Service 07-25-2010
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Scripture: Genesis: 18:20-32
Sermon: “God of the Old Testament” by Pastor Mark Swart
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Service 06-20-2010
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Scripture: Revelation 21:1-7
Sermon: “Don’t Be Afraid to Cry” by Dave Dzwonczyk
Audio Recordings:
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Service 06-13-2010
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Scripture: Psalm 32
Sermon: “The Joy of the Forgiven” by Pastor Mark Swart
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Service 06-06-2010 – GreenFaith
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Scripture: Psalms 8, Colossians 1:15-20
Sermon: “Greening our Faith” by Pastor Mark Swart
Today we welcome Rev. Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest, Executive Director of GreenFaith and an award-winning spiritual writer and nationally recognized preacher on the environment. Rev. Harper has developed a range of innovative programs to make GreenFaith a leader in the fast growing religious-environmental movement.
This recording is from the 10:45am service.
Audio Recordings:
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Service 05-30-2010
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Scripture: Proverbs 8:22-31
Sermon: “Wisdom Speaks” by Pastor Mark Swart
Audio Recordings:
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Service 05-23-2010
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Scripture: John 14:8-17
Sermon: “Feeling God” by Pastor Todd Buurstra
Have you ever felt God? I mean, why are you doing this? Ok, we all know the first, honest answer that comes to most of your minds: My mom is making me do this. And I say, Good for her! Now for a few of you, at least, I hope that you sense the Holy Spirit drawing you to Jesus. But on this Pentecost Sunday, wouldn’t it be cool to feel God like the first Pentecost?
Hopefully you remember the story: the disciples are praying together, and all of the sudden, the winds begin to whip and fire enters the room, and a halo, of sorts, lights on everyone, as they felt the Spirit filling them up. So they went to the temple and preached in the languages of the people gathered from all over the world. They preached in languages they didn’t know. And 3000 folks came to believe! The supernatural God came upon them in a supernatural way!
Wouldn’t it be cool if that happened today? As one friend asked another from NBRC, do you believe in God? Have you ever felt God? Or as Phillip told Jesus, Show us the Father.
But Surveyors has been all about, not feeling God, but believing in God. I still say that believing is easier when you feel it. And some people do feel God. Niiki Young told me how she had always believed in God, but actually came to feel him in the crisis of her dad dying.
Nikki, tell us how you believe God helped you…
How has feeling God’s presence helped you? (I mean, I still assume that you miss your dad.)
Nikki felt God because she first believed The apostles and most of us believed and then felt, too.
So the best way that I know of to help you feel God is to persuade you to decide to believe and then, if you still want to feel God, two things: do God’s works and read God’s word.
Know God through doing God’s works. Nikki was doing God’s work, taking care of her Dad, right? And in that work she felt God. Steve and Nancy were the school’s hottest couple: he, handsome and athletic; she, a cute cheerleader. After college they planned to marry. As they prepared for a happy wedding, sending out invites, picking tuxes and dresses, getting the hall, just before the BIG day, Steve was in a car accident and crippled for life. At first he couldn’t walk or talk. Nancy, her mother said, you know you don’t have to marry him. Nancy struggled and prayed, she tried to imagine her life without him. One night she had a dream. A man came to her while she was crying about the accident. Why are you crying? asked the man. Because I can’t take care of Steve, but I can’t imagine myself without him. Then how about if I help you, came the reply. Then the man vanished and the dream ended. Nancy woke up believing that she had seen an angel and she married him. After therapy he walked like this and talked like… Even though she had to feed and bathe him, she married him because that was God’s work for her life. And she said, God has always helped me. I’ve been so blessed!
I feel God when I help someone pray. It got dramatic one time. Someone came to me who had grown up in another church and really messed up their life. They had broken the 7th commandment (???), and it was breaking them. After we talked the first time, I could tell that they were still hiding something. So the second meeting I asked something like, If Jesus were sitting right here. What do you need to tell him? And they began to confess about pornography, and this seventh commandment. It was such a relief to get it off their chest that they could finally pray. The floodgates opened, and prayer poured out. I felt God in doing God’s work.
Know God through doing God’s works and reading God’s words. I’m thinking about how little the church helps you with your raging hormones. In my day, all the church said was, NO! Have sexual feelings? NO! Think you might be gay or bi? NO! Is s/he hot? NO! And let me tell you, that wasn’t very helpful. Maybe that’s why we too often said, Yes! So how does God’s word help you to feel Jesus in your body? I feel Jesus most when I realize that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Your body isn’t dirty. Its not shameful. You aren’t ugly, or fat, or skinny, or pimply. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The more you realize that the church won’t have to say NO! Just: you are the temple of the Holy Spirit! Value and respect your body as God’s word says, and you’ll make good choices—and feel God!
So, Surveyors today you are committing yourself to know God through God’s … and…
Audio Recordings:
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Service 04-11-2010
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Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Sermon: You Shall Live
by Pastor Mark Swart
Audio Recordings:
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Service 02-07-2010
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Service: 02/07/2010
Scripture: Revelation 21:1-5
Sermon: “Epic Act Four: Thy Kingdom Restored” by Pastor Mark Swart
Audio Recordings:
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Service 01-03-2010
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Scripture: Jeremiah 31:7-14
Sermon: Home for the Holidays
Pastor Mark Swart
Service 12-13-2009
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Scripture: Zephaniah 3:17, Philippians 4:4,8-13, John 3:7,13-17
Sermon: “Christmas List”
Pastor Todd Buurstra
I don’t need to tell you that these are tough times. Maybe the toughest times in my half-century. So I find myself feeling down once in a while. Let’s just review the list:
- Unemployment at 10%–just met one of you @ Starbucks to hear about threatened job cuts;
- Two wars: one in which we’re making progress and the other is a quagmire;
- Nuclear Proliferation—the Iranian Republican Guard may gain control over Iran’s bombs
- Dire predictions over the future of the climate in Copenhagen;
And we haven’t even talked about healthcare and national deficits. But, more to the point of when I feel down, and maybe when you do, personal stuff: the challenge of marriage, the insecurities of a job (for me its more my own sense of inadequacy), a kid, an expense…
Anyone need a Prozac yet?! Listing the tough issues in this season puts me in mind of writing a Christmas list-which may correspond to this feces list. But in the midst of another tough time, when Paul was sitting in prison for preaching Jesus, the Spirit inspires him to write Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice. Always, I guess that means even in tough times, like when rats infest your cell. Why rejoice in tough times?
Sitting in that dark cell, with his closest friends, the rats, Paul got some news, but not very good news. His favorite church, in Philippi, was having conflict. He would expect a troubled church like Corinth to fight, but Philippi? Can’t we all just get along? I imagine that infighting made Paul nervous. Doesn’t nagging conflict do that to you? It’s at least an irritant, like sand in your shoes. I hate slicing through tension. Paul writes…
Then there’s the prophet Zephaniah. Say that name with me. Zephaniah… By 625 BC Judah had lived under the long shadow of Assyria for 50 years. Zephaniah, a prince, had a father and grandfather on Judah’s throne that were just Assyrian puppets. What to do with this fear? How do you deal with your fear of bullies? Z writes…
And lastly there’s John the Baptist. Preaching in hellfire and brimstone style he cries, You brood of vipers! Who told you to flee from God’s wrath?! What? What shall we do? they anxiously reply. So wild John confronts their money problems… (vv. 10-14) Don’t you sometimes feel tempted to slip into a morally gray area for more money?
In all these tough problems God’s advice is…but why rejoice in tough times?
John the Baptist tells us of God’s positive purpose for judgment that can be behind tough times. John describes it as a winnowing fork which was used, as you see in the picture, to separate wheat from chaff; i.e., the good stuff to eat from the waste to throw away. The chaff, being mostly fluff, floated away, while the wheat being more substantial fell in a pile. That’s how God uses tough times in our lives. God’s winnowing fork in America’s financial crisis is tossing away the chaff of frivolous spending and settling the substance of savings. God’s winnowing fork this Christmas may mean $50 presents rather than $500 presents to be able to get out of debt. So rejoice in the positive purpose.
Zephaniah gives us the second reason to rejoice in tough times: the positive presence God. Our church planter friends, Carlos and Carmen, were discouraged last meeting that they may have to shut the doors on the Reading church’s daughter church in Lebanon, PA over a conflict. After an hour of agonizing over a tough situation there, we decided to table it one more month to pray for a miracle. After the meeting I went over to my friend to say, I know you are disappointed. Carlos replied like all great overcomers, Yes, but its God’s problem. And God can do miracles. A tough situation isn’t over when the “fat lady sings” because God always has the last word. I related how we struggled with our daughter church Ignite. And now an even bigger group is gathering in a small group The God who is present in our tough times is a positive God. That’s reason to rejoice!
One last reason to rejoice in tough times is provided by Paul from jail. God places positive people around. In Paul’s case a guy by the name of Epaphroditus had brought a care package to Paul from the Philippian church. That warmed the cockles of the old apostle’s heart, giving him reason to rejoice. Have you heard about that young boy who was having surgery to remove a tumor by his eyes that cost him his sight? They asked him before the surgery, while he could still see, What would you like? I’d like to watch USC play football, he replied. So USC team befriended him. When the players come off the field they tap him on the shoulder or give him a hug. Now blind, he beams. What positive people has God put in your life? What a great reason to rejoice!
Those are today’s scriptural reasons to rejoice. Make your own Christmas list of reasons to rejoice in your tough times. Email them to me, if you don’t mind. Amen.
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