Blog Archives

August 26, 2018 Teaching Outline

8/26/2018

The Extra Mile – “Living the Kingdom”
Mark 9:33-37, Exodus 201:1-17
The story of Mark 9:33-37:

The Story of Exodus 20:1-17:

(20:18) “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

The first 4 are relational with God!

It is a 3-way cord…

1st cord - He is God!

2nd cord - He was their God!

3rd cord - He was their redeemer!

They will receive God’s mercy and strength by the Holy Spirit to live the other 6 Commandments which are relational to others.

God’s love forces us to ask the hard questions-
1. Do I honor anything or anyone before God?
2. Has God been replaced by something physical or material in my life?
3. Do I value human life?
4. Do I tell the truth?
5. Do I take God’s name in vain?
6. Is work more important than my relationship with God?

Living the Kingdom:

Is not lifeless religion- it is an active relationship.

Is about renewed or new commitments.

Lack of commitment saps energy out of our relationship Malachi challenged his congregation- “set your heart to honoring my name” Malachi 2:1

Is a renewed commitment that brings renewed love.

Jesus teaches us that the greatest is the one who is the servant of all!
By putting myself last, I can give God my best and become first.
My Time, My Talent and My Tithe!

Is a prayer is that not one person will be pushed away from Jesus because of us.

“Test me in this and see if I won’t throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
So here is our response:

Must be intercultural: As Jesus intersects with us our response is to intersect with others!

Must be culturally responsive: As Jesus Responds to us, we in turn should let the Spirit lead us as we yield to the needs of others.

Must be a beloved community: Jesus inclusive love is what we live in with reconciliation. A community that listens and observes.

0 Comments

August 19, 2018 Teaching Outline

8/20/2018

0 Comments

Pastor Danny Rester

Jesus is Our Hope - Romans 5:1-8

Jesus is the only one who can give you hope

Journey to hope begins with faith through peace

Hope in suffering - we can glory in it.

we see hope in faith

Jesus gives us hope!!!!!!!

0 Comments

August 12, 2018 Teaching Outline

8/13/2018

0 Comments

God’s Direction: “What if I Really Listened to Jesus”?

Haggai Still Speaks…
Ephesians 4-5

Paul now boldly asserts that the sacred intersection, the breaking-in point of the Reign of God into this realm, is no longer a building in Jerusalem, but a people, and not just any people, but the unified-yet-diverse people of God, Jew and Gentile together inextricably bound together by the salvific work of Jesus.

The dictionary defines “community” this way: A unified body of individuals with a common character, with common interests, who share joint ownership and participation in something.

The church is at its best and strongest when it is made up of all different kinds of people with all different stories who come together and combine their individual stories into a great epic of God’s love.

Each of us who has been brought together into this church family brings with us a set of personality traits.

Because we are all created differently, and are all in various stages of transformation, He understood and expected there to be conflict.

Through the words of Paul in Ephesians 4:2,3 we are instructed to “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

The church is at our best, our connectedness here is the strongest when we each recognize the talents God has given us,
when we recognize each other’s talents,
and when we bring them all together,
freely offering them—using them–
to make the church stronger,
to enrich each other’s lives,
and
to carry the goodness of Christ into the world around us.

“It is that God’s people will be equipped to do better work for him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity; until finally we all believe alike about our salvation and about our Savior, God’s Son, and all become full-grown in the Lord-yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ.”
Here’s a fun exercise for you to do when you have time:
Use your concordance and find all of the scriptures from Acts to Revelation in which you find the word “together” and see what early Christians did “together.”

Paul presents a series of contrasts:
do not lie, rather tell the truth.
Do not sin in your anger, rather be angry at appropriate times and express it in appropriate ways, with your heart set on reconciliation.
Do not steal, rather contribute.
Do not slander, rather build up.
Do not be bitter or full of wrath but be kind and forgive.

Our Reign of God citizenship is most clearly demonstrated through our commitment to right relationship to one another, through honest speech, generous contribution to the needs of others, a spirit of kindness, and a determination to forgive as we have been forgiven.

In. Ephesians 5:1, Paul summarizes the challenge well:
in light of all this, just imitate God.

What if we really listened to Jesus

0 Comments

August 5, 2018 Teaching Outline

8/6/2018

0 Comments

Haggai Speaks: God’s Challenge

The Power of a Signet Ring?

God is reassuring Zerubbabel in a couple of odd ways:
God is showing Zerubbabel his status by pointing out a few key facts:

The movements of nations are not at the discretion of kings.

The powerful do not hold their positions by their own right or might.

Zerubbabel’s power was not a product of his own personality or resources,
but of God’s will!

"When My hand is on you, it doesn’t matter if you are an Emperor, a king, or a governor, God’s power in you is absolute and ultimate."

It doesn’t matter who you are or how humble your position, if God has His hand on you, YOU are significant and important.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of death will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19 TNIV)
"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:18-20 TNIV)

Do we realize the extent of the authority given to us by God, the degree to which He trusts us to exercise godly judgement and decision making.

Paul makes a very strong point: If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! (1 Corinthians 6:1-3 TNIV)

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, "Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 TNIV)

Remind yourself that you are a useful, precious ornament on the hand of God.
I and the Father are one. No one can take them out of my Father’s hand.

Summary:
God loves you and values you.
You are an important part of His kingdom work here at gpnaz.

0 Comments

David Craig, Pastor

I began my journey as the Lead Pastor in June 2011. Prior to coming to Shreveport I served in Texas, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. I studied religion and music at Southern Nazarene University and received my M.A. degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary.

I was raised in a Christian home where I was exposed to the Lord at an early age. As a junior in high school I felt a call to serve Jesus for a lifetime in the ministry.

I and my wife, Dawn, have two sons. Caleb is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University and Adam attends ULM in Monroe, La

In my spare time I enjoy sports of all kinds, but especially the Texas Longhorns.

August 26, 2018 Teaching Outline

August 19, 2018 Teaching Outline

August 12, 2018 Teaching Outline

August 5, 2018 Teaching Outline

David Craig, Pastor

Archives

Categories

Our Address

Contact Us

Stay Connected

External Links