Rewatch or catch up on the full sermon with the link below!
Recent Sermon Notes
Have you ever been “at your wit’s end?” When you’ve exhausted all your emotional and physical resources and have nothing left to give, what do you do? When the Apostle Paul was at his wit’s end, the Lord gave him direction saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Pastor Jim went on to expound on when we are at our wit’s end, how we can lean on His grace.
This past weekend, Pastor Jim taught his 9th installment in his series on the book of Romans entitled, “Grace Unveiled.” The first three and a half chapters of Romans, Paul talked extensively, driving home the point, on how no one can make himself righteous in God’s eyes. The Apostle Paul didn’t leave anyone out. He listed the Pagans in the secular world, people just trying to do good, and the zealous disciplined Jews… he made sure they knew that none of them measured up in God’s eyes. No matter what they did, they would never be able to escape God’s wrath… unless there is something that appeases that judgment. That was Paul’s way of working up to a point. Paul then introduced the righteousness of God through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.
Pastor Mac taught a message entitled, “The Principle of Connection.” Oftentimes, we struggle with obedience to the Word, where our obedience to the Word is not done in faith but out of legalism. We don’t do it from our heart, but we do it out of obligation. However, as Pastor Mac pointed out, if the Word is going to work for you, it has to come from our heart. There is a remedy that puts an end to legalistic obedience: once you understand the principle behind a particular mandate, obedience to the Word becomes exciting. Pastor Mac goes on to discuss the Principle of Connection.
What a weekend we had with guest minister Nancy Dufresne. She shared on the power of faith and reminded us that God and the Holy Spirit should always remain our focus. That means when we face difficulty, listening to the Holy Spirit, our guide on the inside, is the best thing that we can do. You can walk in faith toward your miracle!
Pastor Jim delivered his seventh installment in his series on the book of Romans, entitled, “Grace Unveiled.” The first three chapters of Romans focuses explicitly on the definition of sin. “Because,” as Pastor Jim says, “if you don’t understand what sin is, you will not understand the solution to the sin problem.” Paul wanted them to understand that all of mankind has a sin problem, and no matter who you are, you will never, ever be able to achieve righteousness through your own merit. If doesn’t matter if you’re a secular pagan who worships Zeus or a religious Jew who strictly follows the law, God will never see you as righteous through your own effort. Pastor Jim has much more to say in this message subtitled, “All Under Sin.”
Dealing With Loss, Part #2 | Pastor Mac Hammond | August 14, 2022
Recap:
Loss will be a part of everyone’s life. That’s not a bad confession, but the truth of living in a fallen world. How we deal with loss is extremely important for it directly affects our quality of life. This past weekend, Pastor Mac continued talking about how to deal with loss in a way that honors God and enables Him to fill your life with joy, peace, and contentment, even after loss. One way He does this is through helping turn your focus outward and fulfill the needs of others. This outward-focused living will always bring blessing to your life!
Dive Deeper:
How can you deal with loss well? That’s the question Pastor Mac continued to address this past weekend. Many times, we won’t understand the loss that we experience and why it happened, but we can understand what the Bible tells us about God and His promises. We can focus less on the unanswered questions and more on the revelation of who God is and who He can be to us.
God will provide each one of us with the capacity to handle the loss. Even when you feel like you’re ready to give up, God is there waiting with endless amounts of grace and peace for your daily life. The enemy will ratchet up the pressure and encourage you to focus on what you have lost or the questions of what happened, but you can deliberately choose to move your mind away from what went wrong to God and His Word.
When you realize all that God has promised to you—promises that remain true in the middle of loss—you can praise Him! Yes, it won’t be easy. The Bible calls it a sacrifice of praise, but that sacrifice of praise prepares your heart to receive more of God’s love, peace, and contentment in the middle of adversity!
What should you praise Him for? Praise Him that He is always there. Praise Him for the promise of heaven. Praise Him for the hope of restoration and the resurrection. Praise Him that He is walking with you through the valley of the shadow of death. Then turn your eyes outward. Start looking to how you can bless other people, for it’s through blessing other people that we get our eyes off our own self and onto what God is doing in this world.
Read About It:
1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Hebrews 13:15 KJV
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
Hebrews 4:5–8 KJV
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Thessalonians 4:13–14 KJV
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Matthew 28:19–20 KJV
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Galatians 6:6–7 KJV
Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Discussion Questions:
1. What are some practical ways we can turn a season of loss into a season of praise?
2. Why do we need to remember that we won’t always understand God’s ways?
3. How does focusing on helping others bring us joy?