Monthly Archives: December 2020

Remembering we are family during the holidays

Sunday Worship Notes from 12/13/2020

What do you love about the Holidays?
Many people enjoy connecting with family and friends, good Holiday foods and desserts, Holiday movies and music, decorations etc.


In General, during the Holidays many of us tend to focus on spending time with family. At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus’s birthday, although historically we know that was not his actual
birthday.


What do you think it was like to grow up in Jesus’s physical family?

Can you imagine being one of Jesus’ four brothers or two sisters (Matthew 13)?


What do you think makes a family a family?
What holds a family together?


Some ideas: Shared interests and values, love for each other, supportive members, sharing good times, sharing meals, being intentional to unify, putting work into relationships.


The bond that holds family together is our shared identity.

WHO IS MY FAMILY?
Read Matthew 12:46-50

● Jesus being both Son of Man and Son of God, prioritized his identity with his true family as the spiritual family doing God’s will
● In order to be in Jesus’s family, we have to do the will of God
● Jesus did not disown his physical family but he set a clear boundary for them to be considered his true spiritual family, they had to do God’s will
● We need to remember that loving God also included loving our biological family and calling them to obey God’s will
Luke 2:41-52- from the time Jesus was a child, the dynamics between the two “families” can be seen, Family by Flesh and Family by Spirit

Read Romans 8:28-30
● God works for the good… we aren’t working, it is God
● We are justified because of Jesus’s death and resurrection
● We are now part of God’s family, an eternal family
● We are chosen to be justified and glorified when we become part of God’s family

WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN THE FAMILY?
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-26
● We are all part of one body in Jesus Christ
● As individuals we are uniquely created and bestowed with certain gifts from God to fulfill the role God wants us to play
● We need each other, each one of us has an important role to play
● The weakest parts of our body need special attention. That’s how we can physically see love

HOW SHOULD WE HAVE HARD TALKS IN THE FAMILY ?
Matthew 18:15
● Compared to other bible versions, the NASB version states, “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
● The common understanding is, “If your brother sins against you…”; this is a completely different condition in our responsibility, to insure we help each other in regards to sin
● Remember to have the hard talks with an individual person in private first with the intention to win them over
● Be gentle, be humble, and help each other out
Read Galatians 6:1-3, restore each other gently

WHAT ARE SOME GOALS OF THE FAMILY ?
Ephesians 5:1

● “Be Imitators of God, as beloved children…” How can we achieve this?
● Love and obey Jesus (John 14)
● Imitate Jesus by walking daily with him by reading and obeying the word and praying and seeing to it that our lives are aligning with God’s will

● Keep remembering to love each other, restore each other

Prayer and Meditation for Communion

Romans 8:1-11- think about the "flesh" versus "the law" of the Spirit

Romans 8: 12-17- think about -living by the Spirit, adoption as sons, children and heirs with Christ

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The City of Peace, Jerusalem

Sunday Worship Notes from 12/6/2020

Is Jerusalem a physical city or a spiritual place?

Originally Jerusalem was founded by Shem-from Egypt and Ebur, patriarchs from Abraham. The Egyptians were also known as “Shemites”.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem were disobedient to God and had an evil ruler as their king, Adoni Zedek. The inhabitants were known as giants and feared by others around. They had become “unrecognizable” by God because of their corrupt ways. 

Melchizedek was King and Priest of a place called “Salem” which is eventually known as Jerusalem. It was unusual at that time to be the king and a priest for the people of God.  In Hebrew, the word "Salem" means “Peace”, like the word “Shalom”. 

Look up the following scriptures about  Melchizedek, he is the King of Peace, sound familiar? Remember,  Jesus was referred to as the Prince of Peace. The following scriptures link Melchizedek and Jesus together-  the priestly line of Melchizedek was Jesus- read Heb 5:6; Heb 7:17 and Heb 7:21 and Psalm 110:4 - Jesus is the King of Peace, a forever priest in the Line of Melchizedek. What is the role of a priest in the old testament?

Abraham gave Melchizdek 10 percent of his plunder as a gift, another proof that he was seen as  a priest. 

Read Joshua 10

Joshua was tasked with leading a new group of Israelites from the desert into the promised Land after the death of Moses.

Joshua was obedient to God and totally destroyed these sinful inhabitants of Jerusalem. Joshua obeyed God and destroyed all of the depraved and corrupt nations that were living in that area. The sun even stood still as he accomplished this task. This is a billboard, a parallel of Rev 8:6-13, the destruction that is taking place. 

Adonis Zedek should have had a clue as to what his city’s name really meant.Let’s explore further: Jerusalem means Peace, but not as we know it. 

The word JERUSALEM is a combination of two words. In Hebrew, the words are read from left to right.

“Jeru”- in Hebrew means, “Fear or Awe”, it has two Hebrew characters which translate into “God’s hand” and “ Prince”- remember, Jesus is the Prince”!

“God’s hand” which is 'yod' and “ Prince”- which is 'resh'- meaning, God’s mighty hand doing mighty deeds. 

There is a  linking symbol between the “Jeru” and the “Salem”- “vov”  which means “and”. This symbol  links two words together that go together, like “love and marriage”.

“Salem”- Shalom, which means Peace, has three Hebrew characters: 

“sheen”- which means God’s destruction

“lamed”- two letters together  and is a letter of authority or a shepherd’s staff guiding you to correction 

“mem” - which means flood or destruction, massive chaos or death

Therefore: Jerusalem literally translates into “the mighty hand of God doing mighty deeds of destruction of the enemy, satan. 

There is no peace until the mighty hand of Jesus destroys all the work of the one causing massive chaos and destruction. Jesus does this with authority.

Do you remember where this concept is greatly displayed in the BIBLE?

Jesus’s death on the Cross. 

Jerusalem is destroyed by Joshua, then comes peace for the Israelites.

As disciples we are to carry our cross daily to voluntarily put to death our sinful nature.

We voluntarily fall on the “rock” to be broken in humility, but our Lord Jesus puts us back together as he sees fit. If we do not voluntarily submit, he tells us, the rock  will fall on us, then we will be crushed. Read Matthew 21:44.

What are some ways we can surrender to the rock?

Confess sin- James 5:16, when we confess our sins to each other, we get healing

Pray continually- etc

Jesus will NOT allow anyone in Jerusalem otherwise . Depravity sin is destroyed there. The only way to to deal with the sinful nature is to destroy it completely and categorically. Just like Joshua did in Chapter 10. Sin is hostile towards God and repentance deals with sin. 

So, is Jerusalem a physical city or a spiritual mindset?

Prophecy about Jerusalem

Zechariah 12:2-5 Jerusalem will not be shaken

The physical city of Jerusalem has been at the center of many wars: it was destroyed twice, 23 times besieged, 52 times attacked, 44 times captured and recaptured

Jeremiah 3:17 NIV

[17] At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.

Is God interested in the physical city of Jerusalem as we know it?

Heb 11:8-10, 11:13-16 Abraham saw it.

Rev 3:12 the name of the city is the New Jerusalem

Rev21:2 John saw it in a vision

Jeremiah 3:17 Jeremiah saw it

In Conclusion, Jerusalem is a spiritual place, where sin is not present and God is the full authority. If we surrender ourselves to Jesus’s teachings and obey his word, we will rest in this place of peace.

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Being Thankful During the Holiday Season

Sunday Worship Notes from December 6, 2020

What are you thankful for this Holiday Season and why?

Read  Matthew 27:27-61

  • In some countries, the Thanksgiving Holiday may not be celebrated, however, there are many things we should be thankful for in spite of what may be going on in the world right now.
  • Jesus is the real reason to be thankful each day. Because Jesus sacrificed his life for us, we are able to have a relationship with God and be saved. He makes it possible for us to even exist. 
  • Jesus’ death and resurrection gives us reassurance that God is still listening and dependable even during trying times. 
  • We can turn to God’s word and seek help during hard times because of Jesus’ sacrifice.
  • When we get everything we want and everything goes “well” in our lives, it is easy to be ungrateful and forget about God. 
  • True testing comes when things are hard and we decide to continue to talk to God and seek out a relationship with Him and be grateful.
  • Jesus will guide us through our trials no matter what, if we let Him
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