Service Welcome Opening Prayer Praise Sermon Offering Lord’s Prayer Dismiss

Service Welcome Opening Prayer Praise Sermon Offering Lord’s Prayer Dismiss

Service Welcome Opening Prayer Praise Sermon Offering Lord’s Prayer Dismiss

Service Welcome Praise Sermon Offering Lord’s Prayer Dismiss

Service Welcome Praise Sermon: The Word of Faith Offering Lord’s Prayer Dismiss

The Word of Faith Romans 10:8-13

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” 6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” [ (that is, the word of faith which we preach):

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the L ORD shall be saved.”

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

What does that story tell you about belief?

Belief is easy if you have nothing to loose.

How much do you really believe?

How do you know if you have the faith that God wants?

What will a persons life be like if they truly believe in God?

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

Luke 15:11-32New International Version (NIV) The Parable of the Lost Son 11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.

29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Who does the father represent in this parable?

Each brother represents a way to alienate yourself from God. Each brother represents a type of sin. Legalism and Liberalism The parable could certainly be called the parable of the lost SONS

The younger brother represents liberalism. Liberalism is the belief that we are saved by our faith, and our actions are not important. God is used as a “Get out of Jail Free” card, or an ATM machine. For people who have this attitude, God is not the king in their lives, they are.

Do you know people who view God that way?

Most people don’t realize that the story has another side to it. The older brother also has a major problem.

The older brother doesn’t see justice. He says, I have never disobeyed you, I have rights, you have no right to do this. He believed that simply by obeying the father’s rules, he could control the father and the father would be forced to give him what he wanted.

The older brother represents legalism. Legalism is the belief that our actions save us from Hell. This is an incorrect view. If we could be saved simply by our own actions, then Jesus died for nothing.

Galatians 5:4 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace

The elder brother is a warning to those people who think that solely by their actions they can get to heaven. If they do good things in the church, God will be forced to bless them. The elder brother doesn’t want the father, just the father’s stuff.

This parable is a warning. What do you think the warning is?

Two types of sin. The younger brother sins by disobeying the father. He is trying to do his own thing, irrespective of what the father wants. That is easier for us to see. The sin that is harder to see is the elder brother’s sin. Obedience to the law, without having your heart in the right place is also a sin. We can’t be our own savior. That is why Jesus had to die.

If we truly believe the word of God, we should show our faith by actions. We should bear fruit. If we are not bearing fruit, we need to question whether or not the Holy Spirit is in us. We need to question whether or not we really believe.

Challenge To reflect on what we learned today

Service Welcome Praise Prayer Sermon Offering, offering prayer (offering and message prayer) Announcements Lord’s Prayer Dismiss

Service Welcome Praise Prayer Sermon Offering Announcements Dismiss

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