10-17-2021

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10-17-2021 Dr. E. Dale Locke (Loxahatchee & Online), Rev. Jose Marrero (WPB), Rev. Efrain Silva (COH Español) Sermon Series: True For You? Week 3: Here Comes the Judge English PDF file for printing. Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español In this series, we’re considering whether there is such a thing as objective truth and whether we can trust the Bible is true. Truth is under attack in our world. The writers of Scripture claim that it contains truth in a special and unique way, because its source is God. Today we’re taking a look at what’s at stake if we choose to ignore God’s truth as revealed in the Bible.  1. Author Michael Novak said “Doubt is not so much a dividing line that separates people into different camps, as it is a razor’s edge that runs through every human soul.”  What did he mean by that? 2. Practice our memory verse for this series together with your group: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 3. Read 2 Timothy 4:1-8:     In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.     6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 4. This verse is actually more for pastors than for the rest of us Christians. It’s tempting for pastors to preach what people want to hear.  What are some ideas that you’ve heard preachers say that are actually not true, but they’re popular with people? Here at the end of Paul’s life, he gives Timothy three warnings:  1.    The warning of a life too little with God 5. What does 2 Timothy 4:1 communicate about Paul’s world view?   6. Read 1 Corinthians 2:9–10 which helps us further to understand Paul’s view of the world and of eternity:  However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. What do you notice here about Paul’s beliefs about reality and the world?   7. How does your own world view compare that of Paul?  2.    The warning of a faith too high on self 8. Some lies in our culture make ourselves too prominent – as if everything revolves around us.  On the other hand, we may have been told lies that devalue or discourage us as people.  Either way, when people live out lies, it shapes them and their destiny.  Give examples of lies that people might live under.   9. Can you identify with any of those lies?  Do you have any lies you struggle not to believe about yourself?   10. Dallas Willard wrote in his book, Hearing God, “We truly live at the mercy of our ideas. This is never truer than with our ideas about God. Those who operate on the wrong information aren’t likely to know the reality of God’s presence in the decisions that shape their lives and they will miss the constant divine companionship for which our souls are made.”   What was he getting at here?  3.    The warning of an eternity too distant to matter 11.  Pastor Dale said, “The ‘veil’ between heaven and earth is paper thin.” What did he mean by that, and what’s the significance of that for your life?  12. Read Colossians 3:1-3 – Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. What helps you set your mind on things above, so that you can get your mind off of earthly lies?   13. For the last week of this sermon series on Sunday, October 24, a panel of experts will answer our questions about the Bible.  If you have a question about the Bible that you would like to ask this panel, submit it at communityofhope.church/biblequestions. Ready for your next step? – If you would like to take a next step in your faith journey, such as trusting your life to Christ or getting baptized, text the word “Next” to 561-264-6079 and follow the steps there, and we’ll contact you to help you do that. News and Announcements:·      New Here?  Let us know who you are by texting “connect” to 561-264-6079. ·      Thanksgiving Food Drive Thanksgiving is just weeks away! Help us to provide ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal to our food distribution guests plus $10 gift certificates to Walmart or Publix for them to purchase their own turkey. Our goal this year is to assist 500 families. Thank you for your generosity!  (This outreach is in addition to our normal monthly food drive needs).  Bring your donations Sunday-Thursday 9am-3pm to the North porch at the Loxahatchee campus.  Give gift cards at the church office or the Welcome Desk in the lobby. ·      DivorceCare and DivorceCare4Kids – These and other support groups are available for you to attend at any time, and you can also invite anyone to attend, whether or not they attend our church. Find support, encouragement and tips on how to get through the difficult season of a broken marriage in a healthy way. Go to communityofhope.church/groups to register. ·      Pumpkin Patch – 9:30am – 8:30pm daily – Buy some pumpkins at the prettiest pumpkin patch in our county and take some fun fall family pictures.  All proceeds go directly to our student ministry to help kids pay for camp and other activities. Tell your friends!  ·      COH has job openings!  Learn more at https://communityofhope.church/employment Thank you for your financial support, which makes it possible for us to minister to you and to our community! Consider setting up automated giving to help you be consistent even when you’re traveling. To give to Community of Hope go to https://communityofhope.church/give

10-17-2021
Dr. E. Dale Locke (Loxahatchee & Online), Rev. Jose Marrero (WPB), Rev. Efrain Silva (COH Español)
Sermon Series: True For You?
Week 3: Here Comes the Judge
English PDF file for printing.
Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español

In this series, we’re considering whether there is such a thing as objective truth and whether we can trust the Bible is true. Truth is under attack in our world. The writers of Scripture claim that it contains truth in a special and unique way, because its source is God. Today we’re taking a look at what’s at stake if we choose to ignore God’s truth as revealed in the Bible.

 

1. Author Michael Novak said “Doubt is not so much a dividing line that separates people into different camps, as it is a razor’s edge that runs through every human soul.”  What did he mean by that?

 

2. Practice our memory verse for this series together with your group: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

3. Read 2 Timothy 4:1-8:

     In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

     6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

 

4. This verse is actually more for pastors than for the rest of us Christians. It’s tempting for pastors to preach what people want to hear.  What are some ideas that you’ve heard preachers say that are actually not true, but they’re popular with people?

 

Here at the end of Paul’s life, he gives Timothy three warnings:

 

1.    The warning of a life too little with God

 

5. What does 2 Timothy 4:1 communicate about Paul’s world view? 

 

6. Read 1 Corinthians 2:9–10 which helps us further to understand Paul’s view of the world and of eternity:  However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

 

What do you notice here about Paul’s beliefs about reality and the world? 

 

7. How does your own world view compare that of Paul?

 

2.    The warning of a faith too high on self

 

8. Some lies in our culture make ourselves too prominent – as if everything revolves around us.  On the other hand, we may have been told lies that devalue or discourage us as people.  Either way, when people live out lies, it shapes them and their destiny.  Give examples of lies that people might live under. 

 

9. Can you identify with any of those lies?  Do you have any lies you struggle not to believe about yourself? 

 

10. Dallas Willard wrote in his book, Hearing God, “We truly live at the mercy of our ideas. This is never truer than with our ideas about God. Those who operate on the wrong information aren’t likely to know the reality of God’s presence in the decisions that shape their lives and they will miss the constant divine companionship for which our souls are made.” 

 

What was he getting at here?

 

3.    The warning of an eternity too distant to matter

 

11.  Pastor Dale said, “The ‘veil’ between heaven and earth is paper thin.” What did he mean by that, and what’s the significance of that for your life?

 

12. Read Colossians 3:1-3 – Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

 

What helps you set your mind on things above, so that you can get your mind off of earthly lies? 

 

13. For the last week of this sermon series on Sunday, October 24, a panel of experts will answer our questions about the Bible.  If you have a question about the Bible that you would like to ask this panel, submit it at communityofhope.church/biblequestions.

 

Ready for your next step? – If you would like to take a next step in your faith journey, such as trusting your life to Christ or getting baptized, text the word “Next” to 561-264-6079 and follow the steps there, and we’ll contact you to help you do that.

 

News and Announcements:

·      New Here?  Let us know who you are by texting “connect” to 561-264-6079.

 

·      Thanksgiving Food Drive Thanksgiving is just weeks away! Help us to provide ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal to our food distribution guests plus $10 gift certificates to Walmart or Publix for them to purchase their own turkey. Our goal this year is to assist 500 families. Thank you for your generosity!  (This outreach is in addition to our normal monthly food drive needs).  Bring your donations Sunday-Thursday 9am-3pm to the North porch at the Loxahatchee campus.  Give gift cards at the church office or the Welcome Desk in the lobby.

 

·      DivorceCare and DivorceCare4Kids – These and other support groups are available for you to attend at any time, and you can also invite anyone to attend, whether or not they attend our church. Find support, encouragement and tips on how to get through the difficult season of a broken marriage in a healthy way. Go to communityofhope.church/groups to register.

 

·      Pumpkin Patch – 9:30am – 8:30pm daily – Buy some pumpkins at the prettiest pumpkin patch in our county and take some fun fall family pictures.  All proceeds go directly to our student ministry to help kids pay for camp and other activities. Tell your friends! 

·      COH has job openings!  Learn more at https://communityofhope.church/employment

 

Thank you for your financial support, which makes it possible for us to minister to you and to our community! Consider setting up automated giving to help you be consistent even when you’re traveling. To give to Community of Hope go to https://communityofhope.church/give

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