Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:32 — 1.0MB)
Sermon Audio: His Name Is John
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:57-66
Duration: 21:32
Size: 9.86 MB
Luke-The Investigative Gospel
His Name Is John
Luke 1:57-66
2014-02-02: Luke-The Investigative Gospel – When God Turns Your Life Upside Down
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:22 — 1.0MB)
Sermon Audio: When God Turns Your Life Upside Down
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:46-56
Duration: 21:22
Size: 9.78 MB
Luke-The Investigative Gospel
When God Turns Your Life Upside Down
Luke 1:46-56
God picks people, regular, ordinary people like you and me, and he asks us to do great things.
What God did to Mary is similar to what God sometimes does to us.
First of all, that Mary responds to God with humble faith.
Mary responded to all of this not just with humble faith, but also with humble obedience.
And finally as she thought about this, Mary also responded with joy.
Instead of condemning you for your sins, God sends his Son, who takes your sins away.
When God does that to you, remember that he will also give you faith, and courage, and joy, as you carry out God’s plan in your life.
2014-01-26: Luke-The Investigative Gospel – A Baby On The Way
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Sermon Audio: A Baby On The Way
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:39-45
Duration: 17:18
Size: 7.91 MB
Luke-The Investigative Gospel
A Baby On The Way
Luke 1:39-45
What does the word “blessing” mean? What does “to be blessed” mean?
- God blesses his people when he bestows on them some gift temporal or spiritual (Genesis 1:22,24:35; Job 42:12; Psalm 45:2,104:24,104:35).
- We bless God when we thank him for his mercies (Psalm 103:1-2,145:1-2).
- A man blesses himself when he invokes God’s blessing (Isaiah 65:16), or rejoices in God’s goodness to him (Deuteronomy 29:19; Psalm 49:18).
- One blesses another when he expresses good wishes or offers prayer to God for his welfare (Genesis 24:60,31:55; I Samuel 2:20).
Goodness and blessing can be associated with all three of these people.
I. Blessed is the Woman carrying the Child
I think Elizabeth is telling Mary that God has bestowed upon her a wonderful gift.
II. Blessed is the Child
This baby is not an ordinary baby, but is the Son of God.
III. Blessed is She who believes what the Lord said
Both of these women have received from God something that is impossible.
Application
- We should have no fear about this life because Our God is in control.
- We should have hope in the future because of what Jesus has done and has prepared for us.
- We should have peace in this life because we know God keeps His promises.
2014-01-19: Luke-The Investigative Gospel – First Mary, Now Us
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Sermon Audio: First Mary, Now Us
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:26-38
Duration: 20:47
Size: 9.52 MB
Luke-The Investigative Gospel
First Mary, Now Us
Luke 1:26-38
This morning, I want you to try and remember what it was like to be fifteen.
Scholars tell us that Mary was between 13 and 16, to be more exact most think she was about 15 when the angel Gabriel gave her this message.
She had every reason to be terrified by this news. Who on earth was going to believe such ridiculous story?
A mind that holds reason as ultimate and unbending will never Experience the miracle of Christ’s birth.
It comes down to a question of faith, a question of faith first answered by a scared fifteen year old girl.
If God were to tell you that the eternity of others hung in the balance of your willingness to carry Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and share him with others, how would you answer?
But the question is still the same; are you willing to share Jesus with the world?
Who was willing to take that risk for you?
It is up to you now to share with others the Good News.
I think that most folks are afraid that they will do or say something wrong and therefore don’t even try.
Do you care enough about the people around you to respond?
2014-01-12: Luke-The Investigative Gospel – How Can I Be Sure?
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Sermon Audio: How Can I Be Sure?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:5-25
Duration: 22:24
Size: 10.2 MB
Luke-The Investigative Gospel
How Can I Be Sure?
Luke 1:5-25
The gospel of Luke breaks a silence that has lasted for over four hundred years.
Zechariah was an ordinary country priest, one perhaps as many as 20,000 estimated to be living in Palestine at the time.
I wonder what that says about our own attendance in “worship services”, we come to worship God but do we have any idea that we might actually meet up with Him.
This man, John, who would come to be called “the Baptist“, was to be an extraordinary man!
In spite of Zachariah’s godliness, his obedience to the law and a lifetime of service in the ministry, his faith was weak when it came to believing such a promise.
Zachariah in asking, “How can I be sure”, is in effect asking for a sign.
God kept his promise, just as he always does, and Elizabeth, in spite of her years, conceived a child.
Application
First, our impossibilities are only the platforms upon which God is able to do his best work.
Second, God’s delays are not denials. Never confuse a wait with a no.
Third, when God does choose to intervene it is always for His glory and our good.
2014-01-05: Luke-The Investigative Gospel – Can We Trust The Map?
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Sermon Audio: Can We Trust The Map?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 1:1-4
Duration: 23:18
Size: 10.6 MB
Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Can We Trust The Map?
Luke 1:1-4
Today, I want us to begin on a journey which will lead us to a treasure.
This passage, right at the beginning of this gospel account tries to define for us the credentials of this treasure Map.
Is the Author Credible?
This letter doesn’t have any identifying statement. But we do have some clues.
What we have here is a 2 volume set, written as a history of the Christian church, to some important official.
Really there is no other credible option and there is almost unanimous agreement between scholars today that Luke was the author.
To him, this was no mere game – his whole purpose of life, everything he held dear depended on getting the facts straight.
Are the sources of information credible?
The information that was gleaned however, in this and other accounts was directly obtained from eyewitnesses to the events.
Like he himself, their lives had been changed and so their testimonies were not distant memories, but dynamic and trustworthy accounts of what had happened to change their lives.
Is the method used to make the Map credible?
Luke declares to us that he himself investigated the information.
For Luke, this was achieved by publishing his work while many of his sources were still living.
Is the purpose for writing credible?
Luke’s reason for writing this account was so that Theophilus could know for sure what he had been taught.
As we look into Luke’s Map of Jesus’ life over the coming months, I pray that our eyes would be opened to see Jesus afresh.
2013-12-29: What Do You See?
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Sermon: What Do You See?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Hebrews 11:6-10
Duration: 47:27
Size: 21.7 MB
What Do You See?
Hebrews 11:6-10
We move forward through life unsure of how to respond to the changing situations in world around us.
As you think back over the past year and look at your own life and the direction of this church what do you see?
1. The Under-taking Church – looking back
Decisions in this kind of church are based on what has worked in the past – if it was good enough for them it is good enough for us.
While you can learn from the past, you can’t live there. You have to live and adapt to where you are or you will perish.
It is impossible to serve God yesterday.
2. The Care-taking Church – looking present
Decisions in this kind of church are based on immediate assets.
As long as the services are good and the needs are met and the people are happy then all is well.
3. The Risk-taking church – looking future
They invest all they have today so that they can be all that God wants them to be tomorrow.
Though he could not see or understand it, he based his life on God’s word and was willing to wait 120 years for the promise to be fulfilled.
God is shaking the kingdoms of the earth and the Kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing. Don’t miss what God is doing – join Him.
2013-12-15: Christmas At The Movies – It’s A Wonderful Life
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Sermon: It’s A Wonderful Life
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Ephesians 2:1-20
Duration: 32:56
Size: 15.0 MB
“Christmas at the Movies”
It’s A Wonderful Life
Ephesians 2:1-20
In the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” George Bailey had a gift that he wasn’t sure he wanted. His gift was the gift of life.
George Bailey finally understood how wonderful his life had been because he was allowed to see how much would have been lost if he had never been born.
I. Here in Ephesians 2, Paul is writing to Christians who had been tempted to throw away their gift as well.
False Teachers had come to town telling the Ephesians that what God had done through Jesus Christ wasn’t enough.
His objective was to teach them what would have happened if Jesus had not been born.
II. What would it have been like if Jesus had never been born?
What if by faith they lived as best they could, according to the Law of Moses?
These were great and admirable people that we can look up to; and we wonder if we could ever be like them.
III. Now, that might have seemed practical for individuals who aren’t “bad” people.
The whole purpose of the Law was to drive home that even “nice” people sinned and needed a sacrifice to atone for their bad thoughts their bad words and their bad actions.
Paul was the worst of all sinners? Yes. And he knew it! And being a “nice guy” wasn’t going to change that.
IV. And so Paul pleads with these Ephesian Christians to remember what their lives were like before Jesus was “born” into their lives.
Christmas time is supposed to be a season of peace and goodwill. And with Jesus it can be.
But what happens is that (without Jesus) all some people see is tinsel and lights on a dead tree.
But the beauty of God’s gift of Jesus is that even into an empty life, God can give forgiveness and hope.
2013-12-01: Christmas At The Movies – The Santa Clause
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Sermon: The Santa Clause
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:17-5:2
Duration: 25:34
Size: 11.7 MB
“Christmas at the Movies”
The Santa Clause
Ephesians 4:17-5:2
The poet, Clement More gave him a red nose and eight tiny reindeer.
Once he put on the suit, his life was never the same.
I. The Bible talks about us putting on something too-it says we put on Jesus.
Once we put on Jesus-our lives are never the same either.
That is what should happen to us when we “put on” Jesus. That single act should change the way we look and think and act.
In short-when people are around us…they should be able to see what we’ve put on. They should be able to see Jesus in us.
We’ve got to be careful how we behave, because the world is watching to see what difference Jesus makes in our lives.
II. Now, how do you go about “putting on Jesus?”
We identify with what He did for us. We literally die and are buried and rise up to a new life.
Baptism is just the culmination of all those decisions. Baptism is “putting on Jesus” because you want to be His child.
III. But now…why is it that we can “put on Jesus”?
He became like us…so that we could become like Him.
If only God could become a man, then he could prove that He didn’t really want to hurt us, but instead He wanted to lead us to safety.
2013-10-13: The Great Adventure – Sail Into The Unknown
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Sermon: The Great Adventure – Sail Into The Unknown
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Jonah 1:1-17
Duration: 25:36
Size: 11.7 MB
The Great Adventure
Sail Into The Unknown
Jonah 1:1-17
I believe that God intends the Christian life to be fun, exciting, sometimes surprising and always challenging!
His orders are straightforward enough: “Go to Nineveh!”, God says.
When God called Jonah to go, he went all right, right off in the opposite direction! He ran away from God!
The problem for Jonah is that, with God, you can run, but you cannot hide!
It was a “course corrective” put there by God to get Jonah back on the right track!
Jonah is one of those. He’s proof positive that God can use anybody to accomplish his will!
God saw 120,000 precious souls who didn’t know him, but desperately needed to! That illustrates the difference in the way we look at the world and the way God sees it.
You see, Paul, like Jonah was trying to do it his way, instead of God’s way, and that will always get you into trouble!
Sometimes it’s only later looking back that you realize what God was doing by allowing you to go through what you were going through.
God calls us into this life to follow in the steps of his Son and to take his good news message of salvation into all the world (Beyond these Walls).