Sermon Notes

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Eric Becker June 22, 2025
shared a message with us about five barriers that keep us from feeling God’s love. Admiration goes one way with celebrities, we know who they are, but they have no idea who we are. For some people, it is the same way with Christ. They love Christ, but do not feel or recognize God’s love coming back to them. There is a barrier there, they do not feel they are special enough or that they deserve God’s reciprocal love. Some wonder who am I that I should be loved by God. Barrier #1 could be caused by you failing at something over and over and over, and feeling you are not worth the effort for Him to love you. Read Luke 12:1 – 7, God will not forget the sparrows and He will not forget you.You are worth the effort!

Barrier #2 could be that you feel as if you do not belong in the family of believers, you feel out of place in a community of believers. Read Ephesians 2:14 – 18, we all belong in His family!

Barrier #3 could be that you feel your sin is too great, or that you are too far gone, with too many things in your past. Read Mark 2:13 – 17, Jesus hung out and shared meals with sinners!

Barrier #4 could be that you just do not feel close enough to God, or feel that His love has fallen away and your relationship with Him has eroded. Read John 14:18 – 23, your love for Jesus is enough. He will reciprocate that love!

Barrier #5 could be that you feel defeated and do not think that God hears you. Read Psalm 34:1 – 18, the defeated need to hear this promise from God. You are not the first to be defeated. God’s power is greater than our feelings, God’s power is the reality! If you are not feeling communal with God, you are the barrier, notGod. Read 1 John 3:18 – 20 and Romans 8:38 for more proof of God’s love for us. It does not matter how we feel, He isalways with us, always has been, and always will be.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels
nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can
separate us from God’s love". ~ Romans 8:38

Pastor Dan Waters June 1, 2025
shared with us on Sunday, Warning! Perilous Times! Do not drift in your life with Christ. Do not become someone who used to be active in church. Do not become self-centered, or like a Burger King Christian – have it your way. Luke 6:35 tells us But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return... Ephesians 2:3 teaches us that our thought life counts. Authority is missing in our society today, but we need to honor people in authority. Read 2 peter 2:10. Jesus has forgiven us, so press forward, do not listen to Satan, see 2 Corinthians 5:15. 1 John 1:9 let’s us know that He has cleansed us from all unrighteousness. Read Colossians 3:1-2 to see what you should do when you find yourself focusing on your past faults. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 Christ did that for us, and we need to do that for others. What a great verse to remind us how to act in our relationships with others. We looked at the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12. Do not be always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:7 Do not replace religious curiosity for a relationship reality with Christ. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Revelation 3:16 That may sound gross, but God said it! When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Will He find you living the faith? Will you be ready when He comes? Sample text. Click to select the Text Element.

Pastor Kurt Witzig May 11, 2025
 He shared with us from Psalm 131, Humble and Hopeful. Mom is the name of God on the lips of small children.
Home is the place where relationships are taught. We learn to build character, we find stability in the home, we shapeour identity, we learn to provide mutual care in the home, we create good memories and prepare for eternity. Family is about relationships, and we are all created for that. Our roots in relationships began in Genesis 1 and 2. In Psalm 131:1-2a we talked about humility of the mind, or accepting ourselves are we are, the simplicity of the heart, and that faith is an effort. We have to choose to set our mind on things above. Verse 2b is an illustration of contentment. There is a mother-child comparison in this verse. David is a king, yet relates, or compares, himself to a weaned child. How did David calm and quiet his soul? Look at Philippians 4:11-13. We need to keep our focus on God to have a relationship with Him, not on everything else, like an unruly child. Verse 3 is a model of hope. Hope springs now and eternal. We were created to have a relationship with God and know His love. Many other verses you can look up about how David quieted his soul, or how you can quiet your soul: Psalm 43:5, Psalm 57:1, Psalm 63:3-5, Psalm 94:17-19, Psalm 103:1-5, Psalm 138:3, Mark 14:34 and 1 Samuel 30:6.

Andy Soto May 4, 2025
He finished up his sermon series in Romans, covering Romans 9:30 – 10:21. If we do not deal with the tough
issues in a relationship, we will miss out on the fruit at the other end. We need to deal with the tough issues in Romans, in order to get to the fruit! Paul had a heart for his people, the Jews. They are not understanding, or think the Word of God has failed. Paul is trying to tell them that God has not failed. God’s people are rejecting the Messiah, but His Word has not failed. God also does not base His favor on us because of our blood line, it is strictly by our faith. We know from Romans 9:24 that both Jews and Gentiles have been chosen. We learn from Romans 10:2 – 3 that if you have zeal, but no knowledge, it can be a dangerous thing. Paul talks about this again in Galatians 1:13 – 14. If we want righteousness, we need Christ, and God has made us righteous by faith. That should be a very freeing feeling for us. We looked at Galatians 6:13 – 16, Romans 2:28, Colossians 2:11, Ephesians 2:11 and Ephesians 3:6, all referring to a spiritual act or cleansing. The gospel is not about you; it never has been and never will be! It is about God revealing Himself to His creation, declaring Himself to all of us.

Andy Soto April 27, 2025
He  continued sharing with us from Romans, finishing up the end of chapter 8 and going through chapter 9. Verse 8:31 is all God , we do not do anything for ourselves. In verse 33 we learn that no one can condemn us, the believers! That is a beautiful blessing for us! Look at verse 35, no one can separate us from the love of God, in Christ Jesus, this is our eternal security. Colossians 2:12 – 14 tells us that He cancelled the record of death, and forgave us of our sins. Luke 11:4 and Matthew 6:12 both speak on forgiveness, also. We learn a little about Paul in the beginning of Romans 9 when he says he would rather be cursed than have his people be cursed. Romans 9:6 is a key verse, just because you are a Jew does not make you a child of God. Our God is a sovereign God, and He can make choices. Reading further on in Romans 9, it states that God hated Esau before he was even born. How is that fair? How can He choose when to love and when to hate? The answer can be found in verse 16. Do not focus on the hatred of Esau, focus on the love of Jacob. We are all sinners and deserve hatred. He chooses who He will show mercy and compassion on. It does not depend on us but on God’s mercy. God will have mercy on who He wants and harden the hearts of those He wants. See Exodus 4 for more on that. We find more answers in Romans 9:20. Who are we to argue with God? Can a lump of clay argue with the potter? The potter has every right to do or make what he wants out of the clay. God has that same right with us! God is God, and we are not. He has the freedom to do what He wants, and He does not care what we think. We might not understand this, but we can understand that He is sovereign and in complete control. The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; He guides it wherever He pleases. ~ Proverbs 21:1 Isaiah 63:17, Daniel 4:35, and several other verses all tell us that God does what He wants. His answers may not be sufficient to us, but they need to be accepted. We need to trust that God knows what He is doing. That faith is what enters us into eternity with God. Even if we do not have all the answers, we need to trust God, and give Him the place that He deserves.

Andy Soto April 13, 2025
Shared a message with us from Romans 8. God’s promises and truths are the same for us, whether we committed our lives to Him forty minutes ago or forty years ago. If we love the Holy Spirit, we have been set free from the condemnation of sin. If your mind is on the Spirit, you will have life and peace, but if your mind is set on the world, damnation is your life eternity. When we become Christians, the Spirit is in us. A Christian is adopted by Christ. Regardless of our past, we have a new, true family upon salvation, and we also become heirs of God. We do not just have Christ and the Holy Spirit now, but we will also have glorified, sinless bodies sometime! God had a purpose for all of this before He placed the foundation of the earth. He has sovereign control over all of His creation, and we are His creatures. You know you are one of God’s people if your heart has been changed. Romans 8:29-30 is known as the golden chain of redemption because one part is linked to the next, and it cannot be broken. What is required to love God? The answer is in Galatians 5:22. We need the Holy Spirit and to follow the greatest commandment. Those who are living in the flesh cannot love God. 1 Peter 1:18 – 20, Genesis 4:1, Amos 3:2, and several other verses let us know that we are known by God in a special kind of relationship. God chooses us because He loves us, it is not based on anything we have done.

Pastor Dan Waters April 6, 2025
Shared this week’s message with us, What Did Jesus Know? When Did He Know It? Luke 2:42 tells us that Joseph, Mary and Jesus went to Jerusalem for a feast. They did this every year, but this particular feast happened when Jesus was twelve years old. Read through to Luke 2:47, and you will see that Jesus was not asking questions, He was giving answers! Jesus was not slow of heart to believe in God, and maybe that helped Him to already have answers. Pastor believes that Jesus knew by age twelve that He was the Passover Lamb. John the Baptist knew Jesus was the Passover Lamb, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” in John 1:29. Numbers 9:12 speaks about none of the bones being broken, and John 19:36 confirms that Numbers 9:12 was fulfilled. Jesus probably knew that Isaiah 50:6 – 7 was about Him. He may have learned that verse from His parents or at synagogue. Psalm 22:14 – 17 is the best description of crucifixion in all of scripture, and this was 1000 years before Jesus was crucified. Yet, Jesus did that willingly for you and me! Luke 22:44 mentions that His sweat became like great drops of blood. This is a rare condition, called hematidrosis, that can happen. In Matthew 26:53 – 54, everything is going as planned, nothing is out of control. In Revelation 21, we are told all of our tears will be done some day. In conclusion, Pastor Dan said God wants two things from us. He wants us to be zealous for good works. He wants us to stop living for ourselves, but to live for Him. Can you name five things you have done in the last month that falls into one of these two areas?
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” ~ Revelation 21:4

Ray Crest   March 30,2025  Notes
 started out by reading 2 Corinthians 5:21 ~ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. We are told we are ambassadors, not that we will be some day, but we are ambassadors now.  As an ambassador, you are representing another country, you want to be a good ambassador.  An ambassador is an authorized representative or messenger.  An ambassador can also be an unofficial representative. We looked at Ephesians 6:20, where Paul tells us he is an ambassador in chains.  John the Baptist was an ambassador that went before Jesus.  Jesus was an ambassador of another kingdom, see Matthew 4.  What are you an ambassador of?  Joseph was an ambassador of Egypt, but first to Jehovah, he was representing the God of Israel to all of Egypt.  Esther was an ambassador.  Daniel was an ambassador, see 2 Kings. We are an ambassador to all the people around us.  Ambassadors are appointed by the king, and may speak on his behalf.  Jesus is an ambassador of heaven.  We are ambassadors of Christ if we call ourselves Christians.  Ambassadors do not hide who they represent.  We should be announcing and celebrating our ambassadorship.  An ambassador is a small embodiment of the kingdom they represent.  We should be showing the happiness of the kingdom we represent.  Their embassies are protected by their government.  We are protected by the church, look at Acts 18:9 – 10.  The church is our embassy.  They are to protect their citizens when in a foreign land.  We want to encourage our people, because they are in a foreign land. Ambassadors are sacrificial and exult the name of their king and not themselves.  Ambassadors have access to the funds of their country, and God provides our needs.  Ambassadors are to be peacemakers or a peaceful witness.  We want the people of this world to find peace with Christ.  Ambassadors sometimes have to prepare their citizens to evacuate the foreign land; which is what Moses did.  Our time is ending, we need to be preparing people for when they leave this world.