Faith Quotes from today's sermon

Faith makes all things possible ~ not easy

Faith can move mountains

But don’t be surprised if God hands you a shovel

Faith isn’t faith until it is all you are holding onto

To one who has faith

No explanation is necessary…

To one without faith

No explanation is possible

Exodus 14:14 NLT

The Lord himself                   

will fight for you.                           

Just stay calm.”

Faith

is the gaze

of my soul…

upon God

GVCC sermon handout ~ 02/15/2015

Garden Valley Community Church

Pastor Shane Moffitt

February 15^th 2015

Our Spiritual Goal series

Part 3: “genuine faith”

1 Timothy 1:5 NLT

“The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.”

Faith is believing God’s Word                   

and acting on it                                                     

no matter how you feel                                         

because God promises a good result

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1

#1.  Faith is active confidence in                    

         the God who has revealed Himself

“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14 NLT

v People don’t trust God because                         

   they don’t KNOW God  

v Your faith comes alive as you believe the

   Word of God and act upon it

“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” Romans 10:17 

“It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

#2.  “Faith” is NOT a part of life…                     

          ~ it is the whole thing ~ all of it

v ask God for guidance in decisions in prayer

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,               

and do not lean on your own understanding.                

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

 and He will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

v Focus on living that out ~ trusting and

   acknowledging God in “all your ways”

v That’s faith ~ active confidence in God

v Faith is holding onto God’s WORD while

   you wait to see how the Lord is going              

      to answer your request

#3.  “Faith” is the evidence that               

          God is faithful

v We are not the first people to trust God Moses wrote,

v “Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!”  

                                         Psalm 90:1 NLT  

v The faithfulness of God in your own life ~

  provides you with evidence

v Can you recall specific times, places, and

   ways God has come through for you…

      showing Himself faithful?

v That’s the evidence of things not yet seen

What is God's Will for His Church ????

I was in a discussion yesterday about whether or not today’s “church” has evolved into an institution that brings a smile to God’s face.  

This led me to rethink my 10:00 Sunday morning Bible Study series.  

I’ve been exploring areas of “prayer” for a few weeks ~ and had every intention of continuing.... until yesterday’s discussion.

God’s Spirit refused to give me peace about continuing the prayer series right now.  Instead, the Spirit moved me in an unexpected direction.  

I began questioning whether or not, “church” pleases God.  

What does a church look like ~ that pleases God? 

I believe the answer is “revealed” every Sunday afternoon when the clock strikes noon ~ where do we go and what do we do?????  

Do we….
Go out and feed the hungry.
Go out and clothe the naked.
Go out and intentionally spend time with people who don’t look like us, don’t think like us, don’t act like us, don’t vote like us and don’t like us.
Go out and fight for justice.
Go out and end oppression.
Go out and proclaim anew the old, old story.
Go out and reach out to those who are running from God and God’s church.
Go out and stop deflecting tough questions with our usual, tired clichés.
And do all of this in the name of the one who sent us ~ Jesus Christ. 

If & When we do these things…. then we’ll actually be the church that brings a smile to God’s face.

⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

⁴⁵ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’  Matthew 25:44-45 NLT

GVCC sermon handout Part 2: When the Church is waiting....

Garden Valley Community Church

Pastor Shane Moffitt

January 11^th 2015

 “The Church on Fire” series    

Part 2: When the Church is Waiting…

Acts 1:9-26

We can expect God to do great things

in GVCC when we:

#1.  Long for the Lord’s Presence  ~ 9-11

“After saying this, He was taken up into a cloud while they were watching,                       and they could no longer see Him.” Acts 1:9 NLT

v Notice the sense of longing in the apostles for Christ’s presence

“Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept His authority.”      1 Peter 3:22 NLT & John 14:1-5

As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them.   “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday He will return from heaven in the same way you saw Him go!” Acts 1:10

v Christ’s return will be visible to everyone    READ: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

v  “Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live     with him forever. So encourage each other  and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:10-11 NLT

We can expect God to do great things

in GVCC when we:

#2.  Love the Lord’s People ~ 12-14

“They all met together and were constantly united in prayer…” Acts 1:14a NLT

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7 NLT

God’s Love is giving someone what they need the most ~                                                when they deserve it the least ~ 

at great personal cost to you ~

 without getting anything in return

We can expect God to do great things

in GVCC when we:

  

#3.  Look for the Lord’s Plan ~ 15-26

they all prayed, “O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these men YOU have chosen.” Acts 1:24

v Watch how they look for God’s Will in selecting an Apostle to replace Judas

v Notice that after Acts chapter 2 ~ there is not mention of “casting lots” because they had the Holy Spirit to guide their decisions

When GVCC is living with a sense of…                        

longing for the Lord’s presence                            

loving the Lord’s people                                               

looking for the Lord’s plan                           

God will honor and bless our efforts