First Alliance Church ATL

Jimbo Hull from Uruguay

“Cross-Cultural Ministry” (Pt. 2)

John 4:11-20

In his encounter with the Samaritan woman Jesus illustrates for us how we can have a ministry which crosses social and cultural boundaries.  Today we see Jesus demonstrate two more principles which can assist us in Cross-Cultural Ministry.       

IV God uses our a________ to p__________ the essentials so we can cross cultural boundaries in ministry. (4:11-15)

V God uses our willingness to c___________ the issues of the h________ to enable us to cross cultural boundaries in ministry (4:16-20).  

-If you want to condemn this woman you can find good reasons for doing so, but there are three better reasons for not condemning her:

1. First, we don’t know her h____________.

2. Second, in condemning her we condemn _________________.

3. Third, __________ did not condemn her.

“Cross-Cultural Ministry”

John 4:1-10

There are times when we invite people to learn about Jesus and they refuse, not because they have no interest, but because we have unknowingly set a barrier in front of them.  Some of the biggest barriers we unintentionally place between people and Jesus are cultural barriers.  Jesus had to deal with social and cultural barriers, and as we see how he dealt with these barriers we learn how we can deal with them. What do we learn from Jesus about cross-cultural ministry?      

I God uses c_______________ we would never imagine to lead us to cross cultural boundaries in ministry (4:1-4).

II God uses our h___________ to enable us to cross cultural boundaries in ministry (4:5-8)

III God uses our s____________ to people’s n_________ to enable us to cross cultural boundaries in ministry (4:9-10).

“Joy or Jealousy?”  John 3:22-30

Since Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice,” we have called jealousy “the green-eyed monster.”  It may be poetic to call it “green-eyed,” but there is nothing poetic about calling it a monster.  Jealousy is a monster and it is the kind of monster by which even believers in Jesus can be conquered.  But John 3:22-30 gives us help in dealing with jealousy.  What does this passage teach us about jealousy?       

I The seedbed of jealousy is c_____________________ (3:22-25).

II The trigger to jealousy is f_______ of t____________ (3:26)

III In the response of John the Baptist we see the k_____ to defeating jealousy:

We need to know that our specific calling is given to us by ________ (3:27).

We need to make sure we are motivated by the r________ g_________ (3:28-29).

We need to know how to find _____ in our unique calling (3:30).

“The Most Well-Known Verse in the Bible” (Conclusion)

John 3:16

This Sunday we conclude our eight-part study of John 3:16. Last week we focused on the consequence of our choice, either to believe in Jesus or to reject him. Today we have three more points to make about perishing and eternal life:

I Perishing and eternal life are Inverse images of each other.

II Perishing and eternal life both point to Jesus as the One who stands between.

III Perishing and eternal life both demand humility.

IV Perishing and eternal life both begin _____ with ________ ________.

V Perishing and eternal life not only begin with this life, but both c___________ b__________ this life – In fact, they continue ______________.

There are two basic problems we have to contend with:

1. Our first problem is with the idea of ____________ itself.

2. The second problem with eternity comes when we apply eternity to the d__________ of those who do not know Christ.

VI Perishing and eternal life both d_________ our a____________.

-Usually we look at this choice from a ___________ perspective, but we can also put this into p____________ terms.

So far in our study of John 3:16 we have looked at the first eighteen words: “For God so loved the world he gave his only Son in order that whoever believes in him ….”   Today we look at the consequence of our choice either to believe in Jesus or reject him.  What does the Bible teach us about these two consequences?   

  

I Perishing and eternal life are i__________ i__________of each other.

-The most comprehensive picture of heaven in the Bible is found in Revelation chapters 21-22 and what John sees here answers some of our most important questions:

Is heaven an “o___ o___ b________” existence where we float around like ghosts on a cloud?  What makes heaven so s____________?  What will l______ be l______ in heaven?  Lastly, will heaven be b__________?

II Perishing and eternal life both point to Jesus as the One who s__________ b____________.

III Perishing and eternal life both demand h______________.

The problem is this:  there are ways in which we Christians can appear to be proud and arrogant – For example we can assume that because we know the Bible, there is _________ that anyone can ______ us.

But that doesn’t make sense for several reasons

Because something isn’t in the Bible doesn’t mean it is c__________ to the teaching of God’s Word.

All of God’s truth is ______ found in the Bible.

________ truth is God’s truth.

So, we need humility in all we say, but we especially need humility when we talk about w________ people will spend e_________.

First Alliance Church Guest Speaker

Betsy Aeschliman from Missions to the World which leads around 50 medical missions trips a year around the world.

“The Most Well-Known Verse in the Bible” (Part 6)

John 3:16

So far in our study of John 3:16 we have focused on the first eleven words: “For God so loved the world he gave his only Son….”   Today we look at how we receive the gift God gave.     

I First, there is a p____________ c____________:  “in order that….”

II Second, there is a p___________:  “w____________.”

III Third, there is a v_________:  “b___________”

IV Lastly, there is a p_____________ p_________:  “i____ h______.”

So far in our study of John 3:16 we have focused on the first eight words: “For God so loved the world he gave….”   Today we focus on what, or, more precisely, who God gave. 

1. First, we need to look at a translation problem.

2. John 3:16 identifies Jesus as the one and only Son of God – But why is that significant?

First, Because of who Jesus is, the Christian faith can make it possible for people to _________ God. This description of Jesus says two things about him:
He is the one and only, there is n___ o_____ e_______ like him.
He is not only unique, in that he is God, but he is a _______.
Second, because of who Jesus is, the Christian faith stands o___ its o______, a________ from every other religious faith.
Lastly, because of who Jesus is, the Christian faith is the most c________ faith on earth.

3. You may wonder whether what the Bible says about Jesus is true, but think about these three statements:
Throughout history there have been more than a few who claimed to be __________.
Throughout history there have been more than a few who changed this world for the ____________.
The number of those who have both claimed to be God and who have changed this world for the better is, as far as I know, limited to one:  __________.

 

So far in our study of John 3:16 we have focused on the first six words: “For God so loved the world….”  This morning we come to the word that expresses how God demonstrated his love. What did God do?  He gave.  Today we want to notice five things about God’s act of giving.   

I First,this giving was done by ________.

II Second, this giving defines the c________________ of God’s __________.

III Third, this giving meets _________________.

Jesus is Savior, but he is more than that.  There are three special portraits of the Messiah in the Old Testament that show us who he is:
1. The first pictures Jesus as l___________.
2. The second pictures Jesus as s_______.
3. The third pictures Jesus as s___________

IV Fourth,this giving does what our giving could n______ d___.

V Lastly,this giving must be ____________.