Phil Auxier's Blog
My 4/1/18AM sermon (Easter), The Holy Spirit’s Power in Jesus, is now online. I know it seems counterintuitive to think of the Holy Spirit on Easter. But, if the Holy Spirit is all about Christ. And, if the Holy Spirit was behind His being conceived a virgin, set apart for ministry, and rising from the dead, then it would be great encouragement to know how He helps us, as well. That was the thrust of this sermon. I hope it encourages you.
My 3/25/18AM sermon, Less Obvious Work of the Holy Spirit, explored the work of the Holy Spirit in helping us through prayer, body life, our relationship to God, and knowing God’s Word/being involved in mission. I hope it helps you and you can see how near God is for all the “stuff of life.”
We enjoyed a great weekend at Crestview, this past weekend. Our good friend, Vivek, arrived on Friday and we had a weekend filled with meetings, unhurried time together, and getting an update on his life and ministry (and studies!). He spoke during the Sunday School hour, giving a brief devotional from Psalm 107 and updating us on his family and needs. Here’s his talk:
Vivek’s Update in Sunday School (March 2018)
Luke continued preaching in our Holy Spirit series. He drew insights from the book of Acts and how we relate to the Spirit’s Mission. Specifically, we’re called to Ask, Act, and seeking Affirmation from others. Here’s his talk:
Like I said, we had a great weekend. I hope these links help you connect to these two great friends of mine. Have a great week delighting in God’s work in the world.
My 3/11/18AM sermon, The Obvious Work of the Holy Spirit, is now online. In this sermon, I dug into John 16, 2 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 12 and back to John 16 to expose some of the familiar things the Holy Spirit does. He convicts of sin. He transforms our lives spiritually. He gives gifts to build up the church. He glorifies Christ. My hope is that as you lean into these familiar works, you would exhibit the fruit of what the Spirit is doing in you.
My 3/4/18 sermon, Why the Holy Spirit? from John 14:15-31, is now online. This sermon launched a short series our church is doing during the month of March on the Holy Spirit. This opening sermon got at why He tends to be “unknown” or “forgotten” by many of us. And, it ended with a call to look to Him not ourselves for real progress and living.
During my introduction, I also mentioned a short children’s book by Francis Chan entitled The Big Red Tractor. Here’s a video with the content of that book:
I hope these things encourage you and put a hunger for the Holy Spirit within you.
My 2/25/18AM sermon at Crestview, The Mission of Life Together, sought to wrap our life together series as well as propel us outward, engaging our world on mission. There are ways we’re propelled outward horizontally to our world. But, in the Bible, we’re also propelled outward and upward to bring glory to God. I hope this sermon encourages you to this end.
My 2/11/18AM sermon, Overcoming Objections to Life Together, is now online. This sermon sought to dig into some narratives that loom large in Christian circles and how we can press what the Bible says about life together into them. I was hoping to renew minds around the truths of life together. I hope it was encouraging and revealing.
In the evening, our Men/Boys enjoyed a night together at Crestview’s annual Men and Boys Chili Supper. Luke shared and we had a good time together.
We had a great day Sunday at Crestview Bible. First off, we introduced a new song, O How Good It Is, which tied in very well to our Life Together emphasis for the month. Also, Luke preached a sermon on The Picture of Life Together from Acts 2:42-47. The upshot of this morning was a digging into the rhythms that will characterize our lives as we intentionally live together on mission.
In the evening, I enjoyed the game with some friends. It was an entertaining game and a fun night to relax with people and enjoy this big part of our culture. I hope you had a great day.
On Sunday, 1/28/18, Luke preached the next sermon in Crestview’s Life Together series entitled The Purpose of Life Together. This sermon unpacked Ephesians 4:11-16, showing what God’s heart is for us as a “together” people. There were so many applications that extend to leadership, how we view leadership, and even how we step into living this way. I was both helped and challenged hearing Luke’s heart and how it ties to a larger mission and vision. I hope you’ll take some time to dig into this sermon if you didn’t get a chance.
My 1/21/18AM sermon, God Builds Life Together, is now online. This sermon helped kick off Crestview’s Life Together series. We want our life together to direct us to mission and growth. And, this sermon was my attempt to get the ball rolling. We overviewed the Bible’s storyline to see how this notion of community was always in God’s heart. I do hope my sermon was helpful and encourages people to consider this. We will add content for these next few weeks to see what this might mean for us.