What Did You Learn In Church Today?

[DragonFox91]

2/23/25 on Mark 10
Some of us have the gift of service. Sometimes it takes time to develop our gifts.
The world doesn’t see Christians as servants & it is broken & in need of servants.
James & John want to have the rule the Romans have over them. They tell Jesus what they want, & he describes to them the Kingdom, the need to be a servant. He tells us to be set apart from the world as servants. Jesus is a servant his whole ministry. He often repeats the need to be a servant & work. Goes back to Genesis where God tells Adam to work the Garden. It’s a form of worship.
Being a servant requires action. We are all to serve like how deacons serve in a church. It is the church’s responsibility & the individual’s responsibility, in the family & out of the family, those we like & those we don’t, above us & below us. There’s not always a thank you, but God sees it, & sometimes the thank you comes later. It’s not always fun, can require us going out of our way, & we make excuses, b/c we’re selfish. But serving brings healing to us & others. We can serve b/c Jesus liberated us from sin on the Cross.

 

[DragonFox91]

3/9 on Acts 18
God uses all types to teach & disciple. He uses evangelists like Paul, apologists like Apollos, & normal people like Aquila & Priscilla. He uses people like us who commit to be filled w/ his Spirit & Word.
"God gave you your makeup..........No one else has your story" Chuck Swindol
Be competent in the Word, have the character that backs it up, a method, & be motivated by love & spirit
God wants us to keep learning & growing so we can teach & disciple. Be willing to listen others, & eager to teach in new settings

 

[DragonFox91]

3/2/25 am on 1 Tim 4
We influence others by are words & actions. People watch us as Christians. W/ so many ungodly examples, we need to be godly examples. We are to influence false teachers even when it’s hard. Not just for pastors.
There are 3 commitments that establish Christian example.
1. Character (you are this so do it)
a. Speech (we mean what we say, not empty, brings destruction or gives life. Bad: lying, complaining, etc. Good: Grace, truth)
b. Conduct (What we do. In routines)
c. Love & faith (self-sacrifice not expecting return, includes when things not going our way. Loyalty to the Lord -> eyes on him)
i. “I will send Timothy……….I have no one like-minded” Phi 2
d. Purity (includes sexual purity – that’s such a powerful example b/c mankind struggles w/ it)
2. The Bible
a. Reading & teaching it (straying from it leads to strayed action. Done in private & public. Private leads to public. Cannot be replaced by entertainment or politics
3. Service
a. Helping the church be healthy & godly w/ our spiritual gifts (we do not get left out of this)
b. Everyone around us sees it (we do not stop our commitment. It does not matter if we change people’s minds, we are to just do it)

SS on John 5
Copyists add footnotes to make it clear the context b/c people wouldn’t have known
The man was sick 38 years – not days or months. Jesus comes to him. He doesn’t ask for help b/c he’s consumed. Jesus doesn’t use the water or angels: he does it. The man doesn’t worship after he’s healed, maybe b/c he doesn’t like Jesus, & that’s why he tells the Jews

PM on Acts 18
“I was w/ you……..in fear” 1 Cor 2
Every Christian s/ expect to feel fear. Fear comes in familiar patterns. Even as Paul serves Christ faithfully, he faces anxiety & fear. If he struggles w/ it, so can we.
We can expect God’s support in fear. W/ his help, you can squeeze the life out of it like it’s trying to do you. Choke it w/ his character, work, & promises. Whatever you’ve been putting off from fear, just do it. Loving others keeps our minds off our fear.

 

[DragonFox91]

3/16/25 am on Acts 1
The Commission is important b/c it's Jesus's last words before he ascends, but we think there's so many people in the world, who cares.
'Jerusalem' is overcoming ours fear & failures. For the disciples, they were scared b/c the Savior was crucified & the city was against them. They had also failed him by denying & abandoing him. Even tho they had heard Jesus was resurrected, they still hid behind a locked door. They wouldn't have wanted to evangelize in Jerusalem but somewhere else where they could start new. Fear is a big reason we don't evangelize. If we don't overcome our fear & start where we're at, it doesn't make sense we'll be able to evangelize elsewhere.
'Judea' is overcoming hyper-independence. This is people we wouldn't think to evangelize to b/c we're wrapped in other things & can't reach by ourselves. The disciples were from Galilee & had to pass thru Judea to get to Jerusalem, wouldn't have spent much time in Judea. It takes teamwork. Doesn't come easy. Hard to work with others. Jesus says we will do it.
'Samaria' is overcoming people we think are hard (& they think we are hard). We all have people like this. They may've hurt us. We make excuses. We might not know everything about them. Samaritans are a group of people we find hard. Jesus witnessed to them. We need to overcome our pride & prejudice & love as Jesus does
"Ends of the earth" is overcoming apathy. We seek those the same as us, but evangelize to people significantly different from us in worldviews, cultures, & languages. Leave comfort zone.
Evangelizing is his design. He is still at work!

Sunday School missionaries to Muslims in Ukraine & Bosnia shared

PM was on mission trends. Some trends:
1.)Asymetric growth of the global church
2.) The re-envisioned role of the Western church
3.) The world is at our door
4.) Technology
5.) Rising costs
6.) Relying on the Holy Spirit's direction & provision

 

[DragonFox91]

I missed a couple weeks of notes but here's the one from Easter / Resurrection Sunday

4/20/25 on John 11
The Bible promises a future, literal, physical resurrection in a remade earth
There is also a spiritual resurrection now: We are all dead in sin & due to sin, but God’s gift to us is life thru Jesus Christ made possible by his resurrection
Jesus promises to Martha we can have this life now. When he says ‘I am the resurrection’, he is referring to God’s name in the OT & that his character is consistent.
One example of this new life is we get to experience the fullness of joy in God’s gifts to us b/c we have him to praise, we know the Giver. We are not meant to ‘just exist.’
We chase after life’s pleasures & are never satisfied. We also feel we can’t measure up. This is b/c our soul’s happiness can only be found in submission to our Creator. We make poor choices so we surrender to him out of love & he responds in love
In the Bible, ‘belief’ means action that corresponds w/ it in a way others see it.