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Parables: Parable of the Wineskins Pastor Matt Haflett Luke 5:27-39 4/16/2023 1. The Word of Truth. • The world tries to sell us lies, but the Word directly confronts this. (Proverbs 14:12) • The Bible, God’s Truth, can be hard to understand sometimes. (2 Pet 3:16) God knows His truth can be difficult for us at times. It must be read, studied, and prayed over. • The sick know that they need a doctor, the prideful often don’t realize their symptoms. 2. Out with the old, in with the new. • Jesus brought a new covenant when he came to earth. He fulfilled all the old law and sacrificed for us. • The new covenant is grace through faith made possible by belief in the Son of God. • Old skins are not ready to receive the new. 3. A covenant of Grace and Heart. • Works are not the requirement, but the heart, given to God through Jesus. • Pharisees relied on their good works rather than trusting in God. • We must do good works, walk as Jesus did, but we must also trust in God and give Him our hearts. In this, it is His grace that saves us.

Pastor Matt Haflett Easter Sunday 4/2/2023 1. The Empty Tomb (Matthew 28:1-10) • A time of new birth • The resurrection of Christ is central to our faith. Without it, we have no basis for faith or hope. (1 Cor. 15:17-20) 2. A New Life • But it happened! “Born again to a new hope.” (1 Peter 1:3) • God’s wrath towards sin was poured out on Jesus for all those who accept Him. “Tetelestai” • Our sinful past died with Jesus, and when He rose, we too rise from our spiritual death to a new birth. (Romans 6:8-11) 3. An Abundant Life. (John 10:10) • We are made new to walk with Him. • An abundant life, but not in riches and materials. • There is no burial plot to visit because Jesus’ tomb was emptied. He is the Living Hope. • He is the undefeated champion, he fought the king of death and prevailed for us. • He gives hope, joy, peace, and love to those who open the door when He is knocking and follow Him.

Good Friday Worship Service

Good Friday Pastor Matt Haflett 4/7/2023:54-55)

Parables: The Lamp and the Stand Pastor Matt Haflett Matthew 5:14-16 1. We are the light! • God did not make light to be hidden, but to be seen. • We were once darkness, but through Jesus, we have become a shining light for Him. (Ephesians 5:8) 2. Let the Light Shine! • The light and Spirit of God dwells in us, we should not let it be hidden. • Where you go, God’s light goes with you. Choose to shine the light down your path. 3. How We Shine. (Galatians 5:16-26) • The Light we carry produces fruits of the Holy Spirit. • Our light walks in opposition of the direction of the world. • Live in a way that you stand out in comparison to the sin of the world. • Live with peace in chaos. Show that there is beauty and realness with Jesus. • Live in a way that shows how Jesus changed your life. • Live in prayer and seek God’s guidance.

Why Church: Why We Serve Others: Outreach Pastor Matt Haflett Ephesians 2:1-10 1. Service and Good Works do NOT bring salvation. • We are called to like by Jesus’ example, to server others, but this does not bring us salvation. • If we add service to the way of salvation, then we say that the blood of Jesus wasn’t enough. • We must not measure salvation on our won works (Matt. 7:21-23) 2. Why We Serve Others. • Our salvation comes from the grace of God, through Jesus’ blood, and our faith in Him. • Through salvation, we are God’s workmanship, created in Jesus for a purpose. 3. How We Server as a Church. (Matt 25:34-40) • When we serve through the outreach ministries in our church, we take these straight from the Word, we know these go right to the heart of God. • We must leave our comfort zone to share Jesus’ salvation, as comfort is where faith can die. • We love others because He gave us love to give. • We seek out the lost because our good news is too good to not share.

Why Church: Why Preach? Pastor Matt Haflett 2 Timothy 3-4 1. Why The Bible? • The Bible is accepted in faith. • When you read in faith, you get more faith. (Romans 10:17, Hebrews 4:12) • The Bible is the infallible Word of God. It reaches into the deepest parts of us. • The Word of God is accepted by faith, instills faith, and has the power to change. 2. Every Week? • Because We Need It! • We are called to walk in a way that please God, faced with temptations, frustrations, distractions, ridicule, and hate. • God’s Word gives us the ability to walk this “narrow path”. (2 Tim 4:1-4) • The Word gives us, encouragement, correction, and refueling. 3. The Bible Guides and Disciplines Us. • It’s not just a “feel-good, self-help book”. • Correction and encouragement come together. (Proverbs 3:1-12) • The Bible is the living, breathing Word of God. It strengthens our faith, it guides us, and it encourages us through correction.

Why Church: Why We Give Pastor Matt Haflett Matthew 19:16-22 1. How we shouldn’t give. • We don’t tithe to get saved or maintain salvation. • We don’t tithe as an obligation. • We shouldn’t give reluctantly or compulsively. • Not to give to God His “fair share”.¬ 2. God wants our hearts in giving. • God is a giving God. He provides for us through his creation, through Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit. • We should not look down on possessions, rather give God the praise for what He has given us. • We must not put possessions in front of God in our hearts. • When we give cheerfully, our possessions lose it’s grip on us. 3. What we are giving to • We are giving to help further the Kingdom of God. • We pay basic funding to keep our building open or worship and discipleship. We provide curriculum to help our children learn to walk with God. We buy equipment to help reach more people in a tech world. • We provide support for our community and missionaries.

Why Church: Why We Worship Pastor Matt Haflett Colossians 3:12-17 1. How we should walk. • Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. • Love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 2. Worship for God. • Worship with thankfulness (x3) Rom. 3:23,6:23,8:1 Col. 1:22) • Worship has a specific way of lifting your spirit. (Eph. 5:18-20) • Music is a gift from God that helps us express ourselves in praise to Him. 3. When We Should Worship. • When we find ourselves in awe of His amazing grace. • When it is well with our soul. • When we find ourselves in unfortunate situations or places. • When you just feel like doing it.

Why Church: Why We Gather Pastor Matt Haflett Hebrews 10:19-25 1. Why We Gather • The bible tells us to not neglect meeting together. To stir up one another in good works and encourage each other. • We do this through the gifts that God has given to each of us, individually. (Romans 12:3-8) • Our gifts should not be neglected or used selfishly, but to build up the kingdom of God. 2. Unification… (Ephesians 4:1-6) • We are called to live as one body, unified in Christ, with one Spirit. Unified by the sacrifice of the One Son of God. • We gather as sinners in a fallen world and the bible tells us that it will be difficult. God gives us the grace to work through our problems together, as a unified body. 3. We Gather as a Declaration… • When we gather, we are making a declaration to the world that the Lord is our God.

Knowing Him Pastor Matt Haflett Acts 4:7-13 1. What we see • A historical account of Peter and Paul healing through the power of Jesus. • Standing up for their faith in Jesus. • Preaching truth. • Biblical revelation. 2. Two ways to spend time with God. • His Word reveals who He is and reveals to us who we are and how He sees us. • Reading His word alone is not enough. • He wants us to communicate with Him through Prayer. (Micah 6:8). 3. We must not ignore either path. • A strong relationship with God includes both His Word and prayer. • Prayer and the Bible do not need to be separate activities. • A strong relationship with God is a necessity for us. (John 15:4-5) 4. Application • Pray while in the Word. Ask God to open your mind to better understanding scripture. Pray for the words you read as you read them.

Be Ready Dr. Gary Denbow Mark 13:32-37 1. Our duty is not to speculate, but to prepare. (vv. 32-33,35) • The life of the believer is a journey. • The mood of the believer shifts, but the faith of His return should be unwavering. • Not knowing keeps us from procrastinating. 2. Never get so immersed in time that we forget eternity. • Where is the worship of God in your list of pursuits? • Are you giving attention to daily Bible readings and prayer? • What are you investing in that will give eternal returns rather than temporal ones? 3. Our duty is explained in a parable (vv. 34-35) • Every duty had to be fulfilled, and the owner would be back at any time. • Some of us know our assignments, some do not. It may come because of your talents, or it may come for a specific time and place. • However you assignment come, your duty is to faithfully fulfill it day by day. Be Watchful. Be Studious. Be Ready.

The Power of Prayer Pastor Matt Haflett Matt. 6:5-13 | Luke 11:1-4 The Lord’s Prayer 1. Hallowed be Your name… • Hallowed – holy, perfect, set apart. • He is the Great Creator of the universe. (Gen. 1:1) • We acknowledge this with a sense of awe and reverence. • Starting prayer by acknowledging who we are praying to can help direct your prayer. 2. Your kingdom come, Your will be done… • He is the creator of all things; how could we ask to ignore His will? • God’s ultimate will for us is better than anything that we could desire ourselves. • God uses difficult situations to grow His kingdom and bless those who pray His will be done. 3. God’s will is a blessing for us. • God is our Helper (Psalm 121:2, Luke 12:29-32) • No matter the situation, it can be used for good. (Rom. 8:28) • In a big world, God sees you (Matt. 10:28-31, Psalm 139:1-18) • He sees you and He knows every circumstance of your life. Give Him the opportunity to show you • Seek His will and watch Him take care.

COME UP HERE Dr. Gary Denbow Revelation 4:1 1. Moses: The Starting Place • His call from God at the burning bush. (Exo. 3:3) • Moses obeyed, and in good time. (Exo. 13:18) • Moses’ calling on the mountain and the 10 commandments. (Exo. 19:1) 2. Paul: The Learning Place • Paul’s time in the desert of Arabia. (Gal. 1:11-18) • Paul defends his apostleship against those who say he is not worthy. (2 Cor. 12) • Paul was a servant and leader, apostle, church planter, and evangelist, because he was summoned to the Lord’s presence. 3. John: The Final Place • John is called to write of things seen (Rev. 1), things that are (Rev. 2-3), and things which will take place. (Rev 4-22) • John’s revelation started in Patmos and continued walking with Christ through the seven churches around Ephesus. • What he first sees is the throne of God • He sees the glorified Christ as the Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5) and the Lamb of God (Rev. 5:6)

Jesus: Soon Coming King (continued) Dr. Gary Denbow Revelation 1:7 HE IS COMING! 1. As the Eternal One. • “…the Beginning and the End” (V.8) • “…the First and the Last” (V.11,17) • “…I am alive forevermore” (V.18) 2. As the Ruling One. • “…holds the seven stars in His right hand” (Rev. 2:1) • “…was dead, and came to life” (V.8) • “…has the sharp two-edged sword” (V.12) • “He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens, and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” (V.7 3. As the One who has power to bless. • Those who go to death while contending for the faith. (Rev. 14:13) (Rev. 2:7,17,26, 3:5,12,21) • Those who are accounted as “overcomers” when they stand before Him. (Rev. 20:6) • Those who are obedient to do His commandments by restoring to them all of the privileges lost in the fall of Adam and Eve. (Rev. 22:14 HE IS COMING WITH CLOUDS! Revelation 19:11-16

Jesus: Soon Coming King Dr. Gary Denbow Revelation 1:7 HE IS COMING! 1. As the Eternal One. • “…the Beginning and the End” (V.8) • “…the First and the Last” (V.11,17) • “…I am alive forevermore” (V.18) 2. As the Ruling One. • “…holds the seven stars in His right hand” (Rev. 2:1) • “…was dead, and came to life” (V.8) • “…has the sharp two-edged sword” (V.12) • “He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens, and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens” (V.7 3. As the One who has power to bless. • Those who go to death while contending for the faith. (Rev. 14:13) (Rev. 2:7,17,26, 3:5,12,21) • Those who are accounted as “overcomers” when they stand before Him. (Rev. 20:6) • Those who are obedient to do His commandments by restoring to them all of the privileges lost in the fall of Adam and Eve. (Rev. 22:14 HE IS COMING WITH CLOUDS! Revelation 19:11-16

Jesus: Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Part 6 Dr. Gary Denbow Acts 1:4, 2:38, 10:38 The Holy Spirit is… 1. …the anointing upon Jesus Christ (Acts 10:38) • Jesus was the child of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) • He publicly proclaimed that the Holy Spirit was upon Him. (Luke 4:18-19) • God gave a physical sign that the Holy Spirit was upon Jesus (Matt. 3:16-17) • Jesus’ accomplishments were done in he Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1) • Jesus imparted the Holy Spirit to His disciples (John 20:10) 2. …the witness to every event in Jesus’ life. • Jesus’ birth (Matt. 1:20-21) • Miracles (Acts 10:38) • Jesus’ sacrificial death (1 Peter 1:10-12) • The resurrection of Christ (Rom. 8:11) 3. …the gift of God. • To believers – He convicts, saves, fills, comforts… • To the church – He births, est., enables, staffs, enlivens. • To the world – He draws people to Jesus, gives the gift of salvation. 4. …the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4) • Something to expect, to wait upon, that will prove life-changing.

Jesus: Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Part 5 Dr. Gary Denbow Acts 1:4, 2:38, 10:38 The Holy Spirit is… 1. …the anointing upon Jesus Christ (Acts 10:38) • Jesus was the child of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) • He publicly proclaimed that the Holy Spirit was upon Him. (Luke 4:18-19) • God gave a physical sign that the Holy Spirit was upon Jesus (Matt. 3:16-17) • Jesus’ accomplishments were done in he Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1) • Jesus imparted the Holy Spirit to His disciples (John 20:10) 2. …the witness to every event in Jesus’ life. • Jesus’ birth (Matt. 1:20-21) • Miracles (Acts 10:38) • Jesus’ sacrificial death (1 Peter 1:10-12) • The resurrection of Christ (Rom. 8:11) 3. …the gift of God. • To believers – He convicts, saves, fills, comforts… • To the church – He births, est., enables, staffs, enlivens. • To the world – He draws people to Jesus, gives the gift of salvation. 4. …the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4) • Something to expect, to wait upon, that will prove life-changing.

Jesus: Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Part 4 Dr. Gary Denbow Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:4-8 1. Jesus’ ultimate goal. • Goal: Repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name, to all. • Intent: That His disciples and followers would become witnesses of this truth to the ends of the earth. 2. Jesus’ direct order • But you are to stay in the city… (Luke 24:49) • He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised. (Acts 1:4) • Find a place of waiting and enter it full of faith in God, believing that He will do just as He promised. 3. Jesus’ powerful gift • The promise of my Father or what the Father had promised. (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4) • The gift: Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) • What the gift will do: You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. (Acts 1:8)

Jesus: Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Part 2 Dr. Gary Denbow John 20:19-23 1. Verse 19: • “Startled and frightened” • “Peace be with you” – “Shalom” • They would know His voice. 2. Verse 20: • His hands and feet – they were the identifiers. • Hearing His voice and seeing His scars opened their eyes. 3. Verse 21: • Their grief was turned to joy. (John:16-22) • The joy of the redeemed came upon them, they were ready to receive His word. • They were ready to do His works. 4. Verse 22: • The breath of the Holy Spirit on them. • Emphusao – God breathing life into Adam and Eve. (Genesis 2:7). And Ezekiel (Ezek. 37:9-10) • He will glorify Jesus by revealing more of Christ to the Church. 5. Verse 23: • We cannot forgive sins, but we are commissioned to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. • The Holy Spirit gives us the power to go, witness, and assemble the church.

Jesus: Baptizer in the Holy Spirit Dr. Gary Denbow John 16:7-14 1. “It is to your advantage that I go away” • Jesus knew what was best for us • He had a perspective that the disciples did not have. • He knew the plan of God • He knew the human heart. 2. He will come! (Verse 8) • The Holy Spirit came when the disciples were in unity. (Acts 2:1) • The Holy Spirit came from heaven with the sound of a mighty wind that all could feel. (Acts 2:2) • The Holy Spirit came with tongues of fire that came to rest on them. (Acts 2:3) • The Holy Spirit came with spiritual gifts. (Acts 2:4-12) 3. He will prosecute! (Verse 9) • He will convict the world of guilt regarding sin. • He will convict the world of righteousness. • He will convict the world of judgement. 4. He will educate! (Verse 12-14) • He will guide believers into all truth. • He will show believers what is to come • He will glorify Jesus by revealing more of Christ to the Church.

Of Peace and Fire: The Kingdom of God Pastor Matt Haflett Daniel 2:31-45 1. Four Kingdoms • Babylon – Nebuchadnezzar was currently reining • Medo-Persia • Greece • Rome – The fourth kingdom. Strong as iron and crushed all other empires. This is when God would set up His everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14) 2. The Son of Man • The phrase Jesus used most when referring to Himself. • Jesus is the One that is bringing God’s kingdom to earth. • The kingdom will be everlasting. Every tongue and nation will worship Jesus. 3. Jesus and the Kingdom. (Isaiah 9:6-7) • Isaiah’s prophecy: A great King will be born. God’s kingdom will established of righteousness, justice, and peace. • The ‘zeal’ – God is happy and joyous in His plans. • Jesus was born during the Roman empire. • Jesus teaches of the coming kingdom of God. (John 3:3-8, John 1:12-13, Colossians 1:13, John 14:1-3, Revelation 19:11-16;21:1-7) 4. Application • Pray for His kingdom. • Be ready. • Tell people about Him.