Faith Troy Sermons

Mom to kids: "Can you help me cook something?" God wants our help--not in the kitchen--but what Jesus calls "the harvest field" #1 God asks us to GO into the "harvest field" God is at work in people's lives...then He tells His followers to Go reap the harvest. Jesus' instructions emphasize a couple points: 1. The urgency of the situation. 2. We need to trust God. A) In hard situations (ones that might even be dangerous) B) In need physically C) That His message would work in people's hearts How do you feel when you hear Jesus' words, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few."? #2 God tells us to rejoice about our names written in heaven! God gives us a little work to do in his harvest field. He calls us to GO be a worker or to pray and support workers. And He promises we will have great rewards in heaven!

Those people at Faith in Troy, genuinely want something for us and not something from us. Jesus taught more about money than heaven. What truths about money did Jesus want us to understand? 1. God sees money as a tool to impact people for eternity. Who are we managing it for? 2. If we don't learn how to use it the way God views it, it will use us. Luke 6:32-37 v.32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?" v.33 "If you do good to those who are good to you what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that." v.34 "Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be repaid in full." v.35 "But if you love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, because God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked." v.36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." The final truth about money is that Jesus wants us to understand: Generosity is the trademark of Jesus' followers. Every

How does God view money? He sees it as a tool to impact people for eternity. Galatians 5:16-23 v.16 "So I say live by the Spirit." v.22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Luke 16:13 How much easier is it for you to trust God with your sin than it is your stuff? "But seek first my Father's kingdom and my Father's righteousness and..." But, this is not other in exclusion of you, because: "...and all these things, they will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 When me puts me first, eventually me gets mastered by something that is not me; when that happens I lose my freedom. The solution? You have to intentionally put someone ahead of you. You give first. You save for your kingdom second. You live on the rest. The only thing that addresses discon

Jesus said more about money than Heaven. How God view my money? Luke 16:1-12 v.4 "I know what I'll do so that when I lose my job here people will welcome me into their houses." v.6 "...the manager told him, 'Take your bill and sit down quickly and make it four hundred.'" v.8 "The master commended the dishonest money manager, because he acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people o the light." The reason he was commended is because he took full advantage of his limited time and opportunity. v.9 "I tell you use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." How does God view money? He sees it as a tool. There is an infusion of joy when you see your temporary stuff as a tool that our Heavenly Father can use to impact people for eternity. God says I'm looking for people who are trustworthy. Who are managing it for?

This sermon series has been on DO-ing practical things to strengthen our faith. James 5:16 shows us that Confession is really good for us! Our first reaction is usually to cover up & hide our sin. Confession is the much more healthy thing to do. Why? It brings healing and restoration. If we don't confess, we experience negative consequences. "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." Psalm 32:3-4 That's why our loving God instructs us to make Confession a part of our lives... because He knows it makes us healthy. It is healing. Confession has two directions- upward to God & outward to another. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 Upward confession is #1 coming clean with God. "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said 'I will confes

RJ leads us in the 4th week in our James series.

James is very concerned about what faith does. How faith lives. v.22 Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. v.23 Whoever listens to the word, but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at their face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. A mirror always requires a response. In the real world, no one gets credit for just looking in the mirror. v.25 Whoever looks intently into the perfect laws that gives freedom and continues to do what it says, not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it - they will be blessed in what they do. Listening and doing now, reading and doing now, results in freedom later.

Joe leads us in the first week of our James series.

Joe leads us in a sermon on our Block Party Weekend.

"Pastor, if we're supposed to make disciples, what exactly is one?" Two questions for you: 1. Are you discipling someone right now? 2. If so, do you know exactly what you are doing when you are making a disciple? Let's first define what a disciple is. Jesus said, "Come. Follow me." to his first chosen disciples. ...yet not everyone following Jesus is a disciple of Jesus... 3 Groups in Luke 6:12-19: 1. 12 disciples / apostles. 2. A large crowd of disciples. 3. People who really just wanted something from Jesus. Disciples strive to imitate, to obey, to live out the teachings of their teacher. The goal for a disciple is to become like the one they follow. Acknowledging our shortcomings, our sins, our inability to be perfect like Jesus is right where God wants His disciples to be- humble and repentant. God continues to mold us ever-increasingly to be like Jesus. (Philippians 2:13) A disciple follows Jesus to become like Him so that we can participate with Him on His mission to the world.