http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com We believe that God’s truth has the power to change people’s lives. We ourselves have been transformed by the truth that we can be reconciled to God by trusting in His Son Jesus Christ and His death on our behalf on the cross. It is our mission ... en We believe that God’s truth has the power to change people’s lives. We ourselves have been transformed by the truth that we can be reconciled to God by trusting in His Son Jesus Christ and His death on our behalf on the cross. It is our mission ... Alathia Community Church no Alathia Community Church Sermons craigmiller@alathia.org ℗ & © 2008 Alathia Community Church 720 Most of the poetry written three thousand years ago is never given a second thought in our day, but the Psalms remain relevant because they were inspired by God and are therefore able to help us understand who God is and how to walk with Him, and the vivid language and rhythmic writing help convey the same timeless truths to us that they brought to their original audience. Psalm 1 is a poetic reminder that God’s Word is a creative force, not a restrictive force, and is given to us to nourish our spiritual growth as we grow closer to God. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/gods-word-creates http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/psalm-11-6-gods-word-creates.mp3 Sun, 04 May 2008 00:33:47 CDT Paul Dean Psalms: Lyrics for the Road bible,jesus,faith,psalm,poetry,word 40:26 Worship is often defined as a type of music sung as a part of church services but this is only a small part of what worship really is. Worship is giving praise, honor, and devotion to something or someone. This makes us all worshipers because we can’t help but give ourselves up and worship something; the only question is what will be the object of our worship. The apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans of all of the mercy and love that God has extended to us through His Son Jesus Christ, and because of this it is fitting for us respond to His mercy in worship, not merely with our singing once a week, but with our whole lives throughout the week as do everything with the goal that God’s greatness would be displayed by the way that we treat people and the decisions that we make. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/defining-true-worship http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/romans-121-2-defining-true-worship.mp3 Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:42:16 CDT Paul Dean General Topics faith,paul,romans,worship,bible,jesus 47:43 After Jonah is spit back up on the beach by the fish God sent to rescue him, God again tells Jonah to go preach to the Ninevites. This time Jonah obeys, and after Jonah proclaims God’s impending judgment all of the Ninevites from the king on down repent of their evil ways and hope for mercy from God. God relents from destroying Nineveh because mercy and compassion are a part of His very nature. Jonah understood this, and his anger at the prospect of the Ninevites avoiding judgment and receiving grace is what led him to run away to Tarshish in the first place. God sent a vine and then a worm and a scorching wind to expose Jonah’s sinful heart and reveal his self-righteousness and how he loves his own comfort more than other people. We are just like Jonah in that we often think we deserve God’s kindness more than other people and we love our own comfort more than our calling to be like Jonah and be ambassador’s of God’s grace to warn people of their impending judgment and urge them to repent and turn to Jesus Christ. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/repenting-and-following-god http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/craig-miller-042008-jonah-31-411-repenting-and-following-the-merciful-and-compassionate-god.mp3 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:22:56 CDT Craig Miller Jonah pride,comfort,jesus,run,bible,repent,jonah 43:55 God has a plan to bring repentance to the citizens of Nineveh, and has tells the prophet Jonah to go there and warn them that God is going to judge the city soon. Jonah wants nothing to do with God’s plan so he boards a ship headed in the opposite direction to run away. There’s nowhere that you can get away from God and He sends a violent storm against the ship. The sailors throw Jonah overboard to try to quell God’s anger and the storm. God has mercy on Jonah and sends a large fish to swallow Jonah to keep him from drowning, and then miraculously keeps him alive for three days inside the fish. While in the fish Jonah repents of his running from God and gives God glory for saving him. In our own ways we all foolishly run from God and run instead to our own hobbies, addictions, careers, and distractions, and we all need to examine our own lives to see how we run from God and then repent of our sin and turn back to Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/running-from-god-as-fast-as-i-can http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/jonah-part-1-running-from-god-as-fast-as-i-can.mp3 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:22:19 CDT Garrett Duchesne Jonah jonah,repent,bible,run,jesus 33:32 People often aspire to positions of leadership because it can bring them fame, power, and comfort, and those who seek power for such reasons will often use the people they lead to achieve these goals. The Apostle Peter speaks to the leaders of the churches and reminds them that they are not to act like this but instead they should lovingly care for the people entrusted to their care, leading by example and not by being domineering, shepherding their flock in the example of their Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. The rest of the people in the church should humbly accept the authority of their pastors, knowing that God has appointed their leaders to help guide them and care for them. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/trusting-jesus-and-elders-during-difficult-times http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/1-peter-51-14-trusting-jesus-and-elders-during-difficult-times.mp3 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:33:29 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,elder,pastor,suffer,shepherd 61:05 We spend a lot of time, money and effort to try to make our lives more comfortable and avoid suffering. When suffering does come into our lives we often complain and wonder why God didn’t do something to prevent it. The Apostle Peter wrote to a group of Christians who were undergoing persecution because they followed Jesus and he told them that they shouldn’t be surprised by times of suffering but instead understand that Jesus suffered on our behalf while He was here and we should endure suffering for His sake with the same attitude that He had. We should be willing to share the Gospel with people regardless of how they will treat us afterward, knowing that we are blessed when we are mocked for our faith. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/trusting-jesus-during-difficult-times http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/1-peter-412-19-trusting-jesus-during-difficult-times.mp3 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:47:47 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,suffer,persecution,endurance 49:37 Nearly two thousand years ago the scared and dejected followers of Jesus were told on a Sunday morning that their beloved leader, who had been brutally executed three days before, had risen from the dead. They were all incredulous and did not believe the account until Jesus came to them, and they saw his scars and felt his wounds. The reality of the resurrected Christ changed these followers from timid men who were mainly concerned with their own status into people who would boldly proclaim the greatness of Christ to all regardless of what it cost them. They could do this because the same God who rose up out of His grave promised them that if they believed in Him He would bring them up out of their graves to spend eternity with Him. This great promise is extended to everyone in the world and we too can rise and be with Christ forever if we trust in Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/easter-2008-unexpected-hope http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_03_23_08_Luke_24_Unexpected_Hope.mp3 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:57:08 CDT Paul Dean General Topics jesus,bible,faith,easter,resurrect,salvation 42:15 People will often speculate about how close we are to the end times and how many prophecies have been fulfilled and how many are left to go. Sometimes this speculation can go too far and cause people to get so wrapped up in when Jesus is coming back that they lose sight of Jesus Himself. The thought that Jesus will come back soon also tends to lead people to withdraw from the world and stop caring about its condition. Peter reminds his readers that the end of all things is at hand and exhorts them to do the exact opposite. He urges us to be self-controlled and hospitable, to serve one another with the gifts that God has given us, and to love each earnestly, because earnest love covers over sins. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/genuine-faith-meditates-on-the-end http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_03_09_08_1Peter_4_7-11_Genuine_Faith_Meditates_on_the_End.mp3 Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:13:46 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith jesus,bible,peter,end,heaven,love,prophecy,rapture 60:25 Christian community should be marked by mutual love and understanding but far too often it rife with bitterness, gossip, and harsh words between members. This is often caused because people do not forgive each other when they are sinned against but instead harbor a self-righteous attitude and think that they are above committing the kind of sin in question. Peter reminds us that we are all to be united because we have all been forgiven by God because Christ died for our sins, and just as God did not repay us evil for our evil towards Him but instead gave us forgiveness and grace we too are to bless and forgive those that sin against us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/how-genuine-faith-redeems-fellowship http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_03_02_08_1Peter_3_8-12_How_Genuine_Faith_Redeems_Fellowship.mp3 Sun, 02 Mar 2008 01:16:25 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,fellowship,community,love 55:58 God’s roles for men and women in marriage have been offensive in varying ways in each of the cultures that the Gospel has met. Some people are offended that women are asked to submit, and some are offended that the man is called to honor his wife and treat her as an equal. God has set up His plan for marriage in such a way that it enables each other to stop jockeying for power in the marriage and love each other sacrificially. The husband is to step up, take responsibility for the family. He is to lead by example and with sacrificial love, not by intimidation, domination, or abuse. The wife is to willingly submit to this sacrificial leadership and not nag, boss around, or emotionally manipulate her husband. When both people do this according to God’s good plan it is a beautiful picture of how Jesus Christ loves the church as His beloved bride. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/how-genuine-faith-redeems-family http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_02_24_08_1Peter_3_1-7_How_Genuine_Faith_Redeems_Family.mp3 Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:19:12 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,family,husband,wife,love 57:27 We often grumble about the toil and injustice that can come from our jobs. Peter reminds us that we are to be ambassadors for Jesus at work as well, respecting our bosses and doing good to everyone there while patiently enduring the letdowns and frustrations that come with any job. We should do this because Jesus set the example for loving people while He was being insulted and abused, enduring the cross for our sake so that we could be reconciled to God. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/how-genuine-faith-redeems-work http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_02_17_08_1Peter_2_18-25_How_Genuine_Faith_Redeems_Work.mp3 Sun, 17 Feb 2008 01:21:30 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,work,vocation 46:47 The Apostle Peter reminds us that we are foreigners here in this life, and because of this we should not get distracted from our journey by empty worldly passions that cry for our attention like lame roadside exhibits on a road trip. Instead, we should live honorable lives and respect the authorities over us because God has put them in power for our good. If we do this it will help quiet those who would slander and oppose us because we preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/how-genuine-faith-transforms-neighborhoods-and-communities http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_02_10_08_1Peter_2_11-17_How_Genuine_Faith_Transforms_Neighborhoods_and_Countries.mp3 Sun, 10 Feb 2008 01:23:41 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,community,neighborhood,school,government 63:12 Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. Everything we do is built and founded upon who He is and what He has done for us on the cross. In light of this we are called with the same command that Jesus repeated throughout His ministry on earth to the people He encountered: “follow me.” People can stumble over the idea of following Jesus for a number of reasons. Some people don’t believe in the supernatural, some don’t want to admit that they are sinners in need of salvation, and others consider the cost of following Christ as too high. Those that do follow though are being built up into a spiritual house that honors Him by praising and serving Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/jesus-the-foundation-of-genuine-faith http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_02_03_08_1Pet_2_4-10_Jesus_the_Foundation_of_Genuine_Faith.mp3 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:26:06 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith jesus,bible,faith,peter,disciple,salvation 60:49 In light of the fact that we as Christians have been ransomed from our futile old ways of life by the blood of Jesus and now have a great inheritance waiting with Him the Apostle Peter calls us push aside all of the sinful passions and habits that used to enslave us like malice, jealousy, deceit, and hypocrisy, and instead love each other sincerely and hunger to learn more about Christ through the Scriptures. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/done-with-all-of-that http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_01_27_08_1Pet_1_13-2_3_Genuine_Faith_Done_With_all_of_That.mp3 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:28:37 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,love,inheritance,ransom 61:30 Religion is often used as a means of obtaining material blessings in this life like wealth, success, protection, health, and a good family, and when that religion fails to provide us with these things we lose faith in it. The Apostle Peter wrote to remind us that our hope doesn’t lie in such present circumstances but in the eternal realities promised to us in heaven, and we can put our faith in these promises because they were bought for us by the death of Jesus on the cross. This hope helps us to endure the trials and suffering that come in this life because they prove that our faith is genuine and prepare us for the blessings that will be ours when we see Jesus face to face. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/genuine-faith-in-salvation-and-suffering-part-2 http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_01_20_08_1Pet_1_3-12_Genuine_Faith_in_Salvation_and_Suffering_Part2.mp3 Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:33:08 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,religion,salvation,hope,promise,suffer 46:11 The Apostle Peter reminds us that we have a great source of hope because God has promised a pure, eternal inheritance for those who believe in Him. This great inheritance has been secured for us because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave to prove beyond a doubt that He was in fact God in the flesh. The historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is rock solid and we can put our trust in the God who made it happen. Fixing our thoughts on the hope that we have in heaven will help us to endure the suffering that we go through in this life. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/genuine-faith-in-salvation-and-suffering-part-1 http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_01_13_08_1Pet_1_3-12_Genuine_Faith_in_Salvation_and_Suffering.mp3 Sun, 13 Jan 2008 01:37:07 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith history,suffer,promise,hope,salvation,religion,peter,faith,jesus,bible 61:20 Peter begins his letter by introducing himself as someone who is identified with Jesus Christ. There was a time when Peter was too ashamed to identify himself with Jesus and denied that he knew Him three times because of the threat of persecution. Jesus heard this but did not condemn Peter. Instead, He went to the cross to die for Peter’s sins, rose from the grave, forgave Peter, and reinstated him as a leader. After that Peter spent his remaining days as an apostle, or errand boy, for Jesus, pointing to Him and His glory and telling people about how they could find forgiveness and reconciliation with God through faith in Jesus Christ, just like he did. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/genuine-faith-begins-with-jesus http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_01_06_08_1Pet_1_1-2_Genuine_Faith_Begins_with_Jesus.mp3 Sun, 06 Jan 2008 01:39:10 CDT Paul Dean 1 Peter: Genuine Faith bible,jesus,faith,peter,apostle,salvation 44:34 Your children have it right. Christmas should be eagerly anticipated. Luke showed the significance of Christmas through the eyes of one who had waited his whole life to see the Messiah. When Simeon saw Joseph and Mary’s son he rejoiced that salvation had come, although he saw that not everyone would embrace the coming Kingdom of God. We too should rejoice and celebrate Jesus’ advent and take advantage of the opportunity to connect with God, connect with our friends and family, and reach out to those who need us during Christmas time. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/christmas-2007-the-wait http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/christmas-2007-the-wait.mp3 Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:33:30 CDT Paul Dean General Topics jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,christmas,mary 38:40 The Apostle Paul admonishes the Galatians and us in some practical ways that we can love each other. If we see someone stuck in a sin we are to restore them with gentleness and not with a proud attitude, because we are capable of committing the same sin. We should not be envious of each other or try to make ourselves look good by comparing ourselves to others, but instead we should both live up to our own responsibilities and lovingly carry the burdens of those around us. We should also persevere in doing good, not giving up early because it gets hard or getting distracted from the task at hand but remembering that we will harvest what we plant and pressing on to complete the works that God has called us to do. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/pride-or-heroics-on-the-narrow-road http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_12_09_07_Gal_6_1-10_Pride_or_Heroics_on_the_Narrow_Road.mp3 Sun, 09 Dec 2007 01:55:01 CDT Paul Dean Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,love,humility,sin,confront,persevere,reap,sow 49:17 God in His grace has given us His Holy Spirit to work in our hearts so that our inward attitudes are right and this leads to holy outward behavior. The fruit of living with the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because these traits only come from living with the Holy Spirit it is vital for us to stop, set aside our busyness and distractions, and spend time reading the Scriptures and in prayer so that we can listen to what the Spirit says and live by His power. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/the-power-of-the-spirit-on-the-narrow-road http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/GarrettDuchesne_12_02_07_Gal_5_16-26_The_Spirts_Power_on_the_Narrow_Road.mp3 Sun, 02 Dec 2007 01:57:49 CDT Garrett Duchesne Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,holy,spirit,fruit,love,joy,peace,patience,kindness,goodness,faithfullness,gentleness,self-control 54:40 It is common to hear that all world religions are basically the same and this is said because their ethics overlap in many areas. Christianity is unique in that you are reconciled with God through faith and not through doing these good works. It is also unique in addressing the root cause for our inability to live up to these ethics: our sinful, deceitful hearts which desire to rebel against Him. God gives His Holy Spirit to Christians to rebuild their hearts so they begin to desire to walk in His ways. If we walk with the Holy Spirit by repenting of our sins, praying for His help to obey Him, learning from the Scriptures that He inspired, and stirring our affections for Christ, we can overcome the desires of our sinful hearts and live how He has called us to live. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/walking-with-the-spirit-on-the-narrow-road http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/CraigMiller_11_25_07_Gal_5_16-25_Walking_with_the_Spirit_on_the_Narrow_Road_Part1.mp3 Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:06:47 CDT Craig Miller Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,holy,spirit,fruit,love,joy,peace,patience,kindness,goodness,faithfullness,gentleness,self-control 55:52 Throughout the ages the church has had a bad habit of adding rules to God’s good commands in Scripture in an effort to try earn God’s acceptance by good works and to prevent people from sinning. The Apostle Paul had to confront the Galatians because they were trying to add old Jewish rituals like circumcision and particular feasts and festivals to the requirements for being right with God. Paul exhorted the Galatians, and you and I in turn, to fight for the freedom that God bought for us by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for us and to not submit to the slavery that comes from living by rules. He then reminded the Galatians and us not to use our blood-bought freedom to be selfish and sinful but instead to love each other. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/freedom-on-the-narrow-road http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_11_19_07_Gal_5_1-15_Freedom_on_the_Narrow_Road.mp3 Sun, 18 Nov 2007 02:15:46 CDT Paul Dean Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,freedom,rules,legalism 49:42 Some of the people in the church at Galatia were leaving behind the gospel of grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone and were turning back to the idea that they could put themselves right with God through obeying certain rules and rituals. Paul confronts them and reminds them that going back to rule-keeping puts us back into slavery to the rules. We all end up as slave to that which we think we need for our acceptance or our happiness, whether we look to gratify our own selfish impulses that always cry out for more or the expectations of other people. Instead of such slavery God has extended to us acceptance and adoption into the family, and since this was bought by Jesus Himself on the cross, we are no longer indebted but are free people who live in His grace. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/slavery-off-of-the-narrow-road http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_11_11_07_Gal_4_8-32_Slavery_Off_of_the_Narrow_Road.mp3 Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:57:38 CDT Paul Dean Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,freedom,rules,slavery,idolatry,grace,sin 31:01 We all want and expect judges to exercise their authority fairly by exonerating the innocent and punishing the guilty. A judge that lets the guilty off without punishment should be replaced. In order for our relationship with God to be restored He needed a way to accept sinners like us without letting our rebellion go unpunished. He accomplished this by sending His Son Jesus to die in our place. If we trust in Jesus then His death becomes the punishment that we deserve and His perfect life gets credited to our record. The Apostle Paul has to confront the Galatians because they have detoured from this great truth to follow the lie that we can do righteous acts to put ourselves right with God. This is foolish because it cheapens what Christ did on the cross and the greatness of the gift of being able to spend eternity with God by trying to purchase it with our few meager, sin-tainted deeds. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/justification-on-the-narrow-road http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_10_28_07_Gal_3_1-14_Justification_on_the_Narrow_Road.mp3 Sun, 28 Oct 2007 02:21:04 CDT Paul Dean Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,justify,grace,sin,cross 42:04 No one likes a person who is contentious and always looking to pick a fight. Sometimes the fight erupts around you, though, and you can either surrender or contend for that which is dear to you. The Apostle Paul did not look for a fight in Galatia but the fight was brought to him as false teachers came and tried to get people to believe that they needed to be circumcised in order to be accepted by God. Paul is willing to stand up to anyone, including the Apostle Peter, to make sure that the Gospel of grace is faithfully proclaimed and lived out. He fights because he knows that Jesus died on the cross to open up the only way to God, and if there are other paths to God then Jesus’ sacrifice was meaningless. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/contending-for-the-narrow-road http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/galatians-21-21-contending-for-the-narrow-road.mp3 Sun, 21 Oct 2007 02:23:42 CDT Paul Dean Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,justify,grace,sin,confront 47:33 People do not change their beliefs or habits easily. When there is a dramatic change in someone’s life it is a powerful testimony for the cause of the change. The Apostle Paul describes how Jesus came down to Earth and revealed Himself to Paul, and this changed Paul from someone who violently persecuted Christians to someone who gave his life to proclaiming the good news about Christ. Paul tells us that the good news that he preaches was given to him directly from God, which means that it is true and can be trusted, and the evidence of change in his life is a convincing testimony to the power of the God who worked this change in his life. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/the-origin-of-the-gospel http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_10_14_07_Gal_1_11-21_The_Origin_of_the_Gospel.mp3 Sun, 14 Oct 2007 02:26:31 CDT Paul Dean Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,grace,change,testimony,paul 42:34 We live in a pluralistic society where it is common to believe that there are many paths to God and that all religions and philosophies contain some truth but none of them can claim to have it exclusively. In stark contrast to this relativism Jesus Christ proclaimed that He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one can come to the Father except through Him. The Apostle Paul carries on this teaching as he warns the churches in Galatia that there is one Gospel, one way to God, and that is by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ and His death for us on the cross. To add to or subtract from this message is not to walk another path but to head off the edge of the one path down to destruction. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/the-beauty-of-the-gospel http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_10_07_07_Gal_1_1-10_The_Beauty_of_the_Gospel.mp3 Sun, 07 Oct 2007 02:29:42 CDT Paul Dean Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,justify,grace,sin,gospel,paul 52:35 The book of Galatians is the most influential open letter in history. It was written by the Apostle Paul to the churches in Galatia. Paul wrote the letter to them out of a deep love and concern for them because they had started listening to false teachers who were distorting the good news about Jesus Christ. They were beginning to abandon the core truth that we are counted as acceptable to God simply by believing in His Son Jesus Christ and His death for us on the cross and instead thought that you needed to added obedience to the Old Testament law to Jesus’ work on our behalf. Paul argues passionately for the gospel of grace in this letter because he knows that it is the only way to know God and that the gospel is the foundation for every good and loving act that we are called to do. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/the-narrow-road-of-faith http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_09_30_07_Gal_1_1-5_The_Narrow_Road_of_Faith.mp3 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:32:23 CDT Paul Dean Galatians: The Narrow Road of Faith jesus,bible,faith,justify,grace,sin,gospel,paul 58:33 We don’t like to think about God as being someone that we should be afraid of. We would much rather think of God as a kindly grandfather who gives presents but never disciplines. King Solomon concludes his words by reminding us that we are all accountable to God. Someday we will all stand before Him and give an account for our actions. Because of this we should fear His discipline and judgment and obey His commands. These words can be painful to hear, but Solomon says that wise words are often painful but they are the poking and prodding from a good Shepherd who is trying to guide His foolish and stubborn sheep. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/the-end-of-the-matter http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_09_23_07_Ecc_12_8-14_The_End_of_the_Matter.mp3 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 18:03:37 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes bible,jesus,faith,ecclesiastes,wisdom,solomon,meaning 52:15 We often jump into a situation without thinking it all the way through and as a result we inflict a lot of unnecessary pain on ourselves. King Solomon reminds us that wisdom is difficult to find and often unappreciated but it is supremely valuable and worth the effort required to obtain it. He reminds us to work hard, respect our bosses and leaders, and work smart as well as hard. We should carefully consider and weigh our options and pray for wisdom from God so that our lives do not end up being a warning for others to not do what we have done. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-913-1020-the-uncanny-popularity-of-foolishness http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_09_09_07_Ecc_9_13-10_20_The_Uncanny_Popularity_of_Foolishness.mp3 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 18:59:43 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom 44:36 We don’t think about death very often because it can be very depressing, and when we do think about death it is with fear because of what we will lose and the uncertainty that lies after it. King Solomon reminds us that we are all going to die someday and that we need to live our days in light of that fact and enjoy the good things that God has put in our life. As Christians we do not need to fear death because God has given us the great promise that we will get to spend eternity with Him and sent His Son to die in our place to make it possible and rise from death to assure us that God can raise us from the dead as well. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-91-12-seize-your-days http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_09_02_07_Ecc_9_1-12_Seize_Your_Days.mp3 Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:01:15 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom,death 49:08 In America we tend to be individualistic, rebellious, and distrustful of government. Solomon reminds us that without government, as flawed as it usually is, there would be more oppression and injustice in the world, so it is a burden under the sun that must be endured along with the injustice that still remains. We all look for ways to try and cope with this reality or escape from it with hedonism, ethics, and religiosity, but Solomon tells us that it would be best for us to simply fear God and enjoy the food, drink, and gifts that He has given to us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-81-17-burdens-under-the-sun http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_08_26_07_Ecc_8_1-17_Burdens_Under_the_Sun.mp3 Sun, 26 Aug 2007 19:03:52 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom,injustice,government 52:51 There is wisdom to be found in remembering that someday you are going to die. King Solomon tells us that it is better to go to a funeral than to a party because the funeral reminds you of your own mortality and helps to sharpen your priorities. We should live our lives with the end in mind. We ponder about who we want to be at our funeral and what we want them to say about us, and then live in such a way as to make it possible. Solomon shares various nuggets of wisdom with us to help us to live skillfully while we are here and reminds us that God is ultimately in control and His ways are beyond our understanding. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-610-729-wisdom-on-the-road-to-death http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_08_19_07_Ecc_6_10-7_29_Wisdom_on_the_Road_to_Death.mp3 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 19:05:02 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom,death 43:52 King Solomon was a man who had unparalleled wealth. He had amassed such a fortune that he could have whatever he wanted and wouldn’t have to think twice about what it cost him. What he came to realize after having all the money he could ever want is that if you love money you will never be satisfied by it. You will toil and stress yourself out to get it, and when you finally do, you won’t have the time or ability to enjoy it, and when you die you won’t be able to take it with you. Instead of devoting ourselves to accumulating wealth we should devote ourselves to following Jesus, and He will enable us to find satisfaction in the good things that He gives to us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-58-69-the-futility-of-wealth http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_08_12_07_Ecc_5_8-6_9_The_Futility_of_Wealth.mp3 Sun, 12 Aug 2007 19:06:48 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom,money,wealth 52:46 In the book of Ecclesiastes King Solomon urges us not to waste the few days that we have on the earth chasing things that are meaningless and temporary. Jesus also urges us not to waste time storing up temporary things in this life but to work towards storing things in heaven where they will last forever. If we put our faith in Jesus and His death for us on the cross we get to spend eternity with Him, and we also can spend our days in this life doing good works that store up rewards for us in heaven. The things that we can do to store up rewards include being generous with our possessions, being hospitable, praying and fasting, working diligently at our jobs, enduring persecution, and sharing the Gospel. God wants us to spend our brief lives under the sun serving and obeying Him so that we would be rewarded beyond the sun. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/rewarded-beyond-the-sun http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/CraigMiller_07_29_07_Rewarded_Beyond_the_Sun.mp3 Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:34:51 CDT Craig Miller General Topics jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom,heaven,hope,reward 45:32 Solomon turns his attention to the frustration and disillusionment that comes from the realization that there is so much injustice in the world. The strong oppress the weak without consequence, and many of the wrongs done cannot be reversed or repaired. The authorities and structures that are in place to enforce justice are often corrupted themselves and contribute to the oppression. Consequences are often not doled out fairly; the rich get off and the poor get punished more severely than they should. Seeing all of this and feeling helpless to prevent it led King Solomon to despair and conclude that it would be better to have never been born than to see all of the injustice done under the sun. Solomon does say, though, that he knows that God will eventually judge the righteous and the wicked and bring everyone to an account for their actions. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-316-43-disillusionment-under-the-sun http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_07_22_07_Ecc_3_16-4_3_Disillusionment_Under_the_Sun.mp3 Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:08:39 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom,justice,despair 49:03 Solomon warns us that all of our hard work and accomplishments that we strive for under the sun only lead to frustration, toil, and sleepless nights, and then some day we will die and leave all of our accomplishments and earnings to someone else, and we don’t know if they will use them wisely or squander them foolishly. God has set up creation in such a way that everything has its own appointed time and all good things come to an end, but he has written eternity in our heart so that we are frustrated when good things do end. Rather than chase and toil after things that will not last but quickly pass Solomon tells us to simply enjoy the good things that God has already put in our lives and fear Him while we are young. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-218-315-despair http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_07_15_07_Ecc_2_18-3_15_Despair.mp3 Sun, 15 Jul 2007 19:09:45 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom,joy 42:45 We all have dreams about what we would do if we had unlimited wealth, fame, and power. As the ruler of the most powerful and wealthy nation of his day King Solomon actually got to live out this dream. He had the resources to get and do whatever he could desire and he pursued laughter, alcohol, projects, nature, leisure, real estate, music, and sex with unparalleled vigor. The shocking conclusion to his pursuits is that they all ended up being empty and meaningless. We all have our particular circumstances, goals, and objects that we think we will finally be happy and satisfied if we achieve them, but we would do well to learn from Solomon that there is no lasting joy or meaning in pleasure unless we enjoy it in relationship with God with a healthy fear of Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-21-17-the-futility-of-pleasure http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_07_08_07_Ecc_2_1-17_The_Futility_of_Pleasure.mp3 Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:12:05 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes jesus,bible,faith,ecclesiastes,solomon,wisdom,joy 50:06 Many of us can remember times where it would have been wiser for us to take the advice of someone more experienced than us instead of learning on our own the hard way. King Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes in his later years to try and warn us to not repeat the same mistakes that he made when he was younger. He said without hyperbole that life under the sun is tragically brief, empty and meaningless and that all of our efforts to find our purpose and satisfaction in the things in this world are as pointless as trying to chase the wind. Instead we should fear God our Creator while we are still young and walk by faith with Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/ecclesiastes-11-18-meaningless http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_07_01_07_Ecc_1_1-18_Meaningless.mp3 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:13:21 CDT Paul Dean Ecclesiastes 42:14 God created to live in community with each other with a set of relationships with the people around us to care for each other and look out for each other. A number of things make this idea of close knit community difficult. First, most of us have moved to this area recently, which means we have traded the long-term relationships with our family and friends growing up with a set of relatively unknown coworkers and neighbors. Building relationship requires time, effort and sacrifice, and most of us would rather be lazy and settle for the artificial relationships we build with the characters in the TV shows we watch. God has called us to cast off our selfishness and anxiety and invest in relationships with other people so that we can encourage, protect, pray for, care for, and confess our sins to each other so that we will share the love of Christ with each other and help each other to grow in our faith. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/core-values-community http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/GarrettDuchesne_06_24_07_Core_Values_Community.mp3 Sun, 24 Jun 2007 19:17:53 CDT Garrett Duchesne Core Values jesus,bible,faith,community,love 42:44 Love should be the primary characteristic of a person who believes in Jesus Christ. God defined love for us by first loving us while we were wicked rebels and sending His Son Jesus to die in our place. Because we have been freely given so much love and compassion from God through His Son by the power of His Holy Spirit we then have the ability to pass that love and compassion on to others. The Apostle John teaches us that love is so important that if we do not love other people it is a sign that we do not know or love God, and the Apostle Paul teaches us that if we do not speak and act in love all of our words are a hollow clanging and our acts are empty gestures. We should arrange our thoughts and our daily activities to intentionally show compassion and mercy to the people that God has placed in our lives. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/core-values-compassion http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_06_17_07_Core_Values_Compassion.mp3 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 19:19:39 CDT Paul Dean Core Values jesus,bible,faith,compassion,love 43:53 We look for answers to our pressing questions in a variety of places using things like logic, experience, and feelings, but God has taken the initiative to reveal the truth to various people throughout history. God’s words have been written down and collected in the Bible, which teaches us that we should put our trust in Jesus Christ, the very Truth of God Himself come to live as a human, so that we can be reconciled to God by His death on the cross on our behalf. God inspired the people who wrote the Bible so that it is perfect and without error. It is our final authority for teaching us the truth about who God is and how He has called us to live. God gave us His truth not merely so that we could know about Him but so that we could know Him in a relationship and draw closer to Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/core-values-truth http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/CraigMiller_06_03_07_Core_Values_Truth.mp3 Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:21:01 CDT Craig Miller Core Values jesus,bible,faith,truth 46:05 Americans work more hours in a year than the citizens of any other country, but our work often feels unsatisfying and meaningless because there is so much toil and frustration. As Christians we should work with the attitude that our ultimate boss is Jesus Christ and we are to work in a way that pleases Him and our supervisors at work are just mid-level managers compared to Him. This means that we should work diligently and honestly because Christ sees everything that we do. We should treat our coworkers with care and respect instead of merely tolerating them or seeing them as obstacles to advancement, and we should treat employees with care instead of as expendable assets to be sacrificed to advance our careers. It also means that we should work hard to provide for our families and use our wages help advance the Gospel by giving to the church and to those in need. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/redeeming-relationships-part-7-at-work http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_05_27_07_Redeeming_Relationships_Part7_At_Work.mp3 Sun, 27 May 2007 19:22:57 CDT Paul Dean Redeeming Relationships jesus,bible,faith,relationship,work,vocation 47:42 God has adopted Christians into His family and we are to treat each other with love and respect. Unfortunately, we are all sinful and our relationships degrade into divisions, gossip, bitterness, and conflict. God calls us to put to death this kind of behavior and build relationships out of genuine care for each other, loving confrontation when we see each other sin, forgiveness when we sin against each other, encouragement, and sacrifice for one another, just as God loves us and treats us. If we get bogged down in sins against each other we will be ineffective ambassadors for Him to our community, but if we love each other we demonstrate the Gospel along with our words and faithfully proclaim Him to those around us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/redeeming-relationships-part-5-in-the-church http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_05_13_07_Redeeming_Relationships_Part5_In_the_Church.mp3 Sun, 13 May 2007 19:24:35 CDT Paul Dean Redeeming Relationships jesus,bible,faith,relationship,church,love 55:21 Dating in our culture means that you spend time one on one with various people with various levels of physical and emotional involvement after which you either break it off or get married. We are so used to this approach that we have a difficult time understanding just how historically peculiar this approach is, and just how much damage it does to us. Intimacy is supposed to follow commitment, not precede it, and the heartache that is caused from the fracturing of relationships that grew too close too soon harm us emotionally and make it more difficult to love well once we do get married. God’s design is that we should look for someone of strong character who will be a good companion for us in the life that God has called us to live, and that we should remain sexually pure until we make the commitment of marriage. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/redeeming-relationships-part-4-dating http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_05_06_07_Redeeming_Relationships_Part4_Dating.mp3 Sun, 06 May 2007 19:26:05 CDT Paul Dean Redeeming Relationships jesus,bible,faith,dating,court,marriage 59:52 God created us to exist in community and gave us friends to enjoy life with and give us support and encouragement. Friendships can be fragile, though, especially in our mobile society, and they are easily damaged by gossip, making fun of each other, being undependable, and treating them as expendable. Instead we are to treat our friends with love and care, forgiving each other, sacrificing for each other, and being willing to lay down our lives for our friends, just as our Lord Jesus Christ loves us and is willing to lay down His life for us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/redeeming-relationships-part-3-friendships http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_04_29_07_Redeeming_Relationships_Part3_Friendships.mp3 Sun, 29 Apr 2007 19:28:02 CDT Paul Dean Redeeming Relationships love,friend,faith,bible,jesus 46:34 Families and children are often considered an afterthought or a nuisance in our day and age but God teaches us that children are a blessing from Him and that we are to lovingly sacrifice for the children that He entrusts to our care. Parents, especially fathers, are responsible for the upbringing and instruction of their children and should not merely dump this responsibility off on teachers, day care workers, or youth pastors. Fathers should provide for their children and mothers should decorate their homes with love and wisdom. The end result should be a home that is a refuge for children where the love that God has for them as their heavenly Father is modeled for them by their earthly parents. Once children are grown up they should in turn look after and care for their aging parents. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/redeeming-relationships-part-2-parents-and-children http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_04_22_07_Redeeming_Relationships_Part2_Parents_and_Children.mp3 Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:33:02 CDT Paul Dean Redeeming Relationships jesus,bible,faith,community,love 40:52 God created marriage to be a blessing to a man and a woman because it is not good for us to be alone, but our rebellion from God means that everything He created, including marriage, has been made crooked by the curse. As a result, what He created for comfort, companionship, and passion can degenerate into an uneasy truce of boredom and separate lives. Just like we can be redeemed to God through Jesus and His death for us on the cross, our marriages can be redeemed by God with His transforming love and wisdom so that through repentance, forgiveness, and the embracing of His roles for a husband and wife our marriages heal and become more like His original design. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/redeeming-relationships-part-1-husband-and-wife http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/redeeming-relationships-part-1-husband-and-wife.mp3 Sun, 15 Apr 2007 19:38:06 CDT Paul Dean Redeeming Relationships jesus,bible,faith,love,husband,wife,marriage 51:25 Many people will tell you about how hope is an essential element to living a happy and successful life, but people disagree on what we should put our hope in. People try to put their hope in their circumstances, their family and friends, or the power of positive thinking, but eventually all of these things will let us down and we will end up in cynicism and despair. The apostle Paul writes to the Philippians from a Roman jail that he has found contentment because his hope is not in his circumstances, his status, or even the people around him, but in Jesus Christ, who God raised from dead, and this hope will never fail. On Easter we take time to remember that our ultimate hope is that we are reconciled to God if we trust in Christ because He bore our sins when he was crucified, and one God will raise us from death just as He raised Jesus from death on that momentous Sunday morning almost two thousand years ago. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/easter-2007-restoring-hope http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_04_08_07_Phil_4_10-20_Restoring_Hope.mp3 Sun, 08 Apr 2007 00:47:58 CDT Paul Dean General Topics jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,easter,hope,resurrect,sacrifice 38:07 The book of Acts concludes with Paul surviving the shipwreck on Malta and then being brought to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. Paul would eventually be acquitted and released from prison, but a few years later an intense period of persecution began and both Paul and Peter were executed by Emperor Nero. A few years later the Roman army would lay siege to Jerusalem and destroy the temple. Even with the temple in ruins and most of the prominent leaders murdered the Christian church not only survived but continued to grow and in the next few hundred years the Gospel would move throughout the Roman Empire, and then would move on to the rest of the world. The church continued to grow because all of these obstacles were no match for the Holy Spirit, who continued to work in the lives of people to help them to put their faith in Christ. The same Spirit continues to work today on the mission of bringing the Gospel to this community and we are invited and commanded to participate. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-281-31-the-end-of-jerusalem http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_04_01_07_Acts_28_1-31_The_End_of_Jerusalem.mp3 Sun, 01 Apr 2007 23:36:44 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,acts,paul,jerusalem,church,holy,spirit,gospel 46:57 Paul was taken on a voyage from Caesarea to Rome in order to stand trial before the Emperor. The ship took too long to get to Rome and ended up getting caught in a vicious winter storm in the Mediterranean. The passengers began to despair because these storms almost always destroyed the ship and killed everyone aboard, but God told Paul that everyone on board would survive and that he would stand trial before the Emperor. Paul trusted in this promise from God and encouraged the other passengers. The ship ended up breaking apart on a shoal but everyone aboard made it to shore safely. In our live we are all going to have to weather periods of adversity, suffering, and trial, but in those times we should not wilt and give up hope but instead to stand firm and cling to the promises of God that He is there with us in the midst of our trials and He has promised to work all of our difficult circumstances out for the good of those who love Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-271-44-in-the-storm http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_03_25_07_Acts_27_1-44_In_the_Storm.mp3 Sun, 25 Mar 2007 23:39:36 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,shipwreck,paul,suffer,persevere,adversity 58:58 With the approval of the religious authorities forty men vowed to kill Paul. The plan was divulged to the military authorities, who escorted Paul safely to Caesarea for trial. In all of this God was using people who were both willing and unwilling to follow Him to bring about His good plan of bringing the truth about Jesus to the highest seats of power in the Roman Empire. God will use us like tools for His purposes whether we want to participate or not, and rather than rebel against His plans and commands like a rebellious teenager we should understand that like a good father God genuinely loves us, wants to protect us from our own stupidity, and wants to include us in His great works so that we can build a stronger relationship with Him. In response we should repent of our rebellion, respect Him for His goodness and power, and offer up our lives to Him to be a part of His great plan for spreading His Gospel to people everywhere. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-2312-35--a-tool-in-the-hand-of-god http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/acts-2312-35--a-tool-in-the-hand-of-god.mp3 Sun, 04 Mar 2007 23:42:15 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,rebel,father,love,repent 49:44 After Paul was taken into custody by the Roman soldiers he narrowly avoided being flogged by them. Later he was brought before the Jewish authorities and the proceedings turned violent and Paul had to be rescued again from the mob. That night, while in prison, Jesus came and stood by Paul and encouraged him by saying that he was faithfully proclaiming the good news about Himself and that he was on his way to do the same in Rome. God is in complete control when we are going through times of suffering but that does not mean that He will always protect us from them. He is also near to us in these times, though, and if we draw near to Him He will comfort us and strengthen us to continue to live with Him on the mission that He has called us to. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-2222-2311--strengthened-during-suffering http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_02_27_07_Acts_22_22-23_11_Strengthened_During_Suffering.mp3 Sun, 25 Feb 2007 23:58:52 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,sovereign,suffer,adversity 54:30 Paul was overwhelmed by a mob at the temple in Jerusalem and would have been killed but was rescued by Roman soldiers and brought into custody. He was mistaken for a foreigner who was trying to lead a rebellion and desecrate the temple. Paul explained to the crowd that he was a Jew like them who had zealously followed the law and had persecuted the early followers of Jesus before Jesus came down and blinded him and told Paul to follow Him. Now he had a new commission from God to bring the Good News about the Messiah to non-Jewish people. The crowd was outraged when they heard this because they did not think that non-Jewish people were worthy to be included in God’s people. Paul showed tremendous courage and faith by sharing the truth about the Gospel with people who would be furious to hear it and want him to die for teaching it. We too should model Paul’s faith and boldly proclaim the Gospel in our community regardless of what it will cost us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-2137-2223-undeterred http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_02_18_07_Acts_21_37-22_23_Undeterred.mp3 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 00:01:40 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,courage,preach,boldness 47:05 After a long journey Paul returns to Jerusalem to meet with the believers there and confront the accusations from his opponents who accused him of teaching Gentile believers to turn their backs on the law of Moses. Both Paul and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem understood and believed that a person can only be saved through faith in Jesus Christ and not through keeping the regulations in the law and that Christ did not come to get rid of the law but to fulfill it. In order to be patient with those who did not yet understand this and who were weak in their faith they decided that Paul should present himself before the temple and go through the purification ritual to demonstrate that he still respected the law. While at the temple, though, a great crowd of people was aroused against Paul and he was arrested by the authorities. In the same way we should be willing to inconvenience ourselves in order to not unnecessarily cause those that we want to teach about Jesus to stumble, but we also need to be on guard against the creeping lie that says that we are accepted in God’s sight by our own good works and cling to the truth that we are made right with God only through trusting Jesus and his good work of sacrifice in our place on the cross. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-2115-36-grace-versus-law http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/CaryJohnson_02_11_07_Acts_21_15-36_Grace_Versus_Law.mp3 Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:06:22 CDT Cary Johnson Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,grace,law,works 38:30 On his way back to Jerusalem Paul stopped to visit several churches. The Holy Spirit spoke to many of these people and warned them about the persecution that was awaiting Paul in Jerusalem and they warned him not to go. Paul was not swayed by their pleas, but continued on as he was willing to not only go to prison but also to die for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ. Like Paul we are all called to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel, and this means embracing Christ and His death for our sins on the cross, leaning into His mercy and forgiveness each time we stumble and fall, owning and confronting our own sinful hearts through the Scriptures and prayer, laying aside the idols that we run to instead of Christ, and living for His mission of spreading His love and truth to the people around us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-211-15-laying-down-your-life http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/CaryJohnson_02_04_07_Acts_21_1-15_Laying_Down_Your_Life.mp3 Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:09:33 CDT Cary Johnson Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,sacrifice,mission,mercy,forgiveness 44:10 On his way to Jerusalem Paul stopped to speak with the elders of the church in Ephesus because he knew he wouldn’t get to see them again and wanted to give them some final words on how to be an effective leader for Christ. He reminded them that a leader serves out of humility and not for personal gain, is willing to speak all of God’s truth no matter how difficult it may be, accepts the responsibility of looking after those entrusted to their care, and is willing to suffer for the sake of the Gospel, all out of a love for Christ and His people. God has called many of us to leadership like this, whether in the church, our workplace, or our families, and we too should follow Paul’s example in leading with humility, sacrifice, and love, being faithful to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-2013-38-the-cost-of-leadership http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_01_28_07_Acts_20_13-38_The_Cost_of_Leadership.mp3 Sun, 28 Jan 2007 00:17:42 CDT Paul Dean Acts shepherd,humility,leadership,gospel,spirit,holy,god,faith,bible,jesus 49:50 Acts 20 starts with Paul traveling through Macedonia and Greece encouraging the believers there. While teaching the believers in Troas Paul spoke so late into the night that a young man fell asleep and tumbled out of the upstairs window to his death. God then worked a miracle through Paul and brought the young man back to life, demonstrating that He is powerful enough to fulfill His promise to one day raise those who believe in Jesus from death and bring us to live with Him forever. Since we have this great hope and promise we should not cling to this life but be content in the face of physical danger and death, knowing that the sting has been removed from death and it is now instead a doorway into eternal life with Christ. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-201-12-power-over-death http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_01_14_07_Acts_20_1-12_Power_Over_Death.mp3 Sun, 14 Jan 2007 00:20:08 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,hope,content,death 47:30 Paul’s ministry brought him to the city of Ephesus, where his work involved preaching the Gospel, refuting and correcting wrong views about God, and performing miraculous healings. Paul persevered in Ephesus and stayed there almost three years and as a result many people put their faith in Christ. We are prone to foolishly expect instant gratification and instant results from our efforts, but we should learn from Paul and from the Scriptures that spiritual fruit often comes only after many years of diligent work and suffering, and we should work to bring the Gospel to our community with faithful endurance. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-191-41-in-for-the-long-haul http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_01_07_07_Acts_19_1-41_In_for_the_Long_Haul.mp3 Sun, 07 Jan 2007 00:22:03 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,persevere,diligent,suffer,mission 48:11 Paul continued on his missionary journey through the Roman Empire and he brought along with him a godly couple named Priscilla and Aquilla. These two later stayed in Ephesus and taught and encouraged a man named Apollos, who was a remarkably gifted speaker but had some gaps in his theology. This couple was willing to serve and understood the Scriptures well, and God used them to help bring the truth about the grace of God available through faith in Jesus to people who had never heard of it. We should follow in their example and be willing to assist others with the gifts that God has given us so that we would have the joy of seeing the Gospel would go out into our community and change people’s lives. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-1819-28-the-value-of-assistance http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_12_31_06_Acts_18_19-28_The_Value_of_Assistance.mp3 Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:24:00 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,truth,gifts,joy 54:58 The Book of Luke starts out with an account of how God sent an angel to announce the coming of the promised Messiah. He came to a small rural town and told a young engaged virgin named Mary that she would become pregnant and give birth to the Messiah. This was no less difficult to believe then as it is now, but Mary trusted that what God had promised would happen and that He would lead her through the difficult pregnancy she would go through. She is an example for us to learn from as we read about God’s promises in the Bible that Jesus can save us from our sins if we put our trust in Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/luke-11-56-faith-like-mary http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_12_17_06_Luke_1_1-56_Faith_Like_Mary.mp3 Sun, 17 Dec 2006 00:54:04 CDT Paul Dean General Topics jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,mary,promise,trust,miracle 49:11 Paul’s missionary journey brought him to Corinth, a city with a reputation for immorality that would make Las Vegas blush. Paul first brought the Gospel to the synagogues, where the Jewish people there needed to hear that Jesus was their long-promised Messiah and they were not made right with God by following the Old Testament rules. He then told the Gentiles in Corinth about Jesus and how God had called them to repent of their sinful ways. In the same way God calls us to faith in Christ and to give up both the empty rules that we keep because we think they make us holy and the immoral habits that we practice that displease God and aren’t fitting for a child of God to do. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-181-18-preaching-in-sin-city http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_12_10_06_Acts_18_1-18_Preaching_in_Sin_City.mp3 Sun, 10 Dec 2006 00:25:41 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,repent,rules,sin,obey 56:52 The Apostle Paul traveled to Athens, where he was immediately troubled by all of the idols that he saw in town. He began to share the Gospel with the people and debated with the Epicureans and the Stoics. He was then brought before the local heads of philosophy at Mars Hill and preached the Gospel to them, explaining how God had created all people and He now wanted all people to turn from their useless idols and trust in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. We can think it strange that people would bow down to stone statues but we all have things in our lives like possessions, relationships, comforts, and pleasures, that we devote ourselves to and expect to make us happy and content instead of our relationship with God, and we need to turn from these idols and trust in Christ for our salvation and satisfaction. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-1716-34-turning-from-idols http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_12_02_06_Acts_17_16-34_Turning_from_Idols.mp3 Sat, 02 Dec 2006 00:28:44 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,idols,philosophy,truth,salvation 46:01 Paul’s missionary journey brought him to the cities of Thessalonica and Berea. In these cities he first went to the synagogue and taught how the Messiah that was promised in Scripture is Jesus. Luke commends the people in Berea because they listened to Paul’s teaching and then checked it against Scripture to make sure that Paul’s words were faithful to what was written. We should be like the Bereans and come to the Bible in humility and with a willingness to be challenged and stretched and study God’s word to learn more about Him and how we should change to live like Him. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-171-15-a-tale-of-two-synagogues http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_11_26_06_Acts_17_1-15_A_Tale_of_Two_Synagogues.mp3 Sun, 26 Nov 2006 00:30:34 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,humility,study,learn,berea 49:34 Paul and Silas brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Philippi, where their ministry ended up inciting a mob and getting them beaten and thrown in prison. While in prison God miraculously freed Paul and Silas from their cells and their jailor came to faith in Christ. Paul and Silas were able to persevere through such difficult circumstances because they were more concerned with the good news about Jesus being told than they were with their own comfort, so much so that they could even sing and pray while chained up deep in a Roman prison, and we too should pursue the mission of sharing the Gospel over our own comfort. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-1611-40-choosing-mission-over-comfort http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_11_19_06_Acts_16_11-40_Choosing_Mission_Over_Comfort.mp3 Sun, 19 Nov 2006 00:31:59 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,persevere,comfort,mission 44:50 As Paul continued on his missionary journey to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to new cities he was guided from place to place as the Holy Spirit prevented him from going to one place and enabled him to go to another. As we walk with God we should not make decisions passively or impulsively but should seek God’s plan through prayer, Scripture, and wise counsel and act accordingly. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-166-10-led-by-the-holy-spirit http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_11_12_06_Acts_16_6-10_Led_By_the_Holy_Spirit.mp3 Sun, 12 Nov 2006 00:33:30 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,wisdom,counsel,plan,prayer 46:03 Paul’s journey to spread the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean region brings him to Lystra, where he meets a young believer named Timothy. Paul took Timothy along with him on his travels, training him to be a pastor. Even though Timothy was very young, he was chosen by God to go into difficult situations and teach and lead the church through them. Timothy sets an example for us to follow as we should set an example with our maturity no matter what our age and have the faith to step up and take on whatever difficult task God may place before us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-161-5-meet-timothy http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_11_05_06_Acts_16_1-5_Meet_Timothy.mp3 Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:35:50 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,pastor,paul,timothy,train,teach,mature,persevere 46:47 Paul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem it discuss a brewing controversy in the church. A council was convened to determine if a man needed to be circumcised in order to be saved from his sins. Paul defended the truth of the Gospel that a man is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and not by anything he does, and the apostles in the council affirmed this. Peter and James then laid down some rules to help Gentile believers not offend Jewish people. In the same way we must be able to cling to the Gospel of grace alone and grow in spiritual maturity while not adding not needlessly offending the people we are trying to reach and not burdening them with unnecessary rules and restrictions. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-151-29-defending-the-gospel-of-grace http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/GarrettDuchesne_10_22_06_Acts_15_1-19_Defending_the_Gospel_of_Grace.mp3 Sun, 22 Oct 2006 00:37:29 CDT Garrett Duchesne Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,grace,law,works,rules,offend 58:33 Paul was prepared and gifted by God for his missionary journeys throughout the Roman Empire. His Roman citizenship and years as a Jewish Pharisee gave him the ability to speak to both groups of people effectively, and the Holy Spirit gifted Paul with the ability to teach and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ with power, boldness, and clarity. In the same way God has prepared and gifted each of us to contribute to the work of spreading the Gospel, and there is great joy in serving God in the way that He has prepared us to do. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-1313-52-prepared-and-gifted-to-serve http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_10_08_06_Acts_13_13-52_Prepared_and_Gifted_to_Serve.mp3 Sun, 08 Oct 2006 00:39:51 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,gift,prepare,serve,mission,joy 51:50 Paul and Barnabas went out from the church in Antioch to spread the Gospel to other cities. They came to the island of Cyprus, where the work was opposed by a false prophet. Paul got right in the false prophet’s face, told him that he was full of lies and evil, and cured him with blindness. As we share the truth about Jesus we should not be oversensitive to offending people but we should have both compassion for the lost and the courage and boldness to call out sin and lies when we see them. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-131-12-fighting-oversensitivity http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_10_01_06_Acts_13_1-12_Fighting_Oversensitivity.mp3 Sun, 01 Oct 2006 00:42:22 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,confront,offense,compassion,courage,boldness 34:36 As the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread out from Jerusalem it came to the city of Antioch. A church was planted there and many people came to faith in Christ, and the report about the good things the church was doing made it back to Jerusalem. Almost two thousand years later the Gospel has come to the Issaquah Highlands, and a report about Alathia would say that we are pretty good at compassion, being generous with our money, and community service, but that we really need to improve in fellowship, regular weekly involvement, and sharing our faith with our neighbors. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-1119-24-the-report-on-alathia http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_09_17_06_Acts_11_19-24_The_Report_on_Alathia.mp3 Sun, 17 Sep 2006 00:44:04 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,community,fellowship,evangelism 65:46 Peter explains to Cornelius how he had to unlearn the prejudice he harbored against Gentiles that he learned from his culture and learn how God loved all people and wants the Gospel to go out to all of the nations. We too have learned a lot of bad habits and misconceptions from our culture about what it means to follow Christ and be a part of a church and we will need to unlearn them in order to be effective witnesses for Christ. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-1024-48-unlearning-sinful-habits http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_09_10_06_Acts_10_24-48_Unlearning_Sinful_Habits.mp3 Sun, 10 Sep 2006 00:54:59 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,habits,culture,conform,witness 53:17 God asked Peter to go and visit a Roman soldier to tell him about Jesus, but first Peter had to get over his aversion to interacting with people from other nations because they were ceremonially unclean. In the same way God is sending us out into the world to tell others about Him, and obeying Him will require us to get over our hang-ups, step out of our comfort zones, and sacrifice for the people around us. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-101-33-leaving-our-comfort-zones http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_09_03_06_Acts_10_1-33_Leaving_Your_Comfort_Zone.mp3 Sun, 03 Sep 2006 00:59:15 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,mission,evangelize,sacrifice,comfort 53:23 The apostle Peter was traveling to different towns teaching the Scriptures to the believers there. These believers were meeting together regularly and were committed to being involved in each other’s lives. The instructions that Peter was giving them, which we can get a sense of from his letters, would have impossible to follow apart from living in community with other believers who knew each other well enough to know what each other was going through and struggling with. As Christians we need to understand that it is impossible for us to grow in our relationship with Christ if we are not in a group of believers who are involved enough in each other’s lives to be praying for, encouraging, and when necessary confronting each other. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-932-43-committed-to-community http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_08_27_06_Acts_09_32-43_Committed_to_Community.mp3 Sun, 27 Aug 2006 01:01:36 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,community,fellowship,prayer,encourage,confront 57:29 Saul met Jesus on the way to Damascus, began following Him, and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Learning about the love and grace of God given through Jesus changed Saul so much that he went immediately from being a self-righteous religious terrorist to someone who followed Jesus boldly proclaimed that He is Lord at the risk of his own life. Other believers were reluctant to believe that a man as wicked and dangerous as Saul could become a believer and teacher, but they were convinced by seeing his changed life. If we have met Christ like Saul we should not be people who are apathetic and content to just come to church and be consumers but instead be so amazed and consumed by the love of God that we have received through Christ that we lay down our lives for Him and His mission of sharing the Gospel. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-919-31-transformed-by-meeting-jesus http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/CaryJohnson_08_20_06_Acts_9_19-31_Transformed_by_Meeting_Jesus.mp3 Sun, 20 Aug 2006 01:05:36 CDT Cary Johnson Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,paul,love 47:25 Saul was a religious authority who was so zealous to preserve Judaism from heresy that he was pursuing Christians into other towns and having them thrown in jail. Jesus had bigger plans for Saul, however. While Saul was traveling to find more Christians to arrest Jesus showed up, knocked him to the ground, introduced Himself, and told Saul to follow Him. Saul was the last person anyone expected to become a Christian, but no one is too far gone for God to save, and God’s love is extended to everyone, even a religious terrorist like Saul. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-91-19-saul-meets-jesus http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_08_13_06_Acts_9_1-19_Saul_Meets_Jesus.mp3 Sun, 13 Aug 2006 01:07:36 CDT Paul Dean Acts 51:45 God sent Philip down to a remote desert area to talk with an Ethiopian official who was searching for the truth about God but struggling to understand what was written in Isaiah. Philip explained how the passage describes the coming of Jesus, and when Philip shared the Gospel the Ethiopian believed and was baptized. Like the Ethiopian we should learn about how God has fulfilled all of His promises in Jesus Christ and put our faith in Him, and like Philip we should be willing to share this with others. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-826-40-philip-and-the-ethiopian-treasurer http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_08_06_06_Acts_8_26-40_Philip_and_the_Ethiopian_Treasurer.mp3 Sun, 06 Aug 2006 01:10:33 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 53:12 Usually when a fledgling movement is hit with persecution and suffering it quickly dies out. The religious authorities attempted to squash Christianity by murdering Stephen and then arresting many other Christians. The persecution was like water thrown on a grease fire, and the Gospel continued to spread as people moved out from Jerusalem to the surrounding areas and shared the Gospel with the people there in spite of the opposition. In the same way we too should be willing to love our neighbors and share the good news about Jesus with the people in our lives in spite of whatever awkwardness, discomfort, or sacrifice it may bring. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-81-8-spreading-amidst-suffering http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_07_23_06_Acts_8_1-8_Spreading_Amidst_Suffering.mp3 Sun, 23 Jul 2006 01:12:11 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 49:08 Stephen was a man who was full of God’s grace who was falsely accused of blasphemy by his enemies and brought before the religious authorities for questioning. In his defense he gave a passionate and detailed speech on how the focus of the Old Testament is not a specific place to worship at but Christ, whom the authorities had murdered. Just then God gave him a vision of the glory of God in Jesus in heaven, and the authorities were so outraged that they had him stoned. Stephen was a man so committed to God’s mission and seeing Christ glorified that he was willing to endure any suffering for it, even death, and we too should have the mission of the Gospel as the focal point of our lives no matter what the cost. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-68-760-the-martyrdom-of-stephen http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_07_16_06_Acts_6_8-7_60_The_Martyrdom_of_Stephen.mp3 Sun, 16 Jul 2006 01:13:52 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 47:43 As the early church grew rapidly some conflict arose between the Greek-speaking believers and the Hebrew-speaking believers. The apostles stepped up and dealt with the problem by delegating some of their responsibility to seven godly men. Like the early church, we can get bogged down in inner conflict if we become a church where everyone comes to get their way and be served. Instead, we should be a group of people who are all serving with the gifts that God has given us so that the gospel of Jesus Christ can be spread. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-61-7-a-conflict-over-service http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_07_09_06_Acts_6_1-7_A_Conflict_Over_Service.mp3 Sun, 09 Jul 2006 01:15:16 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 44:34 The apostles were preaching the Gospel and performing many miraculous signs, and many people began to believe in Christ. The religious authorities were jealous of this and had Peter and John arrested. An angel of the Lord came and freed the apostles, telling them to go back and continue to preach about Jesus. Peter and John went back and continued to teach about Jesus, regardless of threats or persecution. In the same way our lives should be focused on the mission of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, regardless of the opposition, suffering, and sacrifice that it may bring. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-512-42-freed-to-proclaim-christ http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_07_02_06_Acts_5_12-42_Freed_to_Proclaim_Christ.mp3 Sun, 02 Jul 2006 01:16:19 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 46:17 The Israelites began to rebuild the temple but the work was being threatened by the discouragement of the new, seemingly inferior form of the temple. God sends Haggai to tell the people that the form of the temple doesn't matter compared to the future glory that will come. We, like the Israelites, should not be looking backwards to the way things used to be or on what is temporary but instead be looking ahead to eternity where we will get to see God in His glory and where all of His promises to us as His people will be perfectly fulfilled. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/haggai-21-23-eyes-on-eternity http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/CraigMiller_06_25_06_Haggai_2_1-23_Eyes_on_Eternity.mp3 Sun, 25 Jun 2006 23:53:24 CDT Craig Miller Haggai jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,haggia,hope,heaven,eternity 47:21 Haggai was a prophet sent by God to confront the Israelites because they were more concerned with building their own luxurious houses than they were with rebuilding God's temple and seeing His glory. In our day in age we also make this mistake of pursuing our own comfort, leisure, and luxury instead of laying down our lives for the sake of the Gospel and God's Glory. It is foolish for us to do this because we were created to see God's glory, and when He asks us to sacrifice things for Him so that we can see His glory He is asking us to trade up. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/haggai-11-15-getting-back-on-mission http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/CraigMiller_06_18_06_Haggai_1_1-15_Getting_Back_On_Mission.mp3 Sun, 18 Jun 2006 23:58:30 CDT Craig Miller Haggai jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel,haggia,mission,sacrifice,comfort 53:21 Throughout history there have been many failed attempts by people to create a utopean society where everyone was united in a common mission to serve the greater good. In Acts we see that the early church was united as they worked together to share the good news about Jesus Christ with the people around them, and the Holy Spirit filled them so that they would love each other by proclaiming the truth with boldness, being involved in each others' lives and sacrificially sharing their possessions. When a couple left this unity by trying to merely appear to be holy they lied to the Holy Spirit and were kiled by God as a reminder of the deep gravity of sin. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-423-511-united-in-heart-and-mind http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_06_11_06_Acts_4_23-5_11_United_in_Heart_and_Mind.mp3 Sun, 11 Jun 2006 01:18:14 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 40:56 After preaching the Gospel following the healing a blind man, Peter and John faced their first instance of resistance as they were arrested by the authorities. This pattern continued throughout their lives and the rest of church history as the the public proclaimation of the Gospel has often been opposed by those who didn't want to hear it. We should be willing to share the good news about Christ with those around us out of a love for Christ and people, regardless of the resistance that we may face. If we don't see any resistance to the Gospel in our lives we should seriously look at ourselves and see if this is because we are not proclaiming the Gospel as boldly as we should. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-41-22-facing-resistance http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_06_04_06_Acts_4_1-22_Facing_Resistance.mp3 Sun, 04 Jun 2006 01:19:20 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 45:18 Peter and John miraculously heal a man who had been lame since birth by faith in the name of Christ. A crowd of people gathers to marvel at the miracle, and Peter takes the opportunity to preach to them about how they are spiritually lame and have rejected and murdered Jesus, who was the Messiah that God had sent to save them. In the same way we all need to see our own spiritual rebellion, own up to it, repent of our sins, and put our faith in Jesus, who is the only one who can bring forgiveness and genuine healing. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-31-26-healing-for-the-lame http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_05_28_06_Acts_3_1-26_Healing_for_the_Lame.mp3 Sun, 28 May 2006 01:21:03 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 45:02 As the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread and people believed in Him they formed a close community that was marked by devotion to Christ and a sacrificial love for each other. This love was so strong that people were willing to sell their possessions to be able to help those in need. We too should live out our faith by using our belongings to demonstrate that we love God and people more than our possessions. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-241-47-people-over-possessions http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_05_21_06_Acts_2_41-47_People_Over_Possessions.mp3 Sun, 21 May 2006 01:22:33 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 55:30 Preaching is not very popular because people it makes people feel bad. Good preaching should lead people to feel convicted because it is not merely delivering information but proclaiming who God is and calling people to repentance as they see how they have fallen short of His ways, as demonstrated by Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-214-41-the-importance-of-preaching http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_05_14_06_Acts_2_14-41_The_Importance_of_Preaching.mp3.mp3 Sun, 14 May 2006 01:24:10 CDT Paul Dean Acts jesus,bible,faith,god,holy,spirit,gospel 41:56 Jesus gave His disciples the Holy Spirit on Pentecost because they could not participate in His mission on their own. The Spirit empowered the disciples for their role in spreading the Gospel throughout all the earth. We have this same mission to share the Gospel and we have been given this same Spirit to empower us to share the truth about Jesus with the people that God has put in our lives. http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/sermon/acts-21-13-the-spirits-mission http://alathiacommunity.cpmpreview1.com/mediafiles/PaulDean_05_07_06_Acts_2_1-13_The_Spirits_Mission.mp3 Sun, 07 May 2006 01:25:20 CDT