Sermon Reflections from Name | Alex Hardt | May 12, 2024
Throughout his sermon Pastor Alex reminded us how Mothers or Mother figures are vital to our emotional health. By providing that listening ear and gentle guidance they emulate Jesus’ loving care and help us to lead stronger and more resilient lives. For his text this week, Pastor Alex chose the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4. Jesus’ encounter with this unnamed woman showed his great love and careful counseling that led to her transformation. When he first met her in John 4:1-9 she was what we would consider today a ‘hot mess’. She was an outcast in her village because of her immoral behavior but Jesus reached out to her when she least expected it. Jesus was tired and thirsty sitting strategically at the well knowing she would arrive. He asked her for a drink of water. She was doubtful and filled with trepidation as men did not speak with lone women especially one like her. She had come in the heat of the day to avoid the other women who had shunned her. Since Jews did not associate with Samaritans, she did not expect him to speak let alone ask her for something. He realized her fear and led her into a discussion that pointed her towards a deeper meaning as he introduced the idea of living water. She was intrigued and asked him about this thinking this living, eternal water could be the solution to her having to come to the well and face those she lived around. Just like many of us, she sought to avoid her problem emotions and was structuring her life so that she could avoid conflict. However, Jesus is teaching us here that we need to openly discuss our issues and realize that HE is the solution. I love 2 Corinthians 2:20 which assures us, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.” Next, Jesus invites her to partake of the living water. John 4:13-14 “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” She was eager to embrace this idea and was joyful at the thought of such water. Then Jesus caused her to have to confront her sin. John 4:15-18 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” His words caused her to think and reevaluate who this man could be. She saw him as a prophet and moved the conversation to religious differences between the Jews and Samaritans. Jesus was not waylaid, he confronted her with the truth of her sin and guided her to seek the truth of who he was. 4:25-26 “ The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” When she realized the truth of his words, she was transformed! Jesus had made her world turn upside down. She was no longer afraid or cowering when thinking about those around her and their criticisms. She became bold and returned to them changed. John 4:39-42 “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers. 42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” She was transformed by Jesus and his message and taking his message of how he had changed her life impacted on those around her. Jesus not only transforms our lives through faith in Him but it spills out and over as we share with others. Just like the Samaritan women did for those around her, we too are God’s plan to share and spread His Good News to those around us! Blessing, Linda MESSAGE LINK Click Here to View the Message on Youtube Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am. Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass Sermon Reflections from Embracing Grace | Alex Hardt | February 25,2024
Pastor Alex addressed the last rhythm for staying close to God which is service. When you draw close to God with prayer, study and reading the Word, try to cultivate Love for others sincerely, seek to witness to the transforming power of Christ, it leads you to service. What do you do with your faith? Now that you know God, desire to commune with Him, are practicing His love when with others and telling others about Jesus, you may ask what more do I need to do? All of these things leads you to love God more deeply, have a genuine love for others and desire to see them with you in the kingdom of God. But, not everyone is ready and willing to listen. Service is a way of showing others the love of God in a tangible way- no words required – just smiles and an open hand. Reaching out to others in love with food, a kind email, cookies, a welcoming smile and words of greeting are ways of showing God’s love. Nothing is expected in return. You aren’t doing the kind deed to ‘get’ something, only to give. This something very foreign to the world’s system of getting, doing and working for gain. How does this happen? Paul tells us in Colossians 2:6-7 “ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Our actions are a direct result of Christ being in our lives, indwelling and motivating us to love the world as He did. Pastor Alex had many scriptures of Jesus’ actions as He modeled this while here on Earth. Being rooted in Christ leads us to reflect God’s goodness to the world. Are you overflowing with grace and love because of your faith in Christ? Are you rooted and grounded in our faith? This is not something you get quickly but it grows over time as you allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life. The sanctification process of becoming more and more like Jesus begins at the moment of belief in Jesus and continues growing throughout your life. It is truly a life changing process made possible only in Christ. Christ alone is the reason for our change. Without Christ, good deeds are just good deeds and have no eternal value. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can be rooted and grounded in Christ producing a life that is abundant and filled to overflowing with thanksgiving, hope and love. A life motivated by Jesus is one that loves to serve others and express His love for them. Deeds are done out of love and gratitude. It is the process of giving out the love of God. As you made the bags with goodies to give to someone in need, you were motivated by the desire to help someone else and show them a bit of God’s love. Lianna got the blessing of leading and helping others to do something nice, possibly creating an opportunity for someone to talk of Jesus and His love, and showed others a tangible way they could act. Lianna also got the joy of giving and being able to participate in God’s kingdom. You get the blessing of participating, giving out and possibly talking to someone about Jesus. You also get joy in giving out and participating in God’s kingdom. A win-win with blessings and joy for all in service to our King. Thanks Lianna for this great lesson in tangible love. Linda MESSAGE LINK Click Here to View the Message on Youtube Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am. Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass. Sermon Reflections from Commissioned for Transformation | Damon Hopkins & Alex Hardt | February 18,2024
What a surprise and a privilege to see Damon via video and hear his words of encouragement. The message this Sunday sought to help us see that we are all to be about telling others about Jesus, his name, his power, his transformation. We are his ambassadors. Here is a blog I wrote some years ago about being Christ’s ambassador. I think it gets to the heart of what Damon and Pastor Alex want us to realize about our witness, our lives and the hope we can share. Because I believe Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I am an ambassador for Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:20 "So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” What does being Christ's ambassador mean to you? I looked up the word ambassador and it is the highest ranking diplomatic representative appointed by a government to represent them in another country, a special representative. Paul is referring to us as ambassadors as we represent Christ and His kingdom to the world. The indwelt believer is indeed God's mouthpiece, model and witness to a world that is desperately in need of a Savior. As Christ's ambassador we proclaim Jesus to the world and implore them to become right with God by claiming faith in Jesus. We are the highest ranking person in God's kingdom here on earth entrusted with this sacred duty. When you consider your job or work in the kingdom, you can see that you, the believer, are the heart of His ministry to reach the lost world around us. We are God's Plan A! We are the ones that non-believers see and view Christ though. It is sobering to know that they judge God by what they see in our words, deeds and actions. The way we live is important to our witness for Him. Hebrews 13:18 reminds us that we need prayer to stand firm in Him. "Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things." We need to pray for one another that our lives would reflect Jesus in all we say and do. As you go about today, thank Jesus for making you His ambassador. It is a position of privilege and responsibility. Know that He will provide you with everything you need to do His work in the world. Privileged to be Christ's Ambassador, Linda MESSAGE LINK Click Here to View the Message on Youtube Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am. Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass. SUSermon Reflections from Transform For Mission | Alex Hardt | August 6, 2023
Pastor Alex sought to answer the basic questions we all have: Who am I? Where do I belong? Why am I here? When we succeed in answering these questions basic to life, we become more self-assured, hopeful and motivated. We can all agree that without the answers to these questions we will be doubting life, drifting, not connected and without purpose. Those without Christ seek answers in the world with things, people, projects, education, etc. Those with Christ know He holds the answer to each questions providing us with hope, motivation and value. Pastor Alex began with Who am I? He wanted us to see how God sees us and gives us value. Our identity and our value is given to us by God. God was intentional in our design and loves us even when we do not love Him! I particularly liked Ephesians 1:4-6 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” We are loved and valued by God and He made a way for us, sinful man, to be blameless in His sight through Jesus. Our value and identity come though Jesus as God loved us so much He made the ultimate sacrifice in sending His Son to redeem us. “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. God’s motivation was LOVE. He desires a relationship with us and He made a way for that to happen. My heart is always gladdened when I read Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in his: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loved and valued me even before I came to Him. How wonderful is that?!!! Next, Pastor Alex tackled the question of Worth with the concept of where do I fit in? Where is my place in this world? Where do I belong? Our worth comes from God. We are His treasured possession as proclaimed in Exodus 19:5 “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,” How does that make you feel? The God of the Universe loves and treasures you! Jesus also spoke of his family and our adoption into His family. Romans 8:15 tells us that we belong to Him and can call God our Father. “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” We are adopted into His family. Mark 3:34-35 “ Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Each and every believer Jesus considers His brother and sister. How much more valued can we get? Belonging to the King is a special place and honor. Galatians 4:6 tells us how we can know for sure we belong to Him. “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” His Spirit within us is our proof. I claim the truth of Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Praise God we can know and feel His presence in our lives and know for certain we are loved by Him! Lastly, Pastor Alex answered the question, Why am I here? The basic answer is God created us for a purpose to glorify Him and for His pleasure. His pleasure will bring us pleasure too. His purposes will give meaning and definition to our lives. One of my favorite scriptures I claim is Jeremiah 29:11-12 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” We are made for relationship with him. He promises direction, a listening ear, hope, a future and plans that are for my benefit. There are multiple scriptures that guide us in seeing God has a plan and a purpose for which we were made. Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ God has a purpose and plan for all things. Colossians 1:16 “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.“ This gives me comfort in knowing God has a plan for our world and nothing happens without His allowing it. We know that God has a plan and purpose for us but how do we know what that is? 1 Peter 4:10 gives us a glimpse into this. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” We are to use our gifts given though the Spirit in addition to His Word as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 suggests. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” He has good works for us to do that will benefit the body of Christ. “ How personally are we to take this work God has for us. Here is Paul’s perspective in Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” How serious are you about serving, using your God given gifts, studying the Word for direction and guidance and prayer? Blessings as you ponder life’s questions and the answers God gives through Jesus. Comb the scriptures and you will see abundant proof of His LOVE, Your WORTH in Him and Your PURPOSE! Linda SUMMARY OF MESSAGE Click Here for Summary MESSAGE LINK Click Here to View the Message on Youtube Our Sunday service is online and in-person at 11:00am. Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass. |
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