August 26, 2018: Philippians 3

/

Philippians 3

  • 4:30 - Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. vs 2
    • Look out for those are are leading the church, teaching something that doesn't match up with the Word. 
  • 8:15 - Christianity isn't about just believing anything you want.
  • 8:55 - Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. vs 8
    • The central idea of Christianity is not religious activity.
    • The central idea of Christianity is knowing Jesus.
  • 11:20 - and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. vs 9
    • Jesus is the only reason you can stand before the throne of God.
  • 15:40 -  that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. vs 10-11
  • 18:00 - What are the implications of Christianity?
    • When we know Jesus Christ the past is forgotten.
      • Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. vs 13
    • Religious activity is dangerous.
      • It can isolate us from people who need Jesus the most.
      • It separates us from others.
    • We can say so long insecurity!
      •  Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. vs 12
    • So long low grade guilt.
      • There is no good Christian or non-Christian. There is ONE who is good. Jesus Christ.
      • Boldness comes from knowing Jesus Christ.
  • Do you KNOW Jesus?

August 12, 2018: Faith & Work

/

Faith & Work

  • Ideas have consequences
  • 6:28 - Before sin entered the world what was there? Work.
    • Work is a gift from God.
    • That which you are doing each day is a gift from God.
  • 12:10 - Do you know they "why" behind your work?
  • 13:00 - How do I work to bring God praise
    • Work as though you are working for the Lord.
      •  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,  knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. - Colossians 3:23-24
    • Do our work according to the purposes of God.
      • God does not like dishonest scales.
      • "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[b]they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16
      • Cloth yourself in the character of Christ, even while at work.
  • 22:00 - The identity that we have at work.
    • Your identity is this: You are a son or a daughter of the creator of this universe. 
    • Ephesians 1
    • What's determining your value?
    • You are a child of God, not a product of your work.
    • Are you a healthy worker?
  • Are you a healthy worker?
  • 28:33 - Can you rest from your work and be present with people?
  • 28:50 - Pursue work as an opportuity to dliever God's goods to the world.

August 5, 2018: Praise the Lord

/

Praise the Lord

  • Ephesians 1:3-14
  • For What?
  • 2:10 - The whole point of this sentence is to Praise God.
  • 2:25 - Three different stanzas that are the same
    • Vs 6 - To the praise of his glorious grace.
    • Vs 12 - To the praise of his glory.
    • Vs 14 - To the praise of his glory.
  • Romans 11:36 - For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
  • Praise - Halal - Rave
  • 11:15 - Everybody here knows very well how to praise. The question is, are we fully engaged in praising the One who deserves it all of the time?
  • 16:00 - Psalm 150:2 - Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 
    • Why do we praise God? Because of the deeds he has done and who He is.
  • 17:30 - Nothing can touch what God has done and why God deserves praise. Therefore we have a reason to praise God.
  • 18:45 - No matter what your circumstances are today, you need to have your focus in one of two places, the cross or the empty tomb.
  • 21:00 - The most joyful people are the ones that are giving.
  • 22:05 - "A dislike of enthusiasm can be one of the biggest hinderances to revival." - Martin Lloyd Jones
    • When there's not engagement in praise which you were created to do, theres not going to be engagement in the mission of God, which brings revival.
  • 23:15 - Your for what is to praise the living God.

July 29, 2018: How to Love People

/

How to Love People

  • 2:45 - Only one person has perfectly fulfilled how to love people: Jesus Christ
  • How to Love like Jesus
  • 3:45 - Be with people
    • Jesus Christ spent time with people.
    • There is power in presence.
  • 13:05 - Sacrificing for people
    • John 15:12-13 - “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
    • Sacrifice for others helps the other person understand the value they have to you.
    • You have to be willing to prefer the other for the sake of loving the other. Sacrifice for the other. 
  • Speak truth to people
    • Jesus was full of grace and truth.
    • Remember that how and when you speak truth matters.
    • That which we dwell with is what we will resemble.
  • 28:30 - We know love because Jesus loves you. 

July 22, 2018: Understanding People

/

 

Understanding People

  • Love God, Love People
  • 1:32 - Love is the fulfillment fo the whole law
    • The whole law was written as a description of how to love people.
  • 8:50 - What does the Bible say about people?
  • 9:08 - Two overarching things that all of us have in common: M&M's
    • 1) All of us are much more beautiful than we recognize
    • 2) All of us are much more rebellious than we acknowledge
  • 9:55 - The beauty of humanity.
    • Psalm 8:5-8
      5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
          and crowned him with glory and honor.
      6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
          you have put all things under his feet,
      7 all sheep and oxen,
          and also the beasts of the field,
      8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
          whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
    • You are valuable because God values you.
    • We are beautiful because we are created by God.
    • James 3:9 - With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
  • 16: 40 - The brokenness of humanity.
    • Romans 3:9-18 - What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” "The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes. 
    • Romans 5:10 - For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
    • 1 Corinthians 12:3 - Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
    • In and of ourselves, we cannot choose Jesus. This is how rebellious we are.
    • "Sin is not some surface blemish on what is otherwise a beautiful human face. Instead it is radical. It effects the core of our being." D.A. Carson
  • 26:13 - Regeneration. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on your behalf.
  • 26:35 Understanding people is going to drive us to love people
  • 26:50 Understanding people is going to drive us to bring a Savior to them.

July 15, 2018: John 4

/

CLICK HERE to visit the "Notice the One" page where you can submit a prayer request or request funds.

 

  • 4:05 - John 4:10 - Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
  • 4:28 - John 4:14 - but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
    • What is the offer that Jesus is making? Eternal life.
  • 5:08 - John 4:6 - Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
  • 8:00 - John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
    • Eternal life is not life in heaven, it is a relationship with God. 
  • 11:05 - The offer that Jesus makes is uncontainable. 
  • 13:20 - Jesus intentionally changes His path to encounter one who needs Him.
  • 16:10 - We cannot let familiarity with the Bible bring about comfort with Jesus. 
    • Jesus is not comfortable. Jesus would be with the very people who make Him uncomfortable. 
  • 18:50 - The gift is for you.
  • 20:45 The gift is for others. It is meant to be shared.
    • Go to the well.
    • Know their story.
  •  

July 8, 2018: Idolatry (Rich Merkouris)

/

Idolatry

  • 2:42 Jeremiah 2:13 - for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
  • Jeremiah 2:11 - Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
  • 4:40 Idolatry is giving honor to someone or something other than God, and expecting that which only God can give.
  • 6:05 Jeremiah 2:18 - And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
  • 11:40 Romans 1:28-31 - And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
  • The root of the problem is idolatry.
  • To break idolatry we need to go back to God. 
  • How do we encounter the living God? Through the Word of God.
  • 18:30 For principles to think about when reading the Old Testament
    • It's not about you
    • What is God making known about himself and His purposes?
    • Who and why?
    • There's different genres of writing.
  • 27:50 The worst deal of all time is when we give up the Glory of God for a temporary good thing.
    • How do we overcome it? 
      • By making the greatest deal of all time: 2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

June 24, 2018: Giving (Rich Merkouris)

/

Giving

Luke 21

  • 4:30 What we cling to is revealed in what we give. 
  • 5:33 Luke 20:45-47 - And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.
    • The religious leaders were giving to show rather than giving to glory. This reveals something about their hearts.
  • 6:40 Matthew 15:7-9 - You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
    • God is interested in your heart because he knows if he gets your heart he gets everything else. 
  • 8:30 Giving is an act of worship. It brings honor to God.
  • 9:40 Genesis 14
    • The tithe is a response to the work of God. 
    • You can't give enough to garner favor with God because God has already shown the highest favor by giving you his son Jesus Christ.
  • 12:00 Genesis 28:20-22 - Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
  • 13:00 Leviticus 27
    • What made it Holy is that it was dedicated to the Lord. Not the quantity.
  • 15:00 Matthew 23:23 - “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
  • 17:10 2 Corinthians 9:7 - Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
    • God wants you to bring a tithe because your heart wants to bring the tithe.
  • 19:20 Everything that we have is Gods. 
  • 20:22 God doesn't work from a position of shame. 
  • 21:13 God does not look down upon you by the size or the quantity or ability. He looks on you with favor already because of his son Jesus Christ.
  • Questions:
    • Do I give if I'm in debt? 
      • In the Bible we find a command to give first to God. 
    • How should we give if we are not on the same page as husband and wife?
      • Get to a place of understanding. 
      • Ask each other questions.
    • Does the whole tithe go to the Church?
      • Opinion: No
  • Questions to reflect on yourself: 
    • Why am I giving what I am giving?
    • Am I taking Jesus as His Word?
    • Is the gift you're bringing honoring of the recipient (God)?
  • 34:30 Does God have your heart?
  • 34:50 Are you clinging to God, or is your wallet controlling you?

June 17, 2018: Reverence & Awe

/

Fear God: Reverence and Awe

  • 1:17 - A life of wisdom and boldness requires the fear of the Lord.
  • 3:13 - Deuteronomy 4:9-10 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children— how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’"
  • 4:13 - Psalm 33:8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
  • 5:26 - Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
  • 6:39 - Why is it that fear is necessary for impact?
    • Because if you do not fear the Lord the fear of humanity is going to rob you of impact.
  • 8:00 - 1 Peter 1:17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.
  • 11:35 - Admiration and awe for power at the same time as love and desire for the one that has the power.
  • 12:18 - The fear of God is a natural response.
  • 12:40 - Hebrews 12:18 -  For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest.
  • 14:40 - Hebrews 12:28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
  • 15:45 - Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
  • 16:20 - Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
  • 19:15 - You know you've encountered the Living God when there's reverence and awe. 
  • 24:42 - Are you casual in your internal heart? Is your internal heart flippant about God?
  • 26:45 - God is big and we are not.

June 10, 2018: Micah 6:1-8

/

The sermon began with a recap of our City Love Teams. The following video will give you a glimpse into this area of ministry at KOG> 

 

Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel. “O my people, what have I done to you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:1-8 (ESV)

  • 14:53 As followers of Jesus Christ we have a call to be serious about that what God is serious about. 
    • If I claim the name of Jesus I am also claiming the name of justice.
    • In the manger you saw the face of God because you saw Jesus. Jesus is the face of God. God is a God of justice.
  • 20:02 Loving kindness - (mercy) Inner covenant of compassion, ever lasting love.
    • Where do we see this loving kindness? Jesus
  • 25:00 God wants his people to be about justice.
  • 25:32 If you love God you love people. If you worship God, you're going to be about justice.
  • 27:18 You are a follower of Jesus Christ because of the Grace of God.
  • 27:24 We do not do justice to get right with God. We do justice because God has made us right with himself.

 

May 27, 2018: Joy (Rich Merkouris)

/

Joy

  • 1:14 – 5:05 Michael Jr. “Know your Why” Video (Video available below)
  • 5:19 - Jesus does not say obey me because it’s the right thing to do.
  • 5:37 - John 15:11 - These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (ESV)
    • Why does Jesus want you to obey him? Because Jesus wants you to have joy.
    • Happiness drives us.
  • 8:34 – Psalm 67:4 - Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. (ESV)
  • 9:14 - Psalm 100:1-2 - Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! (ESV)
  • 10:08 – Matthew 25:21 - His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. (ESV)
  • 10:34 – Hebrews 12:1b-2 - let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (ESV)
    • Why was Jesus willing to go through the pain of the Cross? Joy. Jesus was perusing joy.
    • Joy is essential for us as Christians.
  • 14:30 – God desires for us to have a deep sustained gladness.
    • Happiness is an emotional momentary feeling.
    • Joy is deep sustained gladness.
  • 18:00 – John 15:4 - Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. (ESV)
    • Abide (or remain) is a command to us.
    • How do we have joy? We remain in Jesus.
  • 20:39 - How do we abide in Jesus?
    • Abide is not belief.
    • You can believe in Jesus and not abide in Jesus.
  • 22:42 – It’s not WWJD, it’s HIJL (How Is Jesus Leading)
  • 25:58 – How can you abide in Jesus?
    • Acknowledge the authority of Jesus in your life.
    • Step out into reliance upon Jesus. (Faith)
    • Engage with Jesus people.
  • 34:03 - If you’re following Jesus, no matter what you are facing, your joy is increasing not decreasing because you are entering the presence of God and with God there is gladness. This is the why.

Here is the video shown at the beginning of the sermon. 

April 22, 2018: Luke 6:27-36 (Rich Merkouris)

/

Love Your Enemies

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

 

  • there are different people than us
  • There are people who are opposed to us
  • We are to love all humanity 
  • Are you going to take Jesus seriously?
  • Focus on the character of God
  • Understand your own relation to God
  • How can you love your enemies? Understand you were an enemy of God at one time.
  • Dispense God’s love regardless of what you feel

April 8, 2018: John 17:1-5 (Rich Merkouris)

/

The High Priestly Prayer

17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

  • 6:09 Jesus is concerned about the Glory of God so he is concerned about the people.
  • 7:47 what does God ultimately say about people?
  • 9:16 Many of us switch between the Dir and God complex
    • Dirt - I am nothing
    • God - I am God
  • 10:15 for those of you that can't love yourself
    • Psalm 8:5 We were made just a little lower than the Heavenly Beings
    • You Are Not Dirt!
    • You are the crown jewel of God's creation. Every person is.
  • 18:12 for those of you that a divine complex. The "I'm in charge mentality"
    • We have to acknowledge of someone else who has the final say
    • You are the crown of God's creation, but you are not God
  • 24:40 God's worth states that Christians should be the ones who care for humanity.
    • We should be caring for the elderly
    • We should be caring for the unborn child
  • 25:39 To be created in the image of God means you have responsibility
    • You have a responsibility to work
    • We should be first in line
  • 31:07 Dow we (you) have a correct image of humanity?

April 1, 2018 {Easter}: 1 Peter 1:3-9 (Rich Merkouris)

/

Born Again to a Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.