Tag: Val Watkins

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2023-02-19: The Final Week — The Prayer of Love

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:19 — 16.0MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 17:1-26

The Final Week
The Prayer of Love
John 17:1-26

And a lot of scholars call this prayer: Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, because in this prayer Jesus is interceding for His church just like a High Priest in the Old Testament would have interceded for God’s people.

And so, in the vital prayer, just days before His crucifixion, Jesus was praying for the Father to protect the church from those dangers.

But here’s the deal: Satan can’t touch you IF you stay close to God.

Because when you quote Scripture…you’re quoting God. You can’t get a higher authority than God.

Jesus prayed that we would be unified: One church, with one message, and one Savior.

More often congregations are torn apart because of conflicts between members…and those conflicts can escalate because other members take sides.

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2023-02-12: The Final Week — The Power That Empowers

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Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 16:1-15

The Final Week
The Power That Empowers
John 16:1-15

He’s come to convince the world of their need for Jesus–their need to be saved!

Our job is to witness to them. not condemn them.

And so, the Spirit’s job (and ours) is to point to Jesus’ righteousness (not our righteousness).

Instead, He focuses on convicting people–that they are 1) Sinners, 2) they’re not righteous, and 3) they will face judgment.

Sometimes He convicts people through Scripture.

Sometimes, the Spirit sets people up for you through circumstances.

Sometimes, the Spirit sets people up for us by convicting them of their sin.

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2023-02-05: The Final Week — It’s What’s on the Inside That Counts

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:55 — 14.4MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 14:15-27

The Final Week
It’s What’s on the Inside That Counts
John 14:15-27

You see, Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, and it’s a fundamental teaching in Scripture that the Spirit dwells inside of each believer.

The apostles were able to do some very powerful and amazing things. I believe that the Holy Spirit was moving powerfully in their midst.

But the real problem here is that, not only that they were false prophets, but their arrogance serves to undermine the faith of real Christians in the ability of God’s Spirit to really do things.\

He dwells INSIDE of us and He knows exactly what we’re thinking and how we’re feeling.

We can be so filled with God’s powerful Spirit that we refuse to see reason for despair/surrender.

That means that, if you belong to Christ and the Spirit of God is inside of you, when you come before the throne of God at the resurrection that SEAL/MARK of the Holy Spirit is the only thing God’s going to look at.

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2023-01-29: The Final Week — Washing Feet Reveals The One

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:39 — 19.0MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 13:1-20

The Final Week
Washing Feet Reveals The One
John 13:1-20

Judas was trusted with keeping the funds for the group but was a thief and had been skimming from the purse.

Jesus knew this would lead to Peter’s denial, just as He knew about Judas’s betrayal.

I mean, sure, we’d been arguing that day, but I never thought he’d actually ask Jesus when he could stop forgiving his brother.

So, as we live out our faith, we strive for perfection but can be assured that God will forgive and restore our relationship when we fall short and need His forgiveness.

Synoptic gospels each tell about the disciples arguing to be considered the greatest when Jesus becomes king.

Jesus gets up, removes his outer garment, ties a towel around his waist, washes the feet of the disciples, dresses, and returns to his place at the table.

That’s what Jesus is telling us by washing feet. We need to be looking for how we can serve; see a need, fill a need.

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2023-01-22: The Final Week — Believe In Me, I’ll Save the World

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:12 — 18.7MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 12:44-50

The Final Week
Believe In Me, I’ll Save the World
John 12:44-50

God’s plan to save the world is not at all what we expected.

When you see Jesus, you see the Father. We can believe in Jesus to save the world because He is one with the Father.

I want you to realize that Jesus is a much more brilliant light, He shines into every nook and cranny.

Jesus tells us it’s not His role to judge. As such, it’s not our role either. It’s God’s role to judge.

Jesus taught as one who had authority. This amazed the people, who contrasted this to the scribes.

We can believe in Jesus to save the world because He is God’s faithful messenger.

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2023-01-15: The Final Week — Not the Jesus They Wanted

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:07 — 13.1MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 12:28-43

The Final Week
Not the Jesus They Wanted
John 12:28-43

People don’t reject the Bible because it contradicts itself. They reject the Bible because it contradicts them.

Jesus didn’t fit into the box they’d built for Him.

To this day, the Jews struggle with the idea that Isaiah 53 describes the Messiah who would suffer and die for our sins.

The Jesus people get isn’t always the Jesus they want. And so, there are people who mangle the Bible to get what they want!

Jesus was the mighty King, the LORD of hosts, the One who VOLUNTARILY stepped down out of heaven to pay the price for our sins.

But the Cross was more about God’s love than it was about our guilt.

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2023-01-08: The Final Week — The King Is Coming

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:01 — 13.7MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 12:12-19

The Final Week
The King Is Coming
John 12:12-19

Jesus entered that same city! The crowds went wild and spread their coats and palm branches on the road before Him.

TOO LATE! Jesus had already been there and done that. That’s what this Triumphal entry into Jerusalem was all about.

He’d come to be humble King, and His kingdom was to be a humble kingdom made up of servants… not warriors.

So, 1st Jesus came, humble upon a donkey, to teach us what being Christian’s all about. It’s all about humility and servanthood to others.

Jesus came to change our lives. To give us hope, and courage and the wisdom to build His Kingdom the way He wanted it done.

BUT JESUS DID! Jesus came to Jerusalem for those He loved. And Jesus is coming back… and He’s coming back for me.

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2022-12-18: Fear Not, Christmas — Fear Not, Just Come

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:40 — 19.0MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 2:8-16

Fear Not, Christmas
Fear Not, Just Come
Luke 2:8-16

And although they weren’t lead characters the shepherds were part of the chorus in the production of the first Christmas.

This week we are taking you out in the fields, let’s pick up the story in Luke 2:8-10.

The demands of the flock were so great that even if the shepherds were inclined to be religious all of the rules and regulations of Judaism, with the various hand washings and other parts of the ceremonial law, were out of their reach, so they could never really be “Good Jews.”

And into the ordinary lives of ordinary men is injected an extraordinary event.

Shepherds Were Told About Jesus
But the majority of us do get a messenger with news about Jesus.

And so, it was on a lonely hillside outside of Bethlehem that the Angels came and told the shepherds about Jesus.

The Shepherds Came to Jesus
For the shepherds that meant physically leaving the fields and their flocks and coming into Bethlehem and then finding the stable where Jesus was.

The Shepherds Told Others About Jesus
“Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

But in either case it goes back to a simple premise, invite them and there is a pretty good chance that they will come.

It Impacted the Shepherds Daily Lives
Our encounter with Christ needs to affect who we are and how we live.

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2022-12-11: Fear Not, Christmas — Fear Not, Just Obey

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:56 — 17.1MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:18-25

Fear Not, Christmas
Fear Not, Just Obey
Luke 1:18-25

This is week three of our fear not series, this Advent we are looking at the various times the words “Fear Not” or “Do not be afraid”, show up in the Christmas story.

We don’t know a whole lot about Joseph, we know that he was a carpenter, that he lived in Nazareth and that his family was originally from Bethlehem.

I’m sure that the couple was doing all the things that couples do to get ready for wedding.

But what could he do? He had trusted her, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but for her to go and … it just wasn’t right.

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.

Because Joseph Obeyed, Mary Had a Husband
In both cases who Mary was, was tied to Joseph.

We don’t know the full conversation between Joseph and the angel, but we know that Joseph understood that until Jesus was born that even though they were living as husband and wife that Mary was to remain a virgin.

Because Joseph Obeyed, Jesus Had a Father
It was Sigmund Freud who wrote “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”

Because Joseph Obeyed, He Paid a Price
Sometimes we operate under the assumption that if we are obedient that everything will be fine, but that isn’t always the way it works.