First Alliance Church ATL

12-10-17 Kevin Goins The Forgotten Characters of Christmas, part 2

“The Forgotten Characters of Christmas” (Pt 2)  Matthew 2:16-18

Everyone connects the Christmas holiday with happy times.  We have parties, dinners, family get-togethers, gift-giving, special foods, all of which are intended to fill people with joy.  One thing we do not associate with Christmas is mourning.  We do our best to exclude mourning from the celebration of Christmas because mourning and Christmas are like oil and water; they do not mix.  But one of the forgotten characters of Christmas will not allow us to do this.  In fact, they bring mourning front and center right into the very heart of Christmas.  But, why is there mourning at Christmas?  

I There is mourning at Christmas because there is s__________ and h________ all year long.

1. One who clearly demonstrated selfishness and hatred was _____.
2. ___________ of ___________ also ruled with selfishness and hatred because he feared the g________ of I_______.
3. We may brag about how civilized we have become, but the killing of children is even m______ c_________ today.

II Second, there is mourning at Christmas because, where there is great j_____, there is always the potential for great s___________.

1. Rachel is a powerful reminder of how m_________ and m___________, which has the potential to bring great joy, can also bring great sorrow.
2. Rachel is the mother who weeps, not just for her own sorrow, but for the sorrow of all her c___________, g___________, and g______-g___________ throughout the coming generations.

III Third, there is mourning at Christmas because the d________ d____________ comes before the b_________ l________.

IV Finally, why does Matthew r_______ the happiness of the Christmas story by telling us about this terrible m________?

1. Because r______ l_____ is filled with many things which cause mourning.
2. And the Rachels of the world will write us off as hopelessly n_______ and o_____ of t_______ if we pretend that angel choirs and adoring shepherds are all that Christmas is about.

 

12-03-17 Kevin Goins - The Forgotten Characters of Christmas

“The Forgotten Characters of Christmas”  Matthew 2:1-20

Every year at this time we Christians focus our attention on the Christmas story and we spotlight the well-known characters of Christmas: the holy family, the shepherds, and the wisemen. But there are some supporting characters who often get overlooked. That is why for this Advent we are going to look at the people who are not pictured on Christmas cards and who are not sung about in Christmas carols. We are going to look at these forgotten characters because they have something to tell us about the birth of Jesus.

I The first overlooked character was not only mentioned in the Bible; he was the inspiration for one of the most well-known non-biblical
Christmas stories of all time: H____ ___ G________ S__________ C___________.
A. The Grinch’s words, “I must find some way to s_______ Christmas from coming,” is what connects this fictional character with a r_____ person from the Christmas story.
B. This real historical figure is ___________, the ________ of the ___.
C. The one who stood behind Herod, filling him with hate for the Messiah, was the one who inspires all hate: the _________.

II But why was Herod disturbed by the birth of Jesus? Two reasons:
A. First, the wisemen let Herod know that he was not the o_____ King of the Jews – he had c_____________.
B. Second, Herod was upset because the wisemen came to w_________ the newborn King of the Jews.

III What is significant about all this is that both the story of the real
person, Herod, and the story of the fictional character, the Grinch, teach the same truth: that there are p______ and f_______ who want to k______ Christmas from c_______.
A. Every year we Christians are amazed at how determined some are to make Christmas about a_________ and e___________ other than Christ.
B. What we are seeing is the G____________________ of American culture – the effort to keep the r_____ Christmas from coming.
C. But, no matter what we call it, what should we do about it?
1. First, r___________.
2. Second, l_________ and o________.
3. Third, d_____ w__________.

11-26-17 Kevin Goins - The Parable of the Lost at Church, part 2

“The Parable of the Lost at Church”   Luke 15:11-32

Three Sundays ago we looked at the first of three parables in Luke chapter fifteen. That first parable makes clear that our God is one who is delighted when the lost come home to him. But before we get the idea that the lost are always out there somewhere, far beyond the walls of the church, Jesus ends Luke chapter fifteen with a parable to remind us that there are lost people at church. If this parable is about the lost at church, what does it tell us about them?

I First, it tells us that the lost at church do not l______ l______ .
II The second thing this parable teaches us is that despite their i_______ appearance, the lost at church have a real p________: they are _____.
-Three evidences that the elder brother was lost:
   A. The first evidence that the older brother was lost is that he did not have a r______________ with the Father.
   B. The second evidence that the older brother was lost: he knew absolutely nothing about g________.
      1. There were t____ things that bugged the elder brother:
          a. His brother didn’t do anything that d_________ a fattened-calf celebration.
          b. He h____ d________ something which deserved a fattened-calf celebration.
      2. That, in a nutshell, is the elder brother’s theology: if you want the Father to give you a reward, you better w______ h_____ for it.
      3. But, not only does this poison our t_________, it also poisons our r__________ with God.
      4. And, not only does this performance mentality poison our relationship with God, it also poisons the way we t______ about o_______.
   C. The third evidence that the older brother was lost: he h______ his b________. -How do we know he hated his brother?
      1. He refers to his brother as “t______ s____ of y______.”
      2. He s_______ him.
      3. He makes no effort to r___________ with his brother.
III The third thing this parable teaches us is that the father is just as
concerned to find the lost at c________ as he is to find the lost in the w_________ (15:31-32).

11-19-17 Thanksgiving Service

Our regular English service joined up with our Chinese Fellowship to "service" together. Everyone was asked to bring an item that represented what they were thankful for. Pastor Kevin began with a brief talk about Thanksgiving that was translated by Yue Xu and then people were given the opportunity to share how their item represented Thanksgiving. 

11-12-17 Kevin Goins The Parable of the Lost at Church

“The Parable of the Lost at Church”  Luke 15:11-32

Two Sundays ago we looked at the first of three parables in Luke chapter fifteen. That first parable makes clear that our God is one who is delighted when the lost come home to him. But before we get the idea that the lost are always out there somewhere, far beyond the walls of the church, Jesus ends Luke chapter fifteen with a parable to remind us that there are lost people at church – not just visiting, but being intimately involved in the life and work of the church.

I Contrary to popular opinion, this is _____ the parable of the prodigal son.

A. First, if this was the parable of the prodigal son, then it would have ended with v__________ _____.

B. Second, this can’t be the parable of the prodigal son because the c_________ of Luke chapter fifteen will not allow that.

C. Third, this can’t be the parable of the prodigal son because if it is it does not a____ a__________ to the first two parables.

II If this parable is about the lost at church, w_______ does it tell us about them?

A. First, it tells us that the lost at church do not l_______ l_______.

1. There are two things about the older brother that would make him a p________ c__________ as a member for any church.

a. Number one: he was f____________ in the F________ house.

b. Number two: he was not only faithful at being ___ the father’s house, he worked h______ in the father’s house.

2. So, for both these reasons, the lost at church may not l______ lost.

B. The second thing this parable teaches us is that despite their i____________ appearance, the lost at church have a real p________: they are ________.

III The first evidence that the older brother was lost is that he did not have a r______________ with the Father.

A. Two reasons Jesus did call, and still calls, disciples:

1. To b___ w_____ him
2. To s_______ him.

B. Do we think of Christians first as people who d___ God’s w______?

11-05-17 Abel Irvin: Finding Peace

10-29-17 Annual Meeting Sunday

Once a year we take a Sunday and give opportunity to our ministry leaders to talk about what God's done through their ministry and what they see coming next. 

10-22-17 Kevin Goins - What makes God happy?

“What Makes God Happy?”  Luke 15:1-7

Recently a great deal of research has been done to determine what it takes to make people happy.  For Christians, however, there is something far more important that knowing what makes people happy, and that is knowing what makes God happy.  To know what makes God happy is to know God better and this knowledge will also help us prioritize our lives.  Of course, if we love God we will want to make him happy, which makes it necessary for us to learn how we can do that.  What is it that makes God happy?  What does this parable teach us?

I  What makes God ________ makes some people very u____________ (15:1-3).

There was one thing about Jesus which the Pharisees just could not tolerate: Jesus not only spent t____ with, but actually a____ with tax-collectors and sinners.

Why did the Pharisees believe they had to a_______ sinners?

They thought the way to be ____ is to stay away from what is obviously ____.

They thought shunning sinners would s________ them into w_______ to be good.

II  What makes God happy may seem i______________ to some (15:4-6)

Whether the shepherd left the 99 alone, and in danger, is not the issue; the issue is that the shepherd had to m______ a c______.

The fact that God loves the _____ does not keep him from loving and seeking the _____.

III Lastly, what makes God happy is for h____ happiness to become o____ happiness (15:7).

10-15-17 Kevin Goins - Making the Most of God's Word Conclusion

“Making the Most of God’s Word” (conclusion) Mark 5:21-42
We have talked over the last few weeks about what we can do to make the most of God’s Word. Today we are going to put it into action. We are going to take a passage from God’s Word and see how to get all we can out of it.

I The first thing to do with a Scripture text is to ________ it.
-Here is a helpful hint: don’t always read the s______ version, even if it is your f_________.

II Second, we need to ________ the text.
-There are ________ tools that can help us in studying a book including the Bible:
A. First, we should look at the s­­­­­­___________.
B. Second, we should focus on the m____________. Since we use ______ to create meaning, that means we focus on the words.
C. Last, to study a text we must e___________ what the author says.

III Third, we need to a_________ the text.
-Donald Whitney gave us six questions we can use to apply the text to our life:
1. Does the text reveal something I should b_______ about God?
2. Does the text reveal something for which I should p______ or t_______ God?
3. Does this text reveal something I should p_______ about for myself or others?
4. Does this text reveal something I should have a new a_________ about?
5. Does this text reveal something that I should make a d__________ about?
6. Does the text reveal something I should d__ for the sake of Christ, others, or myself?

IV Last, we need to m_____________ on the text.

10-08-17 Making the Most of God's Word - part 5

“Making the Most of God’s Word” (pt. 5)   Ezra 7:10

We have seen that making the most of God’s Word requires that we work to study and observe God’s Word in our life. Last Sunday we saw that an important part of observing God’s Word is meditation and we asked, “What is meditation?” and “What can meditation do for us?” Today we want to ask four more questions:

I Third, if meditation is so great, why aren’t a___ the Christians I know t_______ about it?
-A major reason is because meditation has been c___________ by the world.

A. First, the fact that people have counterfeited meditation ___ ____, in itself, a reason to s______ meditation.

B. Second, the practice of meditation did not originate with c______ and f_____ r_________; it originated with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

C. Third, the practice of Christian meditation is r________ d_________ from all other forms of mediation.

II Four, what part does the i____________ play?
-There are two kinds of Christian meditation:

A. We can use our mind to meditate on a________ i________ taught in Scripture.
B. We can use our i__________to experience what a text describes as if we were there.

III Fifth, what makes it hard for us to meditate?

A. An unwillingness to s____ d_____, f________, and p___ a__________

B. S_________ i_________.

C. F_______ of actually h_________ God s________.

IV Last, h____ do we meditate?
A. First, set aside a t_____ to be unhurried and find a p______ to be restful.
B. Second, choose a text you have a________ s__________.
C. Third, make y________ the focus of the text.
D. Fourth, read, not as a s___________, but as a p__________.
E. Fifth, allow all your s_________ to be involved.
F. Last, let _______ be the one to speak to you.