Faith Troy Sermons

What does winning look like in the Church? 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 If we don't exist for other people, freedom won't matter to us. v.19 "Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." To the Jews...become like Jews. To those without the law... become like those without the law. "the Bible says so" doesn't matter if you're not a christian. Acts 17:22-28 Galatians 2:2-14 We should do whatever it takes to win some. We need churches that do it differently. Freedom isn't for us, it's for them.

Luke 10 People of Peace What is your next step? An open door to be present. An open door to a spiritual conversation. An invitation. God opens the doors and changes hearts. We pray that God would reveal to us where the open doors are in our lives.

In the United States everybody thinks something when they hear the word Church. How close can I get to sin without actually sinning? We never reduce a healthy relationship down to just obedience. 1 John 2:1-11 v.2 "Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." v.5 "This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did." John is saying this is now much simpler than you think because now we have an example. v.7 "I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning." v.8 ". . . the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining." Everybody is somebody Jesus died for. Wrong question: "Is this a sin?" Right question: "What does love require of me?"

The whole idea that God cares about everyone is not a new idea to us. Throughout Jesus' ministry, He taught that every single person has inherent value. Matthew 5:42-48 Jesus is saying "Never ever has your Heavenly Father commanded you to hate anyone." The world was not changed simply because of a lot of parables. The world was changed by a group of people who embraced this crazy idea that everyone has value. v.46 "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?" v.47 "What are you doing more than others?" v.48 "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." Being like your Heavenly Father is doing good for those who cannot, or will not, do good for you. Although we will always be criticized for what we believe, we should be known for how well we treat and serve other people.

God cares about everyone even if they don't care about God. Being generous and compassionate is not natural. God's extravagant generosity towards us is what compels us to be extravagantly generous towards others. Philippians 2:3-15 v.3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. But in humility, consider others better than yourselves." v.4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. We're going to be the ones who raise the standard because we are the ones who know firsthand what it is Jesus has done for us. Allow what is true of you to be seen in you. "God wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:4 v.14 Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. This is how we actually get to see God working as He is changing people's hearts and lives. Everybody in the United States thinks of something when they hear the word "Church." What should they think?

"How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe..." Luke 24 A Prayer to the Holy Spirit: Open my mind (Luke 24:44) Open my eyes and ears (Mark 13/Ephesians 1) Open my mouth (Acts 8)

Jesus uses this opportunity to warn the religious. Two kinds of hypocrites: malicious and accidental. Jesus is diagnosing a problem. Seven warnings: Matthew 23:13-39 1. You don't recognize who Jesus is (v 13-14) 2. You've missed who the prophets talk about (v 29-32) 3. You do more harm than good (v 15) 4. You do more harm than good (again) (v 27-28) 5. You misuse the Bible (v 16-17) 6. You ignore the heart (v. 25-26) 7. You are neglecting significant issues of faith (v 23-24) Jesus warns the religious, but never gives up on them. God's justice, faithfulness, and mercy is for all of us.

Matthew 5:30, 10:28, 23:32-33 A relationship with Jesus as savior causes us to live eternally with God in heaven. A lack of relationship with Jesus as Savior causes one to live forever without God in hell. Both are real places! Jesus talked about hell more often than any other person in the New Testament. 13% of Jesus' teaching refers to judgment. 2/3 of Jesus' parables refer to end times, resurrection after death, and eternal judgement. Luke 16 Without Jesus, the earth is the closest you will ever get to heaven... with Jesus earth is the closest you will ever get to hell.

Matthew 12:1-6 Jesus was saying that the Pharisees thought God loved His Law more than His people. Legalism always prioritizes a position over a person. The thing that makes Jesus most angry was when He encountered people trying to use the Law of God to dishonor people made in the image of God. v.6 "I tell you that one greater than the temple is here." Mark 13:1-4 v.3 "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." How in the world could someone predict something so shocking and also so incredibly easy to verify? "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?" 1 Corinthians 6:9 You are sitting next to sacred. You are married to sacred. You are raising sacred. You hire, work for, live with sacred. There is an inextricable link between the Gospel of Jesus and the price He paid to declare the worth, value, and significance of every single person, all created in His Father's image.

Does Jesus really mean perfect? The two problems that people make with this statement: Perfection vs Good Intentions Perfection vs. Perfectionism Faith clings to perfect not to perfectionism. Ephesians 6:13 Perfect is the impossible command. Perfect is the unbelievable promise. Romans 5:10

Life rarely goes as planned. The ways of God are most unappealing and seemingly irrelevant when we are angry, isolated, or afraid. When we experience those situations, we feel compelled to do something. 1 Samuel 24 The problem with returning evil for evil is that it makes you even with someone you don't even like. Do not let anger, isolation, or fear, trick you into repaying evil for evil. 1 Peter 3:9-11 David opts for bless you instead of hurt you. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." Matthew 5:43-44

73 of the 150 Psalms were written by David. A loud theme we hear in David’s psalms is hope. Psalm 71 The reason God gave us His Word, the Bible, is to tell the story of how mankind needed a savior and God saved the world through Jesus. Salvation is always about being saved from something, so that, we can be saved to something... David was a man filled with hope. He looks back at his life, remembers all that God has done, all the saving acts of God in his life, and writes music to honor God for it. What has been the most difficult time of your life up to this point? How was God present in the midst of those times? What Scripture verses got you through? These hope-saturated songs give us Comfort, Confidence and Joy!

"On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified." - 1 Samuel 17:11 We place our hope in what we depend on. Just because you are a follower of Jesus, doesn't mean you aren't in a fight. Instead of being dismayed and terrified, David is offended. You are not David in the story of David and Goliath. God is not asking you to buck-up, suck it up, or power-up... He's asking you to look up, and see the hero in this story... and it's not you. v.45 "You come at me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty. The antidote to the fear you're facing isn't courage. The antidote to fear is faith.

David is after God's own heart. (Acts 13:22) Saul is not a King after God's own heart. God is looking for a King who would use his position and privilege for the sake of others. 1 Samuel 16:1-13 God doesn't see what others see. God doesn't require what other's require. The world wants a resume, but God doesn't need one. The unnoticed, uninvited, and the unqualified get named by God. God gives us a heart that sees what He sees. What if we saw every person like they are made in the image of God?

Where has Jesus placed you in relationships with unbelieving people? How can you extend an invite so that God can work through you to have spiritual conversations with them? Jesus' secret weapon, missional living, can be incorporated into the lifestyle we're already living. Luke 14 A Warning to not miss the invitation An Encouragement to accept the invitation and invite others to belong, believe, and become. "He is the host, the butler, and the meal. He sets the table, He clothes the guests, and He feeds them." Martin Luther Isaiah 55:1-5

Jesus' goal for me doesn't end with just me. Instead, Jesus' goal for me is that I would become a person who invites other people to know God's love and grace. That I would become a disciple who makes disciples. We have experienced the transforming power of Jesus in our lives and we want everyone to experience it. Philippians 1:3-10 (p.1825) v.6 Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you... Follow Me is a process. The end game of a follower of Jesus is maturity and you cannot rush maturity. The hallmark of a follower of Jesus is that God is renewing our hearts and our minds. v.6 will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. When you pray for you, what do you pray for you? v.9 And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Following Jesus is about God moving me beyond just me.

Our view, understanding, and appreciation of God is only going to be as big as the size of our party. Mark 1:14-20 Repent means to change one's mind. v.16 "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. Come follow Me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men. They learned to fish for people. It wasn't enough to simply follow... because to follow was to invite. All through the New Testament we see a connection between following Jesus and being someone who invites others to the party. We did not start following Jesus because we wanted to become fishers of men, but because of what Jesus did for us. Disciples make more disciples. Your Heavenly Father has the ability to take all the stuff that so easily consumes us and give it eternal value and significance. Message + Messenger + Circumstances = Perfectly Positioned to invite someone to the party.

People who were not like Jesus, liked Jesus. Our kind of party is any effort to celebrate, serve, or enjoy each other in a way that adds value to life. John 4:3 "Jesus left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now He had to go through Samaria." Jesus wasn't so much asking her for something, as he was making a statement about how he viewed her. "Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God." Colossians 1:15 v.10 If you knew the gift of God and who it is that ask you for a drink, you would've asked him and he would've given you living water. Jesus is offering her something better than what she came to get herself. v.13 The water I give them will become in them a spring of water, welling up to eternal life. Jesus says "your past is not getting in the way of Me inviting you to the party and your past doesn't have to get in the way of you responding to My invitation." This story should make us re-think who it is that we invited to the party.

Sometimes it takes a party to change the way we see people. Luke 15:11-32 A prodigal is someone who is reckless. The younger brother is reckless in his behavior and in his selfishness. The older brother is reckless in his self-righteousness. Sometimes it takes a party to confirm that we can always be forgiven. What if this tory is actually about a prodigal father? Sometimes it takes a party to confirm that neither the goodness nor the badness keeps us out of the party.