Sermon Notes for 5/5/2024
Growing in the Knowledge of God
Colossians 2:1-7
5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
3. Dedicate myself to a continuous process vs. 6
Bible Study Notes for 5/1/2024
A. Its Oldness, 2:7
B. Its Newness, 2:8a
Notes for 4/17/2024 Bible Study
Notes for 4/10/2024 Bible Study
B. His Earthly Reality.
C. His Post-resurrection Reality.
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Notes for 4/3/2024 Bible Study
I. The Person, v. 1
A. His Pre-existent Reality.
B. His Earthly Reality.
C. His Post-resurrection Reality.
II. The Proclaimers, v. 2
III. The Plan, v. 3
IV. The Purpose, v. 4
From “How to Read the Bible Book by Book, Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart, Zondervan, 2002
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A (Mercifully) Short History of Lent
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Notes for 2/24/2021 Bible Study
Below are there documents referenced in this Bible Study
Notes for 6/24/2020 Bible Study
Ephesians 1:22-23
Ephesians 1:22 and 23:
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Paul has just said he prays for his readers that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened, in order that they might come to comprehend the hope to which he has called them, the riches of God’s glorious inheritance in the Saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
This power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, and we see it not only raised Jesus but exalted him, took him all the way to the right hand of the Father.
The same power that raised Jesus is for us, and now Christ is exalted. Vs. 21 says Jesus has been exalted:*
…far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
We, you and me, that is to say the church, are central to God’s program in the world. vs. 23a (The Message):
The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church, the body of Christ, matters to God and should matter to us.
What becomes clear in vs. 23 is this:
The church is Christ’s complement. (With an “e.”)
Complement: Something that fills up, completes, or makes perfect.* John Calvin:
This is the highest honor of the church, that, until he is united to us, the Son of God reckons himself in some measure imperfect. What consolation it is for us to learn that, not until we are in his presence, does he possess all his parts, or does he wish to be regarded as complete.
William Hendriksen:
As to his divine essence Christ is in no sense whatever dependent on or capable of being completed by the church. But as bridegroom he is incomplete without the bride; as the vine he cannot be thought of without the branches; as shepherd he is not seen without his sheep; and so also as head he finds his full expression in his body, the church.
Colossians 1:24:
Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
Here he notes that he church, in essence, completes Christ’s suffering.
vs. 23b (The Message):
The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582):
Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
Kenneth Wuest (in his exposition of Ephesians):
The relation between Christ and the Church, therefore, is not an external relation, or one simply of Superior and inferior, sovereign and subject, but one of life and incorporation. The Church is not merely and institution ruled by Him as President, a Kingdom in which He is the Supreme Authority, or a vast company of men in moral sympathy with Him, but a Society which is in vital connection with Him, having the source of its life in Him, sustained and directed by His power, the instrument also by which He works.
• The church matters to God because it is the earthly manifestation of His presence.
• The church matters to God because it is a crucial part of His plan for this world.
• The church matters to God because it is His place for us to grow and mature in our faith.
The church matters to God, and should matter to me as well!
The Prayer We Need Right Now
The Prayer We Need Right Now (Notes)
Matthew 6:5-13
Verses 9-13
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Would you personally like to experience life change, both spiritually and physically?
1. Worship and ADORATION of God. Vs 9-10
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’”
True prayer starts with worshipping God.
Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…
Proper adoration and worship causes our attitudes to change.
Revelation 15:4
Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”
Psalm 96:9
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.
Someone wrote this:
When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do;
When we rely upon education, we get what education can do;
When we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do, and so on.
2. A personal SUBMISSION. V 10
…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Luke 18:14b
…all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Isaiah 66:2b
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
and who tremble at my word.”
3. Honest REQUESTS in faith. V11
Give us today our daily bread.
Food, shelter, clothing, health and healing, wisdom, safety, understanding, praying God’s Word.
Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
John 14:13-14
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Come before God in worship and adoration, a personal humility and submission, and with honest requests.
4. Giving and seeking FORGIVENESS. V12
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
This means forgiving others who have wronged we as you seek personal forgiveness of sin.
As we’re praying to God, we ask Him to search our hearts, and to reveal sin in our hearts.
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Psalm 66:18-20
If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened
and has heard my prayer.
Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
5. PROTECTION from ALL enemies. V 13a
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Ephesians 6:1
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Conclusion
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
The prayer we need right now is powerful and effective.
The prayer we need right now is prayer in the manner Jesus teachers us to pray, characterized by these five dimensions:
- Grounded in worship
- Prayed in Submission
- Consisting of honest Requests—asking for what you need
- Accompanied by asking for and extending Forgiveness
- Seeking God’s Protection from the evil one.
The prayer we need right now is that prayer that cries out to God in the day of trouble…
Psalm 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.
The prayer we need right now is bold and confident.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
The prayer we need right now consists of these five dimensions:
Worship, Submission, Requests, Forgiveness, Protection …
1 John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Response to this message:
- To prioritize prayer. Look at your schedule, your use of your time, and make a place, carve out some time to spend talking to your heavenly Father.
- Along with prioritizing, practice prayer; once you’ve created the space, then make sure that you occupy that space with intentional practice…pull out your bible, follow along with Jesus in Matthew 6:5-13, and use that as a template.
Awake, O Sleeper!
I bear the marks of Jesus.
