College Hills Church Podcast

March 17, 2019

Luke tells the disciples they will receive power from the Holy Spirit to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth. God's Spirit that's lavishly poured out on us empowers us to move beyond ourselves into our world with the Gospel.

The Awaken Series is intended to wake us up to God. In this week's sermon we will look at one of the most surprising aspects of God and what it means for our lives. We hope you will join us for the conclusion of this series.

How does a coin get lost? It doesn't, at least not on its own. Coins get lost because we lose them. Coins get brushed off the table or dropped in an act of negligence or ignored under a pile of bills. Some of us get lost in much the same way. We feel like we have been brushed off or neglected. There are those whose experience of church is very painful. How do we find the lost coins?

Awaken Lebanon

We think church is about us. Church is about our tastes, our comforts, our likes and dislikes. The religious leaders, the very people who should have had the biggest heart for lost people, failed to see the importance of developing redemptive relationships with their friends and neighbors. In fact, their criticism of Jesus was he was spending entirely too much time with those far from God. This week we will consider how easy it is for us to miss the point and what we might do to remedy our attitudes.

Prayer is ultimately about seeking God. It is not a means to an end but the end itself. Although we begin by asking God simply for what we need, as we mature in our relationship with God we do not stay there. We begin to seek God in prayer not because God is useful, but because God is beautiful. In this message we will come to see we are not desperate for some thing, but we are desperate for someone.

Christmas is a time of gift giving. We give and receive gifts with those we love. But sometimes gifts can be deceiving. Not all gifts are given with the best of intentions. As we conclude our Christmas sermon series we will look at a time in the life of Jesus where gifts were deceiving and what that teaches us about discipleship to Jesus in our world today.

This year can be the greatest Christmas ever for you. Why? Because of the good news that John offers us in the opening of his Gospel. There is reminds us of a profound truth that can change your life and mine. Join us Sunday as we explore this truth for you, your neighbors, and the whole world.  

Kindness, generosity, joy and peace mark this time of the year. We feel a spirit of good-will that’s in the air. We even have a phrase to describe it-Christmas Cheer. What if the Christmas spirit was something we could experience 365 days a year? What if our focus was on giving instead of getting?

The life of the Christian should reflect the life of Christ. One of the key features we see in Jesus is that of being gentle and humble in heart (Matthew 11:28-29). Gentleness shapes the life, ministry, and message of Jesus. Therefore, this virtue should shape our lives as Christians as well. Join us Sunday as we encounter and become like this gentle Jesus.