My 9/3/17AM sermon, Freed To Serve from Galatians 5:13-15, is now online.  This sermon continued our journey in the Galatians series.  Paul has been showing that there is no other gospel than the good news found in Jesus.  This week’s sermon pried into the aim of our freedom in Christ: to serve others.  So, I hope it provokes this kind of service to others and helps show you what God intends for you.  We also spent some time praying for the effects of Hurricane Harvey.  I hope you enjoyed the Labor Day holiday as well.

Today is September 3, 2017, a day the President declared a national day of prayer.  Using some recommendations from Clear Creek Community Church as well as Jeff Medders, I handed out the following prayer points to assist those who want to help victims through prayer:

Prayers for Hurricane Harvey (Day of Prayer, 9/3/17)

HURRICANE VICTIMS

• Pray for their feelings of hopelessness, stress, anxiety, and being overwhelmed
• Pray that God would provide a safe place to stay while they are displaced from their homes
• Pray for parents as they try to manage and protect kids while dealing with all the trauma that accompanies this disaster
• Pray that their faith would be strengthened and not weakened; that the Holy Spirit would bolster their faith in the midst of this disaster
• Pray for safe, reliable transportation to work and places they need to go

COMMUNITY

• Pray for good and honest contractors to work with victims during rebuilding
• Pray for efficient and honorable insurance companies and adjusters
• Pray for wisdom and endurance for community leaders (first responders, government officials, nonprofit leaders, etc.)
• Pray for useful, reliable, and skilled out of town/state helpers
• Pray for schools and teachers as they try to help students focus and return to the new school year that was interrupted
• Pray for doctors and hospitals who are trying to serve patients with potentially limited resources and road access
• Pray that the cleanup time is surprisingly faster than expected because of all the people helping

LOCAL CHURCHES

• Pray for clarity and strategic organization for church leaders as they manage volunteers and prioritize needs
• Pray for discernment, proactivity, and sensitivity by church people with hurricane victims
• Pray for safety for victims and volunteers as they clear out hazardous areas
• Pray that “survivor’s guilt” doesn’t paralyze people who can be using the blessing of not flooding to focus on helping others
• Pray God uses this catastrophe to show up big and change hearts through his people
• Pray for stress and complications that come from housing/helping displaced friends and family
• Pray that church people wouldn’t grow weary in doing good

 

My 8/27/17AM sermon, Keep Running Well from Galatians 5:7-12, is now online.  This sermon continued exploring Paul’s theme that there is no other Gospel other than the good news found in Jesus.  And, this particular sermon showed how we keep running well.  We run well by avoiding anti-gospel influences.  I hope this sermon encourages you.

My 8/20/17AM sermon, Standing Firm in Freedom from Galatians 5:1-6, continues Crestview’s series through the book of Galatians.  This series reminds us that there is no other gospel except the truth that we relate to God through Jesus Christ by faith.  In this sermon, I unpacked Paul’s call for us to stand firm in freedom (which is abundantly supplied to us through Jesus Christ in the Gospel).  We saw what freedom was not and what its destination was.  So, I’m hoping you’re encouraged to stand firm in freedom and have a faith that works itself out in love.

My 8/13/17AM sermon, Two Sons from Galatians 4:21-31 (livestream archive here), is now online.  This sermon dug back into Paul’s argument from Genesis 16-18.  God promised that He’d give Abraham sons.  Sarah attempted to “fix” this through her servant Hagar.  This is like trying to “fix” our salvation by our own works.  But, those who are really right with God achieve this because of Christ–and through faith in Him.  I hope this sermon encourages you and helps you rest in Christ and expect resistance to these ideas.