Jeremy Hoover

Too often, church relationships contain conflict. Paul teaches us in Philippians 2:1-11 how to overcome our differences and live like Jesus by working for oneness with one another, looking to others' interests first, and becoming obedient through service.

Review the sermon outline and slides ahead of Sunday's worship service to begin thinking about how you can develop the mind of Jesus in your own life.

The church is "one heart" when everyone works together for the greater good and to glorify God. That heart is broken whenever someone acts selfishly for their own benefit. Are you mending the church's broken heart or breaking it?

Sermon: Broken Heart

The church is whole when is of one heart. We break God's heart--and the church's heart--when we practice deception within the church. Are you breaking the church's heart or working to mend it?

Please review these study notes on possession from Acts 4:32-5:11, Sunday's sermon outline, and the slides.

Are we a church that prays or a praying church? The difference is big. The former fits prayer in but ultimately focuses on itself first. The latter is focused on God and lives by prayer.

In Acts 4:23-31 we learn from the early church how to be a praying church. Listen to this sermon and share it with others. Check out the slides, the sermon outline, or the slidecast here.

Review the sermon outline and slides for Sunday. Pray through Acts 4:23-31 and consider how God may be calling you to more prayer.

Get ready! On Sunday, we'll tackle how to turn away temptation when we're confronted with it by studying how Jesus turned away temptation.  In the meantime, read the study notes and questions on Luke 4:1-13, view the slides, and study the sermon outline to help you prepare for Sunday.

Please share this page with anyone you think might find it useful, and please leave any comments or questions you have.

We grow spiritually by making a plan, focusing on the "next steps" of that plan, and taking action.

Read the sermon study notes, preview the slides, or study the sermon outline for Sunday.

Introduction: What do you think about when you think about perseverance?

• Me: persevering through 8 long months without LOST
• Others (more seriously)
• persevering through uncertainty (unknown job statuses)
• persevering through a bad start (is this really God's work if it stalled out? stopping food pantries and clothing banks because of a bad start, etc.)
• persevering through trial (Haiti earthquake survivors)

1. Joseph persevered through uncertainty. Genesis 39:20.

• Joseph faced numerous trials that created uncertainty: tossed in a well; sold into slavery; working in a strange land; false accusations; tossed into jail; forgotten in jail; negotiating Egyptian politics as a ruler.
• He recognized through all this uncertainty that God meant it for good.
• Perseverance enables us know certainty even during uncertainty. Genesis 50:20.
  

2. Moses persevered through a bad start. Exodus 5:6-7.

• When Moses first challenged Pharaoh, Pharaoh responded by making the work harder for the Jews.
• When Moses finally freed the people, they ended up wandering in a desert for 40 years before they received the promised land.
• Perseverance enables us to finish strong.
  

3. James teaches us to persevere through trials. James 1:2-4.

• James knew that we all face different things that test our faith.
• We only grow by facing these tests head on and persevering through them.
• Perseverance enables us to mature in faith and become complete.
  

Application

• We progress through perseverance
• Where are you?--uncertainty, bad start, trials?
  
• How do you persevere? Focus not on the trial but on what is being done in you. [counter-intuitive]
• Do not focus on the uncertainty, the slow start, or the trial. Focus on what God is doing in you.

Improper bible reading gives up on the bible too easily, focuses too much on acquiring knowledge, and promotes pride. Proper bible reading, on the other hand, transforms you: it leads to worship, good works, and stronger faith. Be transformed by reading the bible, making a plan to minister, and taking action.