request be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Usually thankful for things already done; so God helps us remember what
He has already done, as a testimony to His care, to keep us from freaking out,
in the present and have hope for the future.
Be a thankful person; anybody can whine.
I Thessalonians 5:18 “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God
for you in Christ Jesus.”
James 4:13-16
“Come now you who say, “today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then it vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”
Be a thankful person. You can be thankful, with or without “feeling” thankful at the moment. It is not hypocritical to go against your feelings; it is hypocritical to go against the facts! You have been blessed; and you know it deep-down. Choose to be thankful!
It opens your eyes to opportunity; gives a bigger view of situations.
7. The key is to move through life with PURPOSE and BALANCE.
Colossians 4:5
“ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.”
“make the most of the opportunity” = lit. : “redeem the time”/ “to purchase the time”
Ex. Imagine if you had to start each week by purchasing, with money, sections of
time for particular purposes.
8. Management of SELF, not time, is the problem.
It takes DISCIPLINE, (but habit soon takes over and it is less difficult- check paper attached to this one- “Habit”
Ephesians 5:15-17
“ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of God is.”
Gal. 5:23 fruit of the spirit is “self- control”
9. We have time to do exactly what God wants us to do. We need to decide if responsibilities are GOD-GIVEN or self- imposed; or imposed by the whims of others.
Ex. Jesus’prayer life. With all He had to do, why did He take time to pray?
Would not more “action” yield better results? NO!
Luke 4:42, 5:16, 6:12, 9:18, 28, 11:1, 18:1 22: 31-32, 22: 39-45
QUESTION: How could Jesus be unhurried and get so much done? Prayer was priority!
Ex. Blaise Pascal 1623-1662 “Why we stay busy’ ( natural , unredeemed man)
“ Nothing is more intolerable to man than a state of complete repose, without desires, without work, without amusements, without occupation. In such a state he becomes aware of his nothingness, his abandonment, his inadequacy, his dependence, his futility. There at once wells up from the depths of his soul weariness, gloom, misery, exasperation, frustration, despair.”
Sport, pleasure, entertainment and society are so often pursued not because they bring pleasure, but because they take men’s minds off themselves.
10. Make a lifelong study of how to better use your time.
(Colossians. 4:5, Psalms 90:12, John 9:1-5, Ephesians 5:15-17)
Psalms 90:12 “ SO TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS THAT WE MAY
PRESENT TO YOU A HEART OF WISDOM”
*****************************************************************
ACTION STEP: (application of no. 2 in notes)
Make a list of about 5 things you look back on as precious.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Make a list of about 5 things you look back on as worthless.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Podcast – Sermon 01/05/2014
The audio gremlins crept back in on this one.
Teague Bible Church Jimmy Petty 2014
TIME MANAGEMENT
The purpose of time management is not so that we can cram more into our schedule, but to defrag and rearrange our life to take away the wrong kind of stress and give back quality. Oddly enough, you end up with more free time than you had before. Would you be interested in that?
1. PLANNING is crucial to not wasting time or being
distracted by worthless activity.
JESUS’ EXAMPLE John 7:6, 9:1-5, 17:4
John 7:6 “,,, My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.”
9: 4 “ we must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day;
night is coming when no one can work.”
17: 4 “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work which
You have given Me to do.”
Jesus was focused, but not rushed;
He was on aware of the passing of time on used that little bit of time
to stay mission as you should be.
2. It is important to extract the PRECIOUS from the WORTHLESS.
A. Set PRIORITIES. Find the precious
( written before Lord Of The Rings- funny!)
Ex. “The Lies We Believe” Dr. Chris Thurman –
“Lie number 6. YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL” (youth group believed this!)
Ex. Cosby show – Wonderful family both working 60 hours weeks, doctor and lawyer;
can’t happen, something would have to give and that is
usually “relationships”; things and activities win out.
Ex. Man at Multnomah- Lawyer, teacher at college, traveled all the time. Paid for it
with his family!
POINT? There will not be enough time to “do it all.”
Life was not meant to be a string of meaningless activities.
Ex. Mountain climbing/ Further up you go; the less things you carry.
You must “lighten the load” to survive
B. Learn to say “no” to worthless things
Ex. Your “toxic” relative or friend wants to burn up an hour of time on the phone,
griping, with no intension of changing anything.
3. As disciples of Jesus it is essential to THINK about how
we allocate our time.
“ Money comes and goes; time only comes by once.”
(Come to the end of 2014 and say, “That was a year well spent!”)
4. IMPORTANT is not equal to = URGENT.
The * urgent things tend to absorb our time so there is none left for the important! If you have no concept of “most important” vs. the “less important,” the urgent will manipulate your life. It may “seem” urgent, but what is really important?
{* Urgent things” = Those things we feel like have to be done at that moment,
not because they are truly urgent, but because we get stirred up emotionally
about it at the moment.
Later, on reflection, we see we missed a great
opportunity if only we had established a set of priorities before the
emotion took over.}
Ex. Mary and Martha Luke 10:38-42
Ex. Acts 24: 24-25
“ But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla,
his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in
Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the
judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the
present, and when I find time I will summon you.”
5. (Self- analysis question) – Am I ‘spending time’ or
INVESTING TIME in what will pay off
in the long run?
Must be ‘people over things’ as a starting point.
(What else pays off in the long run?)
* You must see “helping others,” as not interruptions, but divine appointments
* Bible study
* Build relationships, to show the love of Christ, and earn the right to witness.
* Fellowship
* PRAYER- (in detail later, no.9)
6. Every day is a GIFT from God. Be Thankful!
( You will see things others are blind to. It is like being lifted up high on a mountain as seeing clearly the lay of the land below. Thankfulness is vision!)
Phil. 4:6-8 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
WITH THANKSGIVING, let your request be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Usually thankful for things already done; so God helps us remember what
He has already done, as a testimony to His care, to keep us from freaking out,
in the present and have hope for the future.
Be a thankful person; anybody can whine.
I Thessalonians 5:18 “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God
for you in Christ Jesus.”
(Don’t read this)
James 4:13-16 (correct on their paper- it has 4:17)
“Come now you who say, “today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then it vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”
Be a thankful person. You can be thankful, with or without “feeling” thankful at the moment. It is not hypocritical to go against your feelings; it is hypocritical to go against the facts! You have been blessed; and you know it deep-down. Choose to be thankful!
It opens your eyes to opportunity; gives a bigger view of situations.
7. The key is to move through life with
PURPOSE and BALANCE.
Colossians 4:5
“ Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.”
“make the most of the opportunity” = lit. : “redeem the time”/ “to purchase the time”
Ex. Imagine if you had to start each week by purchasing, with money, sections of
time for particular purposes.
8. Management of SELF, not time, is the problem.
It takes DISCIPLINE, (but habit soon takes over and it is less difficult- check paper attached to this one- “Habit”
Ephesians 5:15-17
“ Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of God is.”
Gal. 5:23 fruit of the spirit is “self- control”
9. We have time to do exactly what God wants us to do. We need to decide if responsibilities are GOD-GIVEN or self- imposed; or imposed by the whims of others.
Ex. Jesus’prayer life. With all He had to do, why did He take time to pray?
Would not more action yield better results?
Luke 4:42, 5:16, 6:12, 9:18, 28, 11:1, 18:1 22: 31-32,
22: 39-45
QUESTION: How could Jesus be unhurried and get so much done? Prayer was priority!
Ex. Blaise Pascal 1623-1662 “Why we stay busy’ ( natural , unredeemed man)
“ Nothing is more intolerable to man than a state of complete repose, without desires, without work, without amusements, without occupation. In such a state he becomes aware of his nothingness, his abandonment, his inadequacy, his dependence, his futility. There at once wells up from the depths of his soul weariness, gloom, misery, exasperation, frustration, despair.”
Sport, pleasure, entertainment and society are so often pursued not because they bring pleasure, but because they take men’s minds off themselves.
10. Make a lifelong study of how to better use your time.
(Colossians. 4:5, Psalms 90:12, John 9:1-5, Ephesians 5:15-17)
Psalms 90:12 “ SO TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS THAT WE MAY
PRESENT TO YOU A HEART OF WISDOM”
*****************************************************************
ACTION STEP: (application of no. 2 in notes)
Make a list of about 5 things you look back on as precious.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Make a list of about 5 things you look back on as worthless.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR JAN. 5, 2014
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR JAN. 5, 2014 (sorry for the delay)
Cleaning: Week Jan. 5—Arnolds.
Nursery: Jan. 12—Bev.
Follow us on Facebook or at teaguebiblechurch.org.
Podcast – Sermon 12/29/2013
THE LORD’S SUPPER Teague Bible Church
December 29, 2013
Every year they have a memorial at Normandy, France to remember the ones who died for freedom. For anyone there, who actually fought back at that time, it means much more to them than to their children or grandchildren.
Ex. “Private Ryan” the older man remembers as he kneels beside the grave.
Ex. Gideon ,
(He was NOT there when many miracles took place) Judges 6:13 “Then Gideon said to him, ‘O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘did not the Lord bring us up from Eqypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” (Exodus was 1445 B.C. Gideon lived in 1051 B.C. ) 394 years had passed.
Each generation does not need fresh miracles of historic proportion,( I Pet. 1:8, John 20:29, Matt. 12:38- 41) but each generation and each person in this room needs vital experiences of communion with the Lord and with each other as a body of believers.
Ex. I John 2: 7-8 “ Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard,” (John 13:34 love on another, John 15:12).
“On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, (increasing love, vital communion) because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” (What John is fascinated by is the fact that communion with the Lord and other believers never gets stale because the Holy Spirit energizes the Word of God in us, making it fresh and like it is brand new.)
We come today to remember what the Lord has done for us on that cross over 2000 years ago. We are in danger of missing the true significance of the Lord’s Supper if we resign it to be only a ritual. We cheapen it if we get too get focused about the elements involved or the way it is done, or how often it is done.
By the way, the above illustrations are incomplete. The first Lord’s Supper was tragic for the disciples, who saw no way in which Jesus would live. The second Lord’s Supper, that was recorded in the book of Acts, was a celebration of the price Jesus paid, but also the fact of His resurrection! A joyful occasion! NOT a memorial service for some dead hero! Critical to remember this when we partake of the Lord’s supper!
QUESTION: What keep’s the Lord’s Supper fresh, vital, immediate, new to us and not a faded memory?
ANSWER: (The presence of the Holy Spirit.)
There is no such thing as , “ Getting used to” the Christian life! No more than you will ever be bored with heaven and get “used to” it. The very Spirit of God makes all things fresh and new as we adjust ourselves to His working in us.
QUESTION : As Christians, how do we adjust ourselves,
so the Spirit can accomplish all that He wants to within us today?
1. Be clean, confess your sins I John 1:9 (Too many only get this far then fall back and do not grow much)
2. Be surrendered Rom. 12 :1-2
3. Be Filled with the Spirit Eph 5:18 “ and do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation ( sqandered energy, uncontrolled useless activity),but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of the Lord.” (confession and surrender makes room for the Spirit to work)
4. Determine to “keep walking” in the Spirit Gal. 5: 16-25
Ex. Rechargeable flashlight.
( can’t stay “unplugged” too long , must have continual abiding with the source)
The typical experience for believers :
A great experience with the Lord ;
Then you think that will carry you;
You fall;
Big , emotional repentance;
Repeat pattern.
Not that this does not happen to you and me at times, but I mean looking as if this is the normal way to walk. Kind of a , “I wait till my life totally falls apart, then I turn to the Lord, when nothing else works!” That is just deliberate carnality! An attitude that the Christian walk is only “inevitable carnality.”
Some churches cater to this by always having a 3-ring circus going of “special events, so people do not get bored .” External stimuli, to substitute for what can only be done in your heart by being “spirit- filled,” in a steady, sensitive walk with the Lord.
Where are you in your life right now? { Share time}
Read Luke 22: 14-20
Read Luke 22: 21- 30 Will you “stand by Him?”