My Notes

God in our Interruption "God is always present in our interruption but seldom in our plans" Gloria Gaither The people mentioned as men/women of Faith were all ordinary people. But why we read about them in the Bible is because of a God interruption. The divine interruption!!! And one such person who was disrupted was Mary. Mary was a young girl and she was betrothed to be married to Joseph. And she probably had some plans laid out for her wedding. But the angel of the Lord appeared to her and disrupted all her plans. She was divinely interrupted!!! Verse: Luke 1:29 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be This interruption perplexed her. She was not sure what to expect..... good or bad. But with assurance from the angel of the Lord, she just accepted the will of the Lord. She didn't understand fully what the message from the angel of the Lord meant, but went along. Here is what we can learn from the story of M...

Faith in Redemption Redemption is the saving from sin. Man is born in sin and we all need that redemption. And that redemption is achieved in Faith Verse: Heberews 11:4 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. God is looking for an acceptable offerring. Abel brought something that was pleasing to God. Cain's offering was not pleasing God. So many things were missing in the unacceptable sacrifice. The fall short was crying out loud because Blood speaks Blood speaks Cains's anger translated into murder of his brother Abel. And God makes the reference to the blood that cried out to Him.  Verse: Genesis 4:10 10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground Here the blood of Abel spoke of vengence. And shedding of blood requires an equal sacrifice to cancel the requirement of venge...

Discerning the Voice of God Our faith in God grows as we journey through our spiritual life. The growing of faith requires different inputs. One of the inputs is Hope. The other is Voice of God.    Verse: Romans 10:17 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. And when the Voice of God comes through in our times of uncertainty, we can either choose to hear God over the voices of our circumstances.  Verse: Hebrews 3:15-16 15 As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” 16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? The voice of God came in a time of uncertainty. The people of Israel didn't know where they were going and hence the frustration. They choose to hear their internal frustration over the Voice of God.  So let us choose to listen to God over the other voices in our lives. And the Word of God will surprise you because of the sheer ...

What God can do through you? The purpose of our life on earth is to do what God wants us to do. And sometimes, we go through life aimlessly. Here is some points that will help you from Light Remove the Blinders Transformation  Light The first thing that you need in situation of lack of clarity, we need the light. And the Lord is the light we are looking for. Verse: Psalm 18:28 28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. Verse: Psalm 27:1 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid? Darkness means ignorance. And Satan rules over us when we are ignornant. But light makes such a difference that it creates something within from no where.  One such incident is when he created the earth. There are several verses in the creation story that talks of light .... Genesis 1:3,4,5,14,15,16 Remove the Blinders Paul talks of the light of the Gospel. While we may have light all arou...

Entering the Sanctuary The encounter with God is a moving experience. There are several people who have had the experience Isaiah saw the Lord and he felt the weight of  sin. This encounter was the anointing of the prophet  Peter with his 3 year encounter with Jesus got up on the day of pentecost and boldly spoke to the pilgrims in Jerusalem  Gideon with the encounter with God transformed him into a mighty warrior. Saul was transformed when the Spirit of God changed him and he became the first King of Israel. So let us enter the Sanctuary to have this encounter with God. Here are some steps. Repentance Dying Beholding 1) Repentance This is really a change in your thinking. This change is where you think the Kingdom thought.  Verse: Exodus 3:3‭-‬5 ESV 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”  4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I a...

What is the point of all this, Lord? Life is not easy. There are good times and there are bad times for sure. And during this time, this is the question that comes to us - Where is God? What is the point of all this? This question is not new.  Verse: Psalms 73:13‭-‬14 NLT  13 Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?  14 I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain. The book of Psalm is a great book. The writers speak their hearts out to God. This writer is Asaph and here is what he does Verse: 1 Chronicles 16:37 NLT 37 David arranged for Asaph and his fellow Levites to serve regularly before the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, doing whatever needed to be done each day. This person is not an ordinary believer. He is on a the level of prophet. And yet his struggle is real. Let us see what he has to say in this passage Passage: Psalm 73 2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almos...

 Responding to Pain Verse: Job 30:16-17, 26-28 16 “And now my life seeps away.  Depression haunts my days. 17 At night my bones are filled with pain,  which gnaws at me relentlessly. 26 So I looked for good, but evil came instead.  I waited for the light, but darkness fell. 27 My heart is troubled and restless.  Days of suffering torment me. 28 I walk in gloom, without sunlight.  I stand in the public square and cry for help. 29 Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals The sorrow and pain that Job went through is described in the verse. And sometimes we feel our trouble is very much like Job experienced. And all positive thinking cannot comfort us. So in the midst of this, how do we find comfort from God? To understand this we will study the story of Hanna PASSAGE: 1 Samuel 1 Hannah didn't have children. This was shameful in the society of that time. And to add to this, she was taunted by her rival. And Hannah dealt with this through Tears Talk Time Te...

ACTS 3 - Spiritual Lame-ness  Passage: Acts 3:1-10 This is first miracle that is recorded with details. The other miracles that happened has mention of it happening but the details are not documented.  But this miracle seem to have so much importance so that it's details were documented. Here are some points to note The miracle happened in the temple in the name of Jesus among the priesthood that orchestrated the death of Jesus This miracle happened among the worshipers and among people who came to experience God. But the lame person didn't really come to experience God. He came to make living by seeking alms. The person was lame. He lost the functionality of his feet and hence had to carry himself instead of his feet taking him from place to place.  Spiritual Decoding The Holy Spirit dwells in us Christians today. But we no idea on how we can function effectively with the help of the Holy Spirit. Hence we have no idea of our condition of Spirit lame-ness What does the Ho...

Worship as divine design God in all in His creation has displayed His excellent workmanship. This unique design extends to patterns of living and the way he instituted worship. The pattern for worship and it related design are as below Temple design in the garden The divine design in the wilderness The power of divine design 1. Temple design in the Garden When God created the earth and the Garden of Eden, we know there was a design. The design included how the 4 rivers watered the entire garden to make it green and full of life. The design also pointed out to the tree of good and evil and the significance.  When Moses was given instructed to build the temple, the design mirrored the creation and the garden of Eden. The temple design pointed to The Holy of Holies and its significance. And everything in the temple was built around it.   And so when Adam fell in sin, he was driven away from the garden and the pattern of the garden living.  What was the pattern of garden livi...

The family of God The family of God is a provides security for it's members. This security brings joy and happiness.... there is laughter and peace. The security is because God is actively protecting and building this family. See the origin of the family in Genesis. Verse: Genesis 12:1-3 1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.  2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.  3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. Abraham was part of his father's house and had a family. He had his routine of worshiping other gods. But one day God came to him. He told him that he intended to build a family through him. But this required that he leave his father's house. And God intended this family be a blessing to others.   ...

 Sermon on the Mount The book of Matthew is a historical account of Jesus life. Matthew references the prophesies several times as a fulfillment "King of the Jews" in Jesus Christ. This account has several truth hidden the story through different incidents and sermons. Let us look at the sermon on the mount Passage: Matthew Chapter 5,6,7 The sermon on the mount is a very famous passage. Sometimes it is referred to as a mount of a sermon. This passage has important life lessons. And Fathers always teach life lessons to his children. It is such a privilege to be called his children Verse: John 1:12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God Here are 12 points we will look at in the passage Beatitudes What is the purpose of this teaching? How bright should we shine? Ten Commandments and beyond God our Father Kingdom Saving "All or nothing" approach Do not worry Value relationship with God's people Prayer Choose wisely ...

Door of the Ark The story of Noah is one where God judged the earth but provided salvation for all who chose to enter the ark. And only Noah was remembered by God in his whole generation Verse: Genesis 8:1 1 But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede. The door of today's ark is Jesus. We all can enter and be saved. Here are several connections between the Noah's story and ours lives Noah was instructed to feed the animals for their sustenance... The food for our sustenance is the word of God The wind caused the waters to recede. The hovering can be compared to Genesis 1:2 when the Holy Spirit hovered over the unformed earth. The Holy Spirit can calm our stormy situation.  But we know that before the Holy Spirit could do His work, God remembered Noah. We also need to be remembered by God. God remembered Noah because he was found faithful. We also need to be fait...

Keep the fire burning Verse: Leviticus 6:8-13 8 The Lord said to Moses:  9 “Give Aaron and his sons this command: ‘These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar.  12 The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out . Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it.  13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out . The reference to fire is made on the passage more than once.... and it must not go out. God has revealed his plans to mankind using the elements of nature in several instances. And God always points to a passion burning in our hearts Moses encounter the burning bush Pillar of fire leading the people of Israel Moses encounter with the fire in the mountain on his way to Canaan. John the Baptis...

Church - Place of Authority and Power Some of the things we went through in the past few weeks are  Church - Who we are? Royal Priest - We are both kings and priests (1 Peter 2:9) Church - The place we gather together - We come into the presence of God (Hebrews 12:23) Verse: Matthew 16:17-19 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it .  The verse makes it clear that we (the church) are in the midst of war. But why is it that the church will not be overcome by the gates of Hell? This is because Jesus went before us and defeated hell. Here are some other names for hell - hades,  place of dead, utter darkness, dominion of Satan... etc We need to understand how the church can overcome Satan. Here are some pointers Nature of Satan's kingdom Church - Power  Church - Authority Nature of Satan's kingdom Here are some pointers to understand the Satan's kingdom Utter Dar...

Heavenly Jerusalem Verse: Hebrews 12:21-24 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”  22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering ,  23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all , and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,  24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. The passage talks of us to "come to Mount Zion". There is a blessing when God's people come into the presence of God. And that is what we desire when we gather together as a church. There are situation when God breaks in to our situation where God comes. But it is a blessing when we make that decision to come into His presence There are several instances where different people came to God. Disciples came to him (Matthew 5:1) Centurion comes...

Prayer There are many aspects of prayers. This is in context of questions being asked "if God answers all prayers then why all this trouble?" Are there unanswered prayer in the Bible? Verse: Matthew 12:38-40 38 One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” 39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.  40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Here is one prayer that was made to Jesus and Jesus flat out denied the request. He then goes talk of Jonah and the Queen of Sheba Jonah Jonah did very little talking in his prayer time. He often wanted to hear from God. And God spoke to him and it was not what he expected. What happens when we...

Salt of the World Verse: Matthew 5:13 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. The Christians are the salt of the world. Salt is a very important ingredient to most food we eat. And when used in the right proportion, it makes a world of difference Salt Characteristics We are going to look at some of the characteristics of Salt and connect it to the spiritual significance and how this influences the community around us Salt as a Neutralizer Salt is Sodium Chloride. Sodium and Chlorine by itself is harmful for life. But when it is brought together, it goes beyond being harmless.  Our human nature is evil. But the word of God neutralizes the harmful nature. People in our community see this difference and will be drawn to us and eventually see God.  Salt adds flavor Salt of added for flavor. The flavor signifies purpose. Hence we can become purpos...

Networking for Good Works Introduction We are focusing on the theme of the year - Networking for Good works. There are two aspects in this vision  Networking  Good works Why is networking important? This is because people are more effective when they connect with each other. So this is important to reach the goal of Good Works.  One Body - Church So what is the level of Networking we should achieve? Verse: 1 Corinthians 12:14, 18, 20, 25 14 For the body is not one part, but many.  18 But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.  20 But now there are many parts, but one body. 25 so that there may be no [s]division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another. The comparison is made between the body and the church. The body has all the members are involved for the right function of the purpose of life. So it is with the church.  In our observation there are various level of engagement Att...