I AM the Light of the World
I AM
Pastor Tom
February 28, 2010
John 8:12–59
How do God’s people get involved in darkness?
I knew this week’s passage was Jesus, light of the world. So I asked, “Lord, do you want us as the people of God at Sturgeon Valley to look at our lives to see if we’re dabbling in darkness, so we see our need for Jesus’ light. I started to ask around. In what ways have you seen, experienced or heard about Christians dabbling in darkness? Where might Christians or people in general, mess with spiritual darkness?
I AM the Bread of Life
I AM
Pastor Tom
February 21, 2010
John 6
Will the arrival of Easter weekend in 6 weeks surprise us? Maybe we simply look forward to another long weekend. Or we might join the commercial part of Easter focusing more on chocolate bunnies and eggs.
What is Easter all about anyway? Or perhaps more importantly “Who is Easter all about?” We’re going to meet Him in the next 6 weeks. Easter is all about Jesus, the cross and the empty tomb. In the weeks leading up to Easter we will have opportunity to meet Jesus again or for the first time
Does God Keep His Promises (even 4000 year old ones?)
I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel
Pastor Tom
February 14, 2010
Romans 9:1–29
Trust is a vital component for any relationship to progress. One way you build trust or keep trust is by keeping promises. When a promise is kept, trust grows. Break a promise and trust suffers. Relationships that lack trust suffer a ball and chain existence. The question of trust hangs over everything. Will our trust be treasured or trashed? Broken promises weigh down relationships and can sometimes lead to the end of a relationship.
So if broken promises make a huge impact on human relationships imagine the potential impact if God broke His promises. If God doesn’t keep one of His promises, how can we trust all of His promises? If we can’t trust all, which ones can we trust? If God doesn’t keep His Word our whole faith is blown. This church is a based on a false premise. We’ve all got to find something else to do Sunday mornings and we’ve got to look elsewhere for satisfaction of our thirsty souls. Maybe something has happened in your life where you wonder about God’s faithfulness. Or you wonder about God’s promise keeping ability.
But I’m here to tell you today that God keeps His promises (even 4000 year old ones) sometimes in ways we don’t expect. God is the ultimate promise keeper. But He sometimes surprises us in the way He keeps His promises.
God’s Response to Our Doubts
I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel
Pastor Tom
February 7, 2010
Romans 8:31–39
Doubt is hesitation, uncertainty, reservation, misgiving, distrust and disbelief. We can doubt our children’s ride report or teeth brushing report or hand washing claim. We might doubt someone’s word or a salesperson’s promise. There might be times we even doubt God. You might doubt God for some reason today. You may doubt whether or not He is really for you. You may doubt if He’ll come through. Or you may doubt His love for you.
Doubts about God come in several ways. The devil and his forces like to seed doubt about God. He likes to whisper and sow seeds of doubt in our spirit about God’s goodness or love. The devil looks for opportunities to scatter seeds of doubt in our lives.
Philosophical Doubts can cause us to hesitate with respect to God. We may doubt God’s existence. We can’t see how Science and the Bible can both be true. We may wonder if Christianity is founded on solid evidence or if it’s just one of many irrational faiths that weak people turn to.
Emotions or Circumstances may cause doubts about God when bad times come. Maybe you face tough circumstances; a difficult diagnosis; an exhausting week. You may see little or no hope at work or in your marriage or at school. You wonder “where is God in all this?”