Bringing Scripture to Life

   I have heard from many different mothers throughout the years how difficult it is for them to get their babies to say "bye-bye" to their binky's. And yet, as Christians, the Bible is quite clear that we have our own personal binky that God calls us to give up to Him as well.    In fact, this past Sunday we were going through a passage of Scripture from 1 John 2, that brings us this very point. The Apostle John tells us in 1 John 2:12-14;  “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.” ...

1st John 2:3-14 When Jesus Overtakes Us Pastor Jason Stewart I.       Introduction:    As Christians we usually have one of two things that are controlling our lives. It is our Savior, or our Sin. Last week we looked at 1 John 2:1-2, in a message entitled, “When Sin Overtakes Us.” This week we will be looking at 1 John 2:3-14 in a message entitled “When Jesus Overtakes Us.” Be sure to read What Controls you in life the Most ? which helps drive home this idea. This morning we are going to see what takes place in our life when we allow Jesus Christ to overtake our thoughts and our actions. Or in other words, we as Christians give permission to Jesus to be in the drivers’ seat of our lives. II.      Revelation: What is going on in this passage?    In this passage of Scripture we are going to discover that in order to experience the transformation in life that Scripture promises us, we have to be men and women who allow Je...

   "For the flesh wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit wars against flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." Galatians 5:17    As Christians we usually have one of two things that are controlling our lives. It is our Savior, or our Sin. When Sin overtakes us, it only leads to our spiritual and emotional destruction. When our Savior overtakes us, it always leads to victory and freedom.    The effects of this concept of what is controlling our lives can easily be seen in an incident that took place in my life several years ago. It was when Lyndsey and I were celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary. We were traveling up through Central California, and had just driven past Santa Barbara, where there is a long stretch of beautiful coastline. While we were traveling up the coast there was a beautiful sunset that was setting over the ocean, and so I wanted to capture it as a reminder of our four-y...

1 st John 2:1-2 When Sin Overtakes Us Pastor Jason Stewart I.       Introduction:    As Christians what are we supposed to do when we fall into sin, and no matter what we say, or no matter what we do, we can’t seem to escape the bondage of that sin? Along with feeling trapped and in bondage, there is also the fruit of sin that brings with it depression, discouragement, condemnation, and spiritual unrest. What do you do when the enemy of your soul convinces you that you are a worthless person, and that God is finished with you, due to the fact that you feel as if the sin in your life has overtaken you. How are we supposed to live out our lives for Jesus, when we know deep down inside that we are falling way short in certain areas of our lives.    Today we are going to be looking at a passage of Scripture from 1 st John 2 that answers these questions for us, in a message entitled “When Sin Overtakes Us.” II.      Revelati...

The Bible tells us in 1st John 1:9,  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This verse is known as the Christian Bar of Soap. It’s not a bar of soap that has Ivory or Dove on it. It’s not a bar of soap that says, “sin all you want, because this is the soap of Liberty”.  It is a bar of soap that says, “if you have faith in Jesus Christ. If you are practicing the truth” (1 John 1:6), “if you are trying your best to walk in the light (1 John 1:7) and trying to love God and love others” (1 John 3:18-19), you can clean yourself off with this soap. It is the bar of soap that says, “Anytime the sin nature that is within you begins to take over, anytime that you start wandering away from the light and traveling back into darkness, this bar of soap is here for you to grab hold of and to cleanse you of your sins so that God can bring you back into a right relationship with Him.” When we begin wandering...

This past Sunday I was speaking on First John, and while I was teaching through this portion of Scripture I was trying to articulate the important similarities of getting sunburned, and living out the Christian faith. In the passage of Scripture in 1 John 1:6-7, the Bible tells us: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." Walking in the "light" means that we are being reflections of God to this dark and lost world, much like the moon reflects the light of the sun as it abides in darkness. And on  Sunday I was pointing out the fact that whenever we are exposed to the sunlight, we will be impacted by it as well. Not only will we be able to see clearly where we are traveling, but if we get too close to the sun or stay in the presence of the sun for too long,...

1 st  John 1:5-10 Walking in the Light with Jesus, pt.2 Pastor Jason Stewart   I.        Introduction:      In this study we will see how what we looked at last time, “God is light”, applies to our lives, and changes our  character.  We will see that when a person accepts God’s invitation to enter into His unapproachable (1 Timothy 6:16), and marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9) through faith in Jesus, that person will naturally begin having a dramatic character change, due to being in relationship with God in His marvelous light. II.       Revelation:  What is this text saying a.      Fellowship/a Relationship with God (1:6)    To have fellowship with God means that we must have a relationship with God. Fellowship is “koinonia”, which means to partake together, to share “in common.” It is a partnership that both parties make a committed contribution to the relationshi...