5.1K
Downloads
325
Episodes
First Alliance Church Weekly Sermons
Episodes
Saturday Apr 04, 2020
Saturday Apr 04, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:5 (Part 2)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of darkness; healing is a work of the Kingdom of light (9:5).
This verse makes 4 very important points:
A. First, Jesus came to this world to be our light.
B. Second, healing is a work of the kingdom of _____________.
1. If we looked at all the occasions in the Gospels when Jesus healed the blind, we would be doing Bible study for ____________.
2. Some argue, not without reason, that Jesus actually spent _______ time _____________ than doing anything else.
3. If healing was a major component of the work of the Kingdom of Light 2,000 years ago, it must ___________ be a major component of the work of the Kingdom of Light ___________.
4. What we need to state clearly is how _______________ the work of “faith healers” is from what Jesus did.
For example:
a. Jesus healed ________________ individuals. There is a tremendous difference between “___________ healing” and _____________ healing.
1. Divine healing is healing that is carried out by __________ in accordance with his ________. “Faith healing” is healing instigated by a human being who claims to somehow be the _________ of God in healing people.
2. Divine healing depends on the power of _________, while “faith healing” is said to depend on ___________.
b. Jesus never asked a person to stand and give a testimony about a healing that had _______ _______ happened.
c. The people Jesus healed never had to worry about their sickness _____________________.
d. Jesus never attempted a healing which was __________________.
e. Jesus never ____________ or asked for ___________ to heal people.
5. There is a d________ s__________ to the ministry of healing. Or, there is a dark side to the _________________________ ministry of healing.
6. For everything that is real and genuine, there will always be the ______________________.
7. We should not put our hope in ______________; we should put our hope in __________.
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:5 (Part 1)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
VII Seventh, sickness is a work of the kingdom of ______________; healing is a work of the Kingdom of ___________ (9:5).
This verse makes _________ very important points:
A. First, Jesus came to this world to be our ____________.
-This is a truth which John has already made clear in several passages:
1. First, John ____:______. At the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus used a dramatic o__________ l___________ to declare the truth that he came to this world to bring light.
2. Second, John ___:___-___. John says it was the life of Jesus, the way he lived with ________ and the way he lived with ________, that brought light to us.
3. Third, John ___:___-___. John begins his Gospel thinking about the light of the world, but that is not his only concern. Beginning in verse 9 John describes what we call the i_______________, or the Son of God coming to this earth as a ___________ __________.
4. In the beginning of John the evangelist is concerned primarily about two things:
a. First, how Jesus, who is the Word of God, is our _________.
b. Second, how Jesus ________ to this world, born as a man so that he could bring his light into the world.
5. But notice this: in the account of the healing of the blind man, Jesus himself make the __________ two points that John did in the beginning of the Gospel.
6. This means that what Jesus is doing in John chapter nine is not superfluous or un_______________.
7. Jesus healed because that _____ who _______ is and that is what he came to this earth to ______.
Saturday Mar 28, 2020
Saturday Mar 28, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness: The Church’s Ministry of Healing”
John 9:4 (Part 3)
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by alienation (9:2).
IV Fourth, oftentimes our best theological or commonsense explanations for sickness are not good enough (9:3a).
V Fifth, sometimes sickness happens for a good reason, so that God can be glorified in our life (9:3b).
VI Sixth, all believers in Jesus are called to help sick people find health (9:4).
A. The first thing this verse tells us is that we are living in the day.
B. Second, this verse says that we are workers with Jesus.
C. Third, ministering healing to the sick is a responsibility of the ______________.
1. Many see the church’s calling as solely and totally the work of _______________ proclamation.
2. The church is called, not just to tell people about Jesus, but to _______ what Jesus did, and here we see him ______________.
a. I say that for two reasons – the first reason is _______________.
1. Jesus didn’t only say that we would repeat his m_______________, but he said that we would repeat his a_______________.
2. In fact, Jesus said we would do _________ than he did.
3. We also know that the ministry of healing did not stop when Jesus _______ the earth – It continued after he returned to heaven.
4. Then, in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes the gifts of the Spirit and he identifies one of those gifts in verse 9 as “gifts of _____________.”
b. The second reason I say healing belongs to the ministry of the church is ________________.
1. There was a time in history when the only place to find health care for the body was the _____________.
2. Many Christians, without realizing it, are better defenders of __________ than we are defenders of the __________.
3. We believe that the ___________ is what is crucial to life and the __________ is only a throw-away item.
4. Why did Jesus spend as much time healing people as he did preaching the Gospel? Because Jesus knew the creation account, and he knew God saw the physical body as something “_______ _________.”
5. It is amazing how so many Christians have completely d_______________ the care of our physical bodies from the care of our soul.
-This accounts for two things:
a. First, it explains why many “conservative Christians” seem to have so little interest in the issue of __________ _________.
b. Second, this explains why “liberal Christians” seem to have so little interest in _____________ healing.
D. Fourth, this verse teaches us that the ministry of healing is _________________.
1. There are two indications of urgency in this verse:
a. First, Jesus says “we _________ do the work.”
b. Second, Jesus says n________ is coming and when this happens all work will s___________.
2. Sick people need for the church to be ___________ as they face the darkness of disease and disability.
Tuesday Mar 03, 2020
Tuesday Mar 03, 2020
“Anatomy of an Illness”
John 9:1-38
Last Sunday we said that John 9 gives us an anatomy of illness. An anatomy is a study of how something works. This chapter shows us how sickness works and how people respond to it. What does John 9 teach us about sickness?
I First, sickness gets our attention and it gets the attention of Jesus (9:1).
II Second, sickness makes us uncomfortable (9:2).
III Third, sickness is caused by _________________________ (9:2).
A. Alienation comes from the word alien which means s____________ or o____________. Alienation is the act of ____________ someone into a stranger or an “other.”
B. There are _________ forms or kinds of alienation that we see in Genesis:
1. First, there is ________________ alienation.
a. Why was there a tree of the knowledge of good _____ evil? Why didn’t God __________ allow them to know good?
b. To be good you must be able to choose good, but you cannot choose good unless you can also choose __________.
c. Because of their sinful choice, Adam and Eve were __________ from the Garden of Eden, which was the place where God used to walk and talk with them.
2. Second, there is __________________ alienation.
-What does social alienation do? It creates ______________; it leads to crime and war and hatred and racism and acts of violence, and it endangers our _____________.
3. Third, there is _________________ alienation.
a. Before the fall Adam and Eve didn’t fight animals or eat animals – instead they ______________ the animals.
b. Now, because of sin we are alienated from the ___________ kingdom and from the _____________ earth, and that alienation has made us __________.
4. Lastly, there is _______________ alienation.
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
Tuesday Feb 18, 2020
“The Discipline of Fasting” (Conclusion) Matthew 6:16-18
For the past month we have been looking at how we can grow in our relationship with God by using the spiritual discipline of fasting. In Matthew 6 Jesus first emphasizes the negatives of fasting and then he focuses our attention on the positives of fasting:
I First, fasting allows us to reach up to God as whole persons.
II Second, fasting gives us a concrete way to express repentance.
III Third, fasting provides a way to share in the sufferings of Christ.
IV Fourth, fasting helps our prayer.
V Fifth, fasting helps us overcome __________________.
A. Practicing the discipline needed to say “No” to our appetite for _______ gives us practice in saying “No” to __________ appetites.
B. If we cannot say “No” to our appetite for food, what makes us think we can say “No” to _______ other appetite?
VI Sixth, fasting helps us express our _____________.
____________ of the first _________ times fasting is mentioned in the Bible, it is an expression of grief for someone’s death.
What do we typically do when someone is grieving? We bring them ___________.
VII Seventh, fasting provides a way to respond to the ________ of others.
A. Since fasting is a blessing that comes from God, we can expect that it will benefit more than just _________________.
B. The early church practiced fasting in the light of __________ ____.
VIII Lastly, fasting provides a means to experience God in a ______ ______.
A. If our appetite for physical food, comfort, or pleasure is not under control, it will _______________ our spiritual appetite.
B. Occasional fasting from ___________ can enable us to hear _______ things from God.
Tuesday Feb 11, 2020
Tuesday Feb 11, 2020
“The Discipline of Fasting” (Pt. 3) Matthew 6:16-18
This January we are focusing on how we can grow in our relationship with God by using the spiritual discipline of fasting. In Matthew 6 Jesus first emphasizes the negatives of fasting [see message on 1/19] and then he
focuses our attention on the positives of fasting:
I First, fasting allows us to reach up to God as whole persons.
II Second, fasting gives us a concrete way to express repentance.
III Third, fasting provides a way to share in the sufferings of Christ.
IV Fourth, fasting helps our ______________.
A. This is why we emphasize fasting at the beginning of the New Year, because we need to pray for God’s d______________ and p_____________ for 2020.
B. How can fasting assist our prayers?
1. First, we need to talk about how it _____________ help our prayers: It cannot help our prayers by _____________ God to answer us.
2. How then, does fasting help our prayers?
a. First, fasting _____________ us to pray.
b. Second, fasting removes ___________________.
c. Third, fasting shows us when our ___________ is really in our prayer.
C. What kind of prayer calls for fasting?
1. First we ought to fast when we pray for our _______________.
2. Second, we ought to fast when we pray for the ____________.
a. The Bible describes sickness as ________________.
b. By fasting we can pray for the sick, not as s______________, but as i______________.
3. Third, we ought to fast as we pray for ____________________.
4. Lastly, we ought to fast as we pray for the _______ of God to be done in this _______________.
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
Tuesday Feb 04, 2020
“The Discipline of Fasting, Part 2” Matthew 6:16-18
This January we are focusing on how we can grow in our relationship with God by using the spiritual discipline of fasting. In Matthew 6 Jesus emphasizes the positives of fasting, but he first begins with three potential negatives.
I The first negative of fasting is the NO evangelicals have typically said to fasting (6:16a).
II The second negative of fasting is the No Jesus says to the abuse of fasting (6:16).
III The third negative of fasting is the No our physical bodies sometimes say to fasting.
IV There are two clues in Matthew 6 that fasting is not a ____________, but something decidedly _____________.
A. First, Jesus says when you fast don’t look ___________ (6:16a).
B. Second, Jesus says the focus of our fasting is not ____________ (6:18).
V The rewards of fasting:
A. First, fasting allows us to reach up to God as _________ persons.
1. Fasting puts the body front and center in our relationship with God so that we are not just a _______ or ___________ worshiping God.
2. Not only this, but when worship ignores the body, it not only deprives the body, it _________ the ________ of our spirit.
B. Second, fasting gives us a concrete way to express _________________.
1. Repentance is a change of __________ which produces a change in the way we _________.
2. The practice of repentance went all the way back to God’s command to the people of Israel when they __________ became a __________.
3. The biblical pattern is that repentance and fasting go ________ in _________.
C. Third, fasting provides a way to share in the ____________ of Christ.
1. We cannot share in the __________________ of Christ unless we are first willing to share in his sufferings.
2. The great thing about fasting is that it gives us a simple way to _________ ourselves.
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
“The Discipline of Fasting” Matthew 6:16-18
This January we are focusing on how we can grow in our relationship with God by using the spiritual discipline of fasting. Fasting has many advantages, but one advantage which is often overlooked is that this discipline can open our eyes to who we really are better than just about anything else we can do. In our text today Jesus emphasizes the positives of fasting, but he first begins with three potential negatives.
I The first negative of fasting is the NO A__________ e_____________ have said to fasting (6:16a).
A. One reason evangelicals have said no to fasting is because our culture has led us to the unbiblical view that the __________ is the enemy of the ___________.
B. But there are other reasons why we American evangelicals have a bias against fasting:
1. First, we associate fasting with what __________ _____________ do.
2. Second, we see it as a __________.
3. Third, fasting contradicts our _______________ mind-set.
II The second negative of fasting is the No __________ says to the ___________ of fasting (6:16).
A. The Pharisees took fasting, which was given by God, and used it as a way to _______________ themselves.
B. Jesus says people who fast to get noticed will be noticed, but that is all the _______________ they will get.
C. And we not only see this abuse of fasting in the Pharisees, we also see it throughout ___________ ___________.
III The third negative of fasting is the No our ___________ __________ sometimes say to fasting.
A. There are times when fasting is not advised, such as fasting during an _______________.
B. Some ____________ conditions make fasting dangerous.
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
Tuesday Jan 21, 2020
“What We Must Do to Hear From God” Luke 2:36-38
Many people, both Christian and non-Christian, would like to hear from God, but how do we make that happen? In the Christmas story we find someone who can teach us what we must do to hear God speak to us. Her name is Anna. What does she teach us about listening to God?
I First, we cannot be satisfied with a s___________________ life .
A. Anna’s _______ was to hear from God.
B. Hearing from God ran in her _____________.
C. Her desire to hear from God made her s________ o_______.
D. Anna’s biggest __________ was to hear from God.
E. Jesus made it clear that the superficial life h_________ our relationship with God.
II Second, we must be __________ we can hear from God (2:37b).
A. While Anna waited to hear from God about the birth of the Messiah, she was a_________ on what she had already heard
B. The only place we can really hear from God is a place of ___________________.
III Third, we must ask like we really _____________ it (2:37c).
A. Just as Anna fasted for Jesus to come the ________ time, so we must fast for him to come the _____________ time.
B. Fasting, as Richard Foster points out, is all about _________ from God.
IV Finally, if we want to hear from God, we must know what to do with the ________________ (2:38). -- Three things we must do if we want answers:
A. We must ______________ an answer.
B. We must _________ _______________ for the answer.
C. We must ____________ about the one who is the answer.
Tuesday Jan 14, 2020
Tuesday Jan 14, 2020
“Paul’s Helping Resolutions” Philippians 3:12-14
Many Christians do not believe in making resolutions, but the Apostle Paul made the kind of resolution in Philippians 3:10-11 which takes our breath away! Fortunately for us, Paul provides us with some helping resolutions which are not as daunting as the first, but which can help us as we seek to know and follow Jesus better in 2020.
I When we make resolutions we usually think of what would be i________.
A. Paul makes the ______ ideal resolution any Christian could ever make in 3:10-11.
B. Fortunately, Paul also gives us ________ ___________ resolutions.
II First, we should resolve never to be s____-s___________ followers of Jesus (3:12).
A. With everything that Paul has seen and heard and done, he says, “I am not yet m_____________.”
B. We must resolve never to be satisfied with what we have r____________.
III Second, we should resolve to stop looking _________ (3:13).
A. To forget here cannot mean to stop _____________.
B. To forget the past means to stop allowing it to have any __________ over us.
IV Third, we should resolve to be s_________-m_____________ (3:13b).
A. Only when we _______ at the target of God’s Kingdom can we _______ all the other worthy targets in our life.
B. If we make our one goal to please Jesus, it will benefit _________________, especially those who do _____ know Jesus.
V Lastly, we should resolve to be people who never __________ (3:14).