Thoughts From Sermon

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Mark Shields
 
Things don’t always turn out like you thought they would. People doubted Susan Boyle because she didn’t look like a good singer and they snickered before she even started.  The unemployed 47 year-old woman shocked Simon Cowell and the audience this past week during auditions for the “Britain’s Got Talent” reality TV show. The snickers stopped once she started and they heard the golden voice God has given her. That’s why it’s important to listen carefully. You never know where greatness comes from. God is great and we should listen carefully. Like Steve mentioned in the sermon last week, God will meet you at your home. He will meet you at work. He will meet you driving home from work. He will meet you while watching TV. If you love God, listen carefully and let Him meet you wherever you are. Then reflect this love to others. Share with others that Christ lives in you and there is peace. That Christ has risen in the darkness to meet us in our time of need.
 
 
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Sermon Notes and Study Guide

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Mark Shields
 
You can listen to the sermon by clicking here and then clicking on 
"A Lost Woman and a Question". 
 

ENCOUNTERS WITH CHRIST

A LOST WOMAN AND A QUESTION

John 20:10-14 (NIV)

THE RESURRECTION BECOMES REAL:

1. IN YOUR LONELINESS

______________

“ ‘Woman,’ He said, ‘why are you crying? Who is it you are looking

for?’ Thinking He was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if You have carried

Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.’ Jesus

said to her, ‘Mary.’ ”

John 20:15-16

2. IN YOUR WEAKNESS_______________

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were

together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and

stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ ”

John 20:19

3. IN YOUR DOUBTS

__________________

“Then He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach

out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.’

Thomas said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ ”

John 20:27-28

4. IN YOUR BATTLES

_________________

“He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they

answered. He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and

you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in

because of the large number of fish.”

John 21:5-6

5. IN YOUR VALUE

___________________

“The third time He said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love Me?’

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love

Me?’ He said, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’

Jesus said, ‘Feed My sheep.’ ”

John 21:17

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Sermon Notes and Study Guide

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Mark Shields
 
You can listen to the sermon by clicking here and then clicking on 
"A Dead Man and a New Life". 
 

                  A DEAD MAN & A NEW LIFE

                 ENCOUNTERS WITH CHRIST

                            John 11 (NIV)

 

1. A PERSONAL PROBLEM____________________

“Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the

village of Mary and her sister Martha.”

John 11:1 (NIV)

 

2. A STATEMENT OF FAITH____________________

“This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one

who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. So

the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one You love is sick.’ ”

John 11:2-3 (NIV)

 

3. A PERPLEXING RESPONSE_________________

“When He heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death.

No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when He heard

that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days.”

John 11:4-6 (NIV)

 

4. A SERIOUS DISAPPOINTMENT_______________

“ ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if You had been here, my brother would

not have died. But I know that even now God will give You whatever

You ask.’ ”

John 11:21-22 (NIV)

 

‘When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she

fell at His feet and said, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would

not have died.’ ”

John 11:32 (NIV)

 

5. A COMPASSIONATE DIALOGUE______________

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes

in Me will live, even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes

in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 11:25-26 (NIV)

 

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along

with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

‘Where have you laid him’ He asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied.

Jesus wept.”

John 11:33-35 (NIV)

 

6. A POWERFUL COMMAND___________________

“’Take away the stone,’ He said.”

John 11:39 (NIV)

 

“…Jesus called out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead

man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a

cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes

and let him go.’”

John 11:43-44(NIV)

 

 
 
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Sermon Notes and Study Guide

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Mark Shields
 
You can listen to the sermon by clicking here. Then you can click podcast under Sunday March 29.
On the right side of where it says "A Blind Man & a New Vision", you can click on play audio to
listen to the sermon.
 

       A BLIND MAN & A NEW VISION

         ENCOUNTERS WITH CHRIST

                      John 9

 

1. EXPECT A SURPRISE

“His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,

that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’

said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be

displayed in his life.’ ” John 9:2-3 (NIV)

 

2. ENGAGE YOUR FAITH

“Having said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the

saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ He told him, ‘wash in the

Pool of Siloam’ (this word means Sent). So the man went and

washed, and came home seeing.” John 9:6-7 (NIV)

 

3. ENLARGE YOUR VISION

“Some said, ‘He is the one,’ but others said, ‘No, he only looks like

him.’ The man himself said, ‘I am the man.’ ” John 9:9 (NCV)

 

“The Jewish leaders wouldn’t believe he had been blind,….”

John 9:18a(NLT)

 

“One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” John 9:25b (NIV)

 

IN THE WAY YOU SEE

“ ‘Yes, Lord,’ the man said, ‘I believe!’ and he worshiped Jesus.

Then Jesus told him, ‘I have come to judge the world. I have

come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think

they see that they are blind.’” John 9:38-39 (NLT)

 

               YOURSELF

                 PEOPLE

                    GOD

 

        WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE?

_________________________________________

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Sermon Notes and Study Guide

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Mark Shields
  
You can listen to the sermon by clicking here. Then you can click podcast under Sunday March 22.
On the right side of where it says "A Paralyzed Man and a Walk", you can click on play audio to
listen to the sermon.

 

Encounters with Christ  

 

       John 5:5-11  

         

          JESUS  

 

1. Saw Empathetically.  

 

2. Discerned Accurately.

 

3. Questioned Sympathetically.

 

4. Challenged Authoritatively.

 

5. Healed Emphatically.

 

6. Freed Totally.

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