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Recent Sermon Notes
Pastor Jim wished all the mothers in the congregation and online a very happy Mother’s Day. It was a day dedicated to the celebration of motherhood, acknowledging the great devotion mothers have toward their families. He pointed out there was one specific thing at which mothers are very good—how to feed their children the Bread of Life like no one else can.
Pastor Mac taught a message entitled, “The Accuser of Brethren.” “This message is important,” he said, “because it encapsulates our challenge in this life and summarizes things in a significant way.” His subject? How to avoid deception! The basic truth of this message is this: If the enemy can’t deceive you, he can’t defeat you!
Pastor Jim preached a message subtitled, “The Holy Spirit Leads You Out of the Dominion of Sin.” This is his 33rd message in his teaching series on the book of Romans called “Unveiled Grace.” The message was based on Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.” (Amp.) This verse tells us that through the Holy Spirit, we have the power to put to death the evil deeds of the body.
Pastor Mac taught a message on the celebration of Easter. He said, “The kingdom of God is based upon the Word of God. In fact, the kingdom of God is a manifestation of the Word of God and His purposes on the earth.” The celebration of Easter is a centerpiece of all that He’s done to enable humanity to rise to the level only possible in Him—and to escape the realm of death!
Pastor Jim taught the 31st message in his series on Romans: “Unveiling Grace.” The Bible is clear, under the New Covenant, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Yet many believers are walking around under the weight of condemnation. Pastor Jim explains these believers are trying to absolve themselves of their sins through their own self-effort, which is another way of saying “through their flesh.” What they’re trying to do is live under Old Covenant laws. There’s a word for Christians like that—miserable!
Love in Context #4: God’s Love for You | Pastor Mac Hammond| October 9, 2022
Recap:
If we are going to fully understand how to love others well, we must first understand the bigger context of God’s love for us. God’s love for us is unending and unconditional, but we must know that it is not something we earn. It is something we can seek to understand and believe, for the more it becomes a revelation in our heart, the more it removes fear and the more it changes us for the better.
Dive Deeper:
What does love look like? Well, we know that love will be shown as we pursue peace and follow holiness. We know that love is not characterized by bitterness, but by forgiveness. We know that love is not offensive. Most importantly, though, we know what love looks like by looking at God’s love for us.
Your love for other people will flow out of your understanding of God’s love for you. When you know and believe that God loves you, you will have a solid foundation for loving others. He makes our love perfect. When we know God’s love for us, the torment of fear leaves, for there is no fear in love.
When you realize how much God loves you—Almighty God, the All-Sufficient One—you realize that you have no reason to fear. Fear doesn’t have to be a part of your life. Your understanding of just how much God loves you will expand as you meditate on God’s Word and what He has said about His love for us.
The more you saturate yourself in truths about God’s love for you, the more you’ll begin to show that love to others, and the more you’ll follow the Word that God has given you. You won’t obey God’s words or commands because you’ve been forced to or because you’re trying to earn His love. You’ll obey God’s commands because you love Him. Keeping God’s commandments keeps condemnation far from you and it keeps you focused on God’s love for you, rather than the wrongdoing you’ve done. Focusing on God’s love keeps us following His plans and ideals because we know He has given those out of His love for us!
Read About It:
Ephesians 3:17-20 TPT
Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.
John 15:1–11 KJV
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Discussion Questions:
1. Do you know that God loves you?
2. How do you know that God loves you?
3. What is your favorite verse to remind you of God’s love for you?