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Sermon Notes “Live in Love”

8/14/2024

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Text: Ephesians 4:25-5:2
Sermon:

“Love is that condition in the healing spirit so profound that it allows us to forgive," Dr. Maya Angelou.
This quote is a powerful quote. I believe that it perfectly encapsulates who Jesus is and what Jesus taught. Everything that Jesus taught about revolved around the action of love. A love that is so powerful, that it brought change for all.
As we see in the passage for today, we are taught to be compassionate and forgiving to others. This is because we are members of one body: humanity. We are all growing and evolving into the people that we are supposed to be.
The Bible doesn’t tell us that we shouldn’t be angry, but it tells us to handle our anger properly, so it doesn’t control us. This is opposite to how some interpret scripture, saying that you could never feel these emotions or feeling. Many have been taught that they should always be joyful and happy. We need to feel these emotions and face them in a healthy way.
If we investigate verse 29, our words should not be used to tear people down and destroy our relationships. Our words should be used to build up others and strengthen our relationships.
We should deal with our anger in a way that builds relationships rather than destroy them.
Lying disrupts unity by creating conflicts and destroying trust. It tears down relationships and leads to open warfare in the church. This is important in our personal lives as well as in our church life and our culture.
If vented thoughtlessly, anger can hurt others and destroy relationships. If bottled up inside, it can cause us to become bitter and destroy us from within. So, we must find a way to deal with this emotion in a way that is constructive.
I believe that one of the best ways to bring healing is communication. We need to be able to communicate our thoughts and emotions with the people that hurt us and vise versa. When we have ears to hear everyone’s point of view, we can understand each other. This allows forgiveness and healing.
I believe that if we do not practice communicating our thoughts and feelings, even the negative emotions that make us uncomfortable, we tend bottle up our emotions and when we hit a boiling point and we vent out our emotions thoughtlessly. This often destroys relationships and keeps us from loving and forgiving our family and friends.
Because Jesus forgave us, our forgiving attitude towards others should stand out in striking contrast to the unforgiving spirit shown by most of the world.
Forgiving means freely given. It is further explained, “To grant as a favor. To give gratuitously, generously, graciously and in kindness. It means to bestow as a gift of grace or out of grace. To give out of grace. To give help to those who don't deserve it. To show grace by providing undeserved help to someone unworthy.”
We should imitate God. We do this by modeling our lives after Jesus. Our love for others should be of the same kind-a love that goes beyond affections to self-sacrificing services.

Conclusion: Let us be people who live a life that represents God’s love.

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Sermon notes “Jesus the Bread of Life”

8/14/2024

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Text: John 6:25-35
Sermon:

Over the last month, we have discussed our reconciliation with God and with each other. We have discussed the unity that we have through Jesus, and we have discussed being people that heal church members through love. All these subjects discuss our connection with God and the community around us. This week, our primary focus is our connection with God and our own health.

In our scripture today, there is a repeated theme. This is the theme of “Bread.” “Bread” symbolizes more than food—it is existence itself. To deprive people of bread is to rob them of their existence (2 Thessalonians 3:8).

People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life with an active participation in our religious traditions and building our relationship with Jesus and our community.

The very nature of the word as an image for existence allows it to be easily adopted into a theological vocabulary. This, coupled with antecedent images associated with bread, allows bread to be a major metaphor for Jesus’ relationship to humanity.

I believe that this is the difference between religion and belief/faith.

To believe means “To consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one’s trust.” I love the fact that, we get to “consider” the truth that we find in Jesus. We can ask questions and grow in our faith and our beliefs.

Religions of the world stem from people’s attempt to answer questions. Jesus made it clear: we believe in him whom God has sent. Since we can ask questions, I am convinced that when we believe in Jesus, we study Jesus. We study his words and his actions, and we apply those lessons into our live and our faith.

Now, let’s briefly study one of these moments of Jesus’ ministry that we can study and learn from: The feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-15). Even at a brief study, we see Jesus Stating, “Have the people sit down” (6:10). It seems that Jesus was not concerned with who sat down. He was not concerned with poor or rich, genders and sexes, or any of the other barriers that are too often used. It seemed that Jesus was simply concerned with providing people what they needed.

We see Jesus doing this throughout his ministry. Jesus looked to love people and He taught us to love people as well. Jesus looked to provide for the needs of people, regardless of who they were or were not and Jesus taught us to do the same.

What we see here at the beginning of chapter 6, we see Jesus providing a physical need for the people by giving them food. Later, in chapter 6, we see Jesus identifying himself as the bread of life, where he is feeding spiritual lives of his followers.

I love this connection of “Bread.” I believe that Jesus is making this connection between our physical need for bread and the spiritual needs that people have as well. We, as people, need both our physical needs met as well as our spiritual needs met. We see that Jesus is aware when they needs need to be met.

As Christ-followers, we need to ensure that we are taking care of our own physical health, our mental health and our spiritual health. In this sense of the use “Bread” we are seeing a correlation and the connection between our physical health and our mental and spiritual help. When are physical needs are met, we can focus on our spiritual and mental health.

As Christ-followers, it is our duty to work for the provision of others. We put the needs of others above our own. We can study our environment and determine what needs need to be met in that time; both our needs and the needs of those that are around us.

When we can identify our spiritual needs and we engage in building our faith, we find peace in our spirit. This peace that we find strengthens our spirit and we build in the community.

What do you do to take care of your physical, mental and spiritual needs? How does that improve your life overall? Does this help you encourage those around you?

Conclusion: Let us be people who feed our spiritual life and find peace in our faith.

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Sermon notes “The Power of the LORD”

8/14/2024

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Text: Ephesians 3:16-19

Sermon: Authority is given to someone who is an expert on something or has the power to influence others. Some people have more authority than others. A teacher has authority to make decisions for the whole class. A principal has the authority to make decisions for an entire school, etc.

Across the board people expect those who have high levels of authority to act honestly and wisely and when they don’t there is great confusion. If a student in a classroom misbehaves, that is a problem. But a bigger problem would be if the teacher in the classroom misbehaves. That is a big problem because the teacher sets an example for the whole class.

One of the greatest Biblical examples of this misuse of authority is King David and his relationship with Bathsheba. This is a blatant abuse of power and authority. David used his power and authority to hurt individuals and the community.

There have been attempts throughout history to exonerate David by laying the blame at the feet of Bathsheba. She was simply too beautiful, too available, too accessible, and visible to resist. David was helpless before her power. It is clear where the power is here. The writer is careful to explain Bathsheba’s behavior. It is David’s behavior that is being challenged here.

In churches, I believe that some begin to believe that they are superior because of the authority that they have. Let’s call that Spiritual Pride, which is thinking their faith and traditions elevates them above everyone else. We find this in both Pastors and common day Christians alike.

Spiritual Pride blinds us to our own faults and magnifies the faults of others.
Last week we discussed our need for reconciliation in both the church as well as outside of the church. As we learned, we can only reconcile with love and acceptance; both are fully expressed throughout the life of Jesus.

We also understand that to reconcile, the church needs to acknowledge their misuse and abuse of the authority that we have had throughout history. We must acknowledge the abuse that happens too often, and we need to hold the church accountable for the sins that have been committed. This goes from the individuals in the church as well as the systematic issues that rooted in the church culture.

Many church-members and leaders need to come face to face with God, like how David came face to face with his sins and confess with an earnest heart for change and healing.

God’s love is total and reaches every corner of our experience. It is through God’s love that the church will reconcile with those that have been hurt by the church. I believe that when the church acknowledges the hurt and reevaluates the culture of the church, healing and reconciliation can happen.

As a church we are called to follow and obey God, including confessing our sins and bringing healing. Following and obeying God is not always easy, He calls you to take up your cross and follow him (Matthew 16:24) so that the entire world can hear God’s message of Salvation.

REMEMBER: “Salvation” often describes the rescue or deliverance from danger, destruction and peril. Yet, in this context it seems that Paul is using it to discuss our restoration to a state of safety, soundness, health and well-being.

We are called to restore these broken relationships and bring a better understanding of Jesus and his teachings. To bring this level of restoration, we need to face our weaknesses.

In verse 16-17, it states, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love” He later adds in 19, “and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Our actions need to be rooted in God’s love. It is God’s love that we are strengthened to face the darkest parts of our lives and bring true change to ourselves and others. In acknowledging God’s love, we can experience the fullness of God and God’s reconciliation through Jesus.

In Christ we lack nothing, have nothing to lose, and have nothing to fear. We have all fullness of God available to us, but we, must claim that fullness by living in touch with the Holy Spirit through prayer and faith each day.
The only way for this change to happen is through God’s love. God’s love is total and reaches every corner of our experience.

Conclusion: Let us face our brokenness and seek God’s love for forgiveness and reconciliation.

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Sermon notes “Reconciled Through Christ”

8/14/2024

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Text: Ephesians 2:11-22

Sermon: Last week we spoke about how Jesus brought unity to the world. This week are going to dive further into that concept. We are going to focus on our reconciliation in Christ.
Let’s start by discussing some of the barriers that we create to divide us. Some of these barriers could be age, appearance, intelligence, political persuasion, economic status, race, theological perspectives. {not added sexual orientation}. We stifle God’s love when we only befriend those who look, act, and think like us. We do not grow in Christ.
When we divide the Body of God, we are doing a disservice to ourselves, our friends and family and our children. We are not learning from each other; instead, we are teaching hatred and intolerance, and this intolerance is used to alienate those that need love.
But the good new is there is true reconciliation in Jesus.
Let start by looking at the word “Reconcile.” The original word “pictures the total, complete, and full restoration of the relationship of disturbed peace.” The idea inherent in reconciliation is to take enemies and change them into friends. The original term pictures the bringing together of friends who have been estranged.
This is so vital to the Christian message. Christ breaks down the walls of prejudice, reconciles to God, and unifies us with Christ. Christ’s love overcomes all feelings of alienation and brings outsiders into the body of believers.
When we are truly reconciled, we can build long-lasting, impactful relationships that benefit everyone in the relationship. Relationships are not a one-way road. In fact, a strong relationship that is built on respect strengthens all parties involved. Everyone can learn from each other, helping to build better relationships across the board.
We are called into this new (or renewed) way of seeing ourselves and our connections with God and with the wider community as we worship. We are invited into a relationship of support and acceptance, and worship is the arena where we experience this first.
What good is a church if the people in the church refuse to live lives of acceptance, love and understanding? It seems we see that too often. Churches state that they are loving, yet they spew harmful rhetoric and shove people out of the church through hateful actions. That does not display reconciliation or love, it destroys lives and hurts the church.
The truth is when we gather for worship, we gather with our multitude of stories and experiences and differences. We gather with our certainties and our doubts, with our faith and our questions, with our hopes and our fears.
We all have things that bring into church; we all have a past that haunts us, yet in the church we are coming together to express our praise and love for a God that loves us and guides us. It is time that we as a church bring healing and reconciliation into the church.
We need to dissolve the divisive decisions that we have made historically and bring love and understanding into the church as Jesus demonstrated throughout his life and ministry.

Conclusion: Let us be people of love, acceptance and reconciliation.

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Sermon notes “Unity in Christ”

8/14/2024

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Text: Ephesians 1:3-14

Sermon: As a child I did not attend church. I didn’t understand the traditions and the format of the services. I didn’t understand the community that exists in the church building. And at first sight, I looked nothing like the common churchgoer. I did not dress in button shirts and slacks, instead I wore baggy clothes and loved Hip Hop music, which I was told by a youth pastor that Hip Hop was not Godly music.
I fully felt that I would not be able to enter the church or even be accepted into the church community. Based on my history in the church, I even remember wondering if God would accept me as I was. I really felt rejected before I had the chance to grow into the community.
So, what changed?
In college, I met a fantastic group of friends that accepted me and loved me as I was. It was through these friendships; I was opened to the gospel and who Jesus was. My friends did not expect me to change to fit in. They did not force me to fit in with them. They even encouraged me to use my talents in church service to build the community. They allowed me to be myself while I learned about who I already was in Jesus.
In this scripture we see Paul write, “he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.” Paul later writes, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Paul also discusses our Salvation in Jesus. I believe these phrases and words are important to better understand the scripture that we are studying.
First, we are going to investigate a few of these words.
The first word that we are going to review is adoption. In today’s scripture when Paul writes, “He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.” The original word for adoption here means, “to place one as a son”. This means that those being adopted are being placed in the position of a son or daughter who now possesses the same rights as the parent's natural children.
According to Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church, God predestined us for adoption. While many churches will use the word predestination to create supremacy amongst people. As I investigated this word, simply means “to plan in advance.” Note that the Scripture never uses predestination to mean that God has predestined certain people to eternal condemnation.
The next word that we are going to investigate is “Redemption.” The original word means, “to buy back or to deliver one from a situation from in which one is powerless.” Now this does not mean that humans are entirely useless or powerless, but it indicates that it takes God’s grace to restore our sonship and relationship with God.
Another word that I want to investigate was the word “Salvation.” “Salvation” often describes the rescue or deliverance from danger, destruction and peril. Yet, in this context it seems that Paul is using it to discuss our restoration to a state of safety, soundness, health and well-being.
In the example that I gave about how the relationship between my college friends, and I brought me to open to restored relationship with Jesus, I believe that Paul demonstrates this level of love and acceptance.
This implies that the person being brought in or adopted into where not expected to change to be fully accepted into the community, they were simply loved and accepted into the community. It seems that God was planning to restore our relationship with God and restore our relationships with the communities around us. As Paul writes, God chose us, therefore, God loves us.
It is from this restoration that humans are adopted into their sonship with God, which we were meant to have from the start. “The adoption is both a future reality, and in some sense, already true.” God restores us in our current situation and God will restore us later in life and thereafter.
This is extremely important for us today. We are fully united in Christ. We are restored as a people. We are restored in our relationship with the universe’s creator. Now we can use are various talents and skills to express our appreciation to God for the restoration that we have experienced.
When we celebrate our differences, our church displays a diversity that would represent the world that we live in. We can finally live in harmony with the various cultures around us.

Conclusion: Let us be a community that restores relationships by being loving and accepting to all people.

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Sermon notes “Show No Weakness"

8/14/2024

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TEXT: Pslam 123: 2 Corinthians 12:5-10

SERMON:
“Show no weakness!” This is a phrase that we hear too often. We hear it when it comes to our performance in sports. We hear it when it comes to how we perform in our careers and our relationships. We hear it regarding our emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Throughout our lives, we are taught to show no weakness. We are taught to have no cracks in the armor. But the the question is; Is that healthy? Is that Biblical?
When life hits us with difficulties, we acknowledge our weaknesses. Life seems broken and our options seem limited and it seems that there is nothing left for us to do but to look up to the LORD for help and mercy. I’m sure that we can all identify times when everything seemed hopeless and when we cannot see past our difficulties. Our weaknesses are on full display. We are lost, with nothing left in our tanks to keep moving forward.
As we look into our scriptures for today, we see Paul immediately breaking our cultural norms of not showing weakness, but stating, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul encourages us to wear our weakness as a badge of honor. Paul invites us to open our hearts to our weaknesses while we are leaning on God’s strength.
Now, that may sound simple in theory, but we all know how difficult this level of humility is in our lives. It is challenging to face our weaknesses and identify them; facing our difficulties. We can not do this alone. We are not meant to do this alone. Throughout scripture, we see a need for community. We see a need for relationships; we see our need for God’s strength in our lives.
As we see in Psalm 123, the author stresses the importance of lifting our eyes to the LORD when facing difficulties. Lifting our eyes to God includes lifting our hearts and our minds to God as well. We wait for God to act, knowing that God will. We confidently wait for healing and life transformation.
In our weakness, we can let go of perfection. We can let go of the expectation of perfection. When we boast about our shortcomings and weaknesses, our minds and spirit allow God to work out the details we cannot. When we identify our weaknesses, we allow family and friends to come alongside us and help us carry our burdens when we can’t do it alone. It is in our weakness that God can demonstrate strength; the same strength that is meant when Jesus tells Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
This is our calling today: Be open and be honest about yourself. Be open and honest about your shortcomings and weaknesses and allow the people around you to be the community needed to empower, encourage, and strengthen you. We live in a community and we partner with those who are hurting. We partner with those that are forgotten and we support them as they heal. We allow God to heal our hearts and build up our weakness through God’s strength.

CONCLUSION: Let us be open and honest. Let us be encouraging and loving. Let us be a community.

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Sermon Notes “Live in Love”

Sermon notes “Jesus the Bread of Life”

Sermon notes “The Power of the LORD”

Sermon notes “Reconciled Through Christ”

Sermon notes “Unity in Christ”

Sermon notes “Show No Weakness"

Anthony K. Giesick

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