Introduction:

Introduction – Recap of pt.1

If you want to understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus and to live like Jesus, you need to learn how to pray like Jesus. Last week, we looked at the first two portions of the Lord’s Prayer: "Our Father in heaven”, “Hallowed be your name.” They speak of our personal, communal, and intimate relationship with a holy God who desires to embrace us with compassion, mercy, love, and forgiveness. How we pray will reveal if the desire of our heart is to hallow God’s name or hallow our own name.

Introduction:

Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, which we know as The Lord’s Prayer, but a piece is missing from Matthew which is found in Luke Ch. 11 where it is more flushed out.

Pastor John shares a previous experience where he was pastoring a youth community where he did not feel belonging or accepted by the members. He drives home the difference that openness and acceptance plays in the midst of people seeking to connect with one another, and the simple impact of hospitality in inviting others to sit with us.

To be on mission requires a particular posture; a particular disposition. For all that we do flows from the heart (Prov 4:23). As we learn more about God in our walk with Him, we'll see that our heart is often not God's heart towards the world.

Many of us don't actively keep a missional imagination at the forefront of our eyes. One possible reason is because we limit, when and where God's mission and activity takes place to the walls of the church - a kind of Temple spirituality.

1. What is God inviting us into with His plans?

2. How can we participate with Him?

All of us will face and experience disappointment at some point in our lives. Whether it is with our family situation, our health, in relationships, in career, or any other area - we face disappointment when the expectations of our reality do not match up to our vision for our future.

As we wrap up the series on the ‘Heart Detox’, we look into what defines our identity in the everyday. In order to discover where our identity and purpose flows from, we need to go back to the beginning. We don’t begin with ourselves, but we begin with God; after all, He is the Creator (Gen 1:1-2) and the beginning of all things - the Alpha and the Omega (Rev 1:8), including our own existence.

This week, we dive into exploring the the tension of having been forgiven by God and our response in forgiving others in love and Christ-likeness. In our passage, both servants were forgiven an immense amount of debt relative to their position - unthinkable in those times. We will look into the similarities of the weight of our sins before God and why a willingness to forgive is characteristic of those who have been saved by the Lord.

We take a break from our series on ‘The Heart Detox’ to examine another part of our heart we ought to offer up to God: our thoughts, feelings, and desires that surface as we discern a major decision in our life. The art of discernment isn’t an easy skill but is one that as we sharpen and refine it, aids how we come to delight in grasping and living out His good and perfect will for us.

Though the church may often focus on and explore topics of theology, prayer, solitude, etc. - the intersection of sexuality and spirituality is often spoken about in hushed tones. In today’s sermon, we’ll look at Part 1 of examining engrained assumptions we may hold on the topic of sexual sins and how to broaden our understanding of a life of sexual wholeness.

A life of transformation in Christ is oft accompanied by many facets of change by the power of Christ. You might think the issue of self-centredness is the worst of them all; or the sin of gluttony and self-indulgence; or the love of self-pity and self-condemnation. Across many bible scholars, underlying the manifestation of all these sins lies the ultimate sin of a justified love of oneself: pride.

As we grow to know God more and more, we come to know Him as a good Father who wants to give us every spiritual blessing (ref). More than just a good or perfect job, a good or caring spouse, or a good and easy life, His gift of spiritual blessing for us is greater than a life without worry or pain. Inevitably there will be a disconnect in receiving His blessing and living a comfortable life reflecting the truth that He is good. What does it take to be like the drink offering from the olden days, an offering given under circumstances of great passion and fervour for the Lord continuously (v17)?

In today’s passage, we will look into how Nehemiah remained faithful with his vision and calling from God as he faced internal conflicts.

How do you go about discerning God’s will? Our life is filled with decisions. What are some of the questions you are currently facing?

Though some may debate whether the story of Job actually took place, we can see that Job is referenced in both the New Testament and Old Testament more than once. Job embodied many great qualities before God on a continual basis: he was righteous, devoted, deeply spiritual, and truly loved God through his actions. Though Job was declared righteous by God Himself, he experienced deep pain and calamity. He faced loss in many areas of his life: family, wealth, property, belongings, health, etc. Some may say without reason, Job succumbed enduring the lowest of lows. When we look at Job’s life, we may ask how can our God let suffering happen to obedient, humble, and good people?

Last week, we looked into the historical context in which Nehemiah was written. This week, we dive deeper into what happens after Nehemiah weeps and mourns in fasting and pray for God’s help in delivering the people of Judah. Nehemiah isn’t immediately mobilized by God, but instead we see a 4-month gap between Nehemiah receiving his calling and making his first move. We will focus on what Nehemiah’s 4-month delay can teach us about the posture we bear as we carry out our callings in a godly and successful manner.

The Book of Acts is the story of the church - continuing the story of Jesus, through the church. In Acts 19, we see a contrast in the power of Apostle Paul and a small group called The Seven Sons of Sceva. Paul encountered God and was transformed from the inside out. He became someone who God performed extraordinary miracles through. Word was also spreading that in the name of Jesus, there is power; in the name of Jesus, miracles can happen.

This week, we finish off our sermon series on the Ten Commandments. We look into how coveting is prominent in our society today and how we may overcome its influence on shaping the way we define and measure our life satisfaction. We will explore the new reality available to us as believers who are freed by God’s love and freedom for free people are joyfully content.

We look at the significance behind the Lord’s Name for us and in our daily lives. What is the meaning when we call upon the Name of the Lord? Why is there reverence attached to the use of God’s Name? We will look into these questions today in the third commandment (Exodus 20:7).

We look at the second commandment today - “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” (Exodus 20:4-6) We question in our daily lives in what ways we have chosen to make idols in the form of something — choosing to worship them — other than God alone.