Church notes - April 2015
Church Notes - April 2015
5th April (Easter Sunday)
'Alive in us'
Celebration Sunday
- Celebrating that He is Risen! He is Risen indeed.
'It's there in the newborn cry'
Luke 25: 1 - 12
Jesus changed everything about His Disciples' lives.
"What's new?"
"Jesus!"
Good Friday
"He's dead!"
Saturday
"Nothing!"
Sunday!
"Jesus is Risen!"
Luke 24: 13 - 35
Acts 2:14 - 21
Christianity
It arose because Jesus had risen!
- It hadn't from wishful thinking or a mistaken autopsy report.
- Why would the disciples lie to get themselves into trouble?
Romans 16:13
Acts 2:22 - 41
Baptism - symbolic of Jesus death and resurrrection.
'The Victor's Crown'
12th April
Matthew 6:10 - 24
'All the things of the Lord'
'Over star filled skies': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8Y7enLYqqE
'Beautiful Lord, Wonderful Saviour':
Dealing with Money
Warnings about Money
We need to think about the Biblical prinicples.
1. It is God who gives you the ability to produce wealth.
Deuteronomy 8:18
Everything we have comes from Him.
. Our Wealth
. Our Blessings
2. Don't worry about Money
Matthew 6:25 - 34
Put your trust in God
Look to Him for your welfare
3. Maintain control of your finances - Records
Proverbs 27:23
We need to know
- What we earn
- What we own
- What we owe
Proverbs 22:27
4. Plan your spending - Budgeting
Proverbs 21: 15, 20
5. Enjoy what you have - Contentment
Proverbs 15: 16, 17
Phillipians 4:10 -13
6. Share with others in need - Generosity
Proverbs 11:24
Giving frees us from the chains of materialism
7. Put God first - Tithing
Proverbs 9:10
Malachi 3:8 - 10
Not just money, but also the Lordship of the our lives
Genesis 14
Abraham giving to Melchizedek
Malachi 3:11
God wants us to share and be Lord in every part of our lives.
19th April
Salt and Light
Matthew 5:13 - 16
The Christian way of life is different from the rest of the culture
An alternative way of life
We are the light of the world
The culture is looking in all the wrong place
The ideas that have shaped Australian culture have come from these passages (recently they have become neglected).
We need to be set apart for His purposes.
Book divided into categories
Bible / Everthing else
We need to be distinctive
Don't you want more than 'nice'?
Psalm 136:35
God's people had mingled with the other nations!
Jeremiah 10
Sermon on the Mount
Describes a community under God's rule.
Matthew 6:8
Matthew 6:5 - 13
vs13
The followers of Jesus are to be different
The idea is to focus on Him.
Salt is different to to the thing it is being put in.
We are to be different.
Christ adds flavour to the lives of His disciples
NaCl is always NaCl
- But in that time they got white stuff from marshlands that contained NaCl
- The NaCl could leech out.
vs 15 - 16
Put the postive aspects forward
The World needs to see Jesus.
26 April
Matthew 5:17 - 26
It's not about technicalities. It is about your heart.
Jesus was condemning angry feelings
He was saying that feeling anger was wrong
How should we feel with anger?
God's anger is against sin.
Righteous Anger - Indignation against wickedness
- If this is absent when the situation warrants it... are we good?
Anger - Cain was angry at Abel's favour in God's eyes.
vs21 -22
We can't use terms of abuse and get away with it. Jesus sees into the heart.
vs24 - 26
We need to reconcile and repent.
God is seeking people who forgive each other.
All people need forgiveness.
Jesus died on the cross because there was no other way.
We are totally reliant on His mercy.