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First Alliance Church Weekly Sermons
Episodes
Tuesday Apr 30, 2019
Tuesday Apr 30, 2019
“Why?”
Today we have the pleasure of baptizing two believers in Jesus and we want to consider the question of why they have made this choice. But instead of asking why for the purpose of determining the cause of their decision, we want to ask why as a means of opening up a window into what the Christian life is really about. Why do we get baptized?
I First, we get baptized because the church has been ______________ by Jesus to baptize those who become his followers
A. But not only did Jesus give us a command, he also gave us an ____________.
B. It is hard to be f_________ with someone if we don’t do any of the same things – friends have a__________ in common.
C. We get baptized, not just to obey Jesus, as important as that is, but we get baptized because it helps us to i__________ with Jesus.
II Second, we get baptized to l______ u____ the name of Jesus.
-You cannot be baptized without d________ a___________ to Jesus.
III Third, we get baptized as a way of saying that Jesus has w______ a_______ our guilt and shame.
A. The word baptize means to i__________ in water, or to _________.
B. The Bible says in ___________ __:___ that “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
IV Lastly, we get baptized as a way of publicly professing that we are not ____________ of Jesus.
A. Baptism has always been a ___________ act; there is no account of __________ baptism in the Bible.
B. When we are not ashamed of Jesus, other people __________.
C. Baptism is hard, but it is probably the ________ opportunity we will ever have to be a witness for Jesus.
Tuesday Apr 23, 2019
Tuesday Apr 23, 2019
What does resurrection mean?
What is so important about the resurrection of Jesus?
How can we know the resurrection of Jesus really happened?
Eye witness reports from Mary Magdalene, John, and Peter
Tuesday Apr 16, 2019
Tuesday Apr 16, 2019
“The Power of Holy Week”
Jesus showed his awesome power throughout his ministry, but nowhere more clearly than the week leading to his resurrection. Since we celebrate Jesus’ power over death next Sunday, it would be good for us to recall the pivotal and powerful days leading up to that climactic event.
I The first day of Holy Week was Sunday, and on that Sunday Jesus rode in a _____________.
Triumphal entries are all about celebrating ____________.
B. Jesus a______ o______ who he was by riding into the city on a
donkey, and riding on a donkey told the crowd two things:
1. He told them he was _________.
2. He told them he was a ___________ king.
II On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of that week Jesus said and did things which most people would have been far too _________ to do or say.
III Thursday Jesus ate the ___________ meal with his disciples.
-On the Thursday of Holy Week Jesus claimed to have awesome power – the power to t_______ a_______ all our sin.
IV Now we come to Friday, to what the Gospels tell us took place from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, or from _______ to ______ pm.
A. Crucifixion is the worst form of capitol punishment ever devised because it took _______ to bring about death.
B. Matthew shows us the power in the death of Jesus by telling us four things that the death of Jesus did:
First, it r_______ the temple curtain in ____ (Matthew 27:51a).
2. Second, it m__________ the hardened hearts of a world
consumed with s____________ (27:51b).
3. Third, it destroyed the power of ___________ (27:52-53).
4. Fourth, it turned _____________ into ___________ (27:54).
Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
Wednesday Apr 10, 2019
“The Power of Sin” Genesis 19:1-38
This is the time of year when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the power of God which raised him from the dead. But to appreciate why Jesus had to die and rise again we need to come face to face with another kind of power: the power of sin. How can sin have so much power?
I Sin has incredible power because it is so incredibly a__________ (19:1-3).
A. If Lot was sick of the sin of Sodom, why did he stay there?
1. Because the life Sodom offered was p___________ attractive.
2. Because the lifestyle in Sodom was more concerned with f___________ than with r_________.
3. Because Sodom was a place of great p__________.
4. Because Sodom was a place where people felt free to gratify their desires without any l___________.
B. Not all of these things were attractive to Lot, but enough about Sodom appealed to him that he was willing to o____________ the wrong.
II Sin has incredible power because it creates a d___________ which weakens our m________ - I.E. it makes us __________ (19:4-11)!
III Sin has incredible power because it is capable of d__________ anyone, even those who follow ________ (19:12-23).
-Lot is a double-minded man: He doesn’t want to ______ with the people of Sodom, but he doesn’t want to ______ without their lifestyle either.
IV Sin has incredible power because it brings terrible d_____________ (19:24-29).
-The power of sin works in us, not to s________ our desires, but to r______ our life.
V Sin has incredible power because it is t____________ - it won’t let go (19:30-38).
A. The angels removed Lot and his daughters from ________, but they could not remove Sodom from their __________.
B. Where did Lot’s daughters get the idea that incest with their father was acceptable? They got if from their ___________.
Tuesday Mar 26, 2019
Tuesday Mar 26, 2019
“Balancing the Far and Near” Acts 12:25-13:3
Some churches today have elected to focus their attention on reaching out to the people who live near and around them. Other churches have decided to devote their prayer and financial support to international workers who will take the Gospel to people far away. Do we have to make an either-or choice, or can we do both? If we decide to do both, how can we balance our efforts? Our text today has some help for us.
I No matter where our ministry is directed, our life needs to be spent on ______________ (12:25).
A. “Mission” comes from the Latin mitto which means to ________.
B. If we are followers of Jesus we are sent people. He will send us _________ to do __________.
II Whatever God has called us to do, we should not limit our ministry to those ________ at hand (Acts 1:8; 13:1-3).
A. Acts makes it clear that while the church is called to do many things, its first priority is to carry out the ________ _____________
B. It is as if God has established a law that says, The f________ we are willing to look beyond ourselves, the h__________ we become.
III To take Jesus to those far away we must ________ with those who are near to us (13:1).
A. You cannot have a Great Commission if you do not have a s________ church.
B. The problem with the Jerusalem church is not that they began by evangelizing the people around them -- their problem was that they did not want to move ________ that point.
C. In evangelizing the city of Antioch the church refused to accept any kind of w_______ or b__________.
IV Last, to have a balanced ministry, a ministry that pleases the Lord, we must be an ______________ church (13:2-3).
Tuesday Mar 19, 2019
Sunday Mar 10, 2019
Sunday Mar 10, 2019
“The Attitude of Prayer” Luke 18:9-14
We have talked about the “How” of prayer and the “Wow” of prayer, but there is something that is often overlooked and that is the attitude we bring to our prayer. Jesus tells a parable in Luke chapter eighteen which shows us the kind of attitude we need to have when we pray.
I Luke chapter 18 is about __________ and it begins with two parables.
A. The first parable is about how d___________ we should be when we pray. The second parable is about the a___________ we should have when we pray.
B. The parable is composed of _____ parts:
1. We hear a p________ r___________ man talk to God.
2. We hear a tax-collector talk to God in a very d__________ way.
3. We hear Jesus, who knows more about God than anyone, tell us w________ prayer makes it to the throne of God.
II The usual approach to this parable is to do a h_________ job on the Pharisee and his prayer.
A. The crowd who first heard this parable did not have a b______ against the Pharisees like we do.
B. In Jesus’ day there were _______ major religious groups in Judaism:
1. First, there were the E___________.
2. Second, there were the S___________.
3. Third, there were the P_____________.
C. The Pharisees were respected by the people, so when Jesus mentions the Pharisee the crowd would assume he is the _______ example.
III To hear this parable the way the first audience heard it, we must see the Pharisees as they did, as h_________. But then Jesus shocks us by showing us _______ problems this Pharisee had in his relationship with God:
A. First, the Pharisee had a problem with c____________ - his confidence was in __________ (18:11a).
B. Second, the Pharisee had a problem with _____________ - he was _____ of it (18:11b).
C. Third, the Pharisee had a problem with ___________ - there wasn’t _______ in his life (18:12).
Tuesday Mar 05, 2019
Tuesday Mar 05, 2019
“The Desire to Pray” (conclusion)
Matthew 6:5-13
It takes more to pray than simply knowing how to do it. Something else is required and what is required is desire. Why should we desire to pray? Our text tells us. We should love to pray:
I ... because prayer grows our relationship with God (6:5-6).
II ...because it’s is the most natural thing we can do (6:7-8).
III ... because prayer reminds us of our true significance (6:9)
IV ... because prayer puts us in touch with the power than can bring
honor to God’s name (6:9b).
V ... because prayer advances God’s Kingdom (6:10a).
VI ... because real prayer has a terrific safety mechanism (6:10b).
VII We should love to pray because prayer puts us in touch with the one who can meet all our p__________ needs (6:11).
We don’t think in terms of daily needs because we are so wealthy we do not have to live from _____ to _____.
B. Jesus emphasized “daily bread” because he got his
understanding of prayer from the _____ __________.
1. First, there is the teaching of P_________ ____.
Second, there is the teaching of E__________ ___.
C. Money ____ provide security and money ____ buy
happiness and that is the p___________.
VIII We should love to pray because prayer puts us in touch with the one who can meet all our r_______________ needs (6:12).
Before Adam sinned, Eve was his wife, but after he sinned, she
became “t_____ w_________.”
B. Sin doesn’t just separate us from ______, it hurts _____ our
relationships.
IX We should love to pray because prayer puts us in touch with the one who can meet all our s____________ needs (6:13).
A. This request is not about temptation, it’s about the ________ of temptation and how we can a________ that place.
B. Prayer brings us to the best place we can possible be when it comes to temptation, and that is in ________ _____________.
Tuesday Feb 26, 2019
Tuesday Feb 26, 2019
The Desire to Pray - The “wow” of corporate prayer
Acts 4:23-31 and Matthew 6:9-13
When we pray together we pray as f______
A. O___ F_________
B. Peter and John went to their o___ p________
C. H___________ F _______ = H___________ F _______
When we pray together God’s name is s_________
A. M_______ is louder than o_____
B. They r________ their voices t_____________
When we pray together God’s w____ is c__________
A. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us that we can k____ God’s will
B. We can find God’s will in s__________
C. There is s___________ for every s____________
4. When we pray together there is a______________
A. Many v________, one p________
B. Agreement requires u__________
Matthew 18:19-20
C. Unity requires f______________.
When we pray together there is p_________.
A. Deliver us from evil by m____________ us s____________ than the evil one
B. God showed up: M____________ P_____________
C. Their prayer was a_____________.
Friday Feb 22, 2019
Friday Feb 22, 2019
“The Desire to Pray” (pt 3)
Matthew 6:5-13
It takes more to pray than simply knowing how to do it. Something else is required and what is required is desire. Why should we desire to pray? Our text tells us.
I First, we should love to pray because prayer rewards us with a growing relationship with God (6:5-6).
II Second, we should love to pray because prayer is the most natural thing we could ever do (6:7-8).
III Third, we should love to pray because when we pray we are reminded of our true significance (6:9)
IV Fourth, we should love to pray because prayer puts us in touch with the power than can bring ________ to God’s name (6:9b).
A., The Bible teaches that it is _____, not ________, who sees to it that his name is honored.
B. We can use prayer to ask God to _______ the way this world treats his _______.
V Fifth, we should love to pray because prayer can a_________ God’s Kingdom in this world (6:10a).
A. When God first created human beings, he was _______ over all life.
B. Then God called a special nation through whom he could once again establish his kingship on earth – that nation was ________.
C. Then God told the prophets he would establish his kingdom through a perfect King - _________ is that perfect King.
D. Jesus not only called us to p________ the Gospel of the Kingdom – he taught us to pray that the Kingdom would ________.
VI Sixth, we should love to pray because real prayer has a terrific s_________ m__________ (6:10b).
A., Can you imagine how horrible it would be to the human race if God ____________ every prayer we ever prayed?
B. Prayer ought to wow us because prayer doesn’t depend on ____ understanding of what is best – it depends on the _____ of ______.