Light of the World I. A RADICAL claim at a Jewish FEAST. (v.12)A. The CONTEXT of “SUKKOT”. (Lev. 23; Jn 7:2)B. The RITUALS of the FEAST. (Jn 7:38)D. The LOCATION of the STATEMENT. (v.20) I am the light of the world. Seems like a pretty nebulous...
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I AM – Part 2 (Family Meeting) | John 8:31-59
GBC Value: Focused on Jesus I. Which JESUS are we FOCUSED on? (I Cor. 11:1)A. VENGEFUL and CONTROLLING Jesus? (OT/Revelation)B. GENTLE and FORGIVING Jesus? (Gospels)C. “LOOKS like ME” Jesus? (Mark 8:33) The first value that we list on our GBC...
Read moreI AM – Part 1 | John 6:25-59
Bread of Life I. PURSUING Jesus on our TERMS. (v.25-34)A. ASKING surface QUESTIONS. (v.25)B. SEARCHING for a SYSTEM. (v.28)C. Demanding PROOF by PRODUCTION. (v.30-31) The context is important here. Jesus has just feed 5000+ with 5 loaves and two...
Read moreChristmas Sunday 2019 | John 1:1-14
The Christmas (Back) Story I. In the BEGINNING…AGAIN. (v. 1-5; Gen 1:1)A. A WORD is worth a 1000 PICTURESB. CREATOR of EVERYTHING. (v.2-3)C. The SOURCE of LIFE. (v.4)D. The POWER of LIGHT. (v.5) John’s gospel doesn’t contain a birth...
Read moreAdvent 2019 – Zechariah’s Dreaming Of… ~ Part 4 | Zechariah 3:1 - 4:14
The Power Behind the Priest and King I. Dream #4 – The PRIEST is PURIFIED. (3:1-10)A. The ACCUSATIONS are… TRUE. (3:1-3)B. God’s DECISION, not our WORTHINESS. (3:2-5)C. Called to FOLLOW and to REPRESENT. (3:6-10) We’ve come to the...
Read moreAdvent 2019 – Zechariah’s Dreaming Of… ~ Part 3 | Zechariah 2:1-13; 5:1-4
“I will live among you…” I. Dream #3 – A CITY without WALLS. (2:1-5)A. The REBUILDING is COMING. (1:16, 2:1-2)B. The LOGICAL STEP to take. (v.2)C. SOMETHING better than WALLS. (2:4-5) We are moving deeper toward to central message of...
Read moreAdvent 2019 – Zechariah’s Dreaming Of… ~ Part 2 | Zechariah 1:18-21; 5:5-11
Two More Unusual Dreams I. I’m dreaming of HORNS and CRAFTSMEN. (1:18-21)A. SCATTERED by the POWERFUL. (v.18; Micah 4:13, Dan. 7:24B. SAVED by the… CRAFTSMEN? (v.19-21; Zech. 4:6) These dreams of Zechariah are unusual in and of themselves...
Read moreAdvent 2019 – Zechariah’s Dreaming Of… ~ Part 1 | Zechariah 1:1-17; 6:1-8
We Wait in Hope I. Zechariah – MINOR prophet with a MAJOR message. (1:1-6)A. The CONTEXT of this BOOK. (Jer. 25:11, 33:11-14; Ez, 5:1-2)B. The STRUCTURE of the DREAMS. (Zech. 1-6) Welcome to Advent, the season of the Christian Year...
Read moreSamuel & Samson: The People God Uses – Part 10 | I Samuel 12:1-25
Samuel’s History Lesson I. The TEXT is very INTENTIONAL here. (I Sam. 11-12)A. A major VICTORY for the new KING. (I Sam 11)B. An EARLY farewell SPEECH. (I Sam 12)C. COMPARISON and CONTRAST. (v.3-5)D. A POWERFUL history LESSON. (v.6-19) II. Once...
Read moreSamuel & Samson: The People God Uses – Part 9 | I Samuel 8:1-22
Give us a King I. Another TIME of TRANSITION. A. TRUSTED father and CORRUPT sons. (v.1-5) B. GIVE us a KING. (v. 5-22) 1. Samuel’s RESPONSE. (v. 6) 2. God’s RESPONSE. (v. 7-9) 3. The PEOPLE’S RESPONSE. (v. 10-22) All good things seem to come to...
Read moreSamuel & Samson: The People God Uses – Part 8 | I Samuel 4-7, esp 7:2-12
Hither By Thy Help I. The God Who Won’t Be Used (I Samuel 4-6)A. God is not a Good Luck Charm (I Samuel 4:3-11)B. God is not a Member of Your Pantheon (I Samuel 5)C. God is not Novelty Item (I Samuel 6:19-21) II. The Things God Uses (I Samuel...
Read moreSamuel & Samson: The People God Uses – Part 7 | I Sam 3:1-21
We Need Each Other I. WHAT is actually HAPPENING here. (v.1-21) A. A TIME of TRANSITION. (v.1,21) B. A PROCESS of LEARNING. (v.7,19-21) C. Good NEWS and BAD news. (v.11-17) Finally we get to hear from Samuel, or at least watch him. The first two...
Read moreSamuel & Samson: The People God Uses – Part 6 | I Samuel 1:21-2:11
Hannah and Yahweh I. A TEXT that UNSETTLES. (1:21-2:1) A. A MOTHER gives away her SON. (1:22-28) B. Is this (SPIRITUAL) child LABOR? (1:28, 2:11; Heb 10:11) C. And YET she REJOICES. (2:1) Today’s text is one very familiar to long time church...
Read moreSamuel & Samson: The People God Uses – Part 5 | 1 Samuel 1:1-20
A Woman at the End of Her Rope I. A Real FAMILY I Sam. 1:1-3 A. A RESPECTABLE Family I Sam. 1:1-4 B. An Undeniable TENSION I Sam 1:2, 5-7 C. An UNANSWERED Prayer I Sam 1:7-8 II. A DESPERATE Act I Sam 1:9-18 A. A Broken SPIRIT I Sam 1:10, 15 B. A...
Read moreSamuel & Samson: The People God Uses – Part 4 | Judges 16:1-31
The Tragic End of Samson I. SAMSON’S final CHAPTER. (16:1-31)A. Another WOMAN and the city GATES. (v.1-3)B. What Samson DOES for LOVE. (v.4-20)C. CAPTURE, Humiliation, and REVENGE. (v.21-31) If you’re like me, you’ve had enough of Samson. Over...
Read moreSamuel & Sampson: The People God Uses – Part 3 | Judges 15:1-20
A Good Example of a Bad Example I. The Story: Samson as a BAD EXAMPLE. (v.1-20)A. He ACTS on his TERMS. (v.1,3,7,11; 17:6)B. The CYCLE of evil and VIOLENCE. (v.3,6-8,9,11)C. BETRAYAL becomes a CATALYST. (v.11-17)D. A RELATIONSHIP with GOD? (v.18)...
Read moreSamuel & Sampson: The People God Uses – Part 2 | Judges 14:1-20
A Wedding Like No Other I. Samson is “Mr. REALITY TV”. (v.1-20)A. He is IMPULSIVE and DEMANDING. (v.1-3)B. He is POWERFUL but SECRETIVE. (v.4-9)C. He is no MATCH for a WOMAN. (v.10-18)D. He is ANGRY and VENGEFUL. (v.19-20) Samson and his antics...
Read moreSamuel & Sampson: The People God Uses – Part 1 | Judges 13:1-25
Extraordinary Events, Ordinary People I. HERE we go AGAIN. (v.1-25)A. The CYCLE of the JUDGES. (Jdg. 1-21; Jdg. 17:6)B. EXTRAORDINARY interactions with ORDINARY people. (v.1-25) We are entering the season of Foundations where we return to our...
Read moreGBC Fall Family Meeting | Isaiah 6:1-8
What is Worship and Why is it Vital? I. Worship is SURRENDER to the true STORY. (Is. 6:1-8)A. GOD is always PRESENT. (v.1-3)B. SEEING God EXPOSES us. (v.4-5)C. God’s HEART is to RESTORE. (v.6-7)D. HEARING (knowledge) is RELATIONAL. (v.8)E. The...
Read morePhilippians: A Powerful Poem for the Persecuted – Part 4 | Philippians 3:15-4:23
Having a good “remembery” I. Remember WHO we are. (3:15-4:1)A. SECURE CITIZENS of heaven. (3:20-21; 1:1)B. In PROCESS toward TRANSFORMATION. (3:15-16,21; 1:6,9-11) Paul wraps up the letter to the Philippians recovering some of the key truths of...
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