Archive for January 2007
Truth or Trash?
January 28, 2007 by PastorMark.
#267, Truth or Trash?, Sunday 01-28-2007
~ Text: Colossians 3:1-11
~ Theme: Go after God’s treasure instead of the world’s trash.
Introduction:
1. I saw a man rummaging through a dumpster …
A. Had he convinced himself that this was all he could do?
B. Is there a better way?
2. Do we, as believers, live far below our privileges?
A. Is mere survival the goal?
B. What is our mindset? What do we believe about ourselves and life?
3. The believers at Colosse were “being dumped on.”
A. What were they going to do with the trash?
B. Paul wrote to help them deal with truth and trash.
Theme: Go after God’s treasure instead of the world’s trash.
How do we do this? ~ Inward renewal of heart and mind with truth.
Text: Colossians 3:1-11 (focus on verses 1-4)
How do we experience renewal in a world of decay?
1. Consider your great standing. (verse 1) (think about it)
A. The biggest changes.
1) The biggest physical change: birth.
2) The biggest spiritual change: rebirth.
a) After physical birth we learn how to fit into the world.
b) After spiritual birth we are on a quest to answer “who am I as a believer in this world?”
B. You have been raised with Christ.
1) By faith, His resurrection becomes your resurrection.
a) You were once dead to God because of sin.
b) Jesus called you forth, “Lazarus, come out.”
2) You have been raised with Christ.
a) You’re not in the dark cave of decay and decomposition.
b) You have victory over darkness.
C. “Your life in now hidden with Christ in God” (verse 3b)
1) God replaced your rags with the white linen of Christ.
2) He is our life. (verse 4)
a) “Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30
b) “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3 (to get to treasure, you often have to dig around trash)
2. Consider your great challenge. (verses 1-2) Paul follows the resurrection statement with two commands.
A. Seek the things above: Set your mind on things above.
1) Make Christ your pursuit and passion.
2) Make Christ and His Word your meditation.
a) Passion and meditation fuel each other. What I desire I think about; what I think about I desire.
b) Dream big.
B. Don’t set your mind on earthly things.
1) This doesn’t mean we don’t think about God’s creation.
a) Jesus said, “Consider the lilies”
2) Earthly things are earthly nature things.
a) (verse 5) “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry”
3) The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
C. It’s a daily battle.
1) It’s a battle of transformation, metamorphosis, breaking our of the cocoon of captivity.
2) Remind yourself, “I am alive in Christ.”
3) Remind yourself, “I am dead in Christ to sin.”
4) When tempted remind yourself that that’s not who you are.
D. Your body is God’s temple, not the devil’s trash can.
1) Don’t throw trash in.
2) Don’t let others throw trash in.
3) Don’t let Satan throw trash in. (lies, lies, lies)
a) He will lie to you about sin.
3. Consider your great future. (verse 4)
A. You are not a piece of trash.
1) “It doesn’t matter what I do.”
2) “I’m just going to the dirt in the ground.”
B. When Christ appears you will be with Him.
1) “We are not physical beings going thru a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings gong thru a physical experience.”
2) “When He appears, we shall be like Him. For we shall see him as He is.” 1 John 3:2
C. Don’t ever give up.
1) The only failure is to quit.
2) There’s too much at stake.
Conclusion:
Take out the trash. In heaven we won’t ever have to deal with trash.
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PASTOR’S PARAGRAPH, 01-28-2007
January 28, 2007 by PastorMark.
We all know what it feels like to be “the stranger.” Maybe we just joined an organization or moved into a new community. How would others treat us? Would we be accepted, rejected, or ignored? God gave instructions to the Israelites concerning others who would come to live there. He said, “The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34). How much more should we as a church extend the love of Christ and warm fellowship to those who are new in our midst! At one time, we also were new–and God’s people loved us. Let’s do the same for others.
Pastor Mark Boucher
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God’s Amazing Book - Part 2
January 21, 2007 by PastorMark.
#266, God’s Amazing Book, Part 2, Sunday 01-21-2007
~Text: Psalm 81:8-16
~Theme: How do we connect God’s provision to our need?
Introduction:
1. Conversation with a person about Sunday sermons …
A. If I’m not challenging you to feed on God’s Word daily …
B. Would you only eat food on Sunday?
2. This is a picture of God’s provision for us. (a picture of a table full of food)
A. Know that He has no shortage and He is not stingy.
3. In the spiritual realm some of us look like this (a picture of a starving man)
A. Think about how frustrating it must be for the biggest giver in the universe to not be able to give to His own.
4. Psalms 81 was originally written to Israel.
A. God reminded them of where they came from.
B. God was challenging them in their present to receive His provision.
Text: Psalm 81:8-16
Questions: How do we connect God’s provision to our need?
Think of the table of plenty as God’s Word. What can we do to be spiritually alive and healthy?
1. Show Up (at the table)
A. The Israelites had drifted from the table.
1) They forgot how good God had been.
2) They started acquiring a taste for the food of idols.
a) Leaving the table doesn’t happen all at once. We start by skipping meals.
B. Showing up at the table is an act of love and fellowship.
1) To eat together said, “I love you enough to be with you, to share life together.”
2) How do we “show up” and just talk about it?
a) Exodus 34:2 (God to Moses) “Present yourself to me.”
b) Note: God is everywhere, but you consciously focus on Him and present yourself before Him and His Word.
2. Pull Up (to the table)
A. Get yourself close, surround yourself with God’s provision.
B. The Lord longed for Israel’s presence at the table.
1) He kept calling them back.
a) I know you’ve been away, but I’ve prepared this awesome meal.
2) “Hear, O my people … if you would but listen to me O Israel!” (v.8)
C. Why is God so passionate about us listening and coming to the table?
1) So that He could save us from our own stubborn hearts and “devices” (v.12)
2) So that our enemies would be defeated. (vs. 13-14)
3. Eat Up “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it” (v 10)
A. You must trust God before you will open up.
1) What if it’s poisonous or makes you go crazy?
2) “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8
B. To eat up means you “internalize” How?
1) Turn my thoughts to God often.
2) Read the Word every day.
a) “It is to be with him and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God, and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees.” Deuteronomy 18:19
3) Hear God speaking through others.
a) Note: If you feed on the Word you can discern the “bones”.
4) Stay connected with a Bible believing/teaching church.
a) Jesus said to Peter “feed my sheep.” I (Pastor Mark) must do my part, but you must do yours. (My prayer is that you will be hungry for God and His Word.)
C. To eat up means to transform our thought life.
1) Meditate and memorize – heals the deficiencies and keeps us healthy.
a) “Do not let the Book of the Low depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything within it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8
b) Example: Find a verse that attacks a sin you have a problem with. For example: when dealing with his pride Pastor Mark used Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance.”
4. Share It.
A. Share it at home.
1) “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
B. Share it among your church family (faith family).
C. Share the Word with the world.
1) Pray for them to be hungry for God.
2) Share as they are able to hear.
Conclusion:
What would your spiritual health look like on screen?
Psalm 81:16 “But you would be fed with the finest of wheat, with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
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PASTOR’S PARAGRAPH, 01-21-2007
January 21, 2007 by PastorMark.
If we are not careful, we tend to “worry ahead.” Tomorrow becomes a dark, stormy day in our minds as we project forward and “imagine the worst.” Developing a faith-filled vision of the future is God’s will for every believer. The key to replacing fear with faith is found in a statement God made to Moses in Exodus 34:11: “Obey what I command you today.” We can’t do anything about yesterday’s obedience (or lack of it), and we can’t obey ahead of time for the future. The best we can do is obey God’s Word and His instructions to us right now…today. If we will obey today, God’s peace will keep our hearts as we consider tomorrow. Where do we start? Let’s ask God to forgive us for any disobedience and to give us grace to love and obey Him this day. Let’s begin now.
Pastor Mark Boucher
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God’s Amazing Book - Part 1
January 14, 2007 by PastorMark.
#265, God’s Amazing Book - Part 1, Sunday 01-14-2007
~Text: Psalm 119:1-11
~Theme: How can God’s Word help us in everyday life?
Introduction:
1. The Newspaper – Editor’s column
2. God didn’t just write a column, He wrote a whole book.
A. Manual of Life
B. Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth
3. Psalms is the middle book of the Bible.
A. Right in the center of the Bible is Psalm 119.
B. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter of the Bible (176 verses)
1). Twenty-two sections of eight verses
2). Each section starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
4. Psalm 119 is all about God’s Amazing Word.
A. There are different themes found in Psalm 119.
1). God’s Word is the Word of Life (Directions, Promises)
2). We must humbly acknowledge our “erring ways.”
B. How can God’s Word help us in everyday life?
1). If you don’t recognize the practical value of the Word you won’t read it.
Text: Psalm 119:1-11
1. The Bible can keep us from a life of shame. (vs. 5-6)
A. Shame and regrets are painful to think about.
1). Sometimes I rewind to them.
2). I have to remind myself of God’s forgiveness and the lesson learned.
B. We don’t have to choose a life of shame.
1). The Psalmist prayed for steadfastness. (v. 5)
a). Lord give us stability, consistency
2). This steadfastness is in obedience to the Word.
a). … “Then I would not be put to shame.” (v. 6)
2. The Bible can keep us from sexual sins. (vs. 9-11)
A. How can a young man keep his way pure?
1). This is the enemy’s unseen weapon of mass destruction unleashed on America.
B. What is God’s answer?
1). “Living according to your Word.”
2). “I seek you with all my heart.”
C. A passion can only be controlled by a greater passion.
1). Our love for God and His Word must be greater than our love for pleasure.
a). Example: Priests (keepers of the fires in the holy place)
2). Keep the fire lit for God!
D. There is power by internalizing the Word.
1). “I have hidden your word in my heart …” (v. 11)
2). “Sin will keep you from this Book or this Book will keep you from sin.”
3. The Bible can give us true hope. (vs. 49-50)
A. “Remember your Word to your servant. For you have given me hope.”
B. Our hope is in God who cannot lie.
1). I don’t mind funerals of believers.
C. The Word of God was given by the Holy Spirit.
1). We must be led to apply God’s Word.
a). Example: A person near death. Be led by god before saying, “They won’t die.”
2). There’s a saying. “God still speaks today.”
a). Yes, but what He says will not contradict what He already said.
4. The Bible can give us true peace.
A. “Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165
B. There’s a difference between shallow peace and great peace.
1). Shallow peace is simply the absence of outward conflict.
2). Great peace is found in relationship with God, holding on to what He says.
a). Example: My concern over the finances of the church … “I own the cattle on a thousand hills.”
C. Jesus promised us his peace.
1). “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.” John 14:27
2). “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Conclusion: Do we realize what we have in our hands?
Example: A worker for rubbish disposal noticed a fast-food sweepstake ticket in the trash. He opened it and won $200,000. Someone else had it in hand, but didn’t bother to open it.
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PASTOR’S PARAGRAPH, 01-14-2007
January 14, 2007 by PastorMark.
I’ve never seen a shepherd in America. The sheep I’ve seen are all behind fences. But in Bible days shepherds and sheep roamed the land in search of food and shelter. In the Bible we are compared to sheep, and the Lord is called the Good Shepherd. In the Old Testament story of Jacob, his last words are recorded. He referred to God as the One “who has been my shepherd all my life to this day” (Genesis 48:15). What a thought! God goes before us like a shepherd, leading us through this life of trials and dangers to green pastures and pure waters. As sheep, all we need to do is obey and follow Him. It’s not hard—but we must pay attention. In the end, the Shepherd will lead us all the way home.
Pastor Mark Boucher
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A Testimony of Healing
January 12, 2007 by admin.
It looks like a grain of sand. It feels like a boulder. How can anything so tiny cause so much pain? To an oyster a grain of sand is an intruder and an irritant, but it eventually turns into a pearl. To me that grain of sand was renal calculi, commonly known as a kidney stone. Can anything valuable come from such an irritant in a human being? Not in the natural, but nothing is impossible for God. He can turn what is normally an excruciating experience into the miraculous.
My healing was miraculous. After unbearable pain drove me to be hospitalized on August 4, 2006, a CT scan revealed a 2-3mm kidney stone descending from my left kidney and two more the same size in my right kidney along with a pocket of calcification. The left stone exited that night and the pain stopped. I prayed and kept reminding myself that God’s Word says He won’t give us more than we can bear.
September and October drifted by uneventfully, but by early November all the discomfort and pressure and other symptoms of stone passage were back in full force. The next CT scan revealed that the stones had grown to 5mm each! I began to wonder how awful one that large would feel if a 2mm was excruciating. Here’s where God stepped in with power. My last CT scan on December 11 showed…nothing! No stones, no pocket of calcification, nothing in either kidney. I do have one of the stones so I know of a certainty that it passed painlessly on December 4.
Throughout my 25-year Christian journey, a little phrase has kept me going when things got tough or painful or frustrating. I once heard a preacher say that in the Bible are the words “and it came to pass.” He then said, “Just remember, it didn’t come to stay…it came to pass.” For me it came to pass with a miracle this time.
Vivian Butler
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Don’t Stay Down
January 12, 2007 by PastorMark.
Discouragement is no respecter of persons. You can be rich or poor and be discouraged. You can be healthy or sick and be discouraged…etc. In my years as a pastor, I have never had anyone tell me, “I have never struggled with discouragement.”
I love the psalms. David, the author of most of the psalms, revealed his heart to God and to us as he wrote. He didn’t feel the need to “protect his image;” he simply wrote what he felt. In Psalm 42 we see David’s struggle with discouragement. I want us to catch the powerful insights from this psalm—especially his summary statements in verses 5 and 11 which are identical. They are: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”
It’s OK to ask why. But David doesn’t ask, “Why, God?” but rather “Why…O my soul?” Whenever I start getting down, I search my heart and ask myself what the cause could be. Here are some of the reasons I have come up with as to why discouragement sometimes latches onto us: We get hit by sudden trials such as a big expense or difficult health issue. We dwell on past defeats and failures. We compare ourselves with others who seem to “have it so good.” We put our hope in people, and they let us down. We allow ourselves to set unrealistic expectations, and they don’t materialize. There are so many things in life that could keep us discouraged—if we let them.
David would not stay down. By asking why of himself, he was seeking discernment. Someone once said, “In times of trial, doubt your doubts; don’t doubt your faith.” In other words, once you perceive why you are discouraged, fight back with faith. You don’t have to give in and listen to the old nature that tries to feed you gloom and negativity with, “God doesn’t really care about you; life will always be this way.” By God’s grace, you can leave the “pity party” (who really wants to have a party with the pits anyway?). There’s a way out.
David said, “Put your hope in God.” Hope doesn’t just happen. It comes as a result of placing your life in God’s hands. Hope grows as we look up and consider the character of God. In verse 4 of Psalm 42, David spoke of “pouring out” his soul to the Lord. God receives the cry of our heart and begins the healing process, which then results in true hope.
One last thing about discouragement: we must take action. Just sitting around and rationalizing with discouragement is fruitless. Although he was struggling, David proclaimed, “For I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.” It’s not easy to praise God when you don’t feel like it. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary. As we choose the act of thanksgiving and praise, we begin to focus on our source of strength. The things that go wrong take a back seat, and joy starts to seep back into our soul. Notice, David praised “my” Savior and “my” God. Yes, He really is a personal God. He knows “where we are” even when we’re “down in the dumps.” Do your part by looking to Him and praising God, and you will discover that He is sufficient to pull you up and through. God bless you!
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PASTOR’S PARAGRAPH, 01-07-2007
January 11, 2007 by PastorMark.
God doesn’t usually give you a five-year plan. Part of the faith life of walking with God is to obey…even when you don’t understand what God is “up to.” Obedience to God often becomes a test—whether we will say yes and receive His blessings later, or whether we will say no and remain in our “comfort zone.” In Genesis 12:1 we read of God’s command to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” Because Abram obeyed God, his life bore the fruit of the promise, “…and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). God also wants to bless your life so others will be blessed. Will you say yes to His will?
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Room or No Room
January 7, 2007 by PastorMark.
#264 Sunday Morning, 01-07-2007
~Room or No Room
~Matthew 6:5-6
~We sometimes work and struggle with something and then later realize it was wrong. Could it be that Gods priorities on life and ours are not the same? If ours are different, are we willing to re-adjust?
~Theme: As a believer in Jesus Christ, do you have a room with which you use to meet with God on a daily bases? If not, then why?
- What about no room?
- With out room for prayer, we carry spiritual “body odor.” (If we do not walk and pray to God we will not have Gods Fragrance.)
- Also, we will lack the fruits of the spirit.
- Also, we make bad decisions.
- What about if you make room for God and prayer?
- God will reward you by giving you more of Him.
- And by developing the fruits of His Spirit.
- And He helps us make good decisions.
- Schedule this in your life!
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