Scripture Reference: Luke 1:5-80
a ministry of mountainview christian church
Monday, December 29, 2014
God will come
Scripture Reference: Luke 1:5-80
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Christmas Eve Service
Monday, December 22, 2014
God Will Rule
Scripture Reference: 2 Samuel 7:12-17, 12:24-25 & Matthew 1:6-7
Monday, December 15, 2014
God Will Save
Scripture Reference: Exodus 1-3, 12-14
Monday, December 8, 2014
God Will Bless
Scripture Reference: Genesis 21:1-6
Monday, December 1, 2014
The Gospel Is Grace, Peace, And Mercy
Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:11-18
Monday, November 24, 2014
The Gospel Is About Restorations For All
Scripture Reference: Galatians 6:1-10
Monday, November 17, 2014
The Gospel Means Using our Freedom to Serve Others
Scripture Reference: Galatians 5:1-26
Monday, November 10, 2014
The Gospel is Freed Slaves freeing other Slaves
Scripture Reference: Galatians 4:8-20
Monday, November 3, 2014
The Gospel Means Everyone Can Be In The Family
Scripture Reference: Galatians 3:26-4:7
Monday, October 27, 2014
The Gospel Isn't About Rules
Scripture Reference: Galatians 3:1-22
Monday, October 20, 2014
The Gospel Means No Discrimination
Listen to the sermon with video of the slideshow.
Listen to the audio only.
Scripture Reference: Galatians 2:1-21
Monday, October 13, 2014
The One Gospel Comes From God!
Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, October 5, 2014 by Nathan Smith.
Listen to the sermon with video of the slideshow.
Listen to the audio only.
Scripture Reference: Galatians 1:1-24
Monday, October 6, 2014
God's Monopoly - Because My Cup Runs Over (and even if it doesn't)
Scripture Reference: Exodus 25:1-8 & 36:1-7
Monday, September 29, 2014
Money - It's More Than A Game
Scripture Reference: 1 Timothy 6 2-10
Monday, September 22, 2014
Money - It's More Than A Game
Scripture Reference: Luke 12 13-34
Monday, September 15, 2014
Money - It's More Than A Game
Scripture Reference: Deuteronomy 8 1-18
Monday, September 8, 2014
Next Step - Spiritual Gifting
Scripture Reference: 1Peter 4:1-11
Monday, September 1, 2014
Next Step - Spiritual Gifting
Scripture Reference: Romans 12 1-21
Pastor Rodger was challenged to the Ice Bucket Challenge by a local police officer to raise money for the 100 Club of Arizona which raises money for families of fallen police officers. In addition to donating himself, he raffled off 10 buckets of ice water and the right to dump them on him, raising a total of $349. All proceeds will be divided equally between the 100 Club and an ALS Charity.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Next Step - Spiritual Gifting
Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 12 1-30
Monday, August 18, 2014
Next Step - Spiritual Gifting
Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, August 10, 2014 by Rodger Loar.
Scripture Reference: Ephesians 4 1-16
Monday, August 11, 2014
Next Step - Spiritual Gifting
Scripture Reference: 1Cor 13:1-13
Monday, August 4, 2014
Coming Day - A Kingdom of Priests who have gotten lazy and flippant in their worship of God and need to be called back.
Scripture Reference: Malachi 4
Monday, July 28, 2014
Robbing God - A Kingdom of Priests who have gotten lazy and flippant in their worship of God and need to be called back.
Scripture Reference: Malachi 3
Monday, July 21, 2014
Broken Covenants - A Kingdom of Priests who have gotten lazy and flippant in their worship of God and need to be called back.
Scripture Reference: Malachi 2
Monday, July 14, 2014
Blemished Sacrifices - A Kingdom of Priests who have gotten lazy and flippant in their worship of God and need to be called back.
Scripture Reference: Malachi 1
Monday, July 7, 2014
TESTIFY! - Evangelism shares your story as a part of God's story
Scripture Reference: Acts 22:1-23:11
Monday, June 30, 2014
CULTURE! - Evangelism is about discipleship in God's kingdom, not just about individual salvation (we must change our culture)
Scripture Reference: Acts 19:8-10
Monday, June 23, 2014
REASON! - Evangelism appeals to intellect & reason, not just faith
Scripture Reference: Acts 17:1-15 & 16-34
Monday, June 16, 2014
INFLUENCE! - Evangelism reaches those with influence over others
Scripture Reference: Acts 16:11-15
Monday, June 9, 2014
OPPORTUNITY! - Evangelism often happens in chance encounters
Scripture Reference: Acts 4:32-37
Sunday, June 1, 2014
RICHES! - Evangelism means sacrificial generosity
Scripture Reference: Acts 4:32-37
Monday, May 26, 2014
MIRACLE! - Evangelism includes the Supernatural
Scripture Reference: Acts 3&4
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
A Loving Family
Click Below to Hear the Sermon for Sunday, May 11, 2014 by Pastor Nathan Smith“The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he is willing to stake his life on his belief.” (T. S. Eliot)
Scripture Reference: Acts 2:42-47
Some people go through life feeling as though they cannot fit in anywhere. They might have a quirky sense of humor that no one really gets, or struggle to find the right words at the right time and end up making conversations awkward. There are people whose parents abandoned them at a young age, or died suddenly, leaving them to be whirled through a dehumanizing cycle of foster and group homes. In less dramatic instances, some people have just grown weary of having a rolodex full of people with whom they share weak ties, mere acquaintances at best. They are missing an important piece to their lives and they know it, they feel it. They are missing a family.
The love and interdependence that comes from being part of a nurturing family is not just important for human beings, it is necessary for our healthy survival. Psychologist Harry Harlow conducted a series of experiments involving rhesus monkeys in the 1950s and 60s which scientifically undergirded the need for nurturing. His experiments were controversial, cruel even, but nevertheless hugely insightful. Baby monkeys were removed from their natural mothers within a few hours of birth and taken to be “raised” by two surrogate mothers. One surrogate was made of soft terrycloth but supplied no food, and the other was composed of wire with a bottle for the baby monkey to feed from. The results were enlightening. The baby monkeys spent considerably more time with their cloth mothers than with the wire mothers who were able feed them. They curled up to their cloth mothers for comfort, and when placed in a room to explore they would only do so if the surrogate mother was present. Harlow concluded:
"These data make it obvious that contact comfort is a variable of overwhelming importance in the development of affectional response, whereas lactation is a variable of negligible importance."
The impact of Harlow’s research can still be felt today, as it helped influence key changes in the way orphanages, adoption agencies, social services groups and child care providers approached the care of children. Loving relationships are necessary for thriving. This is every bit as true for humans as it is for monkeys.
In Acts 2:42-47 we are given a glimpse into the interior life of the earliest communities of Jesus-followers. And the striking feature of their communal life was they lived as though they were a family because that is precisely what they believed themselves to be. The Christian community is described in idealistic terms, with Luke summarizing their communal life as being "devoted to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship." This devotion took concrete form in the people's:
- eating together daily
- praying together
- worshiping together daily in the Temple
- sharing their resources with those among them in need
- and performing signs and wonders.
This unity was attractive to people outside of the early church, as Luke concludes the section saying, “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (v. 47).”
Perhaps the greatest catalyst of the early church attracting Jewish non-believers into its ranks was the fact that they were visible. They did not hide from the danger of certain persecution which would immediately spring up from the Jewish leaders. They did not gather in holy huddles away from the world, but broke out of the homes in which they shared their meals and attended the Jewish temple together daily, praising God with glad and generous hearts. The Christian community was conspicuous, out in the open for all to see. Some loved them, others hated them. But everyone saw them.
The church must be a place where broken people can find loving, nurturing relationships. This means we must clean-up the infighting within our congregations, and work to bridge the gap between “our church” and other churches. We must be willing to share our goods with those who are in need among us and be available for people during their darkest moments. We should be eating together regularly, praying together, and worshiping together. And we should be doing this publicly, so that the world may see that God has given us glad and generous hearts and made us part of a loving family, his family.
I pray that people observe our family, recognize in it something bigger than themselves - bigger than all of us - and that the Lord will add to our number those who are being saved. The true reward comes when a person says in all heartfelt honesty, “I finally feel like I am a part of a family that loves me.”
Nathan Smith
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