Category: 2012 Sermons

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2012-07-01: Spiritual Disciplines – Silence

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:29 — )

Sermon: Spiritual Disciplines – Silence
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: James 3:2-12
Duration: 29:29
Size: 13.5 MB

Spiritual Disciplines
Silence
James 3:2-12

Have you ever opened your mouth without thinking and said something you regretted later.

The tongue is the most powerful part of the body with the power to curse & the power to bless, the power to start fires and the power to put them out.

Silence of the Mouth

One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel so helpless.

By observing a silence in our lives on a regular basis, we are training our tongue so that we learn to control it rather than have it control us.

In our personal relationships, our words often express a lack of faith, a lack of trust – if we do not trust some one to drive properly; we take to back seat driving.

We need to find ways of practicing silence in our everyday life.

Silence of the Ears

Even if we cannot keep a time of silence ourselves, we can learn to live without the constant noise of background music, TV or radio.

Interior Silence

Keeping silent on the outside, either through not talking, or shutting the noise off, is easy compared with learning inner silence.

As Eli teaches the young boy Samuel, we have to learn to say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening“, and then actually listen.

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2012-06-24: Beyond the Walls

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:24 — )

Sermon: Beyond the Walls
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: I John 3:16-18
Duration: 47:24
Size: 21.7 MB

Beyond the Walls
I John 3:16-18

I hope that you have a desire to be a caring person and someone that lives out the same kind of love that Jesus Christ modeled for us.

Step 1: LOVE (verse 16)

Love, for the Christian is a love that centers on Jesus Christ. He is our model. He is our standard.

Love is “laying aside” yourself on purpose and putting someone else first.

Our first step towards caring for others must be that we have the same kind of love that Christ showed… which lays aside ourselves and puts another first.

Step 2: PITY (verse 17)

Pity is feeling deeply for someone in the bowels of who you are… to your core.

It begins with love like Christ, but it must be more than that because Jesus was more than that.

Our second step towards caring for others is that you have to feel love and concern and compassion about others to the very core of your being and allow it to affect your heart.

Step 3: ACTIONS (verse 18)

As we have talked about, caring for others begins with love that lays aside self and feeling what the other person is going through… but action must follow.

  • God needs you to work beyond the walls of the church with Christ-like love!
  • God needs you to work beyond the walls with heart-felt pity for others!
  • God needs you to stop talking about what you could do… and do it!
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2012-06-17: God Has A Plan For You

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:29 — )

Sermon: God Has A Plan For You
Speaker: Pastor Frank Clore
Scripture Text: Jeremiah 29:11-13
Duration: 21:29
Size: 9.83 MB

God Has A Plan For You
Jeremiah 29:11-13

We can follow a someone who believes we can do the task and is willing to work with us all the way.

About the time we are ready to give up, along comes the Master who leans over and whispers, “Keep going. Don’t quit.”

The Lord is a Great and Loving Father. His desire is not to punish us…but to love us because that is what Grace is all about.

God is the type of leader who will never leave us.

God’s plans are good for us. They are full of hope.

God needs us to make Him a priority in our life.

If you hear nothing else this morning, please know that God is not mad at you.

Isn’t it awesome to know that God has a plan for our lives?

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2012-06-10: If Rocks Could Talk

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:08 — 10.6MB)

Sermon: If Rocks Could Talk
Speaker: Pastor Frank Clore
Scripture Text: Nehemiah 4:1-6
Duration: 23:08
Size: 10.5 MB

If Rocks Could Talk
Nehemiah 4:1-6

The word “Bethel” comes from two words, one which means house and Elohim, a word for God. Thus, Bethel means house of God.

If the stone could talk, it would tell us that our God is a God of second chances.

The people after leaving Egypt wanted water to drink. Moses did what God told him. Fresh water poured from the rock to quench their thirst. If the rock could speak to us, it would say God will always take care of us.

Moses was getting tired. They grabbed a rock for Moses so he would have a place to sit. If that stone could speak it would tell us that God will always provide a place for us to rest.

God told Joshua to have 12 priests to go to the middle of the Jordan River and get one large stone each to build an altar. If those stones could talk, the would tell us of the awesome power of the Lord.

David chose five smooth stones to fight a giant of a man. He placed a stone in his sling shot and hurled it toward the giant. If that stone could talk, it would tell you there are no giants in your life that you cannot defeat with God on your side.

From today’s text we learned that instead of trading insults, Nehemiah prayed and the work continued. You can allow the insults to break you or build you up.

Stories about stones in the New Testament include:

What other stones (rocks) have taught you how much God loves you?

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2012-06-03: Ready To Give UP?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:22 — )

Sermon: Ready To Give UP?
Speaker: Pastor Frank Clore
Scripture Text: Nehemiah 4:6-14
Duration: 23:22
Size: 10.6 MB

Ready To Give UP?
Nehemiah 4:6-14

Discouragement has been defined as “the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles.” It is when you are just tired of putting forth the effort. You are ready to call it quits. The Israelites were discouraged.

The cause of their discouragement was:

  • Fatigue
  • Frustration
  • Failure
  • Fear

Cures for discouragement are:

  • Rest
  • Reorganize
  • Remember
  • Resist
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2012-05-27: Spiritual Disciplines – Submission

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:37 — )

Sermon: Spiritual Disciplines – Submission
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Ephesians 5:15-21
Duration: 28:37
Size: 13.1 MB

Spiritual Disciplines
Submission
Ephesians 5:15-21

Christian Submission…
Out of all the spiritual disciplines, I think that submission is the most counter cultural.

The Submission that Paul is calling us to is a mutual submission – not one where there is one person in submission, and another in authority, but that we would submit to each other.

It is not the abdication of responsibility or authority so we get no where and no decisions get made because we are so worried about stepping on each others toes.

Submission is – a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden. “put others first.”

The most amazing picture I have of submitting from a place of strength is that of Jesus standing before Pilate.

Laying down one’s life is not just about dying it is about giving up what we hold dear because our friend is even more dear to us.

Our Submission to each other is an outworking of the Spirit’s filling of our lives.

Areas to Submit…
I ask for the grace to let myself be shaped by my loving Creator.

I believe that God gives us families to practice love on, because if we can love them, we can love anybody.

If you look around you, these are all the “one-another’s” that God calls you to love and serve, to lift up and honor above yourself.

The Spiritual Disciple of Submission is as about as counter-cultural as you can get – you may feel it within you as you bristle at the very word “submission”.

Christian Submission…

  • Christian Submission is not about being a Doormat.
  • Christian Submission is not about the lowest common denominator.
  • Christian Submission Flows Out of Strength, Not Weakness.
  • Christian submission is not about placating a bully.
  • Christian Submission must come in Relationship.
  • Christian Submission is about Sacrifice.
  • Christian Submission flows from the filling of the Spirit.
  • Christian Submission is about Honor.

Areas to Submit…

  • Submit to God.
  • Submit to God’s Word.
  • Submit to our Families.
  • Submit to your neighbors, coworkers, friend…
  • Submit to the Christian Community.
  • Submit to the Broken & Despised.