Who Needs God - Part 4

THE GOD OF JESUS

Old Covenant / New Covenant

People followed Jesus after the resurrection because of the resurrection.

What Jesus said about God can be trusted.

If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!  John 14:7  NLT

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” John 14:8  NLT

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?   John 14:9  NLT

Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.   John 14:10  NLT

Jesus - If you want to know what God says, listen to me.

    If you want to know what God is up to, watch me.

Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.   John 14:11  NLT

For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.  John 4:24  NLT

Jesus said, “This is how you should pray:“Father...  Luke 11:2  NLT

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.   1 John 4:16  NLT

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.  1 John 4:18  NLT

Shade requires the sun.   

Love must necessarily pre-exist unlove.

Why is there evil in the world?  

Why do you know there is evil in the world?

"Nobody's perfect"

Perfect love preceded us.

God = Father / Spirit  / Love

Homework:  
- Isaiah 53
- The book of John (What did I learn about the Father from the Son?)

Who Needs God - Part 3

The Bible Told Me So

Jesus loves me, this I know...for the Bible tells me so.

If the Bible is the foundation of our faith, as the Bible goes, so goes our faith.

If the Bible is the foundation of our faith, it is all or nothing.

If the entire Bible isn't true, the Bible isn't true.

Christianity does not exist because of the Bible.

It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene.  Luke 3:1-2 NLT

Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness.  Luke 3:1-2 NLT

'Stealing from God'  by Frank Turek

hey did not make copies because they thought they were inspired.  

They made copies of the gospels because they believed they were true.

Christianity made its greatest strides during the 282 years before the Bible even existed.

Before the OT and NT were combined and titled the Bible, Christianity had already replaced the Pantheon, Roman, barbarian, and most Egyptian gods, and was the state religion of the Roman Empire.

For the first 300 years the debate centered on an event, not a book.

We believe that Jesus rose from the dead, not because the Bible says so.  It is way better than that.

    It is not about a book. It is about a 'who.'
    They did not document what they believed, they documented what they saw.

The issue has always been - who is Jesus?

Who Needs God - Part 2

Gods of the No Testament

A Some-Body-Told-Me-So God

Our Growing Up Gods:

*Bodyguard God

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

*On-Demand God

I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.  Mark 11:24 NLT

*Boyfriend God

 For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”  Hebrews 13:5 NLT

*Guilt God

Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.  Psalm 51:2-5 NLT

*Anti-Science God

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1 NLT

od or science is a false alternative.

*Gap God

God conveniently shows up as an explanation for everything we can't currently explain.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9 NLT

If everything were explained and explainable, it would not explain away God.

A predictable, stable, explainable universe.

Question:  Where did your view of the God you struggled to believe in originate?

Who Needs God - Part 1

Atheist 2.0

Do we need God anymore?

Religion is the problem.

The "Nones"

Not hostile toward  

Not affiliated with

People who were nothing like Jesus liked Jesus.

You cannot move away from something without moving toward something else.

Atheism is actually a complex belief system that logically leads to some unsettling conclusions.

Unsettling is not a truth test.

Six tenets of atheism:
    *The illusion of mind.
    *The illusion of free will.
    *The illusion of value.

Just is just what we want it to be.

    *Some thing came from no thing.
    *First life emerged from no life with no help.
    *Natural selection is responsible for all life after first life.

Believers should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.  They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarreling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.  Titus 3:1-2 NLT

You lost or are losing faith in god.

You have the wrong god.

These six tenets may be true, but most of us hope not.

Who Needs Christmas - Part 3

WE DO

So how did the birth of Jesus the Messiah come about?

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born.  Matthew 1:18 NLT

Jesus = Joshua

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.   Matthew 1:18 NLT

Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.   Matthew 1:19 NLT

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.   Matthew 1:20 NLT

And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”   Matthew 1:21 NLT

Rome needs to be saved from their sins.

We need saving from Rome.

We need a Savior with a sword

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.   Matthew 1:24 NLT

You're to give him the name Jesus, because he will forgive his people of their sins.

We reduce Christmas to forgiveness.

Nobody's perfect but God forgives.

Jesus came to deliver us from the power of sin.

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.   John 10:10 NLT

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.  Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.   Romans 6:12-14  NLT

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 6:23  NLT

Sin kills things.

Jesus came to deliver us from the:

*Penalty of sin    *Power of sin    *Presence of sin

Sin is not your master. 

Sin doesn't have to be your master.

Who Needs Christmas - Part 2

GOD DID

How does God, the Spirit, communicate how much He loves you and me?

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  Galatians 4:4 NLT

God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.  Galatians 4:5 NLT

God took the first step to remove all the obstacles of unrestricted fellowship.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.   Romans 5:8  NIV

Why couldn't Jesus pronounce everybody forgiven?

To dishonor the source of life is an expression of ingratitude, deserving the forfeiture of life.

You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer.  Acts 3:14 NLT

You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!  Acts 3:15 NLT

Jesus' death demonstrated the magnitude of our ingratitude and the magnitude of His love for us.

You cannot demonstrate love without sacrifice.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Romans 5:6 NLT

Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.  Romans 5:7 NLT

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Matthew 1:20 NLT

And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  Matthew 1:21 NLT

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”  Matthew 1:22-23 NLT

We needed to see it to believe it.

Who Needs Christmas - Part 1

THE WORLD DID

The Christmas Story:  an unbelievable, incoherent, impossible promise.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.  Genesis 12:1  NLT

I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.  I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”  Genesis 12:2-3  NLT

Blessed? - conquered, enslaved, plundered

Abraham chose to believe this unbelievable promise.

Moses   *   Kingdom of Israel   *   Kingdom Divided

He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6  NLT

But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  Malachi 1:11 NLT

The Christmas Story?!?

All the nations would not be blessed through Abraham.

Israel would not become a light to the Gentiles.

The Jewish God would not be worshipped throughout the world.

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  Galatians 4:4 NLT

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.  Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!  Luke 1:26-28 NLT

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”  Luke 1:29-33 NLT

The Christmas Story:

All the nations would be blessed through Abraham.

Israel would be a light to the Gentiles.

The Jewish God would be worshiped throughout the world.

Crazy Like Us - Part 3

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Generosity requires a plan. 

3 S giver:  Spontaneous, sporadic and sparing

Generosity requires a specific amount or a percentage.

3 P giver:  Percentage, priority and progressive

Generosity requires a destination worthy of your heart.         

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. Matthew 6:21  NLT

Saving is how you say yes to you, generosity is how you say yes to what is important to you.

Choosing your destination: 

give from a grateful heart and from a broken heart.

*What are you grateful for?

*What are you broken over?

Generous people never feel guilty about saying "no" because they've already said "yes."

Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia.  1 Corinthians 16:1  NLT

On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.   1 Corinthians 16:2  

When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem.   1 Corinthians 16:3  NLT

Generosity is the premeditated, calculated, designated emancipation of personal financial assets.

Happy is the person whose life is ordered around giving rather than receiving.

Homework:

My plan: ____________________________________________