WORSHIP SCHEDULE

                                         Outline of Sermons 

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​         ​   ​       Sunday Morning Lesson: 8/9/26, Eph 2:1-5

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    The Echo in the Tomb (the Death and Resurrection of Lazarus)

 

Lazarus (Eleazar) made an unexpected come back from the brink of death. Lazarus of Bethany, the one that Jesus loved, was a friend of his who lived in Bethany with his two sisters, Mary and Martha (John 11:5).

Mary and Martha felt the weight of their brother’s death, but Jesus wasn’t there. Three months before Jesus was crucified, he rested at Mary / Martha’s house. Messengers sent out a message to Jesus that Lazarus, whom he loved, was sick. Jesus wasn’t there in Bethany, but they expected him to come. Jesus doesn’t reply but delays two days where he is. Then, he says to the disciples that they are to go to Judea again to awaken Lazarus who was dead. His sickness was not unto death but to glorify God and the Son of God. Four days pass when Jesus gets to Bethany and, Lazarus is already dead.

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Jesus shows up to let you know that there’s nothing else you can do. We must realize that all our hope is in God / Jesus. God is sovereign and shows up when He wants to. He doesn’t owe us any answers. We don’t understand God’s plan or his purpose – a lesson God wants us to learn -- (in misery and pain, we are taught a lesson).

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In our season of pain, sometimes we haven’t yet learned our lesson. God’s grace is sufficient for us. We must wait on Him. We must experience how great God is after hitting rock bottom. Christ is the rock at the bottom.  Four days had passed before Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was already in the grave.

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Anyone without Christ is dead. How decomposed (rotten) are you? Don’t judge other folks. We were all dead in our trespasses and sins. God made us alive in Christ. We’ve all been dead, but what degree were we dead?

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When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she ran out to meet him. Christ told her that her brother would rise again. She considers that means at the day of resurrection. Jesus said that he was the resurrection and the life. The resurrection starts when Jesus shows up. He is the resurrection power.

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Mary is the emotional one who Martha goes to get. She falls at Jesus’ feet, knowing that if Jesus was there, her brother would not have died. Then Jesus asks, “Where have you laid him?” They say, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. He asks them to roll the stone away. He wants others to witness / participate in this miracle. When the stone is rolled away, Jesus prays and then he says, “Lazarus, come forth.” Lazarus came forth fully wrapped and bound.  

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This occurrence is of theological significance – a turning point in the gospel – the ability of Jesus to have power over life and death. Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

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What is the 4-day problem in your life – a bad habit, financial hole, a bitter heart, etc? We roll a stone in front of our mess / our problems. But Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Thus, commanding the community to help dispose of the mess. Be honest about our graveyard. Expose the mess, the grief, your fear, your shame, etc. It takes courage to roll away the stone, revealing our mess. God is not afraid of our mess.

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Once the stone is removed, Jesus cries out, “Lazarus, come forth.” He calls us by name, showing the power of the grace of God. He knows us by name, calling us out. In heaven, we will be known as we are known. 

Then, Lazarus arose. Jesus told them to take off the grave clothes and set him free. Sometimes, we still carry old habits, filth, etc, when we arise from our sins. Sometimes, we need the help of others to take off our old sin / death clothes. As with Lazarus in the grave clothes, we think it’s too late. The tomb is not our final resting place; the tomb is not our final home. Listen to the message of Jesus, saying “Come forth out of your pain and suffering and be loose.

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Jesus is the Lord of the 4th day. Give us the courage to roll away the stone holding us back.

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             Sunday Morning Lesson: 8/16/26, Luke 3:21-22

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Many denominations deny the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Genesis chapter 1, during creation, God said, “Let us make man in our own image . . .” God is talking about all three. When you meet God, He tells you who He is, and He reveals His personhood to you – such as Yawaii, Alohem, etc. Some religions deny that the Father has a Son, who is not beneath Him. God wants us to think of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as a doctrine of personhood of God. The Father said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” He is acknowledging that the man on Earth is His Son. God is saying, “You are my Son.” God is revealing himself to us. The Father has a son no matter what they say. He said so. Jesus’ coming to Earth was his divine choice, sending him to save us, wrapped in flesh, God in humanity. God’s Son is Jesus. The Holy Spirit anointed him as Savior.

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The descent of the Spirit shows the partnership that exists between the two. The Spirit comes to be with the Son. The Spirit descends from heaven like a dove. When the Father does something with the Son, it’s not something that the Son does alone. The Spirit descends, and in his descent, he establishes a distribution of his presence with Christ. Everything that the Son does, the Spirit is in it (his comforter, an advocate, . . . always with him). So, the Holy Spirit also comes to be with us after we are baptized.

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Does the Holy Spirit have the quality of a dove? A dove talks / coos. Doves are language people. When doves coo, it’s called the mating call. Doves practice fidelity – a lifetime love. They stay together – a permanent relationship. They know how to raise a family. They are unique in the way that they live. They are one of the best navigational systems in all the world. That’s why when Noah sent the dove out, he could come back. Noah takes the dove into the Ark, which isn’t said about the raven. God put something in a dove that no matter where you place him, he’s able to survive. He is adaptable. The dove’s navigational system (that God put in him), cannot be taken off course. He’ll find his way home. You can’t lose the dove. When God anointed the dove with the presence of the Spirit, he gave the dove course-direction that he would not stray. What God put in you and within this Earth’s field, come / go home to God.

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When the dove descended, he had a character / traits about him from eternity. What came from heaven? According to scripture (Acts 2) “like a dove” / “like a fire.” The Spirit is of truth. By doing truth, you’ll be doing dove-work, of the Holy Spirit. He descends and partners with the Christ, and then Christ turns it over to him. Then, he’s like fire in language and truth. The descent of the Holy Spirit is established in these two verses (verses 21, 22) where the destination of the Spirit was to be with the Son. The destination of the Holy Spirit is the church where “the Spirit and the bride say come.”  

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The dove is of a peace-loving nature. If you don’t have the dove in you, you’re not of the Father. Some people don’t have any dove / peace in them. The dove brings help whenever he comes. He was a help to the Savior when he came to be with Him. The dove (the Holy Spirit) was already fire when he got here, and his destination was with the Son and with nobody else. Some churches started without the Holy Spirit. That’s the reason other churches act the way they act because it’s not the Holy Spirit.

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When the Holy Spirit came down, the help he gave to Christ came from the Father. The Son humbled himself, but He is equal to God as the scripture, Phil 2:6 notes. “. . . Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God . . .”

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Listen to the Spirit to get worship about the Son correct. The Spirit came to partner alongside what God would put Him in charge of. God sent the dove (the Spirit) to be with the Son.

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Stay with it. Keep loyalty of the Father even though it means you are the suffering servant. Be open to no one but the Spirit (thus says the Spirit).

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​               Psalm/Hymn/Edification of the week:

 

 

 

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Eph 5:19)

 

Proverbs 28:20 -- A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.​​​​​​​

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                             I’m Learning to Lean

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                   I’m learning to lean, learning to lean

                   Learning to lean on Je-sus,

                   I’m finding more power than I’ve ever seen

                   I’m learning to lean on Je-sus.

 

                   I’m learning to love, learning to love

                   Learning to love like Je-sus,

                   I’m touching more people than I’m aware of

                   I’m learning to love Je-sus.

 

                   I’m learning to pray, learning to pray

                   Learning to pray like Je-sus,

                   I’m gaining more courage day after day

                   I’m learning to pray like Je-sus.

 

                   I’m learning to lean, learning to lean

                   Learning to lean on Je-sus,

                   I’m finding more power than I’ve ever seen

                   I’m learning to lean on Je-sus.                       

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