Messages / Bulletin
Below are links to our weekly bulletins to help keep you updated with the happenings of our church.
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Hope of Resurrection — Apr 23, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
In the middle part of Chapter 15, Paul is pointing to the Hope the resurrection brings to us. He starts by looking at the negative, what hte reality of no resurrection would mean: no hope. He turns from negative to the positive, that because of the resurrection we have a true hope! He then reminds them of actions of believers that make no sense apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Importance of Resurrection — Apr 16, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Chapter 15 is one of the longest chapters in the New Testament. We will be taking 3 Sundays, instead of just Easter Sunday to look at the Resurrection. Here in the first part of the chapter, Paul wants them to remember the gospel he preached to them. He moves from the broad gospel to that which is of first importance to the gospel. He then tells there needs to be a response to the resurrection Jesus Christ.
Propriety in Gifts — Apr 9, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Here in Chapter 14, Paul is bringing the discussion on Spiritual Gifts to a close. He will do so by looking at his favorite gift for the Body: Prophesy, as well as their favorite gift, the gift of tongues. His purpose is to bring a proper balance to the use of these divisive gifts within the Body of Christ. The purpose of hte gifts is the edification of the Church.
Love Over All — Apr 2, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
In Chapter 13, Paul gives us one of the most popular chapters in all of scripture: The Love Chapter. Though Paul did not intend for this to be a wedding chapter. Paul is laying out the necessity of love in the use of the Spiritual Gifts in the body of Christ. He then lays ouf the charactor of love, what it looks like, it looks like God himself. He closes the chapter by looking at the permanence of love.
Variety of Gifts — Mar 26, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
In Chapter 12 Paul begins a discussion on Spiritual GIfts. He begins by letting them know he did not want them to be uninformed about this important topic. He let's them know there should be a diversity of gifts in the body of Christ while there is a unity of the Spirit. He then looks at it as the diversity that actually causes us to be a body. We all have different functions.
Exhortations — Mar 12, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Paul, at the end of chapter 9 tells of how he lives his faith in such a way as to not be disqualified from winning the prize. He, then in chapter 10, draws from the example of the Israelites in the wilderness and how many of them were disqualified from the promised land. He encourages the Corinthians to flee the idolatry that is rampant in their community. He then closes out the chapter reminding them of chapters 8, 9, and 10. He then ends with the challenge to "follow me as I follow Christ!"
Paul’s Example — Mar 5, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Paul starts chapter 9 declaring all the freedoms he has a right to as a Christian and an Apostle. Yet he stresses that he has not availed himself to any of those rights. Instead of living the freedoms that are his, he has made ahimself a slave to all. This is in order to seek and save the lost. He closes the chapter by challenging the Corinthians to consider the athletes who compete in athletic events. Consider the sacrifice they show to win the prize. RUN in such a way.
Honoring Others — Feb 26, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
In Chapter 8, Paul is addressing another issue raised by the Corinthians: Food sacrifice to idols. While he is addressing the food issue, he is more concerned that the Corinthians are operating out of love more than human wisdom. He affirms that there is only one God and Lord that is what we concern ourselves with. He closes the chapter with how we live our lives with others in mind. We love and honor them with our actions.
Marriage — Feb 19, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Paul;, in chapter 7, turns his attention to answering questions that the Corinthians posed to him. It is about Marriage. While we can learn a lot about marriage, we need to remember that he is addressing specific questions about the topic, and not trying to lay out everything there is to know about the topic at hand. He first addresses the unmarried and lets them know that it is good to be in this state. He then addresses the married and lays out the permanence of marriage. What Paul is concerend with is not marriage or singleness, but that you thrive in your relationship with God right where you are!
No Holidays — Feb 12, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
The Christian life has no holidays as we are always to represent our Lord. Here in Chapter 6, Paul is challenging them in three areas that are of major concern in the Church. The first is greed: The reason for the lawsuits that had to do with their want for more. He turns his attention to who they really are. That they had been sexually immoral and toehr things, but now they have been redeemed. He closes out this section by addressing the idolatry that was present in the Church.
Response to Immorality — Feb 5, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
After the confrontation in Chapter 4, Paul the moves to calling the church to action in Chapter 5. They are to remove the immoral person from their midst. They were to do this by an act of cleaning their spiritual act. Paul uses the analogy from the preparations of the Passover feat to cleanse their spiritual house from sin. He reminds them that thei call to holiness is for those within the household of faith. God will judge those outside of the faith, they judge within.
The Apostles’ Example — Jan 29, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Here in Chapter 4, Paul reminds them of who and what Apollos and he are servants. Paul then contrasts he and Apollos with the actions and attitiudes of those in Corinth. That it is not about your wealth or life of ease that points to how faithful you are. After Paul roughs them up a bit, he goes on to remind them of why he is speaking the way he is. They are his children in Christ and any good father will discipline his children when necessary.
Divisions in the Church — Jan 22, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
After the soaring description in Chapter 2, of the believer who lives in the power of the Spirit, Paul brings the Corinthians crashing back down by letting them know, but this is not them because they are not mature. So Paul lets them know that what is happening in their midst is actually affecting the Church as a whole. To destroy the Church will bring destruction upon the one doing it. He concludes by calling them out ot their petty divisions and back to where their focus belongs.
God’s Wisdom — Jan 15, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Paul is comparing himself to those who spoke with human wisdom at Corinth. He was reminding them that when he came, he came with Power and not human wisdom. He goes from there to let htme know that they too speak the same message that he proclaimed while at Corinth. This comes from the Spirit of God that each believer has. That we too can proclaim the message of the cross in the power of the Spirit.
First Things — Jan 1, 2017
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Paul begins the letter to the Corinthians like most books, laying out who he is and whose they are. Reminding them that the Church is the Lord's Church. He then turns to Thanksgiving, even being thankful for some ot theh very things that are causingi issues within the Churh. Then he transitions from the introduction to taking on the issues within the Church at Corinth.
Patience — Sep 4, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Of all the sermons on the fruit of the Spirit this could possibly be the one that most of us struggle with. We see in scripture that this understanding of patience should be there during many different times in our lives. We should have patience when we are mistreated and can do nothing about it. We should be patient when we are provoked and we are in a position to do something about it. We should show patience even with the little annoyances in life.
Peace — Aug 28, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
We hear a lot about peace in our nation, but we see very little evidence of peace. When we look at peace as a fruit of the Spirit we redefine what it means. It first means you have peace with God! If you have not peace there then it will be impossible for you to have the kind of peace the scriptures talk about. It is then an inner peace. You can face the trials of this life with a peace the world cannot comprehend. Then it flows out in peace with others.
Joy — Aug 21, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
When it comes to the Fruit of the Spirit expressed with joy, it is probably the one that catches the world’s attention the most. To understand joy we have to understand its source. It comes from God and God alone. We also have to be aware of those kill joys in your life. What is it that you allow to take your joy from you? Do you look to Him for your joy?
Love — Aug 14, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
We now are turning our attention to life in the Spirit and we will do this by looking at the Fruit of the Spirit. The first Fruit that we will look at is Love. Love is a Fruit because we are told that God is Love. So to understand love is to understand God. We see that Love is a giving in its nature. While love being from the Spirit it is from the very Spirit working within in us that we love. Yet we are also told to love more and more. So we are dependent upon the Spirit to form love in us we are also responsible to grow in our love.
Greed — Aug 7, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
To understand greed is to know that it doesn’t matter how much you have. Rich people can deal with greed as much as poor people. Scripture tells us very clearly that there is a danger when it comes to this deadly sin, one that is shown from the Old Testament through the New. To overcome this sin is to live a generous life. Letting go and giving away those things that will cause your heart to idolize the material things in your life.
Is the Holy Spirit Swiss? — Jul 31, 2016
Speaker: Jerry Flueckiger
The Holy Spirit changes lives. At Pentecost, Peter was understood in many different languages, but probably not Swiss. Like the early followers of Christ, the Swiss who settled in Berne were intensely persecuted. We all have the Holy Spirit to encourage, strengthen, and guide us; this comes with an expectation of action from God. Our ancestors, along with the apostles, were led to tell the "old, old story" of God's love. The Holy Spirit is not necessarily Swiss, but can be if Swiss people let Him control them.
Gluttony — Jul 24, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
When we think of the sin of gluttony we think mainly of food and obesity, but it is so much more than this. It is the over consumption of anything whether good or bad. If we are given to the sin of gluttony we need to be aware that there are consequences for this sin. And yet we can overcome this sin!Envy — Jul 17, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
As we start to look at this deadly sin of envy it becomes difficult to get our arms around. We'll look at the differences between envy, jealousy, and coveting. To overcome envy and coveting the key is contentment!
Pride — Jul 10, 2016
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Linthicum
Last week we looked at anger and saw that it was one that effected everyone. Today pride is another one that has infected and effected everyone who has ever lived. It actually has a longer history than anger as well. It was the very reason that Satan was thrown out of heaven. When we struggle with pride we see that there are consequences and if left unchecked and un-repented of they can be dire. We must turn our attention to Jesus and follow in his example of his humility.
Anger — Jul 3, 2016
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Linthicum
We continue our journey through life in the flesh be looking at the 7 deadly sins. We turn our attention to one that has effected each of us at some point in time--anger. Anger is something that does not discriminate and it doesn’t matter if you fly off the handle or just have a slow burn under the collar. It is one that truly is a deadly sin. It was the cause of the very first murder. But it is also a sin that murders God’s desire for us to live in harmony and peace. Yet not all anger is sin. We see that God gets angry. It is what causes our anger and how we live it out that makes it sin.
Lust — Jun 26, 2016
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Linthicum
The second deadly sin we will be looking at is lust. Traditionally when we hear and think of lust it is in connection with sex. Whether it is an illicit act or just the leering at someone in a lustful way. However, lust does not have to be related to anything sexual. It is listed along with sexual immorality in some verses. It is an overwhelming desire that we allow to gain a foothold in our lives. There is a way to overcome this deadly sin.
Sloth — Jun 19, 2016
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Linthicum
We are looking at life in the flesh through the seven deadly sins and examing sloth. Sloth many time in scripture is referred to as being lazy. And this is truly the basic form of sloth. The early church father’s defined sloth as a lack of love. It is because you don’t love you do not act. So for us today sloth can be the basic understanding of knowing what you should do but you do not do it.
Spirit or Flesh — Jun 12, 2016
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Linthicum
Most of this year is focused on this understanding of are we living our lives in the flesh or in the Spirit. There are several lists throughout scripture about a number of sins. These lists were boiled down to what is known as the seven deadly sins. To combat them we must live our lives in the Spirit. The whole point of the Spirit of God within us is that we take on the character of Christ. It is the Spirit that empowers us to live this way. Yet we have a responsibility to do our part, putting ourselves in the right place to be transformed.
Standing Firm — Jun 5, 2016
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Linthicum
Our last sermon is our series on fear deals with the devil--the one who tries to instill fear in us. We need to understand who the enemy is because the biggest tool of the enemy is making us ignorant of him. To live without the fear of Satan we need to remember that Christ has already defeated him. We are safe and secure because we are in Christ.
Idolatry and Fear — May 22, 2016
Speaker: Pastor Jeff Linthicum
When we struggle with fear it can actually reveal an idol in our lives. If we have irrational fear of losing something it can serve as a barometer. Idol worship is the most denounced sin in scripture. Yet in the New Testament a change occurred to what is an idol. It was no longer being defined as a statue or rock, it is what takes the place of God in your life. Even good things can be elevated to godlike status in our lives.
Pentecost Sunday: Until — May 15, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
Pentecost Sunday, the holiday that the church forgot. In Luke 24 we see Jesus continually uses scripture to point to himself. We need to regain scripture as the guide for what we do. Jesus declares that because of what has happened his disciples will be his witnesses to the Truth. But they first need to receive power that the Father had promised-the very coming of the Holy Spirit!.
Good and Bad Fear — May 8, 2016
Speaker: Jeff Linthicum
As we continue our series on fear we are looking at that fear which is good a fear that will drive all the other fears away: the fear of the Lord. We see many places in scripture that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is a foundational truth that we as Christians need to build on-the awesome reverence of who He is. We have lost this fear and need to regain it in our day.
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